For approximately a decade, her husband, Igor, had been dying from a series of treatable cancers in nonessential tissues. 'Dying is so boring after a while,' he said. In the spring, his doctors had told them that nothing more could be done and the time had come to transition to hospice care. Galina and Igor were astonished by the surprise they felt at being told that Igor's dying had turned acute. 'It's just been such a reversal,' Galina said to her friends. It was like Icelandic villages and their volcanoes: You somehow feel betrayed when the lava sweeps down the rock face and takes everything with it. Galina and Igor had then retreated into their favorite films and novels, which was what had made her throw the party that night. One final note of beauty. Caspar arrived late'he'd had trouble getting across town. Protests cut a diagonal through the city, disrupting the trains and traffic. Even as he stepped into the lobby of Galina's building, he could hear the beat of the choppers...
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