“You’ll Fry the Meat and Bake the Fish Too. There’ll Be Lots of Guests!” the Mother-in-Law Ordered
The house had taken three years to finish.
Tatiana remembered every stage of the construction: the foundation poured during the October rain, the roof, the windows, and the long months of interior work. Victor helped whenever he could, but most of the money came from Tatiana. She earned well and invested in the house step by step, while Victor’s income mostly covered their Moscow apartment and everyday expenses.
By autumn, the house was finally ready: two floors, 120 square meters, and a terrace overlooking the forest.
Tatiana loved every detail. She had chosen the colors, ordered the wooden staircase, and insisted on a large panoramic kitchen window even when the builders questioned it.
For the housewarming, she wanted something simple: seven or eight close friends, shashlik outside, some wine, and quiet conversations on the terrace.
But Victor’s mother, Tamara Sergeyevna, had other ideas.
A week before the celebration, she called Tatiana.
“Tanya, you need to celebrate properly. You don’t build a house every year.”
“That’s why we want something quiet,” Tatiana replied. “Just close friends.”
Tamara Sergeyevna immediately began suggesting relatives who should be invited. Then, during another call, she started planning the menu.
“You need meat, fish, salads, and a pie. There’ll be lots of guests.”
“There won’t be lots of guests,” Tatiana said. “About eight people.”
“Eight? This is a housewarming! It should be big.”
That evening, Tatiana spoke to Victor.
“Your mother is planning a completely different celebration.”
“She’s just excited,” Victor said.
“We agreed to keep it small.”
“So there’ll be a few more people. What’s wrong with that?”
“I don’t want a few more. I want what we agreed on.”
Victor told her not to argue with his mother before anything had actually happened.
Two days later, Tatiana discovered that Tamara Sergeyevna had already invited Victor’s aunt, several cousins, neighbors, and other people Tatiana barely knew.
She called Victor immediately.
“Your mother invited people without asking us.”
“She probably meant well.”
“This is our house. Nobody has the right to invite people here without asking.”
Victor promised to talk to his mother.
The day before the housewarming, Tamara Sergeyevna arrived with Matvey and Yana, Victor’s relatives. They brought boxes, grocery bags, and decorations.
“We came early to help!” Tamara Sergeyevna announced before walking straight into the house.
Yana began unpacking food in the kitchen.
“I’ll bake a pie,” she said. “There’ll be lots of guests tomorrow.”
“We didn’t ask you to cook,” Tatiana replied.
From the living room came Tamara Sergeyevna’s voice.
“Matvey, move the sofa against the wall. And put the table in the middle.”
Tatiana walked in.
“Don’t move anything.”
Everyone stopped.
“The furniture is exactly where I want it.”
Tamara Sergeyevna smiled awkwardly.
“We’re just trying to help.”
Tatiana found Victor and took him onto the terrace.
“Your mother is rearranging my furniture. Yana is cooking in my kitchen. Matvey is moving things around. They’re acting like they own the house.”
“They’re helping.”
“No. They’re behaving like owners. Victor, please explain that decisions here are made by you and me.”
Victor avoided her eyes.
“They came with good intentions.”
Tatiana said nothing more.
That evening, Tamara Sergeyevna took control of the kitchen while Matvey hung flashing blue and green lights throughout the living room.
Tatiana had already bought warm white lights for the terrace, but nobody asked her.
She sat silently with a cup of tea, watching her carefully designed home become someone else’s party venue.
That night, she couldn’t sleep.
Three years of work.
Every wall, every color, every detail.
Now there were decorations she hadn’t chosen, food she hadn’t ordered, and guests she hadn’t invited.
The next morning, Tatiana woke to the smell of fried onions.
Tamara Sergeyevna was already in the kitchen wearing Tatiana’s apron.
“The first guests will arrive at twelve,” she announced.
“What guests?”
“Nina Petrovna, the Fedotovs, Klavdia Ivanovna, and the others. Don’t worry, I’ve already decided who will sleep in which room.”
Tatiana stared at her.
“Who is sleeping here?”
“Some people are coming from far away. They’ll stay overnight. There’s plenty of room.”
Before ten, the first car arrived.
Tamara Sergeyevna rushed to the gate like the owner of the property.
“Come in! I’ll show you the house!”
Tatiana watched her lead guests around the yard, proudly showing them the terrace, rooms, and garden.
By eleven, nearly twenty people had arrived.
Most were people Tatiana hardly knew.
Tamara Sergeyevna greeted everyone and directed them around the property as if she had organized the entire event herself.
Then she found Tatiana in the kitchen.
“Tanya, why are you standing around? You need to start the hot dishes. Yana is finishing the salads.”
“I’m not doing anything.”
Tamara Sergeyevna frowned.
“There are twenty people outside. They need to eat.”
“I didn’t invite them.”
Her mother-in-law walked away angrily.
A few minutes later, Victor approached Tatiana.
“Please help in the kitchen. Mom says we need the hot food.”
Tatiana looked at him.
“Do you understand what happened? People I never invited are in our yard. Your mother is acting like the owner, and nobody asked me anything.”
“Now isn’t the time.”
“When is the time?”
“After the party.”
Before Tatiana could respond, Tamara Sergeyevna walked over loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear.
“Tanya, why are you standing there? Put the meat on. The fish needs to go into the oven too. There are lots of guests.”
The conversations around them stopped.
“No,” Tatiana said calmly.
“What?”
“I’m not cooking the meat, the fish, or anything else.”
Tamara Sergeyevna stared at her.
“There are people here!”
“I know. That’s why I want everyone to understand something.”
Tatiana looked around.
“I did not organize this celebration. I did not invite these guests. I did not choose this menu. Furniture was moved without my permission. Food was brought without asking. People were told they could sleep here without consulting me. I learned about everything after the decisions had already been made.”
Tamara Sergeyevna stiffened.
“So we’re strangers now?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You practically did! I spent all week preparing, and people came from another city! This is pure ingratitude!”
Yana stepped forward.
“We only wanted to help.”
Matvey also complained that the relatives had come to congratulate them.
“You came because Tamara Sergeyevna invited you,” Tatiana replied. “Not because I did.”
Victor moved closer.
“Tanya, please. Just tolerate it this once. We’ll sort everything out later.”
“You’re asking me to stay silent while your mother controls my house.”
“I’m asking you not to cause a scandal.”
“I didn’t cause the scandal. I’m telling the truth.”
Tamara Sergeyevna suddenly raised her voice.
“Victor, I always told you. You chose the wrong woman. She has never valued family.”
Everyone heard.
An uncomfortable silence followed.
Then Nina Petrovna, Victor’s aunt, spoke.
“You shouldn’t say that in front of everyone.”
Tamara Sergeyevna turned sharply.
“Didn’t you see how she treated us?”
“I saw a woman standing in her own house,” Nina Petrovna replied.
The others avoided Tamara Sergeyevna’s eyes.
Tatiana finally said:
“There will be no party.”
Everyone stared at her.
“Not because I want to offend anyone. But this isn’t my celebration. It’s someone else’s plan being carried out in my house, and I never agreed to it.”
People slowly began leaving.
Finally, Tatiana faced her mother-in-law.
“Tamara Sergeyevna, please leave.”
“You’re throwing me out?”
“I’m asking everyone to leave.”
Tamara Sergeyevna turned to her son.
“Victor! Are you going to let her do this?”
Victor stood silently for several seconds.
Then he finally said:
“Mom, go home.”
Tamara Sergeyevna looked stunned.
“We’ll deal with this ourselves,” Victor continued.
She walked toward the gate.
Before leaving, she stopped.
“You’ll regret this.”
Soon, the yard was empty.
Tatiana and Victor stood alone among folding chairs, glasses, decorations, and untouched food.
“You could have told her this a week ago,” Tatiana said.
“I know.”
“I asked you three times.”
“I know.”
Later, Tatiana told him one more thing.
“If this happens again—if you stay silent while your mother takes control of our home—we will live separately. It’s not a threat. I’m telling you what will happen.”
Victor nodded.
“I understand.”
Tatiana removed the flashing blue lights and replaced them with the warm white ones she had originally chosen.
The following weekend, she sat on the terrace with a book.
Victor brought two cups of coffee and sat beside her.
The white lights glowed softly along the railing.
In the end, there was a housewarming after all.
A small one.
Just for the two of them.