I never considered myself a simpleton. On the contrary, I had a lot to be proud of in this life. I managed to get out of a tiny town, move to a big city, get a good job there, and even buy a three-bedroom apartment. Then I got married, and it seemed like my happiness knew no bounds. How wrong I was then!
Hello dear readers! Today I will share with you another case from practice, which I found quite amusing. I hope you like it too. A client came to me and told me about an event that happened in her family.
I met Vlas a year and a half ago. We met on a river rafting trip, which was a first-time experience for both of us. A charming young man, he caught my liking instantly. He played the guitar wonderfully and sang beautifully. We spent two weeks in the forest, on the banks of the river, rafting on huge inflatable boats, sitting by the fire in the evenings, eating grilled fish, canned chickpeas, simple soups, and drinking amazingly tasty tea from tin mugs. Pine branches and fireweed flowers floated in it, reflecting the endless starry sky.
I moved to the big city from a provincial tiny town of ten thousand people. There were no jobs there for young people except in a quarry. Young people went to the North to earn money, working in shifts. Such a fate did not appeal to me at all. I wanted to enter the bigger world, especially since I graduated from school with honors and did very well on my exams. My parents supported me, and I enrolled in the history department. However, I never went into my field of study and ended up working at a real estate agency. I quickly earned a reputation as a professional, recommended by friends and acquaintances, and I was never out of orders. Our agency was one of the oldest and largest, so I was lucky to get a job here.
I worked a lot, not wanting to return to my parents. Of course, I never forgot about them, helped them with money. Soon, I was able to buy myself an apartment, paying off even before the due date. I was quite satisfied with my solitude, not looking for a relationship. I always thought that family was something too complicated. Moreover, I wasn’t a beauty. Perhaps men did pay attention to me, but I simply didn’t notice and lived peacefully. But Vlas was someone who I liked immediately, and he looked at me with openly admiring and loving eyes. After returning from the rafting trip, we had dinner together in a small cozy restaurant, and gradually began to date. The guy seemed to me a good and reliable person.
He too had moved here from a village. His parents lived far away but were happy that their son had settled down in life. Vlas worked in a building materials store. They didn’t pay too much, but he liked his job, and for me, money was not the main thing. I looked at a person’s soul, his thoughts. It turned out that Vlas was also in no hurry to start a family, looking for the right person. And that turned out to be me, and after six months, the guy proposed to me. I happily agreed. We decided not to celebrate our wedding too lavishly. We just quietly registered at the registry office. Our parents couldn’t come, so only close friends attended the celebration. We later sat in a cafe and returned to my apartment, now officially husband and wife.
I made our family nest cozy. Bought new beautiful bedding, sewed curtains for the living room and kitchen. We bought a large comfortable bed with a good mattress, changed the tile in the bathroom. In the evenings, we cooked dinners together. Vlas loved to cook, and he did it simply excellently. Especially his soups and fish were great. His Finnish roots on his mother’s side made themselves known. My husband’s fish soup with cod and cream could have conquered even the English queen.
We had almost enough money for whatever our souls desired. Next year we planned to go on a seaside vacation. I had never been there, and I really wanted to see the endless turquoise sea expanses.
But lately, my relationship with my husband had become tense. Vlas, who had been delicate and tender before, now allowed himself, for example, to joke quite roughly and sharply about my appearance. I didn’t consider myself a beauty, I had an ordinary appearance. One time he really hurt me, and I asked:
«If I don’t suit you physically and am too old, then why did you marry me, Vlas?»
«You’re a good person, I’m comfortable with you,» replied my husband, realizing that he had gone too far.
My husband was three years younger than me, and this also often became the reason for his inappropriate jokes. Such behavior hurt and irritated me greatly, and I repeatedly asked him not to behave like that with me. But my husband, initially apologizing, soon even stopped doing that, continuing to mock my nose, my very curly hair, or something else. It was like a kindergarten!
Such behavior of my husband soon brought its rift into our happiness, and I increasingly wondered why I tolerated such treatment with myself. When I was alone, nothing like this happened; I lived peacefully, no one insulted or upset me. It would have been better to get a cat than to live with a person who constantly tries to devalue me! My confidence was also shaken. I caught myself critically examining myself in the mirror and also beginning to criticize my appearance.
And one day I returned home early. Vlas was already in the apartment, talking to someone on the phone.
«My wife is a simpleton, she trusts me unconditionally. Her apartment will be mine,» I overheard my husband’s conversation.
I froze like a little mouse hearing the steps of a cat.
«Very simple, my sweet! I will persuade her to become a guarantor for a loan I take from the bank. I’ll say I want to open my own tire shop. She’s kind-hearted, she’ll support, and sign everything. A familiar notary, my good friend, will slip her the purchase agreement, and voila! The apartment is mine! And we will marry, as I have loved you for so long, and I only lived with Lena for the money. You know how tired I am of tolerating this cold herring?»
I listened and couldn’t believe my ears – and I had lived with this person for almost a year! However, I quickly pulled myself together, quietly left the apartment, closing the door, and rang the doorbell.
«Ol, is that you?» — my husband opened the door, looking at me in astonishment. — «Why are you ringing?»
«I forgot my keys.» — I tried to smile as cheerfully as possible. — «Mm, it smells delicious! I’m as hungry as a wolf!»
«Yes, I tried especially for myself. Salmon with oranges!» — Vlas proclaimed with pride.
We sat down to dinner, I poured myself some orange juice, and waited for my husband to start telling me fairy tales. And so it happened.
«Listen, Kolyan and I have wanted to open our own tire shop for a long time. I think I’m ready to start my business now.»
«That’s great news. Really, it’s time to stop working for someone else!» — I took a big sip of juice and put a piece of salmon in my mouth.
«You’ll be the guarantor when I take the loan?»
«Of course, darling, I believe in you so much!» — I smiled as sincerely as I could, nodding.
My husband beamed, got up from the table, and came over to kiss me. With effort, I restrained myself from flinching from this simple affection. After what I learned, I wanted to push the traitor out the door, throwing his things into the hallway. But I decided to teach my husband a lesson.
We went to the notary the very next day, not to delay. The happy husband chattered about how smart I was and how lucky he was with me. I mechanically dropped smiles, nodded, and soon we entered the office of a lanky-looking young man in a cheap suit not of the first freshness. He made the most repulsive impression.
Before the trip, I went to get a haircut. Rather, I told my husband I would go to the hairdresser, but I actually went to law enforcement. I laid everything out as it was, without hiding anything, and they promised to help me.
Now we were sitting in the notary’s office, and he, obsequiously, was sliding papers toward me.
«Right here and here you need to sign, dear Elena Mikhailovna!» — said my husband’s accomplice.
At that moment, law enforcement burst in, arresting both of them. The bewildered Vlas looked at me, hurt and confused.
«How could you, Lena?»
«How could you? You cheat on me, and you try to swindle my apartment. Aren’t you ashamed?»
They took my husband away. Afterward, I fully cooperated with law enforcement, though it was clear — my soon-to-be-ex-husband would go away for a long time. I filed for divorce, and since we had no common children or jointly acquired property, the process took less than a month. Already free, I remembered our life with Vlas and decisively did not understand what I did to deserve betrayal from the person I loved. After all, we lived well, we didn’t argue. But guessing what’s in the dark depths of another person’s soul is pointless. There are such inherently petty and nasty people whom you don’t recognize right away. Their nature is rotten, their intentions the lowest. And that was Vlas, whom I simply hadn’t noticed the alarm bells for a long time.
He even had another woman on the side. She came to me with accusations that I had packed her would-be groom off to places not so far away. I didn’t talk to Victoria for long, slamming the door right in her face. She still yelled insults at me for a long time, giving the neighbors a free show. I resolutely didn’t care what people thought of me. I needed to sort myself out, calm down, and get over the betrayal of someone I trusted. After all, I couldn’t have imagined Vlas would do something like this. He seemed so guileless, simple, bright, and warm. But, as they say, still waters run deep.
Left alone, I got a dog. It was the right decision. Labrador Marshmallow became my faithful friend. We walked with him in the evenings and mornings in the park, went to training. I doted on him, and solitude with Marshmallow didn’t weigh on me. My parents fully supported my separation. Mom came to visit, brought treats, lived with me for almost a month and a half. We talked a lot.
«I thought it would be like you and Dad. You don’t think that a person harbors evil.»
«I understand, darling. But don’t think, there are worthy men in the world.»
«At least Marshmallow!» — I patted the grinning labrador, who was vigorously wagging his tail, fiercely slapping me with it.
«And a bride will be found for Marshmallow. And you’ll meet your person. I didn’t find your father right away either. You know, this is my second marriage.»
I knew that Mom had married very young the first time but didn’t live with her ex-husband for even a year. But she went with Dad when she was almost thirty. And she was happy, and gave birth to me and my younger brother, Vanya. Dad became the man of her life, loved Mom and us very much. And Mom became his guiding star, his soul. We always felt that our parents loved and valued each other. They never argued in front of us, never raised their voices at each other. There was always peace and order at home, although difficult situations in life, like in every family, happened to us. And I desperately wanted the same – tightly-knit, soul to soul, and as my little brother used to say when he was a tiny baby, «nose to nose.»
Perhaps Mom is right, and I will still meet my happiness. But for now, Marshmallow and I will live and gather goodness. I was warm and cozy with Mom, I missed her very much. But I still didn’t think about returning to my hometown. Stable work, my familiar apartment – all this held me. I tried not to remember Vlas, to erase him from my life. Misunderstandings happen to everyone. Everyone can make a mistake, the main thing is to learn the lesson fate presents and find the strength to move on. Even if I never get married, I will still be happy by myself. I don’t know what’s in store for me, but I try to live every day with joy and dignity.