After his wife’s funeral, Artyom brought home a young girl.
“This is Elya. She will be your new mother,” he said.
– Dad… Are you serious? Are you nuts? How could you do this to me and Mom?
– Son, how can you say that? I am not a traitor or a murderer, as you probably think. Life just continue.
– Life? You didn’t even wait for the earth to settle on her coffin! Maybe you were the customer too? Look how quickly the space became available!
– Denis! – Artem raised his voice sharply. – The police found the murderer. Why are you saying this?
– And I’ll look for the customer. I’ll get my certificate – I’ll go to law school, and then I’ll see this case through to the end. And you’ll pay for everything.
– What’s wrong with you?
– I’m grieving for your mother too. But we can’t stand still. I’ve had a relationship with Elya for a long time.
– She is a stranger to me. And let her live anywhere, but not here. I don’t want to see this crow that came to peck at my family.
“Get out of the room, Denis,” his father said loudly.
Denis didn’t argue any more.
– Artyom, I told you – it was too early to bring me here. You failed with Denis. He will never accept me. It would have been better if you sent him to your parents.
“No,” Artyom answered decisively.
“We will live together. All three of us. Over time, you will get used to each other. This is not up for discussion.”
Four years passed, and Eleanor thought about having a child more and more often.
She wanted the sound of children’s laughter to re-emerge in the house. But nothing happened for her and Artyom.
“Elka, let’s wait,” her husband urged. “We have everything ahead of us. We are healthy, we just need time.”
But Eleanor did not believe in “time”. She told her friend about her fears.
“Then take a child from someone else,” she suggested without a shadow of surprise.