She is about thirty-five, to him - a little over forty. Respectable, well-dressed, with an unaided gaze it is clear that they are not poor, but without snobbery, or, as my twenty-year-old son says, without raspaltsovki. Both are slightly tense (which, in general, it is clear: they did not come to the cinema), they are very reserved - they say only on business.
"We want to adopt a child ," the woman starts and pushes the folder with the documents to me. I flip through the paper - complete set. I nod: "Everything is in order", but I notice that in the certificates of wages the amount is indicated in rubles. I look closely - printing of Moscow firms.
"My husband and I have been living and working in Moscow for the seventh year," the woman explains, while the man harshly chops:
- But the citizens of Ukraine. Therefore, to you ...
"But I have to examine your living conditions ... Without this, you can not!"
- We have an excellent three-room apartment on Lomonosov Avenue. Here are the documents for the apartment, here are the photos of the rooms. But, if you need to ...
"No, that's enough," I interrupt. The couple are nice to me: and with what dignity they hold, and the way the man pressed the palm of his wife with a quick gesture, they say, do not be afraid, I'm right here.
"So, you have complete order with the documents," I repeat. - Now you must make a list of requirements for the adopted child: the desired age, sex, appearance and so on.
And as soon as the right one appears ...
"He will appear from day to day," said the woman, and, intercepting my puzzled look, explained: "The mother of this child must give birth on this, or at the latest, next week." She will definitely write a refusal.
- You can not do it this way! I objected hotly. "On newborn refuseniks, you know what turn?" People wait for years!
The man and the woman exchanged quick glances. Their views were clearly speaking, but I did not understand what was said, as if they were communicating in an unknown language.
- It's impossible! According to our rules ...
"We want to adopt the illegitimate child of my husband ," the woman said, looking me straight in the eye.
I began to explain that her husband absolutely does not have to adopt his own child, even if he is illegitimate, enough to acknowledge his paternity and get a custody of him through the court. The couple silently listened to me, then the woman shook her head:
- This option is not good. The mother of the child is in a civil marriage and categorically does not want the cohabitant to learn about the treason.
"But, if a man thinks that this is his child, will he really agree to give it to strangers for adoption?"
agreed. He is unemployed, there is no money to keep the baby.
"I need to double-check your documents," she said in an official tone. - Come for an answer in a week.
By and large , my job is only to check the availability of necessary securities and normal housing conditions - here this pair was all right. But I consciously at the end of their visit played a bureaucrat out of myself, because ... Because there was something in their history that did not agree, and it was something "walking" inside me, like a pebble in a shoe. Then she put herself in the position of a visitor and realized that it was: I could never talk about the betrayal of my husband and his illegitimate child and at the same time look at him with hope and tenderness, as if seeking support and protection. "It's clear that it's a dark matter," I thought and went ... to that pregnant mistress N., who was going to abandon the child (her name was known to me, she learned the place of residence in the address table). A young woman opened the door - fat, ugly, very groomed: greasy hair, hands unfamiliar with manicure, washed clothes without three buttons ... So that a man like N., and even having a beautiful wife, would peck at such a rasping? No, there was obviously something that did not converge! When the Muscovite spouses reappeared in my office, I asked him a question on the forehead:
- After all, Oksana S. is not pregnant with you, but with her partner, right? How much did you pay her for this child?
The woman gasped and covered her face with her hands, the man slowly took an envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to me:
- If this is not enough, then we ...
- Take it away. Better tell me the truth! What happened to their former restraint - as if platinum broke. Interrupting each other, the couple splashed out the most painful. Married 15 years, the last ten have been treated for infertility. Money for this was spent so much that it would be possible to buy a house in Rublevka. Have concluded the contract with a surrogate mother, a girl from the province. Artificial insemination was successful, but in the early term she had a miscarriage. They only learned about it in eight months. All this time the girl lived in their apartment on everything ready and imitated a pregnancy. Before the very "birth" ran, taking a significant amount of money. And now on this really bought child last hope.
I broke not one, but several job descriptions, but I helped this couple with adoption. Let them be happy!