Nina was tired, leaning back into the chair. It was hard to tell what hurt more—her head or her back. There was a quiet knock on the office door.
— Nina Sergeyevna, may I come in?
The woman raised her eyebrows in surprise.
— Rita, why are you still not at home?
The girl smiled shyly:
— I can’t just leave you here alone. What if you’d like some coffee?
Nina smiled:
— I’m very touched, of course, but you really didn’t have to. I’d rather go home and rest.
Rita sighed:
— You know, no one waits for me at home. I always feel better at work.
Nina had met this girl by chance, under such circumstances that no sane person would ever have done what Nina did.
Her car had broken down—it simply stopped at the edge of town just at the moment when her phone died. She was returning from important negotiations in another city, tired and hungry. After several attempts to start the car, and then to turn on her phone, she despaired and went outside. The frost was severe that day. About 15 minutes later, after unsuccessful attempts to hail a taxi, Nina decided to at least walk to some gas station or store to call for a car. That’s when she saw the solitary figure of a young woman.
Rita was wandering along the side of the road, completely unresponsive to anything, looking straight ahead and clearly not seeing anyone.
— Miss!
Rita did not react at all, passing by Nina. Nina caught up and tugged her by the hand:
— Why are you walking along the roadway?
The girl stopped, but didn’t even look at Nina; she just stood there and wanted to continue walking as if she hadn’t heard her. Nina wasn’t going to give up so easily. She grabbed the stranger’s hand and almost forced her into the car. At least inside there wasn’t any wind.
— What’s wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?
Then the girl looked at her more thoughtfully and began to cry.
Nina learned that she was an orphan, that the state had provided her with housing, that she had graduated from a technical school, and that she had met a guy—it was all just wonderful. And then the guy simply kicked her out of the apartment by bringing another woman in.
— But that’s your apartment!
— He said he had transferred everything to his name.
Nina sighed:
— Where do such naïve ones come from? Really, probably only from an orphanage.
She attempted to start the car, and miraculously—it roared to life immediately. Nina drove off, and her father was waiting at home.
— Dad, look, I didn’t come alone!
Sergey Andreevich came out into the hallway:
— Hello, Nina. And who is this you brought? A Snow Maiden, perhaps?
— Almost. In another half hour she wouldn’t be a Snow Maiden at all, but would definitely have turned into a snowman.
Sergey Andreevich became busy, saw the guest off to the kitchen, and while Nina changed, he already set the table. Nina smiled.
In general, Nina wasn’t particularly known for a kind character or spontaneous actions, yet she herself didn’t know why she wanted to help Rita. — Tell me, don’t you have anyone else?
The girl shrugged:
— You could say I don’t. Actually, I have a sister. I saw her once when I was very little. I even have photos—she was 16, and I was only two. We had different mothers but the same father. I guess she used to visit us, and then, when I was five, mom and dad died. I lived in an orphanage, and, frankly, I don’t even know if she remembers me or not.
— Have you tried to find her?
— Oh no, what would I tell her? That right now, when I’m not doing well, I decided to find you and leech off you?
Nina couldn’t help but smile. Rita blushed:
— I’m sorry, please! Thank you for the dinner, I’ll be going now.
Rita stood up, and Sergey Andreevich looked at his daughter with concern, as if asking: why is she silent?
— Rit, sit down! Where are you going? Out on the street? Stay the night here, and tomorrow we’ll decide what to do for you.
She smiled and thanked him. In the bedroom, Rita placed something on the bedside table next to the bed and fell asleep. Nina couldn’t help herself and went over to take a look. It was that very photo that Rita had mentioned. The young girl in the picture held a laughing child in her arms, and she herself was laughing. A good girl, with an open gaze. Nina studied the photo for a long time. Essentially, one could even try to find her by this photograph, but only when Rita herself wanted that.
First of all, Nina talked with the lawyer who worked at her firm. He helped the girl not only get her apartment back, but also extract a significant sum of money from her ex-boyfriend for moral damages. And then Nina invited Rita to come work for her and try out the role of secretary. Rita figured things out very quickly and soon became an indispensable assistant to Nina.
— Nina Sergeyevna, — Rita said with a tender smile, — but isn’t this wrong?
— Look, Gena from the finance department follows you like a shadow, and Valera from security. And you don’t even pay attention to them.
Rita laughed:
— Why would I look at them? I already know them. Valera is a womanizer—what’s there to look for. And Gena—he’s very positive, like a hidden marathon runner.
— Yes, the guy is, of course, a bit of a nerd. All numbers in his head. But still…
Nina got up:
— We need to hurry home; the neighbor has probably already left, meaning Dad is alone.
After his unfortunate fall last year and breaking his leg in two places, the doctors had practically forbidden him from moving. Well, he could move around the house with crutches, but that was it. Sergey Andreevich immediately deflated; he lost interest in everything. Left unprovoked, he would forget and could sit for hours, staring out the window. Nina had tried everything—with no avail.
— Rita, I have a favor to ask of you—could you help look for a caregiver-companion for Dad?
The girl looked at her in alarm:
— Nina Sergeyevna, is he getting worse?
— Not exactly worse, but he has completely lost his zest for life. You see, with all the tension here, I keep worrying: has he eaten, or is he about to do something foolish?
— Alright, Nina Sergeyevna, I’ll get on it tomorrow! And will there be any other instructions?
Nina shook her head negatively, then looked at the girl:
— How’s it going at the institute?
Rita smiled:
— All is well, the exams are coming soon.
— Well, then let’s go home. New Year’s is coming; everyone’s bustling about, and here we are sitting at work.
Rita nodded and started getting ready. She hadn’t planned to celebrate New Year at all; with the holidays, she could just sit with her textbooks.
Three days later, Rita entered Nina Sergeyevna’s office:
— Nina Sergeyevna, what time can you look at the candidates? Twenty people came; I’ve narrowed it down to three—I believe all of them are suitable for the role of companion for Sergey Andreevich.
— Well, let’s do it in twenty minutes; I’m just finishing up some work.
Rita was right: the candidates were indeed good. Nina asked questions, received answers, and, honestly, it wasn’t easy for her to decide. But at one point, one of the women, slightly older than Nina, evidently nervous, began fiddling with her bracelet.
— You have exactly the same bracelet as the one I saw before… — and then it dawned on her. — You know what, why don’t you come to our place tomorrow, meet Dad, look around, and then we’ll decide everything.
The woman smiled:
— Alright, of course.
The hardest part was sending Rita to the store, because nothing else occurred to Nina. But she craved apples at that very moment. Rita looked at her strangely, but did not argue and went. And Nina dashed to the head secretary’s office:
— So, where does Rita keep that photo? It’s definitely in the first drawer! She began to examine the picture carefully. And indeed, she wasn’t mistaken: that bracelet—there can be no second one like it. It wasn’t expensive, most likely homemade, but it was clearly dear to the person. So what does this mean? That very sister, whom Rita so desperately wants and is so afraid to find, has come to work for them, and Rita didn’t recognize her?
Nina looked at the photo once more: though she wouldn’t have recognized her either. In the picture was a light-haired, lively girl, but in this one—a woman with dark hair and a serious gaze. Or perhaps, the bracelet had simply passed on to another person? Thousands of questions and not a single answer. Alright, tomorrow is a day off, and Rita can also be invited to her place to figure things out in the evening.
Nina told everything to her father. Sergey Andreevich, as usual, listened without much interest. But by the end of the story, he perked up.
— Nina, we absolutely must find out everything, what if she really is Rita’s sister?
Nina smiled.
— And you’ll help me question that woman, won’t you?
He nodded, his eyes lighting up, and he cautiously headed into his office.
— Nina, bring me dinner into the office, I’ll look up on the Internet—what was her name again?
Nina looked in surprise at the empty plates. It had been a year since Dad had eaten everything. The father didn’t take his eyes off the monitor.
— Could you make me some coffee?
— Dad, what coffee? It’s night out there!
— Oh, come on, I don’t like your healthy tea.
Nina sighed and went to the kitchen. Of course, what else was there for her to do?
The woman’s name was Darya. She readily talked about herself.
— I was married, divorced, didn’t really have any children, so I decided to come to this town where my father once lived. He has a daughter, much younger. I just wanted to find out how she was doing. The last time I saw the girl, it was at a funeral, but she was in such a state that she didn’t recognize anyone. I begged Mom to take Rita, but Mom wouldn’t allow it. She hated Dad terribly for leaving. Perhaps I should have insisted, but I was used to obeying Mom in everything. And three years ago, she caught a cold and died—not exactly from the cold, but because of her temperament. The doctors called her a fool and she started treating herself. In the end, when they brought her to the hospital, it was too late.
Darya looked at Nina with a smile.
— Your secretary reminds me so much of Rita. Of course, I understand that it can’t be, since Rita was raised in an orphanage. Her path into such firms is, of course, predestined.
Nina exchanged a glance with her father, but they didn’t have time to respond: the door slammed, and Rita appeared in the doorway.
— So, why are we just sitting here? Why aren’t we decorating the tree?
— Rit, what tree? Do we have children?
Rita laughed.
— I’m going to be a child! I’d like Santa Claus and a present, please!
Darya looked at Rita in astonishment. Something was wrong. She watched intently, unable to take her eyes off the girl.
— Rita… your name is Rita, and isn’t your patronymic by any chance Pavlovna?
Rita slowly turned toward Darya. The box with New Year’s ornaments, which she’d apparently bought on the way, slipped from her hands onto the floor.
— Who are you? How do you know that my father was called Pavel?
Darya took a deep breath.
— It appears that our fathers were named the same. Moreover, it was the same person!
Rita pressed her hands to her chest.
— Wait, it can’t be! You… you’re Dasha?!
Tears streamed down Darya’s cheeks.
— Exactly, I am Darya Pavlovna! We met when you were very little. I remember—not so much remember as I know. I have a photograph. I recall, our father used to take pictures of us. We used to go for walks around the town…
Nina signaled to her father; they stepped out and closed the door behind them.
— Well, Dad? Let them talk while we set the table.
Sergey Andreevich sighed.
— I’m not much for being an assistant anyway.
Nina laughed.
— Don’t even think about using your position to get out of peeling potatoes, Dad!
— You—you’re such a tyrant! — Sergey Andreevich sighed. — How could I have raised someone like you?!
And Nina’s heart sang. It had been so long since she felt this happy, and although part of the happiness wasn’t even hers, she rejoiced not just for herself but for everyone. Everything would now be fine—for Rita, for Dasha, for Dad, and therefore, for her as well.