What do you call me, a granny? Im only fiftyplus, not that old, she muttered, placing a bowl of soup and a basket of bread on the table.
My, theres something on the table that makes me want to eat right away, Mikhail declared from the doorway, hanging his dusty cap on a peg.
Tetiana replied, displeased:
Seriously, Im not a granny. Im just a little over fifty. Im not that ancient, she repeated, setting the soup and bread before him.
Mikhail washed his hands, passed by her, and gave a light tap on her lower back.
Who are you supposed to be? Your granddaughter is only two, so youre the grandma. Im the grandpa and proud of it, he laughed, slurping the hot soup.
Call it that at home, not in front of strangers. Yesterday at the store you shouted Granny, your clogs are right there!do you realize how awkward that was? Everyone stared.
Mikhail chuckled:
It wasnt about you, it was about Mikhaylovich, who dropped a quarter and paid the last kopecks for it. When he shouted, I thought hed kneel and start picking up the floor.
Tatiana snapped:
So you bought him another one?
Mikhail, spoon in hand, shrugged.
Just a pity for him.
Tatiana couldnt hold back:
Thats why your money never stays with you. Youre wasteful.
After Mikhail finished eating and Tetiana began clearing the table, she hesitated and said:
Misha, you know the storyAnton is coming, and it looks like hes not alone.
Mikhails mood soured instantly.
Whats his purpose here? How did he announce himself? Go away, youre nobody to me. He threw Nadkas bag near the registry office and left. Supposedly he met a friend of hers before the wedding. The poor woman cried, saying he just stopped by for a cassette. Nobody backs that firmpie. He even drags someone else alongmaybe a city whore hes hired. Call him, write to him, do whatever, but I wont even see his face, Mikhail snarled.
Tatiana lowered her head apologetically.
Sorry, but theyll be here this evening
Mikhail slammed the door and added, So deal with them alone.
Tetiana followed his gaze, sighed, and stared at a stone where Nadka lay. When Anton announced he would marry her, she felt a cold knot inside. She didnt like hershe seemed modest and polite, yet insincere. After Anton left in a fight, she didnt mourn long; she remarried almost immediately, to the same friend. The lesson: no smoke without fire. Something was definitely amiss.
Tetiana put a pie in the oven. Misha will come back eventually; I miss my son after eight years. My daughter visits almost weekly, lives nearby. Anton is older, and my whole heart is spent on him. I wonder how long this will last, but I just hope we dont argue with his father again.
Anton arrived just as Tetiana stopped waiting. Meanwhile, Mikhail spent the whole evening teasing her.
Watch the windows, theyll shatter; youll have to buy new ones, he laughed.
Anton, my dear, Tetiana threw herself onto his chest, tears streaming.
What a mess, all because of his father, she added, noticing a little girl with a backpack.
Oh, whos this? Whats your name? Tetiana leaned toward her.
The girl extended a tiny hand.
Im Katya. And you are?
Tetiana straightened, glanced at her son, and asked, Who am I to you?
Anton placed his bags by the door and sat down.
Meet her, Mom. This is Katya, my exwife Olgas daughter.
Tetiana smiled and hugged the child.
Call me Grandma Tanya. Youre my granddaughter.
Katya looked at Anton.
Uncle Anton, is it true? This lady is my grandma?
He gave a tired nod.
Yes.
Polite, Katya embraced Tetiana.
Hello, Grandma.
Mikhail emerged from the room.
Did I miss which Uncle Anton and which granddaughter?
The son jumped from his seat, extending his hand.
Hello, father. Im sorry for our last talk. I was young and hadnt seen real life yet.
Mikhail, smiling, asked,
And now? What have you seen?
Anton sighed.
Everything.
His father hugged him tightly.
Welcome home, son, they said, tears shining in both eyes.
Tetiana breathed a sigh of relief; the family was reunited.
After a late dinner, while Katya slept, Anton explained everything.
When I left, I was angry because you didnt know the whole truth, and I didnt want to let Nadka down. That night I went to her, wanted to say goodnightstupid me. She was in the bushes with Vitya. I tried to intervene, but Nadka stopped me, shouted she loved him. I walked away.
Thats past now. I went to the city to my friend Pashkas place and started hustling until the money ran out. I had to find work, ended up as a guard in a shop. Olga worked at the registersmall, thin. One day a customer accused her of giving wrong change, she broke down in the backroom while I was drinking tea there. I said, Want me to teach him a lesson? She smiled and replied, If everyone did that, the shop would close. People cause trouble for us. I told her, You have to get used to it, stop whining. She answered, Its something else. My landlord is kicking my daughter out of the apartment, I have nowhere to go. I asked, How old is she? Olga showed a photo proudly: Three. While Im on shift, neighbor Grandma Liza looks after her. Shed take us in, but her son takes her away and sells the flat. And my salary comes only every two weeks. She lowered her head and continued, I didnt fall in love at first sight; I just felt sorry for her. It was obvious a scoundrel had cheated a naive girl and left her with a child. I felt compassion. After my shift I offered her to stay with me temporarily; I was renting a dorm room then. She hesitated, probably scared, but eventually agreedshe didnt want to be on the streets with a child.
So we began living together as neighbors. She cooked, did laundry; we swapped shifts. I looked after Katya, she worked. By the way, the child is fine, serious for her agemaybe she inherited her fathers temperament, because Olga never had that side. After six months we became a real family.
Two years ago Olga fell ill; we fought as best we could, but six months ago she passed. A month before that I adopted Katya so she wouldnt end up in an orphanage. She still calls me uncle.
Olga, honestly, told me she has a real father who abandoned them. We fought hard, didnt speak for a week until she finally approached me, explaining she grew up in a foster home and never knew about her father. At eighteen the state gave her an apartment, then she was evicted by fraud. Since then she swore to always tell the truth.
Now Im asking for help. Pashka found me a good job that pays well, but I cant take Katya with me. Could you look after her while I earn money abroad? It would be a blessing, I thought, looking at my parents.
Mikhail and Tetiana exchanged glances and answered together,
Of course, let her stay. Just keep her with us for a week so she gets used to it, otherwise shell get upset.
Thats what we decided.
Katya gradually grew accustomed to her grandparents, feeding chickens and trying to help Tetiana. She feared Grandpa Misha until he gave her a huge toy bear. She hugged it joyously, repeating,
Grandpa Misha is here, now theres a bear, Mikhail too.
When the daughter arrived with her granddaughter, no extra nanny was needed; she could play and push the stroller herself.
Three months later Anton returned from work, and Katya was the first to see him. She shouted,
Grandpa, Grandma, dads home! Hooray! and ran to hug him.
The adults wept; Katya finally saw her true family.
Well, what do you mean by ‘old lady’? I’m barely fifty, for goodness’ sake! Am I really that ancient?” she grumbled, placing a bowl of soup and a basket of bread on the table.
