Tell me something, Oksana: the fact that you no longer live with our son is no reason to stop communicating with us, his parents,” Lidia declared pompously.
“Oh, really? Well, if that’s what you think…”
“Yes, exactly. Pyotr Lvovich and I miss our granddaughters very much,” her former mother-in-law continued insistently.
That day, following her old habit, she had called her former daughter-in-law early in the morning. She had done the same before, while Oksana was still living with her son Dmitry. It was a strange habit of her mother-in-law’s — settling all important matters early in the morning. It was not surprising, really; the woman had suffered from insomnia for years. But she never took into account whether the person she was calling was comfortable speaking at that moment.
Right now, it was very inconvenient for Oksana to talk. She was getting the children ready for kindergarten. But she could not simply hang up. Lidia Nikolaevna had always treated her well, and even after the divorce she had continued helping her daughter-in-law and her two granddaughters.
“I’m not refusing to communicate with you. I simply don’t have time for it. Maybe during the November holidays the girls and I could come visit you,” Oksana answered reluctantly.
“The holidays are good. But my husband and I would like to see you sooner. Much sooner! So to speak, to pay you a courtesy visit in the near future. You don’t mind, do you? Especially since tomorrow is Saturday, and you and the girls will be at home. Pyotr Lvovich and I just happen to have some free time. So we wanted to ask your permission to come over.”
Of course, Oksana had her own plans for the next day. She had wanted to send the girls to her parents, who also missed their granddaughters. And she herself had planned to meet an old friend whom she had not seen in more than a year. They lived in the same city, but constant errands and worries kept preventing them from getting together.
For a young single woman who had divorced her husband several months earlier, such a meeting was simply vital. She wanted support and friendly understanding.
“I don’t mind, Lidia Nikolaevna. Come over. But let’s meet in the first half of the day, so I don’t have to cancel my own plans,” Oksana answered politely, remembering her mother’s favorite proverb, which she often repeated:
“A gentle calf suckles from two mothers. Keep that in mind, my daughter.”
During the divorce, her in-laws had taken her side and continued helping her financially. They had not supported their son Dmitry in his decision to fly abroad, where he had rushed off hoping to earn millions.
Her husband had made the decision rather suddenly back then. He had met a former university classmate who had flown in from overseas to visit his parents, and after talking with him, Dmitry had literally caught fire with the idea of also going somewhere full of opportunities.
Dmitry had invited her and the children to come with him. But Oksana refused immediately, without hesitation. She explained that she had no intention of leaving her country. More than that, she would not even leave her hometown, where her relatives lived, where she herself had been born and where her daughters had been born. And leaving the country was completely out of the question.
Dmitry had always been ambitious. He had studied a lot in order to become an advanced IT specialist. He stubbornly sent his résumé everywhere he could. But none of the offers satisfied him. So the idea of trying his luck in another country seemed to him like a challenge from fate.
Shortly before his departure, he and Oksana filed for divorce. Then, completely by chance, it turned out that her ex was not leaving alone, but with a young woman with whom he had been involved for quite some time.
Oksana had not taken the separation from her husband easily. She had loved Dima, and she had given birth to their children out of love. She had sincerely believed that the feeling was mutual and that her husband loved her too.
His parents promised that they would not abandon their daughter-in-law and granddaughters. And that was how it had been. At least until today. Her mother-in-law gave Oksana small amounts of money for clothes and other children’s needs, which was now very helpful.
Of course, she had filed for child support. But as the divorced woman had expected, not a single ruble had yet come from her ex-husband. Dmitry lived far from his homeland, and she had no idea how to demand money from him for the children.
Dmitry’s parents arrived at nine in the morning, not letting Oksana and the girls lounge in bed. She had to get up to welcome the early guests.
“Where are my granddaughters? Where are my beauties? And what did Grandpa and I bring them?” Lidia Nikolaevna said tenderly when she saw Olya and Katya. “Come on, come hug us, my little ones!”
The girls happily ran toward their grandmother and grandfather. They really were glad to see them, because Lidia Nikolaevna and Pyotr Lvovich always brought them gifts. They spoiled their granddaughters.
Oksana did not share the children’s joy, but for the sake of politeness she also smiled restrainedly. She understood that sooner or later the connection between her and her former husband’s parents would weaken and break. And she did not know how her daughters would behave once they grew up and learned about their father’s betrayal.
“Come in, I’ll make you some tea,” she invited the guests into the kitchen. “I haven’t prepared anything yet; we were sleeping. So only tea. I can’t offer anything else.”
“No, Oksanochka, don’t trouble yourself. My husband and I get up early, and we’ve already had breakfast. A good habit, you know — getting up with the sun, doing light exercise, taking a refreshing shower, and enjoying a hearty, healthy breakfast. So we’re full,” her former mother-in-law refused.
“Well, good,” the daughter-in-law said, unable to hide her relief. That meant less fuss for her.
“We’ll spend a little time with the girls now, and then we need to talk to you too. We have a serious conversation to have with you,” Lidia Nikolaevna said, stopping her smile and glancing at her husband.
“Yes,” he confirmed, nodding confidently.
“What is this? What kind of conversation is this?” Oksana wondered to herself, but she did not show it.
Never before had her in-laws started any serious conversations with her. On the contrary, they tried to speak to her as though nothing had happened, as though their daughter-in-law and the children still lived with their son as before. They rarely mentioned Dmitry in her presence and gave her no details about his life abroad or his new beloved. For that, the woman was very grateful to them.
But if only Oksana had known what they were about to discuss, she would have thrown both her father-in-law and mother-in-law out without even letting them take off their shoes in her hallway.
About twenty minutes later, after spending plenty of time with the granddaughters, Lidia Nikolaevna approached her former daughter-in-law.
“Oksana, where can we talk? I wouldn’t want the girls to hear this conversation.”
“Let’s go to the kitchen. The girls will be in the living room watching TV anyway. Their favorite cartoons are starting.”
The guests and the hostess settled in the small, cozy kitchen. Oksana nevertheless poured tea for the guests and placed a small bowl of strawberry jam on the table. It felt awkward to sit at an empty table.
“Tell us, Oksana, please, how are things on your personal front? Have you found someone?” Lidia Nikolaevna began with a serious and focused expression.
“Uh… Don’t you think I shouldn’t be discussing that with you?” the young woman was very confused. “Why are you asking me questions like that?”
“Don’t be offended with us, Oksanochka. We’re not asking for no reason,” her mother-in-law glanced at her husband. “Pyotr and I need to understand whether you plan to get married again. Because if you do, then everything changes completely.”
“What exactly? What changes? What does my personal life have to do with it? Why are you so interested in it?” Oksana reacted too sharply and emotionally to her mother-in-law’s question.
She could barely restrain herself from saying everything she thought about their traitorous son. Deep inside, resentment toward Dmitry, who had abandoned her and his own children, surged up again.
“You must understand, your father and I are worried only about our granddaughters. We are thinking about their interests. Dima is their biological father, but he is not nearby, and he cannot protect their interests — or protect them either…”
“Protect them from whom?” Oksana interrupted her mother-in-law. “What are you talking about?”
“We don’t know how your new chosen one will treat the girls. It’s still unknown whether they will accept him. Or whether he will accept them,” Lidia Nikolaevna continued. “After all, it’s quite common for children not to want to accept their mother’s new partner into the family. They throw tantrums, run away from home…”
“But there is no chosen one! There isn’t! Who are you even talking about? Unlike your son, I can’t find a replacement for him so quickly. My soul isn’t built that way, you know!” Oksana snapped, unable to hide her hurt.
“Why are you getting so worked up and making a scene? We didn’t force Dmitry to act that way. Pyotr Lvovich and I are victims ourselves, one might say. Who knows when we’ll be able to hug our own son now!”
“Right, let’s not talk about him! I still don’t understand what you want from me,” Oksana interrupted her mother-in-law.
“This apartment, where you now live with the children, was bought during your marriage. Both your parents and your father and I took part in buying it. Dmitry acted nobly, admit it, Oksanochka. He did not divide it with you, thinking only of making sure his daughters would not suffer. And so that in the end this living space would pass to them by inheritance. Well, let’s not look that far ahead…”
“I still don’t understand what you’re getting at, Lidia Nikolaevna,” Oksana asked, not very politely.
“If you get married now, anything could happen to this apartment! Of course, we understand that your new husband will not be able to claim it legally. But!” At these words, Lidia Nikolaevna demonstratively raised her finger. “When a person is in love, they are blinded by that feeling. And often they don’t understand what they’re doing.”
“Well, well! Now it’s getting interesting. Go on,” Oksana said with an unfriendly smile.
“And you may fall for his tricks. And unintentionally sell this apartment, then buy a new one and include your new husband among the owners.”
“Oh, Lord! What nonsense you’re talking, Lidia Nikolaevna! I didn’t expect this from you! Our law protects children’s rights, first of all, and secondly, premarital property never becomes the husband’s property,” Oksana answered confidently.
“You’re right, of course. But recently, unfortunately, there have been more and more cases of fraud and deception. And it should be noted that there are far more marriage swindlers now, and they are so cunning that even the most experienced women fall for their schemes,” Pyotr Lvovich joined the conversation. “You simply can’t imagine, Oksana, what these slippery operators are capable of.”
“Did you specifically study this issue so thoroughly?” the daughter-in-law asked in surprise.
“Don’t laugh! This is no joke, you know. Do you want to leave your children without a roof over their heads?” Lidia Nikolaevna declared dramatically.
“No, I don’t. And that won’t happen.”
“Well then! My husband and I are offering you a very reliable way to preserve this living space for your daughters and our granddaughters.”
“And what would that be?” Oksana very much wanted to know what her former in-laws had thought up.
“Since I have already left the apartment where we live to my eldest grandson, our daughter’s son, and Pyotr Lvovich has no property, we propose that you transfer this apartment to him by deed of gift,” her former mother-in-law stated confidently.
“I don’t understand. What exactly are you proposing?” Oksana even shook her head slightly, trying to shake off the absurdity. “Repeat that!”
“Well, everything is clear. You draw up a deed of gift for this apartment in the name of your daughters’ grandfather, and then Pyotr Lvovich will write a will leaving it to them, which will come into force only when our granddaughters become adults. That way no one will be able to deprive them of their rightful living space. We came up with a good plan, didn’t we?”
“Have you lost your minds, proposing something like that to me? I am not going to do that! A deed of gift to your husband is absurd!” Oksana shouted. “How did you even come up with such a thing? Tomorrow you’ll forget about us completely. Especially if it suddenly happens that I get married. To suggest something like this to me means you either have no brains at all or you think I’m a complete and total fool! If you still want to communicate with my children and your grandchildren, don’t ever suggest anything like this to me again!”
“Oksana, lower your voice. How are you speaking to us?” her mother-in-law was indignant. “Do you think Pyotr and I are capable of deceiving you? You are insulting us!”
“Your son showed exactly how people should be treated and whether they deserve trust. And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as they say… That’s it. The matter is closed. I will not transfer this apartment to anyone. And by the way, I don’t want to get married again either. One betrayal was quite enough.”
“You should think first, Oksana, and not immediately refuse. You’re emotional right now, but the option isn’t bad,” her former father-in-law decided to support his wife.
“Oh, and why would you need my apartment in your old age? You’re not planning to divorce your wife, are you, Pyotr Lvovich? I always considered you a wise man. And decent, unlike your son. But apparently, I was mistaken,” Oksana said with annoyance, already tired of this strange and pointless conversation.
Her in-laws left that time empty-handed. But later they brought up the same useless conversation more than once. And each time, with no result.
It should be said that they had enough sense to leave their daughter-in-law alone and continue, as before, communicating with their granddaughters. True, now it happened less and less often. Then, about two years later, they forgot about them completely, just as Oksana had expected. Now they called once a year, on the girls’ birthdays.
Dmitry had two more children in his new marriage, and his parents switched their attention to the new grandchildren, considering Oksana’s children unpromising for communication. They went to visit their son and were very surprised by how well he had settled there.