«Are you out of your mind?» Sleepy Galya stood in the doorway. «It’s midnight…»
That was typical of Nadia. She could pick up a new beau and head to the beach with him at night.
It was the first time Vasily felt awkward in front of his own mother. He convinced himself – was he really asking for something so extraordinary? Just to sell the old house in the village.
Villages are emptying one by one these days. The young don’t want to live there. Sooner or later, relatives take frail grandparents to the city, finding a corner for the elderly. And his mother’s housing issue had long been resolved.
She has an apartment. So why would she need a house that could be turned into money? And right now, they desperately needed the money.
«Mom, please help…»
«With what?» she asked abruptly.
They sat in the kitchen, the tea long since drunk, empty cups on the table. Mother smoothed the oilcloth with her palm.
«To pay off your debts? I’ve lived my whole life without borrowing and taught you the same. And what kind of marriage did you and Nadia have — you barely had a child and split up…»
«You see for yourself, and you’ve told me so many times – that Dasha needs a mother. Every evening it’s the same. Nadia dumps her daughter with a friend, and herself goes off to (Vasily wanted to use a swear word, but restrained himself)… her parties.
«Wait, I don’t understand… Are you worried about Dasha or is your… new… upset about the alimony being deducted from your salary?»
«What does Inna have to do with it? I need a lawyer… Do you know how much they charge now? It’s crazy… And how much is your house worth – with a stove and an outdoor column? It would be good if it can still be sold, and there’s enough money… Do you realize that only a lawyer can win Dasha back from her mother? I’ll raise my daughter myself. I’ll bring her to you at least every week.
«And what about Inna? Is she happy with this prospect? Not against raising someone else’s child?
«No, of course not. She knew about Dasha from the start. And I’ve often said that I want to take my daughter to live with me.
«See,» mother raised her finger, «That’s the point. We’re talking about your daughter. And then when you have your own child, you’ll start dividing up ‘yours’, ‘mine’, ‘ours’. Inna won’t treat another girl’s child as her own.
«Come on… Maybe you’ll at least think about it? Mom, promise you’ll think about it…»
«No.»
There was so much resolve in that «no» that Vasily realized it was pointless to argue.
«I probably coddled you too much as a little boy. I always tried to support you, you hardly knew any real hardships in life. And now I’m saying: ‘Solve your problem yourself. If you need money — it’s really urgent — earn it’.»
«Alright,» Vasily stood up, «But, if I can’t manage it, you’re unlikely to ever see your only granddaughter again. And even if I take her… To hell… Better no grandmother than one like that…»
After her son left, Alevtina Anatolievna couldn’t calm down for a long time. Until dawn, she sifted through her life, recalling episode after episode.
She herself had given birth to three sons one after another. At that time, marriage seemed so solid to her.
But by the time the youngest, Vasya, was three, her husband took a girlfriend and left the family.
The other woman was young and beautiful, especially compared to the worn-out Alevtina.
At least the husband didn’t split their tiny «Khrushchev» apartment. He left like a gentleman, with a suitcase.
Not once did Alevtina think then about sending her boys to an orphanage, just taking them on weekends.
She raised her sons herself. Of course, it was ten times harder than before.
Alevtina did odd jobs, cleaned stairwells. During the summer, on vacation, she worked as a dishwasher at a camp where her boys stayed. And in the evenings, she had one thought – to get to bed and collapse. There was no time to search for new «pants!»
If you asked her what «female happiness» was, Alevtina would answer without hesitation: «It’s when the children are healthy and all is well with them.»
Family – even without a husband – was always the most precious thing in the world to her. After all, Alevtina herself grew up in an orphanage. And she used to dream then that a kind nurse or teacher would stroke her head one extra time…
Perhaps that’s why she spoiled her youngest son — Vasya.
But even if she raised him poorly, she still wouldn’t allow Dasha to end up in an orphanage. She’d lay down her bones, but she wouldn’t allow it.
«Are you out of your mind?» a sleepy Galya stood in the doorway. «It’s midnight…»
No, if Nadia, a friend from school days, had come at this time alone, Galya would have been angry but not surprised.
It was typical of Nadia. She could, having picked up a new boyfriend, head to the beach at night.
And then, sitting on sick leave and desperately coughing into the phone, explain to Galya the two words she believed the name of the disease «tracheobronchitis» came from.
But this time, a grumpy four-year-old Dasha, who should have long been in bed, stood next to her mother.
«Are you a mother or a cuckoo?» Galya couldn’t hold back.
«One last time! This might be fate deciding… Vadik is calling me to the tourist base, you know, where the ‘Mill’ restaurant is. I’ll be back by tomorrow evening. Tomorrow’s Sunday, you don’t have to work. Dasha will sit quietly, just turn on some cartoons for her – and do whatever you want.»
In another situation, Galya would have told her friend to get lost. But she felt sorry for Dasha – hastily dressed, probably hungry. She needed to at least give her some warm milk with cookies and put her to bed.
«Let’s go, my darling…»
As soon as Dasha crossed the threshold – Galya slammed the door in Nadia’s face.
The fun at the tourist base lasted a whole three days. On Tuesday evening, trying to look guilty, Nadia stood again at Galya’s apartment.
But in vain she pressed the doorbell, no one opened. What, did her friend go out for a walk with the girl? Strange, it’s too late already…
Then Nadia remembered her phone was off. She didn’t want to hear Galya’s reproaches all this time, and her demands to come back for her daughter.
Now, biting her lip, she turned on her mobile, and saw a hundred missed calls.
She dialed a familiar number.
«Where are you?» she asked nonchalantly.
Let her friend be angry, but what a vacation it was!
«Have you completely lost it, mother of mine?!» she had to move the mobile away from her ear, as Galya raised her voice, «I’m on a business trip! I waited for you until the last minute. And Dasha – she’s at your mother-in-law’s. And don’t you dare bring her here again.»
Nadia couldn’t stand Alevtina Anatolievna. Although Vasily’s mother never lectured her, never made remarks. Nadia simply felt in her gut – disapproval. But she was not going to change to please her now ex-mother-in-law.
It would have been nice if Alevtina had not started a scandal right now, to quickly gather Dasha and leave…
But Nadia’s expectations were not met. And the presence of two unknown women in Alevtina Anatolievna’s apartment was a complete surprise. They were not friends who came over for tea.
One of the ladies asked Nadia for her full name in a cold tone. Then introduced herself and her companion. Both worked for the child protection services.
«Well then, Alevtina Anatolievna, you don’t need to add anything. We’ve seen everything with our own eyes. A mother like her definitely cannot have the girl. For now, we’ll place Dasha in a rehabilitation center, and then we’ll petition for her father to get custody. There’s no doubt that the court will agree.»
And yet, the legal battles lasted quite a long time. All this time Alevtina Anatolievna came to visit her granddaughter in the social-rehabilitation center.
While Dasha was here – she felt at ease. There were few children, cozy bedrooms, lots of toys, educators, psychologists…
Only, children could live in the center temporarily. Some were later returned to their families, if the parents got their act together. Others – were a direct route to an orphanage.
The grandmother brought treats, asked how Dasha was living, and she herself saw that the girl began to improve, the grim and intimidated look disappearing.
But sooner or later everything ends – and Vasily got the right to raise his daughter.
It would be time to breathe a sigh of relief. But Alevtina Anatolievna was uneasy. She rarely visited her son’s home – it was a long drive, and the apartment where the family settled belonged to the daughter-in-law.
The elderly woman often felt that Vasily was completely dependent on his wife and tried to please her.
The mother did not want her visits to complicate his situation even more. What if she did something wrong, and Inna got angry?
She could only hope that Dasha would get along with her father and stepmother.
However, less than a month later, while watering the flowers, Alevtina Anatolievna saw through the window two familiar figures – her son and little Dasha.
Her hands trembled. She immediately understood – something happened. This was not just a Sunday visit to grandma’s.
She opened the door before they rang.
And immediately Alevtina Anatolievna noticed that the little girl looked unwell.
Her little coat was dirty, her hat put on haphazardly, and her cheeks burned with an unhealthy blush.
«It’s…» the mother began.
«She has a fever,» explained Vasily.
«And why did you drag a sick child out? Why didn’t you call a doctor? God, her hands are cold. Get undressed quickly, little one… Vasya, what happened?»
«See, Dasha probably caught a virus from the girls in the yard, and Inna can’t get sick. She…well, yeah, we’re expecting a child. So I… You’ve always treated us yourself, even without a doctor…»
Alevtina Anatolievna looked at her son, and under her gaze, he lowered his head:
«Well, yes, Inna said she can’t risk her health, and the health of our child. Dasha sneezes all over the apartment… And I also thought that the alimony debt would be written off, since Dasha is now with me. But they didn’t write it off – still have to pay…»
«And Nadia?»
«Well, we first went to her. She says, since you took the daughter, you solve the problems yourself… Mom, if it’s hard for you with Dasha, maybe put her back in that center she liked? Or, as a last resort – in an orphanage. You grew up there yourself, and it’s fine…»
«Get out,» the mother said quietly.
Late at night, sitting next to her sleeping granddaughter, Alevtina Anatolievna went over in her mind – what documents needed to be gathered to establish guardianship over her granddaughter.
And how good it was that she hadn’t sold the house in the village. They would go there for the summer. They would have chickens, fresh milk, woods, and a river.
To see how her granddaughter grows, to hear her merry laugh – isn’t that happiness?
