I woke up in a bad mood again. A long day lay ahead of me, filled with exhausting work and another argument with my husband, who had been disappointing me more and more lately.
“Inna, have you seen the utility bills?” Oleg asked over breakfast. “They need to be paid. They’ve been lying there since last week.”
My husband was eagerly devouring an omelet with ham and sandwiches made from crispy toast generously spread with butter. Oleg had never suffered from a lack of appetite, and no hardship in life could ever spoil it.
As far as I was concerned, my husband had plenty of reasons to be upset. He had been unemployed for six months, and I was now the one dealing with every financial problem in our family.
“Of course I saw them. I’ve already paid them. What I don’t understand is why I’ve been the only one doing it for several months.”
“Oh, give it a rest, will you? It’s the same thing every morning! You know I’m looking for a job, but I haven’t found anything yet. My profession is very specialized, and there’s nothing suitable in our city.”
“Then find work outside your profession. Lots of people do that nowadays. They look for better-paying positions and don’t care whether the job matches their qualifications. All they’re interested in is the salary. I don’t see the problem!”
“How could I possibly do that? My parents wouldn’t understand. Mom was so happy when I graduated from university and became a robotics engineer,” Oleg said proudly.
“Your mother should have advised you to choose a more practical profession—one that’s actually in demand in our city! How many robots have you seen around here, apart from toys in children’s stores?”
“Please don’t be angry, Inna! I’ve already submitted my résumé to a research institute, and they promised to get back to me soon. I also sent one to a private company. You said you paid the bills? Great. Then please give me another couple of thousand for transportation and lunch. I’ll have to eat somewhere in the city. They’ll probably call me about a job today.”
For the past six months, Oleg had asked me for money almost every day, and it drove me absolutely mad.
“I’m so sick of all this! I’m married, but for some reason I have to solve every problem in our family by myself. I’m exhausted!”
“Can’t you just be patient? Every family goes through temporary difficulties. Why do you have to make everything worse and get angry?”
Oleg clearly did not want to listen to the unpleasant conversations I had begun raising almost every day.
“Temporary difficulties, he says! Because of your ‘temporary difficulties,’ I’ve been working for an entire year without taking a vacation! The last time I was entitled to leave, I took financial compensation instead so that I could continue supporting our family. Don’t you think this has gone too far?”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Management will appreciate your dedication more. Look, they even promoted you because of your hard work. How is that a bad thing?” Oleg asked cynically.
“It isn’t bad. But given our situation, I can’t feel happy about it. I don’t even have time to enjoy my success—I’m constantly running around like a hamster on a wheel. No matter how much I earn, all of it goes toward paying the debts we’ve accumulated. Because of you, by the way! Oh, forget it.”
I waved my hand helplessly, realizing how pointless these conversations were.
Something had to be done. It was not the first time the thought of divorce had crossed my mind.
“So, are you going to give me the money?” Oleg asked again.
“I’ll transfer it now. You won’t leave me alone until I do. I hope something finally works out with a job today.”
We were in the second year of our marriage. When I married a young and promising man who also had an apartment, I was happy and believed that I had been very fortunate. Legally, however, the apartment we had moved into after the wedding belonged to Oleg’s parents. That was why I immediately said that we needed to save for a place of our own.
Oleg thought my idea was absurd. Why create unnecessary difficulties when we already had a roof over our heads? But I refused to listen to him. I believed that sooner or later the day would come when having our own apartment would prove extremely useful.
While my husband was still working and bringing home a salary, I had even managed to save a modest amount for a mortgage down payment.
Then he was laid off. Oleg immediately relaxed and made little effort to find another job. His explanation was always the same: his profession was too specialized.
I reluctantly concluded that my husband was simply lazy. Why make an effort when his wife earned decent money? He had somewhere to live and plenty of food. It was far more pleasant to spend his precious time doing whatever he enjoyed, while solemnly assuring his wife and parents that he was searching for work.
The money I had saved for our future home had now become an irresistible temptation for Oleg. He had no intention of changing his habits just because he had lost his job. He continued going to the fitness club and meeting his university friends at cafés and restaurants where everything cost money.
He paid for all of it by withdrawing money from our account.
“Oleg, you’ve taken money again! What did you need it for this time? There’s hardly anything left in the account!” I demanded one day.
“I gave it to Mom. She asked to borrow some money for a new washing machine. Her old one broke down, and she never buys anything on credit. She already had part of the amount, and I contributed the rest,” Oleg said, describing his own generosity.
“Wonderful! You don’t work, but you hand out money left and right. Well done—what else can I say?”
“Watch what you’re saying. What do you mean by ‘left and right’? I gave it to my own mother. And I’d like to remind you that we live in my parents’ apartment. If we were renting somewhere, we’d be handing over the same amount every month to a complete stranger.”
“Well, thank your parents for not charging us rent every month. They only collect it occasionally by disguising it as some essential purchase! Bravo! What a brilliant arrangement you and your parents have invented! I applaud you! Meanwhile, Inna can keep working herself to death without a break because she’s capable of handling everything. And all of you can buy washing machines with her money and have fun with your friends in restaurants!”
“Stop it! I already told you that Mom borrowed the money. She’ll return it when she can,” Oleg argued.
“She’ll return it? Don’t make me laugh! The same way she returned the money for the spa trip she and your father took three months ago? I still haven’t seen any of that money. Or what about the money for repairing the roof at their country house? I’m never going to see that again either!”
“We’re a family. It saddens me that you count every penny we give my parents. They aren’t strangers to us. Why can’t you understand that? We’re obligated to help them.”
“Every penny? Have you forgotten that I’m the only person earning those pennies? I can’t even buy decent birthday presents for my own parents because you constantly give your family everything I earn!”
I left for work upset that morning and refused to speak to my husband for several days.
More and more often, I began to think that I had made a mistake and rushed into marriage. Oleg had turned out to be an ordinary lazy freeloader. His mother’s authority mattered much more to him than my feelings or problems.
That evening, I returned home exhausted. My boss had made me inspect several of our branches around the city. The following day, I was supposed to travel to branches outside the region, and I was not looking forward to it.
“Well, did you find a job?” I asked, trying not to look at my husband, who was sprawled across the sofa with his smartphone.
I wanted to lie down like that in the summer heat too, instead of rushing around the city trying to accomplish the impossible.
“No. It didn’t work out again. Actually, I turned the offer down. The salary was far too low.”
“Of course it was. You expect them to offer you a million immediately. Did the private company reject you too?”
“No, and the salary there was fairly good. But they have irregular working hours. Worst of all, I’d occasionally have to work on weekends. That doesn’t suit me. When would I have time to rest?”
“Of course! You must be so exhausted from sitting at home, my darling, that you desperately need a rest from work.”
I grimaced at the unpleasant emotions filling me at that moment.
I did not speak to my husband again that evening. I had no strength left for another argument. After taking a shower, I went to bed. The following morning, I left for a nearby town.
Throughout the entire journey there and back, I thought about my situation. The conclusions I reached were far from comforting.
I had to admit that I was being shamelessly exploited by both the husband who constantly spoke about his love for me and by his parents.
The final straw was a message from Oleg. Once again, it revealed exactly what kind of man my husband was.
“What do you mean you haven’t paid my phone bill? Transfer the money right now!” Oleg wrote in a commanding tone.
Yes, I would have to leave him. I could not continue living this way. I was only in the second year of my marriage, but I did not want this life anymore.
I could not even afford to have a child. I understood that if I went on maternity leave, we would be left without any money at all.
When I returned from my business trip that evening, I went to see my boss.
“What do you need, Simonova? You don’t look well. Are you sick?” he asked. “How did the trip to Mikhailovsk go?”
“It went well. Everything is fine. Ruslan Antonovich, that isn’t what I wanted to discuss. Please give me a few days off. I can’t continue like this. I’m exhausted. This is my second year without a vacation.”
Honestly, I nearly burst into tears at that moment because I felt so sorry for myself.
“All right, take the time off. Of course you can. It’s very inconvenient right now, but if you need it, I’ll let you go. Just don’t stay away too long, all right?”
The next morning, I did not wake up at six as I usually did. I slept deeply, although not for very long. At eight, my bewildered husband woke me.
“Inna, you’ve overslept! Get up quickly! Have you lost your mind? The last thing you need is to be reprimanded for being late!” Oleg fussed beside me.
“Leave me alone,” I said, pulling the blanket over myself.
“I told you to get up! It’s already eight. It takes you another hour to get to work.”
“I don’t have to go anywhere. That’s it—I quit,” I said with satisfaction. Then I yawned contentedly and turned toward the wall.
“What? What do you mean, you quit? Are you out of your mind? What are we going to live on? Get dressed and go to work! Withdraw your resignation immediately, before your boss has a chance to process it. Call the secretary and say you acted rashly!”
“Stop fussing. I’m not going anywhere,” I replied calmly. “You’re asking what we’re going to live on? That’s a good question. From now on, you’ll be supporting us. It’s your turn.”
“What are you talking about? How am I supposed to do that? I don’t have a job! Yes, I’m searching, but no one knows how long that search might take!”
“You don’t need to keep searching. You’ll go wherever workers are needed and get a job. Open the advertisements and start applying.”
Some part of me still held onto hope, so I decided to give my husband one final chance. I had made that decision the previous day while traveling and thinking carefully about what I should do.
I could not get back to sleep, so I reluctantly got out of bed. Then I decided to visit my parents. I had not seen them in a long time, and I wanted to buy them a nice present—a refrigerator, for example. Their old one had been malfunctioning for ages.
After all, our money would otherwise be spent on my lazy husband or his greedy relatives.
I spent the whole day with my parents. When I returned that evening, an unpleasant conversation with my mother-in-law was waiting for me.
Nina Borisovna had taken the trouble to come to our apartment personally. She had been sitting there stubbornly waiting for me to return.
“Inna, have you lost your mind?” she shouted as soon as she saw me in the doorway. “How could you possibly do something like this? There are no words for what you’ve done! You’d have to be completely brainless to quit such a well-paying job! What are you going to live on now? And what about us? You’ve helped us so much lately! We’ve been able to buy and repair so many things!”
“Good evening to you too, Nina Borisovna,” I replied calmly.
“What has gotten into you? How could you make such a strange decision without consulting either your husband or your parents? Have you gone mad? Have you lost your senses? Or are you simply trying to prove something to us?” my mother-in-law shouted. “Why are you standing there silently and staring? Answer me!”
“I haven’t lost my senses. In fact, this is the first time in a long while that I’ve been thinking clearly. I’ve finally regained my ability to reason and analyze the situation rationally. It’s as though a veil has been lifted from my eyes. And you’re mistaken about one thing—I did consult my parents. But only my own parents—the people who genuinely want what’s best for me,” I said with a smile.
“And what are you going to do now? Are you and Oleg going to start begging in the streets?” Nina Borisovna continued.
“Your son might. After all, he has been living at other people’s expense for quite some time. But I’m going to be perfectly fine. You can take my word for it.”
“How ungrateful you are! Think of everything we’ve done for you! We let you live in our apartment and provided you with every comfort. All you had to do was live there and be happy. But no! So what if your husband isn’t working? It’s only temporary! You had enough money to live on, so why did you suddenly go mad? Why are you creating all this drama?”
“You wouldn’t understand. That’s why I’m not even going to try to explain it to you,” I answered confidently.
Then I looked at my husband, who had been silently listening to the argument between his mother and me.
“Well, why are you so quiet? Is there anything you’d like to add?” I asked Oleg.
“Mom is right. What you did was despicable. You’ve left us without any means of support during such a difficult time. And you still haven’t paid for the internet on my phone! What kind of behavior is this?”
“That’s all I needed to hear. I’ll file for divorce myself in the near future. I no longer want to be an open wallet for people who couldn’t care less about me or my interests.”
“Inna, come to your senses. You’ll regret saying these things later. You argued today, but tomorrow you’ll make up, and the resentment will remain,” my mother-in-law said, apparently believing that I was joking.
“No. My decision is final and not open to appeal. Oleg and I are no longer a family. And by the way, I didn’t quit my job. I’m on vacation. Considering my recent promotion, everything is going to be perfectly fine for me. As for you—goodbye!”
I said it proudly and went to pack my belongings.
How fortunate that this unsuccessful marriage had lasted such a short time. Still, life had taught me an invaluable lesson. I had drawn my conclusions, and I would never make the same mistake again.
