«All right, I get it,» Victor says, sighing. «You’re being thrown out of your own house.»
«It’s three in the morning, and Mom and I are heading to you!» Milly announces over the phone.
«Don’t bother coming,» Victor replies groggily. «We’re asleep.»
«This isnt a joke, Victor! Get a bed for Mum and find a cot for me!» Milly complains.
«We don’t keep any cots, and every bedroom is already full!» Victor yawns, chuckling.
«Are you mocking me?» Milly snaps.
«Sister, what do you want from me? Why are you showing up at this hour? You have your own flatgo spend the night there!»
«Victor!» Milly snaps, cutting him off. «You have to let us stay; we have nowhere else to go!»
«Whats happened?» Victor asks innocently, pushing his wife away.
Covering the handset, he says, «Anna, Mum and Milly are at the door! Theyre desperate to crash here!»
«Couldn’t you find another time?» Anna asks sleepily.
«Glad were on the same page,» Victor smiles.
Milly keeps rambling, mixing sighs, mutters and shrieks.
«Give me the short version!» Victor demands.
«Victor! The door is stuck!»
«Stuck how?» Victor asks.
«First the lock jammed, then the doors warped and wouldnt shut, and when I tried to push them open they seized upnow the lock wont turn!» Milly cries, beginning to sob. «And were in our pajamas on the front steps! The neighbours are terrible, you know that!»
«How fascinating!» Victor laughs widely. «The payback door finally caught up with you!»
His wife, listening, shakes her head theatrically, covering her mouth to stop a yawn. She wants to laugh out loud but doesnt want to interrupt him.
«Victor, well have to wait until morning and then call a locksmith. Call a taxi and pay by cardwe have cash at home!»
«So, are you staying or waiting?» Victor presses.
«Dont be dense!» Milly shouts. «Were sitting here like two chickens on the doorstep under these cursed doors!»
Only in early childhood do parents love their children equally and give them everything they can. As the kids grow, favourites emergesome get more, some get less. The same happens with care.
When Victor decides to marry, his younger sister Milly immediately raises the issue of not wanting a shared flat with his new wife.
«Victor, that woman is your wife, and Im just your sister! I have my own house and I want to live, speak and do whatever I like!» Milly declares.
«Whos stopping you?» Victor asks, surprised.
«The very thought of another person living with us makes me uncomfortable!» Milly says, quoting something she read online.
«What kind of discomfort?» Victor frowns. «Anna and I are at work during the day. In the morning youre still asleep, and in the evening we eat and retreat to our room!»
«Exactly!» Milly hisses. «You wont even use the bathroom, will you? I might be at my yoga class then!»
«Believe me, theres nothing exciting for us here!» Victor replies. «Who would watch you, anyway?»
«Victor!» Milly shrieks, then drags their mother into the call. «Tell him why we dont want a stranger in the house!»
«Nora Bennett,» their mother says, «shes your wife, and were your inlawsalmost family.»
«Thats distant kin, but legally shes a stranger! Mum, I dont want to live like in a council flat!» Milly protests.
Nora, ever the favourite of her daughter because the son reminded her of the husband who abandoned her with two kids, sides with Milly, albeit gently:
«Victor, we love you, but we barely know Anna. Well meet her, just not start by moving in together. Youre a man, you cant live on Mums apron strings! Your kids will grow up, Millys still youngwhat if they throw a party at night? Itll cause a rift.»
«All clear, I understand,» Victor sighs. «Youre being evicted from your own home!»
«Victor, no ones evicting you,» Mum says. «We just want to avoid trouble we can sidestep.»
«You could live without a wife,» Milly says, «but with one, go your own way!»
Anna realises somethings off between Victor, his mum and Milly, because after the wedding they planned to stay with them to save for a house deposit. Three weeks before the wedding Victor moves his belongings into a rented flat and brings Anna there.
Anna sees the tension but doesnt intervene. She isnt thrilled about living next to Victors relatives, yet shes willing to endure for Victors sake.
«Well, it didnt work out, but thats fine,» she tells her friend. «Victor looks miserable.»
«Anna, stay out of this,» advises Kate. «Itll keep your head clear.»
«Ill do my best, but its hard for Victor!»
«Thats why youre his wifeto support him. Youre now his family, theyre just relatives!»
Victor may be forgiving, but he soon forgets the grudge as family matters pile up. He has to sort out home life, and then Anna gives birth to a boy.
«We cant stretch any further,» Victor says sadly. «We wont be able to save much more. Well just get by.»
«I agree,» Anna replies. «When the mortgage payment is due, well pay, whether we like it or not.»
They take out a thirtyyear mortgage. They wanted twenty, but a longer term keeps any leisure out of the picture.
Four years after little Tobys birth, the joy fades. Their second son, Harry, arrives with a loud cry.
«Nothing to worry about!» Victor says. «Well manage.»
«Of course, love!» Anna answers. «Where shall we go?»
When Harry turns five, Victor manages to book two tickets to a holiday cottage.
They rarely take holidays, usually just visiting Annas family in a village. Working in the garden isnt exactly a break.
One day Anna says, «Victor, theres a spa resort in the Cotswoldspool, treatments, a disco for those over thirty, five meals a day! Its practically royal.»
«The kids?» Victor asks.
«For a small extra fee we can bring them, or maybe well leave them at home.»
«Shall we lock them in a playroom or send them to my mums village?» Anna jokes. She knows shed never actually watch them, juggling work, the garden and the house.
Victor asks, «Mum, could I take the kids with me for a week? Anna and I want a break.»
«Where are you going?» Milly interrupts, not letting Mum speak.
«To a health resort outside town,» Victor answers. «We havent really rested in eight years.»
«So youre off to a resort while we have to mind your little bandits?» Milly exclaims. «What a lovely prospect!»
«Mum,» Victor says again, «theyre decent ladsfeed them, check theyre dressed properly, and put them to bed on time. Otherwise they manage themselves.»
Nora ponders, «Well»
«Victor, no!» Milly interjects. «Mum and I just finished renovating, new furniturecost a fortune!»
«And now your kids will wreck everything? Youll have to compensate?» Milly continues. «Besides, sometimes my husband visits, and theres never enough room for the kids!»
«Enough, Mum!» Victor cries, losing his last hope.
«Son, the renovation is fresh, and Milly is sorting her life. You and Anna are a familydeal with your own issues!» Nora says.
«Thanks, Mum!» Victor says, each syllable stretched.
They go to the resort with the children, and Victor stops mentioning his relatives for a while. He feels slightly offended.
A sudden financial crunch hits, and Victor must ask his family for a shortterm loan.
«Mum, Milly, Annas salary is delayed. We need to pay the mortgage instalment now. Could you lend us three or four days?» Victor pleads.
«We dont have that,» Nora replies, looking at Milly.
«We do,» Milly pats her mothers hand. «Dont worry!»
«Youve just saved my skin!» Victor sighs with relief.
«No!» Milly snaps. «Youll have to rescue yourself. Weve set aside money for the new front door. The installer is due next week, and we need a deposit for the work as well.»
«Why are you, Milly, the one paying?» Victor asks. «Im only asking for four days!»
«Its unknown how youll repay!» Milly retorts. «I need to give the man his money in a week, then hell fit the doors in five days and expect full payment!»
«Then youll settle it, Milly!» Victor protests. «Were in an emergencyloan tomorrow, salary the day after! Ill bring the cash or transfer it straight to your account!»
«Nice talk, but Im not going to jump in with the doors! If they delay you, what will I do?» Milly asks.
«Lets go to the solicitor now and sort everything. You can even draw a hundredpercent penalty!» Victor suggests.
«Ill wait for your penalties, and the door promotion will end! So, brother, be off, dont cough!»
Victor manages to swing the deal, takes his friend the solicitors money early, and his mother and sister end up on his blockedcontact list.
He tells Anna everything, and she replies with a line she once read: «A wise person doesnt seek revenge; they wait for life to repay them.»
The waiting doesnt last long.
«Here you go!» Victor says. «My cards empty, and I have no urge to look for help for anyone.»
«Youve gone mad! Were your family!»
«The door,» Victor adds, «has become the final chord, after which I have no desire to speak with you.»
«How shameful, son, to stoop so low!» his mother shouts.
«Its not revenge,» Victor retorts. «Im finally returning the debts!»
«You never took anything from us?» Milly asks, missing his hint.
«I took your attitude,» Victor says. «Your love, your carethe very things you gave me. Now I give them back in equal measure!»
He ends the call and hangs up. It isnt vengeance; its a debt repaid.
