Can we just have a Saturday without cleaning today? Let’s not do anything useful!” Oksana looked hopefully at her husband. “Let’s have a lazy day! Because… I’m starting to quietly hate the weekends.”
Vyacheslav, without getting up from the bed, groped for his phone and, squinting, looked at the screen. Almost twelve o’clock.
“We sure slept in!” the young man said sleepily. “I can’t even figure out what dimension I’m in, and you’re talking about cleaning.”
The girl sat up and, folding her arms across her chest, grumbled discontentedly:
“I’m ‘white’ jealous of your peace and sleep. God! And I get insomnia every Friday to Saturday night. I hate cleaning! Let’s become millionaires, right? So we don’t have to crawl around the apartment with a rag.”
Vyacheslav laughed out loud.
“I understand that a long sleep might start causing hallucinations, but not to this extent!”
Oksana grabbed a pillow and threw it at her husband with all her might.
“Merciless, evil, down-to-earth!”
“Look, I was just about to accept your proposal. Thinking, maybe I should respond to my beloved wife’s request. Invite her to a café or the cinema, and to hell with all this dust and dirty clothes! But your insults just ruined all my good intentions!” Vyacheslav laughed loudly across the apartment.
“No, dear, I was joking. Honest to goodness! I take it all back! Just let your plans become reality!” the wife smiled playfully.
“You see,” the young man answered seriously. “I’m not against it at all. But if suddenly one of our relatives decides to burst in for a visit, especially your mom or mine, I’m sure both of us would suffer. Their mouths won’t close for hours. That’s for sure! Are you ready for a verbal attack?”
“In the end, I don’t have to be ready for anything. I don’t owe anyone anything, except my husband. And the husband said ‘it’s okay!'”
Suddenly, there was a ringing at the front door, and within a few minutes, Lydia Grigorievna burst into the apartment.
“Mom, what happened?” Oksana looked suspiciously at the woman. It was evident to the naked eye that she was very troubled.
“Daughter, we need to talk! Let’s go to the kitchen,” Lydia Grigorievna, without waiting for the hostess’s reply, rushed to the “coveted couch.”
“Mom, ignore the pile of dirty dishes,” the girl said, trying to cover the sink with her back, uncertainly. “Slava and I were just so tired yesterday, there was no time for…”
“It’s okay, daughter. It happens to everyone! You’ll wash them!” the woman interrupted Oksana.
The girl opened her mouth in surprise. No, something was definitely wrong here! She could have expected anything, but not such a comment from her mother.
“We had a disaster. A few days ago, our neighbors flooded us so badly that I cried all night, unable to calm down. Everything was ruined!”
Oksana covered her mouth with her hand in horror and looked desperately at Lydia Grigorievna:
“Why didn’t you tell me right away? And what do we do now? Have you already taken any actions?”
“Yes, of course. Don’t worry. Our neighbors are very decent people. They immediately admitted their guilt and took responsibility. They said there’s no need for any courts or investigations, they agree to do a major renovation in our apartment at their expense. Not fancy, of course, but comparable to what we had before the incident.”
“I don’t understand. Are all the rooms ruined? Maybe I should go with you to check? Wait a bit, I’ll quickly take a shower and change.”
“No, no! What are you thinking! Is it a museum? What’s there to look at? Peeling ceiling, ruined furniture, or wallpaper? It’s all sad, take my word for it.”
“Mom, I didn’t mean that,” Oksana said, flustered. “Maybe some help or support is needed?”
The woman looked hopefully at her daughter and politely said:
“Darling, starting today, a crew of workers is in the apartment. Your father and I have nowhere to live. We wanted to ask to stay with you. For three or four weeks. No more.”
“With us?” the girl asked uncertainly, not knowing what to say now.
“We won’t be in the way. I promise. It’s not for long. You won’t leave us on the street. You won’t send us to strangers. Please, daughter, I beg you.”
Oksana sadly shook her head.
“Alright. The main thing is that they fix everything and the unpleasant situation is closed.”
“My golden girl! Thank you!” Lydia Grigorievna beamed. “I’ll run home for your father right now. How he’ll rejoice at the news! And you get the bedroom ready for us! You’ll manage in a couple of hours?”
“Bedroom?” Oksana still couldn’t believe what was happening. “I thought to place you in the living room.”
“What do you mean? Your living room is a thoroughfare. You go to bed late, and we go to bed early. You’d be walking back and forth, disturbing us. We already suffer from insomnia. No, daughter. You can live in the living room for a while. You’re young, you’ll be fine anywhere. In youth, it doesn’t matter where, but with whom!”
The woman laughed loudly, but when she realized that Oksana didn’t get her humor, she quickly got up and headed for the door.
“And go to the store. Prepare something for lunch. I’m so hungry, I only had a glass of water today.”
“Alright, mom. Got it!” the daughter dryly responded and watched her mother with a displeased look until she disappeared behind the door.
This song was just what was missing from life! Many years ago, Oksana hoped that she would never have to live with her parents again, and yet…
Lydia Grigorievna and Mikhail Pavlovich were that ideal couple, often held up as an example, admired by acquaintances and close friends. If the theory of soulmates exists, then they were definitely parts of one whole.
The couple loved the same music, restaurants, movies. They had common habits and a similar style in clothing. It seemed that they even viewed the world from the same angle.
Oksana’s parents never argued, and if they did, it was over something minor, like “why did you leave the cup here” or “the weather will be bad tomorrow, don’t argue.” And yes, this was a family of perfectionists and clean freaks. The spouses were obsessed with cleanliness and dedicated every free minute to cleaning. Order was of utmost importance to them!
That’s why, since school, Oksana dreamed of living away from her parents and running as far as her eyes could see because… she was completely different. With an opposite view of coziness and cleanliness at home.
For the girl, a pile of clothes on a chair, a dirty plate on the desk after eating, and creative chaos in things were absolutely normal. She saw nothing wrong with washing dishes once a day instead of immediately after eating. Vacuuming once every three days, not every evening. And throwing things on the shelves when there’s no time to fold everything neatly.
Oksana was convinced that cleaning was not the meaning of life.
Unlike Lydia Grigorievna, who constantly told her daughter:
“Remember, dirt in the house is a sign of poverty. Only losers can afford to sit with a dirty mug under their nose. Only losers justify creative chaos to hide their sloppiness. You can’t!”
“Lectures about cleanliness and order” continued until Oksana graduated from school. As soon as the girl enrolled in university, she immediately ran away to live in a dormitory, despite the fact that the institution was in her hometown.
“Daughter, what did you come up with? Why go to that dirty bug den? What strange desires?”
“I want to learn to live independently!” Oksana insisted, packed a suitcase, and left.
At that moment, her relationship with her parents significantly improved. One could say they reached absolute harmony and pleasure.
Oksana visited her mom and dad about once a month. They joyfully welcomed her, set the table, and the daughter shared her victories and failures with them, while her parents did everything possible to support their child.
After graduating from university, the girl married Vyacheslav, whom she had been dating for about three years. And as if by fate, she also found her “soulmate.”
The husband was far from perfectionism, did not suffer from clean freak syndrome, and was easy-going about cleaning and organizing everyday life.
“As my mom used to say, the main thing is not to be overrun by dirt and to keep the cockroaches from running around the apartment. Everything else is minor!” the young man laughed.
The newlyweds lived soul to soul and made plans for the future. Nothing foreshadowed trouble until… the flood in the parents’ apartment happened. Now they were to move in together again, which promised nothing good.
“Ah, sister! Why do you live in a dorm? Why haven’t you rented an apartment yet? It would be very comfortable for you together! You’re a copy of mom!” Oksana grumbled to herself, cleaning the bedroom.
But somehow life again connected the eldest daughter with her parents. Apparently, not for good…
All the girl’s bad premonitions began to materialize from the first day of her parents’ move.
On average, in an hour, the daughter listened to about a hundred pieces of advice and recommendations on how to live.
“Oksana, should men’s socks be lying like this in the closet? And what are these pillowcases? They’re clearly more than six months old.”
“Mom, don’t start. I think you haven’t forgotten what your lectures lead to. I let you into the house not for you to teach me household issues with a professor’s face. I’m not a little girl anymore, I’m an adult woman.”
“Exactly!” Lydia Grigorievna snapped angrily. “And I’m ashamed to see such a scene in front of my eyes. You’re now a wife! Tell me, what normal man would live with someone like you?”
“Mom, we’re all fine! Please, don’t meddle in someone else’s family! Don’t make me be rude to you! Let’s preserve the good relations that we managed to build over the years. Don’t you cherish them?”
“One has nothing to do with the other!”
“It does too! You asked to stay in my house. I let you in like a normal person. I sincerely wanted to help. And what did you do? Just bear with it for three weeks. If you don’t like it, pack your suitcase and out! I’m not going to adjust to your ‘sick’ beliefs!”
Tears gleamed in Lydia Grigorievna’s eyes. The woman said nothing, grabbed her coat, and quickly ran out of the apartment.
After the argument with her mother, Oksana couldn’t find peace. Yes, her mother was wrong. She drove her daughter out of her wits. But… it’s still her mother. She’s just worried, anxious. Wants what’s best.
The girl took her phone and quickly dialed Lydia Grigorievna. The woman picked up the phone after the sixth ring:
“What happened, Oksana? Haven’t you said all your insults to your mother yet? Want to add something?”
The daughter took a deep breath and quietly said:
“Mom, forgive me. I was wrong. I flared up and hurt you, but it was absolutely unfair. Forgive me. I promise to keep my emotions under control. It won’t happen again.”
“Alright. We all need to calm down a bit. Let’s forget this incident. See you!”
Oksana threw the mobile phone on the couch and finally exhaled. She did it! The girl didn’t like to apologize, but if it was her fault…
Suddenly, she heard strange noises. As if someone was talking somewhere. Neighbors? She hadn’t noticed such audibility before.
She glanced at the phone and realized that she hadn’t hung up. Mom, apparently, also didn’t notice that the mobile was still “on call” and was arguing heatedly with someone.
Oksana brought the mobile to her ear and heard:
“Daughter, I dream no less than you that three months will quickly pass. Do you think it’s worst for you, my dear? No! I agreed to live with a slob for your sake. Even though it’s my eldest daughter, I’m disgusted to be in her apartment! And our characters don’t match. I have to endure her antics constantly. One meeting a month is more than enough for me! And preferably not on her territory!”
“Mom, but I need money as soon as possible! I’m tired of living without a car! Why did I get a driver’s license then?”
“Hang in there, my good girl. Just a little longer. I always keep my word. I gave away my savings, took a loan from Aunt Sveta. But it still wasn’t enough. And what did mom do? For your sake, I rented out my apartment and went to live in a dirty bug den. Do you understand what I’m sacrificing? The only thing I can do is ask the tenants to pay the entire amount upfront. Maybe it will work.”
“Mommy!” Alena exclaimed delightedly. “Yes, try! Please! It would be simply magical! Finally, I’ll have a car. You and dad will buy it for me! Hooray!”
Oksana slowly pressed the red button. There was no point in listening further.
The girl swallowed the lump in her throat. What just happened? What was that?
By some coincidence of circumstances… she forgot to hang up the phone after talking to her mom and accidentally learned about the vile plan of her relatives. Mom and sister. The two closest people to her conspired behind her back, spoke derogatory words about her, and… lied. Blatantly lied to buy Alena a car.
Tears glistened in her eyes, but the girl quickly composed herself.
“No! You won’t cry over those who don’t deserve it. You can’t! You’ll just remove these people from your life forever. Without explaining why!” Oksana convinced herself.
The girl quickly packed her parents’ belongings in a suitcase, took a five-ruble bill from her wallet, and taped it to the handle, signing “Adding to Alena’s car fund.” She carried the trunks to the stairwell and loudly slammed the door.
She immediately added both her parents and her sister to the “blacklist.”
When mom and dad picked up their things, Oksana didn’t know. They didn’t ring the doorbell or try to reach her. They just disappeared from her life. Probably, they felt the same as she did.
They were too different to consider themselves one family. Alas.