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"They're here," he said and showed me his phone. "We better straighten up. Not that I don't want Ethan and Elaine to know we're madly in love and lust with each other but still..."
I smiled and kissed him quickly, then he gave my nipple one last hard suck, before pulling up my strap. I slid off his lap and stood up, smoothing my dress and making sure my hair was still neat. Drake stood up beside me and adjusted himself, straightened his tie. He went to the table where a bottle of champagne was chilling in an ice bucket. When the elevator doors opened to admit my parents, he held up the bottle just as my father rolled into the room in his motorized wheelchair.
"Dad, Elaine, welcome," Drake said, smiling.
I went right over and gave my dad a kiss, then kissed Elaine.
"Come in," I said. "Drake has some champagne so we can celebrate."
I led Elaine inside while my father wheeled himself over to where Drake stood.
"Is it the good stuff?" my father asked, spying the bottle in Drake's hand.
"It is. You sent it over so I decided to open it tonight."
"It's a special occasion and I didn't want it to go to waste. Who knows how much time we have left? Better that I don't let it sit in the cellar and gather dust."
"Daddy," I said and frowned, going to his side and taking a glass that Drake handed me. "Don't think like that. We're lucky to all be together and have each other."
"We are, sweetheart," he replied and squeezed my hand with his good one. "I don't mean to be gloomy, but I have so much wine and champagne that I could never drink it all in the time I have left. I want u
s to enjoy it while we can."
"We will enjoy it and each other while we can." I leaned down and kissed him, then adjusted his tie which had come askew. "That's what tonight is about."
He nodded and smiled up at me. Then he glanced around. "Where's Heath and family? Are they late again?"
I laughed. "He has two children. I imagine it's a lot more effort to get everyone ready and in the car on time, unlike us."
"I wish Sophie was here, too," my father said, pouting.
"Maybe next year. She goes down at seven or seven thirty, and is a grouch if she doesn't get her twelve hours of sleep."
"I know," he said and patted my hand. "I'm just greedy. I want to see all my grand babies together."
"On Thanksgiving. We'll eat earlier and spend the afternoon together. How does that sound?"
"Sounds perfect."
That settled, Drake finished pouring champagne and then we went to the seating area and talked about our activities over the past week.
We had only been back in Manhattan for a short while and were still getting back into our respective routines so everything still felt new and uncertain.
There wasn't much to update them on my part. My life was taken up with Sophie and Drake. When I had time and when Sophie went down for her afternoon nap, I might work in the studio on my paintings.
As for Drake, he wasn't working. He and his former supervisor at NYP thought it was best that he didn't start working again until after the murder trial of Lisa Monroe was finished and the publicity around it had died down. That meant he'd have to wait until the following September to continue in his practice.
His fellowship was also up in the air because of the drama, so Drake had nothing to look forward to except the trial and seeing Lisa finally put away for good. He hoped to finish his Fellowship and then start working as a pediatric neurosurgeon in a year if his supervisor agreed and the department approved. That was his goal.
It would likely take longer than we both hoped for it to come to fruition, but I knew it would -- eventually. Until then, Drake was at loose ends.
About ten minutes later, Drake's cell dinged again announcing that Heath and his family had arrived and were on their way up. The elevator doors opened to admit the four of them -- Heath looking like a younger version of my father, his pretty wife, Christie, and two much more grown up children. We welcomed them in, Drake poured them champagne and provided some sodas for the children. We spent the next fifteen minutes catching up on all their news.
At about quarter to eight, the wait staff began bringing up the meal, and so we all sat at the table with my father at the head, Elaine at the other end and the rest of us on either side. Music played in the background -- my favorites, including Debussy and some Tchaikovsky, given the Russian setting. Everyone was busy talking, laughing and enjoying themselves as we feasted on wonderful Russian food. Drake explained each dish while the wait staff served us, giving a bit of background on where the dish came from and what it contained. He'd been responsible for ordering the dishes and enjoyed the chance to introduce some traditional Russian food to my family.
I sat beside him and watched as he entertained the kids, telling them stories about Russian history -- leaving out the Communist revolution, of course. Drake seemed so happy to be in that role of a man surrounded by his close family, regaling them with stories while the wine flowed and the food was served.
He seemed so content, despite everything that was going on behind the scenes.
