Andelko walked into the front door of his home cautiously; he knew what awaited him inside. Glancing around, he spotted his husband, Novak, standing in the kitchen, arms crossed, expression melancholic.
"Novak…" He muttered, approaching the man slowly. Novak looked to the side to a suitcase sitting on the floor.
"Out." The Serb simply stated.
"Novak, please don't do this… We can work things out…" Andelko pleaded to his husband of five years.
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Andy… Pack your things, and leave." Novak said quietly; if he spoke any louder his voice would crack and show his despair.
"N-Novak, please… I can get another job; i-it can't end like this…" Andelko reached out for Novak's hands, but the Serbian pulled his hands away and pointed towards the suitcase.
"Pack and leave, Andelko. I-I won't say it again." Novak struggled to keep his voice calm. Andelko let out a shuddered breath and grabbed the suitcase, heading to the upstairs bedroom and beginning to pack.
He couldn't believe this was happening. Novak was forcing him out of his Los Angeles household over a lost job. Andelko had been the perfect husband to the other; he had never done anything bad to the Serbian, or anything to compromise his happiness, until he lost his job. Andelko had worked as a construction worker; not a very high-demand job, which is what resulted in his being let go.
He and Novak had met six years ago in a restaurant; at the time, Novak had been a waiter, while Andelko had been working in construction. Novak was getting a college education to become a teacher, earning money with his waiting job. The two had become friends through the night, Andelko's co-worker Pavla deciding to leave early oh-so conveniently in order to give Andelko a chance to ask Novak out.
Things had kicked off from there, and on the day that had marked a year since their meeting, Andelko proposed marriage to the other man. They got married in Andelko's home town Komina, on the Croatian island of Vis. It was a relatively small wedding, but a nice one regardless.
They had been married for five years; in those five years, Andelko witnessed his husband's college graduation, and further his employment at a high school, teaching Anatomy and Physiology. Andelko had stayed with construction, receiving no promotions, and only an occasional pay raise. The two made enough money to buy a decent home, but now, because of Andelko's loss of his job, it was going to only be Novak's home. It raised the question; where was Andelko going to stay?
In the midst of packing, Andelko took his cell phone out of his pocket. Looking through his contacts, he called a few numbers, either receiving no answer, or receiving no assurance of a place to stay. Reaching his final contact; a friend named Tino Väinämöinen-Kirzigian, he received an answer.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Tino… I-I'm kind of in a… a situation here."
"Andelko, you sound terrible… What happened?"
"N-Novak's kicking me out… I-I need a place to stay…"
"Oh Andy… I'm so sorry to hear about that. You can come stay with Alex and I for as long as you need."
"Thank you so much, Tino… I-I owe you so much for this…"
"You don't owe me anything, Andelko. I'll see you in a little while, alright? I'll get the guest room ready for you; I'm sure you'll want to relax."
"Yeah… I-I'll see you soon…" With that, Andelko hung up. He finished packing his things; clothes, a few photos, and mementos from his past, as well as important papers he would need.
He headed downstairs with his luggage, feeling more weight on his shoulders than what was in his suitcase. He glanced into the living room, where he saw Novak sitting on the couch, speaking into his cell phone in Serbian. Andelko used all his will to turn away from the sight and walk out the door. He headed to his gray Chevrolet Impala, tossing his luggage in the trunk, then going around to the driver's side. He got in the car, sighing heavily. He looked to the dashboard of his car, seeing the familiar photo taped there. He reached forwards and grabbed it, looking at it somberly. It was a photo from three years ago of him and Novak.
Despite the fact that he knew those times were over, Andelko tucked the picture into his pants pocket, then turned his attention to his current objective of getting to Tino's house without breaking down.
When he got to the house, he parked in the street, getting out of the vehicle and heading up to the front door. He rung the doorbell, and soon the door was answered by a certain Finnish man who Andelko trusted to help him through this rough time.
"Come on in, Andy… Take a seat in the living room, if you'd like… I've just got to put sheets and covers on the bed in the guest room for you, and then I'll be back down, alright?"
"Y-Yeah…" Andelko said quietly. He made his way to the living room of the two-story country house, wishing he could admire such a lovely home, but sadly, with his mind so stuck in shock and depression, he couldn't.
He sat on one of the tan couches, posture rigid. He couldn't relax one bit. He was joined in the living room by Tino's architect husband Alexianos, who gave him a sad look, sitting down beside him.
"Tino told me that Novak kicked you out… I'm very sorry to hear it. You two were such a great couple… Can I ask what happened…?" Alex questioned, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"… I-I lost my job… W-We hadn't been arguing or anything; he just… he just decided to kick me out based on that one thing… w-we both know that with only one of us having a job, we won't be able to pay for everything we need so… H-He told me to leave, a-and even though I hate it, I-I listened to him…"
"He's kicking you out over something like that…? That's just downright ridiculous… There has to be something more to him wanting you to leave."
"A-As far as I know… that's the only reason…"
ooo
"Ivan, I-I… I had to kick Andelko out."
"You what?"
"I had to kick him out… H-He lost his job." Novak struggled to stay calm as he talked on the phone with an old high school friend of his. Andelko had just left the house, after Novak had commanded him to leave.
"Is it just over him losing his job, comrade? Or is there something else to it?" The man on the phone was a Russian man, who Novak worked with. Ivan was a Biology teacher at the high school with Novak also taught at.
"I-I cheated on him once…"
"When?"
"Two months ago… I-I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did, and it's been weighing on my conscience ever since… A-Andelko deserves someone better than me, after what I did."
"Novak, this is absurd. Why don't you just tell him about you cheating on him just that once? I'm sure he'll understand."
"N-No he won't-"
"Yes, he will, Nova-"
"No, he won't, Ivan. He-"
"Novak, listen to me. Andelko will understand, I'm sure. The person you cheated on him with will probably never come into contact with either of you for as long as you-"
"It was with his best friend, Ivan! His best fucking friend! You can't tell me that Andelko would understand that!" Novak exclaimed. There was silence on the other line for a moment.
"You did it with Branko."
"Y-Yes, I did…"
"Branko, of all people."
"Y-Yes, Ivan. Branko Njegos."
"Andelko's coworker and best friend."
"Yes! For fuck's sake, yes! Stop making me repeat it!"
"… Comrade, you've fucked up. Big time."
"Y-You think I don't know this?"
"I know you know, Novak… I'm just shocked that you would make such a mistake."
"I-I know… I hate myself for it; I-I've hated myself for two months now…"
"Well… I would say it's not to late, but seeing that you've kicked Andelko out, and you refuse to tell him about what you did, it kind of is… I would just say to go through with a divorce, and try to get as much out of it as you can. Not to sound mean or anything, but being a fellow teacher, I know that a salary pay like the one we get isn't going to pay for a house like yours by itself. You need to get as much money out of the divorce as possible."
"I-I couldn't take everything away from him like that…"
"Novak, you've already cheated on him, and forced him out of the house. You may as well take everything you can from him while you're at it."
"Wh-When did you become so heartless, Ivan?"
"If you don't remember, I lost everything in a divorce two years ago. Believe me, Novak. You do not want to be on the losing side of something like that. I nearly lost my job because of Tino leaving me, because I had no money to pay for anything, which drove me into depression, and near homelessness. If my father hadn't helped me out, I would have ended up on the streets without my home, or my job."
"I-I still couldn't bring myself to do that to Andelko… H-He just lost his job, and I just kicked him out. What more does he have to lose? I-I honestly can't take much more from him."
"You can still get money out of him."
"I-I don't want his money, Ivan. Don't you understand? I-I… I don't want to hurt him anymore…"
"Then why don't you just take him back?"
"I-I can't."
"God damn, Novak; you need to make up your fucking mind! You kicked him out for losing his job after you're the one who cheated on him, but you don't want to have the advantage in a divorce, even after what you've already done! Since you don't want anything out of the divorce, it'd be easier to just take him back and try to get forgiveness out of him, but no! You can't make up your fucking mind! Listen to me, Novak. Do you want him out of your life, or not?"
"I-I don't know… I-Ivan, I just don't know. I'm s-so confused right now, I-"
"Novak, make up your fucking mind! Do you want him out!"
"Y-Yes…"
Ivan sighed heavily. "Then you'll have to go through with a divorce."
"But d-do I have to take everything from him…? I-I'd rather not…"
"It'd be best if you tried to get as much out of it as you can. I know a good lawyer; I'll send you his information in a text, and I'll have you go from there. Believe me, Novak. You'll be much happier, and much less confused, when this is all over with, and you have what you need to live."
"O-Okay…"
"I'm going to get off the phone now, alright? I will speak with you later. Remember everything I've told you tonight."
"A-Alright… Talk to you later, Ivan" with that, Novak hung up. He set his phone on the coffee table in front of him and shook his head.
"I can't believe I'm actually going to do this…" The blonde-haired man muttered.
ooo
The morning after the night Andelko had been kicked out of his home, he awoke with such unfamiliar cold beside him. It took him a moment to realize it, but the thought finally processed and he remembered where he was. Tino and Alexianos' house. He had been kicked out of Novak's last night after losing his job as a construction worker.
He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and sighed, sitting up. It was just past nine in the morning. He glanced around, realizing the fact that one of the two other men in the house had taken the suitcase from the trunk of Andelko's car and brought it up to the room. Andelko got up out of the bed, walking over to the suitcase and grabbing some clothes. He had vague memory of where the upstairs bathroom was; he figured taking a shower wouldn't hurt anything, so he proceeded to leave the bedroom, and head to the bathroom.
The shower felt incredibly refreshing; it somehow relaxed his tense muscles, and kept them from becoming taught once again. After about a twenty minute shower, he got out and dried off, getting dressed for what was most likely going to be an uneventful day.
He exited the bathroom, tossing his dirty clothes in his bedroom, before heading downstairs. An inviting smell came from the kitchen; obviously Tino was making breakfast. He meandered into the kitchen, and was greeted with a smile by the Finnish man.
"Morning, Andy. Did you sleep alright? I hope that bed wasn't hard as a rock; no one really sleeps on it."
"I slept great, actually. A bit tense when I got up, but a shower helped that. How did you sleep, Tino?" Andelko asked out of politeness.
"I slept great, thanks for asking. I have to head to work here in an hour, so I'm kind of rushing to get things done. I still have paperwork to do that I was supposed to have finished last night. Damn procrastination." Tino laughed lightly.
"No kidding." Andelko stated, chuckling.
"You're up earlier than I expected, Andelko." Alexianos piped up, walking into the kitchen.
"Yeah. My internal clock wakes me up before ten though. If I sleep past ten, I was either drinking the night before, or I'm dead." Andelko said, looking to the black-haired Armenian.
"I didn't know you drank, Andy." Tino commented.
"I used to drink, but that was in my early twenties. Man, that reminds me of how old I am compared to you two."
"You're only three years older than me, and well, five ahead of Tino here." Alexianos chuckled.
"Ugh… I'm getting old. Being thirty sucks."
"Hey, feel bad for Pavla. She's thirty-five."
"That's Pavla though. She looks and acts like someone Tino's age."
"Age has been good to her. She'll be the envy of the world when she's fifty and looks thirty. I find it amazing how she manages to look so youthful and feminine, when working such a hard job as construction."
"She does harder jobs than I did and still manages to be womanly."
"Yet she could probably manage to bench all three of us."
The three in the kitchen laughed at Alexianos' comment.
"Oh, man. Just, wow, Alex. You really said that." Andelko wiped a tear from his eye.
"Leave it to me to start off the morning great, with a bowl of 'what the fuck did Alex just say"." More laughter ensued.
"Cereal jokes now, Alex? What crack are you smoking?" Andelko asked jokingly.
"Oh no, you've found out my secret! Quick, Tino, to the Finn-mobile!" Alex pointed to the door. Andelko laughed heartily, as did the other two. It was impossible to contain such laughing, with Alexianos' puns about Pavla's manliness, cereal, and this "Finn-mobile".
"Ah, man… Alex, you made my morning." Andelko said.
"You're welcome." Alex replied, grinning.
The room went silent as Andelko's phone rang; the Croatian grabbed the phone from his pocket, checking the caller ID.
"It's Novak…" He muttered.
"It's probably for the best that you answer it." Tino said. Andelko nodded and answered the call, holding the phone up to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Andelko… It's Novak. I'm going to make this call as brief as possible, since I'm at work right now. I'm going to file for divorce. I recommend you get yourself a lawyer, unless you just want to give me everything you have now."
"What more can you take from me? I lost my job, and I don't have a home because of you."
"Ivan has instructed me to get as much out of the divorce as possible. I'm sorry, Andelko, but I don't want to be on the losing side of this. I've got bills to pay."
"You're fucking crazy, Novak. Why can't we just go our separate ways, and not have to deal with inequalities in finance? Why do you want to just keep taking from me?"
"You don't have to pay bills now. I do. With a job like mine, I need all the money I can get."
"But Novak.. This is absurd. Why the hell did you kick me out in the first place, over something as simple as losing my job? I know the job market is tough, but I can easily find something else with my credentials."
"I have my reasons."
"Like what?"
"I cheated on you."
"You… You did what…?"
"I cheated on you two months ago, and it's killed me inside ever since. It was only one night that I spent in disloyalty, but my betrayal is… It's simply too much on my shoulders. You deserve better than me."
"Novak… Wh-Who was it?"
"I've got to go, Andelko. I will call you once the school day is over." Novak abruptly hung up, and Andelko stood there in shock. It felt like his heart was twisting and contorting in his chest; Novak had cheated on him.
"What'd he say?" Tino asked.
"H-He told me that he's filing for divorce, and that I should get a lawyer… A-And that he cheated on me two months ago…" Andelko responded quietly.
"Oh my… So there's no way he's going to take you back now…"
"Not that I know of… I-I don't know what I ever did to deserve this from him of all people…"
"I'm so sorry about all this, Andelko… I know how going through a divorce feels. It sucks, a lot. No matter what you get out of it."
"I don't want anything from him, but apparently, he wants everything from me… I don't understand why he's turned so volatile…"
"I don't understand either… I guess these things just happen."
"I can't believe that he cheated on me… He had to hang up before he could tell me who it was…"
"It's so unlike someone like him to cheat… Knowing Novak, no one would expect him to do something like that."
"I know… A-Apparently I'm not good enough for him…"
"Andy, don't think that way… You were good enough for him, and you still are. You devoted five years of your life to him. Five years. Finding someone as loyal as you is rare. Finding someone as loyal as you, with your personality, is even more rare."
Tino sighed. "I know Novak's standpoint here in your guys' divorce… Not meaning to sound like a bad person, but I cheated on my ex-husband with Alexianos here, and it weighed on my mind heavily. It got to the point where I couldn't take being so disloyal, so I did what I had to do. I went through with a divorce… I got nearly everything I possibly could have out of that divorce, but I regret it now. I left my ex with next to nothing to his name. Novak… hopefully will come to his senses before he takes anything else from you. Since you've lost your job, you don't have any income, and since he kicked you out, you don't have a permanent residency."
"Hopefully I can get a cheap apartment sometime soon, and get unemployment checks until I can get a job…"
"You can stay here for as long as you need though. I'd prefer it if you got a job before you moved anywhere, so that you have some financial security. You can list this place as your residency until you get your own place."
"Tino… You've done too much for me already, I couldn't just live here for what'll probably be a few months before I can find a job…"
"Think nothing of it, Andelko. You're going through a rough patch in your life; Alex and I are here to help out. Right, jan?" Tino turned to Alexianos.
"Of course. Feel free to stay as long as you need. It doesn't bother me at all." Alexianos said.
"Okay… I-I feel kind of stupid asking this, but do you guys know any good lawyers…?" Andelko asked.
"I can give you the information for the lawyer I had when I was going through my divorce. His name is Lukas Bondevik."
"L-Luke was your lawyer?"
"You know him?"
"He's married to one of my former coworkers; Mathias. Mat always talks about him. There's no way you could work with the man and not know who Luke was."
"Oh, right! I remember Lukas mentioning Mathias when we were talking once. I think back when I was getting divorced, he and Mathias were only dating though."
"Yeah. They got married last year, if I can recall correctly."
Tino sighed a bit and looked to his watch. "I better get going to work. Feel free to get some breakfast you two; it's finished so… Yeah." The Finn went over to Alexianos, hugging the man and giving him a kiss. "I'll be back later, jan."
"Don't work yourself to death, Tino." Alex said.
"I'll be sure not to." Tino replied, looking to Andelko. "Take it easy, alright?"
"I'll try." Andelko replied. Tino smiled a bit, then set off to work.
Andelko sighed and leaned against the wall.
"Something wrong?" Alexianos asked.
"I really don't know what I'm going to do… This is such a devastating blow to me."
"I can understand that. Trust me though, once it's all over, you'll be glad that you got through it."
"Have you ever been through a divorce?"
"No, but Tino has, and I was there to watch the entire process through his emotions. Through the entire thing, he looked like hell. He lost a lot of weight and wasn't sleeping well…. But when it was over, he went back to normal. The stress was killing him, but once the stressing factor in his life was gone, he looked so much better, and could act like himself."
"I don't even want to go through this, Alex… This is my worst nightmare; this is worse than growing up during a war."
"You grew up in a war…?"
"I lived in Croatia during the Croatian War. I was just a kid, but I can remember everything so vividly… I was born on an island called Vis, but moved to Vukovar when I was around five years old… Vukovar… it was prosperous, for the most part. My family liked it there… Up until 1991... The Croatian War had began… We didn't expect it, but… The Serbians attacked Vukovar, beginning an 87-day siege."
"My father was killed in the fighting, but my mother and I survived for fifty days before we managed to get out of the town. We managed to make it to Zagreb after a while… We stayed there for about a week, before we fled back to the island where I was born. Vis… it was never attacked by the Serbs. It was like a haven for my mother and I… We felt horrible for leaving my father's body behind in Vukovar, but… We had no choice."
"I lived in Vis until 1997. I was fifteen at the time when my mother and I came to the United States. We lived in New York for four years, until my mother died of a heart attack. She left me everything in her possession, seeing that she had written a will back when we were in Croatia. I inherited all of her money, the home we lived in, as well as a speck of property in Vis that she had owned. I sold the house, sold the property in Vis, paid for a funeral for her, then went back to Croatia to try to find where my father ended up…"
"He hadn't been buried after he had died, but instead, tossed aside in a line of bodies… From there, once the Serbs got a hold of his body, he was tossed in a pit along with the bodies of those executed in the Vukovar massacre… I placed some flowers at the site of the mass grave, then fled from Croatia. I decided to come here to Los Angeles, and spent my time here studying and soon getting a job in construction… I never forget those days in Vukovar though. I never will. Those kinds of things you just do not forget."
"… Wow… I knew you were Croatian, but I didn't think you had lived in Croatia during the war… You're lucky you managed to get out of Vukovar, huh?"
"Yeah… Very lucky…"
"Losing both of your parents like you did must have been devastating… Losing your father in the war, and once you thought you were safe in the United States, you tragically lose your mother… Do you have any other family?"
"The only other family I had was killed in the war. My uncle had been in the police force in Vukovar. He was one of the first to get killed."
"… So you're the only Begovich left then, huh?"
"Precisely… You would think I would go straight in order to pass on my last name, but quite frankly, I'm gay and I'm staying that way. I'm going to write out a family tree, just so people can know that my family existed. Once I die, the Begovich name will go with it. If I have a family tree written out, maybe people will look at it and remember something about my family."
"Man… That's just a tough fate. You're the last Begovich, and you're gay nonetheless."
"Most people criticize me for not caring to pass on my family name. I just tell them what my family has been through, and say that some things are better left to rest. My family has been through too much; I feel it's best if I let it go. Besides, being the last Begovich kind of gives me a legacy."
"Yeah… Well, anyways, shall we eat? I'm sure you're hungry."
"Yeah, really."