My husband saved money for the family to buy a better car.
‘You keep your status,’ she replied. ‘You can polish the new car and show it to Sergei. You can even sleep in it if you want.’
She looked him straight in the eyes.
– After all, we are now allowed to live as each of us wishes. You for your own pleasure, and Roma and I for ours.
She stood up and started getting her son’s things ready for the next day.
Mikhail observed her confident, determined movements. Valentina no longer waited for his approval. She asked for no permission and did not try to convince him.
She rearranged her life, leaving less and less room for him.
The neighbor had a car, but he lost his family.
Mikhail went to the balcony.
Down below, in the light of the streetlights, stood Sergei’s enormous SUV. It took up almost half of the sidewalk.
The neighbor often boasted about the power, size, and luxury of his house. Mikhail, however, knew that Sergei lived alone. Six months earlier, his wife had left him because she could no longer afford the extra debts and expensive purchases intended to emphasize his high status.
Mikhail tried to empathize with his neighbor’s situation.
He imagined he was sitting in a brand-new black SUV. The interior smelled of expensive leather and the engine hummed pleasantly when he pressed the accelerator.
Then he returned to the empty one-room apartment.
A bag of ready-made dumplings stood ready on the table. It was dead silent in the room.
No one asked how his day had been. No one hugged him. His son did not run to school to show his good grades.
Roma would remember his first trip to the coast. He would remember how his mother took him there. He would primarily associate his father with a man who was always saving up for the next piece of metal.
The cool air gradually tempered Mikhail’s anger.
« I don’t want this car anymore. »
He returned to the room. Valentina had already turned off the main light, leaving only a small lamp on her son’s table burning.
‘Walu…’ he said softly.
« Go to sleep, Misha. We all have to get up early tomorrow. You go to work, and I’m going to the bank to deposit the rest of the money for the trip. »
Mikhail lay down beside her and tried not to make a sound. He stared at the ceiling, where the reflections of passing car lights drifted across.
His savings suddenly seemed like a pile of useless money, intended for something he didn’t actually need.
He had to change something. Immediately, before the blue sea from the tourist catalog washed away the last remnants of their shared home.
‘I don’t want an SUV,’ he said in the dark.
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