З життя
Ми розлучилися місяць тому. Ти ще нічого не забув?
“Ми розлучилися з тобою ще місяць тому. Ти нічого не забув?”
— Павле, ти пам’ятаєш, що сьогодні останній день, коли ти живеш у моєму домі? — запитала Ліка.
— Що ти маєш на увазі? Вже?
— Так, а чому тебе це здивувало? Ми ж домовились, що до 26 травня ти вирішиш питання з квартирою, а поки можеш жити тут.
— Час якось швидко пролетів…
Справа була в тому, що Павло і Ліка розлучилися місяць тому. Але її колишньому чоловікові було зовсім нікуди йти. Він не міг знайти відповідне житло. Чи просто не намагався? Це вже інше питання.
— Не заливай мені. Завтра ти виселяєшся!
— Але куди?
— Не знаю. Це вже не мої проблеми.
Павло відразу підхопився з крісла.
— Як же так, Ліка? Ми ж сім’я.
— Ми? Немає більше “ми”. Ми розлучилися ще місяць тому. Ти нічого не забув?
— Кажу ж, час летить дуже швидко.
— Ще раз… Не заливай мені.
Насправді Павлові дійсно не було куди йти. Друзів у нього не залишилося, адже з багатьма випадкове життя розвело. Хтось виявився не найприємнішою людиною.
Родичі живуть у області, а до знайомих ночувати явно не підеш. І як же бути тепер? Одна надія була переконати Ліку.
І якщо ночувати можна хоч на вокзалі, то була ще одна причина, з якої її колишній чоловік не хотів покидати квартиру.
— Ти знаєш, а я ж до останнього надіявся.
— На що?
— Що ми ще будемо разом.
Тут Ліка розсміялася, а Павла це, очевидно, зачепило.
— Я сказав щось смішне?
— А тобі самому не смішно?
— Мені ні.
— А мені так. Слухай, досить уже комедію розігрувати й дитині гратися. Зрештою, ми дорослі люди.
— Саме тому я й хочу поговорити по-дорослому. Ліка, ти зрозумій, ми через дурницю розлучилися.
Колишня дружина навіть підняла брову від здивування.
— Ти вважаєш, що постійне обманювання людини — це дурниця?
— Ні, я не це мав на увазі.
— Я тебе зрозуміла!
— Так ні ж! Ми гарячкували, таке буває. Ліка, але ми адже можемо почати все спочатку. Будь ласка!
Ліка була просто вражена такому. Лише не могла зрозуміти — її колишній чоловік сходить з розуму чи йому дійсно немає де жити.
— Я сказала, вистачить мені голову морочити. Збирай свої речі. Завтра ти покидаєш цю квартиру.
Але Павло жодним чином не заспокоювався. Він продовжував наполягати і наводити нові й нові аргументи. Один із них взагалі став нонсенсом!
— Як ти не розумієш, я ж залишився тобі вірний!
— Це ти до чого зараз?
— А до того, що з моменту нашого розлучення я ні з ким і ніде.
Тут вже Ліка схопилася за голову. Напевно, Павло дійсно почав втрачати розум.
— Яке мені до цього діло? Якщо чесно, мене абсолютно не цікавить, з ким ти там спиш!
— А мене це турбує. Ну, не можу я, Ліка, ні з ким, окрім тебе. І з тобою зараз не можу… Бо…
Тут Ліка перебила його.
— Так, все, не продовжуй.
Вона зібралася і пішла на прогулянку. Лиш би не бачити цього Павла.
Насправді вийшло ось як. Розлучитися з ним вона планувала давно. Але все відкладала, бо якось було жаль. Зрештою, прожили вони разом 5 років і важко було прийняти таке рішення.
Однак постійна брехня чоловіка не давала їй спокою. Причому брехав він стосовно роботи. Увесь час вигадував, що його начальник підвищив і він тепер на престижній посаді працює. А насправді залишився таким же рядовим менеджером із зарплатою 20 тисяч гривень на місяць. Це й стало останньою краплею у їхніх стосунках.
Навіщо було брехати? Невідомо!
Ліка розмірковувала протягом усього вечора. Їй не хотілося йти додому, тому вирішила залишитися у подруги. Звісно ж, Павло обірвав їй весь телефон дзвінками. Але брати трубку вона не збиралася, так само, як і звітувати перед ним.
— Я не розумію, Ліка. Ну, яка ж ти мати Тереза така?
— У сенсі?
— Я про твого Павла. Сама ж винна. От тепер він і не хоче виїжджати.
— Так так, сама розумію, що стерпіла дурощі. Ну, не виганяти ж на вулицю…
— Так завтра все одно виганяєш. Чи ні?
— Виганю. Бо завжди слово тримаю.
— Жалкуєш?
— Нема про що жалкувати. Я ж не дитину виганяю, а дорослого чоловіка, який сам у стані розібратися зі своїм життям.
Наступного дня Ліка повернулася додому, але не побачила валізи свого колишнього чоловіка у її порога.
— Ти ще й досі тут?
— Ліка! Де ти була? — вигукнув Павло.
— Це тебе вже не стосується.
— Ти ночувала у чоловіка?
— Ще раз повторюю: не твоє діло! Збирай речі й вимітайся звідси!
Тут Павло почав майже водити навколо колишньої дружини.
— Ліка, послухай, ну, я справді так не можу. Я ж хвилювався за тебе!
— Досить! Вимітайся, я сказала.
Але на Павла ніби не діяли її слова. Або ж він робив вигляд, що не чує її.
— Я ж тобі вірність зберігаю, ти не розумієш?
Ліка зрозуміла, що ця розмова безглузда і ні до чого не призведе.
— У тебе 5 хвилин. Інакше я дзвоню у поліцію.
Але Павло не повірив і Ліці довелося зробити те, що обіцяла. Колишнього чоловіка швидко випровадили з речами на вихід. Бо у цій квартирі він не мав частки і прописаним тут не був.
Добре, що Ліці ця житлова площа дісталась у спадок. Страшно навіть уявити, що могло би бути, якби квартира належала їм обом.
За такого розкладу Павло точно ніколи звідси не виїхав би. А що, дуже зручно. У нього завжди був на все залізний аргумент. Він вірний колишній чоловік…
Is the Orchid Really to Blame? “Polly, take this orchid or I’m throwing it out,” Kate said, carelessly picking up the clear pot from the windowsill and handing it to me. “Thanks, Kate! But what’s wrong with this orchid?” I was surprised. After all, three more gorgeous, well-tended orchids stood in her window. “It was a wedding gift for my son. And you know how that all ended,” Kate sighed heavily. “I know your Denis got divorced before their first anniversary. I won’t ask why—I bet it was a serious reason. Denis adored Tanya,” I said gently, not wanting to reopen a fresh wound. “I’ll tell you the full story one day, Polly. For now, it’s just too much,” Kate said, getting a bit teary. I brought the “banished” and “rejected” orchid home. My husband looked sympathetically at the wilting plant. “Why do you want that poor thing? There’s no life in it. Even I can see that. Don’t waste your time,” he insisted. “I want to revive it. Give it some love and care. You’ll see—soon you’ll be impressed by this orchid!” I replied, determined to breathe life back into the drooping flower. He winked playfully: “Who ever turns down a bit of love?” A week later, Kate called: “Polly, can I come over? I can’t keep this bottled up anymore. I want to tell you everything about Denis’s failed marriage.” “Of course, Kate. I’m here whenever you need me,” I assured her—remembering how she’d supported me through two rocky marriages of my own… After all, we’d been friends for years. Kate arrived within the hour, settled in the kitchen, and for hours, over a glass of dry wine, a mug of coffee, and some dark chocolate, she shared the whole, tangled tale. “I never imagined my ex-daughter-in-law was capable of such things. Denis and Tanya were together for seven years. Denis left Annie—who I adored, by the way—for Tanya, who was just stunning. He was absolutely besotted, following her around like a lovesick puppy. Tanya looked like a model—men couldn’t help but stare. But for all those years, they never had a child. I figured Denis wanted everything by the book—get married, then have kids. Denis is private, and we never pried. Finally, Denis told us: ‘Mum, Dad, I’m marrying Tanya. We’ve booked the registry office. I’m throwing a huge wedding—no expense spared.’ He was thirty. We were thrilled that he’d finally settle down. But, Polly, the wedding date had to be postponed twice—once Denis got sick, then I was held up at work. It felt odd, but Denis was glowing with happiness—I didn’t say anything. Denis even wanted to have a church wedding with Father Christopher, but the priest was called back to his home parish. Nothing was going smoothly. It seemed like the world was warning us… The wedding was spectacular, noisy, extravagant. Here—look at the wedding photo. You see that orchid? Glorious, in full bloom. Its leaves stood tall like soldiers. And now? Just limp rags remain of it. …Denis and Tanya planned their honeymoon in Paris, but right at the airport, Tanya was barred from leaving the country—something about an unpaid fine. Denis swatted away these troubles like flies. …But then Denis got seriously ill. Ended up in hospital, things looked grim. Doctors were at a loss. Tanya visited for a week, then bluntly told him: ‘Sorry, but I can’t handle being married to an invalid. I’m filing for divorce.’ Polly, imagine my son—bedridden—hearing that. But he only said: ‘I understand, Tanya. I won’t fight you.’ So they divorced. But Denis got better—thanks to a wonderful doctor named Peter. And Peter had a lovely 20-year-old daughter, Mary. At first, Denis turned up his nose: ‘She’s just a slip of a girl—not even pretty.’ ‘Give her a chance, son. Looks aren’t everything. You’ve already had a model for a wife…Better to be happy drinking water together than sipping honey in sorrow.’ …Time passed. Mary totally fell for Denis—called all the time, trailed after him everywhere. So we tried nudging them together—day at the park, barbecue, campfire. Denis looked miserable, barely noticing Mary’s devotion. I told my husband: ‘It’s hopeless. Denis is still obsessed with Tanya. She’s a thorn in his heart.’ …Three or four months later—ding dong! It’s Denis, holding that infamous orchid. ‘Here you go, Mum—remnants of past happiness. Do as you like with it—I’m done with it.’ I took it reluctantly and basically ignored it, blaming the poor flower for my son’s heartbreak. One day, a neighbour says: ‘Kate, I saw Denis with that petite girl. His ex-wife was more glamorous, for sure.’ But then Denis announced, hand-in-hand with Mary: ‘Meet my wife—Mary. We got married quietly at the registry office, then Father Christopher married us in church. Mum, Dad, no big fuss this time! It’s forever now.’ I pulled him aside: ‘Denis, are you sure you love her? Is this for revenge against Tanya?’ ‘No, Mum. I’m over it. That woman is my past—I’m done even saying her name. Mary and I are right for each other.’ And that’s the tale, Polly. Kate finished her story, right down to the last detail. …Two years passed. Life swept us along. But the orchid? It flourished again—blooming beautifully after care and love. Flowers know how to say thank you. I met Kate at the hospital maternity ward: ‘Hi, mate! What brings you here?’ ‘Mary just had twins—being discharged today!’ Kate beamed. Denis and his dad hovered nearby, Denis clutching red roses. Out came exhausted but glowing Mary, with two sleeping bundles in tow. Then came my daughter, holding my own new granddaughter. Meanwhile, Tanya was begging Denis for forgiveness and a fresh start. …But glue a broken teacup, and no one really wants to drink from it…
IS THE ORCHID TO BLAME? Emily, take this orchid with you or Im throwing it in the bin, Kate said,...
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