Lada squinted at her phone as it vibrated in her hand. Her son had insisted that she needed one of these new flat phones...a smart phone, he had called it. It didn't seem very smart to her as she poked at it, trying to get it to answer the call that was coming in. She pushed a green circle, and abruptly, the phone stopped vibrating. She stared at it, uncertain about what she had done.

She faintly heard a voice coming from it, and hurriedly lifted it up to her ear. "Hello?" she asked tentatively.

"Hello, Mama?"

She smiled in relief at her son's voice. "Vitya! It was you! I managed to answer the phone!"

There was a soft chuckle. "Mama, did you not program my number into your phone yet?"

"I'm afraid not. I don't really know how to do that. Maybe your mat could help me."

Impatience tinged his voice as he replied, "Never mind about that right now, Mama. I have something to tell you! I've found the person I'm going to marry!"

Lada's breath caught in her lungs. A plethora of emotions swept over her, and she sorted through her feelings to find a coherent sentence. "Vitya, that's wonderful! I didn't even know you were dating anyone!"

"Well, we aren't exactly dating yet."

She blinked. "You aren't?"

"No, but I'm sure we will be soon. I met him at a skating banquet, and Mama, he's just perfect. He's beautiful and adorable, and he exudes this aura...Mama, I just know I'm going to marry him."

Despite herself, Lada laughed. She knew her son well enough to know that if he had set his sights on this young man, there was little that could stop him. More than anything, she felt relieved. She had started to worry that her son would never find someone who understood him enough to become special to him, even if it wasn't a romantic partner. She wandered over to an armchair to settle in, asking, "So what's his name?"

"His name is Yuuri, Katsuki Yuuri. He's a Japanese skater, and I don't know how I managed not to notice him before, Mama, he's just so beautiful…"

Lada listened to her son happily describe the man he had met, unaware of the soft smile drifting over her face.

Lada and Roksana had just settled down in bed when Lada's phone began ringing on her nightstand. She reached over and picked it up, looking to see who was calling. Her wife said with a sharp, protective tone, "Who on earth would be calling at this hour?"

"It's Vitya," she responded, and a small spurt of worry went through her. Roksana was right, this was an unusual time for their son to be calling. She hurriedly answered the phone and held it up to her ear. "Hello? Vitya, is something wrong?"

"Mama, I have wonderful news!"

She sighed with relief. "Vitya, you scared us. Why are you calling so late?"

"Oh. I'm sorry, Mama. I was just so excited. I didn't realize it was so late, and I forgot about the time difference. It's a bit later there, isn't it? I bet Mat is in defense mode."

Lada chuckled. "Well, you're right about that. But I'm glad nothing's wrong. Since you were so enthusiastic you even forgot about the time, what's your big news?"

"You can put me on speaker if you want, Mama, so I can tell Mat too."

Internally, Lada cringed. She still wasn't great with all of this technology, and she wasn't confident in her ability to do as her son had suggested. She looked helplessly at her spouse, and Roksana whispered, "What do you need, koshka?"

Smiling gratefully, Lada handed over the device and said, "He wants it on speaker, he said."

Roksana nodded, and pressed the screen. "Vitya, are you there?" she asked in her brusque tone.

"Ah, Mat, good. Can you both hear me?"

"Yes, Vitya, we can hear you." Lada raised her voice, unsure of how well the phone could pick up sounds if she wasn't talking directly into it.

"I have exciting news! Yuuri and I are engaged!"

The two women exchanged looks, and Lada felt a grin stretching over her face. "Vitya, that's wonderful news! When did this happen?"

"Just today. He bought us rings and then we went to this beautiful cathedral and stood on the steps while we exchanged the rings."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you! I didn't even know you were talking about getting married already!"

"Well, we weren't exactly. This was kind of sudden for me, too. But I'm so happy that it doesn't really matter. Besides, I told him we won't get married until he wins gold. I have to make sure my beautiful fiancé stays motivated for the Grand Prix!"

"Vitya, don't be mean to the poor boy."

Roksana cut in, "No, Ladachka, he's right. He can't let his student become too drunk on happiness to the point where he neglects all the hard work they've both put in."

Lada laughed. "I guess I can't argue with both of you. But, Vitya, please do be gentle with him. Your mat and I have been doing some research on Yuuri and watching his performances this season, and...well, I get the feeling that he just needs to be loved."

Victor's voice softened as he replied, "Of course, Mama. I fully intend to do that to the best of my being. But right now, part of that love is being strict on him when it's needed."

Roksana nodded, and Lada sighed, holding up her hands in defeat. "Well, I suppose you know him best. We haven't even met Yuuri yet. When do we get to meet our future son-in-law, by the way?"

She could practically see her son waving his hand in the air as he responded, "Oh, Mama, we have to get through the skating season first, and then we can have some down time to worry about family gatherings. What is important right now, though, is thinking about plans for the wedding. We haven't picked a date yet, but I know that I want to have the ceremony at the church where Yuuri proposed, so we'll have to think about how many guests we can accommodate. Do we still keep in contact with your cousin…"

As their son began running down a potential guest list, Lada smiled over the phone at her wife. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she wiped them away hastily, glad that Victor had chosen to call them and couldn't see her crying. It wouldn't do for her son to be worrying about her right now, when he was about to start planning his life with the man he loved.

Lada was getting ready to go out shopping when her phone rang. She looked at it and saw that it was her son. With a motion that had become more natural, she pressed the screen to answer the call. "Hello?"

Her son's bright voice came over the other end. "Hello, Mama. What are you and Mat doing today?"

"Oh, nothing much. I'm about ready to head out to pick up some groceries for dinner. Why, what's going on?"

"Would you be interested in going out to dinner tonight instead?"

Lada stopped putting her shoes on. "Why, certainly, Vitya! Would it just be you?" she asked hopefully. She knew that her son's fiancé had moved in with him about a week ago, but she hadn't heard much from Victor since then. And she still hadn't met Yuuri in person.

"Yuuri and I would take the train to meet you in Luga, wherever you'd like to go to eat."

She grinned and bounced up and down a little in place. "Oh, Vitya, I'm sure that would be fine! I'll ask your mat where she'd like to go."

A voice broke in, "What will you ask me, now?"

Lada turned as her spouse walked over to her, her usual stern look in place. Undaunted, Lada smiled up at the much taller woman as she covered the bottom of the phone and squealed, "We get to meet Vitya's fiancé today! He wants to meet us here in Luga for dinner. Is that all right?"

Roksana kissed her wife on the top of her delicately graying head. "That sounds nice, lapochka. You can pick where we go to eat."

Beaming, Lada uncovered the phone and trilled, "We're all set on this end, Vitya!"

Her son laughed. "I know, Mama, I could hear everything you and Mat were saying. The mic is on the bottom of your phone, not the front. Or you can use the mute button."

Lada was confused by this, but decided that it didn't really matter. "Oh, Vitya, this is so exciting! Should we bring Yuuri a gift? What does he like?"

"You could bring him some sweets if you'd like. We'll be celebrating, after all. We're setting a date for the wedding!"

Lada bounced in place again, earning a fond smile from her wife. "Oh, really? That's wonderful! When is it? Are you still planning to have it in Barcelona? Do you need me to send you my address book again for invitations? Oh, what should I wear? Is there a color scheme I should stick to? What–"

Roksana placed a soothing hand on her head and chuckled. "Ladachka, that's too many questions for him to answer all at once. Why don't we wait until we see them for dinner tonight, then we can all talk?"

Lada smiled up at her wife, and said into the phone, "Your mat is right, we can chat tonight at dinner. I'm just so happy for you two!"

She could hear her son's smile echoing hers as he replied, "Me too, Mama."

Lada was thinking about having a nice relaxing bath to end the day when her phone rang. With a sigh, she walked over to see who was calling. Instantly, her mood brightened as she saw her son's name on the screen. She answered the phone, but before she had the chance to say anything, Victor's animated voice was already coming over the other end.

"–is going to be so exciting! Oh, Mama, are you there?"

"Yes, Vitya, I'm here. What's going on?"

"Mama, I have news for you! Are you sitting down?"

Laughing, Lada humored her son and took a seat in the nearest chair. "Yes, I'm sitting down. Now what's going on? Is everything ok?"

"More than ok, Mama. Yuuri and I have decided to adopt a baby!"

Lada was certain her heart stopped beating for a minute. "What did you say?" Her mouth felt strangely dry.

"I said we're adopting a baby! You're going to be a grandmother!"

With a shaking hand, Lada covered her mouth. She felt wet drops trickle onto her fingers, but that wasn't important.

"Mama? Are you there?"

She nodded, but then realized that he couldn't see her. She lowered her hand far enough to say, "Yes, I'm here."

Or at least that's what she tried to say. What came out was more of a wail.

Victor's voice immediately grew concerned. "Mama, are you all right? Do you need me to get Mat for you?"

Roksana, however, needed no summons. With her sharp ears, she had heard her wife and came striding quickly through the house until she was standing at Lada's side mere seconds after she had started crying.

"Ladachka, is something wrong? Are you hurt?" With military precision, she checked over Lada's body to make sure there were no obvious physical ailments.

With a loud sob, Lada threw herself into Roksana's body, wrapping her arms around her wife's waist as she buried her face in her stomach. Roksana's voice rose in alarm. "Lada, what's going on? Who's on the phone?"

Remembering that she had been trying to have a conversation with her son, Lada decided it was best to pass the speaking portion of this onto her wife. She pressed the speaker button and held the phone out to her spouse. Roksana took it and spoke sharply. "Hello?"

"Mat? Is everything ok? Mama just started crying."

"That's what I'd like to know," Roksana barked. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing bad, Mat. I just told her that Yuuri and I are adopting a baby!"

Roksana's face, usually arranged in a stern look, melted into surprise, followed by a rare smile. "Vitya, that's wonderful news."

"Yes, you're both going to be grandmothers!"

Lada let out another wail from her place in her wife's stomach. Roksana soothed a hand gently over her hair as she responded to their son, "Well, I understand why she's crying now. She gave up on ever having grandchildren when you came out to us as being gay. This is a gift that she thought we would never have." She paused for a moment, and then said in a softer tone, "And, of course, I am also thrilled. Could you tell us more about what you and Yuuri are thinking?"

"Of course! So we're looking into adoption agencies in Japan and here in Russia, as well as some overseas just in case…"

Lada listened as her son happily babbled on, trying to stymie her tears. But, after all, it wasn't every day that she would get to become a grandmother.

Lada's phone rang, and she answered it almost absently, not really bothering to check the caller ID as she continued cutting vegetables for dinner. "Hello?"

"Babulya!"

Lada smiled at the sound of her granddaughter's little voice. "Ah, Aki, how are you? Did you miss us that much? We just sent you back home yesterday!"

"I do miss you and Babushka, but today I have something to tell you!"

Setting the knife down, Lada turned around and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, lowering herself into it. "Oh, do you? Well, I'm all ears!"

With considerable pride in her voice, Aki proclaimed, "I'm gonna be a big sister!"

She gasped, and in the background on the other end she heard Victor's voice chiding her, "Now, Aki, you were supposed to wait until she had Babushka with her!"

Lada laughed shakily and said, "Tell your papa that I'm fine. I'll call for Babushka, though." Lowering the phone, she pressed the mute button and then raised her voice. "Ronya! Ronya, come here!"

Her spouse came quickly through the house, calling, "Ladachka, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but come here! Aki has something to tell us!" She took the phone off mute and pressed the speaker button as her wife walked into the kitchen. Smiling, she said, "Now Aki, can you repeat what you just said? Babushka is here now."

Her adorably clear voice rang out in the kitchen as Aki announced, with as much enthusiasm as the first time, "I'm gonna be a big sister!"

Lada looked up at her wife, smiling broadly. Roksana gave her a sharp, searching look, then relaxed when she didn't locate any signs of Lada breaking down this time. She allowed herself a smile as she replied, "Aki, that's wonderful! When did your parents decide this?"

"I don't know. They just told me this morning!"

There was a shuffling noise, and then their son's voice chimed in. "There, we're on speaker now, too. Mat, Yuuri and I just decided that we want another baby. We had some time to talk while you had Aki for our anniversary, and thought that this was a good time for us."

Lada laughed in delight, and Roksana's smile cracked just a little wider as she said, "Well, then perhaps we should keep Aki overnight more often."

Lada gasped at her spouse and chided, "Ronya!"

Victor's laugh sounded through the room. "Mat, I don't think we're going to want any more after this one. But I suppose we'll have to see."

Aki, apparently tired of being ignored, burst in, "Papa, tell them more about me being a big sister!"

All three adults laughed, and Victor said, "Well, is there anything you two would like to ask?"

Grinning broadly, Lada watched the smile on her wife's face as their son and granddaughter happily chatted about the new addition coming to their family. She reached out and squeezed Roksana's hand, wondering if this much happiness was all right. For so long, they had worried about their son, but now it seemed like their little family was perfect, bursting with all the love it could hold.