by Sherie Keys
He was alive. And he was slowly regaining consciousness. Rudolph and Alexei had failed at killing him. He wondered just what that meant. His eyes were heavy. He did his best to pull them open. Finally, he found himself staring up at the ceiling tiles. He blinked. The small action seemed to take all of his strength.
“Dimitri?” He heard the soft voice from his right hand side. Dimitri turned his head. It was not only exhausting, but also painful. His head and his neck ached from their attack. But slowly, he managed to face that direction only to find himself face to face with Alicia’s dark eyes.
“Alicia.” He breathed. She smiled.
“You’re awake.” When he opened his mouth to speak, she pressed her finger against his lips. “Shh, no. Just stay still, ok?”
He gave her a faint nod. He didn’t want to stay still. He wanted to talk to her about everything that had transpired. He owed her an apology-one that she would hopefully listen to this time.
Dimitri remained still as a doctor came in. He flashed a light into his eyes, quickly checking his vitals.
“Well, looks like you’ll pull through.” The doctor was smiling. Dimitri was unimpressed with the comment. “You can sleep for a bit, but we’ll need to wake you every so often to monitor that concussion.” Alicia could handle that.
“Any permanent damage?” She asked before Dimitri could speak.
“At this time, I can’t see any. The healing process is going to take some time.” He looked at Dimitri with a warning expression. Dimitri simply rolled his eyes. At least that didn’t hurt.
“But….” Dimitri tried the words. “I will be able to work again, yes?”
“I don’t see why not.” The doctor took a step backwards towards the door. “But it won’t be right away. I don’t quite know when you’ll be able to go home. We’ll need to keep an eye on you for at least another day or so.”
“That is totally understandable.” Alicia didn’t even look at Dimitri as she assured the doctor. “And once he is home, he will get nothing but rest.”
“Wives are always good at making certain of that.” He gave Alicia a quick wink, and then waved to both of them. “I’ll be back in a little while. You two need anything, just call for a nurse.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Alicia turned to look at Dimitri. “You’re going to be all right. That’s all that matters to me.” She wrapped her fingers around his hand, squeezing tightly. Dimitri looked down at her fingers and smiled.
“I am glad that you are here.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” She raised her other hand to stroke her fingers down his cheek. Dimitri gave her a soft smile.
“Alicia, I am so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. Every time that I lie to you, I hated it. I never wanted to do it.”
“Well,” Alicia sighed, “I’m not happy that you lied to me. And I’m not happy about your past. But I am just….” She paused. “I’m just so overwhelmed at what you did. Not many people would go undercover for police like that.” Dimitri chuckled softly.
“Well, smart people would not do it.”
“Maybe not,” Alicia stroked his cheek, “But brave people would.” Dimitri looked up at her. He met her eyes, seeing the respect in them. She was proud of him, and worried about him. It was everything that he had hoped for.
“I am glad that you think so.” He turned his hand over, closing his fingers around hers. “You are the only person that I care about.”
“I should hope so.” She leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. “And I meant what I said…I’m going to bring you home, get you some rest, and get you all well again.”
“I will listen to whatever you say.” Dimitri laughed, but then decided that hurt a bit too much. Alicia gave him a warning look. He nodded, settling back against his pillow. “How is the baby?”
“He or she is just fine.” Alicia pressed her free hand to her stomach. “Dimitri, I just couldn’t imagine raising this baby without you. I was so angry with you, but I never want our baby to not know their father. The idea of losing you.” She shuddered. Dimitri’s fingers tightened on her hand.
“I will be all right. And the baby will never know life without both of its parents.” It made her feel better. She was truly relieved that he was alive, and talking. And apparently functioning.
“Good.” Alicia smiled down at him. “That’s all that I want.”
“So you can forgive me?” He thought that he knew the answer, but he figured he had better ask.
“You’ve told me everything?” She knew now wasn’t really the time to have this conversation, but she had to make sure that everything was out in the open.
“Everything.” Dimitri raised one hand gingerly in an oath. “I promise you. There will no more secrets, no more lies.”
“And you’ll go and get yourself some valid paperwork?” Alicia questioned.
“I will get everything.” He looked up her reassuringly. “We will have a real family here.” He hesitated a moment, and then decided to mention what he had decided on the Fourth of July. “When the time is right, and I am eligible, I want to take citizenship test. I want to be real citizen.”
Alicia felt a swell of warmth run through her. The thought of him wanting to make that type of a commitment to a foreign land was beautiful.
“That says so much about your character.” She ran the back of her knuckles against his bruised cheek. “We’re going to be so happy, Dimitri.”
“What about your parents?” He asked suspiciously. “How do they feel about all of this?”
“Well, they weren’t happy about how upset I was.” He had expected that. He would be just the same way if his daughter was treated as he had treated Alicia. “But once they found out what you did for the police, I think they were ready to sign you up for sainthood.”
Dimitri remembered that it hurt to laugh. His ribs must have been broken. Or at least severely bruised. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered the kicks and decided on broken.
“How does your head feel?” Alicia worried that she was talking him to death.
“Sore.” Dimitri admitted. “I suppose that I will not be working for a while…if I still have job.”
“I’ll call Stan tomorrow and explain things.” Alicia leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. “But you won’t be working for a while. You won’t be doing much of anything.” It wasn’t normally his idea of pleasure, but right now it sounded good. Alicia must have seen the hesitation in his face because she laughed.
“Don’t worry. Think of this as your chance to catch up on as many political talk shows as you can imagine.” That made him smile.
“In that case…it does not sound so bad.”
“I thought you’d see it better that way.” Alicia leaned down to kiss his lips. “I love you, Dimitri. And you are never allowed to scare me like this again.”
“I promise.” He met her eyes. “I love you too, Alicia. I will show you the man that I truly am.” He was getting tired from their time together. Alicia saw it in his face.
“Get some sleep.” She told him softly. “I’ll be here. And I’ll wake you up in two hours.” He did not need to be told twice. Dimitri closed his eyes, settling back into the bed. Alicia settled into her chair, keeping his hand firmly in hers. Dimitri fell back into sleep. He was beyond excited that he was getting a second chance at his new American life.
*
January, One Year Later:
Alicia was nervous. She thought that it might have been the most nervous she had ever been in her entire life. She was certain that everything would go just fine, but there was that heavy hesitation in the back of her mind.
It was hard to believe that she and Dimitri had been married for eighteen months. He would be able to get his Green Card soon. She thought of how things had been before, and how they were now. She thought of all the uncomfortableness at not knowing one another, and having to explain their actions to everyone else.
In the end, none of it had really
mattered.
Dimitri was still working for Stan. He had brought in so much business for the man, Stan had decided to expand the garage. Dimitri was now the manager of five other men beneath him. The garage was always busy, but with Dimitri’s title he now had the opportunity to have more flexible hours. That brought him home more to her.
For now, Alicia had decided not to work. Dimitri brought in enough money to support their lifestyle. Alicia had never been the bread winner, and she had never been good with money. Dimitri was both. She knew it was an old fashioned mentality but she was thrilled to step back and let him manage everything. Her friends and her mother were both rolling their eyes, but Alicia didn’t mind. After all, it left her more time for Nadia.
Nadia would be a year in February. She’d been born on Valentine’s Day. It was funny because it was a holiday that Alicia had never found necessary to celebrate. She’d even warned Dimitri that she was serious: no cards, no gifts, nothing. They would pick up some chocolate at the day after sale on the fifteenth. Then she went into labor on the night of the thirteenth, and Nadia had been born in the evening of the fourteenth. Dimitri had laughed that they were now forced to celebrate. So Alicia had dubbed it Nadia Day instead of Valentine’s Day.
Nadia was a beautiful baby. She had deep olive skin that Alicia knew would tan. Her hair had come in a mass of ringlets. Together, they were an identical dark-haired, dark-eyed family.
Not only that, she was an extremely happy baby. Nadia was literally happy all of the time. Even when she had colds or ear infections, she never stopped smiling. She even managed to squeak in a way that Alicia had never known that they could. She was so incredibly proud of her daughter.
She and Dimitri were deeply connected. She had never thought that it was possible to meet her soul mate through a marriage of convenience, but she had. She and Dimitri were each in tune to the others’ feelings. They never fought. In fact, the only argument that she ever remembered having with him was on the morning he’d told her about his lifestyle.
Dimitri had not been lying when he told her that would be a thing of the past. He had never mingled in anything involving the law again. He never even got so much as a traffic ticket. His immigration paperwork was in order, and tucked neatly into their safe deposit box.
He was a good father to Nadia. He had been hands on with her ever since her birth. They had never truly been able to decide on a name before the baby was born, but as soon as Alicia had laid eyes on her she had wanted to give her an exotic name. Dimitri hadn’t. He was afraid with her looks an exotic name would make her seem too interesting to the boys one day. Alicia had laughed, and then told him that it was ridiculous.
Nadia was her favorite Russian name. Before Dimitri, it was the only one she had known. So it had been Nadia Rose Petrescu.
Alicia heard babbling on the baby monitor. Getting up from her place on the couch, she headed into the nursery. She smiled when she thought about how it had once been Dimitri’s bedroom a lifetime ago.
“Hi baby girl!” Alicia grinned as she entered the room. Nadia was standing up in her crib, holding onto the railing. She was already beaming. “How was your nap?”
Alicia scooped the baby into her arms. She buried her face into the little girl’s hair, drawing in her scent.
“I hope you had a good nap.” Alicia rocked the baby for a moment. “We’ve got a big night ahead of us. A really big night.”
She changed the baby’s diaper, and then began going through her dresser. Nadia had dozens of beautiful little outfits. Alicia needed to find just the perfect one for today. Finally, she decided on a pair of purple pants with a purple striped top. She had thought about a little dress, but she didn’t want to make it too obvious.
It was the family’s biggest day since Nadia’s birth. Dimitri’s parents were finally flying in from Russia. Alicia was finally going to meet her in-laws. Nadia would meet her grandparents. Alicia did not know how this was going to go.
Dimitri’s parents did not know why Dimitri and Alicia had gotten married. Dimitri figured at this point they did not need to. Alicia did not entirely agree. His parents were going to ask where they met. She knew that they could give their usual “online” answer, but everyone else knew the full story. What would they say if someone mentioned something? What if his parents wanted more details?
She was also concerned about his past coming out. Dimitri assured her that his parents had always seen him with large sums of money and never asked from where it had come. He did not imagine that now would be any different.
Alicia was agreeing to keep her mouth shut so that there were no arguments, but she hoped it all went smoothly. She wanted her in-laws to like her. She knew that they would love Nadia-there was no question there.
In the kitchen, she fed the baby to make sure that she was happy when Grandma and Grandpa Petrescu arrived. She had asked Dimitri if he wanted her to call her grandparents by their Russian names. Dimitri wanted Nadia to embrace Russian culture, but not live by it, so no. Alicia supposed that she should be grateful that she had married a man so in love with American culture.
Her phone rang. She reached for it, quickly picking it up. “Hello?” She brought it up to her ear.
“Hello yourself.” His accent had not faded, but his English was certainly better. “How is everything at home?”
“Nadia’s having her afternoon snack, otherwise not a thing.” Alicia smiled over at the baby. “Do you want to say hi to Daddy?”
She held the phone out. Nadia was occupied with her food, but she babbled a bit into the object. She heard Dimitri chuckled.
“Hello baby girl. We will be home soon.” Alicia pulled the receiver back to her ear.
“Do you have them?”
“Not yet. Their plane will be in soon. It may take a bit longer because they are coming international.”
They had gotten a much easier flight directly into Baltimore. Alicia didn’t know why they hadn’t cleared Customs in another city and then flown to Baltimore. D.C. wasn’t that far away, after all. But again, she kept her mouth shut. It was what all of her friends had encouraged when your in-laws were involved.
“OK, well, we’ll be here. Just do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
“Text me when you’re leaving the airport?”
“Sure. Why?”
“So that I have time to put myself together before your parents come.” Alicia laughed. She heard the soft laughter that followed it on the other end.
“OK, ok, I will text you. But you have nothing to worry about. They will love you.” So long as his parents were ok with the fact that their Russian born son had married an American girl.
“I’m glad that you think so.” Alicia gave the phone a fond smile. “All right. I’ll see you later.”
“Goodbye. I love you.”
“I love you.” They never ended a call without saying it. Not ever. That was what happened when you found yourself at risk of losing someone you loved so early into a relationship.
Dimitri hung up the phone. Alicia had been nervous since his parents had decided to come. They were staying for a full month. They wanted to be here for Nadia’s first birthday. Fortunately, there was no room to stay with them. They had gotten them a hotel room near the house, and Dimitri would drive them wherever they wanted to go.
While Alicia was worried about what his parents would think of her, Dimitri was worried about other matters. First of all, he had not seen his parents since he left Russia almost two years ago. Their communication had been sporadic. Now they were about to join him in a strange land with a daughter-in-law and granddaughter that they did not know. Dimitri felt that this could go any direction. He just wasn’t sure which one.
He also worried that introducing his parents into his life would create a strain on his marriage. While they weren’t staying with them, Mr. and Mrs. Petrescu would be fixtures in their lives until the end of February. Dimitri did not know how Alicia would react to having them virtuall
y on top of them for so long. For that matter, he did not know how he would react.
If there was one thing he was not worried about, it was how they would love Nadia. Nadia was his precious little girl-his true gem. He had never been more dedicated to anyone in his life. It had taken one look, and she’d had him wrapped around a tiny finger. He knew that she would for the rest of his life.
Dimitri paced the airport. He did not mind watching the people come and go. When time grew closer, he made his way to the international baggage claim. There, he checked the flight statuses before settling down to wait.
He watched the other international travelers arriving. He thought of how he had been when he first came into this country. While his optimism had been high, he’d also been apprehensive. He supposed that some of that was from the way that he had entered the country. He figured that most of these people who were entering now were not there for the same reasons that he had been-at least he hoped not. That lifestyle did not matter anymore. He was a good family man now with a solid job. That was all that he would ever be again.
Alicia had tried to play with the baby, but she was too nervous. So she spent most of the time sitting on the floor beside her while Nadia alternated between the bright characters on the screen or handing plastic toys to her mother. Alicia calmly smiled and fussed over the toy, but she really kept checking her phone to see if Dimitri had texted.
When he finally did, Alicia was both relieved and horrified. She would be glad to finally lay eyes on the two people that had once meant so much to Dimitri. It would be nice to have an extension of her family.
“OK, baby.” Alicia scooped up Nadia. “Let’s get you changed one more time so that Mommy can change.”
In the master bedroom, she fussed over what to put on. Finally, it was a pair of jeans and a gray sweater. While she hadn’t wanted Nadia to be too done up, she didn’t want to be that way either. She went over Nadia with a fine tooth comb. She didn’t know why-for something to do she supposed. It was hard to find a baby unappealing. She knew that his parents would love her no matter what.