— I didn’t invite them and I don’t want to see them! If they come, you’ll be celebrating New Year’s without me! — the wife gave her husband an ultimatum.

— I didn’t invite them and I don’t want to see them! If they come, you’ll be celebrating New Year’s without me! — the wife gave her husband an ultimatum.

Anton was fastening the last zipper on his travel bag when Lena walked into the room with her phone in her hand. The look on her face told him immediately that something was wrong.

— Your mother called, — she said quietly, far too quietly. — She congratulated us on leaving. Said she was very happy for us. And that Svetka and Igor, with the kids, are coming to our dacha as well. Tomorrow evening.

Anton froze. The bag slipped from his hands and fell to the floor with a dull thud.

— Lena, I…

— Are you serious? — his wife’s voice trembled, but she pulled herself together. — Anton, we had an agreement! You promised not to tell anyone!

— I didn’t tell anyone! — he raised his hands in a defensive gesture. — Lena, I swear, I only told my mom that we wouldn’t be in the city for the holidays…

— And of course she figured everything out right away, — Lena gave a bitter smirk. — And immediately called your dear sister. You know, I can even picture how it went. “Lena and Anton got themselves some kind of dacha, can you imagine? They’re spending New Year’s there. Alone. How selfish of them, right?”

— Lena, Mom didn’t say it like that…

— Not like that? — she turned to him, and he saw tears in her eyes. — Then why has your sister already packed her bags and is getting ready to come with her entire family? She’s bringing the kids too, by the way!

Anton sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling everything collapse. Six months. For six whole months they had worked on that dacha like slaves.

When Aunt Nina died in the spring, Lena’s mother called her late in the evening with the news: Aunt Nina had left Lena her dacha outside Moscow. A small plot of land, an old house, a bathhouse, a greenhouse. Lena had burst into tears back then — she loved Aunt Nina, even though they didn’t see each other often.

— We could… — she began, wiping her tears. — Maybe we should try? Fix everything up? We’ve never had our own place where we could just escape from everything.

Anton agreed immediately. The city apartment, the constant noise, the upstairs neighbors who had been renovating for the third year in a row — all of it was exhausting. And here was their own house, silence, a forest nearby.

— Just let’s not tell anyone, — Lena asked. — Not yet. Not until we put everything in order. You know how it goes — everyone suddenly becomes an expert, everyone knows what’s best. And your family…

She didn’t finish, but Anton understood. His family. His mother, who considered it her duty to control their every step. His sister Sveta, who always knew how to turn any event into an opportunity for her own benefit. Igor, her husband — eternally carefree, convinced the world owed him something just for existing.

— All right, — Anton agreed back then. — We won’t tell anyone.

And they really didn’t. Every weekend from May on, they went to the dacha. First they cleared out the mess — Aunt Nina hadn’t been able to care for the property in her final years, and everything had grown wild, tangled, worn down. Then they started renovating the house.

Anton painted walls, replaced wiring, fixed the roof. Lena scrubbed floors, hung wallpaper, searched for furniture at flea markets and online. They put in every spare ruble, every free minute.

In summer they came for the entire weekend, didn’t rest, didn’t go on a seaside vacation like all their friends. They worked.

— Look how it’s turning out! — Lena glowed with happiness when they finished the veranda in August. — Anton, can you imagine? We’ll be able to celebrate New Year’s here! We’ll put up a tree, light the fireplace…

— We don’t have a fireplace, — Anton smiled.

— Then we’ll build one! — she laughed and hugged him. — We can do anything.

They built a fireplace. Anton found a craftsman who helped install a real wood-burning hearth in the living room. It cost a small fortune, but when they lit the fire for the first time in October, Lena sat on the floor in front of the dancing flames and cried with happiness.

— This is our place, — she whispered. — Ours. Do you understand? The first thing that’s truly ours.

By December the house was ready. Cozy, warm, with new windows, a renovated bathhouse, and a woodshed full of birch logs. Lena bought beautiful linen curtains, soft blankets, placed candles everywhere in elegant holders. In the kitchen appeared a huge wooden table they found at a flea market and restored together.

— We still haven’t actually rested here even once, — Anton remarked on one of their trips. — We’ve only worked.

— But on New Year’s, — Lena snuggled up to him. — On New Year’s we’ll come here, and it’ll be just you and me. Snow, silence, a fireplace. Champagne at midnight on the veranda. Like in a movie.

She dreamed about it out loud so often that Anton knew every word by heart. How they would watch the sunrise on January first, wrapped in blankets. How they would make breakfast in the new kitchen. How they would go for a walk in the forest, where the snow would surely be knee-deep. How they would lie by the fireplace with books and wine.

— We need this rest so badly, — she said. — We work like crazy all year. You have two jobs, I have these projects. When was the last time we were alone together? Really together, not rushing between things?

And now this. Two days before their departure.

— I didn’t invite them and I don’t want to see them! — Lena shouted, her voice breaking. — If they come, you’ll be celebrating New Year’s without me!

— Lena, don’t do this…

— Don’t do what? — she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. — Anton, I dreamed about this for six months! We worked like slaves to get everything done in time for the holidays. I wanted to spend these days with you. With you! Not with your family, who will barge in, eat all our food, trash the place, and leave us to clean up after them!

— Sveta isn’t like that…

— Sveta is exactly like that! — Lena slammed her palm on the table. — Have you forgotten how last year she came to visit us “for a couple of days” and stayed for two weeks? How Igor drank your whiskey while telling you that you work too much and have completely forgotten about family? How their kids broke your mug that I gave you for our anniversary, and Sveta didn’t even apologize — she said, “Kids will be kids”?

Anton was silent, because all of it was true. Sveta was two years older than him and had behaved her entire life as if everyone owed her something. As a child she bossed him around, took the best toys, got more attention from their parents. As an adult she hadn’t changed — she simply used him as free help, a source of loans that were never repaid, and a place to stay whenever it suited her.

— She’s my sister, — he said weakly.

— And so what? Does that give her the right to everything? — Lena looked at him with such pain that he felt physically ill. — Anton, I’m not asking for the impossible. I want to spend three days with you. Three days alone, in our house, the one we built with our own hands. Is that too much?

— No, of course not…

— Then call her. Now. And tell her they’re not invited and that they shouldn’t come.

— Lena, you know what kind of scandal that will cause…

— Let it, — she crossed her arms over her chest. — You know what, Anton? I’m tired. I’m tired of being last on your list of priorities. First work, then your mother, then Sveta with her needs — and somewhere at the very end, if I’m lucky, me. Your wife.

— That’s not true!

— That’s exactly how it is! — she walked over to the window, staring at the winter evening outside. — Do you remember when we got married, you promised I would come first? That we would be a team, you and me against all problems? And what do we have instead? Your mother always has something “urgent,” Sveta is constantly in some kind of crisis, and you run to them, dropping everything. And I wait. I always wait.

Anton stepped toward her, wanting to hug her, but she pulled away.

— Don’t, — she said quietly. — Just answer honestly: how do you want to celebrate this New Year? With me, or with them?

He stood there in silence, realizing he didn’t know what to do. Images flashed before his eyes: his mother, who called every day and took offense if he couldn’t come by; Sveta, who would throw a fit if he refused her; Igor with his snide jokes about “henpecked husbands.” And then other images: Lena painting the walls of the house, Lena smiling by the fireplace, Lena dreaming of that very magical New Year they had earned.

— With you, — he finally breathed out. — Of course, with you.

— Then prove it, — she turned to him, and there was so much hope and fear in her eyes at once that his breath caught. — Call Sveta. Right now. And tell her she can’t come.

— Lena…

— This is an ultimatum, Anton, — she straightened up, and he saw in her the strength he had once fallen in love with. — Either you call her and tell the truth, or I stay in the city and you celebrate New Year’s alone. Or with them — however you like. But without me.

— You can’t do this…

— I can, — she picked up her bag and headed for the door. — And you know what, I probably should have done this earlier. I’ll give you five minutes to think. If you make the right decision, I’ll stay. If not, I’ll go to a friend’s place. And then we’ll see.

The door slammed shut, and Anton was left alone in the bedroom with the travel bags and a phone in his hand.

Five minutes. He had only five minutes.

He paced around the apartment like a caged animal. He imagined calling Sveta. How she would start shouting that he was selfish, that he’d forgotten about family, that their mother would be upset. He imagined his mother crying into the phone, saying she’d raised an ungrateful son. He imagined the New Year holidays ruined by a scandal that would drag on for months.

And then he imagined something else. New Year’s at the dacha with Sveta, Igor, and their kids. The blaring TV, drunken toasts, children running wild through the house. Sveta scrutinizing every corner, every object, making remarks: “The wallpaper’s a bit crooked here, don’t you see?” Igor sprawled in an armchair by the fireplace with a bottle of beer. And Lena not there. Lena, who had dreamed of these days for six months.

He picked up the phone. His hands were shaking as he dialed Sveta’s number.

— Tosha! — her cheerful voice rang out. — We’re almost packed! Masha can’t find her skis, but that’s not a problem, we’ll buy some on the way…

— Sveta, wait, — he closed his eyes. — We need to talk.

— About what? If it’s about groceries, don’t worry, we’ll buy everything ourselves, just—

— You can’t come.

Silence fell. Long. Heavy.

— What? — his sister finally asked, and a metallic edge appeared in her voice.

— Sveta, I’m sorry, but we didn’t invite you. Lena wanted us to celebrate New Year’s just the two of us. We’re very tired after this year, we need to be alone for a bit…

— Are you joking? — she cut him off, and now the fury was unmistakable in her voice. — Are you seriously saying this to me? A day before we leave?

— I didn’t know what Mom told you…

— You didn’t know! — she burst out laughing, but the laughter was cruel. — Of course you didn’t! You never know anything when it’s inconvenient for you! You know what, Anton? I don’t give a damn about your dacha! But you, it turns out, are a complete egoist!

— Sveta—

— Shut up! — she was shouting at the top of her lungs now. — You think I don’t get it? This is all your precious Lena’s idea, right? She never liked us from the start! Always looked at us like we were lepers! And you, spineless as you are, do whatever she tells you!

— Don’t you dare talk about my wife like that!

— I’ll say whatever I want! — Sveta’s voice rang with anger. — We’re family, you understand? Family! And she’s an outsider! And if you choose her, know this — Mom will find out. And she’ll be very upset. Very.

— Let her know, — Anton felt something inside his chest loosen, break free. — I’m married to Lena. She is my family. And you—

— And we what?

— You can sometimes understand that the world doesn’t revolve around you. And that I also have a right to a personal life. To my own home. To my boundaries.

— Boundaries! — Sveta snorted. — Did she teach you that psychological nonsense? Boundaries, personal space… And what about family values? What about blood ties?

— Family values aren’t when one person gives endlessly and the others only take, — Anton was surprised by the firmness of his own voice. — Sveta, I love you. You’re my sister. But Lena and I will celebrate this New Year alone. I’m sorry.

She breathed heavily into the phone, raggedly.

— You know what, Anton? — she finally forced out. — To hell with you and your dacha. We have other places to go. And don’t expect things to be the same after this. You crossed a line.

— If the line is where I’m not allowed to have a personal life, then I’m glad I crossed it, — he replied and hung up.

The phone slipped from his hand. Anton sank onto the couch, feeling a strange mix of terror and relief spread through his body. He had done it. For the first time in his life, he had told his sister “no.” For the first time, he had put Lena first, without looking back at his mother’s or sister’s opinion.

Five minutes later, a message came from his mother: “Sveta told me everything. I’m very disappointed in you. I didn’t expect such coldness from my son.”

He didn’t reply. He simply put the phone on the table and went to the window. Outside, snow was falling — large flakes drifting slowly onto the sleeping city. Somewhere out there, forty kilometers away, stood their house. Warm, cozy, waiting for them.

The door opened. Anton turned and saw Lena. She stood in the doorway with red eyes, biting her lip.

— I heard, — she admitted softly. — I heard you yelling.

— I called her, — he said simply. — I told her they’re not coming.

Lena took a few steps toward him, stopped, then suddenly rushed forward and hugged him so tightly that he felt her trembling.

— I’m sorry, — she whispered into his chest. — I’m sorry I put you in front of such a choice. I know how hard it is for you to go against your family…

— You are my family, — Anton stroked her hair. — The most important one. And I should have proven that much earlier. A long time ago.

They stood there, holding each other, while the snow kept falling outside. The phone chimed with new messages — no doubt Sveta was typing something furious, and his mother was writing long reproachful texts. But Anton didn’t even look that way.

— We really are going to celebrate New Year’s just the two of us? — Lena asked, lifting her tear-streaked face to him.

— We really are, — he kissed her on the forehead. — You, me, the fireplace, and the snow. Just like you dreamed.

— This will be a scandal for years, you know that?

— Let it be. At least we’ll finally get some rest for the first time in six months. Together. In our home.

Lena smiled through her tears and hugged him tighter.

Two days later they stood on the veranda of their dacha, wrapped in blankets, gazing at the starry sky. Five minutes remained until midnight. Inside, the fireplace crackled, champagne glasses stood on the table, and a chicken was finishing in the oven. The air smelled of pine from the Christmas tree they had decorated yesterday, of tangerines and candles.

— Happy? — Anton asked, putting his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

— Happier than I can put into words, — she leaned against him. — You know, I keep thinking… If you hadn’t called Sveta then, if they had come…

— They didn’t. And they won’t. This is our place. Ours.

Somewhere in the distance, the chimes began to ring. Lena turned to him, and in the light pouring from the windows he saw her happy face.

— Happy New Year, my love.

— Happy New Year, my sunshine.

They clinked glasses and drank their champagne right there, in the frosty air, under the stars. And then they went into the house, where it was warm and cozy, where the crackle of the fireplace replaced the whole world, where there was no one but the two of them.

And it was the best New Year of their lives.