“Break the door down, this is my brother’s apartment!” Nelli’s demanding voice echoed through the entire stairwell.
“Saw that bolt off already! I’ll pay you double the usual rate!”
Alina stood barefoot in the entryway, holding together the collar of her mustard-colored house sweater. Just two steps away, sitting on a low bench, was the main culprit behind today’s commotion.
Nazar hunched his head into his shoulders, pressed his hand over his mouth, and was afraid to even cough.
Two days ago, his crew finished their job near Surgut ahead of schedule. Nazar flew home on Thursday, two weeks earlier than planned. As soon as he walked in, he asked his wife not to call any of the relatives.
He said, let me have at least three days to catch up on sleep after being up north. Otherwise, his older sister Nelli would immediately recruit him to haul seedlings and fix the shed at their mother’s dacha.
Alina just shrugged then. Let him rest, it’s only natural. On Saturday morning, she baked a mountain of golden cheese pancakes, opened a can of condensed milk and made coffee in a copper cezve.
They had just sat down at the dining table when the intercom buzzed. Nazar looked out from the balcony, saw a taxi by the entrance with boxes, and his face changed instantly.
In three quick leaps, he raced to the hallway and hid his fur boots in the shoe rack.
“Alina, don’t open the door!” he whispered, putting a finger to his lips.
“That’s Nelli at the door! Tell her no one’s home, make her leave!”
Alina was surprised by his reaction, but didn’t pick up the intercom. Who knows, maybe he really just wanted to rest after his shift. But five minutes later, metal scraped in the bottom lock.
The lock gave way on the first try. The door jolted and loudly hit the reinforced inside latch.
And just a quarter of an hour later, Nelli showed up with a mustachioed maintenance man from the building service company, hauling a metal toolbox.
“Ma’am, you don’t need to raise your voice at me,” the deep male voice replied calmly from the landing.
“By the rules, I can’t force open someone else’s door without seeing a passport. Show me your documents with the registered address.”
“I’m telling you plain Russian!” Nelli wouldn’t back down from the other side of the door.
“This is my own brother Nazar’s apartment! He’s working his tail off up North right now, freezing in the tundra, and this freeloader has barricaded herself in from the inside!”
“This is quite the show,” Alina said quietly and stared at her husband.
Nazar shrank even smaller on the bench. He gripped the edges tightly, his eyes darting around the rug.
“Open up, I said!” her sister-in-law pounded her fist on the door.
“I know you’re in there hiding, Alina! Open up right now or the handyman is going to saw off the latch!”
Alina adjusted the hairpin in her bun at the back of her head and stepped to the peephole. Out on the landing was stylish Nelli in a beige trench coat and large wooden beads.
Standing beside her was the handyman, Zakhar Kuzmich, in a work jacket with canvas mitts tucked into his belt. All around them were four chunky travel bags and cardboard boxes filled with pots and pans.
“Nelli, are you sure you’ve got the right address?” Alina asked clearly through the door.
“Why did you bring a handyman? And how did you even get a key to our bottom lock?”
Inside the entryway, Nazar squeezed his eyes shut in agony and rubbed his bald spots with both hands.
“Can you believe this, she still has the nerve to ask!” Nelli shrieked loud enough for the whole floor to hear.
“The key is from exactly where it needs to be! My brother handed it to me personally back in October, while you were off visiting your aunt in Tver!”
Alina slowly turned toward the bench.
“Hold on a minute,” she whispered.
“You swore to me in October that the spare key with the yellow tag fell into the inspection pit in the garage.”
“Alina, please, keep your voice down, for heaven’s sake,” Nazar mouthed, waving his hands at her.
“I’ll explain everything later. Why are you starting this now…”
Meanwhile, outside the door, Nelli was on a roll, rattling a bunch of keys right under the mustachioed locksmith’s nose.
“Just look at this cheeky one, comrade master! See the yellow tag on this ring? Nazar personally gave me the duplicate!”
“Did he really now?” the locksmith questioned.
“Exactly!” Nelli declared proudly.
He said: ‘Sis, I bought this two-bedroom with hard-earned money from the north! I’m a full owner here, come whenever you want, no need to ask anyone!’”
Alina’s eyebrows shot up. So that’s what’s really going on!
Two years ago, just before their wedding, Alina inherited this two-bedroom apartment from her grandmother. Nazar showed up with nothing but a travel backpack and a box of winter gear.
He hadn’t even bothered to change his registration. He kept it at his mother’s place in the northern village, so he wouldn’t lose his shift allowances.
For two years, Alina wondered why her sister-in-law always looked down on her at family gatherings. Nelli would constantly make snide remarks about Alina’s ‘lucky marriage to a wealthy northerner.’
And whenever Alina tried to put her in-law in her place, Nazar would get all jittery, quickly pouring everyone more compote and changing the subject to the weather or gas prices.
Turns out, her dear hubby had been deceiving his sister, playing the role of a great breadwinner by using his wife’s grandmother’s inheritance.
“So why don’t you just call your brother?” suggested Zakhar Kuzmich from the landing, jingling his toolbox.
“Let him confirm on speakerphone.”
“I called him just last night!” Nelli shouted in frustration.
“Out by Surgut, the signal is terrible! He mumbled that he was busy at the drill site, then hung up! And today, his phone’s not even in the network!”
Alina glanced at Nazar. The ‘busy at the drill site’ man was sitting in wool socks under the coat rack, holding his breath. His switched-off phone was lying right there on the entryway table.
“And why exactly do you need to break into someone else’s apartment on a weekend?” the level-headed locksmith pressed on.
“You could have just waited for your brother to get back from his business trip. It’s just everyday life.”
“Because I need a place to live, that’s why!” Nelli retorted, not backing down.
“This morning, I rented out my own apartment to tenants for six months! They gave me a security deposit for three months—a hefty sum, by the way!”
“So where are you planning to go now?” the master asked in surprise.
“Here, where else would I go!” shot back Nelli.
“I can’t just sit with my things on a bench outside the building!”
Nazar jerked so hard on the bench it was as if the board beneath him cracked. His eyes grew wide. Clearly, this was a plot twist the loving brother had not seen coming.
“Well, I’ll be!” Zakhar Kuzmich exclaimed from outside the door.
“So you rented out your own place for the cash and then just show up at your brother’s place with all your bags? And what about his wife?”
“Who’s even asking her, anyway?” Nelli snorted in reply.
Oh sure, acting like she’s some big shot! Living off my brother, doesn’t have a cent to her name!
“Is that what your brother told you?” asked Zakhar Kuzmich.
“Of course!” the sister-in-law eagerly confirmed.
“My Nazar is so soft, a total pushover. He’ll do whatever I say!”
Alina leaned against the doorway. Nazar’s ears burned red from his sister’s revelations.
He tried to get up from the bench, but Alina simply showed him her fist. Sit down, the look said—you’re staying to hear this whole show.
“I laid everything out for him back in winter!” Nelly boasted from the landing.
“I told him: ‘Nazar, why are you bothering with that bland fish? No kids, she’s useless, just wasting food!'”
“And what did your brother say?” the locksmith asked.
“He agreed with me completely!” Nelly announced triumphantly.
“He promised to come back from spring rotation, give me money for a trip to the sanatorium, and send that hen packing back to our aunt in Tver!”
“You are such a liar,” Nazar whispered barely audibly in the hallway, clutching his head.
“That’s not what I said at all… She twisted everything!”
“Seriously?” Alina mouthed.
“And did she also pull the key with the yellow tag out of your pocket by herself?”
Nazar hunched his shoulders guiltily and stared at the floor.
“Alright, mister!” Nelly commanded from behind the door, kicking her bag with her heel.
“Enough chit-chat! I’ve got a frozen chicken in a box that’s going to thaw! Grab your tools and drill the lock out!”
“No way, ma’am,” Zakhar Kuzmich responded firmly.
“I don’t need your chicken. And without a registration stamp in your passport, I’m not touching that door. I’ve only got two years until retirement, I’m not risking it.”
“I’ll write a complaint to the manager about you!” Nelly shouted.
“And you, Alina, do you hear me? Move the latch right now! Otherwise, I’ll call Nazar and you’ll be out of here with all your rags by the end of the day!”
Alina sat on the edge of the cabinet by the mirror. She felt a sting in her nose from the hurt, and her fingers felt foreign and clumsy.
For a full minute, she sat motionless, staring at the tips of her husband’s woolen socks, wearily rubbing her temples.
For two years, she had guarded his peace, greeted him after his shifts with hot pies, and ignored his family’s jabs to avoid upsetting her ‘tired-from-the-north’ husband.
And now, behind her back, he was handing out keys to her home and bad-mouthing her.
“Alina, don’t listen to her, Nelly’s completely lost her mind,” Nazar muttered, moving closer.
“She just makes things up! Sure, I bragged once, stupidly, about the apartment—who hasn’t?”
“Stupidly?” Alina quietly repeated.
“Well, I’m a man, aren’t I?” Nazar spread his hands.
“How could I tell my older sister that I live here as nothing more than a guest? Wait—let her leave with the locksmith, then we’ll sort things out!”
Alina lifted her head. The numbness was gone, and suddenly her decisions came surprisingly easily.
“Get up, breadwinner,” she said quietly.
“Get up for what?” Nazar asked warily.
“To the door. Your sister’s stuck outside, her chicken is thawing in that box, and you’re hiding in here behind the bushes. It’s not a good look.”
“Alina, what are you up to?” her husband stammered in fear, backing up toward the coat rack.
“Don’t open it!”
But Alina was already at the door, sliding back the steel bolt in one swift motion.
The door swung open. Nelly, who was just about to swing her fist for another knock, stepped right inside out of momentum.
“Finally!” Nelly blurted out defiantly, fixing her wooden beads.
“Were you scared, little freeloader? You should’ve done this from the start! Master, bring the boxes into the room, and you, dear, go clear out the wardrobe in the bedroom—before my brother gets back from the North…”
She couldn’t finish. Her gaze slipped past Alina and landed on a stocky figure wearing gray sweatpants and woolen socks.
Nazar was standing in the middle of the hallway, shifting from foot to foot, nervously fiddling with the hem of his t-shirt.
“H-hi, Nelly,” he managed to squeeze out.
Nelly froze. She blinked rapidly, unable to get a word out, and gripped her set of keys with the yellow tag even tighter.
“Nazar?” she croaked out in a voice that didn’t sound like her own.
“What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be at the oil rig near Surgut?”
“Yeah, well, I got back on Thursday,” her brother mumbled, avoiding her gaze.
“They finished the project ahead of schedule.”
Zakhar Kuzmich twisted his gray mustache thoughtfully, leaned against the metal case and chuckled:
“Well, well. Looks like the oil rig moved a bit closer to home.”
“Wait a second,” Nelly glanced first at her brother, then at her sister-in-law. A flush rose on her cheeks, peeking right through her powder.
“So you’ve been sitting behind that door all this time? Keeping quiet while this upstart was keeping me out?”
“Why would he interrupt you, Nelly?” Alina chimed in.
“You were telling such a good story about the tireless calf and the spa voucher. Nazar and I couldn’t help listening.”
“Nazar, why are you so silent?!” Nelly snapped at her brother.
“Tell your wife who’s in charge of this house!”
“Go ahead, Nazar, don’t be shy,” Alina encouraged him.
“Tell your sister and Zakhar Kuzmich how you managed to buy grandma’s apartment with your northern wages. And show them your passport too, so they can see where you’re registered.”
The old elevator groaned from the staircase. Nazar shifted nervously under the stares of the three people around him.
“Well… the apartment belongs to Alina,” he admitted quietly, staring at the doormat.
“She inherited it from her grandmother two years ago. And I’m registered at Mom’s place in the village.”
Zakhar Kuzmich nodded knowingly:
“Well, congratulations, lady in the raincoat. Your brother sure told you a nice fairy tale. He doesn’t even own a single brick in this partition wall.”
“How is this Alina’s?!” Nelly burst out, advancing on her brother.
“You swore to me last fall that you bought this two-bedroom with your shift work money! I already moved my tenants in today and took the deposit! Where am I supposed to go with all my stuff now?”
“So what if I ran my mouth at the table!” Nazar suddenly snapped back.
“And who asked you to rent out your apartment to strangers and bust in with a locksmith? Why didn’t you just bring the police and an orchestra while you were at it!”
“Then why did you give me the keys?!” his sister protested.
“Just in case—to water the plants, not to move in with a caravan!” Nazar shouted back.
“Oh, just in case?!” Nelly fumed.
So, you were showing off like a peacock in front of your sister and pretending to be rich, but at home you just sit quietly on the doormat, scared to say a word under your wife’s heel?
“Let’s be honest, Nazar,” Alina interjected, her voice calm and steady.
“You won’t be sitting on the doormat anymore.”
She opened the shoe rack door, took out his fur-lined boots and set them by the entrance. Then she reached down to the bottom shelf of the closet and pulled out his travel backpack, still unpacked since Thursday.
“Alina, what are you doing?” Nazar stammered, taken aback.
“It was just a silly argument with her! In a minute Nelly will grab the boxes and head off to mom’s country house—there’s a stove there!”
“That’s great,” Alina agreed.
“The two of you will have more fun at your mom’s dacha—one can stoke the stove, the other defrost the chicken. Plus, you’ll have time on the road to plan how to ship me back to Tver.”
“You’re kicking me out over something so petty?” Nazar protested, trying to sound authoritative.
“For your information, I always brought my entire paycheck home!”
“And we spent your paycheck paying off your boat loans and buying presents for your family,” Alina reminded him, taking the key with the yellow tag from his stunned sister.
“And I won’t allow lying and handing out keys behind my back in my own house.”
She turned to the locksmith:
“Zahar Kuzmich, do you have a replacement cylinder for the lower lock?”
“You’ve got to be kidding, miss!” the locksmith piped up, opening his metal toolbox.
“We’ll install the best one right now—won’t even let a fly through. I’ll be done in five minutes.”
“And for the call and lock replacement, make sure to charge that gentleman in the wool socks,” Alina added, pointing at her husband.
“He’s our wealthy northerner, pays double rates for everything.”
“What? Why should I have to pay?” Nazar flared up, but after a stern glare from the mustached locksmith, he shrank back and started digging in his jacket for his wallet.
“Fine, here you go…” he muttered, counting out the bills.
“Come on, Alina, calm down! I’ll come back tonight and we’ll talk things over calmly!”
“Don’t bother coming back tonight, Nazar. I’m not giving you any new keys. Go to the kitchen, pick up your cottage cheese pancakes in the container—and then help your sister with her bags on your way out.”
Nazar lingered for a moment, looking at his wife’s resolute face, then sighed in frustration, waved his hand, and started putting on his shoes.
Out on the landing, he and his sister argued over the boxes for quite a while: Nelly called him an empty talker, while he shouted back that because of her stinginess, he’d lost his warm home.
By May, a month and a half had passed.
The peaceful brother-sister life at their mother’s dacha lasted just two weeks: Nelly ended up squeezing half of Nazar’s northern vacation pay as a penalty for her tenants, then took off to a resort on her own.
Nazar, meanwhile, moved into the factory dormitory and started sending Alina long voice messages every three days.
In his messages, he complains about the cafeteria meatballs, criticizes his ungrateful sister, and magnanimously suggests that his wife “should forgive old grudges for the sake of family.”
On Saturday morning, Alina sent his box of winter gear by taxi straight to the dorm entrance and blocked his number.
Then she put a plate of golden cottage cheese pancakes on the table, opened a can of condensed milk, and with a smile, poured herself a hot coffee from the copper cezve.