Nadja ran her carefully styled curls through her fingers and looked at herself for a long time in the hallway mirror. Forty years. A boundary that everyone calls something different: a crisis, a celebration, or simply just another day when a person is still trying to meet everyone’s expectations.
From the kitchen drifted the smell of roasted meat and potatoes — Zhenya’s favorite scent. The scent of the man who was now nervously adjusting glasses in the living room, as if he were about to enter a poorly negotiated diplomatic meeting.
— Naduska… they’re already in the elevator — he called out, his voice tense. — They’ll be here any moment. We’ll get through this. Together.
The doorbell rang as if it were not guests arriving, but a verdict being delivered.
And the “family committee” arrived.
Larisa Ivanovna, the mother-in-law, wearing an overly ornate, outdated hat that looked like it had its own opinion about the entire world. Gaya, the sister-in-law, already looked around from the doorway as if she were disappointed not to have arrived at a penthouse. And Antoska, the “family miracle,” immediately stepped on Nadja’s favorite shoe upon entering, as if that were the house rule.
— Happy forty, dear! — Gaya boomed, already inside with her shoes on. — Wow, it’s so cramped here… Zhenya, you still haven’t bought a bigger apartment?
— Hello, Gaya — Nadja smiled with a calm that only years of practice can give. — The slippers are to the right.
— Antoska doesn’t need slippers! — Larisa Ivanovna cut in. — The child has flat feet, not a prison!
Interesting For You
10 Most Desirable Contestants On Too Hot To Handle
The Hottest Dance Moments Ever Seen On TV
Do You Remember Her? Take A Deep Breath Before Looking At Her
Do You Remember Her? You Better Sit Down Before You See Her Today
Meanwhile, the “child” was already heading toward the living room like a small natural disaster.
At that moment Anya stepped out of the room. A folder full of drawings in her arms, her gaze carrying that quiet caution of children who have heard too many times: “don’t cause trouble.”
— Good evening — she said softly.
— Hm. You’ve lost weight — the mother-in-law assessed her. — Antoska, on the other hand, is strong as a bull.
With that sentence, everything seemed to fall into place: the usual hierarchy, the usual insults, the usual festive tension.
The table was set. Too beautifully. Too carefully. As if Nadja was trying to prove that everything was fine.
— Where’s the caviar? — Gaya struck immediately. — We’re starving here.
— Everything is on the table — Nadja replied calmly. — If you don’t only look for what’s missing, but also see what is there.
That was the first spark.
The second was the gift.
Larisa Ivanovna ceremoniously placed a torn plastic bag on the table.
— Family heirloom — she declared.
Inside was an old, cracked samovar. Yellowed, covered in limescale, as if it had escaped from another life.
— Vintage — Nadja remarked with a faint smile.
— Respect! — the mother-in-law snapped. — Don’t look a gift horse…
— …in the mouth — Nadja finished quietly.
And from there, everything accelerated.
— Antoska needs a laptop — Gaya declared, as if placing an order. — Yours is useless anyway, Anya’s.
Silence.
Zhenya spoke for the first time.
— No — he said simply.
The word sounded larger than it should have.
— What do you mean, no?! — Larisa Ivanovna screamed.
Anya tried to speak, but Gaya interrupted: