“This plot of land is a gift from my father, and I’m not going to sell it for the sake of your fantasies,” I replied to my husband’s demand.
“— How could you send Romka to work hungry?” Tatyana Nikolaevna complained indignantly. “What kind of wife does that make you?”
Anniversary Gifts
Elena had barely crossed the threshold of her own apartment. A bag filled with medical certificates and forms hung heavily from her shoulder. Twelve hours in hospital corridors; the smell of medicine and disinfectant had soaked into her clothes. And her mother-in-law was already there, waiting.
“Tatyana Nikolaevna, I just got back from a night shift,” Elena said tiredly. “Roma had already left by the time I came home.”
“Exactly!” her mother-in-law turned her whole body toward her. “A normal wife gets up earlier and makes breakfast for her husband. And what about you? You wander around hospitals at night, and your family comes last.”
Elena leaned against the doorframe. Her eyes were closing from exhaustion.
“I work as a doctor. I don’t wander around,” Elena said quietly. “And my salary feeds this family.”
“Salary!” Tatyana Nikolaevna snorted. “In two years of marriage, you could have bought an apartment with your own money by now. But instead what? You rent a place like some students.”
Flowers for the Wife
Elena slowly took off her shoes. Her legs ached after the long shift.
“Tatyana Nikolaevna, I need to sleep before my next shift.”
“And look at the state of this house!” her mother-in-law waved her hand around the kitchen. “The dishes aren’t washed, there’s dust everywhere. A useless daughter-in-law, in one word.”
“Please,” Elena raised her voice. “I really am very tired. Maybe we can continue this conversation another time?”
Tatyana Nikolaevna picked up her handbag and headed for the exit.
“Fine, fine. I see I’m not wanted here. Just don’t be surprised later if Romka finds himself a more domestic wife.”
Dishes for the Kitchen
The door slammed shut. Elena sank down onto a kitchen chair. Silence wrapped around the apartment. The first rays of the spring sun slipped through the window.
Elena woke to the sound of keys turning in the lock. Roman had returned from work earlier than usual. His face was gloomy, his movements sharp.
“You really welcomed my mother well,” her husband said without even greeting her.
“Roman, I came home from a night shift,” Elena said, rising from the sofa. “I just wanted to rest.”
“My mother came to visit us, and you threw her out! You didn’t even offer her tea.”
“I didn’t throw her out. I just asked for some understanding.”
“Understanding!” Roman threw his keys onto the dresser. “Mother says you spoke to her like she was a servant.”
Family Trips
Elena frowned. Conversations like this happened regularly. Roman always took his mother’s side.
“Roma, I work around the clock so we can rent this apartment and buy groceries. I simply don’t have the strength to entertain your mother.”
“Entertain? She’s your mother-in-law, not some stranger.”
“Fine,” Elena sat back down on the sofa. “Next time I’ll set a table with three courses.”
Roman ignored his wife’s sarcasm. He went into the kitchen and slammed the refrigerator door.
“And anyway, Lena, maybe it’s time to think about a normal job? Not in a hospital, where you have to disappear at night?”
Anniversary Gifts
“Normal?” Elena repeated. “Roman, I’m a doctor. This is my profession.”
“A profession that gives you no time for your family.”
“And where does your mother work?” Elena asked sharply. “Or your father? Have they also been looking for a normal job for two years? Or are your occasional side jobs what you call normal work?”
Roman came out of the kitchen with a bottle of water in his hand.
“My parents are planning to start their own business. That’s a serious approach to life. And I’m helping them! I don’t have time to work full-time!”
“A serious approach is when plans turn into actions,” Elena shot back.
“Not everyone can be as down-to-earth as you.”
Dishes for the Kitchen
The conversation ended as usual. Each of them remained convinced they were right. Roman went to his computer, while Elena started preparing dinner.
A month later, Elena’s long-awaited birthday arrived. Thirty-five years old. The apartment filled with the voices of relatives. Roman’s parents, Elena’s mother, and unexpectedly — her father. Elena’s parents had divorced when she was ten. After that, her father had tried not to cross paths with his ex-wife.
Andrei Mikhailovich appeared with a large envelope and a mysterious smile.
“Lena, my daughter,” her father said, embracing her. “I know you’ve always dreamed of a house. Not an apartment, but a real house with a plot of land.”
Elena nodded. It was true. As a child, she had often drawn little houses with gardens.
“Here is my gift,” Andrei Mikhailovich said, handing her the envelope. “Documents for a plot of land. Fifteen hundred square meters, half an hour from the city.”
Elena unfolded the papers. The plot was registered in her name. Her heart began to beat faster.
“Dad, this is too expensive…”
“That’s not all,” her father said, taking out a second envelope. “A certificate for five million rubles. For building the house of your dreams.”
The room froze. Tatyana Nikolaevna raised her eyebrows. Roman stared at the certificate.
“Andrei,” Elena’s mother said, “that’s a whole fortune.”
“Lena deserves it,” her father replied firmly. “She works tirelessly and takes care of her family. It’s time her dream came true.”
The week after her birthday turned into a nightmare. Tatyana Nikolaevna practically moved into Elena and Roman’s apartment. Every morning began with the same conversation.
“Lena, just think sensibly,” her mother-in-law insisted, stirring sugar into her tea. “Why do you need that land? Sell the plot, get the money, and we’ll open a business for the whole family.”
“Tatyana Nikolaevna, I want to build a house,” Elena explained patiently. “It’s my dream.”
“A dream!” her mother-in-law waved her hand. “First you need to earn enough for a decent life. Then you can dream about little houses.”
Roman silently nodded, supporting his mother. Elena saw how her husband avoided her eyes.
“Roman, say something,” Elena asked.
“Mom is right,” her husband finally said. “The money could be invested in a promising business.”
Anniversary Gifts
“What business?” Elena asked sharply. “Another one of your parents’ projects that will collapse in a month?”
“Lena!” Tatyana Nikolaevna said indignantly. “How dare you speak about your elders like that?”
The arguments repeated every day. Her mother-in-law brought advertisements for land sales and slipped strange papers under Elena’s nose, demanding her signature. Elena categorically refused.
“I’m against it,” Elena said firmly. “I want to live independently, pay for my own home, not rent apartments.”
“Stubborn,” Tatyana Nikolaevna muttered.
But then the arguments suddenly stopped. Her mother-in-law stopped coming over, and Roman no longer brought up the plot. Elena breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the relatives had accepted her decision.
Dishes for the Kitchen
Elena began studying house catalogs and contacting architects. Online, she found several designers willing to develop a project. Her plans were beginning to take real shape.
One Saturday morning, Elena was looking through sketches when Tatyana Nikolaevna burst into the apartment. She was waving a stack of documents in her hands.
“Roman! Lena!” the woman shouted. “I’ve found the perfect option!”
Roman rushed out of the bathroom, shaving foam still on his face.
“Mom, what happened?”
“An investment project!” Tatyana Nikolaevna spread the papers across the table. “You invest ten million, and in a year you get one hundred! Can you imagine? One hundred million!”
Elena put the catalog aside and approached the table. Bright logos of an unknown company decorated the papers.
“What company is this?” Elena asked.
“A reliable company,” her mother-in-law assured her. “My friend Galina has already invested. She says the interest is enormous.”
“Tatyana Nikolaevna,” Elena said slowly, “where are you going to get ten million?”
“What do you mean where?” her mother-in-law said in surprise. “You sell the plot, take the money for construction, and invest everything here. In a year, we’ll buy a mansion in a prestigious neighborhood!”
Roman perked up, wiping his face with a towel.
“Mom, and how do we divide the profit?”
“Equally among everyone,” Tatyana Nikolaevna replied. “That’s fair.”
Elena slowly sat down on a chair. Her head spun from the sheer audacity of what was happening.
“So I invest the money, and everyone gets the profit?”
“Lena, we’re family,” Roman said conciliatorily.
“This plot of land is a gift from my father, and I’m not going to sell it for the sake of your fantasies!” Elena exploded.
“There you go again!” Tatyana Nikolaevna said indignantly. “You’ve become completely greedy.”
“Greedy?” Elena jumped up from the chair. “I’ve been supporting this family for two years! I pay the rent, buy the groceries, and cover every bill!”
Family Trips
“Lena, calm down,” Roman tried to intervene.
“I will not calm down!” Elena turned to her husband. “You work now and then, your parents do absolutely nothing, and now you’re demanding my money!”
“It’s not only your money!” her mother-in-law shouted. “Roman is your husband, so everything is shared!”
“The plot is registered in my name,” Elena said coldly. “And the money from my father is mine too.”
“See, Romka?” Tatyana Nikolaevna turned to her son. “Look what a selfish wife you have. Everything is hers, hers, hers.”
Roman sided with his mother.
“Lena, we’re suggesting a profitable investment. You’re a smart woman; you should understand.”
Dishes for the Kitchen
“I understand,” Elena nodded. “I understand that you want to dispose of someone else’s money.”
“Someone else’s?” Tatyana Nikolaevna shrieked. “We accepted you into our family!”
“You accepted me so you could profit from me,” Elena shot back.
The quarrel became serious. Tatyana Nikolaevna listed her son’s imaginary merits, Roman demanded respect for his mother’s plans. Elena defended her right to manage her own gift.
“Enough!” Elena shouted. “I’ve had enough!”
Elena went to the bedroom and pulled a suitcase out of the wardrobe. Her hands trembled with outrage. She packed her things mechanically.
Anniversary Gifts
“Where do you think you’re going?” Roman appeared in the doorway.
“I’m moving out,” Elena answered shortly.
“Lena, don’t be stupid. Where will you live?”
“I’ll rent an apartment with my own money.”
An hour later, Elena left the apartment with two suitcases. Using the savings she had accumulated over years of work, she rented a small studio.
The following week, she filed for divorce. Roman demanded half of the plot and the construction money. In court, Elena’s lawyer presented documents confirming the gift. The plot and the money had been registered in Elena’s name before the marriage.
Flowers for the Wife
“Your former spouse has no rights to the gift from your father,” the judge explained.
By the time the divorce was official, the foundation of the future house was already being poured on the plot. Elena came there every weekend, watching the builders work.
Standing beside the concrete base, Elena imagined the future rooms. Very soon, she would move into her own house, where no one would dictate the rules of her life. Only her decisions, her plans, her dreams.