Tatiana heard the doorbell while she was busy with the cake. Alexey was helping her in the kitchen—clumsily working with the cream and trying to pipe little roses along the sides.
“Will you get that?” Tanya asked, nodding toward the hallway.
“Of course,” Alexey wiped his hands and kissed her on the cheek.
Tatiana smiled. The year after her divorce from Igor had been hard, but now life was finally getting back on track. Pasha, her and her ex-husband’s seven-year-old son, had finally stopped asking when Dad would come back home. Alexey had appeared in her life three months ago, and everything had become… easier.
Instead of the sound of the door opening, Tatiana heard a loud female exclamation:
“Oh! And I thought Tanechka wasn’t home!”
Her heart sank. She would recognize that voice anywhere—Larisa Ivanovna, her former mother-in-law, queen of surprise visits and unsolicited advice.
“Hello,” Alexey said uncertainly.
Tatiana quickly wiped her hands and rushed into the hallway. Sure enough—there on the doorstep stood Larisa Ivanovna with a shopping bag in her hand. The woman’s eyes darted between Tatiana and the unfamiliar man.
“Larisa Ivanovna! What a surprise,” Tanya managed to say.
“Well, I was just passing by and decided to drop in on my grandson,” the mother-in-law walked into the apartment without being invited. “And who do we have here?”
Alexey was holding a bouquet of lilies—he’d been about to put them in a vase—and a box of pastries.
“Alexey,” he held out his hand.
Larisa Ivanovna ignored it.
“Pasha!” she called out. “Grandma’s here!”
The boy ran out of his room but instead of rushing to his grandmother, he dashed up to Alexey:
“Lesha, you promised to show me the new game! Did you download it yet?”
“Pash, say hello to Grandma,” Tatiana reminded him.
“Hi, Gran!” the boy hugged Larisa Ivanovna and immediately went back to Alexey. “So what about the game?”
“Everything’s ready, champ. I’ll show you after tea.”
Larisa Ivanovna pressed her lips into a thin line.
“Maybe we should go to the kitchen?” Tatiana suggested. “Our cake is almost ready.”
“You two… are baking together?” Larisa Ivanovna swept her gaze over the kitchen as if looking for evidence of a crime.
“Yes, Alexey’s helping. He’s really good with the cream.”
“Don’t exaggerate,” Alexey laughed. “My roses look more like cabbage heads.”
Tatiana noticed the corner of her former mother-in-law’s mouth twitch.
“How long have you… known each other?” asked Larisa Ivanovna, sitting down at the table.
“Three months,” Alexey replied. “We met in a bookshop. Tatiana was looking for a book for Pasha, and I helped her choose.”
“And what do you do for a living?” Larisa Ivanovna went on the attack.
“I’m a UI designer. That’s…”
“I know what a designer is,” she cut him off. “And does Igor know that you two are here… baking cakes?”
Tatiana felt her shoulders tense up. Here we go.
“Igor and I don’t discuss my personal life,” she answered calmly. “He knows Pasha is doing well. That’s enough.”
Larisa Ivanovna threw up her hands.
“Isn’t a son supposed to know that some strange man is hanging around his child?”
“Larisa Ivanovna,” Tatiana took a deep breath, “Pasha is mine and Igor’s son. We both decide what’s good for him.”
“Well, I think you’re rushing things! The divorce isn’t even cold yet, and you already…”
“Already what?” Tatiana set the cups on the table. “Say it plainly, Larisa Ivanovna.”
Her former mother-in-law pursed her lips.
“You’ve already brought a man into the house. Isn’t it a bit early? What will people say?”
Alexey sat down next to Tatiana and put his hand on her shoulder.
“I think people shouldn’t care, as long as Tatiana and Pasha are happy.”
“Oh, young man! Don’t interfere, please,” Larisa Ivanovna waved a hand. “I’m talking to my daughter-in-law.”
“Former daughter-in-law,” Tatiana corrected her.
“What?”
“Former daughter-in-law,” she repeated louder. “Igor and I divorced a year ago.”
“And so what? I’m Pasha’s grandmother, I have a right to know who my grandson spends time with!”
Pasha burst into the kitchen and plopped down on a chair next to Alexey.
“Lesha, are we going biking this weekend? You promised!”
“Of course, champ,” Alexey ruffled the boy’s hair. “If Mom doesn’t mind.”
“Mom, pleeeease!” Pasha whined.
“We’ll go,” Tatiana smiled.
Larisa Ivanovna frowned.
“And does your father know that you’re planning to go biking? What if he wanted to spend time with you?”
“Dad’s on a business trip,” Pasha shrugged. “He’s not coming back for two weeks. He told me himself.”
“And how often do you see Dad?” Grandma continued her interrogation.
“Twice a month. We go to the movies or to the park. And he also promised to take me fishing in the summer!”
“And this… Alexey… is he here often?”
“Larisa Ivanovna,” Tatiana sighed. “Let’s not…”
“Lesha comes almost every day!” Pasha interrupted happily. “We play console games and build model kits. And he brings Mom presents and kisses her when he thinks I’m not looking.”
Larisa Ivanovna choked on her tea.
“Every day? You practically live here?” she drilled Alexey with her eyes.
“We’re seeing each other,” he replied calmly. “Tatiana is a wonderful woman, and Pasha is an amazing boy.”
“I wonder what Igor will say when he finds out.”
“He already knows,” Tatiana cut a piece of cake and put it on a plate for her former mother-in-law. “We’re adults, Larisa Ivanovna. We divorced civilly, without drama. Igor has been seeing a girl from his office for six months now.”
“What?!” Larisa Ivanovna pushed the plate away. “He didn’t tell me anything!”
“That’s his right,” Tatiana shrugged. “It’s his private life.”
“I’m his mother! I should know such things!”
“Gran, do you want to see the airplane model Lesha and I built?” Pasha jumped off the chair.
“Later, Pasha,” Larisa Ivanovna brushed him off. “I want to talk to your mom.”
“About what, Larisa Ivanovna?” Tatiana looked her straight in the eye. “About how I’m living wrong? That I found a man too quickly? That our son will now be traumatized?”
“Well, since you understand everything yourself…”
“The only thing I understand is this: Igor and I are divorced. Period. We’re both moving on. And I want to be happy.”
Alexey covered her hand with his.
“You burst in without calling, you start an interrogation… Why?” he asked.
“Why?” Larisa Ivanovna straightened up indignantly. “Because I’m worried about my grandson! About the family!”
“Former family,” Alexey corrected gently.
“You just keep quiet!” snapped Larisa Ivanovna. “You’ve been seeing each other three months, and you’re already giving orders here! Tanya, don’t you understand? The boy needs a father, not… some random acquaintance!”
Tatiana clenched her fingers into a fist under the table.
“Larisa Ivanovna, I appreciate your concern. I really do. But I’ll decide myself what my son needs.”
“Mom,” Pasha tugged at Tatiana’s sleeve, “can I go to my room? You’re arguing.”
“We’re not arguing, sweetheart,” Tatiana stroked his head. “The grown-ups just… are having a complicated conversation.”
“Lesha, will you come with me?” the boy pulled Alexey by the hand.
“Go, Lesha,” Tatiana nodded. “We’ll sort things out here.”
When the man and the child left, a heavy silence settled over the kitchen.
“You surprise me, Tatiana,” Larisa Ivanovna finally said. “You always seemed like a sensible woman. And now… you let the first man you meet near your son.”
“Alexey is not the first man I met. I know his family, his work, his friends.”
“In three months?” she snorted. “Don’t make me laugh! Igor lived with you for six years and even then…”
She broke off, but Tatiana already understood.
“And even then I wasn’t good enough, right?” She picked up her cup and took a sip of cold tea. “Tell me honestly, Larisa Ivanovna, did you ever accept me?”
“I tried, Tanya,” her mother-in-law’s voice softened. “But you were always… stubborn. You did everything your own way. Igor wanted to buy a second apartment—you dug your heels in. He wanted to go to the seaside on vacation—you dragged him to the mountains. He wanted you to stay home with Pasha longer—you ran off to work.”
“I wanted to be myself,” Tatiana answered quietly. “Not my husband’s shadow, not an obedient wife who just nods and agrees.”
“And look where it got you!” Larisa Ivanovna threw up her hands. “To divorce! To the fact that Pasha is growing up without a father!”
“Pasha sees his father regularly. Igor loves his son. We failed as a couple, but we’re coping as parents.”
“And this… Alexey… what does he think? Is he ready to raise someone else’s child?”
Tatiana smiled.
“You know, he’s the first one who didn’t ask, ‘how old is your son?’ but ‘what does Pasha like, what is he interested in?’ He doesn’t see a problem where you insist on seeing one.”
Larisa Ivanovna shook her head.
“You’ve always been a dreamer, Tanya. You think it’s that simple? He’ll play the noble stepdad for a month or two and then start throwing the ‘not my kid’ thing in your face.”
“He won’t,” Tatiana said firmly.
“And how can you be so sure? Are you psychic?”
“No,” Tatiana sighed. “It’s just that Alexey… he’s different. Not like…”
“Like Igor?” her former mother-in-law narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying my son is a bad person?”
“No!” Tatiana shook her head. “Igor is a good man. We just weren’t right for each other. Too different. And with Alexey I…”
“With Alexey you what?” Larisa Ivanovna challenged her.
“With Alexey I’m happy,” Tatiana answered simply. “For the first time in a long while. And Pasha is, too.”
“He misses his father, I know that,” Larisa Ivanovna insisted.
“Of course he does. But that doesn’t mean I have to lock myself in four walls and wait for… what? For Igor to come to his senses? That I have to give up my own chance at happiness?”
From the other room came the sound of a child’s laughter and Alexey’s voice.
“You can’t even imagine how hard he tries for Pasha,” Tatiana said with a smile. “He’s learned all these silly games, all the football rules, builds plane models with him. Igor never…”
“Igor never cared about that stuff,” Tatiana finished. “He’s a good father, but… distant. And Alexey puts his heart into it.”
Larisa Ivanovna pressed her lips together but said nothing. She slowly stirred her spoon in the cup, although the tea had long grown cold.
“Tanya,” she finally said more quietly, “what if it doesn’t work out? Pasha will get attached, and then…”
“And then we’ll deal with problems as they come,” Tatiana covered her former mother-in-law’s hand with her own. “That’s how life is. No one gives guarantees.”
“Even marriage didn’t,” sighed Larisa Ivanovna.
Silence fell again. In the other room, Pasha was explaining something excitedly to Alexey.
“You know,” Larisa Ivanovna suddenly continued, “I really did grow attached to you over the years. And to Pasha, of course. When you and Igor… split up, it felt like I was losing a part of my family.”
Tatiana looked at her in surprise.
“You never said that.”
“What was I supposed to say?” Larisa Ivanovna shrugged. “You don’t suit Igor, he deserves better, you’re raising his son the wrong way… I said so many stupid things.”
“Larisa Ivanovna…”
“No, let me finish,” she raised her hand. “I was angry. At you, at my son, at the whole situation. I thought you’d just had a fight and then you’d make up. But then Igor moved out, started disappearing… And you… you coped. Without him, without me, without advice. And I… I guess that got to me.”
“I never wanted to hurt you,” Tatiana said quietly.
“I know,” Larisa Ivanovna nodded. “It’s just that you were always strong. Next to you, Igor looked like… a child.”
She stood up from the table.
“I’ll go say goodbye to Pasha and… your Alexey.”
Fifteen minutes later, Larisa Ivanovna was already putting on her light coat in the hallway.
“Thank you for the tea,” she said, adjusting her scarf. “The cake came out very tasty.”
“Come again,” Tatiana smiled. “Just call first, all right?”
“Yes, of course,” Larisa Ivanovna nodded. “Pasha, Grandma is leaving!”
The boy ran out of his room.
“Bye, Gran! Are you coming to my birthday? Mom, Lesha and I are going bowling!”
“If you invite me,” said Larisa Ivanovna, stroking her grandson’s head.
“Of course we will,” Alexey came out after Pasha. “We’d be happy.”
He held out his hand, and this time Larisa Ivanovna shook it.
“Goodbye,” she nodded. “Take care of them.”
Tatiana sat out on the balcony, watching the sunset. Alexey followed her, handing her a cup of tea.
“Your formidable mother-in-law has left,” he smiled. “She actually held up pretty well, by the way.”
“She’s not always like that,” Tatiana shook her head. “She just got confused. And she’s worried about Pasha.”
“And about Igor,” Alexey added. “She still hopes that you two…”
“No,” Tatiana shook her head. “That’s impossible. We did the right thing.”
Alexey sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.
“I’m glad you two broke up,” he admitted. “Otherwise I’d never have met you.”
“Egoist,” she nudged his shoulder. “Is Pasha asleep?”
“Yeah, I finished his book and he passed out. He’s exhausted after Grandma’s visit.”
They sat in silence for a while, looking at the city.
“You know,” Tatiana said at last, “for the first time I wasn’t afraid to talk to her. Before, I’d always get flustered, start making excuses. But today… today I was sure.”
“Sure of what?”
“Of myself. That I have the right to be happy. To my own life. To choose who I’m with.”
Alexey kissed her on the temple.
“You’re the bravest woman I know.”
“You’re exaggerating,” she laughed.
“Not at all. Facing a former mother-in-law and standing your ground—that’s heroic.”
Tatiana looked at the city painted by the sunset. Ahead of her was dinner with the man she loved, a weekend with her son, a new week—and an entire life in which she finally felt in the right place. Without fear, without looking back at other people’s opinions, without doubt.
“You know what’s most important?” she turned to Alexey.
“What?”
“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Not to Igor, not to his mother, not to anyone. Only to myself.”
Alexey smiled and hugged her tighter.
That evening was the beginning of a new chapter