I’ve been widowed for a long time, so dating sites didn’t bother me. I swam there like a fish in water. Only, while my daughter was at home, I was embarrassed to use the computer with her.
Alexandra, a gold medalist, entered the budget in the capital. We both looked forward to complete freedom. Remembering my youth and the hated control of despotic parents, I did not want to spoil my daughter’s best years of her life. So she promised to send money and waved her hand after the plane.
Alexandra studied perfectly, did not ask for a lot of money, she worked part-time, scribbling rich twos for tests and exams. She said that it helps her gain knowledge, and at the same time gives her the opportunity to make new connections.
At some point, the daughter closed her social media profile. I could no longer see her photos, and I learned about what was going on with her from video sessions. Somehow Sasha let slip that she was having an affair. But she doesn’t want to talk to anyone, she’s afraid that I won’t like her boyfriend. Besides, she’s not going to get married. If he does, I’ll be the first to know. That was settled.
At that time, I somehow had no time for her love stories, I myself was floundering in a pool of passion. On the site I met a decent man, my age. Mirko was Russian, but he lived in Montenegro, in the city of Kotor. His mother, a Serbian woman who married a Russian while studying in Moscow, gave him the name. She still lived in Moscow, but Mirko, having visited his ancestral homeland once, was fascinated by her and moved to live on the shore of the beautiful country of Montenegro, although he remained a citizen of Russia.
He had a small business there in the field of tourism, namely, the production of souvenirs with photographs. This is when you are photographed in a historical place, in an amusement park or somewhere else, and after a few minutes you get your photo on a magnet or plate, in a keychain, puzzles, on a mug, a wall clock or even on a pillow. There are many options. Mirko knew how to please customers. Things were going well for him and he could afford to get acquainted not only on the Internet. A month later, a virtual friend rushed to our glorious regional city to see me firsthand.
Before him, I met several times with those I met on the site. But things didn’t go beyond a couple of dates. Someone in real life didn’t like me, someone didn’t like me – it’s a common thing. I wasn’t upset. And I have never invited anyone to my house to avoid gossip and immodest questions from neighbors. So I didn’t give Mirko the address, but I honestly indicated the city when registering. And one sunny February morning, when no one yet knew what twists and turns await us in connection with the closure of the borders, I was woken up by a call:
– Alyona? I’m here, inviting you to a restaurant.
I didn’t understand anything in my sleep: who am I? Where-here? Which restaurant? Mirko patiently explained to me who, where, where and at what time. I was terrified: in two hours? I won’t have time to put myself in order! He laughed:
– Darling, no need for hairdressers and stylists, be yourself. I just want to look into your eyes, and I have a return flight at noon. Work.
How to react, I didn’t know: to be angry or to laugh? Then I thought that it was very unusual and romantic to fall in love on the Internet and rush several thousand kilometers away for breakfast.
Mirko chose the best restaurant. A huge bouquet of pink roses and a plump envelope were waiting for me. Mirko kissed my fingers and said:
– Alyona, I’m crazy about you! You are a hundred times better than in photos and videos! Come to me, I invite you to relax for a week in the most beautiful city of Montenegro! I’m not asking for anything else, just come and take a break from the gray everyday life, and I’ll admire you and thank heaven for the moment when I saw your photo on the website! Don’t worry about money, here (he pushed an envelope towards me) you have enough for everything – for a passport, a new suitcase and outfits for the season.
I looked at this embodiment of every woman’s dream and was dying of delight. I am an ordinary teacher, and a delightful man with the appearance of a Greek god calls me his beloved and begs me to come to visit him!
I had a passport, I settled all the issues at work in a couple of days and flew in the same way, as a surprise, to my friend, or rather, to my beloved. Mirko rented me a room in a hotel on the shore. During the day we wandered through the ancient streets of the old city, kissed under the fortress wall, admired the mountains and the Bay of Kotor. I was happy without any conditions. I was afraid of scaring off the bird of paradise of pleasure, which by mistake sat on my palm, so I told Mirko that I didn’t think about living together, and if we were good together, we would meet without obligations. I blabbed a lot of things. That he needs a younger woman who will become the mother of his children, but while he is free, I do not want to give up such a gift of fate.
The week of rest flew by very quickly. We agreed to meet in a month. We wanted to visit Italy. And in mid-March, the borders were closed. I was freaking out for a few weeks and completely forgot that I didn’t have my period. I came to my senses when the wild toxicosis began. It was something. I’m 45, I don’t have a husband, and I’m pregnant! From a man I met online. I didn’t know what to do. In the end, I came up with the idea that I would give birth. Well, older women give birth. My daughter has grown up. He’ll get married, he’ll have his own children. And I’ll be left alone to while away the century. Sasha said a long time ago that she would never return to our backwater. That’s why I decided to give birth to a baby. It will be more fun together.
For Mirko, I was not a couple. Wealthy and imposing, he treated me like a traveling companion, a pleasant companion, a pretty woman for the night. Yes, he called me beloved. But that didn’t mean anything. I continued to communicate with him online.
I also talked to Sasha on the Internet without getting up from my seat. My pregnancy passed quietly. The toxicosis quickly ended, the stomach grew somewhere inside. Even in my first pregnancy, when I went on maternity leave, I was almost without a belly. At that time, everyone at work was sure that I had deceived the doctors in order to get more money for maternity leave. And over the years, I got better, switching to clothes of size 48-50, and the fullness of a little more than usual was completely invisible. In September, I had to inform the headmistress about my position and go on maternity leave. At the end of the month, Sasha called and announced that she was getting married. Her Tikhon is a Muscovite, the wedding will take place in the near future, because Sasha is pregnant and she will soon be on maternity leave.
– And now, Mom, I’ll introduce you to Tisha. I hope you will understand me. I didn’t want to tell you about him before, because he is, as they say, old enough to be my father. But you’ll see, he’s the best in the world!
Sasha turned the screen slightly, got up from the table, awkwardly carrying a bulging belly in front of her, and called:
– Tisha! Come here, Mom wants to meet you!
Mirko came out of the kitchen. I recoiled from the screen, covered my face with my hands. My hero, smiling, said:
– Good afternoon, my name is Tikhomir. I love your daughter and ask for her hand in marriage. Without showing my face, I tilted the screen and said:
– Sashenka, I agree, be happy, but now I can’t talk, I’m sorry! – and turned off the laptop.
I cried all night. The hope of happiness is dead. Of course, in my dreams I imagined how one day, like by accident, I would tell my beloved that we would have a son. And he will come rushing to hug me and lead me down the aisle! He rushed over. Just hugs and leads my daughter down the aisle. How could this happen?
Just as dawn was breaking, the doorbell rang. Sasha and Tikhomir were standing on the threshold. My daughter appraisingly examined my tummy, which was no longer hidden:
– So that’s why you, Mom, didn’t want to talk to me anymore! Are you afraid that I won’t invite you to the wedding? Will I be shy of you? My dear, I don’t care what you do and who you love. You are my mom, my beloved, the only one, the best. She hugged me: – How long?
I strained:
– Seven months.
The disgusted irony in Mirko’s eyes was replaced by amazement:
– Seven?!
– The belly is almost invisible, I continued for him. – This is a feature of my body. Not often, but it happens in women.
I took my daughter into the living room and sat her down on the sofa:
– Why did you rush to me in such a position? You need to take care of yourself.
Sasha laughed:
– Tishka was worried that you didn’t talk to him. His mother is strict and wants everything to be according to the rules, and getting to know his parents, and the wedding. If you don’t attend the wedding, she’ll think you’re against it.
I assured him that I didn’t mind. The young ones left. But in the evening I had to receive a guest again.
Mirko entered the apartment gloomy and silent. I made coffee. Mirko started:
– I’m sorry. I literally lived on the site for several years, invited women and girls to my place. Could afford such a whim. Not one refused to come, not one refused money. I had a low opinion of women. Until I met Alexandra. Yes, she also flew to me, literally a week after you, but she was different, as if she was created for me! Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I don’t want to say that you, like everyone else, are promiscuous and mercantile…
I sighed:
“But that’s exactly what you said.
Mirko shrugged his shoulders:
– When Sasha announced her pregnancy, I didn’t doubt for a second that the baby was mine. I was going crazy because of the closed borders. Don’t tell her anything! I didn’t know she was your daughter. Just last night she showed me your picture. I will help you. Who are you waiting for, a boy, a girl?
I could hardly restrain myself from slapping his cheeks, so as not to scratch out his insolent gray beautiful eyes… I called him into the room, opened my laptop, logged into a dating site:
– You see, I have dozens of fans. I’ve met a lot of people. I don’t even know who I have a child with. If he’s born, maybe I’ll do a DNA examination. But you’re definitely not the father. How can I explain it to you more simply?.. I got married early, gave birth early and was widowed early. We call it – I didn’t work up. Not only men have a midlife crisis. So I was carried away by an explosion of hormones. And pregnancy helped to stop. You’re right about one thing: my daughter doesn’t need to know about our affair. She shouldn’t worry. Take care of her.
I quickly slammed the laptop lid shut so that my daughter’s fiance wouldn’t notice that I hadn’t been on the site for a long time and hadn’t answered a single message since I met him.
Mirko said goodbye dryly and left. I don’t care what he thought of me. I hope that the boy will not look like him, otherwise new questions cannot be avoided.
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