“Lida is divorcing her husband; he was living with another woman on his work rotation. She found out when she went to surprise him on his birthday,” Masha stopped Natalya just outside the store.
“Did she?”
“It turns out he did. She entered his trailer, and there he was celebrating his anniversary, not alone. That’s the situation.”
“Yes,” Natalya gripped the handle of her shopping bag so tightly that her knuckles whitened. Right now, she desperately wanted to hit her acquaintance over the head with it, to stop her from gossiping about other people’s problems.
“Alright, Natasha, I’m off,” sensing Natalya’s mood, Masha blurted out.
“Why did she tell me that? It’s like she sowed chaos in my soul, as if on purpose. She was jealous when I married Stepa and she’s still not settled.”
Natalya switched the bag to her other hand and hurried home.
“What, daughter? No milk?”
“Huh?” Natalya was disoriented by her mother’s question as she turned away from the window.
Her mother was unloading groceries, simultaneously checking the fridge.
“I didn’t buy any,” she answered for her daughter.
“What do you all even eat? What do you feed your son?”
“With dumplings, mom, I’ve had enough. I’ve been asking for millet porridge for three weeks,” the grandson was checking the bag with his grandmother.
“Don’t worry, Grisha, grandma’s here. There will be cutlets with mashed potatoes, soup with noodles, and, of course, porridge,” the grandmother patted her grandson on the head and looked disapprovingly at her daughter.
Natalya, who had been staring out the window, turned around and declared resolutely:
“I’m going to Stepa, I’ll take a week off and go while you’re here, mom?”
“Why all of a sudden? They’re making you work overtime, they’re short-staffed, they won’t let you go,” her mother tried to look her in the eye, but Natalya averted her gaze. “If something happened, just tell me. I’ll stay with Grisha for two weeks or more, as needed.”
“No, nothing. I just miss him so much, I can’t stand it. But with Grisha, you understand, it’s hard to go to such a remote place.”
Her mother nodded.
And now the train was rushing Natalya north, into the white haze, endless frost, and icy ridges. The landscape outside the window kept changing. Soon, huge cumbersome firs and majestic pines appeared more frequently along the way. They seemed to sway sympathetically, as if lamenting, “Yes, fidelity is indeed prized these days.”
Natalya turned away from the window.
Soon the trees thinned out, giving way to snow-covered fields. At one of the stations, a woman entered the compartment. She quickly arranged her belongings and sat opposite Natalya.
“I’m Tanya,” she smiled at her fellow passenger.
“Natalya,” she responded and fell silent.
But the fellow passenger didn’t want to be quiet. She asked many questions of her compartment mate and, noticing that she wasn’t very talkative, started talking herself.
“Why did you come on this rotation?” Natalya suddenly interrupted her interesting story.
“I want to get married. I’ve traveled enough on expeditions, been all over the country. Now I’m looking for a husband and working. The money’s good, enough for a family later. I don’t really spend much, I save.”
Natalya looked at the woman sitting opposite her with resentment.
“It’s ones like this Tanya who go on rotations, messing with men.”
“Don’t think badly of me, I only go for the single guys,” Tanya suddenly said.
“Smart, too,” Natalya concluded and turned to the window.
She became very sad. If there were hordes of Tanyas roaming around looking for husbands at work sites where men spend six months at a time under harsh conditions, any man might stumble. And there’s a hunter right there.
Natalya took out a folder with documents and immersed herself in reading. She needed to return to work with new knowledge to make up for the week off.
At the snowy platform, they stood in a group of five: three men with backpacks, Natalya, and Tanya.
Only now did Natalya realize her luck. The place where her husband worked was serviced by a huge all-terrain vehicle only three times a week. If she had bought a train ticket a day earlier or later, she would have been stuck at the station.
When boarding, they asked Natalya for her surname, checked the lists, and let her through. She had made arrangements in advance with the administration but hadn’t told her husband.
At the site, Natalya felt lost. A bunch of trailers with no identifying marks, several utility blocks, and a large building with a sign shaped like a pot.
“Probably the dining hall,” Natalya thought and headed there.
“Hello, does Stepan Makarov come here?”
A young woman with a charming face looked at Natalya skeptically and, as if snubbing her, asked:
“Why do you need him?”
“I’m his sister,” the visitor quietly added.
“Ahh,” the server immediately brightened and said, “sit anywhere. He’ll be in for lunch soon, I’ll tell him.”
“Sorry… this is probably silly, but he doesn’t know I came. I wanted to surprise him… actually, mom sent me to check if there’s another woman here.”
“You’re kidding! Stepa is… solid as a rock. Not a chance. I haven’t seen such handsome men letting skirts pass by in a long time,” the woman laughed, and Natalya giggled with her.
“Don’t worry, he’s faithful to his wife. Over there, in the corner, is the most comfortable place. I’ll tell him.”
Almost immediately after the conversation, the small room began to fill with workers. A stream of men quickly picked up their food at the counter and settled at the tables. The woman behind the counter worked very fast, smiled at everyone, and chatted with each person.
Stepa Natalya saw unexpectedly, in the approaching line. She was so engrossed in watching the server that she only noticed her husband when a plate of soup was being handed to him.
Natalya jumped up from her spot and rushed to the counter.
“So, Polina, will you give it? I’ll come by in the evening?”
“I would give, but I’m afraid you’ll be busy today, your wife has come.”
Stepa turned around, and Natalya froze behind his back, having heard part of the conversation. Inside her, everything tensed, and jealousy tightened its grip.
“I knew it!” Natalya dashed for the door, pushing through the men entering the dining hall.
“Natalya, Natasha, wait!” he caught up with her and grabbed her from behind, turning her around and kissing her. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her neck, as if trying to cover all the exposed places with kisses.
Natalya adjusted her hat and took a step back.
“I traveled across the country to him, and he’s flirting with the cook… admit it!”
Her husband laughed with two beautiful rows of even teeth. Natalya furrowed her brows for emphasis.
“I asked her for oil. They give it to her for the boards. I needed it. Come on!” he grabbed his wife by the hand and led her to his trailer.
“Here,” from a carved box, Stepa took out three wooden figures that fit together into one composition. A man, very much like Stepa himself, with a large hand embracing a woman, resembling her, and a little boy, Grishka, clinging to them standing.
“He carved it for our anniversary. I was afraid it wouldn’t look right without oil.”
Natalya rushed to her husband and hugged him.
“Sorry, the devil knows what I thought. I just wanted to see you so much.”
“And I’m so glad you came, so glad,” he hugged her tighter.
“But what about lunch? You must be hungry.”
“Right now, I don’t need anything. I have everything. Just missing Grisha. I love you, hear me. I love you, you’re my family!”