33
“S mells good,” Alessandra noted, leaning over the boiling pot and inhaling some of the hot steam. She'd never had borscht before, but now her curiosity was piqued.
“My mother's recipe,” Tatyana replied from her spot at the kitchen island. “The secret is to season the meat at least seven to eight hours before cooking it. Beef is my favorite.”
“I can't believe Nika never made borscht. Isn't it a staple in Russian cuisine?”
Tatyana smiled over the rim of her wine glass. “It is. Maybe she's not a traditional cook. Many Russians that left the motherland have started to adhere to different customs over the years. It's easy to forget traditions when you've been gone for two or three decades.”
Alessandra left the stove and joined her sister-in-law at the island.
At Roman's suggestion, she'd been trying to spend more time with Tatyana, not only to pass the time but also because she really enjoyed her company.
This afternoon, after a quick call to announce her arrival, she'd driven to Tatyana's apartment on a whim and had walked in on a messy kitchen and the smell of boiling vegetables filling the place.
Vladik, her ever-present shadow, was in the living room, making himself comfortable on a plush chair. Even though she'd gotten used to his presence by now, there were days she wished she could leave the house without him breathing down her neck.
“When did your family leave Russia?”
“My father came here when he was nineteen, looking to make a better life for himself. He met my mother a year later. She was born in New York to immigrant parents. Her mother was Russian, and her father Ukrainian. Her father left them when she was two then her mother died six years later. She grew up in foster homes until she was eighteen and was finally able to take control of her own life. On her eighteenth birthday, she took the bus to Chicago and never looked back.”
Alessandra rested her chin on the heel of her palm and frowned. “It must’ve been a tough life.”
Tatyana lifted a shoulder, but there was sadness behind her blue eyes.
“It was. I think that's why my father respected her so much. She had such a calm, down-to-earth personality. She kept him grounded when he first started to make money and gain influence.” Pushing her glass to the side on the shiny marble top, she gave Alessandra a small smile. “What about your parents?”
“Both were born here in Chicago. My father's family had been in the US for two generations by the time he was born, and my mom's parents immigrated from Sicily.
There isn't much of a story to tell. Their families knew each other. From what they told me, they married in their early twenties and had my brother within the first year of their marriage.”
“Matteo, right?”
“Yeah.”
Tatyana gave her a knowing smile. “He's cute.”
“Don't ever let him know you think that. His ego doesn't need more stroking.”
Her sister-in-law laughed at that. “Roman used to be the same. He's still a cocky asshole, don’t get me wrong, but he was absolutely insufferable when he was younger.”
Alessandra felt her lips curve up. “Really?”
“Girls were fawning over him all the time, and he was loving every minute of it. It was really annoying.”
“My brother was... is the same. My mom is afraid he'll never settle down.”
“He will, eventually. He has to.”
Alessandra nodded thoughtfully. Tatyana was right.
For as much freedom as he'd been permitted for the sole reason of being born a male, Matteo still had to play by the rules.
He needed to ensure the family name would carry on, and, unfortunately for him, the clock was ticking on that matter.
With the way things were going as of late, it was better that he started thinking about choosing his own wife, before Nero stepped in and did it for him.
While the borscht boiled, the girls moved from the topic of their families to lighter subjects. It was past four in the afternoon when the front door to the apartment opened and steps echoed down the hallway.
Alek stood in the doorway and took them in with humor in his eyes. They'd gone through a bottle of wine and a bag of chips, plus a few handfuls of peanuts.
“Day drinking, huh?” he said, amusement coloring his voice. “Glad to see you two are having fun.”
“What did you get?” Tatyana was already on her feet and grabbing the take-out bag from her brother.
“The usual. I didn't know you were cooking.”
“I woke up in a mood today,” she said vaguely, although Alek seemed to understand what that meant.
Tatyana took out the food containers and spread them out on the island top. “Oh good, they had blini .”
“Roman told Ilya to change the menu and make the salmon blini every day instead of just on the weekends.”
“Who's Ilya?” Alessandra asked, getting up to grab plates from the cupboard.
“He's the head cook in one of our restaurants that Roman manages.”
Alessandra didn't know much about the Russian Mafia's dealings in Chicago, but most organizations had some legal businesses as a front for the illegal activities. She'd heard Roman mention a nightclub before, and she'd been once to the restaurant Alek mentioned.
“ Blini ?” Alek offered, taking out a thin pancake loaded with smoked salmon.
She shook her head, and he dropped it on his plate instead. “I don't eat fish,” she reminded him.
“You are one strange Italian. Never heard of one who didn't like seafood.”
“It used to drive my mom crazy when I was little. She makes the best branzino all'acqua pazza —at least, according to everyone in the family. It's a sea bass dish with vegetables.”
“Sounds good to me,” Alek said between bites of food.
Alessandra shrugged and glanced down at her options. There was pelmeni stuffed with beef which she'd had before and liked. She spooned a few on her plate, together with some beetroot salad. The other remaining dish also had fish, so she skipped it, although it smelled surprisingly good.
“I hear you got your driving license.”
She nodded and couldn't contain the grin spreading on her face. She'd been a nervous wreck on the day of the test, but Roman accompanying her had helped a lot. “A week ago.”
“How's the car?”
“I love it.”
Alek chuckled. “I bet you do. Roman spent a pretty penny on it.”
They ate together while they made small talk.
Alek had brought more than enough food for the three of them and then some more.
If the way he ate indicated anything about him, it was that he really loved his food.
After polishing off everything on his plate, he grabbed a bowl and dug into the borscht that Tatyana had just finished.
It was really astonishing that he could ingest so many calories and still be as fit as he was.
When they were done, Alessandra offered to do the dishes while Tatyana cleaned up the mess they’d left behind. The girls’ work was almost done when the front door opened again. Alessandra heard her husband's voice as he talked to Alek in the living room.
She finished washing the last plate and wiped her hands on a towel before heading that way.
Vladik and Alek were watching a soccer game on TV, commenting on one of the player’s technique.
Roman stood with his hands in his pockets, his profile facing her as she entered the room.
He was wearing a dark-grey suit paired with a black shirt, his silver Cartier watch peeking out from underneath the sleeve of his jacket.
Alessandra didn't get much time to admire just how handsome he looked, because as soon as he sensed her presence, he turned his head to meet her gaze. A smile played on his lips.
“Hey,” he said, blue eyes lingering on her mouth. She was wearing that red lipstick he liked—well, what was left of it anyway.
She walked up to him and kissed his cheek, feeling the roughness of his stubble on her lips. “Hi. How did you know I was here?”
Roman's hand drifted from her back to her hip. “I called Vladik when I got home and you weren't there.”
“Kind of early for you to be home already.”
He gave her a look filled with dry amusement. “You complaining?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course not.”
“Smells like borscht,” he said, glancing in the direction of the hallway.
“Your sister made some.”
“Anya!” he called after his sister. “Fill me a bowl, will you?”
“You can do it yourself!”came the reply, followed by the clank of dishes a moment later.
Roman smirked, and Alessandra jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. “That's not nice.”
Although Roman was usually a picky eater compared to his brother, he dug into the borscht with gusto, having a second bowl as soon as he was done with the first. Alessandra kept him company while he ate, stealing a few bites even though she was full herself.
At some point, Vladik joined them in the kitchen, going straight for the pot still on the stove. He left after eating, being dismissed for the night by Roman.
The four of them spent the rest of the evening watching a horror movie in Tatyana's living room with the lights off. While the girls jumped and cringed at the grisly scenes, the men laughed and teased them for scaring so easily.
Snuggling closer to her husband on the couch, Alessandra felt a sense of peace.
Spending time with his siblings was starting to feel more and more like having a second family.
She'd never hoped for it, coming from her father's enemies for decades, but now that her luck had been so abundant in that regard, she could only be grateful.
But Alessandra already knew just how fickle fate could be.
It gave one day and took the other.
It gave with one hand and then took with two.
The question was, just how much was Alessandra willing to sacrifice to keep on receiving the grace of her lucky stars?