by Tia Siren
“But...but,” Eliana floundered.
“No buts. I'm leaving the store to her, and you will just have to get used to the idea.
*****
Five years later Radley and Eliana went on a world cruise and Tyra took up her position as manager. She felt comfortable in her role. Radley checked in with her every day from wherever he was in the world. Before he'd gone, he had asked a computer geek how he could connect to the store’s accounting system from afar. That's my girl, he would say every time he logged in and looked at the profits.
Tyra only had one problem: the glass cabinets in the store. They were awfully susceptible to sticky little fingers. Jimmy was still a baby, but Dima Junior and Alicia weren't, and when their father took them to see Mommy at work, he loved showing them all the priceless things money could buy.
Dima got the Hope Diamond for his thirty-second birthday. The woman in the picture framing store had wondered why Tyra had wanted such a beautiful frame for a simple photocopy of a downloaded internet picture.
BWWM MAFIA Romance - The Russian’s Love Child: Nicki’s Story
The plane from Moscow to JFK was three hours late due to heavy snow in Russia. Nicki had tried to call Nathan from Moscow but hadn't managed to get a hold of him. She just hoped he'd waited for her. If not, she'd have to get a taxi, and she only had a purse full of worthless rubels.
When she'd cleared US customs and reclaimed her bag, she walked out into the arrivals lounge. There were a lot of people waiting to pick up family and friends. She didn’t see Nathan. Whenever he'd picked her up at the airport before, he'd stood where he could see her. Today he wasn't in the usual place. She walked off to the side, put her heavy bag on the floor, and reached inside her jacket for her cell phone. She let it ring a few times. No reply. Darn it. Not only would she have to get a taxi, but she also would miss the opportunity to talk to him.
“Nicki, over here,” Nathan shouted. “I tracked the flight on the net and saw the delay, so I only set off when they gave a landing time. I didn't realize the traffic would be so bad. Sorry.”
That was Nathan, she thought, always apologizing for something that wasn't his fault. “Hello,” she said as he hugged her. She couldn’t let him hold her for too long; it would be unfair.
“Let me have a look at you,” he said, holding her at arm’s length. “Still the same beautiful Nicki: perfectly dressed and not a hair out of place, even after such a long flight.”
“And you've lost weight. Have you been eating properly?”
“How can a man eat properly when he is lovesick?” he said as he picked up her bag. “Jesus, what have you got in here, a real elephant?”
“Just a few small ones to add to my collection.”
“I've never understood why you collect elephants,” he admitted as they walked toward the parking lot.
Just as she thought: He never listened to her. “I've told you a few times, because my South African dad always told me the tale about how the little elephant got a long trunk. I have been fascinated by them ever since.” She could see he wasn't listening again. He was looking for the parking ticket. He tutted and put her bag down as he searched every pocket.
“You haven't bothered to clean out the car then?” she said moments later as she squeezed her long legs between empty Coke cans and pizza boxes. Surely if you were going to collect the woman you loved from the airport after she'd been away for a year, you would make a bit of an effort.
The Fiat screeched to life, and Nathan reversed out of the parking lot, almost hitting the car next to them. “So how was it really? I mean you told me you enjoyed it, but can someone really enjoy a year in Moscow? It's full of commies for a start.”
Nicki looked at all the dead flies on the windshield and considered her answer. “I did enjoy it. And it's not full of commies. It was the chance of a lifetime. A lot of people applied for that exchange place to Moscow State University. I was the lucky one who got it, so I decided to make the best of it.”
She pulled down the sun visor and looked at herself in the vanity mirror. Nathan had been right. Her makeup had withstood the grueling flight. Her lips were still bright red, and her eyes bore no smudges. She'd gotten a new hairdo in Moscow; she was sure Nathan hadn't noticed. She liked it. Natasha, the lovely girl who'd cut it, was fascinated by black people's hair. She'd never had a black woman in her chair before. She’d said it had looked wiry, but she’d quickly changed her mind when she touched it. Now Nicki wore it long and thrown to one side in sweeping curls.
“Jesus, asshole,” Nathan shouted as he almost ran into a taxi that had stopped to turn left.
“Nathe,” Nicki murmured, knowing she was going to hate herself, “I want to talk to you.” She looked across at him. He was tall and dark and had a strong-looking face, the kind women trusted. He would soon find some else, someone more suitable. Someone who didn't mind dirty cars and a boyfriend who didn’t listen. “Nathe, thanks for giving me a lift home. It's really nice of you.”
“Nice? Did you think after a year that I wouldn't come and collect my girlfriend from the airport?”
They'd been together for four years, ever since Nicki had started her courses in journalism at NYU. It had been the first time she'd been away from her parents, and she'd been nervous. She’d been brought up in a small town in Alabama, and at the time New York had seemed so intimidating. Now she had to admit that when she'd met Nathan, she had clung to him for her own sake. Not because she loved him, but because he was a New Yorker and made her feel at ease with the Big Apple. Now she was going to have to pay for stringing him along all this time. Why had she just let it drift?
“Well, it is nice of you.” Come on, girl, out with it, she told herself, trying to find the right words. “Nathe, I don't want to be with you anymore. I want to be your friend, but I don't want a sexual relationship with you anymore.”
“What?” he said as he swerved around another taxi.
“You never listen to a word I say,” she shouted in frustration.
“Sorry. What were you saying?”
She took a deep breath and began again. “Nathe, you're sweet, but I want to finish our relationship.”
“What?” She was fearful he hadn't heard her again, but he had. “What the hell are you talking about, finish?”
“I want to be friends with you, but not your girlfriend anymore. I thought a lot about it while I was in Moscow, and we're not compatible. You could find someone much better suited to you. You're only twenty-four, and you've got a great job at the Times. You're bound to find Mrs. Right.”
“Nicki,” he exclaimed. She closed her eyes, sure he was going to run into the car in front of them. “No, Nicki, you've got it wrong. I don't want anybody else. I want you. Jesus, I love you.”
It was the first time he'd said that, and it made it all the more difficult. “You think you love me, Nathe, but really you only have time for one person: yourself.”
“Will you stop talking BS? You're my girl, and that's it.” He looked at her. She looked hotter than ever with her new hair. She had also lost weight, not that she’d needed to. Now she was slender, and it made her look taller than the five eight she always claimed she was. All he wanted to do was get her back to her apartment and go to bed with her. He longed to feel her long legs around him and her soft lips on his. He'd often masturbated to a picture of her when she was away. Not a picture of her in some pornographic pose, but a simple picture of her face, smiling into the camera he'd taken with them on a trip to the beach.
“No, Nathe. I've made up my mind. Please respect that.”
“So what happened, Nicki? Have you fallen in love with some heartless communist? They're all communists, you know. Spineless alcoholics, all of them.”
What he was saying wasn't true. She'd met a lot of nice people in Russia during her exchange year. None of them were communists, and apart from the odd drunken birthday celebration, she'd never seen any of them drinking alcohol. She'd gone there with an open mind. Sure,
it was a totally different culture, and it had taken a lot of getting used to, but she'd really enjoyed the experience. “No, I haven't fallen in love with anyone. I just don't think you and I are compatible enough to take it any further than we already have.”
“Well thanks a lot. Thanks for ruining my day and my life. What a bitch. You know, you've always thought you were better than everybody else.” He glanced across at her with hurt engraved all over his face.
Surely he'd suspected something, though. She hadn't exactly been nice to him when they'd talked on Skype. And she'd never called him. He'd even complained that he always had to call her. “I'm sorry, Nathe, but that's it. I can't be with you anymore.” Her words sounded so final, she thought. If only, there was a better way, a less cruel way. She'd agonized over it for days, but every time she'd come to the same conclusion. There was no kind way to dump someone.
“And what the hell are you going to do with your life, Nicki? You’re graduating in four weeks and you still haven't applied for any jobs. It's not easy finding work, so you'd better get on with it.” There was a cold, father-like sound to his voice.
“I've told you a few times. I'm going to be a freelance journalist.”
“Yeah, right. As if an editor would buy a story from a rookie journalist. You've been told so many times by me, by your professor, and by all your peers that you need to get a job on a newspaper. Learn your craft and then, only then, you might have a chance at being a freelancer.”
He was right, but only to a certain extent, she told herself. She was graduating from a great school of journalism. Then she had to write some great stories. As a young rookie, she knew it would be difficult, but she was daring, and she intended to get exciting, even dangerous, stories that would sell themselves. Stories of hardship, crime, war, and death were all on her list, and she knew exactly where she was going to start. “But that's what I want to do. It's my life and my business, and nobody else can tell me what to do.”
“Like I said, you think you are better than everybody else. Everyone's telling you it can't be done successfully, but oh no, madam won't listen. Well, I tell you what, when I drop you off at your apartment, you can darn well go to hell. I don't want to see you anymore either. And I might add, my experience with you has been nothing short of unpleasant. You're self-centered, conceited, arrogant, and a whole lot more.”
Nicki put the key in the door of her apartment and opened it. She grunted as she put her bag down in the hallway. When she closed the door, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes. Home. Finally home.
The food on the plane had been exceptionally salty, and she needed water. She turned on the kitchen light and smiled. There was a large “Welcome Home” banner tied along the curtain rail and a bottle of sparkling white wine on the table. Sarah and Lela, her housemates, had intended to drink it with her. Not surprisingly, they had gone to bed. It was 3 a.m.
*****
Nicki woke to someone knocking on her bedroom door. She opened her eyes and immediately shut them again as the sharp winter sunlight tore into them. Why did I never shut the curtains properly? she asked herself.
“I'm awake. You can come in.”
It was Lela. Lela had started college at the same time as Nicki. They'd found they had a lot in common, not least because they were both black and both starting out in journalism. After six months they'd decided to leave the residence halls and get an apartment together.
“Hi. Welcome home,” she said as she tripped over the bag Nicki had left unopened on the floor. She fell onto the bed and gave Nicki a kiss and a hug. “So how was it? We waited up for you, but sleep got the better of us.”
“It was a fantastic experience. You know, Russia is such a paradox. The people are so polite and friendly, yet if you listen to the rhetoric coming from the politicians that represent them, you wouldn't think so.”
Lela looked around the room. Nicki had the largest bedroom in the three-bedroom apartment, and it was stuffed full of elephants. Elephants in all colors and sizes. She even had a pink elephant on the pillow next to her. “So how many elephants did you bring back with you?”
“The bag you tripped over is full of them. But I have got something for you.” Nicki got out of bed and opened the bag. She'd filled it so full that a couple of elephants jumped out when she undid the zipper. She rummaged around and found a small box wrapped in pink paper with a thin ribbon tied around it.
“Thanks,” Lela said as Nicki handed it to her. As Nicki jumped back into bed, Lela noticed how slim she'd become. She'd always thought Nicki was the best-looking woman in their major. In fact, that was an understatement; she was the best-looking woman she had seen at NYU. She lay next to Nicki and began to open her present. “We all missed you terribly,” she said as her fingers fiddled with the knot on the ribbon. “The house hasn't been the same without out. We missed your story telling.” She paused and laughed. “But we didn't miss your garlic lasagna.” Nicki gave her a playful thump. “Oh wow, Nicki. It's too much,” she said as she held up a gold fountain pen.
“You're going to be a journalist, so you'll need a good pen.” Typical Nicki, generous and thoughtful, Lela thought.
“So what's the plan now, once you've unpacked all your elephants?” Lela asked.
“Will you help me? I have so much to tell you about my experiences, and of course I want to know what you've been up to. How many men have you brought back here while I've been away?” she asked playfully.
“Only a handful,” Lela said, lying, unable to count the actual number.
After an hour, Lela couldn't find any more room for the last few two elephants. “Where do you want me to put these? There's no room.”
“Leave them on the bed. I'll find somewhere.”
“Perhaps you could sell some of your Mills and Boon books. You don't need to keep all those trashy romance books, do you?”
“I love them. I don't want to part with them. I split up with Nathan last night.”
Nicki said it suddenly with no warning of any kind, and it shocked Lela. “Why?” she asked in a Sherlock Holmes kind of way.
“Because we aren't compatible. He's too different. He likes to be messy and casual, and I like to be neat and tidy and plan things. I felt sick when I got into his car yesterday. He hasn't cleaned it out in years.”
“But surely a messy car can't be the reason. I thought you guys were the real deal,” Lela said as she picked up a book with a half-naked hero on it.
“No. It's more than that. I realized in Moscow that we aren't right together. I don't love him. I want to feel heat in my lower half when I think of my boyfriend.” Lela nodded in agreement. She'd been out with so many men, and not one of them had set her alight. “All I think of when I think of Nathan is chaos,” Nicki added.
“How did he take it?”
“Badly. He called me some nasty things and dumped me at the door. I guess I deserved it. I said it so suddenly; it must have been a shock for him.”
“You're so intelligent and beautiful. You'll find someone at the drop of a hat.” Lela picked up another book. This time the hero was holding a blond woman who was looking at him as if he'd saved her from certain death. “Look at you. You're tall and thin. Your waist is invisible, and up top you've got a really nice pair. Your ass is the envy of all the girls in the class, and your eyes are stunning. Don't worry. You'll have men flocking to you once they know you're single again.” Suddenly Lela's eyes lit up. “Or have you already got some dark Russian prince?”
“No, I haven't, and can you believe it? I was a very good girl in Russia. Not once did I entertain a man in my chamber.”
“Your chamber? You're definitely reading too many of those ridiculous historical romances. So what are you going to do now? Have you applied to any newspapers yet?”
Oh no, not her as well. Why didn't people understand? She wanted to be a freelancer. “No. Don't you remember? I want to go freelance.”
“But...”
“No buts. I had e
nough that from Nathan on the way home. He doesn't think I'll be able to make a go of it. He thinks editors won't buy my stories.” Nicki pulled the trunk on her pink elephant and twisted it in frustration. “I'm going to do it. It's very important to me. I want to work for myself, not some ego-inflated editor. And as for them not wanting to buy my stories, I'm going to tackle such daring subjects that they'll be forced to buy from me.”
Lela cocked her head to one side. She had a habit of doing that when she didn't believe what she was being told. “Okay. If it's so important to you, I really hope it works. But where are you going to start? I mean, you need a story. You'll graduate soon, and your student loans will stop.”
“Maxim Sokolov.”
“What? He's a murderer. He killed the judge presiding over his trial. What was his name?” Lela asked.
“Hudson. But he was acquitted. In the eyes of the law, he's not guilty. Simple. But after he came to Brighton Beach, New York, back in the nineties, he set up a vast empire of extortion, drugs, and trafficking. I'm going to write about it.”
“You'll get yourself killed,” Lela said without hesitation. “Do you know how many journalists have been killed by Russians? They are masters at it. As soon as you go sniffing around, he will put an end to you. Don't do it.”
*****
Nicki pulled her collar up higher. She was glad she'd worn a scarf. The wind was blowing off the ocean and whistling between the restaurant buildings on the seafront. Only the gulls were enjoying themselves as they surfed the gusts high in the sky.
The Crab and Lobster seemed like a nice place to eat. Sitting on the seafront, it looked like a giant beach hut. The wooden boards in the facade were painted yellow, and the small cross beam windows were white. The door was maroon and contained a ship’s porthole. There was a balcony running the length of the building where clients could eat in summer, and its roof was adorned with lobster pots and pieces of fishing net.
Nicki climbed two steps to the front door and looked through the porthole. It was as cozy looking inside as it was outside. There were about twenty round tables, all with red and white checkered table clothes, and a long bar down the left-hand side with wooden stools in front. The ceiling was covered in sailing paraphernalia. Oars, lobster pots, fishing net, anchors, even a brass ship’s bell hung down from the ceiling into the middle of the room.