– Mom, you are frying your fish again, – the daughter said, looking into the kitchen.
– The smell is all over the apartment.
– But I closed the door and turned on the hood, – the woman habitually justified herself.
Over the past six months, since her daughter moved to her, she has been making excuses to her time and again.
Either she ironed the laundry badly, or cooked something wrong for dinner. Or the alarm clock in her room rings too loudly, waking everyone else.
The woman did not even notice how she began to tiptoe around her own apartment. Trying to make as little noise as possible so as not to disturb her daughter and son-in-law.
And so everything started well.
… After marriage, the daughter and her husband decided to live separately. They rented an apartment. They visited their mother on weekends. And not always. It is understandable: children have work, their own worries.
Once the woman felt unwell and was taken away by an ambulance. Her daughter rushed to her at the first call.
The daughter visited her mother regularly. At discharge, she smiled mysteriously and said:
– “My husband and I have a surprise for you. You will find out everything soon.
Upon returning home, the woman was surprised to see boxes and bags of things everywhere.
– So we consulted with her husband and decided to move to you. We will all live together now. We will look after you.
The elderly woman burst into tears from such attention.
At first, the daughter took care of her mother. She took care of all the housework. But gradually she began to forget the original reason for moving.
Her mother got better. She started cooking and cleaning again while the children were at work.
– What am I, completely weak?” she answered her daughter when she scolded her, asked her to take care of herself and not to overwork.
The daughter and her husband immediately realized the benefits of living together.
There is no need to pay for rented housing. The house is always cooked and clean.
– Mom, we have guests coming today. Maybe you can go to your neighbor in the evening? You can drink tea together. You won’t be bored, and you will give us a place to sit quietly, – the daughter suggested.
The woman did not want to go anywhere. It was late in the evening. The neighbor goes to bed early.
Summer was ending, but the weather was warm outside.
The woman decided to take a walk, to breathe fresh air before going to bed. After making several laps around the house, she felt tired and sat down on a bench near the entrance.
The light was shining in the windows of her apartment. Time passed, and the guests did not even think to leave.
I wanted to sleep. But the woman stubbornly did not return. She was waiting for her daughter to remember about her and call her home.
A neighbor with a dog came out of the entrance. Half an hour later, he returned from a walk. The woman was sitting on the bench, a little shaken. Her daughter had not called.
– Excuse me, – the neighbor said to her, – Are you all right?
– Yes, everything is fine. It’s just that the children have guests, I don’t want to disturb them.
– Do you remember me? I live upstairs.
– Yes, I remember you.
They had met with the neighbor before. But they never talked, only greeted. The woman began to recall that he had recently lost his wife. He lives alone, his children are somewhere far away.
– May I invite you for a cup of tea? I go to bed late anyway. And it’s already cold outside.
The woman really felt that it was getting cold. The thought of a hot cup of tea seemed attractive.
Seeing her doubts, the neighbor offered to call her daughter.
– Tell her that you will stay with me for a while. Both you and she will feel calmer.
The daughter did not answer the call. Apparently, she was busy with guests and did not hear the phone.
– Let’s go, – the woman decided.
– I do not want to sit here in this cold.
The man smiled and opened the door for the woman.
They drank tea, talked, when the daughter called.
– Mom, where do you go? Everyone left long ago. We want to sleep, we need to close the front door. And you’re still not here.
Again, dissatisfaction. The woman did something wrong again.
She started to go home. A neighbor volunteered to see her off.
– But I just need to go down the stairs – the woman refused.
– I’ll walk her, it’s safer that way – the man smiled.
…The woman began to visit the neighbor often. He would invite her to tea, or watch an interesting movie together. Sometimes he would cook something new according to his own recipe and invite his new friend to try it.
She went up to him when her friends came to visit the children again. They decided to celebrate their daughter’s birthday at home.
– You are so nice, calm – the woman said.
– And you stay here. Forever.
The man looked her openly in the eyes. I understood from his look that he was not joking.
– I will think about it, – the woman smiled.
But in her heart she already knew – she agreed.
