Russian Persuasion

by Laura Hart

  “I would like to come back, but more to see the old palace rooms.”

  “There’s a room they call the Malachite Room you’d enjoy seeing.”

  Sadie’s eyes sparkled, but then her attention was drawn elsewhere. “Why is there a navy ship in the river?”

  “That’s the Aurora, which is part of our history. The story is that it fired the shot that started the revolution.”

  “Can you park so I can just look up and down the river?”

  Max found a place and they walked over to the edge of the embankment.

  “It’s like a movie looking up and down the river,” she exclaimed. “So many of the buildings are beautiful and have gold that glitters in the sunlight.”

  “It’s a unique city,” he answered, putting his arm around her as she stood there.

  “What’s that building down there with the tall gold spire?”

  “It’s the Peter Paul Fortress, and it’s more than just one building. It was built to protect St. Petersburg from the Swedes back at the beginning of the eighteenth century.”

  They stood there people watching and enjoying the summer weather and then walked to the massive Palace Square.

  “What’s that tall red column?”

  “It’s in honor of the Russian victory over Napoleon when he invaded Russia.”

  They finally returned to the car and headed away from the river. Max had no destination in particular but just wanted her to get a feel of the central area.

  “What are all these canals? I feel like I’m in Venice.”

  “You wouldn’t confuse them if we’d come in winter,” replied Max with a laugh. “But you’re right, many people don’t realize that St. Petersburg is built on many canals. In fact, there are almost two hundred miles of canals and other tiny waterways running through the city. I read somewhere that there are over eight hundred bridges.”

  “You sound like a guidebook. Did they make you learn all that in school?”

  “I grew up in Switzerland, remember?”

  “So where did you learn it all?”

  “Living here. The people of St. Petersburg are very proud of their beautiful city, especially because of their World War II history when they had to fight so hard to survive.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Max was silent for a minute and then made a decision. “Let’s go look at a monument.” He turned the car towards the south and drove for a good while.

  “Isn’t this the same way we came in last night?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what are you going to show me?”

  “Let’s wait until we get there and you can see it for yourself.”

  On the southern edge of the city Max finally stopped. “Come on,” he said, putting out his hand. Sadie could see a grouping of statues and a tall obelisk as they approached. “

  “One of the nicknames for St. Petersburg is Hero City,” he told her as they walked. “Have you ever read about the Siege of Leningrad?”

  “Not really.”

  Max frowned slightly but continued, “You know that St. Petersburg was called Leningrad during the Soviet era?”

  “I know.”

  “And you know that Hitler invaded Russia. In fact, it was his main target, and he used eighty percent of his troops to try to conquer Russia. It was a terrible time for this country, and over twenty million Russians were killed. There’s almost no family who didn’t lose relatives. Here in St. Petersburg it was particularly bad because there was a siege. For nine hundred days, the Germans blockaded the city. Some people escaped across the frozen lake to the north, but there was terrible suffering. People simply starved to death or died of disease. Desperate people peeled off their wallpaper and boiled the paste to make soup. They boiled shoe leather to try to get something to eat. When people would drop dead, sometimes others would try to eat their flesh. The suffering was horrible. Over seven hundred thousand people died defending the city and holding out against the Nazis. This plaza is a monument to them and is called Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad.”

  Sadie looked around her silently for a minute. “Nine hundred days?” she repeated in awe. “That’s like two and a half years! How could people live all that time?”

  “They were determined, but it was a desperate struggle to survive.”

  “Why didn’t they just surrender?”

  Max looked at her in amazement and then replied simply, “We don’t surrender.”

  They walked around the area looking at the series of statues on the approach to the obelisk. Sadie watched as someone left flowers at the base of one of the statues. “Do they always do that?” she asked.

  “Yes. There are always flowers here. The history is still very real in people’s minds.”

  Past the obelisk there was a circular wall with a rugged break in it, and in the center of the inside area was a memorial flame. Sadie wandered around, taking it all in. “I never really heard about all this,” she said finally. “It’s hard to imagine seven hundred thousand people in one city dying. Where did they bury them all?”

  “There’s a mass grave divided by years.”

  They stayed there for another fifteen or twenty minutes while Sadie studied some of the statues. “That’s sad,” she said as she stood in front of one where a woman was hugging a fallen person. Max put his arm around her but said only, “Yes, it is.”

  After Sadie had taken a number of photos, they finally left again. “Are you hungry?” Max asked as they pulled out of their parking space.

  “Starved!”

  “Well, I can’t have you starving now, can I?”

  A serious look came over Sadie’s face. “It seems almost wrong to say I’m starving after what you told me about all those people who really did starve.”

  Max put out his hand and rested it on her leg. He was touched that she’d taken to heart what they’d seen.

  They went to a nearby restaurant specializing in Eastern European cuisine. Sadie was enchanted with the décor of dark wood and handmade Russian carpets. They ordered Romanian vegetable soup and Hungarian goulash and, while waiting for it to come, ate some dark bread and drank berry juice.

  “What do you think so far?” asked Max as he laid some pickles on top of his bread.

  “There’s so much to see here. This morning it seemed like every time we’d cross a canal, I’d look down it and see some gorgeous building.”

  Max nodded. “That’s a good description of St. Petersburg. We only scratched the surface today. I don’t want to wear you out, though, because I thought we’d go out this evening and enjoy the White Nights celebrations. I’ll have to check and see if anything in particular is going on.”

  Suddenly, Sadie’s smile disappeared. “Max! We forgot to give the book to your mother.”

  “So we did. We’ll give it to her when we get home.”

  They finished their lunch with pieces of Czech bubble cake, a dessert made with simple cake and a seasonal fruit, in this case blueberries. A dollop of whipped cream had been added to the top of each piece.

  “I may have to buy a new wardrobe by the time we go back to the States,” moaned Sadie as she scraped up the last of the blueberry sauce.

  “We’ll set up an exercise routine on the beach and whip you back into shape in no time,” replied Max, his eyes twinkling at the thought.

  Sadie rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait.”

  An hour later they were back at the apartment. Before opening the double doors, Max pulled her close and kissed her. “Is that blueberry I taste?” he joked, licking his lips.

  “Probably. We should have brought home a doggie bag.”

  Max laughed. “I thought you were worried about gaining weight.”

  “I am, but that cake would have almost made it worth it.”

  As they entered the apartment, they were greeted by the sound of Brahms.

  “I like your mother’s taste in music,” commented Sadie with a smile. “Where’s it coming from?”

>   “The piano.”

  Sadie looked at him in surprise. “Your mother’s playing that music herself?”

  “Yes.” He took her hand and led her into the living room, where his mother was seated at a grand piano. When she saw them, she stopped and started to get up, but Sadie put up her hand.

  “Oh, no, please don’t stop. It’s absolutely lovely. May I sit and listen?”

  His mother smiled appreciatively and lowered herself again to the bench as Max and Sadie sat down on a nearby small sofa. Vera Vasilyevna continued playing as if there’d been no interruption, and when she finally stopped and turned towards them, Sadie was glowing.

  “That was fantastic! You’re so talented. How did you learn to play that way?”

  “Many years of study. Music is very important to me. We’ve always had music in our home. Do you play an instrument, Sadie?”

  “Not like that. I took a couple years of piano lessons, but it was never serious. You could be on a concert stage.”

  “You’re so kind, but of course I’m not at such a level anymore. Our family enjoys music though, and that’s the most important thing.”

  “Do other people in the family play, too?”

  “Anna plays both the piano and the violin,” put in Max. “We men have generally been content with guitars or balalaikas, although David plays the trumpet a bit.”

  “Wow!” was all Sadie said. She was really impressed with Max’s family. She loved her own family, but it wasn’t big and exuberant the way his was.

  She brought the book then and gave it to her hostess.

  “What a beautiful book!” exclaimed Vera Vasilyevna. “Thank you so much. Let’s put it right here on this table so everyone can look at it.”

  “So, tell me,” she continued, looking at Sadie. “How was your first trip into our city?”

  “It was wonderful! I’ve loved everything I’ve seen so far.” Then her face changed and she corrected herself. “Well, I shouldn’t say I loved the monument to all the people who died in the German siege. It’s a beautiful plaza, but what happened was terrible.”

  “Max!” His mother looked at him in surprise. “Why in the world did you take her out there first thing?”

  “It’s part of this city, the same as the palaces and canals. I want her to know everything.” He put his arm around Sadie and pulled her close. “I want to share everything with her.”

  Sadie, My Beautiful Sadie

  “I love it out here!” exclaimed Sadie as they moved among the crowds on the Palace Embankment. “It’s almost eleven o’clock and it’s still only kind of dark.”

  “It’s a white night,” replied Max with a smile. He was totally enjoying sharing Sadie’s enthusiasm. It’s exactly what he’d hoped would happen, that she would appreciate the uniqueness of St. Petersburg.

  They’d eaten very lightly at dinner because Max had known they’d be sampling the street fare later in the evening. They were nibbling on stuffed buns and watching as one of the stages nearby was coming to life with a group doing fifties and sixties rock music.

  “Why aren’t they doing Russian music?” Sadie asked.

  “Fifties and sixties rock is almost international. It was an interesting period in music history. Do you want to stay and listen for a while?”

  “How about if we stay and dance?” All around them couples were starting to dance, in most cases strictly to their own rhythms.

  “Fine with me,” answered Max with a grin. He took hold of one of Sadie’s hands and started moving to the late fifties song At the Hop.

  “I can’t believe we’re dancing to fifties music outside in St. Petersburg!” Sadie laughed breathlessly as they rocked and rolled in their best imitation of years gone by. The group moved right into another lively number, Jerry Lee Lewis’ Great Balls of Fire.

  “You’re really good!” exclaimed Sadie, yelling over the music. “Where did you learn to dance like this?”

  “Where did you?” he returned. “This is decades before your time.”

  They both laughed and then, as the group changed to the slow In the Still of the Night, Max gathered Sadie into his arms. “This is more like it,” he whispered in her ear as they swayed slowly to the music, their bodies pressed together. Luckily the group chose one more slow number, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, so they got to hold each other for another several minutes, but when the musicians moved back to a rousing Chuck Berry number, they decided to call a halt to the dancing.

  “Let’s go get a glass of wine,” suggested Max. They got their wine in disposable glasses so they could wander along the embankment. Suddenly, several loud explosions rent the air, and they saw fireworks lighting the sky over the river.

  “They usually have some every night,” commented Max. They found a bench to sit on and sipped wine while watching both the colorful display in the sky and the reflections in the water.

  “This is perfect,” announced Sadie. “I may never go home again.”

  Max chuckled. “That might be a problem, because I promised your father I’d bring you back.” He drew her close and after a few minutes said, “There are way too many people around for what I have in mind for you tonight.”

  “Patience, Mr. Orlov. Good things shouldn’t be rushed.”

  He nibbled on her neck and then set his wine down so he could hold her face and kiss her properly. “This is just the down payment,” he promised and then kissed her again.

  They were both fighting jet lag, so about midnight they returned to the apartment. The rest of the family was already in bed, and they immediately retired to their own bedroom.

  “That was really fun tonight,” said Sadie as she started to get undressed.

  Max came up behind her and wrapped her in his arms. “We should make a rule that we have to slow dance at least once a day.” Sadie turned around to face him and then tilted her head up for a kiss.

  “Did you see those cruise boats out on the river?” she asked. “That would be really fun to take one of those trips.”

  “I’ll get us tickets,” promised Max. Then he got more serious. “I had a message from my father. He needs to see me some tomorrow. He suggested that Anna take the day off, and you and she can do whatever you want while I spend some time at the office. What do you think?”

  “That’s fine. I know you have to work, too.”

  Max finished undressing Sadie and then did the same to himself.

  “Come on to bed, Sadira. I haven’t paid enough attention to your body since we’ve been here.”

  “You won’t be paying any attention to it tonight either if you call me that.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “Informing you.”

  “Interesting difference. Come over here.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and then pulled her over his leg.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded as she squirmed and tried to get up.

  “Just like we should dance once a day, I think I should spank you once a day. It would help keep things right.” With that he gave her bottom a single smack, soundly but not punitively. “What do you think about that idea?”

  “I think it’s a terrible idea.” To tell the truth, that single smack had been rather interesting, but there’s no way she’d let him know that.

  He smacked her twice more, again leaving a tingle more than pain. “You have such a spankable bottom. It’s really a pity it doesn’t get used more often.”

  “You’re not funny.”

  “Ah, but I’m not trying to be funny. I’m very serious.” He delivered yet two more smacks, looking with satisfaction at the pink tinge along the bottom of her cheeks. “I think a woman with a pink bottom is very sexy.”

  “Are all Russian men sadists?”

  He laughed. “I don’t know. Would you like that, Sadira?”

  She pinched his calf with one of her arms hanging down. “You know I hate that name!”

  He gave her three more smacks, this time a little harder.”

  “Ow!�
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  “No pinching.”

  The tingle in her backside was becoming a sting, and she knew it was time to end the encounter. “If you let me up, I won’t have to pinch.”

  “I believe you misunderstand the situation, my little Texan. Being over my knee does not give you carte blanche. If anything, it’s a time you should behave better.”

  “Whatever.”

  He ran his hand over her beautiful round backside, gave it one more smack and let her up. “I’ll take pity on you tonight because it’s only our second night here,” he said as he pulled her naked body against his.

  The sting in Sadie’s bottom was enough to feel sexy without being uncomfortable. If he’d spank like that, she’d be fine with his doing it every day. Unfortunately, she knew he’d just been playing with her. She remembered clearly the feel of his iron hand when she’d run the stop sign, and she had no desire to ever experience that again.

  Once they were in bed, Sadie rolled on top of him. “Now I’m in charge,” she informed him. She put her hand down and wrapped it around his penis.

  “Are you in a hurry?” he asked. “Because that’s a good way to speed things up. A lot.”

  She laughed. “You tormented me, so maybe I’ll torment you.”

  Max’s eyes twinkled as he replied, “Keep in mind that you have no idea what real torment is.”

  “Maybe you don’t either.”

  “Well, this should be interesting.” He lay there as she played with his body, running her fingertips gently over sensitive areas, periodically putting tiny kisses on his swollen penis, and generally teasing him. Suddenly, he took hold of her and rolled them over again, so he was on top.

  “My turn now.”

  He covered her body with kisses, stopping to suck on each nipple and tease the area between her legs, but as soon as he felt her body starting to tense, he spread her legs and entered her. It had been several days since he’d been inside her, and he’d missed it.

  “Sadie, my beautiful Sadie,” he murmured as they moved together. He held her tightly and she wrapped her legs around him as the tantalizing sensations built and built and then finally broke loose with waves of incredible pleasure. Max groaned and joined her in the ultimate duet, their bodies entwined as they crested and then breathlessly floated downward again. He hadn’t even known this woman a year ago, and now the idea of not being with her wasn’t even thinkable.