Antonina Igorevna and Nikita had been pacing on the platform for about 15 minutes. The woman kept dialing a number on her phone but to no avail. “That damn thing, won’t pick up,” grumbled Antonina Igorevna, listening to the long beeps again. “Doing it on purpose to annoy me. Thinks she can get rid of us that easily.”
“Listen, mom, let’s just go ourselves,” Nikita suggested. “I’m tired of hanging around here. You know the address.” “I know,” the woman replied irritably. “Now I will give her a piece of my mind.” Mother and son picked up their things and were about to head toward the taxi stand when they noticed a young man quickly walking towards them on the platform. Antonina Igorevna slowed down.
“Is that Alkin…” She was right. Timur approached them and politely greeted them.
“You must be Antonina Igorevna?” he asked.
“Yes,” replied the woman, still grumpy after the long wait.
“My name is Timur, and I am Alevtina’s husband.”
“We figured that out already,” interjected Nikita.
“Sorry for being late,” Timur smiled. “The traffic in the city is horrible. Follow me.”
Timur took Antonina Igorevna’s bags, leaving Nikita to carry his own sports bag.
“And here I thought you had forgotten about us,” the mother-in-law said.
Timur didn’t respond. They left the train station building, came to the parking lot, and Timur loaded Antonina Igorevna and Nikita’s luggage into the trunk, inviting them to get comfortable in the car.
“I hope Alevtina managed to prepare everything for our arrival?” the mother-in-law asked.
“Of course, everything’s ready,” Timur assured her, getting behind the wheel. “We’ve been looking forward to seeing you.” The car started moving.
Mother and son, sitting in the backseat, turned their heads, observing the seaside city. Both were anticipating a pleasant vacation. They both perked up when they saw the azure edge on the horizon.
“The sea!” exclaimed Nikita excitedly, grabbing his phone to start filming.
Neither Antonina Igorevna nor Nikita immediately noticed as Timur’s driven car left the city limits and was now speeding along a rural road. Nikita was the first to sense something was off.
“Where are we going?” he asked. “Alevtina said you lived in the city.”
“Surprise,” Timur replied. “Be patient.”
Mother and son exchanged glances. Then, they didn’t even realize how they ended up where they did. And they had no idea what adventures awaited them.
Alevtina would remember that day for the rest of her life when she sat on a bench with a backpack at her feet, crying. It was night outside, she had “three rubles” in her pocket, and total uncertainty ahead. She was only 18 years old then.
That night haunted her sometimes, and Alevtina would wake up in a cold sweat. Timur would wake up with her, holding her tight, stroking her head, and gently whispering in her ear.
“Quiet, sunshine, quiet,” he would say. “It was just a dream.”
Tamara’s father left the family when the girl was only 3 years old.
Antonina Igorevna was incredibly angry at her husband and completely cut off any communication channels Alevtina had with her father. For a while, Nikolai Alexandrovich tried to reach out to his daughter, but then he gave up. Soon, he remarried, and his new family had two children, and he forgot about his older daughter.
Antonina Igorevna remarried too. Pavel Petrovich was 10 years older than Antonina and was quite stingy. He openly disliked Alevtina, watching closely to make sure the girl didn’t eat an extra piece.
“You should send her to her grandmother,” he told his wife, glancing at his stepdaughter.
“But mom doesn’t want to take her,” Antonina Igorevna defended herself. “I’ve asked her so many times.” Two years into her marriage with Pavel Petrovich, Antonina had a son, Nikita. And her plans regarding Alevtina changed.
“Let her be a nanny,” said Pavel Petrovich.
The fact that Ale was only seven years old and had just started first grade seemed not to bother the man at all. As soon as Nikita grew a bit, he was completely handed over to his older sister. Often, Alevtina couldn’t even finish her homework and fell asleep at school during lessons because her younger brother was put in the same room with her, so she would get up to him at night.
Then, Pavel Petrovich suddenly passed away, leaving Antonina Igorevna alone with two children in her arms.
Stricken with grief, Antonina took out all her anger about the injustices of this world on her daughter. After all, it was her father’s fault that the woman’s troubles began.
Years passed, the children grew up.
Alevtina and Nikita still lived in the same room. When Alevtina turned 17 and was finishing school, her mother sent Nikita out to play and decided to have a serious talk with her daughter.
“Ale, you know that Nikita is already 10 years old,” the woman declared. “The boy is growing up, and it’s not good that you live in the same room.”
“Then let him sleep with you,” the girl said.
Her mother shook her head.
“That won’t work either. The boy needs his own room. And you need to move in with your grandmother.”
“Mom, Grandma Valya can’t stand me,” Alevtina objected. “She has long refused to take me in.” “I managed to persuade her,” countered Antonina Igorevna. “She’s been ill recently, needs care. So pack up and no arguing.”
So Alevtina ended up living with her grandmother, who had a particularly nasty character, which only worsened with her constant ailments. The girl was practically made into a caregiver.
Alevtina did her best, but Grandma Valya was always dissatisfied, yelled at her, and insulted her. She could even hit her with a cane on the back. But she simply adored her younger grandson Nikitushka, who visited grandma, at most, once a week.
Alevtina literally counted the days until her adulthood. Her mother called her to formally congratulate her on her birthday, and the daughter informed her that she was leaving.
“Where are you off to?” her mother was surprised.
“It doesn’t matter. Goodbye!”
Alevtina blocked her mother’s number, quickly packed up the essentials in her backpack, and left for nowhere.
And there she sat on the bench, hungry and scared, having no idea where to go.
The girl didn’t immediately notice that she was near the station. The sound of a train horn made her come to life. Initially, she thought of following Anna Karenina’s fate, but Alevtina pulled herself together.
She entered the station building, closed her eyes, and randomly pointed her finger at the display with the nearest destinations, deciding that fate would guide her. Her finger landed on the name of the very city she now lived in.
After counting her remaining money, she realized she had just enough for a third-class ticket. And Alevtina decided. For some reason, she felt that her fate would dramatically change in the new place. And she was almost right, as her life took a turn already on the train.
Her neighbor in the compartment was Timur, who was returning from relatives. The guy was 22 years old and had just finished university. Alevtina told him her story, and Timur offered her to stay with them.
Timur’s mother, Lyubov Grigoryevna, warmly welcomed the girl. For the first time, Alevtina felt love and care towards herself. A year later, Alevtina and Timur got married.
The girl learned web design and worked from home, while Timur was a quite decent IT guy. Therefore, the young couple was able to save up the necessary amount for the down payment on a mortgage rather quickly. Additionally, Lyubov Grigoryevna also helped them from her own savings.
Thus, the couple got their own apartment, small but very cozy, three blocks from the city beach. And everything was fine for the young spouses until the unexpected happened.
Alevtina tried to forever forget the family she left in her hometown. But she didn’t expect that living next door to them was her mother’s old friend Aunt Vera. Meeting Alevtina, she first couldn’t believe her eyes. Then she hurried to notify her friend about the unexpected encounter.
“Your Alka has settled down nicely,” Aunt Vera said over the phone. “And they have their own apartment close to the sea, and her husband earns well. Well done.”
“Well, that’s something!” Antonina Igorevna was surprised. “Give me her coordinates.”
And Aunt Vera dictated Timur and Alevtina’s address to her friend. She also found her phone number in the tenants’ chat, where neighbors discussed pressing issues, and sent it to Antonina Igorevna.
Alevtina shuddered when she heard her mother’s voice on the phone.
“Hello, my daughter,” cooed Antonina Igorevna. “It’s been so long!”
“Where did you come from?” Alevtina could only manage to say.
“From where I needed to, my daughter,” the mother continued. “I know everything about you. Even your address. So, you can’t hide now.”
Alevtina trembled.
“Expect us for a visit with Nikita,” Antonina Igorevna informed her. “A vacation by the sea wouldn’t hurt us. And now we won’t even have to spend on a hotel. And just try not to let us in. You know me, I’ll disgrace you in the whole district, my daughter. Did I raise, feed, and water you all those years for nothing?”
Alevtina told her husband about the call.
“I don’t know what to do,” lamented the wife.
“Just send them packing?” asked Timur.
“You have no idea what she can do,” Alevtina nearly cried. “Might as well change the apartment.”
But, after thinking it over, Timur suggested another plan. Alevtina called her mother back and said they could come.
“And the tickets?” asked Antonina Igorevna.
“Tickets at the counter,” Alevtina replied dryly.
“We have to buy our own tickets? You’ve spoiled your husband, daughter,” Antonina Igorevna reproached her.
Timur intentionally arrived late at the station to make his wife’s relatives nervous.
He brought them to his mother’s unfinished cottage, which they were jointly landscaping. It was a land plot with a partially planted garden. A simple trailer served as their accommodation. While mother and son were figuring things out, Timur quickly unloaded their luggage from the trunk.
“Water in the well, stove inside, vegetables in the garden!” Timur quickly explained. “There’s a village nearby with a grocery kiosk. If you get hungry, you’ll find it. The sea is right there. Have a nice vacation.”
After giving all the instructions, Timur left, throwing the keys to the trailer to Nikita.
After 10 days, Timur picked up the subdued relatives of his wife and drove them to the station. In the parking lot, he asked Nikita to step out, then turned to Antonina Igorevna.
“I know everything,” Timur said. “If you dare disturb my wife again, let alone threaten her, you’ll have to deal with me! Now someone is here to protect her. Do you understand?”
Antonina Igorevna was silent. Timur glanced out the window at Nikita, who was waiting outside.
“Feel sorry for the kid,” he said. “You’ve spoiled his character and his whole life. The conversation is over.”
Timur unloaded the mother and son’s luggage from the trunk, got in the car, and drove away. At home, he told his wife about seeing off her relatives. That night, Alevtina slept peacefully.
