“Kseniya Nikolaevna, I talked it over with Kolya, and we decided not to give Dasha money as a gift.”
“What?” — the mother-in-law’s eyebrows shot up. “The girl is turning twenty! Money is the best gift at that age!”
“We want to give her some kind of keepsake instead.”
“To hell with your keepsake! We only accept money!” — the mother-in-law shouted, slapping her palm on the table.
Kolya choked on his compote. Tanya clenched a napkin under the table.
“Mom, don’t be like that,” he tried to intervene.
“Shut up! Are you always under your wife’s thumb?” — the mother-in-law shifted her gaze to her son. “In our family, we’ve always given money! It’s a tradition!”
“Maybe it’s time to change traditions,” Tanya tried to speak calmly.
“Oh, really!” Kseniya Nikolaevna threw up her hands. “Two years in the family and already giving orders!”
Mom, we’re probably going to leave.
That dinner was just another round in an endless war. From the first day they met, Kseniya Nikolaevna disliked Tanya. “Too simple for my Kolya,” she declared back then, not even trying to lower her voice.
The wedding was full of scandal — the mother-in-law insisted on a restaurant, Tanya wanted a modest ceremony. Kolya ran back and forth, ending up pleasing no one.
After the wedding, the real confrontation began. The mother-in-law would show up unannounced in their apartment, move furniture, criticize the food, and check the corners for dust with her white handkerchief.
“I just want to teach you how to be a good wife,” she said, finding dust on the top shelf of the cupboard.
And then there was Dasha — the golden child in the mother’s eyes. “Dasha would never wear that,” “Dasha cooks better,” “Dasha is smart, unlike some others.”
One day Tanya accidentally saw a message from her mother-in-law to her husband: “Kolya, it’s not too late to fix this, she’s not your match.” Tanya didn’t mention it to Kolya — it was too painful.
In three years of marriage, Tanya learned to set boundaries. Now she would shut the door in the face of uninvited guests, respond to barbs, and no longer apologize for her existence. And now Dasha’s birthday became a new battlefield.
The front door slammed. Kolya and Tanya returned to their apartment after dinner at the mother-in-law’s. They brought with them the tension that had thickened over the table.
“So why did you do this?” Kolya threw his keys onto the shelf.
“Me?” Tanya raised her eyebrows. “It was your mother yelling all over the street.”
“You know how things are with us. Why don’t you like giving money?”
Tanya took off her coat and hung it on the rack. Inside, she was boiling, but she tried to speak calmly.
“I don’t like that every family celebration turns into a money exchange. Like we’re business partners, not relatives.”
“Stop it,” Kolya flopped onto the couch. “It’s easier for everyone this way. Dasha will get what she wants, not some figurine to shove in a far drawer.”
“Are you sure you know what your sister wants? Have you ever talked to her about her interests?”
“Don’t start,” the husband grimaced. “We have enough problems already.”
Tanya sat across from him, studying his face.
“Kolya, I tolerate a lot from your mother. But I won’t just do what I’m told and give money just because ‘that’s how it’s done.’”
“You’re always going against the flow. Is it so hard to just give in sometimes?”
“Is it normal for you that your mother yelled at me in front of everyone?” Tanya felt a swelling hurt in her chest.
“You know how she is. Was it worth provoking her?”
“So I have to bend over backward my whole life?”
“Don’t dramatize. Just give her the money, that’s it. I’m tired of all this,” Kolya turned on the TV, signaling the conversation was over.
Tanya watched her husband hide behind the news to avoid the family conflict. Tears welled in her eyes. Quietly, she got up and went to the kitchen. For the first time, she wanted to leave everything and go back to her parents.
The next day, Tanya went to choose a gift. The bookstore was quiet. Tanya sifted through cards, trying to find something special. Dasha was studying design — maybe something with beautiful graphics?
“Tanya?” a voice called from behind.
She turned and saw Dasha — a tall girl with dark hair tied in a messy bun.
“Well, what a surprise!” Tanya smiled. “When did you arrive?”
“Last night. Mom said you stopped by.”
“Yes, it was… an interesting dinner,” Tanya blushed.
Dasha smirked:
“I already heard mom’s version. Now I want yours.”
They settled in a nearby café. Tanya stirred her latte, searching for words.
“The thing is, I didn’t want to give you money. I wanted to pick something special.”
“And I thought you were arguing about politics,” Dasha laughed. “Mom is always dramatizing.”
“She insists on traditions.”
“You know, I hate those money envelopes,” Dasha lowered her voice. “Every year the same thing. Like they’re paying me off.”
Tanya looked at her in surprise.
“Really? And your mom said…”
“My mom says a lot of things about others,” Dasha smiled bitterly. “She even drove my boyfriend away because he’s ‘not our circle.’”
“I didn’t know,” Tanya felt growing sympathy for Dasha’s honesty.
“Forgive her. She’s controlled everything all her life. And I’m glad Kolya has you — someone who’s not made of plasticine.”
The day before the celebration, Tanya found the perfect gift — an antique silver brooch shaped like an artist’s palette. Seeing it in the antique shop, she immediately remembered Dasha’s dream of becoming a jewelry designer.
At home, Tanya carefully wrapped the brooch in a velvet box. The phone rang — Kseniya Nikolaevna.
“Tanechka, I hope you’ve reconsidered the gift?”
“We’ve already chosen, thank you.”
“Kolya said you spent more on some trinket than you intended to give in money,” irritation was audible in the mother-in-law’s voice.
Tanya glanced at her husband. He looked down.
“That’s none of your business,” she replied firmly.
“How rude! And we accepted you into the family!”
“See you tomorrow, Kseniya Nikolaevna.”
In the evening, Kolya was silent, buried in his phone. Tanya felt a growing chasm between them.
“Do you have to ruin the relationship with mom?” he finally asked.
“Do you have to report every step we take to her?”
Kolya went to sleep on the couch. Tomorrow would be a hard day.
Kseniya Nikolaevna’s apartment resembled a battlefield where instead of weapons there were forced smiles and fake compliments. The husband’s relatives threw sideways glances at Tanya — rumors about her ‘disobedience’ had already spread.
“Happy birthday!” Tanya hugged Dasha, handing over a small package.
Kseniya Nikolaevna immediately appeared nearby.
“What’s that? I hope it’s an addition to the main gift?”
Dasha curiously unwrapped the package. Her eyes widened.
“Oh my God, this is… Where did you find it?” She pulled out the brooch, turning it under the chandelier light.
“In an antique shop. The seller said it was made in the early 20th century.”
“That’s amazing!” Dasha pressed the gift to her chest. “I’m actually doing a project on the history of jewelry design!”
Kseniya Nikolaevna pursed her lips.
“And where’s the envelope? Dasha needs money for courses.”
“Mom, stop,” Dasha frowned. “This brooch is worth more than all your envelopes combined.”
“Don’t you dare talk back to me!”
“I’m not talking back, just…” Dasha cut herself off under her mother’s heavy gaze.
Tanya felt her face flush with shame for the mother-in-law. Kolya nervously adjusted his tie, avoiding eye contact.
“Everyone to the table quickly!” Kseniya Nikolaevna commanded, trying to regain control.
At dinner, every toast turned into a reminder of “family traditions.” Dasha sat with the brooch pinned to her dress, occasionally glancing at Tanya with gratitude.
The room grew stuffy. Kseniya Nikolaevna announced another toast, glancing at the brooch sparkling on Dasha’s dress.
“And now, according to tradition,” she cleared her throat, “the birthday girl will read out the list of gifts.”
Dasha reluctantly took a notebook.
“Really?”
“Of course!” her mother snapped. “We always do this.”
Dasha began monotonously listing the amounts. Tanya watched the guests’ faces — boredom, feigned interest, checking phones under the table.
“From Aunt Vera five thousand, from Uncle Sasha and Aunt Nina seven…”
“Louder, dear, Uncle Borya can’t hear,” Kseniya Nikolaevna conducted the process.
When the list ended, the mother-in-law meaningfully cleared her throat:
“And some gave only old trinkets,” she shot a glance at Tanya, “being stingy isn’t nice.”
Kolya flinched. Tanya felt something inside snap.
“Mom!” Dasha protested.
“What? I’m telling the truth.”
Tanya stood up, not waiting for her husband’s support.
“May I make a toast?”
A murmur ran through the room. She raised her glass:
“Dasha, I want to wish you courage. The courage to be yourself even when others try to fit you into their frames. This brooch is not just jewelry. It’s a reminder that sometimes you need to break the rules to be happy.”
“Enough with the lectures!” the mother-in-law interrupted. “No one asked you!”
“This is not a lecture,” Tanya replied calmly. “It’s a protest against your suffocating traditions. Against these lists of amounts, like a report at a business meeting.”
“In my house, you will not…”
“I will not come to your house anymore,” Tanya set down her glass. “And I’m taking my husband with me.”
She turned to leave. Kolya’s eyes were wide open.
“Tanya is right,” Dasha suddenly said. “I’m twenty, and I’m afraid to admit I hate those money envelopes!”
Kseniya Nikolaevna went pale. Relatives froze with forks in their hands.
“Let’s go, Kolya,” Tanya grabbed her bag. “Choose. Now or never.”
He slowly got up, fixed his tie. Looked at his mother, then at his wife. And decisively stepped toward Tanya.
“Mom, we all need to learn to respect each other’s choices.”
Outside, Tanya took a deep breath. Kolya squeezed her hand and quietly said:
“Sorry I stayed silent for so long.”
Behind them, footsteps sounded. Dasha ran out of the entrance, clutching the brooch.
“Can I come with you? Even for a little while?”
They walked together — through the spring courtyard, leaving behind the stuffy apartment with its suffocating rules and unnecessary traditions.
They will think it over and come back, — Kseniya Nikolaevna assured the guests.
Of course, no one planned to return. An hour later, the few relatives had left, and the mother-in-law remained alone, choking on anger and hatred.
