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“How has work been? My mother mentioned you were a teacher for a university now.”
“Pretty busy.”
He takes a seat next to me. “I'm proud of you,” he says.
I smile. “Thank you.”
“I should shower.” He stands, but then turns to face me. “First date is tomorrow. We're also going to a team party this weekend.”
“I have to go?” I was hoping to avoid that for as long as possible, especially after Sergey said no one knows about me. As rightly so as that may be, it will make things awkward.
“Yes.” He doesn't give me room to argue; he turns on his heels and stalks to the bathroom like a man on a mission.
Well, that's that, I guess.
Three
Sergey
HavingGalina here is going about like I expected. Things are weird and it's almost as if we're walking on eggshells at times. It feels as if there's an ominous cloud in the room, following us wherever we go. There's more we should discuss, like how this living arrangement will truly work, but we're avoiding it. We're coexisting for the moment.
Today, we go on our date. I'm about as nervous as I was on our very first parent-forced date. I was nervous, but she was extremely annoyed back then.
We're quiet as we get ready, not dressing particularly nice, as we don't need to for this date.
“What kind of place is this?” Galina asks as we arrive at the restaurant.
“We're embracing the Southern cuisine.”
She raises her eyebrows at me, but says nothing. There's a reason for this, but I don't want to divulge it yet. My idea seems even more ridiculous than when I first thought of it. Maybe I should grant her the divorce instead of doing this.
“This feels a little like our first date all over again,” Galina says with a small laugh after the waitress takes our drink orders.
I nod in agreement.
“Sergey.” I glance up, hearing the nervousness in her tone. “There's a man who keeps looking at us with this cheesy grin.”
And the jig is up. I look over my shoulder where her gaze rests, but I already know what I'll find. “That's Marco and his wife, Lizzy,” I say as I turn to wave at them. “They are our supervision; this is Lizzy's favorite restaurant. They picked it for us.” I wait to see if she'll grasp the meaning behind all of that.
Her eyes widen. “Thisislike our first date.” She laughs. “Are you going to be polite and try not to like me because you're upset our parents set us up on a date?”
I smile. When our parents arranged for us to go on a date together, I pretended to dislike the idea once I realized Galina wasn’t pleased. Her mom sent us to her favorite restaurant, where my parents sat nearby to watch us and make sure we both behaved. “I'll behave.”
“How come you chose them and not Scott?” she asks.
“They have twin babies; I figured they could use the night out more than Scott and Sylvia.”
Galina nods in understanding. We take some time to look over the menu and I laugh when Galina asks what a hushpuppy is. Eating over at Scotty's, who is originally from the area, means I'm well-versed in the local foods. It might be best if I order for her, so I do with her permission.
“How are your parents?” I ask.
She shrugs. “They stopped talking to me about three years ago because they said I was being stubborn. They couldn't understand why I was still separated from you and they were very frustrated.”
My eyes widen. I did not know this. But Galina said she was still being pressured, which can only mean one thing. “So it is my parents who are hounding you then?”
Galina nods. “But I know my parents are behind it as well.”
“I'm sorry. I will talk to them.” There’s no reason for them to bother her. While they are the reason we are together, we’re adults and they need to stay out of our business, what little of it we have.
