Marina stood by the living room window, watching two boys racing across her perfectly trimmed lawn with a soccer ball. One of them, seven-year-old Danil, had just kicked the ball straight into the rosebush she’d been tending for three years. The other, nine-year-old Maksim, was shouting something loudly about a goal and victory.
“Here they are again,” she muttered, tightening her grip on her coffee cup.
The house she and Andrei had spent two years building was her dream. Spacious, bright, with large windows and a terrace leading out into the garden. Every corner was thought out to the smallest detail: from the Italian tiles in the bathroom to the designer furniture in the living room. But now this house had turned into a transit hub for Sasha’s family, Andrei’s brother.
“Mom, where are the cookies?” Danil burst into the house, covered in dirt and with grass in his hair.
“I’ll bring them in a minute, sunshine,” Oksana, Sasha’s wife, called from the kitchen. “Just wash up first.”
Marina ground her teeth. Her snow-white hallway furniture was already covered in dirty fingerprints, and the parquet bore the marks of soccer cleats.
“Andryush, got any beer?” Sasha’s voice carried in from the terrace. “It’s hot today.”
“I’ll bring some now!” Andrei shouted back, coming out of the garage.
Marina sighed. It was Friday again, which meant chaos would reign in the house until Sunday. Sasha and his family came every weekend as if they were officially registered to live there. And for the summer holidays they’d gone even further and left the kids “to stay with aunt and uncle.”
“Andrei, we need to talk,” she said to her husband as he walked past with the beer.
“Let’s talk tonight, darling. Sasha’s waiting.”
That evening, Marina waited until everyone had gone to their rooms. The children had finally settled down in the guest bedroom, Oksana had gone to take a bath, and Sasha had settled on the terrace with yet another bottle of beer.
“Andrei, I need to talk to you seriously,” she began, sitting down next to her husband on the sofa.
“I’m listening.” He put the newspaper aside and turned to her.
“Your brother and his brood have completely lost all sense of boundaries. They spend more time here than in their own home! Look at our house—it’s turning into a daycare center and a dormitory at the same time.”
Andrei sighed.
“Marina, what do you want me to do? He’s my brother. The kids are on vacation, they need a break…”
“A break?” Marina flared up. “They broke my favorite vase, ruined the living room sofa, and yesterday Maksim drew all over the hallway wall with markers! And I’m not even talking about the lawn—there are craters where my flowerbeds used to be!”
“I understand that it’s hard for you…”
“You understand, but you don’t do anything!” Marina cut him off. “I’m tired of being the maid in my own house!”
Andrei rubbed his forehead.
“Marina, I can’t just throw my brother out. He’s family.”
“And what am I, not family?” Marina’s voice trembled with hurt. “I dreamed of our house, of how we’d live here together, just the two of us, and invite guests when we felt like it… And now I don’t get a minute of peace!”
“Fine, I’ll talk to Sasha. Maybe they’ll come less often…”
“You’ll talk?” Marina laughed bitterly. “You’ve been ‘meaning to talk’ to him for six months. Meanwhile they’re making themselves at home here.”
The next morning Marina woke up with a firm decision. If Andrei couldn’t handle the situation, she would. But she’d have to do it smartly.
The plan came to her over breakfast, as she watched Sasha eat her homemade pancakes with gusto while Oksana was saying how wonderful it was for the kids to stay in a country house.
“Sasha, what’s your favorite beer?” Marina asked suddenly.
“Huh?” He looked up at her in surprise. “I’m not picky, I drink whatever.”
“No, really, which one do you like best? I want to buy it especially for you.”
“Well…” Sasha hesitated. “I like Belgian beer, but it’s expensive…”
“Nonsense!” Marina exclaimed with a broad smile. “Since you’re such a frequent guest, you should drink what you like!”
Andrei looked at his wife in confusion but said nothing.
An hour later, Marina came back from the store with a crate of expensive Belgian beer and groceries for making steaks—Sasha’s favorite dish, which she had accidentally learned about from Andrei.
“Marina, what’s all this?” Sasha asked when he saw the beer.
“I bought it for you!” she said, beaming. “Since you come here to relax, you should feel at home.”
“Thanks,” Sasha mumbled, taken aback. “That’s very kind of you.”
All day Marina was pointedly attentive to Sasha. She brought him beer without being asked, cooked his favorite steaks, asked about his job and his plans. When the kids broke a garden figurine, she merely laughed and said, “Oh, come on, they’re just kids!”
By evening Andrei couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Marina, what’s with you? Yesterday you were ready to throw them out, and today you’re fussing over Sasha like he’s royalty.”
“I thought about what you said,” she replied, hiding a smile. “You’re right, he’s your brother. Family should stick together.”
“I’m glad you see it that way,” Andrei said, hugging her. “I’m happy you’ve finally gotten along.”
Over the next few weeks, Marina kept up her performance. She welcomed Sasha as the most honored guest, cooked for him, tried to please him in little things. Sasha blossomed under such attention, and Andrei rejoiced that peace had finally settled in the family.
At first, Oksana paid no attention to Marina’s behavior. She was busy with the children and enjoying her vacation in the country house. But gradually she began to notice how attentive their hostess was to her husband.
The climax came on a Saturday evening. The children had calmed down, the men had gone to the sauna, and the women were left on the terrace with glasses of wine.
“Marina,” Oksana began, “I wanted to ask you something… What happened? Why have you changed so much?”
“What do you mean?” Marina asked innocently.
“Well… It used to be obvious that our visits annoyed you. And now you’ve just blossomed. Especially when Sasha is around.”
Marina took a large sip of wine and sighed heavily.
“Oksana, I need to tell you something. But please don’t be offended…”
“Go on,” Oksana said tensely.
“I realized that…” Marina paused, as if struggling with herself. “I realized that I once chose the wrong brother.”
“What?!” Oksana turned pale.
“I’ve fallen in love with your husband,” Marina said quietly, staring into her glass. “At first I thought I was just treating him better, but then I understood… I wait for your visits. I wait for him.”
Oksana set her glass down with a trembling hand.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“I know how it sounds,” Marina went on, fully in character. “But I can’t help it. When you started coming more often, I saw another side of Sasha. He’s so… attentive, caring. And so manly.”
“Marina, stop it!” Oksana exclaimed.
“I’m not planning to break up your family,” Marina added quickly. “I just… can’t help how I feel. I’m sorry I told you. But it became too hard to keep it inside.”
Oksana jumped to her feet.
“I can’t listen to this! You… you…” She couldn’t find the words.
“Oksana, please don’t tell Andrei,” Marina pleaded. “I’ll get over my feelings, I promise.”
But Oksana was already running into the house.
Half an hour later, noise came from inside: Oksana was packing suitcases, and Sasha was trying to figure out what was going on.
“We’re leaving! Right now!” Oksana was shouting.
“But why? What happened?” Sasha was baffled.
“Get the kids’ things together! And I don’t want to see you here ever again!”
Marina sat on the terrace, pretending to read a book, suppressing a smile.
“Oksana, can you explain what’s going on?” Sasha tried to touch his wife, but she pulled her hand back.
“Ask your admirer!” she snapped angrily and rushed off to wake the kids.
An hour later, Sasha’s family was loading the car. The children were crying, not understanding why they were being taken away so suddenly. Sasha looked around, bewildered, trying to grasp what had happened.
“Sasha, what’s going on?” Andrei came up to him.
“I don’t know,” his brother threw up his hands. “Oksana’s lost her mind. She insists we leave right now and says she never wants to come here again.”
“Maybe she had a fight with Marina?”
“Doesn’t seem like it…” Sasha glanced at Marina, who was standing on the porch. “Marina, do you know what’s wrong with Oksana?”
“No idea,” Marina shrugged. “We were getting along fine, and then she suddenly turned pale and ran off.”
The car drove away, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Andrei and Marina were left alone on the porch of their house.
“It’s all very strange,” Andrei muttered. “What could have scared her like that?”
“Do you think they’ll come next weekend?” Marina asked, barely holding back her triumph.
“I don’t know. I’ll call Sasha tomorrow and find out what happened.”
The next day Sasha didn’t answer his calls. On Tuesday he finally called back and curtly said that the family would no longer be visiting.
“But why?” Andrei pressed him.
“Oksana is against it. She says she feels uncomfortable there.”
“Maybe I should talk to her?”
“No need. She’s absolutely adamant.”
When Andrei hung up, Marina asked:
“Well? Are they coming?”
“No,” he answered sadly. “Sasha said Oksana doesn’t want to go there anymore.”
“Oh, so Sasha and his family won’t be coming to us anymore,” Marina said, trying to sound regretful.
“Looks like it,” Andrei sighed. “It’s a shame, the kids loved it here.”
Marina sat down next to her husband and took his hand.
“Andrei, I have to tell you something.”
“What?”
“Do you remember how I was outraged about your brother’s constant visits?”
“I remember. And then all of a sudden you started treating him so well.”
“Well,” Marina said with a sly smile, “I didn’t start treating him well. I came up with a plan to get rid of them.”
“What plan?” Andrei asked warily.
“I told Oksana I was in love with Sasha,” Marina confessed.
“You what?!” Andrei jumped to his feet.
“Calm down,” Marina laughed. “I made it all up. I told her I’d realized I’d chosen the wrong brother and that I was secretly in love with her husband.”
Andrei stared at his wife, mouth open.
“And she believed you?”
“Oh, absolutely!” Marina said triumphantly. “She got so scared of losing her husband that she dragged him away from here immediately and forbade him to come back.”
Andrei was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing.
“Marinochka, you’re a genius! I thought you really had fallen for my brother.”
“What?!” Marina bristled. “How could you even think that?”
“Well, how else was I supposed to explain such a sudden change?” he spread his hands. “You were treating him like he was your own.”
“Exactly!” Marina laughed. “I was playing the role of a woman in love. I bought his favorite beer, cooked his favorite dishes, listened carefully to his stories…”
“And it was all an act?”
“Of course!” Marina hugged her husband. “I couldn’t just tell Oksana straight out: ‘Get out of here, I’m sick of you.’ This way she figured it out herself and made the decision on her own.”
“You’re crafty,” Andrei said, shaking his head. “And I really thought you’d finally gotten along.”
“We did get along,” Marina smiled. “So well, in fact, that we’ll never see each other again.”
They sat on the terrace, wrapped in each other’s arms, looking at their immaculate garden. No one was running across the lawn with a ball, no one was shouting or trampling the flowerbeds. The house was theirs again.
“Don’t you feel sorry for the kids?” Andrei asked. “They’re not to blame for any of this.”
“I do feel sorry for them,” Marina answered honestly. “But our home and our peace mean more to me. Let Sasha and Oksana raise their own kids instead of dumping them on us.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Andrei agreed. “It was hard for me too, but I didn’t know how to tell them.”
“Now you don’t have to say anything,” Marina said contentedly. “They made the decision themselves.”
Peace finally settled over the house. Marina could at last enjoy the tranquility her beautiful home gave her. She returned to her favorite pastimes: reading on the terrace, tending the garden, taking baths in her bright bathroom.
A week later Andrei received a message from Sasha: the family had decided to spend the summer at Oksana’s parents’ dacha. The subject of visits never came up again.
“Looks like your plan worked a hundred percent,” Andrei told his wife over dinner.
“I told you, a woman’s intuition is a powerful thing,” Marina laughed. “Oksana got so scared of losing her husband that now she’ll keep him away from any potential rivals.”
“Including you.”
“Especially me,” Marina confirmed. “She still thinks I’m in love with him.”
“What if she someday realizes you tricked her?”
“She won’t,” Marina replied confidently. “She’ll remember how I fussed over him and how attentive I was. For her, that will always be proof of my ‘feelings’.”
And indeed, Marina’s plan worked flawlessly. Sasha’s family never showed up at their house again. Sometimes the brothers met in the city, but the idea of vacationing together never came up.
Marina was finally able to live in her home the way she’d dreamed. She welcomed only those guests she wanted to see, and only when it suited her. Her garden flourished, the furniture stayed intact, and in the evenings the house was filled with calm.
“You know,” she said to her husband one day as they sat on the terrace watching the sunset, “sometimes you have to be a little cunning to protect your happiness.”
“I agree,” Andrei nodded. “As long as no one gets hurt.”
“No one got hurt,” Marina objected. “Sasha and Oksana are spending more time together now, their family is stronger. And we got our peace back.”
“So everyone wins.”
“Exactly,” Marina smiled with satisfaction. “Everyone’s happy, each in their own place.”
The sun was setting beyond the horizon, bathing their garden in golden tones. The house was quiet and calm. Marina had finally gotten what she’d dreamed of—her own home, her own family, and her peace. And all thanks to one little trick that didn’t hurt anyone, but put everyone exactly where they belonged
