I was working as a salesman. An elderly woman came up to me, buying up and looking puzzled at her purchases. I immediately realized that she would not be able to carry everything home.
– How far are you going to carry it? – I asked.
– Yeah, three blocks away.
– I’ll help you.
I closed the store and decided to sacrifice my lunch break for the woman. She turned out to be a very nice and pleasant person. She was 78 years old and completely alone. Her son had died of oncology when he was young. And her daughter leads an asocial life and doesn’t even remember her elderly mother. Since then we became friends.
For lunch I used to run to the old lady. We drank tea and talked about life, I helped her with household chores and comforted her with a kind word. But one day I could not get through to her. After a long wait, I heard a woman’s voice:
– Who are you? Why are you breaking in? – The neighbor answered.
– Are you Vika? A friend of hers?
– Yes.
– She died, she left you a note when they took her to the hospital.
I put the note in my pocket and left, because I couldn’t read in such a state. I told my husband what had happened, and together we decided to read the letter.
“Vika, you are my only support. I can only ask you for a favor. I have a granddaughter, my daughter was deprived of her parental rights and placed the little girl in an orphanage. I used to visit her every weekend… If it’s not too much trouble, you can visit her at least sometimes. Here’s the number, call it…”.
I dialed the number and made an appointment with the man. My husband came with me. The man was a notary, to my surprise. In his office I learned that the old lady had bequeathed the apartment to me.
The next day we decided to visit the girl together. The 10-year-old red-haired girl fascinated us with her kindness, so we wanted to adopt her. Our children were only happy about it.
Three years went by. My husband and I had a big fight and he went to live with his mother. But after a while we reconciled.
The girl grew up, but was in no hurry to move into her grandmother’s apartment. We rented it out to get some extra income. And our kids were in no hurry to leave their parents’ nest.
One day my husband stayed late at work. When I heard the door open, I ran to meet him. He wasn’t alone – he was holding the baby’s hand.
– I can explain,” he said.
– Let’s go to dinner, put everybody to bed, and then we’ll talk.
– All right.
When the children were asleep, I started the conversation myself:
– Was that when you were living with your mother?
– Yes. But you should know it was a mistake, I have always loved only you. I got drunk, so I was captured by a woman. Two days later I came to my senses and left. I’d forgotten all about it. But today I got a call from child welfare. It turns out she gave birth to a son from me, but all these years she kept quiet. She was drunk, she did not take care of her child, so she had to be deprived of her parental rights and they found me. If I refuse, they will put him in an orphanage. You want to put my son in an orphanage? I’ll understand you.
Naturally, I couldn’t let that happen. The baby was a copy of my husband, so I forgave him, and I accepted the baby as my own. That’s how we live.
