RPOV (14 years later)
Veli and Bener are twenty-six. Arianna is twenty-two. Jr. is nineteen. And our youngest, and last, daughter, Claudia, is seventeen. Dimitri and I have had a wonderful nineteen years of marriage. Our five children are so well behaved. I'm so surprised on how similar Veli and Bener look to Dimitri. They're so tall, Veli's got Dimitri's styled hair, while Bener prefers his short. Jr. is almost as tall as his older brothers. Five kids. When I was little, really little, I always wanted two kids - one boy, one girl. But five is fine with me. Veli recently got married, to Eddie and Mia's second eldest daughter, Francine. Bener has a pregnant fiancée, Christian and Lissa's daughter (Christian and Lissa finally got married after working out their differences), Eloise. Arianna's in a relationship, but I can tell she's fiesty like me, not wanting to rush into a marriage, though I had agreed to Dimitri's proposal very young. Jr. is in college now, and currently isn't in a relationship. And Claudia's too worried about graduating high school to think about relationships.
I am beyond words to describe how wonderful we've been. But, unfortunately, not everything stays wonderful. Recently, I had a fainting spell, and Dimitri took me to the doctor's office, and they found a cancerous brain tumor. Dimitri was devestated. I was terrified. The doctor said that they could surgically remove the tumor, but it depends on how severe it's embedded into my brain. I could've had it for months without realizing it.
When Dimitri and I got home, Dimitri told Claudia while I called the boys and Arianna and Jr.. Veli and Bener both moved to New York City, and Arianna lives in southern California. Both said they'd come and try to take care of me, and even though I said I have Dimitri and Claudia to help, there was no getting through to them. They have my stubbornness. I tried convincing Veli that he just got married and should enjoy the honeymoon-stage of his marriage, but he would have none of it. I tried telling Bener that he should stay with his fiancée, trying to help her through her pregnancy, but he said that Eloise didn't mind coming with him. Arianna said that she was coming over no matter what I said. And Jr. said that there was no argument that he was on his way.
After the phone call, I could hear Claudia's cries. She ran over and hugged me, Dimitri behind her, his face grim. I felt my eyes water, my vision blurring. Dimitri came over and hugged me, too.
"You'll be okay, Mom," Claudia said through her sniffles. "You're a Belikov. You're as tough as nails." She pulled back and looked at me. She has Dimitri's eyes.
I gave her a sad smile. I touched her cheek. "You've got her father's eyes," I said, laughing a little. She gave a small smile.
"Don't worry, Roza," Dimitri said gently. "Everything'll get better. I promise. I won't let anything get you." I nodded, but deep down I knew Dimitri couldn't protect me. Not from this. But I couldn't stop myself from trying to believe his words.
~Secret admirers~
The boys, Arianna, Jr. and all came a week after I called them. I said my hellos to Eloise and Francine, and apologized for being a trouble. Dimitri had called his family, who moved back to Russia years ago, and they said they'd try to come back to America the best they could.
"I'm so sorry, Mom," Arianna said, hugging me tightly. "I'm so, so sorry."
"It's not your fault, sweetie," I said.
"You'll get better, Mom," Bener said. "I want you to see your first grandchild. You and Dad."
"I'll try," I said. I couldn't make any promises.
Eloise came up to me and grabbed my hands, she was crying uncontrollably. "Please get better, Mrs. Belikov," she said. "You're like a second mom to me. Please, please get better." I nodded, telling her I'll try.
Jr. didn't say anything, he just hugged me, tightly.
After he let me go, Francine hugged me, too, crying into my shoulder. It was so overwhelming.
~Secret admirers~
The boys, Eloise and Francine, Arianna and Jr., and Dimitri were all in bed. But I couldn't sleep. Slowly and quietly I got out of bed. I found the memory book hidden in my secret compartment in the closet Dimitri and I share. I opened it up and slowly looked at all of the pictures. Me and Dimitri in our younger years; our wedding photos; ultrasound and baby pictures of the kids; Veli's wedding photos; the ultrasound pictures of Eloise, sent by Bener; Veli and Bener and Arianna and Jr.'s graduation photos; every anniversary photo of Dimitri and I. It brought tears to my eyes. I heard a whining sound, I looked over and saw Spice, the dog Sonya had given Dimitri on his 29th birthday. Arianna named her Spice because her fur color was the color of cinnamon. She has gotten so old. She walks with a stiffness, her fur is almost grey, and she looks exhuasted all the time. I rubbed the top of her head.
"It's okay, Spice," I whispered. "It's okay."
