— You’ve already sorted out your vacation, haven’t you? Because my parents are waiting for us in August!” Timur asked his wife one weekend.
“— Yes, darling, I’ve taken care of everything! They finally approved my leave application!” Dasha replied.
“— Wonderful, then I’ll call my mom tomorrow and tell her to expect us on the first, just as she wanted!” he said, pleased with her answer.
“— Hold on, why the first? I thought we’d be home together for a week! I’m still waiting for my order that’s due on the second. Then I have to visit my sister and feed the cat…”
“— When is she arriving there?” Timur interrupted Dasha.
“— Her train arrives on the evening of the third,” she answered.
“— I’m so fed up with that damn cat of hers! Why doesn’t she take it with her on business trips?” Timur exploded.
“— I wanted to bring it here so I wouldn’t have to race across town every day, but you forbade me!”
“— Of course I did! It would make a mess of everything and tear things up! I’m not planning to live in that filth!”
“— But it’s so clever! She even trained it to use the toilet, and you complain about it making a mess! Besides its scratching posts, it doesn’t touch anything else! I’ve told you a thousand times already, Tim!” Dasha tried once more to smooth things over between her husband and the cat. “You’ve only seen it in photos and videos; why don’t you come with me sometime and meet the little creature!”
“— I’m not going anywhere! What, do I have nothing better to do?” he retorted.
“— Then stop talking like that, Tim! I don’t like it!” his wife pleaded.
“— And I don’t like that you always do what you’re asked! You never say no!” he declared.
“— How is what I do any different from what you do?” Darya asked indignantly.
“— What do you mean by that?” Timur didn’t understand.
“— I mean that you go out of your way to make us visit your parents exactly when your mother asked for it! That you’re driving around to check up on their house just for your sister’s trip to see your brother! And a whole bunch of other things!” his wife snapped.
“— But she’s my mother—I can’t just refuse her!”
“— And she’s my sister! I can’t refuse her either! And besides, I enjoy taking care of her cat!”
“— So maybe you should move in with them then?” Timur shouted.
“— What are you saying? That your mommy should come here instead of me? Oh, no, darling!”
“— Why are you always clinging to her? She never even brings you up in our conversations!” Timur began to get angry.
“— And do you know why she never brings me up?…”
“— Oh, Dasha, how long can we keep rehashing this? She treats you normally!”
“— She can’t stand me!” Dasha yelled at her husband.
“— Then why is she expecting both of us as guests?”
“— I don’t know! And are we even expected as a couple?” she calmed down a bit. “I don’t know the details of your talks! Maybe she’s just waiting for you while I’m the one who always gets in the way!”
“— Stop it!” Timur exclaimed.
“— Then stop telling me what to do and when to do it! I’m not going to dance to the tune of your mom and cater to her wishes!”
“— Maybe then I’ll just go by myself?”
“— If you want—go!”
“— Are you serious? I wanted our vacation to be a family affair!”
“— You brought that up yourself!” Dasha shot back. “A family vacation is just you and me! Not about involving our parents! I don’t take you to my folks, and I don’t force you to spend time with my sister!”
“— What? And when did your father come to us during my vacation? What was that about?”
“— He came for a week because he had to go to the hospital! And you weren’t with him all that time! He didn’t demand any attention from either of us!”
“— But I had to drive him there all week!”
“— He could have gotten to the hospital on his own! You volunteered to drive him! So your complaint is unjustified!”
“— Of course, everything concerning your parents is unjustified! And mine are just beasts! Right?”
“— I have nothing against your father! And your brother either, by the way! It’s just your mother I have a problem with!”
“— But she’s the most caring person in the world!”
“— Yeah, sure! The same person who, three days before our wedding, tried to set you up with some girl!”
“— She didn’t try to set me up with anyone!”
“— Stop telling me that fairy tale! Don’t you remember how she used to talk about that Masha constantly? How she did everything to leave you alone?”
“— Enough about Masha? She’s just…”
“— …your ex-girlfriend! Yes, I know all about it!”
“— That was back in school, Dasha!”
“— Back in kindergarten, even—what’s the difference?”
“— It was just that your mom loved her like a daughter, that’s all!”
“— Ah, well, that certainly changes things!”
“— Stop clinging to it all the time! It’s been two years! Masha has been living her own life for a long time!”
“— I’m fed up with it all, anyway… I can only go on the fourth. And until the vacation, don’t remind me about this trip!”
“— And what about the vacation itself?” Timur tried to joke.
“— Of course—but don’t cry later that you lost your tongue!” his wife warned in an overly sweet tone.
“— You’re mean!” he replied.
“— But you’re honest!”
“— You’d be better off only saying what I want to hear…” Timur muttered under his breath.
But Dasha still heard those words.
“— Then go find yourself a Japanese wife,” his wife replied wearily.
“— That’s it, let’s stop fighting, Dasha. I’m done.”
“— No objections,” she answered.
July was drawing to a close, and Timur decided to bring up the subject of their trip to his parents one more time.
“— Dasha, when did you say your sister is arriving?”
“— On the evening of the third, I think around seven or eight o’clock, I can’t remember exactly,” she replied, looking up from her book.
“— Aha… got it…”
“— What’s the matter?”
“— I’ve been thinking about what you said, and I’ll probably go by myself to my parents on the first, and you can come to us on the fourth,” Timur answered.
“— Really? You won’t give me grief about it later?” his wife asked skeptically.
“— No, it’s all good! My mom and I talked it over, and it’ll work out even better, and we won’t fight anymore!” Timur said pacifically.
“— As you wish. I’ll come to you on the fourth then,” Darya said, and went back to her book.
Timur, as promised, left early in the morning on August 1st to visit his parents. That evening, Dasha packed his things for the trip and asked that she not be disturbed when he left because on the first day of her vacation she wanted to sleep in. Her husband did just that. He woke up, quietly got ready, and left the house.
Dasha woke up around eleven. A message from her husband was flashing on her phone:
“Good morning, my love! I hope I didn’t wake you up with this message. When you come to us later, take my laptop with you, because I need to send my photos from my phone. I didn’t think of that yesterday.”
“Good morning! No, you didn’t wake me up! Okay, I’ll take it! Just don’t forget to meet me there!” replied Timur’s wife.
On August 3rd, Dasha met her sister at the station, helped her unload her things, recounted the antics of her husband’s cat, and then headed home to pack for her own trip. Although she didn’t really want to go, everything had been decided—she had promised her husband that she would come.
After packing, she wrote to Timur:
“Hi, Tim! How are things? Since you left, you haven’t called or written to me even once! Do you at least remember that I’m arriving tomorrow at 12:00? And that you promised to meet me?”
She never got an answer and went to bed. She set her alarm for five in the morning so that she could get ready and reach the bus station by seven.
In the morning, the very first thing Dasha did was check if Timur had replied.
Nothing. He hadn’t even read her message.
She was upset and decided to call him around ten, when she’d already be on the way.
That’s what she did. With just under ten minutes to five, while sitting on the bus, Dasha dialed her husband’s number. The call went through, but no one picked up.
“Very strange,” she thought.
She decided to call his mother. Nothing had changed. It rang again and again, and no one answered.
Now really scared, she realized she was heading into the unknown. If no one answers the phone, no one will meet her. And she couldn’t even remember the exact way to her husband’s parents’ house.
Then she remembered that she could try calling her father-in-law. They had only spoken on the phone once or twice, so Dasha didn’t immediately think of him.
On the second ring, she heard:
“Hello! Hi there, Daryushka!”
“Hello, Konstantin Vladimirovich!” her daughter-in-law greeted him cheerfully.
“How are you, dear?” he asked in a similarly cheerful tone.
“I’m fine! I’m on my way to you, but no one is answering the phone! Do you know where Tim is?” Dasha asked.
“Um… he left early this morning to go to the lake, Dasha. Honestly, I didn’t even know you were coming along…”
“How can that be? He himself invited me and said everyone was informed!” the young woman said, puzzled.
“I don’t know who was in the loop, but he and his mother hardly mention anything to me! They have their own little clique that I’ve been trying not to get involved with lately,” replied her father-in-law.
“Very interesting… Do you know when he’ll be back? I’m due in the village in about two hours, and I can’t quite remember what happens next… He simply promised to meet me.”
“I really don’t know what to tell you, dear. He didn’t say anything to me; I just saw him leave and mentioned he was going to the lake…” Dasha heard him add. “Maybe I should meet you then? That’d be a good chance to stretch my legs. It’s about a half-hour walk from our home to the stop.”
“If it’s not too much trouble for you! You’d really be helping me out, Konstantin Vladimirovich!” Dasha replied gratefully.
“What time are you arriving?” her father-in-law asked.
“At twelve.”
“Alright then, we’ll manage it! I’ll be at the stop by twelve.”
“Thank you so much!” Dasha said.
“Ah, no problem! Alright then, see you soon!”
“See you!” Dasha replied, and hung up.
After the call with her father-in-law, she tried calling her husband three more times, but with the same result—no one picked up. Then she tried to distract herself from the bad thoughts by reading a little, because nearly two hours of travel and gloomy thoughts would ruin her mood.
When Dasha got off the bus, she immediately saw Konstantin Vladimirovich.
“Hello!” she greeted with a smile.
“Hello, dear! And you’re looking more and more beautiful!” he said, giving her a paternal hug. “Give me your bag and let’s go home!”
“Oh, it’s nothing heavy!” Dasha demurred modestly.
“Come on, I’m telling you! I see how light it is—you’re practically leaning towards it!” he grumbled as he took the bag.
“Tim, haven’t you announced yourself at all during these two hours?” Dasha asked.
“No, no one has been here! And his mother, too—she left this morning for some errands and hasn’t come back yet!”
“Everything seems so strange… he never called or wrote when he arrived… I wrote to him a couple of times, he read them but didn’t reply, and he didn’t even read yesterday’s message…”
“He’s hardly been home at all this time. When he came to us, he stayed just for one day—more precisely, half a day—and then disappeared. He didn’t tell me anything about where he was going, but I’m pretty sure that his mother knows exactly.”
“But she doesn’t pick up the phone when I call…”
“Don’t worry about it, we’ll get home and sort it out,” he told his daughter-in-law.
When Dasha and Konstantin Vladimirovich arrived at the house, someone was already there. The young woman was relieved, thinking it was her husband, but it wasn’t—it was her mother-in-law.
“Hello!” Dasha greeted her with a smile.
“Oh, you’re here! Hi!” her mother-in-law replied, with a touch of coldness.
“Do you know where Tim is right now?”
“Of course I do! He’s at the lake with his classmates!”
“I see,” Dasha replied. “Konstantin Vladimirovich, could you please tell me how to get to that lake?” she asked.
“Just go through our garden and keep going straight; in about twenty-five minutes you’ll be there,” he replied.
“Thank you!” Dasha said.
“Just change your clothes; the mosquitoes will eat you up there! You’re not like us city folks!” he advised her with a slight smirk.
Dasha took his advice. When she went to the room where her husband stayed at his parents’ house to change, she found his phone.
“So that’s why he’s not answering…” she thought, changed, and then went along the path he had shown her.
Approaching the lake, Dasha saw her husband on the bank, having just come out of the water. She waved at him, but he didn’t notice. He stepped out and bent over something that was hidden by the grass.
Deciding not to draw any more attention to herself, Dasha quietly moved toward her husband—not along the path, but directly through the grass. Though there were many more mosquitoes and other flying critters there, the distance was cut in half.
As she got closer, Dasha heard the sound of a woman’s laughter. At first she thought there were several of her husband’s classmates there, but it turned out there were only two people: her husband and some girl. She saw, hidden in the grass, that Timur was leaning over the girl as if to kiss her, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. There were about a hundred meters between them, and Dasha decided to crouch down and creep closer unnoticed.
“— Masha, maybe it’s time to go home…” she heard her husband say.
“— No, let’s stay a bit longer, I don’t want to let you go anywhere…” the girl replied.
At these words, Dasha emerged from the tall grass.
“— So this is how you wait for your wife?” she asked her husband in a voice filled with rage.
Timur jumped in surprise.
“— Dasha? How did you get here?”
“— Is that all you care about right now?” Darya asked again.
“— What do you mean, the fourth?” he asked.
“— It doesn’t matter what day it is anymore!”
“— Dasha, don’t be angry! Nothing happened between us!” Timur panicked, rushing toward his wife.
“— And what is she doing here? Your mother told me that you’re getting divorced!” said Masha, puzzled.
“— We’re getting divorced? How interesting… So your mom set you up with someone she fancied…” Dasha said, pointing at Masha.
“No, no, nothing happened between us! Honestly!”
“— Tim, stop justifying yourself… I just can’t trust you anymore…” his wife said in a defeated voice, then went to collect her things from his parents’ house.
Timur, hastily dressing on the go, followed her. Masha was not far behind either, not wanting to let go of the man she had loved since school.
“— So you’re not getting divorced?” the girl asked.
“— No, we never planned to…” he replied, out of breath.
“Well, now clearly you must!”
“No, she’s my wife!”
“— And what am I to you now? Did you fall for someone else and dump her?” Masha was hurt.
“— Masha, leave me alone right now! I need to catch my wife and make up with her!”
“— That won’t work!”
“— What won’t work?” Timur didn’t understand.
“— I’m pregnant with your child…”
“— What?! You’re kidding, right? We only slept together once, yesterday, and now you’re pregnant? Don’t talk nonsense, Masha! Go sit somewhere and take your troubles out on someone else! Get away from me!” he said harshly.
“— You’ll never make up with each other anyway! Your mom will do everything for that! And I love you! Stay with me!” the girl cried.
“— But I love my wife!!!” Timur shouted at Masha.
He quickened his pace and eventually broke into a run, leaving Masha behind.
But when he reached the house—Dasha was nowhere to be found.
“— Mom, where’s Dasha?” he asked, barely catching his breath.
“— She grabbed her bag and left somewhere!”
“— Got it, I’ll go find her!” he said and hurried toward the exit.
“— You gave up on her? You’re so happy with Masha!” his mother shouted.
“— Get out of here with your Masha—was that your idea to make her pretend she’s pregnant?”
His mother lowered her eyes and said nothing. But Timur understood everything by that gesture.
He returned to the house, gathered his things, found his phone tucked in the bedding, and rushed after his wife—the one he had betrayed.
On the way to the bus stop, Timur tried calling her and managed to get through.
“— Dasha, where are you now?”
“— What difference does it make to you? You already found a replacement for me…”
“— No! I didn’t find anyone! Are you at the bus stop? Please wait for me—don’t leave!”
“— I’m never going to wait for you again! I knew from the start that coming here was a bad idea!”
“— Dasha, please forgive me!” he whimpered into the phone.
“— Tim, I’ll come home, pack your things, put everything up for sale, and you go do whatever you want…”
“— Dasha, please forgive me!”
“— I’ll forgive you only after the divorce!” she said sharply, hung up, and boarded the bus that had just arrived.
