—And have you been with someone else for a long time?” Natasha asked, holding back tears.
“Sweetheart, there’s nothing going on. You’ve misunderstood everything. You’ve drawn the wrong conclusions! There’s nothing, sweetheart!” Vadim mumbled, sounding frightened.
And he really was scared. Ahead of him loomed the prospect of uncomfortable changes. It was one thing to have a mistress on the side and an entirely different matter to lose the familiar and beloved wife with whom he had spent thirty years.
Natasha and Vadim had studied together at the institute. They met and began dating. They realized that they were very well together and, with the support of their parents, formalized their relationship. This was the mid-nineties, a time when money was scarce for almost everyone, so they put together a wedding on a modest budget, so to speak. Natasha’s dress was sewn by an aunt. They celebrated at home by pushing the furniture against the wall and gathering tables and chairs from neighbors and friends. Everyone knew what to do about the food, and everyone brought what they could. For example, Vadim’s uncle from Vladivostok did not even hesitate—he flew in from afar with fish and caviar for the wedding.
In the end, they assembled a magnificent spread, and the company was lively and warm-hearted. Friends and relatives wished the young couple a long life together. Five years ago, at their silver wedding anniversary, Vadim and Natasha recalled how they had tied the knot. How they partied back then—joyfully, with sumptuous food. And they didn’t disappoint their guests—they lived twenty-five years in love and harmony. And they would live many more.
But now, in the thirty-first year of marital life, someone had sent Natasha an anonymous email. It stated that her husband was meeting with a young colleague, Valentina, and that things were getting serious between them. It urged her to be vigilant, warning that at any moment she might find herself without a husband.
At first, Natasha didn’t believe it. She wanted to show the anonymous message to Vadim, so they could laugh together at its absurdity. But something inside her—an inner demon—stopped her. And she… began to follow her husband personally. And she was shocked by what she saw. The email described certain details of the affair—what time, where, and how one could catch an unfaithful husband. And it turned out… to be bitterly true! Her husband had left the office at noon, arm in arm with a young woman about thirty years old, and they drove just a couple of blocks in his car. They drove into some courtyard behind a barrier. Natasha did not follow them in her car, but when she ran on foot, she could see no one. The husband and the other woman had left the car and apparently entered one of the building entrances.
The next day, Natasha once again asked to leave work early. Her boss had already raised his eyebrows disapprovingly. Natasha was a good employee, but for the second day in a row…
“I’m leaving at noon!”
“For two hours?”
“I’m doing my work,” Natasha snapped at her young supervisor. “I… I… need to see a doctor!”
Everyone knew that she never complained about her health. The boss shrugged, as if saying, “go on.” So she ran off, drove to her usual yard from yesterday, parked her car out of sight, and, like a seasoned spy, moved between houses in a hooded jacket and dark glasses.
She took up position behind a tree opposite the barrier. This time, Natasha saw Vadim exit the car with the other woman and go somewhere. Natasha decided to wait until they both emerged, even though her phone was blowing up with calls from the higher-ups. At that moment, work meant nothing to her. She needed to understand if it was all true.
Judging by her husband’s satisfied look as he emerged from the building entrance, there was no point in guessing what he had been doing there. Yet, for some reason, the young woman did not come out with him. Natasha ran up to Vadim and slapped him so hard he could barely stand. Then later that evening, at home, he started babbling about “nothing was happening” and “you misunderstood everything.”
“Just tell the truth! Your lie is even more disgusting than the act of infidelity itself!”
Vadim sighed deeply. In recent years, he and Natasha had let their intimate life fizzle out. They even slept in different rooms. Their two sons had long grown up and scattered to different corners. The elder son, Maxim, had moved from Moscow to the seaside. He got married and had already given them a granddaughter. The younger one, Dima, had moved in with his girlfriend in Dubna, started working there, and Vadim began to feel as if their family was ending. It was all there on paper, but in reality, everyone was living their own separate lives. Not only the children, but he and Natasha as well.
And then there was Valya. Initially, they hadn’t planned anything untoward—just having lunch together in the canteen. They chatted, they laughed. Valya was twenty years younger than Vadim, and in their conversations, it was as if she shared with him the energy of youth, life, and bloom—you might even say that. So Vadim couldn’t help but fall for the one who recharged him like a battery. And somehow, everything just happened. The distant spark was no longer enough— their relationship escalated to a new level. A level of intimate contact. Yet even in his worst nightmare, Vadim could never have imagined that his wife would find out, and he, heaven forbid, would lose his Natasha.
“Okay, I’ll confess! Just don’t leave me!” he pleaded.
“I can’t promise you anything like that!” his wife exploded. “What do you mean, ‘don’t leave me’? I can’t stand to see you at all! It hurts so much that I can barely breathe, and you say…”
“But we haven’t slept together!” Vadim suddenly snapped. “I’m a man! I need this!”
“It’s a strange story… I thought we had mutually agreed to let everything go. Yes, I don’t feel desire anymore…but if you need it, you should have just said so!”
“There! — Vadim declared with ceremony. — You just don’t feel desire!”
“Don’t give me any of your excuses! Pack your things and go to your Valya!”
“No way!” Vadim sank to his knees. “Forgive me. Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me…”
“Good Lord… poor woman. How can you do this? Does she mean absolutely nothing to you? Then why did you sleep with her? And stop crawling around! Get up and don’t disgrace yourself!”
Struggling against the discomfort in his knees, Vadim stood up.
Natasha was not deceitful. She was an empathetic person. Yes, Valya was her rival—her husband’s mistress. But for a moment she imagined what it was like to mean nothing to a man. What a terrible feeling that would be! Or… perhaps this Valya herself wanted nothing but that very thing? Why would she need an older man, then? Aren’t there enough young ones?
Natasha declared that she could not, just like that, easily forgive Vadim’s betrayal and infidelity. At the very least, she needed time to think. And she decided to think… by the sea. Her son and daughter-in-law had long invited her for a visit. Well, they had invited Vadim too, but now he was being punished. So to speak.
“I’m going to Maxim’s. I’ll go at my own expense. They won’t let me go—I’ll quit. I need time to think!”
“They won’t let you go!” Vadim declared. “Who would let a bookkeeper leave in February? And what’s there to do by the sea at a time like this?”
“Vadim, don’t talk to me! I’m very angry!”
But her husband followed her like a shadow. He tried everything to please and serve her—making coffee, covering her with a blanket when she sat in her chair, and so on. He even once tried to make a move, but Natasha looked at him so piercingly that he backed off immediately. She had already bought a ticket and called her son. In the end, she really had to quit her job. But Natasha couldn’t work right now, nor could she stay under the same roof as Vadim. She waited for her train and left for Novorossiysk, where her son had promised to meet her.
Maxim’s wife, Dasha, arrived from Gelendzhik instead. She was local. They had met Maxim in Moscow, where Darya came as a tourist. At first, Natasha wasn’t too pleased that the quick-witted Dasha was taking her son away, but then she thought about how nice it must be to live by the sea. Besides, there would be someone to travel with—no need to pay for a hotel.
“—And where is Olesya?” Natasha asked in surprise.
“She’s in the garden.”
“Have you lost your mind? She’s only two!”
“She’s in a private garden. Maxim and I work a lot. No, if you want, we can take her out of the garden while you’re visiting.”
Natasha thought it over and politely declined.
“I’ll sit with her this evening.”
“Take your time, rest assured! She’s such a lively child! We’re in shock…”
Natasha bit her tongue so as not to blurt out that the granddaughter was just like her.
Dasha drove her mother-in-law home—they had their own four-room house, one of which was a spacious living room. And Natasha was given a bedroom at the very end of the corridor, next to the living room.
“Goodness, you really knocked the place down…” Natasha said in astonishment.
“We had to pay a ton of money! But it’s comfortable, isn’t it? Natasha Mikhailovna, make yourself at home. I have to run to work again, but this evening, Olesya and I will come by. Here are the keys, and there’s food in the refrigerator. If you decide to go for a walk, I’ve written our address on a piece of paper for you so you won’t get lost. And what happened to you?”
Natasha shuddered. The transition was too abrupt.
“Nothing happened. What makes you say that?” she replied, feigning cheerfulness.
“Well, if you don’t want to share, then don’t tell,” her daughter-in-law nodded and dashed off.
Natasha went to the room assigned to her and collapsed on the bed, face down. And then the tears came. At home she didn’t want to show Vadim her weakness. You can’t cry in the presence of strangers on a train. So Natasha wept into her pillow at her son’s house, crying loudly, all alone, while no one was home.
She didn’t even realize when she fell asleep. Natasha slept for a long time until some voices outside the door woke her up. She jumped up, not immediately realizing where she was.
“Where’s the lady? You all got spooked!” a child cried out loudly.
“I don’t even know! Dasha, where did you take my mother? Admit it quickly!”
Natasha realized that it was Maxim—and the child was Olesya. Her granddaughter, whom she had seen only briefly right after her birth. Natasha hurried into the living room.
“Hello, sunshine!” she said joyfully upon seeing the little girl.
The child froze with a puzzled expression.
“Mammy… you need to wash yourself!” Maxim said, and for some reason, ran his hand along her throat.
Natasha rushed into the bathroom. Oh my goodness! There she was, crying with makeup on, and even asleep. What a sight! Natasha washed up, and when she came out, Dasha had already set the table. Olesya was playing with a big doll. The television murmured softly in the background.
“Oh! Now it’s a totally different story!” Maxim came over and hugged his mother. “Have you lost weight or what?”
After all, Natasha had really not been eating well after finding out about her husband. She lost her appetite due to all the stress, and yet by the sea, she suddenly felt hungry. She suddenly realized that she hadn’t considered that aspect of her trip. What if the children would start asking her what had happened with their father? And what now? Should she explain?
“He has a mistress!” she blurted out.
Dasha cupped her hand over her mouth.
“What? I told you I didn’t want to discuss it in front of a child.”
“That’s not the reason. I’m just stunned.”
“And I’m really stunned!” Natasha said. “He begs me not to divorce him. But I can’t even bear to look at him. That’s the news. You sure you wanted to know?”
“I don’t understand, where’s the tragedy?” Maxim asked. “Well… it happens. They say that a gray beard indicates wisdom, right?”
“If you ever grow a gray beard like that,” Dasha said venomously, “I’ll strangle you. Just warn me right away!”
“No one’s planning that! But men—they’re something else.”
“What do you mean by ‘something else’?” his wife interjected.
“Wicked, Dasha dear. Mom, think about it… are you really willing to throw away thirty years of marriage over one misdeed?”
“He was seeing her! Every day! That wasn’t just a random fling during a business trip!” Natasha shouted, then slammed her fork on the table and covered her face with her hands. “My God! Why am I even discussing this with you? I’m scaring the child…”
She sensed some movement nearby. Removing her hands from her face, she saw that Olesya was standing next to her. She placed her little hands on the girl’s legs and nodded.
“Don’t cry, sweetie!” the little girl said.
“I’m not crying, sweetheart, not at all!”
After that, they didn’t speak any more about Natasha’s family drama. They chattered, watched TV. They took turns putting Olesya to bed. They went to sleep late, and when Natasha woke up, she realized that she was alone in the house.
The woman felt the urge to tidy up. It was clear that Dasha was cleaning the house only superficially—apparently, she didn’t have enough time. Natasha scrubbed the refrigerator, the kitchen cabinets, and the stove; gathered all of Olesya’s toys. After cleaning the whole house, she collapsed on the couch, utterly exhausted. Finally, she remembered her phone. She picked it up and saw a hundred missed calls and SMS from Vadim. “I arrived,” she wrote in reply, and her husband immediately called:
“Have you lost your mind? I’m worried!”
“Vadim, I purposely left you! Stop pestering me with calls. Give me time to think. And let me think without any pressure!”
“Alright, alright, I understand.”
“And if you’re so worried, you could call Maxim! Or are you too much of a coward?”
“And did you tell him?”
Natasha stayed silent.
“Why?” Vadim sounded disappointed.
“Because if you think you can go back to your betrayal at some point, know this: it won’t work! Just keep that in mind. That’s it. Don’t call me again!”
In a panic, Vadim really did stop seeing Valya. She cried and asked what was wrong.
“But you knew it couldn’t last! I’m a family man. I have a wife; we’ve been together for thirty years!”
“Vadusha, wasn’t it wonderful with you?” Valya asked between sobs.
“You’re not even involved!” he couldn’t take it anymore. “I just don’t want to lose my wife!”
Valentina was insulted and walked away. She, too, stopped talking to Vadim. The wife wouldn’t talk, and now Valya wouldn’t either. He had hoped to part on good terms, as friends. But instead, he had hurt his colleague. Heaven forbid if she starts taking revenge!
For now, Valya wasn’t thinking about revenge. She was thinking about the extreme measures she had taken to pull Vadim away from his family. She had even created a disposable email and typed out an anonymous message to his wife. And nothing had worked—this old bat hadn’t thrown Vadim out. Valya loved him. Or at least, she thought she did. She didn’t want to lose him. And so what if he was older? To each his own! You plan, you calculate, and everything is supposed to work out, but sometimes it unravels… how could it be?
Natasha’s days in Gelendzhik went on as usual. She helped her daughter-in-law around the house, played with her granddaughter. She talked with her son. During the day, she took walks and drove to the sea in her son’s car—he generously gave his car to her during her stay. She went shopping. A couple of times, she dropped into a café. Of course, it wasn’t the most ideal time for the sea… Vadim was right in that regard. But far from him, it all felt easier. And her loved ones were nearby once again.
Natasha never really made up her mind. She didn’t want to be alone—she couldn’t imagine living alone. And she didn’t quite want to live with Vadim, either. She couldn’t forgive him. How can you forgive on demand? Maybe someday… but what to do all this time until that “someday”? To stew, to resent, to hate?
“Natashka? Maslienkova?” she heard a voice that interrupted her melancholy thoughts.
She hadn’t heard her maiden name in such a long time. Natasha shuddered and lifted her head. Standing next to her was a man, presumably around her age. If there was something remotely familiar about him, she couldn’t recall just yet.
“Zhenya. Veselov,” the man said, sitting down at a table across from her.
“Zhenya!?” Natasha exclaimed. “Oh my goodness! I would never have recognized you!”
“I suppose that’s a compliment,” Zhenya replied with a snort.
“Don’t doubt it!” Natasha exclaimed and immediately blushed.
Back in school, Zhenya Veselov used to chase after her. Almost from the first grade. At first, he would tug on her braids and try to snatch her schoolbag to carry it home. Later, he resorted to less pleasant gestures of attention. Zhenya was nothing more than a rowdy kid, while she was a proper girl who studied well. And he wasn’t even that handsome of a troublemaker. How did he change so much?
“Do you live here now?” Natasha asked.
“Yes, I do. I’m involved in building apartments and houses. I like the climate down south. And what brings you here?”
“I’m a guest at my son’s place.”
“Ah, time flies,” said Zhenya. “Maybe we should drink to our reunion?”
“Are you married, Veselov?”
He stared at her wide-eyed.
“Divorced—and what? You don’t drink with married classmates?”
“I don’t drink with any married people, or anything else, for that matter. I despise those who do.”
“Got it! A bitter experience, huh?”
Natasha twirled her finger on the table and said:
“Yep. You name it.”
“Did your husband cheat on you?”
“Exactly!”
“What a load of nonsense! There’s no need to be so upset, Maslienkova. Trust me!”
“Have you ever cheated on your wife?” she asked him with interest.
“With my wives. I was married twice, Natasha. I never cheated. Do you know why?”
“No. Why?”
“I simply didn’t have the time. I worked. First, I worked for my reputation; now, my reputation works for me. Come on!”
“Where to?”
“Off to a project site! I’ll show you what I do, plainly.”
Natasha thought for a moment and suddenly said:
“Let’s go!”
She toured a new, small, neat, and beautifully constructed house. She ran her hands along the smooth wooden walls, piece by piece, board by board, strip by strip. It was simple yet elegant. And the floor was beautiful. And the windows…
“The builders finished yesterday. Tomorrow, the owner will come to inspect the site. So, shall we drink, Maslienkova?” Zhenya said, showing her a bottle of wine.
“Where did it come from?”
“From the car.”
“Lover boy,” Natasha laughed. “You carry wine with you?”
“Not for what you’re thinking!”
They drank and talked for a long time. Reminiscing about school days and laughing. Then, after only sipping the wine, Zhenya drove Natasha home and invited her on a date. And she enjoyed spending time with him so much that she agreed.
They started seeing each other. Suddenly, Natasha felt younger and realized that nothing in her life was truly over. And she was very surprised by the zigzags of fate. Earlier, Natasha had been sure that life had no such zigzags, that everything proceeded in a straight, logical line. But, as it turns out, that is not so!
She decided to stay in Gelendzhik, and to divorce Vadim—a fact she communicated to him over the phone. When he, in a fury, rushed to bring his wife home, Maxim said that his mother wasn’t there. She was living elsewhere.
“In what place?” Vadim stuttered.
“I don’t know; you’ll have to figure it out for yourselves.”
Natasha agreed to meet her husband in a neutral location. She said that she was happy, and she thanked him for the betrayal. Literally thanked him. He looked at his rejuvenated wife in stunned silence, while deep inside Vadim felt an invisible wound throbbing.
“We will still stay in touch,” she smiled. “We have children!”
Vadim remained silently dejected. He had nothing to counter, as it turned out.
Natasha came home and wrinkled her nose.
“What’s that delicious smell?!”
“I’m cooking you dinner,” Zhenya said as he peeked out into the corridor. “How are you?”
“Just wonderful!” she smiled, nearly bursting into tears with happiness.
Vadim returned and moved in with Valya. Incidentally, she was pleased. In fact, happy.
