Polina twirled an empty box in her hands, unable to comprehend where her savings had gone. There had been no strangers in the apartment; the last visitor was a plumber a month ago, but since then, she had sold her old fur coat and placed the money here. All her savings had been intact… but now, emptiness!
Her husband? But he would have told her.
Her mother-in-law? But she didn’t even know that Polya kept some savings at home.
Her friend Tanya? That was ridiculous!
Or perhaps, Misha had brought someone over while she was away on a business trip? What a parasite!
Polya’s suspicions were not unfounded. Three years ago, when they had just married, she had caught him in the apartment with a woman. They were only talking in the kitchen, but that might have been only because Polya arrived just in time; had she arrived an hour later, who knows where she would have found them and in what condition.
Back then, Misha swore and vowed that it was just a colleague and they were discussing work matters after hours. Polya had a small argument with him but, as they say, «if nothing happened, then it didn’t happen,» she calmed down and convinced herself to trust her husband. It was only once, but what if it happened again?
Polya sat on the bed, confused. «Well… I have to start somewhere!» thought the young woman and dialed her husband’s phone. Misha didn’t answer.
Polya walked around the apartment, could it really be a thief? Maybe something else was missing? She had been away from home for four days, attending a training seminar, and now, upon returning, discovered the theft. But everything else was in place—her jewelry neatly lay in the wardrobe, the expensive watch her parents had gifted her was also there.
So, it wasn’t a thief.
The woman went to the kitchen to make herself some coffee.
Polya not only kept money at home but, because the bank had a limited insurance coverage amount, she didn’t want to risk it. She had already lost money once, which she had received from her parents. The bank collapsed, and instead of seven million, she received just over one. This event was a serious test for her, both materially and morally. The interest from the deposit had been a significant addition to her salary, and now she had to start all over again. That was also when she had to give up her dream of a bigger apartment.
Now Polya had two deposits in different banks: one was what remained of the previous savings, and the other she had accumulated independently. At home, however, was the money for her dream—about four hundred thousand, and its disappearance knocked Polya off track.
Her husband knew about her savings; she didn’t hide them: the box always lay in her dresser drawer. They never really discussed their incomes with Misha. If she needed money, she asked him, and vice versa, he could ask her.
Mikhail paid the utility bills, he felt it was proper since the apartment, where they lived, belonged to Polya, left to her by her parents. A year after her marriage to Misha, they were involved in a tragic accident.
They bought groceries together. If they went on vacation, each contributed what they could, and based on that, they chose where to spend the holiday. Usually, Polina added a bit more than Mikhail. She knew that her husband had twin daughters from his first marriage—he paid alimony monthly, and sometimes even more, for example, when it was necessary to update their wardrobe.
Polya never reproached him for these expenses. They were children, after all. She herself planned to become a mother; who knows how her life would turn out? She tried to give them nice gifts for holidays.
She was calm towards his ex-wife; she wasn’t jealous of her towards Misha. Maybe only in the beginning. And when she saw Tanya six months later with a man in a cafe and realized that it definitely wasn’t a work meeting, she calmed down completely. And she really hoped that Tatyana would arrange her personal life, and perhaps it would be easier for her and Mikhail. Tanya’s new partner looked very presentable, and he had a good car. Maybe she would ask for less money from her ex.
Polya finished her coffee and sent a report about the business trip. Almost three hours had passed, and her husband still hadn’t contacted her, so she decided to call Elena Vladimirovna, her mother-in-law. Maybe she knew… although how would she know where the money from her stash had gone, but just in case?
«Hello, Elena Vladimirovna, how is your health, has your blood pressure not risen again?» Polina started from afar, maybe her mother-in-law would slip something and she wouldn’t have to ask directly.
She had what they call «formal relations» with her mother-in-law. They weren’t warm or conflict-ridden. Just even. Her husband’s mother hadn’t done any mischief to her, hadn’t humiliated or called her names, sometimes even praised her for something, but without much enthusiasm, as if it was just to «check the box». Polya wasn’t offended by her, didn’t interfere in her life with Misha—and that was good!
But she loved her granddaughters, could talk about them for hours, show photos and videos if she attended some events with the girls. The former bride maintained a relationship with her and even invited her to the daughters’ birthdays. Polya thought that because of the apartment, where her mother-in-law now lived, judging by everything, Tanya had big plans for this living space, despite the fact that Mikhail, Elena Vladimirovna’s son, had no housing of his own.
«Hello, Polya, this week has been calm, no doctors, thank you, how are you, have you returned?»—her mother-in-law’s voice expressed not a gram of worry, which means nothing serious happened during Polina’s absence.
«Yes, returned this morning. I’ll go to work only on Monday, I’ll rest a bit, didn’t sleep well at all. Did Misha stop by to see you?»
«Yes, he was here a couple of days ago, brought some groceries. Looked puzzled…»
«Yes? What happened?»
«He’ll tell you himself, what am I to speak for him, and maybe he’s already solved the problem, then he won’t tell, but don’t worry, it’s not that scary. Everything’s solvable!»
Polya tensed up. But on the other hand, since her mother-in-law, who loves to exaggerate, says it’s not scary, it must be so.
Polya decided not to ask any more questions, said goodbye and decided to call her husband again. But just as she finished talking with her mother-in-law, Misha called her himself.
«Hello, are you back?»
«Hello, Misha, yes, already home!»
«I fried potatoes with meat yesterday, there’s a berry drink in the fridge—mom sent it, I was at her place two days ago. Are you going to work today?»
«No, not going, only on Monday now.»
«Lucky you, I might stay a bit late today, but I’ll try not to.»
«Misha, where did the money from my box disappear?» Polina asked her husband the question that had been tormenting her for several hours.
Silence hung on the line.
«I can’t talk right now, I’ll explain everything in the evening,» Misha hurried to end the call.
«Alright, I’ll wait for the evening. One thing comforts me, at least you know the answer!» Polina replied irritably.
Polya put down the phone. Her husband’s response, on the one hand, relieved her—the disappearance of the money was explainable. On the other hand, why couldn’t he have said it before taking them, instead of waiting for Polina to discover the theft herself?
«What if I needed the money right today? He didn’t think about that?»—This angered her the most, and also the tone with which he ended the conversation, in it, Polina did not hear either regret or concern, rather—a reproach.
Polya remembered that about a month ago, Misha accidentally saw how she was putting money in the box and jokingly asked how much she had saved, and when he found out the amount, he even whistled.
«You’re doing well! And I can’t make ends meet, this or that!»
«Misha, don’t skimp, spend less on things. You just bought yourself sneakers in the spring, and now I see, new ones in the corridor, from the latest collection!»
«Yes, I took them on installment…» Misha tried to justify his expenses.
«And that’s even worse! Why? What’s the need? The girls have their birthdays soon, you need to think about gifts for them, not for yourself! Elena Vladimirovna will complain again that you give them too little.»
«But my apparently very wealthy wife will bail her husband out?»
«I’ll bail you out, of course, but I’m saving this money for big plans!»
«Will you share?»
«Of course, I’ve always dreamed of going to Kamchatka… My parents were there when they were students and always talked about it, wanted to take me there, but didn’t have the chance… There’s Avacha Bay, I must visit it. In memory… of them.»
Misha approached his wife, hugged her:
«We’ll definitely go there, I’ll start saving too! Will you take me with you?»
«Of course!»
«Misha knew what that money was for, he understands how important it is for me, so he took them temporarily, maybe even for a day, that’s why he didn’t talk about it, he would have put it back—I wouldn’t have known»—Polya reasoned, trying to explain her husband’s actions.—»Everything will clear up in the evening, maybe he’ll even bring the money right away and that’s it—the question will be closed! And the way he talked to me, maybe it’s not about me at all, he’s busy, problems at work, why am I immediately looking for a reason in myself?»
Her mood gradually improved. Polina drew a bath, made some foam, and decided not to wind herself up, but to calmly wait for the evening.
«Finally! You said you’d be late, but I didn’t think it would be that much!» Polya came out into the hallway when she heard the front door open «Hello! Welcome back once again,» said Mikhail and handed his wife a cute bouquet of small roses.
«What beauty! Thank you!» Polya kissed her husband.—Hungry?
«A bit.»
«I made a shrimp salad, will you have some?»
«Are you asking! Of course!»
While they were dining, Misha became increasingly interested in how Polya’s trip went, but he didn’t start talking about the money. Polya waited, and when Misha was finishing his tea, she finally asked:
«Mish, so what happened? Where did the money go?»
«Polya, I urgently needed money, I didn’t tell you right away because I thought I’d catch some somewhere and put it back, but none of my friends had such an amount for four to five months, and the bank didn’t give a loan. You’re not going to Kamchatka tomorrow, are you? I’ll return it, honestly! I’ll find it soon and return it, but for now, here,» Misha got up from the table, took his document bag, and took out fifty thousand.—That’s all I have now. Sorry. I even gave some to mom.»
«You still haven’t said why you needed the money?»
«Remember, when we visited Vadim last winter, you said, wouldn’t it be nice if we had a country house and a snowmobile too?»
Polya tensed up.
«Remember, but how is all this related?»
«Vadim bought himself a new snowmobile, and he decided to sell the old one, very profitable! The price is below market! I thought—Kamchatka is far away and if we go there it will only be next summer, but winter is close! We’ll spend weekends in nature, I’ll take you for rides on the snowmobile, you’ll learn to drive it yourself! We’ll visit Vadim!»
«Misha, have you lost your mind? What snowmobile? Where will you get the money to maintain it? And where will you store it? You need a garage!»
«I’ve already rented one, on the outskirts of the city, it’s cheaper there, and no need to drag it through the city.»
«Rented? But that’s additional expenses!»
«Well, what are you harping on about expenses! Think about the pleasure! We’ll spend more time outdoors, in nature!»
«And the money for gas to ride, where will you take that from?»
«Vadik told me, if used to the maximum, it would be six thousand, no more!»
«Six? Now let’s calculate—six for gas, garage rent—eight to nine thousand, you also need a trailer…»
«The trailer too Vadik gave, I also put my money into it! Not just yours, it was almost half and half!»
«And did you ask me if I wanted to buy a snowmobile and spend every weekend riding it? You say, your money? Just five minutes ago you said you returned some to your mom.»
«Polya, why are you getting worked up! Yes, I also took some from mom, a little. You have a dream—Kamchatka, I have one—a snowmobile. Notice, I bought it for you too, you liked spending time like that! Don’t worry—we’ll fulfill your dream in the summer!
I’ll pay my mom back first, then I’ll start saving for the trip. It’s August now. You know what they say? Prepare your sled in the summer! Now we have sleds!»
Misha approached Polina to hug her, but she backed away.
«What’s wrong? Don’t be upset! I honestly tried to take a loan, they didn’t give it. I’ll return your stash. Nothing terrible happened!»
«Do you really think there’s nothing terrible in your actions?»
«What’s so terrible about it?»
«Why didn’t you ask my permission?»
«I already explained, thought I’d catch it at the bank.»
«So, you were planning to take a loan without informing me? And how many such loans do you have? Just because you constantly have no money and now I’m starting to understand why.»
«I don’t accumulate money because I have a lot of household expenses, and I also have children whom I’m obligated to help!»
«I never forget about the children, you should remember too. For example, last New Year you borrowed twenty thousand from me to please them and you still haven’t returned it! And you said it was for a month. Another twenty went for their birthday, but you haven’t returned that either. And now you bought yourself a snowmobile with my savings without my permission! Misha, you’ve become insolent!»
«Look at it from the other side. I pay the utility bills and car maintenance, buy groceries, send money for the children’s upkeep, and even spend on vacation, even if I don’t want to go where you planned! You just pile up your salary in a piggy bank, you have nothing to spend it on! Sometimes you buy groceries, is it really hard for you to contribute a few thousand to the joint budget? Honestly, I even think that the money should be common!»
«Only people who can’t earn think that way! They don’t know the value of this money and claim what doesn’t belong to them, not thinking about anything or anyone but themselves.»—Polya was devastated, for the first time she saw her husband in a completely different light.
In front of her was not the man of her dreams, but an irresponsible and selfish teenager, for whom only his own interest and the satisfaction of his own desires mattered.
She left the kitchen and cried from hurt and helplessness to change anything in this situation. Misha went to sleep, and she sat for a long time, trying to comprehend what had happened and make some decision. She fell asleep right on the couch in the living room.
In the morning, Polina was awakened by the doorbell, she went to open it. Her mother-in-law was standing on the doorstep «Good morning, why so early, did something happen?»
«Early? Polina, it’s almost noon!»
Polya looked at the clock, indeed, almost noon.
«Elena Vladimirovna, come in, I’ll quickly take a shower, while you make some coffee. Misha, mom’s here,» Polya shouted.
«What are you yelling about? He’s not home!» her mother-in-law laughed.—He dropped me off here, and he’s gone on errands until the evening. I came to talk to you.
«Understood, give me five minutes,» Polina said, thoughtful, and disappeared into the bathroom.
«Misha came to me early, he was very upset,» began her mother-in-law.—He didn’t expect you to react like that to his little prank. Polya, you know, I never interfere in your affairs with him, but after talking to him, I decided that this conversation is necessary.
Her mother-in-law took a sip of coffee.
«Excellent coffee! The best of all that I’ve tried,» she raised her eyes to her daughter-in-law, studying her reaction, but Polya continued to look out the window.
«Speak, Elena Vladimirovna, I’m listening.»
«Family life is not always a holiday. Two people with different characters try to get along—it’s not easy… You are now going through a difficult period—it’s the fourth year you’re together, there are no children, passion is fading, a man at this time starts looking around… Polya, they are like children—they constantly need new toys…»
Polya turned to her mother-in-law and looked at her attentively.
«No! Misha has no one, don’t worry! His toy has become a snowmobile, but that’s better than some young student, right?»
«But..»
«Polya, don’t interrupt, please, let me finish, and then I’ll listen to you carefully. Yes, Misha is impulsive and emotional, he first asked me for money, but I didn’t have the required amount. Honestly, I advised him to ask you, but I didn’t know you had savings at home and he would just take them. Though I wouldn’t make a tragedy out of it either. His father once took a deposit for my summer cottage, and I didn’t even know he was selling it! He got tired of toiling there. We argued then, but to not return double the sum, I agreed to the sale, and later I was even grateful to him! And later, when we recalled this episode, we always laughed!»—Elena Vladimirovna smiled.
«But you divorced him, didn’t you?»
«I divorced, but not because of that, but seven years after selling the cottage. And you still have everything ahead of you, and it’s in your hands to make it different, not like with his father and me. You need to have a child, Misha will then take up the mind.
«He has children, only his actions don’t reflect that!»
«Being a dad at nineteen or at thirty-two is a big difference! Now everything will be different. Think about this, and he will return your money, don’t worry. Even you know what, let’s do this: Misha said he gave you fifty thousand, that leaves three hundred twenty. Here,» her mother-in-law took out an envelope, «three hundred, take it, but don’t tell him I gave it, and how he will return it—transfer to me or bring it, whichever is more convenient for you. We’ll have a little secret between us. I don’t want you to argue over such nonsense. No, of course, be upset for decency, and constantly remind him about the money…»
Polya looked at Elena Vladimirovna, who calmly continued to drink coffee with cookies. This woman knew how to surprise…
«Alright, Polina, I’ll go, I still have to visit the granddaughters, and you, think about the children!»—she got up from the table and headed for the exit.—And for the future, remember that the money in the house is common, a good housewife and wife should be concerned about the interests of her husband, not her own. And forget about your Kamchatka! Misha told me about how you planned to drag him there with you, and that this whole cheese-drama is also because of this trip. Here I agree with Misha—it’s all folly, the memory of parents should be in the heart, not at the expense of the family budget. Better save these money for the future, daughter!»—Elena Vladimirovna patted Polya on the head and left the apartment.
And Polina sat down on the floor and cried. She barely restrained herself from throwing that envelope with money at her on her way out. But that would have been foolish, after all, what difference does it make who returned her own money, the main thing is that they are now with her.
«Dear, I’m home!»—Misha shouted. He returned in the evening, his hands were full of grocery bags, but no one answered. Misha called his wife, but Polya didn’t pick up the phone.
«Maybe she went to the salon? Or to the store?»—Misha thought while taking off his shoes and walking to the kitchen with the bags.
He unloaded everything on the table and therefore did not immediately see the envelope, the very one in which his mother brought the money. He found it only when he unpacked the bags. Opened it.
In the envelope, there were no money, no, there was a note:
«Misha, you have two weeks to pack your things and vacate my apartment. I’ll file for divorce myself. Don’t look for me, I flew to Kamchatka… P.S. You still owe me 20,000 rubles, leave them in this envelope, and three hundred for you was given by Elena Vladimirovna, please pass on a big thank you to her, as I was so surprised that I forgot to thank her.»
Misha pulled up a chair, read everything again, and called his mother. But that’s a completely different story.
