My husband left me. He took all our savings for his own apartment and ran away. I was left in a rented apartment with my six-month-old daughter in my arms. My mother-in-law, when she found out, immediately came to my apartment. I thought she would come to make fun of me, but she ordered:
— Pack your bags, you will live with your granddaughter at my place.
I tried to refuse — it was a very uncomfortable situation. My mother-in-law and I had been fighting, with varying degrees of success, for several years. Neither of us had ever heard a kind word from the other. And here, suddenly, when she found out about my situation, my husband’s mother was the only person who reached out to me.
Even my own mother said there was no room for me in her house. All because of my older sister, who lives with her children at my mother’s house, and who does everything at her dictation.
— Thank you, Ms. Anna. I will be very grateful for your hospitality. — I muttered in spite of myself.
Then for the first time I said from the heart «thank you» to my mother-in-law.
— Come on! You are not the first better person off the street. — She waved her hand and took her granddaughter from my arms. — Come on, little one. Let mom get ready, and we’ll leave her alone. Will you live with your grandmother, sunshine? Of course you will. Grandma will tell you stories, take you for walks, braid your hair….
Listening to my mother-in-law’s soft cooing, I couldn’t believe my ears. She always said that I had caught her son as a baby and that she would never go near my «brat.»
I packed up my things and we moved in with my mother-in-law. Mrs. Anna freed up a large room for us, and moved into a smaller one herself. I looked at her puzzled, and my mother-in-law said to me:
— What are you looking at? The baby needs space, she will soon be crawling. I, one, don’t need much space. Make yourself comfortable, in an hour there will be dinner.
For dinner she offered me steamed vegetables and boiled meat and said:
— You are a nursing mother. Of course, if you want, I can fry something. But dietary is better for the baby. It’s up to you now.
In the refrigerator stood a bunch of jars of baby food.
— You should start feeding already, don’t you think? If these don’t work for you, we’ll buy some others. Feel free to say. — smiled at me mother-in-law.
I couldn’t stand it anymore and cried. Her kind attitude was so unexpected that I was touched to the core. No one had ever cared about me and my daughter as much as this woman, whom I had always considered the greatest enemy in my life. She hugged me:
— Tsk, dear, tsk, men are like that, they go where the wind carries them. After all, I also raised my Matthew by myself. His dad passed away when he was eight months old. I won’t let my granddaughter grow up like this. Enough with the crying. Get a grip on yourself!
Through tears, I explained to my mother-in-law that I didn’t expect such kindness from her and thanked her:
— Thank you, thank you very much. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know where my daughter and I would have gone.
— There is a bit of my fault in this — I raised my son so irresponsibly. I will correct what he has done to the best of my ability. Come on, wash your face and go to bed. It will be better in the morning.
We celebrated our daughter’s one year anniversary together: me, my daughter and my mother-in-law — our beloved grandmother and guardian angel. We had put our daughter down for an afternoon nap and were drinking tea and cake in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Anna went to open it.
— Mom, I’d like to introduce you to someone — meet Veronika. Veronika, this is my mother, Anna. Mommy, can we stay with you for six months? I can’t find a job and can’t afford the rent.
Hearing my husband’s voice, I turned pale. I was afraid that my mother-in-law would let them into the house and throw me and my daughter out. Tears streamed into my eyes.
— And let me, get out of here! And take your girlfriend with you. You robbed your wife and child and left them penniless, didn’t you think what they would live on? Life has answered you on its own. Go on your way. And you, Veronica, be careful — he will play and dump you too.
I was very wrong about my mother-in-law, and now I am ashamed of this ridiculous farce. My mother-in-law became for me not even a second mother, but the first. With my mother-in-law we lived under the same roof for six years, until my wedding. At my wedding she took the honorable place of mother of the bride. My daughter goes to school, and I will soon give birth to a little son. Anna is very much looking forward to the birth of a grandchild.