"Just one tiny piece?" Vasily tugged on his mother's skirt with one hand. He looked up from his gameboy at her with pleading big brown eyes that didn't sway her even a little bit.
"Once it's time for dessert, you can have a big piece," Galina assured him. In consolation, she reached down and fed him a bite of the cucumber she was slicing up for their Thanksgiving salad. "You can have even more than one piece, if you want."
"I want to try each kind," Vasily told her, looking longingly over at the tiny card table that had been squeezed in beside the kitchen counter. It was weighed down by pumpkin, raspberry, apple, and pecan pies that had seemed to magically appear overnight. Though he knew that wasn't the case. His mother had stayed up late rolling the dough from scratch and baking them all ahead of time, so she could focus entirely on the main meal for Thanksgiving day.
"How about you try two tonight, and I'll pack another one in your lunch for school tomorrow," Galina suggested. The primary school all three of her sons attended was rather strict about sweets at school, but they'd have to make an exception after Thanksgiving.
Vasily sighed but accepted defeat. He pressed his back against the kitchen cupboard and brought his knees up to his chest. Unpausing his gameboy, the soundtrack played its music again. For some reason he had decided that underneath his mother's feet was a good spot to lounge out that afternoon, but so far Galina found it endearing enough that she hadn't told him to move.
She pulled open the oven door to peer in at the two roasting pots squeezed in beside one another. It had been something of a miracle to contort them both to fit but she had by compromising on buying a smaller turkey than she preferred. "Pie and a turkey sandwich for lunch tomorrow, hmm.?"
"Yep," Vasily nodded his head, his eyes darting across the black and grey screen of his game. "And I want to have Papa's duck tonight."
Galina found duck to be a little too greasy for her liking, but it was the highlight of any celebration for her husband and in-laws, and this year she was tasked with making it. She'd be lying if she didn't acknowledge to herself that that made her a little nervous. It was her mother-in-law's specialty but still worn down from a bad bout of pneumonia last week, she was sitting out this holiday.
"Are you basting it again?" Dmiri called from the background. He had been watching old sitcoms in his pajamas with Maxsim since he'd woken up.
"No," Galina called back, her head still in the oven and her voice muffled. She lifted the lid on the roasting duck, and then checked on her turkey. Both were rich with juices and would be ready in just another hour or so. Her turkey was crisping but she knew another half hour or so would get it to the irresistible golden brown she had perfected. She took a deep breath of the heavenly scent, and then straightened up.
"You need to stop opening the door and letting all the hot air out," Dmitri advised from his spot on the couch. "Mama always just puts it in with its vegetables in the morning and then doesn't open the oven again until the timer goes off."
"Well, if you know so much maybe you should get off your ass and cook it yourself," Galina snapped, shooting a filthy look over her shoulder at him.
"That's a woman's job," Dmitri said unabashedly. He sunk even deeper into the couch and stretched his hands behind his head. "Maxsim, go get me the remote. I want to change the channel."
Galina pursed her lips as her middle son, curled up at the other end of the sofa, with his nose in a book, automatically stood up and went to retrieve the television remote from the table where his father had forgotten it. Maxsim never took his eyes off of his book as he shuffled back across the floor and handed it to Dmitri. Then he sat down and curled back up into the fantastical world he loved to delve into.
"Go set the table for me, Vasya," Galina said quietly, trying to keep her voice even as her temper began to burn inside of her. "Your Grandparents will be here soon."
"It's Yuri's turn!" Vasily protested.
"Well, considering he fell off the face of the earth-"
"No, he didn't," Vasily retorted, pausing his game as he looked up at her in annoyance. "He's in our bedroom. He kicked me out!"
"What is with him lately?" Galina seethed, more to herself than to Vasily, glancing down the hallway.
"Exactly, so go tell him to do it," Vasily told her.
"No, you do it," Galina said shortly. She stepped over her son and shot him a frosty look when he opened his mouth to complain. "And don't talk back to me like that again."
"Maxsim, come slice the bread on the counter," she called out.
Maxsim lowered his book. "Mama-"
"Now!" she snapped, wiping her hands on her apron. "And don't let the potatoes boil over either."
Women's work. She hadn't said anything, but Dmitri's comment had enraged her. She loved to cook and be in her kitchen, that wasn't the problem. Taking care of her family and going all out to make every holiday in their home special was something she loved. What she resented was the useless lump of a man leaving an unappealing indentation on her sofa. She hated that her three boys saw that pathetic display as an example of manhood, and she swore to herself that none of them would ever grow up to be like him.
She didn't bother knocking. Hesitating with her hand lightly on the wood of the door, before swinging it open abruptly, giving Yuri very little chance to hide whatever it was he was doing in there.
"Ma!" Yuri complained, pulling down his headphones. He was lying on his single bed listening to his walkman, but sat up quickly at her entrance. "What if I had been changing?"
"Nothing I haven't seen thousands of times before," Galina said indifferently. "I changed your diapers...for much longer than I should have had to, I might add."
"Oh, God," Yuri shook his head. "What do you want?"
"For you to come out and act like a member of this family," Galina told him, her arms crossed. "I'm sick of seeing this door closed all the time."
"Why? Never stops you from barging in whenever you want," Yuri complained.
"You remind me too much of your father lying around while I've been on my feet all day," Galina criticized. "You think you're going to attract a wife with that kind of behaviour?"
"I don't want a wife," Yuri said, staring at his mother as though she were insane. "I'm twelve...remember?"
"What time did you even wake up today? Eleven?"
"I probably don't ever want to get married," Yuri informed her, ignoring the question. "You and Pop don't exactly make it look appealing."
"I want you out of this room in five minutes," Galina said, backing out of the room. "And put on a nicer shirt."
She turned on her heel and walked back down the hall the way she had come. She gritted her teeth at the sight of the table. Vasily perched in one of the chairs still playing on his gameboy with only one spot set so far.
"Hey!" Vasily called out, as his mother pried the gameboy out of his hand without any warning. She merely raised her eyebrows at him as she walked back into the kitchen and perched on her tiptoes to set it on top of the fridge.
Maxsim had at least sliced up the loaf of bread like she'd asked. He'd tossed it all into the basket they always used for dinner, but there were crumbs all across the counter now. Galina wiped them up with a sponge and then tested her potatoes, which were soft now. She took them off the burner and drained the water from them.
"Pass me the milk and butter from the fridge," Galina instructed, as Yuri slouched into the room. He was wearing a nicer shirt as she'd instructed, but had paired it with baggy grey sweatpants.
"Now, you can go dig out my Thanksgiving centerpiece from the hall closet," Galina told him, when he passed her the milk and butter for the mashed potatoes.
"Are we lighting candles too?" Yuri asked.
"Yes, of course," Galina nodded.
"Pretty fancy considering we see Baba and everyone all the time anyway," Yuri commented. "It's just us…"
Galina didn't bother answering, though it hurt her a little to feel so unappreciated. At least Vasily was looking forward to sampling her pies, but the rest of them just considered everything to be extravagant for their little family. They didn't get why she wore herself out cooking this elaborate meal, and baking, and decorating. She had been up until two am last night making the pies and stuffing the turkey. Nobody noticed those things. Though she was sure if she one year decided not to bother, they would miss them.
Quietly, she used her meat thermometer to test the duck and the turkey, then she pulled them from the oven and then removed them from the pans. She set them on the decorative platters she liked to use for special occasions. Then she went to get some flour to make her homemade gravy from the juices still in the pan.
"You can do the carving," she called to Dmitri.
"Can't you?"
But she turned her back on him automatically. Dmitri sighed and got up, sulking over to the counter top where the carving knife was waiting for him. As he passed her, he rubbed his hand against the small of her back, making her recoil. She couldn't help but think about how much better this day would be without him here.
It seemed like her sons were picking up on his energy. The laziness and disregard for her. She felt like her life would be so much simpler and lighter without Dmitri in the way. In the day to day, he offered her very little. He didn't support her financially, emotionally, or even help around the house or with the kids the way he should. There were so many times when she was ready to scream enough, but then something always held her back.
As she poured her gravy into its serving dish, there was a knock at the door. Her mother and father in-law and Dmitri's sister as well. They all squeezed into their tiny apartment and there was noise and affection, as everyone kissed hello and commented on how well everything looked. Praising Galina's tablescape, and the dishes that were set on it, making her feel a glimmer of pride after a long day's work.
"I brought a red wine and a white," her mother-in-law announced, pulling two big bottles from her bag. "Yuri is already bugging me to pour him a glass with dinner as well. May I?"
"Sure," Galina agreed, untying her apron and pulling it off over her head now that everything was complete.
"What about us, Ma?" Maxsim asked, motioning between himself and his brother. "Vasily and I want some too."
"Yes, let's all have some," her father-in-law said, settling down into his chair at one end of the rectangular table. Dmitri was across from him on the other head of the table.
Galina went to pull out more wine glasses from the cupboard and set them down next to the bottles of wine before taking her seat beside her husband. She watched her father-in-law pour half glasses for his three grandsons and a minute later she herself was passed a generous glass of crimson red.
"Let's toast to family," her mother-in-law announced, once they all had been served. The whole family held up their glasses in unison. "We have so much to be grateful for."
"Here, here," her father-in-law chimed. They all took a sip, and Galina laughed when she saw Vasily wrinkle his nose at the strong taste in his mouth.
"You can have the rest of this, mama" Vasily told her, sliding his glass sideways at her. The appeal had been much more enjoyable than the taste in his mind.
Galina sipped her own wine thoughtfully and spooned out servings onto her plate as the dishes were passed around the table. Her resentment and darker thoughts were still there but she pushed them further back, concentrating on a job well done and that everyone seemed to be into better spirits now that they were wineing and dining on the meal she had worked so hard to prepare for them.
They looked like the picture perfect family right now and in so many ways Galina knew she was blessed. Yet there was nobody she could ever share with how tired she was, and how unfair everything seemed. She was always going to get the short end of the stick, and this family would always get the maximum out of the fruits of her labour. Yet here she was, loving them and serving them. Remembering to always put herself last.