It was late. Liza, having put the children to bed, went to the kitchen. She boiled water in the kettle, poured herself some tea and sat down at the table. Roma’s husband was still not there – in recent weeks he had a lot of work, he had to stay late. His wife felt sorry for him, she tried to protect the man from household chores, to surround him with care and affection. In their family, only Roma earned money.
As soon as the couple got married, they agreed that the husband would provide for the family, and while he worked, the wife would take care of the household and the future children. And so it happened. They had three children, the husband worked and earned a good salary, and the wife provided for the rear. Roma was happy with the appearance of each child and dreamed of more children, but Lisa was very tired – all the babies demanded attention, and a mountain of diapers was always waiting for her in the bathroom, there was not enough milk, she had to mix up the formula every night. She had long ago decided that three children were enough, it was time to stop.
The husband came back late at night, he was a little drunk. When Lisa asked about it, he said that he and the guys were very tired and went to the bar to relax.
“My poor little thing,” the wife caressed her tired husband, “Let’s go have dinner.”
– Yes, I’m already full, we had a lot of snacks. I’d better go to bed.
March 8th was approaching. Liza asked her mother to babysit the children, and she went shopping. She wanted to buy groceries and have a romantic evening. She would leave the children with her mother and cook something delicious. After buying groceries and gifts, the woman wanted to buy herself some clothes, because her clothes were pretty worn out and she didn’t have anything festive.
She left her bags in the storage room and went into a popular store. She chose several dresses and went into the fitting room. She started to take off her nylon jacket and suddenly heard her husband’s voice. It came from the next stall:
— Right now I want to undress you.
In response to this, there was a ringing laugh and a gentle, perhaps overly sweet, female voice:
– You don’t have to endure it for much longer. Better go buy something for your wife for now.
– She doesn’t need anything. She has one interest – children. I’ll buy some kitchen appliances, she likes to spend all day in the kitchen.
Liza stood there and couldn’t breathe, as if she had been hit on the head with something heavy. Then she began to try on the dress, but thought that she didn’t even want to buy it anymore. Meanwhile, the conversation continued.
— What if your wife asks you what you spent so much money on?
– I don’t report my expenses to her. I give her money for housekeeping, but she doesn’t really know how much I have.
Footsteps were heard. The fitting was over and the couple left. Liza carefully looked out from behind the curtain and saw her husband paying for the goods. A thin, beautiful blonde stood next to him, and Roma’s hand was on her waist.
— Are you feeling unwell?
Lisa shuddered. She had been sitting on the pouf in the fitting room for a long time. Apparently, her face showed that the saleswoman was worried. She bought all the dresses she liked and went home. There she let her mother go, put the children to sleep during lunch. Then she lay down and began to think.
Maybe it’s her own fault? She’s completely let herself go. But in any case, it was a betrayal, an unexpected stab in the back. I would never have thought that my husband was cheating. And in what tone did he talk about her? As if she were a nobody or, even worse, a housekeeper. He even wants to buy her a gift to match – for work.
Lisa was tempted to get a divorce. But that would only make things convenient for them. He would go to his mistress, and she would have nothing to raise the children with, the alimony would probably be meager. The woman decided to keep quiet for now and watch.
Roma returned late that day too, saying that he had a lot of work. Lisa looked at him indifferently and said nothing. She had the feeling that she was talking to a completely different person, not her beloved Roma. Her heart suddenly grew cold.
The next day, Lisa wrote a resume and sent it everywhere she could. The days of waiting passed. Every morning she started by checking her mail. Many did not respond, others refused. A few days later, she was called for an interview at a company, the one where her husband was employed. Lisa hesitated for a while, but then decided to go there.
She made a good impression on the management, the woman was offered a good position. The salary was small at first, but she would feed her children. Inspired by this offer, Lisa flew home full of happiness. Seeing her, her mother bombarded her with questions.
“Roma has a mistress!” the young woman said with joy in her voice.
The mother decided that her daughter was in a state of shock, poured her some tea and sat her down at the table to talk.
– Darling, what are you saying? He disappears at work until the night for you and the children, and you accuse him of God knows what.
“He disappears to some young lady,” Lisa giggled, and then told her mother everything.
— Do you want to get divorced?
– Of course. But first I need to organize my day. I got a good job, the schedule is flexible. The kids need to be placed in kindergarten, then I’ll work the whole day.
– Yes, daughter, it’s up to you. I’m not going to talk you out of it. Once a traitor, always a traitor. Do as you wish. I’m disappointed, I didn’t expect that, and she’s also discussing the mother of her children with a stranger. I’ll help you with the children.
– Mommy, what would I do without you! – Lisa hugged her mother tightly.
On the eve of the holiday, Roma came home again well after midnight. His wife didn’t ask him anything, her face expressed complete indifference. He started saying that he had worked a lot, and then they went to a bar with friends. Lisa cut him off and told him to go to bed.
In the morning, when she was feeding the children, her husband tried to hand her a food processor with the words:
“Look at the gift. I want to help you with the household chores at least a little,” the husband said and wanted to kiss her, but she turned away.
Liza did not unpack the gift, but instead solemnly announced to Roma that she also had a gift for him and called him to follow her into the corridor. There were two suitcases on the floor.
– These are your things, I’m divorcing you. Now you won’t have to make up any fairy tales about how you and your friends were late and, poor thing, you want to relax. So go, relax, don’t keep your blonde waiting.
– Who told you? – The husband did not expect such a turn of events.
— I saw it with my own eyes when you were choosing a gift for her. By the way, you can also give her a food processor. Maybe she’ll like to tinker with it?
Driven into a corner, Roma began to get angry:
– Just look at yourself! She’s beautiful, but she does such things in bed! You don’t even dress properly, you’ve neglected yourself, you’ve become a hen. And the most interesting thing is that you live on my money. Or are you counting my money and don’t want me to spend it on anyone? You have no right to do that!
– My money, my money! And what is your goal in life? Are you reproaching me with a piece of bread? You didn’t give me money, you gave it for the household, you ate it yourself, – Liza was already tired of this senseless conversation, and she sent her husband, red with anger, out the door with suitcases, – Don’t even think of coming back.
Surprisingly, she slept well that night, and when she woke up in the morning, she felt like she was born again. That same day, she filed for divorce and alimony. A few days later, the doorbell rang, and then her mother-in-law burst into the apartment and immediately started screaming.
– What are you doing! You threw my son out of the apartment, and you want to siphon money from him? He doesn’t owe you anything. Take back your application for alimony!
— Interesting. And why do some men think that they pay their ex-wives and not their children? Or maybe he won’t have enough for a mistress? And anyway, these are not my problems.
– Look how businesslike you’ve become! You haven’t worked a day since you got married. You sat on my neck and dangled your legs. You’ve got yourself settled in well. Don’t think you’ll get rich on alimony, he’ll tell his boss to pay him in an envelope, you’ll get pennies.
– Get out of here. Like mother, like son. It’s a pity that I only realized this now, – Lisa pushed the enraged woman out the door, – One more word and I’ll call the police.
The mother-in-law left, and Lisa sighed with relief. Soon the children were given places in the kindergarten, where they began to attend. Lisa began to go to work full time. Her husband already knew that they worked in the same organization. One day they ran into each other face to face.
“Hello,” the ex greeted, “let’s talk.”
“Don’t be offended, but I have to work,” the woman answered without looking at him.
– Let’s go to lunch together then.
“The word ‘together’ no longer applies to us,” Lisa snapped.
She glanced at him. Roma looked a bit shabby. His mistress had left him when she found out that half of his money would go to supporting the children.
