Yevgeny Mikhailovich was known as a thoughtful, consistent, and attentive person. He achieved everything on his own, without the help of influential relatives or connections. He always brushed off life’s setbacks, as he could coolly look at situations from the outside and think through his own actions to solve problems.
Some thought he just got lucky once, which is why it was so easy for him to build his own business. Others understood that it was the result of many years of hard work. In his younger years, he even tried to justify himself, telling many how he started his own business with a few kiosks, but then he realized there was no point in casting pearls before swine.
Although he was a successful man, he lived his whole life with just one wife, never trading her in for a young model, and raised two children. He gave them everything they needed for life. His son, Artem, graduated from law school and started working at his father’s company. But his daughter was allowed to do whatever she wished, and she chose photography.
He dreamed that a son-in-law would work for him in the future. But where to find such a man? His daughter, Alina, was not inclined to join her father’s company; business was not considered women’s work. And Yevgeny Mikhailovich was glad that his daughter became a creative person. He earned money so that she wouldn’t have to work.
No, Alina didn’t become a photographer like other girls, who often take selfies and post pictures of their pets online. Even respectable publications bought her photos because she was a magnificent specialist. Sometimes she loved to take photos on regular film, just as Yevgeny Mikhailovich had done in his youth.
The man even bought her a photo studio so she could run her own business full-time and not know hardship. Alina was a well-behaved girl and didn’t cause her father any trouble. Yevgeny Mikhailovich didn’t have to extract her from unpleasant situations. After all, she preferred gatherings with her friend Yana, books, and sometimes shopping over nightclubs. And she didn’t like to drink.
But Yevgeny Mikhailovich’s joy was premature. Alina received a large order from a magazine about tourism. They asked her to take photos of the everyday life and nature of the Black Sea region, preferably of small villages and urban-type settlements. She was to depict domestic tourism in her photos. Finally, she and her friend Yana left home to take unglamorous photos for the average traveler.
The work on the photos took exactly a month. She traveled to Arkhipo-Osipovka. The girl returned with a light sea tan, literally glowing from within, very happy. Her father appreciated the beautiful photos. And Alina mailed them to the client.
«This is just a village on the Black Sea, but look how beautiful it is. I’ve never seen such beautiful landscapes,» the girl said inspired.
«You are really talented, Alina,» her father praised her, looking at the professional photos.
A month later, Yevgeny Mikhailovich’s daughter received a new offer—to take more photos of Arkhipo-Osipovka. And she went there again. Very soon, her father learned that she had started a romance there. The village was so picturesque that she wanted some romance. These were her first relationships, moreover with a local guy.
«Calm down, Zhenya,» his wife kept telling him, «she has always been an easy child, never did anything out of the ordinary, you’re used to the girl being a ‘daddy’s girl.’ But she’s grown up now. It’s time for love.»
«Oh, I feel uneasy, what if he’s using her?» decided Yevgeny Mikhailovich.
«Remember how you courted me, how strict my father seemed to you. And you were utterly penniless then, just starting your own business.»
«Yes, of course.»
«This infatuation will pass, she’ll love another boy from her own circle,» his wife spoke calmly.
«Mom, Dad, I’m going back to the Black Sea, a young man is waiting for me there. We plan to get married in the spring.»
«How so, Alina?! He’s just using you, knowing you have wealthy parents.»
«He works at the local school as a teacher of Russian language and literature. And he has housing, although small,» the girl declared proudly.
«That’s all we needed!» the father spoke decisively.
«Dear, you’re behaving like a tiger in a cage pacing back and forth, we’ve already discussed this topic,» said Alisa Vasilievna, Yevgeny Mikhailovich’s wife.
«I’m just very worried about this situation.»
Closer to the evening, the father called his daughter to the kitchen to talk over a cup of tea.
«Daddy, this is unlike you. You probably want to talk about Alex? You want to talk me out of marrying him?»
«Of course, as if I needed you, a rich, educated girl, to marry some bumpkin. You probably understand this yourself. It’s wrong. And I won’t let you do this. To be truly happy, you need a boy from your own circle. What, are you going to move to the village to chase cows?»
«But I love him.»
«Understand, even your childhoods were different. At first, it will be interesting to you because you are in love, but then you will have to work hard. And you don’t even wash your own dishes; you have a dishwasher. Village life is completely different.»
«Dad, you still think that the village is full of illiterate peasants in bast shoes. In fact, people just like us live there. Many have moved there from the city. My Alex even studied at a university in the city,» Alina smiled.
«Really? And then why did he return to the village? He could have achieved a lot in the city! It’s obvious, he’s spineless, doesn’t want to try.»
«Many like that kind of life, quiet and peaceful. You don’t understand, dad.»
«Believe me, you’ll have to economize every penny there, and you’re not used to that. Will you dig in the garden to feed the family? I’m not going to help such a family with money.»
«Dad, I’m not a little girl anymore. And I’ll figure out my personal life somehow.»
Alina really didn’t like that she wasn’t yet earning enough to live on. And she didn’t like taking money from her father, feeling that he would then influence her, trying to push his position. But her friend managed to distribute funds so that it was enough for both of them for a month. So Alina didn’t often come to her father for help. And now she had found work that paid a good fee.
Alina dreamed of achieving everything on her own. And it wasn’t because she was very stubborn. It was just more interesting for her to live that way. And her father would have been very proud.
Unfortunately, during the trip, Alina sprained her ankle while walking on a muddy riverbank. Pain pierced her nerves, and the girl cried out. Luckily, her camera didn’t fall as it hung around her neck. This was very pleasing.
Her friend immediately came to help:
«We don’t need you to get a fracture now, lean on me, I’ll be your crutch.»
Alexey Petrovich had been teaching Russian literature for three years. But he didn’t expect that one of his students would enter a pedagogical university to study foreign languages. The village always provided a meager school education, but this didn’t apply to Alexey Petrovich. He always conducted interesting lessons, and he also tutored Nikita additionally.
«It’s you who helped me get admitted, Alexey Petrovich. You’re the best teacher I’ve ever met in my life! Even close people didn’t believe in me!» Nikita thanked his teacher.
Nikita was telling news, saying that he lived in a dormitory. Now they were walking together along a muddy riverbank when they saw tracks, and then two limping girls. It was obvious that one of them had difficulty moving.
«Alexey Petrovich,» Nikita shouted, «something happened to the girl!»
The local teacher, along with his student, ran closer.
«Here we are, meeting the locals,» Yana whispered loudly, «these representatives of the local fauna are running to us.»
«Don’t be afraid, we won’t do anything to you,» said Nikita.
«Hello, I’m the local teacher Alexey Petrovich, and this is my student Nikita, here are my documents, just in case.»
Alina’s blue eyes looked at the two local guys apologetically, as if she were guilty of something.
«I can carry you in my arms, where do you need to go, in which direction?»
«Our car is just a five-minute walk from here.»
«Alright,» Alexey picked up the girl in his arms, and then their eyes met.
Alina even blushed, as no guy had paid attention to her before, and here a stranger was literally carrying her on his back.
At the hospital, it turned out that Alina had no fracture. And Yana, her best friend, breathed a sigh of relief.
«You’ll walk with a bandaged leg for two days, then the pain will pass, and you can walk wherever you want,» the doctor stated.
When the girls reached the house they rented for living, Yana quickly fell asleep. But Alina couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. She kept recalling how, after the hospital, she met Alex’s mother and grandmother, how they looked at her. They thought Alina was his girlfriend, so they welcomed her warmly and kindly.
Alina and Alex quickly switched to informal ‘you.’ And by the end of the day, it seemed that they had known each other forever. The girl quickly fell in love. Instead of enjoying the trip and successful shots, she was worried about having to part with Alex. Unfortunately, Alex never showed that he liked her. This upset her and plunged her into depression.
The next day, Alina sent the materials they managed to make on her professional camera to the client. And the man was very pleased.
«Romance that any office worker tired from work will like, yes, they will flock here to rest, and that’s just what I need,» the client praised Alina’s work.
He also recommended her to other people. Now she had no shortage of orders. But it was time to return home.
«Imagine, Yan, now I can not ask my dad for money at all. I currently have four clients. We scheduled the work with them for the next year!»
«Excellent, I’m glad for you, friend.»
For Alex, Alina remained just a friend. He was immensely happy for her, but he never hugged her during the whole month she spent in Arkhipo-Osipovka.
Indeed, when it was time to leave, Alina saw Alex on his moped from afar. He was carrying a huge bouquet of flowers.
«My grandmother will certainly be unhappy that I cut roses in her garden, but I’d do anything for you!» the guy leaned over and kissed Alina. «Come when you can, I’ll be free again in a month, another teacher will replace me. Please! I added you on WhatsApp. Write when you want!»
Now she had no doubts that he was also in love. He just didn’t dare confess his love to her, thinking that she didn’t need it. After all, she was a city girl and very spoiled.
Yevgeny Mikhailovich turned down an invitation to rest with his business partners. And as a reason, he cited personal circumstances. He intended to go to the village where Alina went to dissuade her poor boyfriend from marrying her. He prepared a thick envelope with money.
«I think this will be enough to bribe him,» the man thought aloud.
He still searched for the road to Arkhipo-Osipovka for a long time, as he drove there from home by car, but eventually found it. Then he saw an old man on a bicycle and approached to ask:
«Hello! Could you tell me where the Russian literature teacher lives here?»
«Alexey Petrovich? At the end of this street, his little house still has red tiles on the roof. No one else has such beauty. And a front garden with a huge number of flowers.»
Yevgeny Mikhailovich quickly found the right house, walked into the yard, the gate was open, as was the door of the house itself.
He approached the house and loudly asked, opening the door:
«Is anyone home?»
He expected a young man to come out, but no, a plump woman came out, but… he recognized her even after many years:
«Oksanka! Is that you?! How many years, how many winters!»
«Zhenya! I haven’t seen you for so many years, come in.»
«And I didn’t expect that you are the mother of my future son-in-law.»
They started talking.
Oksana was a widow, her husband Anton, Yevgeny’s best friend, died when the cable snapped while he was doing facade work on his brand-new three-story cottage. And he was gone. And Oksana was pregnant then, although no one knew.
And so Alex was born. Anton, together with Yevgeny, initially conducted business, Anton himself built a house for his wife, although he was a wealthy man and could afford to hire builders. And then the tragic accident…
«I was just coming to meet my son-in-law, and here you are! I even prepared money for their wedding. Your boy probably grew up just like his dad, took all his qualities. Such a son-in-law is hard to find!»
«Yes, he did the renovation in the house himself, come in, take a look.»
Yevgeny entered and was amazed. He hadn’t seen such an expensive renovation even in city apartments, let alone in a village.
«Where does a simple school teacher get the money for such a renovation?»
«He works for me in remote schools. The salary there is higher than at the school, so he saved up.»
«I thought so, that he’s just like his dad.»
Yevgeny Mikhailovich, of course, didn’t say that he actually came to dissuade Alex from marrying his daughter. Now he considered that he would be the best son-in-law in the world, because he was the son of his friend.
