— Grisha, I can’t understand why Mashka is even in charge of that dacha?» Lyudmila shouted at her husband. «You’re just as much an heir as she is! After all, your late grandmother was also your relative! So what? We renovated the dacha at our own expense. Why won’t they let us in?!»
Maria returned home from work in a depressed mood. Her husband Viktor immediately noticed. Seeing his wife irritably toss her keys onto the small table in the hallway, he asked:
«— What happened? Why are you so nervous? Problems at work?»
«No,» Mashka sighed, «not at work. Although, there is something to talk about. Lyudmila called recently and threw another fit over the phone. She’s not happy with our relationship with Grigory!»
«Tell me more,» Viktor requested. «What set her off this time?»
«The dacha. More precisely, the fact that we don’t let them in there. Apparently, Lyudmila planned to send the kids away for the whole summer. She called and, in rather categorical terms, demanded that we bring her the keys. I refused! I said that we have other plans for the dacha—and for the summer as well. Oh, then everything started! Lyudmila screamed that I was heartless, that I wouldn’t let my own brother into his ‘ancestral estate,’ and that I wanted to drive him into a grave! That I’m barely even a relative, let alone a family member. Can you imagine, Vitya, how tired I am of her…»
«I don’t see any problem here at all,» Viktor frowned. «Block her number. Change your number or simply don’t answer when she calls! And if she shows up here, I’ll explain everything to her myself! I’ll show her how one should treat both close and distant relatives. I don’t understand why you tolerate this. Who’s to blame for their refusal? If they had invested in the dacha just like we did, they could spend time there whenever they wanted. They were offered the chance, but they refused. So what complaints can they have now?»
Maria said nothing to her husband, realizing he was right. Her sister-in-law had ruined the evening, and even her appetite was gone. The woman quickly took a bath and went to bed, but couldn’t sleep for a long time. She tossed and turned, remembering her childhood and youth. In the past, she and Grisha had had a wonderful relationship; they got along perfectly and loved each other. The older brother always protected his younger sister.
Grisha truly felt responsible for Maria. When the second child arrived in the family, he was already nine years old—a fully aware age. The parents decided not to hide the truth. They explained immediately:
«— Son, you’re practically grown-up now,» Grisha’s father said, «I don’t want to lie. Mashka has some health problems, so I hope you understand. We need to pay her more attention. Don’t think that your mother and I will forget about you; we will love you just as much. It’s just that Mashenka is little, and without our help she’ll have a hard time.»
Grisha nodded seriously; nothing more needed to be explained. In his mind, an axiom immediately formed: Mashka was weaker, she needed his protection. Under that motto, Grisha lived for almost eighteen years. Once her health problems were overcome, Mashka recovered quickly and by the age of three was no different from her peers. The brother watched her like a hawk, never allowing anyone in the yard to hurt her, standing up for her at school, helping her with homework. The parents could safely leave the children alone even overnight. They knew for sure that Grisha would bathe, dress, and feed his sister.
The relationship sharply deteriorated after Grigory met his future wife. Lyudmila did not like the heightened attention the potential husband paid to his younger sister. At first, Mashka did not know about it; Grisha didn’t say anything. The truth came out accidentally when Mashka asked her brother to drive her to their grandmother’s village house. Lyudmila was present during the conversation.
«— Grisha, are you free tomorrow evening?» Maria asked her brother. «I wanted to visit grandma; it’s been a long time since I was there. Can you drive me?»
«— Of course,» Grigory nodded, «I’ll drive you. And I’ll come along to visit grandma myself. We need to call her to see if we should stop by the pharmacy or the store. I remember last time she mentioned that her hoe was broken. So we should also check the hardware store.»
Lyudmila frowned.
«— Where are you going, Grisha? We have plans together for tomorrow evening! Have you forgotten that we’re going visiting someone? By the way, the invitation was for the two of us!»
«— It’s nothing serious,» Grisha smiled conciliatorily, «you can go alone, and I’ll join you later. I know where Marinka lives. When we return from the village, I’ll come straight to you!»
Lyudmila grimaced:
«— I don’t understand why Mashka can’t go to the village alone? Why should you change your plans because of her? As far as I know, there are buses from the city! Let her take one.»
Mashka fell silent then; she didn’t want to get into a conflict. Grisha stood up for his sister:
«— How is she supposed to carry everything on her own? Our parents will surely deliver something for grandma, and she needs to buy groceries that aren’t available in village stores. Garden tools, for example. Mashka won’t be able to carry all that!»
«— Then let her stay at home,» Lyudmila snapped, «and you all go another time. I don’t want, Grisha, to be embarrassed in front of your friends. What will they think of me? Everyone will come in couples, and I’ll be left alone, like a fool? Our grandma will endure it; she won’t die because of that stupid hoe.»
Lyudmila’s words stung Maria. How dare she talk about their grandmother like that? How could she place her personal interests above everything else?
Grisha managed to smooth over the conflict, but, as they say, a residue of bitterness still remained in Mashka’s soul. It was then that the girl realized that her brother’s life with that woman would be difficult. And so it turned out.
Maria and Grisha’s parents also found Lyudmila disagreeable. After eight months of dating, Grigory decided to introduce his chosen one to the family. Lyudmila’s behavior was simply outrageous: she made remarks to her future mother-in-law, criticized her cooking skills, and in every possible way showed that she was completely uninterested in the relatives.
After Lyudmila left, the parents had a serious talk with Grisha, asking several times if he was sure about his choice. Mashka didn’t understand what attracted her brother to Lyudmila, but he defended her with all his determination.
«— Yes, Mom, Lyuda does have a difficult character. But really, she is a good person. In eight months, we haven’t had a single serious fight. Give her time to get used to you. This is just her defense mechanism.»
«— Uh-huh, your Lyuda is always rude,» Mashka interrupted, «I don’t like her at all, Grisha. She’s just so crude and uneducated.»
«— I will decide for myself with whom to build my life,» Grigory exploded, «I’m twenty-six now, I’ve been living on my own for a long time and supporting myself. I will choose who I go through life with! Mom, Dad, please accept my choice. I don’t want to fight over this. Just give Lyudmila some time. I’m sure everything will work out!»
Gradually, the situation began to improve. After the wedding, Lyudmila stopped openly insulting her in-laws. Perhaps she continued to speak ill of them behind their backs, but she no longer said anything like that to their faces. However, Mashka bore the brunt of it—her sister-in-law clearly made her her main target. Maria couldn’t understand why Lyudmila disliked her so much. Perhaps it was jealousy over Grigory. But Mashka didn’t want to delve into the reasons, nor did she have time for that: she had met Viktor and was about to marry him.
The first major quarrel occurred after their grandmother’s death. Upon hearing the news, Maria, now a married woman, called her brother.
«— Grisha, we need to help our parents. You know that Mom and Dad don’t have any extra money right now. After the accident, all their savings went into repairing someone else’s car, which Dad accidentally crashed. Viktor and I have a little money saved… But I’m afraid it won’t be enough for both the funeral and the memorial service. I need your help.»
«— Of course, no questions,» Grigory immediately agreed, «How much do you need? I’ll stop by the bank after work and withdraw money from my account. Should we probably head to the village today? Will you go, or should I take a day off?»
«I’d like you to be there too,» Maria said honestly, «because Dad isn’t much help right now. He’s in deep shock.»
«— I understand,» Grigory interrupted, «I’ll take a few days off without pay. I’ll bring the money today.»
Lyudmila did not participate in the funeral arrangements at all. She only showed up at the funeral. When people, having paid their respects to Mashka and Grisha’s grandmother, began to disperse, she unexpectedly approached Maria, pulled her aside, and asked:
«— Did you spend almost a hundred thousand on the funeral? Grisha withdrew sixty thousand from his account! Why did you buy such an expensive, velvet-covered coffin? The old lady doesn’t care anymore about where she lies! What a waste of money! You practically buried her in the ground! By the way, Grisha and I had been saving that money for a vacation. We wanted to take our son to the seaside.»
Maria felt disgusted. How dare Lyudmila count other people’s money? She answered her sister-in-law quite sharply:
«— Listen, I’m not in the mood to discuss this with you right now. First of all, why should you care about this money? You don’t work. Not a single penny of ‘your’ Grisha’s money was taken! And what business is it of yours, anyway, how much the coffin costs? Whatever was decided to be necessary, was bought accordingly. Lyuda, you’ve crossed all bounds! You’re behaving disgracefully! Sometimes I feel that you provoke conflicts on purpose. What are you trying to achieve? Do you want to drive a wedge between Grisha and us? Between me and the parents? It won’t work. I won’t react to your provocations! Do me a favor, shut up, and stop counting other people’s money.»
Lyudmila did not go to the memorial service. Later, Grisha whispered to Maria that his wife was upset about her rudeness. But Maria didn’t care. After several years of being fed up with her sister-in-law’s antics, she decided not to indulge her anymore. It was better to minimize contact.
The stumbling block became the grandmother’s house in the village. Maria and Grisha had spent their entire childhood there, so the woman wanted to preserve it at all costs. Selling was immediately out of the question—the legal heir opposed it.
«— I think, Mashenka, that we shouldn’t sell Grandma’s house,» Maria’s father said, «first of all, you wouldn’t get much money for it; it’s old. The village is almost deserted, and there’s only one shop for the entire district. And secondly, this house was built by my father with his own hands. It’s our, you might say, ancestral nest. With a bit of repair, it will be a wonderful dacha.»
Maria fully supported the idea. Why not turn Grandma’s house into a dacha where the extended family could spend every weekend in the summer? The house itself was surrounded by fruit trees: apple trees, sour cherries, currants. Grisha unexpectedly responded to his sister’s proposal indifferently.
«— Sure, Mashka. But I believe that the investments wouldn’t pay off. Honestly, this house should be demolished and rebuilt from scratch, and that won’t cost just a hundred thousand. You’d definitely need two or three million! Where would I get that kind of money? A third child is coming soon, and I need to think about expanding the living space. Five people in a two-room apartment is too cramped. I can’t just pull out one and a half or two million from my pocket and give it to you. Of course, if you want to restore the house, go ahead—I don’t mind… But don’t count on any financial help!»
Maria and her brother didn’t quarrel over this. She and her husband discussed the situation and decided to take out a loan to fix up the house.
The construction lasted almost four years. Most of the work was done by themselves. Maria pasted the wallpaper in the house herself. Viktor and his friends installed the water supply and set up the heating boiler. The house turned out to be a sight to behold. Maria regularly tried to get her brother to help with the communal tasks, but he always found an excuse to decline. When Maria called her brother once again and asked him to help Viktor till the garden, Grisha’s phone was snatched by Lyudmila, who then scolded her sister-in-law.
«— Listen, I’m sick and tired of your endless calls. He doesn’t have time! He’s not going to help your Vitya. Does he owe you something? We have our own concerns. Stop ringing, leave us alone!»
That was when Maria decided to perfect the dacha entirely on her own. She no longer called her brother. By the way, Grisha never apologized for his wife’s outburst in front of her, even though he knew very well that Lyudmila had insulted her. He was present during that conversation, standing right next to her. At first, Maria was upset about it, but then she just waved it off. If they don’t want to help—then so be it. Why impose oneself? Grisha made his choice. He essentially, for the sake of his wife, gave up on his sister and his parents. Let that be his conscience.
The housewarming was celebrated grandly. They invited all friends and relatives to inspect the new house. Maria didn’t invite Grisha, but he still showed up with his family. Lyudmila walked around the yard, admiringly clicking her tongue, touching the furniture, peeking into the cabinets, and even rummaging through the refrigerator.
«— Yes, very decent, quite indeed,» she said when the tour ended, «all the conveniences are here. I can just imagine how wonderful it will be in the summer! There will be room to take the kids out. I saw that the neighbors have a cow. Simply magnificent! My little ones will have fresh, homemade milk in the morning.»
Grisha’s parents remained silent, and Maria couldn’t hold back:
«— And what are your children supposed to do during the summer at our dacha?»
«— Rest,» Lyudmila replied calmly, «if you hand over a second set of keys so that we don’t keep calling and bothering you all the time?»
«No,» Maria snapped, «I don’t have a second set of keys for you. And you’re not entitled to one. The dacha is mine and Vitya’s! Father said he would register it in my name. I think his decision is more than fair. There’s nothing left of the old grandmother’s house here; we built a new one with our own hands, without your, may I remind you, help. Did Grisha even hammer a single nail here? No. Did he put in a single penny for the construction? Also no. So what keys do you want? I won’t allow you to run the house!»
«What do you mean by that?» Lyudmila exploded, «Why, Mashka? Don’t you think you’re acting unfairly? Grisha is just as much an heir to his father as you are! Why should the dacha go only to you? Your brother has children, your nieces and nephews. They deserve a good summer vacation! We don’t have the money to take them to the seaside, and the kids need to be healthy. I don’t understand what you’re angry about? Grisha didn’t help, didn’t give any money. That’s why we don’t have any! We’re not rich like you. You have the means to spend several million on construction. And we live modestly, paycheck to paycheck. Grisha works alone, and…»
«We took out a loan for the construction,» Maria shouted, «and we’re still paying it off! And we’ll have to pay it for at least another three years. I’ve said everything—no keys for you. You can only come here by invitation and without overstepping. For several months, no one will tolerate you here.»
Grigory intervened in the quarrel—he defended his wife, and the argument flared up even more. All the guests got involved just because they sided with the hostess. No one supported Grisha. The “hurt and offended” spouses gathered the children and left, and from then on, Maria’s life turned into a nightmare.
Lyudmila called her every day. She would start the conversation with a gentle request and end with a harsh reproach. Grigory also began sending angry messages to his sister—he wrote that when the time comes and Dad dies, he will definitely go to court and force her to pay half the market value of the new house.
«— Do you really not want to?» Grisha asked Maria, «I’m not planning on warring with you, Mashka! Let’s treat each other humanely. You give us the keys, and Lyuda with the kids come to the dacha whenever they want. We can arrange the visits if you don’t want to see us. Otherwise, I’ll make your life difficult! I will sue you!»
Maria often wept from hurt. She couldn’t understand what had happened to her loving brother. Is this really it? Will there never be that warmth between them again?
The final break in their relationship came because of Lyudmila’s recent outburst. One day, Maria arrived at the dacha with her family. No sooner had she stepped out of the car than a neighbor ran up to her.
«— While you were away, Grisha has been here twice in the past week! I don’t know what he was doing in the house, I didn’t see it, so I won’t lie. But I saw with my own eyes how he climbed over the fence, then returned the same way and left. Your dog was howling for a long time after that.»
Maria thanked the neighbor for her vigilance. When she stepped onto the property, the woman immediately understood why her brother had come by: on the flower beds and the lawn lay… broken thermometers.
«No, look, what pests these are!» Maria exclaimed in indignation, «Vitya, did you see? Why would they do that, what do they want?»
«— To destroy the garden,» Viktor concluded, «I once read that if mercury gets into the soil, nothing will grow on it. It must have been Lyudmila’s idea, that your Grisha come here. Or maybe he did it on his own accord. Mashka, we need to do something. Let’s at least scare him. Let’s call the local officer. Let him question the neighbor. Of course, we won’t make a big deal out of it, but we’ll teach him a lesson!»
«— Let’s do it,» Maria agreed, «I’m fed up. It can’t be done humanely; then let him expect retaliation. Go to the administration and bring back Pyotr Gennadievich. Let him set Grisha straight.»
Apparently, the local officer did have a talk with the hooligan. The two days at the dacha passed peacefully; Maria and Viktor managed to tidy up, even got a bit of rest, and on Monday evening, the call from her sister-in-law didn’t keep her waiting for long. Lyudmila was yelling so loudly that Maria got scared—she thought the speaker might burst from the strain.
«— You treacherous woman,» Lyudmila screamed at Maria, «so you decided to lock up your own brother? And do you even have any evidence that it was Grisha who climbed into your yard? That he scattered those thermometers? Why are you slandering an honest man? I’ll file a counterclaim against you, and I’ll have you thrown in for slander! Look at you, how insolent! You’ve taken the dacha for yourself, and now you even want to deprive three children of their breadwinner!»
«I have evidence,» Maria shouted back, «I even have witnesses—the neighbors. If my brother doesn’t calm down, I’ll take legal action. And by the way, for damaging someone else’s property, you can face serious punishment. Leave us alone already, stop terrorizing us! I want nothing more to do with you or Grisha!»
The dacha was given to Maria by her father. Over the past few years, Grisha had managed to ruin his relationships with his parents as well. The man now doesn’t communicate with any relatives; he is convinced that he was deceived and shortchanged. Maria misses the old Grisha, but she is not the one to go to reconciliation first. After all, she hasn’t done anything wrong to him.»
