No, just look at her! Soon she won’t fit through the door, yet you can’t drag her away from the kitchen!» muttered Evgenia Borisovna under her breath, glancing at her daughter-in-law, who was finishing a cottage cheese bar.
Elina turned around, but her mother-in-law was no longer in the hallway. Perhaps she had imagined it, and the woman hadn’t come out at all? Why would she grumble? Did she pity the food? It must have been her imagination!
Chiding herself for indeed eating a lot lately, Elina pursed her lips, wrapped up half of the cheese bar, and put it in the fridge, as her appetite had vanished. It’s strange how one can imagine things! Perhaps it was her conscience calling out to her, scolding her? Indeed, she had gained a fair amount of weight in the last couple of months. Patting her rounded belly, Elina headed to her room. All she wanted lately was to eat and sleep. And her term was still so short! Only six months. How much more would she gain? Even her doctor had scolded her, telling her to limit her eating as her weight gain was exceeding norms. Who set those standards was, of course, a big question.
Entering the room, Elina lay down and almost immediately fell asleep. She dreamed something incredibly pleasant, but the familiar grumbling of her mother-in-law intruded on her dream:
«Look at her! She should be washing, cleaning, but she sleeps instead..»
The door creaked, Elina opened her eyes, but there was no one in the room. Perhaps it was her imagination again? Maybe living with her mother-in-law was taking its toll? Yuri, Elina’s husband, had suggested they rent an apartment while their own place was being renovated, but as soon as his mother offered them to stay with her, Elina jumped at the idea. Why not? Her husband was already working tirelessly, their expenses were substantial, and her doctor had strongly advised against working due to a risk of miscarriage, forcing her to continually extend her medical leave. Her employers did not appreciate this. They started threatening and demanding that she resign voluntarily. They told her it wouldn’t be hard to find a reason to fire her, but in such a case, her employment record would be tarnished, and finding decent work after maternity leave would be impossible. Legally, they couldn’t fire her, of course, she could have stood her ground, but her nerves were completely frayed. Her husband said they would survive without those payments, and Elina should resign, and they would figure it out somehow. Trying to take on freelance work, writing essays for students, Elina was exhausting herself. Sitting at the computer was hard on her, and her husband even argued that she should think of the baby first because you can’t earn all the money in the world anyway.
After throwing some clothes in the washing machine, Elina headed back to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, glanced at the shelves, and stopped at a tempting piece of sausage that they had bought the day before. She really craved something meaty.
«Those who don’t work, don’t eat!» yelled her mother-in-law, bursting into the kitchen. She snatched the sausage from Elina and looked at her sternly. «Go find a job instead of raiding the fridge!»
Elina was like a statue, looking at her mother-in-law with surprise and indifference. It seemed like a joke, but it was not clear whether it was time to laugh. Blinking, the young woman felt a painful twinge in her lower abdomen.
«Evgenia Borisovna, what’s wrong? Is everything alright? What bug bit you?» asked Elina in a trembling voice.
«Nobody bit me. It’s you who’s been bitten by eternal gluttony and laziness.»
Elina didn’t want to argue with her mother-in-law. She was generally non-confrontational, tried to solve all issues peacefully, find a compromise. But could she find one in the current situation?
«You’re a burden to my son. Thought I’d keep quiet? But I won’t, and I’ll tell you everything I think. How long can one stay silent? You’ll bankrupt yourselves on food alone. Every day bags are brought from the store.»
«Evgenia Borisovna, I’m pregnant,» Elina barely whispered.
«And what? You say it as if it’s some serious illness. Pregnancy isn’t a disease. I was pregnant too, but I didn’t eat like an elephant. And I worked! Do you know they took me from work straight to the maternity hospital? Because I understood that it wasn’t right to sit on my husband’s neck and burden him.»
Elina sighed heavily. Now she thought she should have listened to her husband and rented an apartment. They could have saved on something but avoided conflicts.
«I have a risk. You know that well. That’s why I lost my job. Who will hire me now with such a belly? They’d be afraid to take on an employee who will soon go on maternity leave.»
«Whoever seeks will always find,» Evgenia Borisovna said, lifting her chin and pushing her daughter-in-law away from the fridge. «No one canceled side jobs. These threats nowadays, they give to all the lazy ones. Everything is fine with you. It doesn’t hurt to run to the fridge, does it? I often doubled over in pain, but I still worked. And you should find something. It’s scary to look at my son now, how gaunt he has become.»
Maybe her mother-in-law was right in some way. Elina did find freelance work. Although the pay for essays was little, gathering information and presenting it in her own way wasn’t hard. She could be less lazy and take more orders. Then she could help her husband financially. Of course, sitting at the computer for a long time made her back hurt, but it wasn’t a big deal. She could exercise.
«And what do you think? My son’s charm hasn’t worn off yet, he still sees that beauty he married in you, but what will happen next? He will soon get so tired that he’ll start noticing what you have turned into. Do you think that will protect your marriage? He’ll cheat, and before you know it – you’ll be raising a child alone.»
Evgenia Borisovna continued to express her grievances, and Elina looked at her and thought that the woman wasn’t really dreaming of grandchildren, as she said. Was she not worried at all about the baby? Not afraid that the work might actually harm her daughter-in-law, and she might give birth prematurely? Or even lose the child?.. Hormones did their job, and tears welled up in Elina’s eyes from offense. She took her mother-in-law’s words too close to heart, internalized them, and thought there was some truth in them.
She really had changed over the last few months, and if this continued, soon her husband wouldn’t want to look at her at all.
«You know, Evgenia Borisovna, you’re right! I should get busy. What am I doing always walking to the fridge? Thank you for the good advice,» Elina squeezed out of herself and hurried back to her room.
Her mother-in-law was stunned, because she hadn’t expected such a response. She was ready for her daughter-in-law to stand her ground, protest… They might even have argued. But this!.. Confusion enveloped her, the woman shook her head, sighed, and sat down at the table. Her energy boost didn’t work out. Although she often argued with someone at work or in stores before, while on leave, she switched her attention to her daughter-in-law. But on the other hand – she was right about everything. Her son would thank her later for saving his wife from turning into a hippo that would need double doors made in all the rooms in the apartment, or comfortable turns in the hallway to pass sideways. After all, Evgenia Borisovna remained pleased with herself, remembering the tears that sparkled in Elina’s eyes. She managed to satisfy a bit of her desire to quarrel, and even felt a bit lighter.
Elina took a few orders, although her husband was against his wife working. He said that now she should live at her pleasure: sleep as much as she wants, eat, watch comedy series, read books, relax, and spend more time outdoors.
«What am I, not a man? I earn well. You can be sure – it will be enough to provide for you and our child,» Yuri always said, kissing his wife on the top of her head.
Elina didn’t tell her husband that she had taken on more orders again. She had to drink more water to appear less often in the kitchen and not irritate her mother-in-law. But that was no salvation. If you’re hungry, it’s very rare to fool the stomach with water.
A week passed, and Elina had turned into a shadow: she was in a bad mood, spoke through clenched teeth with her husband, felt terrible. Constant hunger drove her mad. How she wanted to eat her fill, collapse on the bed, and fall asleep. And work did not help distract her. Food began to haunt her everywhere, so at night Elina went on tiptoes to the fridge, took something, then went to the bathroom and ate there, so no one would see. One of those nights, worried about his wife’s condition, Yuri caught her in the act. He knocked on the bathroom door, but as Elina didn’t open, he threatened to break down the door, fearing something might have happened. What if his wife had fainted?
A flushed Elina opened the door. On the washing machine stood a disposable plate with uneaten sandwiches.
«Why are you eating here, not in the kitchen?» Yuri was surprised.
Elina burst into tears, crossing her arms over her chest. She quietly told him about a minor quarrel with her mother-in-law. Embracing his wife, Yuri didn’t even know how to react. His wife’s words frankly shocked him.
«Why didn’t you tell me earlier?»
«Because I think so myself. I really have changed. I eat too much, I’m gaining weight. You’ll start looking at other women at this rate, lose interest in me. And what will I turn into by the end of the pregnancy? Into a piglet? I decided I should listen to your mother’s words, but I can’t help myself, because I can’t even fall asleep until I eat something.»
«What are you thinking? How could you even come up with such a thing? How would I replace my beloved wife with someone else? Even if you looked like a dozen hippos, I would still love you. Appearance can change, but the soul – no. You will always remain the kindest person I’ve ever met. Not only did you not argue with my mom and not tell me, but you also tried to listen to her harmful advice.»
Taking the plate, the man led his wife to the kitchen, turned on the light, and started taking food out of the fridge.
«Eat as much as you want. Mom should be grateful that we buy all the groceries, and she saves her money. I don’t understand her audacity. Such unpleasant words to say to you! And how could she say them? And about work… If I find out that you’re taking on a bunch of orders again and ruining your health, I’ll be very upset with you. Sit down and eat as much as you need. No more will fit anyway,» Yuri joked. «If you really want to earn extra, you can take orders, but just a few!.. So you don’t overwork yourself and have time to rest.»
Elina cried. She didn’t expect her husband to support her and take her side. It was nice that he promised to love and care for his wife no matter what. It meant a lot, and the woman made a promise to herself that as soon as she gave birth to the child, she would take care of her figure, lose weight, and get back in shape.
«What are you doing here?» Evgenia Borisovna entered the kitchen, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She yawned, looked at the table, and gasped. «Just look at this! What a feast for the whole world! Elina, do my advices mean nothing to you?»
Yuri frowned, stepping forward. He didn’t want to upset his mother, but he wouldn’t tolerate her attitude toward Elina.
«Mom, these are harmful advices. I told Elina she should give birth to a healthy child, so please forgive me, but it’s better if you don’t interfere. You teach my wife bad things, tell her all sorts of tales about me. I’m not going to look for a replacement for Elina, because I love my wife. Apparently, you don’t know me well enough if you could say such a thing.»
«Of course! A mother always advises badly, then they bite their elbows, yes, cry. Don’t forget, you’re living in my apartment right now. By the way, you woke me up with your late-night gatherings!»
Yuri looked at his mother disappointedly. It was unpleasant for him that she continued to stand her ground, but there was nothing to be done, you can’t force a person to change their thinking. The next day, early in the morning, the man arranged with his boss to take a day off and then come out on a weekend and work. He called several landlords and arranged to view an apartment. Although their housing renovation was promised to be completed in a couple of weeks, the couple still planned to change some furniture. Having rented a decent apartment for a month at an affordable payment, Yuri cleaned it up, though it was already clean, returned to his mother’s apartment for his wife, and witnessed another round of grumbling from his mother.
«Your mouth is wider than the gate! Where so much to eat? You won’t even be able to give birth to a child yourself because you’ll overfeed him.»
«Don’t worry, Mom, we’ll figure it out ourselves now. Thanks for the shelter. I transferred money for utilities, we agreed that we’d pay while we live with you. That’s all. I won’t allow anyone to insult my wife and harass her. Elina and I are moving out and will live in a rented apartment. My wife’s peace of mind is more important to me than anything else.»
The couple moved out. Evgenia Borisovna was glad to be alone in the apartment and realized that her son and his wife were interfering with her, as she had already gotten used to living alone. She was her own mistress: no one disturbed with extraneous sounds, no distractions. And the fridge door didn’t open a hundred times a day.
Elina gave birth to a healthy son, a real little hero. She lost a lot of weight after childbirth, got rid of the swelling, and as she started breastfeeding the child, she finally returned to her previous weight. However, this was no longer of high importance, because her heart was warmed by the thought that her husband loved her in any form – he had proved it more than once.
