Yegor stood on the threshold of his grandmother’s old house, holding an envelope with his savings from the past few years. He had been saving up for a new laptop for work and a ticket abroad, always dreaming of spending at least a week on tropical islands. But he left his dreams behind. His grandmother was more important to him than temporary amusement. The house where his grandmother lived needed repairs. The stove pipe could collapse at any moment, water was leaking through the roof into the house, causing the walls to start rotting. Yegor understood that besides him, no one else could help his grandmother, and he still had time to earn a living for himself.
«Yegor, come in already, the tea will get cold!» his grandmother shouted from the kitchen. Despite her age and health problems, Valentina Andreyevna continued to manage the household on her own.
Yegor sighed, squeezing through the narrow door. The smell of tea and fresh pastries instantly took him back to his childhood. His grandmother stood at the stove, sprinkling dough with sugar, just like when he was little. He glanced at the worn walls, the old carpet, and the rotten window sills, inwardly indignant. The thought immediately flashed through his mind: it was time for a change.
«Grandma, I’m going to start the renovation. Workers will come tomorrow, we’ll take some things out, and then we’ll start on the bigger tasks,» he said, sitting down at the table.
«Renovation? Oh, Yegor, no need,» replied the grandmother, wiping away a tear. «You better buy something for yourself. You have a lot of work already, and now you’ve come up with something else.»
Yegor knew she didn’t want to upset him, but the decision was made. Looking at his grandmother, the young man replied:
«Grandma, you always did everything for me, now it’s my turn. I saved up to do everything at once and not put it off.»
«You were planning to spend your savings to help me?» the grandmother asked in surprise. «Oh, my boy, you shouldn’t have.»
The next day, the work began. Yegor brought two friends, Ivan and Maxim, who agreed to help with the renovation. The house was filled with noise and laughter. The grandmother sat on the porch, watching the boys work.
«Look at them, such good boys…» she whispered, watching Ivan dismantle old wooden beams while Maxim and Yegor took apart an old partition.
«Grandma, we’ve decided to renovate the kitchen,» Yegor shouted through the window. «The furniture is old, and the stove barely works.»
«Don’t spend the money, my boys,» the grandmother stirred. «I lived with that stove.»
«But we want you to be really comfortable, grandma,» Ivan said with a smile.
«Exactly!» supported Maxim. «We’ll even change the roof, put in new windows.»
The renovation stretched for almost a month. Every day started early in the morning. During this month, Valentina Andreyevna lived at her friend, Nina Anatolyevna’s place.
Yegor and his friends worked from morning to evening, but the result was worth it. The house was transformed: the walls became bright, the roof reliable, and the windows were plastic. Yegor was proud of his work—now his grandmother could live in warmth and comfort.
When the grandmother returned, she couldn’t hold back tears as she walked through the rooms and touched the new walls:
«My God, how beautiful… How nice…»
Yegor was sure he had made the right choice. Even though he had to temporarily put aside his plans, his grandmother had cared for him since childhood, after his parents were gone.
«Yegorka, my dear, I don’t even know how to thank you,» Valentina Andreyevna hugged her grandson.
«It’s not enough to cover even a fraction of the attention you paid to me in my childhood,» he said, hugging her back. «The main thing is that you are happy.»
A few weeks passed. Yegor continued to come every day after work, helping around the house. The grandmother again filled the home with warmth. She cooked favorite dishes, baked pies, and although it was getting colder outside, it was warm and cozy inside the house.
One evening, the grandmother called Yegor into her room. A velvet-covered box lay before her.
«Yegor, come here,» she called.
He approached and sat next to her, looking at the box.
«What is this, grandma?»
«It’s for you, my boy,» she said softly, opening the lid. Inside lay antique jewelry. «This is from my mother. I kept it to pass on to you. You are my treasure, Yegor, and you deserve this.»
Yegor was stunned as he looked at his grandmother and the jewels.
«Grandma, but this is yours, you don’t have to…»
«I have to. You’ve done so much for me that words can’t express my gratitude. May these jewels bring you happiness.»
Yegor closed the box and squeezed his grandmother’s hand, his eyes filled with tears.
«Thank you, grandma. I’ll cherish them, I promise,» he said, feeling a true generational connection, a symbol of love and gratitude.
Time passed, and life continued. Yegor worked, and on weekends he visited his grandmother. People passing by the house admired his work. But Yegor knew he did it all not for the praise of others, but so his grandmother could be happy.
However, soon trouble started at work. He was informed that he would be laid off. Financial difficulties became a new reality. One day, visiting his grandmother, Yegor told her about the problems at work.
«Grandma, they warned me about the layoffs… I don’t know what will happen now.»
The grandmother nodded and smiled in response:
«Don’t worry, Yegor. Everything will work out. And if anything, we’ll cope. We have a home, we have warmth, and that’s what matters.»
These words were a real consolation for him. Yegor thought for several days about what to do when suddenly a friend offered him a job at his construction firm. It was a salvation.
He gladly accepted the offer and started working with a new team. The work was hard, but he didn’t complain. Every day spent on the construction site brought him closer to his goal—to make his grandmother’s and his own life better.
Two years after the renovation, the grandmother passed away… It was a quiet morning when she simply fell asleep and didn’t wake up.
Her departure was hard for Yegor. But he knew he had done everything to make her last years happy. He kept the jewelry she had passed on to him, promising to pass them on to his children.
Now an old man, Yegor, sitting in the kitchen of the same house, remembered the day he started the renovation for his grandmother. No amount of money could match the feeling of duty fulfilled for a loved one. Yegor maintained his grandmother’s traditions and baked pies for his grandchildren every weekend, brewing herbal tea he collected himself.