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"It is pretty tasty," Josh admits reluctantly.
"Don't be like that, you've polished off half your plate," Audrey chides him.
Josh pulls a face before putting his fork down. "Because I'm hungry."
Audrey rolls her eyes at me, and I can't stop myself from giggling. It's surreal that we're sitting here in the mansion. It wasn't long ago that I'd had to sneak Audrey into the cellar in a crate of fruit. "I'm glad we could all have dinner together," I say.
"Me too," she agrees, "I've been looking for an excuse to get everyone in the same room."
Arsen stiffens, casting me a curious look. I shrug to indicate I don't know what she's talking about. "What do you mean?" he asks warily.
Her grin is so big the corners of her eyes vanish in deep crinkles. Clearing her throat, she pushes her chair back, standing and tapping the edge of her glass with her knife dramatically.
"Josh and I have an announcement. We're having a baby!"
Gasping, I shove my chair away so I can rush around and hug her. "Audrey, oh my god, congratulations!" She laughs, tears squeezing down her cheeks as we jump up and down together. My best friend is going to have a baby! Our kids can grow up together!
Arsen peers at Josh over his hands with a kind smile. "You'll enjoy being a father."
At first he looks unsure how to react. I let go of Audrey, eyeing Josh nervously, unsure if he'll say something rude or snide or what. As nice as things have gotten, he has every right to hold a grudge against Arsen for what he was put through.
Taking a big breath, Josh inclines his head in a knowing way, like they're swapping stories. "Thanks, I hope so. No backing out of it now."
Audrey scoffs playfully while lightly tapping Josh on the arm. He pretends to flinch, but his half smile reveals how much he enjoys their game.
When we're all back in our sets, Arsen raises his glass. Now I get why Audrey hadn't touched her wine. "Cheers to your new family," he says loudly.
"And cheers to no more late nights at Tsar's," Audrey says. She gives me a side-eye and smirks. "Though I can't pretend I won't miss it."
Everyone descends into chatter, conversations overlapping. I listen, but my mind is elsewhere. I'm traveling along that string of thought Audrey just handed me. Tsar's was another lifetime ago. The woman I was then doesn't exist anymore, not really. I'm still Galina Stepanovna, but I've grown enough to understand what that means.
I've witnessed death and trauma, passion and love.
I lost many things on my way here. But when I lift my head, gazing at Arsen, hearing my son cry upstairs in a nursery that was once locked away and covered in dust, I'm positive of one thing.
Life can't get any more perfect than this.
EPILOGUE
Galina
Three years later
I'm going to be late!
It's the one thing I was dead set on avoiding. I'd looked Arsen in the eye this morning, kissing him as I climbed into my car, and assured him I would definitely be on time for our date.
How arrogant of me.
It's not my fault, the Nutcracker performance is in just two weeks. It's our biggest show and it has to be perfect. It's baffling that in just a few years my studio has blown up to be recognized as the top ballet studio in the state. Maybe the entire coast, though I try not to let my ego get wind of that.
But none of that matters. Today is about celebrating my three-year anniversary with Arsen.
Which is why I should NOT be late. Ugh.
Driving through downtown, I take a familiar road that I'd be able to navigate in the dark. Street lamps being out because someone busted the glass with a rock for fun wouldn't be strange—in the past, that is.
Big globe lights propped on black poles dot the entire sidewalk, glowing like a row of tiny moons and lighting up the storefronts. Many of them are brand new. The lack of potholes and shady people huddled in alleys is what really shows off how far this city has come.
