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“Hey,” I say, fighting to keep my tone upbeat.
Something sounds like pots and pans banging in the background, and I cringe at the loud noise, holding the phone from my ear momentarily. Only after I’m sure it’s safe, do I replace it against my cheek.
“Sorry about that,” Anya says a moment later. “Apparently, cooking and holding my phone at the same time is not my forte. Who knew that could be such a challenge?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you. Should I let you go?” I ask.
“No, of course not!” Anya says. “I’m always happy to hear from you. What’s up? Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I think. I just… maybe you could give me some advice?” Dear lord, I sound guilty.
“Okay?”
The commotion stops on the other end of the line, telling me I’ve gotten Anya’s undivided attention.
“So, I…” My voice drops to a murmur. “I haven’t found the right time to tell Pyotr about… what happened,” I hedge. “And he’s supposed to pick me up for a date tonight. But I think he’s running late–or maybe he’s decided to blow me off completely–and now I’m starting to lose my nerve. What should I do? How do you even tell someone something like that?”
Anya chuckles softly, and for a moment, I think she might find me completely foolish. I feel almost childing as I chew my thumbnail and wait for her response.
“Well, when it comes to that? I’m probably the last person you want to ask for advice,” she jokes. “I’m sure Nico would tell you to ask someone else. It took years after I gave birth for him to find out he was a father. And I didn’t even manage to tell him. He had to learn about it the hard way.”
For some reason, Anya’s humorous reminder actually helps. I giggle, remembering that day as clearly as if it were yesterday. Poor Nico had been livid after stumbling across Anya and her daughter at the park. I’d never seen him so upset. He’d just about lost his mind finding out he had a daughter he’d never met. I think what really drove him over the edge was the fact that he and Anya had been seeing each other for months after they had reconnected.
It took considerable effort on my part to talk him down that day. I think that’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to scolding my oldest brother after he told me about his threat to take Clara from Anya. If anyone could give me hope that a relationship could change someone for the better, it’s Nico. While I’ve always seen the very best in him, he had a lot of growing up to do to become a good partner and father. And now, he’s one of the people I respect most in the world–violently protective tendencies aside.
What happened between him and Anya isn’t funny, really, when I consider how close they came to losing each other. But it does help me put things in perspective. Of course, I need to tell Pyotr. It’ll be hard getting the words out, but I need to do it regardless of whether he’s decided to stand me up tonight or not.
“Mama, when’s Daddy coming home?” Clara’s little-girl voice echoes vaguely across the phone as if she’s calling to her mother from a good distance away.
“Sorry, Silvia, one second.” The phone crackles and Anya’s next words are muffled, like she’s covering her phone’s microphone to respond loudly to her daughter. “He had to work late, baby. He won’t be home until after dinner.”
“Awww,” Clara pouts. She loves her dad.
Then Anya comes back on the line. “Sorry about that.”
“That’s okay,” I say, but a tingling foreboding wiggles up my spine. “Did I hear Nico’s not home yet?” I ask lightly.
“Yeah, I guess some work emergency came up, so he won’t be home until late. Hey,” Anya says as if a thought just occurred to her. “If you don’t hear back from Pyotr, do you want to come over here for dinner? We could have a girls’ night. I’m sure Clara would love that. Food should be ready in an hour.” The sound of pans finding the counter follows.
And as wonderful as that would be, I can’t get the sinking suspicion out of my gut. “Thanks for the invite. That sounds amazing. But if I don’t hear from Pyotr, I should probably stay home and work on my art project for school.”
“Okay, no problem. Maybe next time.”
“Definitely. Thanks for the advice, Anya. I can’t express how much I appreciate all you’ve done to help me.”
She releases another quiet laugh. “I would hardly consider what I gave you tonight advice, but I’m glad if it helped. Always feel like you can call me.”
“Thanks.” I hang up quickly, my heart drumming an unsteady beat as I scroll through my contacts to find Nico.
And I can’t get the last conversation I had with him out of my brain.I’m tired of letting the little Veles Prince play his mind games,He said.He dragged you to New York and used every trick in the book on you, then returned you home in pieces. At the very least, I should do the same to him.
My sinking feeling brings a cold sweat to my brow as I pair it with the conversation I had with Cassio said that same day. He’s been set on finding a way to get me out of my marriage contract ever since my father agreed to it in the first place. When I told him not to do anything about it, that I wanted to deal with the consequences, he never actually answered me…
Panic tightens my throat, and I call Nico, praying that he and the twins haven’t decided to act on their threat to fix things. But as I hold the phone to my ear, it just rings and rings and rings.
And when it goes to voicemail, I start to pace.
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