When are you finally going to disappear,» Jack muttered, slamming the door as he left the bedroom.
Behind the door remained his wife, tormented by an unrelenting cough. In just one year of married life, she had turned from a blooming young woman into a skin-covered skeleton. In the small town where they lived, there was a tiny clinic with two doctors—a paramedic and a veterinarian.
The latter was valued more. The paramedic threw up his hands at Sarah’s illness; he had already tried everything. Cough syrups, mustard plasters, plantain leaves, chamomile, and nettle.
He made Sarah steam in the sauna every other day, but nothing helped. She only got worse. «Why didn’t you tell me you were completely sick through and through!» her husband raged, foaming at the mouth.
«I never got sick before,» Sarah justified herself. She herself didn’t understand what was happening to her. She had always been healthy, cheerful, but it seemed like marriage had broken her.
Jinxed. The verdict was given by the townswomen, gathering to gossip in the local store or near the water pump.
Sarah got married at twenty to Jack, who was two years older than her.
Handsome and talkative, he knew how to mess with girls’ heads. Sarah was no exception. Jack came from the city to their small town, as he said, to infuse fresh blood into this backwater.
He got a job as a driver for a bread delivery van. He delivered bread from the bakery to the stores. «Proud, wife, what an indispensable husband you have! Can’t do without me anywhere! And if something happens to me, everyone will be left without bread!» Sarah just nodded, agreeing, although she knew that in any family, they could bake bread no worse than in the bakery…
«I have an apartment in the city, but I’m renting it out for now. I want to save money and get a bigger place to bring my wife, and even kids if they come!» He boasted to the townsfolk, throwing dust in their eyes. «What a rare golden guy she got!» The women believed and sighed, then went to nag their own husbands.
But Sarah was fine in her own house; she didn’t want to move anywhere, and besides, this ailment had attached itself. With each day, Sarah weakened, and a runny nose added to the cough. Sometimes she woke up at night because she couldn’t breathe through her nose.
She jumped up in fear that she was suffocating, which woke Jack, and he started grumbling. «Why are you jumping all night? I have to get up early, and I can’t fall asleep because of you!» He raged. But as soon as his head touched the pillow, snoring filled the room.
«Sleep, I’ll go to the couch.» Sarah got up and went to another room. The rest of the night passed more or less calmly, though in the morning Sarah woke up with a headache and weakness, but at least she could breathe.
She worked in the rural library, issuing books, filling out forms, subscribing to magazines with the money given by the town council chairman. Despite the fact that the people here were hardworking and busy, the townsfolk borrowed books from the library regularly. Everyone wanted to be well-read and show off their erudition to neighbors near the same water pump.
Although Sarah’s job wasn’t hard, at home she collapsed without strength. Jack came home earlier, delivered the bread loaves in the morning and was free, sitting, waiting for Sarah to come home, cook food, and feed his person. «Jack, at least peel the potatoes before I get home; you’ll wait longer yourself,» she lamented.
«Hello, we’ve arrived. Were you the one hauling bread loaves all day and straining yourself? Do I even have a right to rest?» Her husband could even shame her, although Sarah knew he didn’t even get out of the truck; the women unloaded everything themselves in the stores, and there was a loader at the bakery. She knew, but she had no strength to argue with him.
By evening, the cough intensified, her eyes reddened, and some kind of rash started appearing on her body. «Listen, are you contagious by any chance?» Jack once saw red spots on Sarah’s back when she was dressing for work in the morning. «That’s all I need…»
Her husband slammed the door and rushed out of the house without even having breakfast. From that day, he started taking night shifts. «They asked me to work at night so the bread is in the store by morning.»
Averting his eyes, he lied to Sarah, but sometimes, for several days or even weeks, he stayed home at night. On those days, she simply suffocated. He drove her crazy with his nitpicking and lectures, and the cough turned her inside out.
Sarah lost weight, dark circles settled under her eyes. Just like a corpse, the neighbors lamented, watching her go to the library. «Sarah, maybe we should go to the city, huh?» Her friend Lisa didn’t know how to help her.
«There are real doctors who will look at you, not our Pillman,» she nodded at the clinic. «What will those doctors do,» Sarah brushed it off. «I’ll lie down and feel better.»
Lisa just shook her head. «Sarah, I didn’t want to tell you, but they saw your Jack with some girl from the city; she came here. Though the women can exaggerate, so I don’t know for sure.»
Sarah smiled. She had long noticed changes in her husband’s behavior, and a couple of times found lipstick marks on his shirt. True, now he started washing his shirts himself for some reason.
«You’re exhausted, so I’m taking care of you, washing shirts myself.» But that she continued to wash sweaters and pants, he modestly kept silent about that. But then she got really bad.
She lay for the second day without getting up. She was feverish, the cough shook her entire emaciated body. Her red eyes watered, and everything was covered in rash.
So when are you finally going to croak?» Jack couldn’t stand his wife anymore, and his new girlfriend, the rumors about whom turned out to be true, demanded more time with him, or better yet, to move to the city. But he couldn’t go to the city because all the stories about his apartment were just fiction. He had nothing…
From his old job, he was fired with a bad reference for draining fuel from the truck he worked on and selling it on the side. That’s why he had to flee the city. And here Sarah turned up, a naive rural fool…
She even transferred half the house to him, which she inherited from her grandma. «Come in, man, this is your part of the house.» Sarah heard her husband’s voice in the hallway.
«Good, solid…» an unfamiliar voice replied. «And who lives in the second part?» «Oh, some sick old lady, she’ll kick the bucket soon.» Jack didn’t mince words.
«So, you taking it?» «Taking it,» the rustle of money was heard. Then they shook hands, and the door slammed. «They left,» Sarah decided and tried to get up.
She stumbled, knocking over a chair as she fell. At the noise, the stranger ran into the room. «Alive?» He lifted Sarah and sat her on the bed.
«Where does it hurt?» «Who are you?» Sarah even stopped coughing from surprise. «The new owner of this… half of this house. And who are you?» The man expected to see an old woman, but this… was quite a young woman, though very thin and sick.
But not an old woman, as the seller promised. «I live here, this is my house… was…» Sarah smiled bitterly and coughed. «Wait!» The new resident went out and returned with a glass of water.
«Drink in small sips.» For some reason, Sarah obeyed. The water calmed her irritated throat, and the cough stopped.
«Thank you, but it’s not for long.» «What’s your name, neighbor?» The man took the glass from her. «Sarah.»
She examined the unexpected savior from the cough. «Sarah, meaning Princess. Beautiful name.
And I’m Michael. Nice to meet you.» He extended his hand.
She wanted to as well, but remembered her rash in time and pulled it back. The man managed to grab her wrist and brought the hand closer to examine. «And how long have you had this?» he frowned.
«Are you a doctor or something?» Sarah snorted. «Almost.» «So?» Michael was serious.
«It appears periodically. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Usually when the cough intensifies, weakness, and shortness of breath…
It started a year ago. Never had it before. Sorry, I’ll lie down, my head is spinning.»
She leaned back on the pillow. «And where did you come from? I haven’t seen you here before.» Sarah continued to look at Michael.
«I’m not from around here. Came from the city.» «Do you want the truth or…» He smiled.
«Give me the truth. There’s little that can scare me anymore. There’s nothing to take from me.
For a maniac, I’m of no value, and my life is needed by no one. Anyway, I’ll probably die soon.
The paramedic couldn’t cure me anyway, so spill it.» I’m a former convict. Released recently…
I served for a fatal accident in the hospital, though it wasn’t my fault. The doctor didn’t check the patient’s allergy to the drug and prescribed it, but they couldn’t save him from anaphylactic shock. The relatives demanded punishment.
He was supposed to be imprisoned, but his wife died in childbirth, leaving a small son. He raises him alone. All these courts, nerves.
I took the blame on myself. Besides, my wife and I were divorcing at the time. We divided the apartment, and I managed to put my share of the money in the bank with interest.
Got out, wanted to buy a little apartment, but inflation ate part of the savings. It was only enough for a room in a communal apartment. And here I see an ad.
Selling half a house in the town. Soon I can sell the second half too. And the price is right.
Well, I thought, lucky. Especially since at the meeting, he told me about a sick old lady who would soon pass away, and I could buy the second half cheap. But here, it’s all complicated with you.
Sarah listened, and tears flowed down her cheeks. She didn’t expect such meanness from her husband. «And where is he now?» the girl asked quietly.
«He said he’s going to the city with his fiancée. Left a phone number so I could tell him when you… when… well, you understand.» «Yeah, how not to understand,» Sarah smiled.
Michael turned out to be a good neighbor. He helped her around the house. He got a job at the clinic instead of the paramedic, who was tired of languishing in the backwater.
Sarah, I thought, come to my medical office. I have some assumptions about your ailment. Have you noticed that you’ve been coughing less, and your complexion seems to have improved?» Sarah had noticed it too, but didn’t dare say it out loud.
What if it just seemed to her? In the end, Michael forced her almost by force to go with him to the city to a doctor he knew. They examined Sarah. It turned out she had a rare form of allergy to her husband…
More precisely, to all his biological material. If she lived with him longer, anaphylactic shock was possible. «Your whole body protested against your union with him,» Michael joked when they came out with the conclusion.
«And I didn’t even know such a thing exists,» Sarah shook her head. «Thank you. If not for you, I would have suffered longer or… been done suffering…»
Life without Jack returned Sarah to her former appearance and cheerfulness. She even began to forget that she was married to him. Michael controlled her treatment, helped her recover.
They got close quite quickly, because good people should find each other. «Sarah,» one evening at dinner, Michael pushed a small box to her. She took it, opened it, and looked at him stunned.
«Is this a ring?» «Yes, it’s a ring,» he laughed. «But I’m still married,» she spread her hands.
«Well, that’s fixable. No kids, they’ll divorce you quickly, even without his presence. Just need to file a statement.» So she did.
She didn’t know where to look for her ex-husband, so after two court sessions he didn’t attend, they divorced automatically. Sarah and Michael immediately filed an application and got married a month later. «How great that I have no allergy to you!» happy Sarah smiled, clinging to Michael.
And a few months later, there was a knock at their door. Sarah was busy, her husband went to open. «Hey, man!» Jack stood on the threshold.
His appearance left much to be desired. Overgrown with stubble, unshaven, in some old jacket, he breathed booze on Michael. «Well, hello!» Michael stood in the doorway, not letting him in.
«Well, did the old lady kick it? By my calculations, she should have long ago. Need to register the second half to myself and sell. And I’m waiting for you to call.
Forgot, huh? Didn’t change your mind about buying?» he winked at Michael. «Changed my mind.» Michael prayed to God that Sarah wouldn’t come out to them.
But that’s what happened. «Darling, who’s there?» She peeked out of the room and recoiled. «Sarah, go away, please»…
Michael looked strictly at his wife. It was pitiful to look at the ex-husband. He was stunned seeing Sarah alive and healthy, and even pregnant.
«This… how is this? This is my wife!» he even started stuttering. «No, buddy, this is my wife. And if I see you within a mile radius again, no one will ever find you.
You know, I have nothing to lose; I’ve seen a lot in life.» Quietly but firmly, Michael told him. «I’ll bury you and won’t leave a mound.»
«Understood.» Jack cowardly shrank and backed away hastily. «What, would you really bury him?» Sarah peeked out of the room and happily hugged him.