The dark plastic card was gone. Vera emptied her large bag onto the bed: creams, keys, powder, and mint candies rolling across the floor. The cardholder was missing. And with it, their savings—the money she and Denis had been putting aside for the land to build their house.
Vera crouched down, peering under the nightstand. The air felt thick, hard to breathe. She remembered putting the card in the bag’s pocket yesterday evening after paying for a delivery. The bag had been hanging untouched in the hallway all night.
From the kitchen, a cloying, overly sweet perfume scent drifted out. Lilies, which had only arrived in their apartment a few days ago with Nina Yuryevna. She had come unannounced, suitcase in hand, determined to “organize” her son’s home.
Vera smoothed her T-shirt and stepped into the kitchen. Her mother-in-law stood at the stove, flipping something with a spatula. She was wearing Vera’s apron, the one Vera had found in the cupboard.
“Finally got up,” Nina said without turning. Her voice was loud and sharp. “Denis left hungry. Took a sip of water and ran. Is that normal? The wife sits at home, doodling nonsense on her tablet, while the husband starves.”
Vera stayed silent. She was an artist, worked late into the night designing books, but to a former head of sales, that was meaningless.“Nina Yuryevna,” Vera said at the doorway, “did you touch my bag in the hallway?”
The woman flipped the food in the pan, oil sizzling.“Why would I need your bag? I was dusting—you probably moved it. Look yourself. Everything’s always a mess with you.”
Vera squinted. She remembered how, at dinner yesterday, her mother-in-law complained endlessly about not having anything to wear for winter and praised clothes from a nearby expensive store.
And she recalled changing her card password a week ago, writing it on a piece of paper she stuck to her phone. Yesterday, the phone had been on the table right in front of Nina Yuryevna.
Vera returned to the room and closed the door. She quickly opened her laptop and logged into her bank app. The balance loaded slowly, but the money was there—the full amount they had saved for months.
Her fingers trembled slightly. She didn’t block the card immediately; if she did, the terminal at the store wouldn’t work, and Nina Yuryevna would spin it—claim she found the card on the floor.
No. Vera transferred everything to another account invisible to the card. Only sixteen rubles remained in the main account.“Let the cashier announce it to everyone,” Vera thought.
An hour later, there was a noise in the hallway.“I’m leaving!” Nina shouted. “Lunch is on the stove. Do something, don’t embarrass yourself!”
The door slammed. Vera watched from the window as the woman, wearing a bright hat, walked briskly to the bus stop.The next two hours, Vera couldn’t focus on work. She kept checking her phone. At two o’clock, Denis called.
“Vera, I don’t understand,” her husband said, voice tense, the factory noise behind him. “What happened?”“What happened?” Vera answered calmly.
“My mother is crying hysterically. I can’t make sense of it. Screaming in the phone: ‘Son, I took your wife’s card and it’s empty!’ How did she get it? Did you give it to her?”
Vera felt a wave of relief.“Denis, I didn’t give it to her. She went through my bag, took the card, saw the password, and tried to spend our money on the land.”
The line went quiet. Only the hum of machines could be heard.“Seriously?” Denis said quietly.“I transferred everything to another account this morning as soon as I realized the card was gone.
If I’d slept in, we’d be left empty-handed, and your mother would have bought herself something.”Denis sighed deeply.“I’m coming home.”
That evening, they returned together. Denis entered first, tired and grim. Nina followed, clutching an empty bag, her face red, huffing angrily.
“Undress,” Vera said from the hallway, arms crossed.“You!” her mother-in-law shouted, throwing the bag on the console. “You did this on purpose! Wanted to embarrass me!
I’m at the checkout, a line behind me! I hand the card, and this girl announces to the whole room: ‘No money, declined!’ Everyone laughed! The guard looked at me like I was a criminal!”
“Mom, calm down,” Denis tried to soothe her. “Vera didn’t mean any harm.”Vera looked at her husband.“Didn’t mean harm? Denis, she stole the card. This isn’t a small thing.”
“I would have given it!” Nina shouted. “I have my pension! Why are you doing this behind my back?”“Close relatives ask first,” Vera stepped forward. “What you did is theft. You went into my private bag and tried to spend the money your son works for, just for a jacket.”
Denis was silent, looking between his mother and wife.“You’re turning him against me?” Nina hissed. “Then stay here in this madhouse! I won’t!”
“Pack yourself,” Denis said quietly. “I’ll call a car.”Nina froze, mouth open, said nothing. She stormed into the room, slammed the closet doors, angrily stuffed her things, and left alone.
The apartment fell silent. Only the refrigerator hummed. Denis sat in the hallway, face in his hands.“She really wanted to spend it,” he muttered. “I didn’t believe it until the end. Thought I was mistaken. But in the taxi, she said: ‘It was just lying there anyway.’”
Vera sat beside him. She said nothing. Some truths take time to accept.Eight months later, in July, she and Denis bought the land—the one with trees and a solid foundation for their house.
Nina hadn’t called in six months. Denis occasionally checked in. Conversations were short. But on the day of the deal, Denis’s phone rang. He put it on speaker.“Denis? I heard you bought the land.”
“Yes, mom. Everything is done today.”Silence. Only breathing.“Congratulations,” Nina said. “And… Vera, I’ll send the cardholder by mail. It must have gotten stuck in the bag back then. Don’t hold a grudge. I understand now.”
Vera looked at Denis. He smiled.“Alright, mom. Thank you.”They hung up. Vera gazed out at the green fields. Setting boundaries is never easy—through arguments and hurt—but it’s the only way to build a life where everyone values each other.
