Alenushka, please… listen to me!» cried the mother-in-law.
«No, Vera Vasilievna. There’s nothing to talk about,» Alena cut her off. She looked at four-year-old Valyusha. He was the spitting image of his father. But now that no longer mattered.
Not long ago, Alena would have given anything for these words. Back then, when she sat at the bus stop praying for someone to help her. She couldn’t call an ambulance—she had no phone or money on her: the mother-in-law had seen to that.
Vera Vasilievna had long awaited this moment, disliking the bride from the very first day.
She came to Vera Vasilievna’s son’s home with just a small bag. She had no dowry, only some personal belongings that fit in the bag. Later, the mother-in-law constantly reminded her that the bride had not a penny to her name.
«She didn’t even have money for a purse, came with a bag!» she often discussed Alena with a friend; the women liked to sit in the living room and spoke loudly. So that Alena heard every word intended for her. What did not concern her, Vera Vasilievna spoke quietly, even her friend sitting next to her had to ask again.
Alena often remembered the last days with her mother-in-law…
«Alena! The kettle is about to fly into space! Turn it off!» the mother-in-law yelled, unwilling to do anything around the house. She was used to Alena coming at the first call to pour tea, bring sugar, run to the store for cookies…
«Right now, Vera Vasilievna. I can’t move that fast…» holding her stomach, Alena went to the kitchen to turn off the boiling kettle and pour tea into the cups.
«I won’t drink from a dirty cup,» the mother-in-law grimaced, as if searching for tea drops on the service. «Too lazy to wipe the dishes? You’ve punished yourself. Go and pour me new tea! And don’t forget the milk. I like it warmed up. And bring cream for my friend.»
«Your son drank the cream this morning.»
«And what?»
«We have no cream.»
«So what are you standing for?! Go to the store!»
«Vera Vasilievna, it’s hard for me… The elevator is under repair, and we’re on the seventh floor…»
«Pregnant women should walk, go!» Vera Vasilievna made her favorite regal gesture, pointing at the door with her long nail.
«Behaves like a queen! And I’m like a servant…» thought Alena. She couldn’t utter a word against it, afraid.
Alena was taught in childhood that elders should be respected. Her grandfather, a retired colonel, raised and educated her and did not allow the girl what other children were allowed. Instead of cute secrets and bows, Alena had history books and a clear, almost military regimen of the day with lots of obligations. At 8, she fully managed the household: cooked, cleaned not only after herself but also for her grandfather, and knew how to iron the uniform shirts he preferred to wear even at home.
Perhaps that’s why when Alena got married in another city, far from her native home, she couldn’t imagine that her future mother-in-law would turn out to be even more strict and heartless than her grandfather. At first glance, Vera Vasilievna was a real angel in the flesh. She and her grandfather, a two-meter-tall bearded colonel, were so different that Alena «escaped» into her husband’s family with joy and some relief.
However, she was right: the mother-in-law and the grandfather were indeed different, but the main difference was that her grandfather loved his granddaughter. Despite his methods of upbringing, he was for her a relative and the only close person. Vera Vasilievna, however, couldn’t stand her daughter-in-law and did everything to make Alena leave their family as quickly as she appeared in it.
Alena’s husband, Ivan, initially tried to protect his wife, but Vera Vasilievna was too cunning. She played a double game, being neutral to the daughter-in-law in front of her son, but as soon as he left the threshold, she turned into a sheer devil.
«Ivan, maybe we should move? Let’s not embarrass your mom?» hinted Alena, unaccustomed to complaining and whining. But Ivan seemed not to understand what she meant.
«Why? Everything is wonderful! We have family idyll, a large spacious cozy apartment, soon a child will appear, mom will help,» Ivan hugged his wife, instilling hope for a bright future. But it never happened. As it turned out, Alena fell ill. She was diagnosed with an endocrine disease that could affect her reproductive function.
«You won’t be able to have a baby now. That’s actually good, otherwise the child may be born defective. You need to treat yourself and only then think about planning a pregnancy,» the doctor said.
Alena was very upset, but tried not to despair. But Vera Vasilievna, learning that her daughter-in-law had failed even in this regard, stopped hiding her attitude and even began to humiliate Alena in front of her son, calling her defective.
«Why do you need such a woman? A woman’s main function is to carry healthy offspring, and this one can’t even get pregnant! Spit on her!»
«Mom, the doctor said it’s treatable.»
«Doctors say a lot of things! They said about your father that he would recover. And no, he passed away, rest his soul…» Vera Vasilievna raised her eyes to the sky.
The unhealthy atmosphere did not contribute to the young woman’s recovery. Instead of getting better, Alena only felt worse. Hormones jumped like horses in a circus, she felt tired from the morning, constantly dozed off, everything fell from her hands, and her unstable emotional state was aggravated by new claims from the mother-in-law.
Vera Vasilievna did not work and directed all her energy towards managing her daughter-in-law. Alena, coming home from school, like Cinderella, dealt with performing various assignments.
Such sweet life reflected on Alena’s appearance. From a rosy, healthy young woman, she turned into a dry, nervous aunt, her hands shook, and she got gray hair prematurely.
Moreover, the disease affected the family life of the spouses. Alena completely lost interest in intimacy, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not make herself enjoy it. And Ivan, a man in the prime of life, seeing what was happening with his wife, did not even attempt to solve the problem. It was much easier to find a new hobby. Moreover, Vera Vasilievna herself pushed her son towards this step, introducing him to a young girl.
«Ivan, I can’t do this anymore,» finally, Alena realized that her husband was fascinated by another woman.
«Can’t? Then leave. You are no longer needed.»
«What about our family?»
«There is no family for us. And there won’t be! You won’t bear me a child, my mother hates you, and you don’t pity her, only this damn ring connects us,» he tore it off his finger and threw it on the floor, at Alena’s feet.
«But you said… You said you loved me!» Alena tried to take her husband by the hand, but he pushed her away.
«I said it drunk! Who knows what I could do in such a state…» Ivan grimaced. A couple of weeks ago, he came home tipsy. His wife was already asleep, but Ivan suddenly decided to remember that they were a married couple, woke her up, blabbed something, and got what he wanted. And after five minutes, having received all he needed and calling her by the name «Ksyusha,» he fell onto the pillow and started snoring.
Alena could not sleep that night. She cried, pitying herself and their marriage.
Then Alena realized that her husband had another woman. And some time later, Ivan himself confessed to her about his affair.
«I think it’s time to end this show called marriage. Pack your things, Alenka. Return to where you came from.»
Alena silently dressed, she had nothing to take: she left with what she came with… she thought, pulling on her jacket. But fate decided to torment this unfortunate woman a bit more. At the last moment, when she was about to leave, she was suddenly pierced by sharp pain.
Ivan, though not the most decent man, called an ambulance, and the woman was taken away. And an hour later, Ivan was informed that his wife’s and future child’s health was not threatened.
«What child?!» Ivan gasped. Vera Vasilievna was nearby and dropped a cup from her hands, so it fell and shattered into pieces.
«Yours. It’s hard to determine the gender yet, but we’ll find out soon,» the doctor informed.
«Let her have an abortion!» said Vera Vasilievna, realizing what was being discussed. But this time, Ivan, for some reason, showed firmness.
«No, mom. I wanted a child, let her give birth.»
«But you won’t live with her. You don’t love her!»
«But the child will be born in a full family. Alena will endure, she won’t blame me for my affairs. So let her remain my official wife. Other women won’t go anywhere from me,» Ivan said.
Vera Vasilievna was surprised. She didn’t expect such a thing from her son. Nevertheless, she had to come to terms with it.
The first three months were relatively not bad. Ivan, though not too kind, was involved in arranging the nursery, bought things for the child, paid for his wife’s doctors and tests. The pregnancy went according to plan. Even Vera Vasilievna was silent, or maybe Alena had no time to pay attention: she was busy with her thesis.
Having graduated from the university, Alena experienced all the delights of morning sickness and other pleasant things.
She couldn’t get out of bed, she felt terribly nauseous, and she needed care and help.
Then Vera Vasilievna showed herself: she pressed even harder than before.
«Alena! The kettle will fly into space now! Turn it off! I won’t drink from a dirty cup,» the mother-in-law grimaced, as if searching for leaks on the service. «Too lazy to wipe the dishes? You’ve punished yourself. Go and pour me new tea! And don’t forget the milk. I like it warmed up. And bring cream for Lenochka. No cream? So what are you standing for?! Go to the store!»
Due to stress, Alena’s body activated hidden reserves. She got better, and Ivan noticed it.
«See, how good! You were lying flat, and now you’re running around.»
«She’s just a lazybones, that’s all,» the mother-in-law answered for Alena.
Perhaps Alena would have lived like this until childbirth if not for a random discovery. Vera Vasilievna found test results where certain indicators were exceeded.
«You will give birth to a defective child! I don’t need such a grandson!» the mother-in-law screamed, waving papers in front of her daughter-in-law’s nose.
«Vera Vasilievna, everything will be fine. What makes you think there’s a risk?» barely restraining herself, Alena asked.
«Because you’re sick! And the child will be the same! I already found out everything from an acquaintance doctor.
«Yes? And who is this doctor? Not Ksenia, is it? Isn’t she my husband’s lover?!»
Vera Vasilievna pursed her lips and left. But this was only the beginning.
She started to work on her son, convincing him that the child would be born sick. By that time, Ivan had already convinced himself that Alena was just an incubator for giving birth to a baby and was making plans on how to deprive her of parental rights. But the news that the child would be «defective» destroyed his plans.
«If so, then I don’t need this burden,» he finally gave up. Vera Vasilievna and Ksenia very skillfully described to him the hardships of life with a disabled person. Ivan thought it over, observed his wife, and… Told her that she could be free.
«If you need to—give birth. I’ve decided to renounce my rights to the child,» he said one evening. «It’s too late for an abortion, you can hand him over where appropriate, it’s your business. Here, take this small amount of money to last you for the first time. Consider it my gift for our anniversary,» he laughed. But Alena didn’t find it funny.
Ivan threw the money on the table and left. Vera Vasilievna did not drag things out.
«Get out of my house, parasite! I’ve endured you for so long!» she said, scooping up things into a bag. Where the mother-in-law got the same bag with which Alena had come to her house several years ago—Alena did not know.
Tears choked her, but she said nothing. Silently took the bag and, forgetting about the money, left. She had nowhere to go, so she hoped to spend the night with an acquaintance. And in the morning go home, to her grandfather.
At the bus stop, she felt bad. For some reason, none of the passing cars stopped, apparently, people were in a hurry with their own business and simply did not notice the pregnant woman who needed urgent help.
If not for a schoolgirl passing by, Alena might have died at that bus stop. But fortunately, the girl managed to call an ambulance, and the doctors did not lose their nerve and provided the necessary help.
Until childbirth, Alena lay in preservation. Neither her husband nor her mother-in-law ever came to visit her. However, Alena did not wait for them. She only prayed that the baby would be born on time, healthy and strong.
The child was born prematurely, but without deviations.
She had to stay in the maternity hospital longer than usual, but the young mother was happy. Ivan did not file for divorce: he understood that they would not divorce them with a newborn child. But Alena did not return to her mother-in-law’s house. She was afraid that Ivan would change his mind and take the child away from her.
With the help of acquaintances, Alena managed to contact her grandfather, who remained in her native city, and was able to buy a ticket with the money sent to her. The grandfather, though he was angry with his granddaughter, accepted her along with his great-grandson.
The first time was very hard. Alena had to take care of both her grandfather and her newborn son. The pension was not enough, and she applied for alimony.
Ivan did not want to pay, but he had to do it. The transferred money helped Alena survive.
After a year, she managed to get a part-time job. The grandfather stayed with the great-grandson for a few hours, and Alena worked at that time in a beauty salon at home: she was taken as an administrator. Later she learned how to do pedicures and started earning more.
From two years old, Valyusha went to kindergarten, and finally, the grandfather could breathe easily. Everyone was busy.
Alena did not think about her husband, it was unpleasant for her to remember those years she had spent on the family of Vera Vasilievna.
Nevertheless, her husband’s social media page was full of photos with Ksenia. They no longer hid their relationship, and Ivan more and more often demanded a divorce.
Alena agreed. But they did not manage to divorce. Ivan got into an accident and broke his spine. Alena learned about it from her mother-in-law. Why Vera Vasilievna called her, Alena could not understand.
«He lies… Immobilized…» Vera Vasilievna cried into the phone. «I don’t know what to do…»
«Call Ksenia. Let her advise, she’s a doctor,» Alena could not hold back. She did not feel sorry for either her husband or his mother.
«You were nasty, and you remained nasty!» Vera Vasilievna shrieked and hung up the phone. Later, she called several more times, but Alena did not answer her.
After half a year «between life and death,» Ivan passed away. Ksenia disappeared into the mist, forgetting that she loved this man. And Vera Vasilievna suddenly remembered that she had a blood grandson.
Somehow she saw his photo on social media and realized that he was a copy of Ivan. Maternal feelings stirred in her, and she took a train ticket to personally show up at her daughter-in-law’s and demand the opportunity to see the boy.
But Alena did not open the door to her.
«Leave, Vera Vasilievna. I won’t let you see your grandson. He’s not yours and never was.»
«How can you say that?!»
«You yourself directed me to have an abortion. You yourself kicked me out with a big belly! You can die at the door, but I won’t let you in. Neither into the house nor into our lives. Leave.»
Vera Vasilievna stomped, cried, and left. She tried to call for a long time, wrote messages, and even appealed to television. But everywhere she was refused.
The woman met her old age alone. Even the spacious apartment did not brighten her existence, and friends, once gladly coming to her home, dispersed—everyone to their own…
