Finally, my father decided to have an honest conversation with me and my sister.
— Nadya, Olya, sit down. I want to tell you how Irina, my second wife, came into our home.
— Dad, we already know everything, — I interrupted him.
— When you were five years old, I remarried. I remember that time, I remember your mother…
— But you don’t know the whole story. It’s truly an amazing story. Your mother was chosen for me by your… late mother. She wanted me to be happy… — sighed Dad and began his tale:
— Your mother had heart problems since childhood. Despite the doctors’ warnings, she decided to have two children. This ultimately weakened her health.
— Sergei, my days are numbered, — she said one day. — Promise me: don’t close yourself off after I’m gone. Marry again. I’ll even help you choose someone who will be there for you.
— Tanya, — I was upset back then, — what are you talking about! The doctors said that your condition is improving. You’ll live for many more years.
— No, I feel it — there’s little time left. Promise me you’ll find a worthy woman who will love our girls. But Mom never had a chance to help me choose. Her condition worsened suddenly, she fell into a coma and soon passed away. You were sent to your grandmother’s in the village, so you wouldn’t see the funeral. I tried to get the house in order, cope with the grief. Slowly, I realized: the house needed a woman, I couldn’t handle it alone. After a while, I met Vika. She worked in the neighboring department. A bright girl, and she had been eyeing me for a while. She started visiting often. Sometimes she’d bake pies, sometimes bring candies. She played with you, braided your hair. I thought: here she is, the one. But soon, your mother started coming to me in my dreams. She would silently stand and…
Look at me and cry quietly. But I thought it was out of joy. After some time, I suggested Vika move in with us, and later, if things worked out, we could formalize the relationship.
— We didn’t like her, — I confessed to Dad.
— She was fake. She smiled, but her eyes showed coldness and anger. Children sense such things, — Dad sighed. — It’s a shame I didn’t realize who she really was from the start. Vika moved in, and for a while, everything seemed fine. Until I was sent on a business trip.
I came back a day earlier than planned. I opened the door with my key and heard voices coming from the kitchen.
— When’s the wedding? I think in a couple of months, he’ll be ready.
— Why do you need him? A man with baggage, two kids…
— Kids are no problem. After the wedding, I’ll send them to boarding school for a full week.
— Will he allow that?
— Who’s going to ask him?
— Well, if it works out, we can endure. Otherwise, you’ll turn into a nanny and start wiping noses.
I stood in the hallway, unable to believe my ears. Is this really Vika talking? The same one I wanted to spend my life with?
I burst into the kitchen, catching my fiancée and her friend drinking, and threw them both out. That evening, I left you to stay at a neighbor’s place, someone who occasionally helped me, and I got drunk.
I remember, before falling asleep, I begged your mother to give me a sign: how to move forward, what to do. That night, she came to me again in a dream. This time, she wasn’t crying, she just sat next to me, stroked my head, and smiled.
A few days later, the doorbell rang. We went to the hallway to greet the guests.
A strange woman was standing on the doorstep.
— Hello, who are you looking for? — I asked, surprised.
— Good evening, I’m here to see Tanya. We went to school together. She called me a couple of days ago, invited me over, said she wanted me to meet her kids and husband. She spoke very highly of you. I even joked that she was playing matchmaker.
— Wait! — I interrupted. — A couple of days ago? Tanya passed away months ago.
— That can’t be, — the guest said, shocked. — She called me! I couldn’t have confused that!
I invited her in, and we spent the evening in the kitchen, trying to understand what all of this meant. We reminisced about Tanya, cried. The woman introduced herself as Ira, apologized for intruding, and asked if she could visit us sometimes and help out however she could. I agreed. You both immediately became friends with her. I liked Ira too… It was clear that she was kind and caring. I think your mom really worried about us. She was afraid that someone heartless would come into our home. And she wasn’t wrong to worry. If it hadn’t been for the coincidence, I would have married Vika, and who knows what that woman would have done..