A message like that came to her husband’s phone. Tatyana, seeing the note from her sister-in-law, boldly opened it and decided to read. But after learning what her husband’s sister had written, she didn’t even know how to react. The relatives’ audacity was off the charts.
“Again? Just like that? She simply states it as a fact and that’s all? What, shouldn’t she ask our permission? Consult with us, at least find out whether we can even host them! Do we even want them here?”
“Who are you talking to, Tanya?” Boris shouted from the bathroom.
“Oh, you’re not in the loop yet! Let me make you happy,” she said loudly, opening the bathroom door where her husband was shaving. “Your sister and her husband with the kids have decided once again that we’re just dying to host them.”
Tatyana never expected that Nadezhda would again plan to visit them. She thought she had explained everything clearly last time and that her sister-in-law and her husband would no longer want to come and use their house as if it were their own.
“How do you know? Did Nadya call you herself?” her husband asked in surprise. “I just talked to them yesterday, but my sister said nothing about any plans.”
“It’s as clear as day. She didn’t tell you anything because she knew we’d refuse. Yesterday she called you only to find out if we were home or planning to leave,” his wife said with annoyance.
“Listen, if that’s true, I have no words. What nerve! After the chaos of their last visit, they’re going to show up again like nothing happened?”
“Exactly, and after I told them that I didn’t want to see them here again, for them to come anyway—well, they must have no shame at all!” Tatyana fumed.
“Don’t worry. I’ll get to the bottom of this and make it clear to my sister that her merry little family isn’t welcome here. Just look at them—they treat this place like a hotel. And behave even worse!” Boris said, wiping his face with a towel and grabbing his phone.
But for some reason he couldn’t reach his sister. His brother-in-law’s phone was also stubbornly silent.
A year ago, Boris and Tatyana had decided to move out of the city and bought a house in a scenic spot by the river. The little village was conveniently located—not far from the district center and the main highway, and next to a green forest.
Boris, being a programmer, had been working remotely for years. Tanya had a law degree. After working in the city court and later in a law office, she decided to provide legal consultations online. She worked from home, which was very convenient. After saving enough money, the couple traded their cramped twelfth-floor apartment for a beautiful village house.
They didn’t sell their city apartment because their daughter was in her last year of school. They decided she would stay in the apartment to finish school where she had studied all eleven years. After school Nastya would go to university, and living in the city, she visited her parents only occasionally.
But the couple hadn’t even had time to settle in—the renovations weren’t even finished—when guests arrived. These were Boris’s relatives, his sister Nadezhda with her husband and three small children.
“What a great idea to buy a house here!” the sister-in-law exclaimed as her large family poured into their yard. “So much space, the nature, the air! This is paradise! Now we have somewhere to escape our stuffy apartment. And the kids will have room to run. You guys are great! I fully approve of your decision.”
Then Nadezhda walked around the property like she owned the place, sizing up the house from all sides, inspecting the plantings already in the yard.
“You don’t have much planted here! It’s all flowers and some exotic greenery. Where are the cucumbers, the green onions, the carrots? My kids love to crunch on cucumbers and fresh carrots. You definitely need to plant some. I’ll bring you seeds next time, Tanya. You can plant them right away.”
“I don’t need you bringing me anything,” the daughter-in-law replied with annoyance. “We planted what we thought necessary. If your kids want cucumbers, buy them in the store. Don’t turn my yard into a vegetable garden.”
“Oh, Tanya, you’re such a grouch! What’s the big deal about giving up a couple of square meters for some decent veggies? I’ll do it myself!” Nadezhda kept on.
“No need. As we said, if you want to garden, rent a dacha and plant whatever you want there,” Boris advised his sister. “But you won’t be planting anything here.”
By that time the nephews were already tearing around the yard, trampling the delicate young sprouts just breaking through the soil.
“Don’t you think you should watch your kids?” the increasingly angry hostess asked. “Look what they’re doing!”
“Nadya, really, get your little monsters under control,” Boris ordered strictly. “They’ve already trampled all our beds. Hey, hooligans, this isn’t a stadium!”
Boris himself tried to catch his unruly nephews, but to no avail. The children shrieked and ran around the spacious yard.
“Oh, let the kids run, Borya. Where else will they have so much fun? Nothing’s going to happen to your plants,” Nadyezhda said carelessly, but still managed to bark at her husband: “Vitka, why are you standing there gaping? You’re not watching the kids at all! Just standing like you’re on a catwalk!”
Having toured the whole yard, the sister-in-law moved on to grand plans, sharing them with the hosts.
“So here, I think, we should put up swings and a trampoline for the kids. Between the house and the garden. What do you think, Boris? Will the swings fit here? And the trampoline? We’ll be coming here often now. It’s paradise here, perfect for kids. And I think you need a pool too. It’s pricey, sure, but little Danilka’s birthday is coming up, so let’s chip in together and buy a pool for him. We’ll all swim in it. How’s that idea?”
“And I love a sauna. This is the perfect spot for one,” Viktor joined in. “Nothing better than steaming in a sauna! And then jumping into the pool.”
“Look, that’s all very exciting, but maybe you should buy and install all this on your own dacha?” Tatyana said coldly, increasingly amazed at the guests’ audacity.
“But we don’t have a dacha! And with our brood we won’t be buying one in the next five years. And you ALREADY have one,” Nadyezhda emphasized. “I don’t get it, are you stingy about your yard? We’re family, so we’ll rest here together. Have fun together.”
“Maybe you didn’t understand, but we didn’t buy this house for fun and country vacations. My wife and I work here every day. We have no time to party. And honestly, no desire either,” Boris replied. “We’re at the age where we want peace and quiet, not the noise and screeching of undisciplined kids.”
“Oh, you two are so boring! Fine, what will you treat us with? Take us inside, I want to see everything inside,” the pushy sister-in-law changed the unpleasant topic.
“And you’re staying overnight?” Boris asked at the table.
“Of course! How else? Maybe even a couple of days. We didn’t drive fifty kilometers in this heat with kids for nothing,” Nadezhda replied. “Or aren’t you happy to see us, brother?”
“You’re way too noisy, and your kids don’t know how to behave,” he answered bluntly. “They’re spoiled and don’t listen to adults at all. Do you even pay attention to them?”
“Oh, come on! You’re exaggerating. We don’t even notice the noise anymore. And all kids these days are like that, you know!”
That night no one in the house slept. The youngest niece, just a year old, whimpered and cried loudly, keeping everyone awake. Toward morning she finally calmed down, but around six a.m., just as Tatyana had dozed off, she heard the clatter of dishes from the kitchen. Reluctantly she got up and found the sister-in-law’s whole family at the table having breakfast.
Nadezhda was boldly running the kitchen, unashamedly pulling out the tastiest, most expensive products from the fridge and feeding her family.
“Isn’t it a bit early for breakfast, considering we only fell asleep an hour ago?” Tatyana asked coldly.
“No, it’s just right! The kids are hungry; they’re used to getting up early and want food right away,” the sister-in-law cheerfully answered. “Join us, I’ve already cut everything—smoked sausage, cured ham, found the blue cheese. At least here we’ll get to try it; otherwise, we don’t even know what it tastes like. I’ve boiled sausages for the kids; see how they’re gobbling them up.”
“No thanks, I don’t eat this early,” Tatyana replied, still astonished.
Back in the bedroom, she poured out all her thoughts about such guests to her husband.
“I really want you to make it clear to them we’re busy. Let them go home. They’ve been here long enough,” she said irritably.
But things got even “better.”
While Tatyana and Boris worked on their laptops, the guests moved to the yard to sunbathe and “breathe fresh air,” as the sister-in-law put it.
Finally the house was quiet. Suddenly loud screams came from outside. The owners rushed out to see what had happened.
It turned out the eldest nephew, while his parents were peacefully relaxing in the sun drinking beer, decided to show the younger ones how to make a campfire. He dragged dry twigs and paper napkins into the gazebo and lit a fire. The gazebo floor caught on fire, and by the time the disaster was discovered, a decent-sized hole had already burned through it.
“What are you doing, you little brat?” Viktor yanked his son by the ear. “Uncle Borya is going to call the police now. They’ll throw you in jail!”
“No, they won’t,” the crying boy retorted defiantly.
While they were dealing with that, another incident happened that finally exhausted the hosts’ patience.
The middle son sneaked into the house to watch cartoons and spilled juice on Tatyana’s laptop keyboard.
“What have you done? What kind of kids do I have? You’ll drive me crazy!” Nadezhda shouted. “Why did you climb up there, tell me? And why pour juice? Are you stupid?”
“I was trying to put out the fire, just in case,” the middle son sobbed.
“That’s it! Pack up and go home before you burn our house down!” the daughter-in-law yelled. “Family of idiots!”
“How dare you, you rude cow? They’re kids, you can forgive them, but you’re calling names! Think you’re so perfect?” screamed the sister-in-law, furious that her rest was ruined.
“And don’t forget to pay us. For the damaged gazebo and the broken laptop. That stuff isn’t cheap, by the way,” Tatyana suddenly demanded.
“Yeah, right! You wish! No money! You want money too, what a joke! Some relatives you are!” Nadyezhda ranted.
“Well then get out! And don’t ever come back! Ever!”
“Nadya, you and Viktor should understand—you’ll have to compensate for the damage,” Boris warned.
The guests left and didn’t speak to Boris for several months. Tatyana refused to deal with them at all. She learned from her husband that they eventually gave him some money. It was a pittance and didn’t cover the damages, but as the saying goes, you shear what little wool you can from a mangy sheep.
And now the sister-in-law writes again as if nothing happened, saying they’re coming to visit. And not only that—they demand a feast with barbecue.
“So what will we do? They’ve decided to show up again uninvited. You can’t physically drag them out of the yard. And if we don’t open the gate, they’ll wake the whole neighborhood screaming like mad,” Boris said.
“Do what you want, but I won’t let them into our house. Keep that in mind!” his wife said firmly.
“I think I have an idea,” Boris said.
He called their daughter and asked her to come over with her former classmates—two athletic young men who also rode motorcycles and wore full biker gear.
By the time the sister-in-law’s family arrived, a youth party was already in full swing in their yard. Loud heavy rock was blasting, and the guys and girls were sprawled around the yard, chatting and laughing loudly.
“Uh… what’s going on? Where’s my brother, where are Boris and Tatyana?” Nadezhda stammered.
“They’re not here, Aunt Nadya. They went to the city. We, on the contrary, came for the whole weekend,” Nastya replied. “Party time, guys! Don’t be shy! Woo!”
“Boris, what’s this stunt? Are you ditching us? That’s outrageous! We warned you ahead of time that we were coming. We sent a message! We dragged ourselves all this way with kids,” Nadezhda called her brother.
“You warned us, but we weren’t expecting you. You’re way too troublesome as guests. Your visits cost us a fortune in repairs. We don’t want to renovate the house after you leave, so we left. We’re resting in the city. You go rest too. But somewhere else.”
Boris hung up. Nadezhda cursed loudly and started loading her family back into the car.
Now she doesn’t speak to her brother and sister-in-law. And that’s exactly what they wanted. It’s better to keep such relatives at a distance.
