З життя
Віра між двох вогнів: заміж за байдужого чи ганьба на все село.
На березі Дніпра, у мальовничому селі, плакала Віра, притискаючи хустинку до обличчя.
– Що ж тепер робити, мамо? Боже, який сором… Усе село буде пліткувати й насміхатися, що наречений на весілля не з’явився.
Краще провалитися крізь землю, ніж в очі людям дивитися.
– Не плач, Віруню, якось впораємося, – підбадьорювала її мама, Надія Федорівна, хоча сама була в глибоких роздумах. І раптом її охопила ідея.
– Петре! – гукнула вона сусіда. – Поїдемо на вокзал, до ранкового потяга.
– Без проблем, – відказав сусід, посміхаючись. – Для тебе, Надіє Федорівно, хоч край світу.
Жінка різко грюкнула дверцятами автомобіля, та зручно вмостилася.
– Зараз будемо шукати моїй Віруні нареченого, – заявила вона серйозно.
Петро здивовано звів брови:
– Це жарт? Хтось захоче на таке піти?
– А чому б ні? Я запропоную достатню суму, а грошей усі люблять, – впевнила вона.
Надія Федорівна впевнено підійшла до перону, коли прибув потяг. Вона звернулася до двох вродливих молодиків, перемовилася пару хвилин і провела їх до автівки Петра.
– Петре, до магазину, – сказала вона.
– Придбаємо костюми для нареченого і його дружби.
– А документи у нього є? – засміявся Петро.
– Усе на місці, – відповіла Надія Федорівна.
– Це мій майбутній зять Євген і його свідок Назар.
– Наречений вже тут! – заспівали гості. – Урра! Нарешті!
Віра радісно вибігла з хати й завмерла: з автомобіля Петра вийшли повністю незнайомі хлопці. Мама обняла її та відвела в бік:
– Це Євген. Або виходь за нього заміж і через якийсь час тихо розлучимося, або ж сором переслідуватиме все життя. Вибирай швидко.
Віра промовчала, лише кивнула, а через хвилину на заплаканому обличчі з’явилася усмішка.
Весілля вдалося на славу, ціле село святкувало до самого ранку. Євген швидко ввійшов у роль, і Віра була вражена. Коли гості розійшлися, Віра, торкнувшись руки Євгена, м’яко промовила:
– Дякую. Ти мене дуже виручив. Не переймайся, ми швидко розлучимося.
– А я не маю наміру, – впевнено сказав Євген.
– Більше того, хочу познайомитися ближче.
Віра зовсім не очікувала такого розвитку.
– От так новина! Один клявся у вічному коханні та зник, а зовсім нова людина хоче зі мною життя прожити…
– Я не зовсім чужий, – з іскоркою образи зазначив Євген.
– Ти мені сподобалася з першого погляду.
– Та ти ж… – почала вона сердито, але Євген перебив.
– Від сьогодні я твій чоловік. Моєму серцю було прогнозовано, що ось так доля мене знайде. Думаєш, я відмовлюся? Спочатку добре подумай.
Віра роздумувала майже 25 років. Разом з Євгеном виховали трьох дітей і живуть у гармонії. А Надія Федорівна досі не може повірити, що сором, який загрожував доньці, перетворився на щастя на все життя.
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