«Denis, she’s still a kid. And where did you find this pauper?» Tatyana Viktorovna looked at her son fearfully.

After work, I stopped by the church to light a candle for the repose of the late Olenka. When I came out, the beggars were refreshed, but this big-eyed Yulia was standing off to the side and looking at me so timidly. I approached her and offered to take her home to feed her well. Go heat up the dinner, and I’ll call the little one in from the yard. Yes, I’ll fire up the bathhouse. This little ragamuffin needs a wash.

«I’ll feed her, then you take her beyond the gate,» insisted the mother.

«Don’t boss me around in my house, maman. I liked her on the drive here. I’m tired of sleeping alone in a cold bed,» he glanced at the girl who was clinging to him, seeking salvation from his disgruntled mother. From fear, she did not understand what this man wanted from her, mentioning the bed in conversation.

Denis went out, and Tatyana Viktorovna, realizing she couldn’t argue with her son, led the girl to the kitchen.

«So tell me, how did you end up at the church?»

«I already told Denis.»

«Now repeat it for me, you won’t get an extra word out of him,» Tatyana Viktorovna insisted.

I lived with my parents in a village near your little town. Dad went abroad to work and then disappeared. Mom was worried but knew the address where to look for him and went after him. She was gone for a long time, and I almost ran out of money. With the little change I had left, I went to the district police to ask them to find my parents. They found out that I, a ten-year-old girl, was alone and took action. That’s how I ended up in the orphanage.

«And what, they never found your parents?» Tatyana Viktorovna was interested in the girl’s story.

«I often asked the caretaker, but she always said she was looking. And I still don’t know anything about them.»

«What brought you to the church?»

The orphanage was hungry, and the older girls tried to earn better food. They would run off to the highway in the evening. And there was a lodging house for truckers. One time I tagged along with them, but it was useless. I’m small and thin, like a teenager. The men there laughed at me, and not one took me to his room. I waited for the girls, hiding in the bushes. When they came out one by one, I called them over to me. With the last one, we had a nice dinner at a roadside café. They never took me with them again. When they returned, they treated me to pasties and shawarma. I realized then that someone as small as me was not needed by any man.

«And what happened next? Did you run away from the orphanage?»

«No. I was a poor student. They gave up on me. When I turned eighteen, they sent me back to my village, to my home.»

«So you’re of age, but so small and skinny. I would have never thought. Why didn’t you stay in your own home, and why did you come to our city?»

«While I was in the orphanage, my house was so vandalized inside that it was hard to enter. I cleaned up the garbage, wanted to wash everything, and went out into the yard. Only then did I notice that the wires from the pole to the house were cut. There were no gas or water pipes outside, well, where there was an outdoor faucet. And everything metal had been cut out inside the house.»

«Who could have done such a thing?» Tatyana Viktorovna was astonished.

«I don’t know. The neighbors are kind of strange. I knocked on their gates to ask for water, but no one opened. I went to the district and there I turned to the relevant services for restoration. They demanded such an amount for this that I had nowhere to take it. I picked currants and gooseberries from the bushes and carried them to the highway, where I sold them. I saved on food, but there were few berries. Then the apples ripened. I sold them too. Still not enough. Decided to beg at the church.»

«Have you tried looking for work?» Tatyana Viktorovna couldn’t understand how they just threw the girl out.

«I tried to find a job, but they advised me to grow up and gain strength.»

«Why didn’t they send you to school?»

«I don’t even have a diploma. I couldn’t pass the exams.»

Denis entered the house with his eight-year-old son, Lёnya, and they all sat down at the table.

After dinner, Denis gave an order.

«Old woman, take Lёnya to the bath, after him go steam yourself, and I want to with Yulia. She knows nothing.»

«With me?» the girl turned pale.

«Don’t despair in advance. You’ll get used to it and like it. We were all young once.» Denis went to his mother’s room and returned with a towel and a colorful robe. Tatyana and his son were no longer in the kitchen. He sat down next to Yulia.
«So, have you settled in? How do you like mom’s cooking?»

«It’s delicious!»

«Of course, she used to be a cook and lived with a man in Moscow. I stayed here with father. The house was small and had only partial amenities. After finishing college, I ended up in one place. There I was able to break free and started my own business. I have an online store and employees. I gradually increased our collection points. Now I manage them. I built this house five years ago, and got married at thirty. Darya died during childbirth, and I had buried my father earlier. Left alone with my son, I called my mother to come, as things weren’t working out between her and my stepfather. Since then, we’ve been living in this house. Lёnya is already eight, and I’m still alone. I hesitated to bring a woman home, but I liked you.»

Yulia shrunk her head into her shoulders.

«Sometimes you have to start sometime, Yulenka, so why delay?»

A flushed Lёnya ran up.

«Dad, cool! You promised a pool. When will you start digging?»

«Too late, Lёnchik, frosts will come soon. We’ll start in the spring, just you and me.»

The boy ran off to his room, and Denis went out to the yard. In the anteroom, he checked the stove and sat down on the bench.

Tatyana Viktorovna came out of the bathhouse.

«Really, son, are you harboring bad intentions? She’s still a girl and doesn’t know what happens with a man. You need someone your own age.»

«Mom, she’s an orphan, and who knows what will happen to her next. But I don’t need a freeloader in my house. Don’t think the worst. I’m not completely crazy, I’ll take her gently.»

Tatyana Viktorovna shook her head and went into the house. Soon Denis appeared there too.

«Yulia, come with me to steam,» and, taking the girl by the hand, he led her out to the yard.

It wasn’t as hot in the bathhouse as Denis usually liked, and he always steamed first. This time he was worried about Yulia. What if the steam was harmful to her?

«Undress and lie down on the bench on your stomach. I’ll gently hit you with a birch twig. And don’t be afraid of me.»

Yulia complied, and Denis also undressed so his clothes wouldn’t get damp, and began to work with the twig.

«That’s good, girl, and now just like I did to you, hit my back with all your strength with the twig,» and he lay down on the bench.

After that, on the bench, Denis soaped up the girl with a washcloth, then poured water on her from a basin. Her shoulder-length hair curled into ringlets, and he admired her. Then he dried her off like a child with a towel and, throwing a robe over her, sent her into the house. Nothing else happened in the bathhouse, and he hadn’t planned anything.

«Mom will show you to my bedroom. She likely prepared clean bedding, and I’ll be there soon.»

Yulia was already in bed with a tremble in her body, waiting for Denis. She thanked God that the truckers then had laughed at her, not touching the innocent girl. Now this awaited her. But she believed in the decency of this adult man and no longer wanted to go back home. Let everything be as Denis wants.

Soon Denis appeared and, dropping his bathrobe, lay down next to her. He started with a kiss…

Denis and Yulia got married when she was already pregnant. The husband carefully monitored his wife’s health. He did not want a repeat of the tragedy with his son’s mother.

Everything turned out as well as it could. Yulia gave birth to a girl, and after a while, another one. She filled out and grew a bit.

Denis renovated Yulia’s house in the village and rented it to tenants. He did not want someone to habitually break into Yulia’s house and cause trouble again. He was not planning to sell it. He planned to build something big and good for the children there. Time will tell who will stay with them.

He was often mocked and dismissed as foolish and disabled. «I’m going to surprise my mom with a modest Christmas tree for New Year’s. She’ll be thrilled,» he thought hopefully. Yet, the events that followed were unexpected…
Having lost everything in the divorce, the wife left the courtroom to the laughter of her husband and mother-in-law, but, having settled into a dining car, the joy of the wealthy was short-lived.
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