"Mama, we got there, and the car was destroyed. Someone had set it on fire, and it was unsalvageable."
Dimitri lowered his head, taking his mother's hand. Olena shrugged putting a good face on it, but I knew she was distressed. Sonya and Karolina were trying to console her in Russian, and Olena was attempting not to cry, but we could all see she wanted to. Without waiting to be asked, Eddie, Meredith and I went outside to give the family their privacy.
"Surely insurance will cover it?" Meredith said.
I snorted. "Meredith, I don't think that thing was registered, much less insured! It was so old; it wouldn't have been worth it."
Eddie nodded, acknowledging what I said. Dimitri had said the vehicle was old when he was a child. Now it was ancient. Scratch that – now it was sitting on the side of the highway, an incinerated relic!
"If only I hadn't pushed it so hard," Eddie moaned, feeling guilty for being at the wheel when the car had failed. "We were so close to getting home…"
"It wasn't that," I said confidently. Last night Dimitri had told me the car had been falling apart for years, and it had been just a matter of time. "They couldn't even get parts for it anymore. It was just bad luck you were driving when it finally died."
Eddie gave me a grateful smile, but I knew he still felt responsible.
The mood was downcast when Dimitri emerged a little later, and we ran to the gym in town. While it only took us a few minutes, no one could expect Yeva, Olena or Karolina to cover the distance as we could. Without a car, simple things like shopping or visiting friends were suddenly going to be that much harder for the family.
Pavel had picked Dimitri up at first light to return to the vehicle to salvage it, so he already knew it was a burnt out shell. He joined us at the gym for our morning session and didn't say anything, but he was somber, too.
"Mind your own business, driving and break down? You get attacked by Strigoi. Out for fun and set a family's car on fire? Not a Strigoi in sight," Dimitri grumbled to himself as he worked out on the gym equipment. Usually, he fitted his workout in between issuing instructions to us, but today he left us to follow our usual regime, taking out his frustration and anger on the gym equipment. No one dared approach him, so when Abe appeared with coffee and pastries for morning tea, I walked over to where my lover was still punishing himself.
"Comrade? Did you want a break?" I asked him, running my hand over his shoulder soothingly. He leaned his head into my hand, letting me stroke his cheek.
"Sure," he grunted. He wasn't super happy, but compared to his mood of this morning, it was a step in the right direction. We drank in silence, Dimitri brooding as he sipped at the coffee Abe had provided. After morning tea, he gestured me over to where he started doing squats and lunges. I could see him thinking things over, so I worked beside him in silence.
"I was thinking, with Sonya probably moving in with Kirill soon, Mama's expenses will be a little less. I'll need to send her a bit more money each month for repayments, but I might be able to get them a cheap vehicle before we go home?"
He looked grim. He already sent so much of his wage to Olena to support the family, and while she'd never expect him to replace the car, we could both see reliable transportation was a necessity.
"Dimitri? In a few weeks, I'll be earning, too. I could help out a little…?"
"No way!" he snapped, with a vehemence I'd not expected. Abe, Pavel, and the others turned to look at us. They were too far away to hear what we'd been discussing, but they'd heard Dimitri shout clearly enough. I gave them a reassuring smile before Dimitri continued in a lower voice. "They're my responsibility, Roza! I love you, but the answer is no."
"But they need a car. I just want to help. They've done so much for me."
"And I love you for it," Dimitri said with a tight smile "but providing for them is my job."
We continued our workout, neither of us saying much. We trained in silence until lunchtime when we ran back to the house as usual. Once we were there, the mood was much more positive. Olena didn't mention the car, nor did anyone else. We ate out the back, the kitchen table occupied with a sewing machine that looked older than Yeva.
"We're getting ready to make the curtains. Babushka has some fabric we can use for the lining, and Miroslava said she has some thick curtaining fabric she doesn't need that I could have. I was going to pick it up today but…" Sonya trailed off after a pointed look from her mother.
We all pretended not to know what she'd been about to say, but I could see Dimitri's shoulders slump a little more. My poor guy looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.
We'd just finished Olena's wonderful meatball soup for dinner when there was a knock at the door. We hadn't been expecting anyone, so Dimitri stood up, checking the position of his stakes, and stalked to the front of the house.
"Hello! Is my daughter home?" Abe boomed in his 'I'm up to something' voice.
"She is. Come inside, Abe. Pavel."
"No, I need her out here. Can you switch on the outside lights?"
Hearing Abe's voice, I pushed my chair back from the table, moving to the front door, the rest of the family in my wake.
"Close your eyes!" Abe demanded, taking my hand and guiding me through the front door and outside. "Open!"
I opened my eyes and very narrowly avoided swearing. There, parked in pride of place in front of the house, was a late model red Toyota Camry with a big jaunty bow on the front of its bonnet.
"I have a business associate who owns a car yard, and he owed me money. I know you have everything else you need, but I thought you might like a car while you're visiting Baia?"
My first reaction was to wonder what the 'associate' had done to owe Abe so much money, and then I turned and scowled at my grinning father, narrowly avoiding slapping him as I pulled him around the corner of the house and out of the sight of the Belikovs.
"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed. "Olena's car was trashed this morning, and this evening you rock up with a car for me?! She's really upset about her car - how insensitive are you?!"
Abe listened to my tirade, waiting for me to pause and draw breath.
"It's paid for, registered and insured. And it's not like you can take it home with you, can you?"
It took me a moment to digest what he'd said.
"You'll be leaving in just over two weeks. You can't take the car with you, so I suppose you'll have to leave it here…"
"You bought them a car?!" I hissed, leaning against the side of the house to steady myself.
"No I bought you a car," he replied smugly. "Who you lend it to while you're overseas is your own business," he smirked, looking far too pleased with himself for my liking.
"They'll never accept it," I predicted. The Belikovs might not have a lot of money, but they had their pride.
"Not if I bought it for them," he agreed, "but since I bought it for you there should be no problem!"
"Why do you care so much?"
"They've taken you in as one of their own. I see how happy you are around them - they're the family you always wished you had. That means a great deal to me, and I want to help them where I can."
I looked at my father, and I could see beyond the ruthless façade he showed everyone else. I could see a lonely man who, just like me, enjoyed suddenly finding himself at least peripherally part of a loving family.
"Come on, then. I'd better go take a ride in my new car," I huffed before giving him a huge hug. Walking back around the corner arm in arm with Abe, everyone was standing on the porch admiring my new ride, albeit with slightly forced smiles. Karolina, in particular, looked like she thought the gift was in the worst possible taste given the timing.
"Olena? Sonya, Karolina? Want to come for a spin in my new wheels?" I jovially enquired. Dimitri gave me a troubled look, but I ignored it as I opened the passenger door for Olena, the girls climbing into the back, seating themselves on either side of a brand new infant car seat. That alone should have clued them in. I didn't have an infant...
"I'll just go around the block," I promised, climbing into the driver's seat and putting on my belt. I started the engine, and it was a smooth purr. I wasn't sure how old the car was. It wasn't brand new, but it wasn't far from it. Checking out the dash, it had all the mod cons, which was pleasing.
"Glad you've got a car," Karolina said with only barely contained sarcasm as I put the Camry into drive, checked the headlights were on and set off.
"Yes," I said pretending not to notice her acrimony. "Of course, once I return to America I can't take it with me, so I hope you guys don't mind looking after it? Take it out three or four times a week, so the battery doesn't go flat? It's even got a car seat for Zoya…"
Karolina might have been slow on the uptake, but Olena wasn't.
"We couldn't! Zmey bought this car for you!"
She quickly put her hand over her mouth when she realized she'd called my father by his nickname 'snake.' I laughed. He was as wily as a snake, and today had only further proven it.
"I can't take it with me, Olena. I'd like you to use it while I'm away. You guys need a car; my ridiculously extravagant father has bought me one to use while I'm visiting. You might as well use it until I come back."
"We couldn't accept a gift like that," Olena said firmly. "It wouldn't be right."
"It's not a gift. You'd be looking after it for me," I quickly argued. "Honestly, you'd be doing me a favor. Dimitri and I plan to visit again when we can, and it will be more convenient if we have a car here when we do. It will cost me a fortune to garage it somewhere; you might as well keep it here and use it…"
"Mama! Just say thank you and mind the car!" Sonya snapped.
"Please, Olena? Dimitri worries so much. He was going to take out a loan and buy you a car before we left, but I have this nice one here, and it will just be going to waste…"
Olena threw up her hands in surrender. We were back out the front of the house, so I pulled up with a flourish.
Dimitri's mother and sisters got out of the vehicle, and before I knew it, Dimitri was helping his grandmother into the back seat before sitting himself in the passenger side.
"Finally I get to drive," I chuckled, ignoring my Russian God's reproving expression. He'd never let me drive back at the Academy, much to my annoyance. I did a second trip around the block, listening to Yeva admire everything about the new vehicle. It was the most cheerful I'd seen her in ages! My second trip around the block complete, I pulled up, carefully turning off the lights, putting the car into park and turning off the ignition.
"It drives like a dream, Baba! Thank you!" I enthused, throwing my arms around Abe's neck enthusiastically.
"Abe? Pavel? We were about to have dessert. Would you like to come in for coffee and cake?" Olena asked. She looked at my father shyly. I know she wanted to thank him for his very generous gift, but we were all keeping up the pretense he'd bought the car for my benefit.
Abe nodded, so we all headed back inside, Eddie whispering on the way we were going to make the most of having a set of wheels before we returned to the States.
"I don't like that he bought them a car," Dimitri complained later that night as we were getting ready for bed. "They're my family so my responsibility. I don't want you having to help me provide for them, and I certainly don't want your father to do it!"
"Abe bought me a car, Comrade," I said, using my father's specious logic.
"We're going back to the States in a fortnight!" he growled. "You don't need a car!"
"Then it's just as well your Mama doesn't mind looking after it for me while I'm away, isn't it?" I asked giving him my sweetest smile. "Please just let it go. He cares for your family, and he appreciates how good they've been to me. He just wants to help, and he knew they'd never accept a gift like that which is my he gave it to me."
"He can't buy you their affection!" he hissed.
I recoiled like I'd been slapped, my eyes widening in shock. Is that what he thought? That his family only liked me because Abe was helping them financially?
"That's not what I meant," Dimitri groaned, taking in my stricken face. "Rose? Roza? My family adores you; you know that. But they love you for you, not for anything Abe does. They admire your spirit and loyalty and how you always see the best in people and how you're so generous and giving…"
"Good! Then let me give them my car to mind," I snapped, climbing into bed and turning my back on him. "It's done. He's bought it, and short of selling it and hurting his feelings there's nothing else to be done about it!"
"Alright, it's a good idea for Mama and the girls to mind the car," he conceded, lifting the quilt and getting into bed beside me. "Come on ангел. I didn't mean it to come out like that. I meant my family already love you; he doesn't need to throw his money around…"
I humphed but didn't push him away when he rolled up hard against me, draping his arm around my waist, and I might have even smiled a little when he pushed my hair from my neck, softly kissing that special spot behind my ear and nuzzling in my long dark locks.
"I can't decide which shoes to wear," Lissa wailed, angling the screen on her phone down to show me the two different shoes she was wearing, one on each foot.
"Maybe wait 'til your dress is on and then decide?" I suggested, munching on some carrot sticks as I was flopped on my stomach on Dimitri's bed. The others were out, Dimitri having taken them on a run, but I'd begged off, knowing Lissa was going to want help getting ready for her graduation dance, even if it was by Skype because I was on the other side of the globe!
"I want tonight to be perfect," she sighed, pulling off both shoes and repositioning her phone on her dressing table as she undid the clip that had held her hair during this afternoon's graduation ceremony, brushing out her long blonde tresses in preparation for styling it for tonight's graduation dance.
"While the people here are nice, and I've made some new friends, it isn't the same as being at St. Vlad's. It was odd not having any Novices graduate."
I quietly wondered how different it was, from her perspective. She'd hung out a lot with the Royal Moroi crowd, and the majority of them had gone to Court as well when the Academy closed. Sure there were a few faces missing, but other than myself and the Novices, most of her group graduated with her today and would be at the dance tonight.
"Do you know what everyone else is wearing?" I asked, preparing myself for an hour of chatter about Camille, Carly and the rest of the group Lissa sort of hung out with. And I wasn't disappointed. In the space of thirty minutes, I heard how Camille had warned Lissa off wearing purple as she'd decided she wanted to wear it and didn't want anyone else to, and how Carly had had to buy a new dress when she'd discovered another girl was planning to wear the exact same style.
I'd only just started confiding my own dress fears to Lissa when there was a knock at the door at Lissa's end, and Tasha entered offering to help her get ready. For a moment or two, Tasha didn't know Lissa was Skyping me, so I was able to watch her unobserved.
Her interactions with Lissa seemed unforced and natural. Apparently, she really did like and approve of Lissa – but then she had no reason not to. The last Dragomir was a catch in anyone's language, and anyone with eyes could see how good Lissa was for Christian and how much he cared for her.
Tasha looked much the way she had when I last saw her, although I noticed she made less of an attempt to dress up or conceal her scars when Dimitri was not around. Nonetheless, with her jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes, she was still a striking woman.
"I'm Skyping Rose," Lissa said brightly, gesturing to her phone after filling Tasha in on the shoe dilemma. I had to laugh when Tasha suggested the same as me – waiting until the dress was on to make the final decision. Getting out Lissa's hair products, Tasha stood behind Lissa, the two of them talking to me as Tasha started to set Lissa's hair into the long, loose curls she'd decided on for tonight's hairstyle.
"I'll probably wear one side pinned back. What do you think Rose?" Lissa asked as she held the hair on one side back, approximating the style.
"I like that. It's a different look for you. Feminine but sophisticated."
Lissa beamed. I could feel through the bond she was nervous about tonight. She was secretly hopeful Christian might propose, although in her heart of hearts she knew he probably wasn't quite ready, yet. In any case, she considered this her 'coming out' of sorts and intended to look the part.
"So Rose? You must be graduating soon, too?" Tasha asked casually as she wielded the curling iron in Lissa's hair.
"Next Saturday," I replied in what I hoped passed for a friendly voice. "We've got our trials on Friday, graduation Saturday and then the elimination fights start on Monday and run through until Wednesday."
"Have you booked your flights back, yet?" Lissa quizzed.
"Yeah, Abe is sending us back in his plane Friday. We'll be back Saturday night ready for allocations on Monday."
"You must be looking forward to coming home?" Tasha asked.
"Yes and no. I've loved Russia. We all have. But I'll be pleased to get allocated and start working, so I suppose it's time to move on."
Tasha smiled at the small screen on the dresser in front of her, but then her face changed.
"Rose? Is that Dimitri's room you're in?" she asked sharply.
I hadn't thought about it when I'd starting Skyping, but sure enough behind me was Dimitri's bookshelf stuffed with the Westerns he was so fond of.
"Yeah. He went out, Sonya has some friends visiting, and Meredith is asleep in our room, so he said I could use his room to call," I quickly fabricated. I wasn't sure whether Tasha believed me, but she didn't pursue it any further, and I quickly steered the conversation to Sonya and her blossoming relationship with Kirill.
Half an hour later Lissa's hair was ready, and she slipped on her gorgeous jade green gown. Tasha and I agreed the gold strappy heels were definitely the pick with her dress, and after that it was time for her to finish getting ready. Wishing her much love and success for the evening, I terminated our video call, promising to catch up in the next day or two for all the gossip from the function.
And then I lay back on Dimitri's bed, tears welling in my eyes, as I wondered how in hell Tasha Ozera was able to recognize my man's bedroom so readily?
A/N If you'd like to see Meredith and Rose's dresses for the Graduation Ball, check out my Facebook Page:
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