Olga tapped “hang up” and stared blankly at her phone. The same thing again. Third day in a row.
“Mom, hi! We’re at Grandma Galya’s! It’s awesome here! She made pies! When are you coming?”
In the background there was always her mother-in-law’s voice: “Alisochka, tell Mommy we love her! That we’re taking good care of you!”
Her thoughts tangled. “They were supposed to be at home. Sergey promised.” The health resort, from which Olga had expected rest, was turning into torture. The treatments seemed to help, and she was finally sleeping, but every call home frayed her nerves.
“Damn!” Olga tossed the phone onto the bed.
Next door, the neighbor turned on the TV. The clock read 21:17. Lights-out was still a ways off.
She opened her chat with her husband.
“Seryozha, are you at your parents’ again? We had an agreement…”
The message had been sitting there unanswered for an hour. A typical pattern. First, “Sorry, Mom offered to help,” then, “What’s the big deal? Alisa’s fine there.”
Her phone chirped.
“Ol, don’t start. Mom is really helping. I’m tired from work. What’s wrong if Grandma spends time with her granddaughter?”
“And what about the fact that I asked you not to?” she said aloud as she typed her reply.
“Seryozha, when I left, you PROMISED you’d manage on your own. I asked you not to leave Alisa with your mom for long.”
“Oh come on, not this again.”
Olga dropped the phone. The same closed loop again. Seven years of the same. The moment she so much as mentioned his mother, Sergey dug in behind an impenetrable wall.
“How is this even possible?!” She jumped up and paced the room. “Is it really so hard to simply respect my requests?”
Katya’s call came at the perfect moment.
“Hey, how are you holding up?” her friend’s voice sounded cautious.
“Oh, you know… Fine. It’s just that no one’s home—everyone’s camped out at my mother-in-law’s.”
“Listen, I stopped by your place yesterday… wanted to check on Alisa.”
“And?” Olga tensed.
“Well… they’re basically living at your mother-in-law’s. I sat there for about half an hour. Galina Nikolaevna was saying all kinds of stuff…”
“What exactly?”
“Well…” Katya clearly didn’t want to say it. “That ‘the child is finally under proper supervision,’ that you’re ‘always on edge, and that’s not how children should be raised.’”
Olga gripped the phone until her knuckles went white.
“Go on.”
“She called some friend while I was there and bragged that ‘her son has finally seen the light.’ And also… damn, Ol, in front of me Alisa asked when you’d be back, and your mother-in-law said, ‘Mommy’s resting; she might stay longer since she’s feeling so good there.’”
“She said what?!” Olga felt the boil start inside her.
“Ol, that’s not all. I saw them bring over Alisa’s things. A lot of things. As if… for a long time.”
The room swam before her eyes. Olga collapsed onto the bed.
“Thanks, Katya. Now I know what to do.”
“Are you okay?”
“I will be. Very soon.”
After the call, Olga opened her laptop. Twenty minutes later, a bus ticket was purchased. Tomorrow at six a.m. she would leave the resort—three days ahead of schedule. And she wouldn’t tell anyone.
She texted Sergey briefly: “Don’t worry, I’m fine. The treatments are helping. Kiss Alisa for me.”
Olga packed and lay down, but sleep wouldn’t come. Scenes from the past kept looping in her head. How Galina Nikolaevna criticized her cooking in front of guests. How she’d say, “Alisochka is so skinny; you don’t feed her at all, do you?” How she taught her “the right way to iron shirts for little Seryozhenka.”
And Sergey always stayed silent. “Mom means well,” “She just worries,” “Don’t pay attention.” And that endless “just be patient.”
Morning came raw and chilly. Olga shivered at the bus stop. The bus was late, and she stood there with her bag, angry at the world.
“I put up with it for seven years. Seven. Damn. Years.”
By the time she got to her apartment, it was already past noon. Olga opened the door and froze. Silence. Emptiness. The smell of an unoccupied space.
“For God’s sake,” she muttered, walking into the child’s room.
The closet was bare. Alisa’s favorite toys, her books, her clothes—gone. Only old things remained, the ones her daughter had outgrown.
Olga dialed Katya.
“Ol, where are you?” her friend asked, surprised.
“At home. Came back early. Katya, it’s empty here. They took Alisa’s things. All of them.”
“Damn… What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to them. Right now.”
“Maybe calm down first?” Katya suggested gently.
“I am calm. Absolutely.”
Olga called a taxi. The whole ride to her mother-in-law’s, she ran through possible scripts for the conversation in her head. From a calm “I’m taking my daughter” to a full-on ultimatum with threats.
The taxi stopped a block away. Olga decided to approach unnoticed. She didn’t want them to see her too soon.
In the courtyard of the building, Olga heard a familiar voice. Galina Nikolaevna was standing by the entrance with a neighbor. Olga slowed and hid behind the bushes.
“…My son finally realized his wife isn’t a match for him,” drifted over to her. “I think after the resort we’ll tell her that Sergey and Alisa are staying with us.”
“And will she agree?” asked the neighbor.
“Where will she go? Sergey is the father. He has rights. And the girl is better off with us. Stability, a routine. Not her tantrums and nerves.”
Olga was shaking. She clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms.
Her mother-in-law said goodbye to the neighbor and went inside. Olga waited for the door to close and followed.
The apartment door was unlocked. Voices floated from the living room. Olga slipped in quietly and stopped in the hallway.
“…We need to explain gently that she can’t handle raising the child,” her mother-in-law was saying. “Sergey, you have to be firmer. It’s for the child’s own good.”
“Mom, maybe we shouldn’t be so harsh?” her husband’s voice sounded unsure. “Olga is still the mother…”
“What kind of mother is she?” the mother-in-law snorted. “Nervous, always working. The girl needs routine, care…”
“She’s right, Galya,” the father-in-law chimed in. “We’ll tell her this way: you’ll see your daughter on weekends.”
Olga took a deep breath and stepped into the room. Seated at the table were her mother-in-law, father-in-law, Sergey, and his sister Natasha. Alisa was watching cartoons in the next room.
“What an interesting little council,” Olga said in an icy tone.
Everyone froze. Sergey turned pale.
“Olya? You were supposed to…”
“I was supposed to do a lot of things, Serezha. But from the looks of it, none of you owed me anything. Not even basic respect.”
“Olechka,” her mother-in-law attempted a smile, “what are you doing here so early? We wanted to welcome you…”
“And inform me that I’ll be seeing my daughter on weekends?” Olga didn’t take her eyes off her husband. “Was that your decision, Serezha?”
“I… we were just talking…”
“Mom!” Alisa ran out and threw herself into Olga’s arms.
Olga scooped her up and hugged her tight. The child smelled of her mother-in-law’s perfume.
“Mommy, you’re here! But Grandma said you’d be getting treatment for a long time!”
“No, sweetheart, I’m already fine,” Olga kissed the top of her daughter’s head and set her down. “Go gather your toys—we’re going home.”
“Home where?” the mother-in-law stood up from the table. “Alisochka, go finish your cartoon; the adults need to talk.”
“No,” Olga took her daughter by the hand. “Alisa is coming with me. Right now.”
“Olga, what are you doing?” Sergey finally shook off his stupor. “Let’s talk this through calmly.”
“Talk?” She turned to her husband. “You’ve already talked everything through without me. While I was at the resort getting treatment, you decided to take my daughter away from me.”
“No one decided anything,” Sergey spread his hands. “Mom just suggested…”
“Yes, I suggested it!” Galina Nikolaevna cut in. “And what’s wrong with that? The child is better with us! You’re always on edge, always yelling. Here she has Grandma, Grandpa, Daddy…”
“Serezha,” Olga ignored her, “you have five minutes to decide: are you a husband and father or Mommy’s little boy? I’m taking Alisa and leaving. Are you coming with us or staying here?”
The room went dead quiet. Her mother-in-law turned crimson.
“How dare you speak to your husband like that? Have you lost your mind? Sergey, don’t let her talk to you that way!”
Sergey’s gaze flicked between his mother and his wife.
“Ol, let’s not do anything rash. Mom meant well…”
“Time’s ticking,” Olga said flatly. “Alis, let’s go to the bedroom and pack your things.”
“You’re not going anywhere!” the mother-in-law blocked the doorway. “Sergey, say something! Alisochka is better off here!”
“Mom, move,” Sergey said wearily. “Let them pass.”
“What?! You’re going to let her take the child? After everything we’ve done for you?”
“Galya, calm down,” the father-in-law interjected. “Let the girls pack, and we’ll talk in the meantime.”
Reluctantly, the mother-in-law stepped aside. Olga led Alisa to the bedroom where the girl’s toys were scattered. She pulled out her phone and called a taxi.
“Mom, why is Grandma yelling?” Alisa asked as Olga stuffed clothes into a bag.
“Grandma’s upset that we’re leaving.”
“Are we leaving for good? What about Dad?”
“I don’t know, honey. Dad has to decide that.”
Loud voices carried from the living room. Olga tried not to listen, but certain phrases broke through anyway: “ungrateful,” “after all we’ve done for her,” “are you a man or a doormat.”
When they came out with their bags, only Sergey and his father were in the living room. Galina Nikolaevna had demonstratively gone to the kitchen.
“Ol, can we at least talk?” Sergey looked worn out. “You’re putting me in a ridiculous position.”
“Me?” Olga gave a short laugh. “I wasn’t the one planning to take your daughter away from you. Are you coming with us?”
“Where?”
“To my parents’. Until we decide what to do next.”
Sergey shook his head.
“Ol, why your parents’? Let’s just go home. I promise we’ll talk it all through…”
“The taxi is already on its way. Your answer?”
“I… can’t just up and leave. Mom will be upset.”
“I see,” Olga took Alisa by the hand. “Bye, Serezha. Call me when you decide to be an adult.”
“Daddy, aren’t you coming with us?” Alisa looked at her father, confused.
“Daddy will come later, honey,” Sergey said, crouching in front of her. “I have to take care of a few things.”
“Promise?”
“I promise,” he hugged Alisa and kissed her forehead.
The taxi was already waiting by the entrance. As they stepped out of the apartment, Galina Nikolaevna burst out of the kitchen.
“Sergey! You’re letting her take the child? I’m calling a lawyer! This is kidnapping!”
“Mom, stop,” Sergey said tiredly. “She’s her mother.”
“Our daughter,” Olga corrected, looking her husband in the eye. “But you chose your side.”
Six months later, Olga sat in a small café waiting for Sergey. He was late, as usual. She checked the time: fifteen minutes. Before, she would have been anxious, but now she simply ordered another tea.
The door opened and Sergey hurried to her table.
“Sorry, work held me up,” he said, taking a seat.
“It’s fine,” she shrugged. “I’m used to it.”
“How’s Alisa?”
“Good. She’s getting used to the new kindergarten. She likes it there.”
Sergey nodded. They sat in silence for a moment.
“Ol, I’ve been thinking… maybe we could still try again? For Alisa’s sake.”
Olga set down her cup and looked at her ex-husband carefully.
“Serezha, we’ve already been over this. I’m not coming back.”
“But Alisa needs a father!”
“You’re her father already. Nothing stops you from seeing your daughter.”
“On weekends,” he gave a bitter smile. “Just like your mother-in-law had planned. Ironic, isn’t it?”
“There’s a difference,” Olga shook her head. “I’m not forbidding you from seeing Alisa. The court set a visitation schedule, and you follow it. I’m not getting in the way.”
“Mom says…”
“There,” Olga raised a finger. “You’re doing it again. ‘Mom says.’ And what do you say, Sergey? Do you have your own opinion?”
Sergey looked away.
“She just worries. She wants to see her granddaughter.”
“So she calls my parents with threats? Spreads rumors that I’m a bad mother? Files reports with child services?”
“She goes too far, I agree. But if you’d just let her see Alisa…”
“No,” Olga was firm. “Not until she admits she was wrong and apologizes—absolutely not. I won’t let her traumatize our daughter again.”
“She’s the grandmother, Ol. She has rights.”
“And I have a court ruling that clearly states: visits with the father take place without third parties unless I give consent. And I do not give consent.”
Sergey sighed.
“You know, I honestly thought I could sit on two chairs. Be a good son and a good husband at the same time.”
“And in the end you lost your family,” Olga finished. “I didn’t want it to turn out this way. But I couldn’t go on.”
“And now? Are you better off?”
Olga smiled—for the first time during the whole conversation.
“Yes. Much better. New job, new apartment. Alisa stopped parroting Grandma’s little phrases about what a bad mother I am. My mom and I get along—she helps with Alisa but doesn’t try to boss me around. And you know…” she paused, “I no longer feel guilty for not living the way someone else thinks I should.”
“And me?” Sergey asked quietly. “Do I have a chance to make things right?”
“As a father—of course. Come see your daughter, spend time with her, be there for her. But as a husband…” she shook her head. “No, Serezha. We’ve turned that page.”
“I understand,” he nodded sadly.
“You’ll have to choose: either you come to see your daughter alone, or you don’t come at all. No grandmothers lurking in the background.”
“Okay,” he raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “I accept your terms.”
When they left the café, Olga felt a strange relief. As if the last heavy burden had slipped from her shoulders.
“You know,” she said in parting, “I don’t regret marrying you. We have Alisa. But I’m glad I found the strength to leave.”
Sergey nodded.
“I’ll call about the weekend.”
“Do. Alisa will be waiting.”
Olga walked through the autumn park, smiling. Ahead lay an entire life—without toxic relationships, without the constant guilt, without having to justify her every step. A life in which she herself decided what was best for her and her daughter.
And that was the best therapy of all.
