Driving down the road, Red couldn't help but glance at Nicky out of the corner of her eye every few seconds or so. The smile upon her face hadn't slackened for a moment, not since she caught sight of her girl walking out of those prison doors. Her lips parted, Red bit the tip of her tongue between her teeth, trying to remain calm so that she wouldn't overwhelm Nicky with everything she wanted to tell her. "I'm so happy you're here," Red blurted out when she couldn't remain quiet anymore. She squeezed Nicky's shoulder and shook her excitedly.
Nicky laughed softly and tilted her head to nuzzle the hand on her shoulder. "What's so funny?" Red asked, giving Nicky one final squeeze before she returned her hand to the steering wheel.
"Nothing," Nicky said, with a shake of her head, "it just feels like I'm being picked up from the weirdest overnight camp ever." Her mouth twisted into a smile as she considered the absurdity of their situation. Being sentenced to prison was supposed to have been the worst thing that ever happened in Nicky's life, but it had turned out to be one of the best. Nicky and Red never would have met if not for their paths of misfortune, mistakes, and regrets. Whatever they had been, their crimes had led them to one another. Nicky was thankful for that.
Red gave a small chuckle of appreciation and moistened her lips with her tongue. "So, what's the first thing you want to do when we get there?" she asked, glancing over at Nicky with a quizzical expression on her face.
"Hmm," Nicky tapped her mouth with her index finger and scrunched her face up to give the impression of thinking hard. Finally, she shrugged, "I just want to see our home and hang out together." She looked over at Red and bit her lip.
"Tell me what else," Red coaxed, noticing Nicky's hesitancy. She raised her eyebrows in expectation.
"It's nothing really," Nicky reached her hands up and tousled her wild hair, "I was just going to ask if it could just be you and me tonight." She smiled guiltily, only slightly worried that Red would take offence at her reluctance to interact with everybody in the family. She'd see them soon enough and she was sure she would love it, but for now Red was enough. Nicky just wanted her mom.
"Oh honey, that's already taken care of," Red soothed. She wasn't ready to share Nicky with the others right now either. "I told your brothers that they need to let you get settled before they come over." She looked back over at Nicky with a reassuring smile, "besides, we'll see them tomorrow for Christmas Eve."
"I almost forgot about Christmas," said Nicky in her gravelly voice, "I've had too much else to think about." She kicked off the cheap shoes the prison had given her to leave in and criss-crossed her legs on the seat.
"Well, I haven't forgotten about Christmas," Red said happily, patting Nicky's knee, "and I have a feeling that this is going to be the best Christmas of your life. At least if I have anything to say about it."
Nicky's brown pupils dilated in eagerness and she looked over at Red suspiciously, "I can't even imagine what's going on in that crazy Russian mind of yours," she joked, "but whatever it is, I'm excited. What's the plan?" Red gave Nicky's knee a final squeeze and then moved her hand back to the wheel.
"The plan is to have a peaceful night at home together tonight," Red said, "because we're going to be busy for the next two days. We're doing Christmas Eve at Vasily's with the entire family, and after Christmas morning, at our place, we'll drive up to spend the day with Gloria." Red's hands on the steering wheel tightened when she spoke Gloria's name. She was trying not to think about her right now, but a knot tightened in Red's stomach when she thought of how she had been steps away from Gloria this morning and had not been able to see her. Gloria had been on the other side of a wall, but it may as well have been the other side of the planet.
"How was Gloria when you said goodbye this morning?" Red asked in a would-be-casual voice. She hated herself for asking, she had sworn to herself that morning that she wouldn't. She was supposed to be celebrating Nicky's freedom today, not mourning for Gloria, who had been left behind. There was nothing Red could do for her anyways, but still she needed to know.
"Bossy, irritable, and nice all at once," Nicky replied, with an understanding smile, "basically the same as always. I left her all the stuff you gave me when you got out."
"You did?" Red asked in surprise, "that was nice of you." She stroked the steering wheel with both of her thumbs.
"It made her happy, and I figured it's what you would have wanted," Nicky said generously, "and to answer your unspoken question, I think she's going to be okay," Nicky glanced over at Red and their eyes met. Nicky nodded confidently, "I mean obviously it really sucks that she's still in there, but Gloria will handle being alone way better then you or I would."
Red laughed lightly, "you're right about that," she agreed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "I don't know why I'm so worried."
"Because you love her," Nicky said simply, smiling when she saw Red's face flush with a pink glow. Being in love looked good on Red. The woman wore her heart on her sleeve so unforgivingly that the radiant happiness Gloria had inspired had taken over every aspect of Red's life. She was energetic and hopeful, seemed younger and more carefree. Nicky thought her brothers must be dumb as door knobs for Red to have kept her relationship with Gloria a secret for as long as she had. It was written right across her face.
Red cleared her throat, "I went shopping this morning before I came to pick you up. I needed to buy groceries for Christmas dinner tomorrow and I bought the ingredients to make spaghetti tonight, if you'd like that for supper."
"Sounds good to me," said Nicky agreeably, "you know spaghetti is my favourite."
"I was just checking," Red smiled, "I want your first meal at home to be special." Nicky chuckled at the thought that anything Red would cook could be anything but special. Even in prison, with gross pre-prepped meals and barely anything to work with, Red had managed to find ways to spruce up the food to make it more edible Feeding people was one of Red's favourite ways to show that she loved you.
"So, Christmas dinner is on Christmas Eve?" Nicky asked, "that's weird. Won't that make the actual day a little boring?" Nicky had habitually spent Christmas Eve's alone with a nanny as a child, while her parents went out to a black-tie event that lasted into the wee hours of Christmas morning. Marka's assistant would buy all of Nicky's lavish presents, based upon what she assumed a girl her age would like, and Nicky's parents would sip their coffee and read the paper while Nicky opened them on Christmas morning. They barely even noticed her. Christmas had served no other purpose in the Nichols' household besides to show off for everybody that they knew. They always hosted a huge, impersonal, and catered Christmas lunch on the actual day, and Nicky would be assigned to the kid's table in a different room than her parents. It had never been much of a familial holiday.
"Not at all," Red said confidently, "in our family, we keep the celebrations going for as long as we can. Christmas Eve is our formal dinner where everyone changes into their best clothes after an exhausting day cooking up a feast in the kitchen all day."
"Won't you be the only person exhausted?" Nicky asked, "you'll be cooking and the rest of us will just be fat and lazy from eating all day." She played with the fabric of her oversized sweater while she spoke.
"Everybody helps," Red corrected her, "even you." Christmas had always been such a big deal for the Reznikov family and they all pitched in to help make their celebration special. They had never had much in the way of presents, when her boys had been small, but it had never mattered either. Red had always found little ways to make the spirit of Christmas come alive in her boys and, even as adults, all three of them cherished the season.
"I don't cook," Nicky protested, "what can I do?"
"You can help me bake the pies," Red suggested.
"No way," Nicky objected, "the pies are my favourite part of Christmas, I don't want to f**k them up."
"If you don't want to bake pies with me, you could always decorate sugar cookies with Alexei," Red said with a small smile.
"Fine, I'll help you," Nicky scoffed and rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed. It meant a great deal for her to be included in all of Red's family traditions. She really was one of them, but she couldn't fathom how decorating cookies with a messy toddler could be anybody's idea of a good time. A triumphant smile appeared on Red's face when Nicky agreed.
Nicky reclined her seat all the way back and curled up on her side, facing her mother. Red glanced down sideways at her before returning her gaze to the road. "Are you going to have a nap?" she asked Nicky.
"No," Nicky said, "I'm just trying to get comfortable." She stretched out her hand and rested it on Red's thigh, "keep talking, I just feel like listening to you right now." Red reached down and patted the hand in her lap. "So what else do you have planned for us?" Nicky asked eagerly, "what happens on actual Christmas day?"
"Actual Christmas day we have a huge breakfast and open presents," Red replied, still holding Nicky's hand, "and then we go spend the day with Gloria. Yuri is going to see his kids Christmas day, so we'll probably open some presents on Christmas Eve with everybody else." Nicky nodded agreeably.
"Keep talking to me," Nicky pressed eagerly, when Red paused. Red squeezed her hand and continued speaking about the Christmas traditions Nicky soon would be experiencing with her true family. A warmth spread through Nicky's body as she listened, making her feel totally relaxed. She could have easily fallen asleep like that, but she didn't want to miss a second. Nicky knew that she was where she was always meant to be.
"Is this it?" Nicky asked, straightening up in her seat as Red pulled the car up to the curb. They were parked in front of a huge red brick house that had been reconverted into separate apartments, each with their own private staircase and porch.
"This is it," Red replied, "you ready to go inside?" She unbuckled her seat belt and smiled over at Nicky. Red couldn't stop looking at her girl, as though she was worried that she would disappear if she looked away. She hadn't just been waiting for Nicky to come home for the year since her own release, Red had been waiting to bring her baby home since the moment they had met. Red had always wanted to give Nicky the life she felt she had been cheated of in the past. Now was her chance.
"Am I ever," said Nicky, opening up her door and jumping out of the car. "Listen to all this noise and chaos," she grinned happily at Red, "I feel like I'm back where I belong."
"You are where you belong," Red replied, leading Nicky towards the stairs that would lead to their apartment. They lived on the upper level. Standing on the porch, Red turned the key in the door which alerted the golden retriever inside that his mistress was home. When Red and Nicky walked into the home, the dog leaped forward, wagging his tail in excitement. Duke retreated at the sight of Nicky and growled territorially, though he continued to wag his tail as proof that he wasn't actually threatening.
"Hey boy," said Nicky, kneeling down on the floor and holding out her hand for the dog to sniff. He creeped towards her hesitantly, sniffed, and then licked Nicky's hand affectionately. He seemed to innately understand that she was meant to be there with them. Nicky stood up but kept a hand on Duke's head as she looked around the small and immaculately clean apartment.
"Wow," she said, her eyes widening in amazement. It was even more incredible than she had dared to dream. It was quaint and entirely unimposing, especially when compared to the grand apartments Nicky had grown up in. Red's place was homey and beautiful. The honey oak floors and the clean white walls made the room seem bright and larger than the small space actually was. Nicky walked in circles around the living room and ran her fingertips across the tall bookshelves allocated on either side of the fireplace, the tv over the mantle, and the comfortable overstuffed arm chair and couch. The couch had a red throw tossed casually over one side, suggesting it to be a place where you could curl up and relax. At last, Nicky approached the tall evergreen tree that was lit up with white lights and had a shining white star on top. It stood in front of the large picture window, and at night you would be able to see its lights from the street. Large red, gold, and clear balls hung from its branches. When Nicky leaned forward to examine them more closely she saw that the clear ornaments held family photographs inside.
Red removed her boots and hung up her jacket while she anxiously kept an eye on Nicky as she watched her take in every square inch of her new home. Nicky moved away from the tree after a few moments and walked down the small hallway. Red didn't follow her, she wanted to give Nicky the chance to explore the space for herself. Nicky peeked into the bathroom, which had two freshly laundered towels hung on the rail, one clearly meant to be for her. She walked into the first room, which she assumed to be Red's. The bedspread and pillowcases were both lilac, as were the curtains in the window, and the area rug on the floor. An unusual choice for Red, except that Gloria had once slipped that her favourite colour was purple. Red had clearly made these selections with that in mind.
Walking back out of Red's bedroom, Nicky moved over to the final room with the door closed. She gripped the handle and slowly opened it to reveal her own bedroom. Her mouth gaped open and her eyes widened as she took in the beautiful room that had been prepared for her. The bed was covered by a comforter with different hues and waves of blue, green, and gray that reminded Nicky of the sea. The walls were painted a pale greyish blue, the curtains were a stark white and her furniture was primed in the same wood finishing as the floor. It was a beautiful bedroom and Nicky was in awe of the love she could sense in here. This wasn't the impersonal stylish rooms of her childhood, that Marka had always hired a decorator to do. Every detail in this room had been chosen with Nicky in mind. It looked like a picture of Red's love for her.
Spinning around on her heels, Nicky rushed back into the living room and found Red at the kitchen counter preparing a cup of coffee. Nicky wrapped her arms around Red and her happiness surged to unprecedented heights when Red hugged her back. "Do you like it?" Red asked gently.
"I love it," Nicky said hoarsely, her heart swelling in her chest when she was given an extra squeeze. Releasing Red, she walked back to the door to kick off her shoes. "This is the best place I have every lived," she said laying down on the couch. She wrapped her hands above her head and beamed at Red when she walked over to join her.
"Lift your feet," Red ordered. Nicky raised her feet into the air and Red sat down on the end of the couch. As soon as she was seated, Nicky draped her legs over her lap.
"Did you see the boxes in the closet?" Red asked. She casually began to rub Nicky's legs, using long strokes that went from above the knees to the tip of her toes.
"No, I didn't look in the closet." Nicky replied.
"Marka had some movers bring by all of the things that she had been keeping for you in storage," Red said, continuing to rub Nicky's legs back and forth.
"Oh," said Nicky dully, "well at least I can change my clothes then."
"Yes," agreed Red.
Nicky gave a hoarse laugh, "I'm surprised the witch didn't just burn all my things when I got sent to prison, to hide the evidence that I was ever even born."
"She wouldn't do that," Red said, feeling the need to defend the woman where she could. Marka and Red had spoken on the phone a couple of times in the months preceding Nicky's release. Marka had been appreciative that Nicky had a good home to go to and had offered Red money once again, which Red had staunchly refused. Marka had hired workers to take Nicky's things out of storage and brought over to the apartment. Red had put them away in the closet, not wanting to invade Nicky's privacy by going though her belongings when she wasn't there.
Nicky refrained from commenting on Red's defense of Marka. She focused on watching Red's hand make their steady strokes up and down her legs. She had needed this affection from her mother for so very long. Thirty second hugs at the start and end of visitation had never been enough. Nicky sighed contentedly and wiggled deeper into her comfy spot on the couch. "Do you want to watch tv?" she asked Red groggily. Red reached for the remote that was on the end table and passed it to Nicky. Then her hand resumed its steady rubbing. Nicky flicked the television on to a talk show. Duke came back into the room, and jumped up on the couch beside her.
"This is the life," Nicky breathed, petting Duke behind the ears. Red murmured in agreement at Nicky's words. There was nowhere that Red would rather be right now, besides sitting with her daughter on this couch, in their home. Nicky rubbed at her eyes and Red could tell that she was beginning to get sleepy. This had been an emotionally taxing day, even if it was a very good one. Red finished the last of her coffee and placed it atop the coaster she had on the side table for such purposes. She reached above her head for the red shawl that was there and draped it on top of Nicky, tucking the girl in tightly. Nicky looked over at Red and smiled drowsily at her. She was still resisting sleep, blinking and rubbing her eyes as she watched her tv program. Nicky felt warm, snuggled, and content, and she wanted to savour those feelings by prolonging the sleep that was inevitable. Using both hands now, Red began to rub Nicky's legs gently, coaxing her little girl to fall asleep. There was something about Nicky's innocence and trust that exhilarated Red whenever the girl fell asleep on or beside her. Nicky's eyes grew heavy, she was so comfortable, and when she couldn't fight it any longer, she fell into a deep and peaceful slumber.
It was Duke barking that woke Red up. She hadn't been planning to fall asleep herself, but had ended up napping on the couch with Nicky. Duke was scratching at the front door eagerly. "Mmm," Red groaned, still groggy from sleep. She lifted Nicky's feet up so that she could stand up. Stiffly, she walked towards the door. "Shut up," she hissed at the dog, petting him reassuringly on the head so that he would stop barking before he woke the sleeping girl.
Glancing at the figure through the window, Red blinked in surprise and swung open the door. "Hi," she said to Julio Mendoza, who was standing on the porch with his hands in his pocket.
"Hi," Julio said hesitantly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I know you said that you were getting Nicky today, but—,"
"Come inside out of the cold," Red cut him off, opening the door wider and stepping back, "you know that you're always welcome here." Julio stepped into the apartment and stayed on the mat while he took off his coat, boots, and hat, which were all covered in snow.
"White Christmas," he said lightly, shaking the last few flakes out of his dark brown hair.
"I guess so," Red said, leaning her head out of the door to watch the thick snow that had begun to fall, though the sun was still shining. Shivering, she slammed the door shut against the frigid air.
"Is Nicky here?" Julio asked casually, looking around the apparently vacant room.
"Yes, she's asleep on the couch," Red said quietly, pointing with her finger at the back of the beige couch. "Come keep me company while I get supper started," she said invitingly, walking towards the kitchen. Julio followed her without hesitation. He had become a frequent visitor to Red's home in the recent months and she had even attended some college information sessions with him in the fall as she had promised him last summer that she would.
"What's for supper?" asked Julio jokingly, not waiting for an invitation. He knew that he didn't need one. He usually joined Red for supper about once a week, especially on Saturdays when they drove up together to visit Gloria in prison.
"Spaghetti," Red answered, "and a salad too, if you want to give me a hand and peel some carrots."
"Sure," said Julio easily, walking over to the fridge to retrieve the bag of carrots. He opened a cupboard door and selected a knife from where he knew she kept them. He was quite familiar with where things went in her apartment. He laid everything down on the cutting board.
"Can we have garlic bread too?" Julio asked her, as he selected a carrot and began to peel it.
"Sure," Red answered. She bent down to retrieve a large pot and a frying pan from the bottom cupboard, and then straightened back up, with some difficulty. Sighing from the exertion, Red placed the pot and pan on the stove, and rubbed her lower back.
"Are you okay?" Julio asked in concern, glancing up at Red before turning his focus back to the vegetables.
"Yes, I'm fine," Red replied, "my back is just extra stiff from the long drive this morning. Usually I take something for it, but today I forgot to."
"Did you see mom?" Julio asked.
"No," Red shook her head, "it's not a visitation day so they wouldn't have allowed it." Red filled the pot with water to boil for the pasta, and put the hamburger into the frying pan. "This won't take too long to make," Red said, motioning towards the stove, "I made the sauce yesterday, so I only need to heat it up."
Red walked over to the fridge and pulled out the romaine lettuce and the other vegetables she wanted to include in the salad. She placed them on the counter, next to the sink, and went to work rinsing them off beneath the tap. Grabbing a bowl, she picking up the vegetables and joined Julio at the table. "Did anything happen today?" she asked Julio quietly, keeping her eyes on the lettuce that she was shredding into the salad bowl, "or did you just feel like visiting me?"
"Uh," Julio's face twisted into a grimace, "both?" he answered skeptically.
"What happened?" Red asked him directly.
"Benny and Tia Lourdes are just fighting," Julio told her, "I just wanted to get away for a bit."
"Of course," Red murmured sympathetically. This was nothing new.
"I don't think it's going to be a very good Christmas," Julio said softly, "it usually isn't, but I thought this one might be better because we get to see mom. Benny had agreed to go."
"He's not coming now?" Red asked, feeling a pang in her heart at those words. Gloria hadn't seen Benny in months because he refused to ride with Red, and Lourdes didn't go that often. He had agreed to come with them all for Christmas though. He hadn't wanted to be left behind when his entire family was going.
Julio shook his head sadly, "that's what the fight was about."
Red sighed, and dropped the last of the lettuce into the bowl. She reached next for the tomato to prep. Julio was still working on the carrots, he was pretty slow in the kitchen. "He might change his mind," she said weakly, knowing how unlikely that was.
"He won't," Julio said confidently, sticking out his chin.
"Well, never mind," Red said encouragingly, in far too good a mood today to be discouraged. "It's still going to be a good Christmas. If Benny wants to sulk, he's only going to ruin it for himself." She knew that wasn't entirely true, his mood did have a powerful effect on the general tone of things, especially for Gloria.
Julio shrugged at her words and began dicing the carrots carefully. Red glanced at him inquisitively, "you know," she said, "you could stay over tonight and give them both time to cool off before you go home."
"What about Nicky?" Julio asked uncertainly.
"It's fine," Red said confidently, "I can make up a bed for you on the couch." Putting down her knife she walked over to the stove to turn off the burners, after checking to confirm that everything was ready.
"Okay," Julio agreed, "so long as you're sure it will be alright."
"Why do you think I gave you that key to the apartment?" Red asked, beginning to chop up the cucumber now. "You're welcome to come and go whenever you please. It's small here, but we can always find a way to make it work. You don't even have to ask me. Alright?" Julio nodded, his head bent over the carrots so that Red wouldn't see how happy he looked.
"Ughhhh," Nicky groaned loudly, sitting up on the couch and rubbing her eyes, "how long was I asleep for?" She glanced over at Red in the kitchen and blinked in surprise when she saw that they had company.
Sensing danger, Red walked over to Nicky, "for a couple of hours," she said calmly. She leaned over to kiss the unruly mane of curls, while Nicky glowered at her. Red ignored the look and ran her fingers through Nicky's hair affectionately, attempting to silently communicate to her girl that she was still her baby. Red had noticed the stormy expression on Nicky's face when she had caught sight of Julio intruding on their time, but it was something she was going to have to get used to. Things here weren't the same as in prison, where they were cut off from everybody else they loved and living in a world of their own. Red had told her sons and Lida to give her and Nicky space that day, but it was not a request she felt comfortable making of Julio. He was still a child and, because of her connection to Gloria, Red was responsible for him. She wasn't his mother, but the role she had in his life was not something she could just take time off from. Julio had sought her out today and Red would never turn him away. He was hers.
"Hey Nicky," Julio said smiling sheepishly, "I'm glad you're out now."
Nicky felt Red's fingers grip into her scalp warningly, "ow," she muttered, shaking Red off,."Uh, thanks," she said to Julio, brushing past Red and walking into the kitchen where Julio was finishing up the salad.
"The salad's done," Julio said to Red.
"Thanks honey," Red told him, which earned her another glare from Nicky. Nicky was leaning against the counter drinking a can of ginger ale that she had pulled out of the fridge. "Everything is done", Red said, opening the oven door and pulling out the golden coloured garlic bread with cheese on top. "Are you hungry, Nicky?" Red asked, still choosing to act like she didn't notice the looks Nicky was shooting her.
"Yeah," Nicky admitted begrudgingly.
"Sit down at the table, honey," Red told her kindly, "I'll get your plate for you." A small smile appeared on her lips as she observed Nicky's brattiness. She didn't mind it, Red actually found it adorable. It was endearing how much Nicky obviously loved her and it was Red's job to make sure that Nicky always felt that love in return. She dished a generous serving of spaghetti, salad, and a piece of garlic toast onto Nicky's plate and brought it over to her.
"You deserve a little bit of spoiling," Red cooed to Nicky, as she set the plate down before her, "it makes me happy to be able to take care of you again." Nicky raised her eyebrows and gave Red a look of incredulity. "Do you want some parmesan?" Red asked her calmly, and Nicky nodded sullenly. "I'll get you some," said Red, squeezing Nicky's shoulder.
Julio had prepared his own plate and sat himself across from Nicky. He glanced at her quizzically, sensing the tension between her and Red currently, which he could only assume was because of him. It was only dread at what awaited him at home that kept him rooted to his chair. "I'll probably go home after supper," he told Red when she walked back to the table. "Tia Lourdes will want to know where I am." Red handed Nicky the parmesan and then sat down between the two.
"I already texted Lourdes that you were going to stay here tonight and she thought that was a good idea," Red said gently, "Benny is still pretty upset and she thinks it best that he just be left alone until he calms himself down."
"What's he upset about?" asked Nicky.
Red sighed and put down her fork, but Julio answered before she could, "he doesn't want to come to visit my mom on Christmas anymore," he explained monotonously, "and Tia said he had to which just made him angrier. He threw a chair at the Christmas tree and it shattered a bunch of ornaments."
"Jeez," was all Nicky could think to say. She spun some spaghetti around her fork and said, "I didn't think it was that bad."
"It's usually not," said Julio shortly, but he did not elaborate. His loyalty to Benny was too great. Julio hated the way that his brother could be sometimes but he still loved him more than anybody else in the world. They had been consistently there for one another their entire lives and especially since their mother had been taken to prison.
"What would you two like to do tonight?" Red asked them, to break the tense silence around the table. Both of them shrugged. "We could watch a Christmas movie," Red suggested, "and I need some help finishing up the tree."
Nicky glanced over at the beautifully decorated tree and then back at Red curiously "it looks pretty done to me," she said, "what more could you need to do to it?"
"You'll see," was all Red said. After supper, Julio took Duke out for a walk around the block. Red made him promise not to go too far and checked to make sure he had his cell phone on him before he left. It was only about seven right now, but it was dark.
"You should have gone too," Red said, gathering up the dishes to wash.
"I'm too tired," Nicky said grumpily, "and what? Are you trying to get rid of me during the few spare minutes we get alone together this evening?"
"Nicky," Red sighed, as she began to wash the first dinner plate, "I would have loved to spend the evening alone with you, but Julio is family too and he needed a place to stay tonight."
"He actually said he wanted to go home and you wouldn't let him," Nicky pointed out. Hopping up onto the counter next to where Red was standing. Red gave her a stern look, but did not vocalize her objection to Nicky sitting there.
"He doesn't want to go home," Red said adamantly, "he just feels like he should. He's stayed over here before a few times when the fighting was too much to bear, and he visits quite often." She reached for a scrubber and went to work on a stubborn pan.
"I didn't know that the two of you had become that close," said Nicky tartly.
"I'm trying," Red said honestly, "he's Gloria's son, of course I want to be close to him."
"What about the chair thrower?" asked Nicky, "you seem to have conveniently forgotten about him." She pretended to be examining her nails, but really, she was just watching Red's expression.
"I haven't forgotten about him," Red insisted, "I just gave up. That boy has serious attitude problems."
"Sounds a lot like me when I was his age," Nicky said with a smirk, "I never threw chairs though. I did throw a ball through a glass window one time. I pretended it was an accident but really I just wanted to see if a window would actually break as easy as they seem to in the movies." She laughed fondly at the memory, "they do break that easily, by the way".
"You're a brat," Red exclaimed, shaking her head in amusement as she washed and rinsed the final frying pan. "Vasily broke a window one time, but in his case, it actually was an accident. He still had to pay to replace it out of his own money though, by doing extra chores until his debt was paid off."
"Yeah, you probably wouldn't have liked me much, back then," Nicky said honestly, but with an amused chuckle.
"Oh," Red scoffed, flicking Nicky with the dishtowel in her hand. "I would have loved and adored you at any age." She drained the water in the sink and wiped her hands on the towel. "You also wouldn't have behaved that way if you had been mine back then."
"Why, because you're just that good of a mother?" Nicky teased.
"Because I would have spanked you," Red said, effectively wiping the smirk off of Nicky's face.
"It's really snowing out there now!" Julio exclaimed excitedly, as he rushed back into the apartment, "Duke loved it." Nicky slid off of the kitchen counter, grateful for the interruption that had saved her from having to come up with a witty retort to what Red had just said.
"Just in time for Christmas," Red said happily, "I don't understand how anybody can enjoy a Christmas without snow. It just makes everything more magical."
"When I lived in Florida we didn't have any snow," Julio told her, "it was pretty cool. We went swimming at the beach on Christmas afternoon." He unhooked the dog's leash and then removed his jacket.
"That just feels wrong somehow," Red shook her head.
"That's because you're Russian," Nicky told her.
"Are we going to do the tree now?" Julio asked, walking into the living room and motioning to the beautiful and complete evergreen in the window, "whatever it is you want us to do with it."
"Yes," Red said excitedly, as though she suddenly just remembered what she had wanted to do. "Julio, do you see two packages und
er the tree, for you and Nicky, in the red foil wrapping paper?"
"We get to open presents tonight?" asked Nicky, sounding as excited as any small child would be at the news. "Just one present," Red told her. As they watched Julio rummaging beneath the tree for the gifts Red had described.
"Found them," Julio exclaimed, pulling out two red presents. Nicky's was a fair bit larger than his. Nicky took her present from him and sat cross legged down on the floor with the gift in her lap.
"Good," said Red, sitting down on the edge of the sofa, and watching them both with her chin in her hand.
"Can we open them now?" Julio asked eagerly.
"Go ahead," said Red, with a gentle smile. She had felt so good doing this for them, but now she was a little anxious about how these gifts would be received.
"Cool!" Julio exclaimed, as he unveiled a small model of a train, "it's the Hogwarts Express!" Julio was a passionate Harry Potter fan, as Red had discovered. He glanced up at Red in amazement and then went to work taking the model out of the box.
"Your favourite," Red confirmed with a gentle smile.
"Have you started reading them yet?" Julio asked her.
"I'm midway through the fourth books," Red replied, "Dobby just helped Harry Potter by bringing him some gillyweed that he needed for that task."
"Pretty impressive," Julio nodded, "I only lent you the books last week. You'll be done in no time."
"These are all Christmas ornaments," Nicky said, gently rubbing her finger over one, while four more stayed stacked on the floor next to her.
"What did you get?" Julio asked, glancing over at Nicky curiously, "wow, you got a lot."
"So, let me explain a little bit about this," Red said, crossing her legs and entwining her hands together, "when my first son was born, I got him a 'First Christmas" ornament and I bought him a new ornament every year after that. I did the same with Maxim and Vasily as well. Every Christmas Eve, my boys would get to hang their new ornaments on the tree before they went to bed. My idea was that once they grew up and moved away, they would already have a beautiful collection of Christmas ornaments for their own trees. I tried to always pick something that would reflect their interests or tell a story from the past year."
"You're doing it for us now?" Julio asked her, as he succeeded in releasing his beautiful Hogwarts train ornament from the packaging.
"Yes," said Red simply, "because we are all family now. You can hang it on the tree if you want, Julio."
"Better to keep it here then at home where someone might throw a chair at it," Julio said enthusiastically. He got to his feed and hung his ornament on an empty branch in the front of the tree.
"Nicky?" Red said hesitantly, "everything alright?" Nicky was still sitting quietly on the floor, examining each of her ornaments closely.
"Yeah," Nicky said, laughing lightly, "I'm just amazed at how well you get me."
"Oh, I had lots of fun choosing for you," Red said passionately, "why don't you come sit beside me with them?" Nicky gathered up her boxed ornaments and dropped them into Red's lap before she sat down beside her and snuggled in close, resting her head on her mother's shoulder.
"So, this is your daughter ornament," Red said unnecessarily, holding up the silver ornament that was shaped into the figures of a mother and daughter, "and if you look really closely, you can see that I had it engraved for the year and month that I first met you on."
"What about the day?" teased Nicky.
"I don't remember the specific day," Red scoffed, as though such a notion would be ridiculous. In prison, every day was one in the same.
"You don't remember my prison birth?" Nicky teased in mock disbelief.
"You mean your near prison death?" Red raised her eyebrows.
"Nah, I was always safe once you came in," Nicky said happily, snuggling herself even tighter against Red's side. "Laugh," she said, picking up the second and running her finger over the silver word written in scroll.
"Because you are so good at making people laugh," Red murmured, kissing the top of Nicky's head, "even when all they really want to do is cry."
"My strawberries," Nicky said gleefully, "my favourites!" She held up a beautiful solid model of a red delicious strawberry.
"I know what you like," Red said warmly.
"Nicky," said Nicky, as she regarded the silver heart shaped ornament that had her name spelt out in the centre of it.
"Nicky in a heart because you are my heart," Red said lovingly.
"But this one is just mean," Nicky protested, looking at the little figurine of a white dog.
"Why is it mean?" asked Red, "you love dogs."
"Yeah, but I wanted a real one," Nicky rolled her eyes, "and you wouldn't let me have one."
"Oh, you never know," Red said vaguely, picking an imaginary speck of lint from her sweater.
"What does that mean?" Nicky demanded, "are you getting me one?"
"No," Red scoffed, "it just means maybe someday." She continued to pick at her sweater and avoided Nicky's piercing stare.
"Huh," Nicky sighed, falling back against the back of the couch, "someday might as well be never." She nuzzled Red's shoulder again, "but I do love these. Thank you, mommy."
"So, you have five," Red said, reaching up to rustle Nicky's hair, "because I've been your mother for five years. I'll keep going until you have eighteen, just like all of your brothers."
"How do they all have eighteen?" Nicky asked, "you went to prison before they were that old."
"I used to tell Dmitri what to get them for Christmas every year," Red explained, "not just for these, but toys or whatever I knew they would need." She moved her hand from Nicky's hair and draped it around her shoulder, "which reminds me, I need to check Vasily's tree tomorrow and make sure that Dmitri didn't f**k it all up."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Nicky said happily, "I'm going to hang these now." She leaned over and kissed Red's pale cheek, "I love you mommy," she said, before getting up
"Can we watch the movie now?" Julio asked, walking out of the kitchen. He had wandered away while Nicky and Red had been talking. He hadn't wanted to intrude on such an intimate moment.
"Yes, let's watch one," Red said warmly, "you and Nicky can pick whatever you'd like, and I'll make us some hot chocolate."
"Nothing like 'The Sound of Music' or "It's a Wonderful Life'," Nicky said to Julio, turning away from the tree, where she was busy moving pre-standing ornaments around so that hers could be centre stage.
"Relax," said Julio, "I don't like those ones either. Although, if my mom were here she'd probably make us watch 'The Sound of Music'. I don't know why though," he shrugged, "she only likes the beginning and the ending. She'd get up and do things right in the middle of it."
He flipped on the tv with the remote, and looked through the options. "We should watch this one," he said.
"Flintstones' Christmas Carol," Nicky read, walking over to stand behind his shoulder. "Sure," she agreed.
That night was the happiest night that Nicky could remember. She felt safe and loved, and she didn't even mind much that Julio had joined them. Nothing could take away from how loved she was feeling. The three of them watched the movie together and sipped on the hot chocolate that Red had prepared. They turned off the lights and the apartment was dark, except for the shimmering lights of the Christmas tree and the glow of the tv screen. Julio curled up in the plush armchair. Nicky, lay down on the couch with her head in Red's lap, savouring the feel of her mother's fingers running through her hair. Nicky was home.