— I’ve seen the payment receipts, of course. And I’ve already paid them. But I just don’t understand why I’ve been handling this for several months now?” she said gloomily.
“— Yul, come on, that’s enough, alright? Every morning it’s the same! You know I’m looking for a job. I’m looking, but so far nothing has come up. I have a very rare specialty, and unfortunately, no one in our town can offer me anything decent.”
“— Go work in a field that isn’t your specialty. What’s the problem? That’s what most people do nowadays. Everyone is looking for a more lucrative job, not caring about their specialty. All that matters is the size of the salary,” she continued with a dissatisfied look on her face.
“— No, come on, how could I? And my parents wouldn’t understand. Mom was so happy when I graduated from university and became a climatologist,” Mikhail replied.
“— It would have been better if your mom had advised you at the time to pursue a more down-to-earth and in-demand profession in our town!”
“— Well, don’t be angry, please! I’ve already submitted my resume to a research institute and a private firm—they promised to get back to me soon. So you say you paid for the apartment? That’s good. Then give me another couple thousand for travel and lunch. I’ll have to eat somewhere in the city during the day. Most likely, I’ll be called in about a job today,” Mikhail asked his wife for money, as he had done nearly every day for the past six months.
“— Oh my God, I’m so tired of this! I’m married—why am I now solving all the problems in our family?” Yulya’s mood was at its worst that day.
“— Can’t you wait? Everyone goes through temporary hardships. Why make a fuss?” Mikhail didn’t want to listen to these unpleasant conversations that his wife had been having almost every day now.
“— Because of your temporary hardships, I’ve been working for a year without a vacation! I was forced to take cash compensation just to keep our family going, especially since lately I’m the only one working! Don’t you think, my dear, that this is too much?”
“— It’s nothing serious. The management will appreciate you more. Look, they even gave you a raise for your diligent work. Is that so bad?” Mikhail asked cynically.
“— Fine, no one is arguing. But under these conditions, it doesn’t inspire me at all. I don’t even have time to sit down and enjoy my successes. And no matter how much you earn now, it all goes toward the debts we’ve accumulated. And it’s because of you, by the way,” Yulya wanted to say everything that had been weighing on her soul.
“— So, are you going to give me money?” her husband decided to end the escalating argument.
“— I’ll transfer it to your card right now. You won’t give up, will you? I hope something about the job will be settled today,” the young woman said resignedly.
Yulya and Mikhail had been living together for two years. When she married a young, promising man—and even with her own apartment—she was happy and felt very fortunate. The apartment in which they lived after the wedding, according to the documents, belonged to Mikhail’s parents. And Yulya immediately told her husband: “We’re going to save up for our own home.”
This idea seemed absurd to her husband. Why bother when you already have a roof over your head? But the woman didn’t listen; she decided that sooner or later the time would come when owning her own apartment would be very useful. While Mikhail, for several months of their married life, worked and brought home a salary, they even managed to set aside a small amount for a down payment on an apartment.
But then Mikhail was fired. And he immediately relaxed and didn’t really look for a new job, blaming his rare specialty and the lack of proper conditions for his work.
With regret, Yulya concluded that her husband was just lazy. Why work when his wife brings home decent money? There’s a place to live, there’s food too. It’s better for him to spend his time on more enjoyable activities rather than having to tell his wife and his parents—who are worried—that he’s job hunting.
The money saved for buying a house had now become a tempting morsel for him. Why look for a job when he could just break into the safe and take the necessary amount? Moreover, he wasn’t planning to change his habits even after losing his job. He continued going to an expensive sports club for workouts. He also met up with his college friends a couple of times a month in some neutral spot where you had to pay for everything.
“— Mish, you’ve taken money again! Why this time, tell me? There’s almost nothing left!” Yulya exclaimed indignantly the other day.
“— I gave it to my mom. She asked to borrow money from us for a new washing machine. The old one broke, and mom didn’t want to buy it on credit. She had part of the money, and I added the rest,” Mikhail explained about his generous act.
“— Well, awesome! Good job, right? You don’t work yourself, but you hand out money left and right,” Yulya couldn’t help but retort.
“— Watch your words. What do you mean by ‘left and right’? She’s my mother. And let me remind you that we are living in my parents’ apartment. If we were renting, we’d be paying such an amount to some random guy every month. Or even more.”
“— Well, thanks to your parents for not charging us rent every month for the apartment. Only sometimes, under the guise of asking for money for some purchase! Bravo, well done! Both you and your parents! Work, Yulena, toil without rest, and we’ll be buying washing machines at your expense.”
“— I told you, mom borrowed the money. She’ll pay it back when she gets money,” Mikhail argued with his wife.
“— Pay it back? Just like for that trip to the sanatorium with your father two months ago. Or for the roof repair at the summer house when you added the missing amount so that your parents could pay the workers. That’s how she’ll pay it back, right?”
“— We’re a family, Yulya. It saddens me that you count every penny we give to my parents.”
“— Because I earn those pennies, as you say! And I can’t even give my own parents decent birthday gifts. You’re constantly handing out our money!”
That day, Yulya left for work upset and didn’t speak to her husband for several days.
More and more, thoughts began creeping into her mind that she had made a mistake. She had rushed into marriage. That Mikhail was just an idler and a freeloader—and that for him, his mother’s authority was far more important than his wife’s concerns and problems.
That evening, Yulya returned home very exhausted. Her director had forced her to check several branches in the city. And for the next day, she was scheduled for a trip to more distant branches, which did little to please the utterly tired woman.
“— Did they hire you?” she asked without even looking at her husband, who was sprawled on the sofa with his phone.
“— No, you know, it was another miss. I actually turned it down myself. The salary was really low there.”
“— Well, of course, you expect a million right off the bat. And in the private company too?” Yulya said, unpleasantly surprised.
“— No, in the private firm the salary is actually not bad, but the working hours are unregulated, and sometimes you even have to work on weekends. And that doesn’t suit me at all. When will I get any rest?”
“— Well, yes, you’re so tired of sitting at home that you really need a break from work right now,” Yulya grimaced from the unpleasant feelings that had overwhelmed her.
That evening, she didn’t speak with Mikhail any further. And the next day, she set off for work to a nearby town.
All along the way there and back, she thought about her problem. And the conclusions Yulya reached were disheartening. She was being blatantly used. And then a text message from Mikhail, which once again showed her who her husband really was, broke her completely.
“‘Did you not pay for my internet? Quickly send money to my number,’” he wrote to Yulya in an imperious tone, taking it for granted.
She realized she’d have to part with her husband. Living like this was no longer possible. He was content with everything, while Yulya had exhausted all her nerves. Married for two years, and she wasn’t even thinking about having a child—because she understood that if she went on maternity leave, they would be completely penniless.
And on top of that, her mother-in-law was adding fuel to the fire. If only she could get the irresponsible son to go work, he wouldn’t be draining the family’s last funds.
Returning in the evening from her business trip, Yulya went to see her boss.
“— What’s wrong, Antonova? Are you not sick, by any chance? You look a bit off,” her boss inquired. “How was your trip to Mirnoye?”
“— The trip went well. Andrey Petrovich, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Please give me a few days off. I just can’t—I’m exhausted, two years without a break,” Yulya nearly cried, feeling so sorry for herself in that moment, almost to tears.
“— Well, go then, of course. It’s not the right time, but since it’s necessary, I’ll let you go. Just for a short while, alright?”
The next day, Yulya didn’t wake up at six in the morning as she always did. She was sleeping soundly. But not for long. At eight, a surprised Mikhail woke her up.
“— You overslept! Get up! Are you out of your mind? You haven’t even gotten a reprimand yet,” her husband fussed around her.
“— Leave me alone,” Yulya brushed him off, wrapping herself in a blanket.
“— Get up, I’m telling you—it’s already eight. It takes you an hour to get there!” Misha shouted.
“— I don’t need to go anywhere. I’ve quit,” Yulya said with delight, yawning sweetly and turning away from him.
“— What? Are you out of your mind! How could you come up with such an idea? And how are we going to live? Go quickly and take back your resignation! Quickly, right now, before the boss processes it. Say that you acted rashly.”
“— How are we going to live? That’s a good question, dear. Now you’re going to provide for us. That’s it, now it’s your turn.”
“— What are you saying! How can you… I’m looking for a job. And who knows how long this search will take!”
“— Stop looking altogether. You’ll go somewhere where manual labor is needed, and you’ll work.”
Yulya decided to give her husband one last chance. She had resolved, on the road the previous day while thinking long and hard about what to do.
The woman got up—she wasn’t going to sleep any longer. Yulya decided to visit her parents today. To see them and to give them a nice gift. A refrigerator, for example, because the old one had been malfunctioning for ages. After all, all that money would just be spent on the lazy husband or his relatives. She spent the entire day with her family.
In the evening, an unpleasant conversation with her mother-in-law awaited Yulya. Her mother-in-law had not even bothered to come over personally for this matter. She sat and waited for her daughter-in-law to return home.
“— Yulya!” she shouted upon seeing her son’s wife come in. “How could you come up with something like this? Quitting such a well-paying job! How will you live now? And what about us? You’ve been helping us so much lately!”
“— Hello, Marina Vladimirovna,” Yulya replied quietly.
“— What has gotten into you? How could you make such a strange decision without consulting either your husband or your parents? Have you lost your mind, tell me? Why are you just silent and watching? Are you going to answer me?”
“— No, I haven’t lost my mind. Right now I’m thinking more rationally than ever. I’ve finally come back to my senses—the ability to think clearly and analyze. And I did consult with my parents. You are mistaken—but only with my own, with people who wish me well,” Yulya said calmly.
“— And now what? Are you going to live in squalor?” Marina Vladimirovna wouldn’t let it go.
“— Your son, perhaps, yes. After all, he’s long been accustomed to living at someone else’s expense. And things will be fine with me, just trust me on my word.”
“— What an ungrateful person! You were settled in your own apartment. They created every condition for living—live and be happy. So what if your husband doesn’t work; it’s only temporary! You had enough to live on, so why have you lost your mind? You’re putting on a show for us here.”
“— You probably won’t understand this. That’s why I won’t even try to explain,” Yulya replied quietly. “And what about you? Why are you silent? Do you have anything to add?”
At that moment, she looked at her husband, who was silently listening to the quarrel between his mother and his wife.
“— Mom is right. You acted treacherously. You left us without the means to live. And you still haven’t paid for my internet!”
“— That’s exactly all I wanted to hear,” Yulya said quietly as she went to pack her things. “I will file for divorce myself. And soon. I don’t want to be a money bag for people who absolutely don’t care about me or my interests anymore.”
FacebookMastodonEmailРесурс
