“And my monkey is now cleaning my mother-in-law’s house!” he loudly declared at the corporate party. But at home, a completely different mood awaited him…
The corporate evening began in excellent shape for Vadim: New Year’s was just around the corner, bonuses were already in his pocket, there was the noise of fun, the clinking of glasses and cheerful music all around. He was the life of the party – witty, cheerful, able to present any story in such a way that even the most reserved colleagues began to laugh. They adored him for his ability to defuse any situation.
“And my monkey is now washing the floors at my mother-in-law’s!” he announced loudly, raising his glass. “So that she doesn’t distract me here while I entertain you!”
The hall exploded with laughter again. Someone clapped their hands approvingly, someone chuckled nervously. Only one girl from the neighboring department abruptly lowered her gaze. The word “monkey” hurt her deeply. She herself remembers her sister, whom her husband also joked about calling her… and then simply left her for a young student.
But Vadim had no time for other people’s worries. He felt like the king of the ball. Life seemed successful, cloudless and generous to him.
Meanwhile, at home, Olya, his wife, stood at the stove in the small kitchen. Her palms were covered in cracks from endless washing and using caustic products. From the very morning, she washed the windows, helped her mother-in-law can up preserves for the winter, ran to the store, then returned to the stove again. Vadim’s mother was a strict woman, demanding and impatient. “The daughter-in-law should be the mistress of the house!” she always said.
Olya did not complain. She understood that her husband worked a lot, got tired, and wanted to be a support for him. Sometimes she lacked simple attention or a word of gratitude. But she endured. Because she loved.
Late in the evening, when the children fell asleep and her mother-in-law went to her room, Olya opened her phone and accidentally got on the live broadcast of a corporate party. One of the employees was broadcasting. Laughter, music… and suddenly:
– And my monkey is now washing the floors at my mother-in-law’s!
Olya froze. She didn’t immediately understand who this was about.
A monkey?
Is this about her?
When Vadim returned home in the morning – happy, with the smell of alcohol and someone else’s perfume on his clothes – Olya did not say a word. She just looked. Long, quietly, without tears.
And for the first time he felt fear.
– What happened? – he asked, throwing off his coat.
His wife silently put the phone in front of him and turned on the recording.
The smile disappeared from his face. Silence hung in the room like a thick curtain.
– It was a joke… You know how it is at such events, – he muttered.
– A joke? – Olya answered calmly. – And did you know that I spent the whole day cleaning at my mother’s? That I ate almost nothing because I had to do everything first? That I, your “monkey”, did all this for you? And the child got sick – a fever, needed medicine, and I ran to the drugstore alone, while you were having fun?
Her voice was even, but inside – ice.
Vadim lowered his eyes.
– I’m very sorry…
– Me too.
She stood up, went to the nursery, returned with a bag and a jacket. Slowly began to get dressed. He was silent. Not a single word came to his tongue.
– Where are you going?
– Somewhere where they won’t mockingly call me a monkey.
She left. Without a scandal, without shouting. She just left. Not from fatigue, not from everyday life – from the pain that her work became a reason for someone else’s laughter.
Three days later, Vadim came to her himself. Without the mask of a merry fellow, without jokes, without a glass in his hands. In front of her stood a man who realized the price of loss.
“Forgive me,” he said, stopping at the door.
She was silent. There was no malice in her eyes. Only fatigue and deep silence.
“I was a fool… I will not do it again.”
“Don’t be. It is better to start appreciating.
He nodded.
From that day on, he stopped making jokes about family in companies. He began to help more often, say “thank you”, try to see what he had previously ignored. And he understood one important truth: even the strongest women can get tired – especially those who work while others celebrate.
A week passed.
Olya did not return home right away. She stayed with her younger sister, in a warm apartment where the kitchen smelled of homemade baking and care. There was no pressure, no condemnation, no cold looks, just a simple human “sit down, I’ll pour you some tea.”
She didn’t cry. She just sat and looked out the window, where raindrops were flowing in paths down the glass. Memories were spinning in her head: Vadim’s voice, his laughter, other people’s looks… and emptiness inside.
And Vadim… For the first time, he was left alone with his conscience.
At first, the mother-in-law was indignant:
“What does she allow herself to do? She left, offended! Does that mean I’m to blame?”
But, watching her son remain silent at the table, not touching his food, not answering questions, she thought for the first time: maybe things aren’t so clear-cut?
One evening, she knocked on his door.
“Vadim… She’s a good girl. You got carried away. Give her back. But not in words – with your actions.
He nodded without saying a word.
The next day Vadim asked for a day off. He bought a modest bouquet – not ceremonial roses or exquisite lilies, but simple daisies, which Olya loved since childhood. He stopped by the drugstore for nourishing hand cream. Then – to the home appliance store. And also – to the kitchen accessories department.
In the spring, for the first time in a long time, they went to the sea together – without children, without parents. Grandma stayed with the little ones. On the shore, Vadim bought a shell from a local old man and handed it to Olya.
– You said that you wanted to be visible. Now let you shine. Like the sea, like the sunset. Not for others – for yourself.
She squeezed the shell in her hands.
– You know, a shell gives pearls only after pain.
He nodded.
– But you are my most valuable pearl. And now I can see it. Not through pain, but through love.
And in the evening they walked along the embankment, holding hands. Without words, without promises. They no longer needed proof. Their story is not about a joke or humiliation. It was a story about a woman who was tried to be made invisible, but she remained herself. And about a man who found the strength to become better.
Two years passed.
Vadim no longer went to corporate parties. He had enough of home-cooked dinners — with Olya, with the kids, with tea and cookies baked by his wife, his wife, not some “monkey.”
One day, while cleaning out old things, he found that same blue shirt — the one in which he once uttered that fateful phrase. He held it in his hands. He remembered the laughter, the faces, her look later… And he simply threw it away. Not in the closet, not in the box — in the trash.
Olya noticed.
– What happened?
He looked her straight in the eyes.
– I just realized that I never want to be the person who wore that shirt again.
She came up to him and hugged him.
And he said what meant the most:
– You will never be alone again.
And a light sparkled in her eyes. Not from tears.
And because she finally believed – in him. And in herself.
That was the price they both had to pay for one stupid joke.
But it was the joke that changed their lives. Forever.