«My God, I wanted to help you choose a dress!» exclaimed the mother-in-law. «Who do you look like now? This is just ridiculous, not a bridal outfit at all!»
Lena froze in front of her newly minted mother-in-law, unable to respond. The guests watched the unfolding scene attentively. Andrey tried to calm his mother:
«Mom, could you please keep your voice down?»
«I could, but what would that change? Or do you hope that no one will notice that your bride has neither taste nor common sense?» she retorted.
Andrey took his mother by the hand and led her away, leaving Lena alone in front of a crowd of guests who couldn’t take their eyes off her dress. It was all because she had rejected the model suggested by her mother-in-law. But Lena couldn’t stand excessive decorations and sequins. Her outfit wasn’t cheap—it was a classic example of elegance without unnecessary decor.
Lena noticed the guests starting to whisper among themselves, particularly Svetlana, with whom Andrey had previously been involved. Svetlana had seriously hoped to marry him, as her father held a high position in a bank, making her a good match for Andrey. Not like Lena, whom her mother-in-law called a dowry-less woman.
Lena’s gaze moved from one guest to another, only seeing mockery and disdain in their eyes. What a surprise, given that almost all the guests were invited by Andrey’s mother. From Lena’s side, there were only a few friends who tried to keep away from the drama.
She felt tears gathering. Andrey did not support her, possibly fearing he would lose his parents’ financial support. This thought only came to Lena now, and she suddenly realized she had made a serious mistake. She should not have married him, no matter how dear he was to her. Andrey would always be from another world and could not change.
Lena turned and ran away. She would not let anyone enjoy the sight of her tears.
Bursting out of the restaurant, she stopped. The wedding was held at a prestigious place near a park and a river. Lena headed towards the river to be alone with her thoughts. As she ran through the park in her bridal dress, passers-by looked at her in surprise, but Lena did not care.
She had always dreamed of a happy marriage with the one she loved, not his wallet. She dreamed of a loving family, of children. She wanted to live without counting every penny, to go to the sea with her family once a year, to have everything like normal people.
She and Andrey had not known each other for long, but Lena felt he was the one, the embodiment of a worthy reliable husband. She did not notice when he was inattentive or forgot about a date, preferring to hang out with friends. Lena always considered Andrey a man of bright passions, so she overlooked his minor flaws.
But now, remembering her first meeting with his mother, she realized she should have ended the relationship back then when she unapologetically stated that her son should choose someone else. Andrey had remained silent then, and it had been unbearably painful for Lena.
Now the future seemed foggy, especially after the wedding fell apart. Bitterness burned inside her. Lena reached the riverbank, sat down directly on the grass, and let herself cry.
The tears flowed incessantly, and she did not try to wipe them away or move. Only after an hour did she calm down a bit. Lingering, Lena wiped her eyes and stared at the quiet water surface.
Suddenly, she noticed some movement. On the high bank, bordered by a barrier, stood an old woman. She had stepped beyond the barrier, something that couldn’t have been accidental. Lena looked closely and saw the elderly woman closing her eyes and murmuring something as if praying. Her face looked weary, her clothes were modest.
Lena felt alarmed.
«What are you doing?» she shouted. «Are you really going to…?»
The grandmother slowly opened her eyes and saw Lena. Gradually, her gaze dropped to the girl’s wedding dress.
«I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t think anyone was here. I probably disturbed you…»
Lena felt relieved. The grandmother started talking, and it was reassuring.
«Why would you think that? Sometimes it seems like everything is bad, but…»
The old woman shook her head:
«No, my dear. When you become a burden to your own children, who want to kick you out of the home you worked for all your life, there is no hope. I am needed by no one.»
«I think differently. Everyone is important to someone, even if not to those you would wish to be important to,» Lena tried to convince her.
She had just come to the realization that she needed to sort out her own feelings, but now all her thoughts were about keeping the woman from taking a drastic step. She needed to do everything possible to get the grandmother back to a safe place.
«What is your name?»
«Yekaterina Sergeyevna.»
«And I’m Lena. Today was my wedding, and look… I ran away from the restaurant. But I won’t let anyone laugh at my tears, and neither should you! Come with me, I’ll treat you to some tea. I have a special kind of tea, you haven’t tried anything like it before!»
The grandmother smiled faintly.
«What’s so special about it?»
«You’ll see when you try it.»
Finally, the old woman took a step back and looked at Lena:
«Why do you need me, girl? You have enough of your own troubles…»
«What troubles? Just found out on my wedding day that I was making a mistake—that’s all. Come on!»
Lena extended her hand, and after a brief pause, Yekaterina Sergeyevna took it.
The woman’s story was as old as time itself. She had a son, who in turn had a family. A few years ago, his wife passed away, and his son moved to another city, though he had yet to find his partner. A year ago, the son remarried, and the new bride was significantly younger than him.
At first, everything seemed fine.
Yekaterina Sergeyevna remembered how they decided to merge their housing, sell her apartment, and buy a larger one. Of course, she wanted to spend her old age not alone, so she agreed.
But now they were trying to drive her out of the new home. Her son seemed to ignore the problems, while his new wife openly tormented her, even going as far as to raise her hand against her. When Yekaterina Sergeyevna tried to discuss with her son how his wife was behaving, he threatened to send her to a psychiatric hospital.
Not wanting to wait for such a grim outcome, the grandmother simply left the house. She had wandered the streets for three days, starving. Today, she had thought about ending her life because it could hardly be called living anymore.
«And your grandson, does he treat you the same way?» Lena asked.
«Oh no, my dear Lenochka, my grandson is good,» the grandmother replied. «It’s just that he stopped visiting us after that snake slithered into the family. At first, we used to call each other often, but then they took my phone away. My grandson sometimes calls his father, and he tells him either I’m asleep or out for a walk.»
An idea came to Lena’s mind.
«Yekaterina Sergeyevna, what’s your grandson’s name and surname? Meanwhile, go rest, I’ve made up the sofa for you, don’t worry. I’m sure everything will work out.»
Yekaterina Sergeyevna quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the hardships she endured. Lena, leaving her to sleep, sat down at her laptop. Making herself a large cup of coffee, she settled comfortably in the kitchen. Remembering that she hadn’t checked her phone for a long time, she pulled it out from the wedding dress lying on the bathroom floor.
It turned out she had over a hundred missed calls, and only one from Andrey. After a bit of thought, Lena removed the SIM card from the phone and broke it. Twenty minutes later, she had already found information about Yekaterina Sergeyevna’s grandson on the internet. There he was: city, school, age, everything matched.
The morning doorbell woke her up.
Yekaterina Sergeyevna was already up but was sitting quietly on the sofa, careful not to wake Lena.
«Who could that be?» Lena wondered.
She really didn’t want to see Andrey. She planned to tell him that she was filing for divorce as soon as she resolved her own issues and could help Yekaterina Sergeyevna.
She cautiously approached the door and looked through the peephole. Andrey wasn’t there. Instead, there was a tall, sturdy man she didn’t recognize. She opened the door.
«Elena? My name is Mikhail, I am Yekaterina Sergeyevna’s grandson.»
Yekaterina Sergeyevna jumped up, hearing his voice, and hurried to the door.
«Lenochka, it’s my Misha! Oh, Lord, Misha… How did you find out I was here at Lena’s?»
«Grandma, why didn’t you say anything? We specifically memorized my number. You could have asked the neighbors for help.»
«Oh, Misha, I didn’t want to bother you. You and your father already have a strained relationship…»
«Grandma, and how else could it be when such things are happening?»
Misha turned to Lena and gave her a kind smile.
«Thank you so much for not ignoring my grandmother. She means an incredible amount to me. I’ve long wanted to take her away, but there was always something keeping her here. We even argued about it, honestly,» he confessed. «I might seem pushy, but I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee after four hours of driving.»
Lena perked up as if she had just woken from a dream.
«Sorry, I think I’m still not fully awake… Just a moment,» she said, embarrassed.
It was decided that Mikhail and his grandmother would stay for a few days to sort out the paperwork. It turned out that Yekaterina Sergeyevna had also invested in the purchase of the second apartment, so they couldn’t just throw her out.
«This is unacceptable, and I plan to file a lawsuit,» Mikhail said confidently. «Grandma, one way or another, I won’t leave you here, but I won’t let this go either.»
In the following days, Lena felt like she was in a daze. She was upset that she had fallen in love so quickly again, as an adult should be wiser. But there was nothing she could do: she was lost around Mikhail.
Before the guests left, Lena told Mikhail about her feelings. He was astonished.
«Are you serious? I didn’t think that was possible. What are your plans?» he asked.
Lena shrugged:
«Tomorrow I’ll file for divorce,» she replied.
«But you loved him?»
«Apparently not,» Lena said with a wry smile. «For that, perhaps I should even thank fate.»
After Mikhail and Yekaterina Sergeyevna left, they called regularly. Lena got divorced, and nothing else pleased her more. At one point, she decided that happiness wasn’t her lot and immersed herself in work.
«Lena, did you hear we have a new boss?» asked a colleague.
«They said Grigorievich wouldn’t retire for another two months.»
«No, he’s already gone. And the new one… He’s young, handsome,» she replied.
«So what? Probably inexperienced. It’ll be tough working with him,» Lena sighed.
«God, you’re not even thirty yet, and all you think about is work. Are you going to marry your job now?» her colleague joked. «They say he’s not married yet.»
Lena shrugged and threw herself into her work, ignoring the gossip.
«Elena Vladimirovna, the new director is calling for you,» she was informed.
Entering the office, Lena froze in surprise: it was Mikhail.
«Hello…» he smiled.
Two months later, the entire staff celebrated their wedding. A colleague couldn’t help but sigh:
«Come on, spill it, how do you handle men to land such a husband? To walk into an office and he just proposes on the spot.»
Lena just laughed.
