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Get married in 100 days

Annotation:

Nadya has a serious problem: she needs to find a groom, get married and give birth to a child as soon as possible, otherwise in the future family happiness will be in big question. The matter is complicated by the fact that Nadya is an Orthodox Christian, and she needs one husband for the rest of her life. How should a modest and pious girl act in such circumstances? Relatives, friends and dating sites are rushing to help. But happiness, as usual, wanders somewhere nearby, at arm’s length…

Prologue

Nadya sat on a shabby bench in the whitewashed corridor, nervously fiddling with the ultrasound results in her hands. What could be there? She felt fine, underwent medical examinations regularly, like all the teachers at their school — she was never sent for additional examinations. Friend and part-time colleague Natalya, with whom Nadya was the only one to share her bewilderment, categorically stated that this was all due to the lack of intimate life. Like, everyone knows this: abstinence at a young age is harmful, and who in our time would voluntarily give up something that has not been publicly condemned by society for a long time? Nadya had other information: the harm from abstinence is exaggerated — this is what the Holy Fathers say, whom you can certainly trust. And even if it causes damage to the body to some extent, fornication is much more harmful to the soul. And the soul, in turn, is more important than the physical shell.

But now Nadya was nervous, and the minutes passed endlessly.

Finally, the last pregnant woman came out of the door, and from there came the sharp cry of the doctor:

— Melnikova!

Nadya felt a chill in her stomach. But she took a deep breath and, forcing herself to take her time, calmly walked into the office. She put the documents on the table, hung her purse on the back of the chair, and sat down carefully. She smiled.

The doctor — a plump, middle-aged woman, wearing glasses, with a tuft of blond, dyed hair in glasses — looked at the sheet with the ultrasound report and muttered thoughtfully:

— Nadezhda Vyacheslavovna… Uh-huh… — She put the paper on the table, tapping it on top with her palm, and looked sternly at Nadya: — Well, everything is as I thought during the examination…

— What’s happened? — Nadya’s voice trembled. She felt the blood drain from her face and hands, filling her heart with panic.

— You have problems, honey.

— Which?

— Rare genetic disease.

Nadya’s overflowing heart fell into her stomach.

“It’s not even really a disease,” the doctor continued, “rather… mm, an organic deficiency or, in other words, a physiological disorder in the structure of the uterus.”

Nadya opened her eyes wide:

— And what… does this threaten me with?

— Problems with reproductive function.

— Ah!

— In future.

— Oh…

“Unless you…” the doctor again looked at Nadya’s documents, searching for something with her eyes. — You’re not married, are you?

— No…

— Maybe there is a groom?

Nadya shook her head negatively.

“Then… the problem gets worse.” The fact is that this defect can be eliminated at your age. If you are having a baby soon.

Nadya leaned back in her chair and opened her mouth.

— Will I give birth… to a child?

The doctor nodded:

— A child. Not a mouse, not a frog, not an unknown animal, but an ordinary human cub. The task is quite feasible for a young, otherwise healthy girl.

“But not alone…” Nadya muttered sadly.

She never engaged in a targeted search for a groom, although she did not intend to remain an old maid all her life or go to a monastery. Nadya loved children with all her heart and really wanted to have her own someday. Only now she got used to relying on the will of God in everything, and lived in confidence: when the time comes, the Lord himself will send her a suitable man. But God, it seems, decided to put her before a choice, and also test Nadina’s determination for family life.

— What if I don’t give birth to a child in the near future?

“Then there is a chance that you will never give birth to him again,” the doctor threw up her hands.

She paused, pursing her lips.

— Why are you so upset? In the end, in our time such issues are resolved quite simply, and without great loss to reputation. Nowadays, being a single mother won’t surprise anyone. And then you will calmly get married and have a second child in a legal marriage.

Nadya rolled her eyes:

— No, no, this doesn’t suit me.

Who knows, Nadya will definitely burn with shame in front of her brothers and sisters in Christ if she does this. Yes, she won’t even raise her hand to this.

The doctor shrugged:

— So, look for a groom.

Nadya sighed heavily.

— How much time do I have?

The doctor frowned:

— A year is the maximum.

Nadya grabbed her head with her hands:

— Will you give birth in a year?

— At least get pregnant.

Still very little. After all, you need to find a man, get acquainted, meet for a while, fall in love, wait for an offer, submit an application to the registry office… It turned out that there were two or three months left to search, no more.

— Why are you so scared? — the doctor clasped her hands. — In the end, you are a pretty girl, and from everything you can see that you are positive. Any decent man with his hands will tear you off. “She beckoned Nadya towards her with her plump palm and said, lowering her voice: “You just don’t talk to candidates about your “shortcomings.”

* * *

“My dear, don’t be upset, everything will work out somehow,” mother wailed, stroking Nadya’s head with her full hand, as in childhood.

She sat on the sofa in the living room, disheveled and in tears. After leaving the hospital, Nadya first called her mother and immediately went home, and already in the family nest she was overcome by a full understanding of the current situation. Right now, within a couple of months, her fate will be decided: if she does not find a groom, she will have to go to a monastery. Because living alone in the world means leading yourself into temptation every day. And her conscience will not allow her to get married: who needs a wife who is unable to conceive and bear a child? But does it really happen that a groom, and a good one at that, with whom you can live your whole life, would appear as ordered in such a short time? But Nadya, as a believer, was not interested in the temporary option.

When she calmed down a little, mom decided to be frank.

“I so hoped that this wouldn’t affect you…” she said with a sigh.

Nadya stared at her mother in shock.

— You too..?

Mom nodded.

“I was twenty-two then, and the doctor said the same thing… He says I need it right now.” Your dad and I weren’t married yet, but I told him everything as it was, and he took on this responsibility. I prayed to God that this would not be passed on to you, but alas… The only joy the Lord sent me was that the next two children turned out to be boys.

Nadya’s brothers, Misha and Gavrila, were still studying: the first at the medical academy, the second in the tenth grade of school. She herself taught at an elementary school and loved her job.

“But at least you had a fiancé,” Nadya sobbed, “but I can’t imagine what to do…

— The Lord will not leave you, daughter. The main thing is to pray, and dad and I will select a worthy candidate.

Chapter 1. Bride

Nadya was an exceptionally well-behaved and obedient girl. And in such a matter, which she did not even know how to approach, and even more so she trusted her parents. Parents, in turn, were ready to rush to the aid of their beloved child at any moment, especially in such a delicate matter. Dad, in general, believed that it was better to bring future spouses together with the older generation, because they are experienced, and their vision is not clouded by youthful passions.

Literally a couple of days after the fateful appointment, the doctor scheduled the first examination. More precisely, dinner with guests whom Nadya did not know before. Mom communicated with Tatyana Dmitrievna exclusively in the courtyard of the temple, but now this acquaintance threatened to suddenly develop into a relationship.

Tatyana Dmitrievna was a sailor’s widow, a portly middle-aged lady and the happy mother of a young man named Anatoly, very intelligent and promising, as his mother certified.

From the very morning, Nadya’s brothers, notified of the evening event, giggled and laughed at their sister. Misha and Ganya unanimously asserted that they would choose their own brides and would never rely on the tastes of their relatives. Nadya didn’t pay attention to them, and there was no time for it: school in the morning, then cleaning and cooking. Mom insisted that the future bride should show her kitchen talents truthfully and in all its splendor.

“Maybe she won’t like him at all,” Ganya reasonably objected, sincerely sympathizing with his sister, who was matched blindly, and who was also forced to bake cakes and meat in French for this unknown groom.

Mom ignored these attacks, considering them unworthy of responding to them.

Finally, the moment came. Nadya was so exhausted by that time that, contrary to custom, they even put on a little rouge to make her look more attractive.

But this was not necessary.

This is because the long-awaited groom himself, standing on the threshold next to the large Tatyana Dmitrievna, literally looked like a gray mouse. He is short — a head shorter than his mother and barely reaches Nadya’s height, pale and wearing thick-rimmed glasses. These glasses seemed to occupy half of his expressionless face, and in terms of the brightness of the impression they overshadowed the young man completely. Tatyana Dmitrievna, on the contrary, made a fierce impression. A tall, one might say, monumental lady, with Rubensian features. Both son and mother were dressed modestly, old-fashioned and very closed. Buttoned down to the very last button. Tolik is wearing brown trousers, a yellow shirt and a gray knitted sleeveless vest. Tatyana Dmitrievna — in a spacious gray dress with buttons on the chest. Nadya herself preferred this style of clothing, so she was not embarrassed by the “unfashionability” of the potential groom. Only one detail left a slight unpleasant aftertaste — wet spots on the sleeves of the shirt peeking out from under the armpits and the accompanying strong smell of sweat — Nadya was extremely sensitive to this. However, she decided not to draw hasty conclusions and attribute this misunderstanding to excitement before meeting.

Stuttering and stammering, Tolik introduced himself to her and handed her a box of chocolates from a famous factory — at the same time, Nadya noticed how his forehead was glistening with sweat, and large droplets had already gathered above his upper lip. The young man’s fingers were visibly shaking. He must be a very soft and delicate person,” Nadya mentally told herself in order to smooth out the first impression.

After joyful greetings between the older generation, we went into the living room at the table.

— Why did you prepare so much?! — Tatyana Dmitrievna gasped, throwing up her large hands.

— What about it? — Mom was surprised. — Guests need to be treated. This is all our Nadenka cooked…

Tatyana Dmitrievna shook her head:

“You’re doing great,” she said to her potential daughter-in-law, “but, of course, there was no need to worry so much, because overeating is harmful.”

Nadya looked down, feeling guilty, it was unclear why.

— Well, sometimes it’s possible, a little! — her father supported her, patting her on the shoulder, and sat down at the table.

“Let’s pray,” my mother suggested.

Everyone stood up. At the general request, Tolik muttered “Our Father” very quietly and indistinctly, but was not able to bless the food and drink at all, which caused a reproachful look from his mother, which could have drilled a hole in the metal.

Over the meal, communication flowed more casually. It basically boiled down to Tatyana Dmitrievna listing the merits of her son:

“Tolik graduated from school with a gold medal, yes…” she lightly touched her son’s hand with her fingers. — And an institute with honors. Teachers and lecturers couldn’t be happier with him. Do you know how many thanks they told me at graduation? So they persuaded him to go to graduate school, so they begged him… of course, in science now the cat is crying for young people, but why? Because they don’t pay enough money. Do you know what the salary of an assistant professor is? The chickens laugh! You can’t live on this money — so I told Tolik, there’s no need to get involved in science. Go work as an engineer and you will roll like cheese in butter. You still have a family to support…

Unfortunately, Nadya could not boast of the same talents as her potential groom: she graduated from nine grades with half a B, and then went to a pedagogical school. According to the calling of the soul. She could, of course, finish high school and then enter a pedagogical institute, but she wanted to work specifically with small children — she would have gone to become a teacher, but her mother dissuaded her. Like, it’s too unprofitable a business.

Surprisingly, Tatyana Dmitrievna did not express the slightest condemnation of all these circumstances — on the contrary, she praised her potential daughter-in-law for her choice of profession:

— Why does a girl need a lucrative profession? Only to the detriment of the family. There he will build a career, instead of taking proper care of his husband and children. I have worked as an engineer all my life, but this is not at the behest of my heart, but because of my husband’s profession: he is always on his flights. If I lived at home, I would give birth to more children and take care of them, but it’s hard to be alone all the time.

It was clear from everything that Tatyana Dmitrievna really wouldn’t mind having a couple more, or even four more children. She constantly paid excessive attention to her son: she would either make a remark that he was slurping, snorting, blowing his nose loudly, and so on, then she would start wiping him with a napkin, then straightening his shirt, then smoothing his hair… Tolik was not left without her advances literally for a minute. Nadya even felt sorry for him, although he accepted all this maternal care with stoic patience, without showing that she was annoying him.

Tolik was silent almost all the time, leaving his parent to sing his praises. At some point, Nadya’s mother could not stand it and asked:

— Anatoly, please tell us about your work.

Tolik instantly turned poppy-colored and began to hum, cough and stutter:

— Uh… well… recently we completed a p-project for… ahem, a large residential complex. Hmm! And… well, uh, I, ahem, designed p-almost the entire sewer system in it…

His voice was quiet, uncertain, as if he was pronouncing a poorly memorized text. At the same time, Tolik constantly glanced at his mother, as if she were his prompter.

Tatyana Dmitrievna nodded approvingly, but this did not help her son become more confident. In the end, she took the initiative:

— Yes, yes, and the chief engineer in their company praised Tolik very much, he said that the sewer system was designed flawlessly, that he didn’t even have to fix anything.

— This is cool! — Nadya decided to support her potential groom, and at the same time build bridges with her potential mother-in-law. — You probably inherited your mother’s talent in this matter…

Tatyana Dmitrievna smiled flattered, but then Tolik, apparently from an overabundance of feelings, blurted out:

— No, I just pored over this sewer all day and night, and took it home, and my mother helped me…

Tatyana Dmitrievna gave her son such a hard look that Nadya even wondered if the boy would get a belt at home for this simple-minded sincerity.

After tea with homemade cake, which Tolik almost didn’t get (his mother said that sweets were bad for him because he had bad heredity for diabetes), the older generation, under a plausible pretext, left the young ones alone. The potential groom, pale as a sheet, was completely speechless, and Nadya had to take the first step herself:

— It’s strange that we didn’t meet in church, although our mothers have known each other for a long time…

— Why? — Tolik objected. — I saw you.

— Address me as you please.

Otherwise, she felt with him like a teacher with a student.

— Fine. I saw you.

Nadya remained silent in response. And what to say? “Why didn’t you come?”? This is a provocative question. Tolik will either have to admit his shyness, or that he didn’t really like her appearance.

There was silence, which Nadya again had to break herself:

— What other projects have you done at the company where you work?

Tolik shook his head:

— I’ve only recently worked there. This was my first project.

— So you just graduated from college?

— Yes.

How old is he? He is hardly older than Nadya… However, he looks even younger — without glasses he would pass for a teenager.

Nadya tried to stir up the young man again:

— What was your favorite subject at school?

But they didn’t give him an answer — the parents returned to the room from the balcony, where they allegedly inspected mother’s greenhouse (however, it is quite possible that the guest was really interested in this, unlike dad).

— Well, doves? — Mom asked friendlyly. — When is your next meeting?

Nadya and Tolik looked at each other in bewilderment.

— Tolik! — Tatyana Dmitrievna said sternly. — Didn’t you invite Nadya on a date?

The guy looked at the potential bride in confusion, but clearly could not come up with any sensible proposal.

— Clear! — his mother sealed him. “Again, we need to take everything into our own hands.” I know the day after tomorrow there will be a ballet at the Winter Palace…

Nadya’s mother clasped her hands:

— Tickets are probably already sold out…

— Don’t worry, I have friends there. I’ll get the tickets.

Mom smiled dreamily:

— Ballet! It is so beautiful…

Chapter 2. Night incident

On Thursdays, Nadya worked as a volunteer at the “Trust” maternity support center. The director of the charitable foundation, which supported the center, was Nadine’s godfather Leonid Rodionovich Kazantsev, an old friend of her dad. In fact, he was almost as close to her: he communicated with her from early childhood, instructed her in the faith, gave gifts and fatherly love. Leonid Rodionovich did not have his own children because he was not married: sometimes he said that not a single woman could compare with his first love, who married someone else, but Nadya did not know whether he was serious or joking.

“Trust” had its own kindergarten, but some mothers finished work later than the group closed, and Nadya helped whenever possible, doing drawings, handicrafts with the kids, or simply playing with them. However, that evening the mother of one girl, Varya, was late — it was already ten o’clock, and Svetlana still did not come for her daughter. An employee of the center called the missing person, but the phone was turned off.

— What to do? — the elderly attendant Katerina Savelyevna, who had to close the classroom and go on rounds, clutched her head.

“Maybe we should just put her to bed?” — Nadya suggested.

Varya was already six, not so little.

— What if something happens at night? Our children are not left alone like this, it’s not supposed to be.

Nadya sighed:

— Well, let me take her with me.

— Oh, dear, if you can, please take it. We have no one here to look after us…

— I just have to go to school tomorrow morning…

— And you bring her to kindergarten, the group opens at seven in the morning.

— Fine.

This, of course, is inconvenient — to run to the other end of the city so early — but Nadya’s Orthodox conscience did not allow her to abandon the child to the mercy of fate.

Varya went with her without objection: she already knew the evening nanny well and calmly accepted the news that her mother was late at work. I had to call a taxi, I couldn’t wait two hours on a bus with my child at such a time… We got there quickly, but everyone at home was already asleep. Nadya gave Varya a glass of warm milk and gingerbread and put her to bed in her bed. That night the girl woke her up crying.

— My tummy… hurts! — she squeaked, clutching her side with her hand.

The bed was wet.

Nadya woke up her mother. They whispered excitedly over the crying child for a long time (maybe not for long, but when a child cries, the minute seems like an eternity) and finally decided to call an ambulance. While they were waiting for the doctors, Nadya carefully changed Varya into dry clothes — she had to put on Ganina’s old panties, which fortunately were lying around on the mezzanine.

The doctors arrived, woke up the others, examined Varya — it turned out there was something wrong with her kidneys — and took her and Nadya to the hospital.

* * *

They got into the ward only after an ultrasound and several more examinations, as well as disputes over documents for the child. Varya was given a painkilling injection, after which she had to literally be dragged in her arms. Four o’clock in the morning also had its effect. But there was no peace in the ward either: a man was arguing with a nurse about a boy huddled on a bed by the window:

— Is there really nothing that can be done? Where is the doctor on duty? And what’s that?! — He stared angrily at Nadya with Varya in her arms. — Why aren’t the wards separate for boys and girls? What a disgrace?

The old, even ancient nurse explained phlegmatically:

— The doctor has already done everything he can. Your son will feel better soon. There are no free rooms, thank you that there are still beds. If you don’t like it, go to a paid one…

But the man only boiled even more from her admonitions. And when the nurse ran away, citing medical matters, he turned his anger on Nadya: she managed to ask him if she and her son had any extra panties. Varya wet herself again.

— No, this is simply outrageous! — the stranger growled. — Shame on you! You are a mother! Couldn’t you take your panties with you to the hospital? “He noticed that the wet pants that Nadya pulled off Varya and hung on the iron headboard of the bed were also boy’s pants. — Oh, you are one of those crazy mothers who give birth to children one after another and immediately forget about the previous ones!

Nadya’s cheeks flushed with inappropriate shame and resentment, but she was afraid to argue with the angry man and simply remained silent. She covered Varya with a blanket and ran to the nurse, hoping that the angry dad would not attack the sleeping girl. The nurse only gave me clean bedding — she didn’t have any children’s clothes.

Somehow, with great difficulty, Nadya rearranged the sheet right under the sleeping child — it seems that even a gun wouldn’t wake Varya right now. The gloomy type continued to walk around the ward in a coat over a tracksuit. His son was still lying on his cot, curled up and howling softly.

Having finished with Varya, Nadya took two cautious steps towards the boy. We need to help the child somehow! This evil parent clearly doesn’t know what a suffering child needs… Rounding the man in a large arc, Nadya went to the bed by the window and sat down on the edge at the boy’s feet. It turned out to be a teenager. His face was contorted in a grimace of pain, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, he was breathing quickly and shallowly. Nadya carefully stroked the boy’s disheveled hair. At first he froze as if in fright, but then he looked at Nadya, and the edge of his lips barely noticeably twitched in the semblance of a grateful smile. Nadya grew bolder, stroked the young man’s shoulder and side, moved to his back, and returned to his head. The boy seemed to close his eyes with some relief and let out a long breath. A little more — and his legs stretched down and his arms relaxed. The painkiller must have worked. A few minutes after Nadya’s manipulations began, the boy began to breathe more calmly and seemed to fall asleep.

She stood up and came across a man’s gaze. Attentive, unblinking… fascinated? The teenager’s father looked at her without looking away, standing motionless in the middle of the room. All the anger disappeared from him, surprise splashed in his eyes, as if he had witnessed a miracle. From the corner of her mind, Nadya noted that he was quite young for the parent of such an adult child, but why should she care? Not wanting to explain herself to the rude man, Nadya picked up her coat thrown on a chair and ran out of the room.

The nurse said that in the morning the department opens for visits only at nine — there is no way she can get there before classes. Nadya decided that she would call the center at seven and explain everything — let the missing mother visit her daughter herself.

I had to call a taxi again because the buses no longer run at this time. Too expensive for her modest salary as a primary school teacher!

It’s strange, but all the way Nadya’s inner gaze saw a confused young male face. Not exactly beautiful, but pleasant, with regular and clear features. And a smart look. She fell asleep thinking about him, and in a dream she saw herself arguing with a stranger, explaining to him that Varya was not her daughter, that she had absolutely no girl’s things and that she was completely unprepared for this nighttime hospital escapade…

In the morning, Nadya called “Trust” and asked the duty officer to call Svetlana to the phone. Even if she is sleeping, let her wake up: there is no point in sleeping when your little daughter is lying alone in the hospital. However, having run to the appropriate ward, the attendant returned with nothing: the missing mother never returned to the center.

Dear readers, don’t be angry with the main character, he’s just in a panic;)

Chapter 3. Threesome date

Such things sometimes happened in “Trust”: mothers from not the most prosperous segment of society lived there, and sometimes they disappeared for a longer or shorter period of time. Some returned, some did not. Nadya was unsettled by the message that Svetlana had disappeared: she did not give the impression of being completely dysfunctional, she led a sober lifestyle and worked a lot. And Varya was a gentle, homely child — how is she, poor, alone in the hospital? Nadya called the head teacher and asked for a day off for at least a couple of lessons, but she flatly refused. Everyone who could be asked to visit the baby was also busy — we had to postpone the visit until the afternoon.

Nadya spent the entire school day on pins and needles, but when she burst into the right room, flushed and out of breath, she saw a completely peaceful picture: Varechka was sitting on the lap of a teenage boy, and he was showing her letters in a large children’s book. The two seem to have hit it off. Noticing Nadya, both smiled joyfully and rushed towards her. First of all, Nadya hugged and kissed the girl — she even sobbed, emotional that she saw a familiar face. Then it was the boy’s turn. Nadya patted his shaggy head with her hand — it was awkward to hug the young man whom she had seen for the second time, and in person for the first time. But the guy himself clung to her as if he were his own and buried his head in her shoulder. He turned out to be tall, although thin.

“I see you have become friends,” Nadya smiled, leaning towards the bag of gifts she had brought. — What is your name?

— Peter. And Aunt Nadya, Varya told me about you. Is it true that you are not her mother?

— Is it true. I’m not related to her, I’m just helping her while her mom is… busy.

— When will mom arrive? — Varya immediately became sad.

“He’ll come, he’ll definitely come…” Nadya stammered, afraid to even add “soon” and thereby deceive the girl once again. But to tell her that mom is nowhere to be found and it is not known whether she will appear — this would be too cruel to the child’s psyche.

Varya still burst into tears from such uncertainty, and Petya began to console her:

— Do not Cry. My mother actually went to America, to the other side of the world, can you imagine?

Varya stopped crying and stared at him with wide eyes:

— And how will she return to you from there?

— He will arrive by plane. But only in a week.

Varya’s eyes almost popped out of her sockets:

— It will take a week to fly on a plane!

Petya laughed:

— Not really! It’s just that she bought the tickets a long time ago, she didn’t change them because of me, because it’s very expensive.

Then Varya also burst into tears for Petya: waiting a whole week for mom is too long!

Nadya did her best to distract the children from gloomy thoughts, treating them to yoghurts and fruits:

“But your dad is here,” she tried to console Petya, and at the same time Varya, who sympathized with him.

But the guy shook his head negatively:

— I don’t have a father. More precisely, there is, but he lives in another city. We hardly see each other.

— How? But yesterday…

“This is my uncle, my mother’s brother,” Petya muttered, expressing his attitude towards his relative in a tone. “Mom asked him to take me to the hospital when I felt sick with my stomach.

— So what, you live alone while your mother is in America?!

— No, with my grandmother. More precisely, with my great-grandmother. But she is very old and sick.

Nadya sighed sadly. Poor kids! It seemed to her that she would never have left her people for so long and so far. And even more so, she would not have disappeared without communication.

She wanted to stay longer in the hospital, but she still needed to prepare for going to the theater with Anatoly, and the nurses were already looking at their cheerful company with disapproval.

* * *

Tolik arranged a meeting at the entrance to the railway station: it was most convenient to travel by train, so that there would be no traffic jams there and back. Nadya arrived there by bus, which was not easy, given the heels (albeit small, but still unusual for her feet). She was also cold while walking from the stop to the porch of the station, because her mother persuaded her to wear a silk dress from prom and thin nylon tights, and only a raincoat on top, and did not even allow her to put a warm jacket between them, so as not to look like a collective farm when she undressed in theater foyer…

And what was Nadya’s surprise when, after all these difficulties and hardships, she found Tatyana Dmitrievna near the entrance! Tolik, of course, was also there, but he seemed to be slightly hiding behind his mother’s wide back, either from the fresh spring breeze, or from Nadya.

“H-hello,” she muttered in confusion, turning mainly to her potential mother-in-law.

“Hello, Nadyusha,” said Tatyana Dmitrievna, for some reason not as friendly as she did at the Melnikovs’ house. — What is it, you decided to catch a cold? Why are you dressed so lightly? It’s not May yet, but in the evening it will become even cooler.

Tolik was silent. Nadya was even more confused.

— I… I… And you… will you go with us?

— Certainly! — Tatyana Dmitrievna snapped. “Is it proper for a girl to meet a man alone before they get engaged?!”

Nadya opened her mouth, but couldn’t find anything to object to, and closed it back. On the one hand, that’s true, but on the other hand, they’re going to the theater… But, okay. Nadya has not yet decided how to relate to this overprotection.

They entered the station and headed to the ticket office. Tatyana Dmitrievna herself talked to the cashier and paid for everything herself, and then with a patronizing look she handed Nadya a ticket in the form of a check. The three of them sat down on the triple seat: Nadya and Tolik on the sides, his mother in the middle.

“I need to talk to you very seriously, my dear,” this did not sound sweet from the lips of the potential mother-in-law. — So to speak, dot all the i’s. I know that you are from a good family and raised in the best traditions of Orthodox Christianity, and yet there are some peculiarities in how I would like to see the family life of my son…

This was followed by a repeated long enumeration of all the merits and perfections of Tolik, and then — the features of his daily routine, sleep, nutrition and other things. Then — how Tatyana Dmitrievna sees his future. Three children — no more. His health won’t allow him anymore (Nadya didn’t understand what exactly his health has to do with it, because the father’s physiological contribution to the unborn child is minimal compared to bearing and feeding the mother, but she was embarrassed to clarify). Further, all child care concerns: feeding, bathing, rocking, and so on — should fall on the mother, and the father’s responsibility is only the financial support of the family. This is why a wife should not work: she does the whole house, cleaning, cooking, and caring for her husband. Tolika is also not in good health for physical work around the house. Working with his hands is not his thing at all, and at home he should only rest.

At the beginning of this lengthy speech, which flowed from Tatyana Dmitrievna’s lips so violently and continuously that it was impossible to insert a word or an exclamation, Nadya was upset. What kind of concentration camp is this for the purpose of oppressing a wife? In her opinion, there was no smell of love here — only cooperation, and it is unknown whether it was mutually beneficial. Nadya’s mom and dad always helped each other, and how else could they manage everything in a large family? But gradually she relaxed, deciding that Tatyana Dmitrievna simply wants happiness for her son and is trying to achieve it in a way known to her. What will happen between Nadya and Tolik in family life, they will decide for themselves when they are finally left alone. Therefore, Nadya only nodded to her potential mother-in-law with a smile, and in the end she even allowed herself a humorous question:

— Who will repair sockets, plumbing and furniture? Is it really a wife too?

Tatyana Dmitrievna pursed her lips displeasedly and squinted:

“I think my son will soon earn enough to hand over the stupid dirty work to the appropriate people.”

At the station they boarded a bus, and Nadya had to once again endure the cold of a March evening, and then the inconvenience of rocking on heels in a dense crowd of tired and not very friendly people.

— Do you plan to get a car when you get comfortable at work? — Nadya asked Tolik in the friendliest tone possible, but her mother beat him to it with the answer:

— In no case! It’s too dangerous! Do you know how many people die in road accidents every year?! Tens of thousands! Are you really ready to risk the lives of your family members for the sake of comfort?! I had a better opinion of you, Nadezhda…

“I just asked…” Nadya muttered in her defense.

However, her dad always had a car for as long as she could remember, and he never received a single scratch on the road, although he sometimes got into an accident.

At the theater, her mood improved a little: the production turned out to be very interesting and beautiful. In addition, this time Tatyana Dmitrievna allowed Tolik to sit in the middle and did not bother Nadya with her lectures during the performance.

But the intermission resulted in a real disaster.

It all started peacefully, with the three of us going to the buffet. True, everything there turned out to be very expensive, and Tatyana Dmitrievna only allowed the young couple to drink a cup of tea, and then sighed for another five minutes:

— Who would have thought! A glass of boiling water and a bag — one hundred and fifty rubles! A real robbery… I hope, Nadya, that when you get married, you won’t squander the family budget like that. However, I will keep an eye on this…

But this was too much.

— How… trace? — Nadya clarified dumbfounded.

— Very simple! I will control your expenses.

Nadya still didn’t understand how exactly Tatyana Dmitrievna planned to do this. Go shopping with Nadya and watch her every move? This is physically impossible… Demand a daily report? Some kind of madness…

Nadya patted her eyes, already afraid to ask her potential mother-in-law clarifying questions: she seriously began to think that she was not quite herself. Tatyana Dmitrievna, not at all embarrassed, continued her thought:

— We will live together…

— Together..? — Nadya rustled, losing her voice from excitement.

— Well, of course. Where did you plan? Do you have a separate apartment? However, even if so, this is excluded: I need to make sure that everything in your family life will go right. At least for the first few years. Besides, I will be able to help you with the child. For example, walking with a stroller.

For this it is absolutely not necessary to live together, but Nadya did not object. She suddenly realized that Tolik was not the last bachelor on Earth, and she did not have to make any sacrifices to become his wife. Moreover, she has still not been able to meet him personally and feel at least some sympathy for him, thanks to his overly intrusive mother.

Nadya was silent for the rest of the evening and they watched the ballet peacefully, but at home she told her mother that she would not become Anatoly’s bride for any price.

Chapter 4. Reconciliation with a rude man

On Saturday, Nadya went to the hospital right in the morning, postponing everything until later. It was necessary to check notebooks, help mom with cleaning, prepare a big lunch for tomorrow (they always had a family meal after Sunday service and invited more guests), but abandoned children suffer there, and this is the most important thing.

Nadya got up early, baked homemade raisin cookies and made dried fruit compote: articles on the Internet claimed that all this was indicated for kidney disease. She dug out Ganina’s most neutral old things on the mezzanine: T-shirts, pants, socks, and also took out the game “Winnie the Pooh and All-All-All” that had been lying around for a long time, and also took it with her.

There was no good news from the center yet: Svetlana was still absent. This worried Nadya, and she separately prayed to God for admonition and the safe return of Varina’s mother.

Not expecting any trick, Nadya happily opened the door of the room and immediately came across a man standing by the window. This was the same brawler and rude person. This time he was dressed in jeans and a turtleneck sweater and had his hair neatly combed. His eyes no longer sparkled with unreasonable anger, but they didn’t smile either. The man looked at Nadya with concern, anxiety.

“Hello,” he said at the first second.

“Good afternoon,” Nadya responded, looking away, but it came out hoarsely.

This man made her nervous, as if he were a powder keg and it was unknown what word or action of hers would turn out to be the spark.

Nadya approached Varya, who was sitting on the bed, hugged and kissed her. She asked about her health. All this time, Nadya felt the stranger’s gloomy and attentive gaze on her, as if she were a fly in a glass box, and he was a meticulous insectologist.

Varya felt quite tolerable, although she complained of pain in her buttocks, which the evil aunt nurses mercilessly pricked with needles twice a day.

“This is necessary to get better,” Nadya admonished the girl, “so that her tummy doesn’t hurt anymore,” but she did not want to accept such a structure of the world.

When the time came to distribute gifts, Nadya, of course, invited Petya to the treat, and with him, so as not to seem impolite, his uncle. The children praised both the compote and the cookies very much, and devoured almost half of them in one sitting. The man turned out to be more modest — he barely chewed half of the cookie and put the rest in his pocket. And he limited himself to a simple “Thank you.” But when the children enthusiastically took up the game, Petya’s uncle asked Nadya to go out into the corridor with him for a minute.

“I would like to ask for your forgiveness,” he said in his pleasant, low, slightly hoarse voice, which sent shivers down Nadya’s shoulders. — The day before yesterday I was, to put it mildly, out of shape…

— Why? — Nadya suddenly decided to joke. — As far as I remember, you were in excellent sports shape. That is, the suit…

The man looked at her for a long time with an inscrutable face, which made her terribly embarrassed, and then the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

— Aren’t you angry with me? — he clarified with slight surprise. -Aren’t you offended?

Nadya shook her head negatively, for some reason continuing to be embarrassed. It was a strange feeling of duality: she wanted to run away from here headlong and at the same time stay here forever, standing face to face with this strange, unfriendly, but so unusual person. She didn’t know anyone like him.

— Your name is Nadezhda, right? — asked the man.

She nodded:

— Better just Nadya.

“And I’m Vlad,” for some reason he extended his hand to her, and she hesitantly put her palm into it.

Vlad’s hand was large, strong and warm — not at all like Tolik’s thin, cold, wet paw — the kind of hand you want to hold on to.

Vlad ran his fingers through his hair:

— I’m in a difficult situation. My sister went to visit relatives in the USA for a month, and during this time her son, obviously not wanting to eat the soups and cereals that his grandmother prepares, rammed down some kind of rubbish — and this is the result. Unfortunately, there has been no contact between us for a long time, and maybe there never was. I think it’s my fault, because he grows up without a father, and I should… but I don’t know. In general, you understand, I was a little confused when I found him crooked. And he acts as if I am to blame for his stomach pains…

Nadya saw that it was not easy for him to confess all this. She knew from experience with her father and brothers how men do not like to admit they are wrong about something and ask for help. Therefore, she put her hand on Vlad’s forearm and nodded:

— I understand. Don’t worry, I will support him and… try to win him over.

He smiled, and the smile transformed his face: it brightened, seemed to become kinder and more beautiful.

— Thank you. The latter is optional. The main thing is that at least someone can… well, talk to him, calm him down, hear something from him other than “Leave me alone”…

Vlad’s smile turned out to be contagious — Nadya smiled too:

— Fine. If I find out something important, I will definitely let you know.

There was a pause, during which Vlad carefully and thoughtfully examined Nadya’s face. It should have been awkward, but for some reason it wasn’t.

“Peter told me that Varya is not your daughter,” he finally said.