Marina paid for her mother’s birthday celebration. A month later, her mother demanded that Marina pay for her and her father’s wedding anniversary too…

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Marina knew perfectly well how much her mother had been looking forward to her sixtieth birthday. Lyudmila Pavlovna had started making a list back in winter of everyone she absolutely wanted to see at the celebration: her sister and brother-in-law, several former colleagues, her neighbor Tamara, and two old university friends. In the end, the … Read more

For fifteen years, a daughter and her family spent their summers at her mother’s home near the sea. This year, however, the mother rented the apartment to strangers and explained why she had done it…

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Olga found out about everything in April, when, as usual, she called her mother to coordinate the dates of their summer visit. It happened the same way every year: in spring, she would ask when it would be better for the family to come—June or the first days of July. But this time, her mother … Read more

“So this isn’t your apartment for you to decide what you like or don’t like here! My husband and I bought it with my money! Stop imposing your rules here and changing everything while we’re at work! Get out!”

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Sveta, just don’t get angry right away, okay?” Andrei said over the phone in a tone that immediately told Svetlana something had gone wrong at home again. She was walking down the stairs of the business center, handbag in one hand and phone in the other. Her workday had ended almost two hours earlier than … Read more

“Divorce? Excellent. From this day forward, all your privileges are revoked, darling,” the wife said calmly.

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Ksenia placed the phone on her desk with the same precision she used when putting away a work tool. Her office fan hummed beside the monitor, where an unfinished safety inspection report for the Ferris wheel in Zarechye was still open. Aunt Zoya had spoken so quickly that most of her words blurred together, but … Read more

“Divorce! Just like that—and out the door!” A minute ago he had been celebrating, but something didn’t go according to plan.

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Roman had been rehearsing the sentence for three days. He would stand in the hallway fastening his airport-service jacket, silently moving his lips as if memorizing instructions for scaring birds away from the runway. “Ksyusha, we need to separate. I’ve made up my mind.” Short. Mature. No tears. Unfortunately, when he finally tried to say … Read more

— We’re divorced, but who’s going to feed me now? You have to, — her ex-husband declared, standing on her doorstep.

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Veronika hung up the phone right in the middle of a sentence, and she enjoyed it. Rimma Lvovna’s voice cut off halfway through a word, like a fishing line sliced clean through. Refrigerators hummed throughout the shopping center, someone pushed a cart nearby with an awful metallic squeak, and even that sounded more pleasant than … Read more

“I gave your information to the debt collectors,” my mother-in-law admitted. I didn’t argue. Instead, I asked the collectors to respond to me in writing.

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After the first call, I still hoped my work number had somehow ended up with them by accident. But then someone else’s debt reached the main office phone, and I decided to find out through official records who had given the debt collectors my address and contact information. The phone on my desk rang at … Read more

“I lured away your employees,” my mother-in-law boasted. I didn’t try to compete for them, even though the salon had only enough reserves to survive for one month.

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Four of the six stylists moved to Lyudmila Pavlovna’s new salon, and some of the regular clients followed them. People suggested that I urgently counter her salary offer, but the numbers were more stubborn than my wounded pride: my salon simply couldn’t survive that kind of bidding war. “I poached your employees,” Lyudmila Pavlovna said, … Read more