Yulia worked at a sanatorium, which she had to reach by taking the commuter train. The journey was exhausting, but the pay was decent, and the schedule was convenient — she could manage it alongside daycare. During the warm season, it was okay, but in winter it was scary to run to the station: it was dark, few people around, those garages nearby… But they shoved her into a car not near the garages, but right at the station. A large black jeep stopped, the window rolled down, and a man with a thick beard asked:
“Want to take a ride, beautiful?”
Yulia had never been a beauty. In other circumstances, she might have been flattered by such an address. But her feet in old boots felt nothing from the cold anymore, her nose was running, and the train was leaving in seven minutes. More than anything in the world, Yulia wanted to be in a warm, heated home. Although who would heat it without her? She would warm up for half an hour on the train, run to the daycare, then to the store and home to stoke the stove and cook dinner. She had enough worries, no time for chatter. So she said:
“Open your eyes, what beauty do you see in me?”
And she walked along the road on the beaten path. The car overtook her, stopped again, and a man got out — no beard, different guy, tall and strong. He skillfully lifted her and sat her in the back seat.
The bearded man, with a satisfied smile, said:
“I liked you. So you’re coming to dinner with me.”
And then Yulia realized the man was very drunk and not used to refusals. She started to cry.
“Let me go, my daughter is waiting! Why do you need me? I’m thirty-two, ugly, and can’t even hold a conversation. Don’t look at the fur coat — my neighbor gave it to me out of kindness. Under the coat, I have an old sweater and pants, what dinner are you talking about?”
The big guy who put her in the car leaned down and whispered something to the bearded man. He shook his head and said:
“Alright, don’t cry. I watch over you from the sanatorium, think I haven’t seen your sweater? You look like my mom, and she always dreamed someone would invite her to a restaurant. Come on, don’t be stubborn. Want me to buy you a dress?”
“I want to go home,” Yulia sobbed. “I have to pick up my daughter.”
“How old’s the daughter?”
“Four.”
“Where’s the father?”
“He left.”
“Mine left too. Probably for some other woman?”
“No. His mother turned him against me, saying the child isn’t real.”
“What do you mean—not real?”
“We did IVF. At first he agreed, but then she said children like that have no soul. All that stuff. He’s a good man but very suggestible,” Yulia habitually defended her ex-husband.
“Not real, huh,” the bearded man said slowly. “Alright, let’s go see. Tell me where your nursery or whatever it’s called is. Vovka, drive.”
Yulia pressed into the seat and frantically thought what to do next. It was clear the bearded man wouldn’t just let her go. Her only hope was the big guy — he seemed to look at Yulia with sympathy.
When they all tumbled into the group, both the caregiver and the parents who were putting children into warm overalls fell silent and stared at Yulia. Of course — they had never seen her with such company before. However, little Irochka wasn’t afraid of strange men at all; she wasn’t a timid child. She immediately asked if the bearded man was Santa Claus and if they had seen her dad. She asked everyone about her dad; Yulia was used to it and wasn’t even embarrassed anymore. When they got in the car, Irochka took an interest in the steering wheel and said she could drive too.
The bearded man laughed:
“Funny little girl. And you say you’re not real. Want some ice cream?”
“Yes!” Irochka cheered.
They went to an ice cream café. Then to a supermarket, where the bearded man filled a whole basket with useless food: salted fish, exotic fruits, and moldy cheeses. Yulia would have preferred chicken and pasta, but you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
They drove her right home, and the bearded man, now a bit sobered up, asked to stay for tea. While Yulia stoked the stove, he stared wide-eyed, then said:
“I thought I had a hard childhood… You actually have an outdoor toilet?”
“Really,” Yulia smirked.
She was no longer afraid of the bearded man. She understood he was harmless, just a fool. And his helper was a nice guy: he even put milk, bread, decent cheese, and children’s curds in the basket. Probably had kids himself.
After getting rid of the uninvited guests, Yulia suddenly began to shake. She cried, scaring her daughter, but couldn’t stop — the tears flowed by themselves, probably for the first time since the day her husband packed his things and went back to his mother, leaving her alone, heavily pregnant, in a newly bought house. And well, at least he didn’t want to divide the house. He said that although the child wasn’t “real,” the house should stay with her.
The next day at the sanatorium exit stood the same jeep. The bearded man wasn’t there, only his driver Vovka.
“Get in,” he said. “I’ll take you to the city.”
“Why?” Yulia was surprised. “Do I look like your mom too?”
“Come on,” Vovka got offended. “I’m going that way anyway, thought why not give you a ride.”
“Okay,” Yulia sighed. “Where’s your boss?”
“Sleeping it off. Don’t be mad, he’s okay. Yesterday was his mother’s birthday. Well, if she were alive. You get it. He doesn’t usually drink.”
Yulia nodded. What did it matter to her? She got in.
At first, they rode in silence. Vovka clearly wasn’t one to keep up a conversation. But then he asked:
“So, the kid is really from a test tube?”
“Really.”
“Cool. People come up with all sorts of things, huh?”
“Do you have kids?”
“Nope. Don’t want any. I have three younger siblings who drove me crazy. Better to be alone.”
“Yeah,” Yulia agreed.
Irochka was delighted with the car and asked if they’d go to the ice cream café again.
“No,” Yulia feared — she had no money for the café.
“Come on, let’s go,” Vovka suggested.
“I can’t afford it,” Yulia said straight.
“I’m treating,” he waved his hand.
On the way back, Irochka fell asleep. While Yulia was thinking how to get her out of the car, Vovka took the girl in his arms and carried her to the house.
“Light as a feather,” he marveled. “And very much not real.”
For several days Yulia didn’t see Vovka. Then she ran into the car again, this time with the bearded man.
“Vitaly,” he introduced himself. “Sorry about last time, I wasn’t myself. I really want to invite you to dinner at a restaurant. Not today, of course — whenever you’re free.”
At first, Yulia wanted to refuse. But then she thought, why not? She even had a dress. But who would watch her daughter?
When she said that, Vovka offered:
“I can sit with her.”
Leaving her daughter with a stranger — not the best idea. But Vovka seemed trustworthy. Yulia suggested taking the girl to the playroom — easier for him and less scary for her to leave her daughter alone with a stranger.
The dinner was amusing. Vitaly was talkative and self-loving, but charming. Yulia hadn’t felt like a woman for a long time! So when he suggested going to an exhibition next week, she agreed.
Irochka was thrilled with both the playroom and Vovka. When he brought a bag of groceries, Yulia thought it was too much, but Vovka said:
“It’s from Vitaly Lvovich.”
The bags started appearing every three days, and Yulia didn’t know what to do — thank Vitaly for it or refuse such help since she worked and earned enough to afford buttered bread, so to speak. But she couldn’t find the right words. Moreover, Vitaly seemed to be courting her: took her to restaurants and cultural events, though rarely due to work, but it was like a date. Vovka became the default nanny, and everyone was happy.
One day Vovka let it slip:
“Vitaly Lvovich seems to have fallen in love with you. He’s even thinking about asking you to marry him. The kid just scares him. After all, not his own.”
Yulia was hurt. Fallen in love? And he hadn’t even taken her hand. Plus, the child wasn’t his…
“I don’t need to get married,” Yulia snapped.
“Why wouldn’t you agree?” Vovka perked up. “He’s rich, you’d be like behind a stone wall.”
“I don’t want a rich man…”
“Then what kind do you want?”
Yulia shrugged. Remembered her ex-husband — no, she definitely didn’t want a wimp like that.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.
Vovka suddenly stepped closer, pulled her to himself, and kissed her. Yulia got scared and pulled away. Vovka got scared too, blushed.
“Sorry, I don’t know… Sorry…”
And ran off. Yulia didn’t even have time to understand whether she liked it or not. It was just so sudden. And how should she talk to him after that?
The next day Irochka got sick. Had a high fever, it was awful! Yulia had to urgently take sick leave, which the sanatorium didn’t like, of course. Vitaly was upset: they were just about to go to the theater.
“Maybe Vovka can sit with her?”
“What if he gets sick?” Yulia hesitated.
“Come on, what could happen! Let’s go, you wanted to see that play!”
Why Yulia eventually agreed is hard to say. She felt awkward that such expensive tickets would go to waste or maybe really wanted to see the play. By evening Irochka felt better… So she somehow agreed. Vovka arrived and didn’t look at her, there was an awkwardness. She even bought a new, open dress, but felt ashamed. In the theater, she couldn’t settle, kept thinking about her daughter, and when Vitaly spoke about a trip to a ski resort, Yulia stopped him:
“Listen, okay, you buy me groceries and theater tickets. But this is too much. I’m not going on a resort at your expense.”
“What groceries?” Vitaly was surprised.
“Well, the ones Vovka brings.”
“I don’t get it. No groceries… Vovka is probably a good soul of ours. Don’t argue about the resort: my mom loved skiing, someone should invite her to a resort!”
And suddenly Yulia had an epiphany. She took Vitaly’s hands and said:
“Listen, your mom must be really proud of you, I’m sure! And she sees from there how good you are and how hard you try. But don’t do this. Find someone you love. And your own circle. What are we going to do together? No matter how much I dress up, I’ll always be myself. Like your mom. And besides… I think I love someone else…”
Vitaly was offended, of course. Even shed a tear. Complained he didn’t understand women. But he drove her home. And said on the way back he would go alone, let Vovka do whatever.
So he got it…
Irochka slept hugging a teddy bear Vovka had given her. Vovka himself dozed off in the chair. Yulia tiptoed to him, leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips. He woke up, didn’t understand at first. And Ira said:
“You ran away too fast yesterday. I just wasn’t expecting it. Got scared, you know?”
And kissed him again. And this time, no one was afraid…
