Alison put her arm around her husband and led him back into the bedroom. She thought it would be best if he wasn't there when the body was removed. She, Alexei, and Daisy stayed together in the bedroom for the rest of that day. Alexei mostly just sobbed. Daisy was full of questions.
"What will happen to Babushka now?" she asked.
"There will be a funeral, and then she will be buried beside her husband."
"I didn't know she was married!"
"She was, a long time ago. Her husband died before you were born."
"So they will be together again?"
"Yes."
"In heaven with God?"
"That's right."
"Then why is Daddy sad?"
"Because he loved her and will miss her, but someday, he'll see her again."
"You mean after he dies?"
"Yes."
Daisy clung to her father, and her eyes filled with tears. "But I don't want Daddy to die!"
Alexei managed a weak smile. "Please do not cry, Dayushka. I will not die for a very long time."
Daisy looked at Alison. "What about you, Mommy?"
Alison hugged the little girl. "I won't die for a long time either, sweetheart."
The funeral was three days later. Alexei and Alison entered the church together, Daisy clinging tightly to her mother's hand. Alison gazed around in wonder at the icons lining the walls, thinking about how different it was from the church back home. At the front, Olga lay in a plain brown coffin, surrounded by candles. The priest stood in front of the coffin, wearing a long white robe and a tall white hat. In his hands he held five long, tapered candles. Alison smelled the heavy aroma of the burning incense, and it gave her a deep feeling of peace.
Some family members and friends were already there, and others began to arrive. Alison saw that Pavel and Fawn were among them, and Fawn was heavily pregnant. So Denny is to be an uncle, she thought to herself.
When all the mourners had arrived, the priest began to speak. From the limited amount of Russian she'd learned from Alexei over the years, Alison could tell he was quoting passages from the Bible.
As the priest was speaking, the mourners lined up in single file and walked in a circle around the coffin. Each person kissed Olga's face or placed flowers onto her. Alexei kissed his mother's forehead as Alison watched, shuddering. She had no flowers and couldn't bring herself to touch the corpse. Relief swept over her when the priest finally pulled Olga's burial shroud up over her face.
After the service, the mourners followed the coffin as it was borne by the pallbearers to the cemetery. Alexei and the others threw tree branches behind them as they walked along. Alison did too, although she had no idea why. Daisy joined in with enthusiasm.
When they arrived at the burial site, the priest said a few more words, and then the coffin was lowered into the ground.
Back at the Kolchin family home, friends and neighbors had brought much food, including blini, fish pie, and a white cake with an Eastern Orthodox cross decoration on top, which Alexei said was called 'Kolyva.'
Alison and Daisy both enjoyed the Kolyva very much, and Alison had to stop her daughter from eating too much of it and getting a stomachache. Alexei promised to take some back home with them.
The following morning, they said goodbye to Alexei's family and boarded the airplane to fly home. The flight was fairly uneventful and felt anti-climactic to Alison, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock she was to face when she finally arrived at the airport in Massachusettes.
Denny was waiting for them alone, and Alison could see his eyes were red from crying. She felt her stomach tie up in knots.
"Granny passed this morning," he told them. "Darya went in to check on her and couldn't rouse her. We called the ambulance, and the paramedics told us she'd been dead for at least several hours. We called the number you gave us, but they said you'd already left for the airport."
"Oh my God!" Alison felt all the strength drain from her body, felt Alexei's strong arms catch and hold her as she slumped. "She seemed fine when we left! Was there any sign this was going to happen? Had she been doing poorly?"
Denny shook his head. "No sign at all. She was in good spirits yesterday, playing with Joshua and looking forward to Christmas. The paramedics said it must have been a heart attack. She did have that angina, you know."
"I know." Alexei had led her to a seat and helped her into it. "But I never expected this to happen!"
"Neither did I," said Denny. He drove Alexei and Daisy home, then took Alison to the funeral home to make the arrangements. She felt numb as she talked to the funeral director, filled out forms, and chose a casket. She wished with all her heart Alexei could be there with her, but she knew he had to stay home to take care of Daisy.
The whole process took several hours, and when it was over, Alison was so exhausted she could hardly keep her eyes open.
Alexei met her at the door and helped her inside. She noticed that their next door neighbor, Sally, had come over.
"Alexei told me what happened," she said. "I'm so sorry!"
"Thank you," said Alison.
Daisy ran to her, and she picked the little girl up and held her tight.
"Granny is in heaven with Babushka," she told her mother. "God let them come in together so they wouldn't be lonely."
Alison held her daughter and sobbed.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Although she was more drained than she'd ever been before in her life, Alison doubted she'd get much rest that night. As she got into bed, Alexei pulled her tight and kissed her.
"I am very sorry you did not get to say goodbye to your mother," he murmured.
Alison sighed. "So am I. It just happened so fast!"
"It was because of me," Alexei continued. "If you had not gone to Russia with me, you would have been here when she passed."
"It wasn't your fault!" Startled, Alison sat up in bed. "You had no way of knowing what was gonna happen, and of course I was gonna be there for you when you needed me."
"You are always there for me, Alisonka," Alexei replied. "Perhaps I do not deserve someone who is so nice."
"How can you say that?" asked Alison. "You're the nicest person I've ever known!"
"I am glad you think that about me, and that you are not angry."
"There's nothing for me to be angry about," said Alison. "This wasn't your fault at all."
Alexei squeezed her tight and kissed her again. "I love you so much, Alisonka."
"I love you too, Alexei."
