– Artyom, are you even listening to me?
– Huh? Yes, yes, of course, Elina, – Artyom hurriedly sipped his tea, trying to look focused.
– I’m asking, which color is better for the wedding: peach or ivory?
Artyom thought for a moment. Honestly, he didn’t really understand the difference between those colors, but decided to take a chance.
– Well, peach… sounds solid.
Elina snorted and shook her head.
– Peach is outdated! Everything will be ivory.
Artyom nodded wearily. For two months now, he had been living like on a minefield: wedding preparations, meetings with relatives, choosing restaurants, trying on suits. But all these hassles seemed trivial compared to his grand plan.
“Once I marry Elina,” he thought, “everything will change. Life will shine in new colors! With her dad’s money, I can forget about work. A car, an apartment, a vacation in the Maldives—that’s the new chapter of my life!”
Elina was the daughter of a local entrepreneur — owner of a construction company about whom legends were told. Some said he was more powerful than any oligarch from the capital; others claimed it was just show. But Artyom didn’t care. To him, marrying Elina was a direct ticket to paradise.
The wedding was grand. The restaurant was filled with the local “cream of society.” The father-in-law beamed with joy, hugging everyone like a politician at a campaign rally.
– My dear children! – he proclaimed, raising his glass. – May your lives be better than mine!
Standing next to Elina, Artyom already imagined this toast ending with handing over the keys to an apartment or at least a new foreign car. But instead, the father-in-law continued:
– And now, the most important part!
He approached Artyom and solemnly handed him a bunch of keys and a sports bag.
– Here you go! This is the start of your journey!
– Keys to what? – Artyom asked, surprised.
– To a “Niva.” A reliable car, like a tank! And in the bag – documents for a business. Now it’s yours.
Artyom looked confusedly from the keys to the bag.
– What… business? – he hesitantly asked.
– Water delivery! “Clean Drop.” Your own well, bottling plant, all the permits. And almost no debts! Well, a little, but that’s no big deal.
Elina seemed shocked too but quickly composed herself.
– Dad, are you serious? We just got married!
– Exactly! It’s time to become independent. Well, all the best! – the father-in-law clapped Artyom on the shoulder and went back to the guests.
Artyom tried to figure out if it was a joke, but the bag seemed too real.
He tossed and turned all night while Elina quietly snored beside him. He thought about everything: the Maldives, the new car, and how instead he got an old “Niva” and a business barely afloat in debts.
In the morning, looking in the mirror, he muttered:
– So, Artyom, dreamed of a fairy tale? Here you go!
In the morning, the wedding gift was brought to the newlyweds’ house.
– So, Artyom, – the father-in-law briskly slammed the hood of the battered “Niva.” – This machine is a beast, just fill up the tank and hit the road. I’ve transferred the documents to you, insurance is for both of you, and from now on it’s all yours. A family venture, so to speak.
– Uh-huh, the car is really a beast. A scary one, – muttered Artyom, looking at the peeling paint and the crack on the windshield.
Elina stood nearby.
– Dad, are you serious? This is horrible junk! And what kind of business? We don’t understand any of this!
– Elinka, dear, – her father smiled widely, – you’re smart. And you, Artyom, are a man. You’ll figure it out. I believe in you!
The father-in-law got into his new foreign car and drove off, leaving the newlyweds standing by the entrance.
– So what are we going to do? – Elina asked, throwing her husband a displeased look.
Artyom shrugged.
– Looks like we have to save the business.
The day began with studying the contents of the bag. Inside were several folders with invoices and permits, a thick book titled “Accounting for Dummies,” and a client list with only two regular customers.
– It’s clear, – Artyom muttered, flipping through the pages. – We’re in deep… water.
– Come on, – Elina said unexpectedly optimistically. – We’re young and energetic, we’ll figure something out!
Her energy ran out quickly though, because the next hour was spent on futile attempts to start the “Niva.” After the fifth try, a tired and sweaty Artyom kicked the car.
– Your dad said it’s a tank. He forgot to add that it’s a tank from World War I!
When they finally managed to start the car, they went out for the first order. The ride was full of adventures: the engine stalled, the gearbox creaked so loudly it seemed it might fall apart.
The client was a man from a summer cottage settlement who ordered six large bottles of water. When handing them over, Artyom realized it wasn’t so easy. One bottle slipped and fell with a dull thud.
– Be more careful! – the man grumbled. – This isn’t firewood. Good it didn’t break, or I’d pay out of my own pocket.
Returning home, Artyom realized with horror they had spent more on gasoline that day than they earned from deliveries.
– I have an idea, – Elina suddenly said, taking out her laptop. – We need to expand our client base. I’ll make ads on social media!
Artyom just snorted skeptically.
– Yeah, right. Let’s see how your girlfriends will like and share.
But Elina was way more serious than he expected. She not only set up the ads but also recorded a video explaining how “environmentally clean and healthy” their water was. Artyom stood in the background, trying to smile but looking like a worn-out horse.
The video unexpectedly took off. The next day the phone started ringing nonstop.
– Looks like I made a lucky cameo, – Artyom joked, loading bottles into the “Niva.”
Elina, sitting behind the wheel, proudly replied:
– No, it was my creativity that worked.
By evening, they realized that the advertising success was not always a blessing. Orders came in, but the car couldn’t handle such a workload. On one trip, the muffler just fell off. Artyom swore as he barely wired it back on.
– I feel like my life is sliding into an abyss, – he told Elina when they stalled again at an intersection.
– But we’re together, – she replied, giggling.
– Together in the mud, – muttered Artyom, turning toward another client’s house.
That day became a real revelation for him: his dreams of a rich life were melting away, but instead, for the first time, he felt… useful.
– Listen, Artyom, let’s buy uniforms? – Elina suddenly suggested, closing the “Niva” trunk.
– Uniforms? Are you kidding? We barely pay for gas, – Artyom replied.
Elina ignored his grumbling and continued developing the idea:
– It’s style, brand recognition! We need our own thing.
– We already have our thing: we’re the only water delivery in a junker that makes more noise than it drives.
– Perfect, we’ll stand out, – Elina cut in, then added with a sly squint: – Aren’t you afraid competitors will overtake us?
Competitors indeed became a headache. Once, delivering an order to an office, Artyom saw a parked van with a bright logo of another company. Inside were neat new bottles that looked freshly taken off a billboard.
– We work with them now, – a security guard lazily sipping tea told him.
– Why? – Artyom asked.
– Their delivery is faster, and the car is nicer, – he smirked.
Artyom barely restrained himself from kicking that “nice” van.
– Well, we’ll show these fancy guys! – he muttered, returning to his car.
Elina decided to act radically. She recorded a new video for social media where she and Artyom, dressed in matching “Clean Drop” T-shirts, talked about “freshness guarantee and real family care.”
– Family care? – Artyom asked, reading the script. – You mean how I almost fell with the bottles yesterday while carrying them up to the third floor?
– Yes, – Elina giggled. – That was care for the customer!
The video went viral again. Calls increased, but so did problems. One competitor tried to sabotage them.
One morning, loading the trunk, Artyom found one box of small bottles torn open. And sticking out were dirty leaflets saying: “Don’t drink this water, it’s dirty!”
– Look what they’ve stooped to! – he exclaimed, showing it to Elina.
– Come on, – she calmed him down. – That means they’re afraid of us. We’re competition!
As always, Elina found a way to profit from the situation. She recorded a new video about “envious rivals” who can’t accept their success.
– Now it’s personal, – Artyom muttered, delivering orders with renewed zeal.
The climax was a large order from a local factory. Confident Elina arranged delivery of 50 large bottles at once.
– Elin, do you even realize how much that is? We’ll fall apart!
– But what an income! – she waved him off.
But the income turned into a headache: it turned out neither the “Niva” nor Artyom and Elina could handle that volume. Eventually, they hired Artyom’s friend Sasha, who agreed to work for a bottle of water and dinner.
Loaded to the brim, they set off. Of course, disaster struck: on a turn, one bottle fell and punctured the “Niva”’s bottom.
– We’re dead meat, – said Artyom, watching water pour from the trunk.
– But now we have delivery with special effects, – Elina snorted, laughing at the absurdity.
They spent the whole evening delivering that order. Artyom vowed never to take such risks again, but deep down, he even found it fun.
And really, what other business could offer so many adventures?
A year passed since Artyom first took the keys to the ill-fated “Niva” and the bag of documents. Looking at their old car now, he could only smile: instead of a peeling wreck, it was a decent workhorse. Of course, thanks to countless visits to local mechanics who, judging by the number of patched holes, knew every bolt of the “Niva” better than their own children.
– Elin, you coming? – he called, peeking into the hallway.
Elina, fixing her cap with the company logo on the go, came out with her phone in hand.
– Just a sec. I need to post a story. We have a promo today!
– Social media again? – Artyom feigned horror. – Who’s going to work then?
– We’ll work together, as always, – she replied cheerfully, kissing him on the cheek.
In that year, their little business transformed from a dubious venture into something profitable. Thanks to Elina’s persistence and endless ideas, their ads became so popular that even competitors started copying their videos.
Of course, there were mishaps. Once they mistakenly delivered water to a funeral instead of a birthday. And one grandmother ordered delivery just to chat:
– You know, I have fun with you, – she said, treating Artyom to pies.
At that moment, he realized business was not just about money but about people.
Today was especially important: a big client – a local chain of stores – agreed to sign a long-term contract with them. Artyom was nervous while Elina chatted with the manager, telling about the benefits of their water.
– And you know, – she said, – it’s not just water. It’s care, love, and a bit of adventure.
The manager smiled and signed the contract.
– So, Artyom, – Elina said as they stepped outside, – now we’re officially in business!
– Who were we before? Hobby couriers?
She laughed.
– And now we can buy a new car.
Artyom glanced at the old “Niva,” which barely had strength for another day.
– I don’t know, I’ve gotten used to our battle buddy.
In the evening, sitting in the kitchen counting the month’s earnings, Artyom suddenly realized he was truly happy with his life. Of course, it wasn’t the fairy tale he dreamed of, but in this one, he was the hero.
– What are you thinking about? – Elina asked, sitting next to him.
– Just… I thought I’d marry rich and everything would be easy. But it turned out I earned it myself.
Elina smirked.
– I thought I’d marry a prince. But it turned out you’re just Artyom.
– A prince? Come on, – he feigned offense. – I’m not just Artyom, I’m Artyom the Great!
They both laughed.
And at that moment, in their life full of difficulties but surprisingly rich, everything really did become a little bit like a fairy tale. Only without castles, kingdoms, or dragons. Just with bottles of water and a “Niva” that still held on, no matter what.