“”” What dinner?” the wife asked. “Did you give me any money for it?” “No! So what do you expect from me?”
“And what am I supposed to do now—go around hungry?” Lev protested indignantly, feeling his anger boil inside him.
“Of course not,” Anna replied calmly. “You can go to the store, buy some groceries, and make yourself dinner. Or order delivery. You do have money.”
“Is this some kind of strike?” he finally asked. “Are you refusing to perform your wifely duties?”
“I’m tired of being the cash cow in this family! Why should I be the only one bearing all the expenses?” Lev banged his briefcase onto the table and pointed at the new food processor. “Did you buy something else again?”
Anna stared at her husband in surprise. It was so unexpected that she was momentarily at a loss for words. Dinner was almost ready, the apartment was tidied up, the laundry done—everything as usual after a long day’s work.
“Lev, I’ve been dreaming about it for so long. It was on sale, and I paid for it with my salary…”
“With your salary!” he interrupted as he paced around the kitchen. “And what’s left of it? Pennies! Who pays for our apartment? I do! Who pays for the car? I do! Who covers all the major expenses? Again, me!”
Anna turned off the stove and wiped her hands on her apron. Steam from the pot rose toward the ceiling, filling the kitchen with pleasant aromas, yet her appetite for dinner had vanished.
“But I work too,” she said quietly. “A full day, by the way. And it’s on my salary that we buy groceries. Besides, I cook, clean, and do the laundry…”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re just a saint,” Lev said with a dismissive clap of the cabinet door as he retrieved a mug to pour himself some water. “You know what? I’m fed up. From now on, everything will be fair. We’ll split the expenses fifty-fifty—because you’ve managed to get so comfortable on my back.”
“What do you mean?” Anna crossed her arms.
“That’s exactly what I mean. Since we’re all modern and equal, we’ll pay equally. We’ll split the utility bills, the phone bill, and all our other shared expenses evenly. That’s only fair, instead of dumping everything on me!”
She wanted to protest that his proposal wasn’t fairness at all, but rather a form of servitude—after all, she would have to relinquish nearly her entire salary into the family budget, and the household tasks wouldn’t disappear. She had something to say, but why bother when he wanted things his way?
“Alright, Lev. If you want it to be fair—fifty-fifty—then so be it.”
Anna woke up before the alarm went off. Lev was still asleep, turned away and facing the wall. The conversation from the previous day kept spinning in her mind, offering no peace. Quietly getting out of bed, she went to the kitchen.
Over the course of four marriages, they had gradually come to a division of responsibilities that now seemed blatantly unfair to her. Yes, Lev earned more. Yes, in their first year together, when she was a senior student, it made sense—he provided for them financially while she managed the household. But then Anna started working too! First part-time, then full-time. And the housework? It still fell solely on her.
She opened her laptop and began reviewing the statements on her card. Salary, utility bills, groceries, daily expenses… Almost everything she earned went toward the family. And what about her contribution in the form of cooked lunches and dinners, washed laundry, cleaned apartment—did that mean nothing?
The memory of meeting Lev for the first time—back when he was just Lev—brought a sad smile to her face. How beautifully he courted her! How he used to say that she was his queen, that he would do anything for her. And now? “Cash cow,” it seems… How quickly some men see romance turn into accounting.
Anna took a sip of her tea and thought deeply. If he wanted to split everything evenly, so be it. Only truly evenly.
“You know, Igor, I told her yesterday—enough is enough. We’ll live like all modern families—fifty-fifty,” Lev said, leaning back in his office chair as he looked at his colleague.
Igor looked away from his monitor and studied him intently.
“And how did she react?”
“You won’t believe it—she agreed!” Lev grinned triumphantly. “Immediately, practically without any argument.”
“Really?” Igor raised an eyebrow. “That simple?”
“I’m telling you—they agreed right away. She must have realized that I was right,” Lev clicked his mouse, opening a new file. “What’s there to it? Fairness is fairness.”
“Everyone has their own sense of fairness,” Igor philosophically remarked as he returned to work. “My aunt always says, ‘Be careful what you wish for—they have a way of coming true.’”
“And what does that mean?” Lev frowned.
“I have no idea,” Igor smirked. “But it sounds smart, don’t you think?”
Lev laughed and turned back to his computer. A strange premonition briefly flickered somewhere deep within his consciousness, but he waved it away. Everything would be fine. Anna was a sensible woman.
Meanwhile, Anna stood in the grocery store before the shelves, thoughtfully examining the price tags. In the past, she would fill a whole basket—for a week, for the whole family. Today, in her small basket lay only a yogurt, a package of cheese, some bread, and a single chicken breast. She didn’t even glance at the fish fillet that Lev loved so much.
The evening came unusually calm. At home, Anna quickly prepared herself a baked chicken breast with vegetables, had dinner, cleaned up the dishes, started a load of laundry, and settled comfortably on the sofa with her tablet—she had three TV series queued up that she very much wanted to watch, but there never seemed to be enough time. Her phone chimed with a message from Lev: “I’ll be there in half an hour. What’s for dinner?”
Anna smiled and set the phone aside without replying.
The key turned in the lock, and Lev entered the apartment. It had been an exhausting day, and he couldn’t wait to sit down for dinner. Usually at this time, the kitchen already smelled of delicious food…
“Anyut, I’m home!” he shouted as he took off his coat.
There was no response. Lev went into the kitchen and found it empty and spotless, with no signs of any cooking. When he opened the refrigerator, he saw half-empty shelves—yogurt, cheese, a few vegetables.
“Anna!” he called out again as he headed toward the living room.
His wife was sitting on the couch, absorbed in something on her tablet and wearing headphones. Noticing her husband, she pulled one earbud out.
“Oh, hello. You’re home already?”
“Yes, I’m home. And where’s dinner?” Lev looked around as if the food could be hiding in some corner of the living room…
Continued in the comments “””