Bed for three
On Thursday, Semyon (let's call him that) had an unplanned day off.
In the morning, still undecided about what to do, he sat at the table drinking coffee. His wife had gone to work, and he was having breakfast alone. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Someone had come. Semyon wasn't expecting anyone that morning, so, surprised by the early visit of uninvited guests, he opened the door. But his surprise grew even more when he saw who had come.
It was an unfamiliar, very beautiful young woman, about thirty or thirty-three, but no older. She was looking at him with interest.
"Hello. Who are you looking for?" Semyon said, surprised.
"Does Marina Soykina live here?"
(The name is fictitious)"Yes, but she's not here, she's gone to work," replied Semyon, looking at the guest with interest. She was a tall, light-haired brunette with strong hips, long slender legs, and a narrow waist.
"That's good, and you are obviously the husband?" Semyon didn't like this opening.
"Yes. Do you have some business with me?" He frowned, as if sensing something unpleasant.
"Are we going to talk here?" Semyon became embarrassed. And, with a gesture, he invited the woman into the apartment.
"I was just having breakfast, would you like some coffee, shall I pour you some?" He led her to the kitchen. "Are you a friend of Marina's? She never told me about you, do you work together?" Semyon seated the guest at the table and poured coffee into a cup for her.
"Yes, we are friends. That's precisely why I came." Semyon tensed up. When a wife's friend comes to her husband in her absence and has some business, nothing good can be expected. Could it be... He froze. Lately, Semyon had begun to suspect that Marina was hiding something from him. She often stayed late after work, sometimes a meeting, sometimes an urgent report to submit... Semyon had never stooped to checking whether it was true or not. He trusted her. But...
And now, it seemed his bad premonitions were starting to come true, but he needed to hear her out, maybe she had come for a different reason. And he, wound up by the premonitions of recent days, was simply dramatizing the situation.
"So what business do you have with me?" He tried not to show that he was agitated.
"Do you trust your wife?"
Well, there it was! It seemed his suspicions were gaining ground.
"Yes. And you think I shouldn't?" It was becoming harder for him to keep his composure.
"How to put it? You probably suspect her of infidelity." She looked calmly straight into his eyes.
"I don't want to discuss this with you," he said, but felt that now he had to know the truth, whatever it might be.
"I came because you suspect your wife of infidelity and it's..." she paused for effect and finished him off: "...indeed true."
It was as if a basin of cold water had been thrown over him. He froze with the glass in his hand.
She calmly studied his reaction, looking at him with a sly squint.
"Do you have irrefutable proof of her affair?"
"Yes."
"And why did you decide to tell me about this, since you are friends?"
"Yes, friends, that's why her fate is not indifferent to me. I know she loves you and is afraid of your reaction to her infidelity."
Semyon felt his face go numb.
"Who is he?" Semyon uttered with difficulty, preserving the remnants of calm.
The beauty sitting opposite blushed slightly, almost imperceptibly.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes, I do," Semyon hissed, barely restraining his anger.
"It's not a he. It's a she, her lover is me!" she said quietly, giving him a challenging look. His ears seemed full of cotton, so he didn't hear it immediately.
"What?" Semyon asked again. "What-what!?"
"She doesn't have, and never had, a lover, but she has a mistress, and that's me."
He was in genuine shock. And the young woman sitting opposite him looked at him as if she had struck a blow and was now observing his condition.
"What nonsense are you talking! Why would you do this?"
He was suddenly struck as if by electricity; the guess was terrible for him.
"I get it!" he exclaimed. "You two came up with this together! She has someone, and, realizing that I'm starting to guess about her escapades, she persuaded you to pass yourself off as her mistress to divert my attention? She probably shared with you that I once told her I wouldn't tolerate a lover, though I would forgive her a mistress. But I said that being confident in her correct orientation. She never even behaved in a way that would make me doubt it."
"That's true. The question is different, what do we do now?" she asked. Semyon sat stunned, not knowing what to say. By her appearance, it seemed she was telling the truth.
He still didn't believe it, but was already beginning to calm down. The ability to think was returning to him.
"And how long have you been like this?" asked Semyon. It was strange, but he suddenly felt relief.
"Yes? And why only now did you decide to come?"
"She was afraid, thought that if you found out about this, you would leave her."
"And what, isn't she afraid now?"
"She's still afraid, that's why she doesn't know I came to you."
"Wonderful. And where do you meet? At your place?"
"No, not at my place, my husband isn't as tolerant as you. It varies. Sometimes we rent a hotel room, sometimes at a friend's place, different ways."
Semyon frowned.
"And who else, besides this friend of yours, knows about this?"
"No one else. Now you do."
"Alright, listen, since this is the situation, let's switch to informal 'you', we're practically family now!" Semyon smirked.
"Alright," she said, brightening up a little.
"You're not lying to me?" Semyon looked at the girl searchingly.
"No," she lowered her eyes. "It's the truth."
"What do we do now?" asked Semyon.
The girl shrugged, clearly not knowing what to answer. Semyon smirked and said:
"It's time to put an end to this."
"To our relationship!?" Her eyebrows shot up.
"I'm afraid you can't end that anymore. No. To your hotel visits and friend's places. We don't need rumors on top of everything." Semyon poured himself a new coffee.
"So what should we do now?" She looked at him from under long eyelashes.
"And my wife has good taste," Semyon suddenly said. "You're attractive, I'd choose you too."
"Really? I'm glad you like me," she said with irony. Semyon finally calmed down. And now he was examining the girl with interest.
"Let's at least get acquainted. I should know who my wife is sleeping with," he said, now ironically.
"Victoria," she said. (The name is fictitious.)
"Vika, then. Do you have children?"
"Yes, two. That's why I wouldn't want to blow this story up; a divorce wouldn't happen for me, of course, but the relationship would be spoiled for a long time. And it wouldn't reflect well on the children either. But you didn't say what we should do?"
Semyon thought. He looked at Vika and was silent, then, having decided, said:
"You don't need to look for a hotel room or hide at a friend's place anymore, come straight to us." Now she was shocked.
"Marina told me you were a bit strange, but I didn't expect this!" She looked at him in confusion. "And you're not jealous?"
"Of you, no."
"And why is that 'of you, no'?"
"Because you're not a competitor to me. Because you're a girl. A woman. You're female, you don't have the main distinguishing feature that differentiates men from women." Semyon looked at her meaningfully. He heard the sound of the door opening. Marina, having obviously forgotten something, had returned. Vika looked at Semyon in embarrassment.
"Vika!" Marina exclaimed in surprise, entering the room. "What are you doing here...?" She didn't finish, having guessed.
Semyon looked carefully at his wife. Then he said:
"Relax, darling, Vika told me everything." Marina, with a bewildered face, sank onto a chair as if cut down. "I just don't understand one thing," Semyon continued, "why didn't you tell me anything yourself? I told you long ago that I wasn't against another woman."
"I thought you were joking."
"But I didn't know you would actually go for it."
"I didn't know myself, it just... happened... and what now?" She looked bewildered, now at Semyon, now at Vika.
"Nothing. To hell with it, meet, since you like it so much, but let it stay between us." He looked calmly but attentively at his wife.
"But..." she began.
"I'll try not to interfere with you, just warn me in advance. When you decide, tell me, I'll disappear somewhere that day. Is everything clear?"
Marina nodded absently in response.
"Incident resolved?" asked Semyon, looking at the bewildered faces of the women.
"Is this true?" Marina still didn't believe it.
"Yes. And now, if you're done, let's have breakfast."
Marina stood up, hugged her husband around the neck, and kissed him on the cheek.
"I knew you would understand me," she said.
"If only mine would accept it all like that..." exclaimed Vika.
As a result of Semyon not making a fuss about all this, his family did not break up, and the children did not end up without a father. And six months later, Vika also confessed to her husband.
He, of course, was not as calm as Semyon, but after sulking for about a week, he forgave Vika. They live as before, and Vika's husband became friends with Semyon. And yesterday, I saw them go fishing together.
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