The In-Laws Said They Had No Money for Their Son’s Wedding. A Week Later, Everyone Learned the Truth
Valentina Ivanovna closed the refrigerator door and sighed. For the third day in a row, she had been trying to choose a menu for the wedding banquet, but every option seemed either too expensive or not festive enough.
“Kolya, did you write down how much the hot dishes will cost?” she called to her husband in the next room.
Nikolai looked up from the papers spread across the coffee table.
“It comes to twenty-eight thousand if we order a little extra. And then there’s the cake, the salads… Val, maybe we should make the portions smaller?”
“How can we make them smaller? Do you want us to embarrass ourselves in front of everyone?” Valentina came over and sat beside her husband. “It’s our only son’s wedding!”
The phone on the table vibrated. The screen displayed: “Igorek.”
“Mom, hi! How are the preparations going?” her son asked cheerfully.
“Your father and I are calculating everything. Did you talk to Olya about the families meeting?”
“I did. Tomorrow at seven at our place, just as we agreed. Her parents confirmed.”
Valentina nervously adjusted her hair, even though her son couldn’t see her.
“Good, good. We’ll be waiting. Give Olechka my regards.”
After the call ended, Nikolai handed his wife the sheet with their calculations.
“Val, stop avoiding the subject. Just say it directly—we don’t have much money. We need to be honest with the other parents about it.”
“Oh, Kolya, it feels awkward… It’ll be our first meeting, and we’ll immediately start talking about money.”
“When else? The day before the wedding?”
The following evening, their small apartment gleamed with cleanliness. Valentina wiped the table three times, set out their best dishes, and even brought out the vase she normally saved for special occasions.
The doorbell rang at exactly seven.
“Mom, Dad, meet Svetlana Sergeyevna and Viktor Pavlovich!” Igor beamed as he held the embarrassed Olga by the hand.
“Very nice to meet you!” Svetlana, a slender woman with perfectly styled hair, extended her hand to Valentina. “We’ve heard so much about you!”
Viktor, a tall man with short hair, firmly shook Nikolai’s hand.
“Glad to meet you! Finally, the two families get to meet.”
At first, conversation around the table was awkward. Svetlana talked about her accounting job at a large company, while Viktor mentioned his recent business trip abroad.
“Our Kolya has worked at the factory for thirty years,” Valentina said proudly. “And I work at a school. I’m a primary school teacher.”
“A noble profession,” Svetlana said, taking a sip of tea.
When the conversation finally turned to the wedding, Valentina became so nervous that she nearly spilled the fruit drink.
“We were thinking about May,” she began cautiously. “They say it’s a good month for weddings.”
“May is an excellent choice,” Svetlana agreed.
“There’s just one thing…” Valentina hesitated and glanced at her husband.
Nikolai cleared his throat.
“We have some savings for the wedding. Not as much as we’d like, but…”
“Dad!” Igor flushed. “Maybe this isn’t the right time?”
“No, no, now is exactly the right time,” Viktor raised his hand. “It’s an important conversation. Finances matter.”
Everyone fell silent. Olga stared down at her plate.
“You see,” Svetlana said slowly, “as far as our finances are concerned… we’ve run out of money.”
“What do you mean?” Valentina asked, confused.
“We had some unexpected expenses,” Viktor explained with a shrug. “We really wanted to help, but right now we simply can’t.”
The silence around the table became thick enough to cut with a knife.
“So you can’t contribute anything at all?” Nikolai asked bluntly.
“Well, maybe we can scrape together something for a gift,” Svetlana said with a strained smile.
“But what about the banquet? The venue? The photographer?” Valentina asked, counting everything off on her fingers.
“Mom,” Olga said quietly for the first time. “I told you…”
“Olya, we’ll discuss this at home,” Svetlana said, giving her daughter a stern look.
Igor squeezed his fiancée’s hand and tried to ease the tension.
“Maybe we can figure something out ourselves. We don’t need anything extravagant…”
“Son, a wedding is something you remember for the rest of your life!” Valentina reached for a napkin. “I wanted it to be beautiful…”
“It will be beautiful,” Nikolai said firmly, even though worry showed in his eyes. “We’ll manage.”
After the guests left, Valentina sat on the sofa and covered her face with her hands.
“Kolya, did you see their watches? Their clothes? They definitely have money!”
“It’s none of our business, Val,” Nikolai sighed. “If they don’t want to help, that’s their right.”
“But it isn’t fair! They know we’re not rich. We’ve been saving little by little for ten years.”
“Mom, Dad,” Igor said, sitting beside them. “I’ll talk to Olya. Maybe we’ll find a solution.”
Valentina looked at her son and thought, “My God, how can this be? They don’t even want to help him!”
Igor’s phone beeped. It was a message from Olga:
“Sorry about my parents. Can we talk tomorrow?”
“Of course,” he replied, feeling an unpleasant knot forming inside him.
Valentina Ivanovna couldn’t fall asleep for three hours. One thought kept circling in her head: “Where are we going to get the money for the wedding?”
“Kolya, are you awake?” she whispered.
“After something like that?” Nikolai muttered. “Of course I’m awake.”
“Maybe we can borrow from Zina? She offered.”
“We’ll borrow from Zina, ask the Petroviches…” Nikolai sighed. “We’ll somehow put the money together.”
The next morning, the first thing Valentina did was call her friend.
“Zina, remember you said we could borrow some money? We need about forty thousand…”
“Of course, Val! What happened? The other parents aren’t helping?”
“They said they have no money. Can you imagine? And yet they…”
“What?!” Zina gasped. “They seem like such respectable people!”
By evening, the whole courtyard was already whispering about it. Valentina caught herself feeling both embarrassed and strangely pleased by all the attention.
Igor came home from work looking gloomy.
“Mom, why did you tell Zinaida Petrovna everything?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Valentina shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
“Everyone is calling Olya now! They’re asking whether it’s true that her parents are cheapskates.”
“I never called them cheapskates!” Valentina threw up her hands. “I simply told people what happened.”
Igor’s phone rang. He looked at the screen and stepped out onto the balcony.
“Olya, hi… Yes, I know… No, Mom didn’t mean to…” His muffled voice drifted in from outside.
Nikolai shook his head.
“Val, you shouldn’t have done that. Now there are problems between the kids.”
“What was I supposed to do? Stay silent? Let everyone know how… economical they are.”
Two days later, Igor brought Olga over. The young woman looked exhausted.
“Valentina Ivanovna, I’m sorry about my parents,” she said quietly. “I didn’t know they were going to act like that.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Valentina said, embracing her future daughter-in-law. “It isn’t your fault.”
“We’ve decided to have a simpler wedding,” Igor said. “No limousine, no restaurant…”
“Son, but…”
“Mom, I’ve already decided. We can afford the Ryabinka café. We’ll invite only our closest relatives and friends.”
Valentina looked at her husband. Nikolai nodded.
“All right. It’s your decision.”
That evening, after the young couple left, Valentina washed the dishes for a long time, scrubbing the plates with unnecessary force.
“Val, you’re going to break them.”
“I just can’t calm down, Kolya! They ruined such an important day!”
A week passed in a blur of preparations. Valentina called every café she could find and chose the cheapest menu. Nikolai arranged a discount with a neighbor who worked as a photographer. They gathered the money literally coin by coin.
Igor and Olga came over every evening to discuss details. Valentina noticed that Olga had become quieter. She constantly checked her phone and flinched whenever it rang.
“Sweetheart, is something wrong?” Valentina asked one day when they were alone in the kitchen.
“It’s just… my parents,” Olga said, lowering her eyes. “They’re unhappy that the wedding is going to be modest.”
“But they’re the ones who refused to help!”
“Yes. But now they’re saying it will be an embarrassment in front of the relatives.”
“Really?” Valentina pursed her lips. “And they still won’t give you any money?”
“No,” Olga shook her head. “They say they’re having ‘temporary financial difficulties.’”
On Saturday, Valentina ran into her neighbor Nina Pavlovna outside the apartment building.
“Val, have you heard the news?” the neighbor asked, her eyes shining with excitement. “Your in-laws bought a car!”
“What car?” Valentina froze.
“A new one! Svetka was seen at the dealership! My friend works there. She says they bought a foreign car, and not a cheap one either!”
Valentina leaned against the wall. It felt as though the air had gotten stuck in her lungs.
“When?”
“They signed the papers yesterday. So apparently they did have money…”
At home, Valentina blurted out the news to her husband in one breath.
“Can you imagine, Kolya?! They refused to spend money on their daughter’s wedding, but somehow they found money for a car!”
Nikolai removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Are you sure?”
“Nina saw them with her own eyes!”
“Call Igor,” he said quietly. “Tell him to come over. We need to talk.”
Igor arrived an hour later. He was alone.
“Olya couldn’t come,” he said as he entered the apartment. “What happened?”
Valentina took her son by the hand and sat him down on the sofa.
“Igorek, your future in-laws bought a car. A new one. Yesterday.”
Igor’s face fell.
“What? Are you sure?”
“Nina Pavlovna saw them herself! Her friend works at the dealership. They were there signing the paperwork.”
“That can’t be…” Igor rubbed his forehead. “They said…”
“Exactly!” Valentina threw up her hands. “They said they didn’t have money! And meanwhile…”
“Wait.” Igor pulled out his phone. “I’m calling Olya right now.”
He went onto the balcony. Nikolai and Valentina exchanged looks as they listened.
“Olya, is it true? Did your parents buy a car?.. Why didn’t you tell me?.. What do you mean you ‘didn’t know’?!”
Igor returned to the room. His face was pale and his jaw was clenched.
“She says she didn’t know. She wasn’t home… I don’t believe it!”
“Son, calm down,” Nikolai said, putting a hand on his shoulder.
“How am I supposed to calm down, Dad? They lied to us! We’re counting every penny, looking for the cheapest café, while they somehow found money for a brand-new car!”
Valentina nodded, clasping her hands tightly.
“I always knew there was something false about them! Always!”
“Mom, please don’t start with ‘I told you so,’” Igor snapped as he stood up. “I’m going over there. Right now.”
“We’ll come with you,” Nikolai said, getting up too.
“No. I’ll deal with it myself.”
When the door closed behind their son, Valentina sank into a chair.
“Kolya, what kind of people do something like that? They’ve put their own daughter in such an awful position!”
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Nikolai frowned. “We need to hear them out.”
“What is there to hear? Everything is obvious!”
The phone rang every five minutes. The news quickly spread among everyone they knew.
“Yes, Zina… Yes, it’s true… Can you imagine?” Valentina repeated the story over and over again.
Igor returned late that evening, slamming the door so hard that the dishes rattled.
“It’s all true. The car is sitting in their garage. Brand new.”
“And what did they say?” Valentina leaned forward.
“They said it was a ‘planned purchase.’ That they had been saving for it for three years. They said their daughter’s wedding was our problem, not theirs.”
“My God!” Valentina clutched her chest. “How could they say something like that?”
“And Olya?” Nikolai asked.
“Olya is in tears. She says she knew nothing about the car. Her parents didn’t tell her.”
“And you believe her?” Valentina asked, shaking her head.
“I want to,” Igor said, clenching his fists. “Tomorrow we’re all meeting together. We’re going to settle this.”
The next morning, Valentina couldn’t sit still. When the doorbell rang, she flinched.
Svetlana and Viktor stood at the door. Behind them were Olga, red-eyed from crying, and a gloomy Igor.
“Come in,” Nikolai said coldly.
A heavy silence filled the cramped living room.
“We came to clear everything up,” Viktor began. “Apparently, there has been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?” Valentina scoffed. “Everything seems perfectly clear to me!”
“Valentina Ivanovna,” Svetlana said, straightening her back, “we are not obligated to account for how we spend our money.”
“Then why lie?” Igor exploded. “You said you didn’t have any money!”
“We did not lie,” Viktor said, slamming his palm on the table. “We genuinely did not have any spare funds for the wedding.”
“But you had money for a car!” Valentina exclaimed.
“That’s different,” Svetlana said, pressing her lips together. “We had been saving for that car for three years.”
“And it never occurred to you to save for your daughter’s wedding?” Nikolai asked, folding his arms.
“We didn’t think she’d get married so quickly!”
Olga raised her head sharply.
“Mom, Igor and I have been together for two years! You knew perfectly well!”
“Olya, stay out of this!” Svetlana hissed.
“No, I won’t!” Olga stood up. “You humiliated me! In front of everyone! Igor’s parents are giving everything they have, while you… you buy yourselves a car!”
“We are not obligated to pay for your whims!” Viktor raised his voice too.
“Whims?!” Igor stepped forward. “Your daughter’s wedding is a whim to you?”
“All right, everyone calm down!” Nikolai stepped between them. “No shouting.”
Valentina slowly sank into a chair.
“So that’s how it is. You decided a car was more important than your daughter’s happiness. That’s your right. But then you should have honestly said, ‘We don’t want to spend money on the wedding.’ Why lie about financial difficulties?”
Svetlana looked embarrassed for a moment but quickly regained her composure.
“We weren’t obligated to…”
“Yes, yes, you weren’t obligated,” Valentina interrupted. “But now everyone knows the truth. All the neighbors, all the relatives. They know the bride’s parents refused to spend money on her wedding but bought themselves a car.”
“You deliberately told everyone!” Svetlana snapped.
“Why hide it?” Valentina shrugged. “You can’t hide the truth forever.”
“We’re leaving,” Viktor said, taking his wife by the arm. “Olya, are you coming with us?”
Olga looked at her parents, then at Igor.
“No. I’m staying.”
“Suit yourself,” Svetlana said, turning toward the door.
When the door slammed shut behind them, Olga burst into tears.
“I’m sorry… I really didn’t know… about the car…”
Valentina embraced her.
“I believe you, sweetheart. You’re not to blame.”
Three months later, the wedding finally took place. It was held in a small café with thirty guests. Olga wore a simple white dress that Valentina had decorated herself with lace. Olga’s parents arrived late and mechanically handed over an envelope with money as a gift.
“Don’t look at them,” Valentina whispered to Nikolai. “Today belongs to our children.”
Igor and Olga danced their first dance. They looked at each other as though no one else in the world existed.
“You know,” Nikolai said, leaning toward his wife, “maybe it’s better that everything happened this way. Now the kids know who is truly there for them.”
“And so do we,” Valentina nodded.
That evening, after the guests left, the newlyweds departed on a small honeymoon—a three-day trip to a neighboring city. It was all they could afford.
Valentina was cleaning up after the celebration when the phone rang. It was Zina.
“So, Val? How did everything go?”
“It went well, Zina. Nothing luxurious, but it had heart.”
“And the other parents?”
“Like statues. They smiled at everyone, but their eyes were cold.”
“What people,” Zina sighed. “But you did well, Val. You managed.”
“It wasn’t just me. We all did it together.”
After ending the call, Valentina walked over to the window. Darkness had already fallen outside. Somewhere out there, her son and daughter-in-law were traveling together—now a real family.
“Life eventually puts everything in its proper place,” she thought. “The important thing is finding out who truly stands beside you when things get difficult.”
The phone rang again. It was a message from Igor:
“Mom, thank you for everything. We love you.”
Valentina smiled and showed the message to her husband.
“That made all the effort worthwhile,” Nikolai said, embracing his wife. “Every bit of it.”