A summer Friday evening promised to be calm, but Alexander came home with a peculiar expression on his face. Tatiana immediately noticed the tension in his movements, his unusual restlessness.
“Tanya, we’re having guests today,” her husband announced, taking off his shirt. “Mom is coming, and Maxim too.”
“At this hour?” Tatiana was surprised, glancing at the clock. “It’s already eight in the evening.”
“Yes, we need to discuss something. Family business.”
Something about Alexander’s tone was unsettling. Usually, the brother-in-law came without warning, while mother-in-law Lyudmila Ivanovna preferred to arrange visits in advance. A sudden family gathering seemed suspicious.
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Lyudmila Ivanovna entered first, kissed her daughter-in-law on the cheek, and immediately headed to the kitchen to put on the kettle. Maxim appeared after her, looking tired and somewhat lost.
“Hi, Tanya,” grumbled the brother-in-law, plopping down on the couch.
Tatiana glanced at those gathered. Maxim nervously fiddled with his phone, Alexander paced the room, and Lyudmila Ivanovna fussed with the dishes. The atmosphere was clearly not festive.
“So,” the mother-in-law began once everyone sat at the table with tea, “we gathered for an important reason. We need to help Maxim.”
Tatiana looked at her brother-in-law. He sat with his head down, silent.
“What happened?” Tatiana asked cautiously.
“Everything happened!” Lyudmila Ivanovna exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “My youngest son lives in conditions so shameful, it’s hard to talk about. He rents a corner from some people, there’s no place even to put his things.”
Maxim lifted his eyes.
“Mom, don’t dramatize.”
“How not to dramatize?” the mother-in-law retorted indignantly. “You’re a grown man, thirty years old, and you live worse than a student! And Larisa is already hinting that it can’t go on like this.”
At the mention of the girl, Maxim slumped even more. Tatiana knew Larisa — a pretty girl about twenty-five, working in a beauty salon. The young couple had been dating for a year and a half.
“She said outright: either a proper place to live, or we break up,” continued Lyudmila Ivanovna. “And she’s right! What girl would want to live in a tiny room with strange neighbors?”
Alexander cleared his throat to attract attention.
“We were thinking, Mom and I, about how to help Maxim.”
“And what did you come up with?” Tatiana asked, though she already sensed trouble.
“Well,” Lyudmila Ivanovna looked meaningfully at her daughter-in-law, “you and Sasha have a great credit history. Good salaries, no late payments. Banks will approve any amount.”
Tatiana frowned. Where was this conversation heading?
“So what?”
“That you can take out a mortgage for an apartment for Maxim,” Alexander said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
Tatiana stared at her husband, not believing what she heard.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Very simple,” Maxim cut in, perking up. “You take the loan, and I live in the apartment and help pay it off. Everyone benefits!”
“Wait,” Tatiana raised her hand. “The mortgage is in our name, but you’ll live there?”
“Yes,” her brother-in-law nodded. “What’s strange about that? Family helps each other.”
“True,” Alexander agreed. “We’re family. And Maxim promises to do the repairs himself. That’ll save money.”
Tatiana slowly put her cup down. The plan was unbelievably bold.
“So, we take a loan for twenty years, and you live in the apartment?”
“Not just live!” Maxim objected. “I’ll contribute to the payments. I’ll cover half.”
“Half of what?” Tatiana clarified.
“Well,” her brother-in-law hesitated, “half of what I can manage. My salary isn’t great.”
Lyudmila Ivanovna decided to apply more pressure.
“Tanechka, you don’t want your husband’s brother to live in such terrible conditions, do you? We’re counting on you! You’re smart and kind.”
Flattery didn’t work. Tatiana felt her irritation growing.
“And where will we live?” Tatiana asked.
“Where else?” Alexander was surprised. “Here. Our apartment is fine.”
“One-room,” Tatiana reminded him. “Maxim needs at least two rooms.”
“So what?” her husband shrugged. “One room is enough for now.”
“For now?” Tatiana repeated. “What if we have children?”
“Children are far off,” Alexander waved it off. “Maxim needs help now.”
Tatiana looked at the three. All of them watched her expectantly, as if the decision was just a formality.
“And I’ll do the repairs,” Maxim added. “I have the right skills. We’ll save on labor.”
“I’ll cover the utilities too,” promised the brother-in-law. “Fair, isn’t it?”
“See how well thought out it is!” Lyudmila Ivanovna beamed. “Maxim will invest in repairs and help pay. You just take the loan.”
“Just a loan,” Tatiana repeated quietly.
“Yes!” Alexander got excited. “We’re family, after all. Families support each other.”
“And besides,” the mother-in-law added, “interest rates are rising now. Good apartments sell fast. We need to act before it’s too late.”
Tatiana was silent, digesting what she’d heard. The plan seemed insane. Taking a mortgage for an apartment in which her brother-in-law and his girlfriend would live.
“How will the paperwork be handled?” Tatiana asked.
“What paperwork?” Maxim didn’t understand.
“The agreement that you’ll participate in payments. Receipts. Guarantees.”
Maxim laughed awkwardly.
“Tanya, come on! What papers between relatives?”
“That’s right,” supported Lyudmila Ivanovna. “We’re family. Why need contracts?”
“An honest word is worth more than any paper,” added Alexander.
Tatiana shifted her gaze from one to the other. Unbelievable, but her husband’s family seriously expected her to take out a multi-million loan based on trust.
“And what if Maxim can’t pay?” Tatiana asked.
“Why wouldn’t I?” the brother-in-law was offended. “I promise.”
“You lose your job, get sick, want to marry someone else…”
“Tanya, you’re too gloomy about things,” Alexander shook his head. “Maxim promises to help.”
“Promises aren’t documents,” Tatiana objected.
“Well, see!” Lyudmila Ivanovna exclaimed. “I told you Tanya might refuse! She’s too stingy to help her own family!”
Accusations of callousness and selfishness followed. The mother-in-law vividly described her youngest son’s plight, Alexander reproached his wife for distrusting family, and Maxim put on a suffering face.
“Imagine,” Lyudmila Ivanovna sniffled, “my son lives in a room with a leaking ceiling! The neighbors drink every day, make noise. Larisa already said she won’t tolerate it anymore.”
“Good for her!” Maxim supported. “A decent girl wouldn’t want to live in such conditions.”
“And do you want Maxim to be alone?” the mother-in-law reproached Tatiana.
Tatiana felt the pressure mounting every minute. The three clearly came prepared, planned their arguments, and divided roles.
“Tanya,” Alexander said softly, “I understand this is a serious decision. But we are family. And family helps in tough times.”
“Exactly!” nodded Lyudmila Ivanovna. “When else do you need family, if not in situations like this?”
Maxim pulled out his phone and showed photos of the rented room.
“Look at the conditions I have to live in. A bed, table, wardrobe — that’s all. I even have to share the kitchen with the owners.”
The photos indeed showed a cramped room with minimal furniture. It looked shabby.
“And I pay twenty-five thousand rubles a month for this,” added the brother-in-law. “And for the same money, I could pay a mortgage.”
“Exactly!” Lyudmila Ivanovna rejoiced. “Maxim already spends money on housing. Here, at least, he invests in property.”
“In whose property?” Tatiana asked.
An awkward pause followed. This question had apparently not been discussed.
“Well…” Alexander stammered, “formally, the apartment will be ours. But in fact, Maxim lives there and pays.”
“And if he wants to sell?”
“Why would he sell?” the mother-in-law was surprised. “The apartment is for living.”
“What if we want to sell?”
“You won’t!” Maxim was afraid. “Why sell an apartment you didn’t buy for yourselves?”
The logic was strikingly simple. Take out a mortgage in their name but treat the apartment as someone else’s.
“Listen,” Tatiana stood up from the table, “I need to think.”
“There’s not much to think about,” Alexander said hastily. “The decision is obvious. We help a brother — we do a good deed.”
“Time is running out,” Lyudmila Ivanovna added. “Banks might raise rates, and good apartments sell fast.”
Tatiana went to the balcony to get some fresh air. Her head was spinning from the audacity of the proposal. Take out a mortgage for her brother-in-law! Become a debtor for twenty years for someone else’s comfort.
The cool evening breeze cooled her flushed face. Tatiana sat down on a plastic chair, trying to gather her thoughts. Recent events came to mind that clearly characterized the “reliability” of her husband’s family.
Two years ago, she and Alexander were renovating the apartment. The mother-in-law promised to find craftsmen through acquaintances at discounted prices; Maxim swore to help with finishing work. In the end, the craftsmen didn’t come, and the brother-in-law showed up only on the last day, when most of the work was done.
And there was also the story of a large loan. Maxim asked for two hundred thousand rubles “for three months” — to pay off credit card debts or else face court. He promised to return it in parts. Two years have passed, and the brother-in-law hasn’t even mentioned repaying the money. When Alexander delicately hinted at the debt, Maxim raised his eyebrows in surprise, as if it were shameful to count money between brothers.
And now these people are asking to trust them with a mortgage for several million rubles? On what basis? Brotherly love?
Tatiana returned to the room. The family council continued without her. The three whispered, apparently coming up with new arguments.
“Well, did you think it over?” Lyudmila Ivanovna asked, barely seeing her daughter-in-law.
“I did,” Tatiana nodded, sitting back down. “I have a question. What if Maxim stops paying or wants to move out? The mortgage stays with us, and the apartment is his?”
The brother-in-law laughed nervously.
“Tanya, what nonsense are you saying! Why would I move out of my own apartment?”
“Not your own, ours,” Tatiana corrected. “On paper, the apartment will be in Alexander’s and my name.”
“Well… formally, yes,” Maxim agreed. “But in fact, it’s my apartment. I live in it.”
“Exactly,” Lyudmila Ivanovna chimed in. “Maxim’s no fool to abandon the apartment where he lives!”
“And if he gets married? Wants to live separately with his family?”
“But he’ll live with Larisa!” the mother-in-law was outraged. “What other family are you talking about?”
“Relationships can end. A new girl might appear who won’t want to live in an apartment registered to others.”
Maxim hesitated. This turn of events had clearly not been considered.
“Well, that’s in the distant future… if it happens at all…”
“In the meantime, we’ll be paying a mortgage for twenty years on someone else’s apartment,” Tatiana summed up.
“Not someone else’s!” Alexander objected. “Maxim promises to help with payments.”
Tatiana turned to her husband.
“How did he help pay back the two hundred thousand rubles debt?”
Alexander blushed. The old debt was a sore subject.
“That’s different…”
“How is it different?” Tatiana insisted. “Maxim promised to return the money in three months. Two years have passed. What mortgage payments are you talking about?”
“Come on,” the brother-in-law waved his hand. “Two hundred thousand rubles isn’t that much. I’ll pay it back someday.”
“Someday,” Tatiana repeated. “Mortgage payments must be made every month. Without delays.”
“I will!” Maxim promised. “Cross my heart!”
“I heard your cross-my-heart promise two years ago about two hundred thousand.”
Lyudmila Ivanovna tried to regain the initiative.
“Tanechka, why dig up old stuff? We’re family! Maxim isn’t the kind of person to let the family down!”
“He is exactly that kind,” Tatiana replied calmly. “I’ve already seen how you help. When Alexander needed support with repairs, everyone was busy. And now suddenly my credit history matters to everyone.”
“Repairs are small potatoes,” the mother-in-law waved off. “But this is serious. Someone needs housing!”
“Small potatoes?” Tatiana repeated. “We spent twice as much money because we had to find craftsmen at the last minute. That’s small potatoes?”
“Well…” Lyudmila Ivanovna faltered. “I had a headache then…”
“And what ailed Maxim?”
The brother-in-law was silent, studying the pattern on the tablecloth.
“Listen,” Tatiana said firmly, “I will not take out a mortgage. If Maxim needs an apartment, let him go to the bank himself or ask his parents to co-sign.”
“How can you refuse?” Lyudmila Ivanovna was stunned. “We agreed!”
“You agreed. Without me. And I don’t agree.”
“But why?” Alexander asked confused. “We explained that Maxim will help…”
“Because I don’t believe in that help,” Tatiana answered plainly. “Experience shows.”
Maxim jumped up.
“Wow! So strangers mean more to you than your husband’s family?”
“What strangers?” Tatiana didn’t understand.
“Well…” the brother-in-law stammered, unable to find an argument.
Lyudmila Ivanovna decided to use heavy artillery.
“So, you really don’t care about family?” the mother-in-law looked reproachfully. “How can you! We counted on you so much!”
“Exactly because family matters, I don’t want to ruin relationships over money,” Tatiana replied. “When large sums are involved, even relatives become enemies.”
“But we’re not enemies!” Maxim objected.
“Not yet. But if I refuse the mortgage, you’ll accuse me of being cold-hearted.”
Alexander tried to find a compromise.
“Tanya, maybe we should still try? Maxim promises…”
“Promises aren’t documents,” Tatiana interrupted. “And I’m not ready to pay for twenty years based on empty promises.”
“Fine!” the brother-in-law exploded. “I’ll manage without your help! I’ll solve everything myself!”
“Good,” Tatiana agreed. “Independence is a useful quality.”
Maxim grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.
“Thanks for the hospitality!” he threw over his shoulder, slamming the door.
Lyudmila Ivanovna sighed heavily.
“Well… Looks like modern youth have become heartless. In our time, relatives helped each other.”
“They did,” Tatiana agreed. “But not at the cost of ruin. And not by deception.”
“What deception?” the mother-in-law was offended.
“That you’re asking me to take a mortgage supposedly for the family, but in fact for Maxim. That’s misleading.”
Lyudmila Ivanovna got up, preparing to leave.
“Alright, Tanya. It’s your right. But remember — if you refuse, an innocent person suffers.”
“An innocent person who can’t repay two hundred thousand rubles for two years,” Tatiana reminded her.
The mother-in-law left, leaving behind a trail of discontent and condemnation. Alexander looked at his wife, bewildered.
“Tanya, maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to this plan?”
“Not agreed, but suggested,” Tatiana corrected. “Good thing I stopped it.”
“But Maxim really needs help…”
“Let him work more, save money, take a loan himself. Like everyone else.”
Alexander nodded, acknowledging his wife was right. The mortgage plan was a risky scheme that could cost the family dearly.
Tatiana was clearing the dishes, thinking about what had happened. Good thing they stopped this idea in time. Otherwise, in a few years, they would have been paying someone else’s loan and fighting for their own apartment in court.
Family is sacred. But sacredness shouldn’t turn into boundless foolishness.