Happy 21st birthday, Caitlin (A Star in My Universe!) A little note, I'm pretending Nicky is Red's biological daughter and Pavel is Dmitri's brother who married Red and gave her her four children, instead of Dmitri who I can't stand lol. This is mostly about Nicky and Red, though, since they're Caitlin's faves (especially Nicky!) So enjoy, my friend, and anyone else who checks this out!
I'm five years old
It's getting cold
I've got my big coat on
I hear your laugh
And look up smiling at you
I run and run
Past the pumpkin patch
And the tractor rides
Look now, the sky is gold
I hug your legs
And fall asleep on the way home
I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
But I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day with you today
It was almost Halloween and five-year-old Nicky Reznikov was bundled up in layers. She wore soft jeans over black leggings, two long-sleeved orange thermal shirts, a puffy yellow jacket, a blue scarf, and a matching beanie covering her unruly blonde curls. Her mother had dressed her very warm since the temperature was a good thirty degrees. Nicky, her two older brothers Yuri and Vasily, Galina, Pavel, and baby Maxsim-sat in Galina's lap-were picking out pumpkins after going on a tractor ride. The adults were planning on carving some jack-o-lanterns to sit on their porch, but Nicky, Yuri, and Vasily were in charge of drawing faces on them with black markers.
"Mama! Mama look, I found one!" Nicky shouted with glee, racing towards her mother and pointing upwards where her oldest brother was holding her large pumpkin. It was perfectly round and bright orange, the exact color of Nicky's shirts. Picking out pumpkins for Halloween was one of her favorite things to do, mostly because she liked to show off that she got a gigantic one and make her mommy proud of her.
"Oh, that is huge! Great job, malyshka," Galina told her and bent down to tap her nose when Nicky wrapped her little arms around Galina's ankles. "You know I'd be delighted no matter what, though!"
"Yeah, that's right!" Nicky remembered with a toothy smile. "I just like to draw big scary faces!" She put her hands into claws and faked growling with her baby teeth bared.
Galina picked her up and feigned a frightened expression. "Oh no! I'm so afraid!"
"Yeah, right, Mommy! You don't get scared!"
"Is my little monster gonna get me?"
"Mm-hm!"
"Not if I get you first!" Galina set her in the grass and started tickling her. Nicky giggled loudly and squealed and kicked and Galina was laughing, too. She let Nicky poke her belly a few times, too. When both of them were out of breath, Galina scooped her up again, dusted the leaves off of her, and brought her back to the tractor where the boys and Pavel were loading up with pumpkins.
"Why are the leaves a different color and fall off the trees now?" Nicky asked when everyone was in the tractor. Pavel was driving them back to where their van was parked in the lot.
"It's just that time of year, squirt," Yuri answered her and pinched her cheek.
"Maybe they got tired of summer and fainted from sweat," Vasily chimed in.
"I'm not sure why they come off their branches, but the leaves change colors because of the cold," Galina explained.
"Sounds right," Pavel told her while squeezing her hand.
"Oh," Nicky answered. "Can we go to Snow White's house?"
"No way! That's for girls!" Maxsim complained.
Nicky stuck her tongue out at her younger brother and blew a raspberry.
"Buddy, leave your sister alone," Pavel scolded him lightly.
"We'll play princesses when we get home, okay, sweetheart?" Galina said while looking over her shoulder at Nicky.
"Yay!" Nicky cheered while clapping her hands. Her older brothers just rolled their eyes.
When they got into their vehicle, Yuri sat in the passenger's seat next to Pavel. Galina sat in the back between her two youngest children. Vasily was on the other side of Maxsim, who was snuggled into Galina's right side. Nicky was on her left and she drifted off to dreamland while laying her head on her mother's lap. She felt Galina stroking her hair and her cheek and she was so content in that moment.
I'm thirteen now
And don't know how
My friends could be so mean
I come home crying
And you hold me tight
And grab the keys
And we drive and drive
Until we find a town far enough away
And we talk and window shop
'Till I forgotten all their names
I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school
But I know I'm laughing
On the car ride home with you
Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay
But I know I had the best day with you today
"Hey, fresh meat, Lorna and I went all the way," Annalisa said, smirking as she stood in front of Nicky's locker. "And I do mean…" she rubbed her crotch. "All the way."
"No, you didn't," Nicky said, trying not to make her voice waver. She was a little heartbroken over her ex-crush, but day by day, it was getting better. Her girlfriend Shani made sure of that and she was always there for her. "She would never do that with a girl unless she was sure. She's mostly into boys. She told me that herself."
"Oh, did she? She's lying to you!"
"I believe you're the one who she's lying to," Nicky said, rolling her eyes. "Now, get out of my way, Annasshole."
"You're so juvenile."
"You started it by calling me Nick the stick. Anyway, I don't care what you did with Lorna, because I'm with Shani!" Nicky said loudly so Tina heard as she came up to them and put her arm around Annalisa.
"Really? Where is she? Come on, Tina, let's go," She pulled the shorter blonde away from Nicky and they walked away.
"Do you want a death wish?" Nicky heard Lida say. "If Vasily hears you talking like that about his little sister…"
Annalisa just ignored her.
Two other girls walked up to her.
"Hi, Nicky. I'm Charlene. This is Marie," the Asian girl said and then gestured to a taller chick with cropped brown hair.
"Hey..."
"Do you want to have a girls' day next Sunday? We're going on the train," Charlene invited Nicky.
"Um, sure…I'm sure my mom will say yes," Nicky said, beaming.
"Could you hold these for us?" Marie asked, putting a pile of books in her arms. Charlene did the same, and Nicky started wobbling with the weight of the books, but she kept her balance. She wouldn't complain if this was going to make her popular.
"It's fine."
"Great!" Marie chirped. "Later, freshie. Turn those into the library."
"And hurry up," Charlene snapped as they walked away.
What was Nicky, their personal slave? Well, that was the job of all freshmen, apparently, so Nicky obeyed their orders.
She went shopping with her mom on Friday and saw the girls, so Nicky waved her away so they wouldn't think she was a baby. Galina watched their interactions and told Nicky she didn't trust them.
"Well, everyone likes them, so I can't dump them as friends," Nicky answered. "They invited me to go on the train with them on Sunday. You can make sure I get on safely."
"I guess that's okay. But don't let them boss you around!"
"I am younger than them, after all."
"So what? That doesn't give them the right to boss you around. I remember what my mom, and your babushka told me when I was around your age and being bossed around: Galya, you are a strong and kindhearted woman. Keep your chin up, darling, and keep smiling. And I'm telling you the same thing, dochenka."
"Why were you bullied?" Nicky asked her.
"Well, Carol and Barb Denning used to bully Nadhezda and I in ninth grade. They were just mean...there is no explanation. Kids can be quite cruel! Thank god they're in a maximum security prison now. The story gets happier, though…when I was exactly Yuri's age, fifteen, I met your father when he was a junior in high school, and Nadhezda and Kostya met in their senior year. She had a daughter at the end of senior year, and I had Yuri when I was twenty-one."
"I'm sorry for calling you overprotective," Nicky said, hugging her around the waist.
"It's ok, sweetie, I should have told you."
Sunday came, and Nicky's parents drove her to the station. She didn't see Charlene nor Marie there yet, but they were probably just running late. She saw her dad's Jeep still sitting in the parking lot.
"Hey, hottie, wanna sit with me on the train?" a bald man asked, sliding next to her and trying to get my pants down while she squirmed away and screamed for help. Nicky saw Charlene and Marie laughing in the background while Annalisa filmed it. Pavel got out of the car and ran to the guy who was trying to rape Nicky, and he beat the asshole up as Galina followed him and wrapped Nicky into a tight hug. Nicky sobbed into her shirt when she realized those girls had tricked her. Galina rubbed soothing circles on her back and combed through Nicky's hair with her fingers.
"Shh, baby, you're okay now," she whispered.
"What's the matter, baby?" Annalisa sneered. "You're crying to your mommy. How adorable. I did that when I was like, two, maybe three."
"Can't handle a little love from a kind stranger? We were just trying to help you get a boyfriend and play around with Shani's heart," Marie laughed.
"Yeah, maybe you're not a homo dyke after all!" Charlene joined in.
"If you girls ever bother Nicky again, I will slap you so hard across the face that you won't see the light of day. Do you understand me?" Galina asked them angrily.
"Yes, ma'am," they responded at the same time and then walked back to their car and drove away, shouting, "Don't tell me what to do, you old fart!"
"The nerve of those girls," Galina murmured into Nicky's hair. "I think Pop got that guy good. Looks like he's done. Are you okay?"
"Can we hang out together?" Nicky asked.
"Sure, sweetie!" she said excitedly.
Soon, Pavel came over and gave Nicky a big hug, and then the three of them went for an enjoyable drive through town. They were just hanging out, talking, laughing, and Nicky hadn't had that much fun with her parents in ages.
I have an excellent father
His strength is making me stronger
God smiles on my little brother
Inside and out he's better than I am
I grew up in a pretty house
And I've got space to run and hide
And I had the best days with you
There is a video I found
From back when I was three
You set up a paint set in the kitchen
And you're talking to me
It's the age of princesses and pirate ships
And the seven dwarfs
And Daddy's smart
And you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world
And now I know why the all the trees change in the fall
I know you were on my side
Even when I was wrong
And I love you for giving me your eyes
Staying back and watching me shine
And, I didn't know if you knew
So I'm taking this chance to say
That I had the best day with you today.
They went to an art studio when Nicky was eighteen and looked at the cool paintings. At home, Nicky started painting a mural with her mom and it reminded them of when Nicky was little and made handprints on everything with paint.
"You were so cute back then. You still are."
"Thanks, Mama!"
"Let's watch a video of the time you spent your thirteenth birthday with Shani, Allison, Cindy, and Lorna," she suggested.
"Yeah! My true friends...and even if Shani is my girlfriend, she's my bestie, too."
"That's great! I'm glad you've found someone to make you happy...and have a solid friend group!"
"Me, too! I should've listened to them when they warned me back in freshman year...and to you as well."
"You were just excited to make friends with popular girls. Not all of them are very nice!"
"True that..."
Soon, they were giggling the day away. It wasn't just her smart and lovely mother who Nicky was bonding with, but also, her intelligent pop, who inspired her to be stronger every day, and her brothers, who she admired and looked up to, even Maxsim.
Nicky knew Galina always had her back, even if she was in the wrong. She appreciated and loved her mom for always supporting her, watching her in school talent shows and participating in bake sales. "Hey, thanks for giving me your singing voice, Ma!"
"You're welcome! I swear, the first time I heard you, I was amazed," Galina told her sweetly.
Nicky put her hand on her heart and grinned broadly. "Aww...I was just six then. You would always sing to me, from the time I was born, right?"
Galina nodded and then laughed. "Remember when you were three and playing princesses with me and when you were five and telling me I looked like Ariel for real…hugging my legs and falling asleep in my lap…running after me in our yard, playing to our heart's content. And…" she trailed off as a tear trickled down her cheek. She bit her lip and shook her head.
"I'm really growing up now?"
"Yes, honey," she said, sniffling. "I don't want to let my little girl go, but I have to."
Realizing she was about to move out of her beautiful, large home, Nicky felt a lump in her throat, but swallowed it. She cleared her eyes of tears and blinked a few times. "I love you, Ma."
"I love you too, malyshka." Galina wrapped Nicky up in a hug and squeezed her tight. They'd always had a special bond, and the guys understood that. They were the only two women in the family, after all. Nicky wanted to stay with her mom in this moment forever, but she knew that wasn't possible. So, she just invited her over and visited her whenever both of them were free.
Nicky would always treasure their memories together and look forward to making new ones.
