I’m tired, Andrey. Every weekend it’s the same thing — guests, cooking, cleaning. I don’t even get a chance to just rest! Lying down on the bed is a rare thing for me.”
“So what?” he shrugged. “That’s normal! You’re the hostess, you have to welcome guests so they want to come again and again.”
Marina stood by the stove, stirring a vegetable stew with turkey. The clock showed half past seven, and Andrey, as usual, was late from work. Their daughter Katya sat at the table doing her homework, occasionally glancing at her mother.
“Mom, what are we doing on Saturday?” she suddenly asked.
“I don’t know,” Marina sighed. “Maybe we’ll go to the city? You can buy new jeans, and I’ll visit Aunt Dasha.”
The phone rang. It was Andrey.
“Hi, I’m almost home,” he said cheerfully. “Mom just called — on Saturday Stas and his family and Mom will come for a barbecue. You get everything ready, I’ll buy the meat.”
Marina froze. Again. The third time this month. Not a single weekend alone.
“Andrey,” she said sternly. “I’ve already made some plans.”
“What plans?” he laughed, as if it were a joke. “Family comes first!”
“They’re your relatives, but your family is waiting for you at home for dinner,” Marina said, but he had already hung up.
Katya silently watched her mother. Then seeing Marina’s face darken, she asked,
“Is Grandma coming again?”
“Yeah…” Marina replied with a sigh.
The girl frowned.
“Are we going to wash the dishes again while they sit at the table late into the evening?”
Marina didn’t answer. She looked out the window where their neat green yard she loved was fading into twilight.
Andrey came home later than usual, after midnight. Marina was still awake. She sat in the kitchen, knitting a scarf and watching a series.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” he asked, looking in the fridge.
“Surprising that you showed up at all. Want to explain where you were?”
“Just talking with Stas,” Andrey waved it off.
“Talking?” his wife clarified. “Where did you ‘accidentally’ meet?”
“Come on. I stopped by to discuss weekend details and got carried away.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Again?” he rolled his eyes.
“Yes, again!” Marina stood up; the knitting needles clattered on the table. “I’m tired, Andrey. Every weekend the same — guests, cooking, cleaning. I don’t even get to rest! Lying on the bed is rare for me.”
“So what?” he shrugged. “That’s normal! You’re the hostess, you should welcome guests so they want to come back.”
“I don’t have to!” Her voice trembled. “I’m not your servant! And I do this well since your relatives come every weekend.”
Andrey frowned.
“Are you crazy? This is my family! What are you saying?”
“Am I not your family?” Marina clenched her fists. “Why don’t my wishes matter to you?”
He snorted and went to the bedroom, slamming the door.
Katya stood in the doorway. She had been seeing more and more of her parents’ arguments. In twelve years, there had been a lot. But recently Marina looked very tired, even her daughter noticed.
“Mom…” Katya whispered.
“It’s okay,” Marina hugged her. “I’m fine.”
But Marina knew: it can’t go on like this anymore.
On Saturday morning Marina woke early. She quietly got ready, woke Katya, and whispered,
“Shall we go to the city?”
“What about Dad?”
“Let him sort it out himself.”
They left while Andrey was still fast asleep.
Marina spent the day as she wanted: café with a friend, a walk, manicure. She didn’t answer her husband’s calls. For the first time in many years, she felt free, as if a heavy burden of duties had been lifted from her shoulders. Every hour spent on herself filled her with new strength and confidence that she was doing the right thing.
Later, after buying everything they needed, Marina slowly drove along the familiar road to their country house. Katya had fallen asleep in the passenger seat, tired from the busy day.
“How nice it was just to walk around the city, no rush,” Marina thought, realizing her shoulders were finally relaxed and her breathing steady and calm. She remembered laughing with her friend, recalling the past, slowly choosing new lipstick in a cosmetics store. Those simple joys now seemed such a luxury.
The phone vibrated again in her purse. The twenty-third missed call from Andrey. Marina didn’t even take out her smartphone — she knew the messages would be the same angry reproaches full of misunderstanding.
She gripped the steering wheel tighter as a memory of yesterday’s conversation flashed before her eyes. Andrey hadn’t even tried to listen, he went straight to shouting.
Katya stretched on the seat next to her:
“Mom, are we almost there?”
“Yes, sweetheart, just a little more.”
The girl looked out the window, then carefully asked,
“Do you think Dad is very angry?”
Marina sighed.
“Most likely, yes. But that doesn’t mean we did something wrong.”
The car turned onto the familiar road. Marina felt a pang in her chest — she didn’t want a scandal, but she couldn’t return to her old life.
When they arrived at the house, Marina immediately noticed two painfully familiar cars. “So, everyone’s here,” she thought.
Katya swallowed nervously.
“Mom, maybe we should go somewhere else?”
“No, baby. We have nothing to fear,” Marina confidently took her daughter’s hand.
They entered through the back door, trying not to make noise. The kitchen was empty, but loud voices from the terrace filled the house. Marina peeked into the fridge — only a pack of butter and a few eggs were inside.
“Andrey didn’t even try to cook,” she thought bitterly.
Footsteps in the hallway made her turn around. Andrey stood in the doorway, his face flushed with anger.
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!” he shouted so loudly that Katya instinctively pressed against her mother.
“I told you — I had plans,” Marina replied calmly, though her heart was pounding.
“What plans?!” Andrey waved his hands, smelling of alcohol. “Did you see everyone’s already here?! My mother and father! Brother with family! They’re waiting for dinner!”
“Then feed them,” Marina said firmly. “You’re the head of the house.”
At that moment, Antonina Ivanovna entered the kitchen. Her small eyes sparkled angrily.
“What a daughter-in-law we have!” she declared, giving Marina a contemptuous look. “Guests have arrived, and she’s out somewhere! Didn’t even set the table! What’s this called?”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to feed you dinner every weekend,” Marina said, feeling a shiver run through her body.
“How do you not know?!” the mother-in-law threw up her hands. “You’re the daughter-in-law! The wife, after all! You must welcome guests and feed your husband!”
“Why only me?” Marina’s voice grew stronger. “Why does everyone rest, but only I cook and clean?”
Andrey roughly grabbed her hand.
“Stop embarrassing me in front of my family! Go cook dinner!”
“No,” Marina pulled her hand away. “I won’t.”
Silence hung in the air. Even Katya held her breath. Antonina Ivanovna broke the silence first:
“Andryusha, do you hear how she behaves? This is disrespect!”
“Mom’s right,” Andrey said through his teeth. “You’re embarrassing me.”
Marina looked at her husband, his face twisted with anger, at her mother-in-law, who looked at her with hatred. And suddenly she realized — she would no longer live like this.
“Katya, go to your room and pack your things,” she quietly told her daughter.
“Where are you going?!” Andrey shouted. “You want to turn our daughter against me too?”
“You did that yourself. Get out of the way!” Marina took her daughter’s hand and headed to the door, ignoring the mother-in-law’s screams and her husband’s threats.
Three days passed. Three days Marina and Katya spent at her friend Olga’s. Three days of silence from Andrey — no calls, no messages.
Marina sat by the window in a small guest room, watching the rain outside. Katya slept nearby. The phone in Marina’s hands was hot — she had just finished talking to a lawyer.
“Half the house, joint savings, alimony,” those words sounded in her head like a sentence. The sentence of her marriage, which turned out to be a trap.
A knock on the door made her jump. Olga peeked into the hallway:
“It’s… your husband.”
Andrey stood at the threshold, not knowing how to start.
“Can we talk?” he asked hoarsely.
They sat in the small kitchen. Andrey twisted a glass of water in his hands, avoiding his wife’s gaze.
“Do you seriously want a divorce?” he finally asked.
“Yes,” Marina answered. Her voice didn’t tremble.
“Because of some dinner?” irritation crept into his voice again.
“Not because of dinner, Andrey. Because you never thought about anyone but yourself. You and your relatives treated me like a servant.”
Andrey suddenly stood up.
“It’s only thanks to me that you have this life! I built the house! I bought the car for you!”
“Funny,” Marina also stood. Her voice trembled with overwhelming emotions. “For twenty years I washed your socks, cooked for your family, and listened to your mother’s reproaches! Where’s my gratitude? And by the way, what car are you talking about? The one I bought myself? Because in your opinion women don’t drive — their place is on the bus.”
“Don’t twist my words! It’s your wife’s duty to take care of her husband,” he shouted.
“No more duties,” Marina said coldly. “I filed for divorce.”
Andrey turned pale.
“You won’t get anything! The house is in my name!”
“We were married, Andrey. And I have the right to half. The lawyer already told me everything.”
He looked at her with hatred, clenching his fists.
“You destroyed the family! Katya will grow up without a father!”
“You destroyed it yourself,” Marina turned away. “When was the last time you asked Katya how she was doing at school? When did you spend time with her just because, not when you needed something? Do you even know what our daughter is interested in?”
Andrey was silent. The rain tapped the window, filling the heavy pause.
“Leave,” Marina finally said. “You will get all the documents through my lawyer.”
When the door closed behind him, Marina sank into a chair and covered her face with her hands. Tears ran down her cheeks — tears of pain, anger, and… relief.
Six months passed. The house was sold and the money divided. Marina and Katya moved to a small but cozy two-room apartment in the city.
One evening, when they stood on the balcony, Katya suddenly said:
“Mom… actually, I’m glad we left.”
“Why?” Marina was surprised.
“Because now you smile. I almost never saw that before.”
Marina hugged her daughter. Below, the city buzzed, trams rumbled, people laughed. Life went on.