— Oleg, dear, I told you. It’s my money. I bought it at a sale. For a home video shoot. I wanted to surprise you for our anniversary. To film a funny video about winning the lottery. It’s a prop, you see? Seven hundred thousand in souvenir money. It only cost two thousand.
— You… Did you do it on purpose?
— No, Oleg. I was just storing a prop. But you and your mother—you did it on purpose. You deliberately went through my things, right? Deliberately decided you had a right to my money? Deliberately ran to hide it from me. How was it at the bank? What did security say?
There was silence on the line. Then Zinaida Ivanovna’s voice was heard:
— She set it all up. She deliberately embarrassed us.
— You embarrassed yourselves, Zinaida Ivanovna. I was just storing prop bills. You were the ones who decided to steal them.
— What do you mean, ‘steal’? — Oleg shrieked. — We’re family!
— Family, — Lyudmila repeated. — You know, Oleg, a real family doesn’t rummage through other people’s bags. A real family doesn’t take what isn’t theirs without asking. And a real husband doesn’t yell at his wife without hearing her out. Come back. I’m finishing the Olivier salad.
— Alone? — asked Oleg.
— Alone. For your birthday, which is the day after tomorrow, by the way.
She muted the phone. It continued to light up with incoming calls, but Lyudmila ignored them. She finished her tea, washed the dishes, and wiped the table.
When Oleg and Zinaida Ivanovna returned, Lyudmila was already sitting in the living room with a laptop on her knees. They burst into the apartment, red-faced, disheveled, and angry.
— You humiliated us! — the mother-in-law began.
— No, — Lyudmila replied calmly, not looking up from the screen. — You humiliated yourselves. I didn’t even know you would go through my things and try to take what doesn’t belong to you.
— Lyudmila, enough! — Oleg stepped toward her. — We are not thieves. We wanted to help Mom. With my money, which we thought was mine…
— …without my consent. Oleg, do you realize what you’re saying? You wanted to give my money to your mother without asking.
— So what? Mom is in need.
— Your mom will get an apartment from the state. The resettlement program is working. They called her, offered options. She refuses because it’s more convenient here: where she’s waited on, where she occupies our bedroom and tells me how to live…
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