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“No. Absolutely not. You didn’t get yourself pregnant and those are my children too. I don’t know what to say or do about any of this right now. Like I said, I’m going to have to think about it. What I do know is that I will take care of you and the babies. I just don’t know exactly just how that goes right at this moment.”
“Okay,” she replied, hating the uncertainty she felt, but knowing he was right. They both had a lot to think about.
Yakov filled her plate with fresh noodles and hot vegetables with tender strips of chicken. She was glad he hadn’t listened about her not being hungry. She was starving. Halfway through the meal, the doorbell rang and he went to answer it, bringing in a bag from the pharmacy and fishing out a tablet from each. He held them out to her and she took them from him, tossing them back with a sip from her water glass.
“Which ice cream do you want for dessert?”
“What makes you think I want ice cream?”
“Maybe the fact that you’ve been eating it like a starving street urchin the last couple of days.”
“How do you know that?”
“There’s not much that goes on in this house that I don’t know about,” he told her.
“Triple chocolate chunk,” she replied with a tentative smile.
“Excellent choice.”CHAPTER TWENTY-ONEAfter a lot of discussion, Aileen and Yakov decided simplyo complicate things. They would continue their current agreement and then she would go about her business. It wasn’t ideal, but they would exist like most divorced couples and do their best to co-parent effectively. It wasn’t a position either of them wanted to be in, but there wasn’t much else they could do.
Yakov assured her that he would take care of both her and the children well beyond her final payment for their fake marriage. He planned to draw up a financial arrangement for that purpose for both of them to sign so that it wasn’t just a matter of her taking his word for it. She could live with that. It would afford her nannies and housekeeping so that she would also have time for classes and herself. Of course, he would also take an active role in the children’s lives and they would spend days with him, as well.
It wasn’t an ideal situation, but it would work. They would make it work. So, the thing now would be just getting through things here. The following few weeks went by in a hurry. She was already beginning to show, but with the arrival of cooler weather, she was able to cover her expanding waistline with oversize sweaters and A-line dresses.
By the election, she was getting ready to get on with her own life. Yakov hadn’t touched her since he had discovered she was pregnant. It was if it was his penance for having crossed that line and with only Ruby to talk to, her time there had been somewhat lonely.
She had even considered an affair with Grant, but it was hardly fair to involve him in her fucked up life and she wasn’t sure he was interested anyway after seeing her puke in the toilet. Her pregnancy hormones were in overdrive and she felt like she was going mad, but she would get through this. No way was she going to let this be the straw that broke her camel’s back.
Today, there was a gathering for the election. There would be a speech by Yakov and one by Kevin and then the election would take place, with people placing their ballots and sitting down to eat the food being served. The results would be announced as soon as they were all tabulated. It was not held at any of the houses this time, but at an outdoor event platform Yakov’s clan had on the property belonging to them. It held a large clubhouse, a pavilion and an outdoor fire pit with a large barbecue grill. The leader was there and looked even worse than the first time Aileen had met him, but he seemed oddly lucid for his condition. The only indication that he wasn’t quite right was the fact that he didn’t seem to remember her from the previous gathering.
“I’ve heard about you, young lady,” he said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Aileen told him.
He started to say something, but quickly devolved into a spastic coughing fit that sounded painful. She was not surprised at all when he lifted a handkerchief to his mouth to dab at spittle and it came away spotted with blood. She tried to pretend she hadn’t noticed.
“I’m afraid our acquaintance will be short, but hopefully, it will be meaningful,” he told her.
“I’ve no doubt that it will be.”
“She’s quite a girl, huh?” Yakov said, sweeping in from nearby and putting an arm around her waist.
