by Desiree Hart
"I know." He grinned. "I remember your talking about it."
He put his arms around me, and we cuddled together and watched the movie. I had to hide my face in the front of his shirt during the scary parts where the demons came to carry the souls of the dead murderers away. Mischa laughed as he hugged me more tightly and kissed the top of my head.
"I never can watch this part," I told him.
"It is pretty scary," he agreed. "But you have to remember, it's make believe."
"I know," I told him. "I'm just glad I'm watching this with you instead of by myself."
"So am I."
The next day, I called my parents and told them about the house. Mom asked about the down payment, and to my surprise, Dad offered to loan me the money before I could even ask. I thanked him and told him that Mischa was going to ask his Dad to loan him half the money. He told me to let him know what Mr. Pushkin said.
Everything seemed to be going so well until several days later, when Lisa showed up on my doorstep, sobbing her heart out.
✽✽✽
"Hey! What's wrong, girl?" I asked, pulling my best friend inside.
"It's C-Chris," she stammered.
"Did you ask him to marry you?" I asked.
She nodded.
"And what did he say?"
"H-he said that he isn't ready to get married," she sobbed.
"Well, maybe just not right now," I said, trying to make her feel better.
"Th-that's not all," she continued. "H-he says that he thinks we're getting too serious and maybe we should start seeing other people."
"Well, at least he's being honest with you about it," I pointed out, remembering the whole episode with Mischa and Tina. Although I'd forgiven him and it was all water under the bridge now, it still hurt just a little to think about it.
"But I don't want to see anybody else! The only one I want to be with is Chris!"
"Well, if he isn't ready to commit, there isn't really anything you can do about it," I said. "I know it hurts really bad right now, but it'll get better over time."
She stayed for several hours, and by the time she left, I'd gotten her feeling just a little bit better. Mischa called right after she left. "Hey, babe! How's it going?"
"Lisa just came over all upset," I told him. "Chris turned down her marriage proposal and told her he thinks they should see other people."
"Oh no!" he exclaimed. "So she's taking it pretty hard, I guess."
"Yeah. She really loves him," I replied. "I sure hope she's gonna be all right."
"I'm sure she will be, over time," he assured me.
The next time I went to work, I was met with another surprise. "Mitzi! You work here now?" I asked. Mitzi was a friend of mine from high school. We'd always gotten along fine, but I'd disapproved of the way she treated guys. Her romantic relationships had all been very short term. She'd string guys along, taking what she wanted from them and then dropping them like a hot potato when the next guy came along. She'd always been perfectly nice to me, however, so I'd always been on good terms with her.
"Yep," she told me. "Just started today. I moved to California for awhile and then came back."
"Wow, it's been awhile!" I exclaimed. I hadn't seen her since we'd graduated high school.
"It sure has," she agreed. "So are you married now?"
"I was, but he was killed in an accident a couple of years ago," I told her. "I have two kids. Sage is four, and Meadow's a year and a half." Knowing her history with men, I wouldn't have dared to tell her about Mischa. Not yet, anyway. Not that I didn't trust him; I was sure he'd learned his lesson after the incident with Tina. It was her I didn't trust.
"Meadow. What a pretty name!" she exclaimed. "Unique, too."
"I've always loved nature names," I told her. "Her middle name's Lake. Sage's is Forrest. Do you have any kids?"
"Nah." She laughed. "I was never with the same guy long enough for that to happen."
All it really takes is one time of being together, I thought bitterly, suddenly reminded of Tina's swollen abdomen.
As it turned out, I didn't really have long to contemplate the significance of Mitzi's being back in my life, as Mischa's family soon flew in for the wedding. "This is my parents, Ivan and Alena," he told me. "And this is my fiancee, Tracy, and her children, Sage and Meadow."
"It's lovely to finally meet you, milaya." Alena hugged me and kissed my cheek. She had Mischa's eyes and resembled him strongly. Ivan was taller and had salt-and-pepper hair. I could see faint resemblances to Mischa in his face.
"Hello," he said, shaking my hand.
"My sisters, Karolina, Sonja, and Viktoria," Mischa continued.
"And these are my children, Paul and Zoya," Karolina told me. Paul looked to be about ten and was tall with dark hair. Karolina held the infant Zoya in her arms.
To my surprise, there was also another guest who wasn't a family member. "This is Ivan," Mischa told me. "He's been my best friend since we were four years old."
Ivan was about Mischa's height and had brown hair and eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he told me, his voice sounding unbelievably smooth and rich.
"It's great to meet you, too!" I said, immediately thinking of Lisa.
"I simply couldn't miss seeing my oldest and best friend get married," Ivan continued. "I only wish that I could perform the ceremony myself." I gasped, shocked.
"Ivan's preparing to become a Russian Orthodox priest," Mischa told me. "He only has about a year or so to go before he's ordained."
"Wow!" was all I could say.
✽✽✽
"Want to go to lunch?" Mitzi asked me at work the following day. Up until then I'd been lucky at quietly sneaking away to join Mischa for lunch without her seeing me. I still hadn't told her about Mischa. I should have known my luck would eventually run out.
"Um...I'm working through lunch today," I mumbled.
Just then Mischa arrived, accompanied by Ivan, Karolina, Sonja, and Viktoria. "I wanted to show everyone around the hospital," Mischa explained. "Ready to go to lunch?"
Embarrassed at having been caught out in my lie, I turned to see that Mitzi was still standing there. There was no way I could possibly exclude her without coming across as terribly rude. "This is Mitzi," I told Mischa and the others. "Mitzi, this is my fiance Mischa, his sisters Karolina, Sonja, and Viktoria, and his friend Ivan."
Mitzi greeted and shook hands with everyone. I felt a mixture of relief and shock when I saw the look that passed between her and Ivan.
∞∞∞
I really hit it off with Karolina right away, I suppose because we were both single mothers of an older son and younger daughter. "Your kids are a lot further apart in age than mine are," I remarked.
"Their Dad's in the Russian army," she told me. "We see each other only rarely. It's always been that way."
"I admire you," I replied. "I don't think I'd be able to maintain a long-distance relationship like that."
"It works for us," she said.
While chatting with Karolina, I cast surreptitious glances in the direction of Ivan and Mitzi ever so often. They'd seemed to have really hit it off and were chatting animatedly together.
The lunch hour passed quickly, and Mischa left with his family while I returned to work. I couldn't get Ivan and Mitzi off my mind, however, and I talked to Mischa about it the next time I got the chance.
"Ivan and Mitzi seem to really like each other," I remarked.
"So I noticed," he replied.
"I think you should warn him about her," I continued. "She's a heart breaker. She uses men, and then once she gets what she wants, she just throws them away. I'd hate to see your friend get hurt."
"How long have you known her?" he asked.
"I knew her all the way through middle and high school, but I haven't seen her since we graduated."
"High school was a long time ago, Trace," he replied. "Maybe she's changed."
"I doubt it," I said. "She went out to California with some guy and that didn't work out so she came back."
"Well, you never know." He winked at me. "People do change sometimes."
Chapter 14
A
t last our wedding day arrived. I was very excited as I put on my wedding gown and veil. "Wow, this is really it!" I said to myself. "Tomorrow at this time, I'll be Mrs. Mikhail Ivanovich Pushkin!"
The kids were excited as well, jumping and dancing around energetically. We had to keep telling Sage to quit jumping on the sofa, and Meadow flitted from one toy to another, playing with each for less than five minutes.
"When I first met Mischa, I never dreamed he'd be my brother some day," Adam remarked. Tall and handsome in a grey pin-striped suit, it wouldn't be long at all until he'd captured the heart of some girl, I imagined.
At last it was time to leave for the church. There were so many of us that we had to take separate cars. I rode in the front beside Mom with both kids in the back, while Dad and Adam rode together in a different car. I'd dressed Sage in a cute little two-piece navy blue suit and had even found a matching tie to go with it. Meadow wore a light pink dress with lace and ruffles, light pink panty hose, and black patent leather shoes. I'd also put two pink bows in her hair.
"You two are just the most gorgeous kids in the world!" I told them before we all got into the car. When we finally arrived at the church, my main concern was making sure Meadow didn't get her dress dirty.
About a half hour later, I was walking down the aisle on Dad's arm toward a beaming Mischa. In his tuxedo, he looked more handsome to me than ever, but what I wanted to do more than anything else at that moment was to rip every inch of clothing off his body and make passionate love to him.
Finally reaching the altar, I took my place beside him and looked into his eyes, which were shining with joy. A moment later, the ceremony began.
Mischa and I had written our own vows. He went first. "When I first met you, Tracy, I fell for you right away. I knew that I couldn't stay, so I enjoyed the brief time we had together and then returned to my home knowing that I would always treasure the memory of that special time. Little did I realize that I'd eventually be able to come back and stay."
"The next time I saw you, I could hardly believe you were the same girl I'd left behind ten years previously. In that time, you'd blossomed into a beautiful, graceful woman with ever so much going for you. I couldn't believe my luck at first. Then I got scared and yielded to temptation, but your generous heart forgave me and welcomed me back into your life. Ever since then we've become closer and closer, and it didn't take me long to realize that you're the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Tracy Diane Bradley, I promise to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of my life."
My turn was next. "I fell in love with you the very first time I saw you, Mischa. I was disappointed that you had to go back home, but in the back of my mind I always hoped that I'd see you again someday. After a disastrous first marriage, I hardly dared to hope that I'd have a second chance for happiness. When you were suddenly back in my life again, I thought it was too good to be true. Then I thought I'd lost you, but in the end you came back. All the way through the long recuperation after a serious injury, you were right there with me, helping me, supporting me, loving me. Mikhail Ivanovich Pushkin, I promise to love, honor, and cherish you for the rest of my life."
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," said the minister. "You may kiss the bride." As Mischa lifted my veil and kissed my lips, I knew that my fondest dream had just come true.
A moment later I saw her, sitting in one of the back pews. My mouth dropped open first in shock, then in fury. How dare she crash my wedding!
✽✽✽
All our friends and relatives came forward to congratulate us, and she disappeared in the crowd. I was so busy hugging people that I temporarily forgot about her until later on, when I saw her standing alone at the reception. I dashed up to her and grabbed her arm, digging my fingernails into her skin. "Just what the hell makes you think you're welcome here today?" I hissed.
She shrugged. "You put a notice up on the bulletin board in the break room inviting all hospital employees to your wedding," she said innocently. "Well, I'm a hospital employee."
"What's going on?" Mischa was right behind me, puzzled.
"I can't believe this!" I exclaimed.
"Who is she?" asked Mischa.
"I'm Debbie Jensen, one of your new wife's co-workers." Debbie smiled and shook Mischa's hand. "Pleased to meet you."
"Why don't you tell him about the dead flowers you left at my work station?" I spat.
"Some people can't even take a joke!" she huffed.
"Dead flowers?" Mischa was bewildered. "I don't understand!"
I pulled him aside. "She's Tina's friend!" I whispered. "She was in on what Tina did to you!" The man who'd attacked Mischa had been convicted of assault and battery and sentenced to several years in prison, but there had never been any proof to link either Tina or Debbie to the incident, and he hadn't ratted them out.
Now Mischa paled at my news. "No wonder you were so upset!"
"Aren't you?"
"Well, it is our wedding day. We can't let her spoil it," he pointed out. "Let's just hope she doesn't cause any more trouble."
On the way to the motel, I did start to relax a little. "We really did it!" I exclaimed. "We're husband and wife now!"
"For the rest of our lives," Mischa agreed, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze.
Arriving at our motel room at last, I was more than eager to begin exploring my fantasies. We were hardly inside the door before I was kneeling before him and tugging his zipper down.
"Wow, Trace," he gasped in surprise, which quickly became moans of pleasure as I used my lips, tongue, and fingers to bring him to release.
"Come here, you naughty girl," he growled. He picked me up, and I clung to him, wrapping my legs around his waist. He carried me to the bed and gently lay me back on it, hiking my skirt up and then peeling off my pantyhose and underwear.
"I see you're all wet and ready for me," he observed as he began to lightly finger my slick folds. I moaned and writhed, grinding against him, eager to feel his hot breath and wet tongue stimulating my most sensitive areas. "Do you want something?" he teased.
"Yes! Please!" I gasped.
He chuckled as he knelt between my legs, and then he was there, fondling and licking me just as I'd imagined. I cried out as I felt my first orgasm wash over me. Hastily we both peeled off all our remaining clothing, and then he was inside me and we were one.
✽✽✽
Much later we lay in one another's arms, exhausted and spent. "I'd say we've just gotten our marriage off to a great start!" Mischa exclaimed.
"I'd say you're absolutely right!" I agreed.
"I love you so much, Tracy," he murmured as he stroked my hair.
"I love you, too," I told him.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"Sex makes me hungry!"
I giggled, suddenly realizing that I was famished as well.
We both dressed in extra nice casual clothing and he took me to the nicest restaurant in town. Since we'd just been to New York City and made the down payment on the house, we'd decided to simply honeymoon in an adjacent town so that we wouldn't have to spend as much.
It was my first time visiting the restaurant, and it was very fancy. The entrance was dominated by a waterfall, and just past that were large aquariums with all variety of fish inside.
Our waitress led us to our seats and handed us menus. "Everything is so expensive!" I gasped.
Mischa chuckled. "Order whatever you want. You're worth it."
Feeling just a little guilty, I placed my order and, while waiting for it to arrive, glanced around myself in wonder. It was by far the nicest restaurant I'd ever eaten in. As a single mother, it had always been well outside my price
range. I knew that it must have been something of a sacrifice for Mischa to take me here, and it made me love him even more.
Dinner was delicious. I had boiled lobster with butter and fried shrimp and oysters, and Mischa had steak. I ate every bit of my meal, and Mischa asked me if I wanted dessert.
"Are you serious?" I asked, aware of the small fortune he'd paid for our meals.
"Of course!" he said. "It's our special day. Let's celebrate!"
I ordered key lime pie and he had chocolate cake, and afterwards we went for a moonlight stroll hand in hand. "Just think," I said. "A year ago today, I had no idea I'd ever even see you again."
"Life sure is full of surprises, isn't it," Mischa agreed.
When we got back to the motel, I called my parents to make sure that the kids were OK. "They're fine," Mom assured me. "Sage was so tired he even went to sleep without a bedtime story."
"That's a first for him," I replied, knowing how much my son loved to be read to.
We talked for a few minutes more, and I told her to give them hugs and kisses from me. "Are they all right?" asked Mischa when I got off the telephone.
"They're fine," I told him.
We made love again, then sat up in bed watching television together for awhile before falling asleep in one another's arms. I was so happy that I felt as if nothing bad could ever happen again.
✽✽✽
It was almost eleven by the time we awakened that morning. We both opened our eyes at about the same time. "Well, good morning, Mrs. Pushkin," Mischa said with a smile.
"Good morning yourself, Mr. Pushkin," I replied.
"Hungry?" he asked me.
"Not for food." Lightly my hand traced the length of his body until it encountered the stiffness of his erection. He needed no further encouragement as our bodies came together as one once more. Afterwards we lay drowsily content in one another's arms.
"Well, we might as well take advantage of that free breakfast bar before all the food's gone," Mischa said after awhile. By the time we'd dressed and reached the lobby, nothing was left but some congealed scrambled eggs and bagels that were as hard as rocks, but we didn't care. We made a game of playing catch with the bagels, tossing and ducking and running around until the motel employees started glaring at us.