“Svéta, I’ll be late today. Go to bed without me,” — that was the message Svetlana received from her husband, and her heart began to ache even more.
Pyotr had his own auto repair shop; it was his life’s work. If a job was interesting, he would climb under the car himself and could spend several days on a repair. Svetlana figured he’d stayed late again to tinker with some engine. She was used to it.
But it was only nine in the evening; she wasn’t sleepy at all. It was Friday night, which meant the weekend was ahead. She knocked on her daughter’s door.
“Marusya! Manka!”
Her daughter was wearing headphones and didn’t hear her mother. Svetlana walked over and waved a hand in front of her face.
“Marusya!”
She lifted one earcup. “What is it, Mom?”
“Want to go out for a bit? We could hit a café. Grab a burger?”
“What’s up, Mom? Petya got stuck at work again?”
Svetlana nodded, trying to hide her anxiety.
“Alright, let’s go! I’ll get ready—five minutes!”
Pyotr wasn’t Masha’s biological father; this was Svetlana’s second marriage. The first hadn’t even lasted two years. She met Petya when her daughter was five. They’d been together for eight years now. The only thing that truly saddened Svetlana was that she couldn’t get pregnant. They tried, but it didn’t work. And she very much wanted a child with her husband.
Pyotr treated Masha wonderfully, loved her like his own, but Svetlana couldn’t shake the feeling that any man would want a child of his own. A fear had settled in her soul that sooner or later her husband would leave her to have what he had every right to. That was why, on evenings when he got stuck at work, Svetlana felt unbearably lonely. And today she felt especially low.
She was forty, and it was as if she could feel her body beginning to wind down; it seemed she was losing forever the chance to be a “complete woman.”
“Too soon, of course, but maybe that’s just my fate…” Sveta sighed, noting yet another cycle irregularity in the app on her phone. Today’s message from Petya had completely thrown her off.
Masha changed quickly and stepped into the hall.
“Okay! Shall we?”
“Let’s go.”
While they waited for their order, Svetlana nervously fingered a paper napkin.
“Mom, come on! He’s always glued to those cars…”
Svetlana even blushed; she hadn’t expected her daughter to start reassuring her so frankly.
“Bunny… I just don’t like being alone, that’s all.”
Masha took a sip of lemonade and shook her head. “Well you’re not exactly alone. I’m right here.”
“And I’m very grateful for the company,” Svetlana said with a smile.
The waiter came with their food. As the young man was about to leave, Masha stopped him.
“Could we also get a burger to go? And a side of fries with it?”
“Of course. I’ll bring it when it’s ready.”
Svetlana looked at her daughter questioningly.
“We’ll take it to Petya at the shop. You’ll calm down. You’ll see there’s no one there but his wrenches!” Masha was very pleased with her idea.
“Alright, sunshine. Thank you.”
They spent the rest of dinner chatting and laughing. Svetlana let go of her worries and for half an hour managed to be just a cheerful, fun mom.
Then they got in a taxi and headed to Pyotr’s. The closer they got to the neighborhood with his garage, the more uneasy Svetlana felt. Her daughter was texting a friend and couldn’t see how her mother’s hands were trembling.
“We’re here. Pay by card?” the driver asked.
Svetlana nodded and held her phone up to the terminal. For the first time on the whole ride, Masha looked up at her mother. She was pale. Masha nudged her with an elbow.
“Come on! Let’s surprise him. It’ll be fun.”
Svetlana nodded. She really hoped their visit would make her husband happy.
As they approached the auto shop, they saw the lights on in the workshop. Masha took her mother by the hand and tugged her inside. They went in without knocking. The girl raised the bag with the burger and shouted loudly:
“Surprise!”
Everything happened quickly after that. Svetlana immediately saw her husband hugging a woman. He turned at Masha’s shout and didn’t grasp what was happening right away, so he didn’t let go; he kept holding the stranger. The woman, about thirty, looked up at Masha and Svetlana. It was clear she’d been crying. She started gulping air, as if she wanted to say something, but a new wave of sobs overtook her; she just dropped her head into her hands and kept crying.
Svetlana stared at her husband, bewildered, then slowly began backing away. Turning her head so as not to bump into the door, she noticed a boy of about five sitting in a small leather chair. He was playing on a phone and looked up in surprise to see who had intruded into their quiet space.
Svetlana couldn’t hold it together anymore and bolted outside. Because of her age, Masha couldn’t react quite as fast, but she understood she needed to follow her mother somehow. She handed the bag of food to the boy.
“Here… enjoy.”
Then she looked at her stepfather, who still couldn’t get a word out.
“Petya… we’re going,” Masha stammered, and ran after her mother. At last Pyotr realized what had just happened and decided to catch up.
“Sveta! Sveta! Wait!”
He ran out of the workshop and saw Masha trying to calm her mother.
“Sveta! Don’t go! Wait!”
She turned to her husband, emotions raging inside her. All her fears, all the pain, all the suspicions, the hurt for herself and for the fact that her husband had a secret—everything flooded over her. Pyotr came closer and tried to touch her hand, but Svetlana jerked it away.
“Don’t touch me! Don’t you dare! You hear me? Just not today! Not now!” She was shaking.
“You’ve got it all wrong! Really! I swear!”
Svetlana shot him a look full of pain and disappointment.
“I swear, it’s a very important job… nothing more… Please, believe me…”
Svetlana shook her head. “Then stop and come home with me and Masha. Do you hear? Come home with us. Now.”
Pyotr stepped closer and put his hands on her shoulders. “I can’t. I’ll come in the morning. I swear. I need to finish this.”
Svetlana pulled away and walked off. Masha scurried after her. Pyotr stood there breathing hard, watching them go, but he couldn’t run after them. He had to stay.
Masha heard the front door open early in the morning. She slipped out of bed and tiptoed into the living room. Pyotr was pale and barely standing. He saw his stepdaughter and smiled.
“Hi, Mash… How are you?”
Masha looked at him, trying to decide how to act. She cared about him; in many ways he’d replaced her father. And she also knew he didn’t know how to lie. Pyotr was pathologically honest. But last night, after they came home, she’d been the one to comfort her mother, give her a sedative, wait until she fell asleep. And now Masha needed to be on her mother’s side for at least a while.
“Bad, obviously! What did you think?”
Seeing from the girl’s eyes that she didn’t want to put on a show, Pyotr got straight to the point.
“I didn’t cheat on your mom. It’s not what it looks like at all. I can tell you everything if you want… But I think Svet and I should talk it through ourselves.”
Masha believed him, so she gave in almost at once.
“Okay… Want some coffee? You look awful…”
Pyotr shook his head. “I’ll manage. I’ll quietly grab a shower… then we’ll see.”
Svetlana woke up an hour and a half later. She found her husband dozing on the couch in the living room. She cleared her throat to wake him.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Sveta…”
Pyotr jumped to his feet.
“Let’s talk right away,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Please.”
Svetlana sat down beside him. Pyotr reached into his jacket, took out a sheet of paper folded in half, and handed it to his wife.
“What is it, Petya? Why?”
“Read it… please, read it.”
Svetlana unfolded the paper; her eyes ran over the lines. Then she looked at Pyotr.
“Petya, I don’t understand how this has anything to do with it… really. Can you explain it in your own words?”
Pyotr sighed heavily, then nodded.
“Alright. It’s a letter from my mother’s uncle. He’s asking me to help. The girl you saw yesterday is his granddaughter.”
Svetlana listened; she still couldn’t grasp what was going on.
“And you needed to help her specifically at night… yes?”
“Yes!” Pyotr jumped up and began pacing. “Sveta, I’ve told you about my childhood a thousand times, right?”
Svetlana nodded.
“You know my father drank and then beat me and my mom. You know that. Well, Grandpa Kolya—my mother’s uncle—was the only person who protected us. I always told him he could turn to me for help. Any time. And that time came.”
“I still don’t understand what this has to do with what I saw yesterday…”
Pyotr sat down across from his wife and took her hands.
“Sasha got into trouble. Her husband turned out to be a bastard. He abused her and their son. It got so bad she decided to run. But she had no money and no way to do it. The only thing they had was Uncle Kolya’s old car. Uncle himself is seriously ill, and helping this way was all he could do. He wrote to me asking for help, and I set to work fixing the car so Sasha and her son could leave, and at least not worry about that. And I also gave Sasha some money. But it won’t affect our budget, don’t worry.”
Pyotr swallowed. Svetlana was crying; she couldn’t look at her husband.
“Sasha’s husband went on a business trip for three days. It was the only window to do everything quickly. I didn’t sleep all night; I completely overhauled the car. They left in the morning. I know I should’ve told you right away, but I had no strength last night. I just had to work—keep going, not look around. And I made it… They’re safe now. She took the boy away… Do you understand? Come on, Sveta!”
Svetlana covered her face with her hands and began to sob.
“I know what you could have thought. I know. But it’s not like that… I swear! Just don’t cry! Please… Sveta, I’m begging you.”
He hugged his wife, trying to calm her.
“Why didn’t she go to the police?”
“Because he has connections. And also because by the time they’d sort it out, he could have killed them. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about. Men like that—animals—don’t see any limits. In a rage they do things you can hardly imagine. And you don’t need to think about it. It’s over. From a distance they’ll be able to resolve it. But Sasha and her son will be safe.”
“You’re a good man… You’re so good…” Svetlana said through tears.
Pyotr held her.
“You’re the best person I know.”
Suddenly she froze and lifted her tear-streaked eyes to her husband.
“And I’m very happy…”
Pyotr looked at her, not understanding. “Happy that…?”
“I’m happy that my children have you—and will have you—by their side…”
“Children? Not just Masha? Children?” He stared at his wife in surprise.
Svetlana nodded and burst into tears again. Pyotr scooped her up and began spinning her around the room. Just then Masha peeked out of her bedroom.
“Spin away! She’ll puke on you… Morning sickness is no joke!”
Pyotr and Svetlana looked at Masha and smiled. She stuck out her tongue at them and went back to her room.
“I was so afraid it wasn’t true, but then I took a test—last night. I was terrified you might not come back to us… And honestly, I was so scared that all my awful thoughts about that woman and an illegitimate son were true. But I’m glad it’s not like that. I’m glad we’re going to have a normal family.”
Pyotr kissed his wife and started spinning her around the room again.