“Mom, I’m hungry!” Olya tugged at Anna’s T-shirt hem while Anna sorted through empty grocery bags in the kitchen.
Anna swallowed a sigh. In the fridge there was a carton of milk and three yogurts. For three children.
“We’ll think of something, sunshine,” she said, automatically stroking her daughter’s hair. “We’ll make sandwiches, okay?”
“But you promised macaroni and cheese!” Olya pouted.
As if on cue, Sasha and Liza appeared in the kitchen.
“Mooom, when are we going to eat?” Liza clung to her, wrapping her arms around Anna’s leg.
Anna opened the cupboard: half a loaf of bread, butter scraped down to the bottom, salt. There was pasta, sure—but without cheese the kids wouldn’t even look at it.
The front door slammed. Igor.
“Hi,” he tossed into the air, eyes on the floor.
The kids rushed to their father, but he deftly sidestepped them and disappeared into the bathroom. He only came out at dinner—two sandwiches on a plate. He ate in silence, washing them down with tap water.
“We need groceries,” Anna held out a list. “Just the essentials…”
Igor glanced at the paper. A flicker of shame flashed in his eyes, then died out at once.
“Fine,” he muttered, and dissolved into the bedroom.
Anna froze with the list still in her hands. It had been like this for the second week now.
“Will Dad buy cheese?” Sasha asked, searching her face.
“Of course,” she forced a smile.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
“Sweetheart, how are you?” her mother’s worried voice came through.
Anna stepped into the hallway.
“Mom, I don’t understand… We’ve got nothing. And Igor is like he isn’t even here.”
“I’m coming over.”
“No, don’t—he…”
“I’m just passing by. I’ll leave something at the door.”
An hour later the precious bag saved the day. In the side pocket—an envelope with money.
That night Anna woke to a creak. Igor was sitting in the kitchen—an empty wallet, a dead phone screen.
Cheating? But it didn’t add up. No perfume on his clothes, no suspicious calls. Just that emptiness in his eyes.
She remembered how three months earlier they’d been picking hotels by the sea. How he used to bring the children candy, and her wildflowers. And then something had broken…
Igor’s phone lit up. He jerked, grabbed it—then didn’t answer. He simply stared until the call cut off. After that he lowered his head into his hands.
Anna went back to bed. A cold knot of dread tightened around her throat. The calls had begun. What was happening to her husband? And most of all—how was she supposed to feed the kids tomorrow?
The kitchen filled with the smell of fresh soup—the lifesaving bag of groceries from her mom hadn’t let the family go hungry. Anna stirred the pot, stealing glances at the children. Olya was absorbed in drawing at the kitchen table, while the younger two fussed with pillows, building something like a fortress.
“Mom, is Dad coming soon?” Olya asked without looking up from her picture.
“As always, in the evening,” Anna answered—but the knife in her hand trembled.
Yesterday she’d noticed something strange: her husband’s shoes were unnaturally clean. Not a speck of street dirt. As if he… hadn’t gone anywhere. But then why leave the house at all?
“Olyenka, watch your brother and sister. I’ll run to the store really fast.”
Outside, Anna hurriedly looked around. A fine drizzle fell over the emptied courtyard. In the distance, a familiar figure flashed past. Keeping her distance, she followed her husband.
Igor walked unhurriedly, sometimes stopping by shop windows. Not toward the metro, not toward a bus stop—just wandering aimlessly.
Twenty minutes later he turned into a small park and sank wearily onto a bench. Anna hid behind a tree. Her husband took out his phone, looked at the screen, and let out a heavy sigh.
He sat there for nearly an hour without moving. Then, just as slowly, he stood up and walked on.
Anna came home with a stone in her chest. Now she was sure—something terrible was happening in their lives.
That evening Igor came back “from work.” He ate the soup, even praised it unexpectedly. He played with Sasha. It felt like the old Igor had returned—if not for those dead, dim eyes.
When the children were asleep, Anna worked up the courage. Her heart hammered wildly, stealing her breath.
“Igor, wait… Where do you really go during the day?”
He froze in the doorway, not turning around.
“To work. Why?”
“I saw you today. In the park on Lipovaya Street.”
Igor slowly turned. A strange expression settled on his face—a mix of fear and relief.
“I… didn’t want to upset you,” he suddenly punched the wall, making Anna flinch. “Damn it! I couldn’t just come out and say it!”
“Say what, Igor?!” she stepped closer.
“I don’t have a job! It’s been two months!” it burst out of him. “The whole department got cut…”
Anna felt her legs go weak. Two months… an eternity.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“And what was I supposed to say?” rage flared in his eyes. “ ‘Hi, honey, I’m nobody now’? I looked! Every day! Everywhere! Nobody wants me!”
“But you kept leaving…”
“Because I couldn’t stand watching you open an empty fridge!” his voice broke into a shout. “I’m ashamed, you understand? I’m the head of the family and my kids are hungry! All our savings went into a project that crashed…”
Anna moved closer.
“We could have done this together…”
“I thought I’d fix it fast.” Igor collapsed onto the bed and covered his face with his hands. “They promised they’d help me get placed. Promised! And then… they just stopped picking up.”
“And the last of the money?”
“I tried to invest…” His voice faltered. “I miscalculated. I sent out résumés. I went to interviews. But nobody needs an economist at my level, and they won’t take me for lower positions either—they’re afraid I’ll run.”
He lifted his inflamed eyes.
“I couldn’t admit it. I couldn’t say I’d let all of you down.”
“And these calls?”
“Collectors…” his voice shook. “I borrowed when it all started. I thought it would be for a short time…”
The world swam around Anna. They weren’t just broke—they were in debt. All these weeks he’d been acting, and they had been starving.
“Why didn’t you trust me?” her lips trembled.
“Because I’m a worthless failure,” he breathed with such bitterness that Anna’s heart clenched. “All my life I promised I’d protect you… and I couldn’t.”
“We’ll manage,” she whispered automatically.
“How?!” Igor sprang up, his eyes burning wildly. “We’re on the edge of a cliff! I can’t feed my own children!”
His shout woke Liza. From the kids’ room came frightened crying.
“Wonderful,” Anna snapped through clenched teeth as she left the room.
She pressed the sobbing Liza to her, even as everything inside her twisted with anger. When her daughter calmed down, Anna returned. Igor sat hunched on the edge of the bed.
“We need to talk about this soberly,” she said firmly, sitting opposite him. “No hysterics.”
Igor slowly raised his eyes.
“What is there to talk about? My uselessness? That I can’t provide for my family?”
“That you don’t trust me,” her voice shook. “Two months, Igor. Two months you played this performance while the kids asked whether Dad would bring food.”
At least her mother helped—no one went hungry.
He flinched as if slapped.
“I’m your wife. We vowed to be together in sickness and in health. Remember?”
“I wanted to protect you,” he whispered.
“From what? From the truth?” Anna shook her head. “You didn’t protect us. You made us suffer in guesses. I thought you’d stopped loving us, that you had someone else…”
“Never!” Igor lunged forward.
“Now I know. But it would have been easier to hear the truth right away.”
Silence. From the children’s room came the steady breathing of sleeping kids.
“So what now?” he finally asked.
“Now we solve it together.” Anna took his hand. “How much do we owe?”
Igor named the amount. Big, but not fatal.
“Okay. Tomorrow we’ll call my parents. They’ll help with the first payment.”
“No!” he jerked his hand away. “I’m not going begging your parents.”
“But you can beg the collectors?” Anna asked harshly. “Listen—you can keep playing proud eagle and finish us off. Or you can admit that sometimes you have to ask for help. Choose.”
Igor stared at her as if seeing her for the first time.
“I don’t want to be a burden.”
“A burden is someone who gives up,” she shot back. “Are you ready to fight?”
“Of course!” a spark flared in his eyes. “I’ll take any job. But no one hires me.”
“Any job?” Anna looked at him intently. “Absolutely any?”
He hesitated.
“Just don’t suggest construction or unloading. My back…”
“I remember your back,” she cut him off. “I mean delivery. Remember Viktor—Katya’s brother-in-law? He works in delivery. He said they always need people.”
“As a courier?” Igor grimaced. “With my education?”
“With your education we’re sitting here without a penny and without food,” Anna snapped. “Choose: temporary delivery work, or we keep pretending until we get thrown out onto the street.”
She stood up and left, feeling anger mixing with hurt. In the kitchen she poured herself water. Her hands were shaking.
The next few days passed in heavy silence. Igor spent whole days staring at the wall, and Anna tore herself between the children, holding back tears. Her mother’s money melted away. The future looked dark and uncertain.
On the fourth day Igor got up at dawn. He showered, put on a clean shirt. Pale, but collected.
“I’m going,” he said from the doorway. “I’ll find something—anything.”
He kissed Anna on the forehead—for the first time in many weeks. Hugged each child. Olya beamed.
“Daddy’s with us again!”
Tears glimmered in his eyes.
Anna didn’t ask where he was going. She just watched the door close, feeling a strange blend of hope and fear.
The day dragged painfully. She played with the kids, cooked from the last scraps, constantly checking her phone. No calls. No messages.
In the evening, when the anxiety became unbearable, the lock clicked. Igor stood in the doorway—exhausted, with dirty smudges on his clothes, but his eyes… his eyes were lit up.
“They took me for delivery,” he said, pulling crumpled bills from his pocket. “Not much yet. But it’s a start.”
He held the money out.
“For food.”
Igor froze in the hallway like a guilty schoolboy.
“Forgive me… please.”
Anna was silent for a long time. Inside her raged hurt, anger, relief, and—yes—love. Finally, she said softly:
“I love you. But I need time… Let’s try to fix this.”
Igor nodded without a word. A tear rolled down his cheek. At that moment the children spilled into the hallway, swarming their father from all sides.
“Dad, did you bring macaroni?” Sasha looked up at him, full of hope.
“Tomorrow I’ll bring it for sure,” Igor answered, crouching down. “And lots of other tasty things.”
Liza was already hanging off his neck, and Olya bounced around him.
“And will you draw me a princess? Like before?”
“I will,” he smiled. “I promise.”
Over the children’s heads his gaze met Anna’s. Those eyes held everything—remorse, gratitude, and a firm intention to make things right.
Anna felt a barely perceptible shift. The problems hadn’t vanished—debts still hung over them, the job was temporary, trust would take time. But for the first time in weeks, the house felt truly warm again.
Late that evening, after putting the kids to bed, they sat at the kitchen table—not as enemies, but as allies, building a rescue plan. They calculated the debts. Mapped out a budget. Discussed possible help from the parents—strictly as a temporary measure, with a clear repayment schedule.
Igor shared his impressions from the first day:
“Harder than I imagined. But you know…” he paused, “there are good people there. One guy—former CFO. Says he’s been getting by like this for half a year, but at least his family isn’t hungry.”
“You’ll make it,” Anna covered his hand with hers. “We’ll make it.”
She could see how hard this new role was for him—not a successful manager, but a simple courier. How difficult it was to step over his pride. But he was trying.
Igor’s phone buzzed in a new way—the delivery app was announcing orders. A new reality. Temporary, but theirs together.
“I want you to understand,” Anna said before sleep. “What matters to me isn’t the numbers in a wallet—it’s that we’re honest with each other. That we’re together. For real.”
That night they fell asleep without letting go of each other’s hands. Many trials still lay ahead. But the main thing was this: they were a family again, ready to face any hardship shoulder to shoulder
