The mother-in-law, as always, came to demand money from her daughter-in-law, not knowing that her son had left.
“Sveta, are you home?” came the familiar Saturday morning phrase.
“What is it this time? Again?” Svetlana responded irritably, as she was tending to her beloved flowers in the yard.
It was a hot July day. For several days the temperature had been hovering around 40 degrees, so one could only work in the garden late in the evening or early in the morning.
Svetlana straightened up from her crouching position, brushed the hair from her forehead with the back of her hand, and looked toward the gate where her mother-in-law stood. She always had keys to both the gate and the house.
“Already busy?” the older woman said kindly. “What is it this time—pulling weeds or pruning?”
“Good morning, Larisa Arkadyevna. What brings you here so early?” Sveta ignored the question about the flowers, knowing it was just small talk.
“Oh, what heat! It’s unbearable even this early. It’s bad for your health—my blood pressure rises, my heart aches,” said the mother-in-law, fanning herself with a cotton sunhat decorated with bright watermelon slices.
“Then you should have stayed home. Why wander around in this heat?” Svetlana replied, not very politely.
“I came on business. And to check in on you too. Haven’t been here for a week. Zhenya’s being lazy, I bet he’s still asleep? Of course, he has no worries; he knows his wife will handle everything,” continued the intrusive Larisa Arkadyevna. “You should wake him, Sveta. No reason for him to lie around while you’re working.”
Svetlana didn’t want to talk about Yevgeny at all. Even hearing his name was unpleasant. So she stayed silent. Besides, given the new circumstances, her mother-in-law’s presence was unwelcome.
“What’s your business? Make it quick. I don’t want to waste my precious morning hours. I have plenty of work,” the daughter-in-law said curtly.
“It’s simple, Sveta… I could have waited for Zhenya. He promised to give me a little money, so I came to remind him… But you could do it instead, so we don’t have to wake him.”
“What do you mean, I could do it?” Svetlana suddenly flared up.
The presence of her husband’s mother, whose son had packed his bags and left two days earlier, was very stressful. Svetlana guessed that Larisa Arkadyevna was unaware of their family crisis. But that didn’t excuse her coming to ask for money again.
“There’s no money for you. That’s it—the till is closed,” she snapped.
“Sveta! What’s with that tone? Why are you speaking to me like an enemy? Are your hormones acting up? Isn’t it too soon for that? No, I’d better wake Yevgeny. Clearly, I won’t get anywhere with you,” the mother-in-law huffed.
“Go ahead!” Svetlana said sarcastically and calmly knelt back down to her marigolds.
The mother-in-law confidently walked into the house but returned a minute later looking shocked.
“Where’s my son? Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you tell me Zhenya isn’t home? Did he get called into work? On a weekend? What’s going on?”
“Yes,” Sveta replied without looking up.
“Yes, what? Are you going to talk to me or not?” the mother-in-law exclaimed.
“Yes, I’m talking. It’s absolutely disgraceful. You’re right about that.”
“Where is my son? Can you tell me?” she insisted, raising her voice.
“No, I can’t. I don’t know where your son is. And frankly, I don’t care.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? Aren’t you his wife?”
“No, not anymore. Anything else?” Svetlana looked up at her husband’s mother.
“What a liar, huh? Anything to avoid giving me the money your son promised!”
“Larisa Arkadyevna, you should go home. I’m busy. If you have nothing else to add to your demand and my blunt response, then goodbye. Or better yet—farewell.”
“Svetlana!” the mother-in-law now sounded bewildered. “What’s going on? Did you and Zhenya fight?”
“No, he simply left us. Packed his things and drove off.”
“What do you mean left? Where? Are you serious?”
“He just left without a word. Where to? I suspect another woman. He said we’ll divide the house and belongings after the divorce.”
“That’s it? Nothing else? But that’s impossible, Sveta! There has to be a reason. Everything seemed fine with you two. No fights, no drama, you loved each other…”
Larisa Arkadyevna looked surprised and lost.
“I’ll call him myself and find out everything,” she suddenly declared.
The mother-in-law pulled an old cell phone from her well-worn handbag and dialed her son’s number.
“He’s not picking up. I’ll send him a message so he can call me back as soon as he wakes up.”
She was silent for about two minutes, watching her daughter-in-law quietly tending to the flowers, then said:
“Svetlana, this is all nonsense! You understand that, right? I’m sure Zhenya was just joking. He’s just acting up, men do that sometimes! Maybe you upset him somehow? Even unintentionally. So he decided to teach you a lesson, show you his character. He’s so sensitive, you know!”
“Joking?” Svetlana repeated. “I didn’t upset him, Larisa Arkadyevna, I never even thought of doing that. But he hurt me—he said he doesn’t love me and never did.”
“Oh, come on! He’s lying! Of course he’s lying. He must have said it in the heat of the moment. In his right mind, he’d never say such a thing. We all know very well that he loves you and your children—my dear grandchildren.”
“No, he doesn’t love us. He took all his things and told the kids that he’ll live somewhere else now, though he’ll still see them.”
“He just said that without thinking. Everything will work out. He’ll come back, you’ll see. Probably went to Lyokha’s place. He’s living alone now, without his wife. That’s where Zhenya must be, I’m sure of it. He’s just trying to teach you a lesson.”
“I don’t care where he is or what he’s decided. But I won’t let him back here.”
“How can you say that, Sveta? How can you not let him back when he’s your husband and the children’s father? Things happen! You argue, and then you make up.”
Larisa Arkadyevna desperately wanted to believe that the quarrel between her son and daughter-in-law wouldn’t have bad consequences. Especially for her. Otherwise, it would be a disaster—a collapse of all her plans and hopes.
Svetlana was a kind, compliant woman who always allowed Yevgeny to help his mother financially. And he did, giving her a small sum each month from his salary.
But now? If her son had another wife, as her daughter-in-law claimed, no one knew how things would turn out. And there could be problems with the money, too.
Silence stretched on. Svetlana kept working in the flowerbed, her posture radiating indifference toward her mother-in-law’s presence. Larisa Arkadyevna waited anxiously for some word from her son and refused to leave. Leaving now would mean giving up on the money she’d counted on when she came.
“So, what do you say, Sveta? Maybe you could give me the twenty thousand Zhenya promised? We talked about it just a couple of days ago. I even called the repairman—he’s supposed to come and check my fridge. It’s tough without a refrigerator, especially in this summer heat. I might even have to buy a new one,” the mother-in-law hinted.
“What are you talking about? What money? Why would I give it to you? I could use some help myself now! I’ll be living with the kids on just my salary. Who knows when I’ll start getting alimony from Yevgeny—if I ever do!” Svetlana said sharply, angrily tossing the little garden trowel she’d been using to feed her plants.
“What alimony, Sveta? Really, again with this? I’m telling you, your husband will come back home, like a little lamb he’ll come back. And there will be no divorce, you’ll see. Later you’ll laugh at your own words when you make up. And I need that money like air. How terribly bad your timing was with this quarrel, there are no words! You could have held off on your disputes a little,” Larisa Arkadyevna burst out emotionally, no longer able to control herself.
“What nonsense are you talking about? Were we supposed to argue according to your schedule? You didn’t give us one, so excuse me, it turned out the way it did. And honestly, I’m tired of this. Leave. And don’t you dare bring up money around me again. Not here, no one will help you with that.”
At that moment, her mother-in-law’s phone rang loudly. Glancing at the screen, she exclaimed joyfully:
“Ah, Zhenya’s calling. I’ll get to the bottom of this right now! Hello, son, where are you? What happened? I came to see you, and what do I hear! Svetlana is telling me awful things!” she rattled off, not letting her son get a word in.
But Yevgeny managed, somehow breaking through the flood of words, and for a moment she fell silent, listening to what he said.
“Left? Where to? To whom? Are you serious? Who is this Olga, son? You’re cutting me to the quick! And the children? How will they manage without you? And your home—you’ve poured so much effort and money into it?” questions poured out of the stunned Larisa Arkadyevna.
After talking with her son a few more minutes, she hung up.
“He says he’s in love with some Olga… What Olga? Where did she come from? But I don’t believe him, Sveta. He’s saying this just to spite you. He knows I’m here with you, so he’s trying to mislead you, to keep you from guessing his plan. Yevgeny cannot abandon everything he’s lived and worked for over the last ten years. And the children, too. He can’t! It’s pure nonsense! You’re right about that, dear Svetochka. Nonsense, pure and simple.”
“Are you done?” Svetlana asked, smirking at her mother-in-law.
“No, not done. What now? If you really believe my son has left you, you might do something foolish… irreversible.”
“What?!” the daughter-in-law exclaimed in astonishment. “Worse than what your son has already done? I doubt it!”
“I know what I’m saying, Sveta! I’ve lived a long life and seen plenty. Zhenya will come back in a couple of days, maybe a week, and no one will be waiting for him. Too late! Someone else will have taken his place!”
“Is that so?” the daughter-in-law said with a biting smile, grasping exactly what her mother-in-law was hinting at.
“Yes. That’s how it happens. Out of spite for Yevgeny, you might take in some drifter, and he’ll be thrilled—ready-made house, everything he needs to live, and the hostess, a young and beautiful woman. And then my poor son will have nowhere to return to!”
“And what are you suggesting?” Svetlana marveled at her mother-in-law’s words; she had not expected this twist. “That I sit and wait until your dishonorable son deigns to remember his first family? Am I understanding you correctly? Sit here crying, waiting for his return?”
“Yes, exactly. Wait! And he will come back. I’ll move in here with you and keep watch over you. And my son will thank me later!”
“Keep watch? I’m more and more convinced you belong in a psychiatric ward, Larisa Arkadyevna. You’re not a guard dog, and I’m not some treasure to be guarded.”
“And yet…”
“No, I said! You are not living here! Get out!” Svetlana shouted, surprising even herself.
The pain from her husband’s betrayal was still fresh, and now this farce. Guard her? Absurd! Tell anyone and they’d never believe it. Or was this whole performance just to get the money Yevgeny had promised her?
“You’ll regret this, Svetlana! Oh, how you’ll regret it. I wanted the best for you. Soon your husband will come to his senses, realize no one needs him there, his whim will pass, and he’ll return. And here will be his home, his children, and you—a faithful and exemplary wife. And the house won’t need to be divided or sold, everything will be as before. But you, it seems, want to destroy everything you and my son have built for so many years.”
“I want to destroy it?!” the daughter-in-law was stunned. “Me? Are you serious?”
“Yes, you! Because a wife is the pillar of the family. Whatever comes into a man’s head, a wife must fight to preserve the family and the hearth. Wives are always wiser than husbands!”
Tired of hearing this nonsense, Svetlana took her mother-in-law firmly by the elbow and, ignoring her resistance, led her out the gate, locking it with the extra bolt.
“That’s that!”
Offended and upset, Larisa Arkadyevna had no choice but to leave her son’s home without achieving what she came for. Already, a new plan was forming in her mind.
She needed to find out quickly who this Olga was. And how she would react to Yevgeny supporting his mother.
Driven by these thoughts, she dialed her son’s number again.
“Zhenya, of course I’m against your decision to leave your wife and children. What you’re doing is reckless. But is your new woman really worth such sacrifices? Couldn’t you have just had a simple fling if you were so restless?” she asked reproachfully.
“Mom, what fling? I love Olya. And soon we’re going to have a baby. But of course, I won’t abandon Petya and Masha either,” Yevgeny replied.
“And when will you introduce me to her? I need to know whose hands I’m entrusting my son to.”
“No, Mom, that will have to wait. Olya is against relatives interfering in her family’s life. So it won’t happen anytime soon.”
“And what about the money? You promised to give me some to fix the refrigerator,” Larisa Arkadyevna reminded him of her problem again.
“Sorry, Mom! I promised you the other day, but back then I wasn’t sure I was leaving Sveta. Things were still up in the air. You know she never minded me helping you. But now everything’s changed. So many expenses at once—for Olya and the baby on the way. So forget it,” her son said, disappointing her.
“But how? I really need that money!”
“Then ask Sveta. Maybe she’ll give it to you?”
“No, she won’t. She threw me out the gate, the rude woman. And you can understand her—she’s hurt by you. And I’m suffering because of it. So what am I supposed to do now? Why couldn’t you just live together? You had everything you needed to be happy, and you didn’t hold onto it,” his mother said philosophically. But there was no reply.
