Hey,

So this is a new chapter in the love after chess story. I hope you will love it, it took some time for me to finish this. Yet I did, and I love the outcome. I hope you do too.

Enjoy,
TempeGeller

Love after Chess

Chapter 5: A helping hand

Dearest Florence

A weekend in Scotland sounds divine, I will be there Friday at 9 in the evening. I'm so happy to stay in your house, it's very nice for you to offer. I'm so looking forward to see the kids again, mine wanted to go to some boarding school. It's strange, I always thought they liked their warm home. I can't wait to land, I'm sure I will love the island.

Love

Svetlana

Florence looked from the letter to the board, Svetlana's play had not landed yet. She had come way to early. The clock read 10 minutes for 9, as she was standing at the very exit she was supposed to meet. It was strange that she was here, ready to meet Svetlana. It had been 3 months since she last seen her, it was in full winter and twins were turning 4 in this weekend. In fact that was partly the reason she had chosen it. It was a way to have family come to her, since she didn't have much of it. Freddie couldn't make it, since something had called him to New York. Totally chess unrelated. Maybe he was invited to some new Broadway performance.
"Florence…" A voice came from behind her as she turned around to see Svetlana. Svetlana's arms found a way around her body, pulling it in a needed hug.

"Svetlana." A smile appeared on her smile. "Follow me to your car. I will warn you, Anna Marie is not awake anymore, but she awakes early in the morning. I haven't found a way to keep her in bed longer during the weekend."
"Oh, I know the perfect clock for that." Svetlana turned to her. "I guess I didn't send it, I'll look on my attic and send it. It marks the hour when your child can wake up. It's no big deal, it will be fun. At home I'm by myself mostly…"
"You know you're allowed to stay with me when you please." Florence turned to Svetlana. "That's when I'm not playing chess and even than I have room in my apartment for you. Why don't you join Anatoly, now you're kids are in school?"
"I don't now…" Svetlana followed Florence to the care. "I mean it's almost like he doesn't want me around. I mean I can hardly talk about chess with him…"

"That's the problem." Florence got in the car. Svetlana sat down right next to her. "You don't know anything about chess, once I'm done with you, you will know all that is to know off the matter. He will not be able to resist you."
"Don't you mind." Svetlana turned to her. "If you don't do this, you can claim him as your own. You would be happier."
"I don't know…" She started the car. "Who says I would be happy?"

Florence stared to Svetlana over the chess board. She had just explained the pieces of the boards and what they could do. Svetlana looked at her in confusion. "I never knew chess was this complicated, no wonder Anatoly thinks I'm stupid. I thought all the pieces did the same thing."
"You're mistaking it with Draughts where all the pieces actually look alike." Florence spoke "Those pieces are kind of alike with the first row pieces, they can do the same."
"Okay, so you win if you're check mate…"
"No, you win when you can make your opponent check mate." Florence explained. "It means that you can't do a thing without losing your king. Check means that you can still get away."

"Okay, so you make sure you keep your king save." Svetlana turned to Florence. "And you try to make it that the king of the opponent can't get away."
"Exactly." Florence smiled "When that happens, you win the game."
"That's easy." Svetlana smiled
"So the most important thing is to secure your pieces." Florence spoke "Make so the front row can allow movement by the pieces. Only your knight can jump over pawns, so make sure they allow movement of the queen. So you can capture pieces that are unprotected. Don't make any sudden moves, you don't sacrifice your queen for a simple pawn. Yet try to trap your opponent with the pawn is a brilliant idea. Some beginners fall for it."
"Okay, don't fall for it." Svetlana replied "What are this strategies, people refer too?"
"They're a way to ensure you win…" Florence explained. "A very way to look at the game, you play from the strategy and react to the movement from the strategy on. Yet it's not stupid to leave it, when you can't use it anymore. Sometimes keeping a hold of a strategy can be poison."

"When you're in end game, always make sure you have a pawn that can move." Florence spoke "You wouldn't want to find your opponent in advantage because you have to move a winning piece. So, always keep a pawn that doesn't do anything, but travel to the other side of the board."
"Travel to the other side of the board, got it?"
"I think we better take a break." Florence left as she walked to the kitchen, putting the water on the stove. "Would you care for some tea."
"Yes." Svetlana smiled as she sat down at the table in the kitchen. "You have a lovely home."
"Thanks, I bought it to get away from the memories of Anatoly in London." She reached for the cups and the tea bags. "Right now I'm in love with this island. Peace and tranquility is everywhere. Plus the school system is perfect. I will have to find a solution for traveling when the kids go to school. Luckily the competition usually are between October and May, they keep me a week at most. Right now they still join me, that's going to change when they turn 6."
"Well, couldn't you hire a teacher?" Svetlana smiled "I mean you could take them and have the teacher teach them the things they miss. That way they would be with you…"
"Well, I guess you just found the solution." Florence said as she put the warm water in the cup. She stepped towards Svetlana and put the cup of tea in front of her. "

"So how are you in the kitchen?" Florence smiled at her.
"Okay?" Svetlana raised a confused eyebrow. "Why?"
"Since I'm baking a birthday cake for my munchkins birthday, you can either sit there." Florence smiled "Practice some chess with my father. Or you can help me with the cake."
"Chess?" Svetlana said with a high voice. "Or help with the cake? I'll help you with that cake."
"Thank you, Svetlana." Florence turned to her, she gave her a small nod. "I appreciate it."
"I know how it used to be." Svetlana reminded the parties that he kids used to have. Baking the cakes had always been fun. "Baking cakes, it's most fun you can have as a parent, enjoy it."
"I will…" Florence replied.

She walked towards the cabinets, lifted her body in the air and took everything she needed from it. Meanwhile Svetlana stepped in the kitchen, pulling the cookbook in front of her. Florence had marked the cake. The pictures beside it had a bright red color, she took the flower and put a piece of it in a bowl. After that she placed it back next to Florence.
It took them 15 minutes to prepare the cake, when she placed it in the oven she turned to Svetlana.
"So why are you so nice to me?" Svetlana sat down. "If I were you, I would go after Anatoly right away. Why don't you?"
"Simple." Florence looked at her feet. "He doesn't love me, Freddie says he shows no interest at the mention of my name. He could care less about me being alive or dead. So, I don't see why I would ruin your relationship, if the chance of me and Anatoly getting back together doesn't even exist."
"That's odd…" Svetlana closer her eyes for just a minute. "I always felt there was a strange way he reacts when I call out your name, I'm a such a bad judge in character, or do I think Freddie is the liar in this situation."
"Freddie has no reason to lie." Florence turned around as she put something in the fridge.
"He does, if he's in love with you." Svetlana turned her face to the left. Florence turned around for a second, her face told Svetlana that Florence did not believe Freddie was in love with her.
"Freddie knows the chances of us getting together don't exist." Florence turned around. "He knows that, he's not a liar."

Svetlana moved her eyebrow up, almost like she was trying to say that she knew moments when Freddie had lied. Even if Florence knew that was impossible. Svetlana did not know Freddie in that way.
"Anymore." She said to prove to Svetlana that he didn't lie anymore. "I am sure that he's not clever enough to do such a thing."
"Are you sure about that?" Svetlana opened her eyes wider. "I mean the man was champions for 4 years, Florence. He made his way back to the top smoothly, is that a man you want to trust with your life?"
"He's not a liar." Florence turned away.
"If you say so."

For the next few minutes nothing was said. Florence did not want to protect Freddie to Svetlana and Svetlana tried to figure out if Anatoly did not love Florence anymore, but every time Svetlana took that battle in her mind, she came up with yes. It had to be, Anatoly was still in love with Florence. What did she have to do? Florence was her friend, but Anatoly was her husband. Part of her wanted to make the marriage work, but another part wanted to see her friend happy. The same part that wanted her husband to know that he had three children. Children that were actually his. Right now she remembered all the moments she cursed about Florence, about how she was a bitch. How Florence had taken Anatoly and right now she knew that she was wrong. Florence was giving up her own happiness.
She bit on her lip as she stared to Florence.
"I can't believe I cursed the ground you walked on." She stared to the floor. "And right now, you're helping me with Anatoly.

"You desserve it."
"Who says I do?"

4 years had passed since Florence had a relationship with Anatoly. No, more than four years had passed. Freddie shook his head, wouldn't she start seeing him as a possibility for love? Why did she choose to ignore his love and go for the love of a man that was clearly not worth him. He was better than anything Anatoly could be, he learned to have respect for her. He learned about his love when she wasn't there. He had fallen more in love with her, after Florence had let him go. Right now she didn't want to give him another chance, he had hoped that she could have forgotten about everything that happened to them in the years they were together. Yet she hadn't. He had never physically abused her, but he did use her father as a way to get to her emotion. Maybe he occasionally slap her to keep her flings under control. Yet that was all in the past. Was she not as in love with him, as he had been with her? And why did she remember Anatoly longer than him?
Why didn't she choose for him? Hadn't his lies led to that? He told that Anatoly didn't love him and yet she kept her love alive in her heart. What did he need to do? How many lies did he have to tell? How many birthday parties did he need to attend? When could he get over that Russian guy. He stepped on the plain, in the end he had found a way to go to the fourth birthday party, one that would not the party that would bring Florence to him.

The journey was longer than he expected and as the hours passed by and the way to Florence's house passed by, he thought about Florence. Maybe she would fall for him. And as he knocked on the door, he kept believing it.
"Freddie…" Florence had a smile on her face when she moved her arms around him. She smelled like cake and the cake that was on the table was larger than the previous one.
"Uncle Freddie!" The kids hugged him all at the same time.
"Freddie…" Svetlana had her eyes closed up for a bit. She had her arms crossed. She tapped her feet, almost like she knew about some of the lies she had been telling.
Freddie sat down by the table, Svetlana was across of him. She continued to tap her feet, like she was nervous. Yet Freddie knew better than that, she knew about the lies he had been telling about Anatoly. It didn't seem that she had told Florence yet. When had these two become friends? Were they even compatible as friends? They were supposed to be enemies, he was counting on that very detail. And that went wrong. Why did Florence have to be so nice? "Svetlana what brings you here on this beautiful day." Freddie smiled.
"I don't know, I am here to visit my friend Florence." She smiled "I see you did the same. Weren't you supposed to be in New York?"
"Isn't it nice that he took an early plane?" Florence laughed as she put the kids down at the table. She started to sing, but it seemed almost too clear that there was a tension between Freddie and Svetlana, Florence didn't notice. Even when the kids blew out the candles, even when Svetlana send dirty looks to Freddy. It turned out that Florence was very naïve and needed to believe in the goodness of people. She believe that Freddie was honest, that Anatoly didn't love her and that Anatoly was doing great. Yet anything of that wasn't the truth. Anatoly was anything but okay. And as Freddie went to the back yard, Svetlana followed.

"You dirty liar." Svetlana stepped outside. "You're lying to Florence about Anatoly and you are lying to Anatoly about Florence. You are playing with the luck of two people."
"Then why didn't you tell about Anatoly's undying love?" Freddie laughed "About his drinking habits? Whisky isn't it? You want him for yourself and you are using Florence to keep him. You didn't tell him about the kids either? You're just the same liar."
"Florence does not want me to tell."
"Because she's unaware of the love Anatoly has for her." Freddie smiled "You are just as cruel as I am. Choosing the love of a man over a friend. You think he can love you…"
"I…" She paused. "I am going to tell Florence."
"Are you?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are you really?"

"Yes." She nodded her head. "I will tell Florence about the lies, I will tell Anatoly about the kids. They disserve this, it's their happy ending. I will even tell him my kids are not his. I will tell him the complete truth."
"Well, I have contacts with the Sovjet." He smiled "I know that you and your kids could be harmed if I call them. I don't think you want that…"
"All of that?" She turned to Freddie. "For a woman that will never be yours?"