Irina zipped up the suitcase and looked around the children’s room. Eight-year-old Yegor was putting his favorite toy cars into a backpack, and five-year-old Lena was clutching a plush bear to her chest.
“Dad, is it true we’re going on a real train?” Yegor asked, running up to his father.
“It’s true, son. Ten hours to Petrozavodsk,” Oleg smiled, checking the tickets. “And then we’ll drive to the resort.”
Irina glanced at her husband and smiled. For the first time in seven years of marriage, Oleg had taken vacation time not to work on repairs in his parents’ apartment or help at Valentina Stepanovna’s dacha, but to travel with his wife and children.
“Mom, does Grandma know we’re going?” Lena asked.
“Of course, sweetheart. Valentina Stepanovna knows,” Irina replied, though she hadn’t told anyone.
Her mother-in-law usually interfered in all the family’s plans. If Irina wanted to buy a new coffee maker, Valentina Stepanovna would be sure to find a reason not to waste the money. If they decided to take the kids to the park for the weekend, the mother-in-law would immediately come up with more important things to do.
Oleg loaded the suitcases into the taxi’s trunk. The children chattered excitedly in the back seat, and Irina took out her phone and switched her work line to silent. Oleg did the same.
“Do you think we’ll actually get a proper rest?” Irina asked quietly.
“We will for sure. No calls, no urgent business. Just the four of us.”
At the station, Oleg bought the kids ice cream, even though it had already turned chilly outside. October in St. Petersburg had been rainy, and Irina hoped the weather would be better in Karelia.
The train departed right on schedule. Lena fell asleep within an hour, leaning against her mother’s shoulder. Yegor watched the villages and forests flicker past the window. Oleg read a guidebook, marking interesting places.
“Look, that’s the Kivach waterfall. They say it’s beautiful in autumn,” Oleg showed a photo in the book.
“Is it far from our resort?”
“About forty kilometers. We’ll get there in an hour by car.”
Irina closed her eyes. She hadn’t felt such peace in a long time. Usually even on weekends her head was crammed with tasks: laundry, cooking, taking the kids to visit Valentina Stepanovna. Her mother-in-law believed grandchildren should visit their grandmother every weekend.
In the morning, the train arrived in Petrozavodsk. At the station they were met by a representative of the resort—a young man in a jacket with the tour company’s logo.
“The Kuznetsov family? My name is Anton. Welcome to Karelia!”
The drive to the resort took an hour and a half. Anton talked about local sights, and the children gaped with delight at the real Karelian forest. Pines and spruces stood in a dense wall, with birches and aspens glowing gold between them.
“Mom, can we go into the forest to look for mushrooms?” Yegor asked.
“Of course you can. But only with Mom and Dad,” Irina replied.
The resort turned out to be cozy. Wooden cottages stood on the lake shore, hammocks were strung between the pines. The dining hall smelled of fresh pastries and fish soup.
Their cottage was spacious—two bedrooms, a living room with a fireplace, and a small kitchen. The kids ran straight to the lake, Oleg started the fire in the hearth, and Irina unpacked.
The first three days flew by. The family walked along forest trails, picked berries and multicolored leaves. Oleg taught the children to row a boat, and in the evenings they all sat by the fireplace, played board games, and drank hot cocoa.
“Dad, why have we never vacationed like this before?” Lena asked, getting comfortable in an armchair.
Oleg exchanged a look with his wife. Irina shrugged.
“It just didn’t work out, honey. Work, different things.”
“And now it worked out?”
“Now it did.”
On the fourth day, Irina woke up to the phone ringing. Oleg tossed in bed, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Reception in Karelia was poor, so it seemed odd that the phone was ringing at all.
Irina threw on a robe and went to the phone. A familiar voice came through, much louder than usual—Valentina Stepanovna.
“Irina! Finally! Where have you been? We stood at your door all day yesterday!”
“Valentina Stepanovna? We’re on vacation…”
“What vacation?! My sister and nephews and I came to visit, and the apartment is locked! Your neighbor, Antonina Fyodorovna, said you went somewhere! How dare you not tell anyone?”
Irina moved the phone away from her ear. Her mother-in-law was shouting so loudly that her words echoed down the hall.
“We’re vacationing in Karelia. We took some time off…”
“Karelia, what Karelia?! Oleg didn’t tell me anything! Come back immediately! We had plans!”
“Valentina Stepanovna, we can’t come back. The trip is paid for, the children…”
“What do you mean, the children?! My grandchildren should be at home, not traipsing around in the woods! Put Oleg on!”
Irina called her husband. Oleg appeared a minute later, not quite awake.
“Mom? What happened?”
“What happened?!” his mother’s voice rose to a screech. “You snuck off without telling anyone! We came to visit and found an empty apartment!”
“Mom, we’re on vacation. I told you I wanted to go away with my family.”
“You told me?! When did you tell me?! I don’t remember anything of the sort!”
Oleg rubbed his forehead. It was true, he hadn’t told his mother directly about the trip—he’d been afraid she’d find a way to cancel it.
“Mom, we’ll be back in four days, as planned.”
“Four days?! Are you out of your minds? My sister came from Moscow specifically to see the grandchildren! The nephews brought presents! And this is the disrespect we get!”
“Mom, the presents can wait. We didn’t leave for a year.”
“Don’t you dare talk back to me! Galina Viktorovna bought tickets in advance, booked a hotel! And you just disappeared!”
Irina took the phone from her husband.
“Valentina Stepanovna, we understand this is inconvenient. But the vacation is already paid for and the children are happy. Let’s meet when we get back.”
“I don’t want to hear anything! You pack up and come home immediately! Otherwise I don’t know what I’ll do!”
“And what will you do?”
“I… I…” The mother-in-law faltered. “I won’t talk to you anymore! And I’ll tell my sister everything—what an ungrateful wife Oleg has!”
The line went dead. Irina hung up.
“What are we going to do?”
“Keep on resting,” Oleg said firmly. “Mom can handle four days.”
But the mood was spoiled. At breakfast the kids asked why their parents looked sad. Irina explained they were just tired from yesterday’s long hike.
“Is Grandma really angry?” Yegor asked.
“A little angry. But she’ll get over it,” Oleg answered.
They spent the day trying to bring the joy back. The family went to the waterfall, took lots of photos, and bought souvenirs. But their thoughts kept circling back to the conversation with Valentina Stepanovna.
In the evening, after the children went to bed, Irina and Oleg sat by the fireplace in silence.
“You know,” Irina said at last, “I thought we’d finally get to be a normal family. Without constant control and instructions.”
“We did. Three days were wonderful.”
“Three out of seven. And then it starts all over again. For weeks, she’ll remind us how badly we behaved.”
“Maybe it’s time to change something?”
“Change what, exactly?”
Oleg was quiet for a moment, staring at the flames.
“I don’t know yet. But we can’t go on like this. The children need to see that their parents can make decisions on their own.”
Irina nodded. They still had three days of vacation left, but the anticipation no longer brought joy. Instead, her mind spun with thoughts of what awaited them at home.
The next day the family spent at the waterfall. The children collected colorful stones, Oleg took photos of his wife against the falling water, and for the first time in many years Irina felt like part of a real family, not a performer of someone else’s wishes.
Yegor built a little pyramid out of stones.
“Dad, can we come here again?”
“Of course we can. We’ll definitely come back next year.”
“Will Grandma come with us?”
Oleg exchanged a look with his wife.
“We’ll see. If she wants to.”
Lena was gathering yellow leaves and putting them into a bag.
“Mom, I’ll hang them on the wall at home. Let everyone see how pretty they are.”
“That’s a wonderful idea, sunshine.”
By evening the family returned to the resort tired but happy. Over dinner the children told other vacationers about the waterfall, and the parents planned the next day’s trip to the open-air museum.
Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, things were heating up. Valentina Stepanovna, her sister, and her nephews stood by the entrance for another hour and a half, discussing the unimaginable insolence of today’s youth.
“Galia, do you see what’s going on?” the mother-in-law fumed. “They just took off without telling anyone!”
“Utter disgrace,” Galina Viktorovna agreed. “In our day this never happened. The young always consulted their elders.”
“And that Irina shows no respect at all. I do so much for them, help raise the grandchildren, and in return I get this rudeness.”
The nephews—boys of twelve and fourteen—were bored and asked to go to a café or at least home. The gifts for Yegor and Lena remained in Galina Viktorovna’s bag.
“Aunt Valya, maybe we shouldn’t wait anymore?” the older nephew suggested. “They said they’d be back on Sunday.”
“No such thing! Oleg must come immediately! This is outrageous!”
Neighbor Antonina Fyodorovna peeked out the window and shook her head. Valentina Stepanovna spotted the onlooker and waved.
“Antonina Fyodorovna! Please come down!”
The elderly woman reluctantly came downstairs.
“What happened, Valentina Stepanovna?”
“Do you happen to know exactly where Oleg and his family went? Maybe they told you the address or left a phone number?”
“They didn’t say anything. Only that they were going to Karelia for a week.”
“A week!” the mother-in-law threw up her hands. “Do you hear that, Galia? A whole week! And they didn’t inform anyone!”
Antonina Fyodorovna shrugged.
“What’s there to inform? People went on vacation. Perfectly normal.”
“Normal?! They were obliged to tell us! We have guests from Moscow, we had plans!”
“Maybe the plans should have been discussed in advance, Valentina Stepanovna? People aren’t mind readers.”
The mother-in-law flushed with indignation.
“That’s how we’ve always done it! We came whenever we wanted! Oleg never objected!”
“Times change, it seems,” Antonina Fyodorovna said calmly and went back upstairs.
Valentina Stepanovna stood by the entrance until seven in the evening, then finally gave up and went home. All the way there, Galina Viktorovna kept repeating that in Moscow no one would tolerate such disrespect toward elders.
The remaining days of the vacation passed in complete calm for the family. The phone didn’t ring again—either the reception had finally cut out or the mother-in-law had decided to save up her grievances for their return.
On Sunday morning Oleg packed the suitcases while the children ran around the cottage, saying goodbye to every corner.
“It’s a pity to leave,” Lena said, snuggling up to her mother.
“It’s okay, we’ll come again,” Irina promised.
The trip home felt shorter. The kids shared their impressions, examined the souvenirs they had collected, and made plans for the next school break.
The train pulled into St. Petersburg in the early evening. The station felt crowded and noisy after quiet Karelia. Oleg hailed a taxi, and an hour later the family pulled up to their building.
By the door stood Antonina Fyodorovna with a trash bag.
“Oh, you’re back!” the neighbor smiled. “How was your trip?”
“Wonderful,” Irina replied. “So, everything quiet here?”
“Quiet?” Antonina laughed. “Your folks made quite a scene on Thursday. Spent half a day at your door, fuming. Then left in a huff.”
“And they didn’t come again?”
“No, it’s been quiet since. Only yesterday your mother-in-law buzzed the intercom, asking if you’d come back early.”
The children ran up the stairs, and the parents exchanged glances.
“So, ready for a showdown?” Irina asked softly.
“Will there even be a showdown?” Oleg smirked. “We didn’t deceive anyone or do anything wrong. We just went on vacation.”
The apartment smelled of dust and stale air. Irina opened the windows, and Oleg switched on the kettle. The kids scattered to their rooms, happy to be home.
“Dad, is there school tomorrow?” Yegor asked.
“Tomorrow’s Monday, so yes.”
“Too bad. I want to go back to the forest.”
“There are forests in St. Petersburg, too. We’ll drive to Komarovo or Repino on the weekend.”
As Irina set the teapot, she thought about what this week had brought. It wasn’t just a successful vacation—something more important had changed. For the first time, Oleg had put his own family’s interests above his mother’s demands.
The phone rang at half past eight. Oleg looked at the screen and showed his wife—it was Valentina Stepanovna.
“Are you going to answer?”
“Of course. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Oleg! At last! Are you home?”
“Yes, Mom. We just got in.”
“Good. I expect you to visit tomorrow morning. We need to have a serious talk.”
“Mom, tomorrow is Monday. The kids have school, and we have work.”
“Then on the weekend. And Irina needs to apologize for her rudeness.”
“What rudeness?”
“She was rude to me on the phone! Said she wouldn’t come back early!”
Oleg chuckled.
“Mom, Irina told the truth. We really couldn’t come back earlier.”
“Oleg, you’re upsetting me. I thought you understood that family is sacred.”
“I do. That’s exactly why we went on vacation as a family.”
There was a pause.
“I’m expecting everyone for lunch on Saturday. And that’s final.”
“Mom, we’ll think about it.”
“What do you mean, think about it?!”
“It means we’ll discuss it and decide.”
Oleg hung up. Irina looked at her husband with admiration.
“And how long have you been this brave?”
“Since last Thursday. When I realized the vacation worked not only because of the beautiful places.”
“Because of what else?”
“Because for the first time I stood beside you, not between you and Mom.”
Irina hugged her husband. Outside, autumn St. Petersburg rustled, the children were getting ready for bed, and the apartment smelled of freshly brewed tea—and of changes for the better.
