Robert has been a bachelor for a long time. Even his younger brother has a wife and children. The only thing was that Robert had no luck – he couldn’t find a suitable candidate for a future wife. All of his relatives wouldn’t give him a pass, asking questions about when they would be able to celebrate his wedding. And he himself had long been ready for this step. So when he turned 34, he decided he’d had enough of the bachelor life.
One day at a night club, he saw his co-worker, who was resting there with a girlfriend. They began chatting casually and informally.
– How nice to see you. What an occasion.
– Good evening, Robert. A friend of mine came from out of town and lived nearby. We decided to take a walk.
– Introduce us.
– Yes, this is Emma.
– Welcome to our town, Emma. My name is Robert.
– I’m happy to meet new people. Let’s be friends.
– Can I consider you my friend?
– I’m all for that.
She was charming and modest. But you could tell she was experienced. And all in one, Emma charmed Robert. He realized that this was the perfect match for him. After a long conversation, it became clear that Emma had a daughter. She goes to school. At first he did not like it very much. But then he thought about it and realized there was nothing wrong with that. He could move on.
They moved in together and everything was great. My daughter was away a lot, first school, then classes, music. On vacations, her mother would take her to her grandmother’s house.
Emma didn’t think it was necessary to work. After all, Robert was making good money and could provide for the whole family. But after a while, Robert noticed that Emma had too many demands. And it was not about groceries or household expenses. She wanted to enroll her daughter in various tutors and extra classes.
– Robert, I need money for extra classes, she got more expensive. Can you give me more this time?
– Okay. You know I’m only for the child to develop.
And it got more and more expensive every day. Regular price increases. Sooner or later Robert’s patience had to run out and it did. The man could not stand it and told his wife all his thoughts.
– Robert, the teacher called yesterday. They’re going on a field trip.
– Well?
– I want my daughter to go, too. But I need money. A lot of money. But you can pay for everything, can’t you? It’s not good for the daughter to stand out. Everyone else has agreed. Now they’re waiting for our decision.
– Emma, I’m tired of these constant expenses for all kinds of classes and activities. Why doesn’t her own father have any part in paying for it?
– You knew I had a daughter. And you’re still with me. If you were going to be cynical and greedy, you wouldn’t be with me. I’m shocked!
Having said these words, Emma cried and closed herself in her room. Robert reflected and decided to apologize to her. He allocated the money he needed. But an unpleasant residue remained. He could not understand why his own father did not want to pay for all of his daughter’s whims. So once again he decided to talk.
– Emma, don’t be angry, I don’t want to fight with you, but tell me why your ex-husband does not pay anything to his daughter.
– I personally refused his handouts. I don’t need it.
– I don’t think that’s right. Even if you’re not going to communicate with him, only it turns out that a stranger is obligated to provide for someone else’s daughter, and the native one is completely abstracted and doesn’t even care about anything. He doesn’t care about anything.
– You call yourself a stranger? And I, silly me, thought my daughter was family to you. I thought you were a good man.
– You don’t have to accuse me of anything. I can throw accusations around, too.
– That’s your right. I won’t turn to my ex anyway. You don’t want to give me money? Don’t! I’ll earn it myself. But we won’t humiliate ourselves in front of anyone. Are you sick of responsibility? Then we’ll just break up.
– Why are you getting so hot? Let’s talk it over and make a decision.
– I don’t need any decisions. I’m going to bed. You can lie here. I’m not in the mood to talk.
Robert had to sleep in the hall. He tossed and turned for a long time and thought about the present conversation. It turns out that his woman is overly proud, and he has the full expense of her daughter. And as she grows older, they will only increase. But the maternal daddy lives on and doesn’t give a rat’s ass. One day he found a picture of him in his wife’s laptop. The car is expensive, so are the clothes. So he’s not poor. He could’ve splurged on a daughter if he’d been approached. Emma’s pride was to blame. He decided to talk to him in person.
