Anna Georgievna was busily setting the table while her husband, Sergey Viktorovich, spoke on the phone.
«Everything’s just great, Igorek,» the man reported. «Exactly as we planned, it all worked out. So don’t worry, we’re in chocolate.»
«Say hello to him,» Anna Georgievna chirped, finishing the table setting.
«Hello from mom,» Sergey Viktorovich said into the phone. «She’ll call you later.»
The man ended the conversation and looked at his watch.
«Nina is running late,» he said. «It’s not like her.»
«Miss her?» his wife teased.
The man just grunted in response.
«Well, seven won’t wait for one,» declared Anna Georgievna. «It’s her own fault for being late.»
The elderly couple sat down at the table and were about to start their meal when the intercom buzzed.
«She’s here,» Sergey Viktorovich said nonchalantly.
«Why is she buzzing the intercom if she has the keys?» wondered a surprised Anna Georgievna as she went to open the door.
But it wasn’t Nina.
Minutes later, a bewildered Anna Georgievna was conversing in the hallway with a young man she didn’t know.
«How could she have left?» the woman asked. «Where? When?»
«That doesn’t matter,» the visitor replied. «You need to leave the apartment within an hour.»
Sergey Viktorovich appeared from the corridor.
«What’s happening?» he asked his wife, then turned to the stranger. «And who are you?»
«I am the heir of the deceased,» the man declared. «Soon my family, my wife and little son, will move in. You shouldn’t be here.»
The retirees exchanged puzzled looks while their guest waited expectantly.
«Do you need help, or can you manage on your own?»
Anna Georgievna and her husband exchanged glances.
«We’re not going anywhere,» Sergey Viktorovich stated firmly. «Not until we talk to our daughter.»
The young guest just smirked.
«Well, I’ve warned you. I hope you have strong nerves…»
Nina was born with a disability.
From birth, one of her legs was 5 centimeters shorter than the other. This fact alone made her an outcast in her own family. Two years after Nina’s birth, her younger brother Alexander was born—beautiful and perfectly healthy. Her parents breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, the birth of her younger brother saved Nina from being sent to an orphanage, which her parents had seriously considered. Both Anna Georgievna and Sergey Viktorovich had been beauties in their youth, maintaining their noble demeanor even into retirement. The limping Nina spoiled their perfect family idyll.
«Fine, she can babysit the brother,» the father of the family declared after much deliberation.
So Nina remained in a family that hated her. And she eagerly awaited turning 18 so she could escape from her parents’ home to wherever her eyes looked.
Neither her father nor her mother objected when she prepared to start her independent life. Sasha had grown up, and they no longer needed a bearer of handkerchiefs.
Higher education was out of the question, and Nina began looking for work.
Initially, her school friend Margarita, the only one who didn’t bully Nina at school for her ailment, took her in. Margarita lived with her parents, who weren’t too pleased about having a stranger in their apartment, even if she was their daughter’s best friend. It was Rita’s mother, Sofya Pavlovna, who suggested a «temporary solution.»
«There’s a man at my work,» she told Nina. «He recently became a widower, left with a small son. He’s looking for a live-in domestic helper. He has a large apartment and is far from poor. If you’re interested…»
«I am!» Nina quickly replied. «Thank you so much, Sofya Pavlovna, from the bottom of my heart!»
Thus, Nina found herself in the home of Oleg Petrovich. The man was well over 40, and his son Nikita had just turned 5.
«Late love, late marriage,» Oleg Petrovich would say with a sad smile. «And such an irony of fate.»
A portrait of Oleg Petrovich’s beautiful young wife, who had recently passed away, hung on the wall.
Father and son lived in a large four-room apartment. Nina was given her own room. Besides being paid for her work, she was provided meals with her employers.
«You’ll just cook for everyone,» Oleg Petrovich explained.
And so began a new life for Nina.
The owner was away at work all day, and Nina, in addition to housework, took full care of Nikita. Fortunately, her skills in dealing with her younger brother came in handy, and she got along wonderfully with the boy.
Gradually, Nina and Oleg Petrovich grew closer and became true friends. Nikita adored the «maid.» It was Nina who took the boy to his first day of school and attended all the parent-teacher meetings. She read him bedtime stories and sat by his bed when Nikita was ill.
When Nikita turned 10, he asked Nina if he could call her mom. The young woman was somewhat taken aback and told everything to Oleg Petrovich.
«I didn’t even know what to say to him,» she confessed to Nikita’s father.
«And how do you feel about it?» Oleg Petrovich asked. «It’s up to you to decide. Understand…»
The man paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and Nina started to feel anxious.
«Nin, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,» Oleg Petrovich struggled to say the main thing. «I know I’m much older than you, but… In short, marry me.» Nina opened her mouth in surprise.
«If you’re against it, I’ll understand,» the man quickly said. «You’re young and beautiful, and I’m almost a rotten stump.»
«That’s not true!» Nina exclaimed. «You’re a very interesting man. And… And I agree!»
Oleg Petrovich was surprised this time.
«Are you sure?»
Nina nodded her head. Of course, there was no wedding, they just registered their marriage.
«Decided to save on servants,» Oleg Petrovich once overheard a conversation among colleagues behind his back.
He couldn’t stand it and approached them.
«Nonsense,» he said to their embarrassment (they clearly didn’t know he could hear them). «A wife is much more expensive than servants.»
Nina was pampered by him, although she demanded nothing special.
Due to innate female issues, Nina couldn’t have her own children. So she generously gave all her love to Nikita. And the boy reciprocated, mercilessly punishing friends who dared to mock Nina’s limp.
«My mom is the best, got it?» Nikita explained to the latest defeated enemy, sitting on top of him. Years went by, and Oleg Petrovich and Nina fondly admired Nikita at his final school bell and then at his graduation.
Nikita went to university in another city and left, leaving Nina and Oleg Petrovich alone.
«You should finish some courses, Ninok,» Oleg Petrovich would tell his wife.
Lately, this topic came up more and more often.
«What courses?» Nina laughed. «I’m already thirty.»
«So what? They accept up to 35 at universities, if I’m not mistaken.»
The man paused for a moment.
«You’re right,» he said. «To hell with courses. We’ll get you into university.»
Oleg Petrovich, the financial director at his company, personally coached his wife for admission. And Nina succeeded.
Of course, due to her age, she stood out noticeably among most students, but she managed to get a diploma and enjoy student life. Then her husband recommended the graduate to a friend.
«Just give her a chance,» Oleg Petrovich requested. «If she can’t handle it, I’ll understand.»
But Nina did quite well.
Oleg Petrovich died two years later.
The man’s heart stopped in his sleep, and he never woke up. Nina went mad with grief. Nikita, now an adult, came to his father’s funeral. The warm relationship between stepmother and stepson remained.
«Mom, I’m not claiming the apartment,» Nikita said. «Live in peace. You’ve earned it. You deserve it.» «But you’re an heir too,» Nina tried to object.
«Mom, grandma left her apartment to me,» he said. «So I’m not homeless. At least I’ll have a place to stay if I come to visit.»
That settled it. Nikita left, and Nina suddenly received a call from her mother.
«Daughter, it’s been so long,» Anna Georgievna sang unusually sweetly into the phone.
«Mom?» Nina was surprised. «How did you get my number?»
«So Margarita gave it,» the mother replied. «I ran into her on the street recently. And she told me all about you. We, your father and I, want to visit you. Do you mind?»
Nina’s heart fluttered. She really wanted her parents to see for themselves how well their «defective» daughter’s life had turned out. And she gave her mother her address.
«What a beauty you have here, daughter!» her mother marveled, walking through the rooms.
Sergey Viktorovich also appreciated Nina’s successes. The young woman was ready to soar with happiness. She prepared a great table to properly host her parents.
«Ninka, they’re not interested in you for nothing,» warned her friend Margarita. «I’m already sorry I gave them your number.»
«You did the right thing,» Nina reassured her. «You can’t imagine how much I missed them all my life.»
Her friend just shook her head, but Nina beamed.
From that day on, Anna Georgievna and Sergey Viktorovich frequented Nina’s place, and she always tried to host her parents at the highest level.
One day at the table, the parents behaved very strangely, constantly glancing at each other and whispering. Finally, Sergey Viktorovich stood up.
«You tell her,» he ordered his wife and went out to smoke on the balcony.
«What happened?» Nina anxiously looked at her mother.
«We decided with Sergey to stay and live with you,» Anna Georgievna announced. «Let your brother settle in our apartment—it’s only fair, isn’t it? Too much space here for you alone. And your brother with his wife and child, together with her parents, are cramped in their three-room flat.»
Nina tried to say something, but her mother didn’t give her the chance.
«Be glad you’ve found your parents again,» the woman declared. «We’ll move our stuff over tomorrow.»
Margarita held her head in her hands.
«Nina, I warned you,» she said. «I made inquiries. Sasha’s wife is a real shrew, and your parents are getting sicker. They decided to dump them on you. You’ll be carrying their pots.»
«What should I do?» Nina asked desperately.
«Kick them out!» Margarita insisted.
«But I can’t…»
By then, her mother was already bustling around her daughter’s apartment, and Nina was in despair, not knowing how to stand up to her. Moreover, her father always sided with his wife, speaking to his daughter in his usual careless tone.
«And you try to kick us out,» he challenged her. «I’ll tell everyone what kind of daughter you are.»
Margarita called Nikita and told him about Nina’s situation.
And the stepson rushed to help, convincing Nina to temporarily live in a rental while he dealt with the «invaders.» Nikita’s five-year-old son, Slavik, made life hell for the pensioners.
And his wife Lena even encouraged the boy’s antics and tried her best to make life miserable for Nina’s parents.
The pensioners couldn’t get into the bathroom for a long time, and Lena was busy ruling the kitchen. The couple also loved inviting guests and throwing loud parties. During this time, Nina’s phone was inaccessible to her parents.
Eventually, Anna Georgievna and Sergey Viktorovich gave up and moved out. And Nikita informed his stepmother that she could return home.
«Mom, don’t even think about feeling sorry,» he persuaded Nina. «I know everything. They never valued you all your life, and you owe them nothing.»
To carry out the «eviction operation,» Nikita took leave from work. Therefore, until it ended, Lena, Nikita, and Slavik stayed with Nina. The woman was happy.
