Raissa nervously paced from one corner of the room to the other: her heart was in turmoil, as if everything inside her had been turned upside down. Yesterday she had been to the notary… and now she couldn’t understand what was happening to her.
Her father had died. That very father she hadn’t spoken to for years — so many years she couldn’t even count them. Apparently, it had happened six months ago. And she hadn’t even known! And the most incredible thing — he had left her the restaurant in his will. Not to the children from his second marriage, whom Raissa had never met, but to her.
Her first thought was to refuse. To hell with all this! She had other plans: in two weeks she would fly to Germany to be with her fiancée.
Karl… what to say? Their relationship couldn’t exactly be called passionate — more like a business agreement. He was a businessman who needed a wife who was beautiful and intelligent. She wanted a reliable and wealthy husband. All clear, no romantic illusions. Raissa dreamed of opening a chain of beauty centers there — she was already known as a professional make-up artist.
But that damn restaurant changed everything!
“Raissa, think carefully before you say no,” her mother implored.
“Mom, I want nothing from him!” Raissa exclaimed.
“Wait, don’t be hasty. People fall in love even when they already have other commitments. It happens to both men and women.”
“What?! You’re defending him?!” Raissa couldn’t believe her ears. “You used to say he was a traitor and a despicable man!”
Her mother looked away toward the window.
“I don’t justify him… but… I remember how close he was to you as a child… He never missed a birthday of yours.”
“Because I forbade him!” Raissa nearly dropped her cup.
“What do you mean ‘I forbade him’? You always said Dad had a new family and had abandoned us!”
Inna Pavlovna moved to the window and was silent for a long time.
“I have to apologize to him… for the lies,” her voice trembled. “I loved Jurij too much, I suffocated him with my jealousy… and he… he always supported us financially. Thanks to his money, you were able to study and graduate successfully.”
It was a shock for Raissa. All her life she had believed her father was a bastard, someone untrustworthy. And now, in an instant, everything had changed.
She didn’t give up the restaurant, but certainly had no idea what to do with it. Maybe it would be better if someone else ran it and she went to Germany? Or maybe she should stay and take care of it?
Karl wasn’t enthusiastic:
“You have to understand my parents won’t tolerate such a long delay.”
“Of course, darling, I’ll try to sort everything out as soon as possible.”
“So, you’ve decided to take care of the restaurant?”
“Not yet. I need to go there, see, understand. Maybe it’s profitable, and then it’s worth keeping.”
After the call with her fiancé, Raissa felt like a guilty schoolgirl. She shook her head and went online.
Photos of the restaurant inspired her — she liked the decor. The reviews were mostly positive, but two or three worried her:
“Don’t work here! The manager does strange tests and then doesn’t pay!”
Another review was similar. What were these “tests”?
Then she had a crazy idea…
“Mom, what if I got hired there?”
“Why on earth?” her mother asked, sitting on the couch, looking at her daughter as if she were crazy.
“I don’t know. I want to see with my own eyes.”
“You’re not going to wash dishes, are you?”
“And why not? Dishwashers do exactly that.”
“You remind me of your father. He loved unconventional solutions too.”
“I think it’s a brilliant idea!” Raissa was turning in front of the mirror wearing old clothes.
Inna Pavlovna looked at her:
“A nightmare! You look like a forty-year-old!”
“Exactly as I want!”
“Raissa, think again — are you sure?”
“Mom, I’ll manage!”
The restaurant struck her immediately — large, elegant, with a well-kept outdoor area. Raissa entered and looked around.
“We haven’t started yet,” said a girl who approached her.
“I replied to the ad as a dishwasher.”
“Come with me, I’ll take you to Andrej Nikolaevich.”
“Maybe he’s that tyrant,” thought Raissa.
“They tell me you do strange tests. Is it true?” she couldn’t resist.
The girl burst out laughing:
“It’s just gossip from people who didn’t want to work and demanded money! Tests? Sure — call them professional suitability tests. Without them, we couldn’t maintain this level of service.”
Raissa was stunned. The tests existed, but they weren’t so terrible? Why was the girl smiling? She expected a terrified, unhappy staff…
Andrej Nikolaevich turned out to be five years older than her and anything but a tyrant.
“Good morning, please sit down. What role are you looking for?”
Raissa couldn’t believe it: before her was a calm, attentive man with a kind look. And handsome, too… nothing like the tyrant she had imagined.
While Andrej explained the dishwasher duties, Raissa hardly listened — her mind raced, her eyes lingered on his lips. Only when she caught his surprised gaze did she realize she was acting strange and lowered her eyes.
“Will there be suitability tests?” she asked, trying to recover.
He smiled:
“We can do one right now. That way we see immediately if you fit.”
As they walked, Raissa already had a list of labor rights violations in mind. But Andrej explained:
“The tests are to see if you can keep up with the pace: how fast you wash dishes, how the waitresses move, how you react under stress. A normal competence test.”
“That’s it?” she asked incredulously.
“And what did you expect?”
Raissa hesitated. She didn’t know what to expect. Probably everything — except such a simple and logical explanation. She shrugged.
“Ready?”
She nodded. She liked washing dishes — she loved order and cleanliness. Her mother always joked: “Raissa, you’ll never lose a job — you could be a waitress.”
Since she was a child, she adored helping Zina, the cleaning woman, in the kitchen: Zina cooked soup while telling fairy tales, and Raissa listened wide-eyed.
And she passed the test with flying colors.
“Perfect!” approved Andrej. “When can you start?”
“When do you need me?”
“To be honest, yesterday. The girls here work in threes.”
“Then tomorrow.”
“Great,” he escorted her to the exit. “Tomorrow at nine.”
Raissa left with her heart beating like a drum. What was happening? Why did that man affect her like this?
She took her phone to call Karl and return to her usual coldness but changed her mind. She didn’t feel like calling or thinking about the wedding. Karl was like a sleeping pill, but now… now she felt more alive than ever.
At home, her mother looked at her questioningly:
“What’s wrong with you? You look like a ruffled sparrow!”
Raissa paced around the room with her mother:
“They hired me! I’m officially a dishwasher! I passed the test! And then there’s the director — Andrej Nikolaevich… he’s so…”
Inna Pavlovna frowned:
“Andrej? That tall, dark one?”
“Yes! Do you know him?”
“He’s the son of an old friend of your father. After his death, Jurij took him under his wing. He helped him with his mother, hosted him, supported him… I didn’t think the bond would ever break. So Andrej grew up thanks to your father.”
Raissa was silent. Another positive memory of her father. And another stab to the heart — why hadn’t they ever been close, why hadn’t they ever tried?
“Mom, I’m sorry I never talked to him.”
“Me too.”
“So, I’ll really wash dishes? It’s my restaurant!”
“For now, yes. I can’t abandon these people.”
“It’s strange to see you at work.”
“It’s right, Mom. Very right.”
Inna Pavlovna shook her head:
“You’re acting like a lovesick teenager!”
Raissa closed her bedroom door and leaned against it. Love at first sight? No, fairy tales for romantics. Yet her heart sang, her ideas tangled, and she knew very well she had lost her mind. Only: what to do with it? Her wedding was imminent… and the thought saddened her.
She hid her face in a pillow and cried.
A week passed. The restaurant was always crowded, plenty of work. At first, she saw little of Andrej, which reassured her — better to keep distance. Meanwhile, she looked for another dishwasher so as not to betray her own place.
Karl called often, asking when she would leave. Raissa understood: returning would be like dying. Staying there, where sometimes she could see Andrej — that’s what her heart wanted.
“Raissa, tell me what’s going on,” her mother asked worriedly.
“Mom, I think… I’ve fallen in love.”
“With whom?! And Karl?”
“Mom, I don’t know… I don’t want to leave anymore.”
“And does he know?”
“Of course not! Do you see how I am? It’s all confused, I don’t know where it will end.”
“I understand… and now?”
“Ah, if only I knew…”
That evening Raissa decided to tell Andrej the truth. Not the whole truth, of course, but at least who she really was.
The place was bustling when a quarrel broke out — something that had never happened before. Raissa peeked: the waitresses were gathered in a circle in a corner.
“She’s crazy! She screams every time and throws tantrums!”
“She doesn’t even notice him. But today she lost patience and kicked him out.”
The shouting grew louder. Raissa recognized the voice of Lena — once her friend. She was yelling at the top of her lungs:
“Who do you think you are?! This is a restaurant of a friend! And remember you’re fired! I’m in charge here!”
Lena was visibly drunk. Andrej faced her, pale but composed:
“Please leave, or I will have to call the police.”
“Call them! And I’ll call the boss, she’ll fire you immediately!”
Raissa couldn’t stand it: she took off her apron and walked to the group. The waitresses looked at her like a ghost.
“Lena, come on,” she addressed her.
Lena reacted:
“Rai! Where have you been? What are you wearing? Bleah!”
Raissa saw the fading on Andrej’s face — from confusion to anger. Skillfully, she helped Lena into a taxi, then headed to the director’s office.
Andrej was sitting behind the desk and stood up when he saw her.
“Now you’re free.”
“Andrej Nikolaevich, forgive me… I started reading those stupid reviews and wanted to check in person. And then… I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“So, I’m not fired?” He ran his hands over his face. “I was stunned.”
They talked for a long time. After closing the kitchen, they washed dishes together. Andrej accompanied her home and said timidly:
“I can’t get used to you… like this.”
“Let’s be friends, okay?”
She shook her head:
“Yes, let’s be friends…”
Then he took her hand and kissed it gently.
“Will you come to the restaurant often?”
“Much more often than you think. Until we find a new dishwasher, every day!”
“You’ll wash the dishes?”
“Of course! I offered myself!”
“You’re… extraordinary.”
Raissa returned home with a flushed face and a tumultuous heart. She received a message from Karl:
“Either come immediately, or I cancel the wedding!”
She smiled and replied:
“Go ahead and cancel. I’m not leaving.”
And six months later, the wedding took place — in her restaurant, with her beloved Andrej.
