Larisa sat at the kitchen table, listening to a stranger’s voice on the phone deliver completely unexpected news that knocked the ground from under her feet, leaving her unsure of what to do. Thoughts rushed through her mind faster than she could process them. What should she do? One question resonated clearly within her, but there was no answer. She didn’t intend to share what troubled her with anyone. She had long realized that friends would never rejoice in her happiness or sympathize with her sorrow—it was all just words, while in their hearts they would either gloat or feel envious. She hadn’t been lucky with friends or girlfriends.
Her parents were the people she always turned to with everything—both joys and sorrows—but they were gone, and Larisa missed them dearly. She could probably have confided in her husband, but lately, she noticed he seemed cooler toward her. He hinted ambiguously that the years were taking their toll, that life’s autumn was approaching. He would mention something he read online, that women age earlier than men, or hint that she no longer took care of herself as before.
Larisa didn’t understand it. She felt that nothing had changed. She still visited the hairdresser, though she now did her own nails after a salon mishap had left her treating an injured finger for over a month. She still bought modern clothes and wore heels. Of course, time had left its mark on her appearance, but her husband seemed to deliberately imply that Larisa looked older. He was not getting any younger either. Other couples their age walked hand-in-hand in the evenings, chatting sweetly and laughing, while Larisa often found herself sitting alone by the window when her husband worked late. She understood why such changes happened with men, but there was no overt reason to accuse her husband of infidelity.
She had children too, but discussing such important matters with them wasn’t something she was ready for. Her daughter had married a year ago, was expecting a child, and Larisa certainly didn’t want to worry her. Her son was studying in another city, and it seemed wrong to discuss such matters over the phone. So, Larisa decided to talk to her husband, but first, she wanted to make sure he was still the same person he was when they met—understanding, loving, faithful. It was the latter she doubted. But there was nothing to be done; time was pressing, so Larisa steeled herself and met her husband from work with a tragic expression.
“Is something wrong?” asked Oleg when he saw his wife.
“Yes,” it was hard for her to say, but she convinced herself that otherwise, she wouldn’t learn the truth, “I’ve been given a grim diagnosis. Tell me, Oleg, would you take care of me if necessary? I need to know. Would you leave me?”
“What are you talking about? What diagnosis?” Her husband grew nervous.
“It doesn’t matter what the diagnosis is, what matters is whether you could stay with me if I needed help?”
Oleg collapsed into a chair, ruffled his hair, and exhaled noisily.
“You see, Lar, I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while, and now you’ve started it. I was actually planning to leave you, but couldn’t quite decide. You just started aging prematurely, you see. And now you’re sick too. No, I really don’t need that burden. I’m filing for divorce before it’s too late, so I won’t have to pay alimony if you become incapacitated. What are you looking at? Yes, it happens, I’ve read about it on the internet. So, sorry, but I have a life to live still. And there’s another woman. But you’ll manage, you’ve always managed everything, and now…”
Oleg nervously got up, walked into the room, and came back with a bag.
“I took some clothes, I’ll come on the weekend and pick up the rest. Get well, don’t curse me!”
Larisa watched her husband leave and bitterly smiled: “Just as I expected!”
Only her son remained to consult in this situation, but he was far away. Nevertheless, Larisa called him and was comforted by his familiar voice, which drove away all misfortune.
“Son, when are you coming home?” she asked hopefully, and her son excitedly chattered.
“Soon, I didn’t want to tell you, but since you asked, the surprise is ruined, oh well! I’ve been sent to our city for an internship, imagine that! I’ll be working for a prestigious company, can you believe it?”
“That’s wonderful!” Larisa was so overjoyed that she temporarily forgot about her scoundrel husband.
A week later, Artem was home, and that same evening Larisa started a serious conversation.
“Artem, something happened. I don’t even know what to think or do. Someone called me recently, introduced himself as a notary and said I had to enter into an inheritance. Of course, I was completely shocked by what I heard, but it turned out I wasn’t my parents’ biological daughter. They had adopted me. My mother abandoned me as an infant, it turns out, ran away abroad with a wealthy man, and lived there, then she became a widow and started looking for me, remembered, so to speak. She hired a detective, and when he dug up everything and informed her of my details, she made a will and wanted to meet me, but the plane she was on crashed. Now they invite me to enter into the inheritance, and I’m at a crossroads. First, the real shock was finding out that the parents I loved so much weren’t related to me, but I appreciate them even more now. Second, I still can’t believe this is actually happening, and third, if all this is true, should I accept the inheritance from someone who just threw me out like an unwanted thing?”
Artem raised his eyebrows.
“Wow! What news! Mom, I’m shocked too. But if it’s true, why should you refuse the inheritance? In that case, it will just go to someone else, and you wouldn’t need anything if there’s indeed a significant estate,” Artem smiled, “Otherwise, the trip might not even be worth it, as you remember, we watched that movie.”
“Well, I understood that there’s quite a lot there,” said Larisa, showing her son the email correspondence. Artem whistled.
“And how did dad react?” asked Artem, “And, by the way, where is he?”
And Larisa explained that she had to lie to her father about her illness to check if she really mattered to him, if he could be trusted, because, although it was an inheritance, it would have been acquired during marriage and who knows what people might think if they are betrayers. And he failed the test.
“There you go!” Artem struggled to refrain from swearing, “He’s no longer a father to me!”
“But you can’t do that, Tem, he was a good person, just met someone else, the heart wants what it wants.”
“And what if you were really sick? That can’t be forgiven, and that settles it,” said the son with a voice full of certainty, “I’ve decided!”
Larisa sighed and shook her head.
“Tem, but how am I supposed to go? I don’t have a foreign passport, and I don’t know the language, how will I manage there? I can’t even imagine.”
“Listen, mom, since you’re going to be wealthy, pay a lawyer who knows the language who can go with you and help you figure everything out.”
“And where do I find such a person?” Larisa didn’t particularly like the idea.
“That I will take care of if you agree!”
And Larisa agreed. While she took care of getting a passport for the trip and just in case decided to file for divorce herself, Artem looked for the right person. And so, Larisa had all the documents in hand when her son returned home with a joyful smile.
“Found! A lawyer with years of experience. He’s fluent in the language. By the way, he lives there now and only comes here for business. He has a large law office in the city.”
“And why did he open it here and not there?” the woman asked in surprise.
“I don’t know,” the son shrugged, “You can ask him yourself!”
A few days later, Larisa was descending the airplane stairs in a foreign, unfamiliar country. She was accompanied by a gallant man slightly older than herself, pleasant both in appearance and conversation. During the flight, they managed to talk about many things, including his answer to Larisa’s question about his business. He was local, but now lived there because of health problems, undergoing a treatment course, which his wife had left him over. “Sick spouses are of little use to anyone,” Larisa thought then.
Vladimir turned out to be not only an excellent guide but also a wonderful companion. He showed Larisa the city, telling her very interestingly about each attraction. The inheritance documents were processed quickly, but the sale of the real estate, which Larisa had become the owner of, took a bit more time, and she had to stay in the foreign land longer.
“You know, Vladimir,” Larisa said during a walk with her new acquaintance, “No matter how good and beautiful it is here, I really want to go home, after all, people are right that it’s good to be a guest, but at home, no matter what, it’s always much better.”
“I agree with you completely, Larisa, I also feel the pull to my native home, but I hope that the treatment will bear fruit soon, and I won’t have to keep coming back here.”
“God willing,” Larisa supported him, “I sincerely wish you a speedy recovery.”
And so, all matters were settled. Vladimir offered to take Larisa to the airport.
“Larisa, I feel it’s my duty to tell you that you brightened my dreary time. I haven’t felt such a surge of energy for a long time, but I’m afraid that with your departure, my gloom will return. I really don’t want to part with you.”
“And you are welcome to visit, once you come home,” Larisa smiled.
“Invitation accepted,” he nodded, not hiding his joy.
At home, Larisa gathered the children for a family council, deciding to honestly share her unexpected inheritance.
“No, mom, we don’t need anything,” they objected, “You better put everything into the account, and when the interest comes in, you can travel a lot, as you dreamed, and it will be a very nice addition to your pension when the time comes. Buy yourself a good car, you wanted to!”
But Larisa didn’t listen to the children. True, she bought a car on their advice immediately. She also bought an apartment for her son and opened accounts for her daughter and herself. The wealth that had come unexpectedly was too much for her alone.
Larisa, surprisingly, didn’t miss her husband at all. The children didn’t communicate with him, and he didn’t call them either, not even inquiring about his daughter’s well-being during her pregnancy. It was as if he never had a family.
One wonderful evening, the doorbell rang. Larisa opened it and was very surprised. Vladimir stood on the threshold. No, not with a bouquet of flowers in his hands, as is usually the case, but with a large basket of exotic fruits.
“This is for you, Larisa! Good evening!”
“Yes, it is indeed a good evening,” Larisa answered, not hiding the joy that simply overwhelmed her. “Please, come in, why are we standing on the doorstep…”
Vladimir told her that after she left, he couldn’t find peace. She had such a beneficial effect on him that he felt much better, and when he underwent a re-examination, all his results were completely normal.
“You have a healing power, Larisa, and don’t argue, I know what I’m talking about,” Vladimir smiled, “And in gratitude for the unforgettable time you gave me, allow me to invite you on a sea trip on my modest yacht. I’ve long dreamed of it, bought it a couple of years ago, but never went out to sea, always waited for the occasion. It wouldn’t have been fun alone.”
“I would gladly accept your invitation,” Larisa thought that her dream had also come true, she had also dreamed of a yacht, but when the opportunity to buy one arose, she completely forgot about her long-held dream.
From that day, a romantic relationship began between Larisa and Vladimir.
One evening, when Vladimir invited Larisa to the theater and was supposed to pick her up. She was already ready when the doorbell rang. Opening it, Larisa froze at the door. In front of her stood Oleg. She had never seen him like this before. Drunk and slightly “crumpled.”
“What do you want?” Larisa asked, “Did you get the address wrong with drunken eyes?”
“I didn’t get anything wrong,” Oleg slurred, “That b**** threw me out. She said that if I left a sick wife for her, I could also leave her if something happens…”
He swayed slightly and looked up at Larisa in surprise:
“You don’t look sick at all?”
“Oleg, please leave, a man is coming to see me.”
Oleg burst out laughing:
“Who needs you, except me, Larka, don’t bother me. The husband has returned. Take me in your arms!”
Larisa pushed him away and was about to close the door when the elevator doors opened and Vladimir stepped out. He handed Larisa a bouquet of lemon chrysanthemums, while Oleg froze, unable to move. Larisa repeated:
“Leave, Oleg, we have nothing more to talk about,” and closed the door, letting Vladimir into the apartment.
Time passed. Larisa became a grandmother to a lovely princess, and one day, the expected moment arrived when Vladimir proposed to her.
“You know, Lar, I didn’t have my own children, but in your family, I feel as if your children are mine too. It’s always so warm with you, so heartfelt. I really want to be always by your side. In sorrow and in joy, I am ready to go through a whole century with you.”
And Larisa accepted his proposal without any extra words.
Two years later, Larisa received a call from an unknown number. A female voice informed her that Oleg was in the hospital, he had suffered a stroke, and he was begging for Larisa and the children to come.
Larisa consulted with the children.
“I think we should visit him, since he’s asking,” said the daughter.
“I wouldn’t go. Let him feel what it’s like when the sick are abandoned by those they want to see nearby,” said Artem, adding, “especially since he hasn’t remembered us for years.”
“Temochka, you shouldn’t repay evil with the same coin. Let’s go if the person is asking, we’ll bring gifts, some homemade food. Maybe no one else will come to him now.”
… Entering the ward, Lara didn’t recognize her former husband. He had deteriorated significantly in this short time. He had lost weight, gone gray. Seeing his former family, he teared up.
“Forgive me,” he barely managed to say.
A nurse entered the room and cheerfully announced that there was a shortage of staff, as in any hospital, and their relative needed constant care.
Larisa shook her head.
“Unfortunately, he is no one to me to care for him, and I don’t wish for the children to change diapers for someone who also betrayed them by leaving.”
“But I’ve realized everything. I repent for acting so foolishly, even vilely, but I am already punished,” Oleg whispered.
“I will pay for a caretaker for you, and that’s all we can help with. Goodbye, Oleg, and… get well!”
Lara said, and they all left the ward.
“Mom, you know, I feel very sorry for Dad,” the daughter sobbed, but as I remember how he treated you, all the pity goes away.”
“I agree with you,” Artem supported his sister, “I could have forgiven him a lot, but not for Mom, no matter how hard I tried.”
“My dear ones, no matter what, he is your father,” said Larisa, “of course, I will pay for a caretaker for him for the time being, but do visit him sometimes if possible.”
The children nodded in agreement, and Larisa felt relieved. She didn’t want them to harbor resentment, it’s wrong. A person remains human only when there is no room for evil and hatred.
As for Larisa herself, she felt so happy that she was even grateful to her former husband for leaving her, otherwise, she would never have known what the taste of true happiness was.