Margarita had long felt that this day would come, but when it happened, she was still taken aback. She stood there, not knowing what to do next. Roman, her husband, simply shrugged:
«You’re not fifteen anymore to be asking such questions. It’s time you figured things out on your own.»
«So, I have to move out?» she asked quietly.
«You’ve got it right,» he replied dryly. «But don’t worry, I bought you half a house. It’s cheap, but it’s yours.»
Rita smirked:
«Why only half? Couldn’t afford the whole house?»
Roman reddened with irritation:
«Enough, Rita, don’t start. We haven’t been husband and wife for a long time. I’m tired of all this!»
She turned silently and left the room. Of course, he was tired. While Roman managed their finances and decided everything in the house, life was great for him: money for entertainment, gatherings with friends in the sauna, and perhaps for someone else. But as soon as Rita stopped handing over her salary to him, he flared up:
«You think your pennies solve anything in this house?»
«Roman, I’ve been wearing the same boots for four years,» she replied calmly. «And in that time, you’ve updated your entire wardrobe. Is that fair? And why ‘pennies’? With my side jobs, I earn no less than you.»
The conversation hit a dead end then. Rita knew Roman had a mistress, on whom he spent their money. But when his financial situation worsened, and presumably problems arose with the mistress, scandals became frequent at home.
Rita had been considering a divorce for a long time, but only one thing stopped her – she had nowhere to go. After their last argument, when Roman came home and found no dinner, he made a scene. Rita calmly explained that she had dined at a café, as he hadn’t given her any money for three months. This infuriated him. He yelled that she was useless, that she couldn’t even have children, and that he was only living with her out of pity.
Then Rita barely held back her tears, but she realized their relationship had come to an end. She began preparing for the inevitable. Today’s question about what she should do, she asked more out of habit. She wasn’t going to fight for half of a one-bedroom apartment. But Roman, apparently, feared just that. He smirked:
«You’re always so smart and proper. Go on, buy the other half of the house if you want.»
He knew it was impossible. The house had been sold to him for pennies because no one would buy the other half. And Rita soon understood why.
The house’s story was simple. It used to be occupied by a married couple, but the husband was in an accident and became disabled. Unable to cope with such a life, the wife filed for divorce and sold her half of the house. The other half remained with her ex-husband, now bedridden. The house was not physically divided, and the sale concerned only square meters.
Rita packed her things, called a taxi, and decided to immediately head to her new residence. Why rent an apartment if she couldn’t afford to maintain it? Judging by the year it was built, the house seemed sturdy and well-maintained. When she arrived, she was surprised: «Did Roman really splurge? At least I could try buying the other half… Living alone in such a house, drinking tea under the acacia…»
She opened the door. The lock turned easily, without a squeak, as if it were frequently used. The house looked well-kept, but something was odd. Why was there only one door? Rita entered. The air smelled of medicine. She looked around: a large room, a combined kitchen and dining area, another room with an open door. Rita peeked inside: a spacious, bright room, almost empty. From this room, two doors led elsewhere. One was open – likely a former bedroom. The other – closed.
Rita decisively pushed the door and nearly lost her senses from the shock. In the room, she was met by the gaze of a man who apparently lived there. A television quietly ran on the wall, a small table with a bottle of water and medicines stood next to the bed.
«Hello,» Rita said awkwardly.
The man smiled:
«Well, hello. Did they sell you half of my house?»
Rita nodded, looking around bewildered:
«I don’t understand… Half the house – is this all of it? No partitions, no separate entrance?»
«No,» he replied calmly. «The house was never divided. So now you own half the house with me.»
Rita sighed:
«Now it’s clear. And I thought my husband suddenly became generous. Turns out, he just remained true to himself. Excuse me, I’ll temporarily occupy another room until I find a place.»
The man shrugged:
«Live, use the whole house. It doesn’t matter to me – I don’t go out of this room. I don’t even need to go to the clinic – they come to me. By the way, my name is Oleg.»
Rita was about to close the door, but lingered:
«And you… do you cook, do the housework?»
«No, of course,» he replied. «Every two days a caretaker comes.»
Rita closed the door and went for her belongings. «Something’s not right. A caretaker every two days… And the rest of the time? He’s quite young, probably about my age.»
After moving her things, she decided to have a snack. She took out a bag of groceries and looked around. «The owner probably won’t mind if I use one shelf in the fridge,» she thought.
However, the fridge was not just empty – it was unplugged. Rita opened the drawers: leftovers of cereal, salt, but she couldn’t even find sugar. «I wonder what they feed him?» she marveled.
The woman rolled up her sleeves and started cooking. After a while, she caught herself humming a tune. She smiled: «Just got divorced, nowhere to live, everything’s unclear, and yet I’m singing songs. And somehow, I feel good.»
An hour later, she knocked on the door and entered:
«Oleg, I made dinner. Shall we dine together?»
He looked at her grimly:
«Let’s make one thing clear: I don’t need your pity. I’m not starving, so…»
Rita resolutely placed the tray on the table:
«Let’s agree differently. I’m not going to pity you. I just found myself in a strange place, abandoned by my husband, and I’m lonely. I just wanted to have dinner with someone. At least with a living person.»
Oleg was embarrassed:
«Sorry, I’m used to treating everyone like that. Everyone around just gives advice, pretends to understand.»
Rita sat down on a chair:
«I understand you. So many people around who know how to live your life better than you.»
Oleg, bringing a spoon to his mouth, rolled his eyes:
«Rita, I won’t forgive you. After such a dinner, I definitely can’t eat what the caretaker cooks.»
They drank tea for a long time, and Rita surreptitiously surveyed the room. «Strange, the wheelchair is there, but he doesn’t use it,» she thought.
«You understand, sooner or later I’ll ask what happened. If you don’t want to tell me, just say so, and I’ll leave you alone.»
«No, sooner or later you’ll find out anyway. Better I tell you. Two years ago, I was in an accident. Seemed like nothing serious, but something went wrong during surgery on my back. They barely saved me.
At first, they said everything would be fine. Then they held consultations, examined me, but I felt my legs weren’t responding. They discharged me, saying it would recover over time. But, as you can see, nothing has changed.
A year ago, some professor came. My wife, then still my wife, had made an appointment for me. He said the surgery went fine, but the time was lost. I should have started rehabilitation immediately after the accident. But they didn’t do that.
When Elena heard this verdict, she packed her things and left. Later I found out that she divided everything we had. She took the car, not even considering that it was after the accident. Divided the house. And, as I found out today, quickly sold her half to someone just as unprincipled as herself. That’s the whole story.»
Rita raised her eyebrows in surprise:
«I don’t understand. Are you just going to lie here and wait for the end?»
«What do you suggest?»
«What do I suggest? Fight! Well, do something, live, after all!»
«Live, how, please? You think you’re the only one in the world like this? No, not one, not two, not three. There are thousands like you, and no one ruins themselves. Well, of course, it’s your business, but I probably can’t understand that.»
Rita got up, started collecting the dishes.
«I’ll settle in that room then.»
Oleg nodded:
«The whole house is at your disposal. I only need to be in this room. Thanks, by the way, for dinner.»
Rita closed the door behind her, paused for a moment, wanted to ask if he needed anything, but then decided Oleg might be offended. «He lived somehow before me.»
She fell asleep instantly, and in the morning was awakened by an irritated voice:
«Lord, when will they gather you disabled and ship you to an island, so you can crawl after each other! I can’t take it anymore!»
Rita was jolted up. She saw Oleg’s pale cheeks – it was clear how hard he was clenching his teeth to not respond. In the kitchen, a woman was busily packing Rita’s groceries into a bag.
«God help you,» Rita hissed.
The woman flinched and dropped a sausage that just wouldn’t fit into the already overstuffed bag.
«Aren’t you afraid of straining yourself?» Rita’s voice was gentle, but her eyes… «Let me help you to the door.»
The woman backed away, but Rita grabbed the bag and struck the thief-caretaker with it so hard that she turned and ran for the door. But Rita wasn’t about to give up.
To the gate… The young woman managed to «stamp» the caretaker several more times. At the last moment, a pack of eggs fell from the bag and smeared over the fleeing woman’s coat.
Rita returned home, regretfully looked at what was left in the bag, and threw it away along with its contents. She turned – and her eyes involuntarily widened: Oleg was laughing!
«Rita, you really do it! You should have seen yourself, scourge of the seas. I was even scared that you would hit her with a loaf of bread.»
Rita also laughed, then said:
«I’ll have coffee now, and then I’m off to the store. Otherwise, by the time I’m back from work in four days, we’ll starve here.»
«I haven’t had coffee in a long time… Rita, please come here. There, in the leg of the table, there’s also money. Your groceries suffered because of me. Don’t look at me like that. It’s impossible to find a caretaker for someone like me. And if you leave the money just like that, it’ll be gone. Take it, buy something on my behalf. But what am I going to do now without a caretaker?»
Rita smiled:
«Don’t worry, we’ll think of something. For now, I’ll help you. By the way, I’m a nurse. Almost a doctor.»
«Almost? Ah, with three courses of medical school. Then you got married, and that was the end of your career.»
Rita and Oleg lived, existed, coexisted for almost half a year. She went to work, cooked, helped Oleg, although he resisted. Sometimes in the evenings, they talked for a long time. It was Rita who, learning that he could and should sit up, forced Oleg to move around the house in a wheelchair. She later made a ramp from the porch.
Two years passed.
«Yes, my dear, to be honest, you really surprised me. How did you manage it? Your muscles were practically empty, all shriveled up, and now – it’s a pleasure to look at. There must be love involved.»
Oleg looked at Rita, embarrassed, and nodded:
«Well, can’t do without it.»
«What do you say, doctor?»
«What can I say… There are no contraindications to start getting up. Your legs will hold you, you won’t make it worse, but be prepared: you’ll have to learn to walk again.»
«I know, doctor, I’m ready. I can do it!»
Oleg was sure he could. Even if he couldn’t, he still could. He had no other choice. Yesterday Rita told him that she was pregnant. He was ready to get up right away, but she didn’t let him, saying they first needed to consult.
He knew Rita was watching him, worrying more than he himself. It was not just scary, it was very scary and very painful.
A few more inches. Oleg released the wheelchair and looked at it:
«I can do it. For you, I can.»
