“If you won’t let me move in with you, I’ll sue for alimony — I’m entitled to it by law,” said the mother-in-law.
When Alyona and Maxim met, her parents had already been divorced for many years. The girl lived with her father in a spacious three-room apartment and knew almost nothing about her mother — and, it seemed, had no real desire to know. Her mother had never been caring: she left her daughter when she was barely five years old and then disappeared from her life completely for many years.
The first time the woman made contact again was when Alyona finished school. Alyona never understood how she got her phone number — probably through mutual acquaintances or social media.
Alyona did not want to talk to her, let alone let her back into her life. She had left, and that was that — at least, that was how Alyona saw it.
“Still, she’s not a stranger to you,” Maxim said cautiously.
“She is a stranger now,” Alyona replied irritably. “Not a word from her for fifteen years, not even a message. No one knows where she was or how she lived. Why should I be happy that she suddenly reappeared?”
Maxim did not argue. To be honest, he did not care much whether his beloved kept in touch with her mother or not.
A year after they met, he proposed to Alyona. She said yes, and soon they threw themselves into preparing for the wedding.
At first, the young couple planned to simply register the marriage without any fuss and celebrate modestly with only their closest people. But Alyona’s father was категорически against it.
“Don’t even think about it!” he protested. “My only daughter is getting married, and there won’t be a proper celebration? No way!” Then he added, “You’ll live with me.”
As a retired colonel, he spoke in a confident, firm voice that tolerated no objections. There was a commanding habit in his tone. Maxim felt a little uneasy around him, though he tried not to show it.
Viktor Sergeyevich was a strict and perceptive man, as if he could see right through his future son-in-law. Sometimes he teased him good-naturedly:
“Come on, don’t be so timid. I’m not sending you to trial or putting you through drill practice!”
Or:
“If you don’t behave, I’ll make you march.”
The day before the wedding, Alyona’s mother called again. At that moment, Maxim and Alyona were sitting in the kitchen, drinking tea with pastries and discussing wedding details: the invitations, the hall decorations, the choice of host.
Her father had joined the conversation too, insisting that the music had to be live and the host had to be experienced.
“I’ll cover the costs,” he said firmly. “Don’t even worry about the expenses. With your current income, it’s too early for you to be thinking about things like that.”
Alyona’s phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen and grimaced.
“I thought it was the restaurant calling… but it’s her again.”
“Who?” Viktor Sergeyevich asked. He still did not know about his daughter’s mother suddenly reappearing.
“Oh… your ex-wife,” Alyona said, gripping the phone and clearly not wanting to answer. “I can’t take these calls anymore.”
Viktor Sergeyevich frowned, his thick heavy brows drawing together.
The continuation of the story is in the comment under the post 👇
When Alyona and Maxim met, her parents had long been divorced. The girl lived with her father in a three-room apartment; as for where her mother was, she did not know and, it seemed, did not especially want to know. Her mother had never been much of a parent: she had abandoned her daughter when she was barely five years old and then disappeared from her life for a long time.
The first time she called was when Alyona finished school. Where she got the number, the girl never understood—probably through some acquaintances or social media.
Alyona did not want to talk to her; she did not want her mother to appear in her life at all. She had left, and that was that—that was how Alyona saw it.
“Well, she’s still not a stranger to you,” Maxim said.
“She is now,” Alyona grimaced. “For fifteen years there wasn’t a word, not a sign of life from her. Where she was, what she was doing—nobody knows. Why should I be happy to see her now?”
Maxim did not argue. In truth, it did not make much difference to him whether his beloved spoke to her mother or not.
A year after they met, he proposed. Alyona agreed, and they began actively preparing for the wedding.
At first they wanted to simply register the marriage quietly, without guests, and celebrate calmly in the family circle. But her father disagreed.
“No way!” he protested loudly. “I’m giving away my only daughter in marriage, and quietly? Without a proper celebration?! Never in my life!” Then he added, “You’ll live with me.”
A retired colonel, he spoke in a firm tone that allowed no objections, with a note of steel in it—he was used to giving orders. Maxim was even a little intimidated by him, though he tried not to show it.
Viktor Sergeyevich was a stern and perceptive man. He seemed to see right through his future son-in-law, and sometimes teased him good-naturedly:
“Don’t be afraid of me, I won’t have you court-martialed or sent to the brig!”
Or:
“If you don’t listen to me, I’ll make you march on the parade ground for twenty-four hours.”
On the eve of the wedding, her mother called again. Maxim and Alyona were sitting in the kitchen, drinking tea with pastries and discussing the details of the upcoming wedding: the design of the invitations, the banquet hall decor, the emcee.
Her father joined the discussion too, declaring that the music had to be live and the host had to be a professional.
“I’ll pay for everything,” he said decisively. “Don’t even think about the expenses. With your salaries!”
The phone vibrated, and Alyona glanced at the screen and winced.
“I thought it was the restaurant calling. But it’s her again…”
“Who?” Viktor Sergeyevich asked curiously. Alyona had not yet told him about her mother’s sudden reappearance.
“That… your ex-wife.” She squeezed the chirping smartphone in her fingers, clearly not wanting to answer. “She’s become a real nuisance, honestly.”
Viktor Sergeyevich frowned under his thick bushy eyebrows.
“Ksenia? Where did she come from? Give me that, let me talk to her!”
He pulled the phone from his daughter’s hands, but didn’t manage to answer in time.
“And there’s no need to talk to her,” Alyona said with obvious relief. “She’s annoying as a fly. And sly too.”
“Why did she leave the family in the first place?” Maxim asked curiously.
Alyona and Viktor Sergeyevich exchanged glances.
“Because that was her nature,” the future father-in-law barked. “She was promiscuous. When she married me, she acted quiet, like some innocent little darling, but as soon as she got a taste of freedom, she went completely off the rails! Went downhill, so to speak. She never wanted to travel around the country with me, always whining… Life as a military wife wasn’t for her, that’s what I’ll say.”
“Then why did she choose a military man?” Maxim asked in surprise.
Viktor Sergeyevich waved a hand.
“Oh, she didn’t want to marry me—she wanted to escape her father’s control. He was very strict. A general. He gave her to me in marriage and ordered me to keep a close eye on her, but I failed—she ran off. He knew what she was like, he knew… Though maybe it was for the best that she left.”
Ksenia called several more times over the following days, but Alyona did not answer once; she only grew more irritated by her persistence. Then she blocked the number, but her mother began calling from another one.
And then, a day before the wedding, she appeared in person, lying in wait for her daughter by the entrance.
“So, do you really not love me at all?” she coaxed, following Alyona step for step. “Don’t you remember? How I nursed you, fed you, bathed you…”
“No, I don’t remember,” Alyona replied rudely. “Probably because none of that ever happened.”
“What a grump you are,” her mother teased in a falsely playful tone. “And I came with the best intentions. I missed you. Believe me?”
Alyona stopped and fixed her with a hard stare.
“So many years have passed. I’ve grown up, I’m getting married now. And suddenly you realized you missed me? Where were you before?”
“Well, daughter, anyone can make a mistake,” her mother purred.
Alyona silently, emotionlessly looked her over. Heavy, slightly gaudy makeup, chestnut hair with a touch of gray curled into large ringlets, fine wrinkles around blue-gray eyes framed by false lashes.
She was dressed ridiculously and tastelessly: a shimmering pleated skirt, heavy leather boots, and a white high-neck blouse. She was clearly trying to follow fashion, but badly—if not downright terribly.
Her true age showed in her hands, veined blue and slightly swollen at the fingers. She had even managed to pile rings onto them—as if to attract attention.
“Only now have I realized how wrong I was. I wish I could have seen you growing up, but I missed that time… And now I regret it!”
Alyona pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“I don’t believe you.”
Her mother’s face seemed to collapse in an instant, her eyes dimming.
“Why?..”
“Because.”
Alyona turned and walked away, leaving her mother standing alone on the sidewalk. But the woman had no intention of giving up—she came to the wedding uninvited, sat at a table, and poured herself a glass of champagne as if she belonged there.
Alyona did not notice her right away—they were dancing their bridal dance with Maxim. Happy, they returned to their table to loud applause. Viktor Sergeyevich rose from his chair. Dressed in his formal military uniform, he looked festive and dignified.
“Happiness to the newlyweds!” he boomed, raising a rounded cognac glass, draining it, and then shouting, “Bitter!”
“Bitter! Bitter!” the guests joyfully echoed, calling for the couple to kiss.
Alyona turned to Maxim, tossed her transparent veil behind her back, and suddenly saw her mother. She was sitting not far from their table, watching everything with a kind of greedy interest.
Alyona could hardly believe her eyes—how had she had the nerve to come here?
That was exactly what she asked her when Ksenia approached their table. Ksenia held out a small ribbon-tied box and started to say something, but Alyona cut her off:
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing here?” her mother asked with feigned amazement. “My daughter is getting married!”
And she placed the box in front of her. Alyona’s eyes flashed with anger.
“You should get out of here before Father sees you.”
“Actually, he’s exactly who I need,” her mother smirked, turning her head from side to side. “Where is he?”
They spoke for a long time off to one side. Alyona did not want to interfere; she simply watched from a distance. After talking, her mother left. But she had no intention of leaving them alone—soon she came again. And right from the doorway she announced that she intended to move in with them.
Alyona could find no words, utterly stunned by such audacity. Her father was not home, so she and Maxim had to deal with her themselves.
Without an invitation, her mother brazenly marched into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Then, after thinking for a second, she got up, took a cup and saucer from the drying rack, and poured herself some tea.
“I have every right to live here,” she said. “You won’t even be able to throw me out through the courts.”
Alyona narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, so that’s what you wanted from the start! Why circle around it like a fox? You could have just said it directly. And here I was wracking my brain over what had suddenly made you so interested in my life.”
“Well, let’s say that’s not the only reason,” her mother answered evasively. “There are a number of others.”
“I’m not even going to ask about your reasons. I’m simply asking you to get out.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Stop being such an eyesore to all of us already,” Maxim cut in. “Haven’t you understood yet that no one wants you here?”
Ksenia suddenly burst into loud, ringing laughter, as if at some hilarious joke. Alyona jerked her shoulder irritably, raised her eyebrows, and glared at her angrily.
“I don’t give a damn whether you’re happy to see me or not,” Ksenia said, pressing a hand to her chest. “I’m going to live here.”
Viktor Sergeyevich returned an hour later. When he saw his ex-wife calmly drinking tea in the kitchen, he froze at first, then flew into a rage.
“What are you doing here?” he asked loudly, menacingly, then shouted, “Get out!”
Ksenia gave him a cold, contemptuous look.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Vitya. Still the same old soldier.” She jerked her chin up so sharply that the earrings in her ears danced like mad. “I have nowhere else to live. I am Alyona’s legal mother, in case you’ve forgotten. So if you don’t let me stay, I’ll file for alimony. I’m entitled to it by law.”
“You… you!..” Viktor Sergeyevich choked with anger. “How dare you have such nerve!..”
She did not look away. Her ex-husband’s furious outrage clearly did not frighten her, though even Maxim instinctively hunched his shoulders. He and Alyona stood by the window, watching the argument flare up. Any second now, dishes might go flying to the floor and shatter into a thousand pieces, like their former life together.
Viktor Sergeyevich grabbed Ksenia by the arm and yanked her up from the chair.
“I said get out of my house. You’ll get nothing here—no alimony, no square meters. I won’t even give you a needle! Nothing! Got it?”
Ksenia angrily pulled her hand free.
“Fine, I’ll go. But only for now. I’ll be back.”
When the door closed behind her, Viktor Sergeyevich took some time to recover himself, then told them that even when they had lived together, they had never had a real, полноценная family.
Ksenia had never shown any interest in her little daughter, leaving her with grandparents or a hired nanny, while she herself was always off somewhere—shopping, going out with friends.
Life with a military man weighed on her. She had never wanted to keep house either and didn’t know how to do anything, never bothered to learn—sewing on a button was a problem for her.
“When I saw what state Alyonka was in, I simply threw Ksenia out,” he concluded. “Uncombed, barefoot, dress torn and dirty. When the nanny came, at least she was cleaned up and looked like a little girl. Otherwise she was like some little scarecrow, so covered in grime you couldn’t even see her face. And her mother couldn’t care less. All she wanted was money for trinkets and clothes.”
“And where did she go? Where did she live?” Alyona asked. “Did you ever find out?”
Her father shook his head.
“But rumors reached me that she kept changing lovers and was even married a couple of times, I think… Ah! I don’t know for sure!”
A month later Ksenia filed a lawsuit demanding alimony. After several hearings she was denied—the court found no grounds to consider her needy. Ksenia tried to appeal the decision, but lost again and again. Alyona found it unpleasant to watch her mother once more trying to live at other people’s expense instead of standing on her own feet.
And when her mother, realizing that nothing would come of it, disappeared from their lives once again, Alyona breathed a sigh of relief.
A year later, Alyona and Maxim decided to go отдыхать at the seaside. They bought tour packages to a popular resort town south of Sochi, in Miloo, and happily began packing their suitcases.
At the airport, while waiting to board, Alyona suddenly noticed a familiar figure in the crowd of passengers. It was her mother Ksenia, in the company of an elderly, plump man of about sixty. They were talking animatedly about something.
“Look, my mother is here!” Alyona nudged Maxim in the side. “I wonder where they’re off to.”
Coming closer, Alyona called out to her mother. Ksenia turned in surprise.
“Oh, daughter! What brings you here? We’re going on vacation—to the sea! Meet my friend, Anatoly Palych. He’s a businessman; he owns a chain of car washes in the city.”
“Very pleased!” Anatoly Palych said in a bass voice, shaking Alyona’s hand. “Your mama is pure gold, a real woman!”
Alyona and Maxim exchanged glances. Ksenia was clearly thriving and looked much younger than her years. Expensive clothes, well-groomed manicured hands, a heavy gold chain hanging around her neck.
Passengers were called to board.
“All right, we have to go!” Ksenia waved. “All the best, enjoy your vacation! Anatoly Palych, let’s go!”
And they disappeared into the boarding tunnel.
“Well, what luck that we ran into her!” Alyona smiled. “Looks like my mother has found her happiness!”
At the resort, Alyona and Maxim spent a wonderful week. But one evening an unpleasant surprise awaited them. In the hotel lobby they ran into Ksenia and Anatoly Palych. Alyona’s mother was yelling at the hotel manager, waving her arms furiously.
“What’s going on?” Alyona asked, approaching the bickering pair.
“Oh, there you are! Tell this idiot not to throw us out! We’re staying here, and he refuses to extend our room!”
It turned out that Ksenia and Anatoly Palych had run out of money and could not pay to extend their stay.
“I’m sorry, but this is a violation of hotel policy. I’ll be forced to call security!”
Ksenia howled with outrage. Alyona decided to intervene. She pulled her mother aside and whispered in her ear:
“Listen, let me pay for you. Just this once! And it will be a loan! You’ll pay me back later!”
Ksenia’s face brightened.
“Thank you, sweetheart! I knew you wouldn’t abandon me!”
When all the formalities were settled, Ksenia joyfully hugged her daughter.
“Well, see how nicely everything worked out! Come have dinner with us at the restaurant!”
At dinner, Ksenia complained that her latest marriage had fallen apart because of her husband’s jealousy, and now she had nowhere to go.
“Anatoly Palych is my savior! If it weren’t for him, I’d have sunk to the very bottom! So don’t abandon me, my dears! Without you, I’ll be lost!”
Alyona and Maxim exchanged another glance. It seemed they would not get rid of Ksenia so easily.
When they returned home from vacation, Alyona told her father about meeting her mother.
“What a hopeless woman!” Viktor Sergeyevich shook his head. “She’s not young anymore, and still running in circles! She loves to live at someone else’s expense—she just wants to land comfortably.”
“Yes, it does seem that way,” Alyona sighed. “Even though I forgave her this time, I won’t help her again. Let her get herself out of it.”
A month later, the phone rang. It was Ksenia. Her voice was trembling and breaking.
“Alyonka, save me! I’m all alone again! Anatoly Palych dumped me for some young little fool! I’ve got nothing again! You won’t let your mother perish, will you? Let me stay with you, at least for a while!”
Alyona sighed heavily. History was repeating itself. What was she supposed to do with this reckless mother now?
Alyona was silent for a long time, thinking over her reply. She felt sorry for her mother, but she was not going to let her move in again.
“Listen, Mom, you can’t come stay with us,” Alyona finally said firmly. “But I can help you find a way out of this situation.”
“What could you possibly do, you little fool!” Ksenia snapped venomously. “Fine, never mind, I’ll manage on my own! I always have, and I will now!”
She hung up. Alyona looked at Maxim.
“Well, she’s offended. But I’m right—at her age, she has to learn to take care of herself.”
“I agree. It’s high time she let go of our apron strings and became independent,” Maxim nodded.
A week later Ksenia called again. This time her voice was cheerful and lively.
“Alyona, you won’t believe it! I got a job as a governess in a wealthy family! I’ll look after and raise a businessman’s children. They also promised me an apartment. So I’m fully provided for!”
“Really? Well, that’s wonderful! Congratulations!” Alyona was genuinely happy for her.
“You see how well everything worked out!” Ksenia cooed. “I told you I’d manage! So don’t worry about me. I have everything now for a happy life!”
After hanging up, Alyona smiled to herself. Well, would you look at that—she really did manage to get settled. Good for her! For the first time she believed that her mother had truly gotten back on her feet and would no longer be a burden to them.
A couple of months later, more news came from Ksenia. It turned out she had been fired from her governess job—the children complained that she was always yelling at them and might even hit them for misbehavior.
But this time Ksenia did not call her daughter asking for help. Apparently, she really had learned something recently. Alyona heard nothing more about her for a year. And although she was curious how her mother was doing, she did not call first.
And then one day, someone knocked on the door of the apartment she shared with Maxim. On the doorstep stood an elegantly dressed woman of about sixty with a neat hairstyle. It was Ksenia, older now, but still beautiful.
“Hello, daughter! I was just passing through and stopped by to check on you. Everything is good with me now; I’ve found myself in a new line of work! I realized that I need to rely only on myself, not on men. Anyway, I won’t trouble you anymore. I just wanted to say thank you for supporting me once. That meant a lot to me! All right, I have to go now. All the best to you!”
And she left as unexpectedly as she had appeared. Alyona stood there with her mouth open, staring after her.
“Well, thank God!” Maxim exhaled with relief, hugging his wife. “Looks like your flighty mother finally grew up. And has finally left us alone.”
“Yes, at last!” Alyona smiled. “And I was starting to worry where she had disappeared to. It’s good that everything is all right with her now. That means we can live in peace too.”
