Husband. The man I lived with for 18 years. I lived and didn’t recognize him, didn’t figure him out in time. While we were young, resentments were quickly forgotten. It’s like washing yourself with well water – and life is beautiful again! As I grew older, I saw greed, laziness, and an unhealthy love of beer. But even that would not have pushed me to break up. What was the final straw? The lies. Badly veiled, cynical, nasty.
Picture one. December 31st. My husband was working that day. I was resting. We waited for him and his son by 6 pm. We set the table, turned on the TV… Seven. Eight… Eleven… Twelve… Chimes… It’s morning… My husband still hasn’t come. Starting at six, I called him thirty times.
The first time he answered, “I’m coming, darling.” Then the subscriber became unavailable. After a glass of champagne at the president’s speech, I started calling our mutual friends, hospitals and morgues. The phone became hot. My son grumbled that “all people are like people, but we are…” and sat down at the computer. The holiday was spoiled completely.
On the evening of January 2, he showed up. He said he was in the jail. A month later I found out the truth: he was celebrating New Year’s Eve in a sauna with random acquaintances. One such “random” friend took him home after the sauna and they “celebrated” the holiday for almost two days.
Picture two. An evening in the family circle. We lived in a small two-story house outside of town. Downstairs is one large room (kitchen plus living room). On the second floor are two bedrooms. We spent most of our time on the first floor. We ate there, watched TV, socialized. One night, late at night, after socializing, I went up to the bedroom – it was late. My husband said he would be home soon. Before I knew it, I was asleep. I woke up to the sound of a car pulling away – had my husband gone somewhere? Where in the middle of the night? I called – the subscriber is unavailable. The old song…I could not sleep again...My heart was clutched in a vice. Why? What was going on in that man’s head? At about seven o’clock in the morning I arrived, quietly climbed under the blanket…
Picture three. The second telephone. My son accidentally told me: “And I saw my daddy with a cool phone. He hides it in the garage for some reason. I accidentally saw it. I looked at this phone: really, very expensive. And I recently asked my husband for money for the boots. He did not give it, said that no… I sat down on the concrete floor of the garage and roared a beluga. And then, when the tantrums were over, I realized – I will not live with this man. NOT EVER!
How I kicked him out, how he tried to justify himself, how he pestered me with his visits and phone calls, how we were divorced, how everyone persuaded him to come to his senses – I will not write. Now this man is no longer in my life. He is in my son’s life, but not in mine. I threw him out of it like a thin felt boot that cannot be repaired.
It’s just me and my son. I sleep well now, and my heart no longer clutches in vise. Do I want to get married again? No! And categorically no!
