"Stop fussing, milaya," I begged. It was 8 am Christmas morning, and Rose was flitting from room to room, adjusting the drapes, fluffing cushions, switching on lamps and insisting I add logs to the fireplace in the formal lounge, so we had a roaring fire.
"I'll just check the bathroom is clean," she said bouncing up the stairs and into the bathroom, surveying it critically – almost annoyed to find it immaculate.
"Comrade? Have you shoveled and sanded the front walk?" she asked.
"The Guardians did it at sun-up, but I'll check it now," I said before the dark look that crossed her face had a chance to make it as far as her lips.
"Sweep the snow from the edge of the deck too, please?" she instructed, not seeing I'd already picked up the broom to do precisely that.
It was almost comical seeing how stressed Rose was about Lissa coming to see our little home for the first time. Rose had never been the showy type, but then I suppose she'd never had a home of her own. I know she was very proud of the house I'd built for her; she'd been thorough getting things ready for Celeste, Art and Alberta's arrival. But something about Lissa's imminent appearance had turned her into Martha Stewart on crack!
I'd just finished sweeping the errant snowflakes that had ill-advisedly decided to besmirch the pristine timbers of the front porch with their crystalline presence and was adjusting the cushions and throw on the porch swing into a more aesthetically pleasing display when the miniature speaker pinned to my collar chirped into life.
"Commander Belikov? I have Guardians Hathaway Senior, Castile, Ashford, Lord Christian Ozera and Princess Dragomir at the entryway. Permission to proceed?" The Guardians knew the legendary Janine Hathaway, as well as Christian and Lissa, were attending today, so they were at their most formal. Something about Rose's mother scared the shit out of them. I could kind of see their point…
"Granted. Send them down to the cottage please, and advise the main house our guests have arrived," I instructed, ducking back inside to closet the broom and tell Roza her wait was over and our guests had arrived. Alberta shot me an amused glance over her coffee cup, not incognizant to Rose's visitor-induced panic.
From the front windows, I could see a Court SUV pull up alongside Art's outside the workshop. Eddie and Mason were in casual clothes yet still on duty, carefully checking around the vehicle before exiting and opening the rear doors for Lissa and Christian to exit, followed by Janine. As Commander of the property, I approached to do the formal handover. Speaking into my lapel microphone, I called for four of the on-duty Guardians to attend.
"Ashford, Castile, Hathaway Senior," I greeted, smirking a little internally at the surprised start Janine gave when she was addressed as 'Senior.' Technically it was the correct address, however as Rose hadn't begun working as a Guardian, everyone was still addressing Janine as Guardian Hathaway.
I ran them through the security measures in place, outlined the emergency plans in case of attack, and introduced them to part of the security detail - explaining that in addition to those on duty, there were a large number of Guardians on site, including Pavel, Rose, Alberta, Art, Celeste and myself who were off duty today.
"There's twenty-one Guardians, three Moroi, two feeders and the baby. The property is warded - your charges are in good hands, guys; stand down," I said, seeing Mason and Eddie relax their stance. "Janine, lovely to see you again," I said, leaning down to give my diminutive mother-in-law a kiss on the cheek.
"Belikov... I mean Dimitri," she acknowledged, quickly correcting herself when I raised an eyebrow at her. If her relationship with Rose was confusing, then I don't even know how to describe ours. Civil but not yet friendly, it was safest to say we had mixed feelings about the other.
"Lissa, Christian," I acknowledged politely. "Please come in, all of you. Rose will be so excited to see you all."
Eddie and Mason opened the trunk to pull out a bag with presents. I noticed the back was filled with luggage, but Rose had mentioned Lissa, Christian, Eddie, and Mason would be coming straight from Lehigh, stopping only to collect Janine at Court on the way through.
"You're here!" Rose squealed from the front porch. My breath hitched looking at her. Back into her skinny jeans and a tight gray ribbed sweater, her slightly larger breasts were the only visible change from the beautiful girl I'd first met last year in Portland. Actually, there was something different about her eyes, too; a contentment that hadn't been there previously. I recognized the look from my own eyes. She was still the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, and I had to concentrate hard to stop my mind wandering to how she'd looked riding me in passion last night.
My girl raced across the porch, launching herself first at Mason and Eddie, then Lissa. Finally, she wished Christian a happy Christmas with an only slightly awkward kiss on the cheek, Janine receiving a friendlier version of the same.
"Come inside – it's freezing out!" she encouraged. Eddie, Mason, and Janine already knew the house and layout, but this was the first visit for Lissa and Christian. "Alberta's in the kitchen," Rose explained to the others, preparing to give Lissa and Christian the grand tour.
Lissa was staring about her in awe. She knew Dimitri had built the house for me, but while she was trying to conceal it, a quick brush of her mind revealed she'd been expecting something much more rustic. She'd honestly half-expected no internal walls and perhaps even a mattress on the floor. The fact this house looked closer to something from Home Beautiful than her own tastefully appointed, professionally decorated apartment at Lehigh surprised her.
"You said Dimitri built this for you?" she asked, looking around in amazement.
"Well there was a cottage here, but he restumped, rewired, replumbed, extended it twenty feet on one end, put in a new kitchen, new laundry, new bathroom and powder room, took the roof off and added the second story, put three bedrooms up there, added the dormers and re-roofed. He also remodeled the entire ground floor, put in the new staircase, redid the porch boards, added the stairs and balustrading and reclad the outside before painting inside and out. He's also done loads around the property and has plans for so much more. Anyway, put your things down, and I'll show you around."
I started with the formal lounge. Opening off the entryway with an arch, it was looking beautiful. The real Christmas tree in the corner beside the roaring fire was welcoming, and the sofas looked warm and inviting. I led them through to the dining room and then back out into the entryway, pointing out the powder room along the way. We went upstairs, stopping on the middle landing to show her the photo collage. I showed them a couple of 'before' pictures of the cottage, but I noticed her looking at several photos of her and me over the years with a smile.
Upstairs I continued the tour by opening the double doors to our bedroom with a flourish. With fresh flowers, a warm throw, some artfully placed books and a tastefully cropped version of my favorite photo of Dimitri and me in a polished silver frame on my bedside, the room looked comfortable and somehow very Dimitri and I. Lissa was looking around with undisguised curiosity. Somehow Lissa still found it hard to imagine Dimitri and me living together essentially as man and wife. In her head, she still saw us as mentor and student. Seeing our two personalities melded into a single intimate living space surprised her.
The bathroom was dutifully admired, then I showed them the guest room which Alberta had thoughtfully straightened so it would show to best advantage.
"One room left upstairs to show you," I said with a grin, opening the door to Ivan's room. Decorated in navy and gray, his room was beautiful. But by far the most gorgeous thing in the room was lying in his crib, playing with his feet.
"Hello, handsome! Are you awake зайчик?" I said, picking up my happy little boy. He was smiling right now, but I knew he'd want a feed any minute now.
Christian looked at Ivan and then back at me.
"He looks like you, Rose… But like Dimitri, too." I knew it was the final confirmation for Christian – that Ivan was Dimitri's son.
"Dimitri says he looks more like me when he's hungry," I laughed; a reference to my prodigious appetite.
"You're looking fabulous, Rose," Lissa complimented me. "You'd never tell you'd had a baby four months ago."
"Thanks. Half of it's the breastfeeding, but I'm back training again, so that helps. If you want a cuddle of Ivan, I suggest you take him now. Alberta grabs him any chance she gets, and Janine likes her fair share of him, too," I giggled. I'd like to see who'd win in a Janine/Alberta stoush for Ivan.
I passed a rather nervous Lissa Ivan to hold. She looked apprehensive at first, but when my easygoing boy gave her one of his gorgeous gummy smiles she loosened up a bit.
"I've got breakfast for us all downstairs, but if you'd like to feed, Abe has feeders up at the main house?"
"We fed just before we left, so maybe after lunch," Lissa said with a look at Christian who nodded.
"Great! Then let's eat," I suggested, walking back downstairs and showing them into the bright, spacious living, meals, kitchen area.
"What a great kitchen!" Christian enthused, looking around our large country-style setup. "That range is incredible!"
"Thanks. We could have gone for something smaller, but we both cook a lot, and I like to cook Sunday lunch for the Guardians every week, so it's handy to have something big."
Eddie and Mason were playing a car racing game on the console, while Janine and Alberta were chatting away at the kitchen table. Dimitri was loading bagels and croissants onto platters in preparation for breakfast.
"Need a hand?" Christian surprised by asking him.
I was opening my mouth to say no, that he was a guest when Lissa silently interjected.
Please let him. He's feeling nervous and awkward, but he likes to cook, and it gives him something to do.
Dimitri looked up and shrugged, reaching into a drawer and tossing him a manly apron before setting him to work slicing smoked turkey breast. Lissa sat at the table with Ivan a little awkwardly. I noticed Janine and Alberta made no attempt to include her in their conversation. While it wasn't outright rude, it wasn't exactly friendly either.
"I can't believe how much he's grown," Lissa said gratefully when I grabbed a coffee and sat beside her. "He's so handsome, too!"
"Best looking baby ever," Alberta piped up, looking at him indulgently.
"And you're not at all biased, are you Alberta?" I laughed.
Abe and Pavel were climbing the back stairs to the deck and let themselves in, Art and Celeste on their tail.
"Perfect timing," I said. "We're just about to have breakfast. Guys you all remember Celeste from St Vlad's? This is Art Schonberg, my father Abe Mazur and his personal Guardian Pavel. Can I introduce Lissa Dragomir, Christian Ozera, and Guardians Eddie Castile and Mason Ashford."
"Your father?" Celeste gasped. Lissa wasn't saying anything, but I could tell she was shocked, too.
"Yeah. Long story that. I'll tell you about it later," I laughed.
Abe stepped forward, shaking hands and kissing cheeks while Pavel put a case of champagne on the countertop, opening it and quickly putting bottle after bottle into the fridge.
"You look lovely Janine," Abe said handsomely, kissing my mother's cheek. I was amused to see her blush.
"Hey! This is the first time I've been in the same room as both my parents!" I said in surprise. "That's gotta be worth a photo! Comrade? Where's the camera?"
Dimitri fished a portable camera out of one of the kitchen drawers, taking several photos of me standing between Abe and Janine. Janine looked a little uncomfortable but finally managed a smile. Abe was grinning.
Art and Celeste joined us at the table, and it was impossible to ignore the glittering bracelet Celeste wore on one wrist. It screamed new and expensive.
"That's such a lovely bracelet," Lissa observed, always one to notice bling.
"Thank you. It was a Christmas present from Art," Celeste simpered, giving him a look that couldn't be misinterpreted. I noticed Janine lifting a brow to Alberta, the latter just smiling and shrugging. Art flushed a little, but still took Celeste's hand in his, resting it on top of the table between them.
"Who's ready to eat?" Dimitri asked, bringing huge platters of food to the table. We all took seats, Christian and the guys sitting at the adjacent kitchen bench with Dimitri as there weren't enough seats at the table. In no time we were all helping ourselves to the croissants, bagels, sliced smoked meats, cheeses, fruits and conserves. Dimitri was pouring the coffees and teas when Lissa looked to relinquish Ivan so she could have her meal.
She passed him to me, and I cuddled him in one arm while I quickly loaded a plate for myself.
"I'll feed him if you have a bottle?" Janine quickly volunteered.
"I do, but I really need to nurse him; my boobs are about to explode," I laughed. Mason started choking on his juice, causing everyone to look at him in amusement. Christian stared at his plate and kept eating, but I noticed he also looked uncomfortable.
"Anyone touches my plate, they die," I warned, moving over to the sofas to feed Ivan. I sat in one corner, so the arm of the sofa obscured what I was doing. I didn't have a problem with feeding in front of other people, but I knew Pavel got a bit embarrassed about it, and Mason made a point of not even looking in my direction if I was nursing – even when I had a wrap draped over me. There were several hopeful sets of eyes as I returned to the table holding Ivan, but I couldn't neglect the one person who wanted to hold him the most, so pretending not to notice those quickly pushing their plates away expectantly, I passed my little man to his Papa.
Dimitri's loving smile as he played with our son melted my heart. He was such a hands-on Papa, always talking to our little man and telling him he was loved and precious. He was speaking to him in Russian now, but he was talking too quickly for me to understand much despite my Russian lessons. Lissa caught me trying to follow what he was saying, so interpreted.
He's asking Ivan if he enjoyed the milk and is telling him he needs Mama's milk to grow big and strong. Then he said he understands Ivan liking Mama's breasts because he likes them, too.
I could feel her surprise and amusement coming through the bond, and looking around the table I could see Abe and Pavel smirking a little.
"That's quite enough talk about my breasts at the breakfast table, thank you, Comrade!" I said shooting him a look and causing Mason to nearly choke again.
Dimitri's head shot up, and he looked at me in surprise.
"Sorry milaya," he mumbled, appeasing an outraged Janine by passing Ivan to her. "There you go, little man. I think your Neenee wants a cuddle!"
"Neenee?" Eddie asked, deftly changing the conversation as a repentant Dimitri started clearing the table.
"Grandma or Nanna didn't seem right," Janine explained. "So Neenee it is."
"So he's got a Neenee, a Babushka, a Grandma Bertie and a Dede," I said with a smile. "Now as it's his first Christmas, I thought Ivan might like to watch us decorating the tree!"
Lissa's face lit up; decorating the tree was one of her favorite Christmas activities, and something we'd always done together. I'd intentionally delayed it so we could do it together today. Christian gave me a look of thanks. He knew how much it meant to Lissa.
"You guys start – I'll get some of the things for lunch going and join you in a minute," Dimitri suggested.
"I'll help you," Christian offered.
I grabbed the camera, and the rest of us traipsed through into the formal lounge. I'm not sure how it worked out that way, but Abe ended up on one sofa between Alberta and Janine, Ivan perched between my parents.
"Aww рыбка! Look at you there with your Dede and Neenee," I cooed, taking photos of the three of them. Janine probably wouldn't like it, so I didn't make a big deal about it, but it was kind of weird to see my parents with a baby perched between them. In another life that could have been me, I thought. Lissa saw my face and gave my hand a quick squeeze.
Art and Celeste were cuddled up on the other sofa with Eddie at one end, Mason sitting on the rug beside them. I got the box of vintage ornaments from Murray out, passing it to Mason.
"Be careful with those. Murray gave them to Ivan for Christmas. They're all at least eighty years old and hand blown glass."
Lissa peered into the box.
"Wow – they're beautiful!" she said. "Who's Murray?"
"I've become good friends with a guy who runs a second-hand store in the human township about ten minutes away," I explained. "I saw Ivan's rocking chair outside his shop, and it was the start of a beautiful friendship! Dimitri and I both like vintage furniture, so we bought a lot of the furniture here from him."
"It looks so good, Rose. You've done a great job putting it together," Lissa complimented, still shocked that we had such a beautiful home.
"Thanks, but it was just as much Dimitri. He was a man on a mission to get this place completed before Ivan arrived."
For the next hour, Lissa and I decorated the Christmas tree while the others chatted and issued instructions from the sofas. Dimitri and Christian appeared with plates of biscuits; the Lebkuchen Art had made, the gingerbread from Alberta and shortbread Dimitri and I had made a few days prior. We'd made a massive batch to include in the little Christmas baskets we'd given to each of the Guardians.
I put Ivan down for his nap, and came back downstairs to find Abe had opened the champagne. While I'd been upstairs, Dimitri had put the presents out beneath the tree. Ivan had more than the rest of us put together, but that was to be expected; Christmas was all about children!
Before I knew it, Eddie, Mason, and Dimitri were extending the dining table, Ivan was awake again and being bottle fed by Abe while Janine and Alberta watched on giving critical advice, Celeste and Art were sneaking kisses when they thought no one was looking and Lissa and I were setting the Christmas table. I had to laugh thinking of Alyce as I laid out the plain white place settings that I'd spruced up with some fancy decorative side plates.
Then Dimitri and Christian co-opted Eddie, Mason, and Pavel to help bring the mountains of food to the table. We all sat, Ivan between Dimitri and I in his high chair, while Abe said grace. Nominally Muslim, but in truth agnostic, he nonetheless managed to say just the right thing; acknowledging those loved but not with us, as well as the bonds of family, friendship, and love that brought us together to celebrate today. It was a touching offering and managed to cover everyone's situation without being too specific.
The meal was phenomenal. While I'd helped with some of the prep work, most of the cooking had been Dimitri's doing. We had turkey, roast beef, glazed ham, roast vegetables and so many sides it wasn't funny. I was so proud to see my man at the head of the table, masterfully carving the roasts for our family and friends! We'd discussed it with the Pediatrician at the last visit, and we'd planned a special surprise for everyone over lunch; today Ivan was going to get his first taste of solids! Dimitri had made plain stewed apples to go with the roast pork, so once everyone was settled eating, I got a cup and spoon and mashed a little bit to make sure it was super smooth.
"Comrade? It's 1 am in Baia, but your Mama will want to see this. Can you record it on your phone?"
Dimitri obliged, setting up the video function on his phone and leaning it against a bottle of champagne on the tabletop. I pulled out a bib that also covered Ivan's arms; I'd heard solids were a messy business!
"Hey guys – look at this," I said, getting the attention of the table. "Vanushka? Look what Mama has for you!" I scooped a little apple onto the end of the spoon and held it out to him. I opened my mouth to show him what to do, and he copied, so I put the tiniest bit of applesauce onto the end of his tongue.
His face was priceless! Shocked but interested, he was opening and closing his mouth in wonder before squealing with excitement.
"Oh Roza – he is so your child," Dimitri chuckled. "That's what you look like when you see a chocolate doughnut!"
"Shut up and give him a spoonful," I laughed, handing him the cup and spoon.
We took turns giving Ivan tastes of apple, while the table watched on in amusement. Finally, we had eaten so much we could eat no more. We quickly cleared the table, Dimitri stacking the dishwasher and wiping down the table. Many hands made light work, and in no time at all, we were back in the lounge getting ready to distribute the Christmas presents.
The Secret Santa had been an inspired idea. It meant each person would get one hopefully decent gift and not a whole heap of stuff they didn't need. There were some hard people to buy for here, so it would be interesting to see what people got. Because so many were for Ivan, we decided to intersperse opening gifts for him with passing out the ones to the adults.
"Comrade – you can open the ones for Ivan. Eddie, you can have a cuddle with the little guy," I said, mentally keeping track of who'd yet to have time with Ivan today.
I sat in my favorite spot – next to the Christmas tree in the plum spot to hand out the presents. The first one was for Christian. It was a remote control drone.
"Wicked! I've wanted one of these," he said with a megawatt grin. Eddie looked pleased, so I thought it might have been from him.
The next adult to get a gift was Alberta. She'd been given a foot spa with lots of fancy pedicure products. While I thought it was a bit of a boring gift, Alberta seemed pleased with it. I didn't have to ask who'd given that one – I could tell from the bond it had been Lissa.
Abe was next up, and he looked genuinely delighted to receive the loudest most lurid scarf I'd seen yet. In garish greens and yellows, it clashed hideously with his skin tone, but he loved it. A twitch of Janine's mouth let me know who'd probably had to buy for Abe!
The next present was small but heavy, and it was for my Russian God. I already knew what this one was and who'd given it. A socket set, and three paperback Westerns, it was from Mason. He'd rung me in a panic last week because he just couldn't think of what to get Dimitri. My love was very pleased; he always liked new books, and the socket set at the house was missing pieces and rusty, and he had wanted to replace it.
Lissa cried when she opened her present. Also a book, hers was in Russian and had the Dragomir crest on the front. It was at least a hundred years old and was a biography of the last Dragomir King. I suspected it was well over the thirty-dollar limit, but since I suspected Abe got Lissa, I don't suppose it mattered.
The old theme continued with the next gift; an antique stake holder for Art. It turned out Pavel had realized he and Art both collected antique stakes and Guardian equipment, so Pavel had gifted Art an antiquated Russian holder. The two men were soon deep in conversation about their collections, and a promise was made to get together to discuss their treasures in details soon. They might have spoken about it forever had Art not become distracted by Celeste's gift.
I'd drawn Celeste, and thinking Art might need a little inspiration to get things moving, I'd used this opportunity to give Celeste the very sheer and sexy babydoll set I'd bought her months ago when I'd gone shopping in Missoula. It had been closer to forty than thirty dollars, but the look on Art's face when Celeste unwrapped it was priceless. Celeste's face was a picture too; she looked around in concern, wondering who might buy her that type of getup.
"I should clarify – I bought that one. I thought you might enjoy something a bit more feminine than workout wear," I said innocently, pretending not to notice Art looking like as though he felt the gift was for him every bit as much as it was for her!
Janine was up next, and I was curious to see if she'd enjoy her present. My darling had drawn her, and the two of us had thought long and hard about what to buy. Eventually, Dimitri had come up with an idea, drawing on his experiences as an ex-pat. He'd packed a box full of iconic Scottish foods, mainly sweets and things Janine might have enjoyed as a kid. Most of it we'd ordered on the Internet.
The box had the obligatory cans of Irn-Bru and Barr's Ginger Beer, as well as a couple of Wham Bars, a box of Tunnocks tea cakes, caramel wafers and snowballs, Scottish Tablets, Highland Toffee bars, Kramola Fizz a modern version of Creamola Foam, Cola Cubes, Soor Plooms, Edinburgh Rock and tinned Baxters soups in Scotch Broth; Broccoli, Salmon and Watercress; Royal Game and Cock-a-Leekie. We'd also got some Highland Heather Honey, some Mackie's chips in Turkey and Haggis stuffing flavor and a tin of Tennant's Lager. With the shipping factored in, it had cost a lot more than the spending limit, but neither Dimitri nor I cared. We just hoped she liked it because Janine was a very hard person to buy for.
She was silent at first when she opened the box, and I thought if anything she might be angry. But one by one as she pulled out the delicacies she'd comment on them, and she moaned when she saw the Soor Plooms and the soups.
"I haven't had these in years! I didn't know you could still buy them! How did you find all this? Who bought me this?" she demanded.
"I did," Dimitri confessed. "Although Rose helped me. We didn't know what you might remember, so we got a range of stuff. You can buy it online."
Janine got up and surprised everyone by giving my Russian God a genuine hug.
"I love it. I can'nae believe you found it!" she said, intentionally slipping into a Scottish accent.
"Do that again!" I squealed. "I've never heard you talk Scottish!"
"Aye when you were just a wee bairn I used to sing to you in Scots," she said in the full accent, blushing a bit.
We were all laughing, even Janine.
"You've never been back?" Alberta asked.
"Not since I took my promise," Janine said with a sad smile.
"You should, Janine," Art said. "You don't have to take an allocation. Go for a holiday."
"Nah. I don't know anyone over there, anymore. Besides, it's no fun going without someone to show it to."
"I'll go with you," I immediately volunteered, earning a surprised look from Dimitri as well as Abe. "We could make a girls' week of it? I'll have to bring Ivan if I'm still feeding, but I'm sure he'd love a week away with his Neenee."
"I do have a lot of leave owing," Janine admitted, appearing to consider it. "And it would be fun to see some of the places I grew up. Just to see how the place has changed you know?"
I gave her an encouraging smile. I had no idea about my extended family or my mother's childhood and adolescence. Janine had simply never spoken about it. I had so many questions about where I came from, and a trip like this would be the perfect place to start getting some answers. Besides, things had been going so well between Janine and I. Removing all the expectations between us had helped a lot. It had been surprisingly easy to let go. We had next to no relationship previously, so I just mentally separated 'Mom' from 'Janine' and got to know the latter.
"Someone's getting squirmy, and I think he needs a change," Eddie said holding Ivan out at arm's length towards Dimitri.
"Come on Vanya," he cooed, taking our son from Eddie.
"Try and put him down, Comrade. He's due for his sleep," I requested. "Pavel! You're next." I passed him a bottle bag.
"I'll enjoy this," Pavel said with a polite smile, showing us the bottle of red wine. Christian, if I had to hazard a guess. It was the sort of unimaginative gift I could imagine him giving.
Dimitri had just come back downstairs when Eddie got his gift. To say he was blown away by the practice Tantō and the opportunity to attend the Master Kobayashi seminar was an understatement. The guy was speechless, and Art was grinning, pleased his present had been such a hit.
There was only Mason and me left now. I passed him his envelope, hoping his Secret Santa had got him something good. He looked pretty pleased with his hour-long Harley Davidson motorbike ride voucher. He'd wanted to get a motorbike since he was about ten. I looked around wondering who knew him well enough to know that?
And then it was my turn. I unwrapped my present to find a photo album and an envelope. I opened the envelope first to find a pedicure voucher for a salon at court. I'd enjoy that – it was the sort of thing I'd never buy myself but would use and get pleasure from. Then I looked at the album. It was a gorgeous leather-tooled album. I was just thinking it would be perfect for pictures of Ivan when I opened it to see a different looking youngster. Me.
The entire album was filled with pictures of me from four years of age onwards. In class, around campus, asleep, in the pool. Sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. There was the first day of school photos, me grinning at the camera when I'd lost a tooth, pictures of me with sports day medals. Through every phase and stage, there were photos documenting my life.
I got to the age of fifteen after we'd taken off, but there were still photos.
"I called Lissa and asked for copies," Alberta explained.
There were photos of Lissa and me at parties, at the human schools we'd attended. There was even a picture of me on the plane that Dimitri had taken and sent to the school as proof we'd been recovered. The photos continued after our recovery. Some of Dimitri and I training, some around campus. There was even one taken at graduation probably only seconds before Tasha had stood up. The last pages were photos of me in August – heavily pregnant and then finally a beautiful shot of Dimitri, Ivan and me in the St Vladimir's infirmary.
"I meant to give this to you in August, but once we made the arrangements for Christmas I thought I'd contact Lissa to fill in the two years you were away," she explained.
"Thanks, Alberta," I said with a teary smile. I can't explain how loved the album made me feel.
"Now, I do have another surprise today, but I understand it's getting late and some of you might need to go? Lissa, Christian – you're very welcome to stay overnight if you'd like? Rose has prepared a room in the main house for you, and there's plenty of space in the Guardian quarters for Eddie and Mason, or they can also stay in the main house if you prefer? Janine, you might also like to stay? Or if you need to return to Court, I can have one of the Guardians drop you back?" Dimitri asked.
Lissa and Christian looked at one another, and I had to suppress a smile when I skimmed Lissa's thoughts. She was keen to stay. She was having a good time, besides she wanted to get a look inside Abe's house to see how a mobster lived.
"Eddie? Mason? Is there a problem with us staying overnight?" Lissa asked.
They said there wasn't, so Lissa accepted the invitation.
"Well, I'm still on Moroi time, but if I have a power nap now, I'll be able to go the distance. If there's a spare bed, I'll stay," Janine surprised us all by announcing.
"Have a nap on our bed or on the bed in Ivan's room, Janine," Dimitri suggested. "This surprise is outside, so you can nap here while Ivan does. He usually sleeps a couple of hours at this time of day, and it will save me getting one of the Guardians down to sit in the house with him while we're outside. Later on, you can have one of the rooms in the Guardian Quarters."
"There's heaps of rooms made up, Janine," I assured her.
"Nonsense," Abe interjected. "She'll sleep in the main house."
"Guardian Quarters are fine, Abe," Janine argued.
"Janine you're the mother of my child. You'll not be sleeping in the Guardian Quarters. There are several pretty rooms in the main house. You have your nap, the rest of us can go up there now, and Rose can choose a nice room for you. Lissa, Christian and I can feed, and then we can enjoy this surprise of Dimitri's."
And that's how it worked out. After being told we should rug up, we walked up to the main house. The Moroi fed and then Abe conducted a tour of his home. Now it was done it was a masterpiece, and everyone complimented him liberally. When we were ready to go, Dimitri borrowed Abe's new scarf to tie around my eyes.
"This next surprise is for everyone, but it's especially for my Roza," Dimitri said, lifting me in his arms and carrying me across to a spot on the other side of the property. Dimitri had not let me over this part of the property for the last week, so I had no idea what might be waiting.
I heard laughing and a couple of 'wow' comments, then Dimitri set me back on my feet.
"Happy Christmas, milaya. To make up for last year," he whispered into my ear. Then he untied the scarf, and I looked in front of me in awe. My wonderful, loving man had made our very own outdoor ice-skating rink!
"You are freaking kidding me?!" I squealed, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him fervently. "Dimitri Belikov you are the most wonderful man ever!"
"Come put your skates on, then," he said with a grin, showing me where there were boxes of brand-new skates, each with a name written on the lid.
"How did you know the sizes?" Art asked in surprise.
"Esme," he laughed. "Shoe size is in the Guardian personnel files. She wouldn't let me call for the records because they're confidential, but when I explained I had friends coming for Christmas and was planning an ice-skating surprise, she was happy to call for the files and give me the shoe sizes. Then I rang and asked Eddie for Lissa and Christian's sizes, and Pavel gave me Abe's."
My Russian God had thought of everything. There were packets of new thick socks here, too. He looked very pleased with himself as he helped me lace my skates, quickly donning a pair himself.
Hand in hand we walked to the rink. It was an irregular shape, made up with a snow border to keep the water in.
"We used to do this every year in Baia," Dimitri explained. You have to keep adding water but if you do it will last a month or so.
My hand in his we started skating around together, getting closer as we each could tell the other knew how to skate quite well. Grabbing me around the waist, Dimitri pulled himself against me from behind, whispering loving comments in my ear.
"This should have been last year, milaya. I should have been there skating with you. I should have been by your side when you found out about Ivan. But I'm here now, and I love you."
"Next year we'll be able to buy Ivan skates," I whispered back.
"Hopefully next year you'll be pregnant again," he replied, kissing my neck gently. "And next time I'll be there for every single moment," he promised.