Senya was raised by his grandmother and mother. The boy was not spoiled at all — both his mother Tamara and grandmother Nina had such strong characters that even without a father and grandfather, the two women managed to raise the boy. They were strict about his studies, made him read books, and punished him for mischief.
However, they loved the boy very much. Having both survived the hunger during the Great Patriotic War, they fed him generously as an expression of their love. Besides, both were excellent cooks and even competed to see who could make sweeter pancakes for Senya or cook richer borscht.
“You’re a sausage with fat!” — teased nasty Denis, a skinny redhead, at Senya during a football game. — “You could block the goal with your bulk. How did you let the ball get past?”
Senya was hurt; he didn’t like being fat. Why did Denis have to tease him like that? Anyone guarding the goal can miss the ball — why insult right away?
The boy held himself back from crying, but tears still rolled down his cheeks. If only he could run after Denis and give him a good beating. But Denis was too quick.
Ah, if only it were only the boys who upset Senya. The grandmothers by the entrance, without meaning to, also upset the boy that day.
He walked, unable to see anyone because of tears, wiping his runny nose across his face. He had no patience for old ladies; Senya was lost in bitter thoughts, wanting to get home as soon as possible.
“Why have we stopped greeting each other, Arseny?” — exclaimed Arina Vasilievna, the “chief” grandmother. Senya always greeted her first, as his mother and grandmother had taught him.
The boy grumbled something, unwilling to talk to anyone. He passed by the women sitting on the bench and already reached out for the door handle.
“Well, you’re a rude one, Ninka and Tomka raised you!” — Arina Vasilievna exclaimed, with the other grandmothers nodding in agreement. — “You’ve grown cheeks like a pig, but no brains. Oh, if only your father were here, he’d quickly teach you to respect people…”
Senya felt sick inside hearing those words. His ears were ringing loudly, his head spinning. Home, home. And soon the boy reached his door.
“Arseny, time for lunch!” — he heard his grandmother’s voice right away. Although his first impulse was to refuse the meal, the smell of grandmother’s cutlets and fragrant baking was irresistible.
“I’m coming, granny,” — he said, pulling himself together, — “I’ll wash up and come.”
Arina Vasilievna stepped on a sore spot today by reminding him about his father. Senya had no dad — he had worried about this his whole short life. Of course, he loved his grandmother and mother, but how wonderful life would be if his father lived with them, like the boys in the yard…
And the boys disappointed him too. Vasya and Denis weren’t mean, just normal kids. It was just that Arseny was very fat.
As usual, good food calmed Senya down. He stuffed himself, sighed, and went to read a book. He generally loved books, especially one about the sailor Sindbad. In that book was a picture where the brave, tanned sailor skillfully climbed a towering mast. A large white ship happily slid over turquoise waves crowned with white foam. Oh, how Senya wished to be like strong, handsome Sindbad, climbing masts and sailing the seas and oceans.
The boy heard his mother’s voice and closed the book. From her tone, he understood she was displeased — apparently Arina Vasilievna had already complained about her rude son. Senya sighed.
“What did you say to Arina Vasilievna?” — Tamara asked as she entered the room. Her look promised nothing good.
“Nothing, Mom,” the boy shook his head.
“What? Nothing at all?” — his mother frowned.
“I missed the ball and cried today,” — Arseny began to explain, — “I wanted to get home as soon as possible so no one would see me cry. And Arina Vasilievna…”
“Alright,” — his mother sighed, — “you don’t have to say more. That old gossip! But listen, you have to respect your elders. So if she complains about you again, I’ll deal with you, and I won’t be gentle.”
“Mom, do elders always behave well?” — the boy asked, looking into her eyes. — “And if they talk to me about Dad, is that right too?”
Tamara froze. She would have defended her son against that old woman for mentioning his father. So instead, she ruffled her son’s curly hair and smiled.
“Don’t pay attention, son,” — she said kindly, — “come, let’s have some tea. Granny made pancakes.”
And although the boy had just had lunch, he happily went to the kitchen. He loved his grandmother’s pancakes.
Senya’s father was named Fedor. Tamara had spent her life studying, working, being among the leaders. There was no time for love. But when she saw Fedor, she fell head over heels. He was so handsome — curly-haired, tall, and good-looking. Tamara was no longer young to be a bride — over thirty — but she fell into a complicated trap like a first-year student.
Tamara married her handsome man. But after a year, the terrible truth came out — Fedor was a bigamist. In one of the Soviet republics, he had left a wife with two small children.
Tamara didn’t even want to listen; she was very angry. All her love disappeared immediately. She filed the papers to annul the marriage. Then she found out she was pregnant. That’s how little Senya appeared — a small copy of her former lover.
Tamara loved her son madly and did not want him to learn any dirt about his father. She sharply cut off any talk about the boy’s absent parent.
1971
“Mom, I’m going to Kamchatka!” — Senya exclaimed with burning eyes, hugging his mother.
The boy studied well at school and passed exams excellently. He could choose any university in the country, but he dreamed of the sea. His mother would never let her son go to the edge of the earth to enroll. But a commission from the Far East arrived in their city. Tenth graders could take exams to enter the maritime school.
“Mom, I got accepted,” — the boy said excitedly, — “I’m going to be a sailor!”
Tamara’s heart bled thinking how hard it would be for her son without her. Her mother sighed beside her. She even tried to fake a heart attack to stop Arseny from going to Kamchatka.
Still, for the first time in his life, Senya insisted on his own. His mother decided to show wisdom. She knew it would be hard for her clumsy, plump son on the edge of the earth.
“Let him go,” — she thought, — “the sooner he leaves, the sooner he returns.”
And Arseny flew to Kamchatka. For the first time in his life, he flew on a plane; his heart sweetly skipped as the huge aircraft climbed and soared far away. Ahead of him lay new lands, sea adventures, and friendly people.
But Kamchatka greeted him extremely unfriendly. Everything here was gray and gloomy. The representative of the maritime school who met Arseny at the airport grumbled something rude and unpleasant.
Upon seeing the plump boy, the classmates immediately nicknamed him Fatty. They laughed a little at Arseny’s build, then quickly got distracted by other, more important matters. Here, indeed, everyone had more important things than him.
However, on the very first days, the boy made friends. Oleg, Gena, and Seryoga came from different cities. Senya did not yet know that their friendship, born here in Kamchatka in 1971, would last a lifetime.
“Guys, they say practice starts next week!” — shouted Oleg. — “We’re going to sea!”
“How can it be next week?” — Senya was surprised. — “The first sea trip for cadets is after a year of study!”
Oleg shrugged. Some changes had happened. Apparently, the training department decided to run an experiment. The guys would go into the open sea after an accelerated sailor course.
Arseny’s heart ached with anticipation of something new and, at the same time, dangerous. He had dreamed of the sea for so many years! It seemed his dream would come true much earlier than expected. But the boy’s heart did not boil with joy. Suddenly he realized he was scared… very scared.
His mother sent a letter saying Senya could return home whenever he wanted. He could enroll in a university in his hometown if he hurried. Putting the letter aside, the boy shook his head. No…
“If I return, nothing in my life will ever change,” — Arseny thought.
And yet, he thought about returning home under the warm wing of Grandma Nina and Mother many times. Once, during a storm when he was terribly seasick, Senya told himself he would come home as soon as the ship reached the shore.
Then he couldn’t imagine that the hardest trials were only beginning. The cadets were transferred to a fishing vessel. Oh, how that ship smelled of herring!
“Fatty, come here!” — shouted Captain’s assistant Egorov. — “Come, I’ll show you how the trawl works.”
Trawl? Arseny frowned and went to see what the contraption used for catching herring looked like. A huge net was lowered into the bottomless depths, catching fish.
“Look, when the trawl is lifted, the fish will fall on the deck,” — the assistant explained. — “You’ll go to the guys and collect the herring.”
Arseny nodded, trying to fight his nausea. He hated the smell of herring. It was constant here. The smell was so suffocating that he didn’t even want to eat. Although the food on the ship was quite decent.
“No mom’s pies here, huh, Fatty?” — Olezha winked at his friend.
“Don’t really want them,” — Senya replied, almost nauseous from everything. — “I’d rather have some broth.”
Tons of fish were caught every day. Countless herrings fell on the deck, and just as many remained in the net. The sailor trainees had to collect the fallen herring and free those stuck in the net. There were so many, endlessly many.
“I dream of only one thing,” — Arseny muttered once while gathering fish on the deck. He had lost track of days and didn’t know how long they had been living like this.
“Want to watch movies in the lounge?” — Oleg asked, keeping pace with his friend. Fish, fish, fish… How he wished they’d call them to the lounge where there was a real Japanese VCR and show a martial arts movie.
Arseny shook his head. He wanted to wash properly, standing under a normal shower, not a thin trickle of barely warm water. He also wanted to shave looking in a big mirror, not a tiny square the size of a kitten’s head. Mirrors on the ship were only in the officers’ cabins. But neither the first mate nor the captain was willing to let trainees in even for such a noble purpose.
His clothes stretched and were terribly uncomfortable. Everything smelled of fish despite regular linen changes. The smell had soaked into his hair, nails, skin — there was no escape from it.
Arseny’s dreams of a shower and a mirror came true quite soon. The fishing vessel did not have enough refrigeration units to store a large stock of fish products. Another ship was supposed to come to the vessel where the guys were to transfer all the fish for delivery ashore.
“This ship is comfortable, it has a shower and everything you need,” — Egorov said with a smirk, looking at the trainees, — “you’ll have exactly an hour to wash and clean up.”
For the first time in a long time, Senya felt happy. He could wash! The boy stood under the shower with pleasure and felt the hot water envelop his body. Oh, how good it was…
Coming out of the shower, the boy looked around in surprise. It seemed to him someone was standing there. But it was a mirror.
Arseny’s eyes popped as he looked at his reflection. He approached the mirror and touched his chin and cheeks — it was someone else’s face. Belly! Where was the belly?
The boy continued to look at his reflection with curiosity and delight. His face, shoulders, and chest were slightly tanned — exactly like the sailor in his childhood book. Oh, how the guys from his hometown yard would see him now.
“So that’s why my clothes stretched so much,” — Arseny laughed mentally. He left the cabin and went to the deck. Here the boy inhaled the fresh sea air. The wind tickled his hair.
Something important was missing at that moment, but he couldn’t figure out what. A snow-white mast towered on the ship, beckoning Arseny. The former Senya would never have dared to do something like that without orders. He knew that such willfulness would bring a severe reprimand. But still, he did it.
With incredible skill and quick movements, the boy climbed up. What a wonder — he wasn’t short of breath, and his body didn’t pull him down under the heavy weight.
“Maybe I’ll be lucky and no one will see,” — Arseny thought, enjoying the endless blue expanse. Turquoise waves with white foam playfully danced, gently rocking the nearby ships.
At that moment, the boy felt happy, strong, and daring. His heart pounded wildly as if it could jump out of his chest.
EPILOGUE
On the very first vacation, Arseny arrived in his hometown. Surprisingly, when he walked through his yard, none of his friends recognized him. The boy found it very amusing.
“What apartment is this?” — grumbled an old lady at the entrance.
“My own, Arina Vasilievna, my own,” — Senya winked at the inquisitive granny, — “with Tamara Ivanovna and grandmother Nina.”
“Senya, is it?” — the astonished old lady looked at the tall, tanned boy with broad shoulders.
Instead of answering, Arseny gently hugged the neighbor grandma. Now Arina Vasilievna could say anything to him. Let her even try to hurt him by mentioning his father. Today, the boy was running to the two dearest people who had done everything to make him happy. They had tried so hard, and in the end, they succeeded.
He returned to the school, which he graduated from brilliantly. Later, a pretty girl noticed the tanned handsome guy and later became his wife.
