Johanna—002 and I wrote this chapter together.

"Explains a lot?" Galina echoed. Her brow creased in confusion as she stared into Gloria's eyes and then back down at her daughter's note, that she had just fished out of the laundry. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that I'm not really surprised," Gloria replied calmly. "I've noticed how sensitive Nicky can be about Lorna."

"Because Lorna has a crush on her brother," Galina hissed, her fist clenched, crumpling the note inside of it. "And because Lorna has been her closest friend for her entire life."

The girls had been inseparable since kindergarten, when Lorna had been too nervous to walk into the classroom and Nicky had guided her in by holding her hand. Nicky had always owned any room that she walked into, she knew how to entertain people and get noticed, while Lorna had charmed all their teachers with a sweetness and enthusiasm that few could surpass. They'd been an inseparable team and Galina had always approved of Lorna as a good friend for her daughter. It had just never occurred to her to question whether the relationship would someday go beyond friendship. Not until now.

"That paper in your hand says differently," Gloria said, a slight smirk crawling across her face. "Does this bother you?"

"No. I-I'm confused," Galina said flatly. She slipped the note inside the pocket of her white cardigan and then reached for Nicky's jeans. Slowly she tucked the turned-out pockets back in and then tossed the jeans into the open washing machine with the rest of the load.

"Is Nicky gay?" the question begged inside her mind. She filled a cup with liquid detergent and then tossed it into the loaded washer with the dirty clothes. A flick of her hand, and the door slammed down with a thud. She pushed the start button on her pre-set settings and the washing machine began to humm through the room.

Nicky had always been a little tomboyish. Tougher and more rugged than all three of her brothers, but that didn't have to mean she was gay. As her mother, she should have known if she was. Yet, right now, Galina felt completely blindsided by the idea.

"Are you going to talk to her about it?" Gloria asked.

"I don't know how to," Galina replied. She fretfully brushed her red hair back and looked anxious. "We already had the sex talk….but I don't know how to have a sex talk about this. Or how even to bring it up…"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Gloria teased. "All she did was write Lorna a letter. Who knew she was such a romantic?"

"Lorna likes that kind of thing," Galina said genly.

Gloria smiled triumphantly as she saw a twitch in the corner of Galina's lips, before they twisted back into a grimace.

"She wouldn't talk to me about this anyway," Galina said regretfully. "I'm loathe to get any sort of response from that girl that isn't sarcasm these days."

"That's a defense mechanism," Gloria said calmly. "She doesn't mean it."

"She means to upset me," Galina insisted.

"Oh, probably," Gloria agreed. "I have no doubt she wants to punish you for all that's happening right now. I'm sure it's very confusing. You wouldn't think that it would be, it's not like much has changed. From what I understand, Dmitri was hardly around to begin with."

"It is different though," Galina said quietly.

"I know," Gloria sighed. "It's impossible to ignore the truth, especially now that it's so official."

"Do you think maybe this is because of me?" Galina asked, staring at Gloria inquisitively.

"The separation?" Gloria asked, "Well, partly-"

"No," Galina shook her head, cutting her off. "Nicky."

The demise of her marriage had been constantly on her mind since Dmitri had called it quits. Until right now, for which she was almost grateful. She could use a distraction, even if that came at the cost of her daughter's secrecy. They'd always had such an open and honest relationship. It stunned and saddened her to realize that Nicky had been keeping such a significant part of herself private.

"What do you mean?" asked Gloria.

"I breastfed her the longest," Galina said seriously. "She was well past three and I still couldn't get her to fall asleep without laying down to nurse-"

She broke off as Gloria burst into laughter. Galina blushed, regretting the words as soon as she'd said them. It was just inconceivable to her. She wasn't upset necessarily, but she hadn't been expecting this.

"Sorry," Gloria apologized, covering her lips with her hand. "But no… that's ridiculous. I don't think you turned your daughter gay by breastfeeding. Anymore, than me not breastfeeding my son is going to make Julio gay."

"I know, I know," Galina shook her head. "I don't know what I'm thinking- I know it's silly."

She sighed and then reached above her head for a t-shirt of Maxim's that had been hung to dry. She pulled in down into her arms and then slowly folded it, before dropping it into a plastic basket on the floor. Dmitri had installed clothes lines from one end of the laundry room to the other when they'd moved in, like spider webs stretching across the ceiling, so that she could hang the laundry to dry in the colder weather.

Wordlessly, Gloria began to help her take down the clothes. They worked in synchronized silence, folding the laundry and adding it to the basket to be put away.

"Ma! Mama?" Nicky's impatient voice preceded her. Galina turned towards the door, a folded sweater was in her arms that she pressed to her chest, just as Nicky burst into the room.

"Ma, can I sleep over at Lorna's?" Nicky demanded. It was the most she had bothered to say to her all day, choosing the spend the evening brooding in front of the television merely shrugging when her mother had tried to ask her about her day.

"I don't know…" Gaina said hesitantly, her eyes blinking in confusion. Her fingers brushed across the fabric of the sweater she was holding, wondering if this was some sort of test. Like Nicky had somehow discovered that she had read her letter.

"What?" Nicky asked in surprise. Her eyes widened and darted over to Gloria, who had continued folding the laundry quietly and refused to meet her eye. Her mother never said no. Asking had just been a formality.

"I think we have stuff to do this weekend," Galina added vaguely.

"What stuff?" Nicky rolled her eyes. "We do the same thing all the time. And we're not doing anything right now because it's night."

"Exactly," her mother replied. "It's dark out, Nicky. You're not going anywhere by yourself."

"Cause it will be the first time that ever happened," Nicky muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Galina asked sharply.

"Give me a ride if you're so concerned," Nicky argued. "If you won't, Gloria will." She shot a hopeful look at Gloria who paused in her folding just to shake her head at Nicky. Gloria wasn't about to offer the girl a ride when her mother clearly didn't want her to go. Whatever Gloria thought of the situation was irrelevant. She wasn't Nicky's mom.

"I watch Julio for you," Nicky reminded her. The way she said it made Galina bristle, as though her daughter considered it a bargaining chip that she could hold over an adult's head to get her way. All four of her children took time entertaining the little boy and they were tipped handsomely for it. It gave them responsibility, which pleased her, but even more, she expected it of them now. She saw Gloria and Julio as much more than just room & board she could profit from. They felt like family.

"That's enough, Nicky," Galina said sternly.

"What?" said Nicky. "I'm just stating facts. And you're just being crazy and making excuses because you want to take your anger out on somebody, and since Papa isn't going to take it anymore, you decided to pick on me. Even Gloria can see it! When are you-"

"Nicky, go to your room," Galina cut her off. She released the sweater with one hand to point visibly out the door of the laundry room.

"Now!" she snapped, when Nicky stayed rooted to the spot and did not immediately do as she was told. Even Gloria jumped a little at the harshness in her Russian tone. Nicky shot her mother a dirty look but did not argue. She turned on her heel and walked slowly out of the room with her head held high.

"What was that about?" Gloria breathed, once she knew Nicky was out of earshot.

"What?" Galina asked coldly.

"Umm, that," Gloria said emphatically, waving her hand out the door that Nicky had just walked out of. "I thought you weren't bothered by it?"

"I'm not," Galina said defensively, tossing the crumpled sweater she was holding down onto the basket of neatly folded clothes. "But after the way she talked to me, she doesn't deserve to go anywhere."

"She was rude," Gloria agreed. "But I think she was just confused because you always let her go to her friends houses whenever she wanted."

"I'm just not sure I should anymore," Galina replied. "What if they do something? What if...I don't know...she starts experimenting? I wouldn't let her sleepover with a boy, so I don't think I should let her stay over with Lorna either."

Gloria sighed. With one hand wrapped around her belly, she reached down to pick up the sweater that Galina had tossed. Saying nothing, she straightened up and began folding it properly.

"You don't agree?" Galina guessed. Although she had only a few minutes to process the possibility of her daughter being a gay, she thought she was right to be concerned. She wouldn't let Yuri or Maxim sleepover with girls they liked and when they did have company of the opposite sex, they knew they had to keep the bedroom doors open. And even though Vasily was much younger, and Lida was over all the time, she had never been allowed to spend the night.

"I don't know…" Gloria shrugged, placing the sweater neatly back in the basket.

"You have an opinion," Galina said impatiently. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have made that face. Help me here...am I wrong?"

"I've never raised a teenager," Gloria reminded her, feeling a throb in her stomach as she did. It was the truth. Although there were two girls in their early teens out there somewhere in the world, they didn't exist anymore in Gloria's reality...only when Arturo saw fit to remind her of all that she had lost.

"...but if you want my opinion," Gloria said after a pause, forcing her mind back to the present. "I don't think you can forbid her from doing things when she doesn't know the reason why. I've seen enough to know that Nicky isn't the kind of kid who is going to blindly obey you when she thinks you're being unreasonable. You're only going to make her rebel. If you don't want her to sleepover at Lorna's anymore, than you at least have to tell her you saw the letter and be honest about your concerns."

Galina sighed. "I hate when you're right," she said, offering the smallest hint of a smile.

"You love me," Gloria smirked.

"I love you a little less then I did an hour ago," Galina retorted. She ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes. "When did everything become so complicated?"

Gloria giggled. "How about a drink?" she suggested.

Galina opened one eye and peered at her. "You can't drink," she reminded.

"You can drink for both of us," Gloria replied, stroking at hand over her belly. She smiled. "Make that the three of us...he's awake."

"When this baby is a girl… she's going to grow up and act just like Nicky," Galina said as she propped the laundry basket up on her hip. She followed Gloria out of the laundry room, closing the door behind her with her foot. "I want you to remember this conversation, because you're going to be in for quite a ride."

"At least I'll be allowed to drink then," Gloria replied, secretly thinking she would be grateful just to get to experience those tumultuous years with this baby, and Julio. After giving birth to two miracles and then not being allowed to keep them, Gloria was appreciative for every part of motherhood, even the hard stuff.

It wasn't something that she could openly discuss though. Not without causing herself significant pain. It was shameful to admit that they both technically had the same number of children. Except Gloria had been too young and incapable of properly raising her twin daughters, born just three days after her sixteenth birthday. At least according to her aunt, who had insisted Gloria do the right thing and give these babies up for adoption, as soon as she had learned about the pregnancy.

"Vodka?" Gloria asked, as they walked into the living room. There was a cabinet in there filled with bottles of different liquors and wines. Gloria selected the glass bottle of the clear liquid she had learned her roomate favoured.

"You know it," Galina smiled.

"Cool. Can I have some?" Yuri asked, entering the room from the kitchen. "I finished all my homework…"

"If you go fetch me a glass of ice and something to mix it with, then sure," Galina rolled her eyes at her oldest son.

"And a coke for me, please," Gloria added.

"Can I have a sip of yours, Mama?" Vasily asked hopefully.

"Fine," she agreed dully, dropping the laundry basket onto the coffee table. Alcohol had never been expressly forbidden in her household because she'd never wanted her kids to go drinking behind her back. She knew they would do it without her approval or not, if it was something they wanted to do.

Sort of like sex. Her conscience nagged at her, as she sunk down onto the sofa next to Vasily and slung an arm over his shoulders. She could tell them to wait, she could make sure they were safe, but aside from keeping her eye on them every second of every day, she could not exactly stop them. She just had to trust that she had raised them well enough to make the right decisions for themselves. Denying Nicky time with her friends would achieve nothing except an even more strained relationship between mother and daughter. And hopefully, at thirteen, sex of any kind was the farthest thing from her mind.

Gloria poured an ounce of the clear liquid into both of the glasses that Yuri held out for her. It was mesmerizing watching the vodka pour over the ice cubes before Yuri added some soda. Gloria replaced the bottle back into the liquor cabinet and then carried the drink over to the couch.

"How was your day, Max?" Gloria asked curiously, settling herself down beside him once she had passed his mother her drink. "You're awfully quiet tonight, that's not like you."

Maxim smirked. Gloria often made a habit of teasing him to talk more, but he enjoyed her attention. As the most quiet one in the family, he often times felt over looked. He knew it wasn't intentional, especially with all the changes happening in his family, but it was still nice to be noticed.

"It was okay," he told her finally.

"How did you do on that Spanish assignment?" she asked. She could feel Galina's eyes on her and she looked over Maxim's shoulder to see the redhead smiling at her. It felt good to know that she was contributing to this family, even if it only came in the simple forms of helping the kids with their homework or asking them how their day was.

"She hasn't graded it yet," he told her. "Last time you made me fail."

"I did not make you fail," Gloria rolled her eyes. "How was I supposed to know your teacher was from El Salvador? Spanish is different there then in Puerto Rico."

"I still blame you," he told her.

Gloria pulled the tab back on her can of soda and then took a long gulp. Perhaps only by coincidence, the baby already seemed to sense the sugar rush. He kicked inside her, dancing excitedly. Gloria hadn't been able to ascertain a time when the baby was most active or quiet, because the only time the movements seemed to cease was, of course, during a doctor's appointment when they wanted to see him in action. The baby was already shaping up to be quite contrary which amused Gloria, as she leaned back into the sofa and rested a hand on her belly.

"Yum!" Vasily exclaimed, licking his lips after taking the smallest of sips that his mother offered him. "Can I have more?"

"When you're older," his mother replied, taking the glass back and bringing it to her own lips.

"Aww," Vasily moaned, just as the phone began to ring. "Probably Lida. We want to go to the movies tomorrow," he told them, sprinting over to where the phone lay in its cradle in the hallway. "No….it's Pop."

"Let it go to voicemail," Galina instructed, but Vasily had already accepted the call.

"Hey, Pop." His mother sucked her teeth and let her head fall back against the cushions. Looking irritable she brought her glass up to her lips for another sip.

"Mama?" Vasily held out the phone to her.

"I don't want to talk to him," Galina hissed, but Vasily ignored this. Kneeling up on the sofa beside her he brought the phone cheekily to his mother's ear.

"What?" Galina grunted into the phone. Her husband was angry. Dmitri immediately began sprouting off a slew of jumbled Russian and English which made her stand up and take a few steps out of the room so her sons wouldn't be able to hear in.

"Nicky?" she repeated into the phone. She turned around to call back into the living room. "Did any of you notice your sister leaving?"

Yuri and Vasily both shrugged but Maxim nodded his head. "She left not that long ago," he replied monotonously, never once taking his eyes off of the television that hummed on persistently in the background.

"She didn't even know she left?" Dmitri exclaimed through the phone. "What kind of a mother are you?"

"She was supposed to be in her room," Galina replied. "That's where I sent her when...nevermind, why am I explaining myself to you? Do you still have her?"

"No, she left," Dmitri answered. "I figured she was on her way home and that one of us should go and get her. Thought it should be you."

"Of course, you did," Galina replied through gritted teeth. "I'll talk to you later." She ended the call and dropped the phone back into its charger as though she were mad at it.

"I need to go find Nicky," she said spitefully, coming back into the living room wearing her red buttoned jacket and a pair of black ankle boots. "Do you want to come for the ride?" she asked Gloria.

"Can I come?" asked Vasily hopefully. "I love seeing Nicky get into trouble."

"Stay here," his mother rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. I'm sure I'll still be yelling at her when we get back." She reached a hand up to smooth down the collar of her coat.

"Sounds serious," Gloria said, staring up at her quizzically. "Maybe I should give you two some time alone-"

"I need you there to keep me from strangling this girl," Galina explained. "Will you come. Maxim will listen for Julio. Right, honey?"

"Sure," Maxim replied.

"Not me," Yuri said. Eyeing the half-full glass his mother had set on the coffee table so she could speak to his father, he picked it up and flashed her a futive smile. "I'm under the influence."

"Don't do anything stupid," Galina growled. "I'm only in the mood to deal with one unruly teenager tonight."

...

"She's from Ithaca," Galina growled a few minutes later. They were in the car and had already driven the short distance from the house to the tavern without catching any sight of Nicky.

"Come again?" Gloria blinked, wondering if her friend really was beginning to lose it under the magnitude of stress she had been carrying.

"The license plate!" Galina explained, she pointed her finger roughly over to a beat up grey honda civic that was parked next to Dmitri's truck in the driveway. All the lights in the restaurant were off, but upstairs the lights were all still on and Gloria could make out the shadow of a figure too slender to be Dmitri, standing at the window.

"Ohhh," Gloria murmured, turning her focus to the car where the plates detailed where the vehicle had been purchased.

"That's a couple of hours from here," Galina said softly. "There's a warehouse there where we buy a lot of the supplies for the business. Dmitri has been driving out there at least once a week for the past several years."

"I'm sorry," Gloria whispered. Her hands tightened around the steering wheel and she kept driving past the place, rather than turning in.

"I wonder if this has been going on all this time?" Galina questioned aloud.

Gloria shook her head. "I just don't know," she reached out a hand and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, Nicky wasn't walking home. Do you want to try Lorna's next?"

"Yes," Galina nodded. She leaned back in the seat and stared straight ahead down the blackened and vacant street.

"No wonder he never complained about the drive," she added bitterly, almost speaking to herself. "He left me everything else to do. Of course, he had some incentive to make the drive for me out to Ithaca every week."

"I guess the mystery lady is returning the favour now then, hmm?" Gloria replied, trying to lighten the mood. "So Nicky walked into that? Poor girl…"

"Serves her right, disobeying me, and sneaking out of house!"

"You don't mean that," Gloria said softly.

"Well...no," Galina admitted. "And Dmitri said she was upset. He also accused me of sending her down there unannounced to "catch" them together before he could introduce her to them in his own way."

"What's her name?" Gloria asked. She turned the car down the street she knew Lorna to live on. This town had become very familiar to her and it was fun to drive through at night when there wasn't anybody else around.

"I don't know," Galina shrugged. "But I could hear her weeping in the background when we were on the phone. Apparently Nicky said some things that made her cry on her way out."

"Your daughter has your back," Gloria said. "Even when she is mad at you. Poor lady, I wouldn't want to be in her shoes right now. Wait until Nicky riles up all her brothers. They're going to eat that woman alive."

"Good," Galina said with a smirk, crossing her feet at the ankle.

"Good?" Gloria repeated with a glint in her eye. She signaled, unnecessary as no one else was around, and then turned into the gravel drive of Lorna's family home. "Bad, bad-"

"I'm not the one who had an affair with a married man," Galina retorted, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"You don't know for sure that they did either," Gloria pointed out. "Maybe they were just friends until very recently."

"Oh, I know," Galina said gravely. "Dmitri took ages to get the courage to ask me out on our first date, and he needs someone to take care of him. This doesn't surprise me at all. Of course, he had somebody lined up ready to take my place. He never would have left, otherwise."

"I'll wait here," Gloria said, as she watched her friend open the passenger car door and step out.

"Thanks," Galina replied. "I'll try not to takebe too long."

"No worries," Gloria said gently. "Take your time."

Galina nodded and shut the car door before setting up the drive. It was a dark night and there were no lights of any sort along the path or on the porch. She walked slowly and carefully, holding on the railing to climb the stairs, and then sucked in her breath as she knocked hard on the door. She hoped Lorna's father wouldn't be too angry about the late call, but she needed to make sure that Nicky was alright.

"Mrs. Reznikov?" Lorna's older sister, Franny, answered the door in a pair of blue flannel pajamas with white clouds printed all over. "Are you here for Nicky?"

"I'm afraid so," Galina replied. "I apologize for the late hour, but it's important."

"That's okay," Franny yawned. "I was just watching TV and the girls are in Lorna's room. I'll go call Nicky down." She held the door open wider so that Galina could step into the foyer. There were shoes scattered everywhere. A much greater quantity than there were of occupants in the house. Galina amused herself while Franny ran up the stairs to fetch Nicky, by counting all the pairs that she recognized to be Lorna's. The girl wore a different pair to school for everyday of the week and clearly nobody made her put them away after. There mother wasn't well and clearly nobody else cared enough to enforce the rules.

"Does Nicky really have to go home?" Lorna asked sadly, leading the parade back down the stairs. Franny was right behind her, and Nicky followed reluctantly behind them both. "Can't she stay?"

"Nicky?" She spoke her daughter's name more as a question and show of concern. Nicky caught her mother's eye only briefly before turning quickly away and glaring in another direction. She'd looked over long enough for Galina to spot the tear stains on her daughter's face.

"I just want to talk to you," Galina said quietly. "In private. Then you can come back in."

Lorna brightened at once, but Nicky still looked skeptical. "What made you change your mind?" she asked suspiciously, shoving her feet into a pair of old sneakers and reaching for her coat. "Did you realize you were just being dramatic before and come over to apologize?"

"Watch that attitude," her mother warned, holding the door open and beckoning Nicky outside into the cool evening. "Or I will make you come home with me."

"Yeah, Nicky, don't blow it!" Lorna called anxiously, before the door closed behind them.

"You could have called," Nicky complained, dropping herself down onto the porch swing roughly. Galina sat down beside her gently.

"You could have done the right thing and not snuck out of the house," she scolded. "You're never to do that again. Do you understand me? Anything could have happened."

"Ma, there are like three places besides home that I could possibly be," Nicky said, pressing her feet onto the ground and rocking them on the porch swing. "Nothing was going to happen."

"You could get eaten by a wild animal," her mother argued. "Wandering around town like some sort of feral cat."

"Wildlife is more afraid of you than you are of them," Nicky said monotonously. "You told me that."

Galina bit her tongue, swallowing back an angry retort. She eyed her daughter appraisingly. "Yo know, your father called me."

Nicky didn't say anything. She stared down at her feet, which were continuing to rock the swing back and forth. Neither Lorna or Franny had thought to turn on the porch light, knowing they were sitting out there. The moonlight shone down on them, basking Nicky in an eerie glow.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Galina said quietly.

"Is that why you broke up with him?" Nicky asked quietly, still looking determinedly down at her feet.

"I didn't-" Galina broke off, realizing the details weren't important. Dmitri had been the one to actually say it was over, a truth that seemed to be lost on all of her children. Yet, if she were being honest with herself, she had checked out of the relationship long before he had. Or maybe she had never actually been on board to begin with. It didn't matter anymore. "There were a lot of reasons our marriage didn't work."

Nicky seemed to accept that. She nodded. "Did you know he was dating?" she asked, chancing a glance at her mother's carefully guarded face.

"Honestly, I just found out this morning," she replied. "He told me it was serious and he wanted to introduce her to you and your brothers-which I objected to, for the record. I didn't know she was staying over here tonight or I would have prepared you."

"Sort of hard to do when I sneak out of the house," Nicky replied, sniffling loudly.

"Karma?" Galina suggested. "Maybe that's why I feel okay about not punishing you for disobeying me tonight. I think you've been punished enough."

"Cruel and unusual punishment," Nicky replied, rubbing the back of her hand across her eyes. "She had her tongue down Pop's throat, and he was putting putting his hands on her-sorry," she broke off, catching the stricken look on her mother's face. "Well...it was a horrifying sight."

"I can imagine," Galina said dryly. "He said you made her cry."

"I said that you were way prettier," Nicky said loyally.

"My girl," Galina exclaimed fondly, taking a chance and pulling Nicky tightly into her arms. It was the first time in several long weeks that Nicky didn't push away from her shows of affection.

"And the woman started bawling," Nicky continued her tale, chuckling at the sheer absurdity of it now, though she had cried the whole walk to Lorna's house after leaving. "And I was all like ummm...okay? I guess your complete lack of self-esteem explains why you're settling for someone else's husband."

"Well, he won't be for much longer," Galina reminded her quietly. "We're going to proceed with the divorce, Nicky. Your father already had the papers drawn up."

"I wonder what his hurry is?" Nicky said sarcastically. She sighed and leaned her head back against her mother's shoulder. "I'm sorry for being a jerk to you, Ma," she apologized. "I really thought Pop was leaving because you made him...he said you left him no choice."

"Maybe I didn't," Galina sighed. She dug her hand into Nicky's deep mass of curls and scratched her scalp soothingly. Nicky always loved to have her mom play with her hair. She was the only person really allowed to touch it.

"It's a complicated situation," Galina said finally. "And not one you need to worry about. Everything is going to be okay. Alright?"

"Yes," Nicky nodded, leaning up to drop a kiss on her mother's pale cheek. As she broke away, the glow of a blue light inside the car caught her eye.

"You brought Gloria?" Nicky asked, guessing correctly who the figure in the car had to be.

"You mean your partner in crime? Yes," Galina replied. "She's been keeping me sane all night, so be sure to thank her for me letting you go back inside, alright?"

"I knew I liked her," Nicky smiled.

"You were rude to her earlier," Galina said warningly.

"She knew I was joking," Nicky waved her hand dismissively. "Julio's my guy. I like him more than my own brothers."

Galina rolled her eyes and pushed herself to her feet. Holding out her arms, she smiled gently as Nicky walked into her embrace. "We'll talk more later," she kissed her head. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Ma."

"Goodnight, darling," Galina kissed her temple. "Make sure you behave yourself."

Nicky nodded and raised her hand up to wave at Gloria. From inside the car, Gloria flashed her phone at her in a sign of acknowledgment.

"Night, Mama."

Walking back toward the car, her hands shoved into her pockets, she smiled at the knowing look Gloria was giving her.

"I guess you decided to let her stay," Gloria said as Galina opened the door. She'd been watching them from her position in the front seat, as the mother and daughter talked on the front porch. She'd been expecting there to be knock-down drag out, but it appeared, that for now, all was right in the world.

"She saw Dmitri with someone else's tongue down his throat. I think she's been punished enough. Besides, she needed her friend."

Gloria smiled and reached her hand across the seat to gently squeeze Galina's knee. "You're a good mom," she told her.

Gloria turned the key and the car sprang to life. She was just about to put the car into reverse when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Taking her hand off the shifter, Gloria pulled out her phone and clicked on the text message. It was from Nicky.

"Thanks for making sure my mom didn't kill me. And for being her friend...love you."

Smiling to herself, Gloria placed her phone on Galina's lap. "That's quite the daughter you have there. She's going to be just fine." Gloria watched out of the corner of her eye as Galina read the brief message from her daughter.

Galina nodded. "I think she will be."

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed.