– You had your salary yesterday! Why haven’t you transferred anything to me yet? Are you waiting for some special invitation?” her mother asked sternly into the phone.
“– On what grounds am I even supposed to transfer you anything?” Lariska grumbled discontentedly. She glanced at the clock—seven in the morning. And did her mother really have to call at such an early hour? After all, she knew she was heading to work and had no time for arguments or idle chatter.
“– Just look at her! I don’t need you turning into a fool for me. We agreed that you’d help me with money right now. When Yulenka buys an apartment, she’ll help me!”
“– No, I do not agree to that!” the woman protested. “– Shake the money from the one to whom you gave the apartment.”
“– I see some have gotten too smart! And when you start dividing my inheritance, you’ll line up too? So here’s the deal: either you immediately transfer me the money, or I don’t want to know you!”
A long beep sounded on the phone. Lariska took a deep breath and pressed the button on the kettle. That was just how her mother could ruin the mood. Or maybe, never mind—she’d really transfer the money, just so her mother would leave her alone…
The age difference between Lariska and Yulka was only two years. By all accounts, they could have been not only sisters but best friends. However, a deep sisterly bond never developed—even though they shared one room.
“– Yulka, help clean up the toys,” hissed nine-year-old Larisa at her younger sister. “Was it only me who scattered everything here?”
She glared at her sister while gathering up the dolls and other trinkets strewn on the floor.
“– Lorik, don’t grumble. Mother told you in plain Russian not to mess with me. My tummy hurts,” snapped seven-year-old Yulka at her older sister, sitting on the bed and swinging her legs.
“– Don’t lie—nothing hurts; you just don’t want to clean up,” retorted the older sister. “I’m going to tell Mom everything!”
“– Oh, tattletale!” Yulka stuck out her tongue at her sister.
“– Maaam! And Yulka deceived you. Her tummy doesn’t hurt. She made it all up on purpose so she wouldn’t have to pick up her toys,” Larisa declared loudly.
At the call, their mother entered the room. A second before her arrival, Yulka had dived under the blanket, laid on her side, and pulled her knees to her chest, putting on a tearful expression.
“– What is going on here?” Mother asked sternly. She disliked being interrupted over trivial matters.
“– Yulka is lying about her tummy. She just doesn’t want to clean up,” Larisa repeated confidently.
“– Oh, oh, oh!” Yulka began to whimper plaintively, contorting her face in sorrow. “Mommy, she’s calling me a liar and forcing me to clean up. And you yourself said I should lie down and rest.”
“– What are you picking on your sister for?” Mother snapped at her older daughter.
“– She’s lying, pretending,” Larisa tried to justify. “She just doesn’t want to clean.”
“– Aren’t you ashamed of badmouthing your sister? Just because you’re as healthy as a horse doesn’t mean you can work her to the bone! Clean up the room, and I don’t want to hear you picking on Yulenka ever again. Really, God must have given you a slacker! Always ready to badmouth your sister as long as you do nothing yourself,” Mother said, slamming the door as she left the room.
“– Wah-wah-wah!”
Satisfied with herself, Yulka sat back on the bed as if nothing had happened—swinging her legs and sticking her tongue out at her sister.
Pouting and frowning, Larisa picked up the toys. Once again, Yulka had bested her.
“– Yulenka, why aren’t you going outside? Look, the weather is so beautiful!” Mother asked in puzzlement as she looked at her younger daughter, who sat on the sofa with her hands folded over her chest.
“– What should I go out in? Have you seen my wardrobe? It’s just full of Lorik’s rags. And the clothes you bought me a long time ago are way too small now.”
“– What rags are you talking about? At the beginning of the holidays we bought you all new clothes,” Mother wondered, opening the wardrobe door. “And you haven’t grown enough in just one month for your clothes to become too small.”
“– Mom, are you kidding? It’s shameful to go out in these old hand-me-downs from home,” complained Yulka, widening her eyes at her mother.
Larisa sat in an armchair with a book, listening to the conversation. She was certain that Mother wouldn’t refuse the younger one—just a little whining or fussing always worked in her favor.
“– Oh, Yulenka, your doll is really worn out now—you need a new one,” Father declared after his daughter had spent a week complaining that she had nothing to play with.
“– Oh, darling, rest a bit, lie down, since your legs hurt and your head is spinning, and you can help at the dacha another time,” Mother clucked over the younger one on another day.
“– Oh, Mommy, maybe I should go out after all? Why are you all just twisting your backs there?” the girl sighed heavily.
“– No, that’s it—you’ll stay home. Larisa, that strong mare, will handle the garden beds and watering herself,” Mother declared decisively.
“– Mom, but Yulka is healthier than anyone,” Larisa couldn’t hold it any longer. “She just arranged with the girls to go out for a walk, and now you with your dacha have ruined all her plans…”
“– Larisa!” Mother snapped angrily. “When will you stop badmouthing your sister? Clearly, either you’re sick or you’re lying—you’re just trying to make me fight with Yulka! I know who planned to go out; Yula already told me everything!”
The girls grew up, got married, and each went her own way. Now there was nothing to divide, and the relationship between the sisters gradually improved.
They didn’t have their own apartments, so they left the parental nest and moved into rented flats.
Soon, the family was struck by double misfortune: first, their father passed away, and then their beloved grandmother.
“– Mama, perhaps you need help with something?” Larisa offered.
“– Let’s have Valerka and I move in with you. Everything will be simpler, and you won’t feel so lonely,” Yulka chimed in as she poured tea into cups. The three of them sat in the family kitchen.
“– And one more thing! Am I some feeble invalid? Or do you think that if I have a three-room apartment here, I’ll gladly move? No, my dear children. I want to live for myself in my old age—to rest.”
“– I wasn’t insisting, I just wanted to help,” Yulka softened.
“– Lorik, don’t you know that Mom isn’t planning to sell Grandma’s apartment?” Yulka waited until Mother left the kitchen before adding.
“– Well, she doesn’t want to let it in, and frankly, she wasn’t really that keen anyway. But maybe Mom will eventually decide to sell Grandma’s apartment and split the money among us,” the girl sighed hopefully.
“– That would be nice; otherwise, we’re exhausted trying to save up for a mortgage. And we even have to pay a hefty sum for the rental,” Larisa agreed.
“– And we aren’t planning on saving anything. I want to go on proper vacations, relax at the seaside, and drive a nice car,” Yulka declared stubbornly, just as in childhood, pursing her lips.
“– So you’ll be stuck moving between rentals your whole life,” Larisa smirked. “Banks aren’t teachers. You might shed a tear before a teacher and beg for a better grade, but that won’t work with bankers.”
“– Oh, I just can’t,” Yulka pouted. “I get so tired at work—I want to go to a beauty salon and relax. And how can I not enjoy a seaside vacation? I can’t even imagine.”
“– Well, then just stay in a rental apartment and stop complaining,” Larisa snapped.
In moments like these, Larisa immediately recalled how her sister always achieved her desires through whining. But this time, Yulka’s whining promised nothing but a sour mood. Banks were indifferent to the tears of such crybabies.
“– Fine, be that way. And besides, Mother is well within her rights, but why did she latch onto Grandma’s apartment? We’re working so hard on these mortgages—we can barely manage,” Yulka fumed.
“– And where are you working so hard?” Larisa smirked, glancing sideways at her sister.
“– I could be working hard,” Yulka stubbornly declared. “Mother is doing well; she wants to live for herself, you see! And when will we ever get a chance to live for ourselves? How can that be?”
Larisa just shook her head as she listened to her sister’s ramblings. When someone grows up accustomed to reaping benefits through others’ efforts, that habit doesn’t fade with time.
That day, Larisa decided to undertake a thorough cleaning. Tolik was supposed to come home late from work, and her son had been taken by her mother-in-law as a guest. She could finally enjoy the cleaning process in peace.
A sudden knock on the door caught Larisa on the very top step of the ladder she had climbed to dust the chandelier. Muttering and stumbling, she hurried to the door.
“– Mama?” the woman said, not expecting to see her own mother on the doorstep.
“– I won’t be long,” the guest reassured her upon seeing the mess. “Pour me some tea while I wash my hands,” she ordered and disappeared into the bathroom.
“– Larisa, I’ve made a decision and it’s non-negotiable,” Mother announced as she sat at the table. “Yulenka’s life is terrible. Look at you—you’ve bought your own apartment and have a car, while they’ll never manage to secure proper housing…”
Larisa listened silently. A sour feeling welled up inside her.
“– So, I’ve asked the tenants to move out… I’m going to let Yulka and Valerik live in Grandma’s apartment.”
“– That’s your right,” the woman replied curtly as she rose from her seat. She was convinced that sooner or later, Yulka would whine about the apartment to her.
“– And where else can one go? Is it possible to save up for an apartment when you have to fork over a hefty sum for rented rooms to some uncle and aunt?”
“‘Why didn’t you hurry to let us into the apartment while we were saving for a mortgage? Oh well, forget them—let them live!’” Larisa thought to herself. It left her feeling neither particularly angry nor upset.
“– Mom, but how do you manage without extra earnings? You’re already used to a certain level of income,” her daughter asked, staring at her.
“Oh, I’ve thought of that too,” the guest announced joyfully. “While Yulka and Valerka are saving for a mortgage, you’ll be the one to support me.”
Mother fixed her daughter with a solemn look.
“– What do you mean, me?” Larisa was taken aback.
“– Well then! What isn’t clear? I can’t collect rent from Yulia, but I’m also not willing to give up my standard of living,” Mother shrugged, as if explaining the obvious to a not-so-bright child.
“– So why on earth should I make up for your lost money?” Larisa declared firmly. She was categorically against such an arrangement, but it seemed her mother wasn’t too bothered.
“– You’re strange! And who am I supposed to turn to for help?” Mother spread her hands.
“– But that isn’t fair. We have a mortgage and no extra money, and besides, no one helped us save up for an apartment.”
“– Well, you managed on your own, and Yulka lives worse than you—she needs help.”
“– Mom, I don’t know how Yulka cried to you about getting an apartment, but don’t count on me,” Larisa said angrily, staring at her mother.
“– Why all of a sudden? If you help, you’ll be like a darling—you won’t go anywhere.”
“– Or maybe Yulka will finally get her act together and stop squandering money left and right. Then, you see, you wouldn’t have to kick out tenants.”
“– So now, will you abandon the younger sister in her time of need? I believe in fairness. Now you’ll support me, and when Yulia saves up for an apartment, it’ll be her turn,” Mother insisted stubbornly.
“– It would be fair if, first, we lived in an apartment and saved up for our own, and Yulka supported you. Then I wouldn’t even have the nerve to complain. But as it is…”
“– Never mind, Yulia’s turn to support me will come, you’ll see,” the woman persisted.
“– Oh, sure—just wait! Then even tougher times will befall Yulka! By then, she’ll already have a mortgage!”
“– I never knew I’d given birth to such a good-for-nothing and unresponsive daughter,” Mother bellowed throughout the building as she left Larisa’s home.
“– And you go see the younger one,” Larisa advised in return. “But don’t count on much—Yulka is used to getting everything from everyone. She herself isn’t in any hurry to help,” her daughter said before slamming the door.
From that moment on, not a day went by without either Mother or Yulka calling Larisa. If Mother demanded that she accept her conditions, Yulka would endlessly whine about how hard life was for her, poor thing.
“– No, Mom, I won’t help you with money,” Larisa repeated over and over.
“– You’re abandoning your mother—that’s not acceptable. Because of you, I’ll be left without an income!”
“– I haven’t taken anything from you, and I don’t plan to give you anything either. I have my own family and my own plans,” Larisa declared firmly.
“– If you don’t transfer the money to me, forget about having a mother!”
“– Little sister, I didn’t know you were so jealous,” Yulka said into the phone. “Can’t you see that this is my only chance at having my own apartment? You’ll see—we’ll quickly save up for an apartment and move out.”
“– And why do you need to move out? You once cried your way into getting the chance to move into Grandma’s apartment—cry a little more; I’m sure Mother will soon write you off.”
“– Really? Oh! Why are you saying such things?!”
Realizing that her relatives wouldn’t leave her alone voluntarily, Larisa put both of them on her blacklist. She was tired of always being the one upon whom they dumped their troubles…