I am already sixty-eight, my strength is not the same, neither is my health. If possible, I don’t leave the confines of my village, so I waited for the kids to visit on New Year’s Eve. It used to be a pleasant tradition to gather at my place and decorate a live Christmas tree, but this December my daughter caught a cold, said that there was no way they could come, even by car. She herself said on the phone that I could visit them with my son-in-law and grandchildren, if I was not afraid of getting infected. I said I’d think about it, not really going anywhere.
And then I sat there thinking, why should I meet alone, especially when my only child is sick. I spent almost my entire pension to buy and prepare bags of food for the children, I bought some homemade jam from a neighbor, honey from the local apiary. I got there on my own: by bus to the station, then by electric train and two more buses. I came to my daughter’s house on the thirtieth of December, to be sure of preparations, but there was no one at home.
When I called my daughter, I heard her cheerful, healthy voice:
– Well, what are you doing, Dad, you have to warn! My husband and children went to friends for the holidays. I thought we agreed that this year we celebrate separately…
What hurt me the most was that she lied about the cold. I could have been offended by her desire to spend the holidays not with me, but it was the lie that hurt more. I was worried, I had tried and prepared for her, I had traveled so long.
There was nothing to do – I turned around and drove back.
That’s how children cheat, even in adulthood, and set up. And the main thing is that they feel good and have fun, and they do not think about their parents.
