He clearly did not expect this meeting; his face stretched into a look of astonishment, and his eyes widened. The woman stared at the guest in amazement, not understanding what he was doing there.
The banquet was in full swing—guests were chatting animatedly and frequently raising their glasses in a toast to the birthday woman, who sat at the head of the table. Galina Alekseevna, slightly blushing from all the warm words spoken in her honor, smiled modestly and thanked everyone for such heartfelt congratulations. When it was time for a toast from Galina Alekseevna’s eldest son, Sasha, she began wiping away tears of tenderness even as he uttered his first words.
— “Our dear mom, Katya and I want to congratulate you on your birthday and wish you many new experiences.” At Sasha’s concluding words, his younger sister Katya rose from her seat and joined in the toast.
— “And to help make that happen, we want to gift you a trip to Turkey. Rest properly and return to us even happier.”
All the guests applauded, and Galina Alekseevna could no longer hold back the tears of joy that streamed from her eyes. Two weeks after her birthday, Galina Alekseevna boarded a plane and set off on her first trip abroad, determined to extract every possible moment from this vacation so that her children’s money would not have been spent in vain. On her very first day, while Galina Alekseevna was dining by the pool, a friendly-looking woman with a broad smile sat down next to her.
— “Hello, I’m your neighbor,” she said, waving her hand in the direction of the hotel. “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it?”
— “Yes, it’s stunning,” agreed Galina Alekseevna, impressed by the openness and assertiveness of the stranger.
— “My name is Tanya. I’m no stranger to vacations here. And you?”
— “I’m Galya,” Galina Alekseevna introduced herself. “It’s my first time abroad; my children gifted me the trip.”
— “You have wonderful children,” the new acquaintance remarked with a hint of envy.
The rest of the evening, the two women spent chatting about their lives and eventually parted ways as almost instant friends. Galina Alekseevna was happy to have made a new acquaintance; vacationing alone could feel rather lonely. Tanya turned out to be an extremely energetic woman who hated to sit still and was always eager for something new and unexplored.
— “Perhaps you should have a little resort romance?” Tanya suggested one evening during a stroll along the promenade. “Look at how many handsome young men are around here.”
— “Oh, as if we’d be any use to the young,” Galina Alekseevna replied shyly.
— “That’s too bad; I’m sure we could go out somewhere. I’ve had my share of romances here with young men,” Tanya said, a bit offended.
— “I don’t know. I don’t think that at sixty I can charm anyone.”
— “I cannot agree with you; you certainly can,” insisted Tanya.
From that point on, Tanya kept bringing up the subject whenever she had the chance, much to Galina Alekseevna’s dismay. She found it indecent to even think about relationships with young men—the way she was raised simply did not allow for that. The first week of vacation passed in the blink of an eye, and Galina Alekseevna could hardly believe that half of her holiday was already behind her. She savored the sea and the sun, enjoying evenings in the company of her neighbor, never suspecting how her Turkish getaway would ultimately conclude.
One afternoon, after lunch, Galina Alekseevna sat at the bar sipping on a cocktail when suddenly a soft male voice interrupted her idyllic moment.
— “Hello, may I sit down with you?”
— “Yes, of course,” Galina Alekseevna startled, snapping back to reality from her reverie.
— “Such a beautiful lady sitting alone—I couldn’t just walk by,” the stranger said with a smile.
— “Thank you for the compliment,” Galina Alekseevna replied with a bashful smile as she lowered her eyes. She was no longer called a young lady, especially not by someone as young as this man.
— “May I ask your name?”
— “Galya.”
— “I’m Vlad. Nice to meet you.”
It turned out that Vlad was only forty years old, and he had come on vacation alone to recharge his batteries after a long period of hard work at his law firm.
— “Your own firm?!” Galina Alekseevna gasped when Vlad told her about his work.
— “Yes, I opened it a couple of years ago. I got tired of working for others,” the man explained casually.
Galina Alekseevna glanced at his wristwatch. Though she didn’t understand much about such things, they seemed very prestigious at first glance.
Without planning it at all, Galina Alekseevna took Tanya’s advice and embarked on a resort romance with the young man. It turned out that Vlad lived in the same city as Galina Alekseevna, and their return flights were scheduled for the same time. Thus, the new couple left Turkey together to continue their relationship back in their homeland.
Galina Alekseevna couldn’t believe her luck. After parting ways with the father of Sasha and Katya, she had stopped hoping to find true love and thought she would remain alone for the rest of her life. Meeting Vlad turned her world upside down; she soared on the wings of love and grew lovelier with each passing day. Vlad was very attentive and caring, and from the very beginning he was lavish with gifts, often sending Galina Alekseevna magnificent bouquets of flowers.
— “Mom, don’t you have anything you want to tell us?” Katya asked, unable to contain her curiosity any longer.
— “I’ve found a man,” Galina Alekseevna admitted shyly.
— “Well, we sort of knew that already. Maybe you could tell us more about him?” Sasha joined his sister’s inquiry.
— “There’s nothing much to tell, just a man—a good man,” Galina Alekseevna responded evasively.
— “Mom, but we’re curious; who’s going to be our new dad?” Katya laughed.
— “Don’t talk nonsense,” Galina Alekseevna scolded her daughter. “He won’t ever become a dad to you, he’d be better as a brother,” she blurted out, immediately regretting her words as she saw the expressions on her children’s faces.
— “Mom, but that’s very dangerous,” Sasha finally said.
— “There’s nothing dangerous about it; he’s a reliable man—you can count on him.”
— “And what if he’s with you only for your money? Didn’t you ever consider that?” Katya asked worriedly.
— “For money?!” Galina Alekseevna burst out laughing. “He earns ten times more than all of us put together; he doesn’t need our pennies.”
— “Are you sure?” Katya continued to express her doubts.
— “I’m sure,” Galina Alekseevna said firmly. “And by the way, there’s a car with a private driver waiting for me downstairs; Vlad and I are going to a restaurant.” Not wanting to continue the argument, Galina Alekseevna picked up her purse, put on some lipstick, and left the apartment.
News of her new partner’s high income and the presence of a private driver somewhat reassured Sasha and Katya, and they decided that things might not be as terrible as they had imagined. Moreover, the new relationship had a very positive effect on Galina Alekseevna—she threw herself into taking care of her health, dedicating a lot of time to exercise and proper nutrition. It wasn’t long before Sasha and Katya noticed how their mother had transformed, no longer appearing her age.
— “Now I’ll be going to the pool,” Galina Alekseevna announced to the children when they gathered for a family dinner.
— “Wow, I never thought you’d ever do that after all these years,” Katya said, pleasantly surprised.
— “Yes, doing something for myself was something I lacked the motivation for,” replied Galina Alekseevna.
— “It might have been bad before, but I’m glad that at least your Vlad has been the cause of such positive changes,” Katya commented.
— “Yes, he has a very positive influence on my life,” the woman agreed.
— “Well, if you’re happy, so are we,” concluded Sasha.
From that moment on, Galina Alekseevna’s children finally relaxed and stopped worrying about their mother. They were eager to meet her beloved, but Galina Alekseevna wasn’t ready for such a serious step and took no action in that direction.
Once a week, Vlad made sure to invite Galina Alekseevna to dinner at his favorite restaurant. It wasn’t overly luxurious, but Vlad extolled the local cuisine and insisted he was never ready to betray the place.
— “You know, you motivate me to develop in every aspect of my life,” Vlad once said at dinner, gazing at Galina with tenderness.
— “You do the same for me,” the woman smiled.
— “I’ve decided that for our bright future, I have to work even harder.”
— “Harder? Come now, you hardly see the light of day,” Galina Alekseevna protested.
— “With time, my efforts will pay off,” Vlad retorted. “I’m planning to expand the business. Our firm is already struggling with the influx of clients; we need to increase our scale.”
— “That’s a serious step,” Galina acknowledged respectfully.
— “Yes, but I don’t have the cash on hand for it at the moment,” Vlad said dejectedly.
— “Maybe you could borrow some money from someone?” suggested Galina Alekseevna.
— “Maybe I could,” agreed the man. “But besides you, there’s no one I can turn to.”
— “You know, for you I’m ready to do anything—but I don’t have that kind of money. I doubt you’re in need of a few thousand,” Galina Alekseevna stammered.
— “If you have any jewelry, you could pawn it, and I’d buy it back in a couple of weeks—and even get you some new pieces,” Vlad proposed.
— “Well, alright,” Galina Alekseevna agreed almost without hesitation.
— “Thank you, sweetheart, I’ll never forget this,” Vlad said lovingly as he leaned over the table to kiss Galina.
A couple of days after the conversation with Vlad, Galina Alekseevna returned home to find Sasha in a state of distress.
— “Son, are you all right?” her mother asked anxiously.
— “Yes, it’s just that there are problems at work—there are going to be layoffs, and I’m afraid I might be affected,” Sasha replied.
— “Don’t worry; you’re an excellent specialist. You won’t be out of work for long,” Galina Alekseevna tried to reassure him.
— “I hope you’re right,” Sasha said bitterly. At that moment, his phone rang, and he stepped out of the room to answer.
— “Alo, something at work?” Sasha asked, as his colleague was on the other end.
— “Hi, I have a proposal for you—one you can’t refuse, I hope,” said the excited voice over the phone.
— “You’ve intrigued me, so go ahead,” Sasha said, preparing to listen.
— “No, I’d rather not talk on the phone; I’ll come over to your place and explain everything,” his colleague replied.
— “Alright,” Sasha agreed. “At least give me a hint about what it’s related to.”
— “Big earnings,” his colleague said, before abruptly hanging up.
— “Everything alright?” Galina Alekseevna asked when Sasha returned to the room.
— “Yes, a colleague is calling; he wants to offer me big earnings.”
— “Sounds good—I told you, you won’t go astray,” Galina Alekseevna rejoiced.
— “Let’s see what he has to propose,” Sasha said, though he wasn’t very optimistic. “He’s coming over to discuss everything.”
— “Okay, I have some things to do as well, so I’ll be leaving soon,” said Galina Alekseevna, who was just about to go pawn her jewelry.
— “You got here quickly,” Sasha commented as he let his colleague into the apartment.
— “There weren’t any traffic jams,” the man said as he entered, closing the door behind him. “Aren’t you alone?” he asked, hearing some noise from the bathroom.
— “Yes, Mom is in the shower, but she won’t be in our way. Come to the kitchen,” Sasha called, and they headed down the hall.
After finishing her routine, Galina Alekseevna came out of the shower and went to her bedroom to gather her jewelry. “I should show them where the treats for tea are,” she thought as she heard voices coming from the kitchen. Gathering all her valuables into a velvet pouch, Galina Alekseevna headed to the kitchen—but couldn’t bring herself to enter, pausing in the doorway.
— “Vlad?!” she exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the guest of her son.
— “Galya?!” Vlad jumped up sharply; he clearly hadn’t expected such a meeting.
Sasha quickly grasped what was happening, and he too got up, glaring angrily at his guest.
— “So, you’re the very Vlad, then?!”
— “I…” Vlad stuttered, not knowing what to say.
— “I don’t understand. Do you work together? But how come…” Galina Alekseevna stammered, shifting her gaze from her son to her lover as she tried to comprehend the situation.
— “I’ll explain everything to you now,” Sasha said, beginning to pace around the kitchen. “Vlad just proposed an interesting way for me to make money. He came up with the idea that it would be great to seduce elderly women and cheat them out of their money, making them hand over all their savings or jewelry. Right before you arrived, he bragged that his current woman would soon pawn all her jewelry and hand over the money to him. From what I understand, that woman is you.” Sasha stared his mother straight in the eyes.
Galina Alekseevna stood there, clutching her velvet pouch, her eyes empty as she looked at Vlad.
— “How could you?” she whispered almost inaudibly.
Vlad offered no reply, silently staring at the floor.
— “It was easy for him; all this time, he couldn’t care less about you. He just wanted to make money,” Sasha continued. “I can’t understand how you thought I’d be interested in doing the same.”
Even when pressed for an answer, Vlad said nothing.
— “Mom, call the police,” Sasha said, pointing to the telephone.
At these words, Vlad bolted for the door, pushing Galina Alekseevna aside as he rushed out of the kitchen and then the apartment. Sasha did not run after him—he was needed more by his mother at that moment.
A year after these events, Galina Alekseevna finally recovered and went to Sochi to regain her strength and bask on the Black Sea coast. There, completely unexpectedly, she met her true love—a suitable man of her age with whom she immediately found common ground and no longer wanted to part ways. With joy, Galina Alekseevna left the cold climes of Moscow and moved in with her beloved into his small but cozy house by the sea, where they lived happily ever after.