Oksana was preparing dinner and humming to herself, finally ready to delight Nikita. They had been living together for ten years. Initially, they didn’t rush to have a child, enjoying their time together. Oksana wanted to work and gain experience.
She was eager to land a job at a prestigious company and had promised that she wasn’t planning on having children any time soon. The job was promising, with the potential for career growth. Oksana had made a good impression and was on track for a promotion. The salary was good, and the maternity benefits would be decent, so now they could think about having a child. But it wasn’t that simple. She got checked out; everything was fine with her and Nikita too.
«Be patient,» the doctor said. «These things happen. You’ve achieved a lot in your career; you’ve spent a lot of energy and nerves. Relax, don’t obsess over having a child. Just live your life, rest more, everything will be fine,» the doctor smiled and prescribed Oksana some vitamins.
Finally, she got pregnant. At first, she couldn’t believe it, thinking it was a mistake. She bought two more different tests, but the two lines appeared on them as well. She waited another week, couldn’t stand it anymore, and went to the hospital for tests. They were going to have a child! Now she could surprise him, they would celebrate.
Oksana was frying meat and listening to her body. She understood it was too early to feel anything, but she felt like she could sense the new life growing inside her. She went to the mirror more than once and scrutinized her stomach, lifting her t-shirt, but to her disappointment, her stomach remained flat.
She had already turned off the gas under the frying pan, the water in the kettle had cooled, but Nikita was nowhere to be seen. He didn’t answer his phone. Finally, the lock of the front door clicked. By the sound of the steps, Oksana realized that her husband hadn’t come alone. She was upset, having to postpone the surprise. Announcing a pregnancy was a private matter, concerning only the two of them.
Oksana sighed and went to the hallway. To her surprise, she saw a ten-year-old girl with a stubborn and wary look. Oksana looked at her husband, standing behind the girl.
«Sorry I’m late, I picked up Polina,» her husband said, eyes downcast at the back of the girl’s head.
«Who is this? Why did you bring her to our place? Why didn’t you call?» Oksana’s questions burst out despite herself.
«Let’s go to the living room. I’ll explain everything,» Nikita said and gently pushed the girl by the shoulder.
Oksana stood there, watching the backs of the girl and her husband. When she entered the living room, they were already sitting side by side on the sofa. She also sat down but on a chair, to see their faces. The girl looked at her indifferently and turned to the window.
«This is Polina, my daughter,» Nikita said. The husband looked embarrassed, guilty, and desperately determined.
«Your daughter? I don’t understand.»
«I only found out about her existence today. Her grandmother called me and asked me to take Polina. She’s going into the hospital,» her husband said.
«Why do you think she’s your daughter?» Oksana asked distrustfully.
Nikita hesitated for a second.
«Everything matches. We can do a DNA test, but I’m sure Polina is my daughter. In any case, while her grandmother is in the hospital, she’ll live with us. The girl has no other relatives; her mom died in an accident six months ago. Let’s have dinner, and I’ll explain everything in detail,» he looked at the girl, who sat indifferently by his side.
Oksana stood up and went to the kitchen. Inside her, everything protested against what her husband had said. But she couldn’t just throw the child out onto the street. «It’s only for a few days. This is a dream; this can’t be real.» Nikita and the girl entered the kitchen and sat at the table. Oksana served the meat and potatoes onto plates. She herself didn’t touch the food. The girl ate the potatoes, pushing the meat aside.
«Don’t you like meat?» Nikita asked her. The girl nodded. «What do you like?»
«Pasta with sausages,» she replied, not lifting her eyes from the plate.
«Well, sorry. Your dad didn’t warn me that he would bring you,» Oksana snapped, venting her anger on Nikita and the girl. Just arrived, and already showing character, a troublemaker.
«Will you have tea? Or do you only drink compote and juice? Sorry, I don’t have either, I can only offer tea,» Oksana said sarcastically, pouring the tea into cups.
«Oksana, stop it,» Nikita snapped at her.
Oksana put the kettle on the stove and left the kitchen. She could hear them talking, and for once, Nikita was washing the dishes. When he entered the living room, Oksana was sitting on the sofa, arms crossed over her chest, and looking out the night window. He sat next to her, tried to hug her, but Oksana pushed his hand away.
«It’s time for Polina to sleep,» said Nikita.
«Unfold the couch,» Oksana got up and took out the bedding from the closet. The girl stood by the wall, watching them with a side-eye. When Polina lay down, they locked themselves in the kitchen. He told her about his relationship with the girl’s mother.
«It all ended before you. I hadn’t seen her since then. Today her mother called and told me about Polina.»
«But why didn’t you warn me, didn’t call? You decided everything yourself, brought her here. My opinion doesn’t matter to you?» «We’ll soon have our child,» she wanted to tell him, but Oksana kept silent.
«Oksana, I was in shock myself. I couldn’t leave her alone. Grandma is terminally ill. What was I supposed to do? Send her to an orphanage? She’s my daughter.»
«You don’t know that for sure,» Oksana barely contained her shout.
«I’ll do a paternity test. Until then, she stays with us,» Nikita said firmly.
«I’ve decided. If you don’t like it, decide for yourself…» Oksana read in his gaze. Maybe he no longer needed the child growing inside her?
At night, she turned away from Nikita. What kind of relationship could there be when a stranger’s girl, possibly Nikita’s daughter, was sleeping in the next room? She wanted to cry. Oksana felt that their life had drastically changed from that day on, and there was nothing to be done about it.
The mutual dislike between Oksana and Polina grew with each day. They avoided each other, barely speaking when alone. Polina did her homework or played on the tablet. Oksana secluded herself in the kitchen. Her indignation grew. Why did the girl appear in their lives just now, when she had finally gotten pregnant? Well, let her live with them, but her own child needed love.
On Saturday, Nikita left early for the auto repair shop. Oksana prepared lunch, then suggested Polina go for a walk. The girl obediently went to get dressed. In the yard, Polina stood aside and didn’t join the other children’s games.
Oksana felt nausea rising to her throat. She stepped aside, behind the bare bushes. And when she returned to the playground, Polina was nowhere to be seen. All the mothers were watching their children; no one saw anything. Oksana ran around the yard, calling for Polina, but she seemed to have vanished through the ground.
«How could you leave her alone? Where do we look for her?» Nikita shouted when he arrived after Oksana’s call.
«Don’t yell at me! I’m not supposed to watch your daughter! She’s big enough. I only turned away for a minute. Take her with you next time,» Oksana shouted back.
«Not your girl?» A woman approached them, leading Polina by the hand.
«Where were you?» Oksana snapped at her.
«Oksana, let me,» Nikita stopped her. «Where were you? Why did you leave the yard?» Nikita didn’t shout, but his look was stern.
«I… I thought I saw mom, went after her. But it wasn’t her,» Polina calmly replied.
«You can’t leave the yard. Especially with strangers,» Polina couldn’t bear it. «What if something had happened to you? Or if a car had hit you?»
«She looked like mom,» Polina stubbornly insisted, tears welling up in her eyes.
«Don’t cry. We were worried, looking for you. Let’s go home,» Nikita said more calmly.
Oksana had long felt a pulling pain in her stomach. But now it became sharp, coming in waves. She bit her lip, climbing to the third floor and holding onto the railing.
«What’s wrong with you?» Nikita noticed something was wrong.
«My stomach hurts…» Oksana groaned through clenched teeth.
She climbed two more steps and doubled over, crying out from a new wave of pain.
«Call an ambulance… Oooh…» groaned Oksana.
Nikita dragged her into the apartment, laid her on the sofa, and called an ambulance. Frightened, Polina clung to her father. Oksana vaguely remembered the doctors arriving, touching her stomach, and asking questions.
«We need to go to the hospital immediately. Threat of miscarriage. Semyon, bring the stretcher, and you, gather everything necessary,» the doctor told Nikita.
«What miscarriage?» Nikita didn’t understand. «Oksana, are you pregnant? Why didn’t you tell me?»
«I wanted to… Then, but…» she couldn’t speak anymore.
Nikita helped carry the stretcher downstairs with his wife on it, and he and Polina followed the ambulance, rushing through the city with its siren on. Then they sat in the corridor and waited, it seemed, an eternity. Then… Then a doctor came out and said he was sorry, the child could not be saved.
Nikita forgot about Polina, rushed into the ward.
«Oksana, how are you? I didn’t know…»
«And if you had known? It’s because of her I lost my child. If not for her, our child would be alive,» Oksana sobbed, holding back tears bursting out. «Leave.»
«Oksana…»
«Leave, please.» Oksana turned her head to the window.
Two days later, she was discharged from the hospital. At the sight of Polina, anger and hatred overwhelmed Oksana with renewed force. She felt superfluous, lonely, and unhappy. Polina had taken her place next to Nikita. She was pulling his attention to herself, attention that Oksana needed now. Even in bed, Polina was invisibly between them.
Sensing Oksana’s attitude, Polina retaliated. She would break a cup and spill tea, or accidentally bump Oksana’s arm so that she would spill coffee or juice on her white blouse. And she did this when Nikita was home, when he would have defended her, had Oksana dared to scold. When they were alone, the girl calmly did her own things. Oksana locked herself in the bathroom and cried.
Oksana barely restrained herself from hitting Polina. Each time, it became harder. She had become the third wheel. Tension reached a boiling point. It’s unknown how it would have ended, but the grandmother called and asked to bring Polina to her. She had been discharged from the hospital, she missed her granddaughter a lot.
A long-awaited respite came. In Polina’s absence and her scrutinizing gaze, Oksana finally relaxed, even started to smile. She prepared a delicious dinner, and they drank wine with Nikita. He belonged to her again, only to her, again becoming tender and affectionate.
They didn’t talk about Polina, but her shadow was still present in the apartment, poisoning the joy of closeness. A week later, the girl returned. Oksana again became closed off and distant.
«This can’t go on. What to do? I love Nikita, but his daughter… Is this forever? I can’t stand it. It’s impossible to live like this,» Oksana complained to a friend.
«You’re an adult woman, and Polina is a child, foolish, hurt, and lonely. Don’t forget, she lost her mother, and soon, possibly, her grandmother too. The only family person she has is Nikita. It’s up to you—to try to improve your relationship with her or leave and lose Nikita,» her friend advised.
«Easy to say. Break myself for the sake of this snot-nosed kid?» Oksana was outraged.
The girl’s mother, having long hidden her daughter, so untimely got hit by a car. The grandmother seemed to have fallen ill on purpose, and the girl invaded their life with Nikita, leading to the loss of the child. Everything was one to one, as if they had conspired. And she, Oksana, had to deal with all this. How unfair.
When she realized she was pregnant again, she was happy, but not as much as the first time. Now Oksana had no choice. To have a father for her child, she had to swallow her pride and try to improve relations with the snot-nosed kid.
With small, cautious steps, Oksana started to find keys to Polina. When the girl was doing her homework, Oksana approached and tried to help, pointing out mistakes. Polina didn’t even think of correcting them. Oksana now cooked pasta with sausages, soup with meatballs, which Polina loved. Oksana bought her the book «Pollyanna.» The girl didn’t even look at it. But two days later, Oksana saw the book in Polina’s hands. She was reading it, not taking her eyes off.
When she told Nikita about the pregnancy, he was even happier than Oksana herself. Now he helped her, didn’t allow her to carry heavy bags from the store. He involved Polina in cleaning the apartment, sending Oksana out of the apartment for that time.
Oksana was afraid that when the baby was born, Polina might harm him out of jealousy. She had heard that it happens in such families. Nikita persuaded her not to think badly. He promised to talk to Polina, to be always nearby.
But finally, the long-awaited baby, a son, was born. Oksana couldn’t be with him all the time. She needed to cook, wash, do laundry. Every minute she peeked into the room where Matvey was sleeping in his crib. Seeing Polina reading or doing homework, she would calm down briefly, only to run and check again a few minutes later.
Looking into the room once again, Oksana saw Polina leaning over the baby’s crib. Oksana swooped in and saw Polina stroking the awake Matvey. He blinked sleepily and was silent.
«He’s awake,» Polina turned to Oksana. «Can I hold him?»
Oksana froze. «No, you might drop him,» she said sharply.
Polina was upset and moved away from the crib, hanging her head low.
«Well, okay, just be careful,» Oksana took Matvey out of the crib and handed him to Polina.
She held him surprisingly correctly. Walked around the room with him and hummed a simple tune. Nikita, who came home from work, smiled. «See, you were afraid,» his satisfied look said.
From that moment on, everything changed. Oksana allowed Polina to play with Matvey, push his stroller on a walk. At first, Oksana was still afraid. But Matvey happily played with Polina. He was glad when she came home from school.
By the year, Matvey was already firmly standing on his legs, taking his first steps, holding onto Oksana’s or Nikita’s hand.
One day, Oksana was cooking lunch when Polina ran into the kitchen.
«Mom, he’s walking by himself! Come on, hurry,» she shouted.
Oksana rushed into the room and saw her son standing on his own wobbly chubby legs. She picked him up and kissed him. Polina stood by and watched them. Oksana pulled her closer with one hand, stroked her head. Her heart felt calm and warm.
Polina increasingly called Oksana mom. When Polina’s grandmother died, Nikita had to take care of her funeral, leaving Oksana alone with the children. During this time, they finally reconciled with the girl.
«There was not a single child, now suddenly two. Great, isn’t it,» Nikita whispered joyfully at night. «Polina will grow up, will live separately, in her grandmother’s apartment.»
Oksana was very surprised. She thought Nikita had grown attached to the girl. Even she had gotten used to her.
«I thought you loved her,» said Oksana.
«I didn’t raise her like Matvey. She’s my daughter, but do I love her? I don’t know,» Nikita honestly admitted.
Earlier, Oksana would have been glad to hear such a statement from her husband, but now she thought about it.
Nikita adored Matvey, was proud of him, carried him on his shoulders, tossed him up high. He spent all his free time with his son. Now Oksana tried not to ignore Polina. The girl felt it and reached out to her.
Just like that. From hatred was born love. Matvey helped reconcile Oksana with Polina. All problems and troubles were left behind. They now lived together peacefully, trying to maintain the fragile peace and tranquility that had settled in the family.
Nothing can be smooth in relationships between people. Conflicts of interest are inevitable. That’s life, and as is well known, it’s not always even and calm. And that’s normal. And love… Love covers all.
«If your whole life is complete chaos, it’s hard to even believe that everything will ever be okay. If everything in your life is not normal, then that’s already normal» Sam Hayes «My Stranger Daughter.»
«To create a family, it’s enough to love. To maintain it, you need to learn to endure and forgive»
