Aline, dear, quickly hustle and set the table for us! That’s it, your problem is solved! You can rejoice now,» said the husband’s aunt, Antonina Alexeyevna, solemnly into the phone.
«Hello, Aunt Tonya. What happened? What problem are you talking about?» Aline asked, surprised, as she was busy with housework.
At that moment, she was holding her crying two-year-old daughter in one hand and stirring porridge on the stove with the other.
«Well, you’re selling your apartment, right? And as far as I know, it’s been several months already. Correct?» continued the relative enthusiastically.
«Yes, that’s right. We’re trying to sell, but so far unsuccessfully. We urgently need the money to finish the renovations in our new home, everything has come to a standstill because of that,» Aline shared her problem, still not understanding where this conversation was leading.
«Well, here’s the thing! I’ve been telling you this for a while now, but you didn’t guess, huh? We decided to buy your apartment! Rejoice!» Antonina blurted out loudly.
«Buy? You?» Aline was stunned.
«Yes, exactly. Vasily and I decided to buy it from you for Vitalik. Let the boy have his own place. It doesn’t matter that he’s alone right now. Maybe he’ll want to get married, and the apartment will already be there!»
«That’s wonderful and all, but you’ve never mentioned this before. We’ve only just placed the ad for sale and told all the relatives about it,» Aline said with doubt.
She wasn’t rushing to rejoice. The husband’s aunt was known for being fickle and prone to embellishing the truth. Simply put, she liked to lie and wasn’t always trustworthy with her words.
And Aline knew very well that she couldn’t always believe her promises.
«Tell my nephew Dima, when he returns from his business trip, to be happy that Aunt and Uncle are buying his apartment.»
«So where did you get the money from? Do you even know how much it costs?» Aline asked skeptically.
«Well, what difference does it make to you where we got the money? It’s none of your business. Just thank us for solving your problem. That’s all. And instead of thanking us, you’re asking impolite questions,» Antonina Alexeyevna said with displeasure.
«Thank you for what, exactly?»
The longer Aline spoke with Antonina, the more her disbelief in the success of this venture grew. Something was fishy here, but she didn’t yet know what.
«Hey, are you going to set the table or not? My husband and I will be there soon. We want to celebrate this event in a small circle. It’s our day off.»
«What table, Aunt Tonya? Dima won’t be back until tomorrow, I’m here alone with the kids. It’s not a good time for setting tables,» Aline replied irritably. «Besides, I don’t see any reason to celebrate right now.»
The husband’s relatives had really started to annoy her, to be honest. They loved showing up unexpectedly at their apartment. And they didn’t care that there were small children in the family, and the parents often didn’t have the energy for guests.
«You’re so rude, Aline! You can’t act like that with family. You need to respect us. Besides, we’ll be completing the deal to buy the apartment soon. Don’t spit in the well from which you will still drink,» Aunt Antonina said with displeasure.
The conversation ended, and Aline immediately called her husband to share the surprising news. Her husband reacted exactly the same way she did.
«What are they thinking? What purchase? They can hardly make ends meet, living from paycheck to paycheck. Their grown son Vitalik is always broke. He constantly borrows from me. He came back from the army six months ago and still hasn’t decided to work. Do you think they decided to take out a mortgage for him? They’re hardly ready to spend most of their income on an apartment for their son.»
«You know, I also have doubts. A lot of doubts. I asked Aunt Tonya where they got the money from, and she said it’s none of my business. Same as always! No specifics, no answer about where the money’s coming from!» Aline reasoned.
«Okay, I’ll come and figure everything out myself,» Dmitry promised.
The next day, Aunt Tonya and Uncle Vasily came to visit them.
«Hello, Dima, nice to see you, nephew. Back from your business trip? Well, that’s good. And we’ve got a business proposal for you,» Antonina joyfully announced.
«What business proposal? Have you been watching too many soap operas? You’re not a businesswoman, Aunt,» Dmitry said with a smirk.
«I thought Aline had already told you everything. I told her everything yesterday. But never mind, we’ll discuss it all together now. That’s why we came.»
«Dima, listen to what Tonya’s proposing, she’s serious,» Vasily supported his wife.
«She hasn’t proposed anything yet. What are you planning? Spit it out?» Dima asked.
«We decided to buy your apartment,» Antonina finally announced ceremoniously.
«That’s not a bad idea. If you’ve decided, go ahead and buy it,» Dmitry replied. «Do you know the price? Well, that’s good. We won’t lower it, not even for relatives. We have debts, and there’s renovation work to do in the new apartment.»
«We understand, Dima. We won’t argue,» Antonina smiled. «The price is acceptable. Right, Vasya? It’s even cheap, if you think about it. The prices in the ads are just sky-high. We’ve already checked everything.»
«Yes, the price is fine with us,» Vasily said when Antonina looked at him expectantly for support.
«Great. If everyone is satisfied, we can arrange the time for the deal. When?» Dmitry asked, still feeling something was off.
Everything seemed too smooth. And they still hadn’t said where they’d get the money from.
«Anytime, today or tomorrow. Whenever you say. We’ll sign the contract so we can register the ownership,» Antonina chattered happily.
«Will the money be given in cash, or will it be transferred to an account?» Aline asked.
«Well, there’s a small nuance… We don’t have the money yet, but we’ll give it to you in parts. You can start the renovation little by little, and you’ll be able to pay off the loan,» Antonina smiled sweetly.
«What do you mean, ‘in parts’? Where will you get the money from? You don’t have any business bringing in steady income,» Dmitry was surprised.
«We don’t have a business, but we’ll pay you from our salaries. Vasily and I both work and earn decently,» Aunt Tonya answered confidently.
«Yeah, I know your earnings! And how long do you plan on paying us like this? Fifty years or more? You won’t live that long! And what will you eat if you give us everything?» Dmitry asked sarcastically. «Will you start living off solar energy?»
«Not the whole salary, just part of it. Why give it all? We’re family, after all. Why don’t you trust us? We’re not scammers. We’re not going anywhere, we won’t disappear,» the aunt said proudly.
«Exactly! Family, but you’re talking nonsense. Do you really think, Aunt, that I’m going to go along with this? Give you our apartment for free and then wait for you to eventually pay us something? Nonsense!»
«Why is it nonsense, Dima? This is a very good option for all of us. My husband and I have some savings. We’ll transfer them to you as soon as we get the apartment under our name. Then Vitalik will get a job. We’ll pay you off quickly with three salaries. It’s as clear as day!» the aunt assured him.
«It’s clear to you, not to me. And your lazy son will get a job when pigs fly. Or rather, never. He’s living fine under your wings.»
«Dima, how can you talk about your brother like that? He’s looking for work and will find it soon,» Antonina was outraged. «And he’ll also participate in paying off the debt for the apartment.»
«And Vitalik doesn’t even need that apartment. He’s so childish, he’d rather live with you, no problems,» Dmitry continued.
«Dima, stop, you’ve upset me now,» the aunt was downcast.
The deal she had thought through so meticulously seemed to be falling apart.
«We’ll only sell the apartment to someone who will pay us the full amount right away. No other options. And the ‘we’re family’ talk doesn’t work here,» Dmitry concluded.
«You’ll regret it, nephew! We just wanted to help. We thought you were a young family, with two kids, and the apartment isn’t selling. We wanted to help you out, but you!» Antonina yelled, offended by her failure. «I’ll tell Vitalik not to talk to you anymore! And I’ll tell all the relatives about you. I’ll reveal the truth! Let them know what kind of heartless, greedy people you are.»
«That’s enough, get out! You’re giving me a headache! Useless buyers! You’ve just wasted our time,» the young couple ushered them out of the house.
Exactly one month later, Dmitry and Aline sold their apartment to a young family, who were very grateful for such a good deal.
After receiving the money from the sale, the couple began renovating their new two-room apartment.
As for Aunt and Uncle, they no longer communicate with them. They even ignore them at family gatherings.
They were deeply offended, holding a grudge. But why? Only they know.
