«What are you stuck in there for? Come out, let’s go!» Anna Makarovna was banging on the bathroom door with her fist.
«Please wait just five more minutes,» responded the daughter-in-law, Albina.
You’ve lost all conscience! What could you possibly do there for half an hour? Were you unloading wagons or something?!»
It was always like this. Only three months had passed since Alya and Semyon got married, but the young woman felt as if she had been under the relentless oppression of her demanding mother-in-law forever. She hurried and, rushing out of the bathroom while buttoning up her robe, quickly disappeared into the room she shared with her husband. She checked her phone—it had been ten minutes since she last messaged her husband, then she had grabbed her things and gone to take a shower, so she had spent no more than eight minutes there, but Anna Makarovna counted half an hour.
The mother-in-law burst into the room without knocking and started to express how terrible her daughter-in-law was. Albina could repeat everything she said word for word; she knew all her phrases by heart.
«Not only are you using up the electricity—the rates have gone up again—but you’re also wasting water while the meters keep ticking. Can’t you turn off the tap while you’re washing your loofah? No, the water runs non-stop with you. Think about how much that costs. And why do you need to shower every day as if you work as a laborer? You sit at home all day, staring at the screen. Go on, make dinner, Semyon will be home soon tired, and you don’t care about feeding your husband.»
Albina obediently stood up and went to the kitchen. She had boiled pasta earlier, had taken ground meat out of the freezer in the morning. All that was left was to fry the onion, which was also already peeled, with the ground meat, and then mix it with the pasta. They would have Navy-style pasta, Semyon’s favorite dish.
«More dough!» Anna Makarovna sneered, stopping in the doorway. Right, keep giving your husband an ulcer. People need soups! And you just stuff your husband with dry food.»
Albina knew—arguing was pointless. She had tried to say something in her defense to her mother-in-law several times but quickly realized it was futile.
When Semyon came home from work and had dinner, Alya tried to talk to him again.
«Semyon, maybe you’ll change your mind, and we’ll move to a rental apartment, huh? I can’t stand your mom’s outbursts anymore. She won’t let me concentrate on work. And I work with numbers.»
Albina managed the accounts for several companies remotely, and they both wanted to save money for a down payment on a mortgage, and then they could move away from his mom.
«Just endure a little longer, baby. Mom’s just used to everything being her way. Don’t pay attention. If we pay rent, we’ll never save enough for our own place. Just endure!»
«Alright, I hope I can hold out for a while,» Alya agreed once again. She understood that in their situation, every penny in their savings account was crucial.
But with each day, her strength to endure the constant attacks and feel caged was diminishing.
It wasn’t long before Albina felt a bout of nausea one morning, and then again and again. She bought a pregnancy test, and her suspicions were confirmed as soon as the second line appeared.
That day she flitted around the apartment, rushing the minutes to share the news with her husband sooner.
She ran down to the deli on the ground floor of their building, bought a cake. She prepared a «Mimosa» salad and baked chicken. Instead of wine, she placed cranberry juice on the table. Her mood improved knowing that Anna Makarovna was not home all day and nobody interfered with her plans.
«And what kind of celebration have you arranged here?» the mother-in-law exclaimed, having just stepped over the threshold.
«A celebration!» Albina nodded, coming out of the kitchen in a fancy dress.
«Is it your birthday or something?» the elderly woman asked, squinting her eyes as if trying to remember something.
«No, but you’ll find out soon. Semyon will be back.»
But her husband was significantly delayed at work that evening. He came home quite drunk and immediately yelled into the depths of the apartment:
«I’ve lost my job! They’re closing down that rickety company!»
Albina came out of the room and, seeing her husband’s distressed face, tenderly embraced him.
«Well, it’s alright, we’ll manage. You’ll find something better, and I can take on a few more sole proprietorships for accounting if you start helping around the house.»
Semyon hiccupped and nodded.
«I made a delicious dinner, let’s go?! I was waiting for you to share the news.»
«No, I’m going to sleep!» Semyon stomped past the kitchen with unsteady steps.
«Well, have we come to this?!» the mother-in-law emerged from her room. You drove your husband to drinking. Not only did you sit without work, but now both of you will be sitting on my neck.»
Albina silently smirked. She had paid all the utility bills immediately since moving into this apartment after their marriage registration, and she also bought groceries. Semyon transferred his entire salary to their savings account, as did Alya make some savings. But Anna Makarovna refused to even listen to the idea that her daughter-in-law could earn more than her husband from home.
Closer to noon, when Semyon finally woke up, Albina reheated the chicken, took out the salad from the fridge, and set the table again. But the mood was completely different. There was none of the joy that had uplifted her the day before. The mother-in-law walked around frowning all morning, like a turkey, and her husband got up from bed gloomy. It was the last thing she wanted to share such joyful news in such a depressing atmosphere, but there was nothing else to be done. The family needed to know that they were expecting a new addition.
«We’re going to have a baby!» said Alya after a long silence during lunch.
Her husband silently raised a surprised and scared look at her, and the mother-in-law threw her fork on the table.
«Are you mocking me? No, you’re definitely not the brightest girl! You live here by the skin of your teeth, and now you’ll bring a baby into the house! I didn’t plan on becoming a grandmother. And what do you think you’ll live on? My answer is a categorical no! No, and again no! Either you move out immediately, or get rid of this mistake before it’s too late.»
Albina’s gaze darted from the mother-in-law to her husband, who sat head bowed, and remained silent.
«Semyon, aren’t you happy?» Alya asked cautiously, but he didn’t respond. He silently went out to the balcony, grabbing cigarettes.
«What’s there for him to be happy about?» his mother answered for him. «You think breeding poverty is joy? I didn’t dare have a child until I was forty because I wanted to acquire a home first. There was no hope on my husband. That’s how I achieved it, if it weren’t for me, where would you be living now? All together, you would be wandering from place to place. Don’t fool around, first provide a financial cushion, then you can think about children, if you don’t run away from each other by then.»
Albina silently left the kitchen, and the mother-in-law shouted after her:
«And who will clean up from the table? It should be sparkling here in half an hour! No need to breed cockroaches.»
Albina locked herself in the room, curled up on the sofa, knees to her chest, arms wrapped around them, and cried. Bitterly and hopelessly.
Semyon came, sat down in the armchair with his phone, and was silent.
«Semyon, at least say something,» Alya couldn’t stand the oppressive silence.
«What can I say if I don’t even know if I’ll have a job in the near future? It’s too early to dream about a mortgage, we’ll have to endure. Maybe, seeing a granddaughter or grandson, mom will thaw.»
Albina exhaled with relief. When Semyon cheered up a bit, they discussed how they would renovate the room, rearrange the furniture to make space for a crib. But when they returned from the store with new wallpaper, they met Anna Makarovna’s sparkling gaze.
«And what are you up to here without asking?»
«We want to change the wallpaper in the room to make it brighter, happier, these old ones though.»
Semyon said it as it was, but immediately regretted having said it.
«And did I allow you to renovate in my apartment?» Anna Makarovna glared at her son. «You can manage in your own apartment, but in my territory, I dictate the rules!»
Albina walked into the room with her head low, and Semyon stayed briefly, trying to talk to his mother about how she, without realizing it, was poisoning their lives.
«Mom, why are you starting again? If you want, when we move out, we’ll redo the renovation to your taste. But for now, we want to refresh the room. I don’t have a job now, what better reason to put things in order.»
«I’ve said my word, son, and this is no joke. You won’t live here with a child, and even without a child, it’s already cramped with you under one roof. Convince your queen to get rid of this burden.»
Semyon came into the room, as if dipped in water.
«Albina,» he sat down next to his wife and put his arm around her shoulder, «maybe… Maybe mom is right, and we should really postpone having a child? We don’t have anything of our own, we need to invest in earnings now, otherwise, we will always depend on someone else.»
«Semyon, just listen to yourself! It’s impossible to postpone having a child, there’s no such mode, and if you mean something else, then know—I will never do that!»
«Well, then we’ll have to forget about our own home! Get ready, tomorrow we’ll start looking for an apartment for rent, let’s see what you’ll say then.»
Albina sighed heavily.
«Everything will be alright, Semyon, I’ll take more work, I’ll sit day and night with reports, but we won’t need anything.»
Said and done. The next day Albina started calling from ads early in the morning, and after lunch, they went to look at the selected options. They settled on a one-bedroom apartment that was cheaper than the others, and it had more pluses. Not far from the house—a lake and a park where you can walk before bed, all shops nearby, you can walk to the women’s consultation, and the children’s clinic is nearby. The renovation, of course, left much to be desired, but they managed to agree with the owner that they would paste their own wallpaper, especially since they had already been bought.
Anna Makarovna was glad and didn’t hide it when her son and his unwelcome daughter-in-law were moving out of the apartment with their things.
«I hope you’ll quickly understand, son, that mother was right, and you chose the wrong wife!» she said in farewell and added, «You’ll run back, but remember, I won’t let her in! She decided she’s too independent, let her pull this yoke by herself!»
Albina didn’t pay attention to the mother-in-law’s words; now it didn’t matter to her, she had decided for herself that no matter how life turned out, she would never return to that apartment. In the worst case, she would move to her parents on Sakhalin. She stayed here after school because she met Semyon, and the matter was approaching marriage, but her husband didn’t want to leave his hometown, especially to such remote areas.
Albina, as promised, took on the accounting for several more companies and now had almost no free time. Semyon, quickly realizing that his wife was earning enough for him to not work at all, took on household duties.
«Why do I need to look for a job?» he asked. «You can save now, and we don’t need anything. And when the baby is born, it will be hard for you to manage both work and the household, so I’ll help.»
«That’s true,» Albina agreed.
But in the fifth month of pregnancy, Albina started to feel not very well. She was constantly drawn to sleep, wanted to rest more, and then she thought about it.
«Semyon, what if, suddenly, I can’t work so much, then we’ll be left with nothing, the savings will quickly run out. Maybe you should find a job after all?»
«Here we go!» the husband was indignant. «When you decided to keep the baby and leave your mother, you spoke completely differently. You didn’t even entertain the thought that you wouldn’t be able to work!»
Semyon had already gotten used to spending a good part of the day playing computer games, and Alya understood this well, but she didn’t want to argue with Semyon, and his help would indeed come in handy after the baby’s birth.
Once, during a video call with her mother, Albina accidentally let slip that it was getting harder for her to work every day.
«Alka, have you thought about expanding your company? Your organization is officially registered. You could delegate at least part of the work to other people.»
And Albina thought about it. Such thoughts, of course, had come to her, but it was somewhat scary—hiring people, being responsible. But now it didn’t seem supernatural to Albina. Without delaying the decision for long, the next day she contacted a lawyer, asking him to draft an employment contract for her, posted a job vacancy online, and in no time, Albina went from being a performer to a manager. Moreover, she could now easily expand her client base. So when her son Nikita was born, the work at Albina’s company was perfectly organized, and she only had to monitor the quality of the process.
Semyon now felt even more at ease. Albina managed everything beautifully, Nikitka was a calm child, and Semyon only had to perform minor tasks for his wife, which suited him perfectly. Anna Makarovna came to meet her grandson, but, looking at him, she declared to her son demonstratively:
«Interesting, who does he look like?! I don’t see any of us in him!»
Even Albina’s parents, coming from afar, stayed with their grandson for almost a month, although they had to rent an apartment, as Albina and Semyon didn’t have room, and Semyon’s mother no longer appeared.
When Nikitka turned three years old, Albina already had enough savings to finally buy their own house. It wasn’t as big as they would have liked, but it was just the beginning. The main thing was that now it would be their own home, and they wouldn’t have to depend on anyone. They had to check out quite a few options before choosing the most suitable one. There was a yard with a gazebo and a children’s corner, and the house was spacious. The rooms were small, but there was a separate bedroom, a nursery, and a living room with access to the terrace.
«Should we invite mom to the housewarming?» Semyon asked when they were moving into the house.
«Invite her,» Albina nodded, «out of decency, she’s unlikely to come, she hasn’t even come to Nikita’s birthday once, although you invited her. She didn’t even send a single gift to her grandson when you visit her. My parents almost every month send something for their grandson. No, of course, we don’t need anything, but the fact itself…»
But, contrary to expectations, Anna Makarovna came to the housewarming, again without a gift for her grandson.
«I live on a pension, utilities are expensive, so there’s no money for gifts,» she said, sitting down at the table. Then she looked closely at Nikitka, who was shy around her, hiding behind his mother, and muttered through her teeth, «He’s changed, looks like his father now.»
After dinner, the mother-in-law began to walk around the house, commenting on every little thing:
«The tile in the bathroom is so old-fashioned… Were there no options with separate bathrooms? You could remove the bathtub and put in a shower cabin, there would be more space. And the rooms are so small, a cow would lie down, and there’s nowhere to stretch its tail…»
«We’re all satisfied,» Albina dared to reply.
«I have no doubt that you’re satisfied,» the mother-in-law replied with a smirk. «You’ve never had any taste.»
Albina didn’t argue with her. Now she was the mistress in the house and felt free, and the mother-in-law could say whatever she wanted. Now she would leave, and everything would fall into place. However, soon Alya realized that everything would hardly ever fall into place again.
Semyon went to see his mother off when Albina noticed that Anna Makarovna had left her scarf. She picked it up from the chair and ran out of the house to give it to her mother-in-law. It was already dark outside, Semyon and his mother were standing by the gate, waiting for a taxi, and Alya, hearing the conversation, stopped in the yard.
«But I’m not working, I’m just sitting on Alya’s neck,» Semyon was saying.
«And what, she’s raking it in, buying such a house, let her share then. You’re obligated to help your mother, and if you’re not working, then let her help. Twenty thousand a month, I think, is not money for her, but a good support for me.»
«I’ll talk to Albina, but I don’t promise anything,» Semyon said timidly.
«Don’t talk, convince! In the end, if it weren’t for me, there would be neither you nor a son for her! Convince!»
At that moment, a car pulled up to the gate, and Albina, forgetting why she was there, ran back into the house. Semyon returned not very cheerful, and didn’t start a conversation about his mother right away, but Albina pretended she hadn’t heard anything. Her husband decided to talk only the next day, after talking to his mother on the phone.
«Albina, I’ve been thinking,» he started, «mom lives on a pension, barely making ends meet, it’s hard for her to cope. Her fridge is often empty. And besides us, she has no one.»
«Do you want to take her some groceries?» Albina asked.
«No,» the husband waved his hand. «I thought just that, well, now that we’ve bought a house, a lot of money will be left over. Maybe… We’ll start transferring at least twenty thousand a month to mom?»
«At least?» Albina couldn’t hold back. «Or maybe, dear, it’s time for you to find a job and transfer your entire salary to your mother? How about that option?»
«Why do I need a job if we don’t need anything?» Semyon argued, but mom is already old.
«Do you even know how I earn those twenty thousand? Do you think it’s easy for me to manage a whole team, communicate with clients, resolve employees’ mistakes? You have no idea what nerves are needed here, and you just casually say— at least twenty thousand! As for your mother’s age, my parents are almost her peers, but that doesn’t stop them from continuing to work while on a pension. Who’s stopping her from finding a part-time job for herself? Or you, if you want to help your mother?»
«Albina, you’re wrong. Just think about it, if there’s an opportunity to help, why not do it?»
«I have an opportunity to help! And I’m ready to help my parents, but they don’t need help! And your mother, who never considered me anything, I’m not going to help! Take care of her yourself!»
«Alright! I heard you, Albina! They say money corrupts people!»
Albina smirked. A few days Semyon walked around as if he’d been dipped in water, especially after a call from Anna Makarovna, but then he cheered up. Albina didn’t pay attention to such changes, but when she received a message about a debt for the developmental center where they took Nikitka, she turned to her husband.
«Did you forget to pay for the children’s center?» she asked, looking him in the eye.
«No, I…» Semyon’s gaze darted around. «I forgot to tell you… Mom asked for money for medicine, she’s feeling unwell, and I transferred it to her.»
«Seriously? You started stealing from me for your mother?» Albina was outraged.
«Choose your words! What does theft have to do with it?» Semyon jumped up from the chair.
«What is it then? You took my money without asking, intended for completely different purposes! Semyon, if this happens again, I’ll simply file for divorce! Not only do I support you for so many years, you also want to saddle me with your mother? That’s too heavy a burden!»
«Well, sorry, Albina, never again!» Semyon said, then added a bit louder, «But who else will help mom!»
Albina was silent, but the next time Semyon lied to her that the car needed maintenance, and he actually took the money to Anna Makarovna, which Albina found out not right away, she didn’t make a scandal, filed for divorce, and presented Semyon with a fait accompli.
«You’re heartless!» Semyon yelled. «No wonder my mom told me!»
«Yes, I am!» Albina simply replied.
Sitting on a bench outside the courtroom, Albina was very surprised when she saw Semyon accompanied by his mother. They sat down on the neighboring bench, pretending they didn’t see Albina.
«The house was bought during the marriage, so demand half. Don’t settle for less!» the mother instructed her son. «Divide the car too, leave her with nothing, since she didn’t want to sacrifice the little one!»
But Semyon was surprised when Albina declared during the court session that the house was registered in her mother’s name, Albina had made the purchase through a notarized power of attorney, anticipating this situation. And the car she didn’t mind leaving to her ex-husband, she wouldn’t even divide it, but it was bought on credit, let him pay and enjoy it! Besides, Albina immediately filed for alimony, and they were awarded in hard currency, as Semyon had no job.
Semyon left the courtroom with his head bowed.
«Well, what,» the mother rushed to him with questions, «did they divide the house? Why are you silent? What did they decide about the car?»
But Semyon didn’t respond. He quickened his pace and quickly left the building.
And Albina decided to sell all her property in this city, including the business, and return to her hometown. Now she knew how to organize a business, she could start the same firm from scratch there, and she didn’t regret anything. The main thing was that she would be surrounded by people who loved her and her son and whom she could trust.
