З життя
ЩАСТЯ У НЕСПОДІВАНОМУ
— Та як же тебе затіяло, дурна ти козачеська! Кому ти тепер потрібна з дитиною! І як ти її виховуватимеш?! Я тобі не помічниця, так і знай. Виростила тебе, а тепер ще й твій довісок! Не потрібна ти мені, збирай речі й щоб духу твого в моїй хаті не було!
Соломія слухала крики, не піднімаючи голови. Остання надія, що тітка все ж таки прихилить її хоча б до влаштування на роботу, розсипалась на очах.
— Була б жива мати…
Батька дівчина не знала, а матір п’ятнадцять років тому збив п’яний водій на переході. Органи опіки вже готувалися віддати дитину в інтернат, коли несподівано зродилась далека родичка, якась троюрідна сестра матері. Вона й забрала Соломію до себе, адже власний дім і зарплата дозволяли оформити опікунство без затримок.
Жила тітка на околиці прикордонного містечка на півдні, зеленого й спекотного влітку, дощового взимку. Дівчина завжди була сита, охайно одягнена, привчена до праці — у хаті з подвір’ям та дрібною худобою роботи вистачало. Може, їй бракувало материнської теплоти, та кого це хвилювало?
Вчилась Соломія добре. Закінчивши школу, вступила до педуніверситету. Швидко промайнули студентські роки, і ось закінчилось безтурботне життя, здані іспити, а дівчина повернулась до рідного містечка. Та цього разу повернення не радувало.
Нарешті, накричавшись, тітка заспокоїлась:
— Геть іди з двору, щоб очі мої тебе не бачили.
— Тітко Ганно, можна хоч…
— Усе сказала!
Соломія мовчки взяла валізу й вийшла. Невже вона справді думала, що повертатиметься сюди так? Приниженою, кинутою, ще й вагітною. Строк був невеликий, та дівчина вирішила зізнатись одразу. Не хотіла й не могла брехати.
Треба було знайти житло. Дівчина йшла, заглиблена в думки, не помічаючи нічого навколо. А південне літо розпалювалось повною силою. У садах дозрівали яблука, груші, золотилися абрикоси. Важкі грона винограду звисали з навісів, а темно-фіолетові сливи ховались під листям. З подвір’їв пахло варенням, смаженим м’ясом і свіжими коржами. Солomія підійшла до калітки й кликнула жінку біля літньої кухні:
— Господине, чи не дасте напитися?
Галина, жінка років п’ятдесяти, міцна й спритна, обернулась:
— Заходь, коли з добром.
Зачерпнула з відра води й подала. Дівчина втомлено сіла на лавку й жадно відпила.
— Чи можна трохи посидіти? Спека невиносима.
— Сиди, доню. Ти звідки? З валізою, мабуть, не місцева?
— Закінчила університет, шукаю роботу вчителем. Жильла лишилась… Не знаєте, де можна зняти кімнату?
Галина уважно подивилась на дівчину: охайна, але знесилена, з тривогою в очах.
— Може, поселишся в мене? Платіж невеликий, але вчасно. Якщо згодна, покажу кімнату.
Жінка раділа: зайва гривня не завадить, а в їхньому глухому містечку підробітків мало. Син жив далеко, навідувався рідко. Соломія, здивована несподіваною удачею, пішла за господинею. Кімнатка була невеликою, але затишною, з вікном у сад. Столик, ліжко, старий шаф — досить.
Так і пройшли дні. Робота, дім, робота. Соломія ледве встигала відривати календарні аркуші.
Вона зблизилась із Галиною, яка виявилась доброю й уважною. Та й та прив’язалась до скромної дівчини. По мірі сил Соломія допомагала по господарству, а ввечері вони часто чаювали у садовій альтанці.
Вагітність проходила легко. Дівчина розповіла господині свою історію. На другому курсі закохалась у красунчика Дмитра, єдиного сина заможних батьків-викладачів. Вони вирішили тримати сина поруч: навчання, аспірантура, викладання. Розумний, легкий у спілкуванні, Дмитро був душею компаній. Та звернув увагу саме на скромницю Соломію.
Все змінилось, коли дівчина зрозуміла, що вагітна. Тест показав дві смужки. Дмитро, дізнавшися, приніс конверт із грошима й мовчки пішов. Батьки запропонували аборт. Та Соломія вже любила дитину.
У лютому вона народила здорового хлопчика.
— Юрчику, Юрко… — шепотіла вона, пестячи сина.
У пологовому відділі дівчина дізналась про немовлятку, від якої відмовилась мати. Соломія почала годувати її разом із сином.
На день виписки до лікарні приїхав капітан прикордонної служби Андрій Григорович Коваленко. Доньку він узяв під опіку. А через рік, коли Соломія вже працювала в школі, Андрій з’явився знову — з квітами й проханням.
Життя іноді дарує несподівані подарунки. І хто б міг подумати, що історія самотньої вчительки з прикордонного містечка обернеться щастям для чотирьох сердець?
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