A/N: I should have mentioned this sooner, but all the information I've been using on Russian traditions came from a website called Russian-Crafts…I would have never known all that stuff without it. So yay for that website! And thanks for the lessons on some very interesting information!
Last one in the holiday fics! I've covered all the major (and some not so major) holidays/events in Wheeler and Linka's first year together as a couple. I can't believe it's been a year since this all started! It's been fun though, and I hope you've enjoyed watching Wheeler and Linka grow together as much as I've enjoyed writing about it. And thanks to Miss Mango who was the one that suggested that I keep up the whole "new year" storyline.
Ring in the New Year
Part 1: Linka's Story
It's New Year's Eve!!! We're getting ready to celebrate with my family and my village.
"So Babe, you ready for the big celebration?"
"Da. I think you are going to enjoy it too! Right Babushka?"
"He seemed to enjoy learning about how we do Christmas. I think New Years will be interesting for him," she says.
"So why is New Year's bigger than Christmas?"
Grandmother begins explaining the history of New Year's to Wheeler. She knows better than I do.
"Few people in Russia remember, but when the communists took power in 1917 they banned the open expression of religion. While it was easy to pray at home, the Russian people were concerned about giving up their traditional Christmas celebration. But where there is a will, there is a way! They re-invented the New Year's holiday tradition to include a decorated tree, and introduced a character called "Grandfather Frost." Known as "Ded Moroz," Grandfather Frost looked very much like the western "Santa Claus" - except he wore a blue suit. He even brings gifts."
"Actually, Ded Moroz was a character that existed in the pagan culture, centuries earlier. For a time, Christmas was all but forgotten. In fact, it was generally celebrated only in small villages, where the citizenry was far from the prying eyes of the Party," Mishka adds.
"Wait, they banned having Christmas trees too?!" Wheeler asks.
"Da, the Christmas tree is yet another tradition banned during the Soviet era. To keep the custom alive, people decorated New Year's trees instead. Since ornaments were either very costly or unavailable, family trees were trimmed with homemade decorations and fruit," Grandmother explains.
"As you know, we will celebrate Christmas again, on January 7. But to date, New Year's remains the bigger event," I say.
"Cool...so when do we decorate the tree?" Wheeler asks.
Later that day, we went out to the store and bought stuff to make home made ornaments. Wheeler was buying all these weird things, most of which, we probably already had at the house: flour, salt, vegetable oil, food coloring, and cream of tartar.
When we get home and are unpacking the groceries, he gathers all of the items he bought and sets them aside.
"Can I ask what all these things are for?" I say as I pick up one of the ingredients and examine it.
"You can ask…but I ain't gonna tell you!" he says.
"Well, I hope it is not for cookies…because they would be disgusting!"
"Says you! Don't knock it til you've tried it Babe!"
"Seriously Wheeler, what is it for."
"Patience Beautiful…you'll see."
By now, Mishka, Grandmother, and I are all gathered in the kitchen, stringing pieces of fruit together while watching Wheeler mix his ingredients. He's secretly loving the attention, I can tell from the look on his face…and every time we make eye contact, his eyes say it all.
He has several bowls of colored dough spread out on the table.
"Are they cookies?" Mishka asks with a strange look on his face…as if he just drank sour milk...or was imagining what Wheeler's cookies would taste like, if indeed that was what he is making.
"Nyet…he did not add eggs or sugar...if they are cookies, they will not be sweet," Grandmother says.
"It is like…bread…but it will be flat because he did not use yeast," I say.
"Close Babe, it's dough."
"What are you going to do with it?" Mishka asks.
"It's homemade Play-doh. We're gonna use it to make homemade ornaments for our New Year's tree! We'll make the ornaments, let them harden, and then put them on the tree! It's cheap and you can use the ornaments over and over every year."
"And each year, think back fondly on the day we made them," Grandmother adds. "This was a very nice idea Wheeler!"
"He is known for his ideas! He is very thoughtful and creative," I say as I wrap my arms around him and kiss his cheek.
"We can roll the dough flat and use cookie cutters or just make our own shapes…you can mix the dough together to make different colors, make little designs and then press them onto a bigger piece…carve your name into them…whatever you feel like," Wheeler explains.
"We should each make one with our names on it!" Mishka says excitedly, as if he is a child again.
We are all busily making our ornaments, doing as Wheeler suggested and using cookie cutters, and also making our own. Wheeler has made a heart shaped ornament and written our names in it. I have made two star cutouts and wrote Wheeler's name on one and my name on the other using the Russian alphabet.
Once we have used up all the dough, we set the ornaments aside to dry. I am the most pleased with one of Mishka's ornaments. I wish Wheeler knew what it said, but Mishka wrote on it in Russian. They were two circles overlapping. One said "friends," one said "family," and where the two circles overlapped, the words "Love" and "Forever" were written.
Mishka sees me checking out his ornaments and comes over to stand next to me.
"Did I do well?" he asks me in Russian.
"Yes. This ornament here…it means alot to me."
"He makes you happy and seeing you happy makes me happy. And he is a great guy…I consider him to be a friend…a good friend who is like family," Mishka says.
"Maybe some day he will be."
"Maybe?"
"Yes. Mishka, I love him. More than anything. More than I ever thought possible. He is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."
"And if he asks you to marry him?"
"Then I will say yes…but who says I must wait for him to ask me? What if I ask him?" I ask.
"Are you going to?!"
"Maybe," I say with a small grin. "If the moment is right…and tonight is our anniversary."
Mishka smiles back at me.
"Leave it to my sister to do things differently!"
"I am not saying that I will…but I could if I wanted to…and I want to…very much…I just…" I trail off.
"What?"
"I just do not want him to feel trapped. Tied down…Wheeler has always been a free spirit…independent…he does not need others."
"He needs you…I am certain of that."
"Oh really? How?" I ask, wondering if Wheeler had said something to Mishka…what exactly have they been talking about before falling asleep? I chuckle as I picture Wheeler and Mishka chatting away like girls at a sleepover party!
"Brothers have a way of knowing these things. I can tell."
"Oh Mishka…I hope you are right. We recently hit a rough patch. We have worked through it of course, but it scares me…that it could happen again."
"And you think that if you were married, it will not…that everything will be happy all the time?"
"Well…yes. Do you think I am wrong?" I ask him.
"Yes. No relationship is perfect Linka. There are ups and downs…there are fights…there are arguments that last for days…especially with two stubborn people…I know how you can be…and I see the same intensity in Wheeler. When you are right, you are right and there is no convincing you otherwise. You two will fight…being married will not change that. But the best part about fighting is the making up…if you know what I mean…" he says with a wink and a smile.
"OH MY GOD MISHKA! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" I yell, causing Wheeler to look over at us and getting Grandmother's attention. So I return to my normal tone. "All week…that is all we have wanted…but no…you would not let us have any time alone!"
"Oh. Ooops. Well, I did not know that you two had been apart! Nor did I know how serious you both felt about each other…"
"What did you think? That I would be in a casual sexual relationship? They call it 'friends with benefits,' I think."
"No…well, maybe…I do not know. You have been gone a long time. You have changed. How was I supposed to know what you grew up to be like? Do not get me wrong…I am proud of the woman you have become…I was just not sure how you had been influenced while you were away from home. And Wheeler was your first real boyfriend…I thought that maybe you were settling down too soon…that maybe you needed to date more than just one person…but when you meet the right person the first time around…I guess there is no need to keep searching."
"So you really do like Wheeler?" I ask, wanting to make sure.
"I have always liked him…from that time we met years ago…I had hoped that you would finally wise up and date a good man like him…until you started dating him…then I thought what every older brother thinks…"
"What is that?"
"That he was not good enough for you…that no man would ever be good enough for my little sister."
"And that has changed?"
"Yes. When I insisted that you two sleep in separate rooms, you freaked out…he respected my wishes," Mishka says.
"Oh, so that is it…he respected you!"
"Yes, but it is not how you think…by respecting my wishes, it showed me that he respected you! That he was with you because he loved you…not because he was using you to satisfy a physical need. He still loved you, even though the physical aspect of the relationship was taken away. And now that I know that you two have been separated, I know that it had to have been even harder for him to respect those wishes. And now, not only do I like him, but I approve of him! I wish both of you nothing but happiness," my brother says as he pulls me into a hug.
"Thank you," I say as I return his squeeze. "I am so happy that you feel that way. Not that it would have mattered…I love him and will be with him no matter what anyone says…but knowing that you like him and have accepted him as part of our family…it means so much."
"You are welcome. Now let us get back to the others before Grandmother steals your boyfriend!"
Midnight was approaching. The TV was on showing coverage of the celebrations. Our ornaments had hardened and were now ready to be hung. We each took turns hanging our ornaments and explaining what they meant, if there was any meaning behind them. Some were obvious, some needed explained. I was particularly interested in seeing Wheeler's reaction to Mishka's "Friends and Family" ornament. Of course, it was the last one Mishka chose to hang!
"I believe the saying goes 'I saved the best for last,'" Mishka says. "I made this one especially for us…for all of us. Wheeler, I know you cannot read what this says to understand…and for that I apologize…I do not want to be considered rude," he says as he looks at me pointedly, recalling my words to him from a week ago. "But I did not want you to know what it said until we hung the ornaments together."
"It's cool. I wasn't worried about it…but now I'm curious, so keep going," Wheeler says.
Mishka continues,
"The overlapping circles represent unity…coming together. Inside this circle, I have written 'Friends' because you and Linka started out as friends…although now you are more…and now Grandmother and I consider you a friend as well."
"Thanks," Wheeler says, blushing. I hook my arm through his and take his hand.
"This circle has 'Family' written in it. Obviously, that represents me, Linka, and Grandmother…and you also, because friends are family. We cannot pick our family, but we can pick our friends…so picking a friend to be included as part of the family is quite special."
"Yeah…it is…it's an honor actually," Wheeler smiles. I can tell by the way his voice is trembling that Mishka's words really mean alot to him.
"And where the circles overlap, I have written the words, 'Love' and 'Forever' because that is what family is all about. I am glad we got this opportunity to get to know you, and we hope that you will come back more often to visit."
"We definitely will be back more often, for birthdays and stuff, as long as missions don't interfere with our plans," Wheeler promises.
"Good, because I am not getting any younger. I may not be around much longer," Grandmother says.
"Do not talk like that!" I say.
"What darling? It is true. People do not live forever…and I would like to see great-grandchildren, so you two better hurry!"
"Babushka!!!" I shriek. She is going to scare Wheeler away…I know it!
"You already have great-grandchildren," Wheeler says. We all look at him like he is crazy. "Linka…I'm shocked…You've never mentioned our kids, Babe and Yankee?"
"Ooooh…" I say as Mishka and Grandmother look at me, awaiting an explanation. "Wheeler bought me a pair of peach faced lovebirds for Valentine's Day…our 'kids.'"
"That is sweet, but I have had many feathered 'great-grandchildren' while Linka was growing up…I am ready for real ones!" Grandmother says with a laugh.
"Can we PLEASE stop talking about my sister reproducing?! I do not want to think about it!"
"HA! You and me both, pal! I still consider myself to be a kid…I'm too young for fatherhood! Besides, I don't think I can handle being a daddy to anyone except the birds. No dirty diapers, no middle of the night feedings or crying…I just feed the birds once a day, clean the cage once a week, and when they get noisy, I cover the cage with a blanket and they shut right up! You can't do that to kids!"
"Well, you can…but I think some may look down upon it!" Mishka jokes as he and Wheeler laugh loudly. Grandmother and I give the boys dirty looks, but that does not stop them. This will though…
"Five minutes until the New Year!" I say.
We leave the house and head for the town square. Everyone is gathered around, watching the giant clock. Wheeler is standing behind me with his arms wrapped around me. The time winds down and midnight is fast approaching. Everyone begins counting down,
"'Desyat', devyat', vosem'"
Wheeler looks confused, so I start the countdown for him,
"Seven," I say. He then begins counting with me as the townspeople continue their countdown, "Six, five…"
"chetyre, tri…"
"two…"
"a'deen" "one"
"S Novim godom!" "Happy New Year!" We all exclaim as the fireworks begin shooting off.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Mishka and Grandmother exchange kisses on the cheek, just as I stretch up to meet Wheeler's lips. We share our first kiss of the new year, not caring that we have an audience who are probably waiting for us to part so they can offer their wishes for a Happy New Year…they can wait.
When we break apart, Wheeler leans over and gives Grandmother a kiss on the cheek, while I do the same to Mishka. Then Wheeler extends his hand to Mishka and I kiss Grandmother as we wish them both a Happy New Year.
This is my family. My blood relatives and the man that I cannot live without. In the town that I grew up in, surrounded by friends and neighbors. This moment is perfect. I look to Mishka and smile. His eyes widen as he figures out what I am thinking. I turn to Wheeler and take his hands in mine. He bends down and whispers, "Happy Anniversary Beautiful," before pressing his lips softly to mine. When he pulls away slightly, I keep my eyes closed, gathering the courage that I need to say what I am going to say next…I open my eyes to see him looking down at me, his blue eyes piercing mine. This is it.
"Wheeler…"
To Be Continued…