When Elena heard the sound of keys in the lock, her heart sank. She knew that authoritative click of heels in the hallway better than her own heartbeat. The eighth month of pregnancy made every movement agonizing, and now she had to face someone she feared more than labor pains. The door swung open, and a whirlwind of criticism and disapproval stormed into the apartment in the person of Galina Petrovna.
“What is this!” the mother-in-law exclaimed instead of greeting her. “Why does my daughter-in-law have such a gloomy expression?”
Igor’s mother’s arrival was the last thing Elena wanted at that moment. She had planned to rest after lunch—the weight in her belly required constant breaks. Even simple household tasks had become a test of endurance.
The long-awaited maternity leave was supposed to ease her burden at least a little, but her plans collapsed in an instant.
“Welcome, Galina Petrovna,” the woman said meekly, stepping aside.
“And where is my Igor?” the mother-in-law immediately began scanning the room for her son.
“Working,” Elena replied calmly, “he’s providing for our family and the baby.”
“Can’t you take care of yourself?” Galina Petrovna set down unexpectedly heavy suitcases and majestically strode further into the apartment, nearly knocking the pregnant woman off her feet. “You’re an adult, soon to be a mother—it’s time to grow up!”
Once inside, she began inspecting every corner as if conducting an official review. Elena felt alarmed.
“Did you come for some special reason?” she asked cautiously. “Did you take something?”
“Huh?” Galina Petrovna turned, surprised. “I’m going to live here now.”
Elena’s knees buckled at those words.
“But how…” she stammered.
“I’m fed up with that impudent person I was renting with,” her mother-in-law explained casually, though with evident irritation. “I won’t tolerate that brat any longer. She left immediately. The apartment is registered in my son’s name, and finding a new one is difficult, so I’ll stay here for now.”
The explanation only deepened Elena’s distress. Yes, their home was spacious, but did that give her mother-in-law the right to simply invade and claim residence?
Elena wanted to protest, but pregnancy had exhausted her completely, and she, utterly worn out, retreated to the bedroom to wait for her husband.
Unfortunately, Igor’s return changed little—he felt sorry for his mother. Although Galina Petrovna was quite scandalous, in the end, she had raised him, and he could not abandon her.
Elena resigned herself, understanding her husband’s feelings. Perhaps having an extra hand around the house wouldn’t be so bad?
Her hopes were quickly dashed. Within a couple of days, the mother-in-law had taken full control over the household. Igor worked constantly, so it fell to pregnant Elena to adjust to his mother.
And adjusting was incredibly difficult. The mother-in-law seemed dissatisfied with every action of her daughter-in-law. She scolded her for unwashed floors, leftover crumbs on the table, even a single unwashed cup.
“Galina Petrovna,” the daughter-in-law’s voice revealed genuine fatigue, “please understand, the baby is in the way, I feel unwell, my back aches, my legs hurt…”
“Your back aches!” the mother-in-law exclaimed, folding her arms across her chest at such moments. “All the work falls on women! And so what if you’re carrying a child? That’s just how it is! And it doesn’t free you from household chores! I know better—I raised my son, and you still have to learn everything!”
Elena had no words to respond. She couldn’t afford to get upset and didn’t want to provoke a conflict.
One weekday, while Igor was still at work, they ran out of groceries, and a trip to the market became necessary.
“All right, I’ll go with you,” the mother-in-law agreed haughtily when Elena asked for help. “Otherwise, you’ll mix something up. I might as well supervise.”
“Thank you…” Elena would have gladly gone alone, but she knew she couldn’t manage even this seemingly simple task in her condition.
The trip to the market went smoothly, and purchasing the necessities, despite the constant grumbling from the mother-in-law, was accomplished as well.
“Well, what are you dawdling for?” Igor’s mother complained once more. “Take the bags and let’s go home. You’ve had enough walking.”
Elena was surprised by the demand. What did she mean by “take the bags”?
“Galina Petrovna,” the daughter-in-law muttered cautiously, even fearfully, “won’t you help me? I shouldn’t strain myself, as you know…”
“Strain yourself!” the mother-in-law mocked. “It’s hardly anything—you can manage it yourself!”
Elena didn’t argue and obediently took the bags. But barely a few meters later, she began feeling unwell. The groceries were too heavy.
“Oh,” she moaned plaintively, “I feel… unwell…”
“What’s wrong?” Galina Petrovna didn’t even blink, though it was clear something was wrong with her daughter-in-law. “Can’t even carry the bags safely?”
But Elena no longer heard—her ears were blocked.
“Woman! Woman!” an unfamiliar man ran up and lifted the weakened Elena. “What’s wrong with you? Should I call a doctor?”
“No, it’s not necessary, I’ll feel better in a moment…” the expectant mother waved him off.
“Women these days… so delicate,” the mother-in-law muttered gloomily. “Completely incapable of anything…”
Fortunately, Elena did start feeling better within a few minutes, and there was no need to call an ambulance. Galina Petrovna, with an air of superiority, still took pity on her daughter-in-law and carried some of the groceries. Everything ended well, and they got home.
When Igor learned what had happened, he rushed home as quickly as he could.
“My dear Lenochka,” he said, sitting beside his wife and stroking her hand, “I’m sorry! I should have helped you. Why didn’t you wait for me? I would have gone and taken care of everything myself!”
“I thought I could manage,” Elena whispered, “you work from morning till night, I wanted to help…”
“Then why didn’t you ask my mother for help?” Igor asked.
Elena closed her eyes for a moment and sighed heavily.
“I didn’t want to say,” she said, “but it was exactly Galina Petrovna who made me carry those heavy bags.”
Her husband froze in surprise and stopped stroking her hand.
“Mother?” he whispered, incredulously.
“And when I started feeling unwell…” Elena’s shoulders trembled as tears threatened to spill. “She just waved me off.”
A heavy silence fell, and Elena quietly wept.
“I’ll handle it, don’t worry. Rest, my love,” her husband said, rising and resolutely heading toward his mother’s room.
Elena could barely hear the conversation between Galina Petrovna and her son, but the raised voices made it clear it was a tense exchange. All she could do was hope that her mother-in-law would leave her alone—or at least become less cruel.
Finally, the long-awaited moment arrived. Elena could not stop smiling as she held her tiny daughter in her arms. Her husband was so overwhelmed with joy that he cried, which deeply touched her. It seemed as if a new life was beginning, one that would grow better with each passing day.
But, alas, reality proved far less idyllic. Motherhood is grueling work, and Elena had to experience this firsthand. Almost every night, the baby cried, leaving the young mother nearly sleepless. The daughter was often fussy, which constantly worried Elena. Sometimes she would rock the child for hours, but the baby continued to cry and cry…
“And you still call yourself a mother!” Even after the granddaughter’s birth, Galina Petrovna did not calm down and continued to reproach her daughter-in-law.
Elena had the impression that after Igor’s conversation with his mother, the situation had not improved, but rather worsened. The mother-in-law seemed even angrier, and her discontent was most often directed at Elena.
Yet, despite constantly lecturing her daughter-in-law, Galina Petrovna was in no hurry to help. She preferred to grumble at the exhausted Elena, then leave silently, leaving the woman alone with the child.
But the difficulties did not end there. One evening, after Elena finally managed to put her daughter to bed and sit down to eat in the kitchen, her husband returned home. Silently, which was uncharacteristic, he went into the room and closed the door. Elena immediately sensed that something serious had happened and waited anxiously.
And indeed it had: her tired and visibly upset husband, his eyes dimmed, sat beside her.
A heavy silence hung in the air. Elena understood that her husband needed to gather his thoughts.
“I was fired,” he said dryly, unable even to look at Elena.
Her shoulders slumped. They sat in silence for a minute, unsure of what to say. Life was already difficult, but this twist made it even more sorrowful.
Suddenly, a baby’s cry came from the neighboring room. Elena realized she needed to pull herself together and return to her duties, despite the bad news.
“I’ll figure something out,” Igor tried to reassure her.
“I know,” his wife smiled faintly and kissed him.
With those words, she went to soothe their awakened daughter.
The next day, the couple had a serious conversation. They were looking for a solution with minimal losses.
But even at this important moment, Galina Petrovna intervened.
“I heard you making plans here,” she said arrogantly, “but why are you putting my son to work? Aren’t you going to do anything yourself?”
The sudden audacious question left Elena stunned. Her husband, too, seemed perplexed.
“What do you mean?” Elena asked weakly.
“What’s so unclear?” the mother-in-law exclaimed, habitually crossing her arms.
“Let Igor go on vacation, and you go to work,” the mother-in-law said.
Elena could hardly believe Galina Petrovna’s words. She was holding her tiny daughter in her arms, caring for her around the clock, sleepless, barely eating, seemingly holding on with every ounce of strength. And yet her mother-in-law was saying such unbearable things.
Elena’s heart sank. It felt as if she might burst into tears right there, in front of her husband’s mother, who would no doubt scold her again for weakness.
But then her husband could no longer contain himself and shot an angry look at Galina Petrovna.
“Mother, how can you say that?!” Igor’s patience had run out. “How can you treat Elena like this?! Speak such words?!”
The mother-in-law raised her eyebrows in surprise. She clearly had not expected such a reaction from her own son.
“Igor?” she exclaimed, confused and offended. “You’re defending her? Don’t you see? She’s mooching off you! Doesn’t earn money, does practically nothing!”
“She’s raising my daughter!” Igor could not believe his mother’s objections. “She gets just as tired as I do, maybe even more! On top of caring for the baby, she also keeps the house, cooks, cleans!”
The man paused to calm himself.
“And you, mother, truly do nothing,” Igor said firmly. “All you do is nag Elena, complain, insult her! And she has your very own granddaughter in her arms! Doesn’t that matter to you?!”
“I’m taking care of you!” Galina Petrovna snapped, waving her hands irritably.
“You’ll take care of me if you stop making my wife miserable,” her son replied firmly.
He took a deep breath and straightened up.
“You know what?” he crossed his arms. “Start looking for an apartment and move out. You can’t live with us forever, mother.”
Galina Petrovna opened her mouth in shock, but a second later scowled angrily.
“So that’s how you treat your own mother!” she exclaimed. “Fine! I wanted to leave anyway! Living with you is unbearable!”
“That’s perfect, we’ve agreed,” Igor concluded the conversation.
In the following days, Galina Petrovna searched in vain for a new place to live while continuing to attack her daughter-in-law. But now, fully aware of how cruel his mother could be, Igor kept her away from Elena and protected his wife from any negative influence.
“I can’t stay with you anymore!” Galina Petrovna exclaimed once again. “I’ll go back to that guy I argued with, to the old apartment—it’s easier with him!”
“No one’s holding you here, mother!” Igor replied. “Move out quickly; we want to rest, to finally live in peace.”
“Ungrateful!” his mother snapped one last time.
The next day, she quietly packed her things and left Elena and Igor’s home. The young family could finally breathe freely. Igor found a new job, and Elena was managing the baby better and better. Whenever he could, Igor always helped his wife.
From that point on, neither son nor daughter-in-law had any contact with Galina Petrovna. She, nursing her grudge, seemed to have forgotten their existence entirely. But this did not trouble Elena or Igor.
They understood that it was better for everyone this way—even for their growing daughter. Better for her not to have a grandmother than for her to endure the kind of torment her mother had experienced.
