Bonus Bonus Epilogue
MIA
SIX MONTHS AFTER THE SHELBY
“Are you alright?” Demitri asks from the other side of the closed bathroom door.
“Yeah, I think so. Just a stomach bug or something.”
“A stomach bug that’s only hit you once or twice a day and has lasted a week? Mia?—”
“Nope. Don’t say it.”
“ Krasotka , I think I have to.”
“It’s too soon. We didn’t plan this.”
“Baby, the best things happen when you aren’t planning for them.”
“Says you, who never plans for anything,” I weakly argue. I turn on the sink and brush my teeth. When I open the door, Demitri is there waiting, and I fall into his arms.
“This wasn’t on the agenda, Demitri. Ever.”
“Are you that upset about it or just that it isn’t when you wanted it?”
“I don’t know.”
He smiles. A soft smile that melts me a little. “It’s okay to not know. But we should probably get a test on the way home today and confirm? And maybe avoid eating raw oysters and sushi?”
I gag. “Not gonna be a problem.”
“Do you feel better now? Want some crackers?”
“Maybe physically, but I’m nowhere near ready for this, Dem.”
“I know. But we’ll figure it out together.”
I follow him to the kitchen where he makes me sit down and eat some toast with butter and drink some ginger tea. I hate ginger tea. I’m a nervous wreck, but I know he’s even more nervous. Today is a big day, regardless of what any test can tell us. Today, we meet the half-siblings Demitri has been keeping tabs on. I dutifully eat my toast and choke down the tea, feeling irrationally angry that it made me feel better.
For Demitri, I put a smile on my face. “Let’s do this.”
He grips my hand, and I realize he needs me today, and I won’t let him down.
DEMITRI
We meet Sasha and Linda outside City Brews. It’s closed for today’s festivities. He’s here to help answer any questions the people in the room might have. The family. I still have a hard time thinking of them as my siblings, but according to blood work, that’s exactly what they are. We aren’t going to talk about how we were able to get their blood to test their DNA. Joker would say it’s ‘mostly legal’ and that’s all I’m ever going to ask about it.
“You’ve got this.” Linda smiles. “But would it be too much to introduce me as Aunt Linda?”
“Do I have to introduce Sasha as Uncle Sasha?”
“No!” he barks, laughing. “Just Sasha.”
“Only for you, Linda.”
“That’s Aunt?—”
“I know,” I interrupt her. “You’ll always be Aunt Linda to me. Promise. I just won’t say aunt as often.”
“Fine.”
Sasha and Mia are still laughing at us and our never-ending picking. I only dropped the Aunt because I knew it annoyed the hell out of her, and if we’re really related, that’s my job, right?
I stop short when we enter the room. I was prepared for the eight siblings I know about, but the room is full. There are kids of various ages running around, and some older people who couldn’t possibly be my siblings.
“What the fuck is this?” I turn to Linda, my body tensing up.
“It’s family, Demitri. I think if you look at the older women, you might recognize them.”
I turn back to the group, and she’s right. All of them were in my house while I was growing up. Maids, nannies, assistants. Some of them look at me warily, others with a fondness I’m not sure my own mother was capable of.
“How do I start this?” I quietly ask Mia.
“Want me to do it for you?” she offers.
“Just be with me,” I reply.
We walk to the front of the room as others attempt to wrangle the kids. When it’s quiet, I wave. “Hi. So, there’s a lot of you here.” The group laughs. “I guess I should explain some things, huh?”
More laughter from the crowd, but no one is shooting daggers at me anymore.
“First, and most importantly, this is my wife, Mia.”
Mia rolls her eyes at me and waves to the group.
“My name is Demitri Pavlov. In the real world, I go by John Smith. All of you are here because we’re related.”
The room erupts, some looking surprised and staring at their older counterparts. Others talk with the people with them. A few start edging toward the door, but Sasha stops them.
“Please, can you give me a few minutes to explain myself?” I ask. When everyone has settled down again, I begin. “I am the son of Ivan Pavlov. As are some of you. Where we differ in our lives is that you got out and survived. The day Ivan died, my life began without the influence of ‘the family’. I’m not asking you for anything. I’m not requesting that we have a relationship and get together for holidays, but I would be open to it. I’m only asking that we talk. Officially meet. Tell you that you have someone out there who has your back if you need it. That’s all.”
Slowly, the people in the room start moving. Coming up and talking to me, introducing themselves. I don’t tell them I already know who they are, but they also introduce their families. The mothers who are there all pull me in for a hug, crying about being so happy to see me. It’s a surreal moment. Sasha talks to some of them, and people start eating the food we had brought in for today.
At some point Mia slips away, muttering something about needing the bathroom. I excuse myself and go looking for her when it’s been a while, and find her in the corner by the bathrooms, wiping her eyes.
“ Krasotka . What’s wrong?”
“It’s not time.” She gives me a watery smile.
I know immediately what she’s talking about, and I don’t hessite to pull her into my arms. “It’s not time.”
“But I think maybe we talk about when the right time is?”
“Tomorrow, Mia. We’ll talk tomorrow. After all, we have forever.”
“Together.”