“To Kiev!” Nikki interrupts excitedly.
“Right again. And an evil wizard tried to put a spell on Mommy to make her forget about Papa, but Mommy was too smart for that wizard so she escaped and flew to Papa’s side.”
Nikki jumps in front of Serge, her little sneakers causing a pile of pale-pink petals to fly into the air. “To the castle in the sky!” she cries.
You roll your eyes at the romanticized version of events, but you can’t help but smile at how much Nikki loves the tale, tall as it is.
“Yes! And so they flew back together with Baba, who was very sad and lonely, and they brought her back to live with them.”
“And Uncle Niko,” Nikki reminds him.
“Yes, Uncle Niko, too.” Serge smiles. “Now, pay attention. This is the best part.”
Nikki beams up at him in anticipation.
“Papa was very grateful to Mommy for rescuing him, and decided he never wanted to be away from her ever again. So, he bought her a beautiful ring.”
Reflexively, you glance down at the gorgeous ring, still glittering brilliantly almost five years later.
“Yes?” Nikki prompts him to go on.
“And he brought Mommy here, to this very spot.”
“This one?” Nikki glances around her. “Was it this tree?”
“Yes!” Serge says. “How did you know?” Then he walks a few steps and stops in front of another tree, laden with pale-pink blossoms. “Wait, maybe it was this tree.”
“No,” Nikki giggles, moving onto the next tree. “It was this one!”
“Hmm,” Serge says. “I think it was this one.”
“No, this one!” It’s become a familiar game, and one Nikki has been dying to play ever since you arrived in DC for your annual Cherry Blossom Festival pilgrimage. The fact that you and Serge were asked to headline this year’s Festival made this time even sweeter.
“No, no,” Serge laughs. “It was definitely this one!”
They continue down the path, laughing and stopping at random trees, proclaiming each to be the spot of your storied engagement. You follow along, laughing with them, and smiling to yourself.
At last, you come to the familiar fork in the path, and the tree that is the most special of all.
“Here it is,” you announce.
“That’s not it!” Nikki wrinkles her nose at the denuded tree, its gnarled branches twisted, some bluntly cut. “That’s an ugly old tree.”
“This is an old tree, you are right about that,” Serge tells her, laying his hand against the tree’s thick trunk. “But it is a beautiful tree, and it has a magical ability. This is the indicator tree.”
“The what?” Nikki looks up at the tree with curiosity, warming to the idea that maybe it holds a hidden secret.
“This is the tree that tells us when all of the other trees are going to blossom. This tree can tell the future.”
“No it can’t!” Nikki giggles, sure that Serge is teasing her.
“Really, it can,” he assures her. “And it is never wrong. Next time we come I will show you. But for now, you will have to believe me.”
You lean down to Nikki, looking into her eyes, the same dove grey as Serge’s. “I knew this tree was special as soon as I saw it,” you tell her. “And when your Papa told me all about it, I knew he was special, too.”
Serge smiles at you and sweeps Nikki up into his arms. “Let’s go. Baba, Uncle Niko, and Uncle Sasha are waiting for us.”
“Hold on,” you lean into the tree, pretending to listen. “I think the tree is trying to tell us something right now.”
“What, Mommy?” Nikki whispers, her eyes wide.
“That’s funny,” you say, placing your hand lightly on your still-flat stomach. “It says that there’s something else getting ready to blossom.”
Serge tracks your hand with his eyes and breaks into a wide smile. “Really?” he asks, a sheen of tears in his eyes.
“Really,” you answer. “It’s early yet, but the tree is never wrong.”
“That is wonderful, Sladkaya, wonderful!” He spins Nikki around in the air and leans in to give you a long kiss.
“What is?” Nikki begs. “What?”
“Our family is going to get a little bigger, Malyshka.”
“Are we getting a dog?”
“Oh boy,” you sigh. “Are you two ready to go to dinner? We have a lot to celebrate.”
“Wait!” Nikki says. “Papa didn’t finish the story!”
Serge locks his eyes with yours, his cool, grey gaze piercing your heart as he takes your hand and finishes the tale.
“And they lived happily ever after.”
THE END
POP STAR and STAR STRUCK are Meredith Michelle’s first two novels and combine her lifelong fascination with celebrity culture and her childhood love of trying to figure out different endings for her favorite books. Meredith has been an avid writer since her youth, penning plays, poetry, and short stories. She is a native and current resident of the Washington, DC area, where she resides with her husband and her three children.
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