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“It’s not an argument, Dima, it's a cold hard fact.”
Across the kitchen island, Aurora laughs. “My goodness, you’re both so cute.”
“She’s cuter,” Dimitri says, smirking at me.
“No, you are,” I mumble, ignoring the heat pooling in my cheeks.
Aurora rolls her eyes. “Seriously, stop it. I’m going to puke if you two keep this up.”
Heavy footsteps approach from somewhere down the hall. A few short moments later, Boris walks in. He’s made a miraculous recovery. The fire left several large scars on his arms and body, as well as one particularly nasty burn on the right side of his neck, but he’s back to his usual dutiful self.
“Dimitri,” he says, “Mrs. and Mr. Antonov are here to see you.”
My ears perk up. “Lev and Catherina are back?”
I hear Catherina well before she comes into view, her presence announced by the sharp click of her stiletto heels on the tiles. When she rounds the corner and enters the kitchen, I’m unsurprised to see how little has changed. She’s still as shrewd and severe as the first time I had the misfortune of meeting her.
I’m astounded to see the person who follows immediately behind.
Lev walks in, leaning heavily on a wooden cane, but it’s still an impressive feat to see him standing. I’m over the moon to see him again. I wasn’t sure if we’d ever have the chance to cross paths after Catherina shipped him off to a rehabilitation institute in France.
He looks so much happier and healthier than before. He wears an easy smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he does. Lev’s cheeks and the tip of his nose are a rosy pink. Most importantly, the alertness in his eyes tells me he’s present.
“Hello,” he greets, sounding very chipper. He grins at me. “I remember you. Natalya, right?”
I laugh. “Yes, that’s me. It’s so good to see you, Lev.”
Dimitri stays by my side, though I can tell how much he wants to go to his father. “Welcome back,” he says stiffly.
Lev regards his son for a moment. The mind is a tricky thing. It’s obvious the rehabilitation center did wonders for his health, but has he regained his memories? Does he know who he’s talking to?
“Dima?” Lev says slowly. “Goodness, how you’ve grown.”
The relief and joy that washes over Dimitri’s face almost brings tears to my eyes. I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s feeling. This is the first time in literal decades that his father has seen him.Actuallyseen him.
“He insisted on coming to see you,” Catherina says, her words clipped and impatient as ever. She catches Aurora’s eye. “Aurora,” she mutters tersely.
“Catherina.” Aurora’s reply is stilted.
“I wasn’t aware the two of you were on your way back to Moscow,” Dimitri says, moving on from whatever strange tension is going on between the two of them.
“The program Lev was enrolled in has come to a close. Something about requiring a peer review and more data. As you can see, it’s helped my husband significantly.”
“So does this mean you’ll be staying?” I ask.
“A little while,” Lev says, his voice thin but sweet. “I’ve missed Moscow very much.”
“There’s another trial program,” Catherina adds quickly. “Lev’s made improvements, but there’s still work to be done. We’ll be spending some time here before shipping out to New York.”
I raise my eyebrows. “When are you leaving?”
“In another few weeks. I’ll be contacting Pyotr or Luka. I’m sure one of them will host us while we’re there for Lev’s treatment.”
Beside me, I feel Dimitri shift uncomfortably. He doesn’t have to say anything, but I can sense how much he wants to spend some time with his father.
“Would you like to stay for tea?” I ask quickly. “I’m sure there’s so much the two of you would like to catch up on.”
Catherina clicks her tongue. “We don’t have time, unfortunately. I only stopped by because Lev insisted. We have lunch plans in an hour.”
