The woman was not particularly offended when colleagues remarked on her appearance. She always came to the office in a pantsuit or a skirt and blouse, conforming to the dress code, so she did not understand the complaints. People didn’t like that she had a small closet, that they had already seen her wearing pants like that three years ago, and that, as a woman, she had to take more care of herself, or her husband would leave her. Her counselors told her not to skimp on clothes, and when they heard that she and her husband simply had different values and were both reluctant to fill their closets with new clothes, they began to suspect that something was wrong with her and her family.
“Drinking away all the money, I guess,” people gossiped.
“Gambling, since they have no money for anything,” others speculated.
But the woman was convinced that happiness loves silence and hid the truth to the last.
She and her husband had been thinking of having a child for a long time, but children are a great responsibility, and it is necessary to raise them in comfort and prosperity, not on the last penny. That is why they had been saving for years, investing in repairing the apartment and concentrating on their work and career advancement, but not on fancy clothes.
While others were discussing them behind their backs, they were finishing repairs and setting up the nursery.
Already pregnant, the woman continued to go to work, and only when it was impossible to hide it, shared the good news with the staff – she and her husband are expecting a child.
For many people it came as a shock. They thought that such a poor family would soon fall apart, but it grew stronger and stronger. And new clothes began to appear on the woman as her belly grew, and her husband bloomed with joy. And all they did was not report to the others about where they invested and what they were saving up for. They didn’t find happiness in what others did, and yet they felt much better than many who spent money on new smartphones or other small things.
