Johanna-002 and I wrote this chapter together.
"I think this is one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had," Gloria praised as she finished cleaning off the table. She carried a stack of plates over to the sink and smiled apologetically at Vasily, who had been tasked with washing the dishes.
"Me too," Lida beamed. She was standing at Vasily's side with a drying towel in her hand. She'd been made to spend most of the day with her own family, but had all but begged to come over, so Healy had dropped her off just in time for dessert. The weather outside was dreary and bleak, so she couldn't walk over by herself, but Galina had promised to drive her home.
It got dark so early this time of year and the heavy rain they were currently experiencing was breaking down the fresh snow that had fallen only yesterday. Yet, inside the large house, it was warm and cozy. At his mother's bequest, Yuri had built a fire in the living room and the kids had kept trickling in and out of the kitchen, where Galina had spent most of the day cooking up a storm. It was the first major holiday she was celebrating since she and Dmitri had separated, and she had wanted everything to be perfect.
"Me too," Galina echoed Lida, flashing a smile at Gloria as she carried a Tupperware container of leftover turkey to the refrigerator. "You know, you'd think with a family so large, we wouldn't have this much left over, but by the looks of things, I think we'll be having Thanksgiving dinner for the next week."
"Can I come for that too?" Joel Luschek asked, walking back into the kitchen with Maxim.
"You're bothering to ask permission?" Galina squinted at him. Joel had shown up on their doorstep just a few minutes before they had been read to sit down for dinner. Apparently, his mom had put raisins in all the main dishes at home to punish him for his latest transgression. He'd ridden over on his bicycle, arriving at their house muddy, wet, and chilled to the bone. But after changing into a set of Maxim's clothes, he was ready to join them at the table.
"I like your apple pie," Joel said. "Can I have a piece for the road?"
Galina pulled a glass pie plate out of the fridge that had been wrapped in a cover of plastic. The apples she'd used had come from the orchard behind their house. Gloria and Julio had discovered it to be an annual tradition in their family. They'd all set out on a hike up to the meadow where the apple trees were back in September. The kids were experts at climbing the trees and shaking the branches to send a cascade of apples raining down. Julio had loved picking them up one by one and putting them into the baskets. It had been a fun experience, and afterwards he had helped Galina make at least a dozen apple pies and a big batch of applesauce.
"You can have more," she said, handing him the pie plate to serve himself, "but there's no way I'm allowing you to ride your bike back home in that downpour."
"I don't mind getting wet," Joel shrugged. He picked a piece of pie up with his hand and took a big bite from it like it was a slice of pizza. No plate or fork required. Galina's eyes narrowed as she put the remainder back into the fridge.
"Not only that, but it's cold outside," she reminded him. "In this temperature the rain is likely to freeze and you could break your neck on the ice. I'll give you a ride home in a little while. I have to take Lida home anyway."
"Alex said her mom would, when she gets here," Lida said, looking over her shoulder as she dried out the gravy boat that Vasily passed her. "She'd probably drive you home too, if you ask. What time do you have to go?"
"Doesn't matter," Joel shrugged. "My mom knows where I am." He took another bite of his pie and then followed Maxim back into the living room. All the kids had congregated there in front of the fire for a game of Charades. Julio was included and thought it was the funniest thing. Not officially on any particular team, he went around to whoever he wanted to be with and acted out words with them, despite not having any idea what he was actually doing.
"I should pack up some leftovers for Diane when she gets here," Galina said, referencing Alex's mother who had been required to work this Thanksgiving Day. She'd dropped Alex off on her way by that morning, assuaging some of her guilt about not being able to spend the holiday with her daughter. It worked out fine, though. Nicky and Alex got on extremely well and often seemed to have more fun than when they were weighed down by Piper and Lorna's drama. The other girls had spent the day at home with their families.
"Why not? We've got more than enough," Gloria replied. She reached into the cabinet where she knew the Tupperware and other storage containers to be. She'd really enjoyed the day and managed to block out any guilt she was harbouring, to just live in the moment. Lourdes had been very disappointed at her decision to stay put for the holiday, but Gloria just hadn't been prepared to fly out to see her yet. She was happy where she was, and looking around at all the people who had gone from strangers, to friends, to family in such a short while, she knew she had made the right decision.
"I'm really glad you stayed," Galina said softly, as though she could read Gloria's mind. She smiled as she accepted the Tupperware containers that Gloria passed her. "I know your aunt wasn't happy, but thank you for spending this holiday with us."
"She is going to want me to go home for Christmas," Gloria told her. "I might go if I tell her about the baby. I'd love to get out of the snow."
It was already shaping up to be a long winter and she was dreading it. After a summer and autumn spent predominantly outside playing hard in nature, it was getting harder and harder to keep Julio cooped up inside. Unlike the city, here, there weren't many indoor places to just be in poor weather and they were experiencing the downside to the Idyllic country living they had so far enjoyed. It was a lot of work. Wood for heat needed to be piled, the trampoline and patio furniture needed to be taken down, and winter tires had needed to be put on the car.
"How were you thinking about telling her?" Galina asked curiously.
"I thought about sending her a text message like Daya did when she told Aleida, but I think that might make things worse," Gloria smirked. She'd been putting off announcing her pregnancy to Lourdes for so long that it had become ridiculous. She knew she was only making things worse for herself and Lourdes would likely be very angry when she found out she had been kept out of the loop for so long, but Gloria just hadn't wanted to talk about it. A part of her had always hoped Julio might let it slip for her when speaking to his great-aunt on the phone.
"Yea, I wouldn't follow in fifteen-year-olds footsteps," Galina scoffed as Gloria rolled her eyes. "You know, if you would have listened to me when I told you to do it months ago, you wouldn't be in this situation."
"Not all of us can be as perfect as you, Galina," Gloria kidded her as she began to sweep up the kitchen. "Are you going to call Dmitri again and see if he wants to come see the kids?"
Gloria smirked as her supposedly innocent question had the desired effect. Galina, who had her mouth open about to argue more about how Gloria needed to tell Lourdes about the baby, promptly closed it.
"He knows where we live," she muttered. "We haven't moved."
She hadn't heard from Dmitri at all in over a week. At Gloria's encouragement, she'd invited him to come spend Thanksgiving with her and the kids, but once expressing that his girlfriend was not invited, Dmitri had been considerably less enthusiastic. Though he'd never actually come out and said no, neither she nor Gloria were surprised when he hadn't shown.
"It doesn't matter," Gloria assured her quickly. "Today has been great and I don't think the kids even had time to notice he wasn't here." She paused as the chime of the doorbell rang through the house.
"Maybe that's him," she teased.
Galina rolled her eyes. "I doubt it," she replied dryly, adding some of her whipped mashed potatoes to a container. Turkey, potatoes and gravy, carrots, stuffing, salad, bread, and pieces from two different kinds of pie. Alex and her mother would be able to have another Thanksgiving feast just themselves when they got home.
She put the lid on the mashed potatoes and then walked over to the front door, shoving her hands into the deep pockets of her apron. She'd adamantly refused to have Dmitri's girlfriend anywhere near her house, but that didn't mean he would actually listen to her. She'd already had the misfortune of dealing with the woman at the Tavern, where Dmitri had all but moved her upstairs with him. It was degrading and embarrassing to see them together so intimately. To have to wonder what was happening right above her head while she worked. She couldn't do anything about it. She had to be there. She needed to earn her living. But it seemed especially cruel to have to watch her husband move on so happily, right in front of her, without any shame.
Tammy, or the 'weeping woman', as Nicky called her, seemed delicate but kind. She acted skittish and nervous around her boyfriend's intimidating ex-wife, which only encouraged Galina to act even more coldly toward the woman. Any hopes Dmitri had of introducing Tammy to his kids positively, had fallen out the window as soon as Nicky had walked in on them. In a single second, Nicky had gone from blaming her mother for pushing her father away, to being as loyal of a daughter as any. She'd rallied her brothers up and as a united front they'd all decided to hate the woman before they even met her.
Galina almost could have felt sorry for her, except she didn't. Tammy had made her bed when she'd chosen to get involved with a married man and his children's refusal to accept a person who had so disrespected their mother was just something she would have to content with. Galina knew from Dmitri's own admissions than he and Tammy had been talking and flirting for quite some while. Making plans for a future that had been conditional until Galina had rejected her husband in the hotel suite and, unbeknownst to her, giving him permission to consummate the relationship he had been considering. She wasn't about to encourage her kids to give someone like that a fair chance.
"My goodness! Come in out of the cold," she exclaimed, swinging open the front door and seeing Aleida's daughter shivering on the porch. Daya was wearing a coat barely thick enough to keep her warm and too small to zip closed. Her big, rounded belly stuck out proudly; the fabric of her sweatshirt soaked. Her eyes were red rimmed, tears on her cheeks blended in with rain drops.
"What on earth are you doing here?" Galina asked, as Daya wrapped her arms around herself and stepped over the threshold of the door. "I hope you didn't walk all the way over here in this weather!" In your condition, she silently added to herself.
"Is Gloria here?" Daya asked with such an urgency in her tone, that Galina didn't hesitate for a fraction, calling for Gloria over her shoulder.
"What is it?" Gloria asked, appearing in the hall. "Daya?" she exclaimed in surprise, sharing a disconcerting look with Galina as they passed.
"I'll give you two some privacy," Galina murmured, disappearing back into the kitchen.
"What's the matter, honey?" Gloria asked worriedly. Her eyes swept over Daya, taking every bit of her in. The wet clothes, the matted hair, the sad face. Daya had moved back in with Aleida only a week ago, and now Aleida was in the process of getting her younger kids back too. Things had seemed to be going well enough. Daya had been hanging around the tavern a lot doing homework while she waited for her Aleida to finish her shifts.
Daya shook her head frantically, as if to say 'not here'.
"Let's go upstairs," Gloria suggested, understanding Daya's need for privacy. "We'll have a talk. Maybe find you some dry clothes." Daya nodded, looking relieved. With difficulty, she slipped out of her wet running shoes and set them side by side on the mat.
"What are you doing?" Julio asked curiously, appearing in the hallway. He looked adorable with the bottoms of his too-long jeans turned up and in a red cable-knitted sweater.
"Going upstairs for a few minutes," Gloria replied, placing her hand encouragingly on the small of Daya's back.
"Can I come?" Julio asked.
"I-"
"No, Julio, you come with me," Galina interrupted, coming back into the hallway after him. The Charades game had broken up, and Julio had gone in search of his mother.
"But I don't wanna…" Julio protested.
"Come anyway," Galina coaxed, scooping the toddler up in her arms despite his protests. "I need your help with something."
She carried him back the way he had come. Gloria smiled and beckoned Daya up the stairs ahead of her. What was it about kids that they always needed you right when you got busy with something else. Or god forbid, decided to look relaxed for a moment.
"Never a moment's peace," Gloria sighed dramatically. "Soon you'll know what I'm talking about."
At her words, Daya burst promptly into tears and Gloria took her by both shoulders and guided her over to the bed to sit down.
"Ah, mija," she sighed, squeezing Daya's shoulders tightly and running her thumbs soothingly over them. "Tell me what's wrong…"
"How is it being back with your mom?" she pressed, when Daya still didn't say anything. At this, Daya scoffed.
"I wish I was back with the nun," she said.
"Why?" asked Gloria. She lightened her grip on Daya's shoulders but continued to rest her hands there, a show of support. That while she may have become good friends with Aleida and rooted for her to regain custody, she was always there to listen and help her daughter. Daya knew this. It was why Gloria was the first person she thought of right now. Sister Ingalls was lovely, but there was something in Gloria that Daya found inherently relatable.
"She is going to make me give the baby away," Daya sniffled. "She took me to go see a lawyer yesterday and we've been fighting ever since."
"What?" Gloria gasped. This was news to her and usually Aleida was the Queen of oversharing. Yet, for some reason she had chosen to stay quiet about this particular plan, almost like she knew that it was wrong.
Daya wrapped her arm around her baby. "She said she isn't taking care of another kid and that if I don't give the baby up, she doesn't want me home."
"She said that?" Gloria said skeptically.
Daya nodded and tears streamed down her cheeks. "Gloria...I don't want to do that. She can't make me, can she?"
Gloria didn't know what to say so she pulled Daya closer into her arms and felt the weight of the girl crush against her, as Daya sobbed in the safety of the arms of somebody who understood. More than anyone really knew. It felt like Gloria was holding her younger self, and for a brief moment she wondered how different her life would have turned out if she had had somebody to comfort her like this when she had been in Daya's same situation.
"It's going to be okay," Gloria murmured, stroking her fingers through Daya's hair which was wet and cold from the falling rain. "I know how it feels to give up a baby."
She felt Daya stir in her arms and Gloria's hands paused as she looked down at the scared and exhausted girl. Daya opened her watery eyes to stare up at Gloria questioningly, waiting to see if she would elaborate.
"I have up two babies," Gloria confessed quietly, looking down at Daya sadly and smoothing her hair back as she spoke. "Two baby girls, when I was just a little bit older than you. They're going to be thirteen soon and I still feel like a piece of my heart is missing, every single day."
"Did you want to?" Daya asked her quietly.
Gloria shook her head. "No, baby, I didn't." She felt the kicking and tumbling of her unborn child and closed her eyes. "I would do things differently if I could," she confessed.
"I don't know how," Daya whispered brokenly. "I don't know what to do. Where would I go? How would I-" her words were cut off by the sudden sob that tore through her larynx.
"That is not a decision that anyone can make for you," Gloria told her emotionally, "Not even your mom."
"She's serious, Gloria. I know she is." Daya pulled back so that she could wipe her eyes. They were red and tender from all the crying she'd done.
Gloria looked up to the ceiling, willing herself not to cry. If Aleida could see her daughter now, there would be no way she could live with herself and the pain that she'd caused her. Pulling Daya tight against her, as close as their large bellies would allow, Gloria vowed to herself that she would advocate for Daya with everything she had. Somehow, she would make Aleida understand, because any amount of effort and sacrifice would be worth it to save what was left of her daughter's innocence and spark.
...
Hours had passed and Gloria hadn't had any luck with getting Aleida on the phone. Her blood felt hot and if she didn't know better, she would swear that it was boiling inside of her. "Aleida," she growled into the phone, "Call me back. Don't make me beg." Slapping her phone down on the coffee table, she bit the inside of her cheek painfully and hung her head.
She'd lost count of all the hours she had spent listening to Aleida cry over her kids, and about how unfair the system was that they ripped families apart, and yet, here she was, threatening to rip her granddaughter away from her mother. She didn't understand it. She never had. It was one thing for a woman to decide that adoption was in both her and her child's best interest, but it was another for someone to take that choice away. How could anyone be so heartless?
"Everything alright?" the touch on her shoulder was gentle, but Gloria still jumped half-way out of her seat. Her heart felt like it had leapt out of her chest and a gasp escaped from between her lips.
"You scared me!" she breathed, clutching a hand to her pounding heart.
"I can see that," Galina replied, gazing down at her with worried eyes. "What's wrong?"
"I'm worried about Daya," Gloria admitted quietly. The kids were out for the count, Julio sprawled out in between Nicky and Vasily in Galina's bed and Diane had picked Alex and the other's up hours ago, promising to drop each of them off at their respective homes.
"I guess that explains why she is upstairs asleep in your bed?" Galina replied. "I walked by and the door was open. Is Aleida coming to get her soon?" she asked curiously. After Daya had arrived, it was as if the entire joy of the holiday had been sucked from her home.
She wasn't exactly sure what had happened or what Daya had said, but all she'd known was that Gloria had gone from a cheerful, pregnant woman who'd had too much to eat, to a ferocious lioness stalking her next prey. Her anger was more than obvious as she cursed back and forth between English and Spanish, threatening Aleida in message after message to call her back.
"I dunno," Gloria sighed, glancing forlornly at the phone. "I can't reach her." She rubbed her sweaty hands down her thighs, and reaching her knees, she dug her fingernails into them painfully.
"It's getting late," Galina told her unnecessarily. "She'll be worried if she doesn't know where her daughter is."
"You would think," Gloria said bitterly. "But Aleida isn't that sort of a mother. She's nothing like you, or even me. She probably hasn't even noticed Daya is gone."
"She worked so hard to get her back, she must care," Galina said.
"She is trying to force her to give up the baby," Gloria hissed angrily.
"What?" Galina exclaimed; her brows furrowed in confusion. Of all the things she had expected Daya to be so upset about, this hadn't even crossed her radar. "What do you mean she's making her give up the baby?" Her eyes shot up to the top of the stairs, for reasons unknown to her, Gloria had seemed to develop a deep connection with Aleida's daughter. It was understandable why the teenager had sought her out, and suddenly Gloria's extreme frustration seemed to make a lot more sense.
"You heard me," Gloria replied, rubbing her hand over her face. She could feel the comings on of a powerful headache, undoubtedly brought on by too much stress. Her body felt tight and heavier than usual; with each breath she took sending a stabbing pain through her abdomen that didn't want to stretch any further.
Gloria placed her hand on her ribcage and readjusted her position on the sofa. "She took her to meet with lawyers yesterday," she explained, glancing into Galina's questioning eyes. "She told her that if she doesn't give the baby up, she isn't going to allow her home."
"She's fifteen years old," Galina hissed, "Where the hell is she supposed to go? How is she supposed to take care of a baby on her own if her mother throws her out?"
"Thank you!" Gloria exclaimed passionately. "That's what I wanted to ask the cabrona myself, but she won't answer my calls."
"Maybe she should go back to Sister Ingalls. She'd take her back in a heartbeat if that was what Daya wanted," Galina replied, as though it was the simplest of things. "I told you that woman was no good."
"I'm not sure willingly entering back into foster care is the answer either," Gloria said knowledgeably. "I mean-would they even keep Daya and the baby together? They might decide adoption for the baby is the best thing too."
"This is terrible," Galina said sadly. Her stomach felt knotted and tense at the mere thought. Since becoming a mother herself, 16 years ago, the biggest fear of her life was that her children could be taken away from her. She always thought it must be the scariest thing for any mother, but apparently not for Aleida. Not if she was willing to force her daughter through unspeakable agony for mere convenience. There had to be another way. There were all kinds of assistant programs available for situations like these, surely Aleida would know how to work the system in her favor by now. Hell, she'd gotten her kids back after involving herself in a coke-dealing business.
"Isn't it?" Gloria choked out. "It's the most terrible thing anyone can do to another person. Especially to someone they claim to love." Her hands wrangled together fretfully and Gloria leapt off the couch with the agility of a woman in much better shape, who was not currently heavy with child. She regretted her movement instantly. Wrapping an arm around her stomach and wincing at the sharp stabbing pains that she had invoked.
"Are you okay?" Galina asked worriedly, all thoughts of Daya and Aleida flying out of her mind. "Gloria?"
"I'm not going to let Aleida do that to Daya," Gloria snapped, ignoring the question and her own agony. "I know how it will destroy her and eat at her every single day for the rest of her life. She'll spend every waking moment filled with regret-one that isn't even hers to carry-all because somebody forced her to give up her baby. This isn't Aleida's choice to make."
"How are you going to stop her?" Galina asked patiently, surprised at the measure of venom in Gloria's tone. "Honey," she said gently, watching as Gloria pant madly, her chest up and down heavily. "Are you sure you're okay?" She was sad about Daya but her focus right now was on Gloria, and she was growing increasingly concerned, watching as Gloria clutched her side in pain.
"You need to sit down," she instructed her friend.
Gloria shook her head. "Your every thought is about them," she continued, ignoring Galina's concern. She refused to sit back down or even consider her own personal state. Her mind was in a whole other place right now. "Your heart beats for them and you can feel the emptiness, and no matter how happy you are, or how much you try to move on, all you feel is a giant hole." Tears were now falling freely as she continued to speak with such fire.
"I know you care about her and that this is upsetting for you, but you-"
"You don't get it!" Gloria hissed at her. "No one does! No one ever gets it. It's not their choice to make, and they think that it is. They think that they have the right to just take your babies from you and that it doesn't matter, but it does and no one wants to talk about it. She has no idea how much this is going to destroy her!"
And suddenly, it was as if Galina had entered a limbo between reality and a world that was playing in Gloria's head. The room was silent except for Gloria's sobbing, tears streaming down her cheeks. This was no longer about Daya and Galina could sense it. She could feel the grief and it was crushing, so much so that Gloria's legs gave out beneath her and she fell back onto the sofa.
"You gave a child up for adoption," Galina whispered, as if all of the pieces were coming together. It was a puzzle she hadn't even known she was trying to solve, but suddenly it all made sense.
"Children...not child," she Gloria answered. A shiver ran down her spine and she rubbed her hands over her face to wipe away her tears. "Girls. Twin girls."
"Gloria…" Galina sighed. She didn't know what to say. It certainly explained things, like why she had taken such a protective interest in Daya from the start and why she'd always rallied to understand Nicky. It was confusing too. Gloria was such an amazing mother to Julio. It was shocking to realize that she had two more children out in the world that she had no part of anymore.
"They'll be thirteen soon," Gloria said quietly. "Nicky's age."
"Why haven't you ever told me about this?" Galina asked. She was a little hurt. They'd grown very close and discussed pretty much everything… or at least she had thought that they did. This was just such a huge revelation to have kept to herself all this time.
"I haven't really told anyone, Galina," Gloria replied brokenly. "It was nothing personal."
"Oh, my god," Galina breathed, rubbing her forehead, everything was coming together faster then she could connect it. She nodded at Gloria's rounded belly. "That's why you haven't told your aunt… she made you give them up?"
"I was fifteen," Gloria whispered, as though that was reason enough. She wrapped her arms around her belly and hugged herself, like that would keep this baby safe. "I was scared she would try to take this baby too."
"She can't," Galina promised her. "I would not let her."
"Logically, I know that," Gloria sighed. "I know she wouldn't," she clarified, "But when I found out I was pregnant I wasn't in the most ideal situation and it wouldn't be smart to bring a child into the life I was living, but that's why I left."
"You ran because you were pregnant," Galina moved toward her on the sofa. "You did the right thing," she reassured her passionately.
"I did," Gloria agreed, flashing her a sad sort of smile as she wiped away the tears continuing to fall. "But I didn't know that it would. I came here expecting nothing, and instead I've found everything. I had no plans though. I was running. Running from my husband and running from Lourdes too."
"Is she that awful?" Galina asked concernedly. She'd been pushing Gloria to be honest and tell her aunt the truth, but now she too felt nothing but a maternal urge to protect the baby she had already come to love and want so much. She knew it was Gloria's child, but somehow it felt like hers too.
"No," Gloria shook her head, wiping away the tears that continued to fall. "She's not awful. She's not," she licked her chapped lips and shuddered. "I- Just the last thing I wanted to do was turn up on her doorstep pregnant. I didn't want to disappoint her again. None of my kids have been born under ideal circumstances and she doesn't think I deserve to have any of them."
"She's wrong," Galina said firmly, tilting Gloria's chin up so that she was looking at her. "You're an amazing mother to Julio, Gloria, and I know you are going to be just as wonderful to this new baby too."
"And even though it would have been hard, I also know that you would have been so good with your little girls, if you'd had the chance," Galina added gently. "I'm sorry that you didn't." She moved her hand out to rest on top of Gloria's where it was still holding her bump. They both smiled, chuckling softly as they felt a strong kick. The baby adamantly protesting the change in its normally peaceful environment.
"I'll never forgive her," Gloria said darkly, as she protectively stroked her abdomen. "I love my aunt but I will never be able to forgive her making me give away a huge piece of my heart. It was never a conversation; I was just always told what I was going to do. I never felt as if I had a choice."
"You don't have to forgive her," Galina replied. "I know I couldn't...I'm having a hard-enough time forgiving Dmitri for simply wanting to introduce his new woman to my children, and I know she's not even a real threat."
"Fortunately for you, they don't plan to give her the time of day," Gloria reminded her. "Dmitri really screwed this one up. They're definitely all mama's babies."
"I only hope they stay that way," Galina replied. "I've always been afraid that they will all just grow up and leave me."
"That won't happen," Gloria promised. "They adore you, and who can blame them? I wish I was half the mom that you are. Hell, I wish I was half the woman you are. They are very lucky kids."
She bit the inside of her cheek, wincing at the lingering pain in her back. Leaning back against the couch, she rested comfortably next to Galina, not unlike the way Daya had rested on her mere hours before. She knew that Galina would not mind. There was a comfort there now and a naturalness that made everything easier when they were together. That was what happened when you endured unique heartbreaks simultaneously. They were both struggling, and they were both still trying their hardest for the children who depended on them.
Looking down at the pale hand that was still on her stomach, Gloria smiled tiredly. "You work so hard, and you're such a good mom," she praised her. "You give everything you have to your kids, and the way you've taken me and Julio in… Galina I could not thank you enough if I tried."
"We've been through this before," Galina interrupted. "You're actually helping me. I'd have probably had to sell this house once Dmitri left if you weren't here."
"Well, you didn't know that was going to happen when you first invited us to stay on," Gloria reminded her. "And you did it anyway." She exhaled a deep breath as another pain rippled from her back to her front. She moved her hand calmly across her stomach, willing her body to return to a state of calm.
"I like having you both here," Galina confessed.
"You don't deserve the way that Dmitri is treating you and has treated you. You're definitely no saint… but I don't think you were a bad wife either."
Galina cleared her throat. "And all this time I've been wondering if I'm broken… he used to tell me that all the time, you know. That I'm cold and hard to love and maybe he is right."
"I don't think so," Gloria shook her head confidently. "I think you've got to be the most compassionate person that I have ever met."
"If I would have just settled for the way things were, maybe my family wouldn't be destroyed now," Galina said sadly. "I could have played along better. Keep my thoughts to myself, say yes to sex a little more often-it wouldn't have taken much."
"That's not a life," Gloria replied, peaking an eye open to look at her. "Not a life someone like you deserves anyway. I think you're happier, these last few months. I can see it. You seem happier." She closed her eyes once more and arched upward. It felt as if electricity were coursing angrily in her lower back.
"It is because I have you," Galina told her truthfully. "I'm so glad you came here Gloria. I mean, I wish things were better for you at home and that you didn't feel so much animosity toward your aunt. I think she definitely loves you, but I don't know how I would have made it these last couple of months without you. Little things like cooking dinner, or helping the kids with their homework, moving laundry from washer to the clothesline to dry... you don't understand how much that means to me. ... even just to have someone to talk to at night… and in the morning... I know it sounds ridiculous but I feel more married to you than I've ever felt as Dmitri's wife."
"Mhmm," Gloria murmured, standing up again with an urgency that made Galina immediately worried that she had said the wrong thing. But then she watched Gloria double over in pain as she gritted her teeth together, and she realized at once that something was very very wrong.
"What's wrong?" she demanded. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" She was on her feet now too, her hands-on Gloria's elbows as the pregnant woman let out a whimper from the pain.
The last appointment they went to everything was fine, but Gloria has had quite a few days when she'd been in pain so severe, she'd been unable to move. Second and third pregnancies were supposed to be more uncomfortable, but not like this. Galina couldn't ever remember being in pain like this before she was actively in labour.
"Oh my god…" she gasped.
Gloria noticed it at the same time she did, reaching between her legs to press her fingers against the small stain that had bled through her pants. "Is that blood?" she asked, panicking as she looked at her hand.
"Okay, try not to panic… don't panic," Galina breathed, feeling her own heart rate begin to surge as she stared in horror at the blood stain on Gloria's pants growing darker. It was much too soon for any of this. "I am going to get you to the hospital okay. Everything is going to be fine."
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