“Of course! Look how proud you’ve become! It’s easy for a rich man to talk like that. With that kind of income, I suppose family doesn’t matter anymore,” Regina Alekseevna snapped indignantly.
“Mom, stop making things worse,” her son said calmly.
“I know what you think. You think all your wealth just fell from the sky. Because of your pretty eyes? Or because you grabbed luck by the tail, is that it?”
“No, Mom. I don’t think that at all. I earned everything myself!” Maxim replied, already irritated. “I worked like a horse. No holidays, no weekends. I worked twenty-four hours a day to have what I have now. And some people — I won’t name names — spent all those years doing absolutely nothing. And now suddenly they want someone else’s money!”
“Oh, don’t tell me you did it all yourself! How much would you have earned without your father and me? We, your parents, gave you a proper education. We were the ones who helped you with your first money!” Regina Alekseevna declared dramatically.
The argument between the mother and her eldest son was quickly turning into something serious. Regina Alekseevna was a strict, domineering woman, and she could not accept the fact that her eldest son, now independent and financially successful, no longer wanted to obey her demands.
“Can you imagine, darling? Your mother called me today and said something so outrageous that at first I honestly thought I had misheard her,” Inna told her husband emotionally.
“What did she say?”
“She announced that we urgently need to sell our two-room apartment.”
“Our apartment? Why?” Maxim asked, puzzled.
“Why? You’ll be shocked. She said we don’t live there anymore anyway, and Oleg needs money. I didn’t send your mother where she deserved to be sent, of course. I thought, you’re family, so you can sort it out among yourselves.”
And soon enough, that confrontation happened. And what a confrontation it was.
“I can’t listen to all this calmly! It’s complete nonsense!” Inna said bitterly after her mother-in-law had finally left their house, having said everything she thought about them. “On what grounds does your mother speak to you like that? She makes demands, throws hurtful accusations at you. Just because you’re her son? But you’re a grown man now, Maxim. You have your own family.”
“I don’t understand what got into her at all. Why drag my brother into this?”
“Exactly! For some reason, before this she didn’t care that he couldn’t build a personal life, didn’t work anywhere, and spent his parents’ money on entertainment. But now suddenly she has seen the light! He needs money, apparently. And a lot of it!”
“I agree with you. It’s complete nonsense.”
“Does your mother really not understand that Oleg will blow through it all in no time? What business is he going to run? It’s laughable! Your brother drank away half his brain long ago. Though, honestly, Oleg was never very bright to begin with. If a person starts living that kind of life, it already says a lot about him,” Inna continued angrily.
“I know Oleg will never change. Freebies and an idle life — that’s his motto. It’s a pity Mother doesn’t see it. And her fairy tales about her little son growing up and deciding to become responsible are pure fantasy.”
Inna and Maxim had married ten years earlier. At that time, Maxim had just graduated from university and, after taking out a large loan, started his own business. It was a serious risk, but he did not regret it.
His parents had helped him a little at the beginning, but their assistance had been modest, almost symbolic. The money his mother now mentioned during arguments had not played any major role in Maxim’s success.
At first, he opened a car repair shop. Then, once things began going well, he bought a car wash and later two more service stations in other parts of the city.
Inna had an economics degree. After her first maternity leave, she worked for three years in the city administration, but later decided to join her husband’s business.
She could no longer imagine herself outside the family business. After the birth of their second daughter, the couple hired a nanny for the child, because now that the business had expanded, it required even more attention and control.
Maxim’s younger brother, Oleg, had also entered university after finishing school — their parents had insisted on it. But he did not study there for long. He was expelled in his second year for failing too many courses.
Even then, the lazy young man had realized that a carefree life full of parties attracted him far more than studying and attending classes.
Regina Alekseevna did everything she could to keep her son at university, but Oleg stubbornly moved in the opposite direction.
Then Oleg decided he wanted to get married. He brought home to his parents’ apartment a strange girl, to put it mildly, who had finished school only three days earlier. His beloved did not study anywhere and did not work. Apparently, she was hoping that her husband would support her.
Regina Alekseevna and her husband strongly opposed that union and eventually talked Oleg out of making such a reckless decision. The girl was disgracefully driven out of their apartment and out of their younger son’s life.
After that, Oleg began disappearing from home and spending time in dubious companies. His mother sounded the alarm again. Where her son and his friends got money for their parties was unclear, and Regina Alekseevna was terrified that her precious boy might end up behind bars.
Then, quite recently, something changed. Oleg came home, stopped spending time with suspicious people, and began living soberly. His parents were delighted, especially when he began telling them that he had matured and decided to get his life together.
“It’s time for me to start doing something serious too. Like my brother. Why not? Am I stupider than him? Of course not!” he would say, waking up closer to lunchtime and sitting down at his parents’ table. “Look how far he’s come. I can do the same. I’ll open a couple of fast-food stands. In a year, I’ll be on his level.”
“That’s right, son! It’s high time you came to your senses. Once business starts going well, you can think about marriage too. And you won’t be bringing home those low-class girls anymore. Worthy women will be drawn to you.”
They decided that they needed to ask Maxim for money.
“He has money, I know he does! So why should I take out a loan with those robbery-level interest rates? I’ll never be able to grow like that. I’ll only work to pay off the loans,” Oleg reasoned, wanting everything at once.
“We’ll ask him, son. Don’t worry about that. We’ll even demand it if we have to! Maxim is obliged to take care of his younger brother,” his mother assured him. “So don’t trouble yourself.”
Regina Alekseevna truly believed that. Why shouldn’t the elder son, whose life was going so well, take part in the fate of his younger brother? In her view, it was only logical and right.
Maxim would share his capital and advise Oleg if something did not work out.
So Regina Alekseevna boldly went to the home of her eldest son and daughter-in-law to announce her demands.
“You are the older brother, Maxim! If not you, then who will help Oleg get on his feet? He looks up to you, so help him with money. Oleg wants to open several kiosks in our district.”
“What? Mom, don’t make me laugh! What kiosks? He came out of his drinking binge only a week ago!” Maxim said in disbelief.
“Oh, why do you have to insult Oleg? Yes, he stumbled. He got involved with the wrong people. He was simply unlucky in his youth. Now all that is behind him. The boy has come to his senses and wants to start earning money. What’s wrong with that?”
“Everything is wrong with it, Mom! Your idea is absurd!”
“Oleg has a wonderful example right in front of him — his older brother. So you will guide him. Help him at the beginning. Be a real older brother, a wise mentor and supporter,” Regina Alekseevna insisted.
“Mom, you honestly amaze me. It feels like you’re raving right along with your useless little son. Why on earth should I hand over my hard-earned money to a parasite who has achieved nothing in life by himself? Answer me!”
“Why immediately call him a parasite? He’s just inexperienced,” his mother argued, unable to hide her irritation.
“Your Oleg didn’t even finish university. What kind of business is he going to open?” Inna finally joined the conversation, unable to listen any longer.
“That’s not the main thing. Experience can be gained without education,” Regina Alekseevna replied, giving her daughter-in-law a displeased look.
“Mom, why don’t you understand? The problem isn’t just the starting capital. You think money appears and everything starts spinning on its own? No. You have to work day and night. You have to control everything, understand every problem, solve things quickly. You have to learn how to run a business. Who is going to do all that? Your infantile little Oleg? Don’t make me laugh, Mom! He still lives with you, has everything done for him, and sleeps until noon!”
“How can you speak about your brother like that? Do you not believe in him at all, Maxim? Your father and I believed in you when you were starting out. And you didn’t know anything either,” Regina Alekseevna said reproachfully.
“There is a huge difference between believing in someone and wanting to hand over — or rather throw away — my money. I can believe all I want, Mom, but that changes nothing. And I’m not going to risk my money,” Maxim said, trying to stay reasonable.
“He is your own brother!” his mother cried. She had no other argument left.
“So what? Besides, my wife and I don’t have free money right now. Everything is invested in the business, because we are constantly improving our locations. We recently bought a house. So my answer is no,” Maxim said firmly.
“But you have an apartment!” his mother refused to back down. “Your two-room apartment, the one you used to live in. You didn’t sell it, did you?”
“We didn’t sell it, and we don’t plan to. We have two daughters growing up. Over time, we’ll buy one more apartment so each girl has her own place,” Maxim answered.
“Why think about housing for them now? They’re still little! There are so many years ahead! Sell the apartment and give the money to Oleg so he can start. He’ll begin earning and gradually pay everything back. Then you can buy another apartment. Even two!”
“Yes, it sounds like a fairy tale — kind and with a happy ending. But I’m not falling for it, because I know my brother very well.”
“How can you say that? You don’t care about your brother’s future!” his mother cried, already theatrically wringing her hands and wiping away tears.
“Mom, let’s not have hysterics.”
“Will you give Oleg the money? Think carefully before you refuse your own brother, son!”
“No, of course not. This conversation is over. Oleg is my brother, but he is not the kind of person I would trust with my savings.”
“Sell the apartment immediately! Don’t stand there arguing! Do you want him to fall back into that pit again? Do you want him to ruin his life, spending time with who knows what kind of people?” his mother shouted.
“No, Mom, I don’t want that. But it is his life, and only my brother has the right to decide what to do with it. If Oleg wants to party and waste his days, let him. No one will grieve forever. And I personally won’t try to talk him out of it. He is no longer a little boy. If he seriously wants to earn money, let him take out a loan and start from zero, the way I once did.”
“You are cruel, Maxim. I never thought you would become like this. Money has ruined you!” his mother said bitterly as she prepared to leave.
“No, Mom. I’m not cruel. I’m simply realistic. And I advise you to come back down to earth too and stop waiting for something worthwhile to come out of Oleg. It won’t happen. You spoiled him yourselves.”
Regina Alekseevna left her son’s house deeply offended. She had failed to squeeze out the money she had already promised Oleg.
After that, Maxim’s parents stopped communicating with his family. They could not forgive him. They even seemed to forget about their own granddaughters.
Then the couple discovered some interesting facts. It turned out that Maxim’s parents had sold their three-room apartment and bought a small studio instead. The money from the sale had gone into the business Oleg opened.
“It’s hard to imagine a stranger decision. Soon they’ll be left with no roof over their heads at all when they have to pay off the debts for their useless son,” Maxim said, upset.
Still, he tried to meet with Oleg and talk some sense into him.
“Where did the money from our parents’ apartment sale go?” Maxim asked first. “Mother and Father gave it to you, didn’t they?”
“Yes, they gave it to me. I bought a kiosk,” Oleg said proudly. “I sell all kinds of small things there. It’s going pretty well, by the way. What did you want? To teach me how to live? No need! As you can see, I managed without you. Soon I’ll have real money too. It won’t take long.”
“Just make sure you don’t end up losing everything. With methods like that, you’ll go far. You have no sense at all — you left our parents without a proper home!”
“Don’t lecture me. I’ll manage without your advice, brother,” Oleg replied arrogantly.
They had a serious argument that day, and Maxim decided he would no longer interfere in the lives of his younger brother and parents. They understood everything perfectly well. They were not children.
Six months later, Oleg’s business collapsed, just as expected. His parents had to solve his problems once again. They took out loans, which they would now be paying off for the rest of their lives.
And, of course, Maxim was to blame for everything — because he had refused to give his younger brother his apartment.
What a greedy man, apparently. Even though he was rich.