MOTY (The Lady Kingpin Series Book 1)

by J Hoffman

  “Why can’t it be you, Judah?”

  “Because he’s like a foot taller than me and eats two lunches every day.”

  Natalee froze. She let his words settle on her mind before she a small grin tugged at the corner of her lips. She tried to breathe and accidentally snorted. Soon, she was in full blown laughter. Jonah watched, worried for a moment before he too, was in a fit of giggles.

  After a few seconds, he asked, through deep, slow breaths. “Why are we laughing?”

  Natalee threw her head back and erupted into an even bigger fit of laughter. Jonah responded with matched expression, and rubbed the corners of his eyes, though gentler on the left side, “Oh my God, I’m crying.”

  “I’m gonna pee!” Natalee screeched and cackled like a fairytale witch.

  Jonah howled as he clutched his sides, “Shut up, Mom!”

  Their laughter swelled for a minute longer, before it tapered off into hushed chuckles. Natalee was very much enjoying herself and hoped Jonah was too. “I’m not sure what that was even all about, but it felt good.”

  Jonah chuckled. “It did feel good,” he agreed. “Thanks for talking to me, Mom.”

  Natalee stared at her son for a moment and studied his face as if she hadn’t done it recently enough. “Thanks for talking to me, Jonah.”

  They sat for another few minutes on the hood of the car before Natalee rubbed Jonah’s back and pushed herself off the edge. “Come on, let’s get home. Aunt Svetty’s plane is landing in a few hours so I should get any amount of sleep I can.”

  “Aunt Svetty’s coming here?”

  Natalee gasped, “No one told you?”

  Jonah shook his head, shrinking into the comfort of the backseat. “No, she’s coming from Russia?”

  “Yeah, her plane comes in around four.”

  Jonah cringed, “Ew, she couldn’t get a better flight?”

  Natalee grinned, “You are your father’s son.”

  Jonah smiled as he laid his head against the cool window, “Can you turn the heat up?”

  Natalee complied, and pulled back onto the road, headed in the right direction, but with no idea of where she was.

  Seven

  Around half past eleven, Natalee finally pulled into her own driveway. She sighed as she gazed up at her big, beautiful house. Her perfectly landscaped yard was like something out of a magazine. The backyard was nothing like the one she grew up with. She knew that this was her home and that she was the one to make the drastic change from a house to a home but there were many times she didn’t feel as if she earned it, let alone deserved it. When she met Judah, she was barely out of high school. She had plans to go to college, or rather, stay in college. But by her third semester, she didn’t feel like herself there either.

  She married Judah the summer after he finished flight school. He was the top of his class and had the highest flight test score in the history of his school. He was constantly getting calls, emails, letters, and even visits from the local air force recruiter. Once he even received an official correspondence from the nearest branch’s Lieutenant Colonel, requesting a meeting with Judah. Judah politely declined. Natalee never asked why.

  Young, naive Natalee convinced herself it was so he could stay close to her. Older Natalee wondered if he just didn’t want to be part of the military. Either way, he had taken a job at their local airport, moved up in seniority, and built this amazing life for her. He never asked anything of her, just her love, and her hand in marriage. Natalee felt as if he had just handed all of this to her, no questions asked. She wasn’t a good cook, she wasn’t a great housewife by any means. She provided no intellect to the situation, she simply just existed.

  She always felt like she was a great mother, based on her proactive parenting. She was there for every parent-teacher conference. She was there for every practice, meeting, tournament, game. Whatever Jonah was involved in, Natalee was involved too. But the older Jonah got, the more Natalee was convinced she had no idea what she was doing. Even with the conversation they had just had, she still felt like she hadn’t had the slightest grip on things. Now she had to put her ‘face’ on for Svetlana, who, at this point, only knew Natalee from her social media posts and their sporadic, broken-up conversations across many time zones. Natalee had to show Svetlana that she wasn’t falling apart, that she did have a perfect life, and that she knew why this life was hers.

  She only had a few hours before Svetlana would be there, so she woke Jonah and escorted him into the house, to his bedroom. Once he collapsed onto his bed, Natalee removed his shoes and socks and left them by his door for the morning. She picked up the rest of the dirty clothes on his floor and took them straight to the laundry room, not wanting to waste time putting them in the hamper, where they’d still never make it to the laundry room.

  Natalee fell onto the couch and took a deep breath. She stretched out with a yawn. Her mind drifted from anxiety to excitement and her consciousness slipped away before she could remember to set an alarm.

  Around six in the morning, Natalee heard a loud rapping at the front door. She jolted awake and grabbed her phone to look at the time.

  “Oh, shit!” She exclaimed.

  She ran to the door as she tried to brush her hair down with her fingers. She pulled the door open and her eyes met the eyes of her long distance, long term best friend.

  Svetlana shrieked and threw her hands in the air before she threw them around Natalee’s neck and forced her into a chokingly tight hug. “Natty! You are alive! I was so worried when you did not show up at the airport.” She pulled away and kissed Natalee on both cheeks, “You are so beautiful! So much more beautiful than I remembered!”

  Natalee gaped, wondering how this could have possibly happened. “I am so, so, so sorry, Svetlana. I can’t believe I just did that to you. I fell asleep on the couch and didn’t wake up until just now. I am so sorry.”

  “No need to apologize, Natty, I am here now, and it was not one worry. No worry at all.” She peered around Natalee into the house behind her, “This is so beautiful! I cannot believe I am actually here!”

  Natalee’s eyes grew wide and she stepped to the side as she pushed the door open further. “Come in, come in! What are you still doing outside?”

  A small petite woman stepped out from behind Svetlana with what appeared to be a small bush in a decorative planter in her hands. It was as if Svetlana felt her leave from her hiding spot, she turned and scowled at the young woman before she took the plant from her and handed it to Natalee. “This is a gift! For you!” She exclaimed.

  “Oh!” Natalee gasped and took the plant from her, unsure what to do with it.

  Svetlana waved toward the plant, “You always say how you are sick online, so I had to bring you a gift that will help with the sickness. It will go away, it will stay away. I will show you how to use it later. For now, we catch up!”

  The girl followed Svetlana into the living room and sat a few feet away from her. She crossed her hands in her lap and kept her eyes lowered unless she saw Svetlana move, then her eyes followed Svetlana, where ever she went.

  Natalee placed the plant on the table in her foyer and dusted her hands off on her pants just in case some dirt had escaped the planter and dirtied her but ignored the fact that she was still in the same clothes she had worn the day before. She met Svetlana on the couch and collapsed next to her, “Do you want coffee or anything?”

  Svetlana raised her hand, “You do nothing while she is here.” She waved her hand toward the young girl. Svetlana then spoke to her in Russian and the girl immediately jumped up to obey commands Natalee couldn’t understand. The girl headed straight for the front door and began unloading bags from the car. She left them next to Svetlana, piled neatly by her feet. She then moved into the kitchen and Natalee could hear cupboards being opened and then very quietly shut.

  Natalee became a little uncomfortable with someone she didn’t even know existed until the day before, going through every cupboard in her kitch
en, probably looking for coffee and the coffee maker. “Is she trying to make coffee?” Natalee inquired.

  Svetlana nodded. “She is not trying, she will make the coffee,” she stated sternly.

  Natalee felt very intimidated by Svetlana. There was something very strong about her. Her voice was strong, her tone was strong and even her face looked strong. Natalee decided Svetlana was not a person she wanted to upset in any way. She cleared her throat for a moment before she hollered into the kitchen, “To the left of the sink!” She heard the girl in the kitchen step to the sink and then the familiar creak of the cupboard door as it opened, and then closed. She looked back to Svetlana and smiled, “I am so glad you’re here!”

  Svetlana smiled, “Me too, American friend.”

  Natalee chuckled, “So how is life? What brought you here? What are you doing over there? Come on, talk to me!”

  Svetlana waved her off, “No, no, not important. Where is this Jonah? And Judah? Where is he?”

  Natalee beamed. “Judah had to fly last night, I’m going to pick him up in a couple hours.”

  “Are you sure you will not sleep through it?” She teased.

  Natalee giggled and smacked Svetlana on the arm playfully. “Stop it, he never gets in at four in the morning, you picked a ridiculous ass flight.”

  Svetlana rolled her eyes. “Not me, my assistant. I tell you, she has no idea about time zones. She has learned though, she will never forget.”

  Natalee nodded, the uncomfortable feeling from before swarmed her again. “So, what is her name? Who is she?”

  Svetlana paused as the girl walked back into view with two cups of coffee in her hands. She handed one to Natalee and the other to Svetlana. Before Natalee could even take a sip, Svetlana put her hand over the cup which immediately grabbed Natalee’s attention. “You wait.”

  Natalee acquiesced and forced herself to swallow. “Okay.”

  Svetlana spoke to the girl in Russian again which caused her to instantly begin searching through the bags at Svetlana’s feet. It only took her going through two pockets to pull out a small turquoise flask, and she passed it to Svetlana.

  She slipped the lid off with the same hand she was holding it with. She tipped some into her cup, then into Natalee’s, and took a swig straight from the flask. “Ahh,” she exclaimed.

  Without offering it to Natalee, she handed it back to the girl, who capped it and put it back where she found it. Natalee stared at her cup for a moment before taking a tiny sip. The coffee was good, but the vodka was strong. She cringed, “Whew, how did that make it on the plane?”

  Svetlana grinned slyly as she sipped her own coffee. “I have my ways about me, Natty. I have my ways about me.”

  Natalee nodded and wondered briefly if she had invited a terrorist into her home, but immediately pushed that thought out of her mind, knowing the woman across from her was once a tiny, scared version of the girl sitting across from her now.

  “So, how long is your trip? Do you have any plans?”

  Svetlana shrugged, “I do not know yet. My ticket was for one time, I will go home when I am ready, or when you are sick of me.” Svetlana joked and elbowed Natalee in her arm. “Where is Jonah?”

  As if on cue, he stepped down the stairs as he rubbed his eyes, “I’m here. I’m Jonah.” He raised his eyes to see his mother’s best friend for the first time. “Are you Aunt Svetty?”

  Svetlana shrieked again as she leaned forward to set her cup down on the small table in front of her. She stood and stepped over Natalee’s knees, ran to Jonah, and kissed both of his cheeks and his forehead.

  “My nephew! You are so hands-” She trailed off the moment she noticed his black eye. She grabbed his chin and forced his head to the side, so the light shone against the dark, marbled bruise on his skin. “Who did this to you?” She asked sternly.

  He attempted to pull away from her but failed. For a moment he wanted to panic, but he attempted to stand his ground. “Nobody, I’m fine.”

  She let go of his chin quickly which caused his head to snap back to its normal position. “This is not fine, and I will handle it.”

  He stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I’m fine. It was a misunderstanding.” He peered at his mom behind Svetlana. “Right, Mom?”

  Natalee jumped up and hoped to calm everything down. “Yeah, there was just a… rumor, going around school. But that’s all it was, and we’ve already handled it.”

  Svetlana studied Natalee’s expression. She glanced back at Jonah before she nodded approvingly. “Fine, but if this happens again, you must tell me.” She peered at his eye once again, “Whoever hit you, hits like a girl. There was not even any bleeding. How can you fight with no blood?”

  Natalee smirked, finally hearing the Svetlana she had known most of her life.

  Jonah watched his mom closely before nodding to the young girl in the living room, “Who is that?”

  “Aunt Svetty’s assistant.”

  He looked at Svetlana. “You have an assistant?”

  “Yes, boy, now prepare yourself for the day. We have a lot to do, and it will be a lot of fun.”

  Jonah complied and turned around to head back to his room. “Can we at least start with some breakfast?”

  Svet’s face lit up and she turned to Natalee. “Is that one place still open? Get that grub? What was it? We went there every Friday after school, remember?”

  Natalee nodded and laughed. “Oh, I remember! Git’R’Grub, and yes, they’re still open. We just went there yesterday for breakfast!”

  Svetlana’s face dropped. “Well, we cannot go there again. Maybe in a few days? I would love one of their banana desserts. They do not make banana splits in Russia, and when I tried, it was not good.” She shook her head in morose thought. “Not good at all.”

  Natalee frowned, “You’ve gone fifteen years without a banana split? What a sad life you’re living over there.”

  Svetlana smirked, and Natalee sensed something a little sinister behind it. “No, life is fabulous. My desserts are not.”

  Natalee nodded, hoping at one point she would understand the nonsense coming from Svetlana, but for now, she just wanted to figure out why she was there. “I can cook! Would you like me to make some pancakes or waffles?”

  Svetlana thought for a moment before she tilted her head to the side. “She can cook.” She waved her hand at the girl, who immediately rushed to her side. Svet spoke to her in Russian, once again, and the girl scurried off to the kitchen and rifled through the cupboards again.

  Natalee sighed and ran into the kitchen with her. She pulled out the pancake mix, the bowl, the pan, the butter, and the measuring cup. She opened the drawer for the silverware and the other cooking utensils. She gave the girl a soft smile and noticed a deep fear brewing in her eyes. “Would you like some help?” The girl’s eyes grew wide before she quickly shook her head and looked down to her hands. Natalee chewed the inside of her cheek again. She could feel a small indent from the damage she had done to it the day before. “I can cook if you’d like.” The girl shook her head again and Natalee watched as she read the ingredients on the side of the box of mix. Natalee kept her eyes on her until Svetlana walked in a moment later.

  “Was she causing any trouble?”

  “No, no!” Natalee exclaimed. “I was just trying to help her. I’m sure she feels lost in here. She’s only been here like, what? Twenty-five minutes? She has no idea where anything is. I was just, you know, guiding her.” Svetlana stared down at the girl for a moment before she muttered something in their native tongue that made the girl work faster. Natalee rolled her eyes and brushed past Svetlana, toward the living room. “Come with me.”

  Svetlana turned on her heel and followed Natalee, but not before she shot a condescending look to the young woman. “Is something wrong? I can make her leave.”

  “No!” Natalee gasped. She peered over Svetlana’s shoulder to ensure the girl wasn’t paying attention to them and in a h
ushed tone, she gained some bravery. “Who is she, Svet? Why are you so mean to her? And if she can understand English, why don’t you acknowledge that?”

  Svetlana gawked, surprised that her friend was being so forward with her. “She is my assistant, I have told you that.”

  Natalee crossed her arms. “Are you kidding me? She’s like ten years old! Don’t they have child labor laws in Russia?”

  Svetlana nodded knowingly. “They do, but not the kind you are thinking of.”

  Natalee rolled her eyes, she didn’t want to come out of this conversation more confused than when she started it. “What is her name?”

  “Svetlana.”

  “No, Svetlana, that is your name. What is her name?”

  Svetlana stared at Natalee and focused on the frown burrowing in her brows. “Natalia.”

  She raised an eyebrow, “Are you kidding me?”

  “Yes. She has no name.”

  Natalee stared at her for a moment. “Are you fucking serious? She has to have a name.”

  Svet shook her head quickly. “No, no. You are mistaken, Ms. American. She does not need a name.”

  Natalee glared at her longtime friend. “Svetlana, she looks like a child. You speak to her as if she can’t even breathe the same air as you. Tell me who she is!”

  Svetlana let out a disgruntled groan as she rolled her eyes. “Her name is Yana. That is all I will tell you. She is my assistant.”

  “Well she doesn’t need to stay in a hotel, she can stay here. Jonah will either sleep on the couch, or she can. It’s up to you.”

  Svetlana stiffened and then nodded. “Fine. She will sleep on the couch. She will not put Jonah out of his room. It is his.”

  Natalee nodded and felt a little bit better, but not completely complacent on it. She decided to let it go for now and revisit it later.

  A sweet smell had started to seep from the kitchen and Natalee inhaled deeply. “Oh, she’s good.”

  Svetlana grinned. “She is very good in the kitchen. She is very, very good. Shall we eat?”

  Natalee agreed happily and bounced toward the sweet smell of waffles and pancakes. Yana found fresh fruit in the fridge and sliced it with perfection to be added as a garnish to the tops of their plates. She smiled at Svetlana, who nodded to her approvingly. The girl smiled again, more to herself, and set the plates on the table. She laid out three plates at the dining room table and kept a plate near the stove in the kitchen.