“As long as he gave it his all, he should be okay,” Alexei said. “But then I don’t know him as well anymore.”
I nudged his shoulder. “I think it’s good you brought him here. It’s good for both of you.”
“Perhaps you just like to have someone doing all the hard work.”
“Can’t say I object to watching hot hockey players getting sweaty on my behalf.”
“Watch it, zhena. You don’t want to see me jealous.”
“Zhena?” Rosie had just come around to the back of the house. “Is that a nickname?”
“Yes. From college,” Alexei said lazily. “Your father is a lifesaver.”
“Are you kidding? He loves having someone who can actually play. I was a terrible student.” She looked up at me, her eyebrows angled together in a V. “So, you two are a thing, huh?”
“We’re old friends,” I said.
“Nice.” She held up a bag. “I brought cupcakes and worker bees.” Esme and Adeline had just come down the path, with Adeline hauling her guitar. She made her living singing songs for kids at the Chicago School of Folk Music.
I turned to Alexei. “Did you put them up to this?”
“We still have the second and third bedrooms to paint, so why not make a party of it?”
Five minutes later, I came downstairs from showing the girls where to start to find Conor and his dad, Theo, dragging what looked like a mini spaceship to a spot behind my deck.
“What’s going on?”
“I have an extra grill, and Gunnar said you didn’t have one yet, so I figured no home is complete without one. You could buy a new one, but this one is perfectly fine.”
Conor snorted. “Or at least it was until we bought him the Genesis S-435 for his retirement.”
“I’ve seen that thing. It’s like something out of Star Wars.”
“This is its baby brother. A perfect entry level grill for the woman who might, well, never grill.” Theo frowned, probably not enjoying where that sentence landed.
“I will use it! Can’t wait until we have, uh, better weather.” I looked up. Not a cloud in the sky.
“Or we could set it up now?” Theo said. “Make sure it’s in good working order and maybe feed the hungry workers.” Plan decided, he turned to his son. “Connie, we’re going to need a tank of propane and enough food for?—”
“Twenty,” Alexei said.
“Twenty?” I looked around. “There are fewer than ten people here.”
He shrugged. “Better to have more than not enough. It will not go to waste, especially with these appetites.”
“What about your dad? Will he be okay with all these people?”
“I will keep an eye on him.”
Alexei had called it on the numbers. By lunchtime, Elle and Landon had arrived, soon followed by Jason, Franky, and Cammi, then my sister and Gunnar. A little later, Vadim Petrov and his wife Isobel Chase made an appearance along with Rosie’s other dad, Cade. Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” played from Conor’s iPhone speaker setup, and the scents of grilling mixed with deck varnish perfumed the air.
Rosie took a seat in a camp chair beside me. “Seriously, what’s with you and Nazarov?”
“They’re doin’ it.” Conor’s uninvited take on whatever he thought he knew about Alexei and me.
Rosie narrowed her eyes at him. “Did I ask you?”
“No, but I figured you’re not going to get a straight answer from LoYo. She’s too slippery for that.”
