- Folder! Stop it! Do not do this! I screamed after my father. But it was too late. He already got into the car and left for the district police station. I fell on the road right into the snow and sobbed. It happened just before the last New Year. We sat with Roma in the kitchen and waited for the kettle to warm up. Like an octopus, the gas threw its blue tentacles out of the burner, like an old man with a heavy stick, grunted an antediluvian kitchen receiver. I nestled on the stool, putting on Romina flannel shirt in a bright red strip. And he was smoking at the open window. "I do not understand," I muttered, "why do not you want to marry me?" Parents will buy us a fully furnished three-room apartment and give five thousand dollars. We will live the life of the prince and we will not know. And the pope promises us a trip to the Canaries, so we spent a honeymoon there.
"And you and your good daddy do not bother me, that I'm a goal as a falcon," Roman countered. "I'm afraid your father will despise me for not being able to adequately secure his daughter."
And in general we are from different layers of society.
After all, Boris Sergeevich is a celebrity, and I'm an ordinary builder. And work, as you know, is not the most constant for me. In some ways, he was right. Father really did not have tender feelings for my lover, since he was very far from the image of the ideal life partner for a single daughter. The pope was a postmodern sculptor. He "swam" on the wave of public interest in alternative art and now riveted his idiotic statues, zashabaya rabid money. He already had several solo exhibitions abroad, although his works were sold well here. Almost every new Ukrainian considered it his duty to set up in my apartment a masterpiece of my father. In a word, we were by no means unbreached. Just imagine: in all corners of our five-room apartment - on TV or the music center, on the walls - expensive carpets, on the sideboards, shelves - crystal vases. Despite his "protest against everyday life" in his work, the pope in everyday life was an ordinary philistine who did not possess a refined taste. He dreamed that I would meet with the lucky one from art. For example, with his pupil Rostislav or scandalous poet Olesem, who often visited our house.
But I chose Roma , having met him, when he did the renovation in our apartment. I was struck by his dark, slightly oriental eyes and blue-black hair. However, apart from me, he did not like anyone. Girlfriends found him low and similar to Genghis Khan. But I did not care about the opinions of others. In Roma, I fell in love just to complete self-oblivion! My father at first objected to our visits, but then resigned himself, judging that in our country democracy can, therefore, meet at least with a locksmith or a janitor. "Just do not let your daughter play with you," his father said. "If you love, marry." I was ready to wear a wedding dress, but here's the bad luck: Roman persistently did not want to marry me, despite the golden mountains my parents promised. That evening after another conversation he again stated: I do not want to register a marriage.
- Ah well? - I said. "Then everything is between us." I will not humble myself any more.
I quickly changed my clothes and ran out of his cramped inn . The sun had already set, but it was almost snowy outside. Like a pack of rabid teenagers, snowflakes circled around the lantern, falling on their eyelashes and hammering under their collars. I went into the trolley bus and began to gaze eagerly at the faces of fellow travelers. "Now I'll manage a casual affair, fall in love with some ordinary idiot and jump out to marry him. To spite Rome, "I thought. But, as if I sensed a hungry predator in me, the men turned away. I returned home swollen with tears: I was to meet the New Year alone. Roma called only two days later.
"Baby, I was wrong," he apologized. "Why do not we, in fact, finally legalize our clandestine relations?" I delayed my marriage because I was afraid of losing my freedom. But why should I "free will"? Roman still talked a lot about how wonderful I was, how lucky he was with me, that I was the rarest diamond without a rim and this rim agreed to be it.
- Romka! I cried so loudly that I almost put my voice down. "Come to us immediately, talk to your father."
"Let's make him a surprise for the New Year," my betrothed suggested.
"Only this." I have never made a proposal to anybody and am very worried. If you do not mind, I'll come with Alex. And he will be with the bride Valya.
Of course, I did not mind. On New Year's Eve, we usually rolled a grand holiday, almost to fifty people. Two guests more, two less - there was no difference for my parents. Moreover, in my life a grandiose event was planned: finally my groom has matured and decided to lead me to the crown. The New Year feast, as usual, began at ten o'clock in the evening. The first toast was traditionally "for the glory of the year of the departing." Then the scandalous Oles read a new poem in which no one understood anything. Rostislav sang something to the guitar.
And I could not wait until midnight . According to the script, it was at this hour that Roma had to officially ask for my hand. As if accidentally, I was sitting with Roma in the center, and his friends Lesha and Valya perched on the edge. And so, when the clock struck twelve, Roman raised a glass of champagne:
"Dear Boris Sergeevich and Olga Stepanovna," he began a solemn speech, memorized in advance. "I love your daughter and ask for your parental blessing." I will take care of Irina always. Ira, - Roman turned to me, - you agree to become my wife? The guests applauded. Everyone knew about our novel and wondered when the final, that is, the wedding. My mother's friends started kissing me, my dad's friends shook Roma's hand. Only Oles turned pale and demonstratively left the room. I knew that he was in love with me and sent in an envelope sentimental poems of his own composition, strikingly different from those that exhibited to the public. Suddenly the light went out. "What, the flood? Judgment Day? "- shouted his father, rushing about the apartment. He looked out the window - there was light in the next house. Among the guests began a panic: many did not like the dark. I heard someone crash something crystal. "Rostik, for help!" - called the father of his sculptor-student and with him went out into the corridor. We all froze in anticipation.
After about five minutes, electricity appeared again.
"It's all right," said the pleased father, entering the room with a screwdriver in his hand. - Some jokers twisted the plugs. Wow a surprise on New Year's Eve! Where do the concierge look, skipping all sorts of rascals? Working with the counter, he got a little stained with whitewashing and went to the bedroom to change his clothes. But a minute later jumped out of there as scalded.
- Olenka, - dad addressed to my mother, - we, in my opinion, were robbed !!! The matter is that my daddy did not trust banks and trusts and kept all his savings at home, or rather, in his own bedroom. Now the parent alcove resembled the city after the bombing: feathers of cut cushions flew everywhere, some papers, scraps, pins were strewn. The casket, where my mother kept all her jewelry, was empty.
"It could have been done only by someone present here," my father's friend, Vasili, who had the deductive thinking of Sherlock Holmes, suggested.
"When I went into the kitchen, it suddenly seemed to me that there was someone in the bedroom," Oles interjected into the conversation. - And I noticed that the girl who came with Roman's friend went out into the corridor. After that, the light went out. Yes, Roman, but where did your friends disappear? - He looked at my groom expressively, suspiciously screwing up his eyes.
"There is no doubt that only they could accomplish this," Vasily said. I had nothing to say, they are friends of Roman, and I must be on the side of my fiance, no matter what happens. Although it was difficult to maintain neutrality: Alyosha and Vali were nowhere to be found ...
They were detained quickly. Lesha found all our cash and jewels, and Vali's pockets were empty. She cried and denied her involvement in the theft: supposedly Lesha had asked her in advance to joke over Roma and unscrew the plugs.
"How did he know that we kept money in the bedroom?" Asked the pope, looking impressively at Roman.
"In my opinion, Irina once told him about it," my fiancé said to his father.
"She complained that you do not keep your savings, as expected, in a bank."
"How many times have I warned you? Do not write!" Cried my father, who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. A few more weeks passed. Alyosha was in the remand center, and Valya was at liberty - she was released on her own recognizance as a witness.
Cape Roma did not have time to apply to the registry office . His aunt suddenly fell ill, and he went to Dzhankoy. On a frosty evening, I sat by the TV, napping to the sound of some boring film. Suddenly Valentina called.
"I know that you do not like talking to me," she said, "but I beg you, do not hang up." We need to see and talk seriously. I wondered what the looter-loser wanted from me, I came to the meeting place. Valya was in an old coat, a hare hat, worn out boots, and trembled with cold. Pitying her, I invited her to a cafe.
"I promised to remain silent, but I can not stand it any more, watching my loved one die," she began the conversation. "I want to tell you the truth, and you decide how you should act." According to her version, the initiator of the New Year robbery was ... my fiance Roman, and Lesha was only a performer.
According to the plan, Lesha at the height of the fun had to sneak out of the common room and enter the bedroom, where, according to Roma, were all the values of my father. Rominy's friend had half an hour: during this time he had to find and empty the father's cache. Then after Romina speech, when all the guests begin to discuss the upcoming wedding, Valya was obliged to go out into the corridor and unscrew the traffic jams so that Lyosha went unnoticed.
"Which I did," Valentina concluded. "But we were not professionals, and could not assume that the operation" New Year "would fail. We expected that the house will be full of people, everyone will suspect each other and we have enough time to sell the jewelry and hide the money.
However, we quickly calculated . Alyosha at first refused to steal anything. But your Roma reminded him that he had a card debt on him. Of course, by your standards, it is small - a hundred dollars. But where did my unemployed friend get such a sum? Besides, Roma promised that we will share all the money of your father with each other. And now, when we were caught, Lesha nobly took all the blame on himself. On his orders, I also keep silent, otherwise Roman will think that Alexei betrayed him.
"What debt?" - I objected. - What operation is "New Year"? Why should I believe you? You're just trying to shield your fiancé, that's all!
"Let's go," Valentina said decisively. "I'll prove to you that I'm right." Promise, please, that you will not cut your veins, rush under the car or jump from the roof of a high-rise building.
We wandered along it for a long time along the back streets, and I was very tired in my heavy fashionable sheepskin coat. At last we approached the shabby courtyard and hid behind the fence.
"Look over there," Valya pointed to the playground. "Now you can make sure of everything yourself." Truly they say: love is blind. Where were my eyes used to be? Why did I not notice the strange behavior of the groom? His disappearances, sudden outbursts of anger, unwillingness to marry me - you could guess ... After the ice-covered children's hill, Roman stood and kissed a miniature girl. Around them ran a dressed in a bright jacket and a funny cap baby and threw snowballs. "This is the very secret for which he betrayed you," Valya whispered to me. "They've known each other for a year, and Roma is in love with her to madness." To any aunt in Dzhankoy, of course, he did not go, but settled with Tanya. I do not understand what he found in it. You are beautiful, with money, and this Tatiana has no skin, no faces. And four years old son, and not a penny for the soul. In addition, she suffers from bronchial asthma. Your friend hoped to spend the stolen money on her treatment. Three days ago Roma and Tanya got married, and the application to the registry office was filed in December. Lesha and I were supposed to be present at the wedding, but, as you know, there were only me among the guests.
He did not even inquire about the fate of his friend, although I was staring straight into his eyes. Lesche faces six years in prison, I consulted with a lawyer. ... Back home, on the machine, I completely forgot about the promise of not doing anything with myself. My vanity suffered too much from what I saw. I took out my razor and held it to my hand. No no no! The desire to live was stronger than the heartache. I buried my face in the pillow and howled softly. Roman was still dear to me, and I could not extradite him even after all he had done.
"What's the matter with you, daughter?" Dad asked, hearing my sobs.
I looked up. Before me was the only person in the world who really loved me. "Covering the criminal, do not I betray my own father?" - I thought and told my father everything.
- I knew it! Cried my father, after listening to me. "Your Roma was always slippery." And too many coincidences: we were robbed on the day when he asked for your hand. I immediately suspected him, but I had no reason to talk about this to the investigator. Well, I will not leave it like this. As Zheglov said, the thief should be in prison.
Father put on a suit , a winter coat and left the apartment. And I, half-dressed, jumped out after him. "What have I done? - I cried. "Roma will be put in jail, and his life will be forever ruined." Yes, he laughed at me. But where, then, is my charity? God teaches to forgive. " I did not manage to stop my father. My "foray" did not pass without a trace. I caught pneumonia and fell ill for a month. In delirium, it seemed to me like Romana was being tortured right on the prison floor, as the puny Tatiana with her restless child was laughing at us. And when I began to recover, I learned the truth. My father decided that he would not succeed in planting Roman. Against him there were no clues, and my father and I would not take the story seriously. The judges could decide that we are trying in this way to take revenge on Roma for the fact that he married another woman. The pope took his statement from the militia, and Alyosha was released. Valya calls me every day and constantly thanks me, swears that she will do anything for us. Hearing her voice, I hang up, because too weak to expose myself to new stresses. Valentine reminds me not only of my love defeat, but also of the experiences on New Year's Eve. I should not have thought that my father forgave Roma what he had done and left him alone. He always repeated that "a thief should be in prison", and "every criminal should be punished".
And at the same time he added that he had many acquaintances among "local authorities". And Roma was recently found beaten to death in the entrance ... After experiencing a nightmare of illness, betrayal and trials, I hoped that this horror had ended. But it all started again.
The investigators went to our house along the beaten path, but not to record our testimony as victims of the robbery, but to interrogate me about the "grave bodily harm" to my ex-groom. The Pope so firmly rejected all suspicions that I was not even certain that he was involved in this case. Alone, he continued to assure me that he had not done anything to Roman. I did not try to get to the truth, but I was sure that my father put his hand to this: his love for me was boundless. And most importantly, now I was not at all sorry for Roma. They say that time heals. Apparently, this is so, because it was much more important for me to remove all suspicions from the pope, and my real wife should now take care of the health of my ex-groom. What else to add? Roman successfully recovered and took the statement from the police. Conscience woke up and he felt a little guilty in front of me, or Dad's "acquaintances" hinted to him not to twitch - I do not know. I'm sure only in one thing: after this episode, our relationship with my dad changed. I began to trust him with my secrets, and he - to closely monitor the intentions and origins of all my subsequent suitors, friends and even just passing acquaintances.