She just wanted to see who hed left her for…
Parsheen strode into the kitchen still wearing his coat and slumped into a chair.
«I love another woman. Shes expecting my child. Im leaving you for her,» he said bluntly, no preamble.
Vita turned off the tap and faced him.
«Is it that girl who sells apples at the market? Tonya, isnt it?» she asked, voice steady.
«You knew?» His head snapped up, eyes sharp.
«Darling, youre a terrible liar. Of course I knew. Tell medo you love her, or are you just leaving because of the baby?»
«Im sorry.» His head dropped.
*What about the ten years we spent together? What about me?* Her eyes screamed the words, but Vita kept silent.
«Are you planning to marry her?» she asked instead.
«Not yet.»
«Then lets keep things as they are at the department. I dont want gossip.»
«Fine. Should I go?» He stood.
Vita turned back to the sink, running the water until he left.
He was quickonly took the essentials. Maybe hed come back?
She shut off the tap, sat at the table in the same spot hed occupied moments before. Resting her forehead on folded arms, she didnt cry.
***
She hadnt cried a month earlier either, when her friend told her shed seen Parsheen with another woman.
«A student?» Vita had asked. «They always fall for him. What do they even see in him?»
«No. She sells fruit at the market near the institute. Names Tonya. Came from some village, lives in a shared flat on Lenin Street. Twenty-three,» her friend rattled off, crisp as a detective in some crime drama.
«How do you even know all this?»
«Small town. A friend lives in that buildingLisa Sazonova. You remember her? Same year as us. Your Parsheens there all the time.»
«I dont. So *thats* where he goes instead of extra lectures.»
She had to see for herself. The next day, Vita waited, hidden behind a column in the institutes hall. When Parsheen left, she followed at a distance, careful not to stare. She wouldnt give him the satisfaction of knowing shed stooped to spying. She just wanted to see who hed chosen over her.
He stopped near the girls fruit stall. A small queue had formed. Tonya, in a sleeveless vest over a jumper and jeans, weighed apples with brisk efficiency. When she bent to the crates, her thick braid swung forward, loose strands falling into her face. Shed straighten, blow them away. Pretty in a simple way, dimples when she smiled. She served customers patiently but kept shooting dark-eyed glances at Parsheen. *Probably short-changing them. Maybe I should call Trading Standards, have them check her scales*, Vita thought bitterly.
An old woman took forever picking each apple, scrutinising them before dropping them into Tonyas waiting bag.
«Thats enough,» the woman finally said.
«Take some plums too. Sweet and softgood for jam,» Tonya offered.
The woman hesitated, prodded a few, then shook her head. «No. How much?»
The bag held a kilo, but Tonya named a ridiculously low price. The old woman brightened, paid, and hurried off before the girl changed her mind.
*She pities the elderly!* Vita was stunned. *Or maybe its an act for Parsheens benefit.*
Vita passed that stall daily, even priced the plums once. Shed never noticed the girl. But Parsheen clearly had.
Once the queue cleared, he approached. The way Tonya looked at him*like hes some god. Well, nearly a PhD, I suppose.* The girl adjusted his collar, brushed invisible dust from his shoulders. The tender gesture stabbed Vita. Shed thought it was just an affair. But this was love.
She couldnt see Parsheens face, but she knew his expression matched Tonyas. She turned away before they noticed her.
That night, alone, Vita finally wept.
***
Shed noticed him straight away at the institute. Quiet, serious, never at parties, few friends, indifferent to girls. Handsome, if not for the perpetual scowl. There was something mysterious about him. He reminded her of Heathcliff.
One day, she sat beside him in a lecture.
«Bored?» she asked.
He looked at herand smiled. His whole face changed. *Hes beautiful*, she realised. After that, they sat together often. He walked her home.
«What do you even see in him?» a jealous friend grumbled.
«Better you dont know,» Vita said.
Their relationship grew slowly. By final year, they were inseparable. They married right after graduation. His parents werent theretheyd died in a crash years earlier. That explained the shadows in his eyes.
In bed, he was gentle. Afterwards, hed recite poetryAuden, Eliot, Larkin. He read beautifully. Vita listened, heart aching. His voice touched something deep inside her.
She longed for a child, but doctors had warned her after a childhood accident on the ice. A decade together, and no miracle. Parsheen reassured herthey could adopt. But she wanted her own.
Lately, their relationship had settled into comfortable routine. They were never aparthome, work, always together. For Vita, that was enough. But Parsheen? He wanted passion. A child. So hed found a simple girl whod give him both.
When she learned hed got another woman pregnant, the jealousy burned. Not because hed strayedbut because *she* couldnt give him what Tonya had.
At work, nothing changed. They walked separately now, inventing reasons to leave early or stay late. No one questioned it.
Parsheen moved into Tonyas shared flat. Vita hoped hed reconsider, but weeks passed. She avoided looking toward the market.
Then, between lectures, he found her. Eyes shining, he whispered the newsa daughter. She forced a smile. He rushed to the hospital.
That evening, he came to her door, sobbing. Tonya was dead. A stroke. Vita held him as he shook.
«The babys alive. A girl. What will you do?»
«Ill take her,» he said hoarsely.
«And work?»
«My aunt will help. Ill go part-time.»
But by spring, his aunt leftgarden to tend, and the girl was growing. He hired a nanny, then fired her when he found her scrolling her phone as the baby wailed.
Days later, he called Vita.
«Please. I cant do this alone.»
«You left me, and now youre asking for help?»
«Just come.»
Anger faded when she held the baby. All resentment vanished. She loved the girl instantly. Parsheen had named her AllaTonyas favourite singer. Alla Parsheen. It had a nice ring.
At first, Vita just helpedcooked, cleaned, minded the baby while he taught. Then the neighbours complained. The flats owner was dead; a stranger and a child had no right to stay.
«Pack your things. Youre both moving in with me,» she said without hesitation.
They slept apart at first. The day Alla said «Mummy,» Vitas heart nearly burst.
One evening, she came home to laughter. Alla wobbled on unsteady legs as Parsheen caught her, tossing her gently. His joy was radiant. Vitas eyes stung.
«How long have you been here?» He turned, grinning. «Look!» He set Alla down, stepped back. The girl tottered toward him.
That night, they were together again. He read to her like old times, and her heart soared.
«Did you read to her too?» she ventured, expecting him to shut down.
«Once. She didnt understand,» he admitted after a pause.
Alla grew, looking more like Tonya every day.
Once, passing the market, they saw a different woman at the stallolder, brassy-haired, nails chipped. She winked at Parsheen.
«Lets go,» he muttered in disgust.
That night, as Vita washed dishes, he hugged her from behind.
«Thank you. Without you… I adore you both.»
«Without you and Tonya, thered be no Alla.»
Shed forgiven him. If she hadnt, thered be no Alla. No family. Just emptiness.
Vita pitied Tonya. Gone too soon. But shed left a gift. One day, theyd tell Alla about her real mother. Or maybe not. Vita had raised her, loved her as her own. That was what mattered.
