5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Sergei
When I enter Aqua-Kids, I’m immediately hit with the odor of chlorine.
Three rows of blue armchairs are sparsely occupied by children in swimsuits and parents.
Two kids dash up and down the rows as their exhausted mother whisper-shouts for them to stop, anxiously mouthing “sorry” to the parents sitting nearby.
After the past five months, even I can sympathize.
Stepping in front of the reception desk, I clear my throat to alert the receptionist to my presence. She remains completely engrossed in her book, ignoring me. The cover depicts a shirtless, muscular man holding a dagger to a woman with an ample chest.
“Hello?”
The young woman half-rolls her eyes, pinching her lips together as she sets aside her book. When she lifts her gaze to mine, her eyebrows rise. Her reaction could be attributed to the fact that an overdressed, tall man is standing in front of her on a casual weekday afternoon.
But I know better. She must recognize me from the tabloids.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” She straightens her back, brushing her hand through her teal-dyed hair. “How, how can I help you?” Her voice falters.
“I’m here for my son’s lesson.”
Her eyes grow even wider as she hesitantly points her index finger in a direction my gaze follows, landing on the large glass wall.
Off to the side, I spot a middle-aged woman staring at me, likely for the same reason as the receptionist. Deciding to ignore the spectator, I stride to the back of the room overlooking the pool area, where several swim lessons are underway.
In the section to the left, partitioned into lanes, I notice Aurora and Misha. Her blonde hair is pulled into a messy bun, a radiant smile adorning her striking face as Misha jumps into the water.
I take an involuntary step forward. Cold sweat breaks underneath my suit as I’m hit with the realization that I don’t know if Misha can swim. Alessia had him in lessons last year at the country club, but I’ve never actually seen him in the water.
When Misha resurfaces, Aurora steps closer to him.
She keeps her arms outstretched around him, ready in case he needs support, but he doesn’t.
He pivots away from her and extends his body toward the edge, kicking his legs in a frenzy.
Water sprays across Aurora’s face, but her grin never fades.
She follows him, and when he touches the edge, he turns to high-five her.
A warm sensation spreads through my chest.
Aurora notices me and gestures toward the exit as she scoops Misha into her arms. I make my way to the room on the other side of the wall, where the other parents are waiting for their children to finish their lessons.
She holds the door open as a group of swimmers waddles out, already shivering in the cold room.
Their parents rush forward and wrap them with towels.
Before I get the chance to ask where Aurora’s bag is to help with the towel, she pulls one out from an open wooden cubby lining the wall and drapes it around Misha, rubbing the towel over his hair.
A loud rattling sound startles Misha, drawing our attention to the machine at the back, where one of the fathers is drying his daughter’s swimsuit.
“It’s okay, buddy.” Aurora pats Misha’s back, tracing smoothing circles over it.
Since hiring Aurora, I’ve been impressed with the way she became attuned to Misha.
Within a couple of days, it already feels as if she can anticipate his needs before he even has a chance to express them.
Unlike Misha’s previous nannies, she actually seems to enjoy working with him too—at least if I were to base it on the absence of disdain, which constantly adorned the former caregivers’ faces.
Plus, just the fact she ventured out here to enrich Misha in such a way speaks volumes.
“I didn’t think you’d make it,” she says to me, her voice a bit louder so it carries over the still-running dryer.
“I wasn’t sure if I would.” I had meetings back to back since seven o’clock, but I asked Nadia to oversee one of the afternoon inspections so I could swing by.
“Well, he did great!” Aurora readjusts Misha on her hip. “It’s so important to get kids comfortable with water early on, and Misha’s such a natural.”
“I saw.”
Aurora’s smile widens. “I noticed. You had that full-on grin parents usually have when they watch their children. That exaggerated smile, teeth bared and grinding, like you’re overwhelmed by the adorableness of your little one.”
I did?
“Hey, Aurora.” One of the coaches lightly touches her shoulder as he slips by on his way to the pool.
She waves at him before returning her gaze to mine. “I work here over the weekends, so I thought it could be a good activity for us to do, just to get out of the house.”
Misha extends his arms toward me, and I take him from Aurora.
“Are you sure? He’ll get your suit wet.” She gestures at my outfit, which now seems especially out of place here.
I nod and make sure to keep my eyes on Misha—or any other spot in the room—because now that Aurora handed him to me, she’s left standing in her bathing suit.
It’s a modest black one-piece, but despite my best efforts, my gaze keeps cutting to her curves.
Thankfully, she grabs another towel from the cubby and wraps it around her chest.
“This is certainly different from the way I was taught to swim at my grandparents’ dacha back in Ukraine,” I admit, although I’m not sure why.
“And how was that?” She tugs on her hair tie, letting her wet hair fall over her shoulders.
“My dedushka threw me into the lake and told me to swim.”
She jerks her head back. “You’re kidding.”
I shake my head.
“What happened?”
“I swam,” I say, shrugging my shoulders.
Aurora’s gaze cuts away from me, and her expression changes in an instant. “Excuse me, what are you doing?” She strides toward the same woman who was staring at me earlier, now with her phone out. “You are not allowed to take photos here!”
I turn my body, shielding Misha from the nosy onlooker.
“I wasn’t… I…” she stutters before tilting her nose higher. “I wasn’t doing anything wrong.”
“Great. Then you wouldn’t mind showing me your phone?” Aurora places one hand on her waist while extending the other toward her.
The woman narrows her eyes, clearly contemplating her next move. She huffs but shows Aurora her screen.
“Do better, Beverly,” Aurora says over her shoulder as she walks back to us. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what she was thinking.”
But I do. A photo of me would be a quick way to get some cash from one of the magazines that have been circling like vultures since Alessia’s death.
I shouldn’t have come.
“Is it always like this?” Aurora asks, and I briefly wonder if she isn’t aware of my circumstances.
“Sometimes. People forget my son didn’t sign up for any of this publicity, but with the recent…” I let the word tragedy remain unspoken in Misha’s presence. He still has a tough time understanding his mother is no longer here.
Aurora reaches out, lightly touching my forearm. When my gaze falls to the spot of our contact, she quickly pulls away, a faint flush appearing on her cheeks.
The moment is interrupted by my phone buzzing. I quickly switch Misha to my other side before pulling it out from my jacket. “Meeting with Raymond Rivers?” Pavel’s message reminds me of my responsibilities.
“Do you need to go?” Aurora asks, already reaching out to take Misha from me.
“Yes.” I hand him to her and pocket my phone.
She tilts her head to the side. “It’s okay. Thank you for stopping by. I know you’re super busy, but Misha loved seeing you.” She starts to tickle him. “Didn’t you?”
Misha giggles, tucking his head under her chin.
I know I don’t need Aurora’s approval, but the validation of her words is like a glimmer of sunshine illuminating the dark cave inside my chest. The fact that she recognizes I took time out of my day, instead of dismissing it as unimportant or unnecessary like Alessia used to do, forms a surprising lump in my throat.
I nod, not knowing what to say.
As I bend down to plant a quick kiss on Misha’s head, I’m hit with Aurora’s lavender scent and stall in my tracks. It takes only a second to recover, and I step back, hoping she didn’t notice the pause.
They both wave at me as they make their way to a changing stall.
I know I’m already late for my next meeting, but I stay rooted to my spot for another moment, listening to their voices echoing in the now empty room.
Their laughter is an imaginary tether pulling me away from my duties.
For the first time in a long time, I consider throwing it all to hell and staying.
My phone buzzes again. I let out a long breath and head back into my reality, the remnants of Misha’s wet body already drying out from my suit.
When I slide into the car, the slam of the door sends a guilty surge of blood through me.
The memory of the last time I saw Alessia bursts into my mind, and I force air into my lungs, trying to get a grip on myself.
Pavel must notice my reaction because he turns the AC higher, and cold air soon blasts into my face.
She’s dead.
Anton taps on the window, and I lower the glass all the way down, allowing him to lean over the door frame.
“Want me to join the meeting, Shef?” he asks.
My molars squeak together.
“You okay?” Anton raises an eyebrow.
At the question, Pavel turns toward us, extending his long arm behind the passenger’s headrest. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he’s worried about me. But I do know better.
“I’m fine,” I manage to say, though my fingers dig deep into my thighs. “I need you to stay with Misha and Aurora.”
He nods. “Nadia told me someone reached out from Sullivan International Media. Want me to look into that?”
I meet his gaze. “After Misha’s home safely.”
Anton bows his head and turns away to the sound of Misha and Aurora’s voices. Misha bursts through the aquatic center’s doors while Aurora juggles a backpack, a duffel bag, a purse, and a water bottle.
My hand jerks toward the door handle, but I catch myself. Anton clocks my movement, taps the car twice in a silent goodbye, and rushes to help her.
Maybe next time.