«So, where’s the hot meal, Nina?»
«It’s at the restaurant around the corner, that’s exactly where I’m getting ready to go!»
A loud, piercing ring shattered the evening’s quiet right at seven. The doorbell kept going, long and drawn-out, with an anxious whine, as if someone’s finger was glued to the plastic button.
Nina jolted at the sharp sound, dropped her keys on the table, and pressed her palms to her temples. Her head still ached after spending five days working on a chilly, wind-swept embankment. The construction crew was rushing to finish the overpass, a sticky drizzle was falling, and mud clung to her boots so stubbornly that by evening her legs barely moved. She got home to her empty apartment exactly forty minutes ago. She washed the damp off, changed into a cozy home sweater, put the kettle on, and spread out a pretty linen table runner with a cranberry pattern on her oak table.
It looked like the evening would be peaceful. Sasha had started his shift as an electromechanic at the railway junction and wouldn’t be home until Sunday morning. On the shelf was a fresh piece of veal she’d picked up from the deli. In the cupboard, a brand-new roadwork blueprint was waiting, and ahead lay a full day of restful quiet.
But the bell rang again—this time, three short, impatient blasts.
Nina walked to the front door and peered through the peephole.
Out on the landing, three people stood squeezed together, shifting restlessly from foot to foot. For a moment, Nina froze, clutching the cold latch. Her thoughts tangled, and a bitter feeling of dread filled her mouth.
She turned the lock and pulled the heavy metal door open.
Semyon barged into the hallway first. Her brother-in-law shoved his leather cap back on his head, sniffed loudly, and dropped a dusty canvas duffel with a dull thump right onto the pale rug. Next squeezed in Valya in an open, overripe plum-colored puffer vest. Last came Danya, her twenty-three-year-old nephew, lazily chewing gum with his hands stuffed in the pockets of an oversized sports bomber.
«Why are you just standing there blinking? Greet your family!»
Her sister-in-law immediately elbowed Nina aside with an authoritative move and checked out the walls.
«We rode five hours on the morning bus for this! It shook like an old washing board the whole way! Where’s Sanya? Is he just stretched out on the couch?»
Nina stepped back half a step, keeping her fingers tight on the door handle.
«Hello. Sasha isn’t home. He’s at the telecom junction working a shift until ten in the morning on Sunday.»
Semyon grunted as he kicked off his worn sneakers, leaving wet tracks on the linoleum, then put his fists on his hips.
«At the junction? Fine, we’ll survive. The important thing is, you’re home, so we won’t be left starving. Listen, Nina, hurry up and set the table. What hot dish do you have simmering on the stove? We could use a big, hearty piece of meat. That trip was brutal—my insides are empty!»
Nina glanced over their luggage.
Sitting forlornly on the rug was a single duffle with personal things and Dan’s faded backpack with a torn side strap.
There wasn’t a single bundle of homemade treats from the village. No jar of salted mushrooms. No packet of cookies for tea. The guests hadn’t even brought a plain loaf of rye bread to her doorstep.
To the relatives back in the village, Sasha’s life in the regional city seemed like a never-ending festival of abundance. If Sasha worked for the railways with a stable salary, and Nina oversaw tech inspections for bridge crews, surely they were raking in the money in their spacious three-room apartment. For twenty years, Valya and Semyon had treated the place like their own free inn—with around-the-clock dining and soft beds at their service.
All these years, Nina put up with it. She forced a smile, baked mountains of cabbage pies, gave up her own bedroom, and listened to endless lectures from her sister-in-law on how city women had grown spoiled with their washing machines.
But today, something inside her finally snapped.
“So, what brings you here unannounced?”
Nina didn’t hurry deeper into the apartment.
“Everyone’s got each other’s numbers. You could have called from the bus station.”
Valya tugged off her vest, crumpled it up, and threw it onto the hat shelf without looking.
“Oh please, don’t be ridiculous—like we’re going to waste our phone balance on that! We’re not strangers who need to book a visit through some government website. We’re family! We just came right over. Danya, take off your sneakers and head to the kitchen!”
The young man lazily kicked off his shoes, heel to heel, without even untying them.
“Aunt Nina, did you cook up anything to eat?”
Her nephew let out a huge yawn, scratching the back of his head.
“Mom promised the whole drive that you’d feed us ‘til we’re stuffed. All I had back in the village this morning was a sausage roll—my stomach’s already giving up.”
“Well, come on in since you’re here,” Nina said, walking down the hallway.
By the time Nina reached the kitchen, Valya had already thrown open the fridge like she owned the place. The white light revealed nearly empty shelves: a container of greens, a tub of soft cheese, a dozen eggs, and a glass bottle of mineral water.
“What kind of still life is this supposed to be?”
Her sister-in-law poked at the salad package with a painted fingernail, disgusted.
“Greens? Nina, are you serious right now? Where’s the real food? Where’s the pork rib borscht? The potatoes with stew, or at least some cutlets?”
Semyon sat heavily on the stool by the window, legs spread wide in his stretched-out sweatpants.
“Wow, what a feast. I’m speechless.”
Her brother-in-law gave the spotless stovetop a critical look.
“Listen, we actually came for a serious reason. Tomorrow at dawn, Danya needs to be at the car market looking for a van—the best deals get snapped up by resellers before 9 a.m. He’s got to start his own business, shuttling parts and hardware around the district. We need calories tonight, we’ll be on our feet all day tomorrow!”
Nina stood by the edge of the kitchen table, tucking her chilled fingers into her sweater sleeves.
“I wasn’t expecting guests today, Semyon. Didn’t make any borscht, didn’t cook any meat.”
With a loud bang, Valya slammed the fridge door shut.
“What do you mean, you weren’t expecting us? I sent Sasha a message through the neighbor all the way back in September, saying we’d come in the fall!”
“In September,” Nina agreed. “With no date and no details. Sasha told you clearly: call two days before you come, so we can swap shifts and buy groceries. Did you call?”
“Oh, enough with the accounting already!”
Valya twisted her brightly painted lips into a pout.
«Report to her in two days! We only managed to borrow the money for the purchase from my buddy yesterday evening, and took the first bus this morning. Are you telling me there isn’t even a pack of pasta or a can of stew in this house to welcome some men who’ve just traveled?»
«No stew,» Nina replied calmly.
The kitchen was getting stuffy. Semyon was breathing heavily and glaring at their hostess from under the brim of his cap.
«Listen, daughter-in-law. Enough with the attitude. We didn’t come all this way to sit here hungry. Get the stash out of the freezer. I saw a decent-sized bundle in there.»
«That’s beef shank for aspic. It’s frozen solid, like a rock on train tracks. It needs four hours to cook through.»
«There’s a piece of tenderloin sitting right there on the middle shelf!»
Danya plopped himself down on the edge of the wide windowsill, swinging his leg.
«It’s pink, no veins! Just fry it up quick in the pan! I’ll scarf it down with bread, I don’t need a side!»
Nina looked at her nephew. A big guy, nearly two meters tall, shoulders broader than the doorway. He was sitting there smirking, picking at the clean tabletop’s corner with a dirty fingernail.
«That piece is exactly one portion, Danila. I bought it for myself, for dinner after a tough shift.»
Valya threw up her hands so fast that her cheap plastic bracelets clattered against her wrist.
«For yourself?! Are you out of your mind, Nina? There’s a guy in front of you here, your husband’s nephew! He won’t be able to swallow a bite if you eat that meat all by yourself! Any decent hostess would die of shame! Come on, get the frying pan!»
Nina didn’t budge an inch.
«He’s in his twenty-fourth year. Grown man, nearly a hundred kilos, making his money by reselling old carburetors.»
«Even if he were forty-four!»
Her sister-in-law took a step forward, getting right up in her face.
«He’s a guest in his own uncle’s apartment! How did Mom teach us? When you have a guest, you put everything you have on the table! You can drink plain boiled water, just make sure your guest is fed! And here you stand, acting like a lady and begrudging a single piece of meat!»
Semyon slammed his fist down on the edge of the table.
«That’s it, Nina. Stop with the drama. The supermarket at the corner’s open 24 hours.»
Her brother-in-law nodded toward the window.
«Throw on your coat and run out real quick. Get a couple kilos of pork neck, a wheel of cheese, a couple sticks of smoked sausage, a pack of eggs, some mayonnaise. And get gingerbread or a cake for tea. Hurry up—one foot here, one foot out the door! The guys are hungry!»
Nina looked at her brother-in-law and felt every last drop of her old embarrassment disappearing. For twenty years she’d tried to be good, convenient, hospitable. She always worried about offending Sasha’s family, about seeming stingy. And where did that get her? Right here, being told where to run for pork in her own home.
«Give me the money,» Nina said.
Semyon blinked, mouth half-open.
«What?»
«Hand over the cash,» Nina repeated, looking straight at her brother-in-law. «For the pork, for the cheese, the sausage, and the cake. Lay it out on the table, and I’ll go buy everything on the list.»
Valya shrieked so sharply that her nephew on the windowsill shrank back, pulling his head into his shoulders.
«What money?! Are you out of your mind, daughter-in-law?! You want to charge your own family for dinner?»
«And who’s supposed to pay for your feast?»
Nina didn’t even raise her voice.
— So you all showed up, three of you, without a call. On a Saturday night. Not a single pastry for tea! And now you expect me to go out at night and buy delicacies for the three of you—and I’m supposed to pay for it all?
— We counted every penny to get that van!
My sister-in-law jabbed her finger furiously into her son’s shoulder.
— Didn’t even get the boy an extra bottle of lemonade for the road! Meanwhile, you’re living the high life here in a three-room apartment! Sashka’s always gone working at the railroads, while you’re raking in money with a shovel! Couldn’t even spare your nephew a hot meal?!
— It’s not about being stingy, — Nina replied sharply. — I’m just not going to spend my own money on this.
Semyon stood up from the stool with a loud crash.
— Listen, you! Don’t shame our brother. When Sanya gets home from his shift and finds out you left his sister starving, he’ll teach you a lesson! Acting like you’re some sort of queen!
Nina took a step toward the kitchen door and pointed at the phone on the wall.
— Sasha’s on shift at the substation right now. He’s got his phone with him. We can call him on speaker right this minute.
She looked her brother-in-law straight in the eye.
— Let’s ask your brother how he feels about your surprise visit. Especially after your Danya dragged a muddy car axle into my hallway last spring and got machine oil all over my new wool rug.
Semyon faltered. He glowered, snorting, his bravado fading. He remembered that spring fight perfectly: Sasha himself kicked his nephew and all the car parts out, and banned him from coming over without asking.
— No point dredging up the past, — Semyon grumbled, sinking back down. — That’s water under the bridge. Just give us a decent meal, is it so hard?
— It is hard, — Nina answered. — But there’s a solution.
She walked over to the fridge, took a thick, glossy menu from the magnet, and set it down in front of Danya.
— This is a grill bar on the next street. They make excellent charcoal-grilled shashlik, lula kebabs, bake potatoes in the ashes, and prepare salads. They’ll deliver it hot to our door within forty minutes.
The boy perked up, grabbed the menu, and started flipping through the pages.
— Oh, Mom, look! The ‘Bogatyri Feast’ set! That’s two kilos of meat—pork neck, chicken wings, garlic sauce, and hot flatbreads! Let’s order it!
— Go ahead, — Nina agreed. — We’ll split it evenly. You pay half, I’ll pay half. I’ll place the order right now from my phone. Cash goes on the table.
The kitchen went completely silent. The only sound was a late bus rumbling past outside the window.
Valya slowly shifted her gaze from the menu to her daughter-in-law. Her face broke out in ugly red patches.
— Half and half?
Her voice broke into a raspy whisper.
— Split it, you say?
— Yes, half, — Nina confirmed. — You want a hearty dinner with meat. I’m willing to pay for half of your appetite, though no one invited you here. I think that’s more than generous.
Valya slammed her palm onto the table, sending the menu flying to the floor.
— Choke on your charity, why don’t you!
Her sister-in-law broke out into a shriek.
— Splitting bills! Acting like some saint! I won’t give you a single penny! You think we’re beggars, don’t you? Trying to make fools out of us country folk?!
«Nobody is making fun of you,» Nina said dryly. «If you don’t want to order food, there’s yesterday’s loaf in the breadbox and a piece of butter in the dish. Cut yourself some and have tea.»
Semyon gave a poisonous grin.
«Dry bread with butter? Chew those crusts yourself, got it? We’re not beggars to choke on your leftovers! You’ve really lost all shame, city miser!»
Danya kicked the fallen delivery brochure in frustration.
«Mom, let’s go. Why is she making such a fuss? I want a proper meal!»
«Hold on, son!»
Valya stood in the middle of the kitchen, hands on her hips.
«We’re not leaving. We’re guests. The apartment is half Sasha’s, he owns it just as much as you!»
The sister-in-law took a deep breath, puffing out her chest.
«We have every right to be in my brother’s house! And you’re going to the stove to cook us food! Even if it’s just porridge or pasta, but there’d better be something hot on the table!»
She stepped toward the hallway exit.
«And you’ll make up the sofa in the living room for us! We’re staying here three days, until we get the van registered and get our plates! And tomorrow morning, Sashka will drive us to the market in his car!»
Nina listened to this speech in silence.
She walked to the electric panel by the front door, picked up a paper from the auto service stamped in blue, folded in four, and returned to the kitchen.
«Here, Semyon. Read this.»
Nina placed the paper in front of her brother-in-law.
«It’s a work order. Sasha’s Lada broke the clutch last night. The car’s on the lift with the gearbox out till Tuesday. So there’s no one to take you to the auto markets.»
Semyon glared at the lines, moved his lips, and cursed under his breath.
«And now, the most important part, dear relatives,» Nina said calmly.
She walked to the table. Taking the corners of the linen table runner with cranberry embroidery, she carefully folded it in four and put it away in the wall cabinet.
«What are you doing now?» her brother-in-law asked, getting surly.
Nina didn’t answer. She left for the hallway.
The whole family rushed out after her.
Nina took her burgundy wool coat from the rack and threw it over her shoulders. She pulled on her leather ankle boots and zipped them up. From the shelf she grabbed a small purse and a gold-embossed plastic card—a gift certificate to a grill bar from her bridge crew for Builder’s Day.
«Hey!»
Valya spread her arms wide, blocking the doorway.
«Where do you think you’re going all dressed up at night?! Stop! Who’s going to cook dinner? Where are we supposed to sleep?!»
Nina stepped right up to her sister-in-law. Her gaze was direct, firm and utterly confident. Valya faltered, dropped her arms and instinctively took a step back.
«So where’s the hot food, Nina?» her brother-in-law shouted from behind his wife, barely concealing his anger.
Nina turned and looked at them.
«At the restaurant around the corner—I’m heading there now. They serve a fantastic tenderloin steak and roasted vegetables.»
Her sister-in-law’s eyes went wide.
«A restaurant?! Without us?! What about us?!»
«The apartment locks up in exactly five minutes,» Nina said, pausing after each word.
She pulled a ring of keys out of her coat pocket.
«Out. All three of you.»
«Whaaaat?!»
Valya turned crimson, breaking into a shriek.
— Are you really kicking us out into the street?! At night! In a strange city! Tossing your husband’s family out like we’re garbage?!
— It’s warm outside, Valya. There are three decent hotels right by the train station that are open all night. There are rooms available. And you have enough cash for a van in your pocket, so you’ll manage.
Semyon clenched his fists and stepped toward her in the narrow hallway.
— Have you lost your mind, daughter-in-law?! I’ll call Sanya right now—he’ll show you who’s really in charge here!
— Go ahead, call him, Nina replied with a shrug.
She turned the bolt and pushed the front door open.
— While you’re at it, ask him where the spare keys are. They’re in his work jacket at the rail station. His shift ends at ten in the morning. You can spend the night on the bench next to the first entrance.
Danya nervously tugged his mother’s puffy vest.
— Mom… Let’s just go. Forget her. Why are you arguing? She’s about to call the cops, and I still have an unpaid fine—I don’t need any trouble! Let’s go to the station!
Valya was breathless with rage as she stared at her daughter-in-law. Nina stood at the threshold, holding the door open. Her face showed neither anger nor shouting—just a solid, impenetrable wall.
— Time’s ticking, Nina said. Two minutes left. Either you leave on your own, or you spend the night on the landing without your bags.
With a stream of curses, Semyon grabbed the canvas duffel from the floor.
— Keep your fancy place, you city snake! May I never set foot on your doorstep again!
— Safe travels, Nina replied. And don’t leave your trash on the steps.
Valya stormed out onto the stairwell, cursing loudly for the whole building to hear. Danya rushed after her, pulling his bomber’s hood up on the way.
Nina waited until all three had gone down half a flight. Then she stepped onto the landing, slammed the iron door shut, and locked it twice.
— May you choke on that restaurant! came Valya’s shrill cry echoing up from below.
Nina didn’t even flinch. She called the elevator, took it down, and went out into the street.
The October evening air smelled of damp leaves and freshness after the rain. Nina took a deep breath. The tension in her neck and shoulders, building up after a tough week, finally started to leave her.
Soft music was playing at the grill bar around the corner. The scent of roasted meat, rosemary, and smoke drifted in the air.
Nina took a seat by the window, removed her coat, and handed her gift card to the waiter. She ordered a juicy veal medallion with roasted peppers and a pitcher of cranberry juice.
Her phone started to vibrate in her pocket just as the hot meal was placed before her on a wooden board.
A quick call from her husband flashed across the screen.
Nina took a sip of her tangy-sweet juice and swiped her finger across the glass.
— Yes, Sasha.
— Hi, Nina.
Her husband’s voice was muffled and apologetic. The steady clanking of freight cars could be heard in the background.
— Valya just called me. She was screaming into the phone, saying you kicked them out in the cold, hungry, practically shoved them down the stairs. Is that true?
Nina cut a piece of tender meat.
It’s true, Sash. They showed up without warning, empty-handed. Demanded I run out to the supermarket for pork, cook half the night, and give up our bedroom for three days. When I asked them to split the cost of barbecue delivery, they flat-out refused, insisting that I’m supposed to feed them since they’re saving up for a van for Dan’ka.
There was silence on the line. Sasha let out a heavy sigh into the phone.
«What a nerve those people have… I told her in plain Russian on Thursday: don’t come here, Nina’s got a bridge handover at work, she’s exhausted. Still, she barged in, looking for a free ride…»
«Are you mad?» Nina asked.
«At you?»
Her husband actually gave a surprised chuckle.
«Nina, come on now! I’ve been waiting twenty years for you to finally put my sister in her place. I never had the guts to have it out with her—after all, she’s my older sister. But you did great. Where are you now?»
«At the grill bar around the corner. I’m enjoying a veal medallion with that gift certificate.»
Sasha chuckled good-naturedly into the phone.
«Enjoy your meal. Treat yourself to a dessert—pick the best one! When my shift ends tomorrow, I’ll swing by the bakery for those cream-filled eclairs you love and come over.»
«Deal, Sash. I’ll be waiting.»
She put away her phone. The meat melted in her mouth, city lights shimmered outside the window, and finally, the evening turned out exactly the way she deserved.
A month passed.
Valya kept her promise: she never showed up at her brother’s apartment again. Though across the neighborhood, her sister-in-law spread the rumor that Sasha’s wife was a heartless shrew who turned her own nephew out hungry just to go to a bar.
As for the van for Dan’ka, they never did buy it: they quarreled with the salesmen at the auto market, blew a third of the borrowed money on a hotel and fried pies, and came back to the village empty-handed.
But in Nina’s apartment, Saturday mornings now smelled like home baking. A crisp linen runner with cranberry embroidery lay across the polished table, and never again did anyone reach into her empty dishes with someone else’s hands.
