Zhenya took the hose and went to water the beds in the garden. “Why did I plant so much?” she wondered. Suddenly, she felt unwell. Zhenya called her son, and he promptly called an ambulance. When Andriy arrived, Eugenia was taken from home. Her son went with her. He stayed all night on a bench near the door of her room, and then held his mother’s hand all morning.
“Son,” the woman whispered, “I want to tell you something.” Andriy leaned in, and his mother whispered something in his ear. Andriy jumped, and, frozen in place, looked at his mother. Eugenia, as usual, prepared food for two because she had been living alone for a long time. Her husband passed away two years ago, and her children moved out even earlier. The elder one due to work, and the younger due to studies.
Eugenia lived alone, and her sons were busy with their own lives; they had little time for the elderly. Granny Zhenya constantly thought, “What’s wrong with my sons? The younger one is okay; he’s still studying. But the elder one is so focused on his career that he doesn’t plan on starting a family or having children. And I, at least, want to spend the last few years of my life near my grandchildren, have some time to spoil them while I still can.”
With these thoughts, Eugenia finished her tea and decided to work with the soil a bit before it got too hot. “For whom did I plant so much? Half of it will be too much for me… Oh, Zhenka, Zhenka…” the woman talked to herself. While she was working, she felt unwell. The old woman realized that the ground was slipping from under her feet. First of all, she grabbed her phone, but since she couldn’t quickly recall the ambulance number, she called her younger son and told him that she felt very unwell, asking him to call an ambulance.
Her son responded rudely, “You see, she’ll do anything to bring me to her… calm down, mom, ask your neighbor Ludmila for the ambulance number, you found someone to call. How am I supposed to know the number for your rural ambulance?” Her condition worsened with each passing second. Then she called the elder son but dropped the phone before saying anything. He immediately appeared next to his mother, and an ambulance came with him. The doctors decided to hospitalize Eugenia urgently. Her son didn’t leave her side, and in the hospital, he stayed near her room door until they allowed him to enter.
“Mom, you’re scaring me, did you go crazy behind those doors?” he exclaimed. “Son, I need to tell you something. I think there won’t be a more suitable moment for this,” Eugenia took her son’s hand. “When I married your father, you were 2 years old. Your mother had passed away a year before we met. We didn’t know how to tell you about it; we were looking for the right moment…” “Mom, I already know all this. Sergey and I saw those documents in your cupboard. I know my mother was a good person. Unfortunately, she didn’t see my first steps or hear my first word, but I consider myself lucky because fate gave me you. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done and continue to do for me every day.”
“Dear, forgive me if I ruined everything. I just couldn’t keep it to myself. Forgive me for…” Eugenia started crying, but her son didn’t let her finish. “Mom! You have nothing to apologize for. You are my dearest and most beloved person; I will never allow anyone to offend you. But let’s not sadden each other, okay? I’m going to introduce you to my future bride soon. She’s two months pregnant, and we plan to have a wedding.
We just wanted to announce it in a special way, not under these circumstances. Get well soon so that you don’t have to go through anything. Agreed?” “Oh, my son, where could I go? I’m ready to get up right now! Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I wouldn’t have ended up here,” Eugenia’s tears immediately turned into tears of joy.
Indeed, a few days later, she was discharged from the hospital, and she moved to live with her elder son and his pregnant fiancee permanently. Thus began a new bright streak in the old woman’s life.
