– Can you imagine? Yesterday my wife told me that I will now wash the stove and dishes after dinner!” Dennis said indignantly to his friends at work.
They had been working in the same team for two years and often shared various family dramas with each other.
– “Oh, man, welcome to the club of the henpeckers!” Ben, the only single guy in their company, said cheerfully.
Other men just laughed, and Dennis continued to be indignant.
– And out of the blue! She must have read some nonsense on the Internet! And even started a quarrel!
– You must have refused, right?” – asked Gideon, a husband and father of two children.
– Of course, I refused! Am I a woman to wash dishes and stove? Why did I even get married then?” Dennis said.
– And why does my wife cook so badly? – asked Alex, who recently divorced his wife Kateryna.
– No, she cooks very tasty! Yesterday we fried such cutlets! However, the stove was also very dirty! No one has washed it. I guess I’ll have to soak it tomorrow! But it’s not my problem! – Dennis said indignantly.
– And if she cooks deliciously, is it hard for you to wipe the stove and wash two plates? – Alex asked.
– What do you mean overwork? These are women’s duties!
– Why doesn’t your wife work? – Gideon asked.
– Of course she does! She works! She is a teacher at my music school!
– Well, if she works too, why don’t you really share some of the responsibilities? – Gideon asked.
– Why should I? Can you think that she is so tired with her music that she can’t even wash a plate?
Gideon came closer to his friend and looked at him with a suspicious look.
– Just imagine, your wife goes home, goes to the store to buy groceries, then carries a heavy bag, and then dances at the stove to fry cutlets for you. And at the same time she also worked all day at work. Of course, she did not carry bags and did not load coal into the wagons, but working with children, you know, is also tiring!
– She never asked me to do it before! – Dennis continued to be indignant.
– So you’ve been married for only a year. Six months only. It’s normal that she decided to overload you with some of the household duties. It’s strange that you haven’t discussed it before.
– Can one think that you wash the stove or dishes at home? – Dennis asked, not understanding.
– No, her wife does not trust me, but I wash the refrigerator, the floor and all the mirrors, and also vacuum on weekends. And other little things. In addition, I pick up the children from kindergarten, and once a week I take my wife to the supermarket to buy groceries. She does not like to carry heavy things, and so she buys only small things during the week.
– Oh, that’s who’s a nag! – Ben sang again.
– Not a manservant, but a husband. Did you think that when you got married, only the wife would do everything? No, it’s not fair! – Gideon answered him menacingly.
– Why? My mother always did everything herself. She didn’t bother my father! – Alex said confidently, believing that it should be so.
– That’s probably why your Kate left you! If mom did everything herself, it was her choice, or your father refused to do anything around the house. If you do not understand this, your next wife will also leave you. Marriage is a type of cooperation. You live in the house together, so why should only your wife do everything? Is she your mother or what?
Alex just hummed, and Dennis became a little quiet. He tried to remember how it was in his family.
His father, it seems, rarely did anything around the house. Or did he? No, he took out the garbage, cleaned the yard, and in any weather, he also looked after the dog, and on holidays he helped his mother in the kitchen. So, he did help her. But he did not wash the stove! Or did he?
– Then she would really throw everything on me. First the stove, then the dishes, then the laundry and something else.
– Can’t you talk? Sit down and talk about it. Besides, your Alice is pregnant. She can’t cope on her own. Did you think marriage is just lying down and resting? No, it’s more complicated than that.
Alice was really seven months pregnant. They actually got married because of that. They dated for two years, then decided to live together, to test their feelings.
Well, they flirted a little, and then she found out she was pregnant. We ran to the registry office and got married as soon as possible.
– Oh, but if she’s pregnant, don’t worry at all! – Ben said confidently. – She’s not going anywhere with the baby from you!
– Yeah, she won’t! – Alex was indignant. – Tell that to our foreman. He has two children, and his wife left him and took their daughters with her. They also quarreled over nonsense. So having children is unlikely to stop a woman!
Just then, their foreman George came up. Hearing the guys’ conversation, he did not want to join in at first, but it just happened.
– George, I’m telling the truth, right? – Alex said.
– The truth, but we quarreled about something else. Although she also tried to burden me with housework, I bent down. Then she decided to build a career, started asking me to take care of the children. Well, I refused, saying I had too much work. So my Maria found someone who both has time to work and helps her with the children. Dennis, if you are not ready to be a husband and a father, it is better to divorce right away.
– You say that as if you regret… – Dennis said.
– Of course I do! I don’t see my daughters at all. The younger one has started calling someone else’s uncle dad. If it was possible to replay, I would have acted differently. It’s my own fault. I didn’t realize it before!
– So what should I do for my wife now?
– Gideon was right. Not for your wife, but together. You’re married, you should share everything. She’s not your housekeeper to work for you. Besides, as far as I know, your Alice earns even more at her music school. She takes extra lessons.
– And how do you know so much? – Ben was surprised.
– But your walls are thin in the room where you have lunch. I can hear everything in my office. Gideon usually doesn’t talk when you guys talk about your women. He’s right to do that. At least he stood up for Alice now. Alex, you blew your marriage. You should help your wife more often, so she doesn’t look at other people. And you, Ben, better buy a fur coat for your last passion, if you want to see such a beauty next to you.
The men looked at each other, they did not know that the foreman knew so much about their personal lives. He was a good man, but not very sociable. Maybe because he had more responsibility.
– And what should I do now? Shall I wash the stove? – Dennis asked unhappily.
– Wash it, and then talk to your wife, but calmly. Divide the household duties. Just do not quarrel, she is pregnant. If she likes meatballs and other delights, you will have to change. Besides, you will have a baby soon! And if you do not want to, then keep in mind that your child will call someone else’s uncle dad someday!
Dennis did not like George’s advice at all. He thought about what to do for a long time. He thought all day, and when he returned home, he found Alice in the kitchen. She was washing the stove and crying quietly.
At that moment he felt like a complete scoundrel. He brought his pregnant wife to tears because of such nonsense!
– Let me wash it myself!” he said, trying to take the sponge from her, but Alice deftly turned away.
– No need, I’ll do it myself! – she said offended.
Dennis turned her to face him, wiped her tears and kissed her gently.
– I’ll wash, and you go write the list!
– What list? – his wife was surprised.
– Write all your female whims in it so that I know what I have to do! And wipe all these tears, you need to take care of yourself!
