You, Valentina Stanislavovna, once kicked me out into the cold with the children,» Elizabeth said, looking her mother-in-law in the eye, «do you remember? Oh, there was no such thing! Your memory is short! Valentina Stanislavovna, do you think you have the moral right to count on my help? I wouldn’t even give you a glass of water! I spent six months treating my one-year-old son for pneumonia, which he got thanks to you!
Elizabeth ran around the city looking for «that very» dress. The girl was getting married. She and Kolya had been dating for three years; their relationship started back in university. They graduated together, job hunted together, and even managed to live in a rented apartment for a while. Elizabeth’s parents accepted their future son-in-law, and both her father and mother liked Nikolai—a simple, hardworking, unpretentious guy. But both Liza and her parents had trouble getting along with Kolya’s mother.
Valentina Stanislavovna, a former ballerina, a «star» of the Soviet Union, an outstanding mass scene artist, behaved like an English queen. Nikolai’s mother was proud of her rich past. Liza, of course, knew the truth—Kolya had told her that his mother was lucky enough to join a ballet troupe in her youth. She even managed to be on stage four times, albeit as part of the corps de ballet, just a mass scene. She was quickly kicked out of the group for her quarrelsome character.
In retaliation to the troupe leader, Valentina Stanislavovna got married, had a son, gained weight, and settled at home. However, to all acquaintances, and even strangers, the woman boasted about how she used to gather full halls. Elizabeth’s family did not like Valentina Stanislavovna, and Nikolai’s mother considered her future in-laws «snobs and plebeians.» Liza’s mother worked in a hospital, and her father had been a long-haul truck driver all his life. When Kolya introduced his chosen one to his mother, Valentina Stanislavovna arranged a real interrogation for Elizabeth in the presence of her son’s girlfriend. She sincerely complained about Nikolai’s choice:
«Son, did you hear? Your Liza is not a native Muscovite! Her parents came from the north. Forgive me, Kolya, but couldn’t you find someone more decent?»
Nikolai was terribly ashamed of his mother’s behavior. Liza was initially offended too, but quickly pulled herself together and gave her future mother-in-law a fitting retort.
«Valentina Stanislavovna, please tell me, how long have your ancestors been living in Moscow? I’m very curious to hear where your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents worked.»
Valentina Stanislavovna pursed her lips. She tried not to tell anyone that she had moved to Moscow many years ago to become a great artist. The dialogue did not work out; the women parted extremely dissatisfied with each other. Valentina Stanislavovna repeatedly tried to dissuade her son from the cheeky newcomer, but Kolya did not plan to give in to his mother. He married Liza anyway.
Before the wedding, the question of the spouses living together arose. Having already become acquainted with the character of her future mother-in-law, Liza did not want to live in Kolya’s apartment. She would gladly have taken her husband to her parents’, but unfortunately, there was no room for a young family in their two-room apartment. The girl’s parents also had two other children: a daughter and a son. Elizabeth’s mother suggested:
«Let me help you rent an apartment? We, your father and I, agree to pay some part of it.»
«Mom, Kolya and I are saving all our extra money for our own housing. If we go to rent, it means we will have to say goodbye to our savings. There will be no money left after paying the rent. We need to hang on somewhere for at least a year! Then we’ll start going to the banks, trying to take out a mortgage.»
«Liza, you know very well that we can’t give you a separate room,» Svetlana Andreevna was upset, «where to put your brother and sister? Fine, Lerka, she will move to us because she is small. But Vitka… he is fourteen, he already needs his own space. He doesn’t want to live with Lerka, he constantly makes a scandal about it.»
«Okay, mom, we’ll figure something out,» Liza sighed, «as a last resort we’ll go live with my mother-in-law. Valentina Stanislavovna is alone in a three-room apartment.»
Kolya eventually persuaded his wife. They also had to wrestle with his mother for a long time—Valentina Stanislavovna did not want the hateful bride living on her square meters. Nikolai had to remind his mother:
«Mom, I actually have a share in this apartment. I don’t want to argue with you and bring it to an official division. Let’s settle this matter peacefully? Liza and I will live here for a couple of years, then buy something of our own and move out immediately. Can’t you spit on your principles for the sake of your only son? I generally don’t understand what Liza did to you! She has never been rude to you, she speaks politely, trying to please. Mom, why are you clinging to her origin? Are you a native Muscovite yourself? Dad told me how you met him, I know you are from the Urals!»
«I’ve lived in Moscow all my life,» Valentina Stepanovna pouted, «so I can be considered a native. It’s not about that, Kolya. The thing is, I find your Liza unpleasant as a person! I don’t trust her. I figured out her plan long ago. Your future wife is simply tired of cramping in a tiny two-room apartment, that’s why she is trying her best to move into my three-room! Of course, you have a share here, half of this apartment belongs to you. But, Kolya, do you really have the conscience to sue your own mother? That’s how I raised you!»
Nikolai, with monstrous efforts, still managed to negotiate with his mother. The mother and son agreed: Nikolai would live with his wife in her apartment for two years, during this time he would resolve the issue with the mortgage, and then immediately move out.
«So that, Kolya, I don’t hear any ‘Mom, can we live here a little longer?’ Even if the apartment will be in a new building with bare concrete walls, you will still move there. Only for you am I making such sacrifices. I’ll have to endure the company of your nasty Liza for two years.»
It must be said that Valentina Stanislavovna only benefited from her daughter-in-law’s move-in. Liza, as any respectable mother-in-law’s daughter-in-law should, took over all the housework. Valentina Stanislavovna got a lot of free time, she started meeting with friends more often, got a tiny toy terrier, and began attending interest clubs. She even had suitors. But not for long. Men somehow ran away from the capricious woman.
«Yes, still, no one compares to my Venea,» Valentina Stanislavovna complained to her friends, «he loved me, rushed to fulfill my every request! I met a very interesting man recently, I liked him, we had quite a fun time. He recently announced that he no longer wishes to see me! Because, it turns out, I’m demanding! He expected that his wife would make an equal contribution to the family budget. That is, I must work! Why should I work if my son fully supports me?»
It was true. After the death of the head of the family, Veniamin Anatolievich, all expenses for maintaining the widow fell on the shoulders of her son. Therefore, saving money was going with difficulty, Nikolai could not put large sums into the account every month. A significant part of the salary went to the needs of Valentina Stanislavovna. Liza also worked and even earned a bit more than her husband. The family of three lived on Nikolai’s salary, and Liza’s income went into savings. The spouses planned to move out of Valentina Stanislavovna’s apartment even before the scheduled time.
Plans unexpectedly fell through. Liza found out she was pregnant three months later. Nikolai was happy, but Valentina Stanislavovna was angry:
«There you go, in your situation you only know how to have children! Nowhere to live, no corner of your own, you asked to stay with me, and now you have a child! Okay Kolya, what can you expect from him, he’s a man. But you, Liza, what are you thinking with? Now you want to hang another baby on my neck? It will get registered in this apartment, and I will never be able to kick you out. Is that how it goes?»
«Mom, you’re starting again,» Nikolai protested, «doesn’t it please you at the thought of having a grandson or granddaughter? Don’t worry, no one will claim this apartment. Even if we temporarily register the child here, we will immediately unregister it as soon as we buy separate housing. Please, let’s not argue!»
Pregnant Liza suffered even more from her mother-in-law than before. Valentina Stanislavovna deliberately got on her nerves, acted capriciously, demanded respectful treatment. Kolya stood up for his wife, but Valentina Stanislavovna managed to remind her son that in this apartment he was just a guest.
Granddaughter Mashenka was born. Just as Liza recovered after childbirth and got used to managing a small child, she learned another astonishing news: she was pregnant again. The woman fell into despair, but her husband calmed her down.
«Why are you upset, dear? It’s actually a good thing! We will have children of similar age. They’ll grow up a bit, and we’ll have a third, and that’s it. We’re done.»
«Kolya, I’m even afraid to imagine what will happen when your mom finds out,» Elizabeth worried, «she doesn’t even like Masha that much, always complains about her crying, and now a second one will appear. Kolya, how are we going to live? How are we going to raise two children? On what?!»
«It will be okay,» Nikolai reassured his wife, «it’s a bit of a wrong saying, of course, but the eyes are afraid, but the hands do. We will definitely cope with all the difficulties!»
A grandson was born. Valentina Stanislavovna disliked him even more than the older granddaughter. Liza’s life became absolutely unbearable. Nikolai was away at work until late at night, and Liza listened to her mother-in-law’s attacks all day. Caring for two children increased, Liza could no longer afford to properly keep house as before, Valentina Stanislavovna had to take on part of the responsibilities again, which she did not like at all.
She did not cook for her son and daughter-in-law on principle, either Kolya cooked when he returned from work, or Liza did when her husband stayed with the two children. Valentina Stanislavovna began to demand even more money—she suddenly developed a whole bouquet of diseases requiring urgent medical intervention. Kolya was torn between work, wife, and mother, Liza also held on with her last strength. The atmosphere in the family heated up with each day, Valentina Stanislavovna waited for a convenient opportunity to take revenge on her fertile daughter-in-law.
Nikolai went to another city for a day. The management assigned him to control the loading of expensive equipment and its shipment to customers. That day Valentina Stanislavovna behaved simply disgustingly, several times managed to bring Liza to tears, and at night, when little Tolik woke up and cried, she suddenly burst into the room of her son and daughter-in-law and ordered:
«Take your children and get out of here immediately! I’m tired of this crying! Get out, or else I’ll throw you all out on the stairs like flea-ridden kittens!»
Liza was scared:
«Valentina Stanislavovna, where can we go? It’s winter outside, three in the morning! Please, give us at least until morning. When Kolya returns, we will come up with something together!»
«You can wait for Kolya outside,» Valentina Stanislavovna roared, «I won’t repeat myself twice! Make sure that in fifteen minutes neither you nor your two brats are in my apartment! Get out of here!»
Crying, Liza gathered the children, went down with them to the entrance. She started calling her father, but the phone was disconnected. The woman realized that her father had likely gone on a trip. Not the first time, she managed to call her younger brother. Victor woke up their mother, and Svetlana Andreevna called a taxi to bring her daughter to her place. Liza spent almost an hour outside with the little children.
Nikolai learned about his mother’s trick that night. Having finished all his business, the man immediately drove to his hometown, where he had a serious conversation with his mother. Valentina Stanislavovna did not deny, she told her son:
«Yes, I kicked them out, so what? Don’t I have the right to rest? Do I have to endure this screaming all day long? You’ve lived with me for almost two years, and during that time you still haven’t resolved the apartment issue. I understood right away that you just tried to settle here permanently. Want to put down roots? Kolya, don’t try to make a fool out of your mother, this trick won’t work with me! Go live with your mother-in-law and stay there as long as you want. Leave me alone!»
Nikolai rented an apartment, moved his family there, and then closely dealt with the division of the three-room apartment, which he owned half of. Valentina Stanislavovna did everything in her power to prevent this, she did not want to lose spacious housing. The three-room had to be sold eventually, Nikolai added half of the amount received from the sale of this apartment to his savings and took out a mortgage on practically the same sized three-room apartment. His mother had to settle for a one-room apartment.
For several years after that, Nikolai did not communicate with his mother. He could not forgive her act. Little Tolik was treated for several months afterward—the baby picked up pneumonia, and Liza was hospitalized with her son four times.
Valentina Stanislavovna appeared unexpectedly. She retired, and the money left after buying a one-room apartment, the pensioner successfully spent, and she did not want to live on a tiny pension. Nikolai and Elizabeth did not know how Valentina Stanislavovna got their address. She did not warn her son and daughter-in-law about her visit in advance.
«Yes, you’ve settled in well,» Valentina Stanislavovna stretched out as she walked into the hallway, «what renovation you’ve done with the money, obtained by deception from me!»
Nikolai opened the door for his mother. Seeing his mother was unexpected, so he was a bit taken aback. Liza also looked out at the noise.
«Why did you come?» Nikolai asked his mother, «what are we owed?»
«Are we going to talk in the hallway?» Valentina Stanislavovna inquired, «maybe you’ll invite me into the room? Or at least give me a chair! My legs hurt, I can’t stand for long.»
After entering the living room and comfortably settling into an armchair, Valentina Stanislavovna once again looked around the situation and unexpectedly told her son:
«I want to live here. You pressured me a few years ago, deceived and blackmailed me into selling the apartment, I went along with you, although I could have fought for my property to the end. My pension is small, it’s impossible to survive on it: I can’t afford food, utilities, and medicine. Either I sit in the warmth, or I starve. You have a three-room, one room is free in any case, so settle me there!»
Nikolai did not like his mother’s demands.
«There’s no free room. The children have one nursery for both for now, as they grow up a bit, we’ll resettle. Sorry, but there’s no place for you. You have a full one-room apartment, why can’t you live there?»
«I’ve already explained,» Valentina Stanislavovna began to get angry, «it’s hard for me alone! You are my son, so you are obliged to support me! I tolerated your wife for two years, she lived in my apartment, now it’s time to return the favor. Let her take care of me! If you provide me with a comfortable life, then maybe I will leave my apartment to you, Kolya, if you behave well, of course!»
Elizabeth couldn’t stand it:
«Do you have no conscience at all, Valentina Stanislavovna? Did you forget how you kicked me and the children out into the cold at night? We sat under the entrance for an hour and waited for help, while you watched us from the window, watched my children freeze, and smiled! Because of you, my little son’s health is now permanently damaged, we barely cured him of pneumonia! And you expect some help from me? Valentina Stanislavovna, if you live on the street and beg, I will pass by and pretend I don’t know you! There will never be a place for you in this apartment! I am also an owner here, this three-room was bought also with my money. If Kolya wants to help you financially, let him help, I won’t oppose. But there’s no way you can live here! I won’t allow it!»
«I’m not talking to you,» Valentina Stanislavovna contemptuously cut off her daughter-in-law, «who are you anyway? You’re a limita, poverty, homeless nobodies! You live in an apartment bought with my money, and you still open your mouth? Why didn’t your mother and father buy you separate housing? They sat there in their two-room, like sardines in a can! Of course, where would your mom and dad get the money, they can only breed. They had three children, and they didn’t give any of them a decent start! They pawned you off, the eldest, just to make more room in the apartment!»
Nikolai kicked his mother out, refused to help her voluntarily. Valentina Stanislavovna went to court, and now she receives alimony. The money is small, it’s not enough, so the pensioner got a job—she looks after a neighbor’s child for half a day. She is not interested in her grandchildren, nor does she communicate with her son and daughter-in-law.
