Mom always said that Raisa and Irina met before they were even born, because Tamara Vasilievna was friends with Irina’s mother, and it so happened that both became pregnant almost at the same time.
Of course, Tamara Vasilievna and her friend dreamed that their children would definitely be friends. And if it had been a boy and a girl, maybe they would even marry into each other’s families. But since both were born girls, they were simply destined to be friends. They played together, went to the same kindergarten, sat at the same desk in school, copied from each other during classes, and shared their most intimate secrets.
Raisa knew that in school Irina was in love with a teacher, and that secret was known to no one else. And Irina knew that Raisa was terribly afraid of her own mother and missed her father, who had left them and abandoned Tamara Vasilievna without paying alimony.
Probably, Raisa had no one closer than Irina. After all, with whom else could Raisa be friends, if not with the daughter of her mother’s friend? The rest of Raisa’s friendships were simply unworthy.
In adulthood, Raisa and Irina began to see each other less frequently, despite the fact that neither had any children. At first, their work schedules didn’t match, and then, when everything settled down, Irina started traveling a lot. And while Raisa had trouble with wealthy men, Irina was luckier in that regard.
At first, Irina married the owner of some hotel, but after a while she divorced him, winning part of his property in court. Then she was able to live comfortably for a time and enjoy all the pleasures of life on her own.
But sooner or later the money had to run out, and Irina began searching again for a suitable man. She changed partners one after another and never complained about life. However, as she approached thirty, all these adventures began to wear on her, and she decided to return to her hometown, moving into a small one-room apartment not far from Raisa and Alexey.
She never remarried and didn’t plan on having children. She always called herself a hedonist and said that one should only seek pleasure from life. It was Irina who always egged Raisa on to break free from her mother’s control.
“You listen to her too much,” Irina would say. “You should have long ago disregarded her opinion and lived the way you want. At least get married on your own terms, and that’s fine.”
Irina was the one who really supported Raisa in her choices. It was thanks to her that Raisa managed to endure her mother’s criticism throughout the following years of her marriage. Tamara Vasilievna constantly criticized the modest lifestyle of Alexey and Raisa, even though Raisa didn’t think they lived like paupers.
After all, how can you call people with a three-room apartment paupers? And since they had no children, the mortgage was almost paid off. Of course, the issue of children greatly troubled Tamara Vasilievna as well. She had longed for grandchildren for ages, but in Raisa’s case, it was just another reason to criticize her daughter.
She couldn’t find a decent husband, nor did she have children. She would have become a mother long ago, but she chose some loser.
Interestingly, Tamara Vasilievna often held up Raisa as an example in comparison to Irina. Raisa loved her friend and didn’t criticize her lifestyle, but she found it strange that her mother chose to remember only the positive aspects of Irina’s life, completely ignoring the fact that Irina also had no children—and by her own choice. Whereas before, she had changed partners purely for financial gain, and in the end remained unmarried.
After her husband, Irina became the closest person to Raisa in the world, so when she saw Alexey’s car outside her building, Raisa simply froze. Thoughts spun in her head like gears. What was he doing here? Today was a working day. Okay, they quickly let Raisa go, but why was he here? Raisa immediately thought—maybe something had happened to Irina or Alexey.
Maybe he had been fired and was too afraid to tell her. In general, Raisa could imagine anything—but not infidelity. After all, how could the closest person ever betray her?
Of course, she knew that such things did happen in life, and betrayal by a best friend or husband was often shown in TV series. But Raisa knew Irina and Alexey were not like that. Raisa knew them to be completely honorable.
Ask her anything about them, and she would answer. So, as she stepped into the elevator, Raisa expected to see just about anything—but not this—and she braced herself for a serious conversation.
When she reached the correct floor, she rang the doorbell. After the first ring nothing happened. Then she rang a second time and heard some noise.
“Sweetie, your delivery has arrived,” she heard Alexey’s voice.
Wait, did he just call Irina “sweetie”? Maybe Raisa was mistaken. Perhaps it wasn’t even Alexey’s voice at all. Maybe some other man was visiting Irina. Perhaps Alexey had lent Irina his car since hers was in the shop.
However, all hope was dashed the moment the door opened. Irina saw her husband standing there, dressed only in a towel. His hair was wet, as if he had just stepped out of the shower. At first, Alexey smiled broadly, but as soon as he saw Raisa, his smile instantly disappeared. For several seconds, Raisa and Alexey stood there in stunned silence.
“Honey, are you almost ready? Why didn’t the courier ring the intercom?”
The “courier” hadn’t rung the intercom because Irina and Raisa were on such good terms that Raisa had a key to her apartment, just in case. So she entered the building without any trouble.
“Step aside,” Raisa managed to say.
Alexey, still in shock, simply stepped back cautiously. Raisa slowly entered the apartment, heading toward the direction of the sound.
“Why are you being so quiet?” she heard Irina say again. Irina was in the bedroom. When Raisa entered the room, she saw Irina lying on the bed in black lace lingerie.
“Are we going to be staying here?” Irina asked, then turned to Raisa. As soon as she saw her, her face changed immediately and she jumped up on the bed.
“Raisa? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at work.”
“Just got off early,” Raisa said flatly. “I brought you a cake, thinking we’d sit down for some tea. But apparently,” she smiled, “you already have someone here to share tea with. So, what do you think of my husband?”
“Raisa, you shouldn’t have seen this,” Irina said, covering herself with a blanket.
“Were you planning to write me a poem or something? And how long has this been going on?”
At that moment, Raisa heard Alexey approach from behind. She turned to him and, with anger, shouted in his face:
“How could you?!”
A slight smile reappeared on Alexey’s face. Raisa’s heart pounded with anger. Why was he reacting like this? Did he have no shame at all?
“You know, maybe it’s fate. You had to find out,” he said.
“How dare you!”
Raisa fought back tears with all her might. They didn’t deserve to be seen. She simply couldn’t allow herself to cry in their presence.
“So what did you expect?” Alexey shrugged. “Remember how wonderful it was when we first got married? You were such a lively girl, with you, anything was possible, you could talk about anything. And then you started nagging about your children—‘I want a child, I want a child.’ You’ve worn me out with that talk. Not a wife, but some hysterical mother, even though you haven’t even had one.”
“But you said it yourself…”
“What could I say? Whenever something happened, you’d immediately throw a tantrum. And when Irina returned, I recognized the old you in her. This person knows what she wants from life and doesn’t demand from me what I cannot give. I should have married her from the start instead of you.”
“If only you had needed her earlier! You’re not a billionaire!”
“Well, as you see, nothing stops her now,” Alexey replied.
“Raisa, please forgive me,” Irina could only say. How dare she even ask for forgiveness?
“Here, swallow your cake,” Raisa said, throwing the cake straight into Irina’s face. Then, pushing her husband away, she ran out of the apartment. Finally, the tears were unleashed. Once she got home, Irina cried for several more hours.
Naturally, the matter ended in divorce. Raisa tried to get it over with as quickly as possible. She knew that Raisa and Alexey later remarried, but according to rumors, they separated again after just six months. Alexey later wrote to Raisa, begging her to come back, but Raisa would never forgive them and Irina.
Raisa remained alone for another five years. She didn’t even know if she could ever trust men, or people in general, until she met Pavel. He already had two children, and she immediately fell in love with them. And even though God had not blessed her with children of her own, Raisa could now say that everything in her life had turned out as it should.
