“Exactly like your mom,” Matteo agrees without hesitation. “Although, Jade has long brown hair. Have you seen pictures of her?”
Nadya dips her head rapidly, smiling with excitement. “From the wedding. She looked like a real-life princess! I wanted to go, but Papa said he didn’t know if it was safe yet.”
The table takes in a collective breath. Nadya didn’t mean any offense, but a more insecure man may have taken some.
“That was very smart of your dad,” Matteo tells her seriously. “My family will never be anything other than completely safe for you, but he had never really met us before. It’s always good to be cautious with your loved ones. My father probably would have done the same thing if he had a young girl to protect.”
Like a seasoned host, Grigory and his assistant bring in our plates, setting them in front of everyone as steam slowly dances off of them.
“Roast chicken with mashed potatoes Friday,” Matteo says happily. “You picked a good day to invite me over. Though beef stew tomorrow night sounds good too.”
“You have her diet memorized?” Dad asks, shock evident in his tone as his fork freezes halfway to his face. No one waits for prompting to eat dinner in this house. Nadya has already had two bites of potatoes and gravy since her plate was set first.
“Well, yeah.” Matteo shrugs, poking his fork into his chicken. “We talk every day, and I usually ask what she’s eating. It didn’t take long for me to memorize it, but I have it written down too.”
My hand trembles as I lift my silverware up. “You do?”
“It took me a while to get the menu for every single day, so I had to write it down in the meantime,” he explains, looking around the table and finding several surprised faces. “I made myself a little graphic, that way I could just look at it and know what you were eating. So I could stop asking what you were having and just ask how it was instead.”
“You made…” Aunt Irina asks, trailing off.
Matteo holds up a finger, asking for a moment and pulls out his phone. Opening it up, he maneuvers his fingers over the screen until he’s found what he wants. He passes the device to me, and I blink down, finding a picture of a custom-made digital menu. Anya’s Food Scheduleis written across the top in big bold letters.
Anya’s Food Schedule
Daily Breakfast = Protein Shake or Toast
Daily Dessert = Fat-Free Frozen Yogurt with Cone
Monday
Lunch: Grilled Cheese & Soup (Tomato or Chicken Ramen Only)
Dinner: Baked Chicken w/ Vegetables & Chickpea Pasta
Snack: Fruit or Smoothie
Tuesday
Lunch: Grilled Chicken Salad
Dinner: Steak w/ Garlic Vegetables
Snack: Greek Yogurt & Banana
Wednesday
Lunch: Two Avocado Toast w/ Egg
Dinner: Fish Tacos w/ Rice & Beans on Side
Snack: Apples & Almond Butter
Thursday
Lunch: Sausage & Veggie Stuffed Peppers
Dinner: Black Bean Burger & Pasta Salad
