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Chase held his hands up. “Honest to God, this is the story they tell. So Babushka had acquired a long list of friends in her life—she was everyone’s mother or sister or best friend—and she’d convinced several of the oldest and the youngest that it was time to rise up.”
I could almost picture that in my head. And I could see Chase spinning a similarly compelling argument, if he decided that was what the world needed.
“Since we’ve never heard of it, I’m guessing that didn’t go well.” Skepticism filled Luke’s voice.
Chase wasn’t deterred. “It was going better than you might think. Problem was, one of the women in her rebellion-to-be was married to a KGB agent. This girl would have freaked if he tossed her surrogate babushka in a Gulag—”
“Not a thing anymore in the eighties,” Luke said.
Chase rolled his eyes. “Send her to Siberia, then. Whatever. So I’m taking a little bit of artistic license.”
I suspected he was taking a lot, but the story was entertaining, regardless. “What happened next?”
“So Mr. KGB went to the actual grandson.” Chase looked pleased that I asked. “Told him what she was up to. He actually sounded concerned. She’d organized hundreds of potential-rebels through all the people she knew. KGB agent gave this man and his wife a choice—take Grandma and leave the country, or she would be arrested. They weren’t as impassioned about the cause, and Mr. KGB offered them the paperwork they needed to get to the US without hassle, so they packed up their belongings and their grandmother, and left.”
It was a good story. Had all the right elements—a heroine I could root for, an extended family who cared, and a sympathizer within the system. “How much of that is true?”
“That’s the tale they tell. Who am I to question it?”
I laughed in spite of myself.
Even Luke was smiling. “You do know some incredible stories.”
“Funny how none of them are about you.” I didn’t mean it to be an accusation, but as I said it, I realized Chase rarely told tales about himself.
Chase shrugged. “I’m an open book. You already know all my secrets.”
“Obviously not.” I hadn’t forgiven the guys yet, and I wasn’t letting anyone off the hook for a few dumplings and a fairytale.
“She’s right, you know,” Luke said.
Chase sank back into his seat. He radiated confidence, even when he was being poked with doubt and criticism. How nice would that be? “As if you’d say otherwise.”
My insides twisted, and Shawn’s voice echoed in my head. It’s your fault you’re fighting. If you’d been nicer, he wouldn’t have to say those things. God, I hated that voice so much. Why couldn’t I ignore it?
