— And for how many days does your mother plan to stay with us?»
— Nastya nervously twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she watched her husband finish tidying up the guest room, which usually served as a playroom for their three-year-old daughter, Eli.
Kostya shrugged while smoothing the freshly made bed linen.
«— Mom said she wants to be with us for a few days—she’s been missing us! I think she’ll head back to the village for the weekend! After all, she has her household there; she can’t be away for too long!»
Nastya merely nodded, though inside she was seething with tension. Her relationship with her mother-in-law had been strained from the very start of her marriage to Kostya. Svetlana Viktorovna never said it outright, but through her every action she made it clear that her daughter-in-law did not meet her expectations.
«— Just warn her, please, not to touch my cosmetic products in the bathroom!» Nastya added, recalling previous visits by her mother-in-law. «Last time she used up half of my face cream, saying she wanted ‘to see what my money was being spent on your son’!»
«— Oh, come on, Nastya!» Kostya waved her off. «Used it up, yes, used it up! For her, sharing things is normal! But I’ll talk to her!»
Nastya chose not to argue. In the three years of marriage, she had come to understand that Kostya would always protect his mother, no matter how unpleasant she might be to his wife.
Svetlana Viktorovna arrived exactly at noon, just as Kostya had left for work, leaving Nastya to greet the guest alone. The doorbell rang like a harbinger of a storm.
«— Hello, Anastasia!» her mother-in-law greeted her in a dry tone, extending her cheek for a formal kiss, which was covered by a thick layer of powder and blush.
Behind Svetlana Viktorovna loomed two huge suitcases and a bulky bag of gifts.
«— Hello, Svetlana Viktorovna!» Nastya forced a smile. «Come in, your room is ready!»
«— Yes, yes, of course! Kostya told me that you set aside the children’s room for me for a while! I hope it’s spacious enough?» Svetlana Viktorovna cast a critical glance around the entrance hall. «And is my son still at work? He couldn’t get off to greet his dear mother?»
Nastya helped to carry the suitcases into the apartment.
«— Kostya has a meeting; he couldn’t cancel it! He promised to come back early!»
«— I see! Work is more important than mother!» grumbled her mother-in-law, proceeding into the living room where little Eli was playing with dolls.
The girl, upon seeing the unfamiliar woman, froze in apprehension. Svetlana Viktorovna barely deigned to glance at her granddaughter.
«— And this, then, is Elvira! She’s grown up!» she remarked offhand as she headed straight to the children’s room. «Show me where I’ll sleep!»
Throughout the day, the mother-in-law never addressed Eli directly. Even when the girl timidly handed her favorite toy, Svetlana Viktorovna merely wrinkled her nose:
«— Put that away, Anastasia! I don’t like stuffed toys—they just gather dust!»
In the evening, Kostya returned—tired, but happy to see his mother. Eli ran into her father with a squeal, and he scooped his daughter into his arms, spinning her around the room.
«— How are my favorite women? Haven’t you missed me?» He kissed his wife on the cheek and embraced his mother.
«— Everything’s fine, my son!» Svetlana Viktorovna smiled, instantly transforming into a caring mother and grandmother. «Your wife was busy all day, so Eli and I kept ourselves entertained!»
Nastya raised her eyebrows in surprise but stayed silent. The entire day, her mother-in-law either talked on the phone with her friends or watched television, showing no interest in her granddaughter.
After dinner, when Kostya was putting Eli to sleep on the pull-out bed in their bedroom, Nastya went into the children’s room to retrieve her daughter’s pajamas and froze in the doorway. Svetlana Viktorovna was carefully unpacking her things into the drawers of a dresser, which was usually filled with children’s clothes. She had simply piled these items on a chair.
«— Svetlana Viktorovna, what are you doing?» Nastya asked cautiously.
«— I’m settling in!» the older woman replied curtly, continuing to fill the space with her numerous blouses and dresses. «I can’t live out of a suitcase!»
«But you’re only here for a short time…»
Her mother-in-law straightened up and glared at Nastya.
«— We’ll see—time will tell, Anastasia! Time will tell!»
The second day of Svetlana Viktorovna’s visit began with the smell of scorched porridge. Nastya jumped out of bed, sharply inhaling the air, and hurried into the kitchen. Dressed in a colorful bathrobe, her mother-in-law stood by the stove, stirring buckwheat in a pot.
«— Good morning!» Nastya tried to hide her irritation. «I usually make breakfast for the family myself!»
«— You really should learn to get up earlier!» retorted the mother-in-law without turning around. «Young housewives should rise with the roosters! And you, lounging in bed while the child is hungry!»
«— Eli is never hungry when she wakes up; we have a routine!» Nastya approached the stove and saw that the bottom of the pot was hopelessly scorched. «And we don’t eat buckwheat for breakfast! Eli is allergic to it!»
Svetlana Viktorovna snorted:
«— Nonsense! In the village, children eat everything and aren’t picky! You city folk have made up all these allergies!»
There was no point in arguing. Nastya silently took out some yogurt for her daughter and began slicing fruits. Kostya had already left for work, leaving a note saying he’d be back by dinner and would bring something tasty for everyone.
The day dragged on painfully slow. Despite her earlier declaration that she wanted to help with her granddaughter, Svetlana Viktorovna completely ignored the little girl. However, she managed to make two trips to the nearby supermarket, returning with bags of groceries.
«— I bought pickles!» she announced, placing jars on the table. «Not that store-bought poison you’re eating here! Weird fruits and other junk!»
«— Thank you, but we already have enough groceries and pickles too!» Nastya replied, watching as her mother-in-law casually rearranged the products on the refrigerator shelves.
«— Not good enough!» came the retort. «I can’t stand this stuff! And my son, neither—I know him well enough! And anyway, you cook too little homemade food!»
Nastya gritted her teeth but remained silent. She had promised Kostya to be patient.
After lunch, when Eli went down for her nap, Svetlana Viktorovna unexpectedly sat down opposite Nastya at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and a determined expression.
«— We need to talk, Anastasia!» she began in a tone that promised nothing good. «I’ve decided something…»
«— What?» Nastya looked up from her laptop, where she was checking her work email.
«— I’ve decided to move in with you! Permanently!»
Nastya blinked, unsure if she had heard correctly.
«— Excuse me, what?»
«— I see no reason to go back to the village!» continued Svetlana Viktorovna, as if discussing the weather forecast. «It’s boring there, especially in winter! Here there’s civilization, shops, parks! I can help with Elvira while you and Kostya work!»
«But… We don’t have room…» Nastya stuttered in confusion. «This apartment is too small for four!»
«— Nonsense!» her mother-in-law waved off. «The children’s room is perfectly fine for me! And Elvira can sleep with you or in the living room! After all, she’s still little; she doesn’t need much space!»
Nastya felt anger boil within her.
«— Svetlana Viktorovna, this is impossible! Eli must have her own room! Kostya and I never planned on living together with…»
«— With whom? With his mother?» interrupted the older woman, squinting. «I always knew it was your idea to keep me away from your son! Konstantin always wanted me to live close by! At first, he wanted to move back to the village, but then he met you! And now you… And besides, we’ve already discussed this with him!»
«— What?» Nastya was stunned. «Kostya never told me anything!»
«— Then you must have been afraid of your reaction!» Svetlana Viktorovna declared triumphantly. «But the decision is already made! I’m going to sell the house in the village and move here! Elvira will have to get used to new conditions!»
Without waiting for an answer, the mother-in-law got up and headed for the children’s room. Nastya followed her and, to her horror, saw her starting to take down the children’s drawings and photographs from the walls.
«— What are you doing?!» Nastya exclaimed, snatching a photo frame from Svetlana Viktorovna’s hands—a frame with an image of Eli on her first birthday.
«— I’m arranging my room!» the older woman replied impassively. «These children’s pictures need to come down! And the crib should be moved by the window! Or even taken out altogether—it takes up too much space!»
«— Svetlana Viktorovna!» Nastya tried to speak calmly, but her voice trembled with anger. «You can’t just come in and take away my daughter’s room! Kostya and I never discussed that…»
«— I already said—Kostya agreed!» interrupted the mother-in-law. «And you’ll have to accept it! After all, I’m his mother, and you’re just his wife! Wives come and go, but a mother stays forever!»
«— Svetlana Viktorovna, please put Eli’s toys back where they belong immediately!» Nastya could no longer hide her indignation as she watched her mother-in-law pack away the little girl’s things into a large box that had inexplicably appeared in their home.
«— Don’t tell me what to do!» snapped the older woman with an unruffled air. «If you had raised the child properly, she wouldn’t be scattering her toys all over the room!»
Nastya took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Outside, darkness was beginning to fall, and Kostya still hadn’t returned from work. The situation was spiraling out of control.
«— Listen!» Nastya tried to speak reasonably. «I don’t know what you said to Kostya or what he told you, but we never discussed your moving in with us! And certainly, we are not going to take away our daughter’s room!»
Svetlana Viktorovna straightened up, folding her arms across her chest.
«— So, is that it? For you, is this child more important than your husband’s own mother? Typical daughter-in-law! I always told Konstantin that you don’t fit into our family!»
«— Eli is not ‘that child’!» Nastya retorted, feeling her blood boil. «She is your granddaughter, by the way!»
«— Granddaughter?» the older woman laughed unpleasantly. «Look at her! She has nothing in common with our family! Neither with Kostya nor with me! Where did you even let her run around?»
Nastya froze, unable to believe her ears. The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.
«— What did you say?» she whispered.
«— What you heard!» Svetlana Viktorovna snapped haughtily. «I’m not blind! Kostya might not notice, but in our family everyone has dark hair, and your Elvira is red-haired! And her eyes aren’t like ours, and her temperament! All these tantrums, whims…»
«— My grandmother had red hair!» Nastya retorted coolly. «And Eli’s temperament is a copy of her father’s in childhood! You just don’t remember what Kostya was like because you rarely spent time with your own son!»
Svetlana Viktorovna paled with anger.
«— How dare you! I spent my whole life raising Kostya as best as I could! And you… You’re just a gold-digger! You seduced my son, and you brought him someone else’s child! Do you think I don’t know how you stare at your boss at work? You all do the same!»
«— Have you lost your mind? Watched too many TV shows?» Nastya stepped back. «My boss is a woman, and she’s sixty!»
«— Don’t lie to me!» her mother-in-law raised her voice. «I’ve found everything out about you! Konstantin is too kind, too trusting, but I know what you city girls are like!»
At that moment, the door in the hall slammed, and Kostya’s voice was heard:
«— I’m home! Where are my beloved…»
He stopped short, seeing his flushed wife and mother standing opposite each other in combative stances.
«— What’s going on here?» Kostya asked, his anxious gaze shifting from one to the other.
«— Son!» Svetlana Viktorovna immediately changed her tone, rushing to him. «I’m so glad you’re back! Your wife… She’s completely lost it! She’s kicking me out, insulting me!»
«— What?» Kostya looked at Nastya in bewilderment. «Nastya, what is she talking about?»
«— Your mother said that you gave her the ‘okay’ to move in with us permanently!» Nastya replied dryly. «And she wants to take away Eli’s room and move our daughter into the living room! And that after she called her—» she hesitated, unwilling to repeat her mother-in-law’s words aloud.
«— Mom, is that true?» Kostya turned to his mother.
«— Of course not!» she protested indignantly. «I merely suggested staying a little longer to help with the child! And she made a scene! Shouting, threatening!»
«— She’s lying!» Nastya said firmly. «And she even said that Eli is not your daughter! That I… had run her around on the side!»
Blood drained from Kostya’s face. Slowly, he turned to his mother.
«— Mom, I want to know the truth! Right now! What exactly did you say about Eli?»
«— Nothing of the sort…» Svetlana Viktorovna tried to feign innocent perplexity. «I only remarked that the girl doesn’t really look like you! That’s a perfectly natural observation! And your wife started screaming immediately, so her conscience must be dirty!»
Kostya walked into the living room and sank heavily onto the couch. He felt like a man suddenly caught in a minefield—one wrong step could lead to catastrophe.
«— Mom, listen…» he began carefully choosing his words. «I love you, I really do! But what you’ve done is too much! You’re trying to destroy my family, my happiness! And I don’t understand why!»
«— I’m not destroying anything!» Svetlana Viktorovna exclaimed. «I just want to be closer to you! And your wife, she’s never liked me from the beginning! She’s turning you against your own mother!»
«— Nastya has never spoken ill of you!» Kostya shook his head. «Even when you went too far with your accusations, she still respected you as my mother! And you…»
He left his sentence hanging, but the disappointment in his eyes said more than words ever could.
«— I think it’s best if you leave!» Kostya finally pronounced. «Right now! I’ll call a taxi to the station and buy you a ticket to your stop! By tomorrow morning, you’ll be home!»
«— You’re kicking me out?» Svetlana Viktorovna’s voice trembled with genuine hurt.
Kostya took a deep breath.
«— Nastya is my wife, and Eli is my daughter! And I won’t allow anyone, not even you, to hurt them or lie about them! Not even you!»
He went into the children’s room, where Svetlana Viktorovna had already managed to unpack some of her belongings, and began repacking them back into her suitcase.
«— What are you doing?!» she exclaimed.
«— I’m helping you pack!» Kostya answered calmly. «The taxi arrives in half an hour!»
When Svetlana Viktorovna realized that her son was unyielding, her behavior changed abruptly. The pretense of hurt was gone—now she was overtly aggressive.
«— How dare you, Konstantin?! She seduced you, bewitched you! Brought you someone else’s child! And you, idiot, believe it! All men are the same—they only think with their lower halves!»
Kostya continued packing the suitcase in silence. When the taxi arrived, he took the suitcases, helped his mother into the car. He wanted to give her money for the ticket, but she no longer reacted to him.
«— Mom!» he pleaded, trying to get her attention. «When you’re ready to apologize to my wife and accept my daughter, let me know! Until then, don’t come here again!»
The taxi drove off. Kostya returned to the apartment where Nastya sat quietly in the kitchen, clutching a cup of tea that had long since cooled.
«— She’s gone!» he said, sitting down beside her. «I would never have thought she could behave like that!»
«— What did you expect? I told you what she’s like!» Nastya replied. «Even after everything she said, you believed she was normal!»
«— I know! But understand, she’s my mother! Still…» Kostya smiled. «You and Eli—are my life! The only thing I regret is not seeing her true face sooner!»
They sat in silence for a while, then together went to their daughter. Eli, not fully grasping all the drama, joyfully showed them a drawing—three little figures holding hands. Their small, yet genuine family…
