Stepmother

When Olka turned seven, mom got sick somehow quickly. And she died.

Olka already knew what death was, and therefore experienced it in an adult way. And then there's Dad. He, after my mother's death, generally became some kind of plague. And he didn't cry. And went to work. And when Grandma asked if she could move in with Olka, he said, "Move in."

So there were three of them again. Only instead of Mom, Grandma.

Olka was crying in her room, just so that Dad wouldn't see. And she did everything right. Well, there's, I mean, a school, a house. And I learned to cook from my grandmother, because my grandmother was my mother's mother, which means that my mother also studied with my grandmother.

When Olka turned eleven, Grandma said:

- Andryushenka, dear! Let me take Olenka to my place. And you think about a new family…

Olka and Dad stared at Grandma in surprise and glassy. And Dad said:

- What are you saying, Mary Semyonovna? My daughter doesn't have a mom, so you also want dad to be gone?

Olka didn't say anything, but she was terribly surprised. What new family? Dad's an old man! He's thirty-three already. In her opinion, at this age people begin to stiffen in anticipation of grandchildren.

Their grandmother was understanding, and therefore, in less than a week, she left for her place of permanent residence, taking the word from Dad and Olka that they were with her every summer. And if anything, then she's right there, like a bayonet.

So Olka and Dad began to live. She came home from school, did her homework, and then cooked dinner for Dad's return. Dad, who came from work, fed himself deliciously and went to the sofa while Olka washed the dishes. Then she would come to Dad, sit down next to him, and he would put his arm around her shoulders and say, "Well, tell me..." They had such a game. Olka was telling Dad all the lessons she was supposed to have the next day.

Then they "talked for a living" and went to their rooms to read before going to bed. If someone asked Olka if they were living well, she would not immediately find what to answer. In any case, she never heard from Dad "expensive" to any of her requests.

After the parents' meetings at school, Dad briefly reported:

- Today I blushed twice…

Or:

- Today I even smiled once... but not much…

When Olka turned thirteen, Lenochka somehow sailed into the house very gradually and carefully.

Also an old woman, but younger than Dad, of course.

During her third visit, it seems, Olka, picking at the mashed potatoes with a fork, asked:

- Are you going to be my new mom?

Dad and Lenochka have stopped eating. Then Dad said:

- Yes, daughter, Lenochka will now live with us. And I would really like you to become friends.

Olka continued:

- You, Lenochka, are not suitable for us. Our mother was beautiful, but you weren't.

Dad looked up at Olka, and she blushed. Then she muttered, "I'm sorry." Moreover, it was not true: Lenochka was very pretty.

But Olka still wanted to be naughty, and therefore she continued:

- What should I call you? "Mamusenka" or "Stepmother"?

Lenochka has finally settled in, and therefore reacted immediately:

- And this is as it will be convenient for you. Only I will answer you either "Daughter" or "Stepdaughter".

And again Olka was embarrassed and apologized.

When dinner was over, and Dad went into the room on the sofa, and the women were left to put everything in order, the first Lenochka spoke:

- You know, Olya, I sincerely understand that no one will replace your mother. And I know what it's like to lose loved ones: my one-year-old son died, and my husband threw himself out of the window then. So time goes on, and we go along with time. Your dad and I have fallen in love with each other, but that doesn't mean at all that you will have to share it with me. It's a completely different feeling. Let's try to make our life together a new happiness.

Then she came up, put her arm around Olka's shoulders and said:

- I'll call you Olyushka.

Olka had something stinging in her nose, she pressed her head to her stepmother's chest and replied:

- And I'm you - Lenochka ....