Everythings clear, I get it, Victor said, his voice heavy with resignation. Theyre kicking us out of our own house.
Victor, Mum and I are driving to you! Natalie shouted into the phone at three in the morning.
Dont bother coming, Victor replied drowsily, were asleep!
Victor, this isnt a joke! Get a bed for Mum and find a pullout sofa for me! Natalie snapped, irritated.
We dont have any sofa beds, and every bedroom is already full, he said, yawning contagiously.
Are you kidding? his sister yelled over the line.
Sister, what do you want from me? Why are you showing up at my door at night? You have your own flat, go stay there!
Victor! Natalie cut him off, voice sharp. You have to let us in for the night! We have nowhere else to go!
What happened? Victor asked innocently, pushing his wife aside. He covered the receiver with his hand and said, Emma, Mom and your sister are at the door, breathing down our necks!
Cant you find a better time? Emma asked sleepily.
Im glad were on the same page, Victor smiled.
Natalie kept babbling, her speech punctuated by sighs, groans and occasional shrieks.
Give me the short version, now! Victor demanded.
Victor! The doors jammed!
Badly? he asked.
First the lock got stuck, then the panels warped and wouldn’t close, and when I tried to push them back they seized up, the lock wont turn at all! Natalie wailed, beginning to sob. And were in our nightgowns, standing on the pavement! Our neighbours are next door, and you know how terrible they are!
Fascinating! Victor grinned broadly. The payback door finally caught up with you!
His wife, who had been listening, shook her head theatrically, covering her mouth to hide a yawn. She wanted to laugh out loud but didnt want to interrupt him.
Victor, well have to wait until morning and then call a locksmith! So order a taxi and pay by card! Weve got cash in the flat!
So are you staying or waiting? Victor pressed.
Dont be daft! Natalie roared. Were sitting here like two hens on the pavement under these cursed doors!
In a perfect childhood parents love all their children equally and give them everything they can,
but as the kids grow up, favourites appear, some are loved more, some less. The same goes for care. The favoured get more, the rest get whats left.
When Victor decided to get married, his younger sister Natalie immediately raised the issue of not wanting him and his young wife in the shared flat.
Victor, shes your wife, Im just a sisterinlaw! And Ive got my own place! I want to come and go, say what I like!
Whos stopping you? Victor asked, puzzled.
Just the fact that another adult lives here makes me uncomfortable! Natalie declared, quoting some internet guru.
Uncomfortable how? Victor frowned. Emma and I work during the day. In the morning you and Mum are still asleep, and at night were back in our room after dinner!
Right, of course! Natalie scoffed. And you wont even use the toilet, will you? Youll be busy with your own business! Meanwhile I might be at the gym!
Trust me, theres nothing interesting for us here! Victor noted. Who would even watch you?
Victor! Natalie shrieked, then added her mother to the call. Tell him! Why do we need a stranger woman in the house?
Natalie, said Mrs. Margaret Whitaker, shes Victors wife, and to us shes a daughterinlaw. Shes practically family.
Shes distant kin, a stranger by law! Mum, I dont want to live in a council flat!
Margaret, who always leaned toward her daughter, loved her more because her son reminded her of a husband who had once abandoned her and their two children. She sided with Natalie, though gently:
Victor, we love you, but we hardly know Emma. Well meet her, but starting with cohabitation feels wrong. Besides, youre a man! It would be odd if you lived on your mothers lap forever. And youve got kids on the way, Natalies still young! What if they gather friends at night? Youll argue, but youre family!
Everythings clear, I understand, Victor said, sighing. Theyre kicking us out of our own home!
Victor, no ones kicking you out, his mother replied. We just want to avoid trouble when we can.
You can live without a wife, Natalie said, but with a wife, go your own way!
Emma soon realised something was off between Victor, his mother and sister, because after the wedding theyd planned to live together until they could save for a deposit on a house. Three weeks before the ceremony Victor moved his belongings into a rented flat and brought Emma there.
Emma understood but didnt intervene. She wasnt thrilled about sharing a roof with her husbands relatives, yet for Victors sake she was ready to endure as long as needed.
It didnt work out, and thats fine, she told her friend. Victors just trudging around looking miserable.
Emma, stay out of it! her friend Katie warned. Youll end up with a lighter brain if you keep your distance!
Ill stay, but Victors really having a hard time!
Thats what a wife is for, to support him! In fact, youre now his family, and theyre just relatives!
Victor might have been lenient, but the grievance quickly faded as his own familys issues piled up. He needed to settle his household, and then Emma gave birth to a son.
We cant stretch any further, Victor said sadly. We wont be able to save much more. Well just get by, but we cant put anything aside.
I think the same, Emma agreed. When the mortgage payment is due, you either pay it or you dont.
They took out a thirtyyear mortgage. They had hoped for twenty years, but a longer term meant no money left for any real enjoyment.
Four years after baby Tobys birth, joy drained away. Their second son, Harry, arrived with a triumphant cry.
No problem! Victor declared. Well manage!
Of course, love! Emma encouraged. Where shall we go?
When the younger boy turned five, Victor managed to secure two vouchers for a holiday resort. They rarely vacationed, usually just visiting Emmas family in the countryside, but a day off at the garden counted as a break.
Emma! Theres a pool, spa, disco for those over thirty, fivetimes a day meals its practically royal treatment!
The kids?
For a small extra fee we could take them, or we could leave them behind.
Should we stash them in a playroom or send them to my mums village? Emma asked with a grin.
The playroom jokes and mums village quips were just banter; Emma wouldnt actually leave the children unattended. Shed lock them in a TVroom and feed them on schedule.
Mum, Victor called, can I bring the kids over for a week? Emma and I want a holiday.
And where would you go? Natalie demanded, not giving her mother a chance to answer.
To the healthspa outside town, Victor replied. We havent had a proper break in eight years.
So youre off to the spa while we have to watch your bandits? Natalie fumed. Brilliant perspective!
Mum, Victor pleaded again, theyre decent lads! Feed them, check theyre dressed, tuck them in on time. Apart from that theyre almost selfsufficient.
Hmm, Margaret mused.
No, Victor! Natalie, speaking for her mother, snapped. We just renovated, new furniture! Its expensive!
And your kids will wreck everything? Youll have to compensate later? Plus my husband sometimes drops by. We just dont have enough room for the kids!
Mum! Victor shouted, his hope draining away.
Son, our renovations fresh, and Natalies sorting her life. You and Emma are a family, deal with your own problems!
Thanks, Mum, Victor whispered, each syllable a sigh.
They went to the spa with the children, and Victor didnt speak of his relatives for weeks, nursing a bruised pride.
Then trouble struck unexpectedly, and Victor had to turn to his family for help.
Mum, Natalie, Emmas salarys been delayed. We need to pay the mortgage instalment now. Can you lend us threefour days worth?
Son, we dont have any Margaret began, looking at her daughter.
We do, Natalie patted her mothers hand. Dont worry!
Youve saved me! Victor exhaled in relief.
No! Natalie said firmly. Youll have to save yourself. Weve set aside money for a new front door. The installer is due in a week, and we need a deposit for the work as well as the door itself!
Natalie, why? Victor asked, baffled. Im only asking for four days!
Its not clear how youll repay! I need to pay the installer in a week, then another five days later the doors go in, and I must settle the full amount!
Youll pay it, Natalie! Victor snapped. Our situation is urgent! The loan is due tomorrow, the salary arrives the day after! Ill bring the cash or transfer it straight to your account!
You talk nicely, but Im not handing over the doors! If theyre delayed again, what will I do?
Lets go to the solicitor now and sort everything, even if you want to fine me a thousand per cent!
Ill collect your fines later; the door promotion will end! So, brother, goodbye, dont waste my breath!
Victor, of course, managed to wriggle out, delivering the money even before the deadline. Yet his mother and sister slipped onto his blockednumber list. He told Emma everything, and she replied with a line shed once read:
A wise person does not seek revenge; they wait for life to repay the wrongs.
The wait was short
Thats it! Victor announced. My cards empty! I dont feel like looking for help for my own family!
Youre mad! Were your relatives!
And the doors! Victor retorted. Your doors were the final chord that made me lose all desire to speak to you!
How dare you, son, sink so low! his mother shouted.
Im not revengeful, Victor replied. Im finally returning the debts!
You never took anything from us? Natalie asked, missing his hint.
I took your attitude, Victor said. Your love, care, and kindness the very things you gave me. And now Im giving them back in the same measure!
He hung up, the call ending in silence. It wasnt vengeance, it was a debt repaid.
