— What do you mean, ‘we can’t’? Come on, drop this nonsense! We always used to come—why can’t we now?”
Larisa still didn’t believe it; she didn’t want to accept that her plans were collapsing like a house of cards. And all because of the whims of her former sister-in-law.
Just yesterday, Larisa had been bragging to the neighbor who, out of habit, dropped by in the evening that in a few days she and her daughter were going to the seaside together.
“Oh, we can’t wait for the day! Alinka and I go there every year. And the best part is—we stay for free. And the weather in September, the sea—it’s just gorgeous!” she boasted to her friend.
“But how can that be? Alinka’s school is starting. So she’ll be skipping classes. Alina already lazes around and doesn’t want to study—you complained to me about her yourself—and now you’re encouraging truancy?” the neighbor wondered.
“It’s no big deal. Nowadays a good diploma isn’t worth what it used to be. What matters is having a pushy personality. Then my girl will achieve everything in life. I’ve already come to an understanding with the teachers. And she won’t get any dumber than the others in two weeks.”
“And this Valya—who is she to you?” the nosy neighbor pressed. “Some kind of relative, since she keeps putting you up? I know places at the seaside are expensive. And you live there for free.”
“No, not a relative. She’s my brother Vadim’s ex-wife. And my nephew—my brother’s son—lives there. Blood is blood. Even though Vadik and Valya split up, I still keep in touch with her and don’t forget the boy.”
“Former daughter-in-law? No way! She still keeps good relations with you? Well, that’s a surprise! I’ve never seen anything like it! Not only do you talk, she even invites you to the seaside.”
“Not with everyone, but with me—yes, we keep in touch. I’m clever, Lenochka; I know how to approach people. For my own benefit, so to speak. And as you can see, it works out pretty well, since my daughter and I have been vacationing at the sea for free for years now. Otherwise we’d be paying huge money for lodging and food. This way—we come as guests and everything’s hunky-dory.”
“Forgive me, Larisa, but you’re an operator! You quickly figured out who in the family tree you needed to keep ties with,” the neighbor Lena couldn’t help blurting out, eaten up with envy.
She herself hadn’t managed to save for such an expensive seaside trip in five years—there were always other expenses: repairs, kids’ problems, her husband got laid off and had to find another job. And this fox goes to her former sister-in-law’s. Unbelievable! You couldn’t make it up! How does she have the nerve?
The neighbor left upset that some people have such luck. And Larisa decided to call Valentina to remind her about the upcoming visit. But Valentina suddenly said something that greatly upset Larisa.
Even after hearing Valentina’s refusal, she had no intention of scrapping her plans. Larisa wasn’t the kind to back down in the face of difficulties.
She made another attempt to persuade her ex sister-in-law—crying theatrically into the phone, laying it on thick—but it was useless.
“And now what? I’ve already taken my vacation, like always, at the beginning of September, I got Alinka excused from school, and you’re telling me we can’t come. Don’t you think that’s mean?” Larisa yelled into the phone. “Where am I supposed to find another option now? And it’s all so expensive! And you know better than me I have nothing to pay for lodging down south! This is just brutal—how you’ve let us down!”
Valentina, who had moved to Adler after the divorce, had out of the blue refused Larisa the room where she and her daughter had stayed more than once.
It had been three years since Valya and her little son moved to the sea, leaving behind everything in their hometown—her husband, her job, and the apartment bought together with her ex. Down by the sea a house awaited her, the one her father had left to Valentina.
Her good-for-nothing dad, like Valya’s ex-husband, had once abandoned her and her mother. He got carried away with a young singer and followed her south, where he lived out the rest of his life in relative comfort. As an adult, the daughter would never have remembered him—she’d last seen her father at the age of five. And her mother never even mentioned her ex after his betrayal—she erased him from memory like a bad dream. But nearer the end of his life, he was suddenly seized by remorse, remembered his daughter, and bequeathed her one of his houses on the Black Sea coast.
The house was far from luxurious; it needed repairs and investment, since for years her father and his wife had used it as a mini-hotel. But when Valentina arrived, she enthusiastically set about making her inheritance livable, thanking fate and her late father for such a wonderful gift—most importantly, one that had fallen from the sky at just the right time. At that moment, Valentina was divorcing a husband who had betrayed her.
What happened with Vadim was ugly. Valentina suspected something was off in their relationship, but didn’t want to believe it. Then one day she came home early and saw her husband with another woman.
Valya had a teaching degree and quickly found work in another city. Little by little she brought the house into decent shape—as far as her budget allowed—and began living there with her five-year-old son, Antosha.
Like the previous owners, Valentina also rented out rooms to holidaymakers coming to the sea. She realized it was a good way to earn money. The house would soon need a major overhaul, and that required a lot of cash. Even with expenses, renting brought in a decent income. People came to this house out of long habit, and Valya didn’t turn them away, gladly welcoming regulars.
Relatives came too, but no one took advantage, understanding how hard it was for a single woman to both raise a child and maintain a house. It never even occurred to any of them to stay with her for free in the high tourist season. Valya didn’t ask much from her own anyway—just a nominal amount to cover utilities.
The only person who stayed for free was her mother. But the woman didn’t like visiting the house much, remembering who it had come from to her only daughter.
Larisa, however—the former sister-in-law—boldly grabbed onto that opportunity and actively used their former relationship to her advantage.
She first came with her ten-year-old daughter Alina barely a month after Valya and her son moved into the house.
“Wow, this is amazing! A house by the sea—just fantastic! You’re so lucky. We’re going to live it up now!” Larisa gushed.
But catching Valentina’s surprised look, she toned it down.
“Valyush, I always loved you, and nothing’s changed now, believe me. Our kids aren’t strangers to each other—they’re cousins. That’s for life; you can’t get away from it. So we need to stay in touch. For me, nothing changed with your divorce. And I don’t excuse Vadik—he’s a jerk, of course. And you know I’m raising my daughter alone, too. So you and I, Valya—we’re not just family, we’re practically girlfriends,” Larisa chirped, looking around her former sister-in-law’s house with interest.
They stayed with Valentina for two whole weeks absolutely free. The crafty Larisa hardly spent anything on groceries, trying to have breakfast and dinner at the house while never bringing anything to the table. She was very surprised when Valentina’s cousin showed up with his wife and daughter and paid Valya for the room where they planned to stay a week.
“You take money from family too?” she exclaimed in amazement. “At this rate you’ll be a millionaire soon, Valyusha! Well, well. Maybe you wanted to charge me too?”
“As a matter of fact, everyone who comes to this house pays to stay here—strangers and family. That’s normal. And the relatives understand that I can’t keep the house on my own. If all my kin and acquaintances stayed for free, my son and I would have nothing to eat tomorrow.”
“Oh, come on—don’t play the pauper,” Larisa snapped. “Just so you know, I’m not going to pay.”
“I’ve already figured that out.”
“But we’re girlfriends!” she added, a little too theatrically, seeing how displeased the hostess was.
Valya was surprised by her former sister-in-law’s nerve, but not overly so. She understood that this was Larisa’s way of surviving—that she tried to push through life by sheer gall and pressure. Valya herself wasn’t like that and didn’t know how to act that way, so for the time being she couldn’t put the brazen Larisa in her place.
But this year she decided to renovate the house. She ran the numbers, called in contractors, and after talking with them decided to start right in September.
“For November and December and all through the winter we’re packed with orders. Everyone waits for high season to end and keeps their hotels and guesthouses open until the last warm day before closing for repairs. So September is still open for us,” the foreman explained to Valya.
Valentina set it up for early September.
Larisa called, as always, two days before her arrival. In the bustle of the last few days Valya had completely forgotten about the possibility of Larisa’s visit. But Lara called herself.
“Hi, Valyusha! How are you, dear—our little millionaire? Got yourself a limo yet?” she cackled into the phone. “Alinka and I will be at your place in a couple of days; the suitcases are already packed.”
“I’m forced to refuse you, Larisa,” Valya felt a guilty pleasure saying the words. She’d been meaning to do this for a while, and it was good the chance had come.
“Refuse—what do you mean, refuse? Are you kidding? If this is a joke, it’s a bad one!” the former sister-in-law flared up, still sure she could talk Valentina around from this sudden and inexplicable rebellion.
“I’m not joking. In a few days I’m starting renovations in my house, so I’m not taking any guests.”
“Fine, do your renovation—good luck with it. We won’t get in your way. You’ll give us a little room and that’s it. You know my daughter and I spend almost all our time at the beach,” Larisa coaxed.
“No. That would be inconvenient for me and for the workers. There shouldn’t be outsiders in the house. My son and I are moving out for a bit ourselves.”
“This is just brutal!” Larisa shouted angrily. “I took my vacation, I got Alina excused from school, the child is waiting for the promised sea—and you’re refusing us? And what does that make you?”
“Listen, Larisa, I don’t have to listen to any of this. These are your problems, so solve them yourself. I’m not making you solve mine,” Valya replied calmly.
“I’m not asking for an apartment. Just a bed in a corner so we can sleep after the beach. Where am I supposed to find other lodging now, in peak season, where? And I’ve got nothing to pay for it with!” the ex sister-in-law wouldn’t give up.
“That’s it—the conversation’s over. I repeat: those are your problems, Larisa. And I’m up to my ears in work. Bye,” Valentina hung up.
She felt sure that this strange, forced “friendship” Larisa had imposed would now end.
But she was wrong, because a brazen person is called brazen for a reason—she plows ahead like a tank, regardless of bans and obstacles in her way.
When, two days later, Valentina came home in the evening, she witnessed an astonishing sight. She actually gasped with indignation.
In the gazebo nestled at the back of the yard among grapevines and ivy, Larisa and Alina were sitting. There were groceries on the table; the “guests” had apparently decided to have a bite after their long trip.
Bold and fearless, Larisa would have gone into the house to eat and wash in comfort, too. But the workers hadn’t let her in—they were in the middle of removing doors and tearing out doorframes in Valentina’s house.
“Larisa? Why are you here? I explained everything to you on the phone. Or did you not believe me and decide to see for yourself? Well? Satisfied? Do you see now that I have nowhere to put you up?” Valya smirked.
“I see. Hi, by the way. But that changes nothing. You and your son sleep somewhere, don’t you? Then make up beds for us there too. Alina and I aren’t proud—we can sleep cramped.”
“Anything else you want?” the hostess suddenly snapped, unable to stand such gall. “Maybe I should rent you a luxury suite at the most expensive hotel at my own expense? Just say the word, don’t be shy—I’ll arrange everything in a snap. You’re used to coming here every year in September, and suddenly things didn’t go according to plan. And you don’t care about other people’s problems. Everything has to be the way you decided, right?”
“Hey, watch your mouth before I take offense!” the guest shot back in her usual brazen manner. “You’re getting carried away today, girlfriend.”
“I want you to finally take offense—and leave me alone! And I’m not your girlfriend!”
“So you’re seriously throwing us out?” Larisa asked in disbelief. “Throwing me and my daughter out—to who knows where? Is that it?”
“Exactly. I told you two days ago—you won’t be staying here. But either you’ve got a hearing problem or a brain problem.”
“Well, now I understand why my brother left you,” Larisa’s face twisted with rage. “I understand him perfectly! Putting up with such a bitchy woman your whole life would break anyone. And I thought you weren’t like that, Valyechka—that you were kind, humane, understanding. Turns out you were pretending the whole time! Serves you right that you’re alone now! And Vadim, by the way, is doing great! He’s happy, just so you know! He’s got a new family, a son was born, and he adores his new wife. And he doesn’t even want to remember your son. So go on—choke on your precious house!”
Larisa was in full swing, pouring all the filth from her soul onto Valentina—the very person from whom she had only ever received good. No wonder they say: do someone a good turn and you’ll get evil in return. This was a textbook case of thanklessness.
“Come on, Alina, we’re leaving. Let them choke on their house—damn rich folks!”
Valya barely restrained herself from answering in kind. Why bother? She would be above it.
Larisa’s tirade didn’t touch her; Valentina no longer cared what was going on in her ex-husband’s life. She had long since erased him from her life—and forgotten him.
From now on she would think very carefully about whom to let into her life, whom to talk to, and certainly whom to befriend. She would be very cautious in the future.
She and her son really were just fine here, the two of them, in this house and this town. They needed no one. And she had plenty of relatives and simply good acquaintances who came to vacation. There was no time to be bored.
Larisa rented a room nearby and spent her entire vacation calling home—Valya’s former mother-in-law—and ceaselessly bad-mouthing her ex daughter-in-law. Even her mother got tired of listening. She finally told her:
“Leave me alone about this Valya! I don’t understand how she put you up at her place after everything, to begin with. Better mind your personal life. Look around for a man there. Why else did you go all that way?”