\u00ab\u2014 You understand that I don\u2019t need you hanging around here, right?\u00bb Maxim said to his wife. \u00abSo, I can suggest you move to the village.\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00abWhat village, Maxim? What are you talking about?\u00bb<\/p>\n
Tamara no longer cared. She had been betrayed by the person closest to her. They had started their work from scratch together. Tamara sold her apartment, and Maxim sold a room in a communal flat to start their business. They moved from one rented place to another, saving on everything. Thanks to Tamara\u2019s sharp mind, they managed to get on their feet.<\/p>\n
And then Maxim started feeling like a king. Tamara never expected such betrayal from her husband, which is why she didn\u2019t notice how he gradually transferred everything into his name. So cleverly that if they divorced, Tamara would be left with nothing. And once everything was set, he filed for divorce.<\/p>\n
\u00abMaxim, do you really think you\u2019re acting decently right now?\u00bb she asked.<\/p>\n
He sneered.
\n\u00abDon\u2019t start. You haven\u2019t been contributing for a long time. I handle everything on my own while you just sit around.\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00abYou were the one who said you could handle it without me, that I should rest and take time for myself.\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00abUgh, I\u2019m tired of these pointless conversations. Anyway, there\u2019s this house or farm\u2014something my former boss left me as an inheritance. Remember Ivanovich? He remembered how I used to help him. Well, he passed away and left me this nonsense. It\u2019s perfect for you. If you don\u2019t like it, you\u2019ll end up with nothing.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Tamara smirked bitterly. She no longer doubted that her husband would do just that. It felt like she had lived with a stranger for 12 years.<\/p>\n
\u00abFine, but I have one condition: you officially transfer the farm to me.\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00abSure, not a problem. Fewer taxes for me.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Tamara didn\u2019t say another word. She packed her things and left for a hotel. She decided to start over. It didn\u2019t matter what awaited her\u2014a ruin or an empty piece of land. She would see it, assess it, and if it wasn\u2019t worth it, she\u2019d return to the city, start from scratch, here or somewhere else.<\/p>\n
Tamara looked at the car, satisfied. It couldn\u2019t possibly hold any more\u2014it was packed to the brim. Everything else would stay with Maxim and his mistress\u2026<\/p>\n
If Maxim was counting on her intelligence and help, he would be sorely disappointed. The girl clearly wasn\u2019t the brightest, but her arrogance could fill a bucket. Tamara had seen her a couple of times. If she wasn\u2019t mistaken, the girl had been Maxim\u2019s secretary.<\/p>\n
Maxim handed her the papers, and Tamara calmly took them.<\/p>\n
\u00abGood luck to you,\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
Her husband burst out laughing.
\n\u00abAnd to you. Send me a photo with the cows.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Tamara got into the car but didn\u2019t reply. She simply shut the door and drove off. Only when she was out of the city did she stop and let the tears flow. She didn\u2019t know how long she cried. She only snapped out of it when someone gently tapped on her window.<\/p>\n
\u00abDear, are you alright? My husband and I are at the bus stop, and you\u2019ve been crying and crying. You can\u2019t do that.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Tamara looked at the elderly woman with gray hair, not understanding where she had come from. Then she saw the bus stop in the rearview mirror and smiled.<\/p>\n
\u00abI\u2019m fine, just overwhelmed,\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
She got out of the car. The old woman started talking again:<\/p>\n
\u00abWe were visiting a neighbor. She\u2019s in the district hospital here, all alone\u2014no one to visit her. Now we\u2019re heading back home. Maybe we\u2019re going the same way? We\u2019re going to Mikhalki.\u00bb<\/p>\n
Tamara raised her eyebrows.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Is this the Mikhalki where the farm is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 The very one. Only now, the farm is just a name. The previous owner passed away, and for some reason, no new one has come along. But people keep working out of habit, and also because they feel sorry for the animals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tamara smiled.
\n\u201c\u2014 You won\u2019t believe it, but I\u2019m heading to that very village. Let me make some room, and I\u2019ll fit you in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grandmother sat next to her, while the grandfather was settled in the back seat. He chuckled.
\n\u201c\u2014 Oh, I already feel like a box or a bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
After driving a little, the grandmother turned to Tamara.
\n\u201c\u2014 And what\u2019s your name, dear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Tamara.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 A lovely name, very kind. I\u2019m Valentina Yegorovna, and my husband is Mikhail Stepanovich.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Nice to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 The pleasure is ours. Most wouldn\u2019t even offer; we\u2019d still be shaking around on the bus. Are you here on business, or what? I don\u2019t recall seeing you before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tamara looked at the grandmother cheerfully.
\n\u201c\u2014 I\u2019m the new owner of the farm. It happened by chance; I don\u2019t know anything about it. Maybe you can tell me what\u2019s going on there and what you know about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
By the time they arrived, Tamara had learned a lot: who was stealing from the farm where almost nothing was left, and who truly cared about it.<\/p>\n
In the past, the farm supplied milk to many stores, but now there was no one left, and only about twenty cows remained.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 How many?\u201d Tamara\u2019s eyes widened in shock. She had thought there were only three or four.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 There used to be more; they sold most of them off. Ivanovich also used to plant the fields, and the cows were well-fed. People earned good money back then. So, Tamara, what are you planning to do? Sell it or maybe try to revive it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 I\u2019ll decide when I get there. By the way, there\u2019s a house mentioned in my papers. Can you show me where it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Of course, you\u2019ll recognize it yourself. It\u2019s the only modern one we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tamara sighed with relief. At least she\u2019d have a place to live. She had been afraid it might be some kind of shack.<\/p>\n
A year passed. Tamara walked around the farm, and her eighty cows looked at her gratefully.<\/p>\n
Tamara was proud of herself. At the very beginning, when she first arrived, she had wanted to close her eyes and run away: there was no feed, and the fields were barren. But Tamara wasn\u2019t one to faint at the sight of challenges.<\/p>\n
Yes, she had to hustle, to fight. Every bit of money she had went to buy feed. She sold all her jewelry and invested it in the farm. And today, she could proudly say she had succeeded.<\/p>\n
Sales were picking up; calls were coming in from neighboring regions. People wanted their products, even things they hadn\u2019t started making yet. For example, the cheese production facility was still under construction.<\/p>\n
Tamara was now considering buying a couple of refrigerated trucks to deliver products year-round. New ones were too expensive for her, but she could look at used ones.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Tamara Igorevna! Tamara Igorevna!\u201d A young girl named Sveta was running toward her.<\/p>\n
Sveta came from a large family. Her parents were heavy drinkers, and she had dreamed of living independently. But with no job and no means to move to the city, she had been on the verge of hitting rock bottom herself. Now she was unrecognizable: well-dressed, her eyes shining, and she would occasionally send bags of groceries to her parents.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 What happened?\u201d Tamara asked.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 I found it!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Found what, Sveta?\u201d<\/p>\n
The girl was great\u2014polite and resourceful\u2014but overly emotional.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Look at this ad.\u201d Sveta handed her a newspaper, where an ad for the sale of two refrigerated trucks was circled. The price was appealing because the sale was urgent.<\/p>\n
Tamara studied the text carefully. It was clear she would need to bring in an expert to inspect the vehicles, but the price was indeed temptingly low.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, she froze, the newspaper still in her hands. The phone number in the ad belonged to her ex-husband\u2019s office. Tamara smirked. It seemed like his affairs weren\u2019t going so well. Or maybe the opposite\u2014perhaps he was expanding and upgrading to larger vehicles.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Call them, Sveta. Make arrangements. Tell them we\u2019ll add 5% if they don\u2019t show the vehicles to anyone else before us. I\u2019ll find someone to inspect them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tamara had money in her account, needed the trucks, and wasn\u2019t at all worried about meeting her ex-husband\u2014it was strictly business. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Not bad at all\u2014life in the village had made her fitter, tanned, and generally healthier and stronger.<\/p>\n
Half an hour later, the person she had been recommended as the best mechanic arrived. Ivan looked at her so intently that Tamara felt embarrassed.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Is something wrong? You\u2019re staring at me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Sorry, I just wasn\u2019t expecting this. You know, farms usually bring to mind\u2026 village women in scarves and rubber boots.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 I\u2019ve got a scarf and boots for work,\u201d Tamara replied matter-of-factly. \u201cBut I\u2019m heading to the city; why would I need them there?\u201d<\/p>\n
On the way, Ivan mentioned that he owned two small auto repair shops. He had lost his wife five years ago, mentioning it briefly, and Tamara didn\u2019t press the subject. Otherwise, he was an excellent conversationalist, and she almost forgot why she was heading to the city.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Ivan, slow down near that office,\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Here we are. What\u2019s up with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 I used to work here. I\u2019m about to buy a truck from my husband. My ex-husband. He didn\u2019t need me anymore, just like the farm he happened to inherit. So, he got rid of both me and the farm in one go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 No way. I don\u2019t believe it. What kind of sane person would willingly let someone like you go, let alone get rid of you? Let\u2019s go. I want to see this idiot for myself.\u201d Ivan paused briefly, then smiled. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll be with you. I won\u2019t let him swindle you again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tamara was genuinely grateful to him. Even though time had passed, she still felt uneasy.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Maxie, where are your buyers?\u201d Alla asked.<\/p>\n
Maxim sighed heavily. Lately, sighing seemed to be all he did. Four deals that Alla had prepared had fallen through spectacularly. She always had one excuse: \u201cIt\u2019s not my fault they\u2019re idiots.\u201d<\/p>\n
Money was catastrophically tight, especially considering how quickly Alla spent it. The trucks weren\u2019t the first thing Maxim had been forced to sell. Now, he didn\u2019t even have enough to pay his remaining staff.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Maxie, I stopped by my friend who works at a travel agency today. She has some amazing last-minute deals. I asked her to hold one until evening.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 What do you mean why? We haven\u2019t gone anywhere in three months. It\u2019s embarrassing in front of my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maxim felt like he was about to explode.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Alla, can\u2019t you see the state of the company? And largely because of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Oh, stop it. It\u2019s just bad luck. Don\u2019t start saying your ex never made mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 When Tamara handled a deal, it was always one hundred percent profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 So why did you leave her for me?\u201d Alla retorted.<\/p>\n
Maxim wanted to say he had regretted it a hundred times, but he didn\u2019t get the chance\u2014a knock came at the door.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Mr. Maxim Nikolayevich, your visitors are here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maxim jumped up and froze. Into the office walked Tamara, his ex-wife. If he\u2019d met her on the street, he might not have even recognized her. She was accompanied by a tall, imposing man who looked like her personal bodyguard.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Hello. We\u2019d like to look at the vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maxim realized that Tamara was the buyer he had been waiting for.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Of course. Let\u2019s go to the lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alla sighed loudly but followed, even though she clearly didn\u2019t want to. In the elevator, Maxim couldn\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Tamara, why do you need these trucks?\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled.
\n\u201c\u2014 For work, you know. The farm you threw me out to turned out to be quite an interesting venture. And quite profitable. We\u2019re expanding now, with orders coming from far away, but our products can\u2019t handle heat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maxim\u2019s jaw dropped. They exited the elevator before he could close his mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Well\u2026 here are the trucks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man with Tamara rolled up his sleeves and opened a toolkit.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 What\u2019s this?\u201d Maxim asked.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 Tools. I need to inspect what you\u2019re selling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maxim grew nervous. One of the trucks had a serious issue that was bound to surface soon. The mechanic had assured him it wouldn\u2019t be noticeable right away, so he hoped to get away with it.<\/p>\n
Half an hour later, Ivan packed up his tools.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 This truck can be bought. It\u2019ll need some repairs, but nothing critical. But I wouldn\u2019t recommend the other one, Ms. Tamara. The suspension is about to give out; it won\u2019t last much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maxim turned red, and Alla immediately jumped in.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2014 What nonsense are you talking about? The trucks are in great condition. Nothing will give out. If you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing, don\u2019t make accusations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ivan smirked.
\n\u201c\u2014 Will you provide a written guarantee that if the engine doesn\u2019t last a thousand kilometers, you\u2019ll refund the full cost?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alla was about to agree, but Maxim shouted:
\n\u201c\u2014 Just stop, please.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alla glared at him angrily, and Maxim nodded.
\n\u201c\u2014 You\u2019re probably right. Would you take them for less? What will you offer?\u201d<\/p>\n
The vehicles were bought at a great discount. Tamara and Ivan left long ago. Alla, after yelling at Maxim and calling him a loser, stormed off too. Maxim sat in his office, drinking brandy.<\/p>\n
What had he achieved? He had a young, beautiful wife who bored him to death. And his ex? He couldn\u2019t get her back\u2026<\/p>\n
Judging by the looks that man gave her, her personal life seemed just fine too. Maxim hurled his brandy glass at the wall, dropped his head into his hands, and fell asleep.<\/p>\n
Tamara and Ivan never parted ways after that, and within a month, a lively village wedding was held at the farm. A year later, they celebrated the christening of little Sonya.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00ab\u2014 You understand that I don\u2019t need you hanging around here, right?\u00bb Maxim said to his wife. \u00abSo, I can suggest you move to the village.\u00bb \u00abWhat village, Maxim? What are you talking about?\u00bb Tamara no longer cared. She had been betrayed by the person closest to her. They had started their work from scratch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-random-stuff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5376,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5375\/revisions\/5376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}