By chance, this turned out to be our first and last night of love with Ira. The next day, Kostya abandoned his passion and returned to his family. After that, I still often visited them, but, of course, both I and Irina kept our secret.

P.S. Four years have passed since that night. We moved to another area of ​​the city and have not seen Kostya and Ira for three years. Literally by chance, they dropped in on us "for a light", and now, when everyone was already pretty drunk, Ira gave out the phrase: "There was a big plus in the fact that Kostya left me - I found out what a real man is." And all this time she looked directly into my eyes. Thank God that our other halves took it as a drunken chatter in order to annoy Kostya.

officer's wife

Title: officer's wife

The withdrawal of our troops from Mongolia was the most difficult period of my service. We left the inhabited military camp and left for no one knows where, it’s good that they gave me a wagon-car, because I commanded the signalmen’s department at the regiment headquarters. True, it was difficult to call it a department - only four people: three demobilized (Karasev, Poluchko and Zhmerin) and one salaga (Starkov). And in this composition, plus me and my wife Tanya, with all state-owned equipment and personal property, we had to travel across Siberia to a new location in the Ural Military District.

Everyone was engaged in loading together, I, with Private Starkov, brought all my belongings on a cart to the car, where the other three soldiers, under the guidance of my wife, loaded everything inside. And as I rolled the cart around the corner, I stopped to rest and wait for Starkov, who ran back to get the things I had dropped in the confusion. From here I had a beautiful view of the platform, where my wife told the three demobilized people how to carefully load the cabinet with a glass door, and they listened to her lazily, from time to time looking sideways at her body covered with sports tights.

Come on boys, let's get it! And you Valera accept!

Karasev jumped into the car, preparing to receive the load, while Poluchko and Zhmerin began clumsily lifting the cabinet.

Oh, be careful! - shouted Tanya, rushing to hold the unexpectedly opened glass door. - Why are you so!

After most of the cabinet was lifted into the car, the soldiers relaxed and winked at my wife.

Allow me, we’ll lift it up from here, ”said Zhmerin, as if by chance coming up from behind and grabbing my wife by the chest, while Poluchko pawed her buttocks in the same manner.

Well, let it go! Tatyana shouted sternly, slapping Zhmerin's hands.

The soldiers immediately moved away from her, hesitating.

You look to dissolve your hands! I'm not thinking for a long time, I can complain about you, or even hit me with something!

“Well, it seems to be starting,” flashed through my head, although I didn’t have time to think about what exactly was starting. Starkov came and we rolled the cart to the car.

I remembered this incident already on the road, when, having fenced off the snoring fighters with a screen, my wife and I went to sleep on the mattress prepared for this.

"But what if you leave her alone, alone with them? Will they rape her or be afraid?" I thought.

I tried to kiss my wife on the lips, but she turned away.

Lesha, don't! Your soldiers are sleeping nearby.

Yes, they will not hear anything, they are sleeping without hind legs. Namayalis see much for the day. I pressed.

I'm tired too. - Tatyana resolutely stopped my encroachments.

But the chance to leave his wife with the soldiers was not long in coming. Arriving on the territory of the Union, we stopped at the location of one part railway troops For undefined period. There was nowhere to accommodate, so all of our people continued to live in wagons. And somehow, one Sunday, I had to be on duty at the headquarters, which was at the railwaymen. Of course, I went there not without fear, leaving my wife in the care of the soldiers, but everything seemed to be fine, and besides, I did not sit there for long. A railway officer came who had some paperwork there and offered to stay at the headquarters instead of me, especially since it is unlikely that anyone will disturb the headquarters on a day off after the move. I willingly took advantage of his offer and hurried home, but before reaching my car, which stood separately in one of the dead ends, I suddenly found an empty bottle of vodka lying on the ground. This, and also the fact that the door of the caravan was tightly pushed, alerted me. I wanted to break in there, but overcoming the excitement, I went around the car on the other side, where there was a gap through which you can see what is happening inside, while remaining unnoticed. The following picture appeared before me: Karasev and Zhmerin were holding a strained snoring Starkov, and Poluchko was trying to take off his pants. My wife rushed around them.

You probably will not argue that we, military sailors, and civilians too, are the most vulnerable part of society in terms of the safety of family relationships. Once I read about a Norwegian, the conqueror of the Arctic, I don’t remember her last name, who said an interesting phrase. Her meaning boiled down to the fact that she conquered the North, but she could never be the wife of a sailor, because not every woman will be able to withstand a long separation, nature will take its toll, well, it is impossible for a young woman to be a nun in the world. I don’t know how to love a man in order to remain faithful to him when there are a lot of hefty stallions around with peaks at the ready. But it happens that the woman remains on top, and the man is shit.

So. We had an absolutely positive lieutenant on the ship, now they are called “nerds”. Didn't smoke, didn't even drink beer, studied English language and, perhaps, knew him perfectly, in any case, English literature I read it in the original, I saw it myself. On vacation with his wife, he went to camp sites, where they went hiking and climbed mountains. In general, there was not a single speck on his "image of morality."

It was on this "nerd" that our special officer had his eye. What else is needed? Like all of us, he is devoted to the cause of the CPSU and the Soviet government, but, unlike us, he does not drink, does not smoke, and has not been noticed in anything reprehensible. Hooray! And the special officer recommended him to his office as a future employee. And Vova-botan gathered for knowledge in the city of Novosibirsk, because neophytes were attached to the great caste there. But, before changing career guidance, he went on another vacation, as usual, to a camp site. With my wife.

After taking a vacation and gaining the necessary amount of health, the family was gathering to a new duty station. Vova says to his wife: “Darling, come immediately to Novosibirsk, and I will send the container from home myself. It makes no sense for two to drag on Far East, and then to Novosibirsk. The wife said, “That makes sense. I listen and obey".

But it is not in vain that they say that in a still pool, you yourself know who is found. Once Vova, being a cadet of the first or second year of the naval bursa, met with one girl, and she simply threw him away when a fifth-year student loomed on the horizon. Also reasonable. It’s not for me to tell you - why the hell is she a first-second-year jerk, who needs to be brought up and courted for a few more years, and here is a ready-made lieutenant with a salary, like a miner with experience! And the new family left for the Far East.

Vova married a very interesting girl, they had a daughter. According to the distribution, Vova ended up in the same place where the woman who had thrown him had been living for several years. With family, of course. Our small town, they could not meet. In general, feelings flared up again, and from feelings-with people they can do a lot of stupid things. In short: "If you drown, or stick to p ... stick, then at first it is difficult, and then you get used to it." Vova stuck and got used to it.

The fornicators decided that they would go to Novosibirsk together, and he would introduce her as his wife, and then, you see, everything would settle down. The husband of Vova's passion was in military service. There were children, she had two of them. But then the wives of officers always helped each other out. And this time the woman came to her friend and asked her to look after the children, she would be away for a day or two. There was nothing unusual about the request, and the friend agreed. In general, the wife runs away with a passing lieutenant, as in sentimental novels. The children stayed with a neighbor. The mother was not going to return. Why she did this is still a mystery. And Vova, you know, stuck to the female genital organ and therefore did not understand anything.

But he was a noble man and a great fool. Before leaving, he writes a letter to his lawful wife. The same as in sentimental novels: they say, forgive me, all my life I loved only her, and he married you out of hopelessness and despair. It is at least unpleasant for any woman to hear this, and Vova’s wife was a woman who was not only outwardly interesting, but, unlike his passion, she had something in her head. She did not tear up the letter received from her lawful husband in annoyance, as a less intelligent woman would have done, but carefully preserved it. And immediately returned to the place of residence. There she appeared in a special department and, presenting a letter, caught up with a rustle: “How did Felix Edmundovich teach you? Clean hands!!! The man left his family and went with a whore to your holy of holies!!! How did you let this happen?!"

To the honor of the special officers, they reacted promptly and adequately. We were not afraid to sully the honor of the uniform. Although the order to enroll Vova in their camp was signed by the biggest boss, nevertheless, in a matter of days it was canceled, and Vova was expelled for low moral qualities. He returned to the ship, but there was already another person on his staff. Therefore, Vova was accepted back, but taken out of the state, that is, he received money only for his small rank. He was expelled from the party for the same moral qualities. At a party meeting, his uterus was twisted masterfully and completely, and this story became public, because only our party organs and Catholic inquisitors could twist the insides of a person with such pleasure and put them on public display. Or am I wrong?

A neighbor, after sitting with the children for several days, raised the alarm. Husband pulled off the ship Indian Ocean and promptly delivered to the place of residence. Other relatives were also called ... In general, the family united again. The lady returned to her husband. Who would dare to throw a stone at her? He accepted it. And now they live, but I don’t know if they are happy.

And Vova was settled in my cabin, and after some time we began to communicate, but we didn’t touch on past events at all. He is closed, and I do not like to climb into a person’s soul. And only once Vova asked:

“Do you think if I try to return to my family, I will succeed?”

- I do not know. I said honestly. - Women tend to forgive, you should at least try.

Vova did nothing. Subsequently, he went to another ship, but, in my opinion, he rose to the rank only to a drop*. His wife lived alone, according to neighbors and friends, she did not meet with anyone, and after two or three years she left for her homeland with her daughter.

* lieutenant commander (captain)

Reviews

Anything happens.
I had a friend - a marine officer somewhere near Vladik.
You know yourself - marines on large ships, dowries. They went on a campaign, six months later he returns - there is a note on the table, his wife is gone.
Married for the second time. After the next campaign - the same picture.
He never married again.

Grigory, this is not only among sailors.
Here is a typical episode for you.
Grozny. Second Chechen. Call center at Severny airport. Just opened, two booths, satellite connection, expensive. There is a crowd on the porch, there is just no one: special forces, riot police, SOBR, intelligence ... Chatting, flasks in a circle, smoke in a pillar.
One of the officers called home.
- Hello! Hello! Are you son?
Call Mom!
- There is no mother. And who are you?
- Like who? I am your dad!
- Nope. Dad is washing in the bathroom.
And you are an uncle.

I don't know with what heart he came home.

Seryoga was given the rank of major. Previously, he did not have such a title, but now he does, he sits, does not know what to do. Until the very evening, he was tormented by the question of whether to drink for him to celebrate, or not to stain the honor of a senior officer, at least on the very first day. The worst part is that I don't feel like drinking anymore. Terrible things the army does to people.

Serega came home from work, Olya opened the door for him, looks - her husband is standing, sober, thoughtful and already a major. The life of an officer's wife is full of surprises, in the morning you wake up next to the captain, and in the evening the major falls into the house. It is not clear how to feel like a decent woman. Olya let Seryoga into the house, touched her forehead, and said:

Why are you so sober, aren't you sick?

The wife of a Russian officer is easily frightened, she quickly gets used to the fact that her husband is disciplined and predictable. Sobriety without a reason is an alarming symptom, it will make anyone nervous. Serega, of course, is a decent person and drinks little, but everything has its limits.

The life of an officer's wife has never been easy. There are many examples in history. Some Parisians from medieval Paris must have gathered sometimes for a bachelorette party and complained to each other about their husbands.

Can you imagine mine, - one said, - yesterday I had a fight with the guards of the cardinal! I washed the blood from the camisole until night, and then sewed up more holes. I tell him: “Can you be more careful with the camisole? I could try not to bump into every sword. What do you care, lie down and go fight again, damn duelist! And what am I, a seamstress to you?

And her friends nodded in understanding, saying to her:

What is he?

What is he?

And what is he? .. He lied some nonsense, for chickens to laugh. Secret, they say, task, state secret! Bullets whistled overhead! .. As usual, everyone around the scoundrel, he is one d'Artagnan. Then I rummaged through his pockets, and you know what? .. Diamond pendants, that's what! I'm telling you exactly, girls - I went to the woman.

The girlfriends then sympathetically shook their heads and pitied the officer's wife.

And the wives of the Pechenegs had even worse. Some Pecheneg lieutenant easily dragged another young wife from abroad. He brought her to the house, and said to his first wife:

Meet, dear, this is Masha, she will live with us.

Better suspension, honestly.

Now, of course, it's easier. The officer now went balanced, reasonable. Give him a pension for service and an apartment from the state, and all sorts of Londons with pendants did not give him up for nothing. On weekends, the officer goes to the theater, and when he is given a major, he already thinks: to drink for him to celebrate, or to make a pleasant surprise for the liver.

Serega came into the house, kissed his wife, walked the dog, ate dinner, then called me. He told how he and Olya went to the theater on weekends to see Romeo and Juliet. Very instructive story, by the way.

People do not lie, there is no sadder story in the world. Romeo seemed to be high, muttering something under his breath all the time, staring stupidly at his beloved Juliet, as if he could not decide whether she had plucked her eyebrows, or whether she had a hooked nose the last time. His ardent love was so unconvincing that the public suspected an intrigue, whether the director had decided to make Alphonse and a marriage swindler out of Romeo. By the second act, this Romeo had so tired everyone that when he finally died, the audience shouted "Bravo!" and demanded to die for an encore. It was the only moment in the performance that everyone wanted to remember.

Some kind of junkie, not Romeo, - said Seryoga. - Ears splayed, eyes run. We would call him into the army, we would make a man out of him here. Maybe even to the rank of captain.

Of course, no Capulets would have dared to contradict a military officer of the Russian army, they would have given Juliet as a wife, like pretty ones. He would have taken her somewhere to Kaluga or Kaliningrad, to the place of service. On weekends, they would go to the theater, wait for an apartment from the state. Juliet would settle down, go to work as an accountant at the Central Department Store, and get a dog. At times, of course, she would complain about Romeo:

My yesterday, after the service, again went to the tavern with friends. He came after midnight, the whole tunic was wrinkled, a button was torn off somewhere. What am I, a seamstress, to fix his tunic every time? ..

But still, where would she be without him? An officer's wife will not leave her officer. She loves him.

One thing is bad, sometimes you wake up next to the captain, and in the evening the major comes to you.

And how to feel like a decent woman at the same time? ..

Unclear.

IN modern society interest has grown in the study of small groups acting as a social microenvironment that has a direct impact on the individual. small group is a kind of community in which certain social relations are realized, and which, at the same time, are mediated by joint activities. Consideration of such communities allows us to most fully reveal the picture of everyday life, to consider the life of an ordinary person.

One example of a closed community is one in which a person's behavior strategy is built in accordance with ideas about the people around him. These representations form knowledge about daily practices and their temporal distribution among the residents of the town during the day, work features, preferences and interests, values ​​inherent in one or another category of people living here.

The limited space, "life in plain sight", close relationships in a military camp leads, on the one hand, to the cohesion of the inhabitants, and on the other, to the formation of separate communities in the military environment, for example, women's. IN Soviet times women, having the opportunity to make a career on an equal basis with men, to participate in public life, faced difficult choice between family priorities and their own needs for self-realization. The officer's wife, being a civilian, nevertheless, experienced all the "hardships and hardships military service”, which often expressed for her in the absence of opportunities for growth professionally and culturally, as well as general dissatisfaction with life. Since on the territory of the military camp the position of women as a whole initially depended on the attitude towards their husbands-officers, and within the residential part of the town, women formed a relatively independent community with their own hierarchy and organization of life. This determined the research interest of the authors in the study and analysis of this problem using the biographical method. The study was conducted in April-October 2011 (the sample consisted of 10 women from 45 to 84 years old) and made it possible to identify the features of the life stories of wives. No other male profession has such an impact on the position of women in society as the military profession. On the one hand, the very phrase "military wife" is just a definition marital status women, and more is said about the husband than about the woman herself.

But on the other hand, behind this definition there is a whole layer of specific ideas, the wife of a military man is an independent female status not only within the military community, but also civil. The definition of "officer's wife" is self-sufficient, enshrined in the language as an independent formula, and behind it is a whole layer of ideas related to a certain generalized image. In the course of the study, we covered a fairly large period of time, in connection with which one can notice certain changes that have occurred in the daily routine of military camps and in the minds of people. All respondents who participated in the study had an education and a profession, and during the survey there was such a tendency that predominantly all women had a pedagogical, medical or economic education. “It has always been interesting for me to observe the pattern “the work of the husband is the work of the wife”.

I even compiled some rough statistics. It turns out that more than 50% of officers' wives work as teachers, medical workers or cooks. Another 40% are housewives, trade workers, and only 10% are engaged in completely different things. Sometimes, it seems that God specially creates such couples for a strong union” (N.V., aged 51). The dating stories were quite similar. They took place at dance parties that were held in schools and institutes, as well as among friends.

So, for example, several respondents in their youth went to dances in military schools, and some, on the contrary, tell how in their educational institutions festive events were organized, to which young people from military schools were invited. Short and rare, due to barracks life, meetings of the cadet, as a rule, ended with a marriage proposal. Graduation at the school, golden shoulder straps, wedding and departure to the place of service. This is where the romance ended, and the harsh everyday life began. “Beyond the walls of the military camp there was a different life ... It was an army, the service may be inconspicuous, without shoulder straps and titles, but just as difficult, and maybe even harder, than that of her husband. Not everyone survived” (E.S., 47 y.). A military camp is related to a military unit as a women's space is to a man's. Women are mainly engaged in the organization of everyday life, and men are engaged in military service.

Women's and men's perceptions of the appropriateness of space occupied in the town are determined according to relatively different value systems. The identity of an officer's wife is initially formed through the awareness of self-affirmation, primarily through the achievements of her husband. The service hierarchy directly affects the relationship of their wives, defining the boundaries of communication between them. And this is clearly seen in the stories of the respondents themselves. The key moments in the life of an officer's wife are: early (most often) marriage, the birth of children (in the very first years of marriage), constant moving from one military camp to another, everyday overcoming of difficulties associated with the remoteness of towns from administrative centers, lack of work, therefore , in most cases a life-long profession of a housewife. Since, on average, the family of a serviceman moves 3-5 times during the service of an officer. For a civilian, moving is always an event, and a turning point in his personal destiny. For members of military families, this is a completely predictable and inevitable fact. Within the framework of the “common destiny”, a change of residence, on the one hand, is a common phenomenon, one might even say, “routine”.

"Life on suitcases", temporary housing, the absence of one's own "home" - all these topics make up an idea of ​​the general fate of the military. At the same time, undoubtedly, the fact of changing the place of service of an officer is an event in the life of the whole family, but an event that does not go beyond the usual course of things. In general, moving does not entail a change in the living environment. There is a certain "knowledge" about the types of military camps, the hierarchy of its inhabitants, the conditions of relationships between people, the usual types of everyday practices that are formed in the process of living in a military camp. Therefore, the development of events is predicted in accordance with this knowledge. An important place in a woman's life is how she distributes time during the day. A military wife lives the life of her husband: her daily routine is entirely focused on the departure / arrival of her husband.

In his absence, she takes care of household chores; violations in a clear schedule are always associated with the service of an officer, and the wife is able to "explain" any delays of her husband at work or his absence for a certain time ("urgent business trip", "exercises", "barracks position", after all, "something It happened at work." This is expressed in phrases such as: "our service." Regardless of whether a woman works or not, her main “profession” is the duties of a “military wife”. “The regime was certain, it was normal, sometimes they went to the exercises, To the exercises ... for three days, in general, not for long, but the fact that you yourself are always there is unequivocal. The only thing he left at eight, from two to four break, as it should be at this time, I have to feed, drink and put him to bed, he had to rest, as expected, and he left until eight in the evening. And you're alone all day, that's for sure. These are household chores, girlfriends, you will go, take a walk. On weekends he is in a dress or somewhere else ”(E.P., 48 years old). An important place in the life of any woman is occupied by a child, but in the life of a military camp, a child is an important condition for the involvement of a woman in a social circle consisting of neighbors and other women who have children - “mommies”, which are the majority in a military camp. “You quickly get to know each other there, everyone walks with strollers, the neighbors help each other out a lot, at least they lived very friendly.

The specifics of the garrison, they are rocket men, they went on duty for weeks. They went on weekly duty, i.e. I haven't had my husband for a week, as they say, do it yourself” (S.S., aged 47). At all feature The composition of the population of the military camp has always been complete families, which consisted of a husband, wife and children. Unmarried girls in the towns are, as a rule, only the eldest daughters in officer families. There were almost no other unmarried women in military camps, because the only way to become its resident was to marry a military man. As a rule, everyone knew about single women living without a husband, in this case we are talking, first of all, about divorced women, who most often remained in the unit after a divorce. On the territory of the military camp, they became the object of increased attention and evaluation.

Single women are associated with such everyday plots as pandering and sexual relations with married officers. “... we shared our thoughts with each other that husbands should not be left, because there are many divorced and all of them, as a rule, remain in the same town, the husbands leave further according to distribution. Therefore, one must protect one's own, vigilant. She gave birth to children and did not go to her mother, we only went on vacation together once a year, for two months with the children” (S.S., 47 years old). All conflicts that arose in the women's society were resolved with the participation of the Women's Council. Very often, in the context of the interview, such a character as the “commander's wife” (“chief's wife”) appeared - an older woman who is the wife of an officer commanding a separate unit. The fact that the wives of the military, who are subordinate to the senior officer, recognize the seniority of his wife, calling her "the wife of the commander", this indicates that women form a separate part of the community of the military camp, the relationship between members of which is built in accordance with the hierarchy , according to the position of the husband.

The perception of the life of that time, the difficulties that one had to face: poor living conditions, constant moving, staying in places remote from the city's "benefits" - material and spiritual - are always present in stories about past life, but most often they were overlapped by the fact that “but it was friendly and fun”, they were young. Therefore, to the question “How can you evaluate your decision to marry an officer today?”, They answered positively: “Why not, love does great miracles, you will follow him anywhere, and you won’t have anything in the military - this is unequivocal, except for their state salary, they have no left money, ... therefore, one must be prepared for anything. At that moment, the officer's salary was enough to support me, my children, and save something else” (I.V., aged 45). Thus, our study shows that the study of small groups, the disclosure of internal connections, norms, and attributes specific to these groups is an important and promising area of ​​modern social research. Such studies allow us to look into another "world", to look at a different reality through the eyes of its direct participants.

V.N. Rakachev, Ya.V. Rakacheva

about

Here it is, female happiness ...

Registration number 0089599 issued for the work:

A young, beautiful, young wife of an officer, she had just graduated from the Pedagogical Institute, I was barely twenty-two years old. We came to the border, to my husband's unit. Around the forest, nature is generous and beautiful, "the air is clean and fresh, like a kiss of a child," but the wilderness is terrible! I’ll go to teach at the garrison school, I’ll definitely find a place for myself, otherwise I’ll die of longing! My husband is a rather nice, kind and reliable person. Several soft-bodied, girlfriends called him "mattress", but I wanted to spit on their characteristics - I will live my life behind him, like behind a stone wall. You look, he will also become a general!

The first day in the garrison began stormily and well. We were received warmly and cordially. As I remember now: preparations are underway for the holiday, and we, having thrown our things into the room allotted to us in the officer's house, are happy to join in the fun commotion. Among the new comrades there is one young officer, he immediately catches the eye: young, but already weighed down by life experience, tall, handsome brunette with breathtaking blue eyes. Rare combination! He also looks at me furtively, but very often, I stumble upon his eyes all the time. In huge aquamarine eyes - admiration and poorly hidden passion. We don't say a word to each other, he laughs a lot, tells jokes and seems agitated for no reason.

I am suddenly seized with an incomprehensible excitement. Finally, everyone sits down at the table, there are a lot of people, it's fun. A strange married couple is present at the celebration: a highly experienced general and his flirtatious young wife, who frivolously shoots her eyes, as if in a shooting range, at all the abundance of local young officers. Looks like I'm tired of my gray-haired husband! They are guests of honor. Zd about right! Music, youth! Maybe it's not as boring here as I thought? "All the same, I'll try the position of a teacher!" - vouched for herself.

Dances begin, and my husband is suddenly invited by a young general's wife. Why, out of all the variety of young interesting men, she chose him, it still remains a mystery. The brunette officer immediately comes up to me and silently drops his head on his chest. Modestly lowering my eyes, I go with him, and the heart begins to dance the Charleston. We are having this conversation.

HE: "Maybe let's go straight to" you "?"

I (coquettishly): "Yes, we didn't seem to drink brotherhood..."

HE (smiling): "The hint is clear."

We are very close, his hot hand trembling slightly on my waist.

HE: "Let's meet! Can you come when your husband is asleep? I'll wait at least until morning at the very place where the two rivers meet."

I know a place with that name. It was shown to me and my husband as the only garrison attraction.

I: "Good! - I remember myself. - However, no! Why do I have to run at your first call?"

HE: "You see, life is fleeting. You can't waste time on all sorts of nonsense if you are convinced of the correctness of the decision, as I am now!"

There is a hint of a dangerous service in his words, and I feel that he does not draw at all, he simply explains the reason for his intemperance.

I: "For such frivolity, very good reasons are needed, agree!"

HE: "Yes, of course! I really liked you, moreover, I'm in love with you, in love to hell ... I immediately understood, as soon as I saw you! Do you think that love at first sight is a good enough reason?"

Me: "I don't know... For an experienced heartthrob like you, a new officer's wife is a tasty morsel... for one night. I don't want that!"

HE: "A very bad hint, Katyusha, but perhaps fair. Still, believe me, believe at your own peril and risk, I have something to compare with! Your face, and smile, and the slight tenderness of words ... Everything is in you "life, it's hard for me to explain... "Tidbit" - it's not about you, rather, about the general's wife. And you are the only woman I need, behind your eyelashes is a mystery! But for now I can only offer a date against the backdrop of a raging water, until only night under the stars. The day will come, and I will conquer you, turn your head, take you away from your husband! You are mine and no one else, and you will not stay with this good guy, just know it!"

Me (trembling): "You're romantic..."

HE: "In relation to you - yes ... So you will come?"

His whisper is trembling, his breath is hot. The officer's mouth almost touches my ear, causing it to ignite and become purple and hot. I can hardly restrain myself so as not to wrap my arms around his neck and press my plump, Marilyn Monroe-like lips against the harsh, hard line of the handsome man's lips.

All evening the officer does not take his eyes off me, does not dance with anyone else, watching me clumsily waltz with my tipsy husband. Before leaving quietly whispers: "I'm waiting for you, Katyusha!" I know his name - Yuri Petrov, and he is single. However, I don’t care, even if it’s one night, but mine, and there, at least twenty years of longing - everything is one! A tickling excitement takes over my being, I'm shaking like I'm in a fever. There is no doubt - in love! I thought I would never lose my head! That's hot!

My husband and I come home and he begins to awkwardly harass me. The husband is pretty drunk, breathing live vodka in his face. I weakly return his caresses, trying not to arouse suspicion, but he falls asleep right on top of me without doing anything. I carefully roll the softened guy onto my back, wait another ten minutes. I leave the house, I'm wearing a summer dress, a blouse on top, my hair is loose and disheveled from a light breeze, wet grass lashes my legs. I quickly run across the field to the river. Here it is, the very place where two streams meet, flowing in different sides but towards each other. The shaken water forms a turbulent funnel here, directly over which a bridge is built. Watching the whirlpool from above is both enticing and creepy.

The officer is waiting on the bridge, in his hands is a bottle of champagne (we didn’t drink at brotherhood) and a bouquet of wildflowers. I approach slowly, we look into each other's eyes, converge, and he hugs me. His strong beautiful hands are busy, but his whole body is striving to meet me ... No one has ever silently and eloquently let me know about his thirst, no one has ever seduced so fiercely and frankly! I melt, lose control of myself, and flowers and champagne fly into the depths of the waters; a man picks me up in his arms and carries me to the other side. There, in the haystack, under starry sky we spend the first night of love. Fly all to hell! His kisses are crazy, his dives are amazing, his hot confessions are mesmerizing! I rush about, as if in agony, whispering crazy words, laughing and crying at the same time... Let the morning never come!!!

I come home at dawn, shocked, tired, exhausted, and under the drunken snoring of my husband, I cry bitterly to the point of complete dumbness. I can’t believe: HE loved me, possessed me, I don’t want to believe: this will not happen again in my life !!! I fall asleep, sobbing ... The morning wakes up with sunlight and a knock on the door. My husband, groaning from drinking, goes to unlock it, but I don’t want to open my eyes, I don’t want to lose the last remnants of happiness.

"Katyusha, pack your things, I'm behind you!" - suddenly I hear a painfully native voice. He, Petrov Yuri! Beside myself, I jump up, muttering: "Yes, yes, yes!" With a groan, I throw myself on his neck.

“I decided not to wait for an opportunity, not to look for prudent solutions, not to lie! I don’t want you to live a day without me!” my lover exclaims and interrupts himself anxiously: “My girl, will you marry me?”

" Yes Yes Yes!" - I keep repeating like a clockwork. I collect things under the bewildered gaze of the one who yesterday was considered my husband. But I know who my real betrothed is!

Reprimand, condemnation, accusations of immorality, human gossip, Yuri and I endured and survived without staggering. The ex-husband began to drink with grief. Under New Year when my beloved returned from a business trip, he again took me to our place. We threw a bottle of champagne into the whirlpool, taking a sip. Carefully wrapping my hips in a sheepskin coat, Yuri took possession of me right on the bridge, and we conceived our boys, Volodya and Yaroslav. He said then: "How not to freeze these seething waters, so our love with you will never dry up, my Katyusha!" Yuri was again expelled from the unit to a closed garrison, lost in the deep taiga. By sending him, the regimental authorities hoped to reconcile me with my husband. But I knew who my real and only husband was!

She continued to live in the room of officer Petrov, teach at a local school (she achieved her goal) and burn with love. It's time to go on maternity leave, and we finally got permission to marry. The attempt to separate us, prevent "immorality" and "preserve the cell of society" failed miserably. Only when my navel climbed over my nose did the commanders understand: everything is serious with us! Yura was hastily returned from a long business trip, fearing that I would not give birth to a straw widow. They say that the same aforementioned general said the decisive word in our defense, probably, he also came forward, risking marrying his young bird.

I had not seen Petrov for five months, and when he returned, I hardly recognized him. A thick scar cut through his native face, and his hair turned completely gray! But his hardened appearance did not become less beautiful. How I loved him then! Yuri said that he turned gray from longing for me and our child, but I did not believe him. Snow in her hair - it still didn’t go anywhere, but the scar ... I cried all night.

Soon we had twins, Vovka and Slavik. The event was solemnly celebrated by the whole unit. Even ex-husband forgave me and brought gifts for the boys.

Garrisons, far and near. Borders, northern and southern. Service and teaching. Children and friends-colleagues. This is our life in a nutshell. Sometimes it was not easy, but I do not regret a minute, not a second! Yuri and I still yearn for that beautiful place, the confluence of two rivers, it leads us through life ... A whirlpool where water boils and foams, a bridge and a haystack on the opposite bank ... A dream come true, a fairy tale in reality!

Our boys are completely different, like the two streams over which we conceived them. And yet, Vladimir and Yaroslav, although they are swimming in opposite directions, but towards each other. I believe that someday life will reconcile them. They have a complicated relationship different tempers and addictions, but the beginning is one - a bridge over stormy waters!

A few years later, a new entry appears in the diary: "We have not wandered around the garrisons for a long time, we settled in N in her husband's home country. The boys have become quite adults, they are looking for their own paths in life! And Yuri and I still love each other, we all also dream of breaking out there, to our place. Look at the whirlpool, remember yourself young and in love. Maybe then our young happiness will return again ... "

An ellipsis, a charming reticence, an illogical hope... There is not another word in the diary. Apparently, since then she had nothing to write. Everything is here, love and life.

Here it is, female happiness ...