Galya froze. She listened for a moment, then felt completely lost. By pure accident, she had overheard something that opened her eyes to far more than she had ever wanted to know.
She pressed her forehead against the cold windowpane, trying to cool the heat rising in her face. It was humiliating and deeply unpleasant to hear what her mother-in-law was saying in the next room.
What should she do now? Keep listening? Or step out and let Valentina Agapovna know she was already there? After all, Galya had come to help, just as she had promised a few days earlier.
She did not have to think for long. At that very moment, her mother-in-law continued speaking, and Galya decided to stay silent. Perhaps fate itself had arranged for her to learn what was really going on in that cynical woman’s mind. And, as it turned out soon after, in the mind of her shameless husband Anatoly as well.
“I’m telling you, wait for now. What’s the rush? Why make such a reckless move? No, I’m going to speak, and you will listen!” Valentina Agapovna shouted into her phone. “Listen, since you clearly don’t have enough sense of your own. You are my son, and you ought to listen to your mother.”
After that, her husband’s mother fell silent for about ten seconds. She was probably listening to what her son was saying. But almost immediately she seized control of the conversation again.
“What divorce? Use your head for once! This is not the right time. No, absolutely not. That Galya of yours is a fool, and it’s good she still has no idea. Take advantage of the situation and don’t act rashly. Why would you voluntarily give up the hen that lays golden eggs? That would be idiotic! What? What did you say? Oh, you really are something! You made me laugh. Love another woman all you want. Who is stopping you? You’d better answer me this — why the sudden urgency? It’s not as if you fell in love with that Alina yesterday.”
She listened to her son’s answer, which Galya could not hear, and then went on.
“Well, that’s news! Now you’ve really made me laugh. She suddenly wants to get married! And why do you need that empty-headed girl, Tolik? What exactly makes her better than your wife?”
Valentina Agapovna paused for a few seconds, listening to Anatoly.
“Your Alina is still practically a child. She’s only eighteen, isn’t she? No education, no job. Your wife works at a good company. And soon she’s going to be promoted. Galina already earns more than you do, and soon she’ll be making so much that you, you little fool, won’t even have to work at all. And what can your little girl offer you besides her young body? That won’t last forever either. Youth passes quickly, my dear son. Money, on the other hand, stays.”
“How horrible. Am I really hearing this? How could this happen to me? Why did I never once suspect quiet, passive Anatoly of cheating?” Galya thought bitterly as she listened to her mother-in-law’s conversation with her husband.
Galya had married two years earlier, at twenty-seven. Shortly before that, she had broken up with a man she had truly loved. She and Pavel had been together for quite a long time, and she had been waiting for him to propose. But something always got in the way. One circumstance after another. Their wedding kept being postponed again and again. Then Galya accidentally discovered that the man she loved was already married and even had a child.
It felt as though betrayal had destroyed her entire world. For a long time, Galya did not want to see anyone. But one day her friends somehow managed to drag her out to a restaurant, and that was where she met Anatoly.
He courted her beautifully, and after only a couple of months of dating, he asked Galina to marry him.
His mother was delighted with her son’s choice.
“Oh, Galyechka, you have impressed me so much! What a wonderful young woman you are! You got a proper education, you work for such a respected company. You even bought your own apartment! I admire independent women. I’m like that myself, you know,” Valentina Agapovna said proudly to her future daughter-in-law.
At that time, Galina, exhausted by loneliness and the betrayal of the man she had loved, thought Anatoly seemed like a good option. A loving husband, a mother-in-law who appreciated her — what else did a stable family need? It was time to arrange her personal life. And perhaps it was time to think about children too. Years were passing. That was how she explained her decision to her friends when she agreed to marry Tolik.
She said yes, but she did not love him. After that cruel betrayal, her heart had gone silent. Galina told herself this was even for the best. Love was not the most important thing in marriage, she thought. Respect and mutual care mattered more. And when children came, she would be able to give all her unused love to them.
After the wedding, Anatoly moved into his wife’s apartment. Their life together seemed decent enough, peaceful and without scandals. Galina spent most of her time at work. Anatoly, meanwhile, was still “searching for himself,” constantly changing jobs. At each new place, he found something that did not suit him. Either the salary was too low, the boss was a tyrant, or the working conditions were not what he had been promised.
Galya did not worry much about it. Let him search, she thought. The young family had enough money, and at that moment she was focused on something completely different.
For some reason, she could not get pregnant. Galina had already seen a doctor and gone through all the necessary examinations. But the doctor found no problems and assured her everything was fine — they simply needed to wait.
“Sometimes it happens this way. Let go of the situation, and nature will do its work in time. I’m sure we’ll meet again soon, but for a much happier reason,” the doctor told her with a smile.
But almost two years had passed since she married Anatoly, and they still had not become parents.
Now, as she listened to a conversation that was never meant for her ears, Galina understood that perhaps it had all happened for a reason. It was as if fate itself had protected her from having children in this marriage. Because now it was clear that her family was heading toward collapse.
Galina worked a lot, trying to save money for the time when she would be on maternity leave. She wanted to make sure she and the baby would have everything they needed. She could not rely on Anatoly, with his endless search for himself. That meant she had to rely only on herself.
She gave herself completely to her work. Only a couple of years after joining the company, she was promoted to department head. Her hard work and willingness to sacrifice personal time for the company were appreciated. But that was also what played a fatal role in everything that happened. She had been so busy working that she had never taken the time to understand what her husband was really doing.
Her mother-in-law continued, pulling Galina out of her thoughts.
“And have you thought about me? I’ve only just finished renovating one room. Galya was helping me with money. She never refused. And now, because of your whims, I’m supposed to abandon everything halfway? Finish the renovation in my apartment first, and then get divorced, you genius! What, Mom?” Valentina Agapovna reacted sharply to something her son said.
“And my advice to you is this — leave that young fool and stay with Galya. You’ll never find another wife like her. Don’t argue with your mother!”
“With her, you live as if you’re wrapped in cotton wool. Think carefully, son. If you still have anything left to think with. Oh, you didn’t take after me at all. You took after your womanizing father. He wanders around from one woman to another even at his age. An old man, and still the same. Is that what you want too?” the mother-in-law shouted angrily.
“So they’ve been using me too. As if my husband’s betrayal wasn’t enough, his mother decided to renovate her apartment at my expense! And I helped her sincerely, from the heart,” Galya thought in astonishment as she listened.
That day, Galina had an unexpected day off in the middle of the week. That had never happened before, but the power had been cut off at work for the entire day, and the boss had sent everyone home.
When she came home, the active woman felt strangely restless. The one-room apartment was clean, and her husband was at work. She thought about lying down and sleeping, because the accumulated exhaustion was catching up with her. But something made her get dressed and go to her mother-in-law’s place instead. Perhaps it was intuition, a feeling that she needed to be there that exact day.
A few days earlier, her mother-in-law had asked Galya to wash the window and hang curtains in the bedroom, where the renovation had just been finished. Galya decided this was a good chance not to waste her proper day off later and simply get it done today. She found the keys to her mother-in-law’s apartment in the little box on the hallway cabinet and took them with her, in case Anatoly’s mother was not home.
That was exactly what happened. Galya rang the doorbell, and when no one answered, she opened Valentina Agapovna’s apartment herself.
She decided not to do anything without the owner present. She would wait for her mother-in-law and then wash the window and hang the curtains under her careful supervision.
Galina lay down on the bed and dozed off. She was awakened by the sound of the door opening and her mother-in-law’s voice speaking loudly on the phone.
That was the simple way she learned the whole truth about what was happening in her personal life and in her family. It turned out that for both her husband and her mother-in-law, Galya was nothing more than a well-off woman, a convenient source of money.
A month earlier, her mother-in-law had called and asked for money for wallpaper in the bedroom. She said major expenses were coming, because besides wallpaper, the door had to be replaced, along with the window slopes.
“And then there’s plaster, putty, all of that. You understand, Galya, it all adds up. I’ve already found workers, and they’re asking a lot, but what can I do? The renovation is necessary. You saw the condition of my apartment yourself.”
“Yes, I saw it. It does need repairs,” Galina replied. “All right. I’m getting a bonus in a few days, and I’ll set aside some money for you.”
“You will?” Valentina Agapovna sounded slightly surprised by how quickly her problem had been solved. “Thank you so much! We’re family now, after all. Family should help each other.”
Her mother-in-law showered her with praise for a long time. Then she asked for help a few more times. There was always not enough money, and the renovation kept demanding more and more.
When Galina handed over the money, she asked her mother-in-law for one small thing.
“You know I work in finance, and order in money matters is very important to me. Here is a receipt stating that I’m giving you money. Please sign it, and the money is yours.”
“What is this for?” the crafty mother-in-law was taken aback. “You’re not giving it to me as a loan! That’s not what we agreed. And I have nothing to repay it with. I thought we were solving this as relatives.”
“You don’t have to repay anything. I’m giving you the money, just as I promised. It’s simply important to me. How can I explain it? For family history, I suppose. A document showing that once Tolya and I helped you with money for repairs,” Galya said, following the advice of her colleague Svetlana.
“Galya, make her sign a receipt,” Svetlana had told her. “She’ll deny everything later, that sly old snake. At least this way you’ll have a document. And anyway, who knows how life may turn. You don’t earn that money easily, so don’t just hand it out without proof.”
Valentina Agapovna hesitated. She did not want to sign anything. She sensed some kind of catch in it. Any piece of paper could later be used for something. But the desire to receive easy money from her daughter-in-law overcame her doubts. So she signed every receipt.
And now it turned out that her mother-in-law had planned to renovate the entire apartment at her daughter-in-law’s expense. That was why she was demanding that her son delay the divorce. The cynicism of it was almost unbelievable.
Yes, Svetlana, who unlike Galya had already dealt with betrayal and meanness from close people, had been right. Those receipts would come in handy.
It was time to step out of hiding and put everything in its place.
“Galya?” Her mother-in-law’s jaw dropped when she saw her daughter-in-law coming out of the bedroom.
“Yes, it’s me. Why are you so surprised? I came to visit you. And at such a perfect time, wouldn’t you say?”
“What are you doing here? How did you get in? Where did you come from? You’re supposed to be at work,” the mother-in-law stammered in a hoarse voice.
“Of course I am. I’m supposed to be at work, earning money for you and your rotten son. Meanwhile, he can amuse himself with other women. You arranged things very nicely, I must say,” Galina said loudly.
“Galya… You misunderstood everything…”
“Misunderstood? What exactly is unclear here? There’s nothing even to guess at. You laid everything out perfectly, Valentina Agapovna. Galya is the silly little fool, let her work and provide for the family. Tolya can run around with Alina and prepare for divorce. But the cleverest one of all is the mother-in-law, isn’t she? A woman who knows about her son’s affairs but strictly forbids him from divorcing. After all, she hasn’t finished squeezing money out of her daughter-in-law yet. What part of that could I possibly misunderstand?”
“Galya, I was trying to talk him out of it. You heard that yourself. You know I’m completely on your side. I wanted to save your family,” the mother-in-law said weakly, trying to justify herself.
“There’s no need to talk him out of anything. I’ll file for divorce myself, today. And tell your son to come get his things. Tonight I’m changing the lock, and after that he won’t be able to take anything from my apartment.”
“Why do it like this? We could still talk, sort everything out…”
“I have nothing left to discuss with you. But you and Anatoly will certainly have something to discuss. You have a problem now, and quite a serious one,” Galina said, and to her own surprise, she felt a certain satisfaction as she spoke. “According to the receipts you signed, you owe me a rather large sum. Remember?”
“Of course I remember. But you promised you wouldn’t ask for the money back,” the mother-in-law said, growing even more confused.
“Apparently, you didn’t have time — or didn’t want — to read the note at the bottom. It says that if the money is not returned by the deadline I set, your debt doubles. And that is a fact,” Galina bluffed, knowing perfectly well that the receipts were with her and Valentina Agapovna could not check anything right now.
“What? How can that be? Would you really dare?” the mother-in-law gasped.
“Of course I would. I absolutely would. People as dishonest and cynical as you can only be dealt with using your own methods. I expect the money within a week. Otherwise, we’ll go to court.”
Galina left. An hour later, Anatoly rushed to her apartment, trying to do something — anything — to save the family.
“Don’t waste your time. Pack your things and get out. Alina is waiting for you. Don’t keep the girl waiting,” his wife said, completely unmoved.
Galya filed for divorce. A week later, her former mother-in-law returned the money. Perhaps she took out a loan. Perhaps her dear son stepped in and got himself into debt.
Galina drew one main conclusion from everything that had happened: one should not marry without love and try to create the illusion of a happy family life. Without love, it does not work, no matter how hard you try. All you get in the end are problems, pain, and damaged nerves.
