While tidying the entryway, Milana heard her mother-in-law’s voice and looked out the window. Her husband was sitting on the front steps, talking to his mother over a video call. She went back to sorting the shoes, deciding not to eavesdrop, but Nina Yevgenyevna was speaking loudly enough that it was impossible not to hear her words, no matter how hard you tried.
“I already told you that Yulenka Smolyakova is coming. She’s become so beautiful! Natalya sent me her photos. Not just a girl—an absolute dream. And she’s gotten a job at a good firm, too. Such a smart one. And she still isn’t married yet. You know what I’m getting at?”
“Mom, why should I care whether she’s beautiful or not? Come on. My Milanka is the most beautiful. No Yulia can compare. And why should it matter to me whether she’s married or not? That’s her business. What do I have to do with it?”
Milana couldn’t help smiling. It was pleasant to hear such words from her beloved husband. She was glad he spoke of her with such tenderness. They had been together for three years, a year and a half of those married. Her mother-in-law didn’t like her daughter-in-law at all, but Milana didn’t let it upset her; she had married Anton, not his mother. You could keep a mother-in-law at a distance. That was better anyway—you didn’t have to listen to her advice, which most of the time you hadn’t even asked for.
“Oh, listen to him! ‘Why should I care!’ As I recall, you were once in love with her, but Yulia refused to date you. Back then she cared only about her studies and career, but now a lot has changed—and you’ve turned into quite the handsome man.”
“That was too long ago to bring up now. She refused, and that’s fine. It just wasn’t meant for us to be together,” Anton replied.
“Whether it was meant to be isn’t for you to decide. Our fates are written in heaven. What if you see each other now and something starts beating in your chest again? I’m not insisting, of course. Maybe it won’t happen, but you mustn’t refuse! After all, we owe their family!”
Milana felt a pang of discomfort that her mother-in-law was pushing another woman on her son when his wife was very much alive. Why was she doing this? She knew they loved each other. Did she really think her son would be tempted by a beauty from the past and divorce? Sighing heavily, Milana gathered up the remaining trash and was about to leave, but lingered for a moment.
“Your little beauty can celebrate her birthday without you; you go and meet Yulia. It’s not every day she flies back to her hometown. Bring her to me and I’ll receive her properly. Besides, your Milana won’t be bored—her parents are organizing a banquet. There’s no one to meet Yulia, so you must take care of it and arrange everything.”
Milana’s heart skipped a beat. How could a mother make her son do something like that? The mother-in-law wanted him to meet a stranger instead of being at his wife’s birthday. Where was that ever seen? Why like this?
She didn’t listen any further. No sense in winding herself up and then worrying. Better to ignore it. Milana was certain her husband wouldn’t go along with it. Surely he’d know how to answer his mother properly without offending her, but still put her in her place.
A few days passed. Anton didn’t so much as mention the conversation with his mother, but on the eve of his wife’s birthday he announced that he wouldn’t be able to attend the celebration because “something had come up.” He didn’t say what exactly, skirted the sharp edges gently, but Milana knew perfectly well. She was hurt to tears. Why would he do that? Why did he agree? Was that girl more important to him than his wife?
She had absolutely no desire to celebrate her birthday, but her parents were making an effort—organizing the party, cooking. Milana couldn’t hurt them by refusing to come. She was upset and would have liked to tell her husband directly that she knew what he planned to do and what those important matters were, but she decided not to start a fight and make things even worse. After all, Anton was an adult. If he was acting like this, there had to be some explanation. Probably.
“Why didn’t your husband come?” her mother asked when Milana arrived alone.
“He’s at work. He’ll be late today, so he couldn’t make it,” she lied, though pretending was hard.
She wanted to tell the truth and ask for advice, but she didn’t know the whole story herself. Probably she should have spoken to her husband right away and asked why he had made that choice. The mother-in-law also refused to come; she called to congratulate her daughter-in-law and said she wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be able to attend in person.
“I’ve prepared a gift for you; I’ll give it to you as soon as we meet,” Nina Yevgenyevna said in a sly voice.
Was the arrival of that very Yulia the “gift” she had in mind?
Milana knew that, back in the day, Yulia’s family had helped her mother-in-law a great deal. Left without her husband’s support, the woman could barely make ends meet, and her friend helped her get through that hard time. There was another incident Anton had once mentioned: when he was twelve, he went swimming in the river with some boys, but his leg cramped and he started to drown. It was Yulia’s father who saved his life. Anton said he was grateful and felt indebted to the man. Maybe he should have stood his ground earlier and married Yulia instead of Milana? Bitterness tightened her throat, and resentment clouded her mind. What did her husband feel for that girl now? She was supposedly his first love, and his mother said Yulia had only become more beautiful. How would their meeting go? Would Anton want to divorce and start courting the girl from his past? He’d answered his mother nicely, but in the end he hadn’t been able to refuse to go meet Yulia. Was it because of his old feelings?
“You’re awfully distracted. If something’s wrong, say so—don’t keep quiet. Your father and I are worried; we can see something isn’t right. Did Anton not come because you two had a fight? If he dared spoil our birthday girl’s mood, I won’t let him get away with it!” her mother said sternly.
It was hard to hold it all in, but long ago Milana had learned a simple truth: she and her husband could work things out and make up, but her parents’ hurt would linger. There was no need to drag them into it; first she should find out how things really stood. If it all went in a direction she didn’t want, then she would tell the truth.
“I’m just very tired, and he really does have urgent business. I’m not lying. We didn’t fight. He gave me a bouquet this morning and this bracelet.”
Milana showed her mother a gold bracelet, but it brought her no joy at all. Because her husband wasn’t by her side—he had rushed to the airport to meet another woman. Thinking she didn’t want to go home that night, Milana decided to stay over at her parents’. She didn’t want to call her husband and tell him that. She was afraid to hear his voice—happy and excited from the long-awaited meeting. And yet she couldn’t just not come home at all. That wouldn’t be right.
“How can you be staying at your parents’? I was planning to come pick you up. Are you feeling unwell?” Anton asked, worried.
For a moment Milana felt happy that he was concerned about her and wanted her to come back, but the feeling quickly evaporated. Should she really be that happy? Maybe her husband simply felt guilty and wanted to make amends somehow.
“No. I feel fine, I just thought…”
“Don’t scare me like that, and don’t just ‘think’ either. I’ll be there for you in half an hour. Get ready in the meantime. I hope your parents won’t mind if I steal you from the party a little early? I’ve missed you very much.”
Milana didn’t know whether to be happy. She was still hurt. He hadn’t come to the party with her, he’d made her suffer, he’d met Yulia—and now he’d decided to rush over for her?
Anton arrived just as he’d promised. He greeted his wife’s parents, apologized for not being able to get away earlier, and asked them not to be upset with him. He behaved as if there had been no other woman at all and as if he’d truly been tied up with some important work. He smiled, holding his wife close, while Milana felt confused.
“Where are we going?” she asked, noticing that he had turned down a different road than the one home.
“It’s a surprise. I want to introduce you to someone.”
Milana flushed with outrage. How dare he take her to meet that girl? And on this day, of all days—even if the day was nearly over.
“I’m not going to meet her,” Milana hissed, barely keeping a surge of fury in check.
“Her? I don’t know who you mean, but I’m sure you’ll like what I’ve prepared. Just be patient a little, and you’ll understand everything yourself.”
“I heard everything!” Milana blurted out, and immediately bit her tongue.
“Heard what? What are you talking about?”
“Your conversation with your mother. I know you couldn’t go to the party with me because you were meeting your first love at the airport. I should have told you right away to avoid this pretense.”
“My first love? I really did go to the airport today, but not to meet her. I told Mom right away to find someone else or go herself. Why would I do it? Of course we owe her family, but anyone can get from the airport to a hotel on their own.”
Milana silently chewed her lip. She didn’t know whether to believe him. Who else could he have been meeting?
“This person flew in for a few days. I managed to catch him at the airport and arrange a meeting with you. It’s a surprise, so just wait. I swear to you I never intended to meet Yulia. I spent the whole day preparing your gift, and it stings a little that you don’t trust me.”
Milana sighed heavily and looked away. She had invented so much in her head that she still couldn’t believe her husband’s words. But when they reached the pier, all her questions fell away by themselves. On the summer terrace of the little restaurant where they had once met, everything was decorated with flowers and a festive table was set, and on the stage sat the composer whose work Milana loved so dearly. He was playing the piano, and the music born from the smooth movements of his fingers caressed the ear. Tears welled up when the composer joined them at the table to meet Milana. He gave her an autograph and a disc with his new album. He couldn’t stay long, but the meeting left an indelible impression.
“I knew you wanted his autograph and to meet him in person, and when I heard he was flying to our city, I rushed off to find him and ask for this favor. I was lucky he turned out to be a good man and agreed—otherwise all my efforts would have been in vain.”
Milana couldn’t hold back; tears slid down her cheeks. She asked her husband’s forgiveness for working herself up and thinking ill of him. She had even imagined they would split up.
“Silly girl! No matter what otherworldly beauty shows up next to me—even if the whole world loses its mind over her—I won’t so much as look her way. I love you, just as you are—not only for your beauty or your kindness. You are my wife. How could I think about other women? Don’t you dare wind yourself up and keep things inside. If something bothers you, tell me right away. Things like this should be dealt with immediately, not nursed as a grudge. And if I really had business to take care of? Would you have filed for divorce tomorrow without even sorting it out?”
Milana wiped her tears and smiled. She promised she would no longer jump to conclusions and would always talk everything over with her husband.
When the next day his mother called Anton and asked him to come over, he already knew she wanted to arrange another meeting with Yulia. He told his mother to stop meddling in his private life. Anton told Nina Yevgenyevna point-blank that he would cut off contact if she continued trying to separate him from his wife, because Milana was his conscious choice, and he would not allow anyone to offend her or push her into second place.
