– Where is the money we were saving for the New Year’s table? – Olga asked as she reached for the tea tin standing on the top shelf of the kitchen cabinet.
She stretched up on tiptoe, but her fingers touched only the cold metal bottom. Her heart skipped a beat. There were only two days left until New Year’s Eve.
There had been thirty thousand rubles in that tin – the amount she and her husband had diligently saved over the past two months from every salary and advance. It was money for food, gifts, and a little relaxation during the holidays.
Andrei, who was sitting at the table enthusiastically scrolling through the news on his phone, didn’t even look up. He just shrugged, as if brushing away an annoying fly.
– Andrei, I’m asking you – Olga’s voice grew sharper. – The tin is empty. Where is the money?
The man finally looked up. His face had the expression typical of a schoolboy caught smoking: guilt, defiance, and a desire to change the subject as quickly as possible.
– Olj, why are you starting again? – Andrei grimaced. – I took it. Mom needed it.
Olga slowly sat down on the chair opposite him. Her legs suddenly felt heavy. In her head she heard a noise, like in an empty seashell.
– Mom? – she asked quietly again. – What happened to Antonina Pavlovna this time? Did the roof start leaking? Did the TV break? Or did her beloved cat urgently need a massage?
– Don’t be sarcastic – Andrei snapped, locking his phone and putting it face down on the table. – The woman has a problem. A serious one. Her washing machine broke. Completely.
A repairman came, looked at it, and said: “It’s easier to buy a new one than to fix this old thing.” And how is she supposed to live without it? She’s sixty-five! What do you suggest, that she washes bedsheets by hand in the bathtub, Olj? Her back hurts.
Olga took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm the trembling in her hands.
– Andrei – she tried to speak calmly – your mother is sixty-five, not a helpless old woman. And the washing machine was perfectly fine, an Indesit, the one we bought her five years ago.
But even if it did break… why right now? Why two days before the holiday? And why did you have to give away all our savings?
– Because there are discounts now! – Andrei raised his hands, as if explaining something to a child. – Pre–New Year sales. We found a great model, with a dryer, lots of programs.
Mom has wanted one like that for a long time. She can’t save up on her pension. What was I supposed to tell my dear mother? “No, Mom, wash by hand, because Olj and I want to eat caviar”?
– Caviar? – Olga raised an eyebrow. – Andrei, that money wasn’t just for caviar.
We planned everything: meat, vegetables, alcohol, gifts. We were going to invite guests. Your friends, remember? Sergei and his wife, Kostik and his family. What are we supposed to feed them?
Andrei waved his hand, got up from the table, and went toward the kettle.
– Oh, don’t dramatize. You’re the homemaker, the pantry is always full. Buy some pickles, we’ll boil potatoes. We’ll get chicken, it costs pennies. You’ll figure something out.
You’ll throw together salads from whatever we have. The point is the company, not the food. Don’t make a cult out of eating.
– We’ll get chicken? – Olga looked at her husband’s broad back. – With what money? I have fifteen hundred rubles in my wallet until my January 10 paycheck. You were broke too when I reached for the tin, weren’t you?
– Well… – Andrei looked embarrassed. – We can borrow from someone. Or use the credit card. We’ll pay it back later. But Mom has a new washing machine now, she was so happy, Olj! You should have seen her. She immediately baked some cakes and promised to bring them.
– Thanks – Olga said dryly. – Cakes are wonderful. Especially if they’re supposed to replace the New Year’s table.
She stood up and left the kitchen, not wanting to continue this pointless conversation. Andrei didn’t understand. Or didn’t want to understand.
For him, the family budget was something abstract and flexible – a source you could pull money from when Mom needed it, and the wife would somehow “manage.”
In the bedroom, Olga sat down on the bed and buried her face in her hands. She was sad to the point of tears. Not because of the money, but because of the attitude.
All December she had planned the menu, searched for recipes, made lists. She wanted a real holiday. Beautiful and delicious, with the home filled with the scent of pine and roasted goose. And now…
“You’ll figure something out” – that phrase circled in her head, stirring cold anger. How many times had she heard it? “Olj, Mom wants seedlings for the dacha, find the money.”
“Olj, I scratched the car, it urgently needs repainting, figure out how to save.” And Olga figured it out. She cut back, rearranged expenses, gave up a new lipstick or tights.
But today the cup overflowed.
In the evening Andrei behaved as if nothing had happened. He watched TV, laughed at comedies.
He was sure the problem had solved itself. His wife grumbled a bit and then calmed down. Now, like a magician, she would pull out a ladle, and the fridge would be full.
The next day, December 30, Olga went to work. There was pre-holiday bustle in the office. Colleagues talked about where they were shopping, exchanged recipes for herring salad or aspic.
– Olj, are you making goose with apples or with oranges? – asked Sveta from accounting, stirring her tea.
– With air – Olga muttered, then quickly smiled. – An experiment this year: minimalism.
After work she didn’t go to the hypermarket as planned. She stopped by a small shop near the house. She bought a pack of the cheapest salt, a loaf of black bread, and a can of sardines.
She thought for a moment and added three potatoes. At the checkout she paid with loose change scraped together from her pockets.
At home, Andrei greeted her with a question:
– So, did you shop? Mom called, said she’s coming tomorrow. She wants to spend New Year’s Eve with us and celebrate the washing machine too.
Olga stopped in the doorway without taking off her boots.
– Your mom is coming? – she asked.
– Well, yes. What’s wrong? She doesn’t want to be alone. She said she’ll come around nine. Don’t worry, she’s not picky. The main thing is that she gets some attention.
– Great – Olga nodded. – Just wonderful.
Something clicked inside her. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place. His mother was coming.
The mother who had received a thirty-thousand-ruble washing machine from their family budget yesterday. And of course, she expected a festive table. Because Olga would “figure something out.”
Olga undressed, went to the kitchen, and started cooking. She boiled three potatoes in their skins. She opened her summer pickles (thankfully homemade and free). She sliced black bread thinly.
Then she took out the most beautiful festive tablecloth. Snow-white, with golden embroidered snowflakes. She set the table with the best dishes – plates with gold rims, crystal glasses, silver cutlery inherited from her grandmother.
She placed a bowl in the center of the table. Lying in it were the three boiled potatoes, all alone.
Next to them, in a crystal bowl, were three sliced pickles, huddled together sadly. On a platter were slices of black bread. And a can of sardines. With a can opener beside it.
– That’s it – Olga whispered, looking over the composition. – As ordered.
On December 31 Andrei woke up late. He stretched, enjoying the day.
– Oljusya! – he called out. – Is there breakfast?
– In the fridge – Olga replied from the bathroom.
Andrei found yesterday’s buckwheat porridge on the shelf.
– What’s with this modesty? – he grumbled, but ate it. – Are you already cooking? There’s some smell… strange.
– It’s already done – Olga answered, coming out of the bathroom in a bathrobe with a towel on her head. – The table is set. Don’t go in, it’s a surprise. Let it stand until evening.
Andrei rubbed his hands.
– A surprise! I love surprises. I knew you’d handle it.
All day Olga took care of herself. She put on a face mask, painted her nails, styled her hair. She put on her best dark blue velvet dress. Andrei leaned back, looking at his wife approvingly.
– Beautiful! – he said. – My mom will appreciate it. By the way, she said she’ll bring something as a gift, maybe something for the house.
At nine in the evening, the doorbell rang. Antonina Pavlovna stood at the door. Her face was flushed from the cold, and she wore a new mink hat (apparently she could afford expensive things along with the new washing machine). She held a small package in her hands.
– Happy New Year, my dears! – she proclaimed, entering the apartment like an icebreaker. – How cold it is! Snow, frost! And here it’s warm and cozy. What smells are these? Pine? Where’s the smell of pastries?
– Everything’s on the table, Mom, everything! – Andrei politely helped his mother take off her coat. – Olj is a magician today, she prepared a surprise.
Olga stepped into the hallway, smiling politely.
– Hello, Antonina Pavlovna. Please, come in.
– Hello, Oljka, hello. Show me how you live. Andrei said you’re planning renovations? Oh, and my washing machine – a miracle! Quiet, and the laundry comes out almost dry. Thank you, kids, you made an old woman happy.
Although, of course, you could have bought a more expensive model with a steam function, but well, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth…
Olga stayed silent, only pressing her lips together. They entered the living room.
In the center of the room shone the tablecloth, crystal sparkled, cutlery gleamed. And in the middle of all that splendor – three potatoes, pickles, and bread.
Antonina Pavlovna froze in the doorway. Andrei, who was following her, almost bumped into her back.
– Olj? – Andrei’s voice trembled. – This… what is this?
– This is the festive dinner – Olga replied calmly, sitting down in her place. – Please. Salads, main dishes, delicacies – everything is here.
The room fell silent. You could hear the clock ticking, counting the last hours of the old year.
– But… – Andrei blinked in confusion. – You said… you said you’d figure something out!
– I did – Olga nodded. – Not to go into debt. Not to take money from a credit card with crazy interest for one evening. I set the table with the money we had left.
Exactly one hundred and fifty rubles. Here it is. Potatoes, bread, pickles, and sardines. Andrei, please open the can. The knife is here.
Antonina Pavlovna’s face began to redden.
– This… this is disrespect! – she cried. – Are you saying you took something from me? That it’s my fault? Your son gave a gift from the heart! And you… you punish me with bread?
– I’m not punishing anyone – Olga’s voice remained cold as ice. – I’m just stating a fact. Andrei gave his mother the money we had saved for the holiday. That was his decision. He chose your comfort over our celebration.
I respect his choice. But miracles don’t exist, Antonina Pavlovna. If money disappeared in one place, there is none in another.
– Andrei! – the grandmother turned to her son. – You allow her to speak to me like this? We came to celebrate, I got ready, did my hair! And you… you serve me these potatoes?
Andrei turned red in an instant. He was ashamed, angry, and scared all at once. He knew Olga was right, but admitting it in front of his mother was too hard.
– Olj, this is too much… – he muttered. – You could have at least bought chicken…
– With what money, Andrei? – Olga suddenly turned to her husband. – For commuting to work? Or should I walk everywhere for a month? Or skip lunches? I’m already saving on everything.
And you give everything away with a generous hand and still expect a banquet? No, my dear. If you want to be a generous son, be generous with your own money. Earn more, take extra work. Don’t take the last from your family.
– Okay, okay – Andrei whispered, sitting down on the couch and burying his head in his hands. – You’re right… you’re right, Olj.
Antonina Pavlovna stood hesitantly by the table, holding the package. She didn’t know what to say. Her eyes filled with tears, not from anger, but from surprise.
– Olj… – she began slowly. – This… this is very unusual… And you… you all this…
Olga took a deep breath and continued softly:
– Mom, a family holiday isn’t about money. Not about a washing machine or expensive gifts. It’s about being together and appreciating one another.
This is the opportunity we were given: a simple but honest dinner that we can share together. That’s why there are three potatoes, bread, pickles, and sardines on the table.
Antonina Pavlovna first looked uncertainly at the dishes, then slowly smiled.
– Well… – she said, her voice softening. – Indeed… the amount of food doesn’t matter… if it comes from the heart…
Olga nodded, then smiled at Andrei:
– You can learn from this too, Andrei. Generosity doesn’t mean giving all your money to others if it puts your own family’s celebration at risk.
Andrei just nodded. He knew his wife was right. The tension in the room slowly eased.
– So… shall we open the sardines? – Antonina Pavlovna asked quietly, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Olga looked over the table and slowly opened the can. Alongside the sardines, the small, modest dinner carried a message for each of them: simplicity, attentiveness, and family unity.
As they sat down at the table, both Andrei and Antonina Pavlovna felt the weight of the moment. And Olga, sharing the modest meal with them, knew that this year there truly was a holiday – not because of luxury, but because of the time spent together.
And somewhere deep down, Andrei understood as well: money can never replace attention, care, and love.
