Making Angels Laugh

by Woods, Karen

  There was dead silence in the room as people absorbed what Glenna had said.

  Around the room, several female classmates each said something like, “I thought I was the only girl they raped...” followed by “You, too?”

  The mood of the room turned extremely ugly.

  “We don’t have to stand here and take these lies from a bunch of losers!” Peter dismissed, false bravado in his voice.

  Both of he and Greg left the Legion Hall.

  The relief among the reunion attendees was palpable.

  Rita continued, “St Nikolai Velimirovich, who survived the Nazi death camp at Dachau, wrote this prayer, ‘Enemies have driven me into Your embrace, more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world. Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.’” She paused, then continued, with a small smile and a gentle tone, “There is a reason, classmates, only a Saint of God could write that. May God grant all of us the grace that we too may come to the point where we can bless them, and not curse them. May God have mercy on us.” Then she returned to her friends.

  Chapter Eleven

  Late the next morning, Rita’s sons and their wives, Kiril, Maria, Alexei, and Anna, along with her mother, Irina, met her at the airport luggage carousel. All of them had wheeled baggage in tow.

  “Mama?” Kiril asked. “How was your flight?”

  “Uneventful and on time, Kiryusha,” Rita replied. “It’s so good to see all of you.”

  Irina offered, “Shall we go find the cruise line coach and get to the ship where we can have lunch?”

  “Sounds like a good idea to me, Mama,” Rita agreed. “I had breakfast at six a.m..”

  Rita’s sons and their wives turned around and walked away. They were followed by her mother.

  Rita’s phone sounded a text message alarm. She removed it from her purse and looked at it.

  There was a picture of her daughter-in-law, Sonya, holding her newest grandsons. The message from Boris was that the boys, Sergey and Ivan, both had five minute Apgars of nine, so they were normal, healthy, boys. Sergey weighed five pounds fifteen and one-half ounces. Ivan weighed in a six pounds one ounce. Both Mama and babies were doing fine.

  She texted in reply, “Glory to God! I will come to help as soon as we’re off the ship in California. Love to Sonya. Kiss my new grandsons for me, and hug the rest of my precious grandchildren. Can’t wait to hold and spoil them all. Love you all.”

  Looking up she saw her sons, daughters-in-law, and mother all had their phones in their hands and had turned to face her. All of them wore big smiles. But the smile on Masha’s face was strained.

  As they continued walking, several female representatives of the cruise line were clearly identifiable from their embroidered uniform shirts and name tags, as well as from the signs that some of them carried denoting the cruise line. One of the women approached Kyril and Masha, asking them if they needed transportation to a cruise.

  Maria, Masha, Kyril’s wife, chuckled. “Yes, we’re on,” she gave the name of the ship. “There are six of us.”

  “Names?”

  Florida receded into the distance as Rita stood at the stern of the ship, lost in thought. Kiril walked up to her.

  “Mama?” he asked.

  She turned to face him. “Yes, Son? What’s on your mind, my dear?”

  “Are you happy to be here with us?” Kiril asked.

  “When am I not happy to be with my family?”

  “Come rejoin us at the table. Have a drink.”

  She joined them at the table.

  Masha smiled. “Kiryusha and I have arranged for the family to go on a couple of shore excursions.”

  “I still don’t know how you all pulled this together,” Rita said.

  Alexei said, “We all paid for our own cruises. Babushka, Kiryusha, Masha, Anya, and I kicked in and covered yours. And we were all due vacation time. Janet covered your airfare, the rental car, your lodging, and the reunion dinner, as her birthday present to you. Actually, it wasn’t too hard to pull it all together. The hardest part was coordinating schedules, and smoothing things over with Borya and Sonya, of course. But they knew they couldn’t come, not with the children so young and her so close to delivering the twins.”

  “I will need to buy some internet minutes to check my email,” Rita said.

  “It’s free on this ship,” Alexei replied, handing her a sheet of paper. “That is the instructions for getting on the wifi on board. But, the idea is to get away and relax, not to be tied to our phones and computers. But that shouldn’t be a problem as it’s not like we’re going to be on pins and needles wondering when the twins were going to be born, now.”

  “Sons, I want you and your wives to take at least two, maybe more, evenings while we are on board for yourselves. Have date nights. Dinner by yourselves, dancing, a little romance. I like to see you all happy, too. A strong and happy marriage is a treasure beyond words. Just save me the first and last nights of the cruise for family time.”

  Anya laughed. As did Masha.

  “Yes, Rita,” Masha said. “But the point of the cruise was for us to have family time… Sometimes I think you must live a very lonely life.”

  Rita nodded. “I have a good, productive, life, helping people. Most of the time, I’m too busy to feel lonely.”

  “Most of the time?” Anya echoed.

  “There are moments when I’m overcome by loneliness, when I feel jealousy as I see couples my age or older clearly in love with one another and enjoying one another’s company,” Rita replied. “But then I go on and do what I have to do. I am not worried about my life. I have meaningful work. In fact, I have a new book coming out at Christmas; a popular health book.”

  Kiril chuckled. “Taking advantage of the health and fitness rush?”

  Rita smiled. “Yes. The publisher thinks it is a good time to bring it out. It’s a good book, Son. Full of solid advice about developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, written for a consumer, not a professional, audience.”

  “Will you be controversial in this book, Mama?” Kiril teased.

  “Quite likely. I’ll be encouraging people to eat sensibly. I’ll also be encouraging a reasonably active lifestyle; walking when possible, riding bicycles, taking the stairs instead of the elevators, standing at desks instead of sitting, or at least stretching and walking every hour or so for a couple of minutes. To find some physical activity that is enjoyed and to pursue that, whether it is swimming, weight lifting, running, playing tennis, aerobic dance, martial arts, something that makes a person move. To use as few drugs as possible and to talk to all their doctors always about all the drugs they are taking, including over the counter preparations, so that side effects and interactions can be monitored. To use one pharmacy for all their medications, so that there is a second check on interactions and side effects. None of this is new. But it is good, sound, boring, medical advice, the same thing I tell patients every day,” Rita said. “Basically, the same advice I’ve been giving to patients during my whole career.”

  “Parts of this would be controversial in some circles, Mama,” Kiril replied.

  “Saying the sky is blue can elicit controversy in some circles,” Anya dismissed. “I remember when lawyers in Washington were arguing about the meaning of the word ‘is’. Some people will argue about anything.”

  Alexei laughed. “Especially if we’re lawyers.”

  “Or doctors,” Irina Danielova added with a shake of her head. “I don’t think any profession is immune from being argumentative, Lyosha.”

  Rita yawned. “As long as people are involved, the
re’s going to be controversy.”

  “Are you tired, Mama?” Alexei asked.

  “I didn’t sleep well last night, Lyosha,” she answered. “And I’d taken night call all week, including the night before I flew into Saint Louis.”

  “Why didn’t you sleep well last night?” Kiril asked in clear concern. “Was your reunion difficult?”

  “The evening had its moments,” Rita dismissed, really not wanting to go into it.

  “Mama,” Kiril demanded, his voice low but firm, “what do you mean, the evening had its moments?”

  Rita sighed. “It really doesn’t matter, Kiryusha.”

  “Yes, it does matter,” Kiril replied. “It impacted your sleep.”

  She sighed again. “I had a confrontation with one of the three bullies who had made my life miserable in high school. He had been drinking heavily enough to affect his judgment. He tried to force me to go with him away from the Legion hall and was clear that he…” she paused for a moment to soften her phrasing, “was going to be quite unpleasant. I put an end to that nonsense very publicly by defending myself, which humiliated him greatly and he slunk away with his tail between his legs. Because I stood up to him, I was voted the graduate who had changed the most.” Rita sighed heavily. “At the insistence of the group, I gave an impromptu speech, after being so honored which made most people in the hall quite uncomfortable. Then one of the terrible trio offered a bounty on my murder, then pulled a knife on me and publicly threatened me with bodily harm when no one took the offer to kill me in exchange for one hundred thousand dollars. A member of our class who is in law enforcement came in handy to diffuse the situation.”

  “What?” Alexei replied, his voice sharp.

  “You know, there was a reason I never wanted to go back to that town, and to interact with those people. My life there was not pleasant,” Rita said on a sigh. “But I came through the evening unharmed. I just didn’t sleep well after the confrontation.”

  “Why not? Too wound up?” Anya asked.

  “Too afraid that Peter and Greg would break into the bed and breakfast, to attack me, and my hosts, and their grand-daughters,” Rita confessed. “I was awake with every creak, and you know how Victorian era houses do creak.”

  Everyone looked at her as though she had suddenly grown a second head.

  “Now, can we change the subject?” Rita demanded. “I want to put it all behind me and move on.”

  Irina nodded. “I think this would be a good thing…Perhaps it was wrong to send you to the reunion.”

  “No, Mama. This needed to be done,” Rita replied. “I don’t regret going. Good came of it.”

  “Good?” Kiril asked, his voice clearly upset. “Someone pulled a knife on you and threatened your life! This is good?”

  “Do you think it’s the first time in my life that someone has threatened me?” Rita dismissed. “I’m well capable of taking care of myself, Kiryusha.”

  “I know you are, Mama,” Kiril said on a sigh. “But I still worry about you.”

  Rita smiled. “No more than I worry about you and your brothers.”

  “We seldom have knives drawn on us,” Alexei offered pointedly.

  “It’s not a common occurrence for me, either,” Rita replied, with a heavy yawn. “Thanks be to God. I’m going to go get a fifteen-minute power nap, now, so I don’t fall asleep at dinner. Our bags should be to the cabins shortly, if they aren’t there already. Dinner at six in the main dining room?”

  “That’s the plan. We will meet you there,” Masha replied.

  Their luggage had been delivered to the cabin door, waiting for them. Rita carried in most of the bags, with her mother bringing the lighter ones. The interior cabin, itself, was not overly large. Two single beds with a night table between them, a sofa, a desk and chair, a mini refrigerator built into the desk, a flat screen television hanging on the wall, a closet with a safe built in, and a very small bathroom.

  “This is ‘cozy’,” Irina said, after examining the cabin.

  “We’ve lived in tighter places,” Rita replied on a chuckle. “At least, we don’t have a dirt floor and mosquito nets on our beds. And honestly, with the number of events scheduled during the cruise, we’re likely to only be here to sleep and to change for dinner, anyway. Shall we unpack and get a nap?”

  “You nap. I’m going to take a walk around the ship to try to get a feel for the layout,” Irina said.

  Sitting at dinner, with her sons, their wives, and her mother, at the table, Rita felt more joyful than she had in a very long time. Conversation flowed around her as they ate and she simply allowed herself to float on the good feelings, not paying any attention to the words.

  “Mama?” Kiril asked, obviously not for the first time.

  “Sorry, Kiryusha, I was not attending,” Rita replied. “What was it?”

  He laughed. That laughter reminded her of his father. All of her sons were clearly their father’s boys. But Kiril was the most like him.

  “Obviously not,” Kiril said. “Are you well?”

  “Just happy, almost drunk with happiness,” she admitted. “I’m so delighted to be here with all of you.”

  Kiril and Alexei nodded and smiled broadly. Again, they reminded her so much of Dryusha. It was like having two copies of his face seated across the table from her.

  “I am an extremely blessed woman,” Rita stated. “I’m counting my blessings. I have family who loves me. I have good friends. I have a career I love and which earns me more money than I could ever reasonably spend in a dozen lifetimes.”

  “Only because you are way too frugal,” Kiril said with a chuckle.

  Rita laughed. “Perhaps. However, I was able to put my children through college and professional schools without them having to take out student loans. You all started your adult lives without debt. That’s a good result of my frugality.”

  “And we appreciate that, more than you will ever know,” Alexei replied.

  “It is what your father’s parents did for him, and what my mama did for me. I’ve established a family trust and have deposited funds in the account such that with careful management will be sufficient to pay for a solid college education for each of my grandchildren. And I will add to it for any other grandchildren I have, providing a college education and professional or graduate schools for them, in case I’m not around when they reach college age,” Rita said.

  Irina asked, changing the subject, “What did the lab say about that mole you recently had removed from your neck, Lyosha?”

  “It was benign,” he said. “I got the pathologist’s report last week.”

  “That is good. You will keep an eye on other moles, just in case?” Irina insisted.

  “Of course, Babushka,” Alexei replied.

  Irina looked at Masha then at Anya. “And you, Masha and Anya, my dears, when were you planning to give me great grandchildren?”

  The look that passed between Kiril and Masha told Rita that this was a sore issue.

  Kiril took his wife’s hand. “Such will happen when God allows.”

  Masha sighed. “We’ve only been married for a year. I’m not ready to sound the panic alarm and seek fertility treatments, yet.”

  “These things happen when they happen,” Anya replied, her voice tight. “Just because we can get pregnant doesn’t mean we can maintain the pregnancies to term.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Many women lose babies before, and after, having live births. I did,” Irina said, gently.

  “As did I,” Rita interjected.

  “It is better to relax about such things,” Irina said. “Just be sure to spray yourselves down well with mosquito repellent before going outdoors as there are several diseases carried by mosquitoes which can affect unborn children. I packed several cans of repellant, if you forgot yours. Otherwise, vacations are good times for relaxing, romance, and making babies.”

  “Mama! Leave them alone, please,” Rita begged, seeing Masha blush and Kiril look uneasy.


  “It’s okay, Babushka. We know you always speak your mind,” Kiril said. “Even when that makes people uncomfortable.”

  Rita said, “This is another thing I am grateful for. My sons are all good men who remind me of their wonderful father. May his memory be eternal.”

  “Amen,” everyone at the table answered.

  “Do you still miss him, your Dryusha?” Anya asked.

  “Anya, I miss him as much as if I’d lost my right arm,” Rita said, great loss in her very tight voice. “He was the better part of me.”

  Irina nodded. “This is how I still feel about my Sasha. Forty years without him, and it’s still as though I am missing the best part of myself. Marriage was meant to be a once in a lifetime relationship. The Church allows a second marriage, in some cases. And for those people, a second marriage is a blessing beyond measure.”

  Masha asked, “But you’ve never been tempted to remarry, Babushka?”

  Irina laughed. “Tempted? Of course, I’ve been tempted. Do you think I’m immune to the charms of men? I have always been blessed with a certain amount of physical beauty. After your grandfather died, I had several suitors over the years.”

  “Until now, I don’t think I’ve ever contemplated that. Thanks for the mental image that I won’t be able to shake, Babushka,” Alexei said in a dry tone before he sipped his wine.

  Irina laughed, “But no, to answer your question, Masha, I’ve never been tempted by anyone strongly enough to the point of actually following through, no. I’ve never found anyone who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, anyone I thought I could love for the rest of my life, anyone who could be to me what Sasha was; a helper, a partner, someone to pray with and for, someone who always put me ahead of himself, someone I could always put ahead of myself.”