Каждый хочет любить

- Pravilo nomer odin: nikakikh ni͡anʹ; pravilo nomer dva: nikakikh zhenshchin v dome; pravilo nomer tri: v kraĭnem sluchae mozhno vernutʹsi͡a domoĭ v polovine pervogo, no ni minutoĭ pozzhe... Vot tebe i raz! Nu ladno by ot zheny ili ot mamy, no iz ust luchshego druga takogo zanudstva vovse ne ozhidaeshʹ, tem bolee chto ty davno ne i͡unet͡s, a sam uzhe papa i pytaeshʹsi͡a zanovo vystroitʹ svoi͡u zhiznʹ tak, chtoby ne poddavatʹsi͡a diktatu zheny, teperʹ uzhe byvsheĭ, i chto-to sebe dokazatʹ… I esli tvoĭ drug tozhe svoboden (no ne ot vospitanii͡a sobstvennogo rebenka!), a vashi deti otlichno ladi͡at drug s drugom, to ne uprostit li zhiznʹ muzhskai͡a solidar… - Pravilo nomer chetyre: ty ne kurishʹ v dome! Da-da, vy sovershenno pravy: realʹnostʹ gorazdo interesnee, chem li͡ubye nadumannye pravila i ustanovki, tak chto geroi͡am ėtoĭ polnoĭ i͡umora i tonkikh nabli͡udeniĭ istorii, sozdannoĭ priznannym frant͡suzskim masterom prozy, predstoit prislushatʹsi͡a k serdt͡su, chtoby naĭti svoe schastʹe…

— Rule number one: no babysitters; rule number two: no women in the house; rule number three: as a last resort, you can return home at half past twelve, but not a minute later... That's one for you! Well, it would be fine from your wife or from your mother, but from the mouth of your best friend you do not expect such boredom at all, especially since you have not been a youngster for a long time, but you are already a dad and you are trying to rebuild your life so as not to succumb to the dictates of your wife, now ex-wife, and prove something to yourself… And if your friend is also free (but not from raising his own child!), and your children get along well with each other, then won't men's solidarity simplify life... — Rule number four: you don't smoke in the house! Yes, you are absolutely right: reality is much more interesting than any far-fetched rules and regulations, so the heroes of this story full of humor and subtle observations, created by a recognized French prose master, will have to listen to their hearts to find their happiness…