The husband quickly filed for divorce and ran away to her best friend! But he didn’t know what “surprise” was waiting for him there. And when he ran back with suitcases, he was speechless from what he saw…

– I’m leaving you. Her husband hurriedly collected his things and stuffed them into a suitcase. Liza involuntarily winced, because only yesterday she had ironed these shirts, smoothing out every crease.

She shook her head. She had found something to think about now. “Anton, but how is that possible?” she exclaimed.

– What happened suddenly? – Suddenly? – the man roared. – No, my dear, not suddenly. It all happened much earlier.

“I don’t understand anything,” Lisa cried. “Everything was fine with us. We didn’t even argue.”

The man walked up to his wife and looked her in the eyes. “Don’t you understand anything?” “No,” the girl shook her head. “Can you explain what’s going on?” “I need an heir, and you’re barren,” he said syllable by syllable, and angrily slammed the lid of the suitcase shut.

“It’s not true,” Lisa whispered. “The doctors say I’m fine, but for some reason you don’t want to get checked.” “So you blame me for everything,” her husband shouted.

So know that I am also fine, and I will soon become a father. – What? – Lisa sat down on the table. – Will you have a child from another woman? – Yes, – the man said proudly.

– And she, unlike you, will give birth to an heir for me. – Go away, – the girl whispered, – and may I never see you again. – With pleasure, – Anton threw the keys to the apartment on the table.

– I’ll come for the rest of my things later. I hope you’ll let me take them from your apartment? He deliberately emphasized the word “your”, trying to hurt Lisa even more. Grabbing his suitcase, he left the apartment, slamming the front door loudly.

An ominous silence settled in the apartment. The only sound was the dripping of water from the kitchen tap. Liza had been asking Anton to fix it for a long time, but her husband kept waving her off and promising that he would fix everything soon, but he never did anything.

She and Anton got married five years ago, and met at work. He got a job at the company where Lisa already worked, as a sales manager. He didn’t have his own apartment, he rented a room from some granny.

He himself came from a village, entered the institute and worked part-time as a courier and a loader. And after receiving his diploma, he got a job as a sales manager, first in one organization, then in another, until he got into their company. Liza was also from a village, but she was luckier.

In the city lived a cousin of my mother, who was much older than her, a childless woman, and who had buried her husband long ago. So my mother wrote her a letter asking her to shelter Liza, at least for the first time, when she entered the institute. Aunt Vera did not refuse the request, but immediately set her own conditions.

No late returns, no friends in her apartment, and Lisa would cook separately. The girl agreed to everything, just not to live in a hostel, which had not the most flattering reviews. At first, Aunt Vera really was strict with her niece, but the girl was very responsive, always trying to help, wash the floors, wipe the dust, wash the windows, take out the trash.

Gradually, Aunt Vera changed her attitude towards Liza and began to cook for both of them, seeing that the girl was studying a lot and also earned extra money by delivering mail in her free time. So, a year later, Aunt Vera and Liza lived in perfect harmony, and Aunt Vera even called her niece “daughter” and was jealous when she went to the village to visit her parents for the holidays. Her parents always sent Liza treats – jam, pickles and mushrooms, dried apples, lard with a layer of fat.

Aunt Vera was artificially indignant, as if they had nothing in the city, but she herself was happily crunching on a salted cucumber and praising the crumbly village potatoes. As she had promised, Liza always returned home on time. She had practically no girlfriends, except for one – Kristina, who always lived in the city and took a kind of patronage over Liza in order to adapt her to city life.

Liza, as they say, was out of date, didn’t wear make-up, didn’t do fashionable hairstyles, only braided her Russian braid, which she was very proud of. Of course, compared to Liza, Kristina looked very impressive, guys were constantly getting to know her, but they didn’t pay any attention to Liza. Aunt Vera even scolded her, you should run around on dates while you’re young, and not spend time with me, an old woman.

Liza laughed, hugging her aunt, and answered, there will be time, when I finish college, get a specialty, and only then will I think about dating. Aunt Vera waved her hand, but in her heart she was glad that her niece was growing up a decent girl who thought about her future. Aunt always had high blood pressure, she took medication in the morning and evening, but still, if the weather changed, she suffered from severe headaches, and she did not get out of bed all day.

One day, returning from the institute, Lisa found Aunt Vera lying on the floor, she called an ambulance, which arrived surprisingly quickly. It’s very good, girl, that you returned home in time, and called us right away, the doctor said, taking off his gloves. Your relative had a stroke, but we managed to detect it at an early stage, now the most important thing is that she follows all my recommendations and, of course, absolute rest.

Speech may be a little impaired at first, so don’t be scared, I’ll prescribe you some medications now, which she’ll have to take, and you’ll keep an eye on it. Doctor, thank you very much, the girl was standing near the wall and was shaking slightly. “Maybe I should give you a sedative?” the doctor suggested.

– No, no, don’t worry, – the girl waved her hands, – I’m fine. The doctor looked at Lisa carefully and smiled, he liked her sincere concern for her aunt. – We need more such good and caring relatives, – he thought, – some only dream of how to quickly take possession of property, without thinking at all about the elderly.

After seeing the ambulance team off, Liza carefully entered the room where Aunt Vera was lying on her bed, quietly snoring. Liza adjusted the blanket and was about to leave, but hearing movement, she turned around. Aunt Vera opened her eyes and mumbled, “Lisa, come to me.”

– What? – the girl did not understand. Then the aunt beckoned her with her finger and pointed with her eyes to the chair that stood next to the bed. Lisa sat down and looked at the woman carefully.

“Call a notary to me immediately,” she said with difficulty. “Call a notary?” she asked again. Aunt Vera blinked in agreement.

The phone number is in the notebook. The next day she felt better and even ate some broth, or rather Lisa fed her with a spoon. And a few days later a familiar notary came, whose phone number Lisa found in the notebook, just as Aunt Vera said.

The girl did not know what was happening behind the closed door and what Alexey Ivanovich and Vera Matveyevna were talking about. Liza only escorted him to the hallway when he left the room and closed the door behind him. Now all the household chores fell on Elizaveta.

After coming home from college, she cooked, cleaned, went to the grocery store, took the laundry to the laundry. Aunt Vera began to recover a little and was already moving around the apartment without outside help, but so far she was only able to get to the toilet and sit down in her favorite chair again. No matter how hard it was for Liza, she never complained about anything.

The most important thing for her now was that Aunt Vera was healthy. Little by little, Aunt Vera’s condition was getting better and better, and she and Liza even began to go outside to take a short walk along the alley. “You know, Lizochka, I always wanted to have children,” Vera Matveyevna shared with her, “but it seems it wasn’t meant to be.

My husband Nikolai Petrovich went through the entire war, rebuilding destroyed bridges. Sometimes in winter he stood waist-deep in icy water, and after that he couldn’t have children. She sat down on a bench to rest a little.

– Many times he offered me a divorce, so that I could marry someone else and finally become a mother, – continued Aunt Vera. – But how could I betray the man I loved? So we lived for each other. And in my old age God sent me you.

Gradually everything was getting better, but Liza still couldn’t leave her aunt alone for long, and even went to the village only for a couple of days, and not for the entire vacation, as before. The parents were not offended, they knew that their daughter was a very responsible person. In addition, they were very grateful to Vera Matveyevna for her warm relationship with Elizaveta.

Right before Liza’s diploma defense at the institute, Aunt Vera ended up in the hospital. Her blood pressure rose sharply during the night, and the ambulance that the girl called took her to a medical facility. Liza was restless all day.

She didn’t even remember defending her diploma project. All her thoughts were about her beloved aunt. As soon as it was over, she rushed to the hospital, where she was told that Vera Matveyevna had died early in the morning.

Lisa walked home without paying attention to where she was going. Passers-by, especially women, shook their heads, thinking she was drunk, but the girl didn’t care what they thought of her. She had lost someone who was very dear to her.

After the funeral, while sorting through papers, Lisa found a will stating that Elizaveta Pavlovna Nikitina became the owner of the apartment where she lived with her aunt Vera. So that’s what she was whispering to the notaries behind closed doors. Having met Anton, Lisa herself did not understand why she could have caught the eye of such a distinguished guy, who was the focus of all the girls in their group.

And he began to court the plain Elizabeth and soon proposed to her. True, there was no wedding as such, they simply filed an application with the registry office and on the appointed day signed the papers in a cramped, stuffy room, having listened to formal congratulations from the registry office employee. – Lizok, why should we throw a lavish celebration and spend and spend money on it, – he said to Liza, – it would be better if we saved it and bought a large, spacious apartment.

– Anton, but we have a place to live, – Lisa was surprised. – Why do we need another one? – I don’t want to live in this old apartment, it’s better to buy a new one, where I’ll also be the owner. – Well, you’re already the owner, – the girl laughed.

– That’s not it, – he answered, – let’s sell this apartment, add some money and buy a joint home. Lisa just shrugged her shoulders, not understanding why Anton was not happy with her cozy apartment. True, in five years of their life together, Anton never saved up for an apartment, he wanted to buy an expensive prestigious car, then invested money in some bitcoins, but for some reason he was in no hurry to invest in the renovation of the apartment in which they lived and in the purchase of new furniture.

In the morning, having arrived at work and barely having time to turn on the computer, Lisa was called to the executive director, Artem Evgenievich Makarov, who, by the way, was a friend of her husband, Anton. Lisa entered the office and stopped at the door. Artem was sitting, sprawled in a chair and enthusiastically playing some game on his laptop.

Seeing the girl, he reluctantly turned away from his fascinating occupation and motioned for her to sit down on the table. “You see, Elizaveta Pavlovna…”, he began formally, “due to production needs, we are forced to reduce your position as a marketer. Of course, according to labor laws, we should have given you two months’ notice and offered you another vacancy that our company has.

But, alas,” Artem spread his hands, “all our vacant positions are filled, and I think that you and I can come to an amicable agreement.” He looked at Lisa insolently, knowing his superiority over her. “Anton asked me to fire you, right?” the girl asked quietly.

“Elizaveta Petrovna,” Artem Evgenievich was indignant, “I make the decisions here and no one can tell me what to do. This was done to optimize the staff.” “Oh, come on,” Liza was surprised, “weren’t you the one who pestered me at your dacha two weeks ago and even promised me the position of department head, and now, it turns out, I’m no longer needed when my husband asked you to?” “The conversation is over,” Makarov interrupted her, “you can get your payment from the accounting department, I’ve already given the order.”

“But you are a beast,” Lisa looked at the man angrily and slammed the door behind her. She walked home, choked with tears. Lisa had never done anything bad to anyone, but for some reason others treated her so unfairly.

Now she had to look for a new job. She bought a newspaper at a kiosk that offered various vacancies, and the first ad that caught her eye was this: “Urgently looking for a nanny for two boys aged four and six, pedagogical education required.”

Then I looked for a phone number where I could get more detailed information. But she doesn’t have this education, nor does she have any experience communicating with children, so this vacancy is definitely not suitable for her. Having studied the newspaper up and down, Lisa hasn’t found any suitable ads for herself yet.

Then she decided to turn to her friend Kristina, who worked in a large construction company and could possibly help Lisa find a job. She and Kristina had met quite often before. She would come to visit them with Anton, and they would communicate quite warmly.

Kristina always told Liza that she was very lucky with her husband, who had already managed to climb the career ladder and became the head of the commercial department. Of course, not without the participation of Artem Evgenievich. Kristina herself has not yet married, although she has many admirers.

But they all preferred to have fun with her, and were in no hurry to take her down the aisle. Which upset Kristina very much, because time passed, and she still did not have the coveted stamp in her passport. True, recently her friend stopped visiting their home, and rarely answered phone calls, citing the lack of time for idle chatter, and then she stopped answering them altogether.

So Lisa decided to go to her herself and find out if she could help her find a job. In order not to disturb her friend on a weekday, Lisa decided to go to her on Saturday. Entering the entrance, she went up to the right floor and pressed the doorbell.

Nobody opened the door, Lisa pressed it again and after a while she heard the sound of the lock opening. Christina appeared on the threshold in a light lace negligee. Through which a small belly was visible.

— Lisa? She looked at her friend, amazed and at the same time frightened. — What are you doing here? — Are we going to keep talking on the threshold? — Lisa asked. — Will you let me in? — Sorry, but I can’t invite you into the apartment.

She nervously adjusted her dressing gown on her chest. “Darling, who’s there?” A familiar voice came from the hallway. Anton came out into the corridor, dressed in a man’s terry robe.

Seeing his wife at the door, he stopped and only looked from her to Christina in confusion. Lisa didn’t say a word to them. She turned around and quickly ran down the stairs.

She was choked with tears, but she considered it indecent to cry in public, and finding a secluded bench in the park, she sat down on it and gave free rein to her tears. She was hurt and offended at the same time to lose her husband and friend, and even more offended by the fact that all this was happening behind her back. She did not hear how an elderly woman in a colorful headscarf sat down next to her and gently stroked her head.

– You know, daughter, – the old woman said in a calm voice, – no one is worthy of your tears, and the one who is worthy will never make you cry. She, as if to a little girl, handed Lisa a candy. The girl took the candy and for the first time in all this time smiled, and then said sadly.

– My husband left me, went to my friend. – The situation is certainly not happy, – the woman sighed, – but there is no point in being sad about it for long either. You know, when I was young, there was a very popular song.

Now I’ll just remember the words. She closed her eyes and began to hum a simple tune. – Oh, I remembered! In life, everything has its place, Evil lives next to good, If a bride leaves for another, It’s not clear who’s lucky.

The old woman fell silent and looked at Lisa attentively. “Don’t be sad, daughter, you will definitely meet your happiness.” The woman got up from the bench and slowly walked along the alley.

“Thank you, Grandma,” Lisa called after her. She just waved her hand, moving further and further away. On Monday, Lisa went to the registry office where she and Anton had registered their marriage five years ago and filed for divorce, and at home, having collected all his things that he had not taken with him, she put them in bags and put them by the door so that she could take them soon and leave them by the door of her former friend.

There was nothing else in this life that connected her with Anton. Time passed, the money she received when she was paid off slowly melted away, and Lisa had not yet found a new job. She was invited to an interview, but there was not much choice yet.

Either the salary was too low, or the requirements for the candidate were too high. She was already starting to lose heart and bought another newspaper with ads. And again on the first page she saw an ad “Urgently needed nanny for boys aged 4 and 6”.

The presence of a teaching education was no longer indicated. “Maybe I should call?” Lisa thought. “I love children, I always babysat the neighbors’ kids in the village, and I don’t really have much of a choice.”

After rereading the ad again, Lisa dialed the phone number. The phone was picked up almost immediately. “Hello, I’m listening!” a pleasant female voice came from the receiver.

“Excuse me,” Lisa’s voice trembled with excitement, “I’m calling you about the ad, you also need a nanny for the children.” “Yes, of course,” the people on the other end of the line perked up, “you can come by tomorrow at 12 noon, Maxim Yegorovich will be home just then. Write down the address?” Lisa took a pen, a piece of paper and wrote down the coordinates as dictated.

Using the Internet, she typed the necessary address into a search engine and saw that the place where she needed to go was outside the city. Not that far, of course, but she needed to leave early tomorrow to make it by the appointed time. As luck would have it, it started raining while she was riding the bus, and Lisa didn’t bring an umbrella.

The girl got very wet while walking from the bus stop to the right house. She stood in front of the steel gate, not daring to press the intercom button. “Why are you standing there?” Lisa shuddered, hearing a stern male voice.

She looked back and saw a large black car pull up to the gate, and a man looking at her angrily from the half-open window. “I… I’m going to an interview,” the girl stammered. She took a piece of paper from her bag with an address written on it and showed it to the man to make sure.

“Sit down,” he pointed to the seat next to him. “No, you shouldn’t,” the girl refused, “I’m all wet from the rain.” “Do I have to tell you twice?” the man got angry and opened the next door.

Lisa ducked into the car and pressed herself into the seat, afraid to even utter a word. The gate opened automatically, the car drove into the area, softly crunching the gravel. Having driven up to the very entrance to the house, the man turned off the engine and, getting out of the car, helped Lisa out of it, inviting her to come into the house.

She entered the large hall and froze in admiration. She had never seen such a luxurious house. Two boys ran down the stairs and threw themselves into the arms of the man who entered.

“Daddy’s here!” they shouted in two voices. Seeing Lisa, they suddenly fell silent and stared at her with interest. “Daddy, who’s this?” the older boy pointed his finger at the girl.

“I don’t know,” the father shrugged, “we’ll find out now.” “Anna Petrovna!” he shouted loudly. A woman dressed in a strict dark blue dress and a white apron entered the hall.

“Anna Petrovna!” the man repeated, “please take our guest to the bathroom so she can freshen up, and then take her to the dining room.” The woman nodded silently and gestured for Lisa to follow her. She led her into a luxurious room with beautiful tiles, snow-white plumbing fixtures and bright lighting.

Liza looked at herself in the mirror and was horrified. A frightened girl with wet hair and clothes stuck to her was looking at her. “You can use a hair dryer,” Anna Petrovna said sternly.

“Here’s a clean towel for you,” she handed Liza, “a soft yellow towel that came out of the closet.” Liza dried her hair as best she could, dried her clothes, and went out into the large hall again. Anna Petrovna also silently led her into the bright dining room, where the familiar man was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper.

“Have a seat,” he pointed to a chair at the opposite end of the table. A set of cutlery appeared in front of Lisa. “Thank you, of course, but I came here for…” “Let’s have lunch,” the man interrupted her, “then we’ll talk business.”

He took a spoon and began to eat the soup with gusto, continuing to read the newspaper. Lisa scooped up the first spoonful of solyanka and closed her eyes with pleasure. She had never eaten such delicious soup before.

She didn’t even notice how she ate the entire contents of the plate. Before she could put the spoon down, another plate appeared in front of her, on which mashed potatoes with a large cutlet towered in a heap. Lisa thought that the second dish would not fit in, but after a while she again found an empty plate in front of her.

She hadn’t eaten so much in a long time. At home, she had been making do with sandwiches lately, because she had absolutely no desire to cook for herself, and it was a shame to spend the little money she had left to go out to lunch. When the coffee arrived, the man leaned back in his chair and looked at the girl carefully.

“Now let’s get acquainted,” he said, sipping, sipping aromatic coffee from his cup. “My name is Maxim Yegorovich Sokolov, I am the owner of this house. And how should I address you? Elizaveta Pavlovna,” Liza nervously tugged at the edge of the napkin that lay on her lap.

– I understand that you came in response to the ad and are applying for the role of nanny for my children? – Yes, – the girl said quietly, lowering her eyes. – Then tell us about your experience, – asked Maxim Yegorovich. Do you have any recommendations? Liza raised her eyes and looked at the man with fear.

“I don’t have any recommendations,” she stammered, “and I don’t have any experience working with children either. But don’t you think,” she suddenly spoke quickly, “I love children very much and I think I’ll find a common language with them. In the village where I lived, I was often asked to babysit the neighbors’ children, and I did it very well, really, really,” she breathed out.

Maxim Yegorovich looked at the girl with a smile. He liked her sincerity, her liveliness, and she was also a bit like his wife, who… He shook his head, driving away the sad memory, and looked at the girl again. “When will you be able to start work?” “Seriously,” he asked.

– So you’re taking me? – the girl asked. – Yes, – he answered briefly, – I’m taking you on a probationary period, well, say, a month, do you agree? – Of course, – Lisa nodded her head. – You didn’t even ask about the working conditions, – Maxim Yegorovich was surprised.

– Well, I hope they will be good, – the girl was embarrassed. – So, – the man crossed his legs, – you will live here and be with my sons around the clock. Saturday and Sunday will be your days off, and you are free to do whatever you want.

“I’ll pay you,” he named a sum that was twice as much as Liza had lost at her last job. “Do you agree to these terms?” “Yes, I agree,” Liza answered firmly. “By the way, are you married?” Maxim Yegorovich asked.

– No, – Lisa deliberately crossed her husband out of her life. – Do you have any more questions for me? – the man looked at the watch on his hand. – I have one question.

Why did the first advert that was published in the newspaper require a pedagogical education, while the second one did not have this requirement? My children need a nanny with an open soul and a kind heart, next to whom they will feel free and relaxed, and not a soldier in a skirt, but with a pedagogical education, with whom they will walk on eggshells and be afraid to express their opinion. Unfortunately, these are the kind of people who came to us, and after a while I was forced to fire them. The man looked at his watch again.

— Are there any other questions? — No, — Lisa shook her head. — Okay, then let’s go, I’ll take you to the city. Having dropped Lisa off at the right street, Maxim Yegorovich reminded her that his driver would pick her up at nine tomorrow morning and take her to the cottage, so she still had time to pack the necessary things.

In the morning at exactly nine o’clock the doorbell rang. A tall man in a dark shirt stood on the threshold. “Kirill,” he introduced himself, “Maxim Yegorovich said that I should take you to his house.

Liza checked once more that she had turned off and locked everything in the apartment, and, picking up a small suitcase, headed for the exit. Kirill took the suitcase from her and began to go down the stairs, and Liza, having locked the front door, followed him. Having got into the car, she began to ask Kirill about her new employer, but he remained completely silent, not answering a single one of her questions.

Then Lisa also fell silent and began to look out the window, admiring the landscape. Having driven up to the cottage, the man brought his things into the hall and quickly left. “Good afternoon,” Anna Petrovna greeted her.

– Let’s go, I’ll show you the room you’ll be living in, – and she headed for the stairs. Liza, grabbing her suitcase, headed after her. Having climbed to the second floor, Anna Petrovna opened the door of one of the rooms and invited Liza to go inside.

The girl entered and immediately closed her eyes from the bright sun that illuminated the room. Anna Petrovna went to the window, lowered the blinds, and the room became much darker. – Make yourself comfortable, and then go downstairs.

The woman left the room, closing the door behind her. Lisa looked around. The room was small, but very cozy.

Near the door stood a light wardrobe with large mirrors. Along one wall was a bed covered with a fluffy bedspread. Along the opposite wall was a deep armchair, and next to it stood a floor lamp.

In the corner on a light nightstand Lisa saw a plasma TV, and on the floor there was a soft carpet. The girl went to the window and raised the blinds. A beautiful view opened up before her – a small forest and a pond, on the shore of which fishermen were sitting.

She looked around the room again and was very pleased, and then, having put her things away in the closet, went down to the first floor. Anna Petrovna met her there and led her to the dining room. Maxim Yegorovich left for work and asked me to fill you in on the situation, the woman said, pouring coffee.

As you already know, the owner has two sons, Sasha and Pasha. Their mother died two years ago, but this is not discussed in our house. She looked sternly at Lisa.

The girl nodded, understanding that she had been tactfully hinted not to ask unnecessary questions. “Your duties include,” Anna Petrovna handed Liza a piece of paper, which she began to study carefully. Maxim Yegorovich wishes, the woman continued, that his children grow up in love and affection.

“And if he needs to be strict, he will talk to them himself. Do you understand everything?” she asked Lisa. “Can I meet the children?” the girl asked cautiously.

“Of course,” Anna Petrovna nodded. “Let’s go to the nursery.” They went up to the second floor again and entered the room next to the one Liza was to live in.

“Sashenka, Pashenka,” Anna Petrovna addressed the boys affectionately, who were sitting at the children’s table and enthusiastically drawing something. “This is your new nanny, Elizaveta Pavlovna.” “Liza, just Liza,” she approached the youngest child, squatted down and, looking at his drawing, said.

“What a beautiful star you’re making!” The boy’s eyes lit up with joy. “Really? Did you like it? Only it’s not a star, it’s my mother.”

Lisa looked at the child in surprise. “Yes, that’s my mommy,” he repeated. “Daddy said she became a magic star.

“You can’t see her during the day because she’s busy with her own things, but at night she shines brightly for us so that my brother and I…”, he nodded at Sasha. They weren’t afraid of the dark. Tears came to Lisa’s eyes.

She stroked the boy’s blond head, kissed him on the top of it and hugged him. Then, wiping away the tears that had come, she stood up and went over to the older boy. He was drawing a car, an ambulance and a little man standing next to her, holding a suitcase with a red cross in his hands.

“What are you drawing?” Lisa asked. “It’s a doctor who came to see a patient. When I grow up, I’ll become a doctor and treat other people so that they never, ever get sick and don’t become stars like our mother.”

Looking at the pictures, Lisa realized that the children were still having a hard time coping with the loss of their mother. She vowed to herself that she would do everything possible to help the boys thaw out a little and become carefree and cheerful boys again. “Have you had breakfast yet?” she asked.

The brothers nodded in response. “Then maybe we should go for a walk?” she suggested. “You can show me what interesting things you have in your yard, because I know absolutely nothing about it.”

“Hurray, it’s time to go for a walk!” the children shouted cheerfully, jumped up from their seats and began to get dressed. Liza was only surprised at how independent the boys turned out to be. They put on their clothes themselves without anyone’s help, and the older one even helped the younger one.

Noticing Liza’s surprised look, Sasha said, “Our mother always told us that we are brothers and should always help each other.” Liza admired the wisdom of the unknown woman and how she raised her sons correctly. Together they went out into the yard, and the children immediately suggested that Liza go to the playground that dad had made especially for them.

They went behind the house, and the girl saw a well-equipped playground with a children’s slide, swings, a sandbox and many other devices for children. Pasha immediately climbed up the slide and slid down, and Sasha sat on the swing and asked Lisa to push him. Then they ran after each other around this playground and laughed merrily.

Carried away by the game, Lisa did not notice that Maxim Yegorovich was standing at the corner of the house and watching them. Sashenka was the first to notice him and waved his hand. “Daddy, come to us!” The man thought for a moment, then took off his jacket, hung it on a tree branch, rolled up his shirt sleeves and joined the cheerful company.

He also started running around the playground, trying to catch up with his sons, who were skillfully dodging him. Liza found it funny when she saw how a grown serious man in an expensive suit, like a boy, was running after his sons, and it gave him pleasure. “That’s it, that’s it,” they chased the father, the man stopped, raising his hands up.

“If my charges could see me now,” he laughed. Then he turned to Lisa, who was trying to hide her smile as best she could. “I see that you’ve already found a common language with my rascals.”

He took his jacket off the branch and threw it over his arm. “But this is just the beginning,” the girl shrugged. “I hope everything will be fine in the future.”

At first, Lisa was very tired, because she spent almost the entire day with children who demanded constant attention. Two days after she started her job, an interesting incident even happened. At lunchtime, she put the boys to bed and, sitting in a chair, read them a fairy tale.

She herself did not notice how she fell asleep. She woke up because someone was carefully covering her. Opening her eyes, Lisa saw that Sasha was throwing a blanket over her, and Pashenka was sitting quietly on a chair, trying not to make noise, drawing in an album.

Liza was so touched that tears involuntarily rolled down her cheeks. The girl became more and more attached to the children. And when she went home for the weekend, she already began to miss them.

Arriving at the house, Liza looked into the mailbox and found a notice there, which said that in a week she had to appear at the district registry office to dissolve her marriage with citizen Nikitin. The same notice was addressed to Anton, since he was still registered in Liza’s apartment. At first, the girl wanted to take this notice herself and put it in the mailbox of her former friend, with whom Anton was now living, and then, after thinking about it, she decided to put it in an envelope and send it to her postal address.

Reminders of Anton once again stirred up in Lisa a feeling of resentment and indignation for how meanly he treated her. To distract herself a little from sad thoughts, she began to clean the apartment. Already smoking floors, she heard the doorbell ring, smoothing her tousled hair, Lisa opened it and saw Anton on the threshold, who was impatiently shifting from foot to foot.

“Finally, I caught you,” he said indignantly, walking into the apartment. “I’ve been here several times, but you were never home.” “What do you want?” Lisa asked tiredly.

“I want to take my things, if, of course, you didn’t throw them away. What did you think?” he grinned. “All your things,” Lisa nodded at the bags that were still standing in the hallway.

– There they are, take them and go, I have no time. – Where are you rushing to in such a hurry, are you waiting for someone to visit? He looked insolently at his ex-wife. – I see you are not too upset that I left you? – There is nothing to worry about, – Lisa shrugged her shoulders, but he left and left.

In fact, it was hard for her to appear calm. Inside, everything was seething with anger and hatred, but she didn’t want to give Anton a reason to gloat. “Then know,” the man narrowed his eyes angrily, “I never loved you and I only married you for the sake of the apartment, I’m tired of hanging around rented corners.

“Have you at least looked at yourself in the mirror,” he continued to mock his ex-wife. “Christina, compared to you, is simply a queen, and her apartment is modern, not an old wreck like yours. Besides, she will soon give birth to a son for me, unlike you,” he waved his hand, showing Liza’s worthlessness.

The girl listened silently to what Anton was telling her, and she was shaking slightly. Liza turned around and went into the room. Returning back, she handed the man a notice from the registry office.

He read it carefully and exclaimed, “Well, that’s very good, now I can definitely marry Christina. Besides, she’s always rushing me about it, so that the child is born in a legal marriage, and there will be nothing between us anymore.”

He took the bags with his things and left the apartment, loudly slamming the door. And Lisa remained in the hallway. She sat down on the pouf that stood next to the coat rack.

She covered her face with her hands and cried bitterly. It was already getting dark outside, and Lisa understood that she couldn’t be alone in the apartment. She changed her clothes, called a taxi and went to the cottage.

There she will definitely not be lonely. Her favorite boys will be next to her, who will distract her from gloomy thoughts. Anna Petrovna was surprised by her arrival, but seeing the girl’s upset face, she did not ask her unnecessary questions.

But Sasha and Pasha were very happy that their nanny had returned. They jumped around her and told her what they had been doing all day. “Well, kids, let’s go to the bathroom,” Lisa suggested.

The brothers happily agreed, because every swim turned into an exciting game for them. The nanny allowed them to take toys with them, and they all went on a journey along the foamy waves together. Lisa really enjoyed playing with the children.

She accepted the fact that she would never have her own children, and devoted all her love and care to raising the boys who had lost their mother so early. She became more and more attached to them, although she understood that someday Sasha and Pasha would grow up and no longer need her. Shortly before the New Year, Maxim Yegorovich invited Liza to his office.

“Elizaveta Pavlovna, I have a small favor to ask of you.” He paused. “I have to leave for the New Year holidays.

Friends invited me to Spain. I couldn’t refuse, because there will be people there who can be useful in my business. Could you spend these days with the children? I understand that I will have to do without days off, but I will compensate you for everything in double size.”

The man looked at Lisa expectantly. “Of course, Maxim Yegorovich,” she immediately agreed, but she hesitated, not knowing how to express her request. “Only,” he frowned, “I would like to go to the village to see my parents before you leave, take them some presents and congratulate them.

Can I ask you for an extra day off? Just one day to leave on Friday and be back on Sunday.” Maxim Yegorovich sighed with relief and laughed. “And that’s all.

I am giving you two extra days, so you can safely go to your relatives on Thursday. And I will also order Anna Petrovna to prepare gifts and presents for your parents from me personally.” On Thursday morning, the driver Kirill took her to the bus station.

Liza got on a bus loaded with gift bags and headed to her native village. Maxim Yegorovich suggested that Kirill take her there right away, by car, but Liza categorically refused. She didn’t want to attract any attention to herself in the village.

And if she had arrived in an expensive car, there would have been gossip right away. Opening the gate, Lisa entered the yard and immediately saw her father, who was clearing snow near the porch. Seeing his daughter, he dropped the shovel and hurried to her.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?” he asked, hugging Lisa. “We were only expecting you for New Year’s.” “Well, you came early,” the flushed girl answered cheerfully.

“Is Mom home?” The mother had already run out onto the porch. Waving her arms, rejoicing at the unexpected arrival of her beloved daughter. “Mommy!” Lisa rushed to her, “how I missed you!”

“Let’s go into the house, daughter, or you’ll freeze,” Nina Fedorovna said tenderly, hugging Liza. “Father, what joy we have!” she said to her husband. The girl picked up the bags and followed her mother into the house.

She stopped at the threshold and inhaled the aroma of her home with her whole chest. It smelled of dried herbs, the tobacco her father smoked, and fresh baked goods. “And I baked some pancakes,” her mother rejoiced, “I just felt like you were coming.

“Come on, undress and come to the table,” she bustled about in the kitchen. “We should send dad to the forest to cut down a tree,” suggested mom. “It’s been a long time since we put up a tree at home, and we still need to bring the toys from the pantry.”

“Mom!” Liza glanced guiltily at Nina Fyodorovna, “I won’t be able to stay for the New Year.” “And Father,” the mother waved her hands, “how is that possible?” “You see, Maxim Yegorovich asked me to look after the children during the New Year holidays while he was away.” “And why do you want to mess around with other people’s children, my daughter?” the woman sighed, “it’s time you had your own.”

“Mom!” Lisa exclaimed. “But you know I can’t have children.” “Who told you that?” her mother was indignant.

– “Even the doctors say that everything is fine with you.” “Anton will soon have a baby,” Liza lowered her head to hide her tears, “that means it’s all about me.” “Oh, my daughter, my daughter,” Nina Fyodorovna began to wail, “my heart senses that not everything is okay with him and that Kristinka.”

“By the way, have you heard anything about him?” He called me about a month ago. He bragged that he had married again and was very happy with his beautiful wife. She had registered him in her apartment, but he had finally deregistered from mine.

“What a rascal,” Nina Fyodorovna slapped her palm on the table. “He called you specifically to gloat.” “Oh, his mother, I don’t even want to remember him,” the girl waved her hand.

“Come on, I’d better show you what presents I brought you and Dad.” Over the next two days, Liza helped her mother with the housework. She cleared snow from the yard with her father and even managed to go to a local club, where she met her former classmates who had stayed to live in the village after school.

On Sunday, the mother and father saw their daughter off to the bus. They packed Liza with various homemade pickles so that she could treat Maxim Yegorovich and the kids. Liza initially refused to take the treats, but seeing that her refusal could offend her parents, of course she agreed to take it all.

Arriving at the city train station, the girl had difficulty pulling her heavy bags out of the bus. She had to take a taxi to get to the cottage with all her luggage. Having dragged the heavy bags into the house, Lisa stopped at the threshold and caught her breath.

– Lizochka! Anna Petrovna came out to meet her. Why are you carrying such heavy things? – Well, – the girl smiled, – my parents gave you all presents. And now I don’t know what to do with them.

“You’re unlikely to eat village treats,” she said simply. “How come you don’t know what to do?” Maxim Yegorovich’s loud voice rang out. “Come on, put everything on the table, and we’ll try these treats.”

Liza quickly began to take out of her bags and put on the table jars of pickled cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, apple jam, blackberry, blackcurrant jam, cheesecakes, flatbreads, a piece of lard with a layer of salt. “Mmm, how delicious,” said Maxim Yegorovich, biting into a crispy cucumber. “The last time I ate something like this was at my grandmother’s in the village.

– Have you been to the village? – Lisa was surprised. – Of course, – the man laughed, – and that was the happiest time of my childhood. My grandmother, on my father’s side, lived in the village, and he brought me to her for the summer holidays.

This was where there was plenty of freedom, my grandmother baked my favorite vatrushki, just like the ones your mother passed on to me. Liza looked at Maxim Yegorovich with wide-open eyes, she couldn’t even imagine that this handsome, imposing man missed village food, remembered his childhood spent with his grandmother. “Please convey my deepest gratitude to your parents,” he addressed Liza.

– Everything is very tasty. You know, no food, even the most exquisite food from an expensive restaurant, can replace home-cooked food, cooked with love. On New Year’s Eve, a real fluffy Christmas tree was installed in the hall of the house.

Liza and the children spent the whole morning decorating it, enjoying it immensely. After finishing their work, they stepped aside to admire the fluffy beauty, who would definitely light bright lights for them in the evening. Then Liza and the boys went out into the yard to make snowmen, and then ran through the snow after each other and threw snowballs.

Flushed and pleased, they returned home. Anna Petrovna only waved her hands, seeing the children and their nanny on the threshold, whose clothes were covered in snow from head to toe. Liza only shrugged her shoulders in embarrassment and swore that she would wipe away the wet puddles that had already formed under their feet.

Having fed the boys lunch, Lisa put them to rest, and went downstairs to help in the kitchen with the preparation of the festive New Year’s dinner. In addition to the children, Lisa, Anna Petrovna and Kirill, who had no one to celebrate the New Year with, were to gather at the New Year’s table. Lisa prepared New Year’s gifts for everyone.

For Sashenka, a children’s medical encyclopedia with bright pictures. For Pashenka, a drawing set. For Anna Petrovna, soft house slippers, and for Kirill, a beautiful mug with his name on it.

She wrapped all the presents beautifully and hid them under the tree, where they waited for their time. In the evening, everyone gathered at the table to see out the old year first. There was no alcohol on the table, everyone had juice in their glasses, but the table was very merry.

Sasha and Pasha were especially happy, at first they were a little upset that dad wouldn’t be celebrating the New Year with them, but Uncle Kirill told New Year’s stories so interestingly that their melancholy disappeared. They laughed along with the adults. Then everyone moved from the dining room to the hall, lit the tree and started giving each other presents.

Pashenka gave Liza a picture that he had drawn himself. It depicted a girl holding hands with two boys, and at the bottom was the inscription “Pasha-Liza-Sasha”. Liza smiled.

This inscription, of course, was made by Sasha, with whom they had already begun to learn to write. Sasha gave her a card in the form of a Christmas tree, which he also made himself and signed “Happy New Year”, only the letters “S” and “G” were facing the other way. From Anna Petrovna she received as a gift a beautiful shawl, which she had knitted especially for Lisa, and Kirill shyly handed her a large beautiful box of chocolates, clearly feeling sympathy for the girl.

Everyone was so engrossed in looking at the presents that they almost missed the moment when the New Year arrived. “Make a wish quickly,” Anna Petrovna exclaimed excitedly. Liza closed her eyes and wished that she, too, would one day have two wonderful sons like Pasha and Sasha, and definitely a sweet little daughter.

“Hurray! Happy New Year! Happy New Year!”, everyone shouted and began to hug and congratulate each other. After the New Year holidays, when Maxim Yegorovich returned from his trip, Liza went home for the weekend. She entered the empty apartment and immediately turned on the TV to somehow fill the silence.

She dozed off unnoticed to the sound of the TV and was awakened by a sharp ringing of the doorbell. Lisa shook her head, thinking that she had dreamed it, but the doorbell rang again. “Who’s there?” the girl asked cautiously.

“Liza, open up, it’s me, Anton.” She opened the door and saw her ex-husband in front of her, holding a suitcase in his hand. “Can I come in?” he asked quietly.

Lisa stepped aside, letting the man into the hallway. He took off his outerwear and entered the room. “How nice it is here!” he sighed.

Liza looked at her ex-husband in surprise. “Why did you suddenly decide that? You never liked my apartment, you called it a hovel!” “Lizonka, I was wrong!” he lowered his eyes. “What happened that made you change your mind?” she asked.

I left Christina. “I wonder,” Lisa grinned, “what did you dislike about her? You bragged that there was no one better in the world!” She deceived me, Anton sat down in a chair. “Can you imagine, the child she is carrying is not mine!” “And how did you find out?” I came home from work early, I wanted to please my wife.

I quietly entered the apartment and heard her consulting with a friend. How could I explain that the baby would be born prematurely, although in fact it should be born on time. When I entered the room, she quickly ended the conversation and began to smile sweetly at me.

“Who is the father of this child?” I asked her harshly. “Anton, what kind of question is that?” she was indignant. “Of course you are, the father of our future baby!” “Don’t make a fool of me!” I shouted. “I’m asking again, who is the father of your child?” “What difference does it make who the father is?” she said calmly.

“He’ll still be ours, won’t he, my dear?” “No way!” I exclaimed. “I don’t need someone else’s child!” I gathered my things and left. “That’s how it is, Lizochka!” he finished his story. “So what do you intend to do now?” the girl asked.

“What do you mean? I’ll file for divorce!” “Haven’t you had a lot of divorces lately?” she smirked. “What can you do?” Anton threw up his hands. “Who could have thought that she would turn out to be such a bitch?” “But now I have nowhere to live!” he looked guiltily at his ex-wife.

“Do you remember, Lizok, how good we were together!” “What are you hinting at?” Liza looked Anton straight in the eyes. “Maybe you’ll let me stay with you until I rent an apartment?” “But you said my apartment was a wreck!” she grinned. “You have a wonderful apartment and it’s very cozy!” exclaimed her ex-husband.

“No, Anton, you won’t live here!” Lisa said firmly. “You have a wife, a smart and beautiful woman, whom you praised so much! Go to her, and your problems don’t bother me at all!” The man rose from his chair and, dropping his shoulders, went into the hallway. “I am very guilty before you,” he said, holding onto the door handle.

“Forgive me, please!”, “I forgive you!”, Lisa answered briefly and closed the door behind him. She returned to the room, went to the window and pulled back the curtain. Looking after Anton as he left, she caught herself thinking that she felt a little sorry for her ex-husband.

But he got what he deserved. Of course, Anton could have been allowed to live in her apartment. It was empty anyway.

But then you won’t be able to kick him out of her. So, really, let him solve his own problems. And Kristina is a good girl, she cleverly ensnared someone else’s husband.

But the secret always becomes clear. Now it is unknown how she will get out of this situation. But this worried Lisa the least.

She went into the kitchen, boiled the kettle and poured herself some coffee. She drank the aromatic drink and thought about how tomorrow she would see her boys again, Sasha and Pashenka, to whom she had already become attached with all her heart. One day, Maxim Yegorovich, as always, came home for lunch.

Having gone up to his office, he went to the window and pulled the curtain because it seemed to him that the room was a bit dark. He saw that in the courtyard of the house, right in front of the office windows, his sons were walking with their nanny Liza. Maxim Yegorovich leaned his elbows on the windowsill, admiring the picture that opened up before him.

The boys ran through the snow, and Liza tried to catch up with them. Then they fell into a snowdrift together and laughed merrily. Maxim Yegorovich looked closely at the girl.

How much did she resemble his wife? He glanced at the framed photograph on his desk. A young, beautiful woman with an open smile and eyes shining with happiness looked out from it. The man sighed heavily.

He still reproached himself for having once listened to his wife and not fighting to save her in every possible way. He looked into the eyes of his beloved and again remembered the time when they were happy, and it seemed that a long and happy life lay ahead. Natasha loved to live so much, she sincerely rejoiced in everything that surrounded her, and she loved her husband and long-awaited sons very much, with whom she managed to spend not so long in this world.

Maxim Yegorovich looked out the window again. Nanny Liza seemed to him as kind and cheerful as his wife. And they had a certain resemblance in appearance.

He turned his gaze to his sons. How good it was that they had become cheerful and carefree again and had stopped calling for their mother and crying in the evenings. And all this had happened only thanks to the fragile girl Lisa, who had surrounded them with the care and attention that they lacked.

He now had no doubt that he had made the right choice by offering Yelizaveta Pavlovna to become a nanny for Sasha and Pasha, although at first he had not even imagined that she could become such a wonderful nanny, since she had neither experience of communicating with children nor a pedagogical education. The man shuddered, remembering Margarita Viktorovna, who had responded to his ad in the newspaper and had worked as a nanny in their house for a short time. Even Maksim Yegorych was frightened by her loud voice, and when she looked at him sternly, she felt like a guilty schoolboy.

Sasha and Pasha walked on her toes and did everything according to the daily routine drawn up by Margarita Viktorovna herself. After a week of her stay in the house, Maxim Yegorovich saw the frightened eyes of his sons, he said goodbye to this woman and with great relief closed the door behind her, and after all, she had a higher pedagogical education and extensive experience as a primary school teacher. Then there was Nastenka, as she herself asked to be called, a graduate of the pedagogical college.

She didn’t yell at the boys, didn’t force them to follow any regime, she would sit with her feet on the sofa and watch TV all day long or flirt with Kirill when he brought groceries from the store. The boys were left to their own devices, and no one really looked after them. So he met Elizaveta Pavlovna very cautiously and for some reason was sure that she wouldn’t last long in the house.

Fortunately, he was wrong, Liza became sincerely attached to his sons and devoted maximum time to them, and they simply adored their nanny. In the spring, an accident happened. Anna Petrovna fell badly and broke her leg in several places.

She spent two weeks in the hospital and then returned home, continuing to stay in bed. Liza often came into her room to support the woman a little. “Look, Lizochka,” Anna Petrovna complained, “with my eyes I could do and redo everything in the house, but in reality I can’t get up.

“It’s okay, Anna Petrovna,” the girl reassured her. “The cast will be removed soon, and you’ll run better than before.” “God willing, God willing,” the woman crossed herself, “you have a kind soul, Liza.”

It was obvious right away. Look how well you treat the kids. Our Natasha would be happy.

Tears appeared in the woman’s eyes. “Anna Petrovna, don’t be upset.” Liza stroked the woman’s hand.

You rest for now, and I’ll drop by to see you again in the evening. I’ll put the boys to bed and come. Agreed? Anna Petrovna nodded her head and closed her eyes.

In the evening, as she had promised, Lisa quietly knocked on the door of the room where Anna Petrovna was. “Come in,” she heard. The girl entered the room, which was illuminated only by a night light standing on the nightstand.

“Sit with me for a while, Lizochka,” Anna Petrovna asked her, “or I’ll soon go completely wild here.” Liza sat down on a chair next to the bed. “How are the boys? Were they too naughty today?” the woman asked.

– Oh, come on, – Lisa laughed, – they are very well-mannered and obedient. – And you know that I am their grandmother, only their cousin. – Really? – the girl exclaimed.

– No, I didn’t know about that. Their mother Natasha is my own niece. Anna Petrovna settled herself more comfortably on the bed.

Her mother died early, when the girl was ten years old. From that moment on, I raised Natasha as my own daughter. After finishing school, she entered the construction institute to become a designer.

There she met her future husband Maxim, who studied at another faculty. They started dating, and a year later they got married. It was hard for us at first.

I worked as a cook in a canteen, the salary was small. Maxim worked part-time in the evenings as a loader or a janitor, and Natasha wrote term papers and theses for other students. For money, of course.

Although they lived poorly, they were very friendly. After graduating from the institute, Maxim got a job at a construction company. First as an ordinary engineer, and then, thanks to his hard work and professionalism, he quickly began to climb the career ladder and became deputy general director.

And then he opened his own construction company. And Natasha was praised at the institute for her excellent taste and creation of good projects. So, when she was studying in her last year, she already had several orders, which she successfully completed and had already received a job offer, but she preferred to work in the same company where her husband got a job.

Everything was fine with them, except that God did not give them children. The doctors shrugged their shoulders, both were absolutely healthy. They had already despaired and decided to take a child from an orphanage, but before this important step they decided to go on a trip on a steamship to think it over again.

After returning, they began visiting orphanages to look for a child, but each time they returned home disappointed. “Mama Anya,” Natasha told me, “all the children are very good and sweet, but for some reason my heart is silent, and I so want to choose my child with my heart, not my mind.” And one day Natasha found out that she was pregnant.

Or rather, she felt it in her heart. I still remember how she told me, “Mama Anya, I feel that something is happening to me, I don’t know what it is yet, but my soul is very happy.” She bought a pregnancy test at the drugstore and saw two cherished stripes on it.

Maxim and Natasha were overjoyed. Maxim immediately suggested starting construction of a country house, and Natasha supported this idea and began designing the future house herself. Her pregnancy was very easy, Natasha spent a lot of time outdoors, supervised the construction of the house.

Sashenka was born on time, and six months later they moved into this house, taking me with them. To be honest, I didn’t want to move with them. They had their own family, a child, and now I would be staying with them.

But Natasha even burst into tears when she heard my refusal. “Mama Anya, I won’t move anywhere without you either. I don’t want to leave you alone.

“Or are you tired of us?” “What are you, silly!” I stroked Natasha’s head. “I’ll be very sad without you. I just didn’t want to bother you.”

“How can a beloved mother interfere? Come on, get ready, and I’ll help you.” Natasha was very kind and responsive. Maxim always looked at her with loving eyes, constantly admiring his wife.

She created coziness in this house with her jokes, Natasha managed to do everything: look after the baby, cook, and clean, not allowing Maxim to hire a housekeeper. Of course, I helped her, but Natasha tried to shield me from worries. After some time, Natasha got pregnant again, but this pregnancy was difficult for her.

Her legs were very swollen, and she was constantly tormented by headaches. Natasha was hospitalized for a long time. Pashenka was born weak, and he was not discharged from the neonatal pathology department for about a month, but fortunately, nothing serious was found, and soon we took him home.

But Natasha was getting worse and worse. True, she never complained about it, so as not to upset us, but I saw that she often took some pills to relieve her headache. Because of this, she did not breastfeed Pashenka, switching him to artificial feeding.

For a long time, Maxim and I had no idea about anything, until one day Natasha fainted, then again. That’s when Maxim took her to the hospital for an examination, where it turned out that Natasha had brain cancer. How scared I was then, because her mother also died of cancer, specifically of the brain.

Natasha was immediately prescribed treatment, chemotherapy. However, it did not bring any particular result. Then Natasha refused any treatment, saying that it would be better to stay at home, with the children, all the time that was given to her from above.

We tried to persuade her and beg her to continue the treatment. Maxim even made arrangements with a clinic abroad that was ready to accept Natasha, but she was adamant and refused to go. She spent all this time with her sons, trying to enjoy every minute spent with them.

Even when she could no longer walk, but only lay on the bed, she asked them to sit next to her, holding her sons’ hands. Anna Petrovna took a breath and drank some water from a cup. Her hands were shaking, and Liza saw that this story was hard for her, but she could not stop the woman, because she understood that she needed to speak out.

After Natashenka’s death, Anna Petrovna’s story continued. Maxim withdrew into himself and paid no attention to anything. Several times he said that he blamed himself for not insisting that his wife continue treatment, which meant that he was to blame for the death of his beloved.

When he came home from work, he locked himself in his office and didn’t let anyone in. Once I saw that the door to the office was ajar and looked in. Maxim was sleeping on the couch, clutching Natasha’s photo tightly to himself, and there was an empty bottle of cognac on the table.

At that moment I felt so sorry for him that my heart sank, but I couldn’t help him. The children helped bring Maxim back to life. One day he came into their room and saw that Sasha and Pashenka were sitting with frightened eyes, pressed tightly against each other.

The father picked them up in his arms, came to his place and at that moment realized that for the sake of his sons he had to live on, to raise them as worthy people, as Natasha had dreamed of. After all, he didn’t want to take a nanny for the children at first. Having decided that he and I would manage with them together.

But I started flying often on business trips, and my health started to fail me a little. The boys are growing up, they require more and more attention. But we were unlucky with nannies before you, Lizochka.

The general came in a skirt, and the other nanny herself still needed her. And I see, Liza, that you treat the children with soul, and they don’t leave you. The girl nodded silently.

She couldn’t utter a word, there were tears in her eyes. She felt sorry for everyone from the bottom of her heart, for Natasha, who was unknown to her, who had passed away so early, and for Maxim Yegorovich, who had lost his beloved wife, and for the boys, who were left without a mother, and for Anna Petrovna, who had essentially lost her daughter. I’ve tired you out, Anna Petrovna looked at the girl guiltily.

– No, come on, – Lisa shook her head, – I knew that the boy’s mother had died, but I didn’t know how much pain she had to endure, – she sighed, – and the boys still miss her. And Pasha draws his mother as a star shining from the sky. Yes, we didn’t hide from the boys that their mother was no longer there.

Of course, they weren’t told about it right away. They just saw that Sashenka was constantly running up to the front door and waiting for his mother to come in. If he got tired, he would squat down and wait and wait, and several times he even fell asleep like that.

Maxim decided that there was no need for the boy to suffer, and in constant anticipation he decided to talk to him. He told him that his mother would not come anymore, because she had gone to heaven and become a bright, beautiful star that would always shine for her beloved sons. So now, when they see the starry sky, they always wave their hands and send him air kisses, knowing that their mother sees them.

At the beginning of May, Maxim Yegorovich returned home very upset. He did not pick up his sons in his arms as usual, but simply muttered hello and went into his office, closing the door behind him. Liza and Anna Petrovna exchanged glances and began to distract the boys, who were about to burst into tears because their dad had not paid attention to them.

In the evening, while putting the boys to bed, Lisa heard footsteps behind the door, which quietly opened, and Maxim Yegorovich entered the room. “Who is daddy going to read a story to today?” he asked, looking affectionately at his sons. “Me, me!” the boys shouted, jumping on the bed.

“Well, then, make yourself comfortable, close your eyes and listen,” Maxim took the first children’s book he came across from the shelf. “Elizaveta Pavlovna, please come down to the dining room in about fifteen minutes. I need to talk to you and Anna Petrovna.”

Lisa nodded and left the nursery. Entering her bedroom, she sat down on the bed, her hands shaking. “Is he really going to tell me now that I’m being fired?” Lisa thought.

“Everything seemed to be fine, no one complained about me.” She looked at her watch every minute, and those fifteen minutes seemed like an eternity to her. Hearing the neighboring door quietly open, she got out of bed and, leaving the bedroom, went downstairs.

Anna Petrovna was already in the dining room, and she also did not understand why the owner had gathered them. Maxim Yegorovich sat at the head of the table and looked at the women carefully. “I don’t want to scare you, but I have some problems at work.

I hope that nothing serious will happen, but I would like you and the children to leave this house for a while.” Anna Petrovna and Liza froze at what they heard, unable to utter a word in response. “I plan to send you abroad,” continued Maxim Yegorovich.

“What do you think about this?” He looked expectantly at Liza and Anna Petrovna. “Do we really have to go so far?” Liza asked cautiously. “Do you have any other suggestions?” Maxim Yegorovich looked at the girl in surprise.

“Yes,” she answered firmly. “We can go to the village to my parents and the boys, it will be better there, in the fresh air, in fresh milk.” “Is that convenient?” the man asked.

“Your parents won’t mind?” “Oh, no!” Lisa exclaimed. “Mom and Dad will be only too happy, they love children very much.” “And you, Petrovna, what do you say?” he turned to the woman.

“I agree with Lizochka, they will be better off in the village. And you, Maksimushka, can always come and visit them.” She looked at the man affectionately.

“What do you mean, ‘it will be better for them’?” Maxim didn’t understand. “That means I won’t go anywhere from here.” “But, Petrovna,” Maxim began to say, “no, son,” the woman interrupted him.

“I won’t leave you alone, I have nothing to fear anymore, so I’ll be by your side.” Maxim looked at the women with gratitude. “Thank you, my dears, for your support.

Don’t worry, I think everything will be sorted out soon. For now, I’m just playing it safe so as not to risk my loved ones. Your own business is too tough a thing, everyone wants to break off a tasty morsel from it.”

A few days later, Kirill took Liza and the kids to the village. The car stopped near the house where Liza’s parents lived. The door opened, Sasha and Pasha got out and stood hesitantly in front of the gate.

Hearing the noise of the car, Nina Fedorovna and Pavel Efimovich, whom Liza had warned about her arrival in advance, came out onto the porch. “Well, eagles, let’s get acquainted.” Pavel Efimovich extended his hand to the brothers.

“My name is Grandpa Pasha, and what is yours?” “My name is Pasha too,” answered the younger brother, holding out his little hand to his grandfather. “Oh, yes, you and I have the same name,” exclaimed the man. “And what is your name?” he asked his older brother.

“Sasha,” the boy said sheepishly, looking at the unfamiliar man. “Well, now we’ve met,” Pavel Efimovich smiled. “And this is Grandma Nina,” she pointed to her wife, who was standing nearby.

“You’re such an old boy, you’ve started chatting,” she looked at her husband reproachfully. “Come on, kids, into the house, you’re probably tired from the road.” The boys looked questioningly at Lisa, but she smiled and waved her hand at them, “Go, go.”

Then they took their grandmother by the hands on both sides, and she led them into the house. Kirill helped Liza bring in her things and, refusing tea, went back to the city. The boys looked at the interior of the house with interest, they especially liked the stove, which stood in the large room that Nina Fyodorovna called the “front room”.

And when Baba Nina lit a fire in it, they looked at it with fascination, watching the fire burn and the birch firewood crackle. “Now the stove will heat up, and I’ll bake some delicious vatrushki in it to feed our little guests,” cooed Nina Fyodorovna, looking tenderly at the brothers. After a hearty dinner, Sasha and Pasha fell asleep on the bed in Liza’s former room, and the girl began to help her mother wash the dishes. “What good kids,” Nina Fyodorovna said quietly. “How sorry I am for them, the orphans.

– Mom, – Lisa looked at her mother reproachfully, – what kind of orphans are they, as you call them, they have a father. – Oh, daughter, – the woman sighed, – no one can replace your own mother, not even the most wonderful father. – Well, what can you do, – Lisa shrugged, – you can’t bring their mother back, the main thing now is to surround them with care and affection.

– You would make a good mother, – Nina Fyodorovna looked at her daughter with love, – I see how well you treat them, and they are drawn to you. – Mom, don’t start, – Lisa winced, – it seems that I am not destined to become a mother, so for now I will at least raise other people’s children. – By the way, – Anna Fyodorovna perked up, – you said that Anton is not the father of the child that Kristina gave birth to.

– Yes, that’s right. The child’s real father abandoned her when he found out about the pregnancy. It was too late to have an abortion, so she first seduced Anton and then married him.

She knew that Anton dreamed of an heir. I was a fool, I shared my problem with her. And so it turned out that she decided to build her happiness on my misfortune.

Lisa put the plates in the cupboard and hung the towel on the hook. “Do they still live together?” asked her mother, taking off her apron. “No.”

Anton, having learned about the deception, left her, started drinking, for which he was demoted. And my ex-girlfriend acted very cleverly, since Anton did not file the divorce papers with her in time, she registered him as the father of the newborn child, so that if he does divorce her, he will be obliged to pay child support. “Serves him right,” Nina Fyodorovna said angrily.

– I don’t feel sorry for him at all. – But he came to me again, – Lisa shared. – True, I wasn’t home, because he came in the middle of the week.

He rang the doorbell for a long time, then began to knock loudly, shouting my name. A neighbor, Zoya Ilyinichna, looked out at the noise and threatened to call the police if he did not leave immediately. Anton began to ask her about me, and the neighbor told him that I no longer lived in this apartment, that I had gotten married and gone to live with my husband.

Then he sat down on the step and cried. True, Zoya Ilyinichna said that he was drunk. – Your neighbor is a good girl, – Nina Fyodorovna lightly slapped her palm on the table.

Don’t get confused. Maybe your ex-husband will finally forget the way to you. The boys really liked living in the village.

The weather was very nice, everything was blooming around. Sasha and Pasha followed Grandpa Pasha around like a little tail, asking him a lot of questions, which he answered in detail, talking to them like adults. And Grandma Nina, on the contrary, cooed at them like little children, trying to hug the boys and kiss them on the top of their heads every time.

– Well, grandma, – they burst in from behind her embrace, – we’re already big, stop kissing us. Nina Fyodorovna frowned on purpose, and after a while she hugged the boys again. Liza looked at all this, smiling sadly.

She understood that her parents already wanted to babysit their grandchildren. Look at how warmly and caringly they treat practically strangers’ children. Maybe she would have children someday? After all, it turned out that Kristina’s child was not Anton’s, but she had no one to give birth to.

She has no husband, and there is no sign of one. She cannot, like her former friend, easily meet men, much less break up other people’s families. Pavel Efimovich was busy repairing the barn, and Liza and her mother were planting seedlings in the garden when they heard a car pull up to their house.

“Daddy, daddy, he’s here!” the boys shouted and rushed to the tall man who was entering the gate. He picked them up in his arms and kissed them hard. “How you’ve grown in this time!” – “And you’ve gotten heavy!” Maxim looked at his sons with love, putting them down on the ground.

“Grandpa!” Sasha waved his hand at Pavel Efimovich. “Come here, our dad has arrived!” “Grandpa!” Maxim Egorovich was surprised. “Well, yes, Grandpa Pasha and Grandma Nina!” The children took their father by the hands.

– “Come on, we’ll introduce you to them!” – “Hello, Maxim Yegorovich!” – Liza approached him, dressed in a simple cotton dress and with a kerchief tied on her head. – “Meet my parents, Pavel Yefimovich and Nina Fedorovna!” Maxim offered the man his hand and nodded to Nina Fedorovna. “I still remember the gifts you sent us before the New Year!” – “So why are we standing here?” Nina Fedorovna suddenly remembered.

– “Come inside, I just baked some pies this morning, I’ll put the kettle on now!” – “No, thank you,” Maxim shook his head, “I came to pick up my sons and their nanny!” He looked towards Lisa to take them home. – “Oh, why so soon?” – Nina Fyodorovna threw up her hands. – “The boys have such a great time here!” – “Nina!” – her husband sternly reprimanded her.

– “It’s not up to us to decide!” – he looked at the children with longing. – “Dad, I don’t want to leave!” – Pasha cried. – “I really liked it here, Grandpa Pasha and Grandma Nina are so kind!” – “I don’t want to leave either!” – Sasha frowned.

– “Grandpa Pasha and I are going fishing tomorrow!” Maxim looked at his sons in confusion. – “How can this be? I came especially for you!” The boys cried, burying their faces in the hem of Grandma Nina’s dress. Liza was also somehow confused in this situation.

– “Maxim, tomorrow is Saturday, so you have a day off?” Pavel Efimovich took the initiative into his own hands. – “Well, yes,” he answered uncertainly. – “That’s good! You’ll rest here for a day, tomorrow morning we’ll go fishing, in the evening we’ll heat up the bathhouse, and on Sunday we’ll see you off.

“Have you agreed?” Everyone looked expectantly at Maxim. “Well, what can you do with you?” he laughed. “You’ve talked me into it!” Everyone immediately perked up.

The happy kids jumped around their father, Liza and her mother hurried into the house to set the table, and Pavel Efimovich sat down on a bench near the house and lit a cigarette. Maxim took out the travel bag he always carried with him from the trunk of the car and went into the house to change. – “Grandpa, is it true that we’ll catch the biggest fish tomorrow?” Sasha asked.

– “Of course,” the grandfather smiled good-naturedly, “how else?” – “Will you lend me your fishing rod?” asked Pasha, sitting down on the bench next to the grandfather. – “Can you handle it? It’s big!” – “I’m big now too!” Pavlik jumped off the bench and ran to catch up with the kitten, who had crawled out from under the neighbor’s gate. After a hearty lunch, Pavel Efimovich and Maxim went outside and sat down on the bench.

– “It’s nice here,” Maxim looked around. – “Quiet, peace, no fuss.” – “Of course, it’s nice,” Pavel Efimovich answered him sarcastically, lighting a cigarette.

– “You city dwellers probably think that everything is given to us for free. The potatoes grow by themselves, and the cucumbers in the garden turn green by themselves. But you have no idea how much work goes into all of this.”

– “You’re wrong,” – Pavel Efimovich shook his head Maxim. – “As a child, I went to visit my grandmother Lyuba in the village during the holidays and saw that she never sat idle for a minute. In the morning I woke up, and there was already a plate of pancakes or pies on the table, and fresh milk was waiting for me in a mug.

Grandma also kept a cow. In the evening, falling asleep, I saw her darning my clothes or sewing something on a treadle sewing machine, and during the day she was either weeding the garden beds, or cooking dinner, or cleaning the chicken coop. She always had important things to do.

How she managed to do all this, I don’t understand. And most importantly, where did she get the strength for all this? And what a singer she was! Sometimes her neighbors and friends would come to her place, and after drinking some homemade liqueurs to set the mood, they would sing songs. I, a fool, didn’t understand then what good and heartfelt songs they sang.

He covered his ears with his hands so as not to hear, or even ran out into the street. Maxim fell silent, looking into the distance. Pavel Efimovich was also silent, lighting another cigarette.

– I noticed when I drove up to your house that you were repairing something? Maxim turned his head, looking at the yard. – At least you greeted me with a hammer in your hands. Well, yes, the shed is a little crooked.

And his roof was leaking. And I keep firewood there, so I decided to patch it up a bit. – So let me help you, – suggested Maxim.

Pavel Efimovich looked at him with distrust. – Can you do it? – I have a construction education, – Maxim boasted. I think I can figure out the shed.

– Well, help me out if you want, – Pavel Efimovich rose from the bench. – Thank you, I say, it’s more convenient together. Liza went out onto the porch to pour water out of the basin, but froze.

On the top step of the ladder, which was leaning against the barn, stood Maxim Yegorovich, stripped to the waist, nailing a board. “Efimych,” he shouted, “give me that board over there.” “No, not the one you have by the fence.”

– Here you go, Yegorych. Pavel Yefimovich handed him the board he needed and went for the next one. Liza even forgot why she had gone out into the yard, and only when she spilled some water on her feet from the basin did she remember where she was heading.

“Mom, can you imagine,” she exclaimed from the threshold, entering the house, “Maxim Yegorovich is repairing the barn with dad, and they call each other Efimych and Yegorych, as if they have known each other for a long time.” “Yes,” Nina Fedorovna said thoughtfully, “Maxim is a good man, it’s a pity that fate treated him so cruelly. I wish you had a husband like that,” she turned to her daughter.

– What are you saying, Mom, – Lisa laughed, – who is she, who am I, an ordinary nanny for his children. – Well, that’s it, – the mother was offended, – it’s not about status at all, but about the human soul. Yours is bright and kind, besides, you love his sons, you treat them like a mother.

– No, Mom, – Lisa sighed, – that’s impossible, he still loves his wife and doesn’t even pay attention to other women, – that’s what Anna Petrovna told me. – But you like him, – Nina Fyodorovna looked closely at her daughter. – Yes, I like him, – she answered quietly, lowering her eyes.

In the evening, everyone gathered at the table, on which stood a large cast-iron frying pan with fried potatoes. On the plates were salted cucumbers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and sliced lard with a layer of salt. – Sorry, Maxim Yegorovich, – Nina Fyodorovna looked at him guiltily, – our table setting is not restaurant-style.

– Oh, come on, Nina Fedorovna, my mouth is already watering from such delicacies. – Yegorych, – Pavel Yefimovich looked slyly at Maxim, – maybe we should have a shot? My moonshine is like a tear, I distilled it myself, – he said proudly. – Moonshine, – Maxim perked up, – I’ve heard a lot about it, but I’ve never had a chance to try it.

– Well, that’s just what you’ll try, – Pavel Efimovich took out the prepared bottle and poured the contents into glasses. – I won’t pour for you, – he looked sternly at his wife and daughter, – but Yegorych and I deserve it. – Drink up already, – his wife laughed, – I didn’t really want any.

Maxim drank the glass, tears came to his eyes, and he began to gasp for air. “Have a snack, have a snack,” Nina Fyodorovna fussed, handing him a cucumber. “Well, how’s my moonshine?” Pavel Efimovich looked at Maxim with satisfaction.

– Oh, – he exhaled, – I’ve never drunk anything like it, but to be honest, I didn’t taste it. Everything inside me immediately burned. You have to know how to drink moonshine.

– Now I’ll teach you, – Pavel Efimovich poured into the glasses again. According to tradition, the first glass should be filled to the brim and drunk in one gulp, which is what you did. Now you need to have a good snack, preferably bread with lard and a pickle, but the second glass should be sipped a little, eaten and drunk again, then you’ll feel the taste.

Maxim did as Pavel Efimovich had told him and felt a pleasant warmth spread through his body and his head began to buzz a little. He began to eat fried potatoes with pleasure, accompanied by crispy cucumbers and delicious mushrooms. – Come on, Yegorych, have another one.

I have my own tradition, I drink only three glasses and that’s it, otherwise it will be a banal drinking binge and no pleasure. After the third glass, Maxim became completely drowsy, and his eyes began to close involuntarily. He hadn’t worked so physically for a long time, especially in the fresh air.

– Let’s go, Maksimushka, I’ll take you to bed. Nina Fyodorovna patted him on the shoulder. – I’ll make a bed for you in the hallway.

Don’t be afraid, you won’t freeze, you’ll cover yourself with a warm blanket, it will still be hot. Maxim fell asleep immediately, as soon as his head touched the pillow. He slept until the morning, without dreams or worries.

He was awakened by the crow of a rooster, which seemed to be right next to his ear. He rolled over and covered his head with a blanket. – Dad, get up, Grandpa is scolding you for sleeping through the whole fishing trip.

Maxim opened his eyes and saw Sasha in front of him, holding a small bucket in his hands. “I’m getting up, son, I’m getting up.” He stretched sweetly and got out of bed.

Coming out onto the porch, Maxim shivered. It was early morning, there was dew on the grass and it smelled fresh. Having washed himself from the washstand, he quickly ate several pies and washed them down with milk.

Pavel Efimovich with fishing rods at the ready, Sasha and Pasha were already standing at the gate, waiting for Maxim. “Well, you should sleep a lot, Yegorych,” the man reproached him. I almost slept through the whole fishing trip.

– Oh, I haven’t slept so soundly in a long time, – Maxim smiled. If the rooster hadn’t crowed in his ear, he would have slept until lunch. – Dad, we even woke up before Grandpa, – Sasha boasted.

– That’s true, – the grandfather laughed. – I woke up because someone was looking at me. I opened my eyes.

And they, – he nodded at the boy, – are standing by the bed, like two pillars. They went out to the lake and settled down on the shore. They threw their fishing rods into the water and froze, looking at the floats.

The boys quickly got tired of sitting motionless, and they went to explore the surroundings, chasing butterflies. Finally, Maxim caught his first fish and was as happy as a child. Pavel Efimovich frowned and began to look even more diligently at the water surface, above which the float was visible.

Soon he got lucky and looked at Maxim with pride. After a while, there were about two dozen fish of different sizes in the bucket. “Isn’t it time for us to have a snack?” Pavel Efimovich suggested.

Everyone happily agreed, spread a newspaper over the grass and put simple food on it – boiled eggs with potatoes, bread, lard, pies. The boys ate with great appetite, hungry in the fresh air. What beauty! Maxim lay on his back and looked at the sky, in which there was not a single cloud.

Sometimes you have to put your hectic life on pause and just lie there and not think about anything. “But not for long,” Pavel Efimovich supported him, “otherwise you can get lazy.” The exhausted Sasha and Pasha fell asleep in the shade on Grandpa’s jacket, and the men decided to fish a little more.

But there was practically no bite, the sun had already risen high and it was getting hot. It was time to get ready to go home, – Pavel Efimovich reeled in the fishing line. – The bathhouse needs to be heated, and first we need to fetch some water.

Maxim went to wake the boys, but they were sleeping so soundly that he felt sorry for them. “Let them sleep,” Pavel Efimovich said quietly, “we’ll carry them in our arms.” He carefully handed Maxim Sashenka and put the fishing rods on his shoulder, which Maxim supported with one hand, and he himself lifted Pashenka and his jacket and grabbed the bucket of fish.

Seeing men entering the yard with sleeping children in their arms, Liza and Nina Fedorovna rushed to them and, intercepting the children, carried them into the house to put them to bed. Having put their fishing rods in the shed, the men began to carry water from the well to the bathhouse, filling the tanks with it. “Have you ever been to a village bathhouse?” Pavel Efimovich asked Maxim.

– As a child? – Of course. My grandmother heated up the bathhouse once a week. But it was heated in a black way, and I was always afraid to wash in it, because the walls were all covered in soot, and if you accidentally touched them, you had to wash again.

Liza came out onto the porch, tying a headscarf on her head. “Daughter,” her father addressed her, “we caught some fish there, take care of it so we can fry it for dinner.” “Okay, dad.”

Liza looked into the bucket where the fish were swimming. “I see, quite a catch, it was worth getting up early this morning.” Maxim couldn’t help but admire the girl.

She was wearing a simple cotton dress with polka dots, which made her even more delicate. He again noted her resemblance to his wife Natasha. She also liked to wear simple things and, unlike many women, did not like to go shopping to buy clothes for herself.

She also loved simple food and always tried to cook herself, rather than order a ready-made dish. Maxim sighed. In a month, another anniversary of his wife’s death.

Three years have passed, but the pain of loss still hasn’t subsided. His sons ran out into the yard, distracting him from his sad thoughts. – Dad, grandpa said he’ll steam us with a real broom in the bathhouse.

Doesn’t it hurt? – No, on the contrary, it’s very useful so that you never get sick. – Let’s go have lunch. Lisa came out onto the porch and called everyone into the house.

At lunch, everyone ate, gobbled up a whole frying pan of fried fish that the men had caught in the morning. Washing it all down with aromatic tea, Pavel Efimovich and Maxim went out into the street again. “Do you have a store in the village?” Maxim asked.

– Of course, – exclaimed Pavel Efimovich. – When my wife goes there, she only comes home three hours later. And she buys a little there, and then talks to her heart’s content.

All our local gossips gather near this store. Why do you need it? It’s somehow awkward that you feed me, sing to me, and I should thank you somehow. – Don’t even think about it, – Pavel Efimovich was offended, – we are doing it from the bottom of our hearts.

– Well, I want to buy you some treats from the bottom of my heart. Maxim looked slyly at Pavel Efimovich. – Besides, a beer after the bath wouldn’t hurt.

– Yes, Efimovich? – You really know how to persuade, Yegorych, – the man laughed. – A cold beer after the bathhouse is just the thing. – So where, – you say, – is your store? Having driven up to Selmag, Maxim got out of the car and headed towards the entrance, politely greeting the women who were standing nearby.

They nodded back, looking at the man in surprise. “Who could it be?” asked Vera Platonovna, the village’s biggest gossip. “It seems a relative from the city has come to see the Trofimovs,” answered her neighbor Valentina cautiously.

“No,” objected the local postwoman Nyura, “that’s Lizka’s new husband, she came here with two kids.” “I saw it myself when I was delivering the mail. They say she left her husband and got together with this rich guy.”

They saw what kind of car he had, and his wealth and children were no obstacle. – Well, well, – Vera Platonovna waved her hands, and such a nice and quiet girl always greeted. It turned out that she was running from man to man.

“And how did you find out about this?” Polina Kuzminichna, an old friend of Nina Fedorovna, asked sternly as she left the store. “You’d only want to wag your tongues in vain and spread gossip around the village. Just try opening your mouth and slandering a girl.”

She looked angrily at the silent women, spat at their feet and headed towards home with her head held high. In the store, Maxim bought candy, cookies, sugar, butter, halva, the most expensive beer, in short, everything that caught his eye. He asked the saleswoman where he could buy meat to make shashlik in the evening.

Returning back, he began to take bags out of the trunk and bring them into the house. Nina Fyodorovna only threw up her hands, bringing another bag of groceries. “Maxim, did you rob a store?” she asked anxiously.

– No, – he laughed, – I made your store a year’s revenue. – By the way, I want to treat you to shashlik tonight. I bought meat from your neighbor especially for this.

– Bought some sweet nonsense, – grumbled Pavel Efimovich. – And you probably forgot about the beer? – I didn’t forget, Efimovich, here you go. He handed the man a large bag in which bottles of beer jingled.

Maxim marinated the meat, Pavel Efimovich heated up the bathhouse, and they lay down to rest a bit, and the women went out into the yard and sat on a bench, turning their faces to the spring sun. “It’s boring for me and my father now, it will be boring without you,” Nina Fyodorovna sighed. “We’ve gotten used to the kids, they’re so nice.”

– Yes, the children are really good. Sasha will go to school this year. Someday I will have to part with them, they will not need a nanny.

Liza looked longingly into the distance. “Mom,” she turned to the woman, “maybe I should get a child from the orphanage a little later?” “Don’t rush, daughter,” Nina Fyodorovna hugged Liza. “Maybe God will give you his own children.”

Life is such a thing, you never know how it will turn out. – And still, you won’t mind if I adopt someone else’s child? – There are no other people’s children, daughter, and it is not the children’s fault that they don’t have parents, but everyone dreams of finding them. And still, don’t rush for now, and then we’ll see.

Okay, let’s go collect your things. She got up from the bench, otherwise she wouldn’t have time in the evening. The men went to the bathhouse first, taking the children with them.

Pavel Efimovich spread a towel on the shelf, laid the boys on it and began to gently pat them with a warm birch broom. “Grandpa, it’s not painful or scary at all,” said the flushed Sasha. “Of course it’s not scary,” confirmed the grandfather, “after all, a bathhouse is for real men, and such men are not afraid of anything in life.”

– Yes, – Pashenka nodded, – now we are not afraid of anything, we are men. He said it so funny that Pavel Efimovich and Maxim laughed. – Now let us rub you with a washcloth and send you to grandma and nanny.

Having handed the boys over to Nina Fedorovna and Liza, the men returned to the bathhouse. “Well, Yegorych, hold on, I’m going to drive all the ailments out of you now,” said Pavel Yefimovich and splashed hot water from a ladle onto the stones. Maxim’s screams, which came from the bathhouse, could be heard even in the house.

The old man got hold of the young body, laughed Nina Fedorovna. – No problem, he can soar well. He even cured our chairman of radiculitis.

He just had a good steam in the bathhouse, now he runs around like a young goat. – Oh, what a nice bathhouse, – Maxim said with delight, going outside. City saunas are no comparison to a real village bathhouse.

– Well, – Pavel Efimovich proudly straightened his shoulders, – a village bathhouse has a soul, and, most importantly, it needs to be heated correctly. – How so? – Maxim did not understand. – Well, like this.

Pavel Efimovich lit a cigarette. If you light it in a bad mood, then the bathhouse will be heavy. But if you approach it with soul, bow, and talk to it, then it will be light-light, like today.

Only after that you need to thank her, to thank her for the warm welcome. You need to treat everything with love and respect, then you will receive it in return. – You are a wise man, Efimych, I am not wise, such is life.

We have only one, and we need to live it to the fullest, without wasting it on unnecessary vanity. – Tell me, Efimych, how can you get rid of mental pain if it gnaws at you every day? Pavel Efimovich looked closely at Maxim. – I’ll tell you this.

The pain needs to be experienced and let go. In no case should you hide the pain inside yourself. You need to live with it for some time, cry, scream, you need to get over it, and then it will get easier, at least a little.

And most importantly, you can’t isolate yourself from life, slowly, step by step, but return to it, and in no case close your heart to love. To yourself, to children, to other people. In any case, life goes on.

– Thank you, – Maxim hugged Pavel Efimych. – You just said the most important words for me. Nina Fyodorovna and Liza left the house and headed towards the bathhouse.

I feel sorry for my daughter. Pavel Efimovich nodded at the girl. Her life didn’t work out.

A scoundrel got himself a husband. – And my daughter is very good. And she told me that she is not married, Maxim was surprised.

Not anymore, she got divorced, and she didn’t have a husband as such, he only needed an apartment and a residence permit. And when a better option appeared, he left her, and even accused her of infertility. But the new wife cheated on him even before the wedding.

She wanted to attribute someone else’s child to him. Pavel Efimovich put out his cigarette. – Why are we gossiping like women?

Yegorych, are you thinking of making shashlik? The meat turned out very tasty, juicy and tender. Of course, it couldn’t have been done without Grandpa Pasha’s famous moonshine. Grandma Nina put the boys to bed and dozed off next to them.

The men were still sitting at the table and talking, and Liza, throwing a warm shawl over her shoulders, went out into the yard and sat down on a bench. She was sad to leave her home, where she had spent her entire childhood and youth. How good it was that Sasha and Pasha had appeared in her life, whom she looked after with tenderness and love.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the peace and quiet. “Am I disturbing you?” Liza shuddered and opened her eyes. Maksim Yegorovich was standing next to her. “No, of course not, sit down.”

She moved a little to the side. “The sky is so starry,” he said, raising his head. Lisa said nothing, remembering what she had told the children about their mother, the “little star,” who was now shining in the sky.

– You have very good parents, simple and very kind people. – Yes, – Lisa confirmed, – I love them very much. Now I understand where you get so much warmth from.

He looked closely at the girl and shuddered. It seemed to him that Natasha was sitting next to him with her hair down, as she always liked, and from whom a special warmth emanated. Maxim shook his head, apparently Pavel Efimych’s moonshine was making itself felt.

– It’s a pity, but we have to leave tomorrow, – Maxim sighed regretfully. – Of course, we’ve already packed our things, so we’ll get up, have breakfast and hit the road. – Elizaveta Pavlovna, thank you very much for… – Liza, just Liza, – she interrupted Maxim, – thank you that I spent this time with my parents and my beloved Sasha and Pashenka.

Excuse me, but I’m going to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow. She got up from the bench and headed towards the house.

Maxim watched her go and thought, maybe Efimych was right, and it was time to open his heart to new feelings. After all, life goes on. Grandma Nina cried when she saw Sasha and Pasha off the next day.

She hugged the boys, who were also wiping away tears and did not want to leave the village, which they liked so much. Sitting in the back seat of the car, Liza turned around and saw her parents standing near the house, waving their hands after the car was leaving. At the cottage, they were met by a joyful Anna Petrovna, who hugged the boys and Liza in turn, missing them after the sudden separation.

Life went on as usual, Liza continued to work with the children, especially with Sashenka, preparing him for school. One morning she saw Anna Petrovna getting ready to go somewhere, with a dark scarf tied around her head. They decided to go to the city, the girl asked her.

– No, – the woman answered sadly, – I’m going to the cemetery. Today is the anniversary of Natasha’s death. – Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.

Liza covered her mouth with her hand. “Okay, I’ll go. Look, Kirill has already arrived.” Anna Petrovna took her bag and headed for the exit.

Liza went up to the nursery, the boys were sitting at a small table. Sasha was showing his brother cubes with letters and explaining how to pronounce them. The girl looked at them tenderly, came up and stroked each of them on the head.

– Liza, I’m teaching Pasha to read, – Sasha turned to her. – He’ll soon go to school, like me. – Of course he will, – Liza confirmed, – and you’ll help him with his homework. Sasha looked proudly at his younger brother.

– Sashenka, you can already read. – Please, read a book to Pasha and me, and we’ll listen. The boy took a red cap from the shelf and began to read, carefully pronouncing the words.

Liza and Pashenka sat on the bed and listened attentively. He pressed himself against the girl, who hugged him and pressed him to herself. In the evening, after putting the children to bed, Liza, as usual, went downstairs and went into Anna Petrovna’s room.

She was sitting in a chair and holding a photograph of Natasha in her hands. “Come in, come in, Lizochka,” she put the photograph on the nightstand. “I’m sitting here, remembering my girl.”

Today at the cemetery I sat for a long time by her grave, told her how we live, told her about her sons, about what a good nanny they have and how she loves them. Liza lowered her eyes in embarrassment. “You know,” Anna Petrovna continued, “it seemed to me that Natasha with the photograph on the monument was smiling at me.

Before, I used to leave the cemetery with a heavy heart, but today my soul became lighter. We planted white lilacs next to Natasha’s grave, she loved them very much. So, while I was sitting there, some bird flew to the lilac branch and sang so joyfully.

Maybe it was Natasha’s soul that sang because everything was fine with us. – It’s quite possible, – Liza nodded her head, – I read that a person’s soul sees its relatives after death and tries to help them somehow, to protect them from problems, coming in a dream or sending some signs. – I never dream about them, Natasha, – Anna Petrovna sighed heavily.

Probably, so as not to upset him. But Maxim said that Natasha sometimes comes to him, says that she is always in white, with her hair down, comes into his bedroom, but does not go further than the threshold. So she stands there, looking at him.

Several times Maxim got up from the bed, approached his wife, tried to hug her, but hugged only emptiness. True, he did not understand whether all this was in a dream or on him. I noticed that the next day after this he always walked around not himself, sad, silent.

I feel so sorry for him. They say time heals, but not in our case. Having wished Anna Petrovna good night, Lisa went up to the second floor and went into the nursery.

The boys were fast asleep, Lisa adjusted their blanket, stood next to them for a while, listening to their sleepy breathing, and then headed in her direction. She went to the window, pulled the curtain and looked at the starry sky. Having singled out the brightest star that was sparkling in the sky, Lisa addressed it.

Natasha, I am very sorry that you left this earth so young. Don’t worry, your sons are fine. They love you and remember you.

Your husband Maxim misses you very much and yearns for you, and your mother Anya always remembers you. Tears were running down Lisa’s cheeks. She felt sorry for the beautiful woman Natasha to the depths of her soul.

Suddenly it seemed to her that the star she was addressing shone brighter, as if it were answering Liza that she could hear her. The girl waved her hand at the star, as Pasha and Sasha did, and, wiping away her tears, moved away from the window. She lay down in bed and tossed and turned for a long time; sleep would not come to her.

Then she turned on the light, took a book from the nightstand and tried to read, but her thoughts were far from the content, so she put the book aside. Lisa remembered that there was a medicine cabinet in the dining room downstairs, which contained some kind of sedative. Throwing on a white negligee, she went down to the first floor, it was dark all around, only small night lights were burning.

Liza opened the door to the dining room, which was illuminated only by the moonlight from the window, and froze on the threshold. Maxim Yegorovich was sitting at the table in the darkness, with an almost empty bottle of cognac in front of him, and in his hands he was holding a glass, the contents of which he had just drunk. The man was looking out the window and speaking quietly.

Well, Natasha, another year has passed without you. Forgive me, my dear, for not being able to protect you. I constantly scold myself for not insisting on your treatment.

Liza stood on the threshold, afraid to move. Thank you for our sons, Maxim continued, wiping away tears. Wonderful guys are growing up.

Do you remember that we dreamed of a daughter? But it’s not meant to be now. He sighed heavily. You come to me sometimes, but you just don’t let me touch you, you disappear right away.

“And I would so like to touch you, at least for a second, to hold you tightly, to kiss your soft lips. I beg you very much,” the man pleaded, “please come to me again.” He fell silent, turned to the table to pour the rest of the alcohol from the bottle into a glass, but his hand froze in the air.

At the threshold of the dining room he saw a woman in a white robe and with her hair down. “Natasha,” he said quietly, “you came to me.” Liza stood motionless, not knowing what to do next.

“Natashenka, don’t go, my dear, stay with me at least a little longer, I feel so bad without you,” Maxim said pleadingly. Liza stood with her eyes wide open and looked at him. On the one hand, she wanted to turn around and run to her room, but on the other, she felt so sorry for Maxim Yegorovich, who was now sincerely happy, having accepted her as his wife, and she decided to stay, deciding that maybe this way he would feel a little better.

Maxim stood up from his chair and began to carefully approach the door. He stretched out his hand, repeating only one thing. “Don’t disappear, please, don’t disappear, at least let me touch you.”

He came close to Lisa, stroked her hair, pulled her close and kissed her on the lips, then picked the girl up in his arms and carried her to his bedroom. Lisa woke up in the middle of the night, horrified by what had just happened, she turned her head and saw Maxim Yegorovich next to her, sleeping peacefully, smiling in his sleep. She quietly got out of bed, trying not to wake him, gathered her things and went out the door.

Once in her room, Liza sat on the bed and began to sob, she did not understand how she would now look Maxim Yegorovich in the eyes after what had happened between them. She was shaking nervously, Liza climbed under the hot shower to warm up. Then, wrapped in a blanket, she sat like that until the morning, without closing her eyes.

Having gathered her courage, she decided to go downstairs and ask Maxim’s forgiveness for misleading him by posing as his wife, only because she sincerely pitied the man. Maxim was having breakfast in the dining room and was in a good mood. “Good morning, Elizaveta Pavlovna,” he greeted Liza.

“You look wonderful today. Sit down and have some coffee with me.” The girl looked at him and understood that Maxim Yegorovich did not remember anything that happened between them that night.

Apparently, yesterday he was so drunk that he didn’t realize what he was doing. “No, thank you,” Lisa stepped back, “I usually have breakfast with the boys. By the way, I’ll go and see if they’re awake yet.”

She turned around and quickly started to climb the stairs to the second floor. A little later, Anna Petrovna entered the dining room and looked at Maxim with surprise. “You seem very pleased this morning, Maximushka.

“What made you so happy?” she asked. “Petrovna, Natasha came to me yesterday and even let me touch her. She was so gentle and warm-warm.”

The woman looked at Maxim with distrust. “How much did you drink yesterday?” “To be honest, I don’t remember,” he lowered his head guiltily.

“Kirill took me to the cemetery. There I remembered Natasha, then we went to some restaurant, but I also drank a little at home.” Anna Petrovna shook her head.

“Petrovna, don’t scold me. Well, you know that I don’t drink. But yesterday I felt so bad at heart.”

Alcohol at least dulled the pain a little. “Everything is clear with you,” Anna Petrovna waved her hand. “You got drunk, that’s why you imagined Natasha.

“You think?” Maxim wrinkled his forehead. “But it seemed to me that it all happened in reality, although you’re probably right. You need to drink less.

Remember how the main character spoke in the famous film? He got up from his chair, put on his jacket and looked at his watch. “Okay, I have to go. Kirill has already arrived.

Until the evening.” Anna Petrovna looked after him and sighed. “Oh, Maxim, you need to get married, otherwise you’ll completely wear yourself out.

The only problem is that other women don’t seem to exist for you.” Seeing through the window that Maxim had left, Lisa went downstairs again to drink coffee. The sleepless night was taking its toll.

“Lizonka, what’s wrong with you?” Anna Petrovna looked at the girl with concern. “Are you sick? Look at the dark circles under your eyes.” “No, no, everything’s fine,” she reassured the woman.

“I just have a headache, maybe the weather will change.” “Maxim has a headache too,” Anna Petrovna smiled. “Just from something else.

“Can you imagine,” he told me that yesterday he hugged Natasha, who came to him again.” Hearing this, Liza turned pale and grabbed the table with her hand. “Are you scared?” Anna Petrovna became alarmed again.

“Don’t be afraid, Maxim drank a little too much alcohol yesterday. That’s why he imagined it. He himself doesn’t really remember anything.”

“Anna Petrovna, can you feed the boys when they wake up,” Liza asked her. “I’ll go lie down for a bit, my head hurts even more.” “Go, go, Lizochka, rest,” the woman stroked her hand.

“Don’t worry, I’ll feed the kids and read them a book.” Liza went into her room, lay down on her bed and immediately fell asleep, sleeping almost until lunch. When she woke up, she decided that “nothing terrible had happened, the main thing is that Maxim Yegorovich doesn’t remember anything, and Liza certainly won’t tell anyone anything.”

Little by little, Liza began to forget what had happened between her and Maxim Yegorovich. He was still polite to her, addressing her only by her first name and patronymic. One morning, getting out of bed, Liza almost fell, her head was spinning and her vision was dark.

She sank back down on the bed, not understanding what was happening to her. After sitting on the bed for a while, Lisa stood up again, this time everything was fine, and she decided that it was because the weather outside was bad, it was raining. She went down the stairs to the first floor to have a cup of coffee, but as soon as the aroma of coffee floated through the dining room, she felt sick, and she, holding her mouth, barely managed to run to the bathroom.

“What’s going on today?” she thought, “nothing like this has ever happened before.” There was a noise upstairs, the boys woke up, and Lisa hurried to them. The day passed normally, and the girl had already forgotten what had happened to her in the morning.

She only started to worry the next day, when she barely smelled the coffee and felt sick again, and she barely managed to run to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror hanging above the sink, Lisa wiped the sweat from her forehead and thought with fear that maybe she had developed the same illness as Natasha. After all, Anna Petrovna had once said that she often felt dizzy and nauseous.

“Lizonka, why are you so pale?” Anna Petrovna was alarmed when she saw Liza coming out of the bathroom. “Don’t worry, everything is fine,” the girl reassured her, “you imagined it.” Anna Petrovna looked at her carefully, but said nothing.

Morning sickness no longer bothered Lisa, but now everything began to irritate her, especially the children with whom she spent a lot of time. She did not understand what was happening to her. Before, their childish pranks only made her feel tender, but now she was ready to spank them for the slightest offense.

Liza tried to restrain her emotions as best she could, but the boys began to notice that the nanny had become much stricter with them and no longer participated in their children’s games as before. And sometimes, on the contrary, Liza was overcome with such a feeling of tenderness for them that she tirelessly hugged the boys to herself, kissing their light heads. Even her food preferences changed.

Now at the table she tried to eat something salty first, and only then would she start on the main dishes. “Liza, I don’t understand what’s been happening to you lately?” Anna Petrovna began the conversation cautiously. “Your mood has started to change often, you’re drawn to salty things, and you’ve become somewhat sluggish.

“Are you pregnant by any chance?” she asked bluntly. The girl laughed. “From whom, Anna Petrovna? You know that I don’t have a husband.

And we got divorced because I can’t have children.” “It’s all strange,” the woman shook her head, “you should get checked by a doctor, otherwise, God forbid, it turns out like with Natasha.” She fell silent, not finishing the sentence, wiping away a tear that rolled down her cheek.

In order not to upset Anna Petrovna, Liza promised her that she would undergo a full examination at the clinic. And, taking a day off in the middle of the week, she went there. The therapist questioned and examined the girl, wrote out a referral for tests and, smiling, said, “I think I can guess the cause of your illness.”

“Doctor, is it something serious?” Lisa was frightened. “Well, I don’t know about each person,” the doctor answered evasively. “Here’s a referral to room 102.

I think they will confirm my diagnosis there.” She handed the girl a small piece of paper with a seal. Lisa took it with trembling hands and went to look for the right office.

Approaching the door, she saw the number 102 and the sign “Gynecologist”. Lisa knocked timidly and, seeing and hearing “Come in”, timidly opened the door. 30 minutes later, she left the office in complete confusion, not knowing how to react to what the doctor told her after the examination.

“Congratulations, you’re pregnant.” – “Me? Pregnant?” – “It can’t be,” Lisa stood in the middle of the office, not believing what she had heard. – “Why can’t it be?” the doctor was surprised.

– “It’s a completely normal phenomenon for a woman.” – “I can’t have children,” tears appeared in Lisa’s eyes. – “Who told you that? The doctors?” – “No, my ex-husband.”

– “Oh, husband!” – the doctor laughed. – “No, dear, you really are pregnant. By the way…” The woman frowned.

– “Do you want to keep the baby or…” – “Keep it, of course, keep it,” Lisa interrupted her. – “I’ve been dreaming about this for so long.” – “Well, that’s a clever girl.

Now I will write out a referral to do the necessary tests and give you the necessary recommendations.” So now Lisa was sitting on a bench near the hospital, holding the referral forms in her hands, and she couldn’t believe what had happened. She was going to have a baby.

After so many years of waiting, hoping, disappointment, she will finally become a mother. – “But what about my boys, Sasha and Pasha…” – Lisa gasped. – “I won’t be able to continue working as a nanny.”

What a pity to part with them. She brushed away a tear. “I have become so attached to them, and they to me, too.

What should I do?” Lisa couldn’t find an answer to these questions yet. She got up from the bench and headed towards the bus stop. While she was riding the bus, she decided that the most important thing now was to see Sasha off to first grade, because she had promised him that she would be there on this important day for him.

And then… then we’ll see what to do next. For now, she decided not to tell anyone about her pregnancy, she was afraid to jinx it. – “Lizonka, so what?” – the doctor said, and a worried Anna Petrovna met her at the threshold.

– “It’s nothing serious,” smiled Lisa, “just a little tired.” – “Maybe you should ask Maxim for a vacation?” suggested the woman. – “You can go somewhere and relax.”

– “A wonderful idea,” Lisa supported her. – “When Sashenka starts studying, then you can think about a vacation.” – “Come on, I’ll make you some herbal tea,” Anna Petrovna bustled about.

– “And you’re probably hungry.” After dinner, Lisa went up to her room, went to the mirror, looked at herself from all sides and gently stroked her belly, which was still completely unnoticeable. – “You’re my baby, only mine, no one will know who your father is, to whom I am very grateful for the happiness that will soon appear to me.”

The morning of the first of September was warm and sunny. Sasha stood impatiently in the hall and waited for everyone to finally gather and go to the gymnasium where he would now study. They went in two cars, Liza with the children settled in Maxim Yegorovich’s car, and Anna Petrovna in the car driven by Kirill.

The entrance to the gymnasium was decorated with balloons and bright posters, music was playing, first-graders were clinging to their parents, curiously looking at everything around them, and senior students were overjoyed to meet each other. Having managed to miss each other during the summer holidays. Finally, they announced the start of the assembly, the director congratulated everyone on the new school year through the microphone.

The schoolchildren performed, reciting poems and singing songs about school. Everything was festive and solemn. Liza and Anna Petrovna stood with wet eyes, admiring their first-grader Sasha, who stood with a serious expression on his face, clutching a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

The school bell rang and balloons were released into the sky, quickly spinning, rising to the clouds. The first-graders, led by their teacher, climbed the steps to the porch of the gymnasium and went to their first lesson in their lives. Before entering the door, Sasha looked back and waved to his family and nanny.

Lisa’s heart sank with joy and sorrow at the same time. She was glad that Sashenka had entered a new stage in his life, that he would have new friends and interests. She was saddened by the fact that soon, very soon, she would have to say goodbye to Sasha and Pasha, to whom she had become so attached with all her heart and had already managed to fall in love.

Kirill drove them back home, and Maxim went to work right after the end of the ceremonial assembly. Liza looked out the car window and thought about how unfair life was, why one always had to make a choice, sometimes a very difficult one. Time passed, and Liza could not decide to tell Maxim Yegorovich about her dismissal, although with each passing day it was becoming harder and harder for her to perform the functions of a nanny.

It was good that Sasha was studying the first half of the day, but Pashenka also demanded maximum attention. And Liza once again wanted to just lie on the bed, she was constantly sleepy. In addition, her belly began to grow, she tried to hide it by wearing loose clothes.

“Liza, did it seem to me, or have you gained weight?” Anna Petrovna asked her directly when, as usual, the girl came into her room in the evening. Liza lowered her head; there was no point in hiding her condition any more. “I’m expecting a baby,” she said quietly.

“What child?” Anna Petrovna did not understand. “Sasha and Pashenka seem to be at home with us.” “I’m expecting my child,” Liza still did not raise her eyes.

“Are you pregnant?” Anna Petrovna was taken aback. “Yes,” the girl answered briefly. “But I guessed from the very beginning,” the woman said irritably.

“Only you deceived me,” she said, saying that it was simply fatigue. Liza sank into a chair and burst into tears. Anna Petrovna looked at her helplessly, then came up and gently stroked Liza’s hair.

“Why are you crying? It’s so good that you’re going to be a mother, you’ve been dreaming about it for so long.” “Yes, I have,” Lisa choked. “But now I’ll have to leave this house, parting with everyone.”

“What can you do,” Anna spread her hands. “The most important thing now is that you need to think about the child, and you can always come visit us, we will be very happy to see you.” She hugged Lisa.

“By the way, was the child’s father happy about this news?” Liza pulled back and looked at Anna Petrovna with fear. “No,” she answered hastily, “he doesn’t know anything, this is my child, only mine.” Liza began to pace nervously around the room.

“Calm down,” Anna Petrovna sat Liza down on the table again. “Of course, it’s your child, but perhaps the father should know about its existence.” “Why? He already has children, and besides, he loves another woman, and I am absolutely indifferent to him.”

“Yes, the situation,” Anna Petrovna sighed, “well, never mind, you can handle the baby yourself, and your parents will help. But I don’t know how to tell Maxim Yegorovich about my dismissal, he’ll probably be angry that he’ll have to look for a new nanny again.” Liza looked sadly at Anna Petrovna.

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him, I think he’ll understand.” “Thank you very much,” Lisa finally smiled, “but I don’t know how to explain to the boys that they’ll have a new nanny.” “And I advise you to tell the boys everything as it is.

They are very smart and love it when you talk to them like adults. The main thing is, don’t disappear suddenly, it might scare them, and they’ll think that you’ve abandoned them, like Mom Natasha.” Lisa got up from her chair and pressed herself against the woman.

She was now very grateful for the support and advice, so necessary in this situation. The next evening, Maxim Yegorovich invited Liza to his office. “Anna Petrovna told me everything.”

He looked straight at Lisa. “I congratulate you, of course, but to be honest, I can’t say that I’m happy about this news.” Lisa stood silently, her eyes downcast.

“Given the current situation,” he continued, “I certainly don’t dare detain you. I have only one request of you. Please stay until I find a new nanny.”

“Okay,” Lisa stammered, “I’ll stay with the children as long as necessary, don’t worry.” She left the office, her legs shaking, but she was very glad that the conversation had taken place and now she no longer had to hide her situation. As soon as the door closed behind Lisa, Maxim went to the window and looked out into the yard.

Autumn had already come into its own, the grass had withered, the leaves were falling from the trees, and his soul felt sad. But why was such a wonderful girl like Lisa leaving his house? When she got a job here, she seemed to say that she was not married. How did it happen that she was pregnant? However, what was he talking about? Lisa was a young, beautiful girl, and of course she had a personal life, but he still couldn’t look at other women, comparing them to Natasha.

But Liza is so similar to his wife, so kind, so gentle, and treats his sons like family. He sat down at the table and clasped his head in his hands, only now he began to understand that he was not indifferent to Liza. Pavel Efimovich was right when he said that you need to open your heart and let go of the past.

Now his heart is open, but it’s too late. As the saying goes, what we have we don’t treasure, when we lose it we cry. But why did he only realize this now, when it was too late to change anything? Out of anger and helplessness, Maxim swept the papers off the table, scattering them all over the floor.

Liza decided to talk to the boys the next day. After waiting for Sasha to return from school, she fed them lunch, and they all went up to the nursery together. Having seated the boy on the table, she sat down next to him and, gathering her courage, said.

– You are already big, so I want to talk to you as adults. She looked at her brothers tenderly. – I want to tell you that you will soon have a new nanny.

– Will we have two nannies? – Sasha frowned. – No, you will have one nanny, but not me, a completely different one. – And where will you go? – Pasha asked artlessly.

– It so happened that I will soon leave you. Lisa looked at the boys, watching their reaction. – You will disappear, like our mother, – Sasha sniffled.

– Will you become a star too? Looking at his brother, Pashenka also began to wipe away tears. – What’s wrong, baby? – She hugged the boy. – Of course not, I’ll just have a baby and I’ll have to look after it.

The boys stopped crying and stared at Lisa. “But I will always, always love you and even come to visit,” she reassured her brothers, barely holding back her tears. “Will you come to visit us with your child?” Sasha asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Lisa confirmed, “and we will all play together, like before. Not right away, of course, but when he grows up a little.” “That’s a long wait,” Sasha sighed.

– But you grew up quickly. Now you’re going to school. Soon Pashenka will be studying.

She stroked the boys’ heads. “And maybe you’ll come visit us too. Agreed?” “Great,” the children rejoiced.

– We will visit each other. Two weeks later, Liza stood in the hall, saying goodbye to the people who had become so close to her. Sasha and Pashenka cried, hugging their beloved nanny Liza, and she wiped away their tears and said.

– Don’t cry, my dears, I love you very much and will always love you. But the boys still did not calm down, pressing closer and closer to her. – We will see each other soon, – she promised the boys, giving herself her word that she would definitely visit the boys, to whom she had become attached with all her heart.

The new nanny, Polina Viktorovna, hugged the boys and led them to the nursery. On the stairs, Sasha and Pasha stopped, waving their hands at Liza, sending air kisses. – It seems that the boys liked Polina Viktorovna, Anna Petrovna looked at the stairs, turning to Liza.

– Yes, – she agreed, – I liked her too, a kind and calm woman. She has two grandchildren herself, though they live far away, in another country, and she misses them very much, so I think she won’t offend our boys. – Lizochka, I will miss you, – Anna Petrovna cried and hugged the girl.

Lisa also burst into tears. She had become very attached to this woman, who at first seemed very strict to her. “I will miss you too, but we will call each other often.”

You have my phone number, right? – Take care of yourself, my girl. And take care of the baby, too. Anna Petrovna gently stroked Liza’s belly.

Maxim Yegorovich came out of the dining room and approached Liza. Anna Petrovna tactfully withdrew. He handed the girl a plump envelope.

– This is your salary. And a bonus, so to speak, for good work. He looked Lisa straight in the eyes and again reproached himself for letting her go.

She also looked at him, realizing that she would miss him very much. After all, she had been hopelessly in love with him for a long time, hiding this love even from herself, realizing that she had no chance of winning the heart of this man, which forever belonged to another. Her love was unrequited.

This made Liza a little sad, but at the same time she was very grateful to fate that she still carried a piece of her beloved man under her heart. “Goodbye, Elizaveta Pavlovna. Although no, Liza, just Liza,” he corrected himself.

– Remember what you asked me to call you? Maxim took her hand and held it in his. – Thank you for our sons, for bringing us all back to life. Liza wanted to answer something, but she couldn’t, her throat tightened, and she turned away so that Maxim Yegorovich wouldn’t see her tears.

Kirill took her home, helped her carry her things, and Lisa was left alone in an empty apartment, where she could already give in to her tears. After taking the next tests and undergoing a routine examination, Lisa decided to go to the village to her parents, who did not yet know about her pregnancy. Seeing her daughter on the threshold of her home, Nina Fyodorovna immediately went to Kirill in alarm.

– Liza, did something happen? Have you ever come to visit us in the middle of the week? – Calm down, Mom, everything is fine, – the daughter smiled, – I just missed you very much, so I decided to come. – And what about the kids, who did they stay with? – the woman asked worriedly. – They stayed with Polina Viktorovna, their new nanny.

“I don’t understand anything,” Nina Fyodorovna frowned, “did they fire you or did you leave yourself?” Liza didn’t have time to answer. Her father entered the room and, seeing her, stopped at the threshold. “Daughter, how did you decide to come to us? Let me hug you.”

He took a step forward to come to his daughter, but she stepped back, stretching out her hand in front of her, trying to protect her protruding belly. “Liza, are you pregnant?” he was taken aback, looking at his daughter. “Lizochka, is this true?”

Nina Fyodorovna waved her hands in amazement. “It’s true, Mom, it’s true. Did it really go unnoticed?” “You got back together with Anton?” Mother asked cautiously.

– What makes you think that? – Lisa was amazed. – Of course not. I had already forgotten about him.

“Then who is the child’s father?” Nina Fedorovna asked, puzzled. “Mom, let’s talk later,” the girl stopped her. “I’m tired from the road and want to lie down.”

My lower back started to hurt. – What are you harping on about? Who’s the father, who’s the father? – Pavel Efimovich mimicked his wife. – What difference does it make who he is? The main thing is that we’ll have a grandson or granddaughter.

– Daughter, maybe you want to eat? – the mother asked. – I’ll quickly warm everything up. – No, mom, later.

I’ll lie down anyway. Liza went into her room, lay down on her bed and fell asleep right away, not even feeling her mother cover her with a warm blanket. She woke up when it was already completely dark outside.

In the front room, the parents were talking quietly and the smell of food was delicious. She stretched sweetly and realized that she was very hungry. “Sit down, my dear, I’ll pour you some fresh soup now,” Nina Fyodorovna bustled about, seeing her daughter enter the room.

– And I also baked your favorite pancakes. Liza ate the rich soup with pleasure, washed down the delicious pancakes with fresh milk that her mother brought from the neighbor, and sat back in her chair, satisfied. The mother and father admired their daughter, who was very beautiful due to her pregnancy.

– So who will grandma and I have, a grandson or a granddaughter? – Pavel Efimovich asked. – I don’t know, dad, – Liza stroked her belly. – I don’t care, I didn’t even do an ultrasound to find out who it will be.

– That’s true, – Nina Fyodorovna smiled. – We will be happy to have both a grandson and a granddaughter, the main thing is that the baby is born healthy. – Tomorrow we need to find the crib in the attic that you slept in, – Pavel Efimovich became concerned.

“Dad, it’s too early to take out the crib,” Lisa laughed. “It’s not too early,” her father frowned. “I still need to fix it up.”

– By the way, we also need to find the box with your toys. – Mother, – he turned to his wife, – do you remember where we hid it? – Oh, – Lisa remembered, – Maxim Yegorovich paid me such a bonus that it will be enough for everything, even for new toys. Lisa’s eyes did not escape her mother’s attention when she said Maxim’s name.

She decided to talk to her daughter when the opportunity presented itself, which soon did not take long to arrive. The next evening, when her father had already gone to bed, they were sitting in Liza’s room and talking about their own, feminine things. Liza asked her mother about her childhood, what she was like, whether she was obedient or not.

Nina Fyodorovna happily recalled the past and told about Liza’s pranks and, as if by chance, asked, what will your child’s patronymic be? “Maksimovich,” Liza blurted out and bit her lip, realizing that she had let it slip. Nina Fyodorovna looked closely at her daughter and asked directly, “Does Maksim know that this is his child?” Liza covered her face with her hands, sighed heavily and told her mother everything that had happened.

– Liza, how can this be? – exclaimed the mother. – You should have confessed everything to him, it’s wrong, he should know that you are expecting a child from him. – No, Mom, no, – Liza answered firmly. – Maxim Yegorovich is a very decent person, and most likely he would have suggested that I stay in his house to raise our child together.

But it would only be out of a sense of duty, not love. And I can’t do that, I would love him more and more every day, receiving only indifference in return. We would be united, we would be united only by a child, and in Maxim’s eyes I would be just a nanny, only of three children.

– Well, I don’t know, daughter, – the mother sighed, – maybe everything would have worked out for you in the future. It’s impossible, – Liza hugged her mother, – I saw how he still loves his wife. But soon I will have a baby, which I dreamed about so much and waited for so long.

– Oh, I don’t know, – the mother repeated again, – Mom, I have a favor to ask of you, please don’t tell anyone about what I told you, not even Dad, promise? Liza looked at her mother pleadingly. – Okay, I promise, – Nina Fyodorovna smiled. Liza often called Anna Petrovna, they talked for a long time, she told her about what was happening in their house.

Polina Viktorovna treats the boys well, helps Sasha with his homework, reads books to Pashenka, but the kids are a little bored with her. Due to her age, the nanny does not take part in their noisy children’s games, as Lisa did, but only stands aside and watches so that nothing happens to the children. And Maxim is completely sad.

He stopped coming home for lunch, and even after dinner in the evening, he immediately went to his office. And Anna Petrovna also told that he removed Natasha’s photo from his nightstand from his desk, and it had also disappeared from his bedroom. Now Anna Petrovna didn’t know what to think, but when the boys remembered Liza in his presence, he smiled and his eyes warmed.

One day, Liza went to the city for another check-up, and in a rush, she left her phone at home. Nina Fedorovna was just preparing dinner when it rang. Anna Petrovna appeared on its display.

At first the woman did not want to answer the call, but the phone rang so persistently, and she, thinking that something important had happened, answered the call by pressing the green button. “Lizonka, why haven’t you picked up the phone for so long, I’m starting to worry.” Anna Petrovna’s voice really sounded very worried.

“It’s not Liza, it’s her mother,” Nina Fyodorovna answered in a listening tone. “Is everything okay with Liza?” Anna Petrovna became worried. “Yes, everything is fine,” Nina Fyodorovna softened.

“She went to town and left her phone at home.” “I hope she went with her husband, because it’s slippery outside now.” “With whom?” Nina Fyodorovna didn’t understand.

“But with her husband,” Anna said uncertainly, “or rather, with the child’s father.” “And you don’t know who the father of Liza’s child is?” Nina Fedorovna exclaimed. “Liza said that you were very close when she lived in your house.”

“How would I know who the father is?” Anna was taken aback. “Liza never told me anything about him. I assume it’s her ex-husband.”

“Anton,” laughed Nina Fyodorovna. “No, Liza has already forgotten about him.” “Who then?” Anna continued to be perplexed.

It seemed she hadn’t met anyone else, and even tried to spend her weekends with her children. “But this is your Maxim,” Nina Fyodorovna blurted out and bit her tongue, realizing she had blurted out too much. “How is Maxim?” Anna Petrovna was speechless.

Realizing that there was nowhere to retreat, Nina Fyodorovna began to babble. “Don’t get me wrong, we’re not offended by him. We’d even like to say a huge thank you to him.”

“I don’t understand anything,” Anna Petrovna thought. “I didn’t notice anything like that about them.” “Liza told me that it happened unexpectedly.”

And Nina Fedorovna told her interlocutor everything that her daughter had told her. “So it was true,” the woman gasped. “But I didn’t pay attention to Maxim’s words when he said that the woman he had seen was tender and very warm.

“What should I do now?” Anna Petrovna sobbed. “I didn’t tell you anything,” Nina Fyodorovna was frightened. “I promised Liza that I would keep her secret, but I couldn’t resist and let it slip.

But only to you, no one else, even my husband doesn’t know anything.” “We must tell Maxim everything,” Anna Petrovna answered decisively. “No, don’t even think about it,” Nina Fyodorovna said no less decisively.

“We will raise this child ourselves, and we don’t need anything from you.” The woman ended the call and hung up. Lisa was helping her mother peel potatoes when she heard the noise of a car pulling up to the house.

“Mom, it seems like someone has come to visit us,” she said to Nina Fedorovna. “Don’t make up stories about who might come to visit us. You’re imagining things,” she reassured her daughter.

“I’ll go anyway, I’ll look out the window.” Before Liza had time to get up from the stool they were sitting on, the front door swung open and Sasha and Pasha literally flew into the room, followed by Anna Petrovna. “Liza, the children rushed to her.

“We missed you so much,” the girl stood in the middle of the room, not believing her eyes. “Lizonka, my dear,” Anna Petrovna hugged her, not holding back her tears, “I missed you so much too.” The boys were already hugging Grandma Nina, telling her that they had come for Liza, who they would take back to their home.

“How can you take Liza away?” Nina did not understand. “Who would let her go with you?” “Come on in, why are you huddling here?” Pavel Efimovich’s voice was heard from the hallway. The door opened again, Pavel Efimovich entered, followed by Maxim with a large bouquet of white roses.

He stopped at the threshold and silently looked at Lisa. “Come on, guys, let’s go take off your jackets, it’s hot in our house.” Nina Fyodorovna took the children by the hands and led them into another room.

Anna Petrovna followed her, looking meaningfully at Maxim. “I forgot my shovel in the yard,” Pavel Efimovich remembered. “I’ll go clean it up.”

Winking at Lisa, he walked out the door. Maxim and Lisa were left alone in the room. He handed her a bouquet of flowers, and Lisa inhaled their delicate aroma.

Liza turned to her Maxim. “When you left our house, I realized how dear you are to me and I was very upset that you belong to another and are even expecting a child from him. You can’t even imagine how happy I was when I learned from Anna Petrovna that you are expecting a child from me and there is no other man in your life.

Forgive me that everything happened so absurdly, but believe me that in my dreams sometimes I saw only you, imagining you in my arms. But I was afraid to admit even to myself that I fell in love with you. But your father said correctly that it was time to open my heart.

I opened it, and it was you who settled in it forever. Lisa…” Maxim knelt before her. “I love you and ask you to become my wife.”

The girl looked at him and suddenly gasped in surprise. The baby started moving in her belly. She grabbed her belly and laughed.

“Well, even the baby supports his daddy.” Then she looked at Maxim and quietly said, “I forgive you.” She thought for a while and after a while said, “I agree to marry you.”

The children ran into the room, surrounding their father and Lisa. “Are you going to live with us now?” they asked her. “Yes,” Lisa confirmed, “now I will always be with you.”

“Hurray!” the boys shouted. “Grandma Nina! Petlovna! Did you hear?” They turned to the women who stood at the threshold of the room and wiped their eyes wet with tears. “Liza will now always live with us.”

Pasha came up to Liza and touched her belly. “Are you sure you’re going to have a baby? Your belly is really big. Maybe you’d better give birth to an elephant?” Everyone laughed.

Nina Fyodorovna began to fuss, setting the table, and Anna Petrovna volunteered to help her. Maxim hugged Liza and said, “I hope that we will have a beautiful daughter, very similar to her mother. After all, you and I already have two sons, right?” He looked at her carefully.

“It’s true,” Lisa answered seriously, “we have the best sons in the world, and I love them very much.” The house was in a joyful bustle. Everyone was waiting for Lisa and the baby to arrive from the maternity hospital, and Maxim had gone to pick them up.

The day before, Nina Fyodorovna and Pavel Efimovich had arrived from the village, and they were all asking Anna Petrovna who had been born to them, a grandson or a granddaughter. “I don’t know,” the woman waved them off, “Maxim didn’t tell me either, who was born, a boy or a girl. He only said that everything went well, Liza feels great and everything is fine with the baby, and he added that a surprise awaits us.”

Finally, a car pulled up to the porch, with Kirill at the wheel. Maxim got out of the car, holding a bundle with a baby in his arms, tied with a blue ribbon. Everyone surrounded the happy father and looked with affection at the baby, who was sleeping sweetly, smacking his lips.

“He looks like you, Maksimushka,” Nina Fyodorovna said quietly, so as not to wake the boy. “We’ve decided what to name the boy,” Pavel Efimovich asked, looking at his grandson. “Liza and I have decided that we’ll name him Kolenka, Nikolai.”

“By the way, where is Lisa?” the women suddenly realized. “I’m here,” Lisa stood at the threshold, also holding a bundle with a child in her arms, only tied with a pink ribbon. “So you’re having twins?” everyone looked at the happy mother in amazement.

“A boy and a girl!” “Well, daughter, what a fine girl,” Grandpa Pasha rejoiced. “You’ve given birth to a grandson and a granddaughter at once.” Now everyone surrounded Liza, looking at the little girl.

“The daughter looks just like her mother,” Nina Fyodorovna burst into tears. “You’ll probably name her Ekaterina,” Pavel Efimovich suggested. “No,” Liza answered quietly, “I decided to name my daughter Natasha.”

Everyone fell silent in amazement and looked at Lisa and Maxim, who turned to her and said, “Thank you, my love, for filling my life with so much light and joy. Thank you for the little angels you gave me.

Thank you for the boundless love you give to our sons. Lisa looked at her husband tenderly and laid her head on his shoulder. Once she dreamed of having at least one child, and now she has four – three sons and a beautiful daughter.

And next to her is a loving and beloved man, and she is very, very happy.