Karl introduced his bride to his parents, Eva looked at her future father-in-law in surprise. Hearing his name, the girl confusedly apologized and ran out of the café.
Eva got into the first taxi that was standing outside the café.
– Please, go quickly!
The taxi driver tried to object:
– Actually, I am already on my way to another order. So order another car, and go wherever you want!
However, the stranger did not give up. She managed to fasten her seat belt, and, taking a bill from her purse, put it between the seats:
– “Please, go wherever you need to go, but just drop me off on the way! I’ll be out in a few blocks!
The bill was quite a convincing argument for the taxi driver. The driver started off, but managed to notice a young man coming out of the door of the cafe, and began to look around in confusion. The strange passenger, apparently, also saw this man. She excitedly squeezed into a chair and began to fussily turn off her smartphone.
– What, is he looking for you? – the driver asked. – He’s looking at you! What, you went on a date with him, had dinner and left? Good for you!
At the red traffic light, the driver stopped the car. Having quickly verified the authenticity of the bill, the taxi driver became noticeably more cheerful and started talking non-stop.
– I had only seen strangers jumping into a car in movies and telling me to drive. I have been driving for twenty years, but I have never found myself in such a situation, although, of course, different things have happened
The driver began to tell one of the stories, and, having slowed down at the intersection before the traffic lights, decided to see her reaction to what he heard. Turning to the passenger, he saw that the girl was crying.
Realizing that the passenger was not even listening to his stories, the offended driver shut up. There was silence in the cabin, interrupted only by quiet advice of the navigator. After a while, the girl wiped the traces of tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand and asked:
– Stop at the next traffic light, please.
***
The driver complied with the request, and, wishing the generous passenger good luck, drove on. The girl looked around, as if worried that someone was following, and, not noticing anything suspicious, turned on her smartphone. She was not going to answer dozens of missed calls. She ignored numerous messages in the messenger and dialed the number of the only person who could listen to her and help her with good advice.
– “Olivia, hi! Are you free right now?” Eva started the conversation, feeling that she was about to cry again, “Can I come to you?
The sonorous and cheerful voice of her friend, which sounded from the speaker, said the cherished words:
– “Of course, Eva, come! You know that I and all my friends are always glad to see you!
Olivia hung up the phone, and thought. She knew that that evening her best friend Eva had to meet her fiancé’s parents. Apparently, the meeting had not gone well, and now she needed support.
However, Olivia did not mind. She and Eva studied together at the institute, and repeatedly went through various trials. There was everything: love disappointments, sleepless nights spent studying, and even falling in love with the same guy. And despite the fact that more than 10 years have passed since graduation, and life inevitably drove them apart, they were still closer than sisters.
Olivia was married for a long time, gave birth to two sons, but Eva did not have a love life. And now her friend wondered: what could go wrong? The parents of her fiancé Karl simply could not have any complaints to her! Eva is smart, tactful, beautiful, has a small but own apartment, no children, earns good money. The ideal, and that’s all! In addition, during the conversation, the man seemed to Olivia quite adequate independent person who is able to stand up for his beloved even from parents.
However, there was no time to think. Olivia looked into the children’s room, her husband and sons were playing some game, and announced:
– “Okay, guys, Eva will come to us now, so at least tidy up a bit.
The children, who loved their mother’s friend very much, ran to clean the toys, and the husband, sighing, joined them. Olivia, glancing at the contents of the refrigerator, quickly started making pizza. As soon as she stopped working with the dough, the intercom rang.
Eva did not look good. She gave the boys, who ran out to meet her, a kinder surprise and smiled embarrassedly at her friend and her husband:
– “Sorry to bother you, and empty-handed. Imagine, it turns out I gave almost all the money to the taxi driver to ride a few blocks. However, this is not the most important thing.
Olivia instantly found her bearings and, realizing that her friend was not in the best mood, gently asked her sons and husband:
– Boys, you don’t seem to have finished the game, do you? Eva and I are going to gossip a bit, and then we’ll call you for pizza.
***
Olivia led the guest to the kitchen, closed the door tightly, and heard a whisper:
– You have no idea what I just went through! I could hardly stand on my feet when I saw Karl’s father. I thought I had made a mistake, but when he introduced him to me as Larry, I realized that I was not mistaken!
Olivia was surprised:
– Who is Larry? How do you know him? What is it about him that, as you say, you could hardly stand on your feet?
Eva froze, and said:
– Olivia, this Larry is my father! And I’m pregnant with Karl’s child! Do you understand what this means?
Olivia even whistled:
– Eva, are you expecting a baby? And she was silent, didn’t say anything?” – When she fully understood the meaning of what she heard, she stretched in surprise: – What a turn. What should we do now?
Eva started to cry:
– I don’t know what to do now, how to live with all this? I thought I finally met a good man. I dreamed that we would have a family together. I even planned not to limit myself to one child, and what – I am only 33, it would be quite possible to give birth to at least a couple of kids. Now I have to forget about all this and deal with the pregnancy with Karl.
Hugging her friend, Olivia began to comfort her:
– “You, most importantly, try to calm down. Don’t work yourself up, Eva!
Of course, these words did not instantly dry the tears. Eva felt better when she shared her problem with her best friend and she asked her another difficult question:
– How do I explain to Karl that I will not marry him? How do I even tell him that we are related?
Olivia tried to think:
– Listen, Eva, could you make a mistake? As far as I remember, you said that you saw your father once, when he came to you on your 16th birthday. So much time has passed! Maybe you were in a hurry and made a mistake?
Eva objected:
– And the fact that the name and patronymic coincided? And the mole above the eyebrow? Was it also a mistake? Do you believe in such incredible coincidences?
Eva and Olivia sat in silence, thinking about the situation, and almost shuddered when Olivia’s husband entered the kitchen and explained:
– Excuse me, but Karl is there, and he asks that Eva at least talk to him.
Eva was confused. Olivia looked at her husband unhappily:
– Jack, what are you doing? Couldn’t you tell me that Eva is not at home?
The man shrugged his shoulders:
– Olivia, you teach your sons that it is not good to lie! What will happen if they talk?
Olivia nodded:
– “Okay, let’s go,” and, turning to her friend, she asked: “Maybe you really will talk? We still have to understand each other?
Eva nodded, and her friend commanded her husband:
– “Jack, call him over here. Let him talk here.
Soon Karl entered the kitchen, and Olivia tactfully left him alone with Eva. The man said without long preamble:
– “Darling, I can imagine how you must have felt, but it’s not as bad as you might think!
Eva looked up at her almost ex-fiancé with tearful eyes, and was indignant:
– Do you even understand that we are brother and sister?
The man laughed:
– Not at all! Larry is my stepfather! He just married my mother when I was still walking under the table, that’s why I call him dad. When you left so hurriedly, he explained to us the reason for your strange behavior, and I ran after you, but did not catch up. I came to your apartment – it was empty, and I realized that you probably went to Olivia. So wipe your tears and let’s go home.
After the emotions that fell on her, Eva was so devastated that she could not even rejoice. She came to her senses only after Karl gave her a big kiss. They did not stay long at their hospitable friend’s house, and soon said goodbye to Olivia and her family, reminding them once again that they would definitely expect them all at their wedding. As a result, the celebration, which was almost cancelled, was fun and relaxed.
