Lena rushed out of the building, casting an anxious glance at her watch.
«God, I’m late!»
She hurried toward the metro.
«Just what I needed—to be late for dinner with Pasha’s parents!»
Recently, she and Pavel had made an important decision—to get married. But the wedding hadn’t happened yet. Lena was ready to just live together, but Pasha wanted an official union. He didn’t want to hide his feelings and was sure he had the right to choose his own partner.
«Maybe you shouldn’t meet them? What if your parents don’t accept me?»
«Do you think they’d approve anyone I choose? Most likely, they’ll only be satisfied with a girl who meets their tastes. But that’s their problem, not mine. My father understands me anyway. If there’s a conflict, I’ll just leave. I don’t need their money—I’ll earn my own.»
«I don’t want to be the cause of a quarrel.»
Pavel hugged her.
«You won’t be. The main difficulty is their pride. Sometimes it feels like they live in the last century. And not just them: the more money you have, the stranger the people around. They act like I belong to them, like an object.»
They met by chance—at a sports competition where they had come just to support their schools. Lena cheered for the school team; Pasha for the lyceum team. At first, they even argued out of competitive spirit but quickly became friends.
Lena grew up in a simple family where buying a cake was an event. Pasha’s life was different: a personal chef, expensive gifts, constant social events. Her childhood was tough; she learned to stand up for herself among an aggressive group of neighborhood kids.
She dreamed of Paris, while Pasha was quite tired of it—his parents took him there for vacations so often. But from their first days of acquaintance, there was mutual sympathy. They cautiously got to know each other, not revealing their whole souls right away, but the attraction was obvious.
After six months of dating, Pasha proposed:
«I can’t wake up without you anymore. I want you to always be near.»
«And your parents?»
«They’ll get used to it. They definitely won’t kick you out.»
«Not sure about that…»
«You’ll be my wife. I’m proud of you and won’t hide it.»
Until today, Lena thought that with Pasha by her side, problems with his parents wouldn’t be so scary. But the closer the meeting time came, the more her anxiety grew.
The meeting was to be held in a restaurant, and Pasha said it was just an introduction. But Lena understood: she would be judged, every word and gesture analyzed.
Rushing home, she looked at the clock—one and a half hours left, and she had to cross the whole city. With one hand she touched up her eyelashes, with the other tried to zip her dress. Nothing went right: mascara got into her eye, tears streamed, the zipper tore with a crack. Lena stopped and took a deep breath.
«What will be, will be.»
She washed her face, took off the dress, and put on a light sweater. After all, no one demanded an evening look from her, and she looked quite decent like this too.
When the train doors were almost closing, Lena slipped inside and exhaled with relief.
«Here we go!»
She glanced at her reflection in the window—everything seemed okay. Twenty minutes left to the place; she could relax a bit. She settled comfortably and thought about what awaited her ahead.
Her mood was vague. Although maybe Pavel exaggerated, stirring up fear about his parents. Maybe his mother was just a strict woman, not the monster he described.
Lena smiled. It would be great if everything went well. After all, starting family life with conflicts isn’t the best option.
Suddenly, loud voices drew attention. A group of three young men entered the car, surrounding an elderly man.
«Grandpa, give us the money, don’t drag it out!»
«Come on, old man, hand it over!»
The man shook his head.
«I only have money for the fare. I don’t carry much—too many like you around.»
Lena raised an eyebrow. The old man was clearly unafraid. Brave, though it might have been better if he stayed silent—maybe it would have passed.
One of the guys shoved the old man, who began to fall. Lena rushed to support him. Then she turned to the hooligans:
«Aren’t you ashamed? That’s an elderly man!»
The guys hesitated, then burst out laughing. Lena knew one rule: «If you see no peaceful solution—strike first.» These guys had no reason in their eyes—only instincts.
The first, a redhead, stepped toward her, but Lena skillfully hit him with the edge of her palm on the nose. He howled and collapsed on the floor. The second took a little longer, but within a minute he was down too. The third hesitated, and Lena couldn’t wait:
«Well, come here, I’m about to get off!»
The guy ran like a bullet to the next car. Lena turned back to the old man, who looked at her with admiration.
«If I were fifty years younger, I’d propose to you right away!»
Lena laughed. There it was again! Why do men think a compliment to a girl is a hint to marry? She could have just said «thank you.»
«I really have to go.»
They got off together at the station, and the old man watched her for a long time.
Pavel glanced at his watch and then at his mother.
«Yeah, I think she could have come at least a bit earlier. This is not just a meeting—it’s an introduction to the parents.»
He looked at his father, who only slightly smirked and subtly averted his gaze so his wife wouldn’t notice.
When Lena finally entered the hall, Pasha instinctively moved toward her, but his parents beat him to it.
The mother hissed quietly but sharply:
«She didn’t even bother to wear an evening dress. Or at least rent one.»
The father looked Lena over carefully.
«A quite nice girl. And most importantly—not putting on airs like most of those who usually circled around our son. The outfit is fine, honestly.»
To his wife, he said shortly and calmly:
«Maybe she just didn’t want to outshine you.»
The formalities were quickly over, and everyone sat down at the table. Inna Igorevna watched with a forced smile as the waiter set the cutlery. In front of Lena lay only one fork and a spoon, while the others had a full set of utensils. Lena felt her cheeks burning. Pavel finally noticed and sharply turned to his mother:
«Mom, what does it mean—only one set?»
He expected anything but such an open humiliation.
«I just wanted to make it easier for her. In her circle, probably everyone eats with one fork—so let her be comfortable.»
Lena had never been in such a situation. She understood she should get up and leave but didn’t know how it would affect her relationship with Pavel. She didn’t want to lose him. She sat silently, looking at him: would he protect her or not, the one who called her his beloved?
«Something wrong?» Pavel pretended nothing strange had happened.
Everything was clear.
Lena looked at the table again, forced a smile, and began to stand. Inna Igorevna immediately noticed:
«Dear, are you leaving already? Won’t you even try the tea?»
Lena shook her head, and at that moment a voice made her turn surprised:
«It’s a pity you can’t respond now as you did on the train. My dear, if my grandson turns out not brave enough, know that I can always offer you my hand and heart—you will become my wife and immediately Pasha’s grandmother.»
Lena raised her eyebrows, seeing the old man from the train approaching their table.
«It’s you?!»
«Yes, yes. Don’t pay attention to my daughter-in-law. Not long ago, she also ate with only one spoon she always carried with her.»
The old man laughed. Inna Igorevna threw a scorching look at her husband, and Pavel’s father got up and hugged the old man.
«Hello, dad. More adventures on the way?»
The man sat next to Lena and gently pulled her hand, inviting her to stay.
«Dear, sit down. I promise no one will hurt you here—while my grandson figures out what to say without offending anyone. And I will be your protector.»
Inna Igorevna snorted. She had hoped the father-in-law wouldn’t come to this dinner. Although a millionaire, he preferred the metro, buses, and mostly walking. He still kept everything in his hands, saying he would have handed it over to his son long ago if he wasn’t afraid the daughter-in-law would take control.
The old man told everyone how Lena stood up for him on the train and dealt with the three guys. What a woman! A real goddess!
Inna Igorevna only pursed her lips. In her opinion, such behavior was absolutely unacceptable for a girl, especially a future daughter-in-law. Pavel’s father sincerely thanked Lena, and Pasha whispered to her:
«What else don’t I know about you?»
Lena looked at him calmly:
«What don’t I know about you?» She nodded toward her utensils. «Did you know about this?»
«No, of course not! Do you think I would have allowed it?»
She looked away. Now she didn’t care if he knew or not. He already allowed his mother to insult her with impunity. Why was she even here? Maybe she was looking for a reason to break up. What else would Pasha fail at?
The first course was served. Inna Igorevna looked irritably at her dish and the waiter.
«This is definitely not what I ordered.»
She discreetly watched how Lena skillfully used the cutlery and began choosing a fork herself.
«God, I’m always confused by these seafood dishes.»
Grandpa laughed again:
«See, Inna? Don’t judge others if you’re not sure yourself.»
With a loud clatter, the knife fell on the table. Inna Igorevna sharply stood up and left. The father didn’t even move—this was customary in their family.
Well, almost: Pasha got up after his mother, but grandpa stopped him:
«Leave her. She needs to let off steam; otherwise, it will be worse.»
Fifteen minutes later, Inna returned and sat down in the place her husband carefully pushed closer. Raising a glass of champagne, she drained it in one gulp under surprised looks. And suddenly smiled.
«I couldn’t just give my only son to some empty-headed girl,» she declared.
Now Lena understood: for them, Pavel was an object to be handed from hand to hand. His words about love, about free choice—just a beautiful fairy tale.
Pasha was silent. Not a word from his mother touched him.
Grandpa laughed:
«So where will we celebrate the wedding? I’m almost a hundred years old—every day could be the last. We must hurry.»
Lena watched as the relatives discussed the details of the celebration. Pavel leaned toward her:
«They accepted you. Maybe we should run away?»
Now it was clear to her: her Pasha was a typical mama’s boy, used to obeying. Maybe he even considered himself his mother’s property, which she was now «handed over» to. But maybe that was better? A passive husband under control is more profitable than a domineering one. Why would she need a middleman between her and the family business? Grandpa was clearly ready to teach her everything she needed. He didn’t like Inna, and even less the son—a led person.
Everything was not so bad after all. If necessary—she could always leave.
Lena smiled and nodded:
«Let’s run away.»
The parents didn’t even notice how they left. Only grandpa, satisfied, watched them go.
