Prokhor’s wife was buried by the whole village. Vera passed away early, she was ill. Prokhor was left at the age of forty without a wife, a widower with two sons, the elder Andrei was grown up, and the younger Fedka was thirteen. The husband was left alone in the prime of life, and so many things came upon him at once. At first it seemed to be nothing, of course, grief and misfortune, lived with Vera very well, did not scandalize, she is an economic woman and loving.
Prokhor helped his wife, did not drink, as other rural men, and now even more so. Everything in the house is on him. Andrei – the eldest son was going to the army, went to the military commission, but they found something in him, like flat feet, did not take him to the service. He was even a little upset, but he decided.
– Maybe even it’s for the best, but my Irka will not have to wait for me from the army, bored and suffering, and me too. A little later we’ll get married.
Andrew learned to be an electrician and was about to make a proposal to his Irka, a pretty and fast girl. But trouble happened to him. Prokhor and Andrei were patching the roof on the house, and then it started to rain. Andrei slipped accidentally and fell to the ground on his back. He couldn’t get up.
Prokhor called an ambulance and his son was taken to hospital.
– What will happen now,” the father kept thinking. – I wish everything had been all right, it was not enough, a grown-up boy and such a thing happened, he was going to marry Irka.
Time passed, Andrei was discharged from the hospital, but he was at home, moving on crutches. He kept waiting for Irina to come, kept looking at the gate, but there was no Irina. And then Kostya, his friend, came and said that Irina’s mother was spreading the word throughout the village that there would be no wedding between Andrei and her daughter.
– Andryukha is a cripple, I won’t let Irina marry him. Irina’s mother was saying that someone was condemning her, but she stood her ground.
– Mom, maybe everything will turn out all right and Andrei will get back on his feet, – her mother persuaded her daughter.
– It won’t, he would have stood up long ago, – Irina’s mother made a verdict, – and you have nothing to do there. They’ll find another, you’re a good-looking girl…..
Andrei was offended at being called a cripple, and resented Irina.
– So tell Irka that I don’t want to see her either, if she gave up so easily, – he said to Kostya, and the proud one was offended too.
Andrei got up on his feet, threw his crutches aside, but his soul and face turned black, as if he was no longer happy with life. Prokhor himself is not himself, he feels sorry for his son, and the youngest is in his arms. He has to feed and clothe him, he has a farm in the yard.
Not far from Prokhor lived Lyuba with her parents. But it’s been two years since her parents died. They were returning from the city on a motorcycle, got caught in a thunderstorm, a wall of rain, you can’t see anything, you should have stopped and waited it out, but apparently it was fate, they were hit by a truck. So Luba lives alone. Of course, she is not a child, she looks thin and slim, but she will soon be thirty years old. Luba works as a sales clerk.
Her neighbor Varvara, an elderly woman, was friends with Lyuba’s mother, so she took her under her wing. She helped her with advice and never left her without supervision.
– Lyubushka, you should have gone to the city, you could have gotten married there, you look so pretty, you could never be so old. Like an 18-year-old girl. And there aren’t many young men in the village, they all want to go to the city,” Varvara told her.
– No, Aunt Var, I don’t want to go to the city. I’m a villager. It’s noisy and hectic in the city, I don’t like it.
– But it’s time you got married, you’re approaching thirty, you should have children.
– And who to marry, Aunt Varya, I don’t like anyone yet. Maybe you’ll find someone,” Lyuba laughed, “maybe some businessman will drop by….
But Varvara had already thought of something. And she didn’t put her idea on hold.
– Prokhor is not a stranger to me, I used to be friends with his mother Anna, it’s a pity she left early, she was a good woman and Prokhor’s character succeeded in her, – she thought to herself alone. – Andrei, his son, is also a good worker, but he limped after that incident. And what if Lyubasha and Andrei were to get together. They’ll get married and fall in love. After all, it didn’t work out with Irka. They’ll live together as a family, it’ll be easier, as there are only men in the house.
One day Varvara went resolutely to Luba, and after a while she left her satisfied and went to Prokhor’s house.
– Hello, Prokhor, I wasn’t expecting you, and here I am, I have business with you and Andryukha,” she said cheerfully.
– Hello, Aunt Varvara, come in, you’ve come unexpectedly, yes, – said the owner of the house.
– Listen, Prosha, your Andryukha is a good guy, a good-looking guy, and you are all like a match, you are such a breed. But I feel sorry for him, he’s had a lot of grief, now carries a heavy burden in his soul. Maybe it’s time for him to change his life. My neighbor Lyubushka is also a good girl, economic, though older than your Andrew, but she looks like a girl, beautiful, gentle. Lives alone, modest, keeps herself, with guys and men behaves appropriately. What is not a wife to your Andrew. And where is he by the way?
Prokhor knocked on the window, and soon Andrei came out of the house, tall and stately, limping a little on his right leg.
– Andrei, listen to what Aunt Varvara came with.
Varvara had been visiting Prokhor for a long time, and she came out of the gate, rubbing her hands and smiling. Her plan had burned out.
Soon Lyubasha moved into Prokhor’s house and became Andrei’s wife. As quickly she got used to her new position, felt that she had a family. Her husband’s younger brother Fedka became especially attached to her, perhaps because he missed his mother’s affection. Lyubasha gave him her warmth, helped him do his homework, even wrote essays with him, brought him sweets from the store. She cooked deliciously, and everyone in the family quickly appreciated it.Tours for family vacations
– Lyuba, – addressed to her Fedka, – pancakes with sour cream want, press …
– You’ve already become like a pancake yourself,” Prokhor joked at his son, “you’ve gained a lot of cheeks. You’ve fattened us, Lyuba,” he jokingly told her.
– It’s just your build, all of you are healthy, your breed is so strong and tall. And you need to eat well,” she answered her father-in-law.
Prokhor did not want to put up with the word “father-in-law”. What thoughts he had in his head, he hid them in himself and was afraid that no one would notice anything. He really wanted to hear Lyubasha’s voice, to communicate more with her, to see her radiant smile. But no! She was his son’s wife, and his thoughts must be put aside.
Andrew and Luba lived quietly, special love for each other did not show. Yes, they cared about each other, they realized that they married for love. But they both hoped that they would get along. That’s what Aunt Varvara said. Prokhor saw that his son had thawed his face, smiled, got better and seemed to revive his soul. In his spare time from work he did chores. He would fix the fence and paint it, and put up a new barn.
But Prokhor noticed that sometimes in the evening Andrei went somewhere. Prokhor was surprised.
– His wife was at his side, and he was away again, it was strange.
He decided to watch, maybe it seemed. Luba became gloomy in the evenings and went to her room. I couldn’t resist one evening and held my sister-in-law’s hand.
– Lyubasha, what’s going on? What are you and Andrew both strange? Like husband and wife, but behave like strangers?
– Yes, no, nothing, – hastened to answer the woman, – it seemed to you, – Lyuba evaded the conversation and went to her room, Prokhor never went there.
But Prokhor decided to find out everything to the end. The next evening he had a conversation with his son. He asked him the same question. Andrei did not go around and around.
– Father, don’t take it into your head, – but after thinking about it he added, – though I’d rather tell you everything at once than to keep it to myself. We don’t have a family life with Lyuba, we don’t love each other, we hurried. Nothing works out for us. No, I’m fine in terms of male strength. But she doesn’t love me. And I don’t love her, even though she’s very nice. But I can’t get Irka out of my head. I go out with her, father, we love each other. She doesn’t want to marry anyone, but she’s waiting for me… She couldn’t forget me, and I couldn’t forget her either. We’d be fine if it weren’t for my marriage. What should I do? Three people are unhappy. It’s not Lyubasha’s fault either, we listened to Aunt Varvara. We were in a hurry.
– But she wanted to do us good from the bottom of her heart,” Prokhor interceded.
But Prokhor’s heart began to play, he did not yet know how and what, but he felt relief in his soul. He realized that the denouement of all this was somewhere close.
– So that’s where the son goes in the evenings, to Irina. And Lyubasha is like that, she’s silent and doesn’t complain. So that’s what it means, there’s some confusion inside me, my heart feels it. Oh, maybe it’s just a gray hair and a black eye?
But the next evening Andrei left home again on a good excuse. The younger Fedka went to bed. Lyubasha left his room, always turning off his night-light as soon as he fell asleep.
– Lyuba, I have a serious conversation with you, – he took her hand. – I know everything, and you are hiding in vain that your husband goes to another woman. I understand, it’s embarrassing to admit it, but that’s life. It’s love, and love doesn’t ask, it can do whatever you want to a man. Let’s settle this once and for all. I talked to Andrew, he loves Irka, we hurried to marry you. But here’s another question. Maybe you won’t believe it, but I love you, though I’ve been hiding it for a long time. I didn’t want to come between you two. But now that it’s happened.
Lyubasha didn’t let him finish – she covered his lips with her palm and whispered.
– I love you, too, and I was afraid to give myself away….
They whispered about it for two hours, but how can secrets last forever? The next day everything was decided. Andrew and Lyuba quickly divorced. He married Irina, and Prokhor married Lyuba. After a while, daughters were born in these two families. Father and son go to visit each other with their families, everything is fine with them.
Only Varvara keeps thinking.
– “How could I have made such a mistake? I should have married Lyubasha to Prokhor right away. I’m getting old, I’m getting old. But love is power. It will put everything in its place. And Prokhor and Lyubasha are good! They named their daughter Varenka.
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