part 2 : “Your husband’s debt is your debt too. Pay it,” her mother-in-law declared. Vera pulled out a single sheet of paper, and the guest’s smile vanished instantly.
“They did,” Vera nodded. “Tamara demanded that I ‘put everything back the way it was.’ Larisa screamed that I was destroying the family. Aunt Zoya promised I would cry over this.”
“And what did you say?” Katya could not help smiling.
“I said everything was according to the contract,” Vera replied. “And that I wasn’t the one who destroyed the family. It was destroyed by the person who decided a wife was an ATM with legs.”
“Harsh,” Katya laughed. “But fair. Did Igor call you himself?”
“He did,” Vera took a sip of tea. “At first, he threatened me. By the end, he offered to ‘start with a clean slate’ if I paid off the debt.”
“How generous,” Katya snorted. “A clean slate at your expense.”
“Exactly,” Vera nodded. “I told him I already had a clean slate. And written on it was a divorce petition.”
Katya laughed and lifted her cup as if it were a glass. Vera clinked hers against it and felt the weight sliding from her shoulders.
“Do you know what keeps me afloat?” Vera said more quietly. “The thought that people forge their own misfortunes. They were digging a pit for me and fell into it themselves.”
“Don’t you feel sorry for anyone?” Katya asked cautiously.
“I do,” Vera admitted. “I feel sorry for the old me, the trusting one. That Vera would have paid and stayed silent. But the new one takes out the contract and smiles.”
“To the new Vera,” Katya raised her cup again.
“To her,” Vera agreed. “And to good papers signed at the right time. Sometimes a single sheet of paper is worth more than all the vows in the world.”
They sat there for a long time, talking about everything and nothing, the conversation flowing easily on its own. The debt remained Igor’s debt — personal, according to the contract — and not a single ruble stuck to Vera’s pocket. And the family that had wanted to turn her into a wallet was left alone with its greed and its bills.
“You know,” Vera said before leaving, “the funniest thing is that they still believe I betrayed them.”
“And what do you think?” Katya asked.
May you like
“I simply stopped being convenient,” Vera smiled. “Apparently, for some people, that is the worst betrayal of all.”
THE END
