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Okay then: the apartment is mine, the dacha outside Moscow is yours, the car is mine,” Andrey said, running his pen over the sheet without looking up. “You’ll get half of the bank deposit and my mother’s jewelry.” I stared at the man I’d lived with for twenty-six years. And I thought about how easily […]

Dusty, Darina. I taught you that you need to start cleaning from top to bottom. First wipe the cabinets, then the shelves, and only then take on the floor.” Galina Viktorovna’s voice—steady and devoid of emotion—cut through the silence of the entryway. Her index finger, crowned with a flawless manicure, slowly drew a line across […]

A Concert for the Mother-in-Law “Have you lost your mind?!” Kirill burst into the apartment without even taking off his jacket. In his hands were a bright brochure and a receipt. His eyes were bulging. “I’m busting my back from morning till night, and you’re blowing my money on nonsense! ‘Awakening female energy’… What is […]

Marina’s kitchen was exactly the kind every woman over thirty dreams of: spacious, spotless, the tiles shining, a tablecloth on the table that wasn’t splattered with borscht, and a fridge stocked with food you wouldn’t be ashamed to serve even to your mother-in-law. Although, of course, for Tatyana Petrovna you could serve it on a […]

So, what is it? What are you going to treat me to today, wife? Oh man, I’m starving! I could eat a whole bull right now!” Mikhail burst noisily into the apartment, back from work. He was sure his wife—who always came home earlier than he did—was already there, as usual, cooking in the kitchen […]

“I’m ashamed to take you to the banquet,” Denis didn’t even look up from his phone. “There will be people there. Normal people.” Nadezhda stood by the refrigerator with a carton of milk in her hand. Twelve years of marriage. Two kids. And now—ashamed. “I’ll wear the black dress. The one you bought me.” “It’s […]

— “Varvara Nikitichna, I’ve got everything ready, really. You don’t need to bring anything.” Vera pinned the phone between her shoulder and ear and kept slicing cucumbers for the salad. It was eleven in the morning; there were eight hours left until the guests arrived, and her mother-in-law had already called for the third time […]

— The potatoes turned out especially good today. Just like in childhood,” Stas said, spearing a golden slice with his fork and popping it into his mouth with relish, his eyes closing in satisfaction. “And these cutlets of yours… pure magic.” Lena smiled—not the tired, automatic smile after a long workday, but a genuinely warm […]

— Come on, Lyuda, it’s an anniversary. Sixty years— a big, round date. Mom will be upset if we don’t come,” Stas said in a coaxing, almost pleading voice. He stood leaning against the doorframe, watching his wife methodically run the iron over his shirt. Ludmila didn’t answer. The room was filled with damp warmth […]

“…The potatoes turned out especially good today. Just like when I was a kid,” Stas said, spearing a golden-brown slice with his fork and popping it into his mouth with obvious pleasure, eyes closing in satisfaction. “And these cutlets of yours… pure magic.” Lena smiled—not the tired, automatic smile people wear after a workday, but […]