After five years of absence, my son, a soldier, returned home and saw me on my knees washing the floors in my own house, while his wife and her mother were sitting on the sofa, calmly drinking coffee

After five years of absence, my son, a soldier, returned home and saw me on my knees washing the floors in my own house, while his wife and her mother were sitting on the sofa, calmly drinking coffee 

But then he did something after which everyone who had mocked and humiliated me for years regretted everything 

The sharp smell of cleaning detergent stung my nose. I was kneeling on the cold parquet floor, scrubbing without stopping for even a second. My knees hurt so badly that I wanted to cry, but I had long learned to endure it. I was washing floors for people who couldn’t even be bothered to lift their feet when I crawled past them.

On the sofa sat my daughter-in-law and her mother. They were chatting, drinking tea, scrolling through their phones. To them, I was almost invisible.

I heard the front door open, and my heart tightened. I lowered my head even more and started scrubbing faster. If the floor wasn’t perfect, Laura — my son’s wife — would start yelling again. She always found something to criticize.

— Mom?

I would have recognized that voice among a thousand.

I froze, as if ice-cold water had been poured over me. Slowly I lifted my head and saw a man in a military uniform. He was standing in the doorway, tired, dusty, with a backpack on his shoulder. It was my son. My Alex.

His face changed in a second. The smile disappeared when he saw me — in an old apron, with messy hair, on my knees at his wife’s feet.

— Mom… is that you?.. — he asked quietly.

A heavy silence filled the room.

Laura’s mother lazily leaned back on the sofa and lifted her feet so I wouldn’t get in her way. She took a sip of tea, as if nothing unusual was happening.

— You’re back early… — Laura laughed nervously and almost dropped her glass. — We didn’t expect you today.

Alex didn’t answer. He stepped closer, knelt down beside me, and took my hands in his. His fingers tightened when he felt how rough and cracked they had become.

— What’s going on here? — he asked in a dull voice.

— She likes helping around the house, — Laura’s mother said quickly. — It’s good for elderly people to do cleaning. Isn’t it?

Alex slowly stood up. He looked around the room, at the people on the sofa, and then back at me. His face hardened.

And then he took a step forward, and what he did next filled everyone with horror and made them regret everything  Continued in the first comment 

Suddenly, Alex dropped to his knees in front of me. His shoulders trembled, and he pulled me into his arms, just like when he was a child.

— Forgive me, Mom… — he said through tears. — Forgive me for choosing such a daughter-in-law for you. Forgive me for leaving you alone. I didn’t know. If I had known, I would never have allowed this.

A deathly silence hung in the room. Even Laura didn’t dare to say a word.

Alex slowly stood up. His face had changed — there was no longer any pain or confusion in it. He grabbed Laura and her mother by the hands and, without hesitation, dragged them toward the exit.

— Get out of my house, — he said coldly. — And I never want to see you here again.

They tried to protest, but he had already opened the door.

— One more word and I call the police. Even the enemies of our country are kinder than you. It’s a pity you’re women, — he paused for a moment, — otherwise you wouldn’t have gotten off so easily.

The door slammed shut.

Alex came back to me, hugged me again, and said quietly:

— Now I’m here. And no one will ever humiliate you again.