Masha had always been a bit of a gossip, but now she didn’t have time for explanations. Alone, she didn’t know what to do. She mechanically tidied up, did the laundry, and made dinner. All these routine actions helped her think about the previous day, about what was happening with our marriage, with us.
It was around two in the afternoon when I heard the door open. I froze, holding a rag. Anton never came home at that hour.
Never. My first thought was that something had happened.
But after the lock clicked, I heard not one voice, but two. And the second one sounded all too familiar. It was my mother-in-law’s voice, Natalya Viktorovna.
I crept out into the hallway and lingered behind the half-open back door. I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but something about the way they were talking, so casually in the middle of the workday, chilled me to the bone… 😲😲😲
I held my breath. My heart was pounding so hard I thought they could hear it through the wall. Anton and his mother came into the room and I heard the door slam. They obviously weren’t expecting that.
There could be someone at home.
“I told you so,” Natalya Viktorovna’s familiar, cold voice echoed. “She’s no match for you. She doesn’t want family or children. She only thinks about her career.”
It was like an electric shock. What career? What children? Never… not a word… have I given anyone reason to think I didn’t want a family.
Anton sighed deeply.
“Mom, let’s not do this. Now is not the time.”
“Perfect timing!” she almost hissed. “Look how it all ends. She got fired. And she was still so cocky, thinking she was smarter than everyone else. Did you warn her? I did. And what good did it do?”
I covered my mouth to keep from giving myself away with a sob. She told him I’d been fired. And how did she present it? As my fault, as a failure, as proof that she was right.
“I don’t know what to do about this,” Anton muttered. “She didn’t even apologize. She just went to the bathroom and locked the door.”
“Exactly!” My mother-in-law’s voice turned sharp, like crisp ice. “And you still want to talk about children? With a mother like that? She doesn’t support you in anything, she always hogs the spotlight. You need to think, Antosha. Think carefully. Before it’s too late.”
I got goosebumps. CHILDREN?! She’s talking to her mother… about the possibility of having children… And she’s wondering if I can be a mother?!
I could barely breathe. The room spun before my eyes. It was a blow I never expected. Never. Under any circumstances.
And then Anton said something I’ll never forget:
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I was wrong. She… isn’t the woman I want to build a future with. I thought she’d change.” But now… I’m not sure I want to continue.
My legs gave out. I barely managed to stay on my feet, clinging to the door frame.
There it was. A sincere attitude. Sincere thoughts. Sober, unemotional. He wasn’t saying it to me, but to the person whose opinion he trusted more than my own.
“Especially now,” he continued, “an opportunity has arisen… well… You know.”
My mother-in-law’s voice softened, almost pleased:
“Of course I understand. I know Tanya. A good girl. Modest, thrifty. Not like…”
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