Maggie has three children, all grown up long ago, and left the nest of their parents.
The eldest lives abroad, he has a family there and two children. She has never seen him since he left for the city many years ago, only pictures and letters of congratulations. She keeps everything with care, sometimes on long winter evenings she misses her son, takes out a bundle of letters and goes over them, rereads them. “Son, we miss you with your father, just once, come and meet your daughter-in-law, your grandchildren…” – His mother writes. But he has no time for that, life runs on and on. Is it so difficult for him to come and visit his family at least for a few days?
The middle one, Polly, married a serviceman and is still at military bases, their daughter is alone with them, and they sometimes visit, but not for long. The grandfather loves his son-in-law very much, they are happy for their middle daughter, she has arranged her life well, they come here – her eyes shine with happiness and kindness, her soul is peaceful…
And the younger one – Olivia – remains alone. At first she married a country boy – Mark, but after Scott’s birth something did not work out between them, they separated. Olivia moved to the city, graduated from technical school and got a job as a seamstress, and soon she took her grandson. – He’ll be better off in the city, there’ll be a maths school, study groups, he won’t be bored”, said the daughter gathering her son up, the son was weeping, clutching at his grandmother’s skirt, but who can cross his mother…
For almost twenty-four hours Maggie rode in the stuffy carriage. Went and imagined how to hug his daughter, kissing his grandson, these thoughts warmed the soul on the road. The daughter had not been with her father for three years, Scott must have grown up, stretched out… Grandpa wanted to go too, but he got sick.
– Darling, would you be able to go a week without me? – Maggie said to her husband one day, “I can’t take it anymore, my soul is aching, I have to go and visit. We loaded the bags with presents. Early in the morning the husband put his wife on the train, it was hard to carry such a luggage alone, but there was no way out, there was nowhere to go without presents…
– Mom, you should have told me beforehand, phoned, I had to get off work, pick up my son from school, then go to the store for groceries, I had a squirrel in the wheel all day long, after I got your letter…
– Forgive me, my daughter, I wanted to surprise you, and I sent a letter, because the connection is not always available in the village, – said the mother.
– Has something happened? How is your father?
– He is fine, he is a bit ill, it happens that way in autumn. Scott opened the door, how he had grown strong over the years.
– Well, hello, grandson! – The woman hugged him tightly.
– Come on, grandma, – the boy freed himself from his grandmother’s embrace, and began to stare at her.
– Why didn’t you meet me from the road, I could hardly drag the bags – the mother reproachfully looked at her daughter…
– Well, we were preparing for your arrival, finished soup, fried cutlets, not an empty table, to meet you, – shrugged Olivia.
A few minutes later Grandma was shouting into her grandfather’s handset: “All is well! We met! We helped! Helped! Don’t worry, let’s sit down at the table, my daughter has prepared a delicious dinner! A big hello to you from everyone!”
They sat down at the table, Olivia poured the soup on the plates, and asks.
– Mom, do you want one cutlet or two? Maggie was so hungry she would have eaten all three, looked at her and said:
– So put it on the table, I’ll put it myself.
There were five little patties on the plate, and they ate one each, and she reached for the second, not taking the third, because it was uncomfortable. I remembered how I always cooked a lot for my children, and how I piled food on top of plates. And here… Maybe her daughter had bad finances, maybe she should have helped with the money, she had some savings, they would save some more, they had a good harvest this year.
And then I went through the rooms – freshly renovated, a TV set in the hall covered the whole wall, new furniture, her grandson’s room was cozy, it had everything.
– How long will you be staying with us, Mum? – Olivia asked the woman who had finished the dishes in the kitchen.
– Aren’t you glad? You’ve only just arrived, and you’re wondering when I’ll be leaving?
– No, it’s just that the tickets are very tight right now, so you have to get them right away, or else it will be a bad place again. Give me your passport, and I’ll go tomorrow after work, so I won’t put it off…
Maggie shrugged her shoulders, she spent the evening in the company of her grandson, watching pictures and videos from school holidays, was happy for Scott, a good kid growing up, smart. Eh, I wish Grandpa would see, I should ask him to sign the pictures at least… Several days passed like that, and with each new day the relations grew colder and colder, grandson more often closed in his room, doing homework or ran away to the neighbor’s boy to play the game console, and Olivia, either was late with work or spent the evening with her friends, she came, threw off her boots, and went to bed.
Bored of human warmth, it wasn’t how she’d imagined meeting her daughter, Maggie called her grandfather back, and went to pack her things. On the way back to her room, she overheard her daughter casually talking to her grandson, “Mom, when is Ben coming? He promised to take me to a soccer game?
– Soon, my son, Grandma will be here… – Olivia answered.
– And when is Grandma coming?
She did not stop to listen, tears streamed down her cheeks, clinging to the wall, reached her room, gathered her things, threw her coat on, was already standing in the doorway when her daughter came out of the room.
-You’re up at night? You have a train tomorrow night.
– That’s all right, I’ll change the ticket. Oh, Olivia, that’s not the way your father and I brought you up. I won’t tell him anything, he’ll get worried. Thank you for the photos, he asked me to see his grandson, so goodbye…
Drove well, this time got a good place, and on that daughter thanks. But I had to spend the night at the station, wrapping myself in an old overcoat. On the train I kept looking out of the window thinking how quickly life flew by, how quickly she and her father were no longer needed by their children, but how much love, care and motherly warmth was invested in them…
– Hello, my love, how did you get there? – her husband asked when he met her at the train station. – He couldn’t find anywhere, he missed her so much that he even lost weight!
Maggie hugged him and smiled. At least someone is waiting, at least someone else needs her…
