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He playfully batted me on the arm. “Can’t win them all.”

I finished my soup and tea, then wrapped myself up in the blanket like a burrito, leaning against Michael. When he lifted his arm, I shifted closer, snuggling into his side and resting my head on his chest while relishing the feeling of his strong arm around me. The last thought I had before I fell asleep again was, I could get used to this.

Michael

It took Olga a solid three days before she was feeling human again, and another week before she felt one hundred percent. By some miracle, I avoided getting sick while taking care of her, something I was immensely grateful for.

Something changed between us during that week when Olga was sick. We got used to snuggling together when we were on the couch and giving each other casual touches as we passed each other in the house.

We were close before, but now there was a sense of intimacy that hadn’t been there before. I had a feeling we were careening towards taking our relationship to the next level, and as much as I wanted that to happen, I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or terrified.

The week after she was sick, I went with Olga for dinner at her parents’ house again. This time her sister Alona was there, along with Jayden, the brother-in-law. I’d seen pictures of the two sisters together, but I didn’t realize how much they looked alike until I saw them side by side. They had such similar features and mannerisms, there was no way anyone could doubt that the two of them were sisters.

They were also eerily in sync, finishing each other’s sentences and seeming to have entire conversations without ever speaking. d

Alona had apparently decided that her mission for the evening was to embarrass her younger sister in front of me. She told one embarrassing story after another until Mrs. Pavlenko finally took pity on Olga and put a stop to it.

Olga and I were sitting side by side at the table, with Alona and Jayden sitting across from us, and her parents at either end. I’d won over her parents last time, but as dinner went on, I could feel her family warming up to me even more, especially after Olga told them all about how I’d taken care of her when she was sick.

“You were sick like that? You never get sick, Olyu. Why you did not call me?” Mrs. Pavlenko asked.

I noticed her accent thickened when she was excited or irritated with one of her family members.

“I didn’t want you to get sick, Mama, then you would also get Tato sick. Besides, Michael took very good care of me.”

Her mother looked between us curiously, no doubt remembering my last visit when she’d tried to sell me on marrying her youngest daughter.

Seeing her mother’s expression, Olga added, “Mikey is a good friend. He gave me Tylenol and soup and tea, and made sure I stayed warm and got my sleep. He even changed Nutella’s litter and fed him for me.”

She didn’t mention that her cat tried to kill me while I changed his damned litter. I only narrowly avoided getting scratched again that time.

“Aw, Michael, you are a good boy,” Mrs. Pavlenko praised. “Spasybi. Thank you. Olga needs strong man to take care of her.”

Olga turned to me and rolled her eyes. I gave her a smirk. Then it was Olga’s turn to smirk as her mother added, “Maybe you make marriage like I say.”

“Mama!” Olga said firmly. “Stop trying to marry me off. I keep telling you that we’re just friends.”

“Is very easy for friends to fall in love,” Mrs. Pavlenko said. “Your tato and I were friends at one time, you know, before we were in love.”

Alona took pity on her sister and changed the subject. “Mama, did I tell you that the Olivers invited us all to go to Kansas for Christmas again? Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“It was fun to have Christmas with them and then have Orthodox Christmas at home later,” Mrs. Pavlenko agreed, making me remember that in Olga’s faith the major holidays ran on a different calendar. “We must do this.”

Later as we drove home, loaded down with leftovers, Olga apologized. “I’m so sorry about my family. If they’re not threatening you, they’re trying to get you to put a ring on my finger. They’re incorrigible.”

I had a sudden image of my ring on Olga’s finger, and I couldn’t say I hated the image.

“They’re fine,” I said. “Don’t worry. Sooner or later you’ll meet my family, and I can guarantee you that they’ll do something embarrassing too. Like your parents, my mother is quite suspicious about our living arrangements. She thinks I’m hiding something from her.”

“Where is your family?” she asked. “I don’t think we ever talked about it.”

“My mother and sister live in Pittsburgh,” I said. “Mom got remarried my senior year of high school, and the summer after graduation her husband got transferred to Pittsburgh. My sister moved with them, but I stayed back here in Chicago to go to college.”

Looking at my friend out of the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help but think that if I’d accepted my mother’s invitation to move to Pittsburgh with her I might never have seen Olga again. She’d only been back in my life for a few months, but already I couldn’t imagine a world where I didn’t talk to her every day.

“You must miss your family.”

I shrugged. My family was never as close as the Pavlenkos clearly were. “I usually see them about once a year.”