The car came to a sudden stop. Alex was a serious young man, so it was quite out of character for him to feel an unusual urge to give a lift to a stranger thumbing a ride on the side of the road.
He and his mother owned a cozy and warm home in a village just 10 miles from the city. Living there during the summer was pure bliss, and Alex always set off for work around 7 in the morning because the roads were fairly clear and the surrounding woods brought back pleasant thoughts and memories.
The girl hurried over to the car, beaming as she peered through the open window.
“Hello!” she chirped cheerfully. “Could you give me a lift to the city?”
“Are you not afraid of getting into a stranger’s car in the middle of the woods?” Alex asked, a smile tugging at his lips.
“Why should I be?” she replied with a grin. “You have a fancy car and kind eyes. Why would someone like you, with such a car and eyes, do anything nasty to me?”
Alex laughed heartily. He hadn’t encountered such innocence and simplicity in a long time and, truthfully, he thought it no longer existed. Lesley was open-hearted and trusting, having grown up in a village. Three weeks after they met, Alex proposed to her, and she agreed without hesitation, charmed by his handsome, reliable appearance.
“It’s just like Aunt Nora predicted,” Lesley thought to herself silently, holding Alex’s hand tightly and casting a wary glance at his mother, for whom the news of the upcoming wedding was as momentous as a minor earthquake.
After the wedding, Lesley and Alex moved into Alex’s city flat. Living in the village full-time wasn’t convenient, and Alex’s mother wasn’t particularly fond of her new daughter-in-law.
“I’m amazed at you, son,” Victoria Patterson often said when Alex visited her. “Was this village beauty really the only suitable choice for you?” she sighed, shaking her head with her elegantly styled hair.
Alex would just smile and avoid arguing. He didn’t want to explain how comfortable and contented he felt in their cozy little family. His mother was a reserved, rather austere woman. So, for Alex, Lesley’s warm and affectionate nature was like having a mother and wife in one.
Several years passed. Lesley and Alex had an adorable daughter, Mary. Lesley adored her, and even the grandmother began to soften. She saw how much Lesley loved and pampered her son, how wisely and strictly she was raising their daughter. Victoria Patterson, though hard and somewhat cynical, could acknowledge her mistakes.
Therefore, Alex wasn’t surprised when one day Victoria invited Lesley and her granddaughter to stay at the country house for a few days.
“Alex, I’m scared of her,” Lesley whined, trying to find any excuse not to visit her mother-in-law.
“She’s not going to eat you,” Alex chuckled, planting a gentle kiss on his wife’s neck.
“Oh, she’ll gobble me up and wash it down with Mary,” Lesley moaned. “And you’ll weep and wail when it’s too late,” she added convincingly, squeezing out a tear just for show.
But nothing worked. Alex took the food basket from his wife, loaded cheerful, blue-eyed Mary into the car, nudged his reluctant wife into the front seat, and the family set off, chattering and bickering.
Victoria was genuinely pleased to see them. She smiled at Lesley, and the young woman understood that the war was over.
From that moment on, an extraordinary friendship began. Each day, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law grew stronger and more trusting. Lesley went back to work, and Mary often stayed with Victoria, who read her books, taught her piano, and shared stories of her travel adventures. In fact, Victoria had been an interpreter, and the curious girl eagerly listened to her amusing stories about trips abroad and meetings with interesting people.
A few more years passed. One day, Lesley and Mary showed up at Victoria’s without warning. Lesley had lost weight and seemed strangely tense and withdrawn.
“What’s the matter, Lesley?” Victoria asked with concern. “You’re not ill, are you?”
Lesley sighed, sat down, and burst into tears.
“Alex hasn’t been living with us for six months,” she managed between sobs. “At first, he just didn’t come home sometimes. Said he was working late. Then he started disappearing for days. He’d come back, change clothes, kiss Mary, push me away, and leave again. I thought, at first, it was just work problems.”
We haven’t seen his money in almost a year. But that’s okay. I’m a nurse and earn a decent living. We manage. But then one day, someone knocked on the door. I opened it to find a beautiful, well-groomed woman. Wearing a hat, carrying an expensive handbag. Like ones I’ve only seen on TV,” Lesley paused, gathered herself, and continued,
“She called me a pauper and said I wasn’t a match for Alex. That he would live with her now, and we should get out, taking my silly daughter along. They had better things to do without my uncultured child around.”
“I’m not silly and certainly well-mannered,” Mary suddenly declared to the adults, turning away offended. Neither Victoria nor Lesley noticed Mary slipping into the kitchen, overhearing their conversation for several minutes.
“Of course, you’re not silly,” Victoria affirmed, straightening her posture. “You’re a clever and well-behaved girl. So, we’ll live together, and we’ll bring your mum along with us.”
Lesley wiped her tears, staring at Victoria in surprise.
But the iron lady had made her decision. And when her son later told her he was getting a divorce and hoped she would soon change the will concerning the house, she accepted it with grace. For the will already had been changed.
Victoria simply hadn’t mentioned to her son that the new owners of the house were his ex-wife and blue-eyed Mary, who was now happily and carelessly playing with her grandmother’s beautifully arranged hair as always.
