The apartment door flew open without so much as a knock. Svetlana had not even managed to get up from the sofa when Galina Petrovna stormed into the hallway, followed closely by her son, Alexey. Her mother-in-law’s face burned with such determination that she looked as though she had come to declare war.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Galina Petrovna announced, tossing her handbag onto the entryway cabinet and marching into the living room. “You can stop pretending to be some kind of queen. Tomorrow, you’re evicting the tenants from your second apartment.”
Svetlana slowly closed her book and set it aside. Then she looked at her husband, who stood in the doorway wearing the expression of a man who had already accepted someone else’s decision.
“Slavik has come here to study, and he has nowhere to live,” her mother-in-law continued, her voice sharp and ringing. “My sister is losing her mind. Their apartment is so crowded that there’s barely room to breathe. Meanwhile, you have an entire apartment sitting empty!”
“It isn’t empty,” Svetlana replied calmly. “People live there. They have a lease.”
“Oh, please. A lease!” Galina Petrovna waved a dismissive hand. “All you care about is money! Your own family can wander the streets for all you care, is that it? Slavik is only eighteen. He’s practically still a child!”
Svetlana turned her gaze toward her husband. He was studying the floor with great concentration, as though a treasure map had been drawn across it.
“Alexey, why aren’t you saying anything?” she asked, raising one eyebrow. “Did you lose your voice on the way home?”
“Mom’s right,” he muttered. “He’s family, after all. It doesn’t feel right.”
“There!” Galina Petrovna cried triumphantly. “At least my son has some sense! Why should you care about those tenants? They’re complete strangers!”
Svetlana rose from the sofa slowly, without making a scene. She had learned a long time ago not to raise her voice when everything inside her was boiling.
“Galina Petrovna,” she said with a smile that made her mother-in-law hesitate for a moment, “I’m going to speak to my husband now. Not to you. You may stay and listen, or you may leave. But this conversation is between Alexey and me.”
“How dare you!” her mother-in-law shrieked. “Who do you think you are, giving orders around here?”
“I am the owner of this apartment,” Svetlana replied, keeping her eyes on her husband. “And I also own the apartment we are discussing. Alexey, look at me.”
He raised his head. Something resembling guilt flickered in his eyes, but disappeared almost immediately.
“Do you understand what you’re asking me to do?” Her voice remained even. “You want me to evict people who pay me rent every month. You want me to break a legal agreement and lose a reliable source of income. For what?”
“For your nephew!” Galina Petrovna interrupted. “For your family!”
Svetlana did not even turn toward her.
“Alexey, I’m waiting for your answer. Yours, not your mother’s.”
He shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.
“Well, Mom is struggling. They’re all living on top of each other. Slavik really has nowhere else to go.”
“Wonderful.” Svetlana nodded. “So you believe I should solve your aunt’s problems? A woman I’ve met three times in my life? And I should pay for the privilege?”
“It’s not as though you’re paying for anything,” Alexey snapped. “You already have the apartment!”
“Now we’re finally getting somewhere interesting.” Svetlana sat back down on the sofa and crossed one leg over the other. “Tell me, Alexey, how did I get that apartment?”
“Your grandmother left it to you,” he muttered.
“My grandmother,” Svetlana corrected him. “Yes. She left it to me. Not to both of us. To me. And do you know why? Because she had known me since I was born. Because I looked after her during the final two years of her life. Did you ever come with me to visit her?”
Alexey said nothing.
“Not once,” Svetlana answered for him. “And now you stand here telling me what I owe your family.”
“Enough of this speech!” Galina Petrovna jumped up and moved closer to the sofa. “You inherited an apartment, so what? You’re married. Everything belongs to both of you!”
“Not everything.” Svetlana continued looking at her husband. “Alexey, explain to your mother how inheritance and property acquired before marriage work. Or did you skip school when they covered that?”
“Don’t get clever with me!” Galina Petrovna barked.
“I’m not being clever. I’m stating facts. This apartment we are sitting in,” Svetlana said, gesturing around the room, “was bought before the marriage with my money and financial help from my parents. The other apartment was inherited. Neither property is marital property. That is a legal fact, not a personal opinion.”
Alexey opened his mouth, but Svetlana raised one hand.
“Wait. I haven’t finished. Your mother is demanding that I financially support her nephew. For free. At the cost of the rental income I would lose. Do you even know how much my tenants pay me?”
“I don’t care how much they pay!” Galina Petrovna exploded. “Slavik is family! Those people are nobodies. Strangers!”
“Those strangers,” Svetlana said, finally turning toward her mother-in-law, “pay me thirty-five thousand rubles every month. Regularly and without delay. That is four hundred and twenty thousand a year. Over five years of Slavik’s studies, I would lose more than two million. Are you prepared to reimburse me?”
Galina Petrovna appeared to choke on the air.
“What?”
“I’m asking whether you’re prepared to pay rent for your nephew. Or did you think I should simply give up that money out of love for your sister, whom I barely know?”
“You’ve completely lost your mind!” her mother-in-law shouted, her face twisting with outrage. “Alexey! Are you hearing this? She wants to charge me money!”
“Alexey,” Svetlana said, turning back to her husband, “the question is simple. You want your distant cousin to live in my apartment without paying rent. Who is going to compensate me for the lost income?”
Alexey rubbed the back of his neck. He looked trapped.
“Well… maybe only at first. Until he gets settled.”
“How long is ‘at first’?” Svetlana took out her phone. “Let’s write it down. One month? Two? Six? Five years? And what exactly does ‘settled’ mean? Will he eventually start paying rent? At the market rate?”
“You’re mocking us!” Galina Petrovna wailed. “What market rate? He’s a student! Where is he supposed to get that kind of money?”
“Did it ever occur to you to ask where I get my money?” Svetlana replied with a humorless smile. “Or do you imagine it simply grows by itself, like mushrooms after rain?”
“Alexey works!” her mother-in-law shouted. “He supports both of you!”
“What an interesting theory.” Svetlana looked at her husband with genuine curiosity. “Alexey, have you been supporting me? I had no idea. Thank you for explaining that to your mother. Silly me. I thought we had a shared household budget and contributed roughly equal amounts.”
“Svetlana, enough,” Alexey said with a grimace. “Don’t speak like that.”
“Like what?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “Logically? Using numbers? Sorry. It’s a habit.”
“Numbers, numbers, numbers! That’s all you ever talk about!” Galina Petrovna stamped her foot. “You’re heartless! Cold! You don’t have a single shred of humanity in you!”
“So being human means allowing people to rob me while I smile politely?” Svetlana leaned back against the sofa. “In that case, you’re right. I must be defective.”
“Svetlana!” Alexey raised his voice. “Stop it!”
“No.” She looked directly into his eyes. “You stop. You came into my home with your mother to issue an ultimatum. You took her side without even speaking to me privately. You treat my property as shared property whenever it benefits you. And now I’m the one who should stop? Should I be quiet? Should I agree?”
Galina Petrovna clutched her chest.
“There! Do you see what kind of snake you married? I warned you, Alexey! I told you not to marry her! She is… she is…”
“Go on,” Svetlana said, spreading her hands. “Don’t be shy. I’m a snake. I’m cold. I’m heartless. What else? Greedy? Selfish? Let’s hear the complete list now that you’ve started.”
“Svetlana, Mom is only worried,” Alexey said, forcing a conciliatory smile.
“Your mother is worried about her sister and her sister’s son,” Svetlana replied with a nod. “That is understandable. What I don’t understand is why her concern should cost me money. Why should her comfort matter more than mine?”
“Because we’re family!” Galina Petrovna shouted again.
“Family means considering everyone’s interests,” Svetlana said as she stood. “It does not mean one person sacrificing everything for everyone else. Alexey, I have a proposal for you.”
He immediately tensed.
“What proposal?”
“If you want to help your cousin so badly, then help him. But not at my expense. Your mother can rent him a room in her apartment. He can rent a place himself. Or,” she paused deliberately, “your family can compensate me for the rent I would lose. Thirty-five thousand rubles a month, paid in cash on the first day of every month. In that case, I will ask my tenants to leave.”
“That’s robbery!” Galina Petrovna screeched.
“No. That is a financial arrangement. Robbery is when someone tries to take what belongs to me without paying for it.”
Alexey remained silent. His face had turned red.
“Alexey,” Svetlana continued, her voice quieter now, “I’m giving you one week. Stay with your mother. Think carefully and decide what you want. When you return, we’ll talk. Without anyone else interfering.”
“You’re throwing him out?” Galina Petrovna cried, gripping her son’s arm. “You’re throwing him out of his own home?”
“My home,” Svetlana corrected her. “Legally speaking. And I’m not throwing him out. I’m giving him time to think. There is a significant difference.”
The week passed slowly. Svetlana did not call him first. She did not send messages. She simply waited.
Alexey returned on Sunday. He came alone, carrying a bouquet and wearing a guilty expression.
“Mom pressured me. I didn’t know what to do,” he said, placing the flowers on the table.
“I know,” Svetlana replied without smiling. “Sit down.”
He took a seat opposite her and remained silent.
“Alexey, I’m going to say this once,” she began, speaking slowly and clearly. “If anyone in your family raises the subject of my apartment again, our marriage will be over. This is not a threat. It is information you should take seriously.”
“I understand.” He nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you this time. But consider it an advance. There will not be another chance.”
Alexey looked up at her.
“What will happen to Slavik?”
“He can rent a room, like ordinary students do. Or your aunt can pay for his accommodation. She brought him into the world, so she can take responsibility for solving his problems.”
He said nothing.
“And one more thing.” Svetlana took his hand. “I am your wife, not your enemy. When you stand against me beside your mother, you are choosing her over me. And I remember every time you do it.”
“It won’t happen again,” he said, lowering his head.
“We’ll see.”
She released his hand, rose from her chair and walked over to the window. She did not look outside. She merely turned away so he would not see her face.
A crack had appeared in their relationship. It was deep and impossible to ignore. Words alone would never be enough to repair it.
But Svetlana knew how to count more than money. She also counted actions. And she understood that the next incident like this would be the last.
Alexey remained motionless in his chair. The flowers lay untouched on the table.
The apartment was silent with the kind of silence in which you could almost hear something invisible falling apart.