– How? But yesterday…

“This is my uncle, my mother’s brother,” Petya muttered, expressing his attitude towards his relative in a tone. “Mom asked him to take me to the hospital when I felt sick with my stomach.

– So what, you live alone while your mother is in America?!

– No, with my grandmother. More precisely, with my great-grandmother. But she is very old and sick.

Nadya sighed sadly. Poor kids! It seemed to her that she would never have left her people for so long and so far. And even more so, she would not have disappeared without communication.

She wanted to stay longer in the hospital, but she still needed to prepare for going to the theater with Anatoly, and the nurses were already looking at their cheerful company with disapproval.

* * *

Tolik arranged a meeting at the entrance to the railway station: it was most convenient to travel by train, so that there would be no traffic jams there and back. Nadya arrived there by bus, which was not easy, given the heels (albeit small, but still unusual for her feet). She was also cold while walking from the stop to the porch of the station, because her mother persuaded her to wear a silk dress from prom and thin nylon tights, and only a raincoat on top, and did not even allow her to put a warm jacket between them, so as not to look like a collective farm when she undressed in theater foyer…

And what was Nadya’s surprise when, after all these difficulties and hardships, she found Tatyana Dmitrievna near the entrance! Tolik, of course, was also there, but he seemed to be slightly hiding behind his mother’s wide back, either from the fresh spring breeze, or from Nadya.

“H-hello,” she muttered in confusion, turning mainly to her potential mother-in-law.

“Hello, Nadyusha,” said Tatyana Dmitrievna, for some reason not as friendly as she did at the Melnikovs’ house. – What is it, you decided to catch a cold? Why are you dressed so lightly? It's not May yet, but in the evening it will become even cooler.

Tolik was silent. Nadya was even more confused.

– I… I… And you… will you go with us?

– Certainly! – Tatyana Dmitrievna snapped. “Is it proper for a girl to meet a man alone before they get engaged?!”

Nadya opened her mouth, but couldn’t find anything to object to, and closed it back. On the one hand, that’s true, but on the other hand, they’re going to the theater… But, okay. Nadya has not yet decided how to relate to this overprotection.

They entered the station and headed to the ticket office. Tatyana Dmitrievna herself talked to the cashier and paid for everything herself, and then with a patronizing look she handed Nadya a ticket in the form of a check. The three of them sat down on the triple seat: Nadya and Tolik on the sides, his mother in the middle.

“I need to talk to you very seriously, my dear,” this did not sound sweet from the lips of the potential mother-in-law. – So to speak, dot all the i’s. I know that you are from a good family and raised in the best traditions of Orthodox Christianity, and yet there are some peculiarities in how I would like to see the family life of my son…

This was followed by a repeated long enumeration of all the merits and perfections of Tolik, and then – the features of his daily routine, sleep, nutrition and other things. Then – how Tatyana Dmitrievna sees his future. Three children – no more. His health won’t allow him anymore (Nadya didn’t understand what exactly his health has to do with it, because the father’s physiological contribution to the unborn child is minimal compared to bearing and feeding the mother, but she was embarrassed to clarify). Further, all child care concerns: feeding, bathing, rocking, and so on – should fall on the mother, and the father’s responsibility is only the financial support of the family. This is why a wife should not work: she does the whole house, cleaning, cooking, and caring for her husband. Tolika is also not in good health for physical work around the house. Working with his hands is not his thing at all, and at home he should only rest.