What a fine sense of fairness you have, Helen! So, our children roasted in the garden last summer, we slaved away all year to fix up your cottage, and now its Nancys kids who get to enjoy all the comforts while ours sit at home? Very honest of you!Olga couldnt hold back.
Yes, I said it was for the grandchildren, but I never said only yours! Did you think I dont have others? First, yours had their turn, now Nancysthats fair, isnt it?
Brilliant fairness, Helen. So ours sweltered last year, we broke our backs fixing your place, and now Nancys little darlings get the pool while ours stay home? Very honest indeed!Olga snapped.
Well, bring yours next year. The cottage isnt going anywhere. Were family, arent we? You help here, Nancy helps there. Its my cottageIll decide who stays!
Oh, Nancys contribution? A bag of sand for the sandpit. Truly priceless,her daughter-in-law scoffed.
Helen, fair means equal. Take one lot for a month, then the other?
Good heavens! Id collapse. Im not young enough to handle that many children!
Two weeks, then?
I cant. I promised Nancy. She and Gary have leave in Julythey want a break. It wont work.
Bring them next Wednesday till Friday. Ill manage a few daysbut no more.
Olga exhaled sharply. A few days? After all theyd poured into that place? A pittance, given the circumstances.
Fine. Understood. Goodbye.She hung up, clutching her head. What now? The children had spent all year dreaming of Grannys cottagethe new playground, the poolonly for others to claim it.
It had started so sweetly. Last summer, Ian visited his mother, and Olga went along. She hadnt seen the cottage in a decade, not since his father was alive. Nothing had changedif anything, it was worse.
Creaking windows, an outdoor loo, weeds waist-high. The roof sagged; dead branches dangled from trees. Inside: Soviet-era furniture, peeling wallpaper, a musty stench.
So much to do,Helen sighed.Start with the grass and branches, love.
While Ian toiled outside, Helen brewed tea. They chatted about school, work, healththen:
Id love to have the grandchildren, but whats here for them? Just poking about the stream or the veg patch. No comforts, no fun.
Olga glanced around, remembering summers at her own grandmothers. Feeding chickens had been an adventure. Shed dug worms for Grandads fishing, woven flower crownsher gran grumbling about weeds.
Vile things! Cant get rid of them!
Olga hadnt understood. They were beautiful.
Back then, every day brought discoverya rare butterfly, the sting of a caught bee mistaken for a fly. Those summers stayed brightest in her memory. She wanted the same for her children.
What if we all pitched in to fix this place?Olga suggested.Bit by bit.
Exactly what I hoped youd say!Helen beamed.Better than wasting money on Turkeyinvest in our own!
I dont mind roughing it, but the children deserve better. No sea here, but they could swim in the lake. Ill host them every summer!
By August, new windows were in. Ian mended the fence; Olga found secondhand furniture. The children stayed with Helen and returned wide-eyed.
Mum, can we go back? We found snails, grasshopperseven a mouse! And a praying mantis!
Of course,Olga smiled.Well help Granny, and next year will be even better.
Helen listened, nodding.
The year passed in spending and waiting. They piped in water, added a bathroom, slapped on paint. Bought an air-con unit, put up a gazebo, a sandpit, a poolinflatable, but the children didnt care. They pestered endlessly: When could they go?
Youve been marvellous!Helen trilled.The children will adore it!
Olga had believed they were building something togetherthat this was what family did. Meanwhile, Nancy hadnt lifted a finger, only piping up once when sand was needed.
It had cost Olga and Ian dearlyno holiday, all savings sunk into this dream. And their reward? “Come next year.”
Furious, Olga rang her mother.
Its complicated,her mother said.But Helens behaved shabbily. Legally, shes clearbut she led you on.
We all believed her! Ian was there constantly. The kids keep askingwhat do I say?
That she spun you a fine tale. She couldve warned you this year was Nancys.
True. But now what? Weve no holiday fund left.
Rent a place. Not cheap, but cheaper than the sea.
Wholl watch the children? Were working.
I will. The fresh air will do me good.
At first, Olga hesitated. But within a week, they found a snug little cabin on the citys edgeapple trees in the yard, pine-scented walls. A weathered table on the porch, a barbecue in the garden.
One last touch: they drove to Helens to reclaim the pool and swing set.
So thats it?Helen wailed as Ian dismantled their handiwork.Youd deny Nancys children their joy just because I couldnt take yours this year?
Olga crossed her arms. Another woman mightve waited, or let it gobut not her.
I bought that joy for my children. Let Nancy buy her own.
Helen drew breaththen turned away, wordless.
The next month blurred. Weekends were spent at the cabinbarbecues, berry-picking, children shrieking in the pool, swinging till dusk. They fell into bed, sun-drunk and happy.
Sitting on the porch with her mother and husband, Olga realised: this cramped cabin was cosier than Helens refurbished cottage. Because here, no one was using anyone.
The rental cost far less than their year of labour. Why had they ever trusted Helen?
This was even better than Grannys!the children chirped as they left.
Olga smiled. At least theyd have something to write about in their “How I Spent My Summer” essays.
Let Helen and Nancy foot their own bills now,she said on the drive home.Well manage alone. Thats fair.
Olga saw it as a lesson. Shed still do anything for her childrenbut never again on empty promises.
What do you think of Grannys actions? Share your thoughts below.
