“Thank you.” She returns his smile while leaning even more into me.
“Are the kids in here?” I ask him.
“Yeah, with Volodya.”
We pass through and find Volodya sitting on the couch with his son in his lap while Dmitri plays with a huge pile of blocks on the floor at his feet. He’s building a tower that I’m confident is going to topple any second.
“I heard the commotion,” he says with a grin. “Congratulations to you both.” He meets Evie’s eyes and says, “Welcome to the family.”
“Thanks.” She looks at Misha and asks, “Is this your son?”
Volodya ruffles his son’s hair and gives one of his rare full smiles. “It is.” Misha’s hyper-focused on the toy in his hands, but when he hears his dad’s voice he lifts his head and gives a big smile. It grows when he spots me standing in front of him.
I tell him hi in Russian and then take him when he lunges for me. Volodya laughs and hands him over. “Misha, this is your Aunt Evie,” I tell him. He smiles and drools and reaches for her. I swear I see her heart melt right there on the spot. She grabs onto him and pulls him against her, laughing at how cute he is.
She studies his face for a second and then looks at Volodya. “He looks just like you.”
I didn’t know my brother was capable of smiling that big. He beams at his son and then snags Maddie when she walks by, pulling her down into his lap.
“She said he looks just like me,kiska. Now we just need a daughter who looks just like you.”
Maddie laughs and returns his kiss. “Soon, baby. He’s barely one. I need more space between them.”
He keeps her on his lap and whispers something in her ear that makes her blush a deep shade of red while I turn and squat down next to Dmitri and pull him in for a hug, making sure to steer clear of his wobbly tower. He tells me hi in Russian and then asks who the woman standing next to me is. I laugh and kiss his cheek.
“This is Evie,” I tell him in English, “and she’s just agreed to marry me.”
He eyes her for a second and then nods his head, apparently giving her his three-year-old stamp of approval. Getting up he walks over and holds his hand out.
Vasily walks in and laughs. “Dima, aunts get hugs not handshakes.”
Evie kneels down and opens her free arm to him. He wraps his arm around her and his little cousin and tells her hi in Russian. She repeats it, and hearing her speak my mother tongue has me grinning and giving her a wink. Mentally I’m already making a list of all the phrases I’m going to teach her, none of them appropriate for her to speak in front of anyone but me.
“And this big guy,” I say, running my fingers through the thick, black fur, “is Ruslan.”
Evie laughs when Dmitri runs over and starts to rub the dog’s belly. “Good boy,” he tells him in Russian before going back to building his tower.
“Wow.” She walks over and gives him a good scratch behind his ears while Misha plays with a strand of her hair. “I’ve never seen a dog this big before.”
“I hadn’t either,” Nina says, coming in to stand next to Vasily who immediately wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer. “He’s so gentle with Dima, though.” She pats her stomach and looks up at Vasily with a big smile on her face. “I wonder how he’ll be with a little girl to protect.”
That gets our attention. Volodya laughs while Maddie lets out a squeal and claps her hands. Andrei and Svetlana beam at them while their daughter laughs at everyone’s reactions.
“A little girl?” I ask.
Vasily’s whole face is lit up in a grin. “Yeah, we just found out today.”
“Man, I can’t wait to see you surrounded by baby dolls and princess costumes,” Volodya says with a laugh.
“Just wait until she wants her Uncle Volodya to play dress up with her,” Vasily says, shooting me a big grin.
“Maybe she’ll be a tomboy,” Nina says.
“I’m painting her nursery pink anyway,” Vasily says. “She can change her room later if she wants, but I’m actually looking forward to pink, girly things. Our family’s always been men. It’s about time we livened things up.”
He looks over at Andrei holding his daughter. “It’ll be good for Alina to have another girl to play with. They’ll keep the boys in line.”
As if on cue, Misha lets out a squeal. He grabs Evie’s hands and uses her for support as he pulls himself up onto chubby, unsteady legs. He loves walking with help, but he’s still hesitant to do it on his own. Volodya smiles and leans forward, holding his hands out for his son. Misha laughs and takes a few more ungainly steps until Volodya scoops him up and sets him on his lap next to his mom.
