“Are you ready for our first real vacation?” Ilya asked over dinner, reaching across the table to stroke his wife’s hand.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Nina replied with a nervous smile and a long breath. “I feel almost as anxious as I did before our wedding. We’ve been planning this for so long, and I’ve built up so many expectations around this trip. I keep thinking I’m going to forget something important. I’ve already gone through the suitcases several times.”
“Would you like us to check everything together one more time?” Ilya asked with a smile. He could see that his wife was genuinely beside herself with excitement.
“Yes, please!” she said, nodding. “But finish your dinner first.”
“Of course I’ll finish it,” Ilya said with a wink. “How could anyone leave food this delicious? I might even ask for seconds.”
“Wait!” Nina suddenly jumped up from the table and hurried toward the refrigerator. “What is wrong with me? I completely forgot that I made your favorite salad.”
“Well, what are you waiting for? Bring it here!”
Ilya understood perfectly well why Nina was so nervous, and he did everything he could to support her.
They had been married for eight years and lived, as people liked to say, in perfect harmony. They lacked nothing. They owned a spacious apartment, a country house, and two cars. They both had excellent jobs and had even managed to build up some savings.
But there were no children in their family.
They had undergone every examination imaginable, but the doctors could only shrug. Both Nina and Ilya were completely healthy, and no one could explain why she had not become pregnant.
Not long ago, Nina had heard about a special place somewhere in the Krasnodar region. According to the story, married couples who had long since lost hope of becoming parents often returned from there only to discover that their greatest dream was finally coming true.
The idea immediately took hold of her.
Ilya, of course, understood that there was probably nothing magical about one particular place. A change of scenery was often enough. They could have traveled anywhere, relaxed, forgotten their worries, and stopped treating pregnancy as something that had to happen immediately.
The Krasnodar region had no shortage of romantic places capable of making people forget their everyday troubles. The mountains, the sea, and the warm southern air would certainly improve their health and mood after years spent in a harsh climate.
Besides, during all their years of marriage, they had never allowed themselves a proper vacation.
Sometimes they could not arrange to take time off together, so they simply kept working to earn more money. Then they had renovations to finish. After that, there was always something demanding attention at the country house.
Now, at last, they had decided to go.
Ilya’s parents had promised to look after the country house, and Nina’s mother would water the plants in their apartment. Their vacations at work had lined up perfectly.
It seemed as though fate itself was preparing to bring even greater happiness into their already loving home.
After dinner, the couple cleared the table together, washed the dishes, and went to inspect the suitcases once more so that Nina could finally stop worrying that she had forgotten something.
At that moment, her phone rang.
Nina looked at her husband, and he understood immediately.
It was Galina, the wife of Nina’s younger brother.
Ivan had left two days earlier for another rotational work assignment, which meant Galina needed something from his sister again.
That was how it always happened.
Nina was the eldest child in the family. There were only seven years between her and Ivan, but she had dreamed so passionately of having a younger brother or sister that when Ivan was born, she tried to help their mother with everything.
She rocked him in his stroller, sang lullabies to him, and even attempted to swaddle him. Whenever the family went for a walk in the park, Nina insisted on pushing the stroller herself.
Her father would keep one hand lightly against the side of the handle and tell her that he was only making sure she did not wander off the path. Nina would walk proudly ahead, convinced that she was pushing her little brother entirely on her own.
As Ivan grew older, she taught him to tie his shoelaces, fasten his buttons, put his clothes on properly, and pronounce difficult words.
“Not ‘wish,’ Vanya. Fish. Ffff-ish,” she would repeat patiently, tapping her knee. “Come on, Vanechka. It’s easy.”
Their parents were constantly moved by the sight.
“What a wonderful little helper we have,” they would say.
Ivan was attached to his sister too, perhaps even more than he was to their parents.
When he started kindergarten, Nina picked him up on her way home from school while their parents were still at work. She fed him, played with him, and read books to him before his afternoon nap.
When Ivan reached high school, Nina was the first person he told that he had fallen in love with a classmate named Natasha.
Nina advised him on how to impress the girl, what to buy her for her birthday, and where to invite her when Natasha suggested they spend time together.
Everything between them went wonderfully.
Nina liked Natasha. She was modest, intelligent, and sincere.
Then one summer, Ivan’s friends invited him to a country house. Natasha had gone away with her parents to visit her grandmother, and it was during that gathering that Ivan met Galina.
Galina was no timid young woman.
She attached herself to Ivan so aggressively that he could not even explain why he had spoken to her in the first place. She found out where he lived and began showing up at his home.
Ivan tried everything he could to make her understand. He told her that he was with Natasha, that he loved her, and that they might even get married.
But Galina clung to him like a burr.
It would have been difficult to find anyone more persistent, even if one deliberately searched for such a person.
Nina saw how helpless her brother was. Words did not work, and he had never been taught to behave cruelly toward women.
Eventually, Nina decided to speak to Galina herself.
Galina turned out to be completely impenetrable.
She stared directly at Nina and repeated that she loved Ivan and would never allow anyone else to have him.
She dismissed every argument with a proud tilt of her head, as though victory already belonged to her.
“I’m better than your precious Natasha.”
“I’ll get what I want eventually.”
“He’ll fall in love with me.”
“I’m patient. I can wait.”
After Nina’s intervention, Galina appeared less frequently, but she never disappeared entirely.
One day, shortly after the young people had finished school, Natasha came running to Nina’s house in tears.
“Nina, someone told me that your brother is seeing another girl,” she sobbed. “They said they’re planning to get married. Is it true?”
“What are you talking about? Of course it isn’t true. Who told you such nonsense?”
“I don’t know. Someone called our home number. She said things between them were serious and offered to send me photographs. I refused. I couldn’t bear to look at them.”
“You shouldn’t have refused,” Nina replied. “There can’t possibly be real photographs of them. And if she does have anything, it must have been fabricated.”
Natasha seemed calmer after that, but she and Ivan were soon separated.
Natasha left to study in another city, while Ivan was drafted into the army.
They exchanged letters, and whenever Ivan spoke to Nina on the phone, he assured her that everything between him and his fiancée was fine.
Gradually, however, he stopped mentioning Natasha.
When he returned home, he confessed to his sister that Galina had visited him while he was serving. They had spent one of his days off together. She had rented an apartment nearby and invited him over, supposedly just for tea.
“But it didn’t end with tea,” he admitted.
“At first, I was ashamed to face Natasha,” Ivan continued. “I wrote to her less often and stopped calling. Then Galina contacted her herself. She sent Natasha a flash drive. She’d recorded us that day.”
“Well, what can I say?” Nina replied after thinking for a moment. “You only have yourself to blame. Why did you go to that apartment? Maybe you don’t love Natasha as deeply as you claim. In her place, I wouldn’t forgive you.”
“What am I supposed to do, Nina? I can’t live without her.”
“Go to her. Ask for forgiveness. Swear that it will never happen again. Tell her you lost your mind for one stupid day. Remind her of everything you shared. Tell her you aren’t willing to throw your future away because of one meaningless mistake.”
Ivan did exactly that.
To his amazement, Natasha forgave him and agreed to give him another chance.
But when Ivan returned home, the doorbell rang that very evening.
Galina stood on the doorstep holding a heavy bag. Beneath her jacket, her rounded stomach was clearly visible.
“I’m carrying your son’s child, and I’m not leaving,” she announced to Ivan’s father when he opened the door.
Sergey Vasilyevich invited her inside.
During a family discussion over dinner, they decided that Galina could stay with them until the baby was born. Afterward, they would arrange a DNA test.
If the child belonged to Ivan, he would have to accept responsibility. And if Galina was lying, she would be sent away.
“I wasn’t even going to tell him,” Galina said, bursting into tears for the first time. “Not after everything he said to me when he found out about the message I sent Natasha. But once I could no longer hide my stomach, my mother threw me out. Where else was I supposed to go?”
Nina felt sorry for the once-confident girl who now sat crying before them.
Galina had brought the situation upon herself, of course. Nina did not excuse her brother either. Yet she felt sorry for Ivan, for Natasha, and most of all for the unborn child.
The baby was completely innocent.
Ivan faced another painful conversation with Natasha.
He traveled to see her, confessed everything, and swore that nothing would ever happen between him and Galina again.
Even if the baby turned out to be his, he said, he would pay child support and help however he could, but he would never marry Galina.
Natasha merely nodded, struggling to hold back her tears.
When the baby was born and the DNA test confirmed that Ivan was the father, Natasha refused to listen to him any longer.
“Vanya, perhaps you never really knew me,” she said firmly. “But I could never live with a man knowing he abandoned his own child because of me. Never.”
From that day on, Natasha stopped answering his calls and messages.
Ivan found work as a driver and tried to spend as little time at home as possible.
In the end, he did marry Galina, but he slept in a separate room and barely approached the baby.
Nina saw how deeply Ivan was suffering and how exhausted Galina had become. She spent many nights caring for her nephew and then went to work the following morning.
When the baby was six months old, Nina married Ilya.
Even afterward, she often took her nephew out on weekends, bought him toys, and made sure he had the clothes and supplies he needed.
Galina did everything she could to make Ivan soften toward her, and apparently, she succeeded to some extent.
A year and a half later, they had another son. A year after that, a daughter was born.
Only once did Ivan confess to Nina that he remained with Galina because he saw no alternative.
“A man is supposed to have a family,” he said. “But no matter how hard I try, I can’t forget Natasha.”
Nina could never understand the injustice of it.
Her brother and Galina had three children, even though neither of them seemed to truly appreciate them.
Nina and Ilya desperately wanted a son or daughter of their own, yet they had none.
So Nina poured her love into her nephews and niece.
Galina quickly noticed this and began exploiting Nina’s affection.
Sometimes she would ask Nina to pay for an expensive birthday celebration with entertainers because Ivan did not earn enough.
Other times, she invented another costly wish and expected Nina to fulfill it.
A year earlier, Ivan had accepted rotational work far from home.
“At least I’ll spend less time in that house,” he admitted, “and perhaps I’ll finally earn enough money to satisfy Galina.”
After that, Galina began asking Nina to take care of the children more often.
“Your parents are at the country house, and I’m exhausted,” she would say. “Take them for the weekend. Be a friend.”
Nina usually agreed. She and Ilya enjoyed laughing, playing, and acting silly with the children.
Another time, Galina called and said, “Ivan is away, your mother has a migraine, your father has gone fishing, and I’ve developed a fever. I’m afraid I’ll infect the children. Can you keep them for a few days?”
Or she would demand, “Nina, the berries are ripe at your country house. Bring a bucket for the children.”
Nina never refused.
Recently, however, her mother had revealed that Galina often left the children with their grandparents and disappeared somewhere. Sometimes she did not even return at night.
Nina began to wonder whether all their help was only making things worse.
Perhaps if Galina had no one to leave the children with, she would have less time to run around enjoying herself.
Nina and Ilya had already discussed the situation and agreed that she needed to learn how to say no.
And now Galina was calling once again.
“Is it urgent?” Nina asked. “We’re busy, and I can’t talk for long. We’re preparing for our vacation.”
“Oh, I won’t keep you,” Galina said rapidly. “That’s actually why I’m calling. Your mother told me you’re going away. Take the children with you. The sea air will be good for them.”
Nina’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
“Are you serious?” she asked, hoping Galina was joking.
“Why wouldn’t I be? Of course I’m serious. The children miss you, and this would give you a chance to spend time together. You know they’re always catching colds. The doctor said we ought to take them to the sea. Since you’re already going, you can take them along.”
“No, Galina. This time the answer is no. I’m going away with my husband. We have a particular reason for this trip. I want to relax and forget about every responsibility. I was even planning to turn off my phone, and now you’re suggesting I take three children with me?”
“They’re your own nephews and niece!” Galina exclaimed. “I’m not asking you to take strangers off the street. They need sea air. Is it really so difficult? They’re well behaved. They aren’t spoiled like other children.”
“I’m not arguing with you about the children. They are wonderful, and I love them very much. I’ve never refused to babysit them or take them for a weekend. But everything has a limit. I have worked for eight years without taking a proper vacation. My husband and I want to spend this one alone. What exactly is unclear about that?”
“Then just admit that you don’t care about my children. You and your husband are alone together at home all the time anyway. You don’t have children of your own. You already belong completely to one another, so that excuse doesn’t sound very convincing.”
That hurt.
Galina had deliberately struck Nina at her most painful wound.
Nina drew a deep breath and answered in a cold, decisive voice.
“I have always accommodated you, Galina. I helped raise your children from infancy and never once refused you. But you are ungrateful. From this day forward, I will take the children for a weekend only when I choose to, not whenever you feel like going out. I will buy them whatever I wish, not whatever you demand.”
She paused.
“And one more thing. Be careful. If Ivan learns that you’ve been unfaithful while he’s working himself to exhaustion, you’ll be in serious trouble. Don’t say later that no one warned you.”
“What did you expect me to do?” Galina snapped. “Spend the rest of my life waiting for a man who sleeps beside me but thinks about another woman? He calls Natasha’s name in his sleep and barely notices that I exist. Well, you were wrong. I’m leaving all of you myself. You refuse to take the children to the sea, so perhaps you won’t be going either. I’m leaving. You didn’t want to settle this peacefully, so now we’ll do it my way.”
She ended the call.
Nina looked at Ilya, pressing both hands against her cheeks.
He had been standing nearby and had heard everything. Galina’s voice had been loud enough to fill the room.
“She might actually do it,” he said with a nod.
An hour later, Nina’s mother called.
Nina understood immediately that Galina had not been bluffing.
“Nina,” Elena Ivanovna began, her voice trembling, “Galina packed her things. She said she’s leaving forever, and she’s leaving the children with us.”
The woman struggled to control herself as she continued.
“She said she thought Ivan would learn to love her because of the children, but he remained completely cold. She says she wants to feel desired, and apparently there is another man who needs her. Ninochka, do you think she’s bluffing?”
“I don’t know,” Nina replied, still shocked by everything that had happened. “She wanted us to take the children so she could go off and enjoy herself. If that’s true, then what happened today would have happened sooner or later anyway. What are we supposed to do now? Cancel our tickets?”
“Absolutely not!” her mother exclaimed. “Don’t even think about it. You planned this trip for so long. You cannot cancel everything now.”
“But how will you manage with all three children?”
“I’ll take unpaid leave until Vanechka returns. Then we’ll decide what to do. Don’t worry. Everything will be all right. She has left the children with us and disappeared many times before. Your father and I kept quiet because we didn’t want to destroy their family. But apparently, there was no family to destroy.”
“That’s certainly true,” Nina said with a sigh. “Hold on, Mom. When we return, we’ll take the children until Ivan comes home.”
“All right. Don’t worry about us, sweetheart. I want you and Ilya to have a wonderful vacation. We won’t neglect your plants either. Your father will stay with the children while I go and water them. Don’t think about anything here.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
Nina was surprised that her mother had remained silent about Galina’s behavior for so long, although Elena Ivanovna had always tried to protect her children from unnecessary worry.
Still, Galina’s actions should not have been entirely surprising. From the beginning, it had been obvious that she was a determined and calculating woman.
How tragic that Ivan’s relationship with Natasha had been destroyed because of her obsession.
How terribly tragic.
Once Nina and Ilya reached the sea, Nina finally disconnected from every worry.
Ilya organized excursions and showed her places of extraordinary beauty. He had visited the region several times before, and Nina was amazed by everything she saw.
They left their rented apartment early in the morning and usually returned toward evening, exhausted but wonderfully happy.
After resting for a while, they went swimming in the sea and then had dinner.
Every day was filled with unforgettable experiences.
During one mountain walk, they accidentally wandered into the grounds of a health resort.
“I thought we were following the correct trail,” Ilya said, spreading his hands in confusion. “Never mind. We can walk through the resort park. There are more sights nearby that I want to show you.”
They walked hand in hand, enjoying the fragrance of flowering bushes drifting through the warm air.
“Look at those roses,” Nina said, pulling her husband toward a low fence. “I’ve never seen colors like that before.”
They walked around the fence and approached the flowers.
Several benches stood nearby. Nina sat down on the nearest one and lifted her face toward the sunlight.
“Let’s stay here for a while. It’s wonderful. Perhaps next time we could come to this resort,” she suggested, resting her hand on her husband’s arm.
“Why not?” he replied with a smile. “All right, that’s enough resting. We have to keep moving or we won’t see everything I planned for today.”
Ilya pulled her gently by the hand.
Nina rose reluctantly and pretended to sound offended.
“We came here to relax, and all you do is torture me.”
At that moment, the doors of the building opposite them opened, and a young woman in a pale blue medical uniform stepped outside.
Nina froze.
Then she moved toward her.
“Natasha?”
The woman looked at Nina and narrowed her eyes as though struggling to recognize her.
A second later, she rushed into Nina’s arms.
“Ninochka! What are you doing here? Are you staying at the resort?”
“No. Well, yes, we’re on vacation, but we’re not staying here. We rented an apartment. What about you?”
Nina looked at Natasha’s uniform with surprise and touched her shoulder affectionately.
“I work here,” Natasha replied. “That’s just how life turned out.”
“Ladies, I can already see that this conversation is going to last for hours,” Ilya said with a laugh. “And I still haven’t completed today’s sightseeing schedule. Why don’t we meet this evening and sit together somewhere on a summer terrace?”
“Yes!” Nina immediately agreed. “Would you like that, Natasha? Or do you already have plans?”
“No,” Natasha replied shyly. “I don’t have any plans. I’d be happy to come.”
They met at the agreed place that evening.
At first, they spoke about the weather and the surrounding landscape. Gradually, however, the conversation became more personal.
Natasha explained that she had married after graduating from university. Her husband was seven years older and had a daughter from his first marriage, but he desperately wanted a son.
Unfortunately, Natasha was unable to give him one.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with infertility.
At first, her husband insisted that she continue treatment. He claimed doctors could be wrong and brought her to that very health resort.
The specialists there immediately told them that nothing could be done.
Her husband then announced that he did not need a wife who could not give him a child.
Natasha remained at the resort after he left.
She found work there and had recently undergone another examination, but the diagnosis had been confirmed.
She would never become a mother.
“So you see,” Natasha said with a bitter smile, “your family was lucky I never became part of it.”
“What a strange thing fate is,” Nina said sadly. “You won’t believe this, but Vanya’s life turned out completely differently.”
She told Natasha everything about Galina, her behavior, the children, and Ivan’s inability to forget his first love.
Afterward, they sat in silence for a long time.
Eventually, Nina and Ilya had to return home.
Galina never came back.
Instead, a court summons arrived. Ivan was being called to attend divorce proceedings.
“Mom, please don’t worry so much,” Nina said when she came to collect the children, just as she had promised. “Whatever happens in life usually turns out to be for the best. Plenty of people have learned that from experience.”
“May God grant that you’re right,” her mother replied.
Ivan was not especially upset when he learned that Galina no longer lived with them.
If anything, he seemed lighter and more cheerful.
He began spending more time with the children and smiled more often.
A month later, the divorce was finalized. The children remained with their father, and the proceedings passed without conflict.
Galina immediately announced that she would not pay child support. In her opinion, Ivan was responsible for the collapse of their marriage because he had never learned to love her.
Ivan had no intention of chasing her for small payments.
Galina had never liked working. He saw no reason to force her to pretend she cared about the children.
Nina, however, intervened.
“If you don’t want to support your children, then formally surrender your parental rights,” she told Galina. “They don’t need a mother who abandoned them without regret for another man.”
“Gladly,” Galina snapped. “That man, as you call him, has given me happiness. I only began truly living when I met him. Although someone like you probably wouldn’t understand.”
And she signed the papers.
“I’m sorry,” Nina later told her brother. “I thought she would refuse. I believed the children must mean at least something to her. A mother shouldn’t behave that way. I expected many things from her, but not this.”
“Forget it,” Ivan replied with a dismissive wave. “Let her go her own way. I’ll find a job that doesn’t require me to leave home. We’ll manage somehow.”
A week after the divorce, it was Ivan’s birthday.
“Ilyusha, do you know what we should give Vanechka?” Nina asked with a mysterious smile.
Ilya nodded uncertainly.
“I think I can guess.”
They both picked up their phones, typed something, and sent messages to each other.
They often did this when they wanted to check whether they had come up with the same idea.
They read the messages and burst out laughing.
“Shall we go and make the reservation?” Nina asked.
“Let’s go.”
Nina went to her parents’ house early on the morning of Ivan’s birthday to help her mother prepare the festive dinner.
By evening, all the guests had arrived.
Ivan’s friends came with their wives. Their maternal aunt attended, and Ilya arrived after work.
Everyone congratulated Ivan sincerely, wished him happiness and success, and gave him gifts.
When Nina and Ilya’s turn came, they stood and handed Ivan an envelope.
“Vanyusha,” Nina began with a smile, “your children desperately need sea air.”
“The doctors recommended it,” Ilya added solemnly.
“And you could use some sea air yourself,” Nina continued. “You need to rest.”
“You happen to be between jobs right now, so you have the perfect opportunity,” Ilya said.
“In other words,” Nina concluded, “we bought all of you a vacation package. You’re going to the best health resort in the area. You won’t regret it. The air there is practically magical.”
“But how am I supposed to…” Ivan stared at them in confusion. “I’ve never traveled that far alone with all three children.”
“We thought of that too,” Ilya assured him.
“Mom is going with you,” Nina announced.
Their mother could no longer hide her smile.
“You knew?” Ivan asked her. “And you didn’t even give me a hint? Mom!”
“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Elena Ivanovna said before raising her glass and proposing a toast.
After seeing Ivan, their mother, and the children off, Nina and Ilya exchanged knowing smiles.
They had not even told Elena Ivanovna that they had met Natasha at the resort.
The very next day, Nina’s mother called.
“Ninochka, you will never believe what happened.”
Nina merely smiled to herself.
It seemed their plan had begun working even sooner than they expected.
Several days later, Nina woke feeling slightly unwell.
At work, she nearly fainted.
Her colleagues wanted to call an ambulance, but she asked for the rest of the day off and hurried to a private clinic, genuinely afraid that something was wrong with her health.
She decided to undergo a complete examination.
Her happiness knew no limits when the doctor told her that she was pregnant.
“So the place really is magical?” Ilya asked with a smile once the first wave of emotion had passed.
“The place is wonderful,” Nina replied, nodding. “But apparently, I was already pregnant when we were still packing for the trip.”
That evening, they went to a café to celebrate the long-awaited news.
Ilya requested Nina’s favorite song.
As they danced together, she began to cry.
“I’m so happy, Ilyusha,” she whispered. “I don’t even know how to thank fate for giving us this.”
“Just keep loving me and remain exactly as you are,” Ilya replied, burying his face in her hair. “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure our family is always happy.”
Their lives were soon filled with new concerns, but these were joyful ones.
Before long, their relatives returned from the health resort.
“We have news for all of you,” Nina announced while she and Ilya were having dinner with her parents that evening.
“We have news too,” Ivan replied.
Their mother smiled and glanced at him.
“I think I already know what yours is,” Nina said first.
“And I think I know yours,” Ivan answered.
They took out their phones, typed messages, and sent them to one another.
Then they handed both phones to Ilya.
“You both guessed correctly,” he announced.
Everyone shouted together.
“Hooray!”
There was no need to explain anything to their parents. They had already understood.
Ivan’s children looked at the adults and began laughing when they saw their joyful faces.
“When is Natasha coming?” Nina asked. “Or are you moving to be with her?”
“She’s coming here,” their mother answered for Ivan. “She admitted that she never wanted to return to her hometown because she was afraid she might accidentally meet him.”
“She’ll resign, finish the required notice period, and come straight here,” Ivan added. “And I’m starting my new job tomorrow. Life is finally falling into place.”
“Vanechka, I’m so happy for you,” Nina said, embracing her brother. “For both you and Natasha.”
“And I’m happy for you and Ilya,” Ivan replied, hugging her in return. “Happiness eventually finds those who never stop waiting for it.”
“That is true,” Elena Ivanovna said, wiping away a tear.
Sergey Vasilyevich pulled her close and wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders.
The children jumped up from their chairs and began hugging everyone too.
And the house filled with sincere, joyful laughter—the kind its walls had not heard for a very long time.
