— And what, now I’m supposed to walk around hungry?” Leo exclaimed in indignation, feeling his anger boiling inside him.

“— Of course not,” Anna replied calmly. “You can go to the store, buy some groceries, and make yourself a dinner. Or order delivery. You do have money.”

 

“— Is this some kind of strike?” he finally asked. “Are you refusing to perform your ‘feminine duties’?”

“I’m tired of being the milking cow in this family! Why should I be the only one carrying all the load?” Leo banged his briefcase onto the table and pointed at the new food processor. “Did you buy something again?”

Anna stared at her husband in surprise. It had been so unexpected that she couldn’t immediately find an answer. Dinner was almost ready, the apartment was clean, and the laundry was done—everything was, as always, in order after a full day of work.

“Leo, I have dreamed of that for a long time. It was on discount, and I paid for it with my salary…”

“With your salary!” he interrupted, pacing back and forth in the kitchen. “And what’s left of it? Pennies! Who pays for our apartment? I do! Who pays for the car? I do! Who covers all the basic expenses? Again, it’s me!”

Anna turned off the stove and wiped her hands on her apron. Steam from the pot rose to the ceiling, filling the kitchen with delightful aromas, but her appetite for dinner had vanished.

“But I work too,” she said quietly. “A full day, by the way. And with my salary, we buy the groceries. And I also cook, clean, and do the laundry…”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re just saintly,” Leo said, slamming the cabinet door as he pulled a mug out to pour himself some water. “You know what? I’m fed up. From now on, everything is going to be fair. We’ll split the expenses fifty-fifty, because you’re hanging on to me too nicely.”

“What do you mean?” Anna crossed her arms.

“That’s exactly what I mean. Since we’re so modern and equal, we’ll pay equally. We’ll chip in equally for the bills, phone, and other shared expenses. That’s fair, instead of dumping everything on me alone!”

Part of her wanted to protest that his proposal wasn’t about fairness at all—it was nothing but a kind of servitude: she would have to give nearly her entire salary to the family budget, while everyday tasks wouldn’t magically disappear. She had something to say, but why speak up when things could be done exactly as he wished?

“Fine, Leo. You want it to be fair—fifty-fifty. Then that’s how it will be.”

Anna had woken up before the alarm. Leo was still asleep, turned away toward the wall. Yesterday’s conversation swirled in her head, relentless and disturbing. Quietly rising from the bed, she went to the kitchen.

After four marriages, they had gradually come to divide responsibilities in a way that now seemed blatantly unfair to her. Yes, Leo earned more. Yes, in their first year together—when she was a senior student—it made sense: he provided materially while she managed the household. But later, Anna started working too! First part-time, then full-time. And the housework? It still fell squarely on her shoulders.

She opened her laptop and began reviewing her card statements. Her salary, utility bills, groceries, daily expenses… Almost everything she earned went toward the family. And what about her contribution—cooked lunches and dinners, washed laundry, cleaned the apartment—was it worth nothing?

The memory of her first meeting with Leo—back when he was just Leo—brought a sad smile. How wonderfully he had courted her! How he had said she was his queen and that he would do anything for her. And now? “Milking cow,” huh… How quickly for some men romance turns into accounting.

Anna took a sip of her tea and thought deeply. If he wanted to split everything evenly, then so be it. But truly, fifty-fifty.

“And you know, Igor, I told her that yesterday—enough is enough. Let’s live like all modern families—fifty-fifty,” Leo said as he leaned back in his office chair, addressing a colleague.

 

Igor looked up from his monitor and stared at him attentively.

“And how did she react?”

“You wouldn’t believe it—she agreed!” Leo grinned triumphantly. “Immediately, almost without any argument.”

“Seriously?” Igor raised an eyebrow. “Just like that?”

“I’m telling you—she agreed right away. She must have realized that I was right,” Leo clicked his mouse, opening a new file. “What’s the big deal? Fairness is fairness.”

“Everyone has their own idea of fairness,” Igor remarked philosophically as he returned to work. “My aunt always says, ‘Be careful what you wish for—they have a way of coming true.’”

“What does that even mean?” Leo frowned.

“Not a clue,” Igor smiled. “But it sounds smart, don’t you think?”

Leo laughed and turned back to his computer. A strange premonition briefly pierced the depths of his mind, but he brushed it aside. Everything would be fine. Anna was a reasonable woman.

At that very moment, Anna was standing in the store in front of the shelves, thoughtfully examining the price tags. In the past, she would have filled a whole cart—for a week, for the whole family. Today, in her small basket lay only some yogurt, a package of cheese, bread, and one chicken breast. She didn’t even glance at the fish fillet that Leo loved so much.

The evening fell unusually calm. At home, Anna quickly prepared baked chicken breast with vegetables, had her dinner, cleaned up, started a load of laundry, and settled comfortably on the couch with her tablet—she had three series queued up that she was eager to watch, but never seemed to have the time. Her phone rang with a message from Leo: “I’ll be there in half an hour. What’s for dinner?”

Anna smiled and put the phone aside without replying.

The key turned in the lock, and Leo walked into the apartment. His day had been exhausting, and he couldn’t wait to sit down for dinner. Usually, at this hour, delicious smells already wafted from the kitchen…

“Hey, Anyut, I’m home!” Leo shouted as he removed his coat.

There was no reply. Leo went into the kitchen and found it empty and clean, with no signs of cooking. Opening the refrigerator, he saw its half-empty shelves—yogurt, cheese, and a few vegetables.

“Anna!” he called out again as he headed into the living room.

His wife was sitting on the couch, absorbed in something on her tablet, wearing headphones. Upon noticing her husband, she pulled out one of the earbuds.

“Oh, hi. You’re home already?”

“Yes, I’m home. And where’s dinner?” Leo looked around as if expecting the food to be hiding in a corner of the living room.

Anna looked at him with mild astonishment.

“What dinner?” she asked. “Did you give me money for dinner? No! So what am I supposed to do?”

Leo froze, not believing his ears.

“Are you serious?” his voice nearly rose to a shout. “I come home after a hard day at work, and you didn’t even prepare dinner?”

“You didn’t give me money for your half of dinner,” Anna calmly removed the second earbud. “You said yesterday—fifty-fifty. I bought food for myself with my own money. I prepared my own dinner. Just as agreed.”

“But…,” Leo stuttered, looking at his wife in confusion. “I didn’t mean it like that! I meant the common expenses…”

“Exactly. The common expenses—split in half. Dinner is not just for me but for you too. These are shared expenses, so I bought groceries only for myself,” she shrugged. “And I prepared dinner only for myself.”

“And now what am I supposed to do, go hungry?” Leo fumed, feeling his inner anger boil over.

“Of course not,” Anna replied calmly. “You can go to the store, buy yourself some groceries, and prepare dinner. Or order delivery. You do have money.”

Leo stared at her, not understanding where his always caring, patient wife had gone. Who was this woman with the cold, calm gaze?

“Is this some kind of strike?” he finally asked. “Are you refusing to fulfill your feminine duties?”

Anna slowly set aside her tablet and turned to her husband, her whole body facing him.

“Feminine duties?” she repeated, her voice hardening. “I used to perform them dutifully until yesterday. But yesterday you proposed that we split the money fifty-fifty, and it made me wonder: why are you treating me so unfairly?”

 

“Me?!” Leo sputtered in indignation. “I—I…”

“Yes, you,” Anna interrupted. “Before, we used to pay the big bills with your money, and with mine, we bought groceries and a few things. And on top of that, I cooked, cleaned, and did the laundry. Every evening, after work. And on weekends—I did full cleaning, cooked meals for several days so that we could at least free up some time after work. Do you remember last Sunday when I spent three hours in the kitchen preparing food? And then three hours cleaning the apartment. That’s six hours of work, almost a full workday. On my day off.”

Leo was silent, trying to process her words.

“And now you say—fifty-fifty,” Anna continued. “Fine, fair enough. But let’s really do it fifty-fifty. Not only with money, but with the household duties. Cooking should be done alternately or each for oneself. Cleaning—let’s divide who does what. Laundry—everyone handles their own. What do you say?”

Leo shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.

“Listen, this is… I don’t even know how to operate the washing machine…”

“I’ll show you,” Anna smiled. “It’s nothing complicated.”

“And besides, if you’re not going to cook or clean, then why do I even need you?” Leo blurted out, immediately regretting his words.

Anna looked at him intently for a long moment, then slowly got up from the couch.

“Providing for the family is the man’s duty,” she said quietly. “But for some reason I never ask why I need you, even though you’ve always done a rather half-hearted job, since I had to work. And now you’re completely refusing your masculine duty.” She tilted her head. “But see, I don’t ask that question. Because we’re a family. At least, that’s what I always believed.”

A heavy silence ensued. Leo stared at the floor, feeling his righteous anger slowly turning into shame. Anna stood tall, shoulders back, waiting for his response.

“Sorry,” he finally said. “I got carried away. Let’s go back to how things were, okay?”