З життя
«Чому син не приїхав: конфлікт із невісткою»
— Ну ось, не приїде… — з гіркою зітхає Валентина Сергіївна. — Ми з чоловіком вже навіть не нервуємо, звикли. Кожного разу одне й те саме. Спочатку обіцянки, потім тиша.
— Що трапилось цього разу? — питаю я. — Знову невістка не дозволила? Пам’ятаю, ви з нею якось не дуже ладнали…
— Може, і не дозволила. Хоч син жодного разу прямо не сказав, що це вона його тримає. Але ж видно… Раніше приїжджав частіше. А тепер — усе. Вона знайшла, як його втримати. Навіть дах тепер, мабуть, лагодитимемо з найманими робітниками — син, бачите, не може викроїти одного дня, — говорить Валентина, ледве стримуючи образи.
Йдеться про її 40-річного сина Тараса. Він виїхав із рідного села ще дванадцять років тому, влаштувався в обласному центрі, працює механіком. Раніше сам усе робив руками, тепер лише керує. Одружився в місті, купив житло. Усе сам. Дружину свою, Соломію, він знайшов пізно — обоє були вже не молоді, коли зійшлися.
— Вона ні з ким до нього серйозно не зустрічалася, — продовжує Валентина. — І я розумію чому. Дуже вже характер у неї… важкий. З першого погляду ми не зійшлися. Я старалася, чесно. Але вона… ніби відразу вирішила, що я — ворог.
— Я її пару разів чула по телефону, — вступає сусідка, — вона ніби кепкує, навіть коли просто вітається. Не розумію, що син у ній знайшов.
Соломія майже не спілкується з батьками Тараса. Раз на рік, за її великою ласкою, він може до них приїхати. І то — без неї. Цього року Тарас обіцяв приїхати навесні — допомогти з ремонтом даху. Квитки купив. Але невістка, як виявилося згодом, усе переграла.
— Вона вагітна, — з досадою каже Валентина. — Тепер, бачите, не можна її саму залишати. Хоч доросла жінка, медсестра, що їй може загрожувати? Вже два тижні як почала йому дзвонити. Спершу він спротивлявся, а потім…
— І як це виглядає? — хитає головою чоловік Валентини. — Він що, її за руку на роботу відводить? У неї ж батьки поруч — дозволяють. Чому він має від усього відмовлятися заради неї?
— Ось-ось, — продовжує Валентина. — Я певна: це її мати підмовляє. Мовляв, не відпускай, раптом повернеться — і розлучиться. Її молодша донька, до речі, вже так залишилася з дитиною на руках. Тепер живе у батьків.
— Але ж Тарас — не така людина, — заперечую я. — Він же порядний. Та й чому б їм разом не приїхати?
— Що ти! — махає рукою жінка. — Соломія ніколи не приїде з ним. Мій чоловік раз їй подзвонив — після цього вона влаштувала такий скандал, що він наказав мені взагалі більше не дзвонити синові. Даремно.
— А що вона йому сказала?
— Що ми постійно чогось від нього хочемо. Що тримаємо його подалі від сім’ї. Що в неї вже немає сил із нами боротися. Що відпустку він має проводити із дружиною та дитиною, а не «балувати примхами старих». І що наш дім їй не потрібен, залиште собі.
— Яка нахаба! А син?
— Каже, що не винен. Що не хоче загострювати. Що переживає за вагітність. Я все розумію. Але ж це несправедливо. Ми його виростили, дали все, що могли. А тепер він не може приїхати навіть на один день?
Чоловік Валентини не витримав. Грубо сказав синові, що більше чекати не буде — найме бригаду, зробить усе сам. А він нехай сидить із дружиною, якщо вона тепер для нього важливіша за батьків.
— Тільки ж він не розуміє, — тихо промовляє Валентина. — Дружин може бути багато… А батьки — одні. І вони не вічні…
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