– I’ve been adding some medicine to her food for a week now, – my mother-in-law was talking to someone on the phone, – well, yes, so she’ll drop the baby! There’s no effect yet, but I haven’t lost hope. You know, I’m ready to do anything to tear that nasty Lerka out of Igor’s heart. I hate my daughter-in-law!
Igorek was the meaning of life for Zinaida Alekseyevna. She gave birth to him late, at thirty-six, from some business traveler. Zina’s personal life was not going well; she scared men away with her difficult character. After the birth of her son, she got together with her neighbor, but a happy family life with him did not work out either – Zina made too many demands on her cohabitant:
– You need to get a normal job! – every morning began with a complaint, – I need to raise a child, think about his future! How can I do this on your salary?
– Zina, it’s a crisis, – Grigory shook his head, – there’s no work in the city, and you know that perfectly well. I’m trying to provide for my family, I don’t refuse odd jobs. We live much better than our neighbors. Igor has everything!
– That’s not enough, – Zinaida was angry, – I want my son to have everything he needs! Are you his father, after all, or not? Become a bodyguard! Look, Mikhail Borisovich founded a company, brought in some gangsters, and now he drives a Mercedes! Ask him, he’ll take you on too.
“Risk your life?” Grigory asked, “for what?”
“For the sake of money!” Zinaida roared, “for the sake of our future!”
Grigory didn’t become a “brother”. He lived with Zinaida for a year, then went somewhere to earn money and returned only six years later. With his wife and daughter. Zina had been waiting for her cohabitant all these years, so her wife and child were an unpleasant surprise for her. Having met her former cohabitant with his family on the street, she made an ugly scandal:
– And you forgot our son, did you? Little Igor hadn’t seen you for six years, he was constantly asking about you. It turns out that Papa was arranging his life in the north and making another child! Come on, look me in the eyes! I, Grisha, won’t leave this just like that! I’ll make you raise and support Little Igor!
Grigory’s wife knew the history of her husband’s relationship with Zinaida, so she silently watched the unpleasant scene. Grisha winced:
– Zina, don’t talk nonsense! I have nothing to do with Igor, I’m not his father, and you know it perfectly well! I won’t raise someone else’s child. I have a daughter, and I think about her first and foremost. Go wherever you want, disgrace yourself. And leave me alone! You and I have been strangers for a long time now.
Grigory sold the apartment where he lived before moving north and left with his family. Zinaida never saw him again.
Zinaida Alekseyevna diligently bent her son to her will, severely punishing him for any misdeed. Until he was fifteen, Igor was afraid of his mother, and then he rebelled:
“If you raise your hand to me again, I’ll leave the house,” the teenager threatened, “stop pressuring me!”
“I wish you well,” Zinaida Alexandrovna flared up, “if I stop controlling you, you’ll go downhill! You’ll get involved with bad company, start stealing, and sooner or later you’ll end up behind bars!”
“I have a head on my shoulders,” Igor retorted, “I think with it before I do anything. Mom, I warned you!”
Zinaida Aleksandrovna could not accept her son’s demands, but she stopped beating him. Igor went to work so as not to depend on his mother anymore. When he entered the institute, he moved out from his mother and into a dormitory. He received a preferential place as a winner of several physics olympiads.
He had to run away from home – the guy was hurriedly packing his things while his mother was at work. Igor left his mother a note asking her to give him the opportunity to live on his own.
Zinaida Alekseyevna could not let her son go, so she did everything to bring him home. The first thing the woman did was go to the dormitory commandant and make a scene with him:
– Give me back my son immediately! What is going on? You took the child away from his mother!
– Calm down, mother, – the commandant barked, – deal with your son, there’s no reason to yell at me here! I have no right to evict him, no reason. Now I understand why the kid ran away to the dormitory… I wouldn’t have lasted two minutes with you around.
—————————————————
Igor fought for independence for a very long time. He had to endure enormous pressure, and his mother finally gave in. The guy calmly studied, got a diploma, got a job and focused on his career.
By the age of thirty, Igor was able to afford his own home. The man approached the purchase of an apartment responsibly: he spent a long time choosing, went to inspections, changed realtors. Igor was looking for housing that would not require major repairs – he did not have extra money. Zinaida Alekseyevna actively intervened in the process:
– Son, I’ve already found you an apartment, – she called her son one day, – in the neighboring house, a two-room apartment! You’ll live next door to me, we’ll visit each other in the evenings. I’m tired of driving across town to see you while you were renting! This option, Igor, is just perfect. A good friend of mine is selling it, no one else is registered in the apartment. The renovation was done about eight years ago, but it’s clean and tidy inside. Let’s go and have a look?
Igor shuddered at the prospect of living next to his mother. The man quickly refused:
– Mom, the location is inconvenient for me. It will take me almost two hours to get to work in traffic jams. And that’s only one way! I’ve already chosen one apartment, agreed with the owners, we’ll go to a deal. They’re even leaving some furniture.
– Igor, I’m telling you that my friend’s apartment is better! Come right away, let’s go look. I’ve also agreed on everything, Lida is waiting for us. Igor, son, just appreciate all the advantages! You’ll come home from work, and there’ll be a hot dinner on the table, all your shirts ironed, everything tidied up! I’ll open the door with my keys and quickly tidy up. We’ll see each other every day. I miss you so much, you rarely visit me! And Lida hinted to me that she’ll give you a discount. A good one!
Igor barely got rid of his mother. He had to remind his mother in a rather rude manner that he was a grown-up, independent man who had long been making his own decisions. Zinaida Alekseyevna was offended by her son for a long time; they did not communicate for almost six months. Igor, driven to a nervous tic by his mother’s whims, sometimes thought about cutting her out of his life altogether. But his conscience still won out, and the man continued to visit his mother and help her financially.
Zinaida Alekseyevna did not want to share her son with anyone. She drove out all the brides that Igor inadvertently introduced to his mother. Thanks to Zinaida Alekseyevna, Igor remained a bachelor until he was thirty-five, until he met Lera. Their feelings flared up instantly, Igor did not even have to court her for long – the couple moved in together two months after they met.
Igor didn’t tell his mother that another woman had appeared in his life. He decided that it would be better that way. Zinaida Alekseyevna found out about Lera’s existence by chance – she came to visit her son on the weekend.
Valeria was awakened by a loud knock. The woman sat up and listened: someone was knocking on the door.
– It’s eight in the morning, – Lera sighed and threw on her robe, – who can’t sleep at such an hour on Saturday! Those agitators have probably come again! I’ll have to argue with those old ladies again.
Lera opened the door and saw a plump woman on the stairs. She was holding some kind of string bag in her hands. Valeria calmly explained:
– We don’t buy anything, we don’t believe in God, and we won’t vote for anyone. Goodbye!
Zinaida Alekseyevna quickly assessed the situation and took a step forward. Pushing Lera away from the door, she entered the apartment and asked menacingly:
– And who are you, actually? Darling, why are you walking around my son’s apartment… in such a state?
– Are you Igor’s mother? – Lera asked, blushing, – hello! Oh, how awkward… Please come in. I’ll be right back! I’ll be back in a minute!
Lera rushed into the bedroom and pushed Igor:
– Get up quickly! Your mother is there. What a shame! If you had known it was her, you would have dressed properly. Igor, why are you sprawled out? Get up, I said!
– Why are you causing a panic? – the man muttered, – I’m getting up. What kind of life is this, I can’t get enough sleep on the weekend! I need to tell my mother to stop coming on Saturdays and Sundays. And anyway, why didn’t she call and warn me?
When Igor and Lera came out of the bedroom, Zinaida Alekseyevna was already busy in the kitchen. The table was set, there were plates and mugs. But for some reason for two. Zinaida Alekseyevna divided the scrambled eggs with a wooden spatula and put them on plates. She sat down at the table and nodded her head to her son to take a chair. Lera immediately understood that she would be making breakfast for herself.
– Well, tell me, son, what is this? – Zinaida Alekseyevna demanded. – Why is some half-naked girl opening the door for me? And even trying to chase me away? I demand an explanation!
“Mom, don’t pretend you don’t understand what’s going on,” Igor asked, “this is Lera, my girlfriend. We live together.”
– Why didn’t I know about this? – Zinaida Alekseevna flared up, – why didn’t you tell me anything?
“Mom, I don’t have to report to you,” Igor grimaced, “I’m already thirty-five years old, I live in my own apartment and I decide who to bring here! Is it starting again?”
– Son, put yourself in my place! I come to your house, and the door is opened by someone unknown. A girl of absolutely disgusting appearance!
Zinaida Alekseyevna’s last phrase offended Lera, she snapped and a quarrel broke out. Igor, having calmed his mother with difficulty, asked her to leave.
– So that’s how it is, – Zinaida Alekseyevna immediately shed a tear, – they say it’s true, the night cuckoo will outcry the day cuckoo! You abandoned your mother for this one! And this is your gratitude for the fact that I pulled you in my teeth all my life? Raised you alone, denying yourself everything? Thank you, son! Now everything is clear to me!
Igor married Lera after all. At the wedding, Zinaida Alekseyevna distinguished herself: she staged a concert of tears and lamentations. The guests looked at each other, whispering that the groom’s mother was behaving as if a great sorrow had just happened in her life. While giving a toast, Zinaida Alekseyevna did not miss the opportunity to prick her daughter-in-law:
– Of course, my son, I wanted a better life for you, – Zinaida Alekseyevna said into the microphone, – I dreamed of another daughter-in-law… But since you made your choice, I have to come to terms with it. I hope this woman will still be able to make you happy. Remember, my son, that you always have me, your mother! There may be many wives, but you only have one of me!
After the celebration, Lera expressed her dissatisfaction to her now legal husband:
– Igor, please make it so that your mother comes to our apartment as little as possible! I understand perfectly well that she is not happy with me. Zinaida Alekseyevna will not calm down until she divorces you and me!
– It’s useless to talk to her, she doesn’t understand! Lera, please, don’t pay attention to her. Whatever my mother does, don’t react. I can’t leave her, my conscience won’t let me.
Zinaida Alekseyevna decided to divorce her son from Lera at any cost. Igor had been reluctant to make contact with his mother before, and now, after the marriage, he seemed to have forgotten about her existence – he didn’t call, didn’t come to visit, and sent money only after being reminded. Everything was used: Zinaida Alekseyevna invited her friends’ daughters to visit, deceiving her son into the apartment. After the third such “date”, Igor threw a tantrum at his mother:
– I don’t understand, what are you hoping for? Why are you doing this?
– I want you to leave your Lerka! She’s no match for you, – said Zinaida Alekseyevna, – Ksyusha is much better! I’ve known this girl since childhood, I know that she was brought up properly. At least she doesn’t run around half-naked in front of strangers!
Zinaida Alekseyevna, having gone through all the potential brides, changed her tactics. Now she called her son every evening and demanded that he come immediately. Because she felt bad.
– Son, my heart hurts, I can’t breathe… Igor, come quickly! I think I’m dying!
Igor dropped everything he was doing and rushed to his mother. The man quickly saw through the deception. The ambulance paramedic told Igor that his mother was a regular malingerer. Once again, all of Zinaida Alekseyevna’s efforts went to waste.
Lera got pregnant a year and a half after the wedding. Igor dreamed of becoming a father, he even had to undergo treatment to get pregnant. He did not tell his mother this news, he decided to wait a little. Zinaida Alekseyevna found out that she would soon become a grandmother from strangers. The pensioner’s world collapsed: now she will definitely lose her beloved son! After the birth of the child, Igor will forget about her.
They had to act quickly. Zinaida Alekseyevna remembered that in a TV series she had recently watched on TV, the main character got rid of her pregnant lover with the help of someone’s potion. The pensioner did not know how to use the Internet, the exact recipe for the “potion” was not announced in the series, so she had to experiment.
First, Zinaida Alekseyevna went to the drugstore. She told the pharmacist the truth and asked her to sell her a medicine for unwanted pregnancy. The pharmacist refused to sell it.
In the evening, Zinaida Alekseevna came to her son’s apartment with her things. She explained to Igor and Lera:
– I was wrong, I did stupid things! Forgive me, children! I really want to improve our relationship with you, I want to become a loving grandmother for your child, and for you, Lerochka, the best mother-in-law in the world. Can I stay with you for a week? The neighbors are doing renovations, it is impossible to live in my apartment.
Igor and Lera dropped their guard and allowed the pensioner to stay. Zinaida Alekseyevna rejoiced: now she would definitely get rid of her daughter-in-law and her child in one fell swoop. Fortunately, she managed to get the necessary medicine from the veterinary pharmacy.
Zinaida Alekseyevna did not let her pregnant daughter-in-law into the kitchen now. Lera saw her mother-in-law making cutlets with dirty hands a couple of times, so she did not eat her food. Disgust ultimately saved her. For a whole week, Zinaida Alekseyevna poured poison into her daughter-in-law’s plate.
Igor came home from work and quietly entered the apartment. He immediately carried the bags of food into the bedroom – Lera had recently asked him to order dinner and lunch from a cafe near the house. His wife was asleep, Igor quickly changed his clothes and tiptoed out into the hallway. He wanted to go to the bathroom to wash his hands, but suddenly heard his mother’s voice:
– She doesn’t care! I give her medicine, but she still walks around pregnant. Nina, maybe you should talk to your daughter? Let her bring something more serious from the hospital! I’m ready to give any money so that Lerka can abort the fetus!
Igor flew into the kitchen, grabbed his mother by the hand and, ignoring her shrill screams, pushed her out the door. Zinaida Alekseyevna’s suitcase followed her. Lera ended up in the hospital when she found out what her mother-in-law had been doing. Igor, worried about the safety of his wife and future child, exchanged the apartment – he paid extra for a three-room apartment on the other side of town. He no longer communicates with his mother.
