– Mommy, why are you crying again? Don’t cry, Daddy will wake up and be kind,” little Olya pulled Mila by the hem of her robe.
Mila wiped her eyes with her palm, smiled at her daughter and, trying to put as much optimism into her voice as possible, said:
“I’m not crying, it’s just something in my eye, honey. Go to bed, your brother is already asleep.
Olya hugged her mother ‘s leg and said:
– Just don’t cry, then I will behave well and not be naughty in kindergarten.
Mila smiled and patted the baby on the head. Yes, this marriage did not bring her anything good. Nothing but beautiful children, four-year-old Mila and six-year-old Pavlik. It’s even strange that a father like Igor could have such magnificent children. Smart, precocious, quick-witted…
And the marriage promised to be happy. Mila met Igor in her last year at the university, where she studied philology. Igor was already a postgraduate geologist. Oh, how handsome he was, how he played the guitar, how he confessed his love to her, Mila… Of course, the girl’s heart melted. She fell in love with him almost immediately after meeting him. And six months later they had a modest wedding.
At first, everything went well. Igor earned well, worked by the shift method. It was hard for Mila not to see her beloved for three months, but she resigned herself. After all, this is a contribution to their future. Soon the young people bought a modest apartment. However, they recorded it on Igor’s mother, who then said that it would be easier that way. Mila was already pregnant with Pavlik, she had severe toxicosis, she was not up to going to the authorities and paperwork.
Then Olechka was born. Two beautiful children, their own apartment, albeit small, but so cozy…
It would seem that here it is, the long-awaited happiness. But there was no happiness.
On the contrary, trouble came to the house. Igor drank it down. He started drinking during his long business trips. Difficult conditions, lack of opportunity to relax — and vodka became the only way to relieve stress.
At first, Igor drank only when he went to work part-time. Then I started drinking at home. At first, little by little, then there were binge drinking, from which the man did not come out for weeks.
He refused to be treated, saying that he had no addiction and could stop at any time. Soon Igor was kicked out of the university, where he worked as a teacher. Who needs a teacher who may not come to class because he drinks? Or, even worse, is a couple drunk already in the morning?
They stopped calling Igor on business trips, too. Mila worked as a schoolteacher, her salary was barely enough to make ends meet. If Igor found part-time jobs, he immediately drank all the money he earned. Mila’s parents died a long time ago, leaving behind an apartment for the girl’s brother. Mila’s brother didn’t help: he had his own family. Igor’s mother gave money only to her son, saying that Mila did not deserve handouts. Allegedly, it was because of her that her precious son started drinking.
Even now, loud snoring could be heard from the next room. Today Mila worked her hours at school, went to two students at home (the woman worked as a tutor) and took the children out of kindergarten. When she returned home, she found her husband sitting in the kitchen and drinking with his new “friend”, who looked like a real bum.
Mila sent the children to the nursery and, trying not to make a scandal, asked the “friend” to leave. Igor resisted at first, but then he gave up and explained to his drinking companion that there was nothing to share with this “mad woman”. The “friend” left, and Igor fell asleep.
Looking into the refrigerator, Mila almost burst into tears. It turned out that her husband, along with a drinking companion, managed to eat everything that she cooked for two days: soup, mashed potatoes and cutlets. There are no products left at home. There was not even milk to cook porridge for the children in the morning. Go to the supermarket at night, leaving the children alone? Also not an option.
It remains only to go to Evgenia Petrovna again and ask her for a loan of groceries…Mila threw a shawl over her pajamas and quietly went out into the corridor. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she was horrified. Untidy bun, gray skin, dull look, sagging face, wrinkles… And the thing is she ‘s not even 30 years old yet… However, what difference does it make what she looks like?
Mila went out on the landing and rang the neighbor’s doorbell. A couple of minutes later, she was opened by a neat-looking, pretty old woman about 75 years old.
“Evgenia Petrovna,” Mila sighed heavily. – I’m very embarrassed. But can’t you have a little grain and ask for milk? The salary is the day after tomorrow, I will return the money, and I will buy the products I took…
– Oh, girl… what, is it him again? – Evgenia Petrovna did not finish. Her dry hands clenched into fists. – Yes, you drive him in the neck, how much can you? And your life is boring, and the children! Or take the kids and leave!
“Where am I going?” I don’t have a place to live, there’s not enough to eat. And he has nowhere to go. And he won’t go. The apartment is, in fact, registered to his mother…
– Yes, I remember how you, stupid, were tricked around your finger. Come on in, I’ll figure out what to give you.
Mila went into a small, clean kitchen. Evgenia Petrovna began rummaging through the shelves in search of cereals.
Suddenly she froze abruptly and turned around, staring intently at Mila:
– You know, your problem has a solution, baby.
– What’s the solution? Mila asked gloomily. – Sell a kidney? Become a surrogate mother?
– Why is that? My sister lives in the village. I told you about her once. And there you can buy a house. Small, really. But you and the kids have enough. There will be a plot, you will find a job. There is a school there, a kindergarten too. True, in the neighboring village, but they take the kids by bus, the chairman organized everything, a good man.
– Yes, what will I buy with? I don’t have any money…
– Let me first find out how much that house costs, and then you’ll think about what to do. Ok?
Mila nodded. For some reason, she imagined herself cooking dinner in a cozy village kitchen. She cooks from products that she has grown in her garden. And here she is walking through the forest with Olya and Pavlik. Children carry baskets with mushrooms. Birds are singing, the sun’s rays are breaking through the crowns of trees, the leaves smell sweetly…
Mila pushed these thoughts away.
Daydreaming. A house, walks in the woods… a drunken husband at home, and she doesn’t even have money for new boots.
Taking the groceries from Evgenia Petrovna, Mila went home.
A couple of days later, the neighbor herself came to visit the woman.
– I found out everything. The price is quite acceptable, – Evgenia Petrovna named the cost of the house. Mila raised an eyebrow in surprise. It really costs very little. She may well take out a loan, plus maternity capital…
– I’m going to visit my sister next week. We can go together.
You’ll look at the house, and then you’ll decide. And take the children, my Svetka loves children very much, and rarely sees grandchildren.
The following Saturday, Mila, Evgenia Petrovna, Olya and Pavlik really came to visit Svetlana Petrovna. The children were delighted with the chickens, ducks and a cow standing in the stall. They persuaded their mother to let them stay with Svetlana Petrovna, who looked exactly like her sister, while Mila would inspect her future real estate.
Mila liked the house right away. When she saw her, she suddenly felt acutely: yes, this is my home, I want to stay here and raise my children here. There was a house on the outskirts, near the edge of the forest. Of course, the house was abandoned and unkempt. But everything could be corrected, it was only necessary to make a little effort.
Two months later, having solved all the formalities with the purchase, Mila moved with her children to her new home. First, she hired people who set up the electrics and lights, repaired the water supply and equipped the well. Only cosmetic repairs remained, which Mila planned to do gradually.
The children were really delighted with the move. However, Mila did not dare to say that she plans to divorce her dad. She only told Ole and Pavlik that they would live separately from each other for the time being. The children were satisfied with this explanation, they did not ask unnecessary questions.
Mila was settling in a new place and getting to know her neighbors. She worked as a tutor on the Internet, she did not experience a shortage of students. Everything was going just fine, even better than she expected.
A week after moving in, there was a knock on Mila’s door in the morning. On the threshold stood a young man about 35 years old, dressed in a strict business suit. This costume surprised Mila very much: practically no one dressed like that in the village.
– I am the chairman of the village, my name is Konstantin.
– Nice to meet you, Mila. Come on in, I’ll make you some coffee,” Mila motioned Konstantin into her kitchen.
While the woman was making coffee, the chairman told her that he had learned about her profession. He said there was a school in their village. But there is only one teacher, an elderly woman who has long dreamed of retiring. Therefore, classes are conducted only for junior classes. And children after the fifth grade are forced to go to study in a neighboring village.
– Maybe you decide to work in your specialty? We won’t pay a lot of money, and the school is in a deplorable state… But at least not to drive children once again, 50 kilometers one way…
Mila smiled:
– I’d love to. It will only be difficult to organize classes if the children are of different ages.
– We will definitely come up with something! The main thing is that you agree,” the chairman shook Mila’s hand.
– Then let’s meet in a couple of days… We’ll discuss everything. And you’ve arranged everything so well here,” suddenly the man blushed, which did not escape Mila’s attention. – If you need help. Well, men’s. Fix something, screw it… Feel free to contact me personally. I’ll do everything.
A few days later Mila was already inspecting the village school building. Indeed, repairs were needed here. But still the main thing was there — the building and methodological materials. It was possible to conduct classes at least a couple of times a week or conduct additional lessons for children who plan to go to university in the city.
Mila started working in her specialty. She liked the children: inquisitive, lively, not as spoiled as the city… They greedily absorbed knowledge and asked the most interesting questions, to which she was looking for answers with pleasure. Mila felt that she was respected here. In the city, parents often treated the teacher as a servant. Here, she was considered a person capable of giving a ticket to a better future to their children.
While Mila was working, Svetlana Petrovna was sitting with Olya and Pavlik. Igor called his wife a couple of times and was interested in her affairs. When she said she was going to get a divorce, he just hung up. Soon Mila got a call from her mother-in-law. The woman screamed about some men with whom Mila spends days and nights, and that Mila allegedly used Igor and left the poor boy all alone. Mila just hung up and entered her mother-in-law’s number in the “Blacklist”.
One evening Mila was sitting on the veranda, drinking tea and reading a book. The children were playing in the basement of the house, where Konstantin made good lighting. Suddenly, an excited Pavlik appeared on the veranda. He was holding some kind of box in his hands:
– Mom, what is it?
“Show me, son,” Mila asked.
Pavlik placed a wooden box decorated with intricate carvings on his mother’s lap. Olya also went out on the veranda and told:
– We fought and fought, but it didn’t open. Let’s open it, Mom!
Mila turned the box over in her hands. It was locked by some tricky mechanism. Mila couldn’t open it on her own.
– I don’t know, kids, maybe we’ll try tomorrow?
Pavlik made a displeased face:
– Mom, you’re always tomorrow-tomorrow. What if there are treasures there? Or a map?
– The inventor, – Mila smiled. – Okay. Let’s go to
Konstantin, he definitely has everything he needs.
Mila got up, took the children by the hands and went to visit the chairman. Pavlik proudly carried the box in front of him.
Konstantin managed to open the box. He brought some intricate tools and after three minutes the mechanism succumbed to his efforts. When the box opened, everyone except Olya was speechless. The box was filled with gold coins.
– Wow, money! Only they’re not real,” the girl drawled in disappointment. – The real ones are not like that. Mom, can I play with them?
– Baby, you can’t play with them, they are very expensive, – Mila swallowed nervously. – Kostya, what should I do now? Do I have to give it away? Isn’t that a treasure trove?
– You don’t have to do anything, – the chairman resolutely closed the box and handed it to Mila. “They’re yours. They were in your house. And you are not legally obliged to give them away.
Soon Mila found out that her house once belonged to a ruined landowner. Even before the revolution, her husband lost his fortune at cards and they moved to a house on the outskirts, where they lived the rest of their lives. Most likely, they left the treasure.
Probably, the landowner still did not lose all the money, something was saved. And the gold was kept in the basement until it was discovered by Mila’s children.
It turned out that the treasure was worth a fortune. Mila has never had so much money. She made a good repair in her house, bought a car, opened two accounts for children in the bank so that in the future Olya and Pavlik could dispose of money at their discretion. But she still had free finances. Mila suggested Kostya to make repairs at the school. At first he refused, saying that the money belonged only to Mila and her children. But after a while he gave up.
– Well, think about it, this gold has been lying for so many years in the village, in this house, to benefit the villagers, – Mila declared. And Konstantin agreed with this.
The school was renovated. Mila has equipped a gym, a basketball and football court for children. With the remaining money, the woman opened a small store. There was a shop in the village, but only bread and toilet paper were sold there. The rest of the residents had to go to the neighboring village. Thanks to Mila, this problem was solved.
For several months, Mila talked a lot with the chairman, solving various organizational issues. During this time Mila felt that she had warm feelings for Kostya. It scared her a little, because technically she was still married. But she still decided to divorce. I just submitted the documents unilaterally. She was divorced from Igor through the court. Mila’s ex-husband did not come to the meeting.
Soon it turned out that Konstantin was not indifferent to the young teacher. One morning he came to her house with a bouquet of daisies and asked if she wanted to become his wife.
“Of course, now that I’m a rich woman, you’re ready to make an offer,” Mila joked.
The Chairman frowned:
– You don’t understand anything. I liked you as soon as I arrived. I’m still like an idiot in a suit came to get acquainted. I thought I’d make an impression.
– Produced, – Mila laughed. – I made some more.
She hugged Konstantin and said softly:
Finally! I thought you’d never say those words,” the happy woman smiled.- – I agree.
But not so long ago, Mila could not even imagine that something would change in her life, she would completely change her fate. She will finally be the happiest woman in the world.
She is so grateful to her neighbor, Evgenia Petrovna, that she shook her, brought her back to life, and showed the way to happiness.
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