“So you waited until I drove off to the gas station so you could call her and pour a bucket of filth over her?” Valery did not merely step into the kitchen; he twisted himself into the doorway like a corkscrew boring into an old, brittle cork. His face, usually calm to the point of … Read more
The Family Expected a Full Harvest Again, but Vera Was Done Breaking Her Back and Simply Rented Out the Dacha “You should plant the tomato seedlings earlier this year. Last time they turned out watery. And make sure you grow more sweet peppers too—Pasha loves lecho, you know that. Oh, and I read somewhere that … Read more
My champagne glass stopped halfway in the air. People around me were laughing, applauding, celebrating, and I just sat there, unable to move. “Say that again.” My mother-in-law smiled brightly. “I’m leaving the apartment to Marina. She’s my real daughter, not just some daughter-in-law. Isn’t that right, son?” My husband Viktor looked away. Fifteen years. … Read more
“I told you, Alyosha, miracles don’t happen. Ordinary people scrape by on thirty thousand a month, and yet somehow your in-laws are redoing the roof on their summer cottage with imported German metal tiles. So where do you think that money came from? Did it fall out of the sky, or did their son-in-law pay … Read more
The text from the bank saying my salary had been deposited arrived exactly two minutes before my mother-in-law called. “Irochka, hello, my dear. Your paycheck came in, didn’t it?” Lidiya Sergeyevna’s voice was soft, almost affectionate. It did not sound like she was asking a question. She was confirming a fact. “Transfer forty-five thousand. My … Read more
“Your apartment is starting to feel like a train station, Lena, and I’m sick of it,” Viktor said, standing in the middle of the living room with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes wandered over the corners of the room as though he expected to spot dust or cobwebs, but they kept returning … Read more
The pile of the rug—cheap, synthetic, carrying the stale scent of dust and recent cleaning—ground into Alla’s right cheek. At first, she did not even realize she was lying on the floor. There had only been a sudden wrench at her shoulder, the tearing sound of silk at the seam of her blouse, and then … Read more
My husband Artyom’s voice, which usually floated through our apartment with the tired self-importance of a Roman aristocrat inconvenienced by ordinary life, now had a syrupy, almost comical sweetness to it. He was on speakerphone. “Mom, you just don’t understand the principle of scaling,” Artyom announced. He was a middle manager whose empire extended no … Read more
A heavy winter boot flew past my ear and slammed into the coat rack with a dull thud. The coat hanging there slid to the floor as if someone had ripped it down on purpose. “Are you deaf?” Oleg stood in the doorway to the living room, unfastening the top button of his shirt. His … Read more
“Have you completely lost your mind?! I told you clearly — that apartment is being sold, and that’s the end of it!” Andrei slammed his fist down on the table so hard that the cups trembled. Marina flinched, but she did not look away. Her chest tightened with hurt and humiliation, yet she knew she … Read more