Ihar Navitski - One woman, one man

Translated from Russian by Alexandr Gibayev

© Ihar Navitski, 2020

© Irina Goryunova, 2020

ISBN 978-5-4498-4097-4

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

For many years, we have hatched the idea to share with you, dear readers, the love story of two people close to us, in the subtleties of which we had to be dedicated to the will of fate. Since the characters in the story are real people and continue their journey of life, the names are changed. This story could happen in any city, on any street. You could be eyewitnesses of such a relationship. It could be even your neighbor. With him or her, you could ride together in the same elevator every day, meet them in line at the store, in the parking lot near the entrance. These people are next to us. This is a story of unusual love and the secret connection of two strong people – a man and a woman. «Why strong?» You ask. Because, despite the condemnation of society and Christian morality, they went the hard way to gain their happiness. Because they did not give up in the struggle for each other despite the confrontation of the whole world. Let’s make a reservation: the story does not end, the love affair continues to this day, and it is not known how it will end: a happy ending or a drama… A man and a woman are happy that they met. This meeting was not accidental, all the events of her and his life led them to each other. They are comfortable together. Let many condemn us, but we want to support our friends, because, despite life experience and far from youthful years, we believe in the power of true love, which no obstacles can stand. We are all different, and in this we are all beautiful. Of course, this story will seem banal to someone, someone will not believe in the reality of the events described, someone will support the heroes, someone will express indignation, someone will find the answer to their eternal question: «To be or not to be?». You decide, dear readers. So, let’s begin!

Early city morning… Red auto flows into the stream of traffic. At the wheel – a beautiful middle-aged woman. She is really beautiful. Age to her face. Tall, long legs, blond hair that gently rests on her shoulders. She drives the car confidently, and this confidence slides in every movement. Katerina is thoughtful that day. In the back seat her daughter softly snuffles – a small wonderful creature, a kind and sympathetic girl. Not only relatives, but also friends of our heroine can’t get enough of her. And, believe me, this is really so. What awaits our Katerina today? Work, household chores, gatherings with girlfriends? She has all this: her favorite job, which brings good material income, pleasant household chores (she is the mother of two beautiful girls, we have already met one, the other is older and can independently reach the doors of one of the prestigious educational institutions). Girl friends? Yes, Katya has got many of them. This is an important indicator that proves that she is kind and responsive. Often in the evenings, her cozy apartment turns into a real boudoir with women’s gatherings that last until late at night. Friends have something to talk about. Each one has its own sore topics: someone has a difficult relationship with a lover or husband, someone wants to get a son or daughter in a good position (it should be noted that our heroine occupies a high post in the country’s administrative apparatus), but someone is just not happy with their life and glad to gossip on the topics of other people’s problems. Katerina will listen to everyone and help everyone if possible. But can she help herself? Yes. After all, she is a wealthy and intelligent woman, whose character, as she herself says, is flint.

Our heroine is from a family of hereditary military men. Father was a unit commander. What is going on in Katerina’s soul? Probably, only a person very close to her can feel it. I do not mean relatives. A woman has a difficult fate. Dad died early, a little later fate dealt another blow: his brother died. Left without the support of a strong man, a father of two children, the family was forced to leave their home country in a completely different country in order to try to start all over again. A situation familiar to many in the Soviet years? There was a catastrophic lack of money, and Katya’s mother didn’t let other men close either – she put all her time and energy into her son and daughter. Hard times tempered the character of our heroine. Fortunately, her mother endured everything and raised her children properly. Katerina has become a highly educated and self-confident person. She took iron willpower from her father, beauty from her mother. Years of life taught her not to cave in before difficulties. Outwardly, this woman is doing well. What’s inside? Inside, like all of us, is the soul. Katerina’s soul hurts. You could even say, crying with bitter tears. Outwardly – a flint woman, inside – a vulnerable woman who needs care and attention.

Difficulties and troubles did not end with the girl’s childhood and youth. Beauty and clever girl attracted, as often happens, the attention of not only decent and good guys. Once, spending an evening with her friends at a disco, Katerina met a tall, broad-shouldered Alexey, who, as it turned out, was much older than a young fragile girl. There was something frightening and mysterious in this man. It soon became clear that it was worth the fear of meeting such a person: Alexey turned out to be the leader of one of the criminal gangs that flooded the city at that time. Criminal authority as a personal humiliation perceived the girl’s refusal from intimate relationships. Katya was an example for behavior, but Alexey’s threats forced her to shed many tears and grow up at once for several years from fear for her family and her life. Fortunately, the girl found an intercessor – a neighbor on the porch and a good friend Vitalik, who knew firsthand the criminal world. Gathering a considerable number of his children, as well as connecting neighboring courtyard groups, Vitaliy literally beat off the «desire» to own 17-year-old Katerina from 30-year-old Alexey. Those distant events will forever remain in the memory of a woman, because one of her classmates died in a brawl. Katerina’s honor was saved, but guilt for Oleg’s death will always haunt her…

The heroine had two marriages. Both did not take place. Katerina does not go where others go, and does not eat what others eat. As an independent person, philistine foundations are alien to her: to marry at a certain time and have a baby, as expected. Her first marriage was closer to thirty years. We will not say that until this time Katya lived as a nun. She, of course, had men and not one, but the woman did not change beds as often as you might think. She had only a long relationship with men. But not one did not fit the role of her husband. Someone eventually turned out to be a wimp inside, someone was married. It’s not for us to judge Katya, but the fact remains: she married at twenty-eight.

Katerina’s first marriage was more likely to be closer to partnerships. As a business woman, she entered into a marriage contract with her husband and agreed on the conditions of their married life. Igor, her first husband, went to all conditions. He madly loved «his iron lady with blonde curls.» After a very short time, Katya had a daughter. Her firstborn. Spouses of the soul did not cherish in the child. The young mother gave herself to the baby. For a while, the career and other concerns receded into the background, the whole world revolved only around my daughter. Relations with her husband increasingly began to resemble partnerships. It was not so good for them in bed together as before. In addition, the husband began to be jealous for any reason. It should be noted: although Katya did not feel strong love for Igor, she was clean and faithful to him. This is later, when their marriage will confidently move towards divorce, a person will appear in the life of our heroine with whom she will share the bed. But for now, at the time of the birth of their daughter, they were all fine with her husband. Unnoticed, the girl grew and matured, and over time, misunderstanding between spouses began to grow.