In the toy store, there was everything you could imagine! From colorful Lego sets to huge bears sitting importantly along the display window. Anya had brought her son here, who was almost a second grader, and she herself was overwhelmed by the choices.
‘Vladik, choose, what would you like?’ she asked, spreading her arms and smiling at her son.
He looked so neat and serious in his school uniform. The school year had just ended, and summer vacation lay ahead. Vladik had made clear progress in school during the first grade. She wanted to treat him. So, after leaving the school gates with her son, Anya didn’t head home but took him to the toy store instead. Her son had moved up to the second grade, but he was still a child, still playing. She wanted his eyes to sparkle with joy!
Vladik walked along the aisles filled with toys and suddenly stopped in front of a huge basket filled to the brim with footballs. The balls were various, black and white, colorful. Firmly inflated, they always attracted boys’ attention. Every boy needs a ball, just not Vladik. And near the basket, he stopped with a somewhat tragic look. Anya, understanding why, quickly went to her son. She took him by the shoulders and led him away from the footballs. The boy could not play football, and it was related to a childhood trauma.
Vladik’s father was a former football player who had shown great promise in his youth. When he married Anna, he was a coach, training a youth football team. He was obsessed with football and dreamed of having a son who would be a footballer. When the ultrasound told Anna that she was expecting a boy, her husband jumped to the ceiling with joy. He was so happy that the woman started to worry. What if it was a mistake and a girl was born. What would happen then?
Vladik was born. The husband’s dream partially came true. The first few months after birth were wonderful. It was not yet clear that the child was born with a condition. Vladik’s one leg was shorter than the other, and he could never be a football player.
After this painful realization, the husband changed his attitude towards his wife and child. Vladik was five when he left. He left with a scandal. However, scandals had long been common in their family, but this one was special. In his departure, the husband tried to blame Anya. He shouted so loudly that the little son heard everything from his room. Every single word!
‘You couldn’t give birth to a normal child. Why do I need a lame son? I had so many hopes, so many dreams. And what about him, what can he do?’
The husband left, and Anya cried. She cried for several days, trying not to let Vladik see. But he saw everything. One evening, he approached his mother, thinking she thought he was asleep.
‘Mom, don’t cry,’ the boy whispered and patted her on the head. ‘Don’t cry. It’s all my fault. Dad left because of me. It would be better if I didn’t exist, right?’
‘Oh God,’ Anya sobbed, realizing the depth of her son’s trauma inflicted by his father’s departure.
If a five-year-old boy says that, what must he be feeling?
‘You are not to blame for anything, son. Dad left me, not you. Let him go. We are good together, just the two of us, right?’
Two years have passed since then, but Anya knew that Vladik had not forgotten the hurtful words his father had said, and he paused near the balls in the toy store as if they reminded him of his inadequacy. Vladik now limped less noticeably, thanks to special orthopedic shoes with thick soles. At home, when he took them off, it was much worse. Surgical operation was possible, but only in older age, when the child stops growing rapidly. Anya was ready to wait, wishing Vladik would not take his disability to heart so closely!
She led her son away from the basket with balls, to the shelves with remote-controlled cars. There stood two people, faces that seemed familiar to Anya. A man and a boy about Vladik’s age.
‘Are you here too?’ the boy turned to Vlad. ‘My dad is buying me this car now.’
Anya immediately remembered who it was. Vladik’s classmate with his father. They had seen each other at the school ceremony. The boys began discussing the merits of the car, and the man smiled.
‘I see, it’s not just us who thought of coming here after the ceremony. Let’s buy them the same cars, and the boys will have a race in the park.’
‘Right now?’ Anya was surprised. ‘In which park?’
‘Well, the one around the corner. It has smooth asphalt paths, let them race. Then we can take them to a pizzeria. Today is a celebration—the last bell. By the way, my name is Andrey, and this restless guy is Kirill.’
Kirill was indeed restless. A very lively boy. He always jumped around and rushed to the cashier ahead of everyone, clutching a box with a radio-controlled car. Vladik barely kept up with his classmate but looked joyful, so Anya agreed to go with the new acquaintances to the park, and then to the pizzeria. Why not? The boys seemed to get along well. And Anya liked Andrey. The man immediately, somehow unobtrusively, let her know that he was raising his son alone. He was divorced, his wife didn’t want to take the child. And Kirill wanted to stay with his dad. Anya then thought that Andrey must be a good person since his son wanted to stay with him.
The pizzeria was fun. The boys, tearing big pieces of pizza with their teeth, goofed around and argued about whose car was faster. They had fun together, and Andrey suggested meeting again.
‘What if we take the boys to the movies tomorrow?’ he winked at Anya. ‘Are you free in the evening?’
‘Mom, please, please,’ Vladik stretched out cheerfully, hearing the adults’ conversation.
Of course, she agreed. First, there was the cinema, the next day the water park, and then just walks for the four of them. Walking, they looked like a family. Although Anya liked Andrey, initially she did not consider him as a man. She didn’t consider anyone at all. Having gone through a painful divorce with her husband, she didn’t want to look at men. But everything somehow fell into place, mostly because of the boys. The boys were friends, played together. Vladik followed active Kirill and seemed to forget about his limp, forget that he was not quite like all other children.
Somehow Tanya and Andrey agreed to take the children to the zoo. They met in the city, at the designated place. But just their luck, it started to rain. Andrey looked doubtfully at the sky, covered with thick clouds, clicked his tongue in annoyance.
‘Darn, this is for a while. The zoo is open-air. There are only animals in covered enclosures, and people have to walk under the open sky. We didn’t bring umbrellas, so we’ll have to postpone the zoo visit for next time. Anya, I would invite you and Vladik to my place, but we live with my parents in a two-room apartment. It’s a bit cramped.’
The man paused significantly, and Anya understood what he expected from her. It was somewhat rude not to offer.
‘Well, then come to ours, we have a three-room apartment, it won’t be cramped,’ she smiled.
‘Great!’ Vladik beamed. ‘Kirill, I’ll show you my collection of robots.’
‘Yes, really great!’ nodded Andrey. ‘But first, we’ll definitely buy something for tea, can’t go visiting empty-handed, right, Kirill?’
That’s how Andrey first came to Anya’s place. Initially, she felt awkward, bringing a man. But he wasn’t a man, he was with his son. They were just friends.
Apparently, Andrey didn’t think so. Because it was late evening, and he wasn’t in a hurry to go home. Boys will be boys, they’ll play as long as you let them. But Andrey wasn’t calling Kirill home. He went to the boys’ room and announced:
‘Vladik invited Kirill to stay overnight. They are already getting ready to sleep.’
‘How’s that, sleep?’ Anya was confused. ‘How can that be…’ she hesitated. ‘I don’t know how to say it.’
But Andrey approached the woman closely.
‘What, are you against it?’ he whispered, looking into her eyes. ‘Anya, I would also very much like to stay, very much. We are both adults, single, and owe nothing to anyone. Right?’
The man leaned in, Anya gave in. Closing her eyes, she thought that it was too fast and unclear if she needed this. Andrey seemed nice, but at the same time, there was no feeling of being in love with him, no feeling of needing him. But Vladik was so happy with Kirill, she let that guide her actions. Her son was happy, and she ‘went with the flow.’ Eventually, Andrey was not bad. A serious man without bad habits, a dream for a divorced woman.
The summer flew by in an instant. The boys went to the second grade, sat at the same desk, feeling almost like brothers. Andrey hinted that it was time for them to live together. And where else to live if not in her apartment? She had a large, three-room one. Andrey and Kirill here, consider that home.
In November, Anya and Andrey got married, officially becoming a family. Vladik seemed the happiest of all, but something like dissatisfaction began to show in Andrey’s son. The thing is, Kirill was a very spoiled child. He loved to eat well, and every evening Andrey bought him something. Either a cake, fruits, or some exotic sweets. Kirill didn’t like to share, but he had to. The boy didn’t like it. One evening he flared up when Vladik reached for his half of the chocolate bar.
‘I want it all, my dad bought it.’
‘What, Kirill, you can’t do that,’ smiled Anya, not noticing how Andrey frowned. ‘Now everything is common, and you and Vladik must share everything equally.’
‘No, it’s mine,’ Kirill insisted.
‘Anya, let him eat it alone,’ Andrey touched the woman’s hand. ‘Well, he wants it.’
‘Fine, let him eat it. Then I’ll go right now and buy the exact same one for Vladik,’ said Anya. ‘I think that would be fair.’
‘Don’t go crazy, it’s almost night outside. Vladik can manage, he’s almost a man, right?’
Andrey looked at Vlad, and he unexpectedly agreed.
‘Yes, mom, I don’t need that chocolate bar, let Kirill drink it.’
Anya was not surprised by such compliance, Vladik was always a compliant, good boy. But when a week later he reached for an orange and then quickly withdrew his hand under Andrey’s stern gaze, she suspected something was wrong. She began to watch her son more closely and realized that he was no longer as cheerful as at the beginning, when Kirill and Andrey had just moved in with them. With each day, Vladik became more depressed and closed in on himself. Anya began to suspect that something was happening behind her back. She decided to watch more closely and tried not to leave Vladik alone with Andrey and Kirill.
One evening she went to take a shower and remembered that she had forgotten to take a towel. She came out immediately and heard Andrey’s voice from the kitchen. An unusual voice—harsh, angry. She had never heard such a voice from the man before. Andrey was scolding Vladik:
‘Now, quickly put the juice box back in its place. I’ve told you so many times not to take what’s bought for Kirill. Do you want to get kicked out? You’ll find yourself on the street in a flash, puppy!’
Anya was seething with anger at what she heard. She stormed into the kitchen like a fury.
‘What does that mean, Andrey? What did you just say to my son? That you’ll throw him out of here? From his apartment? Did your tongue turn to say that? Why, interestingly, can’t he touch the juice?’
Andrey was very flustered, immediately backed away from Vladik, hid his hands behind his back, but by the bright red ear of the son, Anya understood that the man had not just talked.
‘It’s just that Kirill likes this juice more. I bought it for him,’ Andrey’s eyes darted.
‘Did you smack my son’s ears?’ Anya screamed. ‘God, whom did I bring into my house!!! Pack your things and leave, along with Kirill. Buy him juices, fruits, sweets, whatever you want. But we don’t want to see you anymore!’
At the woman’s scream, Kirill ran out of the children’s room. He heard the last words and turned to his father.
‘Dad, is she kicking us out? We’re not leaving, right? I don’t want to live with grandma and grandpa anymore. There’s no space there, and I’d have to sleep with you on the same couch again. Tell her we’re not going anywhere!’
‘Anya, what are you doing, really? Why are you so angry? Everything’s fine. Let Vladik take whatever he wants. We just misunderstood each other,’ Andrey groveled.
The most interesting part was that Vladik started defending Andrey and Kirill.
‘Mom, don’t kick them out, everything’s fine. I didn’t even want that juice. Let Kirill drink it, really.’
Andrey immediately decided that after his son’s words, Anya would melt, took a step and reached out to her. The woman recoiled in horror.
‘You told my child that you’d throw him out of the house and seriously think that I’ll forgive such words? Pack your things and leave immediately, otherwise I’ll call the police. This is my apartment, mine and Vladik’s.’
Anya took her son by the shoulders, led him out of the kitchen.
‘We’ll sit in the bedroom for a while. You should be gone in half an hour.’
In the bedroom, Vladik burst into tears.
‘Mom, don’t kick them out. It’s my fault again. You found yourself a husband, and again because of me, it didn’t work out.’
‘What are you talking about, son! I married him only because of you. I thought you were happy with Kirill, that you had a brother.’
‘He’s not a brother to me. He’ll now turn everyone in the class against me,’ Vladik cried.
‘Nothing terrible, we’ll transfer to another school. I promise you, you’ll never see Kirill again. Now listen to me carefully and remember once and for all. You are not to blame for your dad leaving, and you’re not to blame for what’s happening now. Uncle Andrey is a bad person. I don’t need him, I only need you. Do you hear, Vladik? I’m only happy when you’re happy.’
Andrey entered the bedroom to collect his things from the closet. He tried to approach Anya again, but she wouldn’t talk to him. In half an hour, the apartment quieted down. Andrey and Kirill, leaving, tried to leave a mess in the apartment.
‘It’s nothing,’ Anya snorted. ‘I’ll clean up. I’ll clean up and forget Andrey like a bad dream. In the morning, I’ll go to school myself. I’ll pick up Vladik’s documents. Everything will be all-right!'»
