Couldn’t you have put on your underwear better?!»
«Ira! I’ll explain everything right now!» Sasha hastily said, adjusting his boxer shorts and feeling the blood rush to the back of his neck.
«What’s there to explain?!» she smirked, turning away from the girl.
The girl frantically pulled on her underwear over her slim but busty figure, trying not to meet Ira’s eyes.
«Young lady, take your time,» Irina Sergeevna threw at her, «the commuter train isn’t for another hour. And I’ve punctured Shurik’s car tires…»
«What do you mean, punctured?!» Alexander Petrovich suddenly turned pale. «Are you out of your mind?!»
«Am I supposed to be?! After everything I’ve seen?» the wife smirked. «What would you have done in my place? Shot me with my lover? What if you came unexpectedly and found me frolicking with my boy here…»
«What boy?!» the husband frowned, clearly picturing the vulgar scenario.
«Well, a young one, like your girl here,» Ira nodded towards the quiet girl. «How old are you, darling? Already eighteen?»
«Why are you starting this interrogation?» Sasha scowled. «She’s of age, relax!»
«I’m not talking to you, hubby! I’m interested in this blue-eyed girl. You get dressed, and I’ll go put the kettle on…»
The girl’s eyes widened and she nervously shifted her gaze from Alexander Petrovich to his wife and back. Irina Sergeevna calmly turned around and walked downstairs to the kitchen of their country house.
They had built it together, investing every spare penny. If she had known then that her husband, having crossed the forty-year mark, would start dragging women here, she would have burned this cottage to the ground at the framing stage.
«Sash! Something’s up with the gas cylinder!» she yelled from downstairs, poking her head out of the kitchen. «Come on, let’s fix it before we blow up!»
Alexander, out of habit, muttered something like «coming,» pulled up his sweatpants, and trudged downstairs to his wife. The girl remained sitting upstairs in the bedroom—she didn’t understand what was happening. According to the script, the wife was supposed to, at the very least, throw her out, or at worst, drag her by the hair, cursing her with the foulest words. But none of that happened, and the girl was in mild shock from everything that was going on.
«Where are you, girl?» Irina yelled at her. «Come down, Sasha fixed everything—the kettle will boil soon!»
The girl pulled on a light sweater, tied her hair in a ponytail, and began to look even more like a teenager. Her angular figure looked out of place in someone else’s house, but there was nothing to be done—disappearing was hardly an option.
«Come in and make yourself comfortable,» the lover’s wife hospitably invited her to the table. «Tired of frolicking with my husband? It’s not easy with a man over forty—I understand! He’s not a twenty-year-old boy—things just work themselves out there, but here you have to try…»
«Where do you get such knowledge about boys?» Sasha chimed into his wife’s speech. «And what’s not working for me? No one has complained, by the way!»
The girl stared at her lover in amazement, not understanding whether he was joking or serious.
«And many have fought this battle?» Ira chuckled, nodding at his pants. «See, darling, when the whole truth comes out—it turns out you’re not the only one who’s been here! I won’t even speak for myself—wives, as you know, are the last to find out about cheating…»
Sasha realized he had said too much and shut up, turning away from the ladies to the old buffet. He rummaged there, clattering dishes, and pulled out an old candy dish he once gave to Irka on their anniversary.
«So, what’s your name, girl?» Irina casually asked, taking the candy dish from her husband. «How old are you? What do you do?»
«Lusya…,» the girl blurted out, licking her dry lips.
«Very good!» the woman praised her. «And you have a pleasant voice… Keep talking.»
«I’m twenty-seven years old…,» she mumbled, glancing at Alexander as if looking for support. But he was busy rummaging through the buffet.
«Oh, you’re a grown lady!» Irina Sergeevna was touched. «Were you married? Any kids?»
«I was…,» Lusya nodded, nervously scratching her wrist. «I have a daughter, three years old…»
«How wonderful! A little child!» Irina smiled genuinely. «Who’s with the child now? In daycare? Or with a nanny?»
«With my mother…,» Lusya reluctantly answered.
She really disliked the whole situation, especially this interrogation. But she sat straight, not knowing why, without even trying to escape from this strange woman. Irina Sergeevna seemed to have hypnotized the girl, and she swayed under her intense gaze, like a rabbit before a python. Alexander felt similarly…
«Very good that there’s a grandmother—that’s such a help!» Irina nodded and started pouring tea. «Drink, Lusenka! And don’t worry about anything—you won’t be offended here.»
«Are you mocking me now?» the girl asked quietly. «You must hate me…»
«Why would I?» Irina feigned surprise. «What bad thing have you personally done to me?»
«Well, how? Seduced your husband…,» Lusya shrugged, glancing at Sasha.
«I’m afraid you misunderstand the situation, Lusenka,» Irina Sergeevna smirked. «It’s more likely he seduced you. Promised you a heavenly life, stable income, with subsequent adoption of your little girl…»
«Well, yes… We love each other…,» Lusya emboldened. «He’s a very good man!»
«Of course, who would argue!» Ira playfully raised her hands as if surrendering to such an argument. «And you’re not bad yourself—young, fresh, and seemingly unspoiled…»
«Ira! What are you starting?» Sasha hissed behind her.
«No one asked you!» Irina glared at him. «Don’t butt into women’s talk!»
Lusya flinched, realizing the show was just starting. She curled up into a ball and scanned for her boots, which she had kicked off as soon as they burst into the house. She remembered the boots falling and scattering to the sides—now her shoes neatly stood by the front door.
«So you were married?» Irina Sergeevna continued, leisurely pouring tea. «Did you have the child during the marriage? What happened then? Was it an unsuccessful marriage?»
Lusya shrugged, glanced sideways at Sasha, and sighed heavily.
«Well, my husband was very demanding…,» she reluctantly answered.
«Ooh, such a baddie! Such a sweet girl…,» Irina Sergeevna smiled. «Did he make you work? Or did he not let you go out with friends? Or maybe he was a drunkard and thought everyone lived like that?»
«He, um, how to put it gently…,» Lusya fumbled, not knowing where to look. «Wanted to spice up our intimate life…»
«Did he suggest toys?» Irina nodded understandingly. «It’s fashionable now…»
«He wanted to see my friend in our bedroom…,» she blurted out and blushed.
«A threesome?!» the woman chuckled. «Well, and what about you?»
«I refused…,» the girl lowered her head, burying it in her tea cup. «It’s all disgusting…»
«What a jerk!» Irina Sergeevna couldn’t hold back. «Sash! Imagine, what a scoundrel!»
Alexander understood that he could materialize at the table and sat on the edge of the chair.
«Well, what do you want from Sasha?» Irina Sergeevna returned to the old track. «You probably have some plans, right? You didn’t just drag yourself here for nothing, did you?»
Lusya sat, neither alive nor dead, only sneaking glances at her lover. He tried to appear confident, but it wasn’t going well, judging by his nervous twitching eye.
«Ira!» he emphasized. «Do you enjoy this interrogation? What’s all this for?»
«For me, my dear husband, none of this is enjoyable!» she answered a bit louder. «You arranged this, notice! And now I’m forced to sit here and interrogate this sweet girl about what will happen next! I understand that you have some plans and, excuse me, but it concerns me too!»
«And what do you care?» the husband scowled. «How are you involved here?»
«Give me your documents!» Irina commanded, nodding towards the buffet. «Passport, give it here…»
«Here, don’t you dare tear it!» the husband handed her what she asked for.
«Look here!» Irina unfolded his passport. «It’s written here that you’re married to me! If amnesia has struck you, there’s a corresponding note in the passport! So, I’m directly involved in all this!»
Irina Sergeevna tried to talk to her husband like a small, unreasonable child, but she felt that her patience wouldn’t last long. She was shaken by everything that had happened, especially by the fact that Sasha was trying to act as if nothing terrible had happened. Such a standard situation—the husband with a mistress at the cottage and the sudden appearance of the wife.
«I remember that we’re married!» he tensed up. «What are you breaking down into a comedy for? Want a scandal? Just say it! You’re acting like an impenetrable, life-seasoned woman! As if I don’t know that you’re ready to kill right now!»
«Who?!» Irina snorted disdainfully. «This confused girl? She’s already got enough on her plate—husband’s a jerk, a child in her arms, plus you, an old Lothario with gray balls! Poor thing, she thinks she’s won the lottery ticket and it’s a million-dollar prize, but there’s an old man with alimony, property division, and a bunch of ailments!»
Irina openly mocked her husband and his passion, but inside, her heart was bleeding—it was unbearably painful to watch this sweet couple and keep a straight face. She really wanted to grab Lusya’s thick hair and smear her baby face across the table. So that the shards from the cup would cut into her skin, leaving deep cuts on her plump cheeks. But she endured…
«I’m not that old…,» Sasha shrugged. «It’s just that everything has faded between us… Worn out, right? You don’t even want to sleep with me anymore…»
Irina dreamed of scratching his face, but she clenched her teeth and flashed a predatory smile, causing shivers to run down Alexander’s back. He fell silent, knowing that such a reaction from his wife boded nothing good.
«Well, let’s not discuss our family life in front of strangers,» she hissed through a snarl. «Not now, nor later! Better tell me, what do you think to do? Lusya would be interested to listen too, right?»
The girl obediently nodded, afraid to make any sound.
Alexander realized that the women had cornered him and that escaping, as he usually did, wouldn’t work. He rolled his eyes, scratched his hairy chest under his shirt, and sighed heavily, trying to gather his thoughts and buy some time.
«Well?!» Irina nudged him with her foot under the table. «Stop holding the pause already—it’s not a theater! Spit it out faster! He’s rolling his eyes here, the sufferer!»
«What are you nagging me for?!» he roared at Ira and slammed his fist on the table. «I don’t know what will happen next! She’s sitting here—tell, tell! Like a burr, she stuck!»
«See, Lusenka, San Petrovich doesn’t know how to handle your affair!» Irina smirked, drumming her nails on the table. «They knock with their fists—they’re nervous! Well, they didn’t expect it to go like this! They thought they could just frolic in bed, and then life would show! But here, women wanted specifics—started clinging like burrs! Something went wrong…»
«Sasha…,» Lusya’s voice trembled, «you promised you’d sort it out with your wife! Oh, sorry, with you, Irina Sergeevna… You’ve been feeding me promises for a year now… First, she was sick, you couldn’t leave. Then your son got married—again I’m untimely with my questions… Now is the perfect time to put everything in its place—let’s decide how we’ll live further…»
«You too, Lusya! Don’t finish me off!» Alexander flared up and jumped up. He started nervously pacing from corner to corner in the kitchen.
«You look like a mouse cornered right now…,» Irina disdainfully said. «Sorry, you don’t pull off a tiger in a cage… The look is too pitiful. A little more and you’ll start squeaking from fear…»
«Enough, I said!» he jumped up and grabbed his wife by the shoulder. «Will you shut up or not?!»
Irina moaned in pain, twisted out of his grip, and bit into his hand. Alexander yelled a string of curses and swung his other hand at his wife.
«Beast! Have you gone completely mad?!» he yelled, but held back his hand.
«Just try to touch me again!» Irina Sergeevna hissed. «You won’t wake up in the morning!»
Lusya sat, her eyes wide and barely breathing—she had never imagined Alexander like this. What was happening before her eyes simply didn’t fit with his positive image.
«Please…,» she whispered pleadingly, «don’t, I’m asking you!»
The spouses looked at her with wild eyes, and the girl realized she needed to get out before all this aggression spilled over onto her.
«May I go?» she cautiously asked, rising from the table as if asking permission to leave the classroom. «I’ll get there myself…»
«Sit!» Alexander commanded, pointing at the chair with his finger. «We’re about to decide everything—why delay?! Right, Ira?!»
«That’s right! There’s no need to delay!» Irina grated through her teeth. «We’re already at the edge—might have to rock the baby! From the side, it’s taken root!»
Lusya turned pale and swayed, but managed to sit down in time. Irina watched the girl from the corner of her eye, feeling that she had hit the mark.
«How did you guess?» the girl whispered. «I was just going to tell Sasha today…»
Alexander froze, as if he had seen a rat on the kitchen floor—it was slowly dawning on him exactly what they both meant.
«What?!» he growled. «What were you going to do?!»
«I’m pregnant…,» Lusya lowered her head and blushed.
For a moment, it seemed to her that Sasha would have a stroke—he first turned pale, then covered with red spots, and began inhaling air through his nostrils as if he were suffocating.
«Shurik! What’s wrong?» Irina Sergeevna raised an eyebrow. «Feeling bad? Maybe call an ambulance?»
«Sasha! What’s wrong with you?!» Lusya jumped up to the man. «Water?!»
«Just relax, dear,» Irina Sergeevna waved her hand. «He’s just suffering for the public… Didn’t you know this sin of his? Now you’re in the loop…»
«Ira! Stop it, I beg you!» Alexander Petrovich croaked, clutching his heart. «Drop something in it…»
«Rat poison?» Irina smirked, but reached for her bag. «I should poison you, you bastard! But I pity your kids—they’ll think daddy died, sprawled between two women. Kind of ugly… Here, there’s corvalol in pills…»
She pulled a blister pack from her pocket and tossed it on the table, turning away, catching from the corner of her eye how Lusya frantically grabbed the medicine and started popping out a pill. The girl’s hands were shaking, but she managed.
«Sasha, please, Sasha!» she begged the man, holding out the medicine. «Open your mouth! What are you?!»
«Just calm down!» he brushed off Lusya. «Why are you shaking your hands here?!»
Ira didn’t like the tone her husband had stooped to, and she stood up, planting her hands on her hips.
«You’ve completely lost it, dear?» Irina was outraged. «The girl’s pregnant, made me nervous, and now he’s sitting, turning up his nose! Drink, they’re telling you! Putting on a performance here—jump around me! If I snap now, it won’t be pretty!»
«And you only know how to fight,» Sasha sulked, offended. «Can’t do anything else…»
«No, I can,» Irina smirked, «you just don’t know me well enough…»
«I’m leaving…» Lusya backed away from Alexander Petrovich, realizing she had stumbled into someone else’s play and her role was very unenviable.
«Why so soon?» the woman switched to her. «You could have stayed, had some tea… It’s a bit early for you to be leaving us—we could have figured out something else.»
«There’s nothing to figure out—it’s all clear!» Lusya retorted sharply, pulling on her boots.
She put on a leather jacket over her frail body, slapped a baseball cap on her head, and tried to slip past the stranger’s husband unnoticed. Alexander twitched as if to stop the girl, but she sharply pulled her hand away and darted out the door.
Lusya felt disgusted by everything that had happened. She felt like a participant in a second-rate vaudeville where a pregnant mistress tries to steal a husband from a happy family. Only in her case, everything was a bit different.
At that moment, something clicked in her head, and she hastily gathered her daughter and left her apartment.
«You’ll regret it, bastard!» Vadik yelled at her back, but she felt like he was even glad that Lusya had left. It had been too much trouble for him to keep a wife and child…
At first, Lusya thought there would be nothing good in life anymore. That no one needed her with her problems, but then Alexander Petrovich appeared, and hope flickered, albeit dimly. Initially, the man was gentle, attentive, and very caring. Lusya melted from his attention and as much as she could convinced herself that she was very lucky when they met at the interview.
Irina began to suspect that her husband had another affair on the side when he started talking about business trips on weekends. It was so banal that it was lazy to jerk in that direction—she knew her husband too well to believe that it was serious with him.
Ira was arrogant, cold, and calculating. He convinced himself of this every time he stayed with Lusya, covering it up with meetings.
Now she sat in the kitchen and watched her Shurik, who nervously rubbed the hand she had bitten and glanced her way.
«Why are you settled down?» Irina asked, tapping her fingers on the table. «The girl’s pregnant and went somewhere in the cold, and he doesn’t even blow!»
«Ira, why are you starting again?» Sasha gloomily replied, looking away. «Lusya is very good…»
«Good…,» Irina echoed, «very good…»
«You know we’ve been over for a long time,» he began reluctantly. «Let’s be honest—everything between us ended long ago. Just living out of habit—home, work, kids… And even the eldest has already left, got married… Olka is almost a bride too…»
«That’s right, Sasha! You’re not a stupid man, you understand everything—there are no feelings left for me. Only duties… And what love is, I know, though not for you. I’ve wanted to put an end to it for a long time, but I was ashamed to admit that I love someone else…»
Alexander stopped hiding his eyes and stared at his wife—he expected anything but such a turn of events. He couldn’t believe that his Irka could put antlers on him. She had always been a decent, loyal wife, and above all, wise—she forgave him all his sprees and oddities.
But now he suddenly saw that before him sat a completely stranger woman who had an affair on the side. Sasha looked at her through the eyes of another man and realized that she was still quite an attractive lady.
«You’re serious?!» he choked. «Is this really true? Not some cheap revenge?»
Ira looked at him strangely, as at a stranger, and shrugged.
«Think what you want, I’m not interested in the truth anymore—I have my own life…,» the wife answered and got up from the table. «We became strangers a long time ago, Sasha. Everything was fine in our life with you—children, apartment, cottage, trips. But the main thing was missing—love…»
«Never there? You’re overdoing it! You were happy! Remember?»
«I was happy, but I didn’t love…,» Irina nodded and looked out the window. It was drizzling outside, and the day had turned completely gray.
«And now you’ve fallen in love?» he asked cautiously, feeling that his familiar world was crumbling into pieces.
«Yes, Sasha! Imagine—I’ve fallen in love for the first time in my life! I don’t know what you have with that girl, but if you feel even half of what I feel, then it’s great happiness!»
«Ira, wait!» he tried to slow down her revelations. «Are you in your right mind? So, you have a lover and you’ve been putting antlers on me for a long time?!»
«Don’t judge by yourself, my dear,» Irina laughed in his face. «Loving is not always about antlers! I just fell in love…»
«You’ve completely confused me!» he exploded, losing patience. «What does it mean—just fell in love?!»
«And it means that I don’t want to be with you anymore!» she smiled.
Ira saw how difficult it was for Sasha to accept the fact that she also wasn’t an angel and had another man. Now he seemed to think that everything that seemed so solid and reliable was collapsing—family, home, his entire life.
«The funniest thing is that I don’t even have anything to apologize for,» Irina said, looking him straight in the eye. «I didn’t cheat on you in the known sense. But I can’t live with you anymore. Even Lusya isn’t to blame here, it’s not about her… And don’t just sit there, you should catch up with her—she hasn’t gone far…»
«How can I catch up? You punctured the tires…,» he grumbled.
He sat, his arms dangling, one of which still throbbed from Irina’s bite. He felt so nauseous that he wanted to howl. Why he didn’t feel great joy that he could now be absolutely free, he didn’t understand. Lusya was dear to him, but Irka with her news just blew his mind. All this didn’t fit in the head of a grown man at all.
«I was joking, Sasha,» Irina smiled, «your wheels are intact. So, go after Lusya! Try to make her happy, and be happy yourself…»
Meanwhile, Lusya was trudging through the twilight on a country road, sobbing as she walked.
Before her eyes was the scene when Sasha swung at Irina Sergeevna, and she bit him. Exactly a year ago, the same thing happened to her, Lusya, putting an end to her seemingly successful marriage…
