Karina carefully took the electronic scales out of the box and started setting them up.
The new gadget, with many features, was not cheap, but the woman was sure it was worth it. The summer season was approaching, so it was time to seriously focus on her figure.
Pressing the button, she placed the scales on the tiled floor and froze, waiting. The large display flashed cheerfully, showing that it was ready for use.
Karina smiled: now she would be able to track not only her weight but also body fat percentage, muscle mass, and other important indicators.
The sound of a key turning in the lock made her flinch. Pavel had returned earlier than usual. Recently, her husband had been coming home in a bad mood more often. His work as the city’s chief architect was exhausting him to the limit.
“What is this?” — Pavel asked sharply from the doorway, without even taking off his shoes.
“Scales, darling. Electronic ones,” Karina replied as calmly as possible, though inside, she was clenched from his tone.
“I can see they’re scales. How much?”
“Twelve thousand. But they’re worth it! Look at all the functions!”
“Twelve thousand for scales?!” — Pavel slammed his briefcase down with a crash. — “Are you out of your mind? We already have great mechanical scales at home for a thousand rubles! Why do you need another one?”
“Pasha, it’s completely different! I need to monitor my weight, summer is coming.”
“Summer, figure, dresses, sandals… Do you have anything else in your head, other than trinkets? Like, for example, that we need to save for a summer house!” — her husband interrupted. “Look at what you’re doing! First a five-thousand ruble cream, then twenty thousand shoes, and now these damn scales! It’s people like you that marketers make a fortune off of!”
Karina felt the resentment growing inside her. Once again, all her desires were meaningless. How much longer?
“I have the right to spend money on myself! Yes, I want to look good. I’m a preschool teacher, by the way. Parents and children look at me. How do you not understand that?”
“And I’m the city’s chief architect!” — Pavel exploded. “So what? Should I start buying suits for a hundred thousand? Change cars every year? We’ll never save for a summer house with your spending! Never!”
“And I don’t want to save for a summer house! It’s your dream, not mine! I want to live here and now. To walk around looking beautiful and well-groomed. And I don’t care if you like it or not!”
The living room fell into tense silence. Pavel looked at his wife as though he had never seen her before.
“So that’s how it is?” — he said slowly. “You don’t care about our property? Our future? My desires?”
“And you don’t care about mine!” — Karina replied, matching his tone. “You want me to turn into a grey mouse, sitting there, dusting the corners of your precious dream! Giving all our money to save for a summer house, and then working the garden! That’s what you really want! But it’s never going to happen! Remember that!”
Pavel was silent, turned, and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Karina sank into a chair next to the new scales and covered her face with her hands. Inside, everything was shaking from resentment and anger.
“Fine,” she thought. “Let him get used to it. I’m not changing. I already wash the garden pots every day. I’m still young, I’m not going to slave away in a garden! I’m tired of his summer house talk!”
Behind the closed bedroom door, her husband sat on the bed, fists clenched. Thirty-three years old, and he was acting like a teenager. All these endless expenses… When will she grow up?
He took out his phone and quickly opened the saved photos of plots.
Here it was — his dream! A small house with a white fence, an apple orchard, swings for future children. But instead — mountains of creams, endless beauty treatments, and now these damn scales!
Pavel squeezed the phone tightly. Something had to change. Definitely had to change.
… A week passed.
Seven days turned into real torment for Karina. Her husband deliberately ignored any attempts to reconcile. He didn’t reply to her messages, didn’t react to the breakfasts she prepared, and went to sleep in the living room.
On Thursday, the woman couldn’t take it anymore and broke down in tears at work. Her young colleague Sveta patted her on the shoulder sympathetically:
“Karinochka Andreyevna, why are you so upset? You’ll make up! All men are possessive. My Dima, too, is always freaking out over every penny.”
“You don’t understand,” Karina sobbed. “Pavel was always generous. He paid for my fur coat on credit, for the gas, for the beauty salons. But now… I don’t understand what has happened to my husband!”
She fell silent, remembering the credit. Damn it! Today was the fifteenth. The day of the next payment for the mink coat. Her husband usually made the payment himself, but now… now she would have to beg for forgiveness.
In the evening, gathering her courage, Karina knocked on the door of her husband’s home office:
“Pasha, may I come in?”
Silence.
“Please, listen! I have something important. The payment for the fur coat is due today. You promised!” — Karina opened the door, hesitantly.
“Ah, the payment!” — her husband turned sharply in his chair. “When it comes to payments, you’re ready to talk and make compromises. Is that right?”
“Darling, I tried to make up before the payment! But you wouldn’t listen!” — Karina sat on the edge of the couch. “I even returned those damn scales. Let’s forget everything!”
Her husband looked at her with a long, evaluating gaze. Then, silently, he took out his phone and calmly said:
“I’ve found a great solution. It’s the only thing we can do in this situation. Hello, Mom? Sorry for calling so late. Can you come over? Yes, right now. We need to have an important conversation.”
Karina’s heart skipped a beat. In seven years of marriage, Pavel had never dragged his mother into their conflicts. Something was brewing. Something very unpleasant.
“Why did you call Irina Mikhailovna?” — Karina asked in a trembling voice.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Go make some tea. Mom will be here in half an hour.”
As Karina clattered around the kitchen with cups, dozens of thoughts raced through her mind. Could it be divorce? No, that was nonsense! Over some scales? Although, it was clearly not about them…
The doorbell rang, making her jump. It was her mother-in-law standing on the doorstep — a stately woman in a strict suit. A former chief accountant at a large factory, she was used to having everything under control.
“Well, tell me, what happened?” — Irina Mikhailovna began without any preamble as she walked into the living room. “You clearly didn’t invite me over just for cake.”
Pavel slowly rose from his chair and confidently said:
“To keep this brief, Karina and I have hit a financial dead end. It’s not working! For seven years, I’ve been trying to build a proper family. But every penny goes to nonsense!” — he raised his voice. “A coat on credit, a car on credit, endless beauty salons. And now these scales for an outrageous price!”
“Pavlik, calm down,” — his mother sat in the chair. “Let’s take it step by step.”
“Step by step?!” — he shouted. “There’s only one word in this house — chaos. With Karina, it’s impossible to buy anything valuable! She spends everything on clothes and cosmetics. I see how other families live. They all have summer houses, houses, apartments by the sea. And us? Thank God, grandma left us this apartment. Otherwise, we’d still be renting. Can you imagine? No! I can’t take it anymore. I’m not agreeing to this. That’s why I’ve made an important decision.”
Karina froze. Here it was. Something was about to happen.
“From this day forward, we have a separate budget!” — Pavel declared firmly. “Money will be managed by my mother! And you can live however you want! Your problems! Buy whatever you like. But with your own money! The shop is closed! No more installments, no more gifts. And forget about the sea this summer. First, the summer house, then everything else!”
“What?!” — Karina barely whispered. “You can’t do this! We had plans! I’m going to the sea! Do you hear me? I’m going! Even if it’s without you! I won’t refuse!”
“Good riddance!” — her husband barked. “With your money, go to Mars for all I care!”
“Pavlik’s right,” — Irina Mikhailovna intervened. “My dear, you’ve been spoiled. It’s time to learn to live within our means! You can’t be greedy and think only about yourself!”
Karina jumped up from the couch:
“So you’ve decided to team up! Fine! I’ll find a way! By myself! Without you!”
She ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. The last thing she heard was Irina Mikhailovna’s quiet voice:
“Good decision, son. It was long overdue! Let her get it out of her system…”
“Excellent job!” — Karina thought to herself, carefully laying the bills into envelopes.
During the two months of separate budgets, she learned to save on small things: she stopped buying her favorite coffee at trendy cafes, didn’t take taxis, and even froze her gym subscription.
The stack of five-thousand ruble bills slowly, but surely grew. The teacher’s salary didn’t leave much to save, but Karina managed. Soon, she would have enough for a week-long trip to Rimini.
Pavel pretended not to notice his wife’s efforts. He was fully immersed in the search for a summer house plot. In the evenings, he spent hours on the phone discussing options with real estate agents. He was excited, telling his mother about the latest viewing, and on weekends, he was gone for hours, looking at houses.
“Guess what, Svetik,” — Karina shared with her colleague during the quiet hour. “Yesterday, he came back all covered in dust, looking happy. He found, he says, the perfect plot! Ten acres, a river nearby, and the neighbors are educated retirees.”
“And what about you?”
“Me? Nothing. I quietly stood up and went to the bathroom. Let him find a hundred plots. I won’t be there!”
“Karinochka Andreyevna, maybe don’t be so categorical?” — Svetka gently touched her hand. “You’ve been together for seven years. Can one garden ruin everything?”
“It’s not the garden, Svetochka. He didn’t even ask my opinion! He just took it upon himself to decide for both of us. Am I just an accessory to him? A cook? Or his ‘separate budget’? He humiliated me in front of his mother! Is this how it’s supposed to be?”
Karina fell silent, holding back tears.
These two months had been tough. It was as if they lived in the same apartment, slept in the same bed, but were strangers. Karina tried not to show how much it hurt her. She smiled, cooked dinners, kept the house tidy. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to show how much her husband’s indifference hurt.
But Pavel was content.
For the first time in years of marriage, he could afford significant savings. No more paying for his wife’s endless whims, so the money easily flowed into a special account opened by his mother. The summer house was getting closer.
In the evenings, Pavel looked at furniture options for the future home, picked out garden tools, and planned the beds.
In his mind, plans were already forming for how to arrange the area: where to put the gazebo, how to lay the paths, which flowers to plant along the fence.
Karina watched these preparations with cold fury. It wouldn’t be long now! She had almost saved up the required amount. The tickets were ready, the hotel was booked.
“Think you’re so smart?” — the woman thought to herself as she looked at her husband. “You decided to punish me? To put me in my place? Well, we’ll see if you regret it later!”
… The wife packed her things in a suitcase, glancing at the clock from time to time.
Three hours left before the flight. Bright summer dresses, swimsuits, new sandals — she had bought them specially for this trip. Just to spite everyone. Just to spite her husband with his constant complaints about spending.
“Going far?” — Pavel stood in the doorway of the bedroom, arms crossed over his chest.
“To the sea. You know.”
“And how did you save up? Was it really from your teacher’s salary?”
“Imagine!” — Karina snapped. “By the way, I didn’t eat properly for three months. I didn’t drink coffee, didn’t take taxis. But you don’t care! The only thing that matters is your summer house!”
She slammed the suitcase shut. Her hands were trembling from resentment.
“Well, go ahead! But don’t expect me to greet you or call. I’ve got more important things to do.”
“Of course! The plots, the beds, mom’s advice!” — Karina felt tears welling up in her throat. “You know what? I am going! And I’ll be fine there! Without your lectures, without your control, without…”
She stopped herself. She had wanted to say “without you,” but the words didn’t come.
“Karina, maybe not? Let’s go together. To the summer house. I found a plot!”
“God! Not again! I don’t want your summer house! I don’t want to dig in the dirt! I’m only thirty-three. I want to live! Do you understand? Live!”
Pavel silently watched as his wife zipped up the suitcase, put on her favorite dress, and applied lipstick. She was beautiful. And distant. When had they drifted so far apart?
“Did you call a taxi?”
“I did. Don’t worry.”
“Well, have a safe trip.”
He turned and went into his office. Didn’t even hug her goodbye. Didn’t kiss her. Karina stood by the closed door, clutching her purse with her documents to her chest.
Downstairs, the car honked. It was time.
“Never mind,” — the woman thought, wiping away the traitorous tear. “A week at the sea and everything will be fine. I’ll come back rested, tanned. Maybe we’ll make up!”
For now, she was just heading to the sea. An offended but still loving wife who just wanted to prove her independence.
The taxi started moving. Karina couldn’t help herself and turned around. The light was on in the office window. Pavel was watching her.
Five days later, her husband was in for a surprise. He stared at his phone screen, not believing his eyes.
A message from Karina had arrived an hour ago:
“I won’t come back. I fell in love with Italy and met someone who understands me better than you. You can dig around in your land and grow cucumbers if that’s what you want. But without me.”
His throat went dry. He dialed her number — “the subscriber is unavailable.” He dialed again and again, but all he heard was a mechanical voice: “The phone is off or out of network range.”
From the kitchen, his mother’s voice came:
“Well, son, have you calmed down? Let’s talk.”
“What’s there to talk about?” — Pavel replied in a hollow voice.
“Maybe it’s for the best?” — Irina Mikhailovna sat next to her son. “Think about it. What kind of wife was she? All she cared about was clothes and salons.”
“Mom, shut up! Don’t you get it? It’s my fault. I ruined everything.”
The man looked around the apartment. Everywhere were signs of his wife’s presence: her favorite mug with kittens, the bright blanket on the couch, the photos on the walls.
God, when was the last time he gave her a compliment? Noticed her new hairstyle? Enjoyed her smile?
He kept talking about the summer house, the savings. But she just wanted to be happy. Here and now. Young, beautiful, loved.
“I called the lawyer,” — his mother’s voice came. “The apartment is all yours, the property…”
“Go away!” — Pavel almost shouted. “Please, just leave me alone!”
When Irina Mikhailovna left, the man took out his phone and called the real estate agent:
“Sorry, I’m canceling the plot. Yes, for good.”
“To hell with it, with the summer house! He’d give everything for it. His savings, his dreams of the garden. He would have bought her ten fur coats, a hundred scales. Anything to have her back!”
The doorbell rang when it had already gotten dark outside. Pavel reluctantly shuffled to meet the unexpected guest. Probably, his mother had forgotten something.
The man couldn’t believe his eyes! Standing at the door was Karina. In that same summer dress, with her hair tousled. Tears in her eyes.
“I couldn’t do it,” she whispered. “I really wanted to leave! I wrote you that awful message, turned off my phone. I thought I would start a new life. But then I realized… I can’t live without you.”
She sniffled:
“I’m even okay with your summer house. We can grow cucumbers, if you want. Just don’t send me away.”
Pavel rushed forward and pulled his wife into a tight embrace:
“Fool! What cucumbers? I love you! To hell with the summer house, to hell with the savings. If you want to go to the sea, we’ll go to the sea. If you want new scales, we’ll buy them tomorrow. Just be with me.”
Karina buried her face in his shoulder:
“Really?”
“Really. Forgive me! I understand now. Honestly.”
They stood at the door, embracing, both crying. From happiness, from relief, from realizing that they almost lost each other.
And on the nightstand, the phone vibrated quietly. It was the real estate agent calling. But they didn’t care anymore. What did it matter? The summer house, the sea, the scales? The most important thing was that they were together again. The rest would come in time.
Because the most important thing was not where to live, but with whom!