Vera! Can you hear me?» Alexei called out before he even entered the house.
«I hear you,» the woman replied without taking her eyes off the screen she was drawing on with a stylus.
«Igor and his wife and daughter are asking to stay with us!»
Vera knew exactly who Igor was—her husband’s brother, a lively guy a couple of years younger. It seemed he was born with a camera in his hands, always carrying it around. He loved photography, shooting everything, but mostly, of course, models—he liked female images. Initially, he got a job at a newspaper, then moved to an advertising agency, and by some miracle, ended up at a beauty contest—it was a real gold mine for him. Naturally, Igor didn’t stop there: he also shot weddings and presentations, he was everywhere where there was money to be made. Even at his brother’s wedding, he couldn’t sit still—he ran after the bride and kept clicking her.
Vera set aside her electronic stylus and straightened up. Just then, Alexei walked into the room. The woman smiled and looked at him.
«So, I give my consent.»
She liked that he asked her about the guests. After all, they lived by the sea, everyone tried to visit them. However, Vera didn’t mind, except that their house was small; they had only started building a guest house last year.
«We need to finish the renovation,» she reminded her husband, who was not very skilled at it.
«Just the little things left.»
«When?» Vera inquired curiously.
«Well, if you agree, I think in a couple of weeks.»
«Of course, let them come.»
«Maybe we should take a walk?» Alexei cautiously suggested to his wife.
«Lots of work.»
«I understand, but maybe still…»
Vera rarely left the house, except she liked to garden in the evenings when it was not too hot, but otherwise, she always sat in her room and drew, drew, and drew.
Perhaps that’s why she had gained a little weight, was on diets, counted calories, but then, breaking down, she would overeat again, scold herself for weakness, and it all started over again.
Outside, the sea roared, roses bloomed in the garden, filling the air with a delicate aroma. On the windowsill, a fluffy cat dozed, occasionally opening its eyes at the seagulls flying by.
Alexei left. Vera stood up, massaged her lower back, walked over to the scales, and sighed as she stepped on them. The needles crawled upwards.
«Again,» she thought sadly, realizing she had gained another half kilogram.
The woman glanced at the bag of pastries that she had brought into her office in the morning, half of which she had already eaten.
«Maybe one more, and that’s it,» she thought. Her hand reached out, wanting to open it, but she felt guilty. She closed it and, taking the bag, carried it to the kitchen.
If Vera worked from home, only results were required—she illustrated books. Meanwhile, Alexei, who had opened his advertising agency about five years ago, was always disappearing somewhere. It all started when he bought equipment for business cards, then a camera, gradually hiring students interested in graphics, then artists, screenwriters, and somehow everything went unnoticed. But he didn’t stand still, he understood that the advertising market was changing. Then he had specialists who created websites and online stores. He had a few employees: about 15 permanent staff and about the same number of freelancers.
This brought in good income. They used to live in the north, but when they came south for the summer and were about to leave, the house owner said she wanted to sell her plot. Alexei brushed it off, he was too busy, he lived all for work, but Vera liked it. She was excited about the land—large, 20 acres, though not exactly in a good place, on a hillside. However, after consulting with her father, he supported her and sent money. When the plot became available, Alexei had to admit that they had to build something. And a couple of years later, they had a three-room house, and when they had guests, they decided to make a guest house.
Despite the fact that Vera and Alexei got married before Igor, their daughter Olya was the same age as Natasha, Vera’s daughter. Igor might have remained a bachelor for a long time, but it seems that Yulia got pregnant, and he was forced to agree to marry.
At the beginning of the summer, Vera sent her daughter to her mother. Natasha was 5 years old, just a little bit more, and she would go to school. Vera wanted her to meet Olya, so, after consulting with her husband, she decided to go for her daughter.
«I’ll be quick, there and back,» she told Alexei. «Entertain the guests and please…» she covered the monitor screen with a special film, «make sure no one goes in here.»
«I’ll lock it,» Alexei joked.
Vera flew away with peace of mind.
A couple of days later, Igor flew in with his wife and daughter.
«Wow!» Yulia exclaimed in awe. She had heard many times from her husband about his brother’s house, but had never been here before.
«It’s all Vera,» Alexei proudly said, pointing to the garden.
Of course, the garden was mostly wild: there were pear, hazelnut, apple, and plum trees—a little bit of everything, but the grass grew so fast that even with a lawn mower, he couldn’t keep it in order.
«Olya, there’s the cherry tree,» Alexei said softly and pointed to a tree that stood on a hill.
The girl immediately ran off.
«It’s beautiful here,» Igor admitted approvingly and dragged his suitcases to the guest house.
«And what do you have there?» Yulia inquired curiously.
For almost an hour, Alexei walked around the plot, talking about each tree, then they descended the hill and entered the main house. Seeing that the door to Veronica’s room was open, Alexei entered. The girl Olya, as if the hostess, pushed aside the protective film from the screen and already took the stylus in her hands.
«Stop!» Alexei said calmly but firmly. «You can’t touch this.»
The man approached and took the electronic stylus from the girl, put it on the shelf.
«And in general, it’s better not to enter this room.»
The girl immediately ran out. Lowering the protective film back onto the screen, Alexei left and firmly closed the door behind him.
«Is your wife still that fat?» Yulia asked Alexei with a sarcastic smirk.
The man grimaced. He knew that Vera was not slim and couldn’t compare her with Yulia, who had once been a photo model.
To avoid offending his brother’s wife, he very tactfully started the conversation:
«Not everyone can be as slim as you.»
In response, Yulia smugly smiled.
«However, please, let’s not talk about this.»
In response, the woman snorted:
«To be slim, you just have to eat less.»
«I understand,» Alexei agreed with her. «Vera has tried many methods, been on diets, and counted calories, but…»
«You just need to eat less,» Yulia repeated.
Alexei understood—the woman didn’t get what he was hinting at, so he said bluntly:
«Don’t say that in front of Vera.»
Yulia snorted again, shrugged, and, already leaving the guest house, said again:
«You just need to eat less, that’s all. Don’t be a pig.»
Alexei grimaced at what he heard. He didn’t understand why these models were so mean. He had to meet them at work—they were proud of their figure, their face, which they didn’t deserve, nature gave it to them, but instead of using it and enjoying it, they looked for subterfuge in others.
A day later, as promised, Vera returned with Natasha. Alexei met her, sighed, sat down, and hugged his daughter.
The girl had clearly gained weight—her cheeks puffed out, her lips…
«Grandma,» Vera said as if defending her.
«Nothing, a couple of days of living here, running around, swimming—she’ll be back to normal,» Alexei supported her.
«How are our guests?» Vera asked him.
«They went to the sea, will be back soon.»
«They didn’t starve, did they? Probably only ate pizza?» the housewife asked and, entering the house, opened the fridge.
«No, Yulia cooked something here, they didn’t die of hunger.»
«Good, I’ll make lunch now,» Vera said and, changing her clothes, went to the kitchen.
An hour later, the guests returned. This time Yulia was silent, but from the look in her eyes and her expression, Alexei could see that she was not only dissatisfied with Vera’s appearance but also with his daughter, yet she had the wisdom not to express her comments.
Lunch was hearty. Vera thought the guests were hungry, so she cooked a roast, cut salads, fruits, and a couple of flatbreads.
The kids devoured everything, but after about 10 minutes, Yulia tugged at her daughter:
«Don’t eat so much, otherwise you’ll be fat like Natasha.»
It was good that at that time Vera and Natasha had already gone outside, but Alexei heard everything.
His face turned purple with anger, he was about to make a remark right then, but Natasha ran into the room.
«Dad, dad, dad!» she excitedly addressed him. «Can I go up the hill?»
The house was located in a lowland, and beyond it, the hill began to rise, and that’s where the land plot stretched, perhaps that’s why Vera managed to buy it not so expensively. The hill was almost entirely overgrown with hazelnut, and on the steepest slopes, wild grape grew. In the morning in the house, you won’t oversleep, no need for an alarm—the birds will wake you up. At first, this annoyed Alexei, but then he got used to it and could no longer imagine how he used to live without the singing of birds.
«Then take Olya with you,» Alexei suggested to his daughter.
The daughter immediately approached the girl and, holding out her hand to Olya, said:
«Let’s go, I’ll show you a nest, and there are cliffs and stones there!»
Olya turned her head to her mother, then looked at Natasha with disdain and, as if pondering each word, said:
«I don’t befriend pigs.»
Alexei stood up, took his daughter, and asked her to go to her mother, who had gone to water the flowers. Hurt by Olya, the girl ran away.
Alexei turned to his brother, who all this time sat next to his wife and Olya:
«You insulted my daughter,» he said bitterly, «by allowing her to be called a pig.»
«I didn’t say that!» Igor immediately protested.
«You kept quiet, just as your wife did,» Alexei slowly shifted his gaze from his brother to Yulia, then to the girl Olya. «You all simultaneously called my daughter a pig.»
Hearing this, Yulia blushed. Igor had nothing to say—he indeed kept quiet and didn’t even make a remark to his daughter. Alexei coldly looked at this family, then, glancing at them with disdain, went outside.
And in the evening, when Vera set the table, Igor came with his family. Alexei thought someone would apologize, but they behaved as if nothing had happened. Vera, as the hostess, prepared a wonderful dinner. Igor praised the food, Alexei supported him. Natasha, having eaten, leaned back in her chair. Vera brought tea and pastries, which she had asked her husband to buy. Yulia took one of them and, cutting off the cream, began to bite off, the same did Olya. Vera had already taken a pastry, but remembering the promise she gave herself that that was enough for today, she put it aside. Yulia noticed this, she smiled and said softly:
«To not be fat, you just need to not eat.»
Alexei slapped his hand on the table. Yulia jumped from the sudden noise and looked at the man, puzzled.
«Go for a walk,» Alexei addressed his wife.
She, taking her daughter, went outside. The homeowner was left alone with the guests. He turned to his brother—after all, he was the man in his family:
«This time you insulted my wife.»
«Nothing of the sort!» Igor responded.
«You kept quiet when she,» and he looked at Yulia, «said that my wife is fat.»
«But she’s really fat!» Yulia defended herself.
In that instant, Alexei’s hand hit the table, and again Yulia flinched. Alexei turned his head to his brother:
«First, you insulted my daughter, calling her a pig.»
«Listen, stop it!» realizing what his older brother was implying, Igor said.
«And now you insulted my wife, calling her fat and said ‘eat less’.»
«But she’s right,» and Igor looked at his wife.
«I won’t allow you to insult my loved ones in my home,» Alexei fell silent.
«Well, sorry,» Yulia responded disdainfully. «I’m not to blame that she’s like that…»
Alexei coldly looked at the woman, then slowly, so they would understand, said:
«I’ll allow you to stay the night, but tomorrow morning you’ll leave.»
«What?!» Igor exclaimed.
«And all because I’m right?!» Yulia immediately shrieked. «She’s fat, and your daughter is fat!»
«One more word…» Alexei stood up, leaned on the table, and said: «One more word, and you’ll leave my house right now.»
Yulia jumped from her chair, snorted, and, without saying thank you for the dinner, quickly went to the guest house. Olya ran after her.
«I’ve said everything,» these words Alexei addressed to his brother.
He was silent, probably understanding well who his wife was.
At dawn, skipping breakfast, his brother’s family hurriedly headed for the exit. The air was filled with the scent of blooming magnolias, and the sun was just beginning to heat up.
«Where are they going?» Vera asked Alexei, wiping the kitchen table with a towel. «Didn’t like the guest house or the way I cook?»
«Everything’s fine,» Alexei hugged his wife, adjusting the curtain on the window.
«But how so?» Vera worried, sitting on the edge of the chair.
«It had to be,» he answered her. «And you know what I suggest? Let’s go to the sea today and spend the whole day there?»
Hearing this suggestion, the lively Natasha immediately ran to the bedroom, and within a couple of minutes returned in a swimsuit and with a big inflatable ring. Her ringing steps echoed throughout the house.
«I’m ready!» she declared and headed for the exit, humming a cheerful tune.
«Not so fast!» her mother said, and also went to change.
Alexei was sad—he hadn’t seen his brother for a long time and thought the two girls would befriend.
Vera, the practical and thoughtful housewife, approached him.
«We’ve taken water, fruits, towels, and sunscreen,» she said, packing things in a large beach bag.
«Great, then let’s go,» he responded and, dismissing his brother’s family from his mind, hurried to his room to change as well. And just five minutes later, they descended the hill, heading for the sea. The southern sun was getting stronger, and the sea breeze carried the salty smell of water and seaweed.
