Get married in 100 days

The nurse said that in the morning the department opens for visits only at nine – there is no way she can get there before classes. Nadya decided that she would call the center at seven and explain everything – let the missing mother visit her daughter herself.

I had to call a taxi again because the buses no longer run at this time. Too expensive for her modest salary as a primary school teacher!

It’s strange, but all the way Nadya’s inner gaze saw a confused young male face. Not exactly beautiful, but pleasant, with regular and clear features. And a smart look. She fell asleep thinking about him, and in a dream she saw herself arguing with a stranger, explaining to him that Varya was not her daughter, that she had absolutely no girl’s things and that she was completely unprepared for this nighttime hospital escapade…

In the morning, Nadya called “Trust” and asked the duty officer to call Svetlana to the phone. Even if she is sleeping, let her wake up: there is no point in sleeping when your little daughter is lying alone in the hospital. However, having run to the appropriate ward, the attendant returned with nothing: the missing mother never returned to the center.

Dear readers, don’t be angry with the main character, he’s just in a panic;)

Chapter 3. Threesome date

Such things sometimes happened in “Trust”: mothers from not the most prosperous segment of society lived there, and sometimes they disappeared for a longer or shorter period of time. Some returned, some did not. Nadya was unsettled by the message that Svetlana had disappeared: she did not give the impression of being completely dysfunctional, she led a sober lifestyle and worked a lot. And Varya was a gentle, homely child – how is she, poor, alone in the hospital? Nadya called the head teacher and asked for a day off for at least a couple of lessons, but she flatly refused. Everyone who could be asked to visit the baby was also busy – we had to postpone the visit until the afternoon.

Nadya spent the entire school day on pins and needles, but when she burst into the right room, flushed and out of breath, she saw a completely peaceful picture: Varechka was sitting on the lap of a teenage boy, and he was showing her letters in a large children’s book. The two seem to have hit it off. Noticing Nadya, both smiled joyfully and rushed towards her. First of all, Nadya hugged and kissed the girl – she even sobbed, emotional that she saw a familiar face. Then it was the boy's turn. Nadya patted his shaggy head with her hand – it was awkward to hug the young man whom she had seen for the second time, and in person for the first time. But the guy himself clung to her as if he were his own and buried his head in her shoulder. He turned out to be tall, although thin.

“I see you have become friends,” Nadya smiled, leaning towards the bag of gifts she had brought. – What is your name?

– Peter. And Aunt Nadya, Varya told me about you. Is it true that you are not her mother?

– Is it true. I’m not related to her, I’m just helping her while her mom is… busy.

– When will mom arrive? – Varya immediately became sad.

“He’ll come, he’ll definitely come…” Nadya stammered, afraid to even add “soon” and thereby deceive the girl once again. But to tell her that mom is nowhere to be found and it is not known whether she will appear – this would be too cruel to the child’s psyche.

Varya still burst into tears from such uncertainty, and Petya began to console her:

– Do not Cry. My mother actually went to America, to the other side of the world, can you imagine?

Varya stopped crying and stared at him with wide eyes:

– And how will she return to you from there?

– He will arrive by plane. But only in a week.

Varya’s eyes almost popped out of her sockets:

– It will take a week to fly on a plane!

Petya laughed:

– Not really! It’s just that she bought the tickets a long time ago, she didn’t change them because of me, because it’s very expensive.

Then Varya also burst into tears for Petya: waiting a whole week for mom is too long!

Nadya did her best to distract the children from gloomy thoughts, treating them to yoghurts and fruits:

“But your dad is here,” she tried to console Petya, and at the same time Varya, who sympathized with him.

But the guy shook his head negatively:

– I don’t have a father. More precisely, there is, but he lives in another city. We hardly see each other.

– How? But yesterday…

“This is my uncle, my mother’s brother,” Petya muttered, expressing his attitude towards his relative in a tone. “Mom asked him to take me to the hospital when I felt sick with my stomach.

– So what, you live alone while your mother is in America?!

– No, with my grandmother. More precisely, with my great-grandmother. But she is very old and sick.

Nadya sighed sadly. Poor kids! It seemed to her that she would never have left her people for so long and so far. And even more so, she would not have disappeared without communication.

She wanted to stay longer in the hospital, but she still needed to prepare for going to the theater with Anatoly, and the nurses were already looking at their cheerful company with disapproval.

* * *

Tolik arranged a meeting at the entrance to the railway station: it was most convenient to travel by train, so that there would be no traffic jams there and back. Nadya arrived there by bus, which was not easy, given the heels (albeit small, but still unusual for her feet). She was also cold while walking from the stop to the porch of the station, because her mother persuaded her to wear a silk dress from prom and thin nylon tights, and only a raincoat on top, and did not even allow her to put a warm jacket between them, so as not to look like a collective farm when she undressed in theater foyer…

And what was Nadya’s surprise when, after all these difficulties and hardships, she found Tatyana Dmitrievna near the entrance! Tolik, of course, was also there, but he seemed to be slightly hiding behind his mother’s wide back, either from the fresh spring breeze, or from Nadya.

“H-hello,” she muttered in confusion, turning mainly to her potential mother-in-law.

“Hello, Nadyusha,” said Tatyana Dmitrievna, for some reason not as friendly as she did at the Melnikovs’ house. – What is it, you decided to catch a cold? Why are you dressed so lightly? It's not May yet, but in the evening it will become even cooler.

Tolik was silent. Nadya was even more confused.

– I… I… And you… will you go with us?

– Certainly! – Tatyana Dmitrievna snapped. “Is it proper for a girl to meet a man alone before they get engaged?!”

Nadya opened her mouth, but couldn’t find anything to object to, and closed it back. On the one hand, that’s true, but on the other hand, they’re going to the theater… But, okay. Nadya has not yet decided how to relate to this overprotection.

They entered the station and headed to the ticket office. Tatyana Dmitrievna herself talked to the cashier and paid for everything herself, and then with a patronizing look she handed Nadya a ticket in the form of a check. The three of them sat down on the triple seat: Nadya and Tolik on the sides, his mother in the middle.

“I need to talk to you very seriously, my dear,” this did not sound sweet from the lips of the potential mother-in-law. – So to speak, dot all the i’s. I know that you are from a good family and raised in the best traditions of Orthodox Christianity, and yet there are some peculiarities in how I would like to see the family life of my son…

This was followed by a repeated long enumeration of all the merits and perfections of Tolik, and then – the features of his daily routine, sleep, nutrition and other things. Then – how Tatyana Dmitrievna sees his future. Three children – no more. His health won’t allow him anymore (Nadya didn’t understand what exactly his health has to do with it, because the father’s physiological contribution to the unborn child is minimal compared to bearing and feeding the mother, but she was embarrassed to clarify). Further, all child care concerns: feeding, bathing, rocking, and so on – should fall on the mother, and the father’s responsibility is only the financial support of the family. This is why a wife should not work: she does the whole house, cleaning, cooking, and caring for her husband. Tolika is also not in good health for physical work around the house. Working with his hands is not his thing at all, and at home he should only rest.

At the beginning of this lengthy speech, which flowed from Tatyana Dmitrievna’s lips so violently and continuously that it was impossible to insert a word or an exclamation, Nadya was upset. What kind of concentration camp is this for the purpose of oppressing a wife? In her opinion, there was no smell of love here – only cooperation, and it is unknown whether it was mutually beneficial. Nadya’s mom and dad always helped each other, and how else could they manage everything in a large family? But gradually she relaxed, deciding that Tatyana Dmitrievna simply wants happiness for her son and is trying to achieve it in a way known to her. What will happen between Nadya and Tolik in family life, they will decide for themselves when they are finally left alone. Therefore, Nadya only nodded to her potential mother-in-law with a smile, and in the end she even allowed herself a humorous question:

– Who will repair sockets, plumbing and furniture? Is it really a wife too?

Tatyana Dmitrievna pursed her lips displeasedly and squinted:

“I think my son will soon earn enough to hand over the stupid dirty work to the appropriate people.”

At the station they boarded a bus, and Nadya had to once again endure the cold of a March evening, and then the inconvenience of rocking on heels in a dense crowd of tired and not very friendly people.

– Do you plan to get a car when you get comfortable at work? – Nadya asked Tolik in the friendliest tone possible, but her mother beat him to it with the answer:

– In no case! It's too dangerous! Do you know how many people die in road accidents every year?! Tens of thousands! Are you really ready to risk the lives of your family members for the sake of comfort?! I had a better opinion of you, Nadezhda…

“I just asked…” Nadya muttered in her defense.

However, her dad always had a car for as long as she could remember, and he never received a single scratch on the road, although he sometimes got into an accident.

At the theater, her mood improved a little: the production turned out to be very interesting and beautiful. In addition, this time Tatyana Dmitrievna allowed Tolik to sit in the middle and did not bother Nadya with her lectures during the performance.

But the intermission resulted in a real disaster.

It all started peacefully, with the three of us going to the buffet. True, everything there turned out to be very expensive, and Tatyana Dmitrievna only allowed the young couple to drink a cup of tea, and then sighed for another five minutes:

– Who would have thought! A glass of boiling water and a bag – one hundred and fifty rubles! A real robbery… I hope, Nadya, that when you get married, you won’t squander the family budget like that. However, I will keep an eye on this…

But this was too much.

– How… trace? – Nadya clarified dumbfounded.

– Very simple! I will control your expenses.

Nadya still didn’t understand how exactly Tatyana Dmitrievna planned to do this. Go shopping with Nadya and watch her every move? This is physically impossible… Demand a daily report? Some kind of madness…

Nadya patted her eyes, already afraid to ask her potential mother-in-law clarifying questions: she seriously began to think that she was not quite herself. Tatyana Dmitrievna, not at all embarrassed, continued her thought:

– We will live together…

– Together..? – Nadya rustled, losing her voice from excitement.

– Well, of course. Where did you plan? Do you have a separate apartment? However, even if so, this is excluded: I need to make sure that everything in your family life will go right. At least for the first few years. Besides, I will be able to help you with the child. For example, walking with a stroller.

For this it is absolutely not necessary to live together, but Nadya did not object. She suddenly realized that Tolik was not the last bachelor on Earth, and she did not have to make any sacrifices to become his wife. Moreover, she has still not been able to meet him personally and feel at least some sympathy for him, thanks to his overly intrusive mother.

Nadya was silent for the rest of the evening and they watched the ballet peacefully, but at home she told her mother that she would not become Anatoly’s bride for any price.

Chapter 4. Reconciliation with a rude man

On Saturday, Nadya went to the hospital right in the morning, postponing everything until later. It was necessary to check notebooks, help mom with cleaning, prepare a big lunch for tomorrow (they always had a family meal after Sunday service and invited more guests), but abandoned children suffer there, and this is the most important thing.

Nadya got up early, baked homemade raisin cookies and made dried fruit compote: articles on the Internet claimed that all this was indicated for kidney disease. She dug out Ganina’s most neutral old things on the mezzanine: T-shirts, pants, socks, and also took out the game “Winnie the Pooh and All-All-All” that had been lying around for a long time, and also took it with her.

There was no good news from the center yet: Svetlana was still absent. This worried Nadya, and she separately prayed to God for admonition and the safe return of Varina’s mother.

Not expecting any trick, Nadya happily opened the door of the room and immediately came across a man standing by the window. This was the same brawler and rude person. This time he was dressed in jeans and a turtleneck sweater and had his hair neatly combed. His eyes no longer sparkled with unreasonable anger, but they didn’t smile either. The man looked at Nadya with concern, anxiety.

“Hello,” he said at the first second.

“Good afternoon,” Nadya responded, looking away, but it came out hoarsely.

This man made her nervous, as if he were a powder keg and it was unknown what word or action of hers would turn out to be the spark.

Nadya approached Varya, who was sitting on the bed, hugged and kissed her. She asked about her health. All this time, Nadya felt the stranger’s gloomy and attentive gaze on her, as if she were a fly in a glass box, and he was a meticulous insectologist.

Varya felt quite tolerable, although she complained of pain in her buttocks, which the evil aunt nurses mercilessly pricked with needles twice a day.

“This is necessary to get better,” Nadya admonished the girl, “so that her tummy doesn’t hurt anymore,” but she did not want to accept such a structure of the world.

When the time came to distribute gifts, Nadya, of course, invited Petya to the treat, and with him, so as not to seem impolite, his uncle. The children praised both the compote and the cookies very much, and devoured almost half of them in one sitting. The man turned out to be more modest – he barely chewed half of the cookie and put the rest in his pocket. And he limited himself to a simple “Thank you.” But when the children enthusiastically took up the game, Petya’s uncle asked Nadya to go out into the corridor with him for a minute.

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