Elena closed the last drawing of the project and stretched in her chair. Three years ago, this spacious apartment had been only her refuge. Now Oleg lived here. Her husband was flipping through student papers at the dining table.
“Working late again?” Oleg asked without looking up from the notebooks.
“The project is on fire,” Elena replied. “Presentation tomorrow.”
Oleg put down the red pen and looked at his wife. His gaze was tired, almost reproachful.
“Remember how we dreamed of family dinners?”
Elena stood up and went to the window. The city was sparkling with lights below. Every evening the same conversations.
“We agreed,” she said quietly. “I work, you work. We support each other.”
“We support each other,” Oleg echoed. “But home should be cozy. Warm.”
Elena turned around. Oleg looked at her with an unclear longing.
“What do you mean ‘should be’?” she asked. “Isn’t it cozy here?”
“I don’t know,” Oleg shrugged. “Mom says the house should have an atmosphere. The smell of baking, music…”
Mom again. Always mom.
“Your mom lives in another city,” she said more sharply than she intended. “She doesn’t see how we live.”
“She worries about us,” Oleg objected. “Especially about me.”
The phone rang at that moment. Oleg glanced at the screen and immediately changed expression.
“Mom,” he whispered to Elena and answered the call. “Hello, mommy.”
Elena turned away to the window. Tatiana Arkadyevna’s voice was audible even through the speaker.
“Olezha, son, how are you? How’s your health?”
“All good, mom. And you?”
“Bad, son. Very bad. After the operation, everything hurts. The doctors don’t understand anything.”
Elena saw her husband’s reflection in the glass. Oleg slumped, his face worried.
“What exactly hurts?” he asked sympathetically.
“Everything, Olezha. My whole body aches. Soon it will probably get even worse.”
Elena clenched her fists. Every conversation started the same way. Complaints, moans, manipulations.
“Mom, don’t say that,” Oleg pleaded. “Maybe you should see another doctor?”
“What doctor, son? No money. Pension is small. I live alone, no one needs me.”
Elena turned and looked at her husband. Oleg nodded into the phone as if his mother could see him.
“Mom, you’re not alone. I’m here. We’re here.”
“You’re far away,” Tatiana Arkadyevna sobbed. “And your wife… she’s busy with her own things. She doesn’t care about her mother-in-law.”
She was standing just three meters from her husband right now. Hearing every word.
“Mom, Lena is good,” Oleg weakly objected. “She just has work…”
“Work, work,” his mother interrupted. “And what about family? And home? A woman should be a woman.”
Elena approached her husband and quietly said:
“Oleg.”
He raised his eyes to her, covering the phone with his hand.
“What?”
“Tell her that I help you. That we manage.”
Oleg nodded and lowered his hand.
“Mom, we manage. Lena helps a lot.”
“Helps?” Tatiana Arkadyevna asked sarcastically. “She’s always away traveling. She abandons you.”
Elena stepped back. The conversation was becoming unbearable.
“Mom, that’s her job,” Oleg said quietly. “She’s an architect.”
“An architect,” his mother repeated contemptuously. “And who will take care of you? Who will support you?”
Elena took a folder of documents from the table. Tomorrow morning she had to fly to Prague. An urgent business trip for a week.
“Listen, mom,” Oleg said, “I have to get up early tomorrow. Can we talk tomorrow?”
“Of course, son. Good night. And tell your wife… to take care of you.”
Oleg hung up and looked at Elena guiltily.
“She worries,” he said. “After the operation, her nerves are frayed.”
“Understood,” Elena nodded. “By the way, I’m flying to Prague tomorrow. For a week.”
“For a week?” Oleg was surprised. “And the house? And Murzik?”
“The house stays with you,” Elena smiled. “And the cat too. Can you manage?”
Oleg nodded uncertainly.
“I’ll manage, of course.”
Elena approached and kissed him on the cheek.
“You’ll see, everything will be fine.”
The week in Prague flew by quickly. Elena returned home with relief. The project was successfully completed, the clients were satisfied.
The key turned in the lock. Strange shoes stood in the hallway. Women’s, old-fashioned. The scent of unfamiliar perfume hung in the air.
“Oleg?” Elena called.
Voices came from the kitchen. Tatiana Arkadyevna sat at the table. A plate of pastries was in front of her.
“Oh, here’s the traveler,” the mother-in-law said without standing. “Olezha, your wife is home.”
Oleg got up guiltily. His face was red with embarrassment.
“Lena, hi,” he said quietly. “Mom came two days ago. She got very bad.”
“How bad?” Elena asked.
“Her blood pressure spiked,” Tatiana Arkadyevna complained. “The doctor said it’s stress. Olezha took me here.”
“Took you here?” Elena put down her suitcase. “But this is my home.”
“Our home,” Oleg corrected. “Mom needs care.”
Elena sat opposite her mother-in-law. Tatiana Arkadyevna studied her with a predatory look.
“Tired of traveling?” she asked with fake concern. “A woman needs rest. Family.”
“I like my job,” Elena answered evenly.
“Work, work,” the mother-in-law grimaced. “And the husband? Who cares for Olezha?”
Elena glanced at Oleg. He was silent, studying the tablecloth.
“Oleg is an adult,” she said. “He can take care of himself.”
“By himself?” Tatiana Arkadyevna laughed. “He’s lost without me. He sat alone for a week, barely alive.”
“How long are you staying?” Elena asked directly.
“As long as needed,” her mother-in-law answered defiantly. “Maybe a month, maybe a year.”
Elena turned to her husband. He avoided her gaze.
“Oleg, we need to talk alone.”
“Why alone?” Tatiana Arkadyevna interrupted. “I’m family. Mother.”
“You’re a guest in my home,” Elena said sharply.
“Yours? How interesting,” the mother-in-law drawled. “And your husband, is he a freeloader?”
“Mom, stop,” Oleg weakly objected.
“Stop what?” his mother asked. “Tell the truth? A woman should support her husband, not reproach him with money.”
“I’m not reproaching anyone,” Elena said through clenched teeth. “But I decide who lives here.”
“Our home,” Oleg repeated. “We are family.”
“Family?” Elena looked at him puzzled. “Then why didn’t you consult me?”
“No time,” Oleg muttered. “Mom was in hospital.”
“All week?” Elena asked again.
Oleg blushed even more.
“Two days,” he admitted. “Then she was discharged.”
“So five days ago you could have called,” Elena said coldly. “But you didn’t.”
“I didn’t want to upset you,” the husband justified. “You were working.”
“I earn money,” Elena answered. “To keep this house.”
“And who cooks?” the mother-in-law indignantly asked. “Who cleans? Who makes it cozy?”
“I do,” Elena said. “I cook. I clean. I make it cozy.”
“Not true,” Tatiana Arkadyevna objected. “Oleg told me. The house is neglected, food is from deliveries.”
Elena turned sharply to her husband.
“Oleg, is that true?” she asked. “You say that about me?”
“I didn’t say that,” he mumbled. “Mom misunderstood.”
“I understood everything correctly,” the mother-in-law replied. “A woman should care for her husband. Not make him do housework while she travels abroad!”
“Oleg,” Elena called. “Look at me.”
He reluctantly raised his eyes.
“Do you think I force you to work around the house?”
“You don’t force me,” he answered quietly. “But I want my wife to be more home-oriented.”
“So, stay at home?” Elena clarified.
“Spend more time with family,” Oleg faltered. “And help my mother too.”
“That’s your mother. You help her,” Elena replied. “But not in my home.”
“If you can’t accept that I have a mother,” Oleg continued, “our relationship is impossible.”
Elena looked at her husband for a long time. Then at the satisfied Tatiana Arkadyevna.
“Impossible,” she repeated quietly. “Understood.”
Elena got up from the table. Her legs trembled, but her voice remained firm.
“Fine,” she said calmly. “Just fine.”
The next two weeks turned into a nightmare. Elena existed in her own home like a ghost. Tatiana Arkadyevna took over the kitchen completely. She cooked only for Oleg. Left notes for Elena on the fridge.
“Cutlets in the freezer. Heat them yourself.”
“Milk is finished. Buy some on your way from work.”
“Olezha caught a cold. Don’t make noise in the morning.”
Elena read these instructions silently. Bought groceries. Cleaned up after her mother-in-law. Washed dishes after their family dinners.
“Lena, maybe we should talk?” Oleg asked one evening.
“About what?” Elena replied without looking up from her laptop.
“About us,” he said uncertainly. “Mom will get better soon. She’ll go home.”
“When exactly is ‘soon’?” Elena asked.
“In a month, maybe two,” Oleg muttered. “The doctor said…”
“Understood,” Elena nodded. “A month.”
But that time never came. Sometimes the heart hurt, sometimes the blood pressure jumped. The mother-in-law completely occupied the living room. Watched TV shows until midnight. Called Oleg to massage her back.
“Olezha, bring the pillow,” she asked every evening. “My back hurts badly.”
“Olezha, change the channel,” she ordered an hour later. “This movie is boring.”
“Olezha, make tea with honey,” she demanded before bed. “My throat is sore.”
Oleg obediently did everything. Elena watched from the side. Her husband had turned into a servant to his own mother.
The calendar showed April 28. Elena’s birthday was in a month. She sat in the bedroom thinking about the years she had lived.
Muffled voices came from the kitchen. Elena stood and went to the door.
“Olezha, we need to solve this issue radically,” Tatiana Arkadyevna said. “This apartment should be transferred to your name.”
“Mom, that’s not right,” Oleg weakly objected. “Lena bought it.”
“Bought it before the wedding,” the mother waved him off. “And now she has a husband. You have rights too!”
Elena froze by the door. Her breath caught.
“I don’t know,” Oleg muttered. “It feels wrong somehow.”
“Fine,” Tatiana Arkadyevna said firmly. “While the apartment is hers, we’re guests here. Otherwise, we’ll be the real owners.”
“And what about Lena?” Oleg asked.
“What about her?” the mother shrugged. “Let her get used to it. Or leave. You’ll be better without her.”
Elena stepped back from the door. Her hands trembled with outrage. So that’s how it is. They want to drive her out of her own home.
She entered the kitchen sharply. Mother and son fell silent.
“So you want to transfer my apartment to yourselves?” Elena asked coldly.
Tatiana Arkadyevna straightened up.
“What’s wrong with that?” she replied. “Oleg is your husband. He should be the master.”
“Master?” Elena repeated. “In an apartment he didn’t buy?”
“Whether he bought it or not doesn’t matter now,” the mother-in-law waved off. “Family is family.”
Elena looked at Oleg. He sat with his head down.
“Oleg, do you agree with this plan?” she asked directly.
“I don’t know,” he muttered. “Maybe mom is right…”
“Right?” Elena laughed bitterly. “About what?”
“That a man should be the head of the family,” Tatiana Arkadyevna intervened. “Not a hanger-on at his wife’s place.”
“Hanger-on,” Elena repeated. “Interesting.”
Elena turned away.
“Where are you going?” her mother-in-law called after her.
“To pack,” Elena answered without looking back. “Your things.”
“What?” Tatiana Arkadyevna jumped up.
“You crossed the line,” Elena said harshly. “And you will leave my apartment. Both of you. Immediately.”
“You can’t throw us out!” the mother-in-law protested.
“I can,” Elena said calmly. “This is my home. My documents. My right.”
Oleg got up confused.
“Lena, don’t rush,” he began. “Let’s discuss…”
“There’s nothing to discuss,” Elena interrupted. “You made your choice. Now live with it.”
“But where will we go?” Oleg was at a loss.
“To mom’s,” Elena replied. “She loves you so much.”
An hour later they packed their suitcases. Tatiana Arkadyevna shot angry looks at Elena.
“You’ll regret it,” she hissed. “You’ll crawl back to us.”
“We’ll see,” Elena answered indifferently.
Oleg stood in the hallway with his suitcase.
“Lena, maybe we should reconsider?” he asked plaintively.
“It’s too late to think,” Elena said. “Go to your mom. Think there.”
The door closed behind them. Elena was left alone in the silence.
The next morning she went to a lawyer. Filed for divorce. The documents were processed quickly.
Her birthday came. Elena set the table for friends. Svetlana brought a cake. Marina gave flowers.
“How are you?” a friend asked cautiously.
“Great,” Elena smiled. “I live for myself.”
Oleg was left in the past. Together with his mother and her plans.