Mom, another night shift?” Katya looked at her mother with concern.
“Yes, sweetheart. You won’t get into trouble without me, will you?” Marina gently patted her older daughter’s hand.
“Of course not. But you never rest,” Katya sighed.
“I have to work, Katya. Your graduation is coming up soon. You want a beautiful dress, don’t you?”
“I don’t even need a graduation…” Katya muttered softly. “It would be better if you were home more often.”
“Soon everything will change, kitten. Just one more year, we’ll pay off this cursed loan, and I’ll be able to spend more time with you.”
Marina closed her eyes. It felt like fate was throwing tests her way. Marriage, two children… It seemed like the family was happy. But then her husband decided to open a business. She didn’t pay attention to the details, but he was refused a loan, and he took it out in her name. And then, not long after, he announced he was leaving her for someone else. He promised to pay the loan, but before she could recover from the shock, she was told about his death. A strange woman called and at least told her where he was buried. They hadn’t even gotten a divorce.
Marina cried at the cemetery, unable to imagine how to go on. Two children, huge debt, working in a hospital for a meager salary… There wasn’t a single penny left in her husband’s accounts. All she got was his share of the apartment. She had to take any side jobs just to make ends meet. At least Katya helped with her younger brother, Yura.
For five years, Marina was paying off the loan. The survivor’s pension and half of her salary went to pay down the debt. They lived on the remaining crumbs.
“Well, Katya, I have to go,” Marina said.
“Go ahead, Mom. I’ll check Yura’s homework.”
“What would I do without you!”
The hospital was on the other side of town. Two transfers on public transport… Marina had long wanted to find a job closer to home, but all her attempts had been unsuccessful.
“Good evening, Marina Nikolaevna,” greeted Sergey, the new security guard.
Marina smiled awkwardly. Sergey, a widower and retired military, had been working at the hospital for only three months. He was clearly interested in her, and Marina, to her surprise, also felt some affection. Though there was nothing between them yet, rumors were already spreading through the hospital.
“Hello, Sergey Andreevich,” she quickly replied, trying to walk past under the curious gazes of the nurses.
In the doctor’s lounge, her colleagues were having tea.
“Marina, join us!” they called.
“Thanks. How’s everything? Calm?”
“Quiet… It’s kind of strange. Doesn’t it feel like something’s brewing?”
The night had indeed started quietly. One appendectomy and a worker who had his hand stitched up.
Marina went outside for a bit of fresh air.
“May I?” Sergey sat down beside her.
“Marina, I wanted to invite you… to the movies. Though, maybe that’s too cliché? A restaurant? A theater? I hardly know anything about you, not even what you like…” he trailed off, noticing her reluctance to respond. “No, no, don’t even think about refusing!”
Marina couldn’t help but smile.
“Can you read my mind?”
“No need. You always try to avoid me,” Sergey chuckled.
“Is it that obvious?”
“Very. We’re both adults and free. It’s pointless to deny there’s some attraction between us. So…”
Marina sighed. She hadn’t been on a date in a long time. “Over forty… what dates?” she thought. But then, she quickly corrected herself: “Life goes on…”
“Alright, I’ll agree to the movie. Just, my schedule’s tough.”
“I see. You work a lot.”
“I have to,” Marina smiled sadly. “My husband left me a ‘wonderful’ inheritance.”
“It happens…” Sergey nodded understandingly. “I won’t ask. If you want to tell me, you will.”
And suddenly, Marina felt like sharing. She told Sergey everything: about the loan, her husband’s death, the financial struggles.
“That’s how it is… So, think carefully before asking me on a date.”
“Nonsense! Problems are solvable. And yours too.”
“Maybe you’re right. I just think about it too much,” Marina confessed. “And I even had a falling out with my best friend because of my husband. Turns out she was in love with him. Sometimes I wonder how everything would’ve turned out if she had married him…”
“That’s just speculation. Did you make up with your friend?”
“No. She left after our wedding. I don’t even know where she is now.”
“An ambulance,” Sergey nodded towards the gate. “Hope it’s not for us?”
“For us. It’s been too quiet. That never happens.”
A few minutes later, a nurse arrived.
“Marina Nikolaevna! Stab wound!”
“Prepare the operating room!”
The patient was conscious. Marina reviewed his tests.
“How do you feel?” she looked up.
Before her lay her husband.
“Kostya?”
He turned away in fear.
“You’re mistaken.”
“But… it’s you! You… died!”
“Blood pressure dropping! Blood loss!” the nurse screamed.
“We’re starting!” Marina ordered, pushing aside all doubts.
By the end of the operation, she no longer doubted: it was Kostya. Her husband, who, she thought, had died five years ago. How was this possible?
“Tell me, how is he?” she heard a familiar voice.
Standing before her was Lena. Her former friend.
“Lena?”
“Marina! I didn’t know you worked here! Did you operate on him?”
“This… it’s Kostya… I don’t understand…”
“Marina, it’s very complicated… We need to talk.”
“Yes, I think it’s time to clear things up!” Marina’s voice trembled.
“Marina Nikolaevna, are you okay?” Sergey approached.
“Sergey Andreevich,” Marina turned to him, “could you be present for our conversation? I’m afraid I’m going crazy.”
“Of course,” Sergey glanced at Lena. “Let’s go to my office. No one will interrupt us there.”
In the security room, Lena told the whole truth. After meeting Kostya again after a long separation, she fell in love with him again. They planned a scam with the loan and staged his death to get rid of the debts and obligations. Kostya’s friends helped them. But their business failed. They moved to another city, but things went badly there too. When they returned, they were hiding from creditors. The attack was a warning.
“Marina, don’t expose us!” Lena begged. “What should we do now?”
“And what should I do?” Marina asked. “I’ve been paying off debts for you for five years! I’ve denied myself and the kids everything! And you… you want me to sell the apartment and give you the money?!”
Sergey looked at Marina.
“Marina, of course, it’s your decision. But, I think you should call the police. Your husband should answer for his actions. At least you’ll be free from the debt.”
“You won’t do that!” Lena jumped up. “He’s the father of your children! Don’t you care about him?”
“No, I don’t care,” Marina said firmly, also standing up. “And neither do you. Did you think about me when you started all this? About the kids? We cried at his grave! Sergey Andreevich, call the police.”
“I’m sorry,” Sergey said to Lena, dialing the number. “But you’ll have to wait here.”
“You’re to blame!” Lena shouted at Marina. “If Kostya had married me, none of this would’ve happened!”
Marina silently walked out.
“Mom, what happened?” Katya asked, noticing her mother’s distressed face.
Marina told her daughter everything.
“So, we were paying his debts, and he… was having fun?” Katya said quietly. “Mom, can I just consider him dead? The way he was, five years ago?”
“Of course, sweetheart. For me, he died too. Today – for the second time.”
Six months later.
“Mom, are we having guests?” Yura asked, walking into the kitchen.
“Why do you ask?”
“It smells so good!”
“Sit down at the table. We’ll have dinner soon. Kids, I have some news for you.”
“You’re getting married?” Katya asked.
“Well, not exactly… I want to introduce you to Sergey.”
Marina fell silent, seeing the frightened faces of her children. “Maybe I shouldn’t have… What if they don’t like him?” At that moment, the children hugged her.
“Mommy! We’re so happy! As long as he’s a good person!”
“He is good. You’ll see.”
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll open it!” Yura shouted.
“No turning back,” Marina thought.
They got married a month later. They had a modest celebration in a restaurant with family. Yura and Sergey immediately became friends. Katya slowly warmed up to him. Kostya was sentenced to real prison time. It turned out that he and Lena had a long history of various scams. In court, they accused each other. They didn’t remove the debt from Marina, but Sergey paid it off immediately.
“All right, Marish, we’re starting with a clean slate!” he said. “Now I’m without money too.”
They laughed. Money is such a small thing. The most important thing is that they are together. And money… they’ll earn it.