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How I want her back. I’d be happy for five minutes, just enough to feel her, smell her, and hear her words in my ears. Is that so much to ask for? I’ve never needed her more than I do now. I need her to help me navigate raising an ornery teenager, the love of three strong men, and a new life where I carry a weapon, since I never know when I’ll need to defend myself.
But as luck would have it, all I get is this card, and maybe that’s enough to be thankful for, a reminder that Mother is here with me all the time, even when I don’t know it, and that if she weren’t, things might be much, much more strange than they already are.
* * *
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
Charleigh
The party was held mostly under a huge white canopy in the backyard with music playing, drinks flowing, and lots of good, catered food. I, for one, ate way too much sushi, never a good idea at a party because you might end up with fish breath.
Which wasn’t a problem, Evie assured me, after she was kind enough to let me breathe on her.
Sisters.
During the party, I hung back for a time, watching not only my sister but also the guys. It’s funny how they’re brothers when they are also so different. Now that I know them, like really know them, I see things I never would have noticed a few weeks ago.
Vadik is pressing the flesh with the guests who come through the door, but also keeping an eye on the big picture, making sure everyone has a drink and that hors d’oeuvres are passed generously. Kir is surrounded by people laughing at his jokes who are also sucking down beers, slapping each other on the back, and making all kinds of noise. Then there’s Niko, whose beauty is admired by every woman he passes as well as some men, engaging in quiet one-on-one conversations where he makes every person he spends time with feel like they’re the only person in the room.
They complement each other, these guys really do.
I have a better time than I even hoped, and the guys seem happy with how things go, as well. Dominika, to her credit, steers clear of me.
With the party eventually winding down, Evie’s little friends leave, and I put her to work throwing out empties and making sure glassware is returned to the kitchen. She’s in such a good mood she doesn’t protest, not even for a moment, and I work alongside her until Vadik walks up to us.
“You know, you don’t have to do this. We have staff who do this work,” he says.
Evie sets down what she’s doing, eager to be let off the hook.
Not a chance.
“Thanks, Vadik, we realize that, but it’s important we pitch in. I want to make sure Evie remembers not all teenagers live in mansions surrounded by household help.”
Evie clicks her tongue loudly and I catch her rolling her eyes like she does dozens of times a day. But she gets back to work, although not without her usual litany of long, loud, dramatic sighs.
Vadik makes himself scarce before he laughs out loud.
“Evie,” I say when we’ve made a good dent in the after-party mess, “let’s take a little walk.”
The compound is big enough to feel like you’re away and off the property, even when you aren’t, which is a godsend.
“So how are things going for you here?” I ask her.
She shrugs. “It’s nice. My friends all liked it.”
Of course. I think back to the days when what my friends thought was the most important thing in the world. Glad those days are past. They were torturous.
She nudges me, giggling. “They also think your boyfriends are hot.”
Hmmm. Myboyfriends. I hadn’t thought of them like that. These guys are a lot of things to me, but boyfriend is one term I hadn’t thought to use.
“Glad they think so,” I say, hoping to end the conversation.
Evie pulls her phone out of her pocket, and I hear it vibrating lightly. “Oh, Char, do you mind if I go back to the house? Everyone’s posting their photos of the party now and I want to be the first to see them.”
“Yeah, sure.”
I find the old hammock, the one that the guys told me their father used to love, and crawl into it, warmed by the dappled light sneaking through the tree canopy. I wonder what it was like to be Grigory Alekseev, Russian immigrant who made it big the only way he knew how, who later perished with his beloved wife in a raging house fire.
