\“Your daughter came into my house, insulted me, and demanded that I give up my bedroom for her. And you’re asking me to just put up with it?” the wife asked.
“Where can I put all this unnecessary stuff?” Marina asked irritably as she walked out of the bedroom holding two sweaters. “Half the closet is already occupied.”
Irina stopped in the hallway before she had even taken off her coat.
Two open suitcases stood near the bedroom door. One was stuffed with clothes, while the other was filled with shoes, makeup bags, and various boxes. Neat piles of Irina’s belongings, which had still been inside the closet that morning, were lying on the bed.
For several seconds, she simply stared at what was happening.
That morning, when Irina had left for work, the house had looked completely normal. Alexey had left before her, his coffee mug was still downstairs, and the second floor had been quiet.
No suitcases.
No Marina.
And certainly no one emptying the closet in their bedroom.
“What are you doing?” Irina asked.
Marina looked at the sweaters in her hands as though the question itself seemed strange.
“Putting my things away.”
“I can see that. Why here?”
“Where else?”
Irina took off her coat, hung it in the hallway, and climbed two steps higher.
Marina was twenty-three. Tall and slim, with long dark hair that she usually wore in a ponytail, she did not look confused or embarrassed now. If anything, she looked annoyed that someone had interrupted her important task.
Irina knew that lately Marina had been renting an apartment with a friend. The two women split the expenses, each had her own room, and judging by Alexey’s occasional comments, they had both been perfectly satisfied with the arrangement.
So the fact that her husband’s daughter was suddenly in the house was surprising enough.
But something else surprised Irina far more.
Marina had already gone into the owners’ bedroom, opened their closet, and started clearing shelves for herself.
“Are you living here now?” Irina asked.
“For a while.”
“What happened to your rented apartment?”
Marina tossed the sweaters onto the bed.
“The landlady drove me crazy. First she started complaining about some scratch on the door. Then she decided we were supposedly too noisy. Today she started another argument. I packed my things and left.”
“And your friend?”
“She stayed. That’s her problem.”
“Does Alexey know you’re here?”
“Of course.”
That was when Irina began to understand.
“When did you speak to him?”
“This afternoon.”
“And what did he say?”
“That I could stay with him until I found something decent.”
Irina nodded slowly.
Apparently, her husband had simply decided there was no need to inform her.
Her phone had not rung all day. There had been no messages from Alexey either.
Irina took out her phone and looked at the screen as though she might somehow have missed something important.
Nothing.
“There’s a spare room in the house,” she said. “You know perfectly well where it is.”
Marina grimaced.
“That tiny one?”
“It’s not tiny. There’s plenty of space for one person.”
“The desk takes up half the room.”
“It’s a normal desk.”
“And there are bookcases.”
“They’re against the wall.”
Marina clearly did not understand why Irina was listing obvious facts.
“I’m not comfortable there.”
“In what way?”
“First of all, the window faces the courtyard. Second, the room just feels like a passageway.”
Irina raised an eyebrow.
“It isn’t a passageway.”
“I said it feels like one. And besides, I’m not here for two days. I need somewhere I can settle in properly.”
“Fine. Settle into the spare room.”
Marina turned toward the bedroom.
“I already started here.”
“Then you’ll have to put everything back.”
Open displeasure appeared on the young woman’s face.
“Why?”
“Because this is Alexey’s and my bedroom.”
“Dad can sleep with you in the other room.”
For a moment, Irina did not even understand what she meant.
“What other room?”
“The spare one.”
Now Irina looked at Marina more carefully.
“You’re suggesting that we move into the small room you just said you didn’t like?”
“Temporarily.”
“And you want our bedroom?”
“This one has a proper closet. And it’s closer to the bathroom.”
Irina ran her hand along the handle of her handbag.
During the workday, she had managed two meetings, dealt with a disputed order involving a contractor, and spent nearly an hour sitting in traffic. All she had wanted was to change clothes, make something quick for dinner, and have a peaceful evening.
Instead, she was standing inside her own home in front of an adult woman who had taken her belongings out of the closet without permission and was now explaining why it would be more convenient for the homeowners to move into another room.
“Marina, listen carefully. You can stay here while you sort out your housing situation. There is a spare room for you. But no one is giving up this bedroom.”
“Why are you the one deciding?”
“Because this is my bedroom.”
“It’s Dad’s too.”
“Exactly. Ours.”
Marina crossed her arms.
“Dad gave me permission to come here.”
“To come here, yes. To take over my room, no.”
“You always turn everything into a problem.”
“So far, you’re the only one creating a problem.”
Irina walked past her into the bedroom and realized things had gone further than they had appeared from the hallway.
Marina’s cosmetics were already arranged on one shelf. A phone charger lay on the nightstand beside the bed. Some of Irina’s clothes had been removed from the closet, and several items had simply been tossed onto the bedspread.
Irina opened the now-empty side of the closet.
“Put everything back.”
Marina followed her inside.
“I’ll do it later.”
“No. Now.”
“Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
“I just got here. I’m exhausted. I carried those suitcases by myself.