by Alexa Davis
"Babi, I'm not hungry," I protested, knowing that it would be futile.
"Nonsense," she dismissed me as she pulled out a bowl and began ladling out the rich fish soup that reminded me of holidays and happy times with my family. "You are always hungry, and I always feed you."
I threw my hands in the air, but sat down at the kitchen table to watch her bustle around ladling soup, cutting a thick slice of hot, dark bread for me, and putting it on the table with butter. She was right, of course, I was always hungry, but I'd come to discuss a serious matter with her and I didn't want food to interfere with the talk I was about to initiate. I had no idea how my grandmother would respond, but I was desperate for a solution that wouldn't tear the family apart.
"Babi, this is delicious," I said as I dipped the thick bread into the broth and tucked it in my mouth.
"Of course, it is," she smiled. "Your Babi only makes delicious food! Now, why are you here, Maksimka?"
"You know me too well," I laughed as I continued dipping bread and putting it into my mouth. "I have a problem, Babi, and I need advice. Only, I'm not sure if there is a solution that will make anyone happy."
"Stop beating around the bush, tell me what you need," she said as she worked the dough for another loaf of bread.
"Papa wants me to join the family business, and he sent Kristov to make me do it," I began. I felt stupid once it came out of my mouth, but Babi had never been one to judge before she heard the whole story.
"And, what's the problem with you saying no?" she asked as she flipped the ball of dough and began pounding it on the counter.
"Kristov said that I am not going to be allowed to say no," I said. "He told me that Papa wants me to get my stars and become vore y zakone, but I don't want to. I don’t want to be part of the brotherhood of the Russian Mafia. I just want to run my jewelry business and stay out of the way."
"I understand, but why don't you want to be with family, Maksimka?" she asked. "It's an honor to be vore y zakone. Your Dadushka ran a very efficient organization in Moscow. He was a good man, Maksimka. Your papa is a very good man, too."
"I know, Babi," I said quietly as I finished my soup and watched her move across the kitchen and cut into the cooling loaf. She sliced a big piece and set it in front of me.
"Eat. The coulibiac is best hot," she ordered.
"Babi, I'm full!" I protested as I lifted my fork and cut into the delicious mix of fish, rice, hardboiled eggs, mushrooms, and dill. It had always been my favorite dish and no matter how full I was, I always had room for coulibiac.
"Maksimka, your father has built a loyal following here in Chicago, and it has taken him many years to do it. He wants to leave his business to his sons, the same way his father left the business to him many years ago,” she said as she turned back to her dough and began shaping it so she could stuff it with sweet goat cheese. “You need to understand that the family business is not just money or paper. It's blood. It's honor. It's tradition."
"I know, Babi, I know," I said nodding my head as I chewed. "I'm not trying to deny the tradition or the importance of it, I just don't want to be a part of it! I wasn't made the same way Kristov was, I don't have that ability to be cold and calculating the way he and Papa can be. I don't want to do what they do."
Babi nodded as she worked the dough and then added the cheese before folding over the edges to form a rounded crust that would puff up and brown around the cheese. As she worked, I could see that she was thinking, so I didn't interrupt her. When she was ready, she turned and spoke.
"Maksimka, I know you want to go your own way, but I'm not sure you can," she said. My eyes widened as I listened to her explain my options. "I think you're always going to have to have one foot in the family business, even if you don't want to. Otherwise, you are going to find that it is a very lonely world out there and that it's not very safe when you don't have family backing you up. Do you understand what I am saying?"
"I think so," I nodded as I swallowed hard. "But, Babi, I can't do what they do. I don't want to do it."
"Sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to do, Maksimka," she said giving me a knowing look. "Sometimes, you have to put family first and swallow the idea that you can step out on your own and do anything differently."
As she spoke, I began to feel hopeless. I didn't want to be a thug or a mafia boss, but it didn't look like I was going to have much choice in the matter. What Babi was telling me was that family always came first and what I wanted would be shoved aside to make room for the needs of my family. I felt the anger rising from the pit of my stomach, so I swallowed hard and waited for it to pass.
"Maksimka," Babi said as she crossed the room and took my face in her weathered hands. "It's not fair, I know. Believe me, I know. But in the end, all we have is family and what the family needs, we have to give. In the end, the sacrifice is worth it. And no matter what you think, you have to know that your Papa loves you and Kristov more than anything on earth. He will do everything in his power to protect you and make sure you live well."
"So, I owe him my loyalty," I muttered as I looked away. Seconds later, I felt the sting of Babi's hand as she pulled back and slapped me hard across the face.
"Don't you ever mock your father's loyalty," she warned in a stern voice. "This is not a game, Maksim, this is our life. You are part of the vore y zakone whether you like it or not, and I will not have you disrespecting it."
"I'm sorry, Babi," I said as I suppressed the urge to bring my hand to my face and feel the cheek where she'd delivered the blow. I knew then that my only way was to get onboard as best I could and then look for an out when the time came. Babi might love me, but she wasn't going to be my advocate in my attempt to free myself from my father.
"Just do what is best for the family, Maksimka," she said as she leaned down and kissed my still stinging cheek. "Always the family."
I nodded as I began to plot my way out.
CHAPTER FOUR
Lexi
I sat on the floor in front of the door sobbing until I was exhausted, then I pulled my phone off of the table and called my best friend, Viv. She assured me that she would be there within the hour and that she'd bring the necessary supplies. I hung up, staring at the picture of Josh and me in Jamaica that had been my screen saver since we'd taken the photo six months ago. We'd scraped together our meager earnings and bought a cheap weekend package to celebrate graduation and our relationship surviving our undergrad years. It had been a magical weekend, and I'd wondered if Josh was going to propose. He hadn't, of course, but it felt like we'd solidified our partnership and were walking in the same direction on the same path.
Viv showed up with her arms full of bags of food and various little distractions she'd picked up along the way. Once through the door, she dropped the bags and pulled me into a tight hug, which immediately made me start crying.
"There, there," she said as she patted my head and rubbed my back. I clung to her as my tears fell fast and furious on her shoulder. She smelled like clean linen and sunshine, and the scent catapulted me back to the warmth of the sandy beach where Josh and I had spent hours talking about the future.
"I…I…I…" I stammered through sobs. I wanted to tell her what I was thinking. I wanted to spill out all of the horrible, awful thoughts that were racing through my brain so I could let them go and forget that Josh had simply abandoned me. I felt sorry for myself. I wanted to curl up in a ball and hide in bed for the rest of eternity, but Viv would have none of it.
"I know, Wally," she reassured me. She had nicknamed me Wally during our first year in high school and contrary to popular belief, it wasn't a shortened version of Wallace, which happened to be my last name.
It was because of the time I'd been talking nonstop about some boy I had a crush on, had failed to look where I was going and had walked face first into a brick wall. It took me a long time to accept the nickname, but she finally sold me on it when she told me that my ability to focus on one thing and tune
out everything else around me was one of the things she admired most about me – even when it resulted in embarrassing situations. "I know it hurts. I know he's an ass. I know. I know. Just let it all go."
As I cried, I noticed that one of Viv's bags was making a quiet rustling noise, and I picked my head up off of her shoulder to look at it more closely. She let go and stepped back to examine the bag. It looked like something was trying to escape. I turned and gave Viv a quizzical look.
"Open it up, Wally!" she urged. So, I reached out and pulled the edges of the bag apart and found myself face to face with a tiny gray kitten who stared at me with it's big blue eyes before reaching out and softly patting my nose.
"What is this?" I asked as I looked back and forth between Viv and the tiny cat.
"I believe it's what most people call a kitten," she grinned.
"Is it yours?"
"Nope, it's yours!" she declared as she clapped and bounced up and down.
"I can't have a kitten!" I protested. "How in the world can you bring me a kitten and think that it makes up for Josh walking out?"
"I didn't bring her to replace Josh," she said in an indignant tone, and then backed up a bit. "Well, maybe she's a little bit of a replacement for that lousy excuse for a human being, but I brought her mostly because she needs a home and I'd already adopted two of her littermates. I can't have three cats in my apartment."
"So, you just brought her here and thought I'd take her no questions asked?" I said as I stared down into the bag at the tiny little kitten who sat quietly looking up at me.
"Pretty much."
"Vivian Lasky, you are beyond the pale!" I yelled and then felt bad as the kitten ducked her head and hid in the corner of the bag.
"You're scaring the baby!" she shot back as she reached into the bag and pulled out the little gray fuzz ball and cooed, "Are you okay, baby? Are you scared of the big, bad lady? Don't be scared, little one."
"Great, this is just great, Viv," I said as I watched her snuggle the kitten. "I don't even know if I'm allowed to have pets or if I'm even going to have a place to live!"
"Don't be dramatic," she said. "Of course, you're going to have a place to live."
"Josh isn't going to pay his portion of the rent, Viv!" I cried. "He said he has a lot of expenses to take care of in LA and that he'd send me money if he could, but that I really shouldn't expect anything. He stuck me with this place and now I've got a $1,600 a month rent payment for the next eight months and no job!"
"Well, that's easy to remedy," she said as she held the kitten out to me. "Here, snuggle her while I get dinner ready."
Reluctantly, I took the kitten from her and cradled it like a baby. She curled up in my arms, content to watch Viv pulling containers out of bags and piling food on the plates she pulled out of the cupboard. I stroked the kitten's tiny head and was rewarded with a loud purr and a big drop of saliva on my arm.
"Oh gross," I said trying to feign disgust so that I wouldn't fall in love with this tiny creature. "She's drooling."
"Yep, that's what kittens do when they're super happy," Viv smiled. "She likes you."
"Well, she shouldn't get too comfortable. She's not staying," I grumbled.
"Wally, don't be such a damn miser," she said as she spooned a healthy helping of tabouleh onto our plates. "Just because Josh is a loser doesn't mean you need to shut down and cut off all other outlets. Besides, this shouldn't be all that surprising. We knew he was an ass from the beginning. Hell, we used to joke about it before you went and got all lovey-dovey about him."
"Why are you rubbing salt into the wound?" I asked as I ran my fingers up and down the soft gray fur and watched as the kitten slowly grew sleepier and sleepier.
"Because you are a romantic dreamer and I am a pragmatist, my friend," she said, pulling open a drawer and cheering a little when she found the forks on the first try. Viv was smart, but she didn't have a mind for details. "We knew this was going to happen eventually. Just be glad it was before you got married and were saddled with kids."
"Yeah, now I'm just saddled with a kitten," I muttered.
"Gratitude is an attitude, Wally," Viv chirped. I wanted to smack her and she knew it, so she flashed a big brilliant smile as she set the full plate of food down in front of me with a flourish. "Eat. You need to keep your strength and blood sugar up."
I held the sleeping kitten in one arm as I dug into the enormous plate of food that Viv had set before me. It was a little awkward trying to pull the shish kabob off of the skewer with one hand, but I didn't want to wake the warm, fuzzy kitten who seemed to have gotten very comfortable very quickly. As she purred softly in my arms, I knew she would be staying and I silently cursed and blessed Viv for the gift.
"So, what are you going to do about rent, Wally?" Viv asked after we'd gorged ourselves on hummus, fresh pita, salad, and grilled meat. "You've got another mouth to feed now. You have to be a responsible parent."
"Very funny, Viv," I said with a grim smile. "I have no idea what I'm going to do. Josh and I were splitting the rent and I was barely scraping by. I need something, and I need it fast!"
"Well, first thing's first," she said in a bossy tone. "You need to get down to the office and talk with Peter about acting jobs. Then, you need to register with the temp agency in my building. I might be able to convince my boss to call and ask for you, if we've got any good work. Then, we need to see about what other options you might have."
"Viv, I'm registered with every temp agency in town," I told her as I scooped up the last of the hummus with a bit of pita and popped it in my mouth. "There hasn't been much for months."
"Hmmm, okay," she mused as she wracked her brain for something that might be useful. "Oooh, I've got it! How about modeling? There's a bunch of trade shows coming through town in the next few months! You could be a spokes-model for some of the companies that show their goods at the convention!"
"I'm an actress, not a model, Viv," I reminded her. "How on earth am I going to get a modeling contract for those shows?"
"I think I know someone," she said with a grin.
"Of course, you do." I rolled my eyes and looked down at the bundle of fur curled up in my arms and felt a strong wave of love flood my brain as I looked at her. "Anna. I'm going to call you Anna Karenina."
"What did you say?" Viv asked as she scrolled through her enormous list of contacts, looking for the one that would connect me to the trade show modeling business.
"Nothing, I just named the kitty," I said quietly as I leaned down and kissed the top of the fuzzy, little, gray head and whispered, "It's all going to be okay, Anna. We're going to be fine, you and me." The kitten purred loudly as she stretched her paws up and found a more comfortable position, and for the first time since Josh walked out the door, I smiled.
CHAPTER FIVE
Max
On my way back downtown after visiting Babi, my phone rang and; and when I looked at the screen, I sighed and answered. "What do you want?"
"Is that any way to greet your friend?" the woman on the other end purred.
"Natalia, I don't have a lot of time for nonsense," I said a little more harshly than I'd intended. "What do you want?"
"Aww, don't be mad, Maxi," she pouted. "Why are you mad at me? What have I done wrong?"
"Nothing, Natalia," I said through clenched teeth. The cab was slowly moving down Wabash and I was irritated by the traffic, so I tapped on the window, handed the driver a twenty, and motioned for him to pull over. I got out and began walking toward the office at a rapid pace. "What do you want?"
"Will you go see the Ibsen play with me this weekend?"
"Again?" I replied. "You know how much I hate that play, and yet you ask me to go with you not once, but twice. Why, Natalia?"
"Because I want to see it again, darling!" she replied and then dropped her voice to a husky whisper and said, "I'll make it worth your while, Maxi. You know how I love to do that for you when you do me a favor, don't you?"
A
lmost against my will, I could feel the blood rushing away from my brain toward my groin. Natalia had a way of turning everything into a sexual seduction, and while I wasn't in love with her, I couldn't resist her considerable skills and enthusiasm. She was a gorgeous woman. From her glossy black bob to her ruby red lips to her hourglass figure, she radiated an aura of sexual power that drew men to her in droves. She loved nothing more than to catch and release them, but she always came back to me when she needed to ground herself in something real. We were friends, but both of us knew it would never be more than that.
"Nat, what are you doing?" I said as I swallowed hard.
"Oh, you know perfectly well what I'm doing," she purred softly as my pants became incredibly tight. "You love it when I take charge and tell you what I want, don't you, Maxi?"
"Jesus, woman," I groaned. "Fine, I'll go to the damn play with you! Just stop these obscene phone calls! I've got a business to run!"
"Mmmm, you know you love it," she laughed. "I'll get the tickets, you meet me at the theater at seven sharp on Saturday. Oh, and Max?"
"Yes?"
"Wear something that I can quickly remove," she said. "And, I'll do the same."
"Natalia!" I yelled as she laughed loudly before disconnecting.
I turned the corner on Wabash and quickly walked to the store entrance. I'd rented this place when I'd decided to sell the jewelry that I'd seen during my travels to the Far East. For a long time, I'd wanted to bring together the Asian influences in fine jewelry with the Russian expertise in mental work, and when I'd run across a factory on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg that could not only replicate Faberge-style items, but also manufacture entirely new items, I'd signed a contract with them and vowed to get the business up and running within six months.
That was four months ago, and now I was looking at launching my new line at the trade show in two weeks. I needed to hit the ground running and score a couple of big clients in order to ensure that my investment would continue to pay off. I knew that landing the big clients would not be easy in a city where there was an entire block devoted to high, medium, and low end jewelry, and being the new guy in town made my position even more precarious. No one had ever heard of me, and if they had, they probably wanted to do business with my father rather than me.