– If you want a good life for your brother, then help him yourself! You helped him with that trip voucher before! – the ex-wife said indifferently.
Her husband had left for the sanatorium on his voucher, and Antonia got busy with a thorough spring cleaning.
Just three days earlier they had celebrated her husband’s birthday – his fiftieth anniversary. There were many guests, mostly his relatives and colleagues. From Toni’s side, only her mother and sister had come.
It was nothing unusual – it was Alexander’s jubilee, so he chose the guests. Twenty-five people barely fit on the spacious veranda.
Toni’s sister Anna helped with the cooking, and their mother, who was already seventy-two, did what she could. Despite her age, she still managed household tasks well. The guests were delighted with the magnificent table and did not forget to thank the hostess for the warm welcome.
The gifts were mostly envelopes with money. Alexander was already dreaming of buying a new boat, or maybe even a small motorboat. He would add his own savings and they could go fishing together.
Toni loved fishing – it was a childhood passion. Her father had taught her how to cast a spinning rod, bait a hook with a worm, use a landing net and keep fish in a livewell. If needed, she could even cast a net, though that was against the rules. She knew all the nuances of fishing.
In the envelope from Alexander’s mother was a voucher for a sanatorium. Alex was initially taken aback. The departure was in three days. What a surprise his mum had arranged.
She had always hinted that her son needed a rest, that he was tired from work. And here it was! A voucher for one person. She could have consulted them and they would have added money to go together. Alexander even called his mother right away.
“Son, it’s your jubilee, not Antonia’s. Someone has to look after the house too. You have chickens and ducks. I live nearby, but my legs hurt and I can’t run around. You’ll rest from your wife and the household. It’s all her whims – those chickens, ducks, and those… what do you call them… hybrid ducks.”
“They’re Muscovy ducks.”
“That’s what I said – Indian ducks.”
“Mum, they’re not Indian.”
“Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Your sister bought the voucher, I just asked her to. She chose everything, I only paid. Enjoy your rest, son.”
Antonia felt a bit hurt. She thought her husband would suggest exchanging the voucher for two people with an extra payment, but he started packing his things instead. The gift shouldn’t go to waste, or his mother would be offended. It was his gift, so he decided. And he did – he left, taking the gifted money with him too.
Antonia had taken vacation time on purpose so she wouldn’t be rushed while celebrating her husband’s birthday. She still had two weeks ahead. Her husband called when he arrived at the sanatorium.
Antonia busied herself with cleaning and laundry. After the guests left she had only washed the dishes and mopped the floor, but now everything needed a proper wash – even the curtains, which had mysterious stains as if someone had wiped their hands on them. All the blankets also went into the wash after the party. Toni was fanatical about cleanliness.
She could wash and launder the blanket her mother-in-law had sat on after just an hour-long visit. And airing the house after guests was sacred to her.
Alexander never paid much attention to it. She cleans and that’s fine – the house is tidy, food smells delicious, everything is cosy. And the yard is always in perfect order. The windows always sparkle.
“Your flies slide off the glass because there’s nothing to catch onto,” her neighbour used to joke. “Or maybe they go blind from the shine.”
Toni put everything in order, fed all her birds, collected the eggs – buyers would come for them in the evening. She called her husband, but he was at procedures and said he would call back. He didn’t.
They only spoke the next day. Ten days flew by quickly with household chores and work in the garden. The day of her husband’s return arrived.
Toni had already missed him. Ahead were the last days of her vacation, and she wanted to suggest going fishing, grilling meat by the river, or maybe cooking fish soup.
Alexander returned rested but somehow different. He refused to go fishing and spent more and more time lying on the sofa with his phone.
Toni went back to work. The changes in her husband gave her no peace. Everything seemed fine, yet it wasn’t. A month later everything became clear. While at the sanatorium he had started a romance with a nurse.
“I’m sorry, Toni, but I can’t continue like this. I thought I would forget her, but she’s pregnant with my child. I’m leaving. The house is yours, I won’t claim it.”
“Pregnant? You’re fifty – by the time the child grows up you’ll be seventy. You already have grandchildren! What are you thinking?”
“I’m fifty and she’s thirty-three. Everything’s fine.”
“Stay, I’ll forgive you. You can pay child support,” Toni said for some reason and burst into tears.
“No need for tears here! We’ve decided everything. I’m leaving. I’ll pack my things.”
“Then pack everything! I don’t need anyone else’s stuff in this house! Get out! There’s no way back! And take your old boat to your mother – I don’t need that junk.”
“We should divide the property. I invested in the renovation here. I deserve some compensation.”
“You invested in renovation! We have a joint car – take my half of it as compensation for the repairs. If you decide to go to court, you’ll get even less.”
Alexander faltered. He had counted on money and the car, thinking Antonia would simply agree. She didn’t.
Thirty years together, she had always been compliant and sweet, but now a devil had crawled out of the still waters. Alexander packed his things, moved some to his mother’s, got in the car and drove away.
Toni expected a visit from her mother-in-law, but the woman was probably embarrassed herself. To keep busy, Toni once again arranged a thorough cleaning.
This time it was after her husband – she washed everything he had touched, laundered it, and threw things away. That was her way. He hadn’t taken all his belongings, so she personally carried them to his mother’s and left them on the porch without going inside.
Her mother-in-law came in the evening for eggs. Antonia met her on the porch.
“Why did you bring his old clothes? Maybe he’ll come back. He’s not young anymore.”
“I don’t need him anymore! I offered him to stay, but he chose someone else. I won’t let him back. There won’t be a second offer!”
“Just a little fling – it’s his age. He’ll have his fun, run around and come back. He won’t find anyone better than you.”
“Earlier you spoke differently about me. Not directly, but I know everything. You bought that voucher on purpose – let your son rest from his wife. What did you say? You don’t take your own samovar to the sanatorium? Am I the samovar?”
“You heard?”
“I did. I don’t absolve him of guilt, but you are also to blame. Here are the eggs! This is the last time for free – from now on it’s on regular terms. You know the price. Goodbye.”
Her mother-in-law left, and Toni poured a bucket of water on the porch as if washing away all traces of her presence.
A neighbour peeked over the fence.
“Well done, Toni. You inspire me. I even felt ashamed in front of you – you keep everything so clean. I washed my windows and threw out all the junk. My ex left two years ago and I still couldn’t pull myself together.”
“My ex-mother-in-law comes for milk and I can’t refuse her. After all, she’s guilty in our divorce. And for the divorce I’m supposed to give her free milk!”
“Feeding and watering my ex. To hell with them all! I’d better sell it. What did you say? On regular terms? I’ll remember that!”
“I’m glad I inspired someone. Of course I haven’t fully recovered yet, but life goes on.”
Toni lived on, hosting her own children, her mother and sister. She tried not to think about her ex-husband. Sometimes the children themselves brought him up.
Their father tried to push his younger son onto them – after all, he was their brother and it was hard for him. He had sold the car and was ill. Once they mentioned that the boy called Alexander “grandpa”.
Well, what did he expect? By his age he was more suited to be a grandfather. The younger son had no respect for his father at all. He could answer rudely or even tell him off.
Eventually they did send him away – both the seventeen-year-old younger son and his wife. He had become unwanted, a sick pensioner.
His new wife had just turned fifty, while he was almost seventy. At fifty he had been a hero, but now he had wilted.
He returned to his mother’s empty house. The children visited Antonia and only dropped in on him briefly. The youngest had almost forgotten about him.
Toni even felt sorry for her ex-husband. His life hadn’t worked out. His son didn’t respect him and the older children didn’t really want to communicate with their father. Once he had been an example to them, but everything had changed.
One day Antonia was chatting with her neighbour over the fence as usual. That was when Alexander’s sister appeared. The last person she expected! The neighbour left to attend to her own business.
“Hi, Toni. You’re living well and looking young.”
“Because no one interferes with my life or ruins my nerves. I’m my own mistress.”
“That’s good, of course. But Alexander is having a hard time. He’s a man, and a man needs support. The house is in bad shape. There isn’t enough money. It would be easier for the two of you together.”
“You lived together for thirty years. He did all the repairs in the house. Doesn’t that mean anything? Your children and grandchildren visit you, while they only run to him for a minute. How does he feel? He’s started drinking.”
“There’s no way back! And he already received full payment for the repairs. Started drinking, you say? That’s because the mother of his younger son spoiled him. With me he didn’t drink except on holidays. If he hadn’t drunk, there would be money.”
“It won’t be like that with you. He’s the father of your children and grandfather to your grandchildren. He should live with you.”
“It’s too late! You’re too late! I’m fine on my own. He left – there’s no coming back.”
“Let the children help him. Talk to them. And anyway, you still keep chickens and ducks like before. You could give him eggs, vegetables, meat sometimes. And they say you can catch fish.”
“I can. Of course I can. I can do everything. And the neighbour sells goat’s milk. Buy everything on regular terms.”
“What? Buy it? We’re not strangers!”
“He became a stranger to me twenty years ago. Him and your whole family. If his mother hadn’t given him that voucher back then, he would still have everything now: eggs, meat, fish, cleanliness and care.”
“And the love of children and grandchildren, not just pity. If you want a good life for your brother, help him yourself! You helped him with that voucher back then!”
“You shouldn’t be like this. He could leave an inheritance to your children.”
“My children have already provided for themselves. Inheritance? Don’t make me laugh. I know what his inheritance is worth. Goodbye.”
Toni went into the house and put the kettle on. That’s how life had turned out! She and her ex lived almost next door, but there was no way back. He had chosen his own path himself…
