— So, has your husband returned from his business trip? — the friend asked sarcastically.
— Nadya, don’t. You know it wasn’t a business trip.
— Okay, sorry. I thought, unlike Olya, you would stubbornly deny it to the end—that your husband isn’t like that and that we’re all lying out of envy. I wanted to prove to you that he’s cheating on you. Spent half my vacation playing detective.
— Where’s your husband? — Nadya, Svetlana’s friend, suddenly called her on a Friday evening.
— On a business trip, sent to some place called Tmutarakan to fix equipment, — Svetlana calmly replied, continuing to cut salad for her daughter.
— Really? — Nadya asked slyly. — Because I’m on the beach in Pattaya right now, and just now a man suspiciously looking exactly like your Kolya walked past me, arm in arm with a long-legged beauty.
— Yes, really! Probably just looks like him.
— Well, I’m just warning you.
Svetlana hung up and thought. Could Nikolay be lying to her? He didn’t go on business trips often, but it was part of his job, so sometimes it happened.
And when he did go, it was really to some faraway place with barely any connection. She hadn’t called him back already, used to the idea that if there was a connection, he’d call himself.
Still, could he be lying? Or did Nadya just imagine things? Or maybe she was just jealous of someone else’s female happiness—she had been single for years. And female friendship in situations like this can twist in strange ways.
Nikolay never gave her a reason to be jealous: he always came straight home from work, spent all holidays with her, never smelled of perfume, no suspicious calls. So, probably Nadya just imagined it.
Svetlana tried to push those thoughts away but couldn’t fully get rid of them. What if Nadya was right, and Svetlana’s husband really was enjoying himself on Thai beaches with some unknown long-legged beauty?
But how could she check? She couldn’t ask Nadya to stalk that couple and take pictures. How would she find him in Pattaya? There were more people there than drops in the sea. If they weren’t staying at the same hotel, meeting again was impossible.
All that was left was to wait for her husband’s return and somehow find out where he had really been. Svetlana decided to act according to the situation.
To avoid overthinking, she focused on her daughter: took five-year-old Katyusha to the zoo, out of town, to the circus.
A week later, Nikolay returned. Svetlana smiled sadly: her husband looked rested and even tanned. The tan could be explained by outdoor work, but then his back and arms would be more tanned than the rest of his body. Nikolay’s tan was even and beautiful.
Svetlana decided to try to break him:
— Imagine, Nadya called me from Thailand a week ago and said she saw a man on the beach who looked exactly like you, — Svetlana noticed how Nikolay flinched at that phrase. — She tried to convince me it was you, funny, right? I told her you were on a business trip, not on vacation.
— You shouldn’t talk to that Nadya, she always stirs things up. She’s jealous of you and our happiness and tries to make us fight. You need to stay away from people like her.
Her husband’s reaction seemed strange to her, but it wasn’t confirmation of her suspicions either.
“What if I call the director, and he confirms that you were on a business trip?” — It was a good idea, her husband didn’t have a great relationship with the director, who wouldn’t cover for him out of male solidarity. But not in front of her husband. Svetlana decided to call in the morning when both were at work.
— Hello, Kirill Ivanovich, this is Svetlana, Nikolay’s wife. I wanted to ask if you could send him on business trips less often. I understand everything, but you could send those without families, my daughter barely sees her father.
— Hello, Svetlana. I wouldn’t say he goes on business trips that often. This year only once, in winter. And we probably won’t bother him until autumn. Equipment breaks less in summer; winter conditions are extreme.
— But he just came back yesterday, he was gone for two weeks.
— Actually, he took unpaid leave and said he was going to his mother’s village.
Svetlana thanked her husband’s director for the information and hung up.
So, to the director, it’s a trip to his mother’s village; to the wife, a business trip; but in reality, it’s Pattaya with some long-legged beauty. And it’s not the first time—he also went away for three days in the spring. Also a business trip.
Svetlana was confused, not knowing what to do.
The phone rang again—it was Nadya. She didn’t want to talk but felt she should thank her for the information. Svetlana answered.
— So, has your husband returned from his business trip? — the friend asked sarcastically.
— Nadya, don’t. You know it wasn’t a business trip.
— Okay, sorry. I thought, unlike Olya, you’d stubbornly deny it—that your husband isn’t like that and we’re all lying out of envy. I wanted to prove to you he’s cheating. Spent half my vacation playing detective.
— Did you follow him? — Svetlana’s interest was clear.
— Yeah, — Nadya answered proudly. — Your Kolya is living it up, I must say. Four-star hotel. I could only afford three stars myself. If you need evidence for a divorce, I have photos.
— Nadya, you’re a miracle. Send them.
The girl in the photo was indeed long-legged; it was impossible to look at anything else. On heels, she was even slightly taller than Nikolay, who was about six feet tall. And of course, she was well-groomed, beautiful, rested. Svetlana had to admit she didn’t measure up to her husband’s mistress. Where was she, with a five-year-old in her arms, working from dawn to dusk—first at work, then at home—who hadn’t seen the sea in over six years…
Svetlana went to the system administrator and asked him to print a couple of photos. She had printer access, but it was strictly controlled in the organization.
— Actually, personal documents aren’t allowed to be printed.
— I know, Ivan, that’s why I came to you, — Svetlana suspected the guy liked her and was ready to use that. — I absolutely need these photos today, after work I won’t have time.
— What photos?
Svetlana hesitated but knew from the start she’d have to show Ivan. Embarrassed, she handed him the phone showing the photo of her husband kissing his girlfriend.
— That’s your husband! — Ivan exclaimed louder than necessary.
— Quiet!
— Sorry, sorry. He is…
— Well, as you can see. I want to throw these photos in his face.
— I understand, of course. I’ll print the photos for you, but a bit later, during lunch, okay? I’ll bring them myself.
In the evening, Svetlana picked Katyusha up from kindergarten and took her to her mother.
—I need to talk to Kolya; Katyusha doesn’t need to see this.
— Cheating? — her mother guessed immediately.
Svetlana sighed heavily.
— Don’t jump to conclusions. Katyusha needs her father.
— We’ll see about that, but you need to talk.
— Go ahead, you’ll do it your way anyway.
Svetlana was planning to do just that. She packed Nikolay’s things, put them in the hallway, and placed the printed photos on top. They lived in her apartment, bought by her parents while they still could. She didn’t want to stay in the same apartment with a cheater, so she hinted that it was better for him to leave. She went to drink her favorite coffee in the café across the street.
No sooner had she sat at a far table and taken her first sip than the phone rang—it was her husband:
— What does this mean? Where are you?
— Well, as you can see, I found out where they sent you on that business trip and what equipment needed repair.
— Where are you? You can’t just throw me out like that. We need to talk.
— I’m at the café across the street, come. But bring your things; you won’t be spending the night with us.
Five minutes later, Nikolay was at the café, without a suitcase. Very self-confident. Maybe he left the suitcase in the car?
He sat down at the table opposite Svetlana.
— Okay, I agree, I behaved terribly. I slipped up, wanted a good life: sea, palm trees, all-inclusive, a beautiful woman…
Svetlana smiled slyly:
— First, I’d want all that too, except maybe the woman. And Katyusha. But for myself and my princess, of course, they’re more important than for my daughter, right? Second, definitely not just once, I know your spring business trip was fake.
— Yeah, yeah, twice, but that’s it. I’ll never allow myself that again.
— That’s up to you. But I won’t forgive you anyway, so go wherever you want. You have enough money, and a woman too, you won’t disappear. I’ll file for divorce soon.
— Where should I go? I have nowhere to live. Should I live at the station?
Svetlana took out her phone, opened the photo, and showed him:
— Go to her. You love each other so much.
She finished her coffee, stood up, and headed to the exit. Nikolay ran after her:
— You can’t go to her, she has a husband!
— She’s married too!
— Well, I chose her because she won’t run to you with revelations.
— Clever. But you miscalculated—if she were free, you’d have a place to stay. So… you can go to your mother.
— Are you joking? She won’t let me in if she finds out. She still hasn’t forgiven my father.
— Oh, by the way, go to your father. He’ll understand you. Anyway, I don’t care where you go, but I won’t let you in. I’m disgusted. Give me the keys, — he handed her the bunch. — Did you take your things?
She was already entering the elevator.
— I left my things in the hallway, I didn’t believe my kind, good Sveta would kick me out, — shouted her husband, who had been following her all this time.
— Too bad, if I put them in the hallway, you’ll take them, — Svetlana pressed the button for her floor, and the elevator doors closed in front of Nikolay.
The next day, system administrator Ivan was unusually attentive to her. Svetlana regretted telling him everything so thoughtlessly yesterday. Apparently, he thought he could count on her attention. She was uncomfortable; she did not consider the guy as a potential partner. But his attention was pleasant too.
Nikolay kept calling Svetlana, begging for forgiveness or at least to let him into the apartment until he found a rental. Svetlana was firm.
A week later, Svetlana came to kindergarten to pick up Katyusha, but the teacher told her the girl had already been picked up by her father. Svetlana was scared. It hadn’t occurred to her to forbid the teachers from giving her daughter to her husband. He never picked her up before, finishing work later. But now, where to find them?
By inertia, Svetlana went home, thinking whether to call her husband or the police. Then she saw Katyusha happily sliding down the slide into her father’s arms. She approached them.
— Katya, play a little more; I need to talk to your dad.
— Will dad stay today?
— Yes! — Nikolay blurted out.
— No! — Svetlana said simultaneously. — Dad won’t stay with us; he has a new home now, he’ll play with you and leave. I’ll say a few words, and he’ll come back to you.
— I thought you couldn’t kick me out in front of the daughter.
— Sometimes tough decisions have to be made. If you pull something like this again, I’ll move, change jobs and kindergarten—you’ll be looking for me all over Moscow.
— I’m her father, after all.
— If you want to communicate — go ahead, I don’t mind. But I demand you warn me in advance about your intentions.
When pressure through the daughter didn’t help, Nikolay turned to his mother-in-law. He knew she was always for preserving the family, at any cost. He swore and promised never to cheat on her daughter again, to become the perfect husband, if only Svetlana would forgive him.
After hearing his mother’s tirade about how everyone deserves a second chance, Svetlana threatened a moratorium on communication with her granddaughter. And to keep Nikolay from scheming, she called his mother. She had once painfully experienced her husband’s betrayal and never forgave her son for such behavior. Now it was Nikolay’s mother who was bothering him, not Svetlana.
But the divorce was still hard. In court, Nikolay played the perfect husband and father, constantly asking for more time to reconcile. Meanwhile, during the divorce, Svetlana befriended her lawyer, a very pleasant man, who liked her very much too. Svetlana didn’t know what would come of this new relationship but was glad that her life was going on.
