– Olga Grigoryevna, I actually divorced your son, and you have no business being in my apartment!
– How do you talk to your elders? I have every right to come in! Seryozha’s things were left there, he couldn’t get in, come and let me in, I’ll take everything myself!
— First of all, what things? They took everything during the divorce. Secondly, this is MY apartment now.
– Don’t be cheeky! Seryozha said that his stamp collection was left there.
– Stamps? – Natasha burst out laughing. – Sergey doesn’t have any stamp collection!
– How do you know what my son has and what he doesn’t? You’ve always been an inattentive wife!
Natasha took a deep breath.
– I can’t come, I’m not in town.
– You’re probably lying! – hissed the mother-in-law. – The address hasn’t changed. I’ll sort it out myself!
The short beeps left Natasha speechless. She knew this woman wouldn’t stop. Something told her that the troubles were just beginning.
Natasha sank down onto the bed. Memories washed over her like an unpleasant wave.
On the day they met, Olga Grigoryevna cast a cold glance at her.
– An accountant? It’s convenient – to count other people’s money.
At the wedding, the mother-in-law arbitrarily changed the menu.
— Seryozhenka is allergic to seafood.
There was no allergy – she just hated shrimp.
First family dinner with borscht.
– Seryozha likes sour cream to float in the middle, – the mother-in-law poured the contents of the plate back. – I’ll show you how to do it right.
Sunday dinners became torture. Olga Grigoryevna always brought “real food”.
– The boy has lost so much weight with you! Are you underfeeding him?
A seaside holiday turned into a nightmare when my mother-in-law asked me to “look after things.”
– Seryozhenka, your wife tans so much that men stare!
There was an incident when Natasha caught her sorting through her underwear.
— Checking the quality of the wash. Seryozha has sensitive skin.
The final straw was an invasion of the bedroom in the middle of the night:
– Seryozhenka, I brought you a cough compress!
Natasha lost her temper for the first time. A week later, she filed for divorce. Her husband chose his mother’s side. The apartment was divided – Natasha got it after compensation was paid. But it seems that the former mother-in-law considered the division of property an empty formality.
Natasha shuddered. What if she really came? Or worse, brought a plumber with her? She fell asleep with anxiety in her heart.
The next day, the former mother-in-law began to act. Olga Grigoryevna clutched the phone with whitened fingers.
- “The impudent girl, she divorced Seryozhenka and thinks that she can get rid of her family so easily? She’s not in the city, of course,” the woman muttered, dialing her son’s number.
“Mom, I’m in a meeting,” Sergei’s voice sounded tired.
— Are you sure you don’t have any keys to the apartment?
– What keys? From Natasha’s? Mom, forget it already!
“Don’t tell your mother!” Olga Grigoryevna snapped. “Your stamps are still there.”
– What other brands? I’ve never…
She hung up. That boy always ruins everything. He can’t even play along with his own mother!
Olga Grigoryevna took out her notebook. She found the right number – “Master Valera”. Three years ago, he changed the locks in their apartment when Seryozha lost the keys.
– Hello, Valera? Remember me? I have a problem with my daughter’s door. She locked herself in, she doesn’t answer the phone… I’m afraid something happened.
She knew how to be convincing, especially when she spoke in a trembling voice about “depression after breaking up with a boyfriend.”
– Three thousand? Robbery! Okay, I agree.
She put on her best coat and did her hair. Let the neighbors see a decent woman, not a burglar. She put Seryozha’s passport in her purse – you never know, she might need to prove her relationship with the tenant.
Now this upstart will know that getting involved with Olga Grigoryevna is more expensive for herself. No one dares to keep her son at a distance from the family!
“Master Valera” turned out to be an unshaven man with a smell of fumes and a shabby-looking suitcase.
– So, mom, where is this door? – Valera scratched the back of his head.
– Fifth floor, left. And I’m not your mother!
In the elevator, Olga Grigoryevna nervously fiddled with her coat button. What if it was the neighbors? What if they called the police?
“Wait a minute,” she whispered as they approached the familiar door number 57.
She rang for decency’s sake. Silence. Again. Silence.
– See? I told you so! – the woman threw up her hands theatrically.
“This is a serious door,” Valera whistled, looking at the lock. “There are five thousand here, not three.”
– What? We agreed…
– Either five, or look for another specialist.
The door opposite opened slightly. The neighbor Antonina Petrovna stuck her curious nose out.
– Olya? Are you here to see Natasha? What are you doing here?
———————————————
“Natashenka isn’t feeling well,” Olga Grigoryevna chattered. “We called her, she asked for help, but now she’s not picking up the phone. I’m worried!”
– And who is this man?
– My nephew.
Valera chuckled, but said nothing. Antonina shook her head in disbelief, but closed the door.
“We work quickly,” Olga Grigoryevna hissed.
Fifteen minutes later the lock gave in. Trying not to make any noise, she squeezed into the hallway and closed the door behind her.
The apartment was in semi-darkness. Olga Grigoryevna clicked the switch. The first thing that caught her eye was the perfect order. Not a speck of dust, not a single extra thing. Not at all like when Seryozha was there.
“Look at you, you’ve tidied up,” the woman said through gritted teeth, taking off her coat.
She walked into the living room. Everything had changed. Instead of the old sofa, there was a new, cream-colored one. Instead of heavy curtains, there were light drapes. Seryozha’s photo had disappeared from the shelf.
“It’s as if there was no son in her life,” Olga Grigoryevna muttered, grimacing.
There was an open diary on the table. “Meeting with Andrey, 17:00, Verona cafe.”
– Andrey? – Olga Grigoryevna choked with indignation. – He’s already having an affair!
She went into the kitchen. Opened the fridge – a bottle of champagne, strawberries, cheese. Clearly getting ready for a romantic evening.
“You slut!” hissed the mother-in-law.
She looked into the bedroom and froze. There was men’s underwear on the bed.
– My God, she’s already leading men on!
In the bathroom there was a man’s razor and shaving foam. Olga Grigoryevna was seething with anger. Not even three months had passed since the divorce!
She returned to the living room and saw another detail – there was a photograph on the bookshelf. Natasha hugging a tall brunette. Her heart stopped for a moment – this man was amazingly similar to Olga Grigoryevna’s late husband.
With trembling hands she took the frame. On the back was the inscription: “To my beloved sister from brother Andrey.”
– Brother? – Olga Grigoryevna blinked in confusion. – What other brother?
She had never heard that Natasha had a brother. And then it dawned on her – she had broken into an apartment where not only her former daughter-in-law lived.
The click of the entrance lock made Olga Grigoryevna jump. She rushed to the window, but the fifth floor deprived her of any hope of escape.
– Andrey, are you home yet? – Natasha’s voice came from the hallway.
Olga Grigoryevna froze in the middle of the room with a photograph in her hands. A second later, her former daughter-in-law appeared in the doorway with bags of groceries.
– You?! – the bags fell out of Natasha’s hands. – How did you get here?
– “I’m not in town”, does that mean? – the mother-in-law went on the offensive. – You’ve learned to lie well!
– What? Get out immediately! This is trespassing!
– Since when did you have a brother? – Olga Grigoryevna shook the frame. – Does Seryozha know that you have men?
Natasha took a deep breath.
— Firstly, what business does it have on Seryozha? Secondly, Andrey really is my brother. My own brother, by the way. And yes, he lives here and helps me with the mortgage.
– Don’t make things up! Seryozha never mentioned his brother.
– Maybe because you were never interested in my family? – Natasha smiled bitterly. – Andrey served in another city, returned recently. You broke down my door because of your son’s non-existent things!
– I have the right…
– You have nothing! – Natasha took out her phone. – I’ll call the police now.
– Just try! I’ll say that you robbed Seryozha!
The tense silence was broken by the sound of the door opening.
– Natasha, I’m home! – a man’s voice rang out. – I bought some wine, how did you…
A tall man entered the room, remarkably similar to the man in the photograph. He froze when he saw Olga Grigoryevna.
– And who is this?
“The ex-mother-in-law who broke down our door,” Natasha muttered.
“I see,” Andrey nodded calmly. “I understand that this is the same woman who read your diaries and threw tantrums at your wedding?”
Olga Grigoryevna turned purple.
“Andrey, call the police,” Natasha said decisively.
“No need for the police!” the mother-in-law blurted out in fear. “I just… wanted to check…”
— Now we’ll check how the article on illegal entry works.
– Natasha, as a mother I was worried!
– You are not my mother. Get out and forget the way here.
Olga Grigoryevna, backing away, reached the exit.
“By the way, I’ve always wanted to test the Earth’s gravity,” with these words Andrey grabbed his mother-in-law by the hand and dragged her to the balcony.
