After training, Vika hurried home. She had promised her husband she would make fish soup. When she entered the apartment, she saw her husband, Leonid, sitting in the kitchen drinking wine.
“Wow, drinking all by yourself, huh… Lyonya, couldn’t you wait for me? Let me at least make you a snack.”
“No need. Sit down. We need to talk.”
Vika had never seen her husband like this before. Upset. Lost. Good Lord, what had happened?
“I don’t even know where to begin… Fine, I’ll just say it as it is. My secretary Katya is pregnant with my child. I’m leaving you for her.”
“Well, well… Straight out of a bad melodrama. How long have you been with her?”
“About a year. As soon as she started working for me, she began showing interest, and I… I couldn’t resist. Young, beautiful, cheerful, just like you were when you were younger. I fell in love like a schoolboy! I wanted to confess everything to you right away, honestly, but I didn’t have the courage. I felt sorry for you.
And now there’s no way around it. We’re going to be parents soon. You understand, don’t you, that I’ve always wanted a child of my own? Your Igor is like family to me, but he isn’t my blood. I need an heir. I’ll pass my business on to him, you understand? And I feel good with her. I feel younger somehow. Maybe I’ve been hit by a midlife crisis. You’ve heard of that, haven’t you?
Vikulya, I’m a scoundrel, of course. But I won’t leave you and Igor with nothing. The apartment, the car, I’ll leave everything to you. I’ll help you financially, don’t worry. I’ll pay for his studies, just as I promised. I’ve already bought a new house and registered it in Katya’s name. After all, she will be the mother of my child.”
“I understand, Lyonya. It must be hard to resist a beauty like Katya, and you’re a real man, after all. And you can’t abandon a child. That’s noble. Thank you for the financial support. I won’t refuse it. I want to start traveling and live for myself.
When are you moving out? Maybe I should help you pack?”
Leonid looked at his wife in confusion. She was so calm… Well, maybe it was for the best. No scandals, no hysterics.
“Well, goodbye, dear husband. Thank you for the years we spent together. I was happy by your side. But life has its own script… Maybe I’ll fall in love with someone too and be happy with a new man. All right, go now. Katya is probably worried, thinking I’ve latched onto you here like a tick.”
Leonid hurriedly grabbed his suitcases, smiled awkwardly, and went toward the elevator.
After closing the door, Vika went to the kitchen. She took a bottle of champagne from the refrigerator, opened it, poured herself a full glass, and drank it. Her husband had left her. How absurd that sounded.
She had never even imagined such a thing. After all, all those years they had lived peacefully. There had not been any wild passion, perhaps, but there had been attachment, habit, and respect.
All right, no point in crying over it. A new life meant new rules! She would find something to do, and her husband would pay. It would be foolish to refuse money; with money, there were more possibilities. But she would have to get used to her new status as an abandoned woman.
And Vika was swept into a whirlwind of new experiences. She signed up for dance classes and went after work. On weekends, she went to museums, the cinema, and workouts. Luckily, she had someone to go with. Her neighbor Irochka, who was single, was happy to keep her company.
Her son Igor studied in another city and rarely came home. Vika was left to herself. She cooked only what she liked and no longer had to adjust to anyone. She did what she enjoyed, and no one could forbid her anything. She didn’t even think about a new man. Being alone was not bad at all.
The divorce from her husband went quietly and peacefully. She briefly saw Katya in the courthouse corridor. A beauty, no denying that. Her husband did have good taste after all.
Leonid transferred money every month, just as he had promised. Vika was grateful to him for such a generous gesture. She knew he had money; his business was thriving, and he could easily sponsor her and Igor without any trouble. It was his way of thanking them for the years they had lived together. Katya, apparently, did not know about it. She probably would not have approved.
A year passed. Nothing had changed in Vika’s life: dancing, workouts, and a couple of trips abroad. Then Leonid’s financial help stopped coming. Vika felt awkward asking why. Most likely, Katya had forbidden it. Well, never mind. She would manage. Igor earned decent money while studying at university and could pay for his studies himself. Vika’s salary was enough for her own needs.
It was a day off, and there was nowhere to rush. Vika enjoyed every day. After making fish soup, she realized there was no bread, and she loved eating it with bread. She ran out to the bakery and bumped into Leonid.
“Lyonya, what are you doing here?”
“Vikusya, hello. Well, I… I live not far from here now. I bought an apartment.”
“Well, that’s news… What about Katya? And the child? By the way, who was born?”
“A daughter… But there’s quite a story there. Can you imagine, that Katya was sent by a competitor. She gained my trust, I fell in love, and you know the rest. Then she started pressuring me to transfer the business to her. She was afraid I would leave her and she would end up with nothing.
I agreed. After the birth of the daughter, overwhelmed with emotion, I signed everything over to her. I kept a certain amount of money in an account she doesn’t know about. In the end, she kicked me out. The daughter turned out not to be mine, and the business went to my competitor. So that’s the mess I ended up in. Funny, isn’t it? Exactly like a bad melodrama…
I bought this apartment, found a job. I’m not poor, but I’ll never have my old life again. And I can’t help you financially anymore… I’m sorry. You probably don’t even want to talk to me now. I hurt you so badly, traded you for that…”
Vika even felt sorry for him. He did not look well. What a fraud that Katya had turned out to be! He had put so much work and effort into that business.
“You’re a fool, Lyonka! Come to my place. I’ve just made fish soup, your favorite.”
They had a heartfelt conversation in the kitchen where, for so many years, they had met every day and discussed the news. But now they were no longer husband and wife.
After that, they called each other from time to time. There was no talk of getting back together. Each of them had their own life. Vika met a man at dance class, married him, and was happy.
She invited Leonid to the wedding. He came and was even happy for his ex-wife. At the wedding, he met the groom’s sister. Six months later, Vika and her new husband were attending his wedding.
Life really is an unpredictable thing! You should never lose heart or give up on yourself, no matter what happens. After all, you never know what will happen next. You simply have to live and enjoy every day.