Alla froze with her fork halfway to her mouth. I watched her over the rim of my cup, a warm, almost intoxicating calm spreading inside me. Everything was just right. My mother-in-law was pouring tea into the fancy cups, my father-in-law was telling our guest about the country house, and the guest—a well-groomed guy in […]
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On the fourth day of his mom’s visit, Andriy realized something important: an omelet can stick even to the frying pan that Oksana treated like a family heirloom and washed with a special soft sponge. It was seven in the morning. Outside the window hung a gray October darkness, drizzle traced down the glass, and […]
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“Well, happy birthday. Valya, what are you, a little girl that I’d bring you flowers? At our age, what are we even celebrating? It’s ridiculous.” “Where do you think you’re going? I didn’t say you could leave!” Mykola shouted so loudly that someone on the second floor pulled back their curtain to look. He sat […]
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The scissors fell for the second time, and this time Iryna didn’t bother to pick them up. She froze in the middle of the salon: one hand gripping the back of the chair, the other covering her face. Lying on the floor among dark tufts of someone else’s hair were her shining scissors—the ones she’d […]
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At 8:20 on the dot, five men in dark suits stood in the parking lot in front of the bank. Each one held a bouquet so massive you could barely see their faces behind the flowers. Security guard Stepan had already stepped out onto the porch twice, staring at them, scratching his head, then turning […]
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— Oleg Vasylovych told me about it, Mom. Right there by the gate. He mentioned it as casually as talking about the weather: ‘So, are you already packing your things? My Nazar said he had agreed on the price with Vira Ostapivna.’ Yulia stood in the middle of her mother’s kitchen, still in her jacket, […]
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Liza hadn’t spoken to her brother in over seven years. It all started because of the apartment: when Andrey got married, their mother sold a gorgeous two-bedroom in the city center, gave half the money to him, and used the other half to buy a tiny flat on the outskirts. The place wasn’t convenient, and […]
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“What wedding?” Olga stared at her friend in shock, completely unable to grasp what she was hearing. “Irka’s getting married? Is she pregnant?” Ira was only seventeen, and Olga felt a pang of hurt that her goddaughter hadn’t told her about something so important—they had always been so close. Ira used to confide in Olga, […]
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“Your mother called my boss and asked him not to send me on a business trip because, apparently, a woman should stay home and take care of her husband! You gave her my boss’s number! The whole office laughed at me, and I lost my bonus! Call your mom and tell her that if she […]
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“Marina, I just don’t get it. Why is it chicken on the dinner menu again? We came here to relax, not to grow feathers! Vovochka’s got terrible heartburn from your endless poultry. He needs veal. Grilled, preferably.” Karolina Prokofyevna stood smack in the middle of my summer kitchen, arms akimbo, staring at the thawing chicken […]
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