Rhinestone

Maria was a fast-moving ordinary woman from an intelligent family. Her mother worked as a therapist at the hospital for many years, and her father was a professor at the university and taught modern geology. By virtue of his profession, he often went on business trips and expeditions. I explored various localities, looking for minerals. Thanks to this, the family did not suffer. They lived well and could afford a lot.

Maria grew up in a full and loving family. She had everything she could wish for. She wanted a beautiful dress, her parents immediately bought it. I wanted a bag like Olga’s friend, the wish was immediately fulfilled. Despite this parental approach, the girl was not spoiled. She didn’t abuse requests. And she devoted all her free time to studying. As a result, Maria graduated from school with a gold medal. She entered the institute without difficulty and without any trouble. She graduated with a red diploma. They said about the girl that she was promising, hardworking and talented. And although all this amused her vanity, it did not please her at all.

– You see, Polina, everything in my life is somehow boring, insipid, monotonous and predictable. So I graduated from the institute, I’ll work a little, I’ll get myself a good position, I’ll marry some professor and roughly repeat my mother’s fate,” she said to her friend, lying upside down on the couch.

— yeah. What don’t you like? Everything is going according to plan,” her friend winked at her.

– I don’t like it. I want some kind of explosion of emotions. I want someone unusual, bright to burst into my life… yes, to make my head spin… Let him wreak havoc. It’s also more interesting to live.

– And, in my opinion, Mother, you’re overeager. Everyone would like such stability. I don’t have a life, but a continuous roller coaster. Do you think it’s easy like that?

And both sighed sadly, and each thought about her own…

The gray days dragged on. Every day was like the previous one. Nothing happened in Maria’s life. She got a job as an accountant. But this work has not pleased her lately either. After a while, she decided that she urgently needed adventures. To do this, she plucked up the courage and went to her father.

– Dad, you have such an interesting profession. Can you take me with you when you have another expedition?

– It’s interesting that you suggested it after many years. I thought you’d say it earlier,” Maria’s father smiled.

– So will you take me?

– of course. In a couple of days it will be just like this. If they let you go at work, you can get ready for a hike. But I warn you right away, it will be difficult. Our goal is geological exploration without household amenities. These are marching conditions.

– How great, – the young woman jumped up with joy.

A couple of days later they went on an expedition. The road was long. During the trip, Maria managed to get enough sleep. On the train, she met the entire working team, among which was the geophysicist Yura. A handsome tall young man with huge hands.

“These are his hands. As she hugs, she will cover her paws from head to toe.” – thought Maria.

But he turned out to be kind and cheerful. During the trip, he sang to the guitar. And it was one of the most beautiful voices Maria had ever heard. She looked at the young man and her eyes were smiling.

Arriving at the place, they changed their clothes, ate and dressed up for the journey. The terrain was cold. I had to work in the field. The portable camp was ready. Our group of geologists set off.

At first, Maria was interested in absolutely everything they did. Then, everything began to get boring, since nothing interesting was happening. Geologists made maps, made calculations necessary for further description of the terrain. They left marks and red flags, choosing the best places to drill. In the evenings, they warmed themselves around campfires, sang songs and told various stories about strange tracks, invisible wolves, mysterious abandoned buildings, about female silhouettes luring tourists and geologists into gorges or cliff cliffs.

Maria remembered how Yura talked about the snowman. He described him in such detail that she just wanted to see him.

And then there was dancing. And they danced with him to ethnic motifs. Hugged.

– Well, don’t you regret that you went? After all, we have a boring monotonous job. And nothing interesting happens at all? – he asked her, looking straight into Maria’s eyes.

– I don’t regret it. Monotonous is my job. You have an interesting one. Plus, a change of scenery, you can breathe fresh air, really see new people and maybe someone else, Bigfoot, for example.

Yura only laughed at these words. Maria looked at him and her heart began to thaw a little.

All the next time Maria did not really remember, because during the day she managed to get into the cold mountain water. My feet got wet. And by the evening she had a high fever. All I could remember was the face of Yura, who constantly came and was interested in Maria’s health. He brought her hot tea with gingerbread and put a cold compress on her forehead. On the last day of the expedition, Maria went on the mend. She was already smiling and eating buckwheat with an appetite. Entering her, Yura was silent for a long time and looked at the woman. Then, he sat down and took her hand.

– I am very glad that you have recovered. I want to give you something,” with these words, he took out a pendant with a thread from his pocket and put it on Maria’s neck.

– what is it?

– It’s a rhinestone. It is said that it attracts good luck and luck to its owner. But only on condition that his thoughts are pure.

– How nice. Thank you.

Yura looked at Maria again, kissed her on the forehead and left. Since then, the young woman has not seen him again. And she wanted so much to meet him again.

A week has passed since the father and daughter returned from the expedition. Everything was going back to normal again. Maria returned from a short vacation to work. And my father went to university. One evening Maria’s mother decided to have a conversation with her. She set the table, bought a cake and, saying that she wanted to talk, sat her daughter on a chair.

– Honey, you know how much Dad and I love you, right? – she began.

– I know, Mom.

– We are always worried and worried about you. After all, you are already 30, and there are no plans to build a family yet.

– Mom, I get what you’re getting at. But after all, no one is traveling and does not come across.

– But you have to like someone.

– Well, I liked my dad’s colleague Yura, but what’s the point? He never called even after our trip.

– Which one is Kravtsov? He won’t call you. He is good, kind, from a wealthy family. Only he is married. That’s why he’s silent.

Maria somehow did not expect to hear this at all. It seemed to her that some kind of spark had slipped between them. He seemed to her somehow painfully familiar, some kind of family, or what?! But, apparently, she was mistaken. This made my soul feel somehow heavy and restless.

– Forget him. I have a better suggestion. My boss has a son, Fedya. A smart and promising boy. She praises him very much. I recently bought a new car for myself. He does a little business. I want you to meet him this Friday night.

– Mom. Have you become a matchmaker? I didn’t ask for it. Why is that?

– Because youth is fleeting. You need to think about constancy and marriage already.

Maria sighed heavily. Somehow she didn’t really want to meet anyone, especially on the recommendation of her mother. But out of respect for her, she agreed.

That’s just Yura didn’t want to get out of her head in any way.

A few days before meeting her mother’s protégé, Maria went to her favorite cafe, where she liked to drink cappuccino with foam and eat fresh rolls. She entered the hall in a great mood, made an order and was returning to her table when she ran nose to nose with Yura. He was carrying a tray of coffee. During the collision, he doused his white sweater and dropped the tray.

– Yura. I didn’t expect to see you here,” Maria said, trying to wipe off his stain with a damp cloth.

– hello. I live not far from here. How are you? How are you? What’s new? – after these words, Maria realized that the young man was not angry at her at all because of the ruined clothes.

– Yes, everything is as before: work, home, work. I stopped by for coffee.

– It’s the same with me. Can I buy you a coffee? – suddenly he asked and looked at Maria with the same playful look.

– In my opinion, it’s me who should treat you. I got you dirty.

During these words, both laughed. They sat down at the table, ordered more coffee with sweets and began chatting like old acquaintances. After a while, both looked at their watches and got ready.

– Here’s my number. If you want, we’ll meet sometime. Maybe we’ll have coffee,” Yura said unexpectedly.

– I don’t think it’s worth it. You’re married.

Yura lowered his eyes.

– You don’t understand. Everything is very complicated. And there is no time to explain. Next time we’ll meet, and I’ll tell you everything,” with these words, the young man threw a coat over Maria’s shoulders and wrote down her phone number.

– Okay. You know how to create an intrigue,” Maria smiled back.

They left the cafe and went in different directions. Maria stole a glance at Yura. And he periodically turned around and looked after the young woman.

That’s just Yura never called. Maria had been waiting for his call for several days. On Friday, I couldn’t stand it and dialed the number myself. But to her surprise, the phone was turned off.

– That’s weird. Well, maybe it’s really difficult for him. Married after all,” the woman thought and smiled sadly.

The next evening she was waiting for a meeting with Fedor. He arrived in a beautiful red car with a bouquet of roses. Surprised, Maria got into his car and, to the admiring hooting of colleagues, went for a ride around the city with him. Fyodor turned out to be a surprisingly charismatic person. There was a lot to talk about with him. He was skilled at courting and knew how to please a lady. So Maria began to meet with Fyodor. He took her to restaurants, museums, nightclubs. He gave expensive gifts. In a word, he looked after her beautifully and for a long time. Just before Maria’s birthday, he confessed his love to her. And on Valentine’s Day, he gave her an engagement ring and proposed. Everything somehow started spinning so fast that Maria couldn’t even understand anything. She only knew that she could not forget Yura in any way. He didn’t show his face to her. Didn’t call. And his phone was off. Desperate, Maria thought for a long time and decided to accept Fyodor’s offer.

“So what did you tell him?” Mom asked.

“I told him yes. We’re getting married, Mom.

Maria’s parents were happy. She, on the contrary, did not understand how to treat everything that was happening. She had some feelings for Fyodor. But they were different from the ones she felt for Yura. Fedor and Maria got married. We moved into his big apartment. They began to make plans for the future. Maria understood that all this had happened for the best. But there was still some unpleasant residue on the heart.

Three years have passed.

Maria and Fyodor have a job. Both are busy. We have established a joint life. He increasingly traveled on business trips and stayed late at work. She was promoted. But she stayed alone in the evenings. I began to think about the child. I told my husband. He supported. For a whole week they tried to realize their plans. We calculated the right time for conception. She was already looking forward to the future addition to their small family when something unexpected happened…

One day an anonymous SMS came to Maria’s phone:

“Here you create the appearance of family happiness, but it’s all fake. Your husband is cheating on you. He has a one-year-old daughter.”

The message shocked Maria. In the evening, when her husband came home from work, she showed him the message.

– Fed, is it true? Do you have a daughter? So you’ve been cheating on me for a year? Maria was saying in a trembling voice.

– Honey, please calm down. It’s not what you think.

– What does it look like to you?

– It’s true. I have a daughter who turned one year old. Her mother is Valentina from the credit department. Her father is a banker. I needed it, you know, to get loans. They didn’t give them that way. I didn’t want us to have a child. It just happened. Accidentally.

– By accident? Have you been cheating on me for a whole year or more, by any chance? – Maria’s legs gave way, and she sat down on a chair so as not to fall.

– yes. She means nothing to me. It’s on business. Business.

– I understand everything, – with these words the woman went into the next room.

She cried there all night, and in the morning she packed her things and returned to her parents.

A few days later, she filed for divorce, not forgiving her husband’s infidelity. As it turned out, besides Valentina, he had other women. And each of them was seduced for some selfish purpose. This was told to Maria by the same Valentina, who expressed a desire to meet Fyodor’s wife and have a heart-to-heart talk. After the divorce, Maria could not come to her senses. She shed a lot of tears. She started having migraines and depression.

One day she decided to unwind a little and go out into the world. To do this, after work, I did not go home, but to the very cafe where I once ate delicious buns. At the very threshold of the cafe, she saw a man without both legs. He played the guitar, sang amazingly and begged. There was something familiar in his voice to Maria. She stopped and looked closely at the homeless man. Peering into his face, dark with dirt and soot, she was stunned. In front of her was her Yura.

“Yura,” she called out to him, and her voice trembled.

He looked at her and silently averted his eyes.

“You’ve made a mistake, lady,” he finally managed, whistled, waved his hand to someone and quickly began to collect his belongings.

A three-year-old boy came around the corner of the house. He began to help the man climb into a wheelchair. Maria, who was watching all this, could not stand it. She took the stone Yura had given her from her neck and put it in a begging box.

– I was not mistaken. Yura. It’s you. Pure thoughts, remember?

The young man looked into Maria’s eyes and smiled.

– I didn’t think you still kept it.

And then he told her that he had married for convenience. My parents insisted. He did not love this woman, but he could not refuse his parents. Then he met her. Fell in love. But the status of a married man did not allow him to meet her secretly, although he really wanted to. And he himself could not do this to a woman who had sunk into his soul. I thought it over last night and didn’t call back. And then he was driving a car with his parents and an SUV crashed into him at speed. The driver was drunk. Yura’s car was literally flattened. His legs were crushed. Had to be amputated. The parents did not survive. And as soon as he lost his legs, his wife left him. She took all the money and ran away. Only the son remained. –

– I don’t have anything.

Only the son. So I’m homeless. Hearing this, the woman burst into tears. She hugged Yura. He took her hands in his, and they held hands for a long time. Then, she took him and her son to her. And exactly a year later she gave birth to his daughter Anna. They opened their own consulting firm and lived a big loving family. And the mountain stone that brought them together again was placed under glass in a frame and hung on the wall of the house…