Yulenka, if you don’t start improving in physics and mathematics, they won’t admit you to college,” her mother worried.
“I just can’t get these subjects, mom.”
“Maybe we should hire a tutor?”
“We have a new teacher for physics and math — Gennady Mikhailovich. He’s just out of university. Very smart. Maybe you could ask him to tutor me? I feel a bit awkward approaching him myself. I get nervous just seeing him. He’s so attractive, the whole class is crazy about him. They say he has a fiancée, maybe they’ll marry soon. They live somewhere in our district and rent an apartment. His parents seem to live in the Southwest.”
“I’ll talk to him, sweetheart. I think he won’t mind a bit of extra work. Teachers’ salaries aren’t great, and rent is expensive.”
Yulia’s mother met with the teacher and discussed everything. Gennady Mikhailovich agreed to come to tutor her after lessons once a day for entrance exam preparation. They also agreed on payment.
Over time, as Gennady Mikhailovich tutored Yulia, he realized he had fallen in love with her. He had noticed her shy glances but hadn’t dared to take the first step. One day, he finally asked:
“Yulia, do you have a boyfriend?”
“Why would I need one? I’m happy with you. It’s just a pity that it’s our last year in school, and we won’t see each other as often.”
“So… do you have feelings for me?”
“Of course, Gennady Mikhailovich! But you’re going to marry your fiancée soon…”
“Fiancée? What fiancée?” he was surprised.
“The one you live with.”
“I don’t have a fiancée. I just rent a room from a woman; her husband is away on business trips, he’s a long-distance truck driver. Who spread this rumor about my ‘fiancée’?”
“I don’t know… But then why don’t you kiss me?”
“Yulenka, you’re so sensitive and kind, but I’m your teacher. It’s impossible, even though I really want to. I’m sorry, but I can’t…” But he couldn’t resist and kissed her.
And so, they found themselves in each other’s arms, and soon they were in bed. Afterward, he came to his senses and realized he had made a big mistake. But it was already too late to take it back.
From that point on, Gennady Mikhailovich’s lessons with Yulia ended not over textbooks but in warm embraces. Only after that would he return home.
“Gena, I’m pregnant,” Yulia said, smiling.
“Really? Could it be… from that first time? After that, I was always careful.”
Yulia handed him the test with the date. He looked at it carefully and realized: it really was from that first time when passion had taken over reason.
“What do we do now, Gena?” she asked. Deep down, Yulia was even happy with this turn of events. School had long been boring to her, and the thought of five more years at university exhausted her. Her dream was simply to love and be loved, to become Gennady’s wife and raise children with him. But she needed to hear his opinion.
“Very bad timing, Yulenka… If we look at the dates, the baby will be born just during the final exams. Until you get your diploma, I can’t admit to anyone what’s going on between us.”
“Then don’t admit it. We want our baby to be born in a legal marriage, right? No one is stopping us from secretly registering our marriage. And I’ll get my diploma with your last name.”
“There’s no other way, Yulenka. We’ll get married, but no one will know.”
And so they decided. Their feelings for each other only grew stronger.
When Yulia’s mother noticed the changes in her daughter’s condition, she quickly found an explanation:
“Remember Vadik, mom?”
“That guy who graduated from school before you and immediately left to study?”
“Yes, his family moved to another district, and he didn’t even give me an address or phone number.”
“That’s just an introduction. So, who are you pregnant by?”
“By him, mom. But I’m not looking for him — he left on his own, let him stay gone.”
“If that’s your decision, I won’t interfere. I’m a doctor, I know what an abortion is.”
Her mother calmed down, and Yulia continued studying with Gennady to finish school successfully.
Their daughter was born the day after the first exam. Everything went as Yulia had planned. She had already submitted a copy of her passport with her new last name — now she was Yurchenko. The principal didn’t think anything of it, not realizing it might be related to their young math teacher, also named Yurchenko.
When Yulia’s parents learned that their son-in-law was the school teacher, they were shocked. Previously, Gennady had planned to transfer to a school in the Southwest, where his parents lived — a position had opened up after the departure of an older teacher. He had planned to take Yulia with him and start a new life.
But everything turned out differently. Yulia’s parents didn’t want to part with their only daughter and convinced Gennady to stay. They offered to have them move in with them. He agreed.
Five years passed.
Yulia, as she had dreamed, no longer studied. She fully dedicated herself to her family and children. Madly in love with Gennady, she had another daughter for him and was now expecting a son. Gennady understood that it was hard to support such a family on a teacher’s salary. So, he also worked as a tutor, but now the students came to his home. The lessons took place in his father-in-law’s study, so as not to disturb Yulia and the girls.
Yulia’s parents also worked. Together, they lived happily and without want.