“I’ve got two things to tell you,” Yura began with a mysterious smile. “One is great news, and the other… well, it’s not bad either, just with a catch. Which one do you want first?”
“Start with the good one,” Lida replied calmly, without taking her eyes off her husband.
“My mother is coming to stay with us tomorrow!” he said happily. “I’ve missed her so much. How long has it been since we last saw each other?”
“Three weeks,” Lida answered at once.
“Three weeks? Come on. It’s been nearly a month, maybe even longer.”
“And how long is she staying?”
“From now on? Forever.”
“What do you mean, forever?” Lida asked warily. “Why?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“Why is she coming to live with us?”
“To help us live better,” Yura said confidently. “What else?”
“Help us live better? Are you serious right now?” Lida gave a faint, ironic smile. “Do we need help? Can’t we manage on our own?”
“Of course we can. But with Mom around, everything will be easier.”
“Oh really? And how exactly is she going to make our life easier?”
“You’re already getting upset, Lida,” Yura sighed. “And for no reason. Just listen to me first. Once you hear what she’s done for us, you’ll change your mind.”
“And what exactly has she done?”
“There’s that tone again…” Yura shook his head. “She sold her apartment. And she’s giving us all the money so we can pay off the mortgage in full. Can you imagine? Without her, we’d be paying for this two-bedroom apartment for another twenty years. But now, just like that, it’s over. We’ll finally be able to breathe easy.”
“And the second piece of news?” Lida asked quietly, already guessing what was coming next.
“Mom isn’t coming alone. My older brother Nikolai is coming with her.”
“I see…”
“You understand,” Yura continued, “Kolya recently got divorced and moved back in with Mom. And now that she sold her apartment for our sake, he…”
“He’ll be living with us too,” Lida finished for him.
“Temporarily!” Yura added quickly. “Just until he gets settled.”
“Settled where? In a job?”
“A job?” Yura waved his hand dismissively. “Kolya and work have never gone together. He’s done practically nothing his whole life.”
“Then what exactly is he planning to settle into?”
“With some woman,” Yura answered matter-of-factly. “He’ll find himself a new wife in Kyiv and move in with her. Until then, he’ll stay with us. We’ve got enough room. I’ve thought it all through: Mom and Kolya will share one room, and you and I will stay in the other. Fair enough.”
“Fair?”
“Of course. Your parents helped us pay for half this apartment. Now mine are helping too. Isn’t that fair? Do you agree?”
“I agree,” Lida replied shortly.
“It doesn’t look like it,” Yura said, studying her face. “You seem tense. No? Or am I imagining it? What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking about how to welcome your relatives. We’ll have to prepare everything — dinner, the room…”
“Our relatives,” Yura corrected her. “They’re yours too now. And it’s good that you’re already thinking about it. Everything has to be done properly. Though you know that yourself. They’ll arrive tomorrow evening. I’ll pick them up after work, straight from the train station. I hope you’ll manage to get everything done.”
“I’m not sure,” Lida said thoughtfully.
“You have to, my love,” he replied softly. “Oh, I almost forgot! Mom sent the money and asked us to buy a big refrigerator.”
“Why?”
“There’ll be four of us now. One won’t be enough. I already bought it — they’ll deliver it tomorrow afternoon. Tell the movers not to put it in the kitchen, but in the living room.”
“Why in the living room?”
“Because Mom doesn’t want you using her groceries.”
“I see… But why the living room?”
“It’s bigger. I decided Mom and Kolya will stay there.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re guests! That’s my mother and my brother. Besides, they’re helping us pay off the apartment. They offered on their own! Nobody asked them to. You and I will be just fine in the bedroom.”
Even so, Yura was worried.
Will Lida manage to get everything ready? he thought. Dinner has to be made, the room has to be cleared out…
But he had worried for nothing. Lida did everything.
An hour before they arrived, everything was ready. Even then, Yura called.
“I’m already with Mom and Kolya. How’s it going there? Is everything ready? Dinner, the room, the refrigerator?”
“Everything is fine,” Lida answered calmly. “Don’t worry.”
When Yura walked into the apartment with his mother and brother, they were met by emptiness. In the room that had once been the living room, there was nothing except the huge refrigerator. A note lay on top of it.
Yura unfolded it and began to read aloud:
“‘I’ve left. I’ll file for divorce myself. After the divorce, we’ll sell the apartment and split the money equally: half for me, and the other half the three of you can divide among yourselves. I took the furniture and appliances because I bought them before the marriage. As for the curtains, chandelier, and bed linen, I’ll return half their value to you after the apartment is sold. I packed your things into bags — you’ll find them in the former bedroom.’”
Yura slowly lowered the note and looked at his mother and brother.
“I’m hungry,” Nikolai said, opening the new refrigerator.
But inside, it was completely empty…
