After his wife went to work, she had an affair and did not return, leaving Martin with the three

Martin could not believe what was happening because it just could not be he reread the message from his wife again she said that she had met the love of her life and decided to stay with him don't call don't look for me it hurts me too I am not made of iron but I cannot do otherwise I'm not going back explain that to the children Martin turned his gaze from the phone screen where the message was still glowing to the shelf on the wall there they were three different children's cups sent by his wife from

the Damned far away country where she worked on some agricultural plantations like many women Martin's wife had gone to work from their town where they were paid enough to live here with him and their three children his mother-in-law also received some money by the way he was lucky to have such a mother-in-law although earlier it seemed that he had also been lucky with his wife by turning off the phone Martin put it on the table and went into the bathroom from the mirror a Vaguely Familiar man with the look of a raving lunatic was looking

at him so he thought I need to lay everything out just like my father taught me when I was a child yes his father who lived in another country would have been helpful if he had been around but he was far away and he didn't want to upset him his parents had lived together until his mother's death raising him and his sister Martin's thoughts ran like players losing teams on a soccer field clinging to each other without purpose but quickly so what do I have the apartment was bought on credit my earnings are at the

don't starve to death level mother-in-law children three of them they are asleep now waiting for Mom and hoping for her return soon she texted that she was renewing her contract and hadn't come on vacation he automatically dialed his wife's number no connection then he called his mother-in-law Mrs Betty answered immediately even though it was the middle of the night did something happen Martin it happened Martin barely recognized his own voice she left us what I don't understand what's wrong wait I'll be right there it's 20 minutes away that's what he always liked and respected his

mother-in-law for her ability to never lose her mind she was a former electronic engineer in the distant past traveling abroad was seen only in movies and on TV so mentally imitating the unknown psychologist he began let's analyze the situation from the very beginning and it all started a few years ago his wife's best friend had gone away to Europe for three months she returned tanned and strong and she brought back enough money to feed her family for the whole winter and the family was large Martin remembered that evening when he and his wife came to

visit them in minute detail an ordinary routine seasonal field work harvesting the crops if it samples the job comes down to calling the rotten and spoiled ones you have to stand near the transporter and select the rotten the rest roll into crates the boxes are packed covered with netting and shipped to whatever country you want and then there are the peaches they have to be put in special corrugated boxes or manually the work is tedious and painstaking and Under the Sun not everyone can stand it those who get involved get good money the management deducts

a sum from the salary for accommodation and food but they give free overalls gloves and sun hats people often go there from all over Europe it's such a communal Continental hangout they dance and if they have strength they go out on weekends and most importantly they are not cheated there the intermediary fly-by-night firms having made their money have faded into Oblivion there are only those who work in Earnest Embassy visas Insurance everything is as it should be after several months of arguing discussing calling meeting and fighting Vicky decided to go for just one season and

this is the outcome of her trip Martin was looking for reasons in himself and in his family they lived an ordinary life once they met they liked each other if there was love it cooled off quietly four months after the wedding they had twins to Martin's surprise none of the gossipy women around the entrance is voiced the slightest disapproval he worked in the design office they built Cottage towns and there was enough money to go around Martin and Vicky wanted a daughter but they got both a daughter and a son at first glance The Children

looked very similar Martin remembered that there were twins in his family and his wife's father was one of the twins and then Hector was born so worries and expenses immediately added up and things got worse then the crisis came they began to quarrel but they both loved their children or not both Martin remembered one very typical episode when Vicky hid their older son hard because he spilled hot milk then he just took the water out of the faucet and poured it on her she was apologizing deeply but the fear in the sun's eyes didn't go

away for long or am I just winding myself up now thought Martin before his mother-in-law arrived the key squeaked in the lock and the door hinges howled loudly I never get around to oiling the front door Martin thought Granny Betty as her grandchildren called her came in the Mother-in-law went into the kitchen without undressing sitting down on a stool she shook her head demonstrating that her daughter did not answer they sat there in silence then they heard footsteps and the daughter came in she saw them smiled sleepily and went busily into the bathroom then she

came back to their kitchen snuggled into the cold coat of her grandmother and almost fell asleep Martin carried her to bed in the morning Vicky deigned to answer Martin could not hear what exactly sent to her mother but his mother-in-law's gaze became the way she used to see off missiles going to intercept low-flying targets Martin had seen these pictures in a family album I don't have a daughter anymore I only have a son and grandchildren do you understand me he understood they told the children that Mom wasn't coming eldest son Harry suggested she drowned didn't

she on the Titanic the younger actor cried and Ashley joined him Hector stopped crying quickly after the smack he got from Harry don't cry Ashley is watching and then all three of them looked at each other and asked me to buy them a dog Martin promised to buy it thus the golden retriever Jack appeared in the home the naughty and mischievous dog immediately chewed up Ashley's favorite doll life continued but the Eternal question what to do next did not disappear they somehow sat down to discuss budget planning the subcutaneous supplies were melting and Jack and

the children were constantly hungry for something to eat fall and winter were ahead not the most active seasons for Martin's work his mother-in-law worked as a tutor helping high school students with physics and doing term papers for students he barely made ends meet after all it wasn't easy to live with the money Vicky sent them but they coped the purchase of a new washing machine had to be postponed they still had their clothes they rejected the idea of buying clothes in second-hand stores right away without speaking in silence a new life was beginning Martin got

a job as a designer thanks to the fact that he knew how to draw advertising models Betty practically moved in with them taking care of the children the father had to see the children more and more on the weekends he laughed in the morning when they were still asleep and came in the evening when they were already asleep he sent out and posted his resume on all the websites but so far there has been no response Martin was terribly tired he had one Joy or rather four the side of frolicking children and Jack was a

joy but something inside was aching and whining finally his wife's friend who had returned from abroad brought Clarity Vicky had contacted an agronomist from France and left for his homeland breaking the contract and disappearing into the fog in the group of workers some envied her some condemned her but they gossiped and forgot her Vicky's friend was afraid to look Martin in the eye but he felt nothing but emptiness so that's how it is he thought Jack jerked his leash hard and barked at someone unless someone was a poodle with a bow she was being held

by a young woman Martin took a closer look at her and found her very cute and attractive especially with her curly red hair poking out from under her hat Don't Be Afraid Jack doesn't bite I know retrievers are dangerous because they can only leak an enemy to death she said laughing or ringing laugh she had a good laugh only good people laugh like that they bowed and went their separate way they saw each other again a couple of days later Martin and his children were riding bicycles and the owner of the poodle parked the car

probably because the place was not too big she could not fit the car successfully Martin helped her let's at least get acquainted he suggested cheekily my name is Martin and this is all our team Harry Hector and Ashley well you already know Jack and my name is Rebecca it turned out that Rebecca was the director of an architectural Bureau and was just looking for new people the bureau worked for Western clients there was a lot of work to be done and there was a catastrophic lack of people who could do things that were not as

good as Walter Mars but better than Dorothy's end that would make them comfortable and beautiful the man showed her his portfolio and told her what he thought and how he saw his work so in three days he was already sitting in his new office modeling a two-story Victorian style mansion on the computer tying it to all the communications of the 21st century Rebecca turned out to be a very competent specialist and a very close person but something about her was appealing later he learned that it was Mutual she many times drove Martin home after work

which was a good thing because they lived nearby and each time she was surprised at how Martin bought food and managed not to confuse what he bought for whom Mrs Betty saw her son-in-law being dropped off by a woman a couple of times but she never said anything to him about it what was there to say she and Rebecca were in a business relationship they communicated only on the job she was punctual and discreet nothing more but more and more often Martin caught himself thinking about her he liked her demeanor and her smile she was

polite and very genuine and a couple of times he caught the longing in her gaze when she looked at his children few more months passed like that and then Martin and Rebecca went on a business trip to the country where their Villa was being built according to a new project after work they decided to go to a restaurant it was very noisy they went for a walk in the park and spent a long time wandering around the city at night they got to talking about life and Rebecca told Martin her story she was born in

a small town her mother was a librarian and her father worked as a Turner at a machine factory the girl came to town and entered the University fortunately she had enough knowledge because she had a whole library at her disposal which was inherited from the disbanded missile unit she met a foreign businessman over the Internet she married him but as it turned out he did not want to have a child and over time she realized her mistake they had to break up Rebecca returned to the city worked and became CEO of the very Bureau she

now works at the rest can be told for a long time or very briefly at the airport a week later the honor guard was waiting for them hanging around Martin's neck with joyful squeals shrieks laughter and barking Rebecca looked at them and smiled then she met Mrs Betty's eyes and they smiled at each other they all ate dinner together already the presents had been sorted out the flying helicopter had already bumped and broken apart already Jack has stopped being afraid of the talking dolls the toy truck with a crane had already stopped flashing and the

Mother-in-law was wrapped in her new shawl and then the children went to bed IA was strictly ordered to come tomorrow to go for a walk in the park with them Martin and Rebecca stood out the window and could not part suddenly some wrestling distracted them all four faces stared at them slyly daddy let Rebecca live with us huh and they all laughed amicably now they have a full family again and the children are guessing who will be the force a brother or a sister and only Jack did not care at all he and the poodle

had long ago learned to share the bones and have absolutely no quarrels