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The keys to the rented apartment still smelled new when someone knocked on the door for the first time. Dasha and Igor had only just managed to bring in the last box of belongings when Valentina Petrovna herself appeared on the threshold, carrying two enormous bags and wearing the expression of a person ready to … Read more

— So what if we eat at your place! You won’t go broke! — Marina unceremoniously pushed back a chair and sat down at the kitchen table without even washing her hands after coming in from outside. — Come on, you both work, you don’t have kids, you can afford to treat your relatives. Don’t … Read more

“What do you mean?” Sasha asked again, and genuine surprise mixed with his usual confidence sounded in his voice. He was standing in the doorway of her apartment, holding a folder with some documents, as if he had come on business and not to see his ex-wife. Inna looked at him and could no longer … Read more

“Calm down, Olya. You simply live here, so just live here. And the documents are just a formality that has absolutely nothing to do with you.” Denis’s words sounded casual and indifferent. He was sitting at the kitchen table, slowly finishing his dinner, and he did not even look in his wife’s direction. Olga stood … Read more

Yulia stood by the kitchen window, slowly stirring her coffee and looking out at the snow-covered courtyard. In the hallway, Kirill was getting ready for work, muttering something under his breath and rustling papers. “Listen,” her husband said with deliberate casualness, “you’ll cover the mortgage this month yourself, right? I’ve got a problem with the … Read more

Two-room apartment on the third floor of an old brick building had come to Inna from her grandmother, Ekaterina Vasilyevna. The woman had died two years earlier, leaving her granddaughter the only truly valuable inheritance — housing in the city center. Inna had registered the ownership rights before the wedding, so the apartment was considered … Read more

Valentina Petrovna called her son on Wednesday morning. Her mother-in-law’s voice sounded cracked, with a hoarse edge. “Son, I feel terrible. I have a temperature of thirty-eight, and my throat still isn’t getting better. I can’t manage alone. Come over.” Rita heard only half of the conversation, but she understood immediately: expect guests. Her husband … Read more

Oksana looked at her son across the kitchen table, and in her head an invisible metronome automatically clicked, counting off the seconds of silence. Artyom broke first: he looked away and began tugging at the edge of his stale T-shirt. Classic. The subject had cracked under the simplest visual contact. At fourteen, he thought he … Read more

Marina, don’t bother ironing that blue dress of yours for the anniversary. I’ve thought it over: we’ll just sit with our own people. Blood relatives.” A drop of caustic degreaser slowly crawled down the kitchen tile, collecting yellow grime. I turned off the water and dried my hands thoroughly on a towel. There was a … Read more

Elena stood on the threshold of her future mother-in-law Galina Petrovna’s apartment, breathing in the cloyingly sweet aroma of apple pie. It was a smell that should have meant comfort, but all it stirred in her was a dull unease. Andrey, her fiancé, squeezed her hand and smiled radiantly. For him, this was an ordinary … Read more