Family secrets can destroy even the strongest relationships.
Sonya and Matvei got married a year and a half ago. Matvei had his own one-room apartment. It wasn’t new, but it was in a good location.
Sonya had a three-room apartment, but she still had four more years to pay off the mortgage.
They decided to live in Sonya’s apartment and rent out Matvei’s, using the income to pay off the mortgage.
The young family was financially comfortable. Matvei worked as a manager at a construction company and had a decent salary. Sonya owned a women’s clothing store. Actually, it was her mother’s store, but Sonya had been working there since she was seventeen, first as a simple sales assistant, then as a senior assistant, and when the elderly accountant Klavdiya Petrovna retired, Sonya took over the accounting.
A year ago, Sonya’s father finished building their house, and the parents moved to one of the suburban cottage communities. At that time, her mother made Sonya the director of the store, and she started growing flowers on her plot of land.
So, Sonya and Matvei were living well and were already thinking about having children, especially since Sonya was 26 and Matvei was 30.
But then something happened that shook their marriage, and under certain conditions, could have even shattered it.
The thing was, Matvei’s younger sister, Lyuba, had gotten a proposal from her colleague, Vadim. According to their mother, he wasn’t exactly the ideal match she had hoped for her daughter, but since Lyuba was already 28 and there were no better prospects in sight, the parents gave their approval and began preparing for the wedding.
We won’t describe this chaotic but happy time for both families, especially since the event that left Sonya astonished happened right at the wedding.
The guests had already eaten well, had some drinks, and given gifts. The bride and groom stood up to thank everyone, and after their words, Lyuba said:
“And we are also very grateful to my older brother, Matvei, who has kindly let us stay in his one-room apartment for the time being. Thank you, brother!”
Sonya was surprised not by Matvei’s act, but by the fact that he hadn’t consulted her about it or even mentioned it. She wanted to find Matvei, who had stepped away at that moment, and ask him why he did it, since they shared a budget. But her mother stopped her:
“Don’t bring it up now. It’s a celebration, and you might end up fighting. Wait until tomorrow and then ask him why he didn’t discuss it with you.”
The wedding ended, the guests left, and Sonya and Matvei came home. She didn’t ask him any questions, although she could tell he was waiting for them and even prepared to defend himself.
But the next morning, right after breakfast, while cleaning the dishes, Sonya said:
“Matvei, I have two questions for you. The first: why didn’t you consult me before letting Lyuba and her husband stay in your apartment? And second: how are we going to pay the mortgage now, since we won’t have money from renting it out?”
“To the first question, I’ll answer simply: it’s my apartment, so it’s natural that I can decide who can live there. Vadim doesn’t have his own place, and he doesn’t want to live with his wife’s parents, nor do they want to pay rent. Lyuba asked, and I didn’t refuse. And as for the mortgage, don’t worry — I’ll take care of the payments.”
That was the end of the conversation.
Two weeks passed. The payment deadline arrived. Sonya checked the bank app and saw that Matvei had made the payment. A week later, she called him and asked:
“Darling, could you transfer me ten thousand to my card? I’m at the store, and there’s some really good meat for steaks here. I want to make dinner tonight.”
“I only have a couple of thousand on my card; I paid the mortgage,” he replied.
When Matvei sat down for dinner, Sonya put a plate of fried potatoes and a bowl of pickled cucumbers and tomatoes from her mother’s garden in front of him.
“Didn’t you mention something about steaks?” he asked his wife.
“Well, you didn’t transfer me the money, and I didn’t have enough. So, I bought eggs, sausage cheese, bread, and kefir,” Sonya said, pouring herself a glass of kefir and sitting at the table.
“Sonya, you’re the store director. Can’t you take as much salary as you want, even a hundred thousand? You bring home the same amount I do.”
Sonya really could have taken more as a salary, but she thought at the beginning of their marriage that it might make Matvei feel awkward, even humiliated — I’m the man, but I earn less than my wife. So, she contributed to the family budget just as much as he did.
In her work safe, she kept about a million for unforeseen expenses, but the majority of the profit from the store went into the business’s development, and she had been thinking about opening another store in a different part of the city in five years.
“You’re so naive, Matvei. Sometimes my senior sales assistant earns more than I do, because she has a fixed salary plus a commission on sales. But I only get what’s left after I pay all the taxes and settle up with the employees. I have six people working in the store — four sales assistants, a senior sales assistant, and a cleaner. To save money, I do the accounting myself, although I really should hire an accountant. If I tell you how much I pay in insurance contributions for myself and all the employees, you wouldn’t even remember. And utility bills? We also need to pay for electricity, water, and garbage collection. And if something breaks? Just recently, the metal blinds we use to cover the windows at night got stuck. We had to call a repairman, and I had to pay extra for the urgent service. And we need to have the display windows cleaned every week — we hire a cleaning service. That’s what’s left after all that — that’s what’s mine.”
The next day, Matvei had scrambled eggs for breakfast, and for coffee, Sonya made him two sandwiches with sausage cheese. For dinner, she served pasta with a sauce made from finely chopped sausage, onions, and carrots. She had kefir again.
“You could at least have made some pancakes for tea,” Matvei said, annoyed.
“I’m really tired today, but I promise I’ll make you a big stack of pancakes for breakfast on Sunday!” Sonya kissed her husband on the cheek and went to the bathroom.
On Saturday, Sonya made oatmeal for breakfast and rushed off to work, while Matvei decided to visit his sister, hoping to be received as a dear guest. Yes, they offered him a cup of tea, and his sister passed him a bowl of cookies and candies, but Lyuba quickly mentioned that they were planning to go to the supermarket to buy food for the week.
On his way home, Matvei spent his last money to fill up the car, only putting in half a tank, and at the store near his house, he bought an instant noodle pack for lunch for eighty rubles.
In the evening, while eating fried potatoes with canned eggplant, Matvei thought that Lyuba and Vadim probably had a more luxurious dinner.
And then Sonya disappointed him:
“I don’t know if I’ll even be able to take a salary next month. First, sales are almost nonexistent; after March 8th, it’s like the dead season. Second, the suppliers want an advance payment for the new summer collection. And that’s several million.”
“Can’t you just not take this collection?” Matvei asked.
“And what will we work with then? Everyone’s already asking for summer clothes.”
“Do I have to keep eating fried potatoes and pasta for another month?” Matvei grumbled.
“Darling, I’m trying to cook more varied meals. Last night for dinner, I made pasta with cheese. The night before, spaghetti with vegetables. Tomorrow, I’m planning to make rice with vegetable sauce. And you know, there’s something good about this system of eating. I replaced dinner with kefir, and I’ve lost four kilograms this month. I tried on a couple of summer dresses at work yesterday, and they fit wonderfully! Summer’s only two months away, and I think I’ll lose another five or six kilograms. And on Saturday, I’ll bake you some pies. I remember my grandmother used to make them — she filled them with mashed potatoes, fried onions, and garlic. They were so delicious. Yes, this Saturday, my parents are coming over.”
“Are you going to feed them pasta too?” Matvei asked.
“Don’t worry, darling, everything will be fine.”
On Saturday, after feeding her husband buckwheat porridge with milk, Sonya took over the kitchen. The smells wafting from there made Matvei salivate.
Her parents arrived just in time for lunch.
Sonya set a beautiful soup tureen from her grandmother’s china on the table, and beside it, two large plates of pies — one with potatoes and the other with eggs and green onions.
“Oh! Mushroom soup!” Matvei’s mother exclaimed. “Is it from those white mushrooms you picked in the forest behind our house?”
The soup was delicious, and the pies were great, but Matvei really wanted meat.
He hoped that for the second course, Sonya would have cooked it. But there was no second course at all. After the soup, she brought out tea cups and a large pie with gooseberry jam. The guests ate and complimented the food.
“Sonia, you’ve fed me so well, I won’t be able to sit behind the wheel now — my belly won’t fit!” said her father, getting up from the table.
After lunch, Sonya and her mother went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and chat. The men stayed in the living room watching a football match.
“How long are you going to keep him without meat?” her mother quietly asked.
“The second month now. I already feel sorry for him, and I’m tired of always coming up with something meatless,” Sonya replied just as quietly.
“It’s okay, hang in there a little longer. I’ll speed things up a bit. Yesterday I discussed some recipes with your mother-in-law on the phone.”
They left the kitchen and joined the men.
“Sonia, darling, where’s my bag?” her mother asked. “Matvei, I was talking to your mother on the phone yesterday, and she asked me for the recipe for the chicken stew and julienne with cream that I made at my anniversary party. She said Vadim, Lyuba’s husband, really liked those dishes. He wants Lyuba to learn how to cook them. Here, take this and give it to your mom; I’ve written everything down.”
Matvei took the recipes and put them in his jacket pocket. He looked so dejected that Sonya felt sorry for him.
That night, Matvei dreamed of a huge dish of stew. It smelled amazing. Matvei reached for the dish, but suddenly Vadim appeared and stole it right from under his nose.
The next morning, after having rice porridge for breakfast, Matvei left. He returned by lunchtime, ate the rest of the mushroom soup with pies with an appetite, and asked his wife:
“Sonia, has Marya Semenovna’s daughter found an apartment yet?”
“No, she called again today when you were gone. Why?”
“Call her and tell her to move in next week,” Matvei replied.
“And what about Lyuba and Vadim?” Sonya asked.
“They’ll move in with my parents. They’ll manage in the three-room apartment.”