An unexpected visit and family tension
“Natasha, the guests will be here in two hours!” The man on the phone sounded anxious. “Have you prepared everything?”
Natalia glanced at Alyona, who had finally fallen asleep after a sleepless night, and could barely hold back tears.
“Andrey, I’ve only just managed to get ready to go to the store. Alyona cried all night, I didn’t even have a chance to sit down.”
“Mom wants everything to be perfect, maybe we should order food?” her husband suggested, clearly upset.
“On Sundays delivery takes forever, about two hours. I’ll just run out quickly and buy some ready-made food,” Natalia decided.
“Mom will definitely be outraged,” Andrey sighed. “She called yesterday and said she’d bring her famous cabbage pie. You know how proud she is of her cooking.”
Natalia remembered. Galina Petrovna often told stories about how she used to feed the whole family on holidays and how her fridge was always full of homemade food because “she lives for her family.”
“What should I do? I really can’t stand at the stove right now; Alyona has only just fallen asleep in her crib.”
“Alright, go quickly while she’s sleeping. I’ll try to get off work early,” her husband said.
Carefully tucking in her daughter, Natalia gathered her things. A tired face with dark circles under the eyes looked back at her from the mirror. Quickly brushing her hair and throwing on a jacket, she hurried to the store.
“Olivier salad, crab salad, herring under a fur coat,” she murmured quietly as she filled the cart with prepared dishes. “Cutlets, bread, tea, candy.”
Her phone rang non-stop.
“Natalya, we’re almost there!” Andrey’s seventeen-year-old younger sister Lena said cheerfully. “I can’t wait to see my niece! Did you make anything tasty?” the girl asked mockingly.
“Of course, Lena,” Natalia replied while paying at the register. “Everything will be ready.”
As soon as she had time to lay out the food, the doorbell rang. On the threshold stood Galina Petrovna with a huge bag, her husband Viktor Ivanovich with a suitcase, and Lena with a gift in pretty wrapping.
“Where’s my granddaughter?” the mother-in-law sang out, looking around the hallway. “And why is it such a mess in here?”
“Please, come in,” Natalia tried to smile, taking their coats. “Alyona is sleeping right now.”
“She’s sleeping?” Galina Petrovna suddenly sounded offended.
“Mom, quieter,” Lena hissed. “You’ll wake the baby!”
But it was too late — crying was already coming from the nursery.
“I’ll go to her myself!” the mother-in-law declared and decisively headed toward the room.
“Wait, I…” Natalia tried to intervene, but the older woman had already picked the baby up.
“Good Lord, she’s all wet! When was the last time you changed her?” the woman asked irritably.
“Almost an hour ago,” Natalia mumbled, completely flustered.
“In our day there were no diapers! We used regular cloth diapers and the children were dry!” Galina Petrovna remarked proudly.
“Let me set the table,” Natalia tried to change the subject. “You must be tired after the trip.”
“What is there to set?” the mother-in-law looked over the kitchen. “Is that store-bought food? Viktor, look at this, the young people have gotten so lazy! They buy everything ready-made!”
Viktor Ivanovich grunted and sat down at the table.
“I wouldn’t mind eating,” Lena said timidly, eyeing the salads.
“Wait!” her mother stopped her. “We’ll heat my pie first. Natasha, does your oven work?”
“Yes, it does,” Natalia exhaled, feeling her head start to spin from fatigue and nerves.
“The salad is sour!” Lena grimaced after tasting the Olivier. “And the cutlets are too salty!”
“I told you so!” Galina Petrovna exclaimed triumphantly. “This is what you get when you don’t cook with your own hands! I would never serve guests anything I didn’t make myself.”
At that moment the front door slammed in the hallway.
“Hi, everyone!” came Andrey’s voice as he returned from the night shift at the hospital. “How’s everything going here?”
“Andryusha, hello, son,” said Galina Petrovna. “Can you imagine, they couldn’t even feed us properly after the road! Everything is store-bought.”
“Mom,” Andrey sank wearily into a chair, “Natasha hasn’t slept all night. Cooking was the last thing on her mind.”
“When I was her age, I worked, cooked, and raised you! I managed everything!” his mother declared proudly.
“Your grandmother lived with you and helped,” Viktor Ivanovich remarked quietly, earning a displeased look from his wife.
“We’ve come for the first time in a year. Natasha sits at home all day, she could’ve made something for the family’s visit. Am I wrong?” Galina Petrovna looked around, waiting for support.
But no one answered.
Natalia’s lips trembled. The last straw was Alyona’s crying, as the grandmother continued to hold her without hurrying to pass her back.
“Please give me my daughter,” Natalia asked. “It’s time to feed her.”
“I’ll calm her down,” said Galina Petrovna, still not in a rush to hand over the baby. “In our time children were fed every hour, and they were healthy!”
“Mom, give her the baby,” Andrey said firmly. “Natalya, go feed Alyona. And we’ll order pizza or sushi in the meantime.”
“What sushi?” the mother-in-law protested. “I brought a pie!” But she finally handed the granddaughter to her mother.
“Then we’ll have both pie and sushi,” Andrey declared. “And let’s agree on something: no lectures. Natalia is a wonderful mother and she’s doing her very best.”
“But…” his mother tried to object.
“No ‘buts’, Mom. Either you accept our rules, or I’ll book you a hotel,” Andrey said unexpectedly firmly.
Silence fell in the room. Everyone realized he was serious.
“Son…” his mother began, but fell quiet when she met his resolute gaze.
“Tea, maybe?” Viktor Ivanovich suggested peacefully.
Galina Petrovna nodded silently, sat down at the table, and only then was everyone finally able to have dinner in peace. Natalia felt a long-awaited sense of relief wash over her.
Key idea: Sometimes in a family, the simplest things — like understanding and acceptance — help overcome difficulties and preserve harmony.
This story shows that tense moments in relationships with relatives can be resolved through mutual respect and support. Despite fatigue and conflict, the main value remains the health and peace of both the children and the adults.
The ability to listen to one another and to give way in controversial situations helps restore warmth in the home and avoid unnecessary quarrels.
