{"id":265,"date":"2025-07-10T12:25:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/?p=265"},"modified":"2025-07-10T12:25:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T12:25:51","slug":"dont-even-think-about-sitting-at-the-table-with-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/?p=265","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t even think about sitting at the table with us"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2014 Don\u2019t you dare sit at the table with us! First feed the whole family, then go eat in the kitchen,<\/strong> \u2014 his mother growled, unaware that her son had installed surveillance cameras.<\/p>\n

I froze. It had only been two months since I\u2019d moved in with Stanislav, and already I felt like I was living in a cheap soap opera. Olga Arcadievna, his mother, was a mix between a retired military officer, a toxic mother-in-law, and a discount clothing appraiser.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Where do you work, little girl?<\/em> \u2014 she asked, eyeing me as if she were evaluating the price of a clearance dress.<\/p>\n

I gently placed my cup on the saucer. A heavy silence settled in the massive dining room.<\/p>\n

\u2014 At \u201cGarant-Ucet,\u201d I work in accounting,<\/em> \u2014 I replied calmly, not lowering my gaze.<\/p>\n

\u2014 And how long have you been there?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Almost four years.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 And your position?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chief accountant.<\/em><\/p>\n

She laughed, dripping with disdain:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Chief accountant at some tiny firm with what, five employees? Ten?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Eight,<\/em> \u2014 I said curtly, without adding that I could buy a hundred such firms in one go.<\/p>\n

\u2014 And your parents? Where are they?<\/em> \u2014 she continued the interrogation. \u2014 Stanislav said he\u2019d introduce us to your family.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 They\u2019re away on a business trip. My father works in international transport \u2014 he\u2019s on the road most of the time.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 International transport?<\/em> \u2014 her voice oozed mockery. \u2014 So, he\u2019s a truck driver?<\/em><\/p>\n

Stanislav cleared his throat:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mother!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 What \u201cmother\u201d? I have the right to know where this girl comes from.<\/em><\/p>\n

I smiled. That kind of smile you wear when you\u2019d rather scream, but choose diplomacy instead.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Yes, he\u2019s a truck driver. He owns his own logistics company, twenty-four trucks, and he\u2019s an official supplier for three major supermarket chains across Europe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Silence fell. I could\u2019ve sworn a muscle twitched in her cheek.<\/p>\n

I continued, just as calmly:<\/p>\n

\u2014 My mother is a lawyer. She has an office downtown and two international collaborations. But I understand, Olga Arcadievna, you probably imagined something else. Something more… convenient.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stanislav tried to change the subject, but his mother stood up:<\/p>\n

\u2014 It doesn\u2019t matter how much you earn \u2014 you can\u2019t buy class.<\/em><\/p>\n

I looked her straight in the eyes:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Neither can you buy decency.<\/em><\/p>\n

Stanislav flinched. I stood up, apologized for my tone, and went into the kitchen. I took a slice of pound cake and ate in peace.<\/p>\n

The next day, Stanislav installed cameras in the dining room and kitchen, claiming it was \u201cfor security.\u201d But he knew exactly why. For two weeks, he watched the recordings. One evening, when I came home, he took my hand and said:<\/p>\n

\u2014 I saw everything. What she says to you, how she treats you\u2026 You don\u2019t deserve that.<\/em><\/p>\n

I shrugged:<\/p>\n

\u2014 She\u2019s your mother.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 And you\u2019re the woman I want to spend my life with. Tomorrow we\u2019re moving.<\/em><\/p>\n

I left it all behind. A month later, the recordings \u201caccidentally\u201d ended up on a flash drive forgotten at a family gathering.<\/p>\n

Since then, Olga Arcadievna calls me \u201cmadam\u201d and asks me to sit with her at the table.<\/p>\n

But I still eat in the kitchen. With the door closed.
\nAnd a big, wide smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2014 Don\u2019t you dare sit at the table with us! First feed the whole family, then go eat in the kitchen, \u2014 his mother growled, unaware that her son had installed surveillance cameras. I froze. It had only been two months since I\u2019d moved in with Stanislav, and already I felt like I was living […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":266,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":267,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions\/267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappyli.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}