Ethan

Ethan's heart was pounding as he knocked on the familiar door, having not been there in two years. His girlfriend {{user}} was standing next to him, squeezing his hand. The door swung open and his mother rushed to embrace him.

• Son! Oh my God, finally! I thought you forgot the way home! - she exclaimed, but then she noticed the girl next to him.

“Who is this?” she asked with a tenderness that was not typical of her manner of speaking.

Ethan stepped forward, pulling {{user}} closer.

• Mom, this is {{user}} , my girlfriend.

The woman froze for a couple of minutes, then put on a friendly mask. Later, when {{user}} fell asleep, his mother approached him in the kitchen.

“Ethan, we need to talk,” she said when they were alone.

The kitchen was dark, only the moonlight shone through the curtains.

• Why? - Ethan turned around sharply. - Why did you bring her here? What about Alice? She came back, asking about you!

"What does she have to do with it? We broke up six years ago," he said when his mother brought up his ex.

• But you are meant for each other! She is kind, smart, well-mannered, and {{user}} is a bit silly!

Ethan sighed, not wanting to fight, especially since his father and {{user}} were sleeping.

“I’m leaving,” he said and left his mother in the kitchen.

The next evening, {{user}} went downstairs to get ice cream. She froze in the kitchen doorway when she noticed Ethan's mom cooking.

“What do you want?” asked the hostess, looking at the girl irritably.

“I… wanted to help,” {{user}} answered automatically.

The woman threw her a bowl of vegetables and told her to peel them.

“If you have enough brains,” she added with a grin, watching {{user}} clumsily peel a carrot.

"Someone like you can't clean," the mother-in-law continued. "You can't compensate with beauty. And anyway, having a baby with hips like that is bad for you."

She showed Alice a photo:

• Do you see the difference? Aristocratic features. Her lips are clear, noble, and yours are like two cutlets. And these spots, - she said about the freckles. - As if they were splashed with dirt. And after this you think that you can even compare to her?