Marusya! Marusya!” A breathless neighbor, Aunt Dusya, ran into the yard. “Your Grishanya is on the hayloft! With Lusya.”
Maria pulled the scarf off her head and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“On the hayloft? Why on earth?!”
“Just like that! As if you were born yesterday. And I told you young women right away when Lusya showed up in the village, keep an eye on your men.”
“Aunt Dus, are you sure you’re not mixing things up? Grigory never looked at Lusya like the others, he knows what she’s like… He’s been helping Makarych roof the barn since morning, how could he…”
“He helped roof the barn in the morning, and now he’s ‘helping’ his daughter manage things!” The neighbor nodded meaningfully to affirm her words, adding, “I’m not mixing anything up! Makarych recently took my rake and forgot to bring it back. And here they went to visit their youngest daughter, Aniutka, leaving Lusya in charge of the house. I thought I’d go get my rake, and then I saw it all! They didn’t even notice me, so you can run and see for yourself, so later you won’t accuse me of lying, old woman, for nothing.”
Maria hesitated for a moment, then looked at her neighbor and, throwing her scarf over the fence, ran along the village. Feeling as if she was flying above the ground, she reached Lusya’s fence and stopped, rooted to the spot. She sat down on a bench under an old rowan tree, and scenes from forgotten years flickered before her eyes like an old film.
Once, Masha and Lyudochka were friends about whom it was said “inseparable as water.” But that was long ago, and now it can be said that it was not true. Because, as it turned out later, there was no real friendship between them. It was Masha, with her heart wide open, who trusted all her secrets to Lyuda, while Lyuda, as it turned out, only looked for her own benefit.
Marusya was the best student in the village, and Lyudochka always asked her to help with homework.
“Mash, you’re the smartest, and besides, my best friend,” Lyuda would say, looking at Marusya as if she were a goddess. “Help me write an essay, will you? You know I don’t have such talents.”
“Alright,” Maria waved her hand, “I’ll write it myself, for you and me.”
And on Sunday, sitting at the table by the window over two notebooks, Maria saw how Lyudochka flirted with the boys. But she didn’t envy her; Masha liked studying, and she could write essays for the whole class, and solve test papers for everyone. But she never liked to hang out aimlessly, especially not to gossip at the neighbors’ gates.
As they grew older, Lyuda often ran to Masha to ask for something. Marusya’s uncle, her mother’s brother, was a long-haul trucker—he brought things from abroad, like a hair clip, lipstick, or nail polish. Maria never used any of it, but Lyudochka really liked her stuff.
“Marusya, you don’t paint your nails?!” she would say, making a pitiful face. “Maybe you’ll give me the mother-of-pearl polish, huh?!”
“I can’t,” Maria shook her head, “It’s not right, uncle brings these gifts to me from the heart, it’s wrong to give them away. And sometimes mom uses something. For example, she’s planning to do a manicure for the New Year. If you want, come to my place and paint your nails, but I can’t give it away permanently.”
“Well, alright,” Lyudochka sighed, applying the first layer, “Although, you could lend it to me, I’m not going to drink it, I would have brought the leftovers back.”
She twisted the cap and shook the bottle in her hand, listening as the ball inside hit the glass walls. At the same time, she blew on her nails and muttered:
“You’re so lucky, Masha! Such an uncle! Dad’s not the last man in the village, mom also has a clean job—sitting in the medical center. Not like mine! They’ve worked on the farm their whole lives, you can smell manure a mile away from them.”
“Well, every labor is honorable!” Marusya objected as if offended, “And it’s not about luck. My parents studied in the city, while yours decided to stay here right away, everyone chooses what they like.”
“And what are you choosing?” Lyuda squinted, “Going to the city too?”
“I might,” Marusya replied thoughtfully, “I like to study, I want to go to college.”
“Well, I always say, you’re lucky, you have such genes, and I, logically, am supposed to repeat the fate of my ancestors, but I won’t go for it! As soon as I have my diploma in my pocket, I’ll also go to the city.”
“That’s right!” Marusya brightened, “And where will you apply?”
“Apply?” Lyudmila laughed, “I’ll go to the city to find a rich husband! What do I need colleges for, you know I’m not smart enough.”
Marusya fell silent. Lately, there was nothing to talk about with Lyudmila. She didn’t ask for help with her studies anymore; teachers gave her Cs, which she was perfectly happy with. She now had other plans—she dreamed of a prince on a white yacht waiting for her in the city. Marusya also believed that Lyudochka would find her happiness, for she was such a beauty, as if from a painting, the kind men only dream of, so Lyudochka wouldn’t be lost.
After finishing school, Masha went to college as she dreamed, while Lyuda upon arriving in the city immediately started hunting for the man of her dreams, who, according to her crazy plans, had to be young, rich, handsome, and generous!
The paths of friends then diverged for a long time. Marusya was completely immersed in her studies, there was absolutely no free time. On weekends and during holidays, she came home, helping however she could. And, having graduated from college with honors, she returned to her native home. She got a job at a school as a teacher of Russian language and literature. And then she noticed her neighbor, Grigory. What he had become! Tall, handsome, matured! A prince, a real one, just without a white horse and castle. Increasingly, Masha noticed Grishina’s glances at her, and one evening he approached her and, without taking his eyes off, said in one breath:
“Marusya, I must confess… I’ve been in love with you since childhood and still am…”
Maria blushed all over, and didn’t know what to say. Grisha had always liked her too, but she never even thought that she might be interesting to him. She was sure that Lyudochka was the only one interesting to all the guys, but here was such a revelation.
“Could we start seeing each other?” Grigory asked a little bolder, and Masha nodded in response.
A year passed before suitors came to Marusya’s doorstep, and then they played a noisy wedding. Parents helped the young couple build a house by the river, and they began a measured life. Rumors were that Lyudochka was not having a sweet life in the city, but she refused to return home, still believing that her fate would find her there. Now everyone started calling her Lusya. “Beautiful, but good for nothing!” they said about her. But Masha was no longer concerned about Lusya’s fate, she had long reconciled with the fact that they were not friends as Masha imagined friendship. And they had their own concerns, she and Grigory thought about children, making plans for many years ahead.
And then, not so long ago, Lusya returned to the village. All of herself, such a diva that all the men gaped, and the women whispered, glancing at her sideways.
“Hello, friend!” One evening Lusya visited Marusya’s house. “Will you treat me to some tea?”
“Come in,” Maria was not thrilled by her visit, but could not turn a person away.
Just then Maria’s husband returned from work. He greeted Lusya dryly and immediately went into the room, and she watched him go and repeated her favorite words:
“You’re lucky with your husband, Marusya!”
Marusya did not like this at all. What does luck have to do with it? She herself believed that everyone has the right to choose which road they will take, depending only on them. But she didn’t want to argue with Lusya, she was waiting for the unexpected guest to gather to leave and she, as if reading her thoughts, said.
“Oh, you’re so boring, Masha, I think I’ll go. And your husband is somewhat unsociable.”
She said and laughed, again casting a glance at the door to the room where Grigory had gone.
After seeing Lyudmila to the gate, Marusya quickly returned home, where Grisha was already serving himself dinner.
“What did she want here?” he asked grimly.
“Just stopped by,” Marusya shrugged. She herself didn’t understand why, actually, Lusya had come.
“I don’t like her,” said Grigory, gobbling up navy-style pasta and washing it down with fresh fruit compote. “It would be better if you let her know that we have a family and there’s no place for outsiders in it.”
“Of course, Grisha, I don’t like it either, we’ve long had no common interests. Although, to be honest, we never really had any before.”
“Well, that’s wonderful!” Grigory smiled at his wife.
Sometimes Marusya wondered how disapprovingly Grigory shook his head when other men glanced after Lusya. And here such news! No, Marusya refused to believe what Aunt Dusya told her, maybe she had imagined it all, but her heart suddenly pounded. She involuntarily turned around and saw her husband coming out of the barn, buttoning his shirt on the move. His hair tousled, not himself, and right behind him scampered Lusya, ran ahead, stood in front of Grish, blocking his path, and wrapping her arms around his neck.
“Grisha?!” Marusya involuntarily cried out and fled.
Grigory caught up with her quickly. Grabbed her in a hug and pressed her to himself.
“It’s not what you think…”
Marusya, unexpectedly even to herself, swung and slapped her husband with a resounding slap.
“Don’t you dare! Hear me, don’t dare touch me, and don’t dare lie to me! Take your things immediately and leave! To her! Anywhere, but I’m erasing you from my life forever!”
She pushed him away and ran to her parents’ house. Soon Grigory came to her father’s house and hesitated to enter the yard.
“Marusya, come out, let’s talk,” insisted her mother, “Maybe you really misunderstood something.”
“I understood everything correctly, mom!”
“No, mother is right,” interjected her father, who had been sitting thoughtfully all this time, “Go and listen to him, then decide what to do.”
Marusya threw a coat over her shoulders and hurried outside.
“What do you need here?” she asked sharply, “I’ve said everything! Don’t make people laugh anymore.”
“Marusya, I don’t know how it happened! Forgive me for Christ’s sake!” Grisha pleaded, “It must have been the devil that confused me. Masha, I can’t live without you! Don’t drive me away. Ask for anything, I’ll do it, but don’t leave me. I’ve loved only you all my life and will continue to love, give me a chance!”
“We have somewhat different ideas about love. You betrayed me, so you didn’t love!”
“I didn’t betray you! It just somehow happened…”
Grigory knelt down.
“Get up! Get up quickly!” Masha said sternly, “Isn’t it enough that you’ve already made me a laughingstock in the whole village, now you want to disgrace me even more?! Get up and leave! I won’t forgive you, don’t even think about it.”
She turned on the spot and hurried into the house, while he remained standing there, paying no attention to the people gathered around.
A few days later, Grisha was waiting for Marusya near the school, then caught up with her at the store. Each time, he swore he didn’t know himself how it all happened, but Maria didn’t leave even a chance for forgiveness. And one of those days, the same Aunt Dusya brought Marusya a house key and a note in which Grisha promised not to bother her anymore, but again swore that he had always loved only her.
Returning to the empty house, Marusya cried for the first time all this while. It hurt that the person she fully trusted had so cruelly betrayed her hopes, such betrayal could not be justified or forgiven, Marusya believed, and she gave herself a word to be strong.
Soon rumors reached Marusya that Lusya had left the village and she thought that maybe Grigory was now with Lusya somewhere.
Two weeks passed. Although Masha thought she had done everything right, the longing for her husband didn’t let her rest. And somewhere deep down, she hoped that Grisha would try to seek her forgiveness, would write, call, but there was no news from him. One morning, while getting ready for work, Marusya noticed that the aroma of her favorite coffee caused nauseating urges. Then she couldn’t stand the smell of pies in the canteen, and Masha immediately consulted a doctor.
“You’re already thirteen weeks pregnant,” said the doctor and Masha’s mouth fell open in surprise.
Her heart was filled with mixed feelings—she wanted to scream with joy and at the same time howl with sorrow. What now?! She would become a single mother?! She remembered how she and Grisha dreamed of a child, and it made her even sadder.
Marusya thought for a long time before she decided to call Grigory. She decided that he should know that he was going to be a father, and her parents supported her in this. But, a stranger’s unfamiliar voice answered her.
“Where is Grigory?” she asked timidly.
“You see,” the stranger began to explain, “I found this phone among the fallen leaves, apparently, it had been lying under the rain for a long time, I couldn’t restore the contacts, so I didn’t know where to call. But now you can come and pick it up.”
“Where are you located?” asked Masha, just to roughly know where her husband was now.
“Severnaya Square,” the man replied, “I work at the ‘Metelitsa’ cafe, the phone is here.”
“Wait, but I’m hearing these names for the first time.”
It turned out that the man had found the phone in a distant Siberian town. So, Grisha had gone to earn money, as he once dreamed, but Marusya had dissuaded him. Now, probably, Lusya had supported him. Well, exactly! She dreamed of a rich, generous, beautiful man! And there he was, they earn a lot in the north. Moreover, rumors were that Lusya had settled well, but no one knew the details. And Maria decided to erase them from her memory, now she needed to care for the little one.
Three years passed. Marusya was happy—her son was growing up and looked like his father. Her parents helped her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all wrong, a child should have a father, and Vanechkin’s father didn’t even know about his child.
One bright sunny day, Marusya received a call from an unfamiliar number. She answered, and her heart was not in place. A woman called, introduced herself as a hospital employee, and asked her to visit Lyudmila Kryukova, saying that she really asked for it, she had important information for Masha.
At first, Masha thought it was a prank, but after calling the hospital, she made sure that Lusya was indeed there. All night, thoughts didn’t let her rest. Maria didn’t want to meet with Lusya, but now she was curious what she could tell her. Suddenly, something happened to Grisha. From this thought, it hurt to the point of powerlessness. No matter how hard Masha tried to blame him for all the sins, love still burned in her heart. Especially since he should know that he had become a father.
The next morning, Marusya went to the hospital, leaving Vanechkin with her mother.
Lusya was not immediately recognizable—emaciated, pale, a needle in her hand through which a clear liquid entered through a tube. Only then Marusya noticed the belly. Lusya was pregnant?!
“Thank you for coming,” Lyudmila whispered.
Masha moved a chair to the bed and looked at her attentively.
“Is this Grisha’s child?” she asked, nodding at the belly.
“No,” Lusya shook her head slightly, “I got married successfully a year and a half ago. My husband really wants a baby, but I’ve had two miscarriages already. Now I’ve carried it to the sixth month and again a threat. I’ve been thinking for a long time, asking for forgiveness for all sins and then suddenly realized that I need to confess, so that burden wouldn’t hang, well, from the hayloft. Maybe it will help if I tell you everything, as it is.
Masha sat, waiting impatiently for the story, while thoughts flashed in her head—where is Grisha…
“Your Grisha didn’t deceive you, he really didn’t want to stay with me, but… You never knew, but I’ve been in love with him since school, even wrote him notes, and he showed zero emotion… so it stuck, that you don’t deserve such happiness. When I learned that he married you, I couldn’t find a place for myself. That day I just got lucky—his father called him to help, then parents had to leave urgently, and Grisha stayed to finish what he started, well, and I took the chance. I had a reliable means with me, I poured it into his wine, convinced him to drink, and everything turned out as I planned. He left you.
“That was me… I left him, rather, drove him away,” Masha said, swallowing a salty lump.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Lusya quietly, “for me it was more important that he didn’t end up with you, otherwise, you were always lucky… But now I’ve realized that I was wrong. Now I have a man who’s ready to carry me in his arms, and I can’t imagine if someone does the same with us. And I’m scared for the baby. It’s all because of my sins. Masha, forgive me, for the sake of the baby, forgive me, otherwise, I won’t give birth, misfortune will happen again. I’m sure that everything with your Grisha is happening because of me. Will you forgive? Promise that you will forgive.
“God will forgive,” Maria almost whispered, “and I have no right to take His place.”
She got up from the chair and walked to the door, hearing behind her:
“Don’t hold a grudge against Grisha for me, I was foolish until I met my fate.”
Maria walked out of the hospital, taking a deep breath of fresh air and, looking at the chapel in the hospital square, raised her eyes to the sky: “Lord, forgive her all her sins!”
Now Maria couldn’t find peace of mind. She thought that Grisha was with Lusya all this time. Thoughts flashed like a hurricane—perhaps it wasn’t just that he lost his phone, what if something bad happened to him?! He couldn’t just disappear like that, he would have given at least some news.
Returning home, Maria immediately posted ads on the internet, first of all in all the groups of that city where the man found the phone, asking those who knew anything about her husband to respond.
A few hours later, a girl who recognized Grisha by the photo responded. She worked in a social shelter, where he was at that time. The girl told her that he ended up there after the hospital, where he underwent treatment, but the doctors couldn’t get him back on his feet. Grigory refused to tell his wife about what happened to him. He says that he already spoiled her life, and in such a condition, he doesn’t have the right to appear before her. The girl said that despite his orders, she herself posted his photo several times, but no one responded.
Maria was on a plane to the harsh region the very next day. Grigory was surprised and scared when she walked into his room.
“We’re going home,” Masha said quietly, “I’ve already arranged everything.”
“I can’t,” Grigory shook his head, then told her, “I wanted to give you time, meanwhile to earn some money, but it didn’t work out. I was beaten in the park then, and now I won’t be able to walk. I’ll never be a burden to you. Forgive me, Masha, that it all turned out this way. I won’t go…
“It’s you who should forgive me,” Maria said with difficulty, “Lusya told me everything. But we’ll talk about everything later, now get ready. Vanechkin is waiting for us at home, just as you wanted to name the little one.
“What? Why?” Grigory teared up, “I can’t believe…
When Maria brought her husband home, neighbors began to offer their help. Rumors spread very quickly and also reached Lusya. A few days later, she called Marusya and said in a gentle voice.
“Masha, I know what happened and I’m asking you very much not to refuse. After I confessed to you, it became easier for me and I want to help from the bottom of my heart. My husband will pay for Grisha’s surgery. Please, accept it as a sign of reconciliation, otherwise, I’ll never forgive myself, it’s all because of me after all.
Maria didn’t give an answer until she consulted with her husband.
“Well, okay,” said Grigory, although the decision was very difficult for him. “But only on the condition that we will return everything to them over time.”
But there was no need to return anything. Lusya’s husband built greenhouses in their village and invited Grigory, as soon as he went through successful rehabilitation, to manage his business.
“And let this money be the guarantee of our cooperation,” he said, “I now have a daughter growing up, I want to spend more time with the family, and you live here, work will be nearby.”
That’s how they decided. Lusya didn’t stop thanking Grigory and Masha for not holding a grudge against her. She gave birth to a daughter successfully, and they and her husband were already thinking about a son. And Marusya and Grish now lived better than before, deciding not to remember the past, enjoying the present, and dreaming about the future…