“Good thing they gave you that camp voucher. Now we can send Vika away for the summer,” her mother-in-law smiled.
“Can you imagine? I won!” Lera burst into the apartment, clutching a glossy envelope with gold embossing in her hands. “Dima, this is unbelievable!”
Her husband looked up from the television, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
“What did you win? Were you playing the lottery?”
“No, our company held a raffle among the employees, and I won the grand prize!” Lera dropped onto the sofa beside her husband and handed him the envelope. “A voucher to the children’s summer camp ‘Constellation’! The very one Vitya has been talking our ears off about.”
Dima whistled as he examined the contents of the envelope.
“That’s a serious prize. That camp specializes in natural sciences, right?”
“Exactly!” Lera was glowing with joy. “They’ll have astronomical observations, math olympiads, and scientific experiments. Vitya will be thrilled! You know how interested he is in all of that.”
“Mom, Dad, what happened?” thirteen-year-old Vitya entered the room, holding a book on astrophysics.
Lera jumped up and hugged her son.
“Vitenka, you’re going to ‘Constellation’! Can you imagine? For the whole summer! They have the telescope you saw in the catalog, and a professor from the planetarium will be teaching classes!”
The boy’s eyes widened in astonishment, then lit up with genuine delight.
“Really? You’re not joking? I’m going to ‘Constellation’?!”
“Really, really,” Dima confirmed with a smile. “Mom won a voucher at work.”
“This is… this is incredible!” Vitya began jumping in place. “They’ll have a science project competition there! I read about it on their website. The winner gets a grant to study at a specialized school! I’ll be able to finish my project on studying exoplanets!”
The next half hour passed in joyful discussion of the upcoming trip. Vitya rushed around the apartment, gathering the books he planned to take with him and talking about all the activities scheduled at the camp.
“We need to call my parents and tell them the news,” Dima said when the first wave of excitement had settled a little.
“Yes, of course,” Lera agreed. “Maybe we should invite them over for dinner on Sunday? We can invite Yulya and Vika too.”
Vitya’s face fell slightly at the mention of his cousin.
“Do we have to invite Vika?”
“Vitya!” Lera looked at her son reproachfully. “Vika is your sister.”
“Cousin,” the boy muttered. “She’s always teasing me, calling me a nerd and a bore.”
“She’s just jealous of your success,” Dima said gently. “She’s going through a difficult time right now. You know, her parents divorced, they’re moving…”
Vitya shrugged, but did not argue.
Sunday came quickly. Lera set a festive table and eagerly waited for the guests. The first to arrive were her parents-in-law, Nina Sergeyevna and Sergey Ivanovich. Then Yulya appeared with her daughter Vika.
“Come in, take off your coats,” Lera greeted the guests warmly. “We’re so glad to see you!”
“What’s the occasion?” Nina Sergeyevna asked, taking off her light coat. “Did Dima get promoted?”
“No, Mom,” Dima replied. “We have other good news. Lera, tell them.”
Lera smiled and took the envelope, now carefully placed in a folder, out of the dresser.
“I won a voucher at work for the children’s camp ‘Constellation’! Can you imagine? Vitya will be able to spend the whole summer there. It’s a science camp with advanced study in the natural sciences. It’s a wonderful opportunity for him to develop his talents.”
Nina Sergeyevna took the folder, carefully studied its contents, and suddenly smiled broadly while looking at Vika.
“Good thing they gave you that camp voucher. Now we can send Vika away for the summer,” her mother-in-law smiled. “Right, Yulya? This is wonderful news!”
An awkward silence hung in the room. Lera looked at her husband in confusion, but he avoided her eyes.
“Actually, Mom,” Lera began carefully, “we were planning to send Vitya. He’s so passionate about astronomy, and this camp is exactly…”
“Vitya can study his astronomy at home,” Nina Sergeyevna interrupted her. “And Vika especially needs a rest right now. Isn’t that right, Yulechka?”
Yulya nodded energetically.
“Yes, after everything she’s had to go through because of our divorce… I would send her somewhere myself, but right now I can’t afford it financially.”
Vika, a fourteen-year-old girl with brightly painted lips, fluttered her eyelashes and did her best to look like an unfortunate child.
“I’d really like to go to camp, Aunt Lera,” she said in a thin little voice. “I haven’t gone anywhere to rest in so long…”
Vitya, who had been standing in the doorway, turned pale and ran out of the room. Lera wanted to go after him, but Dima held her by the arm.
“Let’s have dinner first, and then we’ll discuss everything,” he suggested.
During dinner, they talked about everything except the voucher. Nina Sergeyevna asked Dima about work, Yulya complained about the difficulties of life as a single mother, and Vika sighed demonstratively. Sergey Ivanovich ate in silence, occasionally casting sympathetic glances at Lera.
When everyone moved on to dessert, Lera decided to raise the topic again.
“I understand that Vika is going through a difficult time right now,” she began cautiously. “But for Vitya, this voucher is a chance to prove himself. There will be a science project competition at the camp, and the winner will receive a study grant.”
“Big deal, a competition,” Vika snorted. “I can take part in it too. I got an A in chemistry.”
“Vika is an excellent student too,” Yulya immediately added. “She just doesn’t brag about her achievements like some people.”
Lera felt irritation rising inside her, but she held herself back.
“I’m not saying Vika couldn’t participate. It’s just that Vitya has been working on his project about exoplanets for a whole year. He prepared specially…”
“Lerochka,” Nina Sergeyevna placed a hand on her daughter-in-law’s shoulder, “you understand that Vika needs this trip much more right now. Vitya can go next year. But Vika needs to distract herself from all this stress.”
After the guests left, an oppressive atmosphere settled over the apartment. Vitya locked himself in his room and refused to come out. Dima silently watched television, while Lera washed the dishes, trying to cope with hurt and disappointment.
“How could you stay silent?” she finally asked her husband. “Why didn’t you support me?”
Dima sighed.
“I didn’t want to start a scandal in front of everyone. Mom just didn’t think. She’ll understand later.”
“When will she understand? When the voucher has already been issued in Vika’s name?” Lera set a plate on the table with a clatter. “Did you see Vitya’s face? He was so happy about this trip!”
“What do you suggest? Starting a fight with the whole family?”
“I suggest thinking about our son first, not about what your mother will say!”
Dima grimaced.
“You’re exaggerating. So what if he doesn’t go to camp one time? It’s not the last year of his life.”
Lera shook her head.
“It’s not about the camp. It’s about the fact that no one takes his interests into account. Not his grandmother, not his aunt, not even his own father.”
The next day, Lera decided to speak with her mother-in-law alone. She deliberately stopped by after work, before Sergey Ivanovich had returned home.
“Nina Sergeyevna, I wanted to discuss the situation with the voucher,” Lera began as soon as they were alone in the kitchen.
“What is there to discuss?” her mother-in-law was surprised. “As far as I’m concerned, we’ve already decided everything. Yulya has already told Vika she’s going.”
Lera clenched her fists.
“We didn’t decide anything. I won this voucher for my son. Vitya has been preparing for this science project competition for an entire year. For him, it’s a chance to receive a study grant.”
Nina Sergeyevna pursed her lips.
“Lera, don’t be selfish. Think about poor Vika. She’s having such a hard time right now. And your Vitya isn’t going anywhere. He can go next year.”
“And what if there isn’t such an opportunity next year? What if there’s no competition?”
“Then it wasn’t meant to be,” her mother-in-law snapped. “After all, not everyone has to become a scientist. Maybe he should spend more time socializing with his peers instead of sitting over books.”
Lera felt a lump rising in her throat.
“I will not give the voucher to Vika,” she said firmly. “I am making this decision as a mother.”
“Well then,” Nina Sergeyevna said coldly, “don’t be surprised if Yulya stops speaking to you altogether. You know how easily offended she is.”
When Lera returned home, she found Dima having a serious conversation with their son. Apparently, the father was trying to convince the boy to “understand his cousin’s situation.”
“You’re already thirteen, Vitya. You should understand that sometimes you have to sacrifice your desires for others,” Dima was saying.
“Enough,” Lera interrupted. “No one is sacrificing anything. Vitya is going to camp, just as we planned.”
“Lera, you don’t understand…”
“No, you’re the one who doesn’t understand,” she cut him off. “I’ve already spoken with your mother. The decision has been made.”
That night, the spouses slept with their backs turned to each other for the first time in a long while.
The next day, Lera was met with a cold reception at work. Elena Vladimirovna, the company director, called her into her office.
“Valeriya, I need to have a serious conversation with you,” she began. “Changes are coming in the company. We’re carrying out a reorganization, and unfortunately, some positions will be cut.”
Lera’s heart skipped a beat.
“You mean…”
“No, no, this does not concern you,” the director hurried to reassure her. “On the contrary, I want to offer you a promotion. The position of chief accountant. The salary will be significantly higher.”
“This is unexpected,” Lera said, confused.
“But there is one condition,” Elena Vladimirovna continued. “We urgently need to prepare a project for investors. The work will take the entire summer. You’ll have to stay late and come in on weekends. Are you ready?”
Lera thought for a moment. On one hand, the promotion was a wonderful opportunity. On the other, what would happen with Vitya if he stayed home for the summer?
“May I think until tomorrow?” she asked.
“Of course,” the director nodded. “But don’t take too long. The project needs to start next week.”
On the way home, Lera stopped by her friend Oksana’s place to ask for advice.
“Take the promotion without even thinking,” Oksana said categorically. “And what about Vitya? He’s going to camp, isn’t he?”
“If only it were that simple,” Lera sighed, and told her about the family conflict.
Oksana was outraged.
“What nerve! So what now?”
“I don’t know. If I take this position, then Vitya absolutely has to go to camp. I simply won’t be able to look after him during the summer.”
“Why not buy a second voucher? For Vika?”
Lera gave a bitter smile.
“I checked. The cost of one voucher is three of my current monthly salaries. And by the way, there are rumors that the sales department where Dima works will be the first to be cut.”
“Well, that’s a twist,” Oksana whistled. “Does your husband know?”
“I’m not sure. He hasn’t said anything.”
That evening, when Lera came home, she found that Yulya and her daughter had come over. Vika was sitting next to Vitya, pretending to examine his scientific project with interest — a model of the Solar System with recently discovered exoplanets added to it.
“Oh, Lera, finally,” Yulya smiled with a strained smile. “Dima and I were just discussing the voucher. Vika is already so excited about the trip!”
Lera felt everything inside her begin to boil, but she held herself back.
“Yulya, we haven’t decided anything yet,” she replied calmly. “And I think Dima and I should discuss it alone first.”
“What’s there to discuss?” Vika cut in. “Vityok himself said he doesn’t really want to go. Right, cousin?”
Vitya sat with his head lowered and said nothing.
“Vitya?” Lera approached her son. “Is that true?”
The boy shrugged without lifting his eyes.
“What difference does it make? Everyone has already decided anyway.”
“No one has decided anything,” Lera said firmly. “This is your voucher, and only you decide whether you go or not.”
“Lera!” Yulya cried indignantly. “How can you say that in front of Vika? She’s already set her heart on it!”
“I’m very sorry, Yulya, but this voucher was meant for Vitya. It’s his chance to take part in the science competition.”
“What competition!” Yulya waved it off. “Who needs all that scientific nonsense? Vika will at least get a proper rest and socialize with kids her age. Yours spends all his time buried in books anyway.”
Vitya jumped up and ran out of the room. Lera wanted to follow him, but a phone call stopped her. It was Elena Vladimirovna.
“Valeriya, forgive me for disturbing you after hours, but I need your answer. Are you accepting the offer?”
Lera took a deep breath.
“Yes, I agree,” she said firmly. “When do I start?”
The next morning at breakfast, Lera announced the news about her promotion.
“That’s wonderful!” Dima was pleased. “Considering recent events at the company, that’s very timely.”
“What events?” Lera asked warily.
Dima hesitated.
“Well… there are rumors about layoffs. Nothing specific yet, but…”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lera reproached him.
“I didn’t want to worry you ahead of time,” Dima shrugged. “Maybe everything will work out.”
“And if it doesn’t? What then?”
“Then I’ll look for a new job,” Dima tried to smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll manage.”
“That makes it even more important that I accepted this promotion,” Lera said. “And… that means we need to resolve the issue with Vitya. I won’t be able to look after him during the summer. I’ll be working late and on weekends.”
“Mom can take him,” Dima suggested. “She and Dad will be at the dacha all summer anyway.”
“What about the camp? What about his project?”
“Lera, be realistic. Now is not the time for some competitions. We need to think about the family budget.”
“So our son’s interests come last for you?” Lera was indignant.
“What does that have to do with it? I’m thinking about the well-being of the whole family!”
“Mom, Dad, don’t fight,” Vitya said quietly. He had been listening to his parents’ conversation in silence the entire time. “I won’t go to camp. Let Vika go.”
Lera turned to her son.
“Vitya, you shouldn’t give up your dream. We’ll figure something out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out,” the boy stood up from the table. “I’ve already decided.”
That evening, Nina Sergeyevna called.
“Lerochka, we need to have a serious talk,” her mother-in-law began. “I heard you were offered a promotion. Congratulations! But who will stay with Vitya if you work late?”
“We haven’t decided yet,” Lera replied cautiously.
“I suggest this: Vika goes to camp, and Vitya stays with us at the dacha. Sergey will teach him to fish, to do manly things. That’s better than sitting over books all summer.”
Lera felt her hands trembling with restrained anger.
“Nina Sergeyevna, I appreciate your concern, but we will decide for ourselves what to do with our son.”
“Why are you immediately taking it so badly? I only want what’s best. Vitya himself told Dima he agreed to give the voucher to Vika.”
“He is a child, Nina Sergeyevna. He simply doesn’t want the adults to fight because of him.”
After that conversation, Lera decided to act. She found her neighbor Valentin, who had recently opened a small business, and offered him her accounting services in her free time. Valentin happily agreed, and Lera began taking on extra work in the evenings, hoping to save up for a second voucher.
Meanwhile, the reorganization began at the company where Lera and Dima worked. Lera took on her new duties, and Dima came home more and more often gloomy and depressed.
One evening, when Lera returned from her extra job, she found her husband at the computer. He was browsing job listings.
“Did you lose your job?” she gasped.
Dima nodded.
“They announced it today. The entire sales department has been disbanded.”
“Why didn’t you call me right away?”
“I didn’t want to upset you at work,” Dima looked completely crushed. “What are we going to do now, Lera? How are we going to live on one salary?”
“We’ll manage,” she said firmly. “I’m doing part-time accounting for Valentin in the evenings. Plus my promotion. We’ll get through it.”
“What part-time work?” Dima looked up at her in surprise. “You’re already exhausted from this new project!”
“I wanted to save up for a second voucher,” Lera admitted. “So both Vitya and Vika could go.”
Dima shook his head.
“That’s madness. You need to give up that side job. This is not the time for it.”
“What about Vitya? He waited for this trip so much!”
“Lera, wake up! We have much more serious problems right now! I’m unemployed, we have a mortgage, loans… What camp are you talking about?”
The next day, Lera asked Elena Vladimirovna for a private meeting and told her about the family situation.
“I understand this has nothing to do with the company, but it’s important for you to know: I will handle all my duties. It’s just… I really need my son to go to this camp. This is his chance.”
“I don’t quite understand the problem,” the director frowned. “Your son can’t go because of your new position?”
“Not exactly. It’s a family situation…” Lera briefly explained the conflict over the voucher.
Elena Vladimirovna listened attentively and unexpectedly smiled.
“You know, I have a proposal. Our company sponsors several spots at this camp as part of a charity program. Perhaps I could help with another voucher. Not for free, of course, but with a significant discount.”
“Are you serious?” Lera could not believe her ears.
“Quite serious. I like your determination not only to grow in your career, but also to support your son’s talents. That kind of attitude toward family and work deserves encouragement.”
Full of hope, Lera returned home and immediately told Dima the news. But her husband’s reaction was not at all what she had expected.
“So you went to complain about our family problems to your boss?” he was outraged. “You made me and my family look bad?”
“I didn’t make anyone look bad! I simply explained the situation!”
“Wonderful! Now everyone at your company knows that my sister can’t afford a camp voucher for her daughter, that my mother pressures her daughter-in-law, and that I can’t protect my own wife!” Dima was almost shouting. “Don’t you think you’re crossing every boundary because of this stupid camp?”
“Stupid?” Lera could not believe what she was hearing. “This is a chance for your son, Dima! A chance at a grant, at a future!”
“Right now I need to think about how to find a job, not about some grants!” Dima snapped and left the room, slamming the door.
Lera sank onto a chair in exhaustion. The situation was becoming more and more tangled. Instead of solving the problem, it seemed she had only made it worse.
The evening of the final day for submitting camp applications arrived. Lera sat at the computer, filling out the form for Vitya. Despite all the conflicts, she had decided to stand her ground. Her son deserved this trip.
Vitya appeared in the doorway, pale and determined.
“Mom, don’t,” he said quietly. “I’m not going.”
“Vitya, we’ve already discussed this. You need this trip.”
“And you need peace in the family,” the boy came closer. “I heard how you and Dad argued. I don’t want to be the reason you fight.”
Lera hugged her son.
“You are not the reason, sweetheart. These are adult problems, and we will solve them.”
“I’ve already decided,” Vitya took a folded sheet of paper out of his pocket. “I gave the invitation to Vika. But I have one condition — she has to present my project at the competition.”
Lera gasped.
“Vitya! How could you? This is your chance, your project!”
“Mom, I thought it all through,” the boy looked serious beyond his years. “I’ll give Vika all the materials and explain how to present the work. If the project wins, the grant will still be mine. And if it doesn’t… then it wasn’t meant to be.”
Lera hugged her son, feeling a lump rise in her throat.
“You are an amazing boy. But I’m not sure Vika will take this seriously.”
“She promised,” Vitya shrugged. “And I recorded all the instructions on video. She won’t be able to mix anything up.”
The next day, Yulya called with enthusiastic thanks. Vika was over the moon with happiness. Not a single word was said about Vitya’s project during the conversation.
A week passed. Lera was torn between her main job and the extra work for Valentin. Dima went to interviews, but so far without success. The atmosphere in the home was tense.
One evening, the doorbell rang. Anton, Vitya’s best friend from school, was standing on the threshold.
“Hello, Aunt Lera. Is Vitya home?”
“Yes, come in,” Lera let the boy inside. “He’s in his room.”
Half an hour later, a loud cry came from Vitya’s room. Lera rushed in and saw her son sitting in front of the computer with a horrified expression on his face.
“What happened?”
“She broke it!” Vitya was close to tears. “Anton saw Vika showing my project to her friends. They laughed, and… and she broke the exoplanet model! On purpose!”
Anton nodded in confirmation.
“I happened to be in the same park. They were saying it was a childish project, and Vika was bragging that she would go to camp instead of the ‘boring nerd.’”
Lera felt everything inside her boil.
“Enough,” she said decisively. “I’ve had enough.”
She picked up her phone and dialed Yulya’s number.
“We need to meet. The whole family. Tonight.”
“What happened?” her sister-in-law asked anxiously.
“You’ll find out when we meet. Come to our place at seven. And invite Dima’s parents too.”
At seven in the evening, the whole family gathered in the living room. Nina Sergeyevna glanced anxiously at Lera, Yulya nervously twisted her bracelet, and Vika sat with an air of independence. Dima looked from one face to another in confusion.
“I gathered you all here to settle this once and for all,” Lera began. “The past few weeks have turned into some kind of nightmare, and it’s time to put an end to it.”
She turned to Vika.
“You promised your cousin that you would present his project at the competition. Instead, you mocked his work and even damaged part of the model. That was cruel.”
Vika blushed and lowered her eyes.
“I wanted to tell all of you what we have been through,” Lera continued. “I took on extra work in the evenings to save up for a second voucher. Dima lost his job and is looking for a new one. I was offered a promotion that will require full commitment all summer. And Vitya… Vitya gave up his dream so there would be peace in the family.”
She looked around at everyone present.
“And do you know what hurts the most? None of you even asked what Vitya wanted. Everyone decided for him.”
Nina Sergeyevna began to say something, but Lera raised her hand.
“No, let me finish. I love all of you. You are my family. But I will no longer allow my son’s interests to be ignored.”
A heavy silence hung in the room. Unexpectedly, Sergey Ivanovich, who had been sitting silently in the corner until then, broke it.
“Lera is right,” he said quietly. “We are all guilty before the boy.”
He turned to Vika.
“And you, young lady, behaved badly. That is not how one treats family.”
Vika blushed even more.
“I didn’t mean to break his project,” she muttered. “It happened by accident. And then I got scared and…”
“And lied,” Sergey Ivanovich finished for her. “Here is what I propose.”
He took an envelope out of his pocket and placed it on the table.
“I’ve been saving money for a gift for the grandchildren for a long time. I planned to give it in the fall, but I think they need it more now. There’s enough here for programming courses for Vika here in the city. And Vitya will go to camp with his project.”
“Dad,” Yulya began, but Sergey Ivanovich stopped her.
“This is not up for discussion, daughter. You need to understand: you cannot solve your problems at the expense of others. Even if those others are your relatives.”
Nina Sergeyevna looked embarrassed.
“Lerochka, I… I didn’t think it was so serious. It seemed to me that it wasn’t so important to Vitya, and Vika needed it more.”
“Mom,” Dima said gently, “we all make mistakes. What matters is admitting them.”
He turned to his wife.
“Lera, forgive me. I should have supported you from the very beginning.”
Yulya sighed.
“And forgive me too. I really was only thinking about Vika. After the divorce, it was as if I dug myself into a defensive trench and was ready to fight the whole world for my daughter. I didn’t even notice I was going too far.”
Vika approached Vitya.
“Forgive me, little brother. I… I’ll try to restore your model. If you want, I can help with the project presentation.”
Vitya looked at his cousin distrustfully, but then nodded.
“All right. Just don’t lie next time.”
“I promise,” Vika held out her hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, Vitya shook it.
A month passed. Lera sat in the garden of her mother-in-law’s country house and watched as Vitya enthusiastically explained something to Vika, pointing at the night sky. To everyone’s surprise, the girl had truly become interested in astronomy after helping restore her cousin’s project.
“I never would have thought they’d find common ground,” Nina Sergeyevna said as she came up to Lera and handed her a cup of tea.
“Children are often wiser than us adults,” Lera smiled.
“You were right,” her mother-in-law sighed. “I shouldn’t have interfered. I just wanted what was best.”
“I know,” Lera covered her hand with her own. “We all want what’s best for our children. The main thing is learning to hear what they themselves want.”
Dima came out onto the veranda with a phone in his hand.
“That was Vitya calling from camp! His project made it to the finals of the competition!”
Everyone applauded joyfully. Sergey Ivanovich smiled with satisfaction as he looked at his grandson.
“And I have news too,” Yulya said. “Vika got the highest score on the entrance test for the programming courses. Can you imagine? The teacher said she has a real talent for logical thinking.”
“Amazing!” Lera was sincerely happy for her niece. “That means Grandpa invested his money wisely.”
“And one more thing,” Dima put his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “I’ve been invited to an interview at your Valentin’s company. He was impressed by your work and decided to expand the business.”
“Well, well,” Lera said in surprise. “And I thought you didn’t approve of my side job.”
“There were many things I didn’t approve of,” Dima said quietly. “And I was often wrong. But I’m learning.”
The evening was warm and peaceful. Stars shimmered above the garden — the very stars Vitya always spoke about with such delight. Lera looked at her family — complicated, with its own problems and conflicts, but still dear and beloved — and thought that sometimes people had to go through difficulties to truly learn to respect and value one another.
“Mom, look!” Vitya pointed to a bright dot in the sky. “That’s Venus! The closest planet to us!”
“Beautiful,” Lera smiled. “Incredibly beautiful.”
And Vika, unexpectedly for everyone, added:
“Almost as beautiful as learning to understand each other.”
And it was impossible not to agree with that.