Frankly, I didn’t understand how my husband grew up in a family where his mother and sister exploited others, including him. Those women amazed me because my Stepa was nothing like them. And what happened recently only reinforced my opinion of his family.
Stepa and I were no longer that young—it had been 7 years since our wedding day. During that time, we were able to buy our own home, with help from my parents. However, we still didn’t have any children.
‘Shall we look?’ I excitedly asked my husband, holding the pregnancy test in my hands.
‘Let’s.’
I took a deep breath and exhaled quickly. Then, I brought the test closer to examine the strips. A few seconds of silence hung in the air while we meticulously inspected the test, which clearly showed one line.
‘Don’t be upset, dear. We’ll try again,’ my husband supported me.
‘I didn’t think getting pregnant would be such a difficult task. We’ve been trying for 5 years, Stepa…’
‘That means we have three options. First—continue trying to conceive, second—live our lives just the two of us, and third—adopt a child from an orphanage.’
We had discussed our plan of action with my husband several times, and the idea of adopting a child had come up more than once. However, I always shelved that option because I desperately wanted to get pregnant. I wanted to experience what it’s like to be pregnant and go through all the challenges.
Yes, some may not see the logic in it, but I couldn’t explain my desire to get pregnant either. The mere feeling that a child, a fruit of love, was growing inside me amazed me and made me happy.
But now, after too much time had passed, after so many attempts that I couldn’t even count, I really started thinking about taking someone else’s child and making him my own. To give all my love to someone who really needs it. And he would be just as native to me, despite the fact that I didn’t carry him myself. This thought began to warm my soul.
‘Let’s do this,’ I started reasoning. ‘We’ll set a deadline—we have six months to conceive a child. If I don’t get pregnant during that time, then we’ll adopt a baby from the orphanage.’
‘And if you do get pregnant?’ Stepa asked. I understood what he meant.
‘I think that after our child turns five, we can think about a second one. From the orphanage.’
Stepa smiled. He always wanted several children and at least one of them to be adopted. My husband believed that by doing so, he would save at least one soul and give life to a child in need of parents.
‘And will we tell our adopted child that he’s adopted?’ my husband asked. ‘Because I believe that it should not be hidden from him.’
‘I completely agree with you. We need to think this through, as it all depends on the age. We need to do this in a more gentle form, so it doesn’t lead to negative consequences.’
We discussed our future with my husband as if we wanted to adopt a child right now. Before, this weighed me down and slightly upset me, but now I felt light and inspired. I desperately wanted to become a mother.
Besides that, my husband and I didn’t have any real problems in our relationship. For some reason, from the very beginning, we were both calm and confident that we should tie our lives together. Both Stepa and I worked, shared household responsibilities, helped each other, trusted each other, talked, and loved spending time together. Everything was fine.
However, recently, our idyll began to be disturbed by his mother and sister. Victoria Alexandrovna was an authoritative and strict woman who thought only of herself and her daughter, and didn’t care about Stepa. She also treated me quite coldly and rudely, not considering me a part of her family.
‘Stepa, we’re going to the restaurant on Saturday to celebrate your sister’s marriage,’ my mother-in-law said when she came to visit us.
‘What time?’ my husband asked with his mouth full.
‘At 12.’
‘Understood. Dasha, shall we get ready earlier? I need to stop by work at 11 to discuss something with the boss about the report,’ my husband said to me.
‘Alright, I’ll be up at seven anyway.’
‘And why does Dasha need to go to work with you?’ Victoria Alexandrovna asked.
‘To avoid going back and forth and not spend money on a taxi. Dasha will go with me to work, and we’ll head straight to the restaurant from there,’ Stepa explained.
‘Was Dasha even invited?’ my mother-in-law suddenly said.
‘I think she doesn’t need a special invitation, she’s my wife.’
‘It’s a family celebration, Stepa. And only relatives and close ones will be there.’
‘Are you saying that I should come there without my wife?’
‘Exactly what I’m saying.’
‘Well, then tell your sister that I won’t be able to come. I’ll stop by on Sunday.’
My mother-in-law frowned, shooting glares at both her son and me. I cringed—either from the unexpected turn of events or from the offense of not being invited to a family celebration. Meanwhile, Stepa continued eating as if nothing had happened.
‘You would leave your own blood on such a day for some wife? Is that what you want to tell me?!’ Victoria Alexandrovna was outraged.
‘Dasha is also my blood. If you knew that, you wouldn’t even think about not inviting her to the celebration.’
‘In that case, give me money, and I’ll pass it on to the newlyweds as a gift from you.’
‘From us. From me and Dasha, my wife,’ Stepa clarified.
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law unashamedly exploited my husband. They themselves acted like noble ladies, thinking everyone owed them. The most they were capable of was gossiping about everyone around them, convincing themselves that they were living the right way while everyone else was just pawns who knew nothing about life.
Galya—Stepa’s sister—just couldn’t settle her personal life. She was almost never alone, as she constantly sought the perfect man. Sometimes, she would date several at once, choosing the best one, but eventually, no one chose her.
Over time, men simply ran away from Galya because her character was unbearable. She would lie on the couch and do nothing, believing she owed nothing to anyone. But a man was supposed to owe her everything. She couldn’t even show basic support and care, only criticized, ridiculed, and showed extreme disrespect. And her suitors, realizing the true nature of this woman, couldn’t stand it. Most often, shortly after breaking up, they happily got married, which, of course, infuriated Galya.
One brother-in-law did manage to drag her to the registry office, which surprised me until I found out that Galya was pregnant. In some ways, I even felt sorry for that poor guy. They didn’t have a wedding, just registered their marriage and had lunch at a restaurant, which we, incidentally, did not attend.
Later, Stepa told me that Galya’s marriage to her husband did not last long. Six months after their son was born, the man ran away, unable to stand his wife’s tyranny. She dumped all the childcare on her husband, while she went out and had fun, seeing nothing wrong with it. I was amazed by her behavior because if I had a child, I definitely wouldn’t act like that. Soon after her husband ran away, she moved in with her mother, who helped raise the grandson.
Then it also touched us. Galya was draining money from her mother, and she, in turn, was draining money from her son.
‘Do you want to leave a little child without food and diapers?’ my mother-in-law exclaimed, talking loudly with Stepa. ‘While you live comfortably, your sister is struggling to provide for the child! I can’t help anymore, I’m on a pension. And you earn enough to help your own sister.’
‘Why should the uncle think about the child’s welfare and not his mother? Galya can get a job, and you can sit with the grandson during the day. Instead, she sits around and demands help from me,’ Stepa defended his opinion.
‘Don’t teach the learned! Galya will figure it out herself, and your task is to help her.’
My husband helped. He sent money, drove his sister and child around, bought things for his nephew, and sometimes took him to our place overnight when his mother asked for just one night to sleep peacefully without the children’s screams. It was very brazen on their part, and it irritated me that my sister-in-law didn’t work but only complained about this unfair world, just like her mother.
However, the days when we looked after my husband’s nephew were special. My husband and I acted as if he was our child and practiced for when we would have our own. Andryusha was a good boy and almost never yelled in our presence. This surprised me, as my mother-in-law complained, or rather hinted, that she was tired of the constant noise in the apartment.
‘Why am I so irritable? What do you think, son? I’ve already forgotten the word «silence,» because we live with an infant!’
‘But it’s your own grandson, you should be happy,’ Stepa puzzled.
‘I am happy! So happy that I don’t sleep at night because I’m trying to put the baby to bed. You wouldn’t understand since your wife can’t give you a child.’
I was dizzy from the constant complaints of my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Every time we met, I listened to how unhappy they were and how evil Andryusha’s father was. And each time they slandered him from head to toe, without thinking that they needed to redirect their energy entirely elsewhere.
Once again, my mother-in-law, along with my sister-in-law, decided to visit our humble abode. I had already drunk chamomile tea in advance to survive several hours in the company of these women.
‘Here, take him,’ Galya said irritably, literally throwing her son into my arms. ‘Did you prepare something to eat?’
‘Yes, we can sit down at the table in 10 minutes,’ I replied, trying to hide my indignation regarding my sister-in-law’s attitude toward her child.
‘Great, I’m hungry. Where’s my brother? Why isn’t he greeting his family?’
‘He’s on the phone with his boss. He’ll be here in a couple of minutes, we can go to the kitchen and…’
‘He can talk to his boss later, his sister came to see him,’ Galya interrupted me and, slightly pushing me aside, entered the room where my husband was and loudly called him.
I didn’t notice how my mother-in-law silently went to the kitchen.
‘Don’t pay attention to Galya, she’s a bit irritable. Andrey has been yelling all day, and she’s been trying to calm him down,’ my mother-in-law unexpectedly said kindly.
She was too nice to me during dinner, which alarmed me. She had never said a kind word to me before, but now suddenly she was helping set the table, praising my food, or getting up from her seat to, for example, serve me salad. My husband also noticed his mother’s strange behavior but said nothing. But Galya was her usual self: didn’t watch her language, yelled at her son, and complained about life.
‘I’m tired of all this, not a single minute of peace. This creature is constantly yelling, and I don’t even understand what he needs. Fed, dressed, clean, and he’s still yelling! I think he just likes to torment me.’
I remained silent, seeing no point in saying anything to such a mother. I had tried a million times to explain to my sister-in-law that she shouldn’t call her child a creature and snap at him because children even at this age understand everything. But Galya never listened to me, and I stopped trying.
After a few minutes of my sister-in-law’s indignation about her life, which lasted an eternity for me, my mother-in-law suddenly turned to my husband and me.
‘Maybe you can help Galya? I think my daughter needs it.’
‘How can we help?’ I asked.
‘I’ve already figured it all out.’
Stepa and I exchanged glances, not understanding what his mother meant.
‘Let’s sell your one-bedroom apartment, and split the money. You’ll save up for a new one,’ my mother-in-law declared.
Stepa choked on his juice, and my eyes widened so much they stung.
‘Mom, are you out of your mind?’ my husband exclaimed.
‘How are you talking to me?!’ Victoria Alexandrovna’s kindness immediately turned to anger.
‘No, that’s not going to happen,’ I interjected.
‘No one asked you! You don’t know what it’s like to be a mother, so you wouldn’t understand. And apparently, you never will. Galya and Andryusha need to live separately, but there’s no money. I’m old, I can’t constantly take care of a child. I haven’t slept well for several months because of this child’s crying. So, when will we discuss the sale of your apartment?’ my mother-in-law continued unflinchingly.
‘Never,’ Stepa firmly replied. ‘We’re not going to sacrifice our home for Galya. It’s her fault she’s in this situation. And Dasha and I are not so young that we can act so recklessly. And you, mom, as always, want to arrange your daughter’s life without thinking about where I will live.
‘It’s okay, you’ll borrow from someone or get the appropriate services from a bank. You’ll earn more, but your sister urgently needs it.’
‘I clearly said that we will not sell our apartment. You’ll have to endure your daughter and grandson until Galya bothers to become an adult and a responsible mother.’
The scandal continued for some time. My mother-in-law yelled at her son and me, calling us ungrateful egoists. My sister-in-law screamed at her mother, brother, and son. Soon, Stepa couldn’t take it anymore and kicked them out, not wanting to listen to this nonsense.
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law were offended and blamed us for all their troubles. They no longer communicated with us, and we were glad that these women no longer tried to live at our expense.»
