Entering the apartment, Dasha froze in place. She had expected her husband to greet her after a long business trip, but there was no one in the hallway.
“Maxim? Are you home?” In the dark, Darya reached for the light switch, but suddenly someone touched her hands.
“Don’t, don’t turn on the light,” came her husband’s voice.
“Oh, you scared me!” Dasha jerked back. “Why not? It’s dark. I can’t see anything.”
“I’ll help you,” the man replied playfully and took the bags from his wife. “No need to ruin the romance.”
“Romance?” Dasha asked, intrigued. “Are you cooking a candlelight dinner?”
“And if I am, so what? Don’t I have the right to please my beloved wife?”
“You do, but I don’t smell any food from the kitchen,” Dasha answered, sniffing.
“That’s because the dish isn’t ready yet. You go to the bathroom for now, and I’ll finish dinner.”
“Okay,” the wife smiled. In the dim light, she went to wash her hands in the bathroom, but when she opened the door, she was even more surprised. On the sink and shelves stood lit candles, and on the washing machine lay Maxim’s phone, quietly playing jazz music.
“Wow, what’s this?”
“This is the start of a romantic evening so you can relax before dinner,” Maxim said, kissing his wife. “Enjoy for now, I’ll finish up in the kitchen.”
“All right,” Dasha agreed and winked at her husband. She happily sank into the hot water and thought that her husband had come up with a wonderful surprise.
Darya and Maxim had been married five years. Until that day, the man had never arranged romantic evenings for his wife. Usually, when she returned from a trip, she cooked dinner herself and then cleaned the house until late at night. But today was different.
Enjoying the relaxed atmosphere in the bathroom, Dasha closed her eyes and started wondering what made Maxim arrange such a surprise for her. Maybe he was preparing her for the arrival of his mother-in-law. That was the first thing that came to Darya’s mind. She hadn’t communicated with Tamara Vladimirovna for several years.
The husband’s mother lived in a village thirty kilometers from the city. She was a very rude and intrusive woman. In the past, the mother-in-law constantly interfered in her son’s family with her advice. At first, the daughter-in-law still tolerated her antics, but after one incident, she forbade her from visiting.
Once, Tamara Vladimirovna dropped by the newlyweds’ house without warning. Maxim and Darya were on vacation at the time. When they returned, they immediately noticed that someone had been busy in their apartment. It turned out the mother-in-law had made a duplicate key and gave it to her daughter, who was studying at university and living in a dormitory.
“What gave you the right to let Marina into my apartment?!” Dasha exclaimed loudly upon learning the truth.
“So what? You weren’t home anyway. She only lived there for a week. What’s the big deal?”
“What right did you have to make a duplicate key to someone else’s property?”
“Whose property? My son lives there, actually!”
“So what? This apartment is mine! My parents gave it to me. Only I have the right to decide who lives or visits here!”
The mother-in-law’s action greatly upset the daughter-in-law. That day, Maxim’s wife had a serious quarrel with his mother. Dasha also quarreled with her sister-in-law. They almost fought because of it. Darya demanded the return of the apartment key, but Marina refused. In the end, the owner had to change the lock.
Maxim was shocked by the situation too, but unlike his wife, he did not cut off contact with his mother and sister. On the contrary, he dreamed that Dasha would reconcile with his relatives. However, his wife refused to forgive the mother-in-law and sister-in-law. She believed that if she did, Tamara Vladimirovna and Marina would try to take advantage of her again.
Lying in the bath after the business trip, Darya somehow decided that Maxim arranged the surprise because he wanted to try again to reconcile his wife with the sister-in-law and mother-in-law. To find out, she asked her husband directly:
“I hope Tamara Vladimirovna and Marina aren’t planning to visit us?”
“Where did you get that idea?” the man was surprised, sitting on the edge of the tub. “I know how you feel about them. You can’t force affection. If you don’t want to communicate with them, then don’t. I’m not going to force you anymore.”
“That’s good!” Dasha replied, glancing sideways at Max.
“Rest for now,” the man nodded. “The fish will be baked soon, and we’ll have dinner.”
“Great! I wish you’d always greet me like this after trips,” Dasha said dreamily.
“Maybe I will,” her husband smiled and left the bathroom.
Dasha still did not understand what made Maxim so attentive and sensitive. Maybe the man had just changed and decided that his wife deserved more attention. But the next moment, those joyful thoughts vanished from her mind. When Darya raised her head, her gaze fell on the shelf with shampoos. At that moment her heart pounded heavily.
“What’s this?” she murmured, taking out a box of cosmetics. “How did it get here?”
Before leaving for business trips, Dasha always took some cosmetics with her and left some in her bedside table. This box contained only lipstick, eyeshadow, mascara, and foundation with powder. Maxim had no reason to take the makeup bag and leave it in the bathroom. That meant another woman had taken it out of the drawer…
“Max! Maxim!” Darya hurried out of the bath, put on her robe, and went to her husband. He was in the kitchen setting the table for dinner.
“Oh, you’re done already? The fish is almost ready,” her husband said happily.
“What’s this?! Why has my makeup bag moved from the drawer to the bathroom?”
“What?” the man didn’t understand. He looked at the box and shrugged. “I didn’t touch anything. Maybe you forgot it yourself.”
“I clearly remember leaving the box in the room! Don’t lie to me! Who was here while I was away?”
“Uh… honey…” the man began stammering. “A friend came over once with his girlfriend. Maybe she needed something from the makeup. That’s why she took the box.”
“From the bedside drawer?!” Dasha exclaimed, not believing a single word from Max. “And how long were they here?”
“Only one day. They came in the evening and left the next morning,” the man tried to explain.
“Do you really think I’ll believe that story?! Admit it, you brought some mistress home? Is that how you spend your time while I’m away on business?”
“What?! What nonsense!” Maxim was shocked. “I told you, a friend came with his girlfriend. Maybe she rummaged through the drawer while we were sitting in the kitchen.”
“And they left the next morning?” Dasha asked suspiciously.
“Yes,” Maxim nodded uncertainly. “They were going to their parents in another city and decided to stop by. Sasha and I studied together before…”
“You’re lying! You’re lying all the time!” Dasha shouted and began taking the makeup out of the box. “Just look at this! Do you want to say your friend’s girlfriend used up all my concealer in one night? There’s very little lip gloss left, and someone broke the eyeshadow compact! It doesn’t look like they were here only one day! It feels like they lived here for a whole week! And that girl actively used my makeup without asking!”
“Honey…” the man whimpered like a beaten puppy.
“What, honey?!” Dasha shouted again. “Better admit it nicely! You’re cheating on me! What’s her name? How long have you been together?!”
“I swear I never cheated on you!” the man kept defending himself.
This made Darya so angry that she turned around and decisively rushed to the bedroom. Shocked, Maxim ran after her.
“What are you planning?! What are you doing?!” he shouted desperately.
“I won’t tolerate betrayal! We’re getting a divorce!” Dasha replied. She took a bag out of the wardrobe and started packing her husband’s things.
“Stop, honey! I swear, there’s no one else! I swear on my mother!”
“Yeah, right, I believe you!” Dasha, turning away, continued packing. “How could you, Maxim? I always trusted you! I never thought you’d treat me so cruelly!”
“That’s enough!” seeing tears in his wife’s eyes, the man exclaimed. “Okay, I’ll tell the truth! Just stop packing. I don’t want a divorce! I love you, do you understand?”
Seeing her husband’s desperate eyes, Dasha calmed down a little. She sat on the bed and listened carefully.
“While you were away, it wasn’t a friend but Marina who came…” the man admitted, lowering his eyes. “I was afraid you’d get angry, so I didn’t say anything.”
“And what was she doing here?!” still angry, Dasha asked.
“She lived here. Almost a week. She has exams at university, so she decided to stay here instead of the dormitory. Mom literally begged me. If I had known that my sister would rummage through your things and use your cosmetics, I would never have let her in.”
“And how am I supposed to believe that? What if you’re lying to me again? Like with Sasha and his girlfriend?”
“I’m not lying. Want me to call Marina now and ask if she used your makeup?”
“I do! Call her!”
This call dispelled all of Dasha’s doubts. The sister immediately confessed to her brother that she took the concealer, lip gloss, and eyeshadows without permission and used the bride’s cosmetics all week. Dasha couldn’t stand it and yelled at her sister-in-law again. This time even Maxim got angry at his sister. He scolded her and said he would never do her favors again.
Dasha was upset with her husband for a long time but then they made up. She was hurt that Maxim let in a relative she couldn’t stand. But even more she was hurt that he lied to her. However, it was better than having a complete stranger in the apartment.
©Stella Kiarri
“I hope you won’t let strangers into the house while I’m on business trips and lie to me anymore?” Dasha asked before her next trip.
“Never! Now I’ll arrange romantic dinners just because I want to, not out of guilt,” the man answered repentantly.
After that incident, Maxim really started to surprise his wife more often. At some point, Dasha even caught herself thinking she was grateful to Marina. If it weren’t for the sister-in-law’s brazen behavior, their relationship would have remained the same. Now their feelings seemed renewed. They became closer and happier than before.