Tamara returned home subdued, took off her dress suit, hung it on hangers in the wardrobe, and started calling her son.
«Hello, son. You should have come to your friend’s wedding. Vanyushka Razin did well, he’s a married man now, not like you, running around like a young goat. And when he introduced his bride, we all gasped. What a painted beauty she is, really caught himself a firebird!»
Andrey just smirked:
«Is the bride’s name Vika, by any chance?»
«Vika, yes. Do you know her?»
«How could I not? She was my ex-girlfriend. That’s why I didn’t come, to avoid making the newlyweds uncomfortable. Imagine if the bride had refused to get married at the altar. Girls are like that, pretentious. Why would I be an enemy to my friend?»
Hearing this, Tamara pressed the phone to her ear:
«What are you talking about, chatterbox?»
«I’m actually not lying. Ivan knows about Victoria’s preferences; she followed me around for a whole year. And stuck like a leech. I got tired of her whining and introduced her to my friend, Vanya. And she married him, to spite me. What a fool, I told her straight, sorry, I have no feelings for you.»
Tamara was shaken by what she heard, she screamed into the phone:
«Are you crazy, to let such a girl slip away?! Did you think of me? I was green with envy at that wedding, my heart ached for you! I was thinking, such a girl for my son! What have you done! Half the village was shaking with envy here, no joke, a city bride rolled in. How did Vanya manage to break the heart of a real city girl!»
Tamara heard her son Andrei laugh:
«What, mother? That’s quite something, a city bride! There are plenty of them here, and if you want, I’ll get married too?»
«I want!» Tamara shouted.
She even squinted her eyes and stamped her feet.
«Alright, wait for the news,» her son informed.
Tamara sank into a chair and clutched her chest. She even felt ill.
«Why do I have such a shortsighted son?» she thought. «I liked that Vika so much. She has a childlike face, lips like a bow, and dressed like an expensive doll. And Vika’s parents are such decent good people, Razin was so lucky to become related to them. And I could have been in their place, I, Tamara Kuvshinova. And Vika would have called me mother. And how everyone would have envied me! Oh Andryushka, what a fool you are!»
But what troubled Tamara most were the words of Vanyusha’s new relatives:
«We’re happy to help the young couple. We’ll get them an apartment and a dacha.»
Oh, well.
Tamara looked at her house and was upset. She remembered how she raised her son alone, depriving herself of everything so that Andryushka could live in abundance. No wealth or help to be expected.
And now her son still lives in a student dormitory, even though he graduated from university and got a job.
What’s in his head, why doesn’t he see the benefits? Andryusha had a bird in hand, but he messed up. Well, nothing, fortune is fickle. Tamara was lucky in that she has a soft and obedient son.
Tamara will guide her son, lead the boy to the true path, and a celebration will come to their house. And it’s better to choose a bride from city girls. After all, it’s better to live in the city, there are more prospects.
Tamara never stayed home for long. What’s good about life in the village is the opportunity to visit all acquaintances from morning till night.
«Let’s go, Makarovna,» a neighbor popped into Tamara’s yard, «Hurry up. They say our Natalya Koshkina was brought back from the hospital.»
Tamara was gardening, tying up tomatoes. She threw up her hands, gasped, and ran to wash her hands, barely fitting her feet into her galoshes.
«So they brought her, my goodness. Poor old lady, but she scraped through.»
«Hardy. Only now she’s paralyzed and lying down. We’ll still visit her; she’s our friend.»
Tamara quickly changed into clean clothes, took two oranges and a pomegranate from the fridge, and ran to the Koshkins’ house.
Half the village had already gathered there. The men stood around the porch in a circle, bombarding Matvey Koshkin, Natalya’s husband, with questions. He sighed sadly and shook his head:
«She’s lying there, can’t move, no strength. When they discharged her from the hospital, the doctors said that maybe, someday, she’ll get back on her feet, who knows.»
The women approached the porch, Tamara greeted Matvey.
«Hello, Matvey. And where is your son?»
Matvey was frightened by her question. He shrank his head into his shoulders:
«Romka? He’s no longer my son. He disowned his family.»
Tamara gasped and crossed herself:
«What are you saying, Matvey?»
Matvey Koshkin hunched even more. And he stunned everyone present with his words:
«How should I regard him? He left his sick mother for his wife. His fancy woman, Kristinka, told me straight to my face not to dare rely on her. She won’t be hauling pots or hiring nurses for her mother-in-law, and she won’t let Romka go. Just like that!»
Tamara took a long time to digest the man’s words.
Romka Koshkin was five years older than Andryushka, married a city woman successfully. She was good-looking, smart, and worked in a prestigious position. Romka himself had come a long way, bought an apartment in the city, two cars. And it was utterly unexpected to hear that Romka had become so indifferent.
Tamara moved to the door, walked into the house. What she saw caused her a fit of tears: on the bed in the middle of the room lay the mistress of the house, Natalya. After the stroke she had suffered, paralysis had shattered her, she had lost a lot of weight, looked emaciated, and her hair had been cut short.
She could neither speak, stand, nor raise her hand.
«Nataшk, why are you lying down?» Tamara said. «We’ll come to you every day until you get up.»
How scary and bitter it was to look at the sick friend. And even more frightening for Tamara was the risk of stroke she herself had. She remembered always going to the hospital with Natalya to get pressure pills. And here such a terrible outcome.
Leaving the Koshkins, Tamara went home with a heavy heart.
In the evening, her son Andrey called.
«Mom, I’ll come to visit on the weekend, wait. And I’ll bring a fiancée, Aurora.»
Tamara exhaled in surprise:
«Who?..»
«Aurora, that’s the name. Aurora Konstantinovna, mom.»
Tamara was not in the mood for jokes.
«Son. Did you take my wishes seriously? And you can’t wait to get married?»
«Well, I’m not in a hurry. It’s you who keep asking for a daughter-in-law. From the city, note. So, Aurora was born and raised in the city. She even has her own apartment. She’s very promising, mommy. Everything you asked for.»
Tamara shook her head:
«No, Andryush. I don’t want to hear about city girls, son! They’re all cold and cruel there. All they think about is money and career. Real people are just pawns to them!»
Andrey was confused by his mother’s constantly changing moods.
All night, Tamara lay awake. She stared into the darkness with tear-filled eyes, turned on the light, measured her blood pressure and marveled at the high numbers, took pills, and cried again. By morning, she was firmly convinced not to let her son, Andrey, marry a city girl.
There are no soulful people in the city. It’s time to think about the future. What if Tamara encounters the same fate as Koshkina and she too ends up bedridden? Will the daughter-in-law feel sorry for her, want to look after her? Wouldn’t she convince Andrey to put his sick mother in a home for the elderly?
And now a completely different mood, and she had no business with the newlyweds Razin.
The next day, Tamara went to visit the Lysovs.
The Lysovs, who lived on the edge of the village, were known for being very close-knit, though poor, with widow Larisa having two daughters, Masha and Nadya. And three grandmothers live in the house. The mistress, Larisa Lysova, was glad to have a guest, seated her at the table, and commanded her daughters to serve tea.
Tamara carefully looked at both girls, mentally assessed them. She concluded that they had no beauty, and their figures were also large, like their mother’s. But they were respectful and modest.
Tamara eyed up «the younger one» for Andryushka. Nadya was already twenty-three, the most suitable age for marriage.
«And I brought treats, for the grandmas,» smiled Tamara.
Larisa and her daughters cared for the three old women.
One of them was Larisa’s mother-in-law. Despite Larisa being a widow for a long time, the mother-in-law still lives with her. And besides her, there live Larisa’s grandmother and old Aunt Albina, the seventh water on jelly.
Larisa accompanied the guest to the old women. Vasilisa Pavlovna was sleeping, covered with a shawl, in a small room in the bed. Tamara scrutinized her from head to toe, noting everything: clean socks on her feet, neatly trimmed nails, hair.
She examined the room where the grandmothers lived, hardly smelled anything, the room was warm and bright, the beds were made with clean bedding.
They found the second grandmother in a chair by the window, reading a book, and barely recognized Tamara.
She also looked well-fed and content, dressed in all clean clothes. The third grandmother was walking in the yard, sitting there on a bench under an apple tree. Tamara hugged her, talked to her. After talking, the guest was convinced that the woman was satisfied with her life here.
After what she saw, Tamara respected the Lysovs and rushed to another extreme; she decided to marry her son to Nadya.
**
After Tamara Kuvshinova left the hospitable Lysov house, Larisa went out to her daughters and whispered to them:
«See? They came to ask for your hands in marriage. Only I don’t know which one of you they will ask for, I lean towards the thought that they’ll take Nadya. Because Kuvshinova’s son is twenty-three years old. And Masha is a couple of years older than us. So you Nadya, don’t miss your chance and be alert.»
The two sisters looked at each other.
A blush spread over Nadya’s face.
As soon as the mother left the house, Masha pounced on her sister:
«Why are you smiling, you viper? Why do you think he’ll choose you and not me?!»
…Nadya ran out of the Lysov house, followed by Maria, chasing her at full speed, wielding a mop. Nadya ran barefoot, as she was, loudly screaming, her sister chased her into the garden and slammed the gate behind her.
«Just sit there, snake! Just try to stick your head out!»
**
Andrey came on the weekend to help with the gardens. As his mother had commanded, he completely forgot about city girls. And frankly, he had no desire to get married.
«Mom, I’ve decided, forget those girls. I don’t want to get married. I’m only twenty-three and I’m young and want to live alone.»
Tamara nodded:
«Well done, son. Now here, take this,» she handed him a box.
«What’s this?» he weighed it in his hand. «It’s kind of heavy.»
«These are gifts for the bride.»
«What bride?»
The son was stunned by the news of his mother’s new whim, Nadya Lysova.
«Nadya?! Why would I need her?» he was astonished.
«Don’t argue with me. I said Nadya, so it’s Nadya.»
Andrey preferred not to argue with his mother and followed her to the Lysov house. There, a real pre-wedding commotion ensued, smoke billowed thickly. The «bride» with a small bruise on her face came out to serve tea to the guests.
Then there were talks until dark, and they sent Nadya and Andrey out for a walk, then Tamara stepped away for a minute to eavesdrop on her son’s conversation with the future bride.
«Nadyush, my mother is so enterprising, don’t mind her,» Andrey’s excuses reached Tamara. «She’s been driving me crazy with her whims. She asks me to study and not start a family, then suddenly says she wants a city bride. I’ve long been used to her whims. And I know that she flares up like a match and then just as quickly goes out. So I live with her like on a volcano, and I treat it with humor. Everything will be exactly as I want it to be. Now she’s got it into her head that I should marry you. Tell me, do you really want to get married?»
«No,» after a short pause, Nadya replied. «I’d actually like to be free. But my mother won’t let me go anywhere. I’d like to move away from home so I don’t have to see my mom, sister, and the old women I have to care for.»
«And why do you have so many grandmothers?»
«Yes, that’s my mom’s ‘business.’ She brings home lonely old women to look after them, for the chance to get their pensions. You wouldn’t believe how much I want to run away as far as my eyes can see, let my mother look after her own grandmothers. Instead, she’s burdened us with them, while she just uses the money.»
«Listen, Nadya,» after a minute’s silence, Andrey declared. «I can help you. Pack your stuff and come with me to the city. I have a lot of contacts there, they’ll quickly find you a job and a place to stay for a while.»
«I won’t refuse such help,» Nadya agreed.
«So, it’s settled. Just let’s make it clear right now: nothing personal. I don’t want to marry you and I won’t, don’t harbor any false illusions. And forget whatever my mother told you.»
Tamara returned home subdued. After overhearing the young people’s conversation, it took her a long time to recover. There you have it, even Nadya turns out to be tired of the old women, she won’t make a caregiver out of her, and her son has formed his own opinion regarding his mother. She had to urgently call Andrey for a talk, after which mother and son settled all matters.
«Now why did you think you’d have a stroke, mom?» the son wondered. «And why, according to you, should you be the one to choose a bride for me, based on your own requests? And don’t I have the right to choose for myself how and with whom to live? And why do you think I’ll abandon you to my wife’s care?»
Tamara’s lips trembled:
«Maybe you’re right, son. I’m so impressionable. I see situations in others and somehow apply them to myself.»
«How about we both go to the city tomorrow,» Andrey suggested. «Enough sitting and moping in one place, it’ll do you good to get out.»
Tamara agreed to everything, realizing that Andryusha had grown up. And it was time to respect his opinion.
Nadya Lysova moved to the city, lived there, and returned home to her mother, concluding that living alone is harder, even if it’s freer. The Koshkins’ son came. He came alone, without a wife. They say he’s planning to divorce and divide the property. His mother, Natalka, began to sit up in bed and talk a little, which gave hope to her men. Then Romka was often seen at the Lysov house, eyeing Maria
