Now she’d scare him off, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it. Let Mama fight my battles when someone couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I didn’t need to get mixed up with boys like Vitali—
“Alright, but not past dark,” Mama declared, and my mouth fell open. “She works Monday through Friday. No weekdays.”
I mouthed a ‘what?’ and it was my turn to grab for the phone. She surrendered it willingly with the dignified look of a cat and a nod of‘make it quick.’
“I asked Mama, now what? Let me take you out,” he said.
“We can go on a walk,” I conceded. “And I’ll let you get me tea. With no sugar.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then, Kotik.”
And he hung up, leaving me holding the phone to my ear to the loud buzz of an ended call.
“And where did you find him?” Mama asked, crossing her arms again.
“A friend of Elena’s,” I muttered, setting the receiver down. “Just a friend of Elena’s.”
* * *
The whole next day at work, I couldn’t think of anything else. I tried to bring myself back from blushing several times by thinking about the mysterious, and oh-so uncomfortable circumstances of how we parted. The rumors, the Mercedes, the big guy in his backseat. The still fresh blood in the seams of the leather. His expensive shoes.
No, it was silly to think he was in the mafia, for God’s sake. But was it? Maybe he just came from a New Russian family? Moved here from abroad? Had a parent high up in the government offices in Moscow or St. Petersburg? Normal people didn’t mess with such things.
Maybe a girl got her period and sat in his passenger seat?
The thought of a girl being in there didn’t sit well with me.
Least ideal situation, my brain said as it continued its vigorous gymnastics. I snapped the tip of my pencil and stared at the deep groove in the paper that I wouldn’t be able to erase.
“It’s past four, what are you still doing here?”
I looked up in a daze to see Ira, the plump woman from the budgeting department, staring down at me. The sense of something knife-sharp and scented like mothballs always clouded around her. Maybe self-importance.
“Lost track of time,” I said, and hurried to get my purse. He hadn’t actually told me what time he’d be coming over, now that I thought about it.
And I didn’t actually tell him my address, which was my first thought as I rounded the corner from the bus stop to see him standing with his back to me, in front of thepodyezdentrance to the stairwell leading up to the apartment landings. He must have heard me, because he turned to reveal he’d been holding a large bouquet of bright, purple asters.
“Hello, Katya,” he said, and flashed me a smile.
Vitali was dressed in a tailored black peacoat and a gray-knitscarf wrapped all the way up to his chin. Everything pristine; everything clean and new, and undoubtedly expensive.
“How are you, Vitali?” I asked. My eyes drifted to the flowers.
He clicked his tongue. “No, Katya, you said we can go on a walk and I can buy you tea. These weren’t a part of the deal. These are for Mama. Are you going to let me inside?”
What?
I stared at the door, then hurried to the keypad by the entry, where the worn plastic buttons had been labeled with an uneven marker. 6-4-6-6-4. The lock creaked and metal ground on metal as I reached for the handle, but he was faster. His gloved hand guided me aside by my lower back, the flowers carefully held under his arm. He opened the door with the other, holding it above my head to let me through first.
Such a gentleman. He quickly built the case of‘too good to be true’ and falling for it would make me an idiot.
I took a moment to glance at him, but not for long enough to blush.
There was something so different from the last time I’d seen him. His features softened, although his eyes remained just as sad. He appeared younger—I thought probably my age, maybe a year or two older. His face held a boyish charm beneath the rough mask of a hard life.
When Mama opened the door, she looked more shocked than I. She took a loud, dramatic inhale and threw up her arms, immediately falling into hurried words to invite him in. I wasn’t sure if she knew I was there too. She was worse than mybabushkaused to be when it came to company.
He bowed his head and handed her the flowers.
