“Katia was a much better match for my son than you,” my mother-in-law sighed as she calmly stirred her coffee.
I nodded. “I agree with you. Call her and suggest that she marry Javier. I’d really love to hear what your son has to say about that.”
Carmen set her teaspoon down on the saucer. My husband, Javier, was standing at the kitchen counter slicing an apple pie. He slowly raised his head.
“What’s this about Katia again?” he asked. “Nothing,” I replied. “Your mother was just explaining to me that Katia would have made a much better wife for you.”
Carmen pressed her lips together.
“Don’t twist my words, Elena.”
“I’m not twisting anything. That’s exactly what you said.”
It was Sunday, a little after four in the afternoon.
We had finished lunch about twenty minutes earlier. Javier’s sister, Lucía, was sitting across from me, while her husband, Andrés, was helping clear a few plates from the table.
The whole thing had started over something trivial.
I had simply mentioned that I had a business dinner the following Friday.
“Again?” Carmen asked.
“What do you mean, again?”
“Another business dinner.”
“The last one was four months ago.”
“Still. A married woman should pay a little more attention to her home.”
Javier gave a quiet laugh.
“Mom, I have business dinners too.”
“You’re a man.”
She said it so naturally that Lucía raised an eyebrow.
I decided not to respond.
But Carmen wasn’t finished.
“Katia, for example, was much more of a homebody.”
I looked at her.
I knew that name far too well.
Katia had dated Javier for almost two years. They had broken up about three years before Javier and I even met.
I had never met her in person.
Strangely enough, everything I knew about her had come from Carmen.
According to my mother-in-law, Katia was an excellent cook, never argued, loved spending time with Javier’s family, and never showed up at someone’s house empty-handed.
During my six years with Javier, Carmen had mentioned Katia so many times that sometimes it felt as if the woman were still part of the family.
“Mom,” Javier said, “don’t start this again.”
“What did I say?”
“You know exactly what you said.”
Carmen shrugged.
“I’m only comparing them.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” I said. “You’ve been comparing me to a woman I don’t even know for years.”
“Some comparisons are simply unavoidable.”
Lucía put down her cup.
“Mom, Katia and Javier broke up almost ten years ago.”
“So?”
“That’s kind of important.”
Carmen turned back to me.
“You don’t have to take everything as an attack. I’m simply saying Katia’s personality was better suited to Javier.”
I smiled.
“Then call her.”
“What?”
“Call Katia. Tell her you still think she should marry Javier.”
Andrés froze with two plates in his hands.
Lucía covered her mouth to hide a grin.
Only Carmen didn’t find it funny.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Why? If you’re so certain they’re perfect for each other, maybe we can still fix this terrible mistake.”
“Elena…” Javier interrupted, visibly trying not to laugh.
I looked at him.
“What? I’m only trying to help your mother.”
Carmen’s expression hardened.
“You don’t need to make fun of me.”
“I’m not. I’ve spent six years hearing how wonderful Katia was. I’d simply like to know what exactly you’re suggesting.”
“I never said you two should get divorced.”
“Then why do you keep comparing me to her?”
Carmen opened her mouth but didn’t answer immediately.
Javier put the knife down on the counter.
“That’s a good question, Mom.”
“Now don’t both of you turn against me.”
“No one is turning against you,” Javier said. “But every time Elena does something you don’t like, suddenly Katia comes up.”
Lucía laughed.
“That’s true.”
Carmen shot her an angry look.
“Stay out of this.”
“Why? You’ve told me about Katia about five hundred times too.”
“Because she was a lovely girl.”
Javier sighed.
“Mom, do you want to know why I broke up with Katia?”
Carmen looked at him.
“You already told me.”
“No. I gave you the short version because I didn’t want to talk about it back then.”
Carmen’s expression changed slightly.
I looked at Javier in surprise too.
He almost never talked about that relationship.
“So what’s the long version?” Lucía asked.
Javier leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Katia and I wanted different things from life. She wanted to move abroad. I didn’t. We argued about it constantly.”
Carmen waved a hand dismissively.
“Every couple argues.”
“I’m not finished.”
The room went quiet.
“And Katia couldn’t stand the fact that you kept showing up at our place without warning.”
Carmen blinked.
Andrés immediately lowered his eyes.
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“That’s not true at all. She was always happy to see me.”
Javier gave a short laugh.
“Mom, she was just being polite.”
Lucía bit her lip.
I said nothing.
The conversation was becoming more interesting by the second. “Once,” Javier continued, “she told me that if we wanted to stay together, we needed to set clear boundaries with you. Because you called four times a day and always wanted to know exactly what we were doing.”
Carmen stared at him.
“You never told me that.”
“Because there was no reason to.”
“Then why was she always so nice to me?”
“Because she didn’t want to argue with you.”
Carmen looked genuinely offended.
“Well, she was always very sweet to me.”
“Of course,” Javier said. “Then the moment you left, she argued with me about you.”
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Andrés put the plates down on the counter.
“I’m just going to… take these into the kitchen.”
Lucía looked at him.
“We’re already in the kitchen.”
Andrés glanced around.
“Right.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
Even Javier grinned.
Only Carmen remained serious.
“Anyway,” she finally said, “at least Katia knew how to behave.”
My smile disappeared.
“What exactly do you mean by that?”
“She never spoke to me the way you do.”
“Because she waited until you left and then complained about you to Javier.”
Carmen gave me a cold look.
“You always have to have the last word.” “No. But I would like you to stop using my husband’s ex-girlfriend as an example of how I’m supposed to behave.”
“I can’t erase the past just because it makes you uncomfortable.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
I leaned slightly closer.
“I’m asking for something much simpler: finally leave Katia alone.”
Carmen frowned.
“Katia?”
“Yes. I’m actually starting to feel sorry for the woman. She broke up with Javier almost ten years ago, and somehow you still bring her to every family lunch—and she isn’t even here.”
Lucía burst out laughing so loudly that she had to cover her mouth.
Carmen turned toward her.
“That isn’t funny.”
“It’s a little funny,” Lucía replied.
Javier stepped closer to the table.
“Mom, Elena’s right. Enough with Katia.”
“But I was only—”
“No. Enough.”
His tone had changed.
Carmen noticed immediately.
“So now I’m not even allowed to mention anyone?”
“You can mention whoever you want. But you can’t keep comparing my wife to my ex.” Carmen folded her arms.
“I was only trying to open your eyes to certain things.”
“My eyes don’t need opening.”
“I’m your mother.”
“And Elena is my wife.”
Silence filled the room.
Carmen looked first at Javier and then at me.
I didn’t say anything.
This time, I didn’t need to.
A few minutes later, Carmen picked up her handbag.
“I think I’d better leave.”
“If you want,” Javier replied.
She walked toward the door, but before leaving, she turned back to me one last time.
“I hope you’re satisfied now.”
“Why?”
“You managed to turn my son against me.”
I shook my head.
“No. You managed to make your son tired of hearing about Katia.” Carmen pressed her lips together and walked out.
The door closed behind her.
Lucía waited exactly three seconds.
“I have a question.”
We all looked at her.
“Does anyone even know where Katia lives now?”
Javier laughed.
“Yes.”
Apparently, Carmen hadn’t quite left yet.
Her voice immediately came from the hallway.
“Where?”
For one second, we all stayed silent.
Then we burst out laughing at the same time.
But the story had one final chapter.
Two weeks later, Javier and I were having breakfast when he received a message.
He read it and raised his eyebrows. “I don’t believe this.”
“What happened?”
He turned his phone toward me.
The message was from an old friend who was still in touch with Katia.
They had happened to be talking, and somehow our family gatherings had come up in conversation.
Katia sent her regards to Javier.
And she added one more sentence.
Javier read it aloud.
“Tell your mother I still live seven hundred kilometers away, and I have absolutely no intention of moving back.”
I looked at him.
“That’s it?”
Javier started laughing.
“No.”
“What else?”
“‘And tell her that, just to be safe, I still don’t answer calls from unknown numbers.’”
I covered my mouth with my hand.
“Did your mother try to call her?”
“I have no idea.” That same afternoon, Carmen came over.
We didn’t mention the message.
But while we were having coffee, she started again.
“Katia always made an excellent apple pie…” Javier and I looked at each other.
This time, I picked up my phone from the table and placed it in front of Carmen.
“Perfect.”
She frowned.
“What are you doing?” “I’m finding her number.” Carmen’s eyes widened.
“What for?”
I smiled.
“So you can ask her for the recipe yourself.”
Javier burst out laughing.
Carmen stared at me for several seconds.
And for the first time in six years, she changed the subject.
From that day on, Katia never “showed up” at our family lunches again.
And I learned something very useful:
Sometimes the best way to end an absurd comparison isn’t to try to prove that you’re better than the other person.
You simply accept the comparison and ask:
“All right. So what exactly do you want to do about it?”