On the way home, Liza stopped by a store. After filling her basket with everything she needed, she headed to the shelves with alcohol. She and her husband hadn’t had a romantic evening with a bottle of light wine for a long time. They used to often sit late into the night, discussing everything under the sun…
Back then, the wine was drunk easily and with pleasure. Her husband became cheerful and witty, Liza quickly relaxed and laughed at every joke he made. They both enjoyed that feeling of lightness and inner freedom. The spark of their former love would awaken again. Then they would go to sleep…
Standing in front of the shelves, Liza looked uncertainly at the labels. She didn’t know much about wines and always trusted her husband’s choice. At that moment, another young woman approached the shelf. She quickly grabbed one of the bottles without hesitation. Liza was afraid the woman might leave immediately and hurriedly addressed her:
“Excuse me, I don’t know anything about wines. Could you tell me which one is better for dinner?”
The woman turned around. Suddenly, a memory surfaced in Liza’s mind: a student party in the dormitory, a classmate brought his girlfriend… It seemed they were even planning to get married. But later, she and Ivan broke up.
Liza was surprised she remembered Natalia so well, but recalled Ivan’s name with a hesitation. Memory works strangely.
“Natalia?! What a meeting. What brings you here?”
Natalia didn’t recognize Liza at first.
“I’m Liza, studied with Ivan in the same group,” she reminded her.
“Liza… Ah, yes! Where else could we meet!” Natalia glanced at the rows of bottles. Both women laughed simultaneously.
“I live nearby. And you? I never saw you here before,” Liza said with curiosity, examining Natalia.
“I came to visit. It’s awkward to come empty-handed, so I stopped by for some wine. And you’re probably going to celebrate something? Remember how much of this wine we used to drink?” Natalia said dreamily. “This wine is ‘female’ — sweet and light. Take it, you won’t go wrong,” she pointed to one of the bottles.
“No special occasion. I just wanted to buy some for dinner.”
“If it’s dinner with a man, it’s better to take this one,” Natalia took another bottle from the shelf. “It’s not as sweet.”
“Okay, I’ll take it,” Liza took the bottle from Natalia’s hands and put it in her basket.
“So, dinner with a man? A romantic date?” Natalia smiled.
“You could say that. I just decided to please my husband.”
Liza discreetly studied Natalia. They were about the same age, but Natalia looked ten years younger. Well-groomed, slender, tanned, with loose chestnut hair. Natalia noticed her attentive gaze.
“You look great,” Liza said quickly.
“Thanks,” Natalia replied but didn’t return the compliment.
They headed together to the checkout and then left the store. Natalia pointed a key fob at one of the cars parked at the entrance, and it responded with flashing headlights and a signal.
“Need a ride?” she offered.
“No, it’s not far. I live over there,” Liza pointed to the apartment buildings.
“Listen, I live there too. I forgot my house number. Here, take this,” she handed Liza the bottle and took out her phone. “Damn, it’s dead,” Natalia sighed annoyed, put the device away, and took the bottle back.
“Let’s go to my place. You have an iPhone? I’ll give you a charger, and you can check the address.”
“Nah, I’ll come another time. Although, you know what, let’s go in. Let’s drink to our meeting,” Natalia smiled and raised the bottle in front of Liza.
They got into the car, Liza pointed out her building and entrance.
“Have you lived here long?” Natalia asked as they entered the entrance hall.
“We bought the apartment five years ago. Hadn’t been here before?”
“No. Decided to surprise.”
“Are you married? You and Ivan were going to get married. I don’t remember why you broke up,” Liza asked, waiting for the elevator to reach the first floor.
“That’s not important anymore. I was married, then divorced. Now I’m planning to marry again,” Natalia looked at Liza as if deciding whether to be frank with her.
“Do you have children?”
“No.”
“I have a daughter. She’s already fifteen, can you imagine?” Liza said proudly.
“Did you marry someone from our group?”
“No. You don’t know him. We met after you and Ivan broke up. Just before final exams.”
“I recently saw Sveta Pavlova. Listen, she’s gotten so fat, it’s awful. She has three kids. Who would have thought,” Natalia changed the subject.
Liza couldn’t tell what exactly shocked Natalia: that Sveta had three children or her impressive size.
“I see her often. She works as an ophthalmologist at our clinic.”
“Really? What a small world,” Natalia said. Liza thought she said it with some regret. Then the elevator doors opened.
“Where do you work?” Liza asked just to keep the conversation going.
“I have a small salon. Eyelashes and eyebrows. If you ever need, come by. I’ll give you a big discount as a friend. Salon ‘Natalie’ in the city center. Haven’t heard of it? Though I’m the only one working there so far — director, master, administrator, and cleaner all in one,” she said looking at Liza, who immediately understood that she really needed it.
Only now did Liza notice Natalia’s perfectly shaped eyebrows and long, fluffy eyelashes. Yes, Natalia looked well-groomed with smooth, wrinkle-free skin. And they were almost the same age.
“I’ll think about it,” Liza said.
“Think about it,” Natalia echoed.
The elevator softly stopped.
“Where do you work?” Natalia asked as they stepped out.
“At the institute. I teach. Come visit,” Liza unlocked the door and opened it wide for the unexpected guest.
“Wow!” Natalia exclaimed, looking at the large, bright hallway.
“Who are you visiting? Maybe I know them?” Liza asked.
“Even less likely. What if you actually know? May I come in?” She nodded toward the door to the room.
“Of course.”
Liza went to the kitchen and from there heard the guest’s enthusiastic exclamations.
“Amazing! What does your husband do?” Natalia asked entering the kitchen. “Wow!”
“He’s just an engineer. But he earns well.”
Liza had already put the groceries in the fridge, took out two wine glasses from the cupboard, and put them on the table. Then she placed a corkscrew nearby. “Open it, I’ll peel the potatoes.”
The wine was really pleasant and sweet. Liza couldn’t resist and drank the whole glass at once.
“I don’t get it. You went to a man’s place but bought ‘female’ wine? By the way, I’ll bring a charger now.” Liza left and quickly returned. “Give me your phone.”
“I’m seeing a man. Fell head over heels. Very decent, but married. He can’t tell his wife he’s divorcing. I decided to help him.”
“No way. And you decided to show up at his wife’s place? Just walk in? Say, ‘Hello! I’m your husband’s mistress. Move aside?’”
“Do you condemn me?” Natalia caught Liza’s judgmental tone.
“I’m not the morality police,” Liza shrugged. “It’s none of my business.”
“Let’s have another drink,” Natalia changed the subject.
“Maybe I should fry the potatoes first? Otherwise, I’ll get drunk…”
“The wine is weak; you won’t get drunk. Then we’ll drink with the potatoes. We have two bottles, remember,” Natalia reminded.
“Alright, to our meeting!” Liza raised her glass. “Maybe we’ll never see each other again.”
“Or maybe, on the contrary, we’ll become neighbors. Visiting each other,” They clinked glasses and drank.
“Did you decide to create a Swedish family?” Liza asked, sipping her glass.
“No. I’m not going to share him with anyone. He’ll divorce his wife. He says I’m the dream of his life.” Natalia drank half the glass at once. “I’m tired of waiting. It’s been six months already. He can’t decide and leave that fat cow.”
“Have you seen her?” Liza asked resentfully. “How do you know she’s fat?”
“What else? I don’t even have to look. They’re all the same. Seen her shopping? Buying groceries in bags. Snatched their men and settled down. All they think about is borscht and cutlets,” Natalia said angrily.
“He probably loved her when he married. Aren’t you afraid?”
“What? That she’ll claw my hair out? No. They immediately get so stunned by surprise…” Natalia smirked.
“So this isn’t the first time? You just come and destroy families like that?” Liza stared distrustfully at Natalia.
“Come on, you can’t destroy what’s already destroyed. If he loved his wife, he wouldn’t be seeing me.” Natalia busily poured wine into glasses.
“Mom, hi. Hello.” A young girl appeared at the kitchen door.
“Is this your daughter? What a beauty. Hello. What’s your name?”
“Lika.”
“What a beautiful name!” Natalia said carelessly; the wine had already gone to her head.
“Are you hungry? I’ll fry some potatoes now.” Liza felt embarrassed and put down her glass.
The girl left, and tense silence hung in the kitchen. Liza peeled potatoes and cut them for the frying pan.
“You have a nice apartment,” Natalia broke the silence.
“So you’ve been with him for six months? And if he doesn’t leave his family?” Liza continued the interrupted conversation.
“He will, sweetie. I’m the woman of his dreams, remember? His child is almost finishing school. I want to have mine soon.”
“You…” Liza put down the knife and turned from the stove to the guest. “You’re a bitch, Natasha. Scum! You want to destroy someone else’s family,” Liza couldn’t hold back.
“It’s easy for you to say, you’re married. Apartment, beautiful daughter. What should I do? Live alone? Time’s running out. No free men my age. The free ones are either boys or old men. Who to marry? All the normal men are already married.”
“On the ‘hens,’” Liza added. “And haven’t you thought that by stealing him from the family, you might end up in the wife’s place? He cheated with you, he’ll cheat on you too. You’ll give birth, gain weight, and turn into a hen, a clucking hen like us. You’ll bore him, and he’ll find a replacement. You’re not a girl anymore. How old are you? Almost forty? Although you look great.”
“Thirty-five,” Natalia said. “Didn’t expect that from you…”
“You know what? Leave,” Liza said sharply.
“Liza, what’s wrong? I’m not going to steal your husband.”
“Just try. I’d quickly skin you. Make a hat and wear it in winter.”
At that moment, the front door slammed. Liza dropped the knife and quickly left the kitchen.
Natalia took the bottle and looked at the light. Very little wine was left in it. She poured the rest into the glass and drank it all at once.
“Well, show me who came to visit us?” Roman said, entering the kitchen and hugging Liza around the waist.
Natalia smiled at him, but the smile immediately disappeared from her face.
“You?!” she gasped.
“What are you doing here?” Roman asked confused.
“Do you know each other?” Liza looked from her husband to Natalia with a puzzled look.
“So Liza is your wife?” Natalia held an empty glass and pointed at Liza.
“Yes, I’m his wife. That very fat and stupid hen. Right, dear?” Liza said softly but with a venomous tone, sharply brushing her husband’s hand off her waist.
“Liza, I’ll explain everything now…” Roman started and reached for his wife again.
“Don’t touch me! Is this the woman of your dreams? What a jerk you are. Both of you leave immediately!” Liza shouted.
“Let’s talk. It’s not like that…” Roman mumbled, while Natalia tried to quietly slip away from the kitchen.
“Run, chase your dream,” Liza sarcastically threw.
“Liza, let’s talk…”
“We have nothing to talk about. You cheated on me for six months. Six months… You came from her, pretended to be tired, ate my dinner, went to bed with me… Get out!” Liza grabbed the empty bottle Natalia had left on the table and swung it at her husband.
Roman left, and Liza sat down on a chair, dropped her head onto her folded arms on the table, and started crying.
“Mom,” called the daughter.
Liza lifted her tear-streaked face.
“Did you hear everything?”
“You were shouting so much. Mom, don’t cry.”
“I didn’t know… I knew nothing… I couldn’t even imagine he could be like that… so cruel…”
Then, calming down a little, she washed her face and looked out the window. Her husband’s car was downstairs, near the entrance. “Did he leave on foot? Or is he sitting in the car?” She wanted to believe he was sitting there. Although, what difference would it make?
He came in the morning with a guilty look.
“What are you doing here?” Liza asked.
“Changing clothes. Will you make me coffee?”
“No. Why didn’t your dream make you coffee?”
“I spent the night in the car.”
“Your problem. Change and get out.”
“Liza, forgive me. She…”
“Just don’t tell me she dragged you to bed by force. I don’t want to know. Leave!”
He came every day, called, apologized. Said yes, he cheated, was possessed by the devil, then just couldn’t get out. But he didn’t want a divorce. Never…
“Mom, forgive him,” Lika urged. “Just try. He’s living at Uncle Slava’s.”
“Do you feel sorry for him? Don’t you feel sorry for me? He deceived me, betrayed me…”
“But he repents. Mom, please…”
Before New Year’s, they all went to the cinema together, then walked around the shopping mall decorated with Christmas trees and flashing garlands.
“Dad, let’s go. I’ll show you what I wanted to give Mom for New Year,” Liza heard and turned away, pretending to look at Christmas decorations.
Roman and Lika walked away. Liza wandered around the department a little, then started looking for them and suddenly met Natalia’s gaze. She gasped in surprise.
Natalia, holding a man’s arm, whispered something in his ear, and they left the store. Liza took a sharp breath, trying to compose herself.
“Mom, we’re here,” Lika cheerfully said, running to her.
“Let’s go to a cafe. I feel like eating something,” Roman suggested.
“Let’s go!” Lika took Roman’s arm on one side, Liza’s on the other, and they all went down to the first floor of the shopping mall where the cafes were.
At the table, Liza kept looking around, but didn’t see Natalia. She calmed down a bit. They ate pizza and discussed plans for New Year.
“Maybe we’ll go to Aunt Sveta’s dacha?” Lika suggested.
“Dimka will be very happy,” Roman winked at his wife.
“Oh dad! I told you a secret, and you blabbed it all,” Lika protested and blushed.
“Oh come on, it’s not a secret. Everyone’s known for a long time that you’re in love with each other. And I agree,” Liza said.
“Done, we’re going to Sveta’s dacha,” Roman said.
“Hooray!” Lika echoed.