OBITSYANKA TYMURA
(TIMUR’S PROMISE)
OBITSYANKA TYMURA (TIMUR’S PROMISE) PLOT SUMMARY:
Sixteen-year-old Timur is walking on a Brighton Beach boardwalk along the ocean. It’s 1993. He passes some small shops: a plumbing business, a lawyer’s office, a restaurant. It’s windy. A piece of plastic flies across the boardwalk. The sign on the restaurant reads Vishnya (Cherry.) Timur pauses by the restaurant, but does not go in. Inside the restaurant, we hear voices and rattling of dishes coming from the kitchen. Someone drops a plate onto the floor and it shatters into small pieces. An older man, Ustim, curses and begins to clean up the mess. Ustim is Timur’s father.
Timur walks into a four story pre-war building that faces the ocean. He takes the stairs to a small but brightly lit apartment with old-fashioned furniture and a dark cherry piano in the living room. C-Major Bach’s prelude is open on the note stand. Timur heads to the kitchen. In the hallway he passes by a coat hanger with jackets, puffers, and coats, as well as a couple of dog leashes. In the kitchen, Timur’s dog Chekhov gets up to greet him. Timur greets the dog and gives him a kiss on the nose. Timur’s mother, Nina, walks into the kitchen. She offers Timur coffee and comments that the mornings have become colder and colder. Timur sits down at the kitchen table and slowly drinks his coffee.
When he is done with the coffee, Timur walks back outside. He passes a group of old ladies wrapped in thick blankets, who give him a look, but continue gossiping. Timur walks toward a construction site. A piece of wood falls onto the ground sending a cloud of dust into the air. Timur covers his eyes to protect them from the dust. Timur puts on a hardhat, picks up a chisel and a hammer, then joins a group of other construction workers breaking down a piece of a brick wall. For Timur, this is a temporary job. He just needs some cash.
A middle-aged manager dressed in hasidic clothing watches the men work. His name is Friedman. Friedman looks at his watch and calls a 15 minute break for lunch. Timur quickly eats a bagel with cream cheese and drinks a coffee from a thermos. As the workday ends, the workers load the van then get into it. Friedman sits on the front passenger seat. Timur approaches the van and asks Friedman for his weekly pay. Friedman begins to gesture with his arms and promise that he will pay Timur tomorrow. From Timur’s face, it’s obvious he knows that Friedman is lying.
Timur walks on the boardwalk toward the restaurant called Vishnya. It is his parents' restaurant. Ustim is sitting at the table in the back and Timur joins his father. When Ustim asks his son how his day was, Timur tells him that, again, he did not get paid. Ustim tells Timur that if he needs money, he can give it to him anytime. This is why he works, Ustim explains, so that Timur could have a comfortable life. Timur is considering his father’s offer.
Timur thanks his father. He then notices a woman, a new waitress he has never seen before. Her name is Larissa. She approaches their table and smiles. Timur is so struck by Larissa’s beauty, he cannot stop staring at her. Larissa notices his stare and laughs nervously. She drops a menu on the floor and both father and son reach to pick it up, but Ustim is quicker. Larissa thanks him, blushes slightly, and walks away.
Nina comes out of the kitchen and sits at the table with them. Nina also works at their family restaurant. “How are my boys?” she asks. Ustim tells his wife that Timur needs a real job because he didn’t get paid again. Nina says that he doesn’t need a real job, he needs to think about going to a real college, perhaps as far as away from Brighton as possible. Timur is not paying attention. He cannot stop watching Larissa.
The next morning, father and son go for a swim. Father takes off his clothes and runs into the water first. Timur watches his father. Despite his age, his father is near perfect shape, healthy, athletic, with well defined muscles. Timur looks at his own body. He doesn’t look bad - but he is tall and thin, more like his mother. Father calls him to go into the water and Timur complies. He tries to catch up with his father, but cannot do it, and he is out of breath. Back on the shore, Timur dries himself with a towel, grabs his backpack, and heads out toward the street.
Timur’s friend Dmitry is waiting for him in the car. Dmitry is a couple of years older than Timur, and although the boys grew up together they are very different. Dmitry is not interested in going to school, and whenever Timur tells him about his plan to leave Brighton Beach, Dmitry laughs. This is who we are, Dmitry always says. Dmitry asks Timur what his plans are for tonight, and Timur replies that he has to study. Dmitry laughs and lights up a cigarette.
When Timur tells Dmitry about what happened with Friedman, Dmitry becomes visibly upset. “Son of a bitch,” he screams. He turns the car around and heads toward the construction site. Dmitry stops the car and charges toward Friedman. Friedman sees him coming and tries to hide in his van, but Dmitry is too fast for him. Timur steps out of the car. “Dmitry, stop,” he says. He grabs Friedman by his shoulder and gives him a shake. Friedman is visibly scared. When Dmitry lets go, Friedman takes money out of his pocket and begins to count with a shaking hand. “Don’t you ever fuck with my friend,” Dmitry says and shoves Friedman before walking away.
The boys drive in silence. Then Dmitry begins to talk, telling Timur that Friedman is a piece of shit, that he owes him money, and that he will never go to the Police because he hires illegal immigrants. Dmitry turns on the music as they drive through Brooklyn. They park under a bridge. Under the bridge, a few prostitutes are hanging out. Let’s have some fun, Dmitry says. Timur is pale. He asks Dmitry to drive him home, but Dmitry only laughs and tells him to move to the back seat if he is not interested in any fun. Dmitry rolls the window down and one of the women approaches the car.
Dmitry opens the door and the woman gets in. “What’s wrong with your friend?” she asks. Dmitry tells her not to pay attention to Timur. From the back seat, Timur watches the woman get on top of Dmitry. He hears the sound of his pants being unzipped. He steps out of the car. He is nauseous.
At home, Timur finds a twenty dollar bill on his nightstand. There is also a note from his father and it reads: “Buy yourself something nice.” Timur takes the money and puts it into the pocket of his jeans. The then leaves to head to his family restaurant. He sits at an empty table, takes out an SAT prep book, and begins to study.
But he is not really studying. He is watching Larissa. Sergey, a man involved in The Seagulls reunion concert, calls her over and asks for an extra set of utensils. When Larissa hands Sergey the utensils, he drops the knife, then the fork on purpose. Larissa tries to pick it up, but he then spills ketchup on his pants, also on purpose. Timur stands up, grabs Sergey, pushes him out of the door of the restaurant. He is surprised at his own strength, he did not know he had in him. Larissa tells him that he did not need to defend her. But Timur tells her that he can do whatever he wants.
Timur asks Larissa for a beer, but she laughs and asks him how old he is. Timur lies and tells her that he is 18. She brings him water and asks him if he wants anything to eat. He doesn’t answer because he is staring at her hands. Larissa has beautiful long fingers. “Do you play the piano?” Timur asks. “If you do, I have one at home. My mother also plays.” “I play a little,” Larissa smiles. “Is this an invitation?” Timur is blushing. He is completely smitten. “I’m much older than you,” Larissa says. “I could be your mom.” Larissa is flirting with Timur, though she keeps reminding him that he is too young.
Timur waits for Larissa to finish her work outside of the restaurant. They walk on the boardwalk toward the building where she lives. When they come to the door, Larissa asks Timur to give her his hand. He complies. She tells him that his fingers are a lot longer than hers. Larissa is so close to Timur, that he can smell her hair. He cannot hold back. He tells her that he loves her and all he wants is to be with her. Larissa quickly pulls away. She tells Timur that nothing between them could ever happen and he should know why.
Timur waits for Larissa after work, and they walk together when she finishes. They come closer to the building where she lives and she asks to look at Timur’s hand. She leans her fingers against his and compliments his fingers that are much longer than hers. When she is so close to him, and when she touches his hand, Timur tells her how much he loves her and how much he wants to be closer to her. But Larisa just looks into his eyes and tells him that love between them is not something he should think about and that he should know why.
Back home, Nina is in the living room playing the piano. Timur watches her: her head is bowed, her hair falls around her face, her back and neck are tense. Timur watches his mother with, he loves his mother, but he cannot stop thinking about Larissa's hands, and Larissa's hair. From his room, Timur calls Katja, Yasha’s younger sister. He makes an excuse to cancel their date. This is the second time in a week.
Timur becomes completely obsessed with Larissa. He cannot think about anything else, not school, not college applications, not any plans for the future. He remembers her touch and the smell of her hair. He would give anything to feel that touch again. He knows he is wishing for the impossible. He knows he should move on. But how can he forget that touch?
Before leaving for a business trip, Ustim again leaves some money for his son on the nightstand. “Spend it wisely, but have fun,” the note says. With his father’s money, Timur buys Larissa a necklace and waits for her outside the restaurant. He gives her necklace, she thanks him, and kisses him on the cheek.
It’s late evening, and Timur and Larissa walk on Coney Island toward the Wonder Wheel. Maybe the impossible is possible, Timur keeps thinking. She is next to him, and he can touch her hand and feel the warmth of her body. They stop and look at the Wonder Wheel. He can kiss her. Can he kiss her? But when he tries, she quickly pulls away. Timur sees tears in her eyes.
Timur doesn’t understand why she is upset. He wants to comfort her, he would do anything to take away her pain. Maybe he should ask her to marry him? At this moment, he wants to offer his whole life to her. He begins to tell her that, but she tells him that he is only 16 and he doesn’t understand what he is saying. They are sitting on the beach and it’s becoming dark. They fall asleep on the beach, Larissa’s head is on Timur’s shoulder. He has never known such happiness. The morning sun wakes them. Larissa is visibly upset - she is late for work.
At the Vishnya restaurant, Timur, Ustim, and Nina are sitting at the table. They eat in silence. Larissa is not there, and it is as if her absence drained the life from the whole place. Days pass, Timur keeps coming back to the restaurant to find Larissa, but she is not there. He begins to worry. No, he begins to panic. She tries calling her number, but there is no answer.
One night, he finally sees her. Again, he waits for her outside as she finishes her work. He tries to talk to her, but she ignores him, and quickly walks away. He runs after her, tries to grab her hand, begs her to stop. “What did I do wrong?” he keeps asking. “Please leave me alone,” Larissa finally says. “I cannot explain to you what I cannot explain.”
Broken, powerless, and exhausted, Timur walks home. When he turns onto his block, he sees Dmitry’s car. Dmitry opens the window and tells Timur to get in. There is something Timur needs to know, and Dmitry will show him. Timur tells Dmitry that he is tired and all he wants to do is sleep. But Dmitry insists, telling Timur that it has to do with his father.
They drive to Larissa’s house. The light in her kitchen is on, and Larissa is at the sink with her back turned to the boys, washing dishes. A man is sitting at the table. The man stands up, walks over to Larissa, and puts his arm around her. The man is Ustim, Timur’s father. Unable to control himself, Timur runs out of the car and into the house. He begins to scream at Larissa. He wanted to offer her his whole life. How could she? “I don’t want your life,” Larissa says.
Timur runs out of the house toward the ocean. He runs into the cold ocean in all his clothes. Larissa runs after him, pleading with him to stop. She is screaming so loud that Nina hears her screams from the restaurant. She goes outside to see what all the commotion is about.
Timur is swimming away from the shore, and Larissa jumps into the water to swim after him. Timur’s head disappears and reappears above the water, until it is not seen for a bit too long. Larissa manages to grab Timur’s shirt and drag him back toward the shore. She pulls him out of the water. Timur is pale and not moving. Larissa shakes him, hits his chests with her fists, then begins to kiss his forehead and his cheeks.
Nina is running toward the scene. She pushes Larissa away from her son. She is also screaming now, screaming at Larissa. “What did you do?” She keeps repeating. Timur coughs, opens his eyes, and sits up.
Back at the family’s apartment, Nina and Timur are sitting at the kitchen table. Ustim packs a small bag and leaves without saying a single word to his wife or to his son. We see him walking away from the ocean. His posture no longer looks athletic. His shoulders are slumped, and he is smaller, older, almost feeble.
In the next few months, Timur refuses to leave his room. Larissa no longer works at the restaurant. Nina works day and night and comes home exhausted. In the evening, Nina sits at the piano and quietly plays Bach or Mozart.
Eventually, Timur begins to recover. He picks up his SAT study book. He swims in the mornings like he used to with his father. One day, he passes a cafe and sees Larissa and his father at a table. They are sitting across from each other holding hands. Timur pauses and watches the couple from across the street. His father's shoulders shake a little - he is crying. Larissa moves away from him. Ustim pays the bill and leaves the restaurant. Timur catches up to his father.
Timur asks his father to come home, but Ustim shakes his head and replies that Nina would never forgive him. He asks Timur to take care of his mother. Timur never sees his father again. Ustim dies in a car crash a few months later.
At the funeral, Timur sees Larissa. Under her black coat, she is visibly pregnant. Nina walks over to Larissa and they stand next to each other, looking at Ustim’s grave. Nina touches Larissa's hand.
After the funeral, Timur takes Chekhov for a walk. They pass the gossiping old ladies and head toward the ocean. As Timur walks away, he hears one of the old women say: “She lost her husband, you know. But the other one is having his child.” Timur and Chekhov keep walking toward the beach, toward the sky that falls into the ocean. They sit down on the sand. Chekhov licks Timur's hand.
(End)