Chapter 21 #3
The smile I give him is genuine as I reach back to nudge his leg. “That’s awesome, man. Congratulations.”
“I’m happy for you both,” Ev says, “and she’ll have a lot of little girl cousins to play with. I’m sure she’ll love that. How’s Cindy?”
Sasha gives an easygoing smile at the mention of his wife. It’s the one topic that completely changes him, making you forget what he’s capable of. “She’s great. Happy and excited and buying every pink thing she can get her hands on.”
“She’s got a 50-50 shot of being normal,” our Uncle Vitaly says.
“I mean, she could end up being a little Mia on steroids. God, wouldn’t that be crazy?
” He muses aloud. “We’ll have to teach that little girl the rules early or she’ll end up being like the nutty Medvedev boys.
” He laughs and says, “We could string up her baby dolls and give her a little plastic knife.” His face lights up at the image.
“Can you imagine? She’ll be unstoppable, especially with a killer dog at her beck and call. ”
“I’m right here,” Sasha reminds him. “I can hear everything you’re saying, and my daughter is going to be perfect, no matter what her inclinations turn out to be. If she’s like me, I’ll handle it.”
“You’re the only one who could,” Uncle Vitaly says. “Just make sure you put me number one on the do-not-kill list you make her memorize.”
The corner of Sasha’s mouth lifts. “Wouldn’t it be funny if I forgot to add your name?”
We laugh while my uncle looks horrified.
“That’s not funny, Sasha,” he says. “Don’t even joke about that. I’ll be her favorite. You know I’m not above bribing her with sugar.”
“I’m aware,” Sasha says.
I listen to my family’s playful bickering for the rest of the drive, wishing I could send a voice message to Sitka.
I know her dad’s on his way to her and that he deserves a chance to talk to her in private, but I can’t resist sending her a quick heart emoji and a thumbs up.
Her response is immediate, and I know she’s been waiting by her phone worrying.
She sends me a string of hearts and ends it with the kissing emoji.
Relieved that she at least knows I’m okay, I put my phone away as we turn onto Max’s driveway. I’m not sure who’s more excited to see everyone, Wallace or Lyra. Both of them soak up the attention that’s showered on them while my dad hands me his phone.
“Your mom,” he says, and I hear the reprimand in his tone.
I grab it and quickly say, “I’m sorry, Mom,” before walking downstairs so I can talk to her in private.
“Are you okay?”
Her worried voice makes me feel like shit for not keeping her in the loop.
“I am,” I say and then quickly apologize again.
Instead of making me feel lousy and yelling at me for not handling this better, she says, “Tell me about her.”
There’s no judgment in her voice, just curiosity and a real desire to know more about the woman I’ve fallen in love with.
So that’s exactly what I do. I sit in the chair by the French doors and tell my mom all about Sitka, how amazing she is, how fearless she is on a dirt bike, how she loves nature, and how I’ve never felt anything even close to what I feel for her before.
When I tell her what she said after I told her about my dyslexia, I swear I hear my mom sniffle.
“She sounds perfect for you, Damien,” she says, and there’s definitely a tremor to her voice. “I’m really happy for you, and I can’t wait to welcome her into the family.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say, and then I tell her about my idea to move her back home with me but then visit as much as we can.
“That sounds like a good compromise,” she says. “Her parents can visit, too, as much as they want. Vasya and Nina visit when Max and Talia are here for their six months. We’ll make it work. Nothing a short plane ride can’t fix.”
My mom and I talk for a few more minutes before I tell her I love her and then hand the phone back to my dad. Exhausted, I take a seat next to Ev on the couch and rest my head back with a sigh.
“I should probably tell you that you have dirt on your face,” he says.
I open my eyes and look over at him without lifting my head. “I do?”
He huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, all over the side of your face and neck.” His laughter grows louder before he says, “No wonder they tried to kick your ass when they saw you.”
I reach up and scrub at my cheek, trying to get the dirt off. I have no idea how it got on me. I wasn’t the one with my face on the ground, but we’d done a lot in those woods, and it’s not too surprising that I got just as dirty as Sitka.
“Especially if she looked worse than you,” Niki says from my left.
“Nothing to be ashamed of,” our Uncle Vitaly says from across the room, because he has bat-like ears when it comes to juicy gossip. “You can’t make love in the woods and expect to walk out of there clean as a whistle.”
“You have got to stop saying that,” our Uncle Danil says.
“He’s never going to stop,” Sasha says. “I honestly don’t think he can.”
“Well, he’s been like this since we were kids,” my dad says, “so I’m guessing you’re right.”
Completely unfazed by being talked about, my Uncle Vitaly looks over at Talia. “I couldn’t help but notice the pie on the counter. Do you mind if I grab a small slice?”
Val laughs at what his dad’s just said and tells Talia, “Just hand him the whole thing with a fork.”
“That’s rude,” his dad says. Looking back at Talia, he stands and tells her, “I would never ask you to hand me the entire pie plate.” When he walks towards the kitchen, I hear him say, “I can get off my ass and get it myself. Do you have any ice cream to go with it?”
When I meet my dad’s eyes, he just grins and says, “He insisted on coming.”
“I still think it would’ve been hilarious if we’d left without him,” my Uncle Lev says with a laugh.
“He would’ve just taken Dominic’s plane and caught up with us,” my Uncle Matvey says.
My Uncle Danil nods in agreement. “And then we never would’ve heard the end of it.”
My dad and uncles share a laugh at that, each of them knowing it’s true, and when my uncle Vitaly comes back in with a pie plate and a bowl of ice cream, I say, “Thanks for flying out to try and save my ass. I’m still fairly confident they wouldn’t have killed me, but I’m glad you’re all here to even things out a bit. ”
“They might’ve killed you,” Sasha says. “They don’t have any rules to begin with, and if you’d made them think for one second that you were just fucking around with Sitka, they would’ve stabbed you for sure.”
“Well, if they’d listened to me back at their house, then we wouldn’t have had to go through any of this,” I say.
“They caught you on their property?” my dad asks.
“Yeah,” I say while looking around at all the wide-eyed looks my uncles are giving me.
It’s my Uncle Lev who breaks the silence with a “Damn, kid,” followed by a laugh that quickly catches on until my entire family is giggling like a roomful of kids.
“Guess the Pacific didn’t completely obliterate your balls,” my Uncle Danil jokes.
“I’m still not sure mine have completely thawed,” Ev says.
“It can’t be that bad,” Mia says and then grins at the look we both give her.
Ev points a finger at her and looks over at Max. “She’s getting in the water before we leave.”
Max laughs and pulls Talia onto his lap while Lyra uses my brother’s hands for leverage, taking a few steps on her way to Niki’s waiting arms.
“Your ass is definitely getting in the water,” Max says, backing Ev up.
“I didn’t say I wanted to jump in,” Mia says, but Max is already shaking his head at her.
“Nope, it’s already a done deal. Plus, this’ll help ease tension between the families. The Medvedevs love to surf. You can’t be a wuss and back out now. You’ll ruin the whole peace treaty thing we’ve got going on.”
“Yeah, Mia,” Sasha says. “You don’t want to be the one responsible for starting a war just because you were too scared to go in the water.”
She narrows her eyes at her brother. “Fine,” she says. “But only if you come too.” Her smile is downright vicious when Sasha doesn’t say anything. “Misha and Yuri really like you. Come on, big brother, you don’t want to start a war just because you’re too scared to get wet.”
“If I drown out there, Cyn is going to be really pissed at you,” he tells her.
Mia laughs. “You won’t drown. You’re tied to your board thingy.”
“Yeah, Sasha,” Max says. “You’re tied to your board thingy. You’ll be fine.”
I grin at the familiarity of my family’s teasing and listen to the surf plans they’re already making. Keeping my phone in my hand so I’ll hear it as soon as Sitka texts, I lean back and wait, so fucking eager to get back to her.