sweeping it away.
“What is the problem then?” Seth demanded.
Alexsei wished very much that he’d taken his uncle up on that shot he’d offered just before they’d walked out of the kitchen. This was going to be a long, horrible scene. He could taste it.
Irena made a sound with her tongue that didn’t bode well for his brother’s partner. She told Cris to handle his business and then began to address Polina in short bursts of Russian.
Seth had an uphill battle. They all enjoyed his company and clearly he made Cristian happy, but he wasn’t Russian. Strike one. Not entirely insurmountable. Far worse though, he hadn’t greeted Polina in a way she expected and then he’d been short with her. Bluntness was an art form in his family, yes, but you didn’t fuck with your mother-in-law like that. At least not from go. She didn’t care that Cristian was gay. But she very much cared about status and Seth hadn’t respected it.
And the worst thing of all to Polina was that Seth worked for the authorities. Her whole lifestyle at that point was supported by things not lawful even in Russia.
His brother sent him a pleading look and Vic groaned at his side.
“You need to let them handle this,” he muttered to Alexsei.
“He loves the guy. What am I supposed to do?”
“You’re supposed to let Cris handle it. If he wants Seth, he has to do this. If you get in the middle, they’ll both be upset and dissatisfied. No matter what you do or say.”
“Like some sort of dystopian future? I leave them to fight to the death?”
Vic snorted. “If he can’t fight for Cris and Cris for him, it’s not meant to be. If you step in too early she’ll never accept Seth. At least give them another five minutes. No one’s yelling or crying.”
“Yet.”
“Yet may be as good as it ever gets with this family, Alyosha.”
IT WAS PAST ELEVEN but the night was warm enough, even in November, for Maybe to be on the porch as she drank her tea and looked at the stars. While layered up in all her fleece, naturally.
Even in the middle of their quiet suburban neighborhood there was still activity. Houses here and there had lights on.
Next door at the Orlovs, the family dinner had been raucous enough that Maybe heard it from time to time. Mostly it had sounded festive, but a few times she was pretty sure she was overhearing an argument.
She’d come home from work, hung out with Rachel and Cora after band practice was over and still wasn’t quite ready for bed. So Maybe’d opted for fresh air and the stars for quiet company and wasn’t disappointed at all to catch sight of Alexsei stalking from Irena and Pavel’s place next door.
Maybe considered remaining silent and letting him go. But he was right there. And she wanted his company, even for a little while. So she raised a hand and called out quietly.
He turned, starting a little when he noticed her on the porch. He paused, his body tense in the yellowy light of the streetlamp.
Then he headed over to her.
“How was dinner?” she asked when he climbed the front steps.
“Irena is a good cook. I’m full.”
Which in Alexsei-speak would normally answer the question. If the food was good and he was full, it was a successful dinner. But he had a hesitation around his eyes as well as the set of his shoulders.
She waited, wondering if he’d elaborate. He didn’t.
“Would you like a cup of tea?” she asked at last.
“No. Do you have alcohol?”
Ouch. “That kind of dinner, huh? Yeah, come on in.” Maybe unlocked the three front door locks and indicated he join her inside.
“Did you just get home?” he asked as she locked up once they were in the front hall and set the alarm.
“No. I’ve been back a few hours or so. Why?”
“The door was locked many times. Is everything all right?” He frowned and it made her tingly.
“We always lock the door, even when we’re home. Let’s hang out in my room. That way we won’t bug Rachel. Then I’ll explain.”
One corner of his mouth lifted slightly and she rolled her eyes as she grabbed a bottle and some glasses.
Maybe realized, as she led him down the four steps to the side of the house her bedroom inhabited, that he’d never been in there before.
Cool.
“Make yourself comfortable. I just need to run up and check on something.” She wanted to touch base with Rachel briefly. Her sister didn’t need surprises.
On the other side of the house, Rachel lay in her bed, surrounded by sketchbooks, her e-reader, comics, and whatever flotsam and jetsam that amused her at any given time.
“I’ve got a wild Russian bearded barber in my bed right now. Well,” Maybe amended, “in my room. The bed part is one of those wish fulfillment things. Anyhoodle. I just wanted to let you know what was up and that if you hear me screaming about God it was probably due to orgasms and other lady business.”
Then she froze and regretted her words. Oh a joke about screaming to her sister who’d been held captive by a madman for three weeks. So stupid!
But she didn’t apologize, knowing it would only start a thing between her and her sister.
Rachel’s face lit with recognition and then annoyance. “Oh for fuck’s sake, Maybe. You can’t remove every single word that might apply to something horrible that happened to me from your life. Mainly because you talk too much for that to be anything near a reality. But also, I’m not that fragile. I promise.”
“I know you’re not fragile. Jesus. You’re the strongest, bravest person I know. I’m sorry if I made you feel like that. I just want to protect you and I go too far. I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. You and me are fine. We always have been. I’m a work in progress and you let me be. That’s what makes everything okay. Now go on down to your wild bearded barber before he thinks you’ve escaped out the back door.” Rachel gave her a last, exasperated but affectionate smile before turning her attention back to the pad on her lap.
Maybe knew Rachel still checked every single window and door several times a day. Their security system was top-of-the-line and ridiculous and her sister reset it at least weekly, but it was one of the only things that had helped Rachel sleep at night when they’d first moved in to the house.
But Maybe had never thought of that as weak. Just the opposite. Every day Rachel woke up and lived her life and sometimes it was just a matter of making it without ending up in a weeping
