by Desiree Hart
After that we went ice skating for a couple of hours. Mischa was much better at it than I was. "You must have been born knowing how to skate," I told him.
"Almost." He chuckled. "I first started learning when I was four years old. Mom had her heart set on my making it to the Olympics. I almost did."
"Wow, really?"
"Really. I made it all the way to the semi finals."
"You must have been really disappointed."
"Mom was really disappointed. To be honest, I was more relieved. I was incredibly shy when I was younger and was terrified of performing before an audience."
We ate a couple of slices of pizza at the skating rink, played video games for awhile, and then went to see a movie. After that, we had a romantic candlelight dinner in a cozy little restaurant that had a violinist.
"Are you enjoying yourself so far?" Mischa asked me as we were waiting for our food to arrive.
"Immensely," I replied. "Are you?"
"I'm having the time of my life!" he exclaimed. "I wish it never had to end."
"So do I," I told him.
After dinner he took me dancing until about four in the morning, and then we went back to the motel. I was so exhausted that I was asleep almost before my head hit the pillow. We slept in until almost noon the following day, had a quick breakfast, and then drove to my parents'.
Sage and Meadow came running as soon as we entered the house. "Mommy! Mommy!" Sage cried as he raced into my arms.
"Da!" cried Meadow as she ran to Mischa. That was her special name for him. "That means 'yes' in my language," he told her as he picked her up and hugged her. "Did you know that?"
✽✽✽
Moving all our stuff into our new house turned out to be a huge job. I had way more stuff to pack up than Mischa did, of course, so after he was finished packing, he stopped by to help me. "You never really realize how much stuff you own until you have to pack it all up and move!" I remarked.
"Tell me about it!" he laughed.
Dad had loaned us his truck for moving the big, heavy stuff. We loaded the sofa, recliner, beds, table, and chairs into the back and piled boxes of smaller stuff all around them. We made what seemed like endless trips back and forth between the two homes, and when we had finally gotten everything moved, it was almost dark and there were boxes sitting all over the place.
"I'm exhausted!" I groaned, yawning and stretching. Mischa hugged me and rubbed my back.
"I'll order pizza," he offered. We sat on the bare floor in the kitchen to eat it and then got busily back to work once more. By nightfall we had the furniture in place, and I drove around to my parents' to pick the kids up. "We're spending the night in our new house tonight," I told them.
"Yippee!" Sage exclaimed, and Meadow chortled with glee. However, my son's expression quickly changed to one of confusion as soon as he'd entered the house and looked around.
"This doesn't look like a regular house!" he complained. "Nothin's where it's s'posed to be. Everything's just sittin' around in boxes!"
"That's because we haven't finished unpacking yet," I told him. "Once everything's unpacked, it'll look like a regular house."
I got the kids ready for bed, and Mischa read them a bedtime story. We'd been asleep for a couple of hours when we were awakened by Sage's screaming. Mischa and I both dashed to his bedroom right away.
I switched on the light to see my son sitting up in bed with a terrified expression on his face. "There was a monster and it was chasing me!" he cried.
I sat beside him on the bed and took him into my arms and comforted him. "It was only a dream," I told him. "It's all right. You're safe. I'm here." I gently rocked him in my arms and softly sang to him until he was asleep again, then gently laid him back down on the bed and returned to my own bedroom.
"When I was a little boy, I used to have bad dreams about Baba Yaga," Mischa told me. "Mom would hold me and comfort me just like you did with Sage and tell me that Baba Yaga wasn't real, that she was only make believe and that I was safe."
"Who's Baba Yaga?" I asked.
"She's a scary old woman who flies around in a bowl," Mischa told me.
"A bowl?" I giggled. "Whatever happened to a broomstick?"
He laughed too. "Baba Yaga has a bowl, and a pestle," he told me. "When I was naughty, my Babushka, my grandmother, used to frighten me by saying that if I didn't behave, Baba Yaga would get me."
"In my family, it was the bogeyman." I laughed. "I guess every culture has its own figure to scare kids into being good."
He put his arms around me and held me close, and we both soon drifted back to sleep.
Chapter 15
W
hen I awakened the following morning, I didn't remember where I was at first. Then it hit me that I was lying in bed with Mischa in our own house that we were buying together. I looked at Mischa, and he smiled at me.
"Good morning," he said as he kissed the tip of my nose.
"Morning," I replied. "It's great to wake up together in our own house, isn't it!"
"Isn't it though!" he agreed. "And that's the way it's going to be from now on!"
"Mommy, I want to watch the Care Bears!" Sage called.
"In a minute, hon," I promised him. I got up and fixed breakfast for the kids and put a video in for them, then made breakfast for Mischa and myself.
After awhile we went to the airport to see Mischa's family off to Russia. Ivan was there with Mitzi. "I decided to stay here after all," he told us.
Mischa looked alarmed. "But what about your plans?" he asked his friend. "You're almost an Orthodox priest! Don't tell me you're going to just throw all that away for a fling!"
"I can still become an Orthodox priest right here," Ivan said evenly. "And what Mitzi and I have together is more than just a fling. I'm in love."
"So quickly?" Mischa asked skeptically.
"It doesn't take too long to realize it when it's the real thing," Ivan replied. Mischa and I exchanged glances, and he shook his head.
Karolina and I embraced and promised to stay in touch. I couldn't believe how close she and I had grown in the limited amount of time we'd spent together.
"Are you my new granny?" Sage asked Alena.
"I'd be happy to be your granny," she told him as she hugged and kissed him and his sister.
The next time I went to work, I confronted Mitzi about her relationship with Ivan. "He's been Mischa's best friend since they were little kids," I told her. "You'd better treat him right or you'll be sorry!"
"I'd never hurt Ivan," she assured me. "For the first time in my life, I'm really in love."
"Yeah, I'll bet," I muttered to myself.
✽✽✽
I called Lisa the first chance I got. "Tracy!" she exclaimed. "How are you, girl? How was the honeymoon?"
"It was nice," I told her. "We had dinner together and went ice skating and to a movie. How have you been?"
"I've been all right," she told me. "Chris and I have decided to be just friends for awhile. We're both gonna date other people and see what happens."
"Well, I'm glad you're OK with it now," I said.
"Yeah, well, after thinking about it, I decided that I did kind of rush into that thing with him," she replied. "I sure learned my lesson about that!"
"Well, I though you guys were really great together," I told her. "I personally hope you end up getting back together."
"It might well happen," she said. "Either way, I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it."
I remembered how devastated I'd been over Mischa's affair with Tina and was surprised at her cavalier attitude.
Not too long after that, I was working in the emergency room when a young man who looked vaguely familiar came in with an injured knee. "Tracy!" he exclaimed when he saw me. "Don't you remember me?"
I frowned. "Should I?"
"I'm Danny!" he continued.
"Danny? Oh my God, it's been ages! How are you?" Danny
had been one of Adam's closest friends. He and their friend Jason had been with my brother when he'd met Mischa for the first time, but Danny's family had moved away several years later, and the boys had lost touch.
"I'm fine," Danny told me. "So you're still working as a nurse!"
"I have been for awhile now," I told him. "You'll never guess who else works here now!"
"Who?"
"Remember Mischa?"
"Of course I remember Mischa! So he's back in the United States now?"
I nodded. "He works as a security guard here. He saved me from being mugged in the parking lot last year. Not too long after that, we started dating and soon realized that we were in love. We got married on Valentine's Day."
Danny's mouth dropped open. "You're kidding! So you and Mischa are husband and wife now?"
I smiled. "That's right!"
"Wow, I never would have believed it!"
"So are you back here to stay?"
"If things work out. I'm looking for a job right now."
"Maybe Mischa could help you get on here at the hospital. I can't wait to tell him I saw you again. He'll be thrilled!"
"I'd love to see him again too. Is Jason still around?"
"Yeah, he's still around. He and Adam aren't that tight anymore, but they still see each other from time to time. Hey, maybe we could all get together sometime. Kind of like a reunion."
"That would be great!" Danny was so happy he'd forgotten about his injured knee and let out a yelp when he stood up on it.
Mischa and I worked the same shift that day, so we rode home together. "Guess who came into the emergency room today," I said to him. "Remember Danny?"
Mischa grinned. "Adam's friend? Of course I remember him! Is he all right?"
"Yeah, he just hurt his knee. Torn cartilage. He's back in town and looking for a job. I suggested that maybe you could help him get on at the hospital."
"Sure, I'll ask my boss if he has any openings."
"I was also thinking that maybe we could have him and Adam over for dinner sometime, and Jason too, if he can make it."
"Sure, that would be great..."
"Mischa, look out!"
But it was already too late. I cringed as I heard the soft 'thud' of the car striking the cat.
"Oh, no!" Mischa gasped. "What did I just hit?"
"A cat," I told him.
He pulled the car onto the side of the road, and we both got out and looked at the mass of black and white fur lying perfectly still in the middle of the road. At the same instant, a little girl of about nine or ten ran toward us. "Fluffy! Fluffy!" she called. "Hey, have either of you seen my...oh, no!" She spied the dead cat as well and began to cry.
"Oh, God, I'm so sorry!" Mischa went to her and embraced her. "I didn't see him. He just came out of nowhere! I didn't have time to stop!"
"You killed my cat!" The girl backed away from Mischa and glared furiously at him.
"He didn't mean to kill your cat, sweetie." I went to the girl and embraced her as well. "It was an accident!"
She stood there silently, her arms crossed, still glaring at Mischa, who walked over to the dead cat and picked it up. "I'm so sorry," he repeated.
"Give him to me," the girl demanded. "I have to b-bury him."
"Would you like some help?" Mischa offered.
"Well...all right," the girl agreed grudgingly.
Mischa and I followed her to a small shed behind the house we were parked in front of. She opened the door and grabbed a shovel that was resting against the wall with several other tools, then led us to a spot in the back yard.
"Do you have anything to wrap him in?" asked Mischa.
"I'll get something." She dashed into the house and returned about twenty minutes later carrying a worn sheet and accompanied by a middle-aged woman, who gave us a questioning look.
"I'm Mischa, and this is my wife Tracy." Mischa smiled and extended his hand to her. "We're helping your daughter bury her cat."
"Oh...well, I'm Melanie Taylor, and my daughter's name is Brandy," the woman said.
"I'm awfully sorry about the cat," Mischa told Melanie. "He just darted right out in front of me and I didn't have time to stop. I'll be happy to buy you another cat, if you want."
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," said Melanie.
"Aw, Mom!" Brandy protested.
Mischa gave Melanie a questioning look. "Well, all right, then," she consented.
"Great! I'll pick you up Saturday morning at ten and take you to the pet store, and you can pick out the one you want," Mischa told Brandy, who grinned.
"Do you have any kids?' she asked us.
"We have a four-year-old son named Sage and a year-and-a-half-old girl named Meadow," Mischa told her.
"Do you have any pictures of them?" Brandy's grief over Fluffy's unfortunate demise seemed to have been quickly forgotten. I took out a photograph of Sage and Meadow to show her.
"Oh, they're cute!" she exclaimed.
Quickly Mischa wrapped the dead cat in the sheet and buried it, and we were on our way. "Kids," he chuckled, shaking his head.
"I thought she was kind of cute," I said.
"Oh, she was. Definitely," he agreed.
Saturday morning we rose early, got the kids up and ready, and picked Brandy up and took her to the pet store, which had a large selection of kittens in various colors.
"I want that one!" Brandy cried, pointing to a kitten that was colored similarly to the cat she'd just lost. "I'm gonna name you Fluffy the Second," she announced when the kennel worker placed it in her arms.
"Can we have a kitten too, Mommy?" asked Sage.
Mischa and I exchanged glances. "You knew this was gonna happen," I told him.
"So I did." He smiled wryly. "Which one do you want, Sage?"
"That one!" Sage cried, pointing. About a half hour later, we were on our way with two kittens in the car. "Thanks a lot for Fluffy the Second," Brandy said to us as Mischa dropped her off at her house.
"No problem at all," Mischa replied. "Glad to do it."
✽✽✽
One night the following week, we had Adam, Danny, and Jason over for dinner. Danny was still on crutches, so Adam had to pick him up and bring him.
"Hey, bro!" Jason said, hugging him. "Long time, no see!"
"It has been awhile," Danny agreed. "It's great to see everyone again. Especially you, Mischa. I'm glad you were finally able to come back to the United States."
"Thanks," said Mischa. "It's nice to see you again as well, Danny."
"Tracy told me you work as a security guard at the hospital," said Danny. "So how long have you been back?"
"It's been several years now," Mischa replied.
"And what do you do now, Adam?" asked Danny.
"I'm a stock clerk at a supermarket," Adam told him.
"And what about you?" Danny asked Jason.
"I work at my Dad's body shop," Jason replied.
I'd made fajitas, and everyone complimented me on how good they were. Sage's kitten, which he'd named Whiskers, rubbed himself against everyone's legs, then cuddled up to Meadow, who promptly sneezed.
"She does that every time Whiskers comes near," I remarked.
"I hate to say it, but I think perhaps she's allergic," Mischa replied.
After dinner, we all sat around in the living room talking about old times. "So, is the goofy golf still there?" asked Danny.
"It sure is!" Mischa told him. "I took Tracy there on our first 'real' date."
"What about the race track?"
"It's still there too," said Adam.
"How about on Saturday we go around and see all those places again?" Jason suggested.
"Great idea!" Adam agreed.
After our guests had left, Mischa helped me clean up. "That was very enjoyable," he commented.
"It was," I agreed. "But I'm afraid you're right. We are gonna have to get rid of the cat," I add
ed as Meadow sneezed again.
"Aw, Mommy!" Sage protested.
"I'm sorry, sweetie," I told my son. "But Whiskers is making your sister sick. Maybe we can find another kind of animal you'd like even better."
"But I like Whiskers better!" Sage glared at his sister. "This is all your fault!"
"It is not her fault!" I said angrily. "Don't you dare blame her!"
"Come on, sport," Mischa said cheerfully. "Maybe we can get you a pet monkey or a pet dragon...or maybe a pet dinosaur!"
Sage giggled. "There aren't any more dinosaurs, Daddy! They're all stinked now!"
"Extinct," I corrected.
We took Whiskers back to the pet store and explained the situation to the owner. Luckily, Sage found a Shih Tzu that he fell in love with, and the owner let us exchange the animals. "So what are you gonna call your new puppy?" I asked my son on the way home.
"How about Simba?" Sage suggested.
Mischa and I laughed. "That's a good name," said Mischa.
Little Simba kept us awake all night long, crying and howling. It was several days before he got used to his new environment.
Chapter 16
O
n Saturday we picked Danny, Kevin, and Adam up and took them to the race track. Mischa let Sage ride with him while Meadow and I looked on. After that we went to the goofy golf course. I like to play goofy golf too, so Mischa and I took turns watching Meadow.
"That was a lot of fun," Mischa said after we'd taken Danny, Kevin, and Adam back home. "It was just like going back in time ten years. You weren't with us the first time we went all those places, were you?"
"No, I was probably working at the hospital that day," I replied.
"Well, I'm glad you were able to come along this time," said Mischa. He stopped by the pizza buffet on the way back home. The sun was just beginning to set, bathing the atmosphere in brilliant shades of pink and purple.