“Like a parasite, for God’s sake…” Natalia Petrovna said quietly, anger in her voice.
“Olya, do you remember we’re going to Mom’s for her birthday on Sunday?” her husband asked over breakfast.
“As if I could forget… You’ve drummed it into my ears. And the mother-in-law reminded me four times just this past week… You couldn’t forget if you tried…” Thoughts whirled through Olga’s head, but she only smiled and said:
“I remember, Vasya, I remember…” She sighed almost imperceptibly. Lately, seeing her mother-in-law had turned into real torment. Natalia Petrovna’s face was perpetually displeased. And Olga didn’t quite understand what exactly her husband’s mother found fault with. Olga loved her son, had given her grandchildren, kept an impeccable home. But you can’t please everyone, it seems…
…She and Vasily met in the most banal, modern way—on the internet. In some sports-nutrition group on VKontakte. Olga was buying vitamins there, and Vasya—protein bars. A standard conversation started and moved to her page. He liked her photos, and that was how their friendship began, growing into real feelings… They married seven months later.
“Olyushka, I’m going to be a really good dad! Honestly! And I want lots of kids. Four! Two boys and two girls. I think having just one child is bad—they grow up selfish. But when there are many, they’re close and become good people.”
“Oh, stop it,” Olga smiled. “You’re an only child, and you’re not selfish at all…”
“Well, I’m exceptional with you,” he winked and kissed her on the cheek.
When Vasily’s mother, Natalia Petrovna, met her for the first time, she greeted Olga with a strict schoolmistress look and slightly furrowed, brightly penciled brows. At the table she asked about family and education. When she learned that Olga wasn’t from Kyiv, that she was a student from a large family and had only her mother, who lived in a two-room apartment in the city of Mykolaiv, she was visibly upset and spent the rest of the lunch mostly staring at her plate, lips pressed in sorrow…
The young couple had a proper wedding at a well-known restaurant. From Mykolaiv came Olga’s mother, two sisters, and three brothers—all young, beautiful, and loud. The celebration was lively and cheerful. Olga and Vasya were happy—you could see it with the naked eye; they never strayed from each other, like two lovebirds…
Two months later the newlyweds announced to their relatives that they would soon become parents. Vasya was happy to the point of nervous hiccups. Olga’s sisters and brothers showered them with best wishes, and Olga’s mother even teared up with joy when they called to tell her she was going to have a grandchild. But when Natalia Petrovna heard the news, she only sighed and pursed her already thin lips.
“Couldn’t you wait to have children? You should have lived for yourselves a bit, had some fun. What kind of parents will you be—you’re still children yourselves…”
“Mommy, my dearest! You’re going to be a grandmother soon—don’t you see? It’s such happiness! And I’ll be a father! I’m a father!” Vasya grinned from ear to ear and, grabbing his mother’s hands, spun her around the room. She only brushed him off in annoyance.
At the proper time the spouses had a pretty, healthy baby girl—very much like Olga. Vasya was beside himself with happiness. Olga gladly plunged into motherhood and organizing their little nest. Vasily earned very well, and his wife could have afforded both a housekeeper and a nanny. But she decided to do everything herself. She turned out to be a wonderful mother and a good homemaker. Vasily, by the way, gladly took part in everything. In his free time he could take their daughter for a walk, feed her, even change a diaper, for that matter.
And on their daughter Katyusha’s first birthday—literally that very day—the couple learned they were expecting another addition to the family. Vasily dreamed of a son, and his dream came true. Nine months later Olga gave birth to a son, Ivan.
It became harder for Olga to manage everything, and they hired a housekeeper so Olga could fully devote herself to raising the children. She was happy; everything suited her. Her husband doted on her, adored the children, and provided them with a comfortable, ample life. You’d think there was nothing left but to rejoice—yet there’s always that spoonful of tar to spoil a whole barrel of honey. That spoonful was her husband’s mother, Natalia Petrovna.
“Vasya, tell me, please—why doesn’t your mother like me? I get the feeling she doesn’t much care for her grandchildren either. What is it—can you explain it to me?”
“Olyushka, just don’t pay attention. Mom’s always had a temperament; she’s got her own inner world, and we don’t quite fit into it,” he hugged his wife and kissed her forehead. “What matters is that I love you very, very much…”
The children were growing, Vasily’s business was thriving—everything was wonderful. Olga was happy that long ago she had agreed to that first date with a stranger from the internet… Now that stranger had become the dearest person to her—her beloved husband.
One day Olga and Vasily, leaving the kids with a visiting nanny, decided to go to a play together. Olga loved the theater—it was her passion. Settling comfortably into her seat and arming herself with a dainty opera glass, she was ready to enjoy a beautiful play when she suddenly felt unwell…
“Vasya, I feel nauseous… It must be that salad I ate at that café. I thought the smell seemed suspicious…”
She tried to calm down, breathed, drank water, but it didn’t get better. With a sigh of regret they left the hall and went home. At home Olga lay down, and after about half an hour she improved a bit. An hour later she decided to take a pregnancy test—just in case. It came back positive!
“Olya! Olya! This is wonderful! Three! Three wonderful kids! Just as I dreamed!” her happy husband spun her around the room.
“Three is great, of course, but isn’t it a bit too fast? Vanya and Katyusha are still so little…” Olga answered, a little taken aback.
“What do you mean, too fast? They’re our children, Olya. We’ll manage. We absolutely will! Just wait till Mother hears… Yes! We’ll announce the news right at her birthday! In addition to the gift.”
“Well, I don’t think mother-in-law will be thrilled. She already looks at me askance, and now she’ll be totally floored. She’ll say we’re breeding like rabbits—if not something worse…” So thought Olga, but of course she didn’t say it out loud—she only nodded to her husband with a smile. Come what may!
And so, on a sunny Sunday, the whole family set off to his mother’s celebration, buying flowers and a cake on the way. Half an hour later than planned, they arrived.
Natalia Petrovna met them at the door, smiling like a May rose and exuding the scent of expensive French perfume. Kissing her son, daughter-in-law, and the grandchildren, she invited them to the table.
The guests were already seated and even a bit tipsy. The latecomers—the son and his wife—were made to down penalty shots and offer a toast to the birthday girl. Vasily took on the duty and, laughing, raised his glass.
“Our dear mommy and grandmother! We congratulate you on your jubilee and wish you to remain just as beautiful, healthy, and happy! And we, your children, will do our best to make it so. And now—present and surprise to the floor!” He went up to his mother, presented her with a little box containing a gold bracelet studded with diamonds, and placed a small white envelope on top. Then he kissed her and sat down, watching Natalia Petrovna, waiting for her reaction.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Natalia Petrovna lovingly stroked the box, opened it, admired it for a moment, and put it on the table. Then she opened the envelope with curiosity. She took out a slip of paper with two lines, and the blissful expression on her face slowly changed. With disgust—as if a toad had suddenly landed in her hands—she tossed the test onto the floor and turned to Olga.
“This is your gift, I take it. Well of course—you can’t give anything else! You’ve got nothing to you besides the ability to pop out babies like a cat! Aren’t you tired of walking around pregnant? What a nightmare… You’ve really got it made—sitting at home, churning out kids, while my son slaves away to feed this crowd. A housekeeper for you, a nanny for you… Like a parasite, for God’s sake,” Natalia Petrovna said quietly, venom in her voice.
A baleful silence fell over the room. The guests bent intently over their plates while secretly watching the unexpected performance.
Vasily turned pale as a wall and, lips trembling with hurt, turned to his mother.
“How can you say that, Mom… I… I can’t even believe I’m hearing this from you. It’s like I’m asleep and seeing a nightmare. How long you must have been putting up with us, how long you kept silent. And here I thought you loved me—your own son. But you… you don’t love anyone… except yourself…”
He stood up from the table, and Olga followed, barely holding back tears. They quickly dressed the little ones and left the apartment. His mother didn’t look their way, and the bewildered guests remained silent.
In the car, Olga began to cry—soundlessly, so as not to frighten the children. She wept without a sound, tears streaming down her cheeks. From time to time Vasya glanced at her and sighed heavily. It was clear he was deeply upset.
When they got home, they spent the rest of the day in silence. After putting the children to bed, they sat in the kitchen with tea to talk and somehow digest what had happened…
“You know, Olyushka, I’ve been thinking this whole time. And I realized this isn’t your fault.” Olga lifted her eyes to him, full of puzzlement. “Yes, Olya, it isn’t. If it were Masha, Dasha, Glasha, or, say, Galya—she’d behave the same way. She’d find something to pick at. If not the kids, then your borscht or the dirty floors. She’s jealous of me. Unfortunately, all this time she never let me go. Alas. And there’s ordinary envy, too. Female envy. My mother raised me alone—my father left us and even hid from paying his miserable child support. She worked like a cursed soul to feed and clothe me. And then there’s you. Everything ready-made. And I’m beside you; you come first for me. And we have children. And a home overflowing with plenty. She can’t stand someone else’s prosperity—even if it’s her own son’s… And one more thing. Forgive her—be more lenient, and wiser. Just forgive her in your heart, and the rest we’ll see…”
They sat for a long time, hugging, in the kitchen under the soft light of a cozy lamp, each lost in thought. Vasya thought about how poorly, it turns out, he had known his mother—and how ashamed he felt before people… And Olga thought that she would forgive her mother-in-law, yes, but she had no desire to see her. At least not in the near future. Life would tell what came next…
They thought different thoughts, each worried in their own way, but they had one very important thing in common—their love. And their children. And that is what matters most.