She no longer knows what to think. Can a working mom who leaves home early every single morning to provides for her family and then rushes back to wrestle three babies into their pajamas for bed ever be the villain in any story? In some people's eyes she is the worst person imaginable. Toxic for their overinflated egos that suffer a beating when they know she is doing things that they could never do. For her husband, she is a source of resentment because even when everyone else can see she does it all, to him it is never going to be enough. And even though his insecurities and problems seem obvious, it is hard to shake off some sense of responsibility when you are constantly being told that everything is your fault.

"Thanks for watching the boys," Galina said tiredly to her mother-in-law. She had Vasily balanced on her hip and an idling taxi waiting behind her to take them home.

"You know I love having them," Mamochka replied, pressing a kiss to the top of Maxsim's head as he squeezed around her with his backpack over his shoulders. "And I think it's best for them to spend more time over here…he didn't seem all there when he dropped them off."

"He's not," Galina said bluntly, stifling a yawn as she looked down at the dusty grey uniform she wore in the factory. Her back was aching from the repetitive and laborious tasks and the sensible running shoes she wore to help combat some of soreness from standing on her feet all day were scuffed and tearing.

"I'll bring them back tomorrow morning," she said, reaching out an arm to squeeze Yuri when he appeared out of the house.

The boys all called out enthusiastic farewells to their Baba and Vasily waved his pudgy little hand at her as Galina ushered them into the cab and placed their backpacks in the trunk.

"Did you boys have fun?" she asked them, once the cab driver pulled away from the curb. They lived just a couple streets over but Galina couldn't bear the thought of taking another step and had splurged for a drive instead.

"Baba made us Blini," Yuri offered contentedly.

"Oh, that's good," Galina murmured. Her mother-in-law had offered to feed the boys and now that was one more task checked off her list. She hadn't eaten yet herself, and as the cab pulled up in front of her house and she carried Vasily up the stairs to the apartment, she felt her stomach growl. That would have to wait until the boys were in bed though.

There were breakfast dishes piled up in the sink she hadn't had time to get to that morning waiting for her. Dirt was caked into the floors from a pair of men's shoes that simply never could be taken off at the door like everyone else. She followed their trek into the living room, to an unappealing lump wrapped up in the quilt she had brought over from Russia. The TV was droaning and Dmitri didn't even bother to look up at her or say anything in greeting.

"My head hurts," he complained, then moaned as Yuri and Maxsim darted past their parents in a sprint. Their sock clad feet slid on the linoleum as they challenged one another to see who could go the furthest. Both were laughing, and the sound made their father burrow even deeper under his covers.

"Take the baby," Galina said, holding Vasily out to him. "I need a shower." She couldn't stand the smell of herself and felt gross. Her long red hair pulled back in a ponytail for work felt damp and greasy from dried sweat. Her clothes were dirty and she knew she couldn't do anything else until she got clean.

"Did you not just hear me?" Dmitri said back.

"Your head hurts?" Galina repeated indifferently. "So what, do you know how much my back is killing me?"

"Take him in with you," Dmitri replied, sitting up and moving away from his son. "I'm going to try and take a nap. I haven't been able to sleep in days.

"What's been stopping you?" Galina snapped back in irritation.

"I'm stressed!" Dmitri exclaimed. "I have problems and it wouldn't be this bad if you would just treat me with a little more respect and understanding.

"What don't I understand?" Galina asked. "You've got me paying your bills and your mother watching the kids. You don't have any responsibility around here. You just exist, while everyone else does your work for you. And yet, you still want to play the victim."

"I am a victim," Dmitri snapped. "A victim of your indifference. You know, everything is this way because of you."

"What else do you expect from me?" Galina asked. "If I did anymore, I'd be chewing your food for you."

"Yeah, ok," Dmitri shook his head, as he dropped the quilt back onto the sofa and got up.

He did not reach for the baby so that his wife could shower. He walked slowly down the hall in the direction of his bedroom to take that nap he intended to have. Galina didn't argue or go after him. Instead, she calmly went into the bathroom, leaving the door partially open so that she could hear her other two sons and they could come talk to her if they needed something. Vasily, she placed on the bathroom floor. She offered him some rubber ducks and a green watering can he played with in the tub. Then she stripped off her dirty uniform and pulled her hair out of its scrunchie. She turned the water on hot and then stepped in, enjoying the burn on all of her tight muscles.

Maxsim needed her help to do some readings and Yuri needed her to dig out some craft supplies for him to use for a poster for school. Even if she had gotten out of dinner, lunches still needed to be packed and Vasily had dropped his ducks to instead start playing with her bra, another reminder that she had to sit down and nurse him once she was done her shower. After all that, there were the dishes to contend with. And if she was feeling really ambitious, it would probably be smart to do a load of laundry as well.

It wasn't fair that all of this was on her. Though she didn't spend much time dwelling on it, it was hard to ignore her husband being a lump of a pillow when she was running herself ragged from dawn until well after the sun had set, and still up several times a night to care for the baby. Last she'd checked, her children had a father just down the hall who should be contributing something to this family. Dmitri had lost too many jobs and now his motivation to even try. His stint as stay at home dad had lasted all but a few weeks, and now Galina was dependent on family to take the kids so she could go to work.

If she complained or criticized, she was insensitive to mental illness in the various forms it impacted him. If she argued that life wasn't easy for her either but she still had kids to raise and bills to pay, she was accused of being full of herself. She couldn't win. No matter how hard she worked or how much she gave, it was simply expected and unappreciated. Expected from someone who couldn't handle what she did in a day and would never even bother to attempt. Yet, somehow he still found the energy to label her a bad person and point out all of her alleged flaws. Just for being an example of everything he wasn't.