My dear mother, my darling… What can I do to help you?» Alla cried. She leaned over the woman lying on a dirty sofa.
«Daughter, thank you for everything,» Maria Dmitrievna replied softly, «But you’ve already done more for me than you could. See how I’ve repaid you? We now live in a dump. Forgive me… Your salary goes on my medicine…»
«You know, that’s not all. There’s something left!»
Alla stood up. Determination was in her eyes.
«We haven’t lost everything yet.»
They lived in ruins. Once it was a house, but now it was simply rubble.
Yet its inhabitants didn’t resemble homeless people. Alla and her mother, Maria Dmitrievna, had lived here for two months. Once, they had their own cozy apartment with all the amenities. They had to sell it.
The only salvation for the seriously ill Maria Dmitrievna was an expensive surgery. Alla, a kindergarten teacher, couldn’t afford such expenses. Maria Dmitrievna, an artist from the local textile plant, earned even less.
Selling the apartment was a forced measure. Alla convinced her mother, persuading her that there was no other way out.
«I’d rather die, daughter, than be a burden to you! You’ll end up on the street, we have nowhere else to go…»
«No, mom! While there’s a chance, we must fight for it. Apartments are material things. I will never forgive myself if because of these miserable four walls you lose the chance to become healthy again!» Alla firmly replied, already handling the paperwork for the sale.
The operation was successful. Maria Dmitrievna’s life was saved, but a long rehabilitation was needed for full recovery. And there was no money left for that. Now Maria Dmitrievna could move on her own. But not everything was that simple. She remained in a wheelchair. So, they had to settle in a shack that Alla found quite by accident. The woman settled this modest corner while her mother lay in the hospital.
In the evenings after work, Alla brought a little food. Every penny was hard-earned, but she took care of her mother. However, winter colds were approaching, and there was still no way out of their desperate situation. Everything that could be sold had long been gone, and the only value they had left was a painting. It depicted a pine forest through which a young couple walked. Maria Dmitrievna had painted it in her youth.
Alla tenderly looked at the canvas. She knew it was a memory of her mother’s past dreams, but at the same time, she understood that it was their only chance to survive.
The painting was stunning. A true masterpiece. Maria Dmitrievna had once been a talented artist. But when her heart was broken, she no longer picked up the brushes. Only this painting remained from that past. She created it for herself, putting her soul into it.
One damp and cloudy spring evening, Alla had an unexpected idea. She caught sight of a newspaper fragment advertising a luxurious hotel for the wealthiest people. She decided to go there to try to sell the painting. Alla had heard that millionaires can sometimes be very eccentric and might pay a decent sum for something unique.
«Mom, I know you’ll object, but we have no other choice. I’ll try, maybe it’ll work,» she firmly told her mother, leaving no room for argument, and left that same night.
Meanwhile, Sergey Petrovich was driving to his luxurious hotel. His mood was worse than ever, and there were good reasons for it. That day his life, you could say, cracked: what he feared most happened — his family fell apart.
On a cold November morning, Sergey divorced his wife Svetlana, with whom he had been married for almost two years.
Sergey dreamed of children, but Svetlana never gave him heirs. At one time, he specifically chose a younger life partner, as he himself was over forty, and time was relentlessly moving forward. With each passing day, the chances of having offspring were decreasing. And without heirs, who would he pass his hotel business to? The state? Or maybe the church? Although, he admitted, even such a scenario made sense — after all, helping the Lord and his temples usually benefits.
Until recently, Sergey couldn’t imagine that his happy life with Svetlana would turn out this way. He was sure that everything would work out because their love seemed limitless. At least, he thought so, until one fateful day shattered his illusions.
That day began with a banal coincidence. Sergey was going on a business trip but was delayed and missed the flight. The next plane was only in the evening, and the businessman decided to return home. He wanted to surprise his young wife.
Svetlana literally cried that he was leaving. So, he decided to spend a little more time with her.
«For lovers, every minute of separation is like an eternity,» he remembered her words, buying an expensive bouquet on the way home. Svetlana couldn’t stand cheap things and always demanded the best for herself.
Sergey entered the house with trepidation. He couldn’t wait to hug his wife, see her smile. But everything went wrong.
He quietly opened the door, holding the bouquet. The apartment was unusually quiet, but a slight nervousness was in the air. Sergey was about to surprise Svetlana. However, what he saw knocked him off his feet.
Svetlana was not alone. Sergey froze in the doorway.
«Sergey?!» Svetlana jumped up, pulling up a sheet.
«Well, come on, say it! It’s not what I think?» Sergey’s voice trembled with anger. «You know, I’m too old for such jokes.»
He turned around and left, not listening to any excuses. That day became the beginning of the end of their marriage.
Two weeks after the divorce, Sergey was driving to his hotel and felt his life was spiraling down. He had trusted Svetlana boundlessly, and she turned out to be a betrayer. But the most offensive part was that she didn’t just deprive him of love. He no longer had any hope for the future.
Sergey looked at the road ahead. The city’s evening lights were on, but for him, everything was dimmed. He just couldn’t understand when everything had gone wrong. He realized that he hadn’t felt happy for a long time. Yes, everything seemed perfect on the outside, but he had long lost the sense of comfort and peace.
Somewhere at that moment, Alla stood at the doors of the luxurious hotel. She nervously fidgeted with the sleeves of her old coat, holding the painting in her hands. She was scared, but she had to try. The painting was the only thing she and her mother had left. She hoped she could sell it, for any price. Just to hold on a little longer…
Sergey considered himself a refined person, and therefore, in his eyes, Svetlana seemed like the perfect companion. They met during one of his business trips. Svetlana worked at a partner’s company. She held a modest position and did not stand out with special talents in management or administration. However, her role was quite different.
Svetlana was a real beauty, and she was articulate. She became a sort of calling card for her company. For business, this was important. Even more important than the ability to work with documents. She remained in accounting, where they expected her to be presentable rather than perform professional feats.
Sergey knew nothing about this and was not interested. He had already lost his head to her charm, sincere smile, and long legs. They seemed to wrap around him, depriving him of the ability to think rationally. On the day of their acquaintance, Sergey invited Svetlana to dinner.
Workplace romances were not prohibited at the company. Moreover, no one objected. Why would they, if it could help in securing profitable contracts? Of course, Svetlana accepted the invitation without hesitation. Why not spend an evening in an expensive restaurant with a man 17 years her senior?
The next day they repeated it, and then again. But it was time to part and return to their cities.
Of course, she felt nothing for him. How could she, if he was old enough to be her father? And love-struck Sergey thought of nothing else. She was ideal for him.
Svetlana was surprised when, a few days later, Sergey stood on the doorstep of her rented apartment. In his hands, he held a huge bouquet. But the surprises didn’t end there. He pulled out a box with a ring from his pocket. He got down on one knee and said:
«Sveta, marry me.»
Refusing such an offer would be foolish. Of course, Svetlana agreed. And a huge diamond on the ring did its job.
Within a couple of weeks, they had a wedding. The young wife quickly left her job, which had already bored her. She moved into Sergey’s spacious three-story house. There, she could enjoy all the luxuries of life and forget about the need to earn a living.
It seemed their marital happiness was as it should be.
Who knows how long Svetlana could have deceived Sergey, enjoying the life he had arranged for her, if he hadn’t decided to surprise her and come home at the most inopportune moment. This was the second «surprise» in their relationship. The first was a pleasant gift for Svetlana, but the second turned into a disaster.
As soon as Sergey approached his house, his heart raced. There was an unfamiliar car at the gate. He tried to calm himself, convincing himself that perhaps a friend of Svetlana’s had come over. Hoping for a plumber coming to fix a clog seemed blatantly naive.
Sergey was never a jealous man and had no reason to doubt his wife. But at that moment, he realized how little he knew about her life, since he spent practically all his time at work.
Trying not to make noise, he entered the house through the back door. The scene that unfolded before him shocked him. The kitchen table was scattered with items belonging to a man and a woman, and sounds from the bathroom left no room for doubt.
Unable to contain his emotions, Sergey rushed out into the yard. There, behind the gate, grew a thick bush of nettles, which he immediately cut down. Returning to the house with the improvised «weapon,» he flung open the bathroom door. Before him was a scene: his wife, covered by a towel, and a completely naked bald man.
Both, seeing Sergey, screamed in surprise. But what hurt Sergey the most was Svetlana’s behavior. Instead of trying to smooth things over in any way, she defiantly remained calm, as if deliberately displaying her body.
«Well, what? Look at what you could lose!» she challenged.
Then she started blaming him:
«It’s your fault! You ruined my life! You’re always at work, never paying attention. And I, by the way, am young and healthy! I want love and affection, and you force me to have children, which I simply hate!» her words sounded like lashings. «It’s good that I know how to use protection!»
At that moment, Sergey felt like a complete idiot. He was not just a deceived husband, but in her eyes, he appeared guilty. It seemed that Svetlana was waiting for his apologies for, according to her, «breaking her life.»
But Sergey found another way to «apologize.» In his hand, he still held the nettles. Approaching his wife, he wordlessly whipped her with the nettles on a soft spot. Svetlana screamed, and the bald lover ran away so fast that he almost ripped the corridor door off its hinges.
Sergey realized that this was the last point in their marriage. He was no longer going to waste his strength and nerves on someone who so cynically trampled his feelings.
Svetlana squealed around the neighborhood, waving her arms and dodging. She ran around the yard until she finally dashed out the gate. This humiliating escape was her last memory of Sergey’s house.
The prenuptial agreement settled everything. Svetlana tucked her tail and returned to her hometown, to a small Khrushchev apartment. There lived her mother. In the cramped apartment, she licked her wounds and pondered how to hook another sucker. Reality, from which Svetlana had long been detached, struck her with its harshness. Now she had to live on her mother’s pension, feel all the delights of a worthless life, and get used to public transport.
To distract himself from the unpleasant events, Sergey decided to visit one of his hotels. Just the day before, one of the maids had informed him of an incident.
«Sergey Petrovich, such things are happening here! The administrator brought a tramp to the hotel, and she spent the night in a suite!» the woman complained. «Can you imagine? The suite, where only rich guests should stay, turned into some kind of den!»
Sergey flew into a rage. The hotel, built for wealthy clients, with nightly prices that could be a month’s salary for an average person, could now suffer because of this story. His entire reputation could collapse in an instant.
His mood was already bad because of the divorce, and now this news. He decided to personally find out what had happened.
That evening, Victoria was on duty as the administrator. She got to work on the last bus. The hotel was located outside the city, away from the hustle and bustle. Wealthy clients were not bothered by this. They could be picked up by cars or even private helicopters. But ordinary employees, like Victoria, had to use buses, which ran only twice a day.
Victoria was approaching the hotel. She noticed how a young woman was running from the hotel bus stop with some object wrapped in paper under her arm. Alla just missed catching the bus. Seeing the transport leaving, she collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
«Why are you so worried? It’s just a bus. You can call a taxi.»
«I don’t have money. I came here this morning to sell this painting. It’s the only thing my mother and I have left. But no one bought it, even for a pittance.»
Alla, unable to contain her emotions, told Victoria her story. About how her mother, Maria Dmitrievna, became seriously ill. How they sold their apartment, how they live in a dump. This painting remained their last hope.
Victoria listened attentively, feeling her heart tighten. She understood that she couldn’t pass by such a story, but she could only help with what was within her power. At her own risk, she offered Alla to spend the night in the best room of the hotel. Only this room was available.
Of course, Alla gratefully accepted. The frost that night was severe, and spending the night outside was simply dangerous. Luckily, she had managed to warn her mother, calling her from a cheap mobile phone, which was already worth nothing. If it had any value, they would have sold it long ago.
In the morning, Victoria planned to clean the room herself so that the grouchy and mean maids on duty with her would notice nothing. However, the early visit of the hotel owner disrupted the plans. Sergey burst into the building with a loud shout:
«Where is this tramp?!»
He immediately rushed to the suite, from where he literally dragged poor Alla out. After that, he threw her out the door and also told Victoria:
«You’re fired. Pack your things and get out.»
Victoria had no choice but to follow Alla. Luckily, the bus had just arrived, and both women managed to get on. Alla sat in tears, tormented by the thought that because of her, Victoria, a mother of many children, was left without a job. She completely forgot that the painting was left in the room.
Sergey decided to make sure the guest hadn’t stolen anything and went up to the room. There he saw the painting. He looked at it and froze. The canvas depicted a young couple walking in a forest. Something in this image touched him deeply.
He knew this painting! He had seen it at the most unforgettable time in his life!
«Impossible…» he whispered.
He dropped the painting and ran.
«I need to catch the bus,» he thought, and hurried with all his might.
Sergey drove his car, chasing the bus. The bus driver was quite surprised when a luxury foreign car suddenly stopped in front of him. Victoria and Alla were even more shocked when Sergey entered and apologized.
«I apologize for my behavior. I was rude, but the painting… it explains a lot.»
Alla said that the painting depicted her parents. After such words, Sergey fell to his knees before her, begging for forgiveness.
«Alla, I… I’m your father. But I didn’t even know it.»
Sergey’s former lover was Maria. She left him many years ago. She disappeared unexpectedly from his life when he was in the army.
Sergey told how once, TV people came to their unit to make a film. He ended up in the crowd scene. According to the script, he embraced a girl. And that was shown on TV. And his beloved Maria saw it.
She decided that her fiancé had betrayed her. Without waiting for his return, she left for another city, unwilling to explain anything. And she was already pregnant at that time.
Now fate had brought them together again. Maria learned that Sergey had met their daughter and asked for forgiveness. Eventually, all three—Sergey, Alla, and Maria—went to Sergey’s house, where a new life awaited them.
Months passed. Maria Dmitrievna got up from the wheelchair. Now she was preparing for a wedding with Sergey. Alla’s joy knew no bounds.
She made an important decision. She left her job as a kindergarten teacher and enrolled in courses. In the future, she planned to take over the family business from her father. Her energy and determination inspired confidence that she could handle the new role.
Victoria’s life also changed. She returned to the hotel, but not as an administrator, but as the manager. The first thing Victoria did was fire the mean colleagues.
«Such gossips and careerists are not needed here,» she said firmly.
However, Victoria acknowledged that sometimes even unpleasant personalities can bring unexpected benefits. Thanks to one such gossip, the story of Alla and Maria Dmitrievna became public knowledge.
Now their home became a place of warmth and comfort. The painting, which had played such an important role in their lives, finally took its rightful place in the living room. It was placed in the center of the wall as a symbol of family unity and overcome difficulties.
The harmonious family began a new chapter of their life, where there was no room for bitterness and losses. Every morning now started with smiles and plans for the future, inspiring every member of this unusual family.
