Nina Petrovna still remembers the day she had to decide the fate of another womans child. It was a Wednesday, and her husband, Victor, came home from work earlier than usual, his face dark as a stormcloud. Without a word, he handed her an envelope…
«Whats happened?»
«Veras gone. Without my consent, they cant send Dima to the orphanage.»
Nina had known about her husbands son long before their wedding. A common story, really. Victor had fallen in love during his military service. After his duty ended, he brought the girl back with him, and they rented a small flat. But before long, she packed her things and returned home. Then came the telegram: congratulations, you have a son. Whatever had gone wrong between them, Victor never spoke of it, and Nina never pressed. What was the point in dredging up the past?
When Nina was four months along with their first child, the woman arrived unannounced with little Dima, barely a year old. She made a scene, demanding to take Victor back. He sent her away and stayed with his wife. Nina never held it against himhow could she blame him for what happened before they met? Vera filed for child support, and Victor paid dutifully. She never wrote or called again. Years later, they heard she had married twice more and, after the second divorce, took her own life.
By then, Nina and Victor had two children of their own. Johnny, just a little younger than Dima, and little Rosie, who had only just turned one. Theyd decided on a second child after buying their own homea modest wooden house with four rooms, no modern comforts, but a garden, a shed, and space to breathe. After years in cramped rented flats, it felt like heaven. Johnny had spent the first week running wild through every room, laughing as if hed never known such freedom.
Raising another womans child… That, Nina had never expected. Shed seen the boy only once, seven years ago, and knew nothing of him now. What was he like? What had he endured? The thought terrified her. Johnny was already a handfulhow would two boys so close in age get along? Victor worked long hours; the children would be her responsibility. These thoughts raced through her in seconds. Victor sat silently in the hallway, his face ashen. Her heart clenchedwhat if it were Johnny facing such a fate? The answer came at once.
«Vic, of course well take him. Hes your son, and that makes him our childrens brother. How could we live with ourselves if we turned him away? If we can manage two, well manage three. Well raise him right.»
A month later, Dima arrived. Quiet, timid, obedientnothing like bold, rowdy Johnny. Perhaps that difference saved them. The sudden arrival of an older brother who made no claim to leadership left room for peace, and the boys soon grew close. Rosie, sweet and sunny, charmed them allher laughter seemed to stitch their family together.
That autumn, Dima started school. He did well; his mother must have prepared him. Money was tight, but Victor worked tirelessly, and Nina later took a job too. The children grew, becoming proper little helpers. They never made distinctionsboth boys were simply their sons.
When Dima went off to university, Nina fell gravely ill. Hospital stays, surgeryfear gnawed at her, but she refused to despair. She had children still finding their feet in the world, and she clung to the hope of seeing them grown, happy, with families of their own. But the ordeal broke Victor. He turned to the bottle, drinking himself into oblivion.
At eighteen, Dima became the familys rock. He switched to night classes, found work, and visited Nina nearly every day, reading to her, learning her recipes to cook for Johnny and Rosie, bringing her samples to taste. He shielded her from the worstlike Johnnys brush with the law, caught up with a bad crowd. Thankfully, he escaped prison with only a suspended sentence.
Nina recovered. Her marriage did not. She couldnt forgive Victors weakness when she needed him most. Still, the house was large enoughthey lived as strangers under one roof. He tried to quit, but the drink still claimed him now and then.
A year ago, Dima brought home his bridea girl hed loved since nursery school. She studied psychology and immediately set to work saving her father-in-law from his demons. Life moved on. Soon, grandchildren would fill the housethe newlyweds were expecting twins.
Every day, Nina thanks God for her eldest son and believes she is alive only because she once found room in her heart for a strangers child.
