A/N: What better way to start the week then with a new chapter :) Enjoy!
"We haven't talked about where she's going to sleep," I said. We spent hours discussing everything that needed to be planned. After meeting with Elie tomorrow, he'd go get all the big things, like the car seat and a stroller and then I'd get the smaller things - diapers, diaper bags, creams, wipes, clothes. The final item to talk about was sleeping arrangments, but I realized something. "I mean we don't even know what to name her. Do I make Ciane her first name or her middle name? and I do middle, what should her first name be?"
"Rose," Dimitri suggested immediately.
Smiling, I leaned in and kiss him. "As much as I like it, Rose Ciane Belikov doesn't have a ring to it."
Pulling out my phone, I opened a website I had been browsing for a while. "Aveline…Elize… Melina, ugh I love Melina… Allegra, I also love that one…if you're hell bent on Rose, we could do Rosina…or I also liked Serena…"
"Wow," Lissa sighed. "I love all of those names."
"Right? Ugh I could never chose."
"Roza, why are they French, Italian, and then Irish?" Dimitiri asked, having pulled paper from somewhere written down all the names. "And I do like Rosina."
"Right?" I repeated. "I feel bad, but I don't like Ciane for a first or middle name, but if that's what Ellie wants, shouldn't we respect that wish?"
"Maybe you could talk to her about it."
"I'll do that tomorrow, comrade. Do you want to come, too?"
"I'll try, Roza," he said, leaning in for another kiss.
"So if she says it's ok to not use Ciane, what should her middle name be?"
"What about Fleur?" he said, a playful smile on his lips. "Rosina Fleur Belikova."
"A little redundant, no? Right, Li-" I started to say before I turned around to see Lissa's spot empty. Laughing, I turned back to Dimitri. "What about Melina? It means honey."
"Mmm Rosina Melina Belikova…or Melina Rosina Belikova?"
"I like the second one," I said, leaning into him. "And I was thinking, for the first few months, or maybe even first year, we could have her crib in here and take our time getting her nursery ready…"
"What if we just throw a baby shower?" I suddenly said. "Like what if we hold of and go to your mom's tomorrow for some things, and then throw a party and whatever we're missing, we get!"
"Are you sure…it sounds a bit rushed and last minute."
"Well that's because it's rushed and last minute. Please, comrade! The baby shower is the best part of the pregnancy!"
"Fiiiine. So should I tell my mom we're joining dinner tomorrow?" I nodded my head. Turning around, he turned off the light and we got back into bed.
Tomorrow couldn't come any sooner.
"I don't think I was this nervous on my first dinner," I muttered, shifting the car seat in my hand. When I went to the baby store, I was determined to get something that was wallet friendly, but also very cute. And not pink. She might be a girl, but I didn't not want to turn into the mom that exploded pink. A smile crept along my face.
A mom. I, Rose Hathaway, am a mom.
A mom that bought her daughter a Minnie Mouse themed car seat. And Melina loves it! She can't see very well, and her eyes are still gaining color, but she could see well enough to love the car seat. And of course, the lady helping me was so good she convinced me to also get a Minnie Mouse 5 in 1 diaper bag (which Dimitri was holding behind his back) and a Minnie Mouse Play Yard that also had a changing station and a organization rack on the side to keep diaper stuff. All of it for just $200!
So much for asking Karo and Sonya for their baby stuff.
Hearing the door open brought me out of my thoughts, and I put my hand holding the seat behind Dimitri's back just in time so Olena only saw the two of us. Of course, Melina didn't like it and started crying.
"Is that a baby?" Olena asked, looking around.
"Surprise," I said, bringing the car seat into view, Melina quickly quieting down and smiling. Oh she's good, I couldn't help but think with my smile growing.
Olena's eyes widened before she turned to Dimitri, going off in Russian and slapping him. He just dropped his head and tried getting away from her swats, but he didn't try stopping her or answering.
"Olena…Olena…" I kept saying, trying to get her attention before she finally turns to me. "We sort of adopted her."
"You adopted!" she beamed, rushing over to hug me and then walking us inside. "When did you two decide to do that?"
"Um, last night…"
"Wh..Ho..I…" she started to say before Dimitri said something in Russian and she nodded her head and took us to the living room.
Everyone had the same reaction. They'd start with a greeting and then their eyes would widened and before they would ask a question Olena would tell them something and they would just sit down. Paul was quick to get to Melina, and asked if he could hold her. When I said it was ok, he sat in between Dimitri and I and waited for me to put her in his arms.
"So, Roza and Dimka," Olena started as she sat down with us. "Who's this little angel?"
"Melina Rosina Belikova," I said, beaming. "Her mother wanted her to have the best possible life she could and asked me if I would want to adopt her."
"And after thinking about it," Dimitri continued. "We decided to accept."
"Wow. That's a great thing you both decided to do," Karolina admired.
"But how were you able to prepare for it in such a short amount of time?" Sonja asked.
"Actually," I laughed. "We're still getting ready. I took the day off today and picked up the car seat, the diaper bag, everything needed and some outfits. "
"What about a crib and the nursery?" Olena asked.
"We're still working on that. Right now, she's sleeping with us, so we have a little bit of time to set up her nursery."
"Oh you should have called!" Olena said. "We could have given you the Zoya's or Ana's things!"
"Oh no! It's ok!" I said quickly. "Honestly, I want to get everything. It's so much fun! I just wish I could have a baby shower…"
"We're on it!" Vika and Olena said, their face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"I mean I know it's silly, and may seem pointless at this point but it's something I've been wanting to experience," I continue before processing their offer. "Oh wait, no, it's okay! Like I said, it's pointless now." I waved them off, not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble for them.
"We insist. Let us do this for you. She's my granddaughter, it's my duty to spoil her," Olena said. I smiled as Dimitri held my hand. He's been really quiet this whole night, but when I turn to look at him, I see his eyes are glued on Paul and Melina, a serene but proud smile on his face. And just barely, I could hear Paul whispering to Melina, I don't know what he was saying but he really had her attention.
"Roza…Roza…" I heard Vika saying. Looking up, I asked what she needed. "When did you want to throw the baby shower? And who did you want to invite?"
"Oh um…whenever you're all free is great. And well Lissa, Christian, Mason, Eddie, Jill…ummm who else? Dimitri, did you want to invite anyone?"
"Mmm?" he said, finally looking away from his nephew and our daughter.
Hehe, our daughter, I thought, my heart swelling.
"Did you want to invite anyone?"
"Oh um…no…should we invite Daniella and Nathan? Or your dad?"
"Oh, we could," I said, making a mental note to talk to Daniella soon. "I doubt Abe will come, but my Aunt Alberta might."
"I don't have your aunt's email or number," Vika said, looking up from the pad she was writing on.
"I can just tell her then."
"No, just give her email. That way I can send out the e-vite. We can have it here next weekend, and Mama will probably insist on cooking the food. Karo and Sonja can shop around for decorations and I'll be in charge of games?" They both nodded their heads, their eyes shinning with excitements. "We can do the same thing we did with the last few baby showers and have the desert/candy bar and have mocktails."
"Um is there anything Dimitri or I can do?"
"Oh! Tomorrow do you want to go set up a baby registry? We can all go before Paul's soccer game. And then, Dimka, maybe you can help us set up the day of the party."
Sonya scrunched her nose. "Wait. Is it going to be co-ed like the modern baby showers or would you rather go traditional and have it be all girls?"
"Let's go traditional," Vika decided before I even had time to process the question. "I doubt the guys want to join in."
"Who said I don't want to be part of the shower?" Dimitri chimed in.
"You really want to sit here while we play a bunch of games and gush over Rose's entrance into motherhood?" Karo asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Well I'd like the ability to decide if I want to," he muttered. "And yeah I want to be part of the party. It's my daughter too, and honestly, I don't get why you're all making it so complicated. The baby's already here, and we just want to do bring all our close friends and family together to introduce them to our daughter and just enjoy their company and advice for those that have it."
Looking at him, I felt another smile coming along. I knew Vika was getting a bit out of hand with the party, but I wasn't going to ruin their fun in planning it, especially because who knew when we'd get a chance to do this again, but I was so glad Dimitri finally spoke up.
"And you know what…no Mama won't cook," he continued. "I'll grill up steaks, shrimp, chicken, potatoes, asparagus, whatever else you want to serve. I'll let the three of you handle the desert table because Roza would kill me if there wasn't a desert table, or anything with chocolate-"
"Dinner's ready!" Olena said, coming from the kitchen. Everyone immediately got up and went to the table. Dimitri whispered in my ear that he'd bring a bottle while Paul had a torn look because I could tell he wanted to keep holding Melina but he also wanted to eat. Holding my arms out, I nodded for him to give her to me so he could join the rest of the family.
"She's lucky to have you, Roza," he said when he got up. "And I already told her, I'm going to be a big brother for her. I'll protect her like I do with Zoya and Ana. She can confide in me, ask me for help, come to me when she has problems with someone. I'll always be there to keep her safe."
Looking at him, I could totally see this being how Dimitri was at Paul's age. Dead set on being his sisters' protector, and doing whatever he could to make sure they never got hurt – physically and emotionally.
"I know, Paul, and she's lucky to have you and Alex to look after her. And so am I," I said, honestly. "There's no one I would ever trust her with more than you."
Nodding his head, he asked if I needed any help before going to the dinning table. Finally enjoy some alone time with Melina, I made sure her diaper was clean right as Dimitri came in with the bottle. Feeding her was so entertaining. The way she clutched to the bottle and rapidly sucked on the nipple of it would make you think she was of my flesh and blood. Honestly, she looked so similar to Dimitri and I, with her dark brown eyes and light mixed with dark brown hair, I was seriously thinking of telling everyone at the baby shower that she was mine and Dimitri's kid. God, I can't tell what part I love most about her….her big, brown eyes filled with wonder and love…or her button nose that made her look so cute and adorable…
After a couple minutes of making faces and talking to her in a baby voice, she finally finished her bottle and broke into a grin. Smiling, I sat her up and burped her before placing her back in the car seat, hoping she'd fall asleep while I went to go eat. As I walked past the kitchen, I could hear two people talking and normally I wouldn't have paid much attention to it, but I easily recognized Dimitri's voice and after listening for a second I recognized Olena as the second person. However, I couldn't make out what they were saying because it was in Russian, but I could tell it sounded like Olena was trying to convince or encourage him to do something, and Dimitri sounded a bit unsure or unwilling to give in to whatever she was asking for.
Knowing Olena, it probably had to do with the baby shower and she probably wanted to cook something. Whatever it was, I was sure it wasn't a big deal so I went to the dining room to eat. But as soon as I served myself a plate, I felt small hands patting my leg. Looking down, I saw Zoya smiling up at me.
"Can I carry the baby?" she asked in a sing song voice. Chuckling, I nodded my head and turned around to walk with her to the living room.
"Oh, Roza, you don't have to go with her now," Karo said. "She can wait until you finished eating."
"It's ok. I'll put Melina in her arms and then eat while I watch over her." When we got there, Zoya quickly climbed onto the sofa and sat down, her arms out and ready. Laughing again, I check to see if Melina was asleep or not. Surprisingly, she was looking back at me, eyes wide and ready to meet someone new. "Ok, Zoya, you have to be really careful. One arm under her neck, and another around her body, ok?" She nodded her head so fast, I was sure it would pop off. As soon as I placed Melina in her arms, she started talking to her.
"I'm your cousin, Zoya," she said. "And Paul's my brother, but he's a big meanie and doesn't like to play dolls with me." Unlike your uncle, I thought, chuckling to myself as I ate. "And then there's Ana and Alex, and they're our cousins too. Oh we're going to have so much fun! I can't wait until you're old enough to walk and draw and I can do your hair for you."
And on and on she went. Soon, everyone else joined us again, and we spent the rest of the night drinking coffee, catching up, and Karo and Sonya gave me a couple advices for sleeping with a baby in the bed. And Vika shared with me an article about 17 books I should to her before she turns 1. Melina had long since gone to sleep, and Zoya spent the rest of the time just looking at her and making promises to the sleeping baby. When we got into the car, I passed out the minute my head touched the window and I don't even remember going up to the room, much less making it to bed.
But what I do remember is the piercing scream in the middle of the night.
