Larisa stood by the window, looking out at the construction site where just a month ago there had only been pine and birch trees. Now, the frame of their future home towered there — two stories, spacious, with large windows and a wide veranda. Exactly the kind she had dreamed of since childhood.
“Larka, come here!” her husband called from the kitchen. “Lenka’s on the phone for you.”
Larisa reluctantly stepped away from the window. Conversations with her sister-in-law always required a certain mindset — Lena had a talent for turning any household triviality into a drama of cosmic proportions.
“Hi, Lenus,” Larisa said, taking the receiver from Andrey. “How’s it going down south?”
“Larochka, dear!” Lena’s voice sounded unusually cheerful. “Can you believe it? Mishka’s contract got extended for a few more months! Sure, he could switch to remote work, but! The money’s great, the climate’s wonderful, the kids are tanned like little chocolates. Fruits, vegetables… no one wants to leave!”
Larisa felt something tighten in her chest. So it turned out they would have to stay longer in Lena’s apartment. And their house was almost ready; they had planned to move in within a month.
“What about your apartment?” she asked cautiously. “We agreed on a shorter term, and we were pushing the builders…”
“Oh, come on!” Lena laughed. “What difference does it make? I know your house will be ready soon, right? Move in confidently, and we’ll stay here a little longer. The kids love it!”
Seeing his wife’s expression, Andrey took the phone:
“Len, what if we need to move in earlier? They promised to finish the interior by the end of October.”
“Then just move in!” Lena waved carelessly. “We get it! You have your own house now. Why do you need our two-room flat?”
After the call, the couple fell silent for a long time. Larisa mechanically wiped the already clean cups, and Andrey flipped through some papers without really reading them.
“What do you think?” he finally asked.
“I think your sister, as always, is ruled by emotions,” Larisa said, putting the cup into the cupboard with unnecessary sharpness. “It would be more practical to rent out the apartment so it doesn’t just stand empty.”
“You know how she feels about strangers…” Andrey objected uncertainly. “That’s her business.”
“I agree, I’m not interfering,” Larisa turned to her husband. “It’s just that your sister changes her mind every five minutes and has a very loose interpretation of life. It’s hard for me to find common ground with her. At least the house will be ready soon.”
The next weeks flew by in a frenzy of activity. The builders really worked fast — by the end of October the house was fully ready. Larisa couldn’t stop admiring the spacious living room with the fireplace, the kitchen with the island in the middle, the bedrooms with panoramic windows. This was exactly the house she had pictured on long winter evenings in their cramped two-room apartment.
The move went quickly — they didn’t have many things, and Andrey’s friends helped with the furniture. By evening, they were already sitting in their living room, sipping tea and enjoying the silence and space.
“We should call Lenka and tell her we moved,” Andrey said, taking out his phone.
“Definitely,” Larisa agreed. “Let her know the apartment is free now, just in case.”
Lena received the news enthusiastically:
“Oh, that’s great! Well done! Did the house turn out beautiful? Send pictures! By the way, we’ll come soon too, Mishka already bought tickets for next week. After all, the kids should go to school, not just lounge on the beach. We’ll throw you a housewarming party!”
“Great,” Andrey smiled. “We’ll be waiting.”
Larisa smiled too, but tensely somehow. Something about Lena’s tone unsettled her, though she couldn’t pinpoint what.
“I told you! Seven Fridays in a week. Recently she talked about ‘staying,’ then remembered the kids have to go to school, and suddenly she urgently needs to bring them here…”
—
A week later, a taxi pulled up to their gate. Suitcases started coming out — a lot of suitcases. Too many for guests who came for just a few days.
“Mom, the house is so big!” shouted ten-year-old Kirill, Lena’s son. “Can I live in the room with the balcony?”
“Of course, son,” Lena hugged the boy and looked at the house with an appraising gaze. “There’s room for everyone.”
Larisa felt her heart skip a beat. She stepped onto the porch with Andrey to greet the relatives.
“Lenka! Misha!” Andrey hugged his sister and brother-in-law. “How was the flight? How are the kids?”
“Everything’s great!” Lena kissed her brother and sister-in-law. “What a beautiful house you have! No wonder we came right away with our suitcases,” she said cheerfully, pointing to the impressive pile of luggage.
Larisa and Andrey exchanged glances.
“What do you mean — with suitcases?” Larisa asked slowly.
“Well, how else?” Misha, Lena’s husband, patted Andrey on the back. “We helped you out for a year, gave you our apartment. Now you’ll host us. Fair, right? Besides, the house is huge, there’s plenty of space for everyone.”
“Mom, where’s my room?” asked twelve-year-old Vika, looking at the second floor.
“We’ll see soon, sweetheart,” Lena was already heading toward the front door. “Oh, how beautiful! Andrey, you and Larka did a great job. Though the porch could have been a bit wider, but oh well.”
Larisa stood rooted to the spot. What was happening felt like a nightmare. Lena and Misha were busily hauling suitcases into the house, the children ran around the rooms choosing bedrooms, and Andrey looked confusedly from his wife to his sister.
“Len, wait,” he finally came to his senses. “We didn’t agree that you would live here. We thought you were just visiting…”
“Visiting?” Lena raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Andryusha, what are you talking about? We helped you for a year! That’s called mutual support. Family should stick together. Besides, look how big the house is — should we live in a hotel?”
“And your apartment?” Larisa asked quietly.
“So what about the apartment?” Misha shrugged. “We can rent it out. Good money. And we’ll live here until we figure things out. Maybe another contract will come up.”
“Vika, Kirill, come here!” Lena called the children. “You’ll live upstairs, pick your rooms. Just not the biggest ones — those are for uncle and aunt.”
Larisa felt her blood boil. This was her house, the house she dreamed of, the house she and Andrey had built with their last money, and now some Lena was acting like she owned the place!
“Len, we need to talk,” she said firmly.
“Of course, we’ll talk!” Lena smiled brightly. “Over tea. I brought jam from Krasnodar, so delicious! I’ll put the kettle on now.”
And she headed to the kitchen as if she had lived there all her life.
In the evening, after the kids fell asleep and Misha went to the store, Larisa and Andrey tried delicately to explain their position to Lena.
“Listen, Len,” Andrey began, “we’re very grateful for your help. When we decided to sell our apartment to build this house, your place helped us a lot for a year. But we built this house for ourselves. We didn’t plan to live as a big family.”
“Oh, come on!” Lena waved it off. “What big family? We’re relatives! And look how much space — four bedrooms, two living rooms. Should we scatter to the corners?”
“It’s not about space,” Larisa intervened cautiously. “Each family should have its own territory, its own rules…”
“What rules?” Lena frowned. “Are we some kind of savages? We’re cultured people and know how to clean up after ourselves.”
“Len, you don’t understand,” Andrey rubbed his forehead. “We wanted to live alone. This is our house, we built it for ourselves.”
“Oh, I see!” Lena jumped up from the chair. “So when you needed help, we were family. But when you stood on your own feet — we’re strangers! Nice!”
“Len, what does that have to do with anything?” Larisa tried to stay calm. “We’re very grateful for your help. But we didn’t agree to live together.”
“Didn’t agree?” Lena’s voice became piercing. “Then what did we agree on? I gave you my apartment for a year, a year! And now you’re telling me where I can live?”
Misha entered the room, hearing the raised voices.
“What happened?”
“That happened that we’re being kicked out!” Lena sobbed. “We helped them for a year, and now they’re throwing us out on the street!”
“No one’s kicking you out,” Andrey said wearily. “We just want you to understand — this is our home. You can stay, of course, but not live here permanently.”
“Is that so!” Misha crossed his arms. “And I thought we were family. What’s a year’s apartment for relatives? Nothing! And what’s living with relatives until you figure out a new contract? Also nothing! But apparently, I was wrong.”
“What does work have to do with it?” Larisa flared up. “You said you came because the kids need to go to school!”
“So what?” Lena wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. “We wanted to combine everything — get the kids into school, fresh air here with you — it’s good for them. Thought it was a wonderful opportunity — forest, nature. Your nieces and nephews are so lucky! And even in their own house, mind you!”
“In our house!” Larisa couldn’t hold back. “Our! We built it, we paid for it!”
“With whose money?” Misha asked sarcastically. “The money you got for the apartment we gave you free for a year?”
“That’s enough!” Andrey stood up. “We paid utilities for a year, bought groceries, maintained the apartment. You didn’t do us a favor; we did each other a mutual service.”
“Yeah, mutual!” Lena sobbed louder. “Only your service was really done, and ours wasn’t!”
“We moved out of your apartment. You stayed with us; now we’re even.”
“Even?” Lena got up from the chair.
“Len, calm down,” Andrey asked. “Let’s talk reasonably.”
“Reasonably?” Lena laughed hysterically. “How can you talk reasonably to people who throw you out on the street? Misha, pack your things. We’re not welcome here.”
“Wait,” Larisa sighed. “We’re not throwing you out. Stay for a week or two, rest in the country…”
“A week?” Misha smirked. “How generous! A year’s apartment — a week’s stay. Fair exchange!”
“This isn’t an exchange!” Larisa exploded. “This is life! Every family should have its own home, its own life!”
“Yeah, every family,” Lena hissed. “Just not ours, apparently. We can be sent to the city.”
“What does family have to do with it?” Andrey looked at his wife confusedly. “We’re not against you coming to visit…”
“To visit!” Lena threw up her hands. “Hear that, Misha? We can come to visit. To our own home — only to visit!”
“This isn’t your home!” Larisa couldn’t hold it anymore.
Silence fell. Lena looked at her sister-in-law as if she had slapped her.
“Not ours,” she repeated slowly. “I see. Very clear.”
“Len, that’s not what I meant to say…”
“No, that’s exactly what you wanted to say,” Lena grabbed her purse. “Misha, call the kids, we’re leaving.”
“Where are we going?” Andrey asked confusedly. “It’s night.”
“That’s no longer your problem,” Misha headed for the stairs. “We’re not in our house, apparently.”
“Len, don’t be silly,” Andrey tried to stop his sister. “Stay the night at least, we’ll sort it out in the morning.”
“No need,” Lena didn’t look back. “We’ve already packed everything. Thanks for the hospitality.”
Half an hour later, the taxi took Lena’s family away with their suitcases. The kids were upset, not understanding what was happening. Lena was silent, staring out the window. Misha muttered something angrily under his breath.
Larisa and Andrey stood by the window, watching the red lights of the taxi disappear into the night.
“Do you think we did the right thing?” Andrey asked quietly.
Larisa hugged her husband and pressed against him.
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “But this is our home. We built it with our own money. And we have the right to live in it the way we want.”
Andrey sighed and hugged his wife tighter. The house around them was quiet and empty — exactly as they had dreamed it would be. But somehow this silence now felt not peaceful, but heavy. As if the price for it had been too high.
In the corner of the living room stood a jar of Krasnodar jam they never got to taste.