The car came to a sudden halt. Alex was a serious young man, so the unusual urge to pick up a stranger at the side of the road was completely unlike him.
The cottage village where Alex and his mother had a cozy home was located about 10 miles from the city. Living there during the summer was a real pleasure, and Alex always left for work around 7 a.m. That time of morning, the roads were usually quiet and free, and the surrounding woods filled him with pleasant thoughts and memories.
A girl ran up to the car and peered in through the open window with a smile.
“Hello,” she almost sang, “Can you give me a lift to the city?”
“Aren’t you afraid of getting into a stranger’s car in the middle of the woods?” Alex asked, with an involuntary smile.
“Well, there’s nothing scary about you,” the girl replied. “You’ve got a fancy car and kind eyes. Why would someone like you want to do anything bad to me?”
Alex burst out laughing. Such naivety and simplicity were long-forgotten concepts for him, and honestly, he was convinced they barely existed anymore.
Raised in a village, Lucy was open and trusting. When, three weeks after they met, Alex proposed, she accepted without hesitation. He seemed so mature and handsome to her.
“It’s just like Aunt Nadia predicted,” Lucy thought to herself, gripping Alex’s hand tightly and cautiously watching his mother, who reacted to the wedding announcement like it was a mild earthquake.
After their wedding, Lucy and Alex moved into his city apartment, as living at the cottage wasn’t very convenient. Plus, Alex’s mother didn’t harbor much affection for Lucy.
“I’m amazed by you, son,” Victoria often said to Alex during his visits. “Was this village beauty really the best option in your whole circle?” She sighed sadly, shaking her perfectly styled head.
Alex smiled but never argued with his mother. He didn’t want to explain how content and satisfied he felt in his small, cozy family. His mother was a cool and reserved woman, so for Alex, Lucy’s warmth and affection were a comforting blend of both wife and mother.
Several years went by. Lucy and Alex were blessed with an adorable daughter, Mary. Lucy adored her, and even the grandmother began to soften. She observed how Lucy cherished and pampered her son, and how wisely and smartly she was raising their daughter. Although Victoria was a tough and somewhat cynical woman, she could admit when she was wrong.
Alex wasn’t at all surprised when one day, his mother invited Lucy and her granddaughter to stay at the cottage for a few days as a gesture of good faith.
“Alex, I’m scared of her,” Lucy whined, trying to find any reason not to go to her mother-in-law’s.
“She won’t eat you,” Alex laughed, kissing his wife tenderly on the neck.
“She will, she will,” Lucy moaned, “and she’ll snack on Mary as well. You’ll cry and lament later, but it’ll be too late,” Lucy finished convincingly, even shedding a tear for effect.
But nothing worked. Alex took the picnic basket from his wife, loaded their cheerful, blue-eyed Mary, and coaxed Lucy into the passenger seat, despite her resistance, and they set off, bantering and bickering along the way.
Victoria was genuinely pleased to see them. She smiled at Lucy, and the young woman realized the battle was over. From that moment, an extraordinary friendship began. With each passing day, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law became closer and more trusting.
Lucy went back to work, and Mary often stayed with Victoria, who would read to her, teach her piano, and help her with her English. Victoria was a simultaneous translator, and the inquisitive girl loved listening to her amusing tales of overseas trips and encounters with fascinating people.
Several more years passed. One day, Lucy and Mary visited Victoria without warning. Lucy appeared thinner and seemed unusually tense and quiet.
“Lucy, what’s wrong?” Victoria asked with concern. “You’re not sick, are you?”
But Lucy sighed, sat on a chair, and burst into tears.
“Alex hasn’t lived with us for six months now,” Lucy managed to say through her sobs. “He used to just not come home sometimes. Said he was swamped with work. Then he started disappearing for days. He’d come by, change clothes, kiss Mary, push me away, and leave again. I thought he had work troubles, but we haven’t seen money from him for nearly a year. But it’s okay, I’m a nurse, and I earn well.
It’s enough for us. Then one day, a woman rang the doorbell. She was beautiful, well-groomed, wearing a hat, and had an expensive bag I’d only seen on TV,” Lucy paused, composed herself, and continued,
“She said, ‘You’re nothing but a pauper, and not suitable for Alex. He’s going to live with me now, so you’d better clear out of the flat and take your silly daughter with you. We’ll manage without your uncultured child.’
“I am not silly and I am well-mannered,” Mary interjected, turning away, offended. Victoria and Lucy hadn’t noticed her lurking in the kitchen, listening to the adults’ conversation for a few minutes.
“Of course, you’re not silly,” Victoria affirmed, sitting up straighter. “You’re a clever and well-mannered girl. We’ll live together and bring your mother too.”
Lucy wiped away her tears and looked at Victoria, surprised.
But the iron lady had already made her decision. When Alex announced his intentions to divorce and expressed his expectation for his mother to soon rewrite her will in favor of him, she calmly and gracefully acknowledged it. The will had indeed already been altered.
Victoria merely forgot to inform her son that his former wife and their blue-eyed Mary were now the proud owners of the house. At that moment, Mary playfully tousled her grandmother’s meticulously arranged hair, completely carefree as ever.
