Irina stood by the window, watching as the wind swept the leaves across the yard. In an hour, the usual Sunday invasion of her husband’s relatives would begin, and her cozy apartment would turn into a thoroughfare. She sighed heavily, absentmindedly straightening the folds of the new tablecloth – the fifth one this year. The previous ones had been hopelessly ruined by her husband’s nieces, leaving stains from tea and lipstick on the snow-white fabric.
“Irka, have you seen my fancy tie?” came her husband’s voice from the bedroom.
“It’s in the wardrobe, top shelf,” she replied habitually, without turning around.
Viktor, her husband for thirty years, could never find his things without her help. Just as he never noticed the price his wife paid for these weekly family gatherings.
The doorbell rang earlier than usual. As always, without warning, Olga, Viktor’s younger sister, appeared at the doorstep with her two teenage daughters.
“Irka, hello!” she barged into the hallway. “We’re a bit early today, mom asked me to help with the pies. You don’t mind, do you?”
Without waiting for a response, Olga walked to the kitchen, taking off her coat and tossing it onto the bench. Her nieces, giggling, rushed to the living room, where they turned the TV up to full volume.
“Aunt Irina, has the Wi-Fi password changed?” one of them shouted.
Irina silently pulled an apron from the cupboard. Her kitchen, her fortress, where everything had its place, was preparing for yet another invasion. Olga was already bustling around the stove, clattering pots and pans.
“Hey, why don’t you have salt in a shaker, but in a packet?” Olga asked with feigned surprise. “Mom always says a good housewife has everything properly arranged.”
Irina bit her lip. These constant hints about her alleged incompetence as a housekeeper had been ongoing for a year. Ever since she retired, her mother-in-law had decided that her daughter-in-law was now obligated to host the entire family every Sunday.
Before Irina could respond, the doorbell rang again.
On the doorstep stood Tamara Pavlovna, her mother-in-law, majestic and hefty, with her usual bag stuffed with containers.
“Vitya!” she boomed, ignoring her daughter-in-law. “Son, where are you? I’ve brought you your favorite jelly!”
Viktor rushed out of the bedroom, adjusting his tie on the go.
“Mom, hello! Why are you here so early?”
“Is it not okay for a mother to visit her son?” Tamara Pavlovna marched into the kitchen. “Irina, is your stove dirty again? How many times have I told you—after cooking, you need to wipe it down!”
Irina felt her hands tremble traitorously. The stove was spotless – she scrubbed it every evening until it gleamed. But arguing was pointless.
“And these curtains…” Tamara Pavlovna continued, critically inspecting the kitchen. “I told you, hang maroon ones, like mine. These light ones are all stained.”
“They’re stained from your endless family gatherings,” Irina thought, but kept silent.
There was a crash from the living room – it seemed the nieces had dropped something.
“Oh, Aunt Ir, the vase is a little…” one of the girls started.
“It’s not just a little, it’s broken!” the other interrupted with a laugh. “The blue one, the one you didn’t like.”
It was Irina’s favorite vase – a gift from her late mother. She closed her eyes, counted to ten. A lump formed in her throat.
“Irka, what’s wrong?” Olga nudged her with her hip, squeezing past to the fridge. “Come on, help! Mom, did I do it right with the dough, it’s so stiff?”
Tamara Pavlovna nodded approvingly.
“Right, dear. That’s how you’re a real housewife, not like some…”
The evening was escalating.
Other relatives arrived: Uncle Kolya with his wife, Viktor’s cousin and her husband, and a few distant acquaintances whom Irina had never met. The apartment buzzed like a disturbed beehive.
“Let’s move the furniture!” Olga suddenly suggested, surveying the living room. “The couch would be better by the window, it’ll be cozier.”
“Great idea!” Tamara Pavlovna supported her. “Irina, what are you standing there for? Help move it!”
Irina went cold. She and Viktor had chosen that couch together, spending a long time deciding where it should go. It was her favorite spot for reading, right there by the wall.
“Maybe we shouldn’t…” she began.
“What do you know about interiors!” Tamara Pavlovna waved her off. “Vitya, come here, help the girls!”
Viktor obediently stood up from his chair and began moving the furniture. Irina watched as the familiar layout of her home crumbled, feeling utterly powerless.
“Aunt Ir, can we hang out in your bedroom?” her nieces squeaked. “The TV’s bigger, and the bed’s more comfortable.”
Without waiting for a response, the girls rushed to the bedroom. A minute later, there was laughter and the sounds of furniture being moved.
“Mom, look at this funny photo of Aunt Ir!” one of the nieces called out. “Is that her when she was young? With that hairstyle?”
Irina flinched – they were rummaging through her personal album, which she kept in the bedside table. It contained her most treasured memories: photos of her parents, her first meeting with Viktor, their wedding.
“Irina!” Tamara Pavlovna’s loud voice snapped her back to reality. “What’s this salad you’ve served? Why is the mayonnaise so sour? Are you cheaping out on the groceries?”
“The mayonnaise is fresh, Tamara Pavlovna,” Irina replied quietly, feeling her voice tremble. “I bought it this morning.”
“Don’t mind her, mom,” Olga interjected, “I’ll make my special salad. I know how to cook it right.”
Irina stepped away to the window, trying to hold back the rising tears. Over the past year, she had turned into a shadow in her own home. No one cared about her opinion, her things were moved and ruined, her space was violated without the slightest hesitation.
“Vitya,” came her mother-in-law’s voice from the kitchen, “why is Irina walking around all gloomy? Is she sick? My neighbor’s daughter-in-law was always grumpy, and it turned out she had high blood pressure…”
“Mom, stop,” Viktor spoke up for the first time that evening, though it sounded uncertain.
“What did I say wrong?” Tamara Pavlovna huffed. “I’m just worried about her! Look, even her borscht… It’s like slop, honestly!”
The nieces giggled, and Olga snorted loudly.
“Yeah, Irina never could cook,” she said. “Remember, Vitya, how she over-salted the cake on your birthday?”
This wasn’t true. The cake had been praised by everyone, and it was Olga’s salad that had been over-salted, but that didn’t matter now. Irina felt something inside her snap.
“And I’ve always said,” Tamara Pavlovna continued, “she’s a terrible housekeeper. Back in my day…”
And then something unexpected happened.
Irina suddenly spun around, stood up straight, and said loudly:
“Enough.”
A stunned silence filled the room. Everyone froze, staring at the usually silent hostess of the house. Even the nieces stopped giggling.
“What did you say?” Tamara Pavlovna was the first to recover.
“I said – enough,” Irina’s voice was unexpectedly firm. “Enough humiliation in my own home. Enough criticism, mockery, and intrusion into my life.”
“Irka, what’s going on with you…” Olga began, but Irina interrupted her.
“No, now you listen to me. For a whole year I’ve been putting up with it. Putting up with you coming uninvited, criticizing every step I take, and your children –” she looked at her nieces, “turning my house into a thoroughfare. I stayed silent when you moved my furniture, ruined my things, dug through my personal albums…”
Viktor slowly rose from his seat, looking at his wife as though seeing her for the first time.
“Do you know what hurts the most?” Irina continued. “It’s not your rudeness. It’s that you don’t even notice how much you hurt others. For you, it’s all normal. But from today – no more. This is my house. MINE. And here, my rules will apply.”
“How dare you…” Tamara Pavlovna gasped in outrage.
“I dare, Tamara Pavlovna. Yes, I dare. You want to visit? Fine. But – by invitation. You want to communicate? Let’s. But with respect. If not – there’s the door.” Irina pointed to the exit.
“Vitya!” Tamara Pavlovna cried, clutching her chest. “Do you hear what your wife is saying? This is… this is a rebellion!”
All eyes turned to Viktor. He stood there, shifting his gaze from his wife to his mother, his face showing inner turmoil. For the first time in thirty years of marriage, he had to make such a choice.
“Mom,” he finally said, and his voice grew stronger with every word, “Irina is right.”
“What?!” Olga jumped out of her chair. “Have you gone mad?”
“No,” Viktor walked over to his wife and stood next to her. “I’ve finally come to my senses. We all… I… we were wrong. This is Irina’s and my home. And only now do I realize the pain I caused my wife with my cowardice.”
The nieces fell silent, huddling together on the couch. Tamara Pavlovna turned pale.
“So, that’s how it is?” she asked. “You’re putting your own mother on the doorstep? After everything I’ve done for you?”
“Mom, stop,” Viktor said firmly. “No one is putting anyone on the doorstep. Irina is right – we will communicate, but as human beings. With respect for each other.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is!” Tamara Pavlovna said decisively, heading for the hallway. “Let’s go, Olga! Let this… this… stay alone in her den! Let’s see how she manages without us!”
“And good riddance!” Olga supported her, pushing her daughters toward the exit. “What a joke! Not like we wanted to stay anyway.”
Five minutes later, the apartment was empty. In the ensuing silence, the ticking of the clock and the sound of passing cars outside could be heard.
Irina slowly sank onto the couch, feeling her knees tremble. Everything had happened so quickly that she could barely believe what had just occurred. Viktor sat beside her, gently taking her hand.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I was a blind idiot.”
She nodded silently, unable to hold back her tears. All the emotions that had been building up for an entire year finally burst forth.
“You know,” Viktor continued, “I really didn’t understand… I thought it was supposed to be like this. Family, traditions, Sunday dinners… And in reality, I was just letting them mock you.”
“I’m so tired, Vitya,” Irina whispered. “Tired of being nobody in my own home.”
“It won’t happen again,” he squeezed her hand tighter. “I promise.”
The next week passed in unusual silence. The phone didn’t ring – neither her mother-in-law nor Olga called. Irina quietly began to return the apartment to its former state: she moved the couch back, rearranged things, bought a new vase – not as beautiful as her mother’s, but still blue.
The following Sunday morning, the phone rang.
Irina jumped, but Viktor soothingly placed his hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll answer.”
At the door stood Tamara Pavlovna – unusually quiet and somewhat confused.
“Can I come in?” she asked, for the first time in all these years waiting for an invitation.
Irina nodded. Her mother-in-law hesitantly walked into the hallway, holding a small package.
“I baked a pie…” she began. “Using your mom’s recipe. The one you always praised, Irina.”
The “Irina” sounded so unfamiliar that Irina gasped.
“Come in, Tamara Pavlovna,” she said. “Tea is ready.”
They sat together in the kitchen, and for the first time in a long time, the silence wasn’t heavy. Tamara Pavlovna carefully sipped her tea, glancing at both her son and daughter-in-law.
“I’ve been thinking all week,” she finally spoke. “And you know… I’m ashamed. You were right, Irina. We… I… completely lost my way. I forgot what it’s like to be a young housewife, when the mother-in-law is constantly pointing things out.”
Viktor looked at his mother in surprise.
“Did you…”
Have a mother-in-law? Tamara Pavlovna smiled bitterly. “Oh, yes! She did everything wrong, nothing was right… And then, when she was gone, I promised myself I’d never be like her. And here I am…” she spread her arms. “Forgive me, daughter. If you can.”
Irina felt tears welling up in her eyes again, but now – they were different.
“Let’s try again,” she said quietly. “But differently. Humanely.”
From that day on, many things changed in their home. Sunday gatherings became less frequent, but more heartfelt. Olga learned to call in advance, and the nieces began to ask for permission. Tamara Pavlovna no longer ordered things around, and if she gave advice, it was done gently and with respect.
And Irina… Irina finally felt like the real hostess – not just of her home, but of her life. And every evening, sitting with a book on her favorite couch, she knew: sometimes you just need to gather the courage to say “enough” for everything to fall into place.