When Galina woke up the next morning it took her several minutes of conscious awakeness before she felt ready to open her eyes. Curled up on her side with her arms hugging a pillow and another to support her back, she briefly wondered why she didn't sleep in her own bed more often. It was certainly more comfortable than squeezing herself onto Yuri's tiny mattress. However, as she rolled slowly onto her back, she felt the scratching of her husband's too-long toenails against her shin and was instantly reminded of her irritation about being in such close proximity to him.
"Move over," she commanded groggily, lazily bumping against her husband's leg with her foot. Dmitri didn't respond. He slept like a rock. No crying babies or a well angled kick from his wife were ever enough to waken him, although he complained he slept terribly like a broken record to her every morning.
Huffing her indignation, Galina pushed him harder until he shifted slightly away from her at long last. The motion actually jostled him awake, Dmitri opening his eyes wide to glare at her.
"What's your problem?" he snapped.
"You're on my side," Galina replied simply, leaning her head back to look at him. "If you expect me to share this bed with you then you can't be all sprawled across it like some sort of manticore."
Although she'd resolved before bed last night that she would be nicer and more affectionate to the man, there was only so much Galina Reznikov could stand. They'd shared a night of forced passion that she had known she had needed to partake in if she wanted to absolve some of the tension between them. Once sex was over, she had fallen asleep unwillingly in his arms. Dmitri hadn't allowed her to get up from the bed and leave him and Galina hadn't fought him on this. Even if she wished she were almost anywhere else, she knew this was where she needed to be right now. It was just the way it was. A consequence of the choices she had made.
She didn't want to be close to him. She didn't like how his hands felt on her skin or when he ran his fingers through her hair. She tried to hide her disdain when he kissed her as much as she could. There was a minimum threshold of affection that she knew she needed to reach if she didn't want the threat of divorce hanging over her head. Dmitri's needs were purely physical, she had learned. If she gave him unlimited access to her body it didn't seem to matter what she was thinking. However, right now her desire for personal space ruled out.
Dmitri had fallen back asleep, still lying in the center of the bed igniting a claustrophobic feeling in his wife. Galina knew better than to try and get him to move a second time. She gritted her teeth as she swung her legs down to the floor and then got up with difficulty. She was only five months pregnant and movement should not be this challenging already. Her baby bump was huge though, making her feel heavy and sluggish with her poor back never getting a moment's reprieve from the aches and pains.
It was going to be a good day today though, she remembered with a smile. Her annoyance absolved as she rested her hand against her belly where the baby was kicking ferociously. Waddling into the kitchen with a pregnancy gait that shouldn't have arrived for at least another month or so, Galina set the coffee maker and then went into the living room in search of her little kitten.
She'd been concerned about her staying in a room by herself on her first night, but Myshka had been curled up so contentedly on a decorative pillow when she'd checked on her that Galina hadn't had the heart to move her. Especially since it went without saying that Dmitri would have objected to the animal in their bed. Clicking her tongue, Galina stroked a gentle finger over the kitten's head rousing her awake.
"Do you want some breakfast?" Galina crooned. Scooping the kitten up into her arms she carried her back into the kitchen. The tiny little fluff ball meowed as Galina prepared her food in the little serving dish that she and the boys had bought after work yesterday evening, along with all the other cat supplies.
"There you are," Galina told her, as she set the bowl down on the floor and watched as Myshka dug in. The kitten seemed to have a voracious appetite. She had eagerly eaten up as many kibble treats as Yuri and Maxim had fed her last night, before Galina had told them she'd get sick if she had anymore.
Smiling, Galina turned around to pour herself a cup of coffee, adding just a dash of milk the way that she liked it. She sat down at the table and relished in the tranquil silence of morning. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that she had woken up even earlier than was necessary. It was refreshing to drink her coffee in peace without getting up continuously to appease her children's near constant demands. Besides, once she'd remembered what day it was, Galina knew she was far too excited to even attempt falling back asleep.
Her baby was still wriggling and kicking inside of her. Galina watched her abdomen move in waves as the baby bulged up on one side and then the other. All three of them had been active and if this one followed the precedent, it seemed he or she was shaping up to be just as busy as Yuri and Maxim.
"At least you'll have no problem keeping up with your big brothers," Galina whispered, pressing her hand teasingly against her belly to see if she could get a reaction. She was delighted when baby kicked back in the same spot she had just pressed on. It was a game she had played with all her unborn babies once she could feel the kicks. They communicated back and forth this way. Theirs was a relationship that nobody else could replicate or experience. Right now, this baby was only hers.
"Mama gets to find out if you're a boy or a girl today," Galina said softly. She took a large sip of coffee and then smoothed her hand over her belly. "Not that it matters...Mama doesn't care either way. But once I find out I can go buy you some outfits. I mean, let's face it, you're mainly going to be wearing your brothers' hand-me-downs either way, but I'm going to get you a few special things that are just for you."
She got a few rhythmic kicks in reply, which never ceased to delight her, and then she heard Dmitri's alarm clock ringing in the bedroom and knew she needed to get up and begin making breakfast. He always took too long to turn the darn alarm clock off and by the time he did the noise had echoed through the quiet apartment and movement could be heard in the boys' bedroom. Galina took a final gulp from her coffee mug, just as the two boys shuffled into the kitchen and Dmitri wasn't too far behind them. The kitten had finished her food and ears bristled at the sudden noise from new arrivals, took flight out of the room in search of a hiding spot.
"Good morning," Galina smiled at her sons. She stood up to go rinse her coffee mug out in the sink and then set it to the side on the countertop. "Do you want eggs for breakfast?"
"I want eggs!" Maxim said excitedly. He clamoured up onto his own chair eagerly in wait.
"I don't want eggs," Yuri told his mother, wrinkling his nose in displeasure.
"No?" Galina replied. "How about just some toast with jam then? It's something simple this morning because I need to get ready to go out."
"Where are you going?" Dmitri frowned. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot she had already brewed and then sat down at the table across from Maxim.
"My ultrasound," Galina replied flatly, rolling her eyes as she turned her back to get the carton of eggs out of the fridge. "It's at ten this morning."
"Why don't you ever tell me these things?" Dmitri complained.
"Uhh, because I did," Galina replied. "Back when the appointment was first scheduled and a few days ago when they phoned to remind me. I need you to watch the boys."
"I have work," Dmitri reminded her. "I can't just take off like that. Ganya won't like it."
"I gave you plenty of notice," Galina said heavily, paying no attention to the mention of her husband's mysterious boss. Her teeth were clenching together as she grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and began cracking the eggs into it with a fury building in her shaking hands.
Dmitri took a long gulp of coffee from his mug before answering. "Wait a minute," he said, setting it down on the table. "Is this the one where we find out if it's a girl or not?"
"Yes," Galina said slowly. Cracking the final egg into the bowl, she pulled out the garbage bin she stored under the sink and tossed all the shells into it.
"Well, now I know you didn't tell me because I wanted to go to that one," Dmitri complained.
"Well, you can't. They don't allow anyone in anymore," Galina lied. They might have made this baby together but Galina was hell-bent on not having to share this moment with him. Dmitri wasn't ever available to hold her hair back when she was sick, to come to the doctor's appointments with her, or help her through labour with their other two. She didn't think he deserved to experience this moment and he hadn't bothered with Yuri or Maxim so his sudden interest annoyed her. He still was complaining about having to watch the two they already had for a couple of hours.
"I'll call Mamochka," Dmitri told her. "See if she'll take them while you're gone because I can't miss work."
"I thought you were just about to miss work so that you could attend the ultrasound," Galina replied dryly. She set a pan on the stove and then poured the scrambled eggs into it.
"Well, that would be different," Dmitri answered. Galina shook her head in irritation as she went to pour the boys both some juice. They'd been sitting rather docile in their chairs while their parents spoke, aiming kicks at one another beneath the table while trying not to laugh so their father wouldn't get upset.
"I'll phone Mamochka," Dmitri offered, as though he were doing Galina a huge favour and not just covering up for his own irresponsibility. "You should make some bacon to go with the eggs and toast, yes?" he suggested, as he scratched her back on his way out of the room.
XXX
As frustrating as the morning had begun, Galina had rather enjoyed herself once she had kissed her sons goodbye and headed out for some rare time alone. Mrs. Reznikov had agreed to watch her grandchildren in exchange for Dmitri coming to their apartment after work to help his father with the shoddy plumbing their landlord was apparently refusing to fix. Galina had needed to pack Yuri and Maxim a bag and deliver them to her in-laws' doorstep and after that it had been a rush to make it to her ultrasound appointment across town in time. In exchange for her troubles, she had told her mother-in-law about much needed errands she needed to complete afterwards just so she could browse through shops for baby sales and treat herself to a lunch out at one of her favourite bistros. She rarely was able to indulge herself like this, but having childcare and closing up the store for a day was a big deal. She felt like she was on vacation.
She was in a very good mood as she walked down the sidewalk towards Dmitri's parent's apartment building. She was wearing a floral cotton dress and her hair pulled up in a ponytail made her look youthful and fresh. Despite the heat, Galina had gotten off of the bus several stops early just to burn off some energy and enjoy a walk. She was far too excited to sit still at the moment.
The baby wasn't moving. He probably had been lulled to sleep by his mother's walking after putting on quite the performance for her when he had been on camera. Galina had been able to see him very clearly on the ultrasound this morning-him-her youngest son.
She hadn't really cared what she was having. When everyone else was wishing vocally for them to finally have a girl, she had enjoyed thinking of the joys mothering a daughter would bring. She'd have loved teaching her everything she knew, but even more, to be better than she was and become more. She'd have loved signing her up for ballet and the experiences she had never been able to have growing up in a poor family in Russia.
However, when the technician had asked if she wanted to have the gender revealed, Galina had let go of the breath she'd been holding and fallen even more hopelessly in love with her third and final son. He was exactly who he was meant to be, kicking so energetically in his mother's womb and on the screen in such an adorable way that it had brought tears of joy to her eyes. Vasily. That was what she wanted to name her baby.
Filled with love and feeling completely content with the way things currently were, Galina reached the door leading up to Dmitri's parents' apartment. She rang the bell and when she was buzzed up, hastened her steps feeling only slightly breathless as she made her way upstairs. They lived in an older building just a few blocks away from their son's home, although it might as well have been in a different state for how often Galina saw them. She didn't like visiting them and wasn't very comfortable with having her sons spend the day there either. She was still irritated with her husband for refusing to watch them as originally planned. She didn't ask that of him often after all.
"Hello," Galina called softly, as she opened the door and let herself into the apartment. The layout of the space was so that you entered through the kitchen and then crossed through the hallway of bedrooms to get to the living room on the other side of the apartment.
She could hear some muffled Russian in the background but the kitchen was completely vacant except for that of Dmitri's younger sister, who was seated at the kitchen table while filing her nails with a scowl on her face as she glared at the new arrival. Galina's lip curled as she met the other girl's stare with a cold look of hatred all her own.
Walking confidently over to the stove, Galina turned down the burner on the simmering soup that had been in danger of overboiling. She could feel her opponent's eyes on her back still, desiring to intimidate her in a way that she no longer could. Malvina had been a taunting bully to her sister-in-law ever since they had been schoolgirls together back in Russia, and Dmitri's courtship and proposal had only escalated the situation.
The circumstances had consumed and distressed Galina for the longest time. However, now she only had to look at the pathetic woman in the room with her and want to shake her former self for ever letting a person like that make her feel bad about herself.
"Oh, you're here," Mrs. Reznikov commented in Russian, hurrying into the room with a false smile spread on her face as her eyes dashed nervously between her daughter and daughter-in-law. "I thought I heard the door."
"Yes," Galina said tightly, turning around to flash her mother-in-law a small smile. "The soup was starting to boil over so I brought it down to a simmer. It looks nearly done to me."
"Almost," Mrs. Reznikov reckoned, leaning over Galina's shoulder to squint down at the soup she had prepared. "I must have forgotten to turn the stove down. Those children of yours certainly kept my hands full today."
"Is that why you only bothered to make a soup to eat?" Malvina called out to her mother. "You could have at least got stuff to make sandwiches when you went across the street to get those kids whatever you were feeling like spending money on."
"There's fresh bread in the cupboard," Mrs. Reznikov told her daughter softly. "And I've made Dmitri's favourite dressing to have Pastrami with the soup. That will be enough."
"How are my boys?" Galina asked her mother-in-law in Russian. She picked the ladle up off the counter and slowly stirred the soup in counter-clockwise fashion as she knew was needed. She was trying her hardest to ignore Malvina's presence.
"They're fine," Mrs. Reznikov replied, "I went down to the store to buy them a video because Dmitri and Papa need quiet while they work. They're hard to keep calm, you know? Maxim kept trying to climb up the back of the sofa and I thought he was going to break his neck!"
"They're active children," Galina intoned dully, just as a sharp tongue cursed through the apartment and there was a sound of a mental clanging on the wood floor as something was dropped.
Galina raised her eyebrows and nodded in the direction of the hallway. "How's the plumbing job coming?" She asked.
"Don't ask," Mrs. Reznikov shook her head in exhaustion. "I hope they finish tonight. I'd really like to take a shower."
"They better f*cking finish soon," Malvina spoke up in her gravelly Russian accent. She dropped her nail filer onto the table and then got up to her feet. She reached her hands up to stroke through her hair, which was bleached almost entirely snow white except for the brassy blonde roots growing back in.
Walking over to her mother she nudged her away from the fridge with her hip. "Otherwise, we're going to have to stay at a hotel tonight because we can't go without plumbing."
"Tell that to my wallet," her mother replied with a tired chuckle. "I don't think that's an option."
"Well, if you're not going to go tell that c*cksucking landlord to get his ass up here to fix up his sh*tty apartment building then you don't really have another option," Malvina told her, as she leaned into the fridge and then re-emerged with a can of soda. She popped the tab up and then took a long gulp from the can while Galina kept stirring the soup with her back to them. Her eyes were wide in amazement as she listened to the exchange, though she didn't know why after all these years she was still surprised by the rudeness. She just knew she would wring one of her sons up by their ankles if they ever dared to speak to her the way Malvina spoke to her mother. It astonished Galina that her mother-in-law even took this mistreatment from her grown-up daughter. She knew she would have been thrown out of this family long ago if she had ever dared to behave in a similar way. They criticized her for far less.
"You know that Papa and Dmitri are probably making the problem worse anyway, don't you?" Malvina asked her mother. "They don't know what the f*ck they're doing. There's like two monkeys with a single wrench in there," she laughed at her own joke.
"They're trying," Mrs. Reznikov said quietly. "And Papa's in a mood so don't push him tonight, Mal."
"He wouldn't be this irritable if those kids hadn't been annoying everyone around here today," Malvina said, with a smirk at Galina's back. "You didn't tell her about the grape juice stain on the rug yet, Mamochka. If it doesn't completely come out somebody better be prepared to pay for it to get dry cleaned."
"It's just a little stain," Mrs. Reznikov whispered helplessly. "A little club soda will do the trick-I just haven't had a chance yet. I'm so tired."
Feeling her anger surged, Galina dropped the ladle into the pot of soup with a splash and backed away from the stove. "I'm surprised you've allowed them to be in the living room unattended if they're really as unbearable as all that," she said scornfully to her mother-in-law, crossing her arms across her front so they rested on her round belly.
"Galina," her mother-in-law rolled her name out on her tongue in a pleading tone. She'd spoken to her countless times in the past, insisting she pardon Malvina's attitude and understand that she had issues they needed to be patient about. In actuality, they were all still in denial about their daughter being a brat. In Galina's opinion, if at the age of twenty-seven Malvina was still refusing to go out to work or do anything to support herself or contribute to the family, then it wasn't an issue about having a lot of growing up still to do. She was just a lazy and narcissistic person. It was hard to believe that the two women were the same age.
"Where's your club soda?" Galina asked her mother-in-law in a clipped tone. "I can take care of the stain and then I'll take my boys home so they won't be a problem for you anymore."
"Don't worry about it," Mrs. Reznikov shook her head. "I wasn't even going to say anything about it."
"I think perhaps not allowing them to drink something staining like juice in the living room would prevent something like this happening," Galina added dryly. "But maybe that's just me."
"Your father-in-law gave them the juice," Mrs. Reznikov said distractedly. She clicked her tongue. "Don't be so defensive, kotik. You don't have to leave. You haven't even told me how the doctor visit went."
Galina opened her mouth to reply but before she could say anything, the sound of childish giggling erupted down the hall as Yuri and Maxim came barreling into the kitchen and wrapped their arms around their mother's legs.
"Mama!" Yuri exclaimed. "You didn't come find us."
"I was just about to," Galina assured him. "I just didn't want to interrupt your movie. What were you watching?"
"Oliver and Company," Yuri replied. "It's about a cat. A little orange kitten."
"It's Oliver!" Maxim chimed in. "Like our kitty."
"No, Max," Yuri shook his head. "Our kitty does not look like Oliver. She has a lot more colours than just orange."
"Well, that sounds like a good movie," Galina said, leaning down to kiss the tops of both of their heads. "Did you thank Baba for buying it for you?"
Maxim grinned mischievously, but Yuri was honest enough to admit that they hadn't. "Say thank you now then," their mother urged.
"Thank you," Yuri said shyly, burying his face against his mother's side.
Rolling her eyes, Malvina stepped around the group on her way out of the room. "Since they're out here now I'm going to assume I can put something else on the tv?" she called back to her mother.
"Yes," Mrs. Reznikov replied softly. "But we're going to eat now. Supper is ready."
"I'll eat later," Malvina replied. "When they're gone."
At those words, Galina mentally resolved to eat slowly and then perhaps suggest they play a couple rounds of cards to draw the night out even longer. Although she didn't enjoy being here, she knew at this challenging moment that she needed to extend her stay in order to assert herself in this family. She wouldn't let Malvina think she had intimidated her into leaving early.
"Boys sit at the table," Galina directed them towards two chairs on one side. "I'll go tell the men it's time," she offered, walking down the hall and into the bathroom where Dmitri was sitting on the closed toilet seat looking tired, while his father stood in the bathtub working on the faucets. He was still muttering under his breath and looked miserable, but this was typical when they got together to do a project.
"Time to eat," Galina announced, knocking lightly on the wood of the door.
"Okay," Mr. Reznikov said with a sigh. He shook his head in frustration at the hole in the wall where the shower head usually would be. "Well...this isn't getting fixed tonight."
"It will, Papa," Dmitri reassured him. "I'll stay and we'll get it done." He squinted up at his wife. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Not in the slightest," Galina replied immediately, rolling her eyes. "I think I can manage on my own."
Missing the sarcasm in her tone, her father-in-law forced a smile and stepped out of the cramped bath tub. "Thanks, Galina," he said generously, patting her on the arm as he passed her on his way out into the hall. "And how are you feeling?"
"Pretty good," Galina replied. "I'm not so sick anymore and everything is going well with the baby."
"Yeah, how did the appointment go today?" Dmitri asked. He stood up with a sudden sense of urgency and gripped his wife's arm before she could follow his father down the hall. "What are we having?"
"A baby," Galina replied coyly, averting her eyes down to the floor as a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She brought her free hand up to caress her belly with. "A healthy baby boy. Three for three."
She watched as Dmitri's hopeful face suddenly turned crestfallen. He let go of her arm and reached his hand up to run through the thinning hair on his head. "How sure are you?"
"Quite sure," Galina replied. The smile spread across her lips and she glanced up at him with a look of triumph sparkling in her blue eyes. There was a part of her that was just happy that Dmitri hadn't gotten what he wanted from her. He had wanted a daughter so desperately that his reaction to Maxim's gender had been offensive and led to near indifference of the baby for which Galina had never really forgiven him. She was grateful he wouldn't have a chance to favour a girl over the boys the way he obviously would have.
"I don't know why you had yourself so convinced it was going to be a daughter," she said, raising her eyebrows to look at him inquisitively.
"Just wishful thinking, I guess," Dmitri mumbled. "I would have liked to have had a girl you know. I bet she would have been smart and pretty like you."
"Or we'd have really lucked out and wound up with a replica of your sister," Galina said, and a look of revulsion flashed across her face. When Dmitri did not look encouraged, she pursed her lips and beckoned him to follow her back to the kitchen.
"Perhaps you should be thankful for our three precious boys instead of hoping for something that might not have been as great as it seemed," Galina suggested.
"Well, I guess we're never going to now, will we?" Dmitri said moodily.
"Never know what?" Mr. Reznikov asked curiously. He was seated at the head of the table and had just popped the tab open on a bottle of beer that his wife had brought him. The boys were sitting obediently in their chairs, poking the soft warm center of bread out of the slices they had been given and stuffing them in their mouths.
"What it's like to have a daughter," Dmitri told him with a sigh, sinking down into the vacant chair beside his father. He rested his elbow on the table and laid his head in his hand.
"Believe me, it's not always that great," Mr. Reznikov told him, shooting a look of annoyance down the hall to where his daughter was watching television with the volume up loudly. He squinted up at Galina. "So, it's a boy then for sure?"
"Yes," Galina nodded. Her hands wrapped protectively around her middle, she walked over to the stove so she could help serve the soup bowls that her mother-in-law was beginning to dish out.
"Well, you can always try again," Mrs. Reznikov said sympathetically, as she handed Galina a steaming bowl of soup with a side of Pastrami to serve to her father-in-law first. Galina set the dish down in front of him and then walked back to take the next serving for Dmitri.
"I'm not having anymore," Galina scoffed. "Where would I put it? Besides, I'm pretty sure my body couldn't take another one."
"Well, I'd just hate to see you miss out on having a daughter of your own," Mrs. Reznikov sympathized, brushing her arm against her daughter-in-law's.
"I don't feel like I'm missing out," Galina said sternly, feeling increasingly offended at the sympathy being extended to her rather than congratulations for another beautiful, strong, healthy baby boy. She took Dmitri's dish in her hand and carried it over to the table, setting it down with perhaps a bit more force than was necessary, as some soup sloshed out of the bowl.
"Just half a bowl for the boys," Galina instructed, when she returned back again to Dmitri's mother's side. Vasily, if that was to be his name once she officially got her husband's approval, was kicking away merrily within. He had no idea that everyone around them was currently consumed with what he wasn't, rather than the little miracle that he was. Galina could feel her protective urges growing and her love for him swelling in her heart so much that it might burst. It didn't matter to her that she wasn't going to give birth to a daughter. Perhaps her sons would marry nice women, or bless her with granddaughters, or she'd get to love someone like a daughter in a different way someday. All she knew right now, was that Vasily was exactly who she wanted.
"Careful it's hot," she cautioned Yuri and Maxim, once she set their bowls down in front of them. "Have another piece of bread first," she suggested to them, handing them each another slice. "I'm going to get you boys ice cubes to put in your soup." She turned her back to retrieve the ice cube tray from the freezer and when she turned back around, Yuri was looking at her with a tender expression on his little face.
"Mama, I'm happy about a baby brother," he told her sweetly.
"You are?" Galina said with a smile. She leaned over to plop an ice cube into his bowl and then kissed top of his head lovingly.
"I'm happy too!" Maxim chimed in. He had picked up his spoon and was bumping it against his bowl creating quite a clang. Galina firmly pulled his hand away from the bowl to stop the noise and then gave him an ice cube to cool down the soup too. Maxim bumped his head against her chest as he leaned his head back to look up at her.
"I love baby brother!" he announced cheerily.
Galina chuckled at his adorableness. How could anybody not be overjoyed to add another one to this mix? "I love all three of my boys so much," she told him, leaning down to kiss Maxim's rosy lips and then both of his cherub cheeks. She was thrilled.