— Which mom? Your mom? — she whispered.
— Yes. She urgently needed surgery. A paid one they don’t do under the quota, and we couldn’t wait. She begged me not to tell anyone because she didn’t want to burden or worry you. She said you already take on too much, and your mother… — he nodded toward Kseniya Leonidovna — isn’t getting any younger either. She said it was her problem and she should handle it herself. And we didn’t have that kind of money right away. Only this garage. I wanted to tell you, honestly, but she begged me to keep quiet, said you wouldn’t understand.
Polina listened, and the anger on her face gradually gave way to astonishment and bitter hurt.
— You think I wouldn’t have understood or wouldn’t have wanted to help your mother, my mother-in-law? Are we strangers? Are we living as a family or what? Do you really think I’m such a witch that I’d be stingy about an operation?
— No! But she…
— “She, she!” — Polina flared up. — And who am I? Your wife or just some neighbor? Your duty as a husband is to consult with me! We decide everything together! You could have come and said, “Polina, there’s trouble, let’s figure it out.” We would have taken a loan, I would have borrowed from my friends, from my mom… sold something less valuable, but not my dad’s garage! You didn’t just sell a metal box, Ivan, you sold my memory — and you did it on the sly, like a thief! And the worst part… You put me in a humiliating position in front of your mother. Now, to her, I’m the daughter-in-law who begrudged money for her health. And you’re the hero son who solved everything on his own. Bravo! What a noble secret! And our family? Our trust? Can that be sold along with the garage?
Ivan stood with his head down. Every word his wife said hit the mark.
— I didn’t think… I just wanted to help…
— You didn’t think! — Polina screamed. — That’s the only truth in this whole story! You didn’t think about me!
Kseniya Leonidovna, who had been silent until then, sighed heavily and said:
— Children, calm down. Ivan, what you did was wrong, but the reason… the reason is noble. Misguided, but with the best intentions.
— The best intentions shouldn’t reek of lies and betrayal, Mom, — Polina said sharply. — Sorry.
She turned and left the hallway for the room, slamming the door loudly.
Ivan was left standing in the middle of the hallway, pale and shattered. Kseniya Leonidovna looked at him with pity.
— Go talk to her, apologize, and then call your mother. Tell her everything’s out in the open and that tomorrow we’ll all go to her together to decide what to do next…
Ivan nodded, unable to utter a word. He slowly trudged to the locked bedroom door, behind which he could hear his wife’s quiet sobs.
— Polina… I’m sorry. I’m at fault. I should have talked to you, but Mom needed the money very badly, — he knocked softly on the door.
— Have you already given it to her? — Polina asked, her voice breaking.
— Given what? — Ivan didn’t immediately understand what she meant.
— I’m talking about the money, — the woman clarified, stopping her tears. — Did you give it to Yelena Ilinichna?
— Yes. Should I take it back? — the man asked, flustered.
— No, of course not, don’t be ridiculous… — Polina grumbled. — What do you take me for?
Ivan sighed. He felt awkward and ashamed before his wife for what he had done.
The next day Polina’s mother-in-law called. She apologized for hiding her health situation with her son and for secretly selling Polina’s garage.
— I’ll slowly start paying you back for the garage… — the woman assured her daughter-in-law.
— There’s no need, I just don’t want to be used and put in a foolish position, — Polina replied sternly.
There was a pause on the line. Yelena Ilinichna swallowed audibly and then cleared her throat.
— I admit my fault; I was the one who persuaded Vanya to keep quiet, but I was afraid, — the woman began to justify herself.
— I don’t know what you were afraid of, but doing this was not nice. We could have helped you another way, — Polina sighed, puzzled.
— Polina, you rarely drive anyway, why do you need a garage? We decided it could be sold without harm…
— Without harm to whom? — the daughter-in-law flared up again. — You decided to dispose of someone else’s property without the owner’s permission — mine — and you think that’s right?
Another pause hung on the line, this time much longer and more strained.
— I don’t want to hear any more of this! — Yelena Ilinichna burst out. — This is exactly what I was afraid of. In ten minutes you’ve drilled my brain with your moralizing. I’ll return your money!
Polina was taken aback by her mother-in-law’s words; she hadn’t expected the woman, instead of being grateful, to get angry at her and make her out to be the guilty one.
— There’s no need to return anything, but… — Polina didn’t have time to finish, because Yelena Ilinichna hung up.
A couple of minutes later, a notification came to Polina’s phone about a deposit of three hundred thousand rubles.
Right after that, an indignant Ivan burst into the room. He waved his hands in the air and shouted.
— Mom called… did you take her money?
— No, she decided to return it herself! — Polina retorted. — Instead of being grateful, she blamed me for saying I was unhappy that you sold my garage behind my back!
— Why did you tell her that? — the man frowned. — Did you have to give her a lecture?
— In your opinion, I don’t have the right? — the woman asked indignantly.
— Well, you could have said it without scolding her for half an hour! — Ivan pressed his lips together. — Now Mom will be left without the operation.
— I didn’t ask her to return the money; she did that herself! — Polina snapped, hurt that her husband and mother-in-law had decided she should keep quiet and not show her displeasure.
— You just shouldn’t have behaved like that, Polya, — the man sighed worriedly. — Call her, apologize, and send the money back!
— What? — the woman was stunned. — Yelena Ilinichna, instead of thanking me, reared up — and I’m supposed to apologize to her as well? Are you out of your mind?
— Polina, you behaved incorrectly. I apologized to you, my mother did too. What more do you want? Do you want me to get the garage back? — Ivan ground out through his teeth. — If so, then…
— At first I didn’t want that, but now… yes, get the garage back! Go to that man, give him the three hundred thousand, and bring the garage back! — Polina ordered viciously.
The man’s expression changed sharply. He hadn’t expected such a demand from his wife.
— Seriously? If I do that, then I’m basically refusing Mom treatment.
Polina shrugged. By now she couldn’t care less about the ungrateful Svetlana Ilinichna.
— Solve this problem yourself — and not at my expense, — the woman threw out coldly. — Otherwise I’ll go to the police and accuse you of theft. There was only one owner — me!
Ivan jerked and rushed out of the room. Polina transferred three hundred thousand rubles to him to get the garage back.
Three hours later the man returned, downcast, and flung the garage papers at his wife.
— Choke on it! — he sneered and began packing his things. — I’m filing for divorce!
Polina didn’t try to stop him. The man packed his suitcase and moved in with Svetlana Ilinichna.
Two months later the spouses divorced. Polina’s garage was the end of their short marriage.