“Igorek and his wife will stay with you temporarily, just for a couple of months,” Mother said. I stayed silent, remembering how my brother had lived with our parents “temporarily” for ten years.
“Vera, here’s the thing…” Mother nervously fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth. “Igor and Lena are planning to buy an apartment. They need money for the down payment.”
“And what does that have to do with Andrei and me?” Vera stopped washing the dishes and looked carefully at her mother.
“Well, what do you mean, what does it have to do with you… You have a two-room apartment, and there are only two of you living there. You could manage perfectly well in a one-room place.”
“Mom, are you serious?” Vera slammed a plate into the sink. “We’ve been paying the mortgage for five years, and now we’re supposed to sell everything and give the money to my brother?”
“Sweetheart, try to understand their situation. They’re going to have a baby soon, and they live with Lena’s parents in a one-room apartment. It’s cramped.”
“So we’re supposed to squeeze into a one-room apartment because your beloved son has gotten himself into debt again? He’s already changed jobs three times this year!”
“Vera! How can you talk about your brother like that? He’s just still trying to find himself…”
“At thirty-two?” Vera sighed tiredly. “Mom, let’s be honest. You’ve protected him your whole life. You forgave him everything. You did his homework for him at school. They didn’t accept his documents at technical college — no big deal. Then he dropped out of university — these things happen. He couldn’t keep a job — the boss was bad. And now you want my husband and me to clean up the consequences of your parenting?”
“Don’t you dare speak like that!” her mother flared up. “I always loved you both equally.”
“Really?” Vera smiled bitterly. “Who threw away my school olympiad medals because ‘Igorek gets upset’? Who refused to pay for my English courses but paid for my brother’s driving school, which he happily quit?”
Vera leaned against the kitchen cabinet, feeling nausea rising inside her. The pregnancy was making itself known, but she still had not told her mother. And why should she? The first thing her mother would do was run off and tell Igor.
The story of this family had begun twenty-five years earlier, when young mother Tatyana Sergeyevna was shown two babies at once in the maternity ward — a boy and a girl. Igor had been born fifteen minutes before his sister, and from that moment on, he was silently considered the older and more important one.
Their father worked as a long-distance truck driver and spent long periods away on trips. All the care for the children fell on their mother’s shoulders. She adored her son, spoiled him, and forgave every whim. Vera, meanwhile, had been used to relying only on herself since childhood.
At school, the girl studied excellently, took part in academic competitions, and helped her classmates. Igor barely scraped by with C grades, but their mother always found excuses for him: “Boys develop later,” “He has a mathematical mind, and school is just rote learning,” “Once he starts working, he’ll show everyone.”
After ninth grade, Vera dreamed of entering a physics and mathematics lyceum — it offered advanced preparation for university admission. But her mother declared that there was no money to educate both children, and Igor needed to get “a man’s profession.” As a result, her brother studied at an auto mechanic college, even though he had never been particularly interested in cars.
Vera entered an economics technical school, then later completed university by correspondence. All those years, she worked part-time — first as a courier, then as an assistant accountant. She opened a separate bank card where she saved money for her education.
She met Andrei at work. He set up accounting software. The young man immediately noticed the serious girl who stayed late over annual reports. He began bringing her coffee and offering to drive her home.
When they got married six months later, her mother was unhappy.
“You’re rushing. Look at Igorek — he lives for himself and isn’t in a hurry.”
But Vera had already learned to let such comments go in one ear and out the other.
She and Andrei rented a one-room apartment and saved for a mortgage down payment. Her husband worked a lot — taking extra projects and mastering new programs. Vera was promoted to chief accountant.
After three years, they were able to buy a two-room apartment in a new building. The neighborhood was not the most prestigious, and getting to the metro required a bus ride. But it was theirs. Their own home. They did the renovations themselves, bought furniture, and arranged every corner.
Meanwhile, Igor had managed to work as an auto mechanic, a sales manager, a security guard, and a courier. He never stayed anywhere for more than six months — either the bosses were bad, the team was wrong, or the salary was too low. He lived with his parents and did not save much money.
Two years earlier, he had married Lena, a quiet girl from a neighboring building. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon at a Turkish resort — their mother sold her old car to pay for the trip. And afterward, they went back to living with Lena’s parents, where at least they helped with food.
“Vera, sweetheart,” her mother’s voice pulled her out of her memories. “Just look at how big your apartment is. Two rooms for two people — that’s an unforgivable luxury! And where are Igor, his wife, and their child supposed to live?”
“Mom, we earned this ‘luxury’ honestly. We’re paying the mortgage, and we haven’t even finished paying off the renovation loan.”
“So what? Igorek and his wife will stay with you temporarily, just for a couple of months,” her mother said.
Vera said nothing, remembering how her brother had lived with their parents “temporarily” for ten years.
“And besides…”
Vera hesitated, but finally made up her mind.
“We’re going to have a baby too. I’m three months pregnant.”
Tatyana Sergeyevna froze with her mouth open.
“Why didn’t you say anything? We need to tell Igor. He’ll be so happy to become an uncle! See? That means now is the perfect time to expand. Sell this apartment, add some money, and buy a three-room one. You can give one room to Igor and his family.”
“Mom, do you hear me at all?” Vera felt dizzy from indignation. “What three-room apartment? What room for Igor? Are we supposed to turn our apartment into a communal flat?”
“But you always wanted a big, friendly family!” Tatyana Sergeyevna threw up her hands.
“A big family means a husband and children, not a brother permanently sitting on my neck!”
At that moment, the front door slammed — Andrei had come home. He immediately sensed the tense atmosphere in the kitchen.
“What happened?” he asked, putting his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“Mom is suggesting that we sell the apartment and buy a three-room one so Igor and his family can move in,” Vera explained tiredly.
“And will the money for the three-room apartment fall from the sky?” Andrei asked. “Or will you be contributing, Tatyana Sergeyevna?”
“Well… I thought you could take out a bigger mortgage…”
“So we’re supposed to get into new debt so your son and his wife can live at our expense?” There was steel in Andrei’s voice. “Are they forbidden by religion from working and saving for their own home?”
“Andryusha, how can you say that? Igor is trying. He’s looking for a good job…”
“He’s been looking for ten years,” Andrei snorted. “And every time he finds a reason why a job doesn’t suit him. Meanwhile Vera and I work from morning till night, pay the mortgage, and plan for a child…”
“Vera is already pregnant!” Tatyana Sergeyevna announced happily. “Can you imagine? You and Igor will have babies close in age! How wonderful it would be to all live together…”
“Mom!” Vera raised her voice. “Stop it! We are not selling the apartment. We are not taking out a new mortgage. And we are definitely not going to live with Igor. We have our own family, and he has his. Let him solve his own problems.”
“You are so heartless!” her mother sobbed. “Your own brother needs help, and you…”
“And I what? Maybe you can tell me how he helped me? When I was sick in ninth grade, who brought me my homework? My classmates! When I didn’t have enough money for textbooks, who helped me? My friend Lena lent me money! Where was my ‘own brother’ when I sat over my diploma for days and worked nights?”
“Well, he’s a boy… He has his own life…”
“Then let him deal with his own life!” Vera snapped. “And we’ll live ours. You know what? I’m tired of this endless ‘Igor this, Igor that.’ Maybe now, when I’m expecting a child, you’ll finally start noticing me too?”
Tatyana Sergeyevna burst into tears, grabbed her bag, and ran out of the apartment. Vera sank weakly onto a chair. Andrei silently poured her a glass of water.
“You know,” he said after a pause, “maybe it’s for the best. It was time to put everything in its place long ago.”
“You think so?” Vera smiled sadly. “What if she stops talking to me completely now?”
“She won’t. She’s your mother. She just spoiled Igor and still can’t understand that he’s already an adult. Give her time to come to her senses.”
That evening, Vera’s father called. He rarely interfered in family arguments, but this time he could not stay silent.
“Vera, your mother is crying at home. She says you threw her out…”
“Dad, I didn’t throw anyone out. I just refused to sell the apartment to help Igor with housing.”
“What, Igor again?..” her father sighed heavily. “Listen, daughter, you’re right. It’s my fault too. I was always away on trips, and your mother handled you two alone. So she raised a son who…”
“A loafer?” Vera suggested.
“Well, let’s say a person who is used to other people solving all his problems for him. Hold your ground. And congratulations on the pregnancy — your mother let it slip.”
A week later, Vera and Andrei stopped by her parents’ place to pick up jars of pickles they had left with her mother. Tatyana Sergeyevna met them with tearful eyes.
“Forgive me for how I behaved that day… I’ve been thinking all these days. Maybe I really did spoil Igor.”
At that moment, the very cause of the family conflict burst into the room.
“Mom, can you imagine? I got fired again! The boss was picking on me, saying I’m late. Is it my fault there are traffic jams?”
“Igor, you’re thirty-two years old,” Vera said calmly. “Maybe it’s time to stop looking for someone to blame? Start using your own head already.”
“It’s easy for you to talk! You have a husband, an apartment… What about me?”
“What stopped you from working and saving all this time?” Andrei spoke up. “Vera and I started from zero. We rented a room and ate instant noodles. But we achieved everything ourselves.”
“Oh, please!” Igor snorted. “As if your father didn’t help you. He’s probably some businessman.”
“My father is a school PE teacher,” Andrei smirked. “And the only help he gave me was the advice not to wait for manna from heaven, but to work.”
Tatyana Sergeyevna suddenly stood up.
“Son, I’ve been thinking… Maybe it really is time for you to learn to take responsibility for yourself. Your father and I won’t live forever, and we won’t sign the apartment over to you. That would be unfair to your sister.”
“Mom, what are you saying?” Igor was stunned. “What about me? My wife is pregnant!”
“Vera is having a child too. And somehow I don’t see her running around demanding help from relatives.”
“Vera, maybe you’ll still sell the apartment?” Igor whined. “We could buy a bigger one and live together…”
“No,” his sister replied firmly. “But I can help you write a resume and find a proper job. Only without whims and conditions. You take any job, even if the salary is small at first.”
“And you can live with us for a while,” Tatyana Sergeyevna unexpectedly added. “But on one condition — you get a job and give us half your salary. We’ll save it for your down payment.”
Igor looked helplessly from his mother to his sister.
“And what if it doesn’t work out?”
“It will,” Vera smiled. “You’ve just never truly tried before.”
Six months passed. Igor had a son, and Vera had a daughter. Her brother really did get a job — first as a loader in a construction store, then he was noticed and transferred to the sales department. It turned out he got along quite well with customers.
He honestly split his salary in half — half went to his parents, and half he spent on his family. Lena got a job at a kindergarten, where their little boy later started attending.
Another year later, Igor and his wife took out a mortgage on a one-room apartment. His parents added the money they had saved, and Vera helped with the paperwork.
Tatyana Sergeyevna often babysat both grandchildren, taking turns so no one would feel hurt. And every time she looked at them, she thought how good it was that her daughter had stood her ground back then. Otherwise, Igor would have remained infantile, and his mother would have kept living with guilt toward Vera.