"Come in." Red said after an eternity of hugging her daughter in the door way. "Come, sit on the couch." Red directed her towards the living room.
This whole time, Nicky hadn't spoken a word.
Red went to get glasses of water.
"Here." And she extended an arm with a clear glass of water from a jug. Something Nicky hadn't seen in a long time. She took it, and took a sip. Water never tasted so good.
Red sat on the opposite side of the room, in a chair, so that she could comfortably see her daughter in her whole form.
"So. How are you?" Red asked so very warmly.
Nicky was silent. She just stared at Red, with her gorgeous brown eyes of hers. She was so still and stiff. It looked almost as though she was afraid to breathe. Like she was afraid if she moved an inch she would break something. She was sitting so straight up.
"Nicky?"
Still silent. She just locked eyes with Red and didn't look away.
Red dove deep into thought. The last time Nicky was outside of prison, she lived in a house with her mother who didn't care for her like she should have, in Red's opinion. Before prison, Nicky was addicted to drugs and had nothing going for her. She was not given a proper up bringing. Red's heart ached at how awful Nicky's childhood was; Nicky had told her everything. Most of the tie Nicky had to cut herself short because Red couldn't handle hearing the rest. Although she was an adult, she was still young enough for Red to raise her and give her the best guidance she possible could. She was her mother now, a responsibility Red would fight Nicky's biological mother for. Red was grateful for the girl in front of her. Red, who hadn't broken Nicky's eye contact this entire time, stood up and went to sit on the couch beside her daughter. She took her daughter's hand in her own, made sure that all of the love she felt for Nicky was plain to see, and said, "Nicky, it's alright. You're home. You're home now, my sweet girl."
That was it. That must have been what Nicky was waiting to hear because her eyes filled with tears and she laid down on the couch resting her head in her mother's lap, and bawled like a toddler. Red did what she instinctively knew what to do: she ran her fingers through her daughter's curly hair, shushed her, told her comforting and soothing words, and, like she hadn't done a very long time, she sand to her girl a lullaby in Russian.
Red could feel her daughter calming down the more she sang and stroked her hair. Her sobs became deep, even breathes, then became normal and steady. Nicky was very relaxed and Red peaked over to see her daughter's face. Tear marks stained her cheeks and her eyes were closed; her darling girl had fallen asleep.
Red stopped singing but continued to stroke Nicky's hair. Red couldn't stand the silence, there had been silence in her house for too long. So, without speaking above a whisper so as not to wake her sleeping girl, she said "Nicky, my sweet girl. I'm so glad you're home with me. I'm so happy you're here. I've waited, and you've waited, for so long. I must ask you in advance to forgive me. I will be very cautious with you and with myself to an extreme this next couple of days. You see, some of the guys from the mafia came by the store the other day. I was able to make it look like it was closed before they got close enough to tell. But they know it's back open, which means they know I back. Everyone knows Dimitri left to go back to Russia; so they know it's me. I was so scared. I feared for my life. My life is in jeopardy until I can get it straightened out with them, and I still don't know how I'm going to do that. And the whole time I was crouched down behind the counter, hiding from them, I couldn't help but think that I've dragged you into this too. I'm so...sorry." Red choked up, thinking of the harm that she has potentially put Nicky in. "But, I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe and sound. But that means you're going to have to listen to me. You've always listened to me before, so I have no doubts now. You thought I was protective in prison? Sweetheart, compared to out here where I have the ability, you haven't seen anything yet."
Red looked down at Nicky who was still sound asleep in her lap.
"I don't know why I have told you all of this if you're sleeping. I know I'll just have to say this all over again when you wake up."
Red was feeling tired herself. She looked at the clock, it was only 2 in the afternoon.
"You'll work with me in my store. It'll be fun, just like old times. Except you better learn real quick how to actually cook. I can't be selling burnt pastries in my shop. In our shop." Red smiled a big smile. She loved the idea that she had someone to share life with, and she would take her beloved daughter over anyone.
And then she laughed a little, thinking back to a time Nicky had helped her make cookies for a Christmas party one year. They came out black as coal. Yes, Red had much to teach Nicky about cooking, indeed.
Reminiscing on the happy memories, sitting up right on the couch not bothering to make herself comfortable for fear of waking up her daughter, Red drifted off to sleep.
About an hour or so later, Nicky opened her eyes slowly, forgetting for a moment where she was. She looked up and could see the face of her mother, she was sleeping. Nicky just stared admirably up at her for a few moments. Her mom had less lines in her face when she was asleep, she looked much younger and a whole lot more innocent. Nicky smiled, Red was innocent, at least in Nicky's world.
She did wake up at some point and did hear some of what she said while Red thought she was sleeping. Nicky heard the part about how some guys from the mafia came by her store. Nicky was too worried about that to let Red know that she was awake because she didn't want to talk about that just yet. But then when Red started talking about how she was going to protect her like never before, Nicky was so comforted at the thought and heard all of the love Red had for her in her voice that she fell back to sleep because she was so at peace.
About 5 minutes later, Red woke up herself. Red looked down at Nicky, who was still staring up at her and whispered, "Hi, honey."
"Hi, Mommy." Nicky replied. Red realizing this was the first time Nicky had spoke since she got here.
"Are you hungry?" Red asked as Nicky sat up.
"I'm starving."
"Let me see what I can cook."
"Oh, Ma, you can cook anything."
Red chuckled at Nicky's words.
"Let's see." Red said as she looked throughout the kitchen. "You don't like broccoli or spinach, so a roast is out..."
Nicky just looked at Red looking through the fridge and pantry. She couldn't help but tear up. She was so grateful to Red, her mother, for this. Without her, she'd have no real place to go. On top of that, she loved her so much, paid attention to her likes and her dislikes, like a real mother would. Nicky was so forever grateful.
"So how about that?" Red asked turning around.
Nicky hadn't heard her suggestion because she was too lost in thought.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Red asked concerned, seeing Nicky's eyes for the first time.
"Nothing's wrong, Ma. Absolutely nothing is wrong. Everything is right." And Nicky smiled the most genuine smile Red had ever seen on her daughter's beautiful face. Red returned her smile.
"So would potato salad and baked chicken be alright?"
"That sounds great." Nicky replied.
"Good. Here." Red reached out her hand with an apron in it. "Take this."
"What for?"
"I'm going to start teaching you how to cook."
Nicky rolled her eyes but in a playful way.
"This is a very simple meal and I think you can handle it. I'll help you where you need it. Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Nicky said kind of hesitant. Based on her past experiences her and Red knew that cooking was not Nicky's forte.
"Listen," Red said excitedly. "It'll be fun. Now, wash your hands and let's get going."
And they did. They cooked their meal successfully, partially because Red did most of it. Nicky found that cooking really wasn't so bad, of course that's probably just because she had the best chef in the world at her side.
During dinner they talked about the last 5 months, both in prison and outside of it. They talked about the next day and how they were going down to the shop to check things out and get Nicky used to the location of items and such.
After dinner, Nicky insisted she go to sleep because she was tired.
"Let me show you to your room." Which Nicky had been so excited to see every since Red said she could live with her 5 months ago.
They walked down the hall way and Red opened the door leaving room for Nicky to walk in first. Red flipped on the light switch and heard Nicky gasp.
The walls were a glossy blue with a few scattered black and white pictures of New York City around the room. There was a beautiful white dresser with a large mirror, making for a wonderful vanity. And a matching nightstand by the bed, which was a queen and had the fluffiest white comforter that Nicky had ever seen. Everything was brand new, and if Nicky was being honest, looked kind of expensive. She looked to the window and saw white blinds that were closed because it was night, but she could just imagine the view.
Nicky stepped in the center of the room and did a slow 360 turn, taking in every aspect and all of the detail of the decor. She stopped in Red's direction and looked at her.
"Mom, this is.." She was lost for words. All she could do was smile. Red took the time to pick out all of these things for her; it meant the world to Nicky. Tears of gratitude came to her eyes for a second time that night. She walked over to Red and hugged her.
After their hug, Red walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of shorts and a t shirt. "Old clothes of mine, I stuck them in there for the day you came. You can use these as pajamas for tonight. But there isn't anything else in the dresser. We can go tomorrow and get you more clothes. I would've had them ready and already bought for you but I didn't want to get anything you didn't like."
Nicky had another one of those moments when she involuntarily tuned Red out to feel all of this gratitude and to think how lucky she was to have such a wonderful mother.
"Tooth brush and tooth paste are in the bathroom just down the hall and to the left."
"Thank you. Mom," Nicky walked over and took her mother's hands. "For everything, for all of this. I am so grateful, really."
"I'd do anything for you, my sweet girl."
They hugged again.
"Good night." Red said as she pulled away and kissed Nicky on the forehead.
"Good night, Ma."
"Sweet dreams."
"Sweet dreams."
Red walked towards the door and started to close it behind her. At the last minute she poked her head back in and whispered,
"I love you, Nicky."
"I love you too, Mommy." Nicky sounded a little bit like a kid, but Red didn't mind in the slightest, and she closed the door.
