Arkady! Look at this!» Jeanne shoved the phone screen in front of her cohabitant. «Your daughter has completely lost it! How could she send me this?!»
Arkady stared at Jeanne’s phone for several minutes before he couldn’t help but chuckle.
«You’re still smiling? You’re in on it with her!»
«Sweetheart, don’t shout… You wanted to attend my daughter’s wedding… Well, here you go… Your wish is granted…» Arkady stopped laughing and stroked Jeanne’s arm to calm her down. His daughter had acted arrogantly… But it was still funny… Though, this humor had a certain smell.
When Arkady left his family, his daughter Liza was sixteen. He didn’t just leave—he exchanged twenty years of marriage, care, a home, a wife, and a daughter for Jeanne. A young, silicone doll who had found herself in the right place at the right time and settled comfortably on the lap of the department head, whom Arkady worked for.
«What about Liza? Think about her! She’s going through puberty, she needs to finish school and go to college!» His wife, Yulia, was upset by his actions and didn’t know what to do next.
«She’s already grown,» he said with a fake softness. «She’ll understand. It’s… life.»
In the end, Yulia reluctantly let her husband go, and she immersed herself in work and raising their teenage daughter. As for Liza… Liza hated Jeanne. For appearing in their family like a puddle after rain: not a big deal, but unpleasant and impossible to avoid.
«Mum, you understand, don’t you?» Liza said, «If she hadn’t come to work with him, Dad would have stayed with us!»
«I understand, Liza. But when a man leaves, he doesn’t necessarily go to someone, but mostly away from someone. Apparently, your father wasn’t all that happy with me. But you’re not to blame, darling. He will love you no matter what.»
Still, Liza tried to influence her father: she avoided contact with Jeanne and ignored her father’s attempts to «get them to be friends.»
«Why don’t you want to be friends with her?» When her father asked, Liza responded rather rudely:
«Dad, she’s awful. I wouldn’t even sit on the same field with her, let alone be friends!»
«Liza, please…»
«If you’re happy, live how you want. But don’t expect me to accept her. I didn’t invite her into my life. And I never, ever will!»
Her father heard her and decided to meet Jeanne on neutral ground. However, Jeanne didn’t really want to be part of this family… at least not yet.
Two years passed. During this time, Arkady never married. He simply cohabited with Jeanne, promising that after his daughter turned 18, he would make their relationship official. And then, Liza turned 18… and Arkady received news of his daughter’s wedding.
«But why?! So soon, and marriage?» he protested when he called Liza and tried to talk her out of it.
«Dad, I love him. This is forever.» Liza was excited and didn’t listen to her father’s pleas. After all, after the divorce, he wasn’t her main authority figure anymore.
«Well, if that’s how it is, fine… But I want to meet him,» Arkady finally agreed.
«Of course. Come tomorrow evening for tea,» his daughter invited.
«We’ll definitely come.»
«Not WE, but YOU. I’m waiting for you, only you,» Liza emphasized. «Without her.»
«But Liza,» Arkady objected, «you understand, she’s a part of my life.»
«Then choose, Dad, which part is more important to you,» Liza spat and ended the call.
That evening, Arkady lied to Jeanne, saying he needed to stay at work. He still went to visit his ex-wife. With flowers and gifts. He noted that Yulia had changed over the past two years. For the better. Her figure was her own. Real, not fake like Jeanne’s. Her hands were well cared for, but she wasn’t afraid of «getting dirty» with housework and cooking.
«Did you cook the lasagna yourself? Oh, I remember… it was delicious!» Arkady praised, eating a second serving of the dish his ex-wife had prepared. She looked at her ex-husband calmly. No offense, no judgment. Even with pity…
«Doesn’t your girlfriend feed you?» she only asked.
«Well… She has other priorities in life.»
«To sit on someone’s lap comfortably,» Yulia thought but stayed silent.
«And here he is!» Liza ran to open the door. The fiancé arrived…
Liza’s fiancé was ten years older than her. Independent, accomplished, with his own business in interface and messenger development based on artificial intelligence. Arkady liked this serious son-in-law.
«Well… get married. I give you my fatherly blessing,» he said, shaking the future son-in-law’s hand.
«Here, Dad. I prepared an invitation to our wedding for you.»
Arkady looked at the yellow emoji-shaped card and saw only his name on it.
«Uh… Um…»
«This is the style of the wedding, don’t be surprised. Emojis. Well, you get it, right?»
«No…»
«What’s so hard to understand? You put smiles and hearts at the end of your messages, right?»
«Yes.»
«That’s ’emoji’ or ‘smileys.’ The groom is a computer developer, and I got into programming as well. So we’re techies. And we chose this wedding style. Simply put: we’re waiting for you, Dad.»
«Yes, I’ll tell Jeanne… Thanks for the invitation,» Arkady nodded.
«No. Plus one is not welcome.»
«But what will I tell her?»
«Tell her we only invite close family. That we are a family.»
«She’s my family too…»
«But she won’t be coming to my wedding.» Liza cut him off.
On his way home, Arkady was going through possible excuses and explanations. In the end, he decided not to tell his cohabitant about his daughter’s wedding.
But Jeanne found the invitation. She saw that her name was not on it and made a scene.
«How could you not tell me about your daughter’s wedding?!» Jeanne screamed, waving the invitation.
«I just didn’t get around to it,» Arkady lied.
«Really? Well, now you have time. I’m listening. How much is her ‘wedding’ going to cost us?»
«The wedding is in the summer. The groom is good, loves her. They aren’t asking anything from me.»
«Really?» Jeanne sighed. «Nothing? Not a penny?»
«No. The groom is well-off.»
«Great. But if anything changes, remember—I don’t want money from the family wasted on foolishness.»
«Jeanne… Liza is my daughter. And her wedding is very important to me. That’s why I will definitely give a nice gift.»
«Let’s choose together.»
Arkady shrugged.
«What about the dress code? I need a new dress! And shoes! I don’t want to embarrass myself!»
«Jeanne, you don’t have to come,» Arkady cautiously said.
«What do you mean? Who are you going with?»
«Alone.»
«Are you serious?! I’m your woman! If you go to the wedding, you’re going with me! Or not at all!»
«This is Liza’s wedding, Jeanne,» Arkady sighed tiredly. «I can’t not go…»
«Then we’re going together! This is not up for discussion. It’s rude to invite a couple separately. Who raised Liza? Doesn’t she know basic rules?! Tell her I’m waiting for an invitation. Otherwise, you won’t come.»
Poor Arkady needed advice, and he decided to call his mother.
«If you don’t go to the wedding, Liza won’t forgive you. She won’t invite you anywhere again. Not to the birth of grandchildren, not to birthdays. You’ll be alone.»
«I have Jeanne…»
«Ha! In old age, who will bring you a glass of water? Jeanne?» his mother asked sarcastically.
Life answered this question unexpectedly. Suddenly, Arkady fell ill: fever, weakness. His beloved Jeanne disappeared for several days—»didn’t want to catch anything.»
«Buy something yourself,» she shouted as she left.
No medicine, no lemon tea, no kind words, no care. But Liza came—with medicine and treats.
«Dad, look at yourself. You’d have perished here if it weren’t for me. You need not Jeanne—you need family. Come on, eat, I brought you some broth.»
Arkady softened and told his daughter about his troubles and Jeanne’s ultimatum.
«Either with her or nothing. And I… don’t know what to do. I feel awkward in front of you, Liza. I didn’t want to tell her, but she found the invitation herself. We’re sort of a couple, it’s bad to go alone.» He looked so dejected and aged that Liza didn’t argue with him.
«Dad,» she said quietly, «do you want me to send her an invitation? Okay… She can come. But I can’t guarantee that after this wedding, Jeanne will still be your partner.»
Arkady only grunted. He couldn’t imagine what his daughter was capable of. At that moment, it was important for him to get better and resolve the conflict with Jeanne.
But Liza surprised him…
A couple of days later, Jeanne indeed received the invitation—in the form of an emoji.
«Did you see this?!» she screeched. «Is this a joke?!»
«This… is the new trend, Jeanne. Their wedding is in emoji style. Well, that’s the concept. Apparently, there was some bug. Liza has a ‘robot’ handling the design. A wedding in emoji style. The fact that you got the ‘pile’ emoji is just a coincidence. It was automatically generated… The son-in-law works with AI,» Arkady answered, barely holding back his laughter. «And by the way, it’s not poop, it’s a pile of chocolate. The wedding has a chocolate color scheme, they even have a dress code.»
Jeanne thought for a moment.
«Emoji, you say? Well, if that’s the case… I should be at this wedding. So everyone knows what kind of woman is with you.»
Of course, Jeanne deleted the invitation. She thought that she had eaten women like Liza for breakfast, and an invitation in the form of a «pile» wouldn’t bother her and wouldn’t stop her from wanting to attend her stepdaughter’s wedding.
The wedding day
Liza’s wedding was held in a luxurious hall. At the entrance, guests were greeted by animators in emoji costumes. On every sign was written: «You are the emotion of this day!»
Guests had been informed in advance that there would be an interactive event. Everyone wore bright emoji masks. The bride herself wore a dress with small hearts and sunny emojis. The groom wore a tie with an emoji ring.
As soon as Jeanne stepped into the hall, she immediately found herself in a trap.
«Each guest gets their own emoji costume.»
She got a hat in the shape of a pile with eyes.
«It suits you very well,» Liza winked, not missing the opportunity.
«I’m not wearing this!» Jeanne reddened with anger.
«The entry conditions for the wedding, the costume,» the host shrugged. «It’s all fair here.»
Guests whispered. Some took photos with her, unable to stop laughing. Jeanne reluctantly took the brown «hat» and walked into the hall with a displeased look.
The host followed her. He knew how to behave and was prepared:
«We have a wonderful evening ahead! Family, friends, exes, and… temporary ones!»
The hall froze. Everyone stared at Jeanne. Someone laughed. Jeanne turned even redder.
As planned, there were no seats left next to the bride and groom. Jeanne was seated at a distant table, all alone.
«I want to sit with my husband!» she told the host, who had escorted her to the far end of the hall.
«I didn’t know you were married. Luckily, I brought two brown costumes. When your husband comes, I’ll give him a second ‘hat’ with poop. And now I need to go. I have to seat the bride’s parents. Together,» the host winked and left. Since the party had already started and the artists’ performance was announced, Jeanne had to sit and wait for Arkady to remember her existence.
Arkady, on the other hand, was engrossed in a conversation with Yulia. She looked gorgeous: a new dress accentuating her natural figure, beautiful makeup—not vulgar like Jeanne’s. An intelligent face, intelligence in her eyes, not emptiness. He didn’t feel like going to the far end of the hall to Jeanne. He watched his beautiful daughter, proud of her, admiring her. He didn’t even notice Jeanne being handed that humiliating «costume.» He didn’t care.
Arkady even teared up when Liza and her husband danced their first dance. He filmed a video for memory, not noticing Jeanne approaching from behind and starting to voice her complaints.
«How long are you going to stare at your ex-wife and ignore me?» she practically snatched the phone from his hands, asking.
«A woman in a poop costume, don’t interfere, the young ones are dancing! Or have you gotten too much into your role and decided to ruin the festive atmosphere?!» She was quickly silenced, with a threat to have her removed from the hall. She had to shut up.
Perhaps Jeanne would have «waited» for the right moment and taken Arkady to a secluded corner of the hall, but after the first dance, the host announced the second:
«And now, attention, a surprise from the bride’s father! A special dance by Arkady and… his only, true beloved woman.»
The host took Yulia and Arkady by the hands and led them to the center of the hall.
The music played—a waltz. Arkady was confused, but the guests clapped and cheered him on, and, not wanting to fall flat, he took his ex-wife by the waist.
Jeanne, red as a lobster, ran to the center of the hall, but she was stopped by the host and the groom.
«What are you doing?! Are you mocking me?! I… I’m leaving!»
«About time,» the groom said smugly.
«And this… I’ll leave for you!» Jeanne angrily threw her pile hat at the host.
«You’re recognizable even without makeup,» the groom retorted, practically pushing Jeanne out of the hall.
«Phew. I think it no longer smells. And it’s easier to breathe,» said one of Liza’s friends. Liza herself didn’t see this; she was watching with tears in her eyes as her dad and mom danced. How good they looked together… And how she wished she could turn back time to keep her dad…
«You’re wonderful, Yulia,» Arkady quietly said when the music stopped. «Although I left the family, I respect you. Thank you for raising such a daughter.»
It was only two hours later that Arkady realized Jeanne had left. He stayed until the cake and then excused himself. At home, he was met with empty boxes. Jeanne was gone.
Arkady was alone. Jeanne didn’t answer any of his messages.
He thought for a long time, going through the photos from the wedding. Then he called Yulia. The words slipped out:
«I’m sorry. I… Maybe we can start over? Just try…»
«I forgave you a long time ago, Arkasha. But please, don’t come back. You can’t step into the same river twice. But please, spend more time with your daughter. She loves you. Take care of her…» Yulia smiled through her tears and ended the call.
Yes… It’s true. You can’t step into the same river twice…
