Pavel grew up as a reserved boy. The problem was that he was short. In kindergarten, everyone in his group was taller, even the girls. He had no friends and always played alone. When his toys were taken away, he suffered in silence and never complained at home.
At school, the same thing happened. He was the shortest in his class. Classmates teased him by calling him “little Pavlik.” He grew tired of it and asked his parents to enroll him in a sports section.
After a few years, Pavlik was unrecognizable. He grew taller and built up his muscles. By ninth grade, girls were offering him friendship. Remembering past grievances and mocking, the boy didn’t want to be friends with anyone.
In college, he relaxed. Being sociable helped him gain the attention of girls. He became friends with Alyona. She was from out of town and rented an apartment. He first walked her to her building. When she invited him over, he accepted.
Pavel and Alyona began a close relationship, but he wasn’t satisfied with just that.
“Let’s get married,” he suddenly proposed to Alyona.
“Pasha, you have everything ahead of you. There will be other girls, more than one. With your looks and physique, you don’t even need to conquer. I even know who has a crush on you in our course. Meet each one, and then choose.”
“I don’t understand, is this all a joke to you?”
“I have a fiancé back home. He’s the most handsome guy in our area, and he’s well-off. He’s the one sending me money so I don’t have to live in a dormitory. I’ll marry him.”
“And why am I here?” the boy didn’t understand.
“I just want to, Pasha. With Vadim, we meet once every six months during vacations. But with you, we spend every night together.”
Pavel got out of bed and started packing his things. His first disappointment in life, named Alyona.
“Are you upset? Good that you found out the truth. I’ll invite another guy over, and you take this as a lesson for the future. Never rush to trust girls. Feel her out first.”
Distressed, the young man returned home.
“Son, so there won’t be a wedding?” his mother greeted him with a suitcase in the hallway.
“It fell through.” He took a ring box out of his pocket and handed it to his mother.
“It’s of no use, son? Then I’ll wear it myself. It’s beautiful and expensive. I’ll wait for you in the kitchen. I made some good pies today. Tea will calm you down. I’ll brew some with mint,” and his mother headed to the kitchen.
At the institute, Pavel avoided meeting Alyona’s gaze. She acted as if nothing had happened. After class, she whispered something to Konstantin, and they left the auditorium together.
Alyona quickly found a replacement for the naive Pavlik, leaving a bitter taste in the boy’s soul. It felt like he had been burned by touching something forbidden.
A few days later, Tamara approached Pavel.
“It’s my birthday on Saturday. Maybe you’ll join?”
“Send me the address and time, and I’ll come,” Pavel smiled but thought he had swallowed another hook. This time, he wouldn’t be so hasty. He would weigh everything carefully.
He wasn’t wrong. After the celebration, Tamara asked Pavel to stay.
“You kiss so tenderly, Pavlik. I think we could make it work. Don’t rush to leave. I’ll see the guests off, and you can teach me to kiss.”
“Tam, have you really never been with anyone before?” he asked before.
“I won’t lie, I have, but it wasn’t for long.”
Pavel stayed not only for that night. He understood that he didn’t love Tamara, but he enjoyed spending time with her.
“Let’s live together, Pavlik. Move in with me. My grandmother now permanently lives at the dacha. My parents have their own apartment. I’m lonely by myself.”
The perfect moment to propose making their relationship official, but, taught by bitter experience, the boy didn’t rush.
Pavel’s mother fell ill. When she informed him, he came and decided to stay for a few days.
“Your father is constantly delayed at the institute. He teaches evening classes. But sometimes he smells of women’s perfume,” Pavel noticed that this upset his mother.
“I’ll visit him at the institute and find out everything. Mom, don’t get ahead of yourself. There’s such a sharp perfume that envelops from a distance. It’s not only boys who are students.”
Pavel was sure that his father was faithful to his mother, but he was mistaken. Knowing his father’s schedule, he went to the institute at the end of classes. He waited outside. When his father left, he followed him. At the subway, he kept a distance to remain unnoticed. To his surprise, his father got off at their station. But no, instead of heading home, his father went in a different direction and entered a five-story residential building. After dialing a code on the intercom, he disappeared into the building. Pavel wanted to follow him, but decided against it. His father was surely in someone’s apartment.
The next day, Pavel waited at the entrance a bit earlier with a business folder in hand. When a woman left, he held the door and entered.
He stopped between floors. From a window, he watched the entrance. He waited for his father and followed him up the stairs. Finally, the apartment. A girl answered the doorbell and invited his father in. Pavel memorized her.
Now the main task for the boy was to deter his father from “cheating,” and this for his mother’s sake, who had a sick heart.
The plan succeeded. Pavel met the girl in the supermarket. He pretended to accidentally bump her bag at the exit. When the groceries spilled on the floor, he helped pick them up, and they left together.
“Heavy. Allow me to help carry it to your apartment. I live in this area and can show my passport.”
“You’re so charming. Yes, I believe you. If you have time, I won’t refuse the help.”
At the door of Marina’s apartment, that’s what the girl was called, Pavel suggested meeting her in the park in the evening. She easily agreed. Delighted by his luck, the boy called Tamara and told her he wouldn’t be showing up soon, explaining that he was busy with more important matters.
Pavel met with Marina every evening. He hoped his father now arrived home on time. He decided to check, and that evening he parted with Marina earlier than usual, citing the need to bring medicine to his mother.
“Mom, is dad still teaching at night?”
“Yes, son. Why do you ask?”
“Just so. He still comes home late.”
“And they increased his salary.”
Pavel didn’t understand. For two weeks, he and Marina had been walking late. When he returned home, he saw his father’s shoes, but his house slippers were not in the hallway. That meant he was home and already asleep.
When Marina kissed him on the cheek, he couldn’t hold back and kissed her. He understood that she was his father’s girlfriend. But an inexplicable force attracted the boy to Marina. But why was his father still delayed these days?
A new plan matured, and Pavel proposed to Marina.
“I fell in love like a boy. Let’s live together in my apartment?”
“Together? You’re getting ahead of yourself, Pasha. People live together after they’re married, and until then they date, like you and I. I really like you, but understand. First together, then a baby is conceived. And who will we be to him? Unmarried parents? I haven’t had any men yet. But my first will be my husband.”
“Then I’ll introduce you to my parents. And then you introduce me to yours. Agreed?”
“I’d even be glad. But I only have one mom, and a little brother in school.”
The fateful moment arrived. Pavel warned his parents to expect guests in the evening and to set the table. He would bring his bride.
Already in the apartment during the introduction, Pavel glanced back and forth between Marina and his father. He noticed they looked at each other in shock. The father’s forehead was covered in sweat beads, and Marina blushed.
“Do you know each other?” the boy couldn’t hold back.
“Sorry, son, but I need to talk to you. Lena, Marina will help you in the kitchen, and we’ll be brief,” and he led his son to the stairwell.
“Dad, aren’t you ashamed? Marina is young enough to be your daughter, and you didn’t even spare mom. Stop all this and return to the family.”
“It’s not like that, son. Marina is not involved. I’m in a relationship with her mother, and it went very far. She’s my classmate. When she buried her husband, I comforted her so much that she got pregnant from me. Our son with her is seven years old. I couldn’t stay aside. I visit them and spend time with Andryushka. I’m his father.”
“And you’re sleeping with two women at once?” Pavel was angry.
“It’s inevitable, son. Ira is as much my wife as your mom. I can’t leave her for the family. Mom’s heart wouldn’t take it. Ira understands and doesn’t insist. Leave everything as it is for our mom’s sake. You love her, don’t you? And she loves me a lot. And Ira has been in love with me since school. I didn’t know about her feelings then and married mom because she was expecting you. In spite, Ira married Oleg. He’s Marina’s father.”
“If we marry Marina, mom will find out the truth. How will you hide your son from her?”
“I don’t know. Do you love Marina?”
“Yes, dad, very much. Only now I don’t know how to untie this knot?”
“Then get married without a wedding. Our mom will meet Ira, but it’s not necessary to meet Andryushka. And he looks so much like me.”
After the feast, Pavel went to escort Marina. He couldn’t wait to discuss the situation with her.
“Marina, dad explained everything to me and is asking the impossible of me. What should we do?”
“I couldn’t even imagine that you’re Andrey Vasilyevich’s son. But I love you. Ideally, we should part ways, but I don’t want that,” Marina cried.
“I love you too. We’ll soon finish the session at the institute, and you at college. We’ll get married during the holidays and go on a honeymoon. That will be our wedding. And tomorrow we’ll apply for marriage at the registry office.”
“And where will we live?”
“Naturally, at my place.”
“And will Andrey Vasilyevich still visit my mom?”
“Let him. We’ll pity our mothers if they’re happy with this man.”
“We won’t interfere,” and Marina hugged her boyfriend.
Pavel had one unfinished business, and he appeared at Tamara’s apartment. Very anxious. They met in class, but he referred to the need to be home for his mother. As much as he delayed, a concrete explanation was due. He didn’t want to lie, but the truth was frightening. That’s how suddenly love for Marina came to him.
Tamara met Pavel very calmly. He thought she had been sleeping before. He noticed how she wrapped herself in a robe coming out of the bedroom.
“Forgive me, but your place is already taken. I’m not alone. Your suitcase is under the coat rack,” and she pointed with her hand.
Pavel tossed a bunch of keys on the bedside table and left the apartment with his things. A gentle breeze blew on his face, and he felt warmth in his heart.
The resolution of this story occurred six years later.
Pavel and Marina were raising two children, a son, and a daughter. Little Natasha tried to climb out of the crib but fell onto the carpet. Pavel’s mother was very scared and screamed. The whole family rushed in. Marina called an ambulance. But the woman couldn’t be saved. She died without ever knowing about her husband’s double life.
Irina was present at the funeral. In her heart, she asked for forgiveness for what happened many years ago.
After the funeral, Pavel’s father moved in with Irina. It’s sad, but now they’ll be raising Andryushka together, who’s already grown, but he has both a mom and a dad nearby.