14. Balkan Superpowers
FOURTEEN
Balkan Superpowers
STEVE
Steve stepped out of the shower. His shoulders slumped after a long shift. “I’m beat,” he said as he got dressed, his exhaustion apparent. “Can’t wait to get home and hit the hay.”
“Hey Steve,” Derek called out while buttoning up a long-sleeve shirt. “Come with Kiro and me to Baba’s for breakfast? K’s mom will make sure you’ve got a decent meal in you, and then you can collapse.”
“Yeah,” Kiro chimed in as he propped his foot up on the long bench that ran parallel to the lockers and tied his shoe. “You should come. Mom can’t stand the thought of any one of us going without a hot meal. Granted, she may force you to eat it all in front of her so she knows you’re not going hungry.”
Steve gave Kiro a sideways glance.
Kiro shrugged. “It’s a Balkan thing.”
Steve exhaled slowly. “I don’t know. I’ve been dragging since we found Nick. Even though he’s now getting help, I still don’t feel I’ve caught up on my sleep. And if I learned anything in the Marines, it was to catch sleep whenever I could. Besides, your mom’s already done so much for me.”
Steve thought back to the few days his brother stayed with him prior to starting rehab. Anna Marinova kept him and Nick fed so he wouldn’t have to worry about cooking or running out for food while Nick was in his care.
Nick spent the first couple of days unable to sleep or even keep most of his food down, and when Nick didn’t sleep, Steve didn’t sleep. Anna said that Steve couldn’t take care of him if he didn’t at least feed himself.
Tim gave Steve a friendly smack on the arm. “Kiro’s right. And you do not want to go up against Anna Marinova.”
The other men in the locker room all mumbled their agreement.
“I’m almost more afraid of her than my wife,” Shek said matter-of-factly. “And that’s saying a lot.”
Amidst more murmurs of agreement, Steve stifled a laugh and pulled a Henley over his ink-covered, muscular torso and put his earrings back on. He’d given up on his eyebrow piercing since that was too much of a pain to take on and off for his shifts. The only piercings he could get away with now were his tongue and those he hid under clothing, otherwise it was a safety hazard.
“Don’t laugh,” Emerson said in warning. “Shek’s not kidding. Derek’s probably the only one who isn’t afraid of her.”
“That’s because he’s got some sort of a death wish,” Tim said as he shrugged his backpack over his shoulder and headed out with a wave. “Later.”
“No. It’s because Mrs. M loves me,” Derek smiled as he picked up his own pack. “I don’t know what you all are afraid of.”
Kiro rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Whatever, D.” He gave Derek a friendly shove. “Come on. Let’s go. Steve? You coming?”
“Yep. I’m coming.”
The bell sounded as Steve, Derek, and Kiro entered Baba’s Diner, a staple in downtown Grant’s Crossing. Everybody who was anybody, or anyone with good taste, had breakfast at Baba’s Diner, owned by the Marinov family for over twenty years. Anna worked as a waitress when Baba’s was still called the Red Key Tavern, a beloved town hangout since the 1950s.
“Dobro ytro. Good morning ,” Anna Marinova said as she greeted Derek and Kiro with a kiss on the cheek. Her smile dropped as Steve walked in behind them. After inspecting him with a discerning eye, she put her hands on her hips. “You’re too thin.” She took a step back and looked him up and down, clucking her tongue as she shook her head.
Kiro and Derek stifled laughs as Steve stood helpless in front of her, unsure how to proceed.
“Did you eat nothing I made for you and your brother?”
Steve hesitated a moment while she arched a brow. “Nick and I ate everything you made. Thank you, but it’s been a few days.”
Clearly unimpressed, she continued. “And what have you eaten since then? Hmm? You didn’t ask for more food. What did you fix? Kiro said you couldn’t cook.”
“ Meiko , I never–” It only took only one glance for her thirty-year-old son to get the message. “Yep.”
People in the restaurant snickered until she shot them the same look she shot her son… the same one every mother made to silence a person in an instant.
“I…” Steve swallowed. “I can cook.”
“No.” She shook her head and released a long exhale. “Kiro said you can’t, and he would never lie to me.” She cupped his cheek, then grabbed his shoulder. “Come. Sit down and eat. You need a proper meal.”
She ushered Steve to Kiro and Derek’s booth, where Derek did his best not to break out laughing. He straightened his face with one glance from Anna, who then smiled. “How are you, Derekcho ?”
Derek put on his most charming smile. “I’m great, Mrs. M. Thanks.”
“Sit tight, boys. You need to be fed.”
She was gone in an instant, and all three men breathed a sigh of relief.
“You weren’t kidding, were you?” Steve asked, nearly whispering as if afraid to break some unwritten rule.
“Nope,” Kiro said.
“And what did she call you, Derek? Derek… cho?”
Derek smiled. “She’s called me that for a while now. Not sure what it means. Some Bulgarian thing.”
“It’s a Bulgarian term of endearment.” Kiro bobbed his head from side to side. “Kind of. She calls me Kircho from time to time. You would be Stevecho , if she likes you. She already calls Celeste, Celesteche .”
“Not cho?” Steve asked.
“No. Celeste is a girl. Girls end in che .”
Anna returned and set plates in front of each man, adding an extra dish of food in front of Steve. “Here you go, Stevecho .”
Steve breathed out a laugh as she stepped away. “She likes me.”
“Only if you eat every bite,” Anna called back.
“She heard that?”
Derek shoved a bite of food in his mouth.
“I’m telling you,” Kiro said, sticking more food in his own mouth. “Balkan superpowers.”