З життя
З трепетом у серці вона постукала у двері. У відповідь – тиша.
З трепетом у серці Ніна постукала у двері. У відповідь – тиша. Вона невпевнено дістала з сумочки ключ, відчинила двері… Боже, як давно вона тут не була! Все залишилося як було, нічого не змінилося в цьому колись рідному та улюбленому домі, лише все стало непривітно чужим.
Минув майже рік після сварки з Максимом. Вони й раніше, бувало, сперечалися. Ніна брала на руки Софійку і зі сльозами на очах йшла до мами. Здебільшого Максим, скучивши, тікав миритися вже наступного дня. Життя знову налагоджувалося, перемир’я вносило різноманітність у їхні стосунки. Але цього разу все було інакше…
Скинувши спогади, Ніна рішуче попрямувала до шафи, щоб знайти потрібні документи. Папери лежали нетронутими, дбайливо упаковані в папку її ж рукою. Вже два місяці за Ніною наполегливо доглядав хлопець, який давно був закоханий у неї. Відносин між ними ще не було, але тиждень тому він офіційно попросив її руки.
І весь цей тиждень Ніна не могла заснути, щось гнітило її, вона ніяк не могла ухвалити рішення.
Спочатку здавалося, що непорозуміння з Максимом має розв’язатися. Він постукає у двері, як завжди проникливо загляне в саму душу і скаже: “Як же я скучив!”.
Але дні йшли, місяці минали, а в житті нічого не змінювалося. З Максимом бачилися мимохідь, він ставав усе більш відчуженим і холодним, між ними немов розверзлася прірва. Він приходив лише до Софійки, мовчки брав її за руку і вів до себе. Потім так само мовчки приводив назад. Софійка весело щебетала, хизуючись татусевими подарунками – крутилася біля дзеркала у новій суконці чи туфельках. А Ніна лише сумно згадувала, як блищали очі Максима, коли він приносив подарунки для неї. А зараз… на Ніну він навіть і не дивився, вони відчували себе ніяково наодинці, і вона поспіхом зникала у своїй кімнаті. Мама, яка не мала особливих симпатій до Максима, часто повторювала: “Що Бог дає, то на краще”. Поступово й сама Ніна в це повірила.
Глибоко зітхнувши, Ніна прощальним поглядом обвела кімнату і… здригнулася від несподіванки: на дивані спав Максим. Напевно, після зміни. Першим бажанням було швидше піти, але щось змусило її залишитися. До болю знайома кожна риса, обличчя огрубіло, заросло щетиною, кола під очима… Ніна повільно сіла поруч. Що вона знає про цю людину, з якою прожила пліч-о-пліч не один рік? Які думки ховаються за цим нахмуреним чолом? Перед внутрішнім зором Ніни раптом промайнуло напівзабуте обличчя молодого Максима: віддані хлопчачі очі, а усмішка була світлою-світлою… Їй завжди здавалося, що саме в цю усмішку, яка перевернула її душу догори дригом, вона колись закохалася. Невже той усміхнений хлопчик і цей втомлений похмурий чоловік – одна і та сама людина? А часу з тих пір минуло зовсім небагато. Знову згадалася світла усмішка. І так живо, так реально було це бачення, ніби докір їй, Ніні…
Господи, куди ж усе це поділося? Вона безпорадно озирнулася, немов шукаючи когось, винного в її зруйнованому житті. Серце занило, затріпотіло, забилося в лещатах нахлинулих безрадісних спогадів. Їх колись затишний і казковий світок поступово заповнили дріб’язкові суперечки й образи, сльози і безутішне відчуття нерозуміння. Вічно втомлений Максим, який вертівся на трьох роботах, щоб забезпечити її і Софійку і нікому не бути зобов’язаним… У Ніни було час усе обдумати і зрозуміти, що їй елементарно не вистачило терпіння, жіночої гнучкості та мудрості…
А вони ж колись були невимовно щасливі. І це не маячня її хворої фантазії. Ніна схвильовано підвелася, їй нестерпно захотілося довести це самій собі. Її погляд упав на руку Максима, що лежала на їх… весільному альбомі, на фотографії, де вони були просто осліпно щасливі…
Рука її невільно здригнулася, і фотографії з м’яким шелестом посипалися на підлогу. Озирнулася і застигла… На неї дивився Максим.
– Ніно, ти повернулася? – його очі захопливо сяяли, і їй стала нестерпною думка, що півгодини тому вона могла піти назавжди…
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So, listen, for about a year now my sons been living with this girl, Emily, but wed never met her...
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Needless to say, this is all my fault! my mates sister sobbed. I could never have imagined things would turn...
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