— “Mom, can we call Dad on video? Let’s congratulate him!” the older daughter suggested, looking at Yulia.
— “Pwease, Mommy! Me and sissy will wead a poem… and Daddy will bwing us pwesents fwom his business twip!” the little one clapped her hands. The girls adored their father and were very upset that Daddy had left so suddenly. And not just on any weekend, but on his own birthday!
— “Yes, my loves, I’ll call Daddy a little later and we’ll congratulate him together. He’s busy now, working…”
Yulia had already called her husband several times. For some reason, he wasn’t answering. And then… the phone came alive. Boris was calling on video, which he almost never did.
— “Kids, Daddy is calling himself! Maybe he heard we wanted to congratulate him…”
The older girl grabbed the phone faster than her mom and, pressing “accept call,” saw something incredible and quickly handed the phone to her mother.
Three days earlier
Yulia had planned out how she would celebrate her husband’s birthday.
Every year she organized a little surprise, knowing how much he loved parties with friends, late-night chats, wine flowing like a river, and for dessert — never cream cake, but always a pie with fresh strawberries.
This time Yulia didn’t want to break tradition: she booked a table at a new restaurant and invited close friends. She had also arranged for her mom to take the kids so the evening could have a more intimate continuation.
After seven years, the initial passion had faded a bit, and Yulia knew it was time to add some spark to their love. The “cake” surprise would come later — just the two of them, no one else around, along with a passionate dance she had been practicing for a month to truly impress her husband.
Everything was going according to plan, until three days before the party, Boris came home looking gloomier than a thundercloud.
— “Did something happen?” his wife asked in alarm.
— “Yes…” He sat down next to her, gathering his thoughts. “I know you always prepare for my birthday, but this time we’ll have to postpone. If you even had anything planned…”
Yulia’s eyes widened.
— “Of course I had plans! Everything’s already arranged!” she said, confused.
— “I’m sorry, I won’t be home that day. My bosses are tearing their hair out — I have to urgently fly to Kazan. A new project came up, unscheduled but very profitable. Without me the deal will fail. I’m the most experienced in the department, you understand… I tried to find a replacement, but during vacation season and on such short notice… Impossible. I don’t know what else to do. Unless you and the kids come with me.”
— “Go where?” Yulia said quietly. “The baby just recovered, we can’t drag her across the country. And Mom still hasn’t recovered from Dad’s death. I’m afraid to leave her with the kids for long.”
— “I know, I know.” He sighed; it was clear this was hard for him to say. “I agreed with my boss to make the trip as short as possible — just three days. When I’m back, we’ll celebrate, I promise. No guests, just our little family.”
— “Of course. We’ll celebrate later. I’ll call the restaurant and cancel the reservation. Yeah…” Yulia was disappointed. She had already paid a non-refundable deposit. And it was embarrassing to cancel on their friends. But how could you celebrate without the birthday boy?
— “Thank you…” He hugged Yulia, and they sat silently for a while. “Oh, and Yulyok, if you can, take Mom and submit the paperwork for the car. You have a power of attorney from me. It expires soon, and I’m always too busy. And your mom is… not very reliable these days, after everything.”
Yulia nodded. Six months ago, her father had passed away. Her mother was devastated; she even ended up in the hospital with heart problems. Recently she inherited his property — an apartment, a dacha… and a new SUV her husband never got to drive. Boris was the only one with a driver’s license, so the question arose: what to do with the inheritance?
Selling it meant paying a huge tax. Keeping it meant maintenance costs and property taxes her mother couldn’t afford after losing the breadwinner. So Boris proposed a solution:
— “Transfer your dad’s car to my name. I’ll drive it, take the family around. I’ll sell my old car and give your mom the money from the sale plus our savings for a new car. She’ll get a nice amount.”
Her mother didn’t want to take money from her son-in-law at first, but then agreed to take part of the sum as a birthday gift. But, as they say, “first the chairs, then the money.”
They were supposed to go to the city office right after the party, on Monday.
Yulia canceled the reservation and apologized to the guests. That Saturday was an ordinary day. The kids stayed home, played, and begged Mom to call Daddy. Daddy, who was supposedly working hard.
And yet, Yulia couldn’t resist calling him again and again.
“The subscriber is unavailable.” Busy. Working. Fine.
Meanwhile, in beautiful Kazan, Boris thought everything had worked out perfectly. He hummed some tune while soaping himself in the shower. He sang out of tune, but with gusto. His phone stayed in the bedroom, so he didn’t hear his wife’s calls. Boris was happy he had gotten rid of his wife and kids for the weekend.
Mila, his girlfriend, passed by and heard the persistent ringtone. She frowned. Something about that stubborn call from “Sister” in Boris’s contacts felt odd.
— “Borya?” she called, cracking the bathroom door. “Your ‘Sister’ is calling. Must want to congratulate you.”
— “Ignore it,” he replied over the sound of water. “I’ll call back later. Not talking to relatives in the shower. Come here and scrub my back instead.”
— “Sure, darling,” Mila smiled, closed the door, and happily hit redial — but this time on video.
Only instead of a “sister,” a little girl about six appeared on the screen.
— “Mommy… Why is there a strange lady on the screen?” the little girl, who looked a lot like Boris, asked in astonishment.
“Must be his niece,” Mila thought with a smile and waved cheerfully:
— “Hi! What’s your name?”
But the girl had already handed the phone to her mother.
Now on screen Mila saw a woman. Ordinary: light brown hair pinned back with a clip. Mila noticed the frown line on her forehead… She decided to break the awkward silence; after all, she didn’t know her boyfriend’s “family.”
— “Hello!” Mila said brightly. “I’ve wanted to meet you for so long!”
— “Excuse me… and who are you?” Yulia asked.
— “I’m Mila. Boris’s girlfriend. Well… your brother’s. He’s in the shower now, getting ready for tonight. You know it’s his birthday and we’re going to a restaurant. It’s a pity you can’t join us… Actually, why don’t we congratulate him together? It’s a special day! We can do it right now over video — he’ll be so happy!”
Yulia endured the flood of words without blinking. Only the wrinkle on her forehead deepened.
— “Mila, is it? Boris’s girlfriend?” she asked softly.
— “Yes. We’ve been together almost a year… I’ve wanted to meet you, but for some reason Borya hasn’t introduced us yet. I’m ready to fly to Moscow, or you can come to Kazan! It’s such a beautiful city… I’ll show you everything. I’m so glad you called. Otherwise, we might have gone on without knowing about each other. Boris is so secretive, but so wonderful. I think we’ll soon move on to the next stage.”
Yulia forced a smile. Everything was perfectly clear now.
She didn’t let on that she wasn’t Boris’s sister, but his wife. The kids, thankfully, kept quiet.
— “Alright,” she said. “Let’s surprise him. I’m glad we learned about each other too. Don’t hang up. I’ll put on a party hat, grab the cake, and we’ll blow out candles with the kids, sing happy birthday, okay?”
— “Yes!” Mila beamed like a star. She looked happier than the birthday boy himself.
— “Borya! Are you coming out?” she called. “We need to leave soon.”
— “Yeah… Couldn’t wait for you, my sunshine, my love. Guess dessert will have to wait till tonight…”
When Boris came out of the bathroom, grinning in just a towel, Mila was sitting on the bed holding the phone. Her smile was as bright as a lottery winner’s.
— “Who’s that?” Boris tensed.
— “I’m on with your sister. She’s so sweet. And the kids… They agreed to congratulate you live.”
Mila turned the phone, and the screen came alive.
— “Surprise!” Mila and Yulia shouted together, and Boris froze.
Yulia sat in front of the camera in a party hat. The girls beside her wore little hats too.
— “Daddy! Happy birthday!” Boris’s daughters shouted over each other, while he… he wanted to sink through the floor.
In Yulia’s hands was their marriage certificate.
— “Girls, confetti for Daddy now!”
— “Darling, my husband!” she said calmly. “Happy birthday.”
She carefully lifted the document — and tore it into tiny pieces under Mila’s shocked gaze. Mila didn’t understand what was happening.
— “We won’t be giving you the car; it stays with Mom. And yours will have to be sold, along with the apartment… all that’s marital property.”
She paused.
— “I hope Mila has her own place. Because from now on, you’ll be living with her. And I’ll be filing for child support… Kids come first.”
Her face disappeared. The screen went black. The only sound was Boris’s pounding heart.
— “You’re married,” Mila finally realized. “And you saved my name as ‘Sister’ so I wouldn’t suspect… Clever…”
Boris said nothing.
— “But that’s not even the worst… You have kids! Two adorable girls! What more could you possibly need? Your wife’s beautiful! Your girls call you Daddy…” Disappointment flickered in Mila’s eyes.
— “Mila, listen, it’s not like that. I just didn’t want…”
— “…to be honest?”
She stood up and started gathering her things. The weekend had gone off the rails for everyone, and she had no desire to stay under the same roof with Boris.
— “Mil! Don’t go… At least you be reasonable!”
— “You told me you had no one! That you were all alone! That celebrating a birthday alone was so bitter and lonely, when all your friends already have families!”
Boris tried to speak, but Mila wasn’t listening. She understood everything and decided to leave.
Now there really was no one to celebrate his birthday with.
Yulia didn’t know how to explain everything to the girls. She wasn’t ready for a serious talk yet, so she simply turned to her mother. Her mother understood everything without words.
— “Yes, honey… I’ll take care of the grandkids. You go out. Clear your head.”
Yulia put on that new dress, called her husband’s friends, and invited them to celebrate the birthday of her new life. Some declined, but many came.
That evening, Yulia partied like she hadn’t even at 18. At the end of the night, she savored the very pie she’d made for Boris. Her friends all supported her and unanimously condemned Boris.
On Monday, instead of going to the registration office, Yulia went to a lawyer and filed for divorce. Boris was left with nothing, and on top of that, child support for two kids.
Was it worth it? Hardly. But there was no turning back now.