“Mom, why have you started treating Denis so badly? Did he offend you in some way?” This time, Varvara decided not to stay silent.
“Again you’re filling my head with nonsense,” Tamara Fyodorovna muttered discontentedly.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than compare your husband with your sister’s husband?”
“Oh, please, Mom. I’ve never done that. I just want to know your personal opinion about my husband. Nothing more.”
“Daughter, I’ve told you a million times. First of all, it’s not nice to envy your own sister. Secondly, if you place the two sons-in-law side by side, the comparison unfortunately won’t be in your favor. Yes, Denis is a good guy, I’ve never denied that. But in order to be a man, that’s not enough in today’s material world. A man must earn money! Otherwise, how else?”
“Don’t count our income! We’ll handle it ourselves. Or has your attitude toward people started to depend on the size of their wallet? Then just say it straight, so my husband and I know!”
“I measure only one thing. The happiness of my daughters. For me, it’s a matter of principle that the man beside you makes you smile every day. Period!”
“Mom, let me tell you a secret. I’m very glad I married Denis. I truly value our marriage. So don’t worry!”
“You shouldn’t be so sure,” Tamara Fyodorovna looked at her daughter slyly. “In your case, you should be asking yourself: ‘Did I marry the right man? Can Denis give me the things I dream of?’”
“I’ll answer both questions at once. Yes!”
“How impressive we are!” the older woman scoffed. “Madam, let me remind you that you’re already over thirty, and you still haven’t solved your housing problem. Or should I ask how many times you’ve traveled on vacation with your husband? Stop deceiving yourself!”
“Ever since Sveta got married, you’ve become horribly materialistic. Sometimes it’s disgusting to even listen to you!”
“Daughter, don’t turn me into an enemy. That’s not right. I care about you. Believe me, when you reach my age and see the poverty around you, you’ll regret the choice you made. But then it will be too late.”
“Don’t impose your views and unfulfilled dreams on me! Please!” Varvara cried out.
“That’s exactly the problem. When I look at you, I see that you’re living my life. And that’s frightening! I don’t want that for you. Kindness is kindness, but a man must have money!”
Her mother’s words cut Varvara deeply.
“Let’s agree that you won’t interfere in our family life anymore. Don’t count our money, don’t pass judgment. Just… please respect my husband the same way you do Kirill.”
“Graduated school with a gold medal, and still no brains!” Tamara Fyodorovna sighed hopelessly.
Running out of her parents’ house, Varvara headed for her favorite park. She needed to calm down and process what had just happened.
Where had her mother gotten all this mercenariness from? She had never been like that before!
If she remembered her childhood, they had always belonged to the category of people who lived from paycheck to paycheck. Dolls were only bought on holidays, sweets only on weekends. Most of their clothes came as hand-me-downs from relatives, neighbors, and her mother’s colleagues.
Tamara Fyodorovna used to live by the motto: “Money isn’t the most important thing!” Her father worked as an ordinary stoker at the local heating plant, which meant there was never much money at home. As a cleaning lady, her mother used to look at wealthy people as spoiled and corrupt individuals.
“As long as the person is kind, alive, and healthy. Wealth corrupts people. Better to live without it! The main thing is to study, to remain an honest and decent woman, and a responsible worker. Then life will turn out fine!”
So when Varvara graduated from university and married Denis, Tamara Fyodorovna rejoiced like a child.
“I can proudly boast about my son-in-law! I’ll tell everyone how lucky I am!”
Denis, in turn, loved his mother-in-law with all his heart. He did all the household repairs, drove her wherever she needed, and always gave her small gifts and roses on holidays.
“I can’t refuse her,” he would say. “The poor woman lost her husband in a car accident a year ago. It’s very hard for her. We can’t just leave her alone with all her problems and worries.”
Sometimes Varvara had the impression that Denis lived in two apartments.
“You know, darling, I noticed something,” she laughed. “If Mom and I both ask you to fix a cabinet, you’ll always run to her first.”
“Please don’t be offended!”
“Of course not! I’m thrilled you get along so well with my mom. When my friends talk about constant fights with their mothers-in-law, it gives me chills.”
“Don’t worry! Tamara Fyodorovna and I are in perfect harmony. She feeds me pancakes, and I do her little repairs. A mutually beneficial family exchange!”
Everyone was happy—until Varvara’s younger sister Svetlana got married.
She married the son of a wealthy businessman, completely changing her life. The newlyweds immediately moved into a large two-story house. Svetlana’s wardrobe was updated, she was enrolled in driving school, and gifted a car. Their honeymoon was spent in the Maldives.
“That’s how life should be lived!” Tamara Fyodorovna’s eyes sparkled with pride. “Bravo, Sveta! Bravo, my daughter! You’ve shown everyone who’s who. Let them envy you now. They thought I was a miserable, useless woman? No way! Look at the son-in-law I have! This isn’t some Ivan who spends his last pennies on loaves of bread.”
From that moment, she began to change dramatically—and not for the better.
Most of all, this showed in her attitude toward her sons-in-law. Denis began to receive cold, dismissive treatment, while Kirill was elevated to a king.
Varvara saw how much this upset Denis, so she decided to have a direct confrontation with her mother. She wasn’t demanding special treatment—just asked her to accept Denis as he was. Instead, she received hints that a divorce might be “better.” Her mother had crossed all boundaries!
Kirill seemed like a decent guy, but arrogant. He bluntly voiced complaints without choosing his words or considering who was around.
“How do you live in this dump? It stinks! I’ll renovate the apartment at my own expense. I can’t come here otherwise. I don’t care, but Sveta will start whining.”
Within a month, her mother’s entire apartment was renovated.
“I can’t believe it!” Tamara Fyodorovna cried tears of joy. “I’d have to work a whole year just to afford one bed! And here’s everything! Thank you, my beloved son-in-law!”
From that day, all of Denis’s efforts were forgotten. Kirill, meanwhile, didn’t miss a chance to throw “compliments” at him:
“Do you really consider yourself a man? Or are you just joking? What a clown!”
He wasn’t even indulgent toward his wife:
“What are you eating? I don’t need a caterpillar for a wife. Let me warn you—don’t gain even half a kilo. Watch your mouth and what you put into it!”
Varvara was shocked by Kirill’s rudeness to everyone, but what stunned her more was how her mother and sister reacted: they laughed it off as if he’d paid them a compliment.
“Control yourself!” Denis always tried to comfort his wife. “We shouldn’t meddle in other people’s personal lives. We’re all adults making our own choices.”
So Varvara followed his advice and tried to ignore her relatives’ strange behavior. But eventually, her patience ran out.
One day, Tamara Fyodorovna invited her children over for dinner. She prepared a lavish table and even bought everyone gifts.
“I just wanted to do something nice for you. Eat, my dears!”
The evening went smoothly at first. Even Kirill was uncharacteristically quiet, scrolling through his phone.
“I’m so glad to have gathered you all around one table!” she beamed. “We should make this a tradition. And in honor of this important occasion, I have prepared small surprises for you.”
She handed her daughters gift bags.
“For you, I bought vases—so your husbands can shower you with flowers every day.”
Then came Kirill’s gift:
“For you, my dear son-in-law, a special talisman pendant. Handmade to order, with a real ruby. It took a month, but they crafted exactly what I asked for. This stone will bring you luck. A special gift for a special person!”
“Wow, thank you, mother-in-law! I didn’t expect this. You have good taste!” Kirill exclaimed.
She practically glowed with joy—Sobolev himself had complimented her!
“And now you!” she handed Denis a package. “A practical gift: shower gel and shaving foam. Always useful in the household.”
“So you can finally wash properly, without skimping!” Kirill burst out laughing. Mother and sister joined in.
“We’re leaving!” Varvara shot up from her seat. “We’ve already given you more than enough of our time.”
“Are you seriously offended?” Svetlana asked smugly. “As if you really measure shampoo by the teaspoon.”
The laughter grew louder.
“At least we’ve kept what matters most—our humanity. Unlike you, pretending to be what you’re not. It’s disgusting to watch you laugh at his pathetic jokes while he insults you. That’s a swamp!”
“Varvara, how dare you? Aren’t you ashamed?” her mother gasped.
“We don’t need your gifts or your dinners. The food was delicious, but if only the conversation matched! Goodbye!”
“Forget that dinner! It’s been two weeks and you’re still upset. Don’t torture yourself, darling. One day everything will fall into place.”
The doorbell rang. It was Tamara Fyodorovna, cheerful as ever.
“Hello, children! How are you? Long time no see, I missed you!”
“Mom, why are you here?” Varvara asked coldly.
“Maybe I just came to visit. Why such a strange question?”
“You? To us?” Varvara laughed. “That’s a joke in itself. If you came to explain yourself…”
“I’m not even thinking about bringing that up,” her mother cut her off. “No point in discussing emotional outbursts. I just have a small request for Denis.”
Varvara raised an eyebrow.
“I need to go urgently to the neighboring town. They’re selling good beef cheap, and I want to buy ten kilos. Can you drive me, son-in-law?”
“No, I’m busy,” Denis replied firmly.
“Busy with what?” she asked, stunned by the refusal.
“My wife and I are going to watch a movie.”
Tamara gave a nervous smile.
“Good one! Come on, get ready. I’ll wait.”
“Mom, Denis isn’t going anywhere. Your charity box is closed!”
“What does that mean?” she raised her voice.
“It means you’ve been redirected,” Varvara smirked. “Take all your requests to your beloved son-in-law. No more freebies here.”
“Varvara, how can you speak to your mother like that? Acting like you’ve been crowned queen! But in reality? A loser who married a loser!”
“Good that you finally voiced your true opinion about our family.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. You just made me angry!” Tamara tried to backtrack.
“Get out of my apartment, Mom! Your audacity has gone too far. Enough of your backpedaling!”
“As if I care. I wanted to treat you kindly, but you don’t know how to live properly. You just quarrel and envy!” she snapped, then stormed out.
The couple stood in silence for a few moments.
“She’s still my mother, but I feel relieved,” Varvara finally said. “It feels like I can breathe freely now—no one to humiliate you, no one to dictate how to live, no one to remind us daily how much we should be earning. This is freedom, darling!”
Denis embraced his wife tightly and whispered:
“Freedom and health are the most precious things a person has. Everything else—we’ll earn!”