Wolves of the Pacific

by greenpeach20

In 1902, Renesmee Cullen grew tired of the tedious life of moving around with her family and decided to make the journey west as a mail order bride. Yet a chance encounter with a reddish brown wolf would change her life forever.

145. Chapter 145

Chapter 145

"Please tell me we have a case," Nathan asked Kevin over the phone after he'd explained the situation.

"You bet your ass we do," Kevin answered. "I'll make sure we do. I think you're right that this won't likely go to court but if they're going to beg to settle, I'll make sure it hurts."

"Good," Nathan said. "I don't even care about the money."

"I know; it's about making them suffer some deserved consequences," Kevin said. Upon request, Nathan gave Kevin the number of Officer Gant so he could get what he needed. "I'll get a hold of the officer now and start mapping out our case. I'll bet you anything the moment that casino receives the notice to come to court, they'll bend just to save face."

"And if they don't?" Nathan asked.

"Then I'll make sure every moment of this procedure is as painful for them as possible," Kevin said.

"I appreciate it, Kevin. Let me give you Joe's number too. He's Ivory's former supervisor and he's been heavily involved in this whole thing. By the sound of it, Joe was being stonewalled when he tried to institute some real consequences for Ben's behavior."

"I'll talk to him," Kevin affirmed. "Honestly, under the circumstances, my advice to him would be to find work elsewhere while they're still unsuspecting."

"You can tell him," Nathan said. Once Nathan and Kevin ended their call, Nathan relayed the news and, though Ivory was still apprehensive about the whole thing, she was happy to have the support she was getting.

Sadly, everything was moving at a snail's pace after that. Ben posted bail but Ivory had her temporary restraining order in place and when that expired, assuming she didn't have her permanent one by then, she could go to Officer Gant and get a renewed one. Although, to Ivory's relief, at least from what she could immediately tell, the scare of being arrested and having charges brought against him for stalking as well as attempted breaking and entering had dissuaded Ben from any further advances. How long it would last was yet to be seen. Though Kevin could be relied on to ensure the beginnings of a lawsuit were swift. He spoke with the assigned Officer obtaining evidence and then spoke in depth with Joe who was all too eager to assist and had already obtained employment elsewhere. Once he had everything mapped out in a formal complaint, Kevin had it sent to the Last Vegas courts who then had the complaint served to the appropriate parties at the casino.

"How long do you think this will last?" Ivory asked Nathan.

"I guess it depends on what the casino's next step is. If they choose to settle, it could take months and if they choose to fight this in court, it could take years. We'll have to wait and see."

"So we're still going to be dealing with this in April?"

"Likely," Nathan said and Ivory groaned. "It'll be alright, Ivory. Nothing will ruin your wedding day; you have my word."

"What are the chances you think of me finding work with the condition I'd only be working there three months?" Ivory asked.

"You can look for work once you're back in Washington," Nathan said.

"Daddy, I need some form of income. We still have things to pay for with the wedding," Ivory said.

"Let me worry about it," Anatoli said.

"Anatoli–"

"Really, Ivory, it is alright," Anatoli promised and took her head. "I will worry about it. We have paid for the bulk of it anyway."

"Still," Ivory said.

"It'll be alright, honey," Tamara promised.

Nathan and Anatoli stayed in Las Vegas for a minimum of the remainder of January if only to make sure everything would be alright. Under the circumstances, it was agreed Ivory would move to Washington when Anatoli and Nathan returned home. While the family was waiting for Nathan and Anatoli to get back, Salem was at long last able to leave Vietnam. When he got back to Washington, he was able to get his retirement paperwork near immediately and by the time he returned to Forks, it was with his discharge papers on hand with a big smile on his face; not because he'd left the Navy – he would still miss the Navy for all the good times he'd received – but because he was out of Vietnam. Everyone came to Natalie's house to come see Salem and welcome him home.

"You certainly grew up since last I saw you," Salem said to Emma Leigh when she came up to him.

"Well, yeah, of course," she answered.

"Still a brat I see," Salem teased and patted her head while she swatted his hand away.

"Daddy!" Emma Leigh looked right at Emmett who was just smirking a little.

"Watch your mouth, Salem," Emmett said.

"Never thought you'd enjoy being bossed around by a child did you?" Salem poked fun.

"Never been happier," Emmett said and looked at Emma Leigh. "Come here, Emma; give everyone a chance to welcome Salem home."

Emma Leigh complied without argument and went right to Emmett reaching out to him so Emmett would pick her up. His nieces and nephews swarmed Salem the moment Eun Mi arrived with them and they hugged Salem making him feel more welcome than he ever thought possible. They dragged him behind them back to JJ's and Eun Mi's house so they could show him their chicken coop. It was mostly covered so the chickens could be protected from the snow but he could overhear the chickens.

"You know, I almost didn't believe you convinced JJ to let you have chickens," Salem said to Eun Mi who smiled triumphantly.

"They've been invaluable," Eun Mi said.

"I'm sure that's what you tell JJ," Salem teased and kneeled in front of Eun So who brought out one of the silky chickens that was especially friendly and was always happy to be held. Popo popped out when he heard to coop being opened but it was already closed back up by the time he came out, so instead Popo circled Eun So staring at the chicken. "I see Popo's got his heart set on eating these chickens."

"Yeah, we have to keep Popo out of the coop, but he tries," Jae Sun smiled.

"I'm told you made a little comic about Popo's attempts to get into the coop?"

"Yeah!" Jae Sun smiled and ran inside to get his cartoons. Once Salem was able to see the cartoons, he had to agree they were on par with the talents of Disney.

"That's damn good, Jae Sun," Salem praised. "You keep this up and you could walk into Disney and get a job no problem."

"You think so?" Jae Sun asked with bright eyes.

"You bet," Salem smiled.

Not long after coming home, Salem was informed of the situation that happened with Ivory, so by the time Nathan and Anatoli returned with Ivory, all he could do when he finally saw her was give her a big hug and promise everything would be alright. Given Kevin was still pressing on the matter of charges against the casino, Salem promised with complete certainty that Kevin would make sure they paid out the ass for the troubles at bare minimum. Ivory requested to move in with Anatoli and, by then, no one cared to argue and Anatoli was happy to move her in. Argo was happy for mommy to be home as well. Once things settled, Salem finally went to visit Arturo and was shocked when a teeny tiny little boy answered the door with big brown eyes and chubby little cheeks wearing overalls.

"Emilio?" Salem asked. The boy had grown so much since last he'd seen him.

"Yes, sir," the little boy answered.

"Good to see you Salem," Arturo said as he came to the door and hugged him. Arturo told Emilio to go help Esparenza set the table and welcomed Salem into the apartment. "Happy to be home?"

"Dear God, you have no idea," Salem said and sat on the couch accepting the beer that Esparenza handed with him a kind welcoming smile. Arturo sat beside him with a beer in his hand as well. "So," Salem said and grinned, "When do you want to open a tattoo shop of our own?"

Arturo chuckled and shrugged, "I guess when we can afford to. I've been saving up."

"I want to go to Fort Lauderdale for a few days first, but once I get back, we can start looking for properties."

"Why do you need to go to Fort Lauderdale?"

"I want to see a close friend and ask for a tattoo," Salem said.

"You realize I could just do that for you," Arturo chuckled.

"I know, but I want Andy to do it. It's right up his ally," Salem said. "You're much more of a black and grey kind of guy. That's where you excel."

"Oh, it's in color? Yeah, that's a little out of my comfort zone. Unless its traditional," Arturo said. "What are you getting?"

"The national flower of Vietnam, a Vietnamese centipede and a woman's name under it," Salem answered. Arturo grinned but Salem held up his hand a little, "It's a memorial tattoo."

"To who?"

"A woman who shot herself in front of me," Salem said. "She was delivering a baby and I was trying to help her, but when my company was on its way with reinforcement, she tried to shoot me but gave up on that and pointed the gun at herself and pulled the trigger. I tried to stop her, but I couldn't. Her daughter lived; adopted by close family in fact, but I can't shake the guilt that I couldn't save her mother's life."

"I see," Arturo said. "Well, enjoy Florida. You've earned enjoying your retirement. You've got a pension, right?"

"Yep, and not a half bad one," Salem said. "I guess if I wanted to, I could just live off that, but that would get old real fucking fast even if I travel. Besides, I'm sick of traveling."

"I take it you haven't met someone overseas?"

"Nope. Not even close," Salem said. "It was late, but for my birthday, the guys on my sub bought me time with a Vietnamese prostitute."

"How was it?"

"Fine," Salem shrugged. "I mean, she was a really nice girl, she was fun to be with while it lasted: I just prefer my encounters with consenting adults that are sleeping with me for fun and not for money."

"Don't worry, Salem. I'm sure you'll meet a good girl soon. You're still young; you've got time."

"I'm 34," Salem said.

"That's young," Arturo insisted and sipped his beer. "If you're worried about kids, you clock isn't ticking as it were."

Salem chuckled a little, "It's not that. Although when my nieces and nephews welcomed me home, I thought to myself, 'this must be nice to come home to every day'."

"Sometimes you come home to that. Sometimes you come home to your son coloring on the walls while his mother isn't looking," Arturo said that a little louder looking right at Emilio then laughed when Emilio looked guilty. "We scrubbed that wall for an hour and that crayon wouldn't come out so we have to paint over it so the landlord won't find out."

"You're secret's safe with me," Salem said.

"So when are you leaving for Florida?"

"I think after my cousin's wedding," Salem said. "She's getting married in Las Vegas, so I can go to Fort Lauderdale before returning home."

"I hear nice things about Las Vegas," Arturo said. "A little too dry for my liking I imagine, but you can't beat a good hot day."

"And it's a dry heat so it's a little more comfortable than a humid heat," Salem said.

"When is your cousin's wedding?"

"April," Salem said. "If you want to go, I might be able to include you as our guests."

"Oh, no. No, no," Arturo chuckled, "I don't think we've ever met your cousin. I doubt she would be too keen on us coming to her wedding. Besides, I don't know if we could afford it. And don't offer to pay: we're business partners, not your dependents."

"Just thought I'd offer," Salem smiled.

"One day when you get married, you will learn first-hand that there are few things more infuriating than people inviting themselves to your wedding. Trust me: when Esparenza and I got married, we invited our family and maybe a handful of friends then that family and handful of friends invited their own guests that we'd never met or even heard of. And that's more mouths to feed that may or may not even bring a gift."

"So bring money or leave the damn wedding?" Salem joked.

"For all the work and planning that goes into a wedding: yes. By then you may be at that point," Arturo said. "Now, you're an invited guest, so I say write the couple a check and call it a day. I don't care what anyone says: giving the couple money is not rude. They'll likely appreciate it a hell of a lot more. That's money for a house or a family car or baby things."

"Got it," Salem said, "although I doubt Anatoli and Ivory will have kids anytime soon. Ivory doesn't seem terribly eager for kids as far as I know."

"We weren't either and lo and behold, my son was born," Arturo said. "I get my wife and unborn son into America on a tire and that boy has the nerve to complain about having to eat his vegetables."

"Go easy on him, Arturo; he's just a boy," Salem smiled.

"Salem, Arturo, dinner is ready," Esparenza said.

"It smells amazing, Esparenza," Salem said and quickly got off the couch and went to the dining table taking a seat at the other side of Arturo's usual seat while everyone else took their usual seats. They said a prayer before dinner led by Arturo and finally started eating after saying Amen.

Since the plans had already been made, Ivory returned to Las Vegas in February for her Bridal Shower, but Nathan and Anatoli joined her to make sure there were no problems. Jaedynn and Scarlet also joined and the Friday night before her Bridal Shower, Jaedynn and Scarlet went out together for a night on the town. While it hadn't been planned for, Nathan and Anatoli joined them but did keep a distance so Ivory and her sisters could have a good time.

"What are you doing for your bachelor party?" Nathan asked after the girls took shots together and were appearing relaxed and enjoying themselves.

"Boris has not told me, but if he is to be believed, I will not be able to stand the next day," Anatoli said. "When I explained what a Bachelor party is for, he had a little twinkle in his eye."

"Sounds like him," Nathan chuckled. "Just don't let him kill you from too much fun."

"He has not killed me yet," Anatoli answered. "So dad said the Casino is trying to negotiate a settlement."

"Of course they are," Nathan said and sipped on his drink. "I take it they didn't appreciate Kevin's demand for 1 million in damages? Hell, I think he just threw that number out there to make them squirm."

"It certainly did. He sent the demand to their lawyer and he says he got a call that afternoon to negotiate," Salem said.

"At least they don't want to go to court. Trust me, I'd tell Kevin to bleed them for twice that just for the inconvenience and try to get more in the process. At this point, demanding a million in damages is downright generous but Kevin did warn me it's far more likely it'll come out to far less than that."

"I think that is what dad said," Anatoli smiled. "As he has relayed to me, they are so desperate for this whole thing to not go public that they might bend."

"Good," Nathan said. "I don't want this bullshit ruining Ivory's big day more than it already has."

"Is my big day too," Anatoli said.

"You're just the groom," Nathan said jokingly and Anatoli chuckled. "Well, if this is settled by the time it's the wedding, make sure you take my daughter somewhere nice."

"We are going to California. Dad said we could use the beach house."

"That's a nice house," Nathan said, "Ivory will love it."

"I actually wanted to do something special for Levi. I may use a portion of the money to take Levi on a trip for his birthday."

"Where?"

"Munich," Anatoli answered.

"And Kevin and Amber are alright with this?" Nathan rose a brow.

"It took a little convincing, but dad agreed. Levi really wants to go and dad has said no for so long, it will be one hell of a surprise. And it will be a good trip for us to go on, just me and him."

"Just you and Levi? Caleb isn't coming?"

"I had not planned to, but I guess I can add him," Anatoli said. "I have not bought the tickets yet."

"I'll leave it up to you," Nathan said. "Are you only taking him to Munich?"

"I want to go to Berlin with him too, but I need to do more research. We would need to take a train through East Germany to reach West Berlin, so I do not know."

"Oh yeah; I forgot about that," Nathan said. "Either way, Levi will love the opportunity."

"I know," Anatoli said.

"Out of curiosity: if you had the chance, would you ever want to go back to Lithuania even if only to visit?"

"It depends," Anatoli shrugged. "There are things I miss, but I would never want to live there again. Being a Soviet Satellite State is a miserable thing."

"I bet," Nathan said. "What was the name of the guy that helped raise you?"

"Mykolas," Anatoli answered.

"I heard Mykolas is coming to the wedding," Nathan replied.

"Yes, surprisingly," Anatoli said and then, thoughtfully, added, "I suppose is not so surprising. Mykolas and I got along far better than Niele and I ever did."

"Why didn't you and Niele get along?"

"My father was the reason her whole family was dead," Anatoli answered. "She told me no matter how she tried, all she could see when she looked at me was my father. I could never blame her for it; even now when I look at myself sometimes I can only see my father. You know….even after everything he did, I cannot help to wonder if he ever loved me. Or if I was just an experiment to him."

"If he's anything like the Nazis I've dealt with, he can't love," Nathan said and shot back his drink. "Some of them were just following orders. I guess in retrospect, I can't hate them. They were victims of a tyrant. But the man that shot Jae…he was a monster."

"How do you know?" Anatoli asked.

"Because the bastard looked me in the eye and said my brother in law was no one. A man that was my best friend reduced to 'no one'." Suddenly Nathan went completely still. Memories of what he'd done flashing in his mind. He knew exactly what came over him, but he regretted it now. The memory haunted him. "For a moment, I was no better than him and in the end I accomplished nothing; only blood on my hands. He took something none of us could ever get back. I could kill the man a million times over and it would do nothing."

"I swear I tried," Anatoli said, realizing who he was talking about. Nathan looked at Anatoli thoughtfully a moment.

"I know you did," Nathan said. "Trust me: none of us blame you. You did what you could and that's more than any of us have done."

"He died a hero. He really did," Anatoli said.

"I know," Nathan said. "Believe me, I know. I saw it with my own eyes. I just wish he could have lived for us to treat him to a beer for his bravery," Nathan's voice cracked as he spoke and cleared his throat so he wouldn't cry. Anatoli kept quiet realizing the man needed to calm down. Nathan took several deep breaths and finally managed a smile. "I'm happy Ivory could find you."

"I am happy I could find her," Anatoli smiled.

The next day, Ivory slept in as long as Tamara would permit before she ordered Ivory to get herself dressed so they could go to the tribal center for her bridal shower. For a number of family members, it was the first time they had met Anatoli so he had the opportunity to become better acquainted with Tamara's side of the family. Anatoli sat beside Ivory while she opened gifts from friends and family members and Jaedynn took down the names of who gave what presents so thank you cards could be sent out later. They had games, enjoyed some food guests brought and stayed at the tribal center until well into the afternoon. They returned home Monday and their next task was to obtain then send thank you cards to everyone that had given Ivory and Anatoli a gift for the bridal shower.

"When I finally meet my imprint, I'm eloping; I swear to God," Jaedynn grumbled.

"You could have a Quileute ceremony. It's a lot less hassle than this," Scarlet said with a laugh.

"Hey, less complaining, more writing thank you cards," Alice said snapping her fingers.

From Kevin's end, he continued putting pressure on the casino over what happened and he kept Anatoli and Nathan updated on the whole thing along the way. While they didn't have to go into court, they did need to meet in person with a representative from the casino as well as their lawyer. Kevin suspected they were hoping they'd not come given it required going to Las Vegas, but Kevin ensured they were dead wrong, showing up on the day of their appointment with a big smile. He did not make Ivory come given she really was still extremely shaken from the whole thing as much as she hated to admit it and he wasn't about to drag her through the matter.

"Afternoon, gentlemen," Kevin said as he came into the office meeting the Lawyer, Mr. Fenton, that he'd been speaking with for the past few months. He'd not spoken with the representative as of yet and smiled professionally at them both.

"Afternoon, Mr. Black," Mr. Fenton said and stood to shake Kevin's hand. The casino's representative stood but did not extend a hand. "This is Mr. Henry Englewood. He is here on behalf of my client."

"That should be fine," Kevin said and took his seat as did the other two men.

"Is this your first time in Las Vegas, Mr. Black?" Mr. Fenton began with pleasant small talk.

"Yes, actually, it is," Kevin said. "I've heard quite a bit about it from my little brother and my niece, but I've never had the pleasure to see it for myself. Sadly, this is purely a business trip, but I look forward to enjoying Las Vegas in April for my niece's wedding."

"Congratulations to the happy couple," Mr. Fenton said. Kevin knew what the man was doing. He was trying to butter Kevin up. It wouldn't work.

"Thank you for saying, Mr. Fenton. Now, I say we should get down to business. As you and I have discussed over the phone, Mr. Fenton, we would love nothing more than to settle this matter quietly as your client is requesting but it will be on the condition that their establishment undergoes some radical changes for the sake of your other employees and, of course, some monetary compensation for my client's pain and suffering."

"Mr. Black, your client worked on the floor of a casino where patrons are drinking heavily and can, potentially, become a little grabby. If she was not willing to deal with the consequences of being eye candy, then she should not have worked for us," Mr. Englewood said.

"Henry, please let me handle this," Mr. Fenton said, holding a hand up to the man indicating to be silent.

"As I recall, Mr. Englewood, your establishment has a strict policy towards harassing the table girls," Kevin said as he opened his briefcase and pulled out the terms and conditions of the casino going straight to the page he wanted. "It says here that if patrons become violent with your employees, it is the responsibility of the pit bosses to have these people thrown out. So forgive me, but why should this principle not apply if a young woman is being harassed by a fellow employee?"

"Mr. Black," the lawyer said, "Please excuse Mr. Englewood. He only means that the young women in their employ are in very provocative clothing and it would stand to reason that such state of dress would make your client susceptible to male adoration. It is a side effect of the work."

"A side effect that's to remain from afar according to your own policies; one of your policies that I whole heartedly agree with in fact," Kevin answered. "But that isn't the issue here. The issue here is the man in question, Mr. Benjamin Bianchi, was told on numerous occasions both by my client, her fiancé and their mutual manager that he was to cease and desist any and all expressions of this nature. This young man obtained my client's address due to recklessness on the part of your HR department, he got my client wrongfully written up claiming she was engaging in prostitution – and on that note your policies also state very clearly here that prostitution has a no tolerance policy."

"Exactly the reason she was fired," Mr. Englewood said.

"Really? According to her file from HR, that complaint was entered summer of 1965. You didn't fire Ivory until January 1967. Meanwhile, Benjamin Bianchi wasn't so much as written up for stealing employee information which he then used to send unsolicited gifts despite repeated demands that he stop. Ultimately, Mr. Bianchi used this information to send my client an extremely inappropriate notebook filled with threatening entries that have caused my client to fear for her safety. Then when she finally takes legal action against this man, she receives notice from her manager that she's not only been fired but is no longer allowed on the premises. Of course, this she found out while she was at the police station following Mr. Bianchi attempting to break into her home. Not to mention my client's former manager testifies that at the time of being informed of this termination of her employment, your Floor Director said that my client 'needs to learn to take a fucking compliment and do her damn job'. Now what am I supposed to make of that?"

"You have no proof those words were said," Mr. Englewood stated.

"That's true; I do not. But I certainly have proof of negligence on the casino's part that had a direct effect on Mr. Bianchi's unwanted gifts and attempted breaking and entering."

"Mr. Englewood, let me handle this," Mr. Fenton said again with greater firmness. "Mr. Black, please allow me to express that we in no way are meaning to diminish what your client experienced due to this young man's advances. However, my client is not responsible for what Mr. Bianchi does on his own time."

"You are, however, responsible for your employees when they're on your premises," Kevin responded. "Your client is, therefore, responsible for ensuring that your employees' private information remains private. You and I have already gone back and forth about this and if you're really interested in continuing this pointless banter, I will take you to court."

"We're a multi-million dollar company, Mr. Black," Mr. Englewood interjected. "If your client thinks she can stand up-"

"I said shut up!" Mr. Fenton yelled.

"Mr. Englewood, I represent some of the wealthiest people in Washington State, DC and New York," Kevin said. "Some of whom hold seats in political office and for anyone in office, half their voters are women. How good would it look for those clients of mine come voting season if they can tell half their voter base that they helped fund a lawsuit against a casino that flagrantly allowed the sexual harassment of one of their employees only to fire her when she finally took legal action against the man responsible? Feminists, women's rights activities and average American women will support them in droves at the voting booth. I can give you names of these clients of course."

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Black; I'm well aware of your reputation," Mr. Fenton was quick to say.

"Excellent," Kevin said, "so Mr. Fenton you should know your client's threats won't help them. Fortunately for you, I'm well aware that going to court would result in character defamation for my client and frankly, I won't put up with it. However, you believe me when I say if you insist on diminishing your responsibility in this or your culpability in the pain and suffering my client has gone through, I will take you to court and I'll make sure it's the most painful experience of your client's life." Mr. Englewood was about to speak but Mr. Fenton held up his hand telling the man to remain quiet.

"At this point, Mr. Black, we're only interested in negotiating the sum of settlement," Mr. Fenton said. "I believe your initial demand was 1 million in damages. Might you provide a breakdown?"

"As we previously discussed," Kevin said and pulled out a document that gave the exact amounts and what they applied to, handing them over to Mr. Fenton, "This sum accounts for lost wages from my client's inappropriate dismissal, it accounts for repairs to her mother's door following the attempted break-in as well as reimbursement for the charge to their phone bill for the multiple 911 calls, compensation for the security system that became necessary to install for my client's and her mother's safety, it accounts for lost wages on the part of my client's father and her fiancé as well as their travel fair that resulted from needing to make repeated trips to Las Vegas to protect my client and her mother, reimbursement for the cost of a restraining order as well as additional legal fees and finally a percentage increase for pain and suffering."

"You're asking for an over 970 thousand dollars!" Mr. Englewood yelled. Once again, Mr. Fenton lifted his hand to Mr. Englewood asking him to be silent.

"Mr. Black," Mr. Fenton began, "My client if happy to pay the figure of $23,333.30 for total expenses you have mapped out for us that resulted from this situation-"

"But that's ALL we are willing to pay," Mr. Englewood snapped.

"Mr. Englewood, I don't give a flying fuck what you are or are not 'willing' to pay," Kevin answered eerily calmly. "Mr. Bianchi disrupted my client's life to a point where she was in fear for her life and there was nothing done on your company's part to protect her or even implement disciplinary action against this man. Rather, you allowed his behavior to continue and then fired my client when she took legal action towards the assailant. Not against you, against your employee. Reimbursement for all the incurred expenses are the least of what you can do."

"What Mr. Englewood is trying to say, Mr. Black, is that $976,666.70 for pain and suffering is excessive." To Mr. Fenton's credit, it was an especially excessive sum. Kevin was well aware of that, but he wanted to ensure that whatever sum they ultimately agreed to by comparison was a God send in their eyes and they would readily agree to it.

"How do you figure, Mr. Fenton? My client has been harassed, accused of being a whore, stalked, threatened both by Mr. Bianchi and by your company, and forced through undue stress and upset."

"I am only saying, Mr. Black, that perhaps we could lower the sum owed for pain and suffering," Mr. Fenton said. "Perhaps we could lower the percentage to a 10% increase."

"Don't insult me or my client, Mr. Fenton," Kevin said. "If you want to negotiate, you will do so with the full understanding of your culpability in my client's undue pain and suffering."

"Please, Mr. Black," Mr. Fenton pleaded, "work with me. What would you be willing to lower that percentage to? How about we lower that to about a 30% increase? $7,000 for pain and suffering is fair."

"You're in no position to demand 'fair', Mr. Fenton. My client was not treated fairly by your client's company by any stretch of the imagination. We can lower that to $500,000."

"Absolutely not," Mr. Englewood said.

"Well, then we'll see you in court, gentlemen," Kevin said and was about to close his briefcase.

"Wait, Mr. Black, please," Mr. Fenton said, stopping Kevin.

"Yes, Mr. Fenton?"

"We aren't paying $500,000! You're out of your fucking mind! We have powerful friends too!"

"Mr. Black, would you mind terribly if I had a moment alone with Mr. Englewood?" Mr. Fenton asked.

"Of course," Kevin smiled and reached out his hand. "Just give me back all my documentation first."

Mr. Fenton complied and handed everything back over to Kevin. Once he had back his paperwork, Kevin stepped outside and gave Mr. Fenton and Mr. Englewood time to speak privately. He waited for about 20 minutes before Mr. Fenton stepped outside and requested Kevin to return so they could continue their discussion. Mr. Englewood was not happy when Kevin stepped back inside. Kevin had overheard the conversation and clearly the harsh reminder that the negative publicity they would be faced with as a result of going to court as well as the unlikelihood their political contacts would offer assistance pertaining to a sexual harassment lawsuit for fear of political backlash and risk to reelection was a cruel slap to the face for Mr. Englewood. Kevin remained cordial and offered his best, most professional smile.

"I've gone over everything with Mr. Englewood," Mr. Fenton said. "I can offer $300,000 in damages compensation."

"$450,000," Kevin argued, "and I'll even call that 'all in' so that sum includes the $23,333.30 figure for all my client's expenses." Mr. Englewood was about to argue, but Mr. Fenton grabbed a hold of the man's arm to stop him.

"$450,000 all in for expenses as well as pain and suffering will be paid," Mr. Fenton agreed solemnly. Mr. Englewood looked about ready to burst a blood vessel but remained quiet.

"Thank you, Mr. Fenton," Kevin said and pulled out some blank paper. "Shall we move on to the contractual write up?"

For the remainder of their time, they created the contract for the settlement. Kevin had tried to argue for a lump sum while Mr. Fenton argued for installments over the course of 2 years, but they came to a compromise in which the casino would pay $37, 500 per month for the duration of 12 months until the settlement was fulfilled. Once it was written out, the document was then typed out, signed and Kevin returned to Washington so Ivory could then sign the contract once she read it and settlement agreement was finalized. Based on how Kevin had explained what the likely outcome would be, Ivory was happy the whole thing was finally over with and that there was at least something that came out of the whole mess. She could finally focus her attention entirely on the wedding. Given she had not yet begun looking for a new job, it was the only thing she really could do.

"I guess our wedding's basically paid for in full," Ivory said when they received the first check. "I guess once we put this in our account we'll start by paying Uncle Kevin."

"Some is for Tamara's door, right?"

"Yeah," Ivory said. "I guess we'll write a few checks and send them out."

From there, with their first check, Ivory sent money to Nathan for the security system. She tried to give him the rate for lost wages but he refused it saying to keep it. Kevin nearly did the same insisting his services were pro bono for her, but Ivory wouldn't have it and insisted on paying the legal fees. Leading up to the wedding, Alice ensured all the last details for the wedding were taken care of. They'd received the last of the RSVPs just in time for April at which point Alice made sure the venue had the final guest count. The suits were rented, the flowers were ordered, favors were packed as were Ivory's and her sisters' dresses. Ivory left for Las Vegas early in the month in preparation for the wedding. While Ivory was away, that's when Boris finally took Anatoli off for his Bachelor Party. After being gone for a week and a half prior, he took Anatoli in one of the Cullens' cars and kept driving until they were somewhere secluded.

"What are we doing out here?" Anatoli asked.

"Before Illyana and I married," Boris explained, "my father took me hunting as a last hurrah for me. We used to hunt together all the time when I was a boy but after the revolution, it began to dwindle. Before I married Illyana, it was the last hunting trip my father took me on."

"What are we hunting?"

"Whatever you're in the mood for," Boris smiled. Then he pulled out more vodka and the cigarettes that Anatoli liked and it made Anatoli laugh.

"I can't make a habit of smoking those. Mama already gave me an earful about them," Anatoli said.

"Do not worry; this will be the last time I go get them," Boris said with a smirk. He opens the bottle of vodka and hands it over to Anatoli. "Here's to one more drink before you are married with children."

"I would not count on the children anytime soon," Anatoli said and Boris rose a brow at that.

"No?"

"Truthfully, Ivory and I have not discussed kids, but I do not think she wants any; not now anyway."

"Are you alright with that?"

"Yeah," Anatoli said with a shrug. "The twins are plenty frankly and Ivory calls Argo our son. Maybe one day we will have kids, but no time soon."

"Interesting," Boris said and then chuckled, "Then here's to a happy marriage. Children yet to be determined."

Anatoli chuckled and lifted the bottle to Boris, "Cheers."

Then he took a big swig of vodka straight from the bottle. Boris lit them both a cigarette and they spent the night drinking and smoking. By the next morning, Anatoli was far too hung over to go hunting, but Boris had the foresight to bring all the necessary hangover remedies that never failed to make Anatoli feel better. They did eventually go hunting when the hangover cures were gone: all said items being food. They caught a rabbit and cooked it on the fire talking pleasantly as two brothers out in the wilderness. Anatoli couldn't have asked for a better bachelor party.

"Are you excited for the wedding?" Boris asked as they were driving back.

"I am," Anatoli smiled. "When you and Illyana married, was it the same for you?"

"Oh yes," Boris smiled reminiscently. "When father said he was introducing me to a daughter of a friend of his, I was not nearly so excited but when I saw her, I was already in love. I don't know what it was about her that made me so enamored, but when I met her, that was it for me."

"And that never changed?"

"Not for a moment," Boris said. "Just remember: be a good husband and she will be a good wife."

Anatoli decided that he wanted to drive to Las Vegas. He didn't want to get on a plane to Vegas and instead wanted to enjoy the open road like he did when he would come to visit Ivory in the spring. Boris suggested he could go with him and since his Best Man was driving with him, he invited Levi to drive with them. Sergei and Caleb wanted to join, but with the limited space in the cab of his truck, he could only take Boris and Levi. The rest of the family flew to Las Vegas. There were a few different flights that they needed to take and one flight had nearly no one except family, so that was a fun flight for everyone. Amber, Kevin, Nathan and Ada María, of course, were in Vegas with the children before anyone else given they needed to arrange the rehearsal dinner. It had already been decided it would be at the Hotel as would the family brunch the morning after the wedding. It would make the visit (especially for family that were vampires) drastically easier for their guests. Ivory remained at her mother's house and once they'd arrived so did Jaedynn and Scarlet.

"This place is enormous," Boris said when they'd arrived at the hotel with Levi.

"Yeah, it'll be able to accommodate everyone," Anatoli said and went to the front desk to check in.

Once he'd announced who he was and why he was there, the front desk clerk went to retrieve the coordinator for the hotel who welcomed Anatoli warmly and then showed the three of them to their rooms. Boris would have a room with his wife and the children and Levi would be sharing a room with Sergei and Caleb while Anatoli had a room to himself where he'd be getting ready and then he and Ivory would have the honeymoon suite for their wedding night. Guests were funneling in throughout Thursday and Friday. Friday afternoon was the rehearsal and it was the first time Anatoli and Ivory had seen each other in weeks. Everyone that needed to be at the rehearsal was dressed nice for the occasion and the coordinator guided the wedding party through how the ceremony should go. Luckily for them, the canopy they had requested was already set up so the sun wasn't an issue so long as the vampires in the family were under their umbrellas and wore their gloves. The coordinator thought it a little strange but made sure he didn't pester. Alice had already explained they had a number of family members that needed to stay out of the sun and that was all he needed to know.

Thankfully, since the bridal party was rather small and it was a non-religious ceremony, the rehearsal was brief. It took a while to make sure Lilliana was walk down the aisle but they were sure to have a backup plan in which one Scarlet and Levi could walk down the aisle with her. After the rehearsal was the dinner which was held at the restaurant in the hotel which was reserved for immediate family.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Ivory asked Anatoli while they were sitting together at the head of the giant table.

"I am," Anatoli said. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah," Ivory smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Maybe if we're lucky, our marriage license will be in by the time we get back from California so I can change my last name."

"Do I need to be with you when you do that?"

"No," Ivory said. "I just need to go to the Social Security Office and the DMV and update my Social Security Card and my driver's license. Then I'll officially be Ivory Dahlia Dymek."

"Are you excited to be Mrs. Dymek?"

"Very much so," Ivory smiled.

After dinner was over, the family dispersed for the night to get some much needed sleep. The ceremony started at 5:00, so they would have all day to get ready, but there was still a lot of decorating and setting up to get done before the ceremony. Alice, of course, was in charge of all this. Rosalie was at Tamara's house bright and early to do everyone's hair. Emma Leigh was with her of course as was Lilliana so she could have her hair done. She was the last one to get her hair made up, though. She was far more interested in playing with her toys and Rosalie determined they were better off putting off getting Lilliana's hair ready as much as possible. At the hotel, Kevin was helping Anatoli and Levi get ready and Illyana was there periodically. Anatoli was surprised how nervous he was all morning, but Kevin affirmed this was normal as did Boris. Anatoli wore a suit and a gold tie with a gold vest underneath and a white rose as his boutonniere with a little gold ribbon. Boris and Levi also wore gold ties and the white rose gold ribbon boutonnieres but Anatoli's tie and ribbon had a pattern to differentiate him from the other groomsmen. When it was getting closer to the hour of the wedding, Amber came into Anatoli's room and started tearing up when she saw him.

There was a team of people that Alice was working with to make sure the wedding went by the book. One photographer was sent to Tamara's house to get pictures of Ivory and her bridesmaids and flower girl while getting ready and another photographer was sent to the hotel to take pictures of Anatoli, his groomsmen and the ring bearer the role of which was given to Tristan. Once he'd taken pictures of the groomsmen, that photographer started taking pictures of the venue before it was filled with guests and stayed downstairs taking pictures of guests as they arrived, signed the guest book, placed their gifts on the table and took their seats. Alice and Rosalie worked together to make sure Anatoli and Ivory didn't see each other while everyone was getting to their place. Ivory and her bridal party arrived with a half hour to spare having gotten their hair and makeup done at the house and then got into their dresses. While they were waiting and their photographer was getting pictures of them all together, Ivory was beginning to shake.

"I don't know why this is so scary," Ivory said after another round of pictures.

"It's only scary because it's a big event," Tamara said reassuringly. Then she gently readjusted a strand of hair against Ivory's face. Rosalie had outdone herself with Ivory's hair with a full and high up do with yellow and while flowers on one spot of her head and her veil was attached atop the bun so it could be brought over her head once it was time go down the aisle. She felt so beautiful and once she had on her dress, she felt like a princess. Tamara took Ivory in again and was trying her best not to cry. "Oh, Ivory, you look so beautiful."

"Do I?" Ivory asked.

"Absolutely," Tamara said and kissed Ivory's cheek gently. Rosalie gently removed the specks of lipstick and fixed her makeup on her cheek so she would be ready.

Once the guests were all seated and it was time to start the ceremony, Alice came to retrieve Lilliana, Jaedynn and Scarlet so they could be prepared to walk down the aisle. Tamara gave Ivory a big hug and left to go to her seat once Nathan was there and ready to walk to the aisle with her when it was time. He felt her shaking a little so Nathan patted Ivory's hand to help her relax. While she and Nathan were in hiding, the coordinator came to Tristan and guided him to the right spot so he could start walking down the aisle. Then she returned for Lilliana but she shook her head.

"What is wrong, Lilli?" Anatoli asked Lilliana when she refused to go to the aisle.

"I'm scared," she said in a tiny little voice.

"Why are you scared?"

"What if I trip?" Lilliana whimpered. Anatoli kneeled down and hugged Lilliana.

"You are not going to trip," Anatoli reassured. She was still extremely nervous and continued refusing to walk. "I will tell you what, Lilli," Anatoli continued, "If you walk down the aisle for me, you and I will go out for ice cream tomorrow. Just the two of us."

"You promise?" Lilliana perked up and turned so her pinky was out. Anatoli smiled and took her pinky in his own.

"I promise. You and I will go out for ice cream tomorrow."

Having Anatoli's promise for ice cream, Lilliana much more eagerly followed the coordinator and dropped the white and yellow flower petals as she'd been directed the day before. She was perhaps doing so a little too eagerly and too quickly, but the guests all smiled at the cute little girl and would later say she was the best flower girl they'd ever seen in her little gold dress. Once she was done, she sat up front with her brother and now that the flower girl had put down the flowers, Boris and Jaedynn walked down the aisle together followed by Levi and Scarlet. Then Anatoli went down the aisle and took his spot at the altar with Boris right behind him. While Anatoli was going down the aisle, the coordinator came to get Ivory and Nathan so they were in position and when it was their turn, Nathan squeezed Ivory's hand reassuringly before they began their walk. The guests all stood once directed by the change in music and the only thing keeping Ivory from crying was her veil averting her vision. The sun was still bright in the sky but everyone was under the canopy and safe from the heat of the sun, but the view was everything she could have hoped for. But once she was at the altar, the view was the least of her cares. Nathan brought her veil over her head and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek before handing her over. He took a seat beside Tamara in the front row and patted Tamara's hand. She was already crying and dabbing her eyes trying to keep herself together.

The officiant officially began the ceremony once Nathan was seated and Ivory had handed her bouquet over to Jaedynn to hold so she could hold Anatoli's hands through the ceremony. It was a very quick ceremony; much faster than Anatoli had ever seen given the only other wedding he'd been to was an Orthodox wedding for which the ceremony had lasted an hour. Ivory and Anatoli kept their vows simple, promising to love one another and support one another through everything life threw at them and once they were pronounced Man and Wife, they kissed to the applause of the guests present. Ivory, Anatoli, their bridal party and their parents and siblings remained outside while all the other guests were filtered into the dining room. They were outside under the canopy for the better part of an hour taking pictures together while the other guests found their seats and enjoyed some horderves and drinks. Once the pictures were finally taken, family went into the dining room first. The band then announced the bridal party first starting with Boris and Jaedynn followed by Levi and Scarlet. Finally he announced Anatoli and Ivory Dymek and their guests welcomed them with applause while they went to the head table to join their bridal party.

"I don't know why I was so scared," Ivory said once she and Anatoli were sitting together.

"I know what you mean," Anatoli smiled. "Also, fair warning. Before we leave for California tomorrow, I promised to take Lilliana out for ice cream just the two of us. It was the only way I could get her to walk down the aisle."

"Bribery goes a long way with little kids," Ivory giggled. "I'll wait for you."

"Thank you," Anatoli smiled and kissed Ivory's hand. During dinner, the parents gave their speeches as did Jaedynn and Boris.

"What to say about Ivory," Jaedynn started once she was handed the bulky microphone. "The first time she met Anatoli, it was after he'd been here with us for about six months or so. We'd all gone out drinking with my dad and Uncle Kevin. She stopped me and asked me why I'd never told her Anatoli was so cute." The guests had a small laugh. "For the rest of the night, she wouldn't give poor Anatoli a moment's rest. She even tried to get Embry to give him a day off so he could take her to the movies. It was love at first sight for her to be sure. She still insists on stealing my clothes, but in most other facets, Anatoli has brought out the best in her and I'm happy she found you Anatoli. Cheers to Ivory and Anatoli." Jaedynn lifted her glass as did the other guests and sipped their champagne. Boris accepted the microphone once it was his turn and stood.

"I have quite a few things to say about Anatoli," Boris said in his thick accent. "I remember when I first met Anatoli. I came home after a long day and my mother informed me we had a new tenant and he was 'the sweetest boy she ever did meet'. I am translating what she said of course. I think my mother loved you more than she loved me sometimes." Anatoli smiled, thinking back on Baba Nadeshka fondly. "We quickly bonded over a mutual hatred of Vadim." Anatoli laughed out loud. "I apologize; a private joke. From then on, Anatoli was like the little brother that I never got to keep. I wish Mama could have been here to see you marry. She would have loved Ivory I know. I owe Anatoli a great deal from our time together. When I came to America with my wife and children, he helped me that much more. Being here with you has truly been an honor Anatoli and I wish you and Ivory all the happiness in the world. To Ivory and Anatoli," Boris finished and everyone rose their glasses again.

With the toasts done, dinner continued for another hour before Ivory and Anatoli cut their cake together and then had their first dance followed by Ivory's and Nathan's father/daughter dance. Afterwards the dance floor was open to all the guests that wanted to dance. The cake was handed out to the guests and during that time, Ivory and Anatoli started going around the room to thank their guests for coming. Kevin and Amber danced for a while and while they did, they talked about the wedding and about Anatoli in general. As they talked, a couple beside them stopped them to get their attention.

"You are Amber? Anatoli's mother?" the man asked. His accent reminded Amber of Anatoli's and she assumed he must be Mykolas.

"Yes, I'm Amber. Are you Mykolas Rimsa?"

"Yes, I am Mykolas," he said and smiled politely. "I was so surprised when Boris come to London and told us Anatoli is getting married."

"Mykolas was delighted when he heard the news," the woman with Mykolas smiled. "When Boris told us we were invited to the wedding, Mykolas was beside himself. Is what you say in English yes?"

"Yes," Amber smiled at the woman. "You are Niele right?"

"Oh, no, Niele did not come. My name is Maritza," the woman answered. Then she looked around until she found what she was looking for and pointed at a little blonde girl who had introduced herself to and was playing with Nadeshka and Emma Leigh. "That is our daughter Nadja. When she comes around, we will have to introduce her to you properly."

"I look forward to meeting her," Amber smiled politely.

"I am sorry to bother you and your husband while you are dancing, but I wanted to ensure I gave you this," Mykolas said as he reached into the inside pocket of the suit he was wearing. He pulled out an envelope and handed it over to her. Amber accepted the envelope from Mykolas and lifted the flap to see what was inside. She pulled out a slender pile of pictures and she audibly gasped. "We did not get many pictures when Anatoli was young, but this is what we could take. One is from a Soviet work magazine that he was featured in. You deserve to have them."

Amber stared at the first picture for a very long time. Her only memory of Anatoli as a baby was when he'd been ripped from her forcefully and taken away from her while he cried. In this picture, Anatoli looked like he was only a few months old, able to sit up on his own and his hair growing in. He was in a tiny pair of shorts and a little shirt and what she assumed were white shoes and socks and his hair was slightly unruly even as a little baby. He had chubby little cheeks and a baby's innocent expression as he looked at the camera. She started crying and finally went to the next picture which was of Anatoli as a baby again from that same day it seemed. In this picture, he was biting onto the head of a wooden horse toy and wasn't paying the camera any mind. The next picture, Anatoli was much older but still a child. It was a picture of him reading at a table having just looked up at the camera in time. He looked like he could have been thirteen in that picture. She moved on to the next one of Anatoli as he looked to her now. He seemed to be at some sort of public event and there was a young woman standing next to him as they stood in front of a merry-go-round. It was the first picture in the pile in which Anatoli was actually smiling. The signs that were in the picture were in Russian and in Lithuanian and, this picture being in color, there were red banners on the ride.

She moved on to the final picture in the pile which was obtained from a magazine. There was a small paragraph under the picture entirely in Russian, but she was focused on Anatoli. He was at work from what she could tell. The picture was in color and he wore slacks and a white shirt and some heavy, oversized gloved. She wasn't sure what he was kneeling on, but it was some type of large machine and he was reaching up for something. He looked so serious while he was concentrating on whatever task he was in the middle of.

"I am so sorry," Mykolas said. "We should have gone back for you. Niele was sure you were dead or dying but we should have gone back for you. I know I can never give you back his childhood, but I hope this in some small way expresses how truly sorry I am. I beg your forgiveness."

"There's nothing to forgive," Amber whimpered and rushed the tears away. "You saved my son's life when I couldn't. I can never repay you for that and I'm grateful." Amber took a second to take a deep breath pressing the pictures against her chest and then said, "Even then, did he remember me? Do you know?"

"He never forget you," Mykolas promised with a genuine smile.

"Mykolas?" Anatoli said and the man looked at him.

"Anatoli! Labai džiaugiuosi galėdamas jus matyti," (Anatoli! I am so happy to see you) Mykolas said and the two of them hugged. "Leiskite man pristatyti jums savo žmoną Maritza." (Please allow me to introduce you to my wife Maritza.)

"Džiaugiuosi galėdamas susitikti su Jumis, Anatoli. Mykolas man apie tai daug pasakė," (I'm pleased to finally meet you, Anatoli. Mykolas has told me so much about you) Maritza smiled and took Anatoli's hand to shake.

"Buvau toks laimingas, kai Borisas man pasakė apie jus. Jūs ir Mykolas turi dukterį teisingai?" (I was so happy when Boris told me about you. You and Mykolas have a daughter correct?)

"Taip. Nadja," (Yes, Nadja) Maritza said and turned to find her daughter again. Once she found her, she called out to the girl, gaining her attention before she ran up to Maritza. Maritza gently took a hold of Nadja by her shoulders so she was before her for an introduction. "This is our daughter, Nadja."

"Thank you for inviting us," Nadja said in, to Anatoli's surprise, an English accent.

"Ar kalbate lietuviškai?" (Do you speak Lithuanian?) Anatoli asked and Nadja giggled.

Aš galiu kalbėti lietuviškai, bet taip pat kalbu angliškai. Manau, kad jūsų kiti svečiai norėčiau kalbėti anglų kalba," (I can speak Lithuanian, but I also speak English. I assume your other guests would prefer I speak English) Nadja answered. Her British accent was audible even when she spoke Lithuanian and it nearly made Anatoli chuckle a little.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Nadja. Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for inviting us," Nadja said again with a smile and even a little curtsy.

"You were born in Lithuania? Or you were born in England?" Kevin asked.

"I was born in Lithuania, but we moved to London immediately after," Nadja answered.

"Are you going to school or are you home schooled?" Kevin asked.

"Home schooled," Nadja answered. "We have a neighbor who lives in the flat beside ours and she is retired from teaching, but she has kindly taken over my education. Very nice lady."

"Does she know what you are?" Anatoli asked.

"She thinks I have an unusual growth abnormality and mama and papa are happy to say it's true so long as she continues to be my teacher," Nadja said.

"That's what we used to tell family too," Amber said. "So how did you and Mykolas meet?" Maritza smiled a little and patted Nadja's shoulder letting her know she could return to playing with her new friends. As the little girl walked away, Amber caught a glimmer of a little gold Star of David necklace. "I'm so sorry; did I say something?" Amber asked, concerned.

"No, not at all," Maritza reassured. "Mykolas and I met in Klaipeda. I did what work I could but it was never enough to keep me above water so I resorted to prostitution depending on what I needed. It was usually food, but sometimes I would demand boots or clothes. I was out one afternoon because I needed a new coat before the winter became very bad and Mykolas found me. I told him the cost for my services that day would be a coat. I had told many that so my services would go to anyone who returned with a coat. Mykolas took off his own and handed it to me."

"From what Boris tells me, he wanted a child?" Anatoli asked.

"He told me that when we were alone. I refused him, gave back his coat and left. When I had realized later what he is, I could not believe he did not just kidnap me and force a child from me, but having come to know Mykolas, I know he could never do such a thing."

"What happened after you returned his coat?" Amber asked.

"I waited outside for another perspective client to return but he came back outside still holding the coat and tried to give it to me again, but I refused. He told me he needed a child because the woman he loved would not love him back and he hoped if he could give her back the family she had lost, she might love him. I told him, 'if she does not love you now, she will not love you with another woman's child in your arms', and I refused again. I thought he would finally leave since I had refused but he remained with me trying to reason with me. He told me about Niele and what happened to her, how he was partially responsible, what happened to her family and how he was able to save her. I did not believe him right away, but when I took a closer look at his eyes, I realized there was red in them and finally I believed. When I refused again, he put his coat on the post beside me insisting I take it anyway if only for listening and walked away.

"I thought that was the last I would see of him, but next I needed something – boots specifically – I went to my usual area and told the men that approached if you bring me boots, I will give you my time. Mykolas approached me with a pair of brand new boots. I did not accept them at first telling him again I would not bare reduced to a fertile mare. He told me that is not why he was there and was instead only requesting forgiveness for how he had treated me last we met. I accepted the boots and we started talking again. It occurred to me that I can ask this man for gifts and in exchange I can let him talk. That seemed to be what he needed more than anything so I offered the suggestion and he accepted. For several months after that, I would tell him what I needed be it food or other necessities, he would bring them for me and we would talk."

"It felt so nice just to talk to someone without scorn or hurt feelings," Mykolas said. "I did not realize I was in love with her right away, but once I did, I told her." Maritza smiled fondly at the memory.

"I told him I needed new gloves. My other ones had a hole in them. He brought me the gloves and a scarf he said made him think of me. He thanked me for how kind I had been and said to me he was in love with me. At the time, I was not sure what to say so I only thanked him for the gloves and scarf. I told him later I was craving honey cake and asked if he could bring me some next we met. The next day, we met and he brought me honey cake. I made up every conceivable necessity I could so that Mykolas and I might see each other. I quickly realized I had grown to love him as well. We have been together ever since. When I learned I was pregnant, we married and ran somewhere in the middle of nowhere so we could be alone. He changed me after we had Nadja and then fled to London for a better life."

"Was Nadja wearing a Star of David?" Amber asked.

"Yes. It was mine," Maritza said. Amber glanced down at her wrists but did not see a number.

"How did you avoid capture?" Amber asked.

"Mother told me to hide and do not come out no matter what," Maritza said. "She told me to discard my star, but I could not bear to part with it. So I hid it in my shoe. I think it stayed in that shoe until it could not fit anymore. Then I simply continued putting it in my shoe until we fled to London and I gave it to Nadja as a birth present. Nazis were capturing Jewish families. My father was already dead by their hand, though we do not know how. He disappeared one day and we never saw him again. We lived in a building with several other families of our faith and when she heard the Nazis coming, she hid me in a chest in her bedroom and shoved into a corner of the closet. She told me do not come out of there no matter what you hear." Maritza was quiet for a moment before saying, "that was the last time I ever saw my mother again. I heard cries and screams then hours of quiet. When I finally did come out of the chest, my mother was gone." Maritza looked at Amber and then smiled solemnly. "You survived the camps I hear? With your mother and father?"

"By some miracle," Amber answered.

"A miracle to be sure," Maritza said.

"Are you raising Nadja Jewish?" Amber asked.

"Yes," Maritza said. "Her Bot Mitzvah is in December."

"Is it really?" Amber smiled. "Our son Levi is having his Bar Mitzvah in July."

"That's wonderful. Is he excited?"

"He's nervous," Amber smiled. "He's been preparing for two years and we know he's prepared, but it's a big day for him. He doesn't want to mess anything up as he says."

"If he has been preparing for so long, I know he will be wonderful," Maritza praised. She looked up at Mykolas when she heard him chuckle a little.

"Nadja looks like she is trying to convince the band to let her sing a song," Mykolas said.

"I take it she likes to sing?" Amber asked.

"Very much so," Maritza said. "Her teacher has been preparing her to try out for a role at the local theatre. It is an all children Shakespeare play. It will be Taming of the Shrew and Nadja has her heart set on playing Katherine."

"That's a lofty play for grad school kids," Kevin chuckled a little.

"It is a very difficult to get a role with that theatre. It is usually only gifted children from prestigious schools but Mrs. Smith, her tutor, has been helping her prepare for weeks since the play was announced. Auditions begin soon, so she will have the night to rest when we return to London and the next day we are off to the theatre so she can try out."

"She will be wonderful, I know," Amber smiled.

"Could I be rude and request she perform for you? She practices in front of us but she has been bored with just us watching. I think she could use a new audience."

"I would be honored," Amber smiled and followed Maritza to gather Nadja. Kevin, Anatoli and Mykolas stayed behind.

"I am happy for you Mykolas. I really am," Anatoli said.

"I am happy for you," Mykolas smiled at Anatoli and patted his shoulder. "Even if the road was not as it should have been, the end of it was a woman that loves you and the family you were meant to have."

"Thank you for coming, Mykolas. And thank you for everything you've done for me," Anatoli said.

"I only wish we could have done more," Mykolas answered and then extended hand to Kevin which he accepted. "It was good to meet you, Mr. Black. I heard of how you saved his mother. You are truly a remarkable man."

"Thank you for saying," Kevin answered and Mykolas walked away to join Maritza and Amber to grab Nadja for a performance.

Nadja was happy to accept and asked if there could be someone to play Petruchio after she did Katherine's monologue from the end of the play. Amber suspected correctly that Edward would be able to help and played the role of Petruchio as they did the scene of their first meeting. They gathered a very small crowd and when Edward and Nadja finished their scene, Nadja proceeded with her monologue and she was wonderful. Obviously it was the voice of a child but it had the power and command one would expect from Katherine.

"She will win the role for sure," Amber praised, whispering in Maritza's ear and she beamed with a mother's pride.

Levi Jr. wandered over when he heard what was happening; simply curious. Once he'd made his way through the small group of onlookers, he watched Nadja proclaim in a strong voice the importance of beauty and obedience to one's husband just as he vaguely remembered it from Taming of the Shrew. She even had a British accent that made her performance feel all the more otherworldly. Levi was no stranger to accents but hers made her seem larger than life. He wasn't sure what made him so drawn to her, but when their eyes met briefly as she continued only to turn away naturally to look upon other members of the audience, Levi blushed profusely and wanted nothing more than to run away. Her blonde hair was so shiny, her eyes blue and she was fair; seemingly flawless. He felt intimidated by her. Then she picked up her dress daintily so she could kneel and finished her monologue saying to no one in particular, "In token of which duty, if he please, my hand is ready, may it do him ease." The group that had watched her clapped and one guest grabbed some flowers from one of the table settings and began gently tossing them to Nadja's feet to complete the performance. She giggled and picked up the flowers bowing her head in appreciation.

"I do not think Elizabeth Taylor could do better," one woman praised and Nadja blushed.

"I could never be as good as her," Nadja said.

"Did you see Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Taming of the Shrew?" Maritza asked Amber. "We saw it together when we arrived here and Nadja was on the edge of her seat the whole time. She has demanded we see it again before we leave."

"I can't say I have seen it, but I will make a point to see it," Amber said with a smile. She glanced in Levi's direction and smiled when she spotted him. "Levi, come meet Maritza. Maritza, this is my son Levi. He is the one I told you about who's Bar Mitzvah is in July." Levi approached Amber but kept glancing at Nadja unable to help himself.

"Ah, yes, you were one of the groomsmen," Maritza smiled. "My goodness you are very tall. He must get that from his father."

"Oh yes," Amber giggled and hugged Levi from behind and petted his head briefly. Levi came up to just under Amber's chin currently undergoing a growth spurt he couldn't wait to be over. He felt lanky and awkward, sometimes he felt gross for a number of reasons, his voice was cracking and he was starting to grow facial hair, but it was inconsistent and he hated it. He'd started shaving not long ago but he hated shaving too. He would cut his skin sometimes and when he was done with shaving, he had a baby face again which, to him, was as bad as the inconsistent facial hair. "Levi looks so much like Kevin. I'd give him another two years and he'll be over six feet tall bumping his head on doorframes as he enters a room."

"Mom," Levi whined under his breath, embarrassed. Amber smiled and kissed his cheek.

"When he starts high school in the fall, he'll be in AP math classes," Amber said, unable to resist bragging. "My father was an accountant when we lived in Germany and when we moved here, Kevin was able to help daddy find work for a bank as an accounted. Daddy's retired now, but he made sure his namesake developed a love for math."

"Is math your favorite subject in school?" Maritza asked and Levi nodded.

"Sadly, Nadja does not like numbers as you do," Maritza lamented. "Mrs. Smith tells us reading and writing with Nadja is two and a half hours of joy while Math is two hours of sorrowful boredom. She enjoys science, but her best grades are in reading and writing. She adores Shakespeare but my little Nadja adores most poetry."

"It's a shame we don't live near one another; Levi could help her with her in math I'm sure," Amber suggested innocently and Levi's face went beet red. "In fact, come Freshman year, he will be starting AP Algebra. If all goes well, he'll be taking AP Calculus by his senior year of high school."

"AP?"

"They're advanced math courses," Amber said. "College level courses in fact."

"Do you know what you want to do for work when you finish school?" Maritza asked.

"Oma says I should be an accountant, but I'm not picky," Levi answered nervously having noticed Nadja was approaching Maritza. Once Nadja was with her mother, Maritza smiled.

"You did wonderfully, Nadja," Maritza praised.

"Thank you, mama," Nadja smiled and looked at Levi. "You were one of the groomsmen right? Levi?"

"Yeah," Levi answered, still a little flustered all the more so when Nadja spoke to him. "Um….you did good. Your monologue I mean."

She giggled, "Thank you for saying, Levi."

"Levi is evidently gifted in math," Maritza said to Nadja. Realizing what her mother was doing, Nadja sighed just a little as her mother spoke. "Amber says he will be taking advanced courses when he begins high school. In fact, they are college level math courses."

"Marvelous to hear," Nadja said with the barest hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I take it you're a bit of a numbers nerd?" she asked Levi who kept blushing. She noticed he was blushing and giggled. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Levi said a little faster than was necessary. "I'm going to find Caleb," Levi said to Amber and got away as fast as he could. When Levi hurried away, Maritza pinched Nadja which made her yelp.

"That was exceedingly rude, Nadja," Maritza scolded.

"What did I do?" Nadja asked.

"I am so sorry about what she said," Maritza said to Amber, ignoring Nadja's protests.

"It's alright, there's nothing to apologize for," Amber smiled. "My boy is definitely a bit of a numbers nerd. It never used to bother him, but now that he's getting older he's becoming a little temperamental. It's an unfortunate side effect of being a teenager that every mother must help her children through." Amber looked at Nadja with a smile. "You make sure that you do not give your mother too much grief when it's your turn dear."

"I promise nothing," Nadja said and Maritza swatted her arm while Amber giggled.

"At least she's honest," Amber said.

"Perhaps too honest," Maritza muttered.

Levi hurried to find Caleb and Sergei hoping that he had stopped blushing by the time he found them. Of course, he wasn't. They both saw the flush in his face and despite his attempts to claim it was because it was just really hot, they noticed he'd been talking to Nadja and began teasing him relentlessly. Ivory and Anatoli continued going around the room welcoming their guests and thanking them for coming and returned to their head table together when they wanted a break from talking to guests.

"I got to meet Mykolas. He's very nice," Ivory said.

"Yes, he is a good man," Anatoli said. "Maritza and Nadja a nice too."

"I don't think I had a chance to talk to them. So long as you talked to them, we've covered our bases," Ivory said and Anatoli chuckled.

When the sun had finally gone done, the vampires at the wedding went straight outside for some fresh air and talked amongst themselves. A number of the children had run off to the nearby pool and some had started playing, their nice clothes be damned. By then, dinner was over and the rest of the night was meant for enjoying themselves, so no one made a big deal about the children getting their clothes wet. Emmett and Rosalie kept an eye on all the children as they playing in the pool. Emma Leigh did not go into the pool determining she was not dressed appropriately for the pool but Nadeshka went in the pool with Lee, Tristan, Lilliana, Eun Mae, Mae Yon, Eun So and any other children that had decided to join in the fun. Guests that were exhausted funneled out to return to their rooms when it was getting late while some guests stayed well into the night. They had the space until midnight after all. Though Anatoli and Ivory were not among the guests that wanted to be there until midnight.

Alice told them she would handle things for them so they could leave. Anatoli and Ivory went to the front desk to get their new room key for the honeymoon suite and walked to the elevator hand in hand so they could go to the right floor. Family had already helped the hotel staff get Anatoli's and Ivory's luggage up to the suite for them and once they made it to the suite, for romanticism's sake, Anatoli opened the door and lifted Ivory into his arms being careful to get them into the room without the heavy door hitting Ivory as it closed naturally. Once they were inside, Anatoli put her down so he could reach for her but she averted him.

"Not yet, Anatoli," Ivory said after she stepped away. "I have a present for you."

"You do?" Anatoli asked. "What is it?"

"You'll just have to be patient," Ivory smirked. She sauntered over to her suitcase and unzipped it. She looked over her shoulder at him before opening it. "Sit on the edge of the bed for me?" Anatoli smiled and complied, but he was at the end so he could still see her. "Face that way?" Ivory smiled pointing to the other end of the room. Anatoli complied after a small laugh and once he wasn't looking at her anymore, Ivory reached into her suitcase to grab what she'd wanted to and sauntered to the large bathroom so she could change.

Her dress was easy to get out of and she put it on the hanger. She was already in a pair of white panties but that was all she wore. She kept her strappy kitten heel sandals on and that was all she was planning to wear. Once she was mostly naked, Ivory pulled open the two bottles of red wine and plugged the tub before pouring both contents into the tub. Once the wine was in the tub, Ivory got the water going making sure it was warm. Moments after she got the water going, there was a gentle knock at the door.

"Ivory?" Anatoli said through the door. "Are you alright?"

"Of course," Ivory smiled. "Your present isn't ready yet Anatoli. Just be patient okay?" She could hear Anatoli hesitate on the other side of the door before agreeing and walking away from the door.

Once Anatoli was away from the door, she turned her attention to the two shot glasses and flask she brought into the bathroom with her as part of his present. She poured the gin into the shot glasses so they were ready when the bath was. It felt like the tub was taking forever to fill. It was an enormous tub to fill. Finally when the tub had enough warm water and the water was tinted red from the two bottles of wine, Ivory got herself situated on the lip of the tub with the two shot glasses in her hand and crossed her leg sensually. Her hair was still up it its up do and the flowers were still in her hair, so she hoped she looked as classy and sexy as she imagined she did. Once she was ready, she took a deep breath and then called Anatoli's name. She waited a moment for Anatoli to approach the door and once he was at the door, Ivory told him to come in. When he opened the door he stopped in his tracks to the sight of Ivory sitting on the lip of the bathtub legs crossed, breasts on full display with two full shot glasses in her hand with a bathtub filled with red water. Ivory smiled alluringly.

"Some gin?" she asked and held out one of the shot glasses to him. Anatoli smiled, accepted and the two of them took their shot together. Anatoli took Ivory's glass and placed their empty shots on the sink then saw the two empty bottles of wine, recognizing them instantly and chuckling.

"Same bad wine and everything," Anatoli said. Then he approached her only for Ivory to lower herself as gently as possible into the water to avoid his touch. Her white panties immediately took on the color of the red water and were ruined but she kept her feet up directing them at Anatoli. He smiled and gently pulled off her shoes placing them on the floor beside her dress before rubbing her bare calf only to bring his hand to her foot and start tickling her. Ivory yelped and giggled, pulling her feet away from him and to her chest under the water.

"That wasn't very romantic," Ivory whimpered while Anatoli was laughing.

"I could not help myself," Anatoli admitted and started removing the last of his clothes. Once he was naked, he stepped into the tub with Ivory while she pulled off her now ruined panties and ringed them out before tossing them into the garbage.

"I guess I should have removed those before I fell into the tub," Ivory lamented briefly before snuggling up to Anatoli in the tub. He wrapped his arms around her and started kissing up and down her neck. Ivory trembled from the fell of his lips against her neck and moaned as his hands started to roam over her body.

"How does it feel to be a married woman?" Anatoli asked with his lips against her ear and his hands trailing further and further down her body. Ivory trembled in his arms.

"It feels wonderful. How does it feel to be a married man?"

"It feels wonderful," Anatoli echoed and nipped her ear gently making her shiver again.

"I love you," Ivory moaned.

"I love you too," Anatoli whispered and finally dipped his hand down between her legs where she was longing for him. She could feel him growing hard behind her and she felt like she was becoming dizzy, though she wondered how much of that was the fault of the tub of watery wine.

"Anatoli," Ivory moaned while his finger touched her sensitive nub, "I've been making a point to keep track of my cycles lately. We can go without a condom if you wanted to."

"Really?" Anatoli asked and slid his finger inside her. "That is an interesting proposition."

Ivory giggled, "Is it tempting?"

Anatoli only nodded before he started kissing her neck again. Then he moved on to her shoulder sucking at her skin tasting the remnants for the diluted wine on her skin. His fingers continued to massage Ivory's feminine core edging her closer and closer to the edge. As she got closer, Ivory reached a hand above her head to grab a hold of Anatoli's hair and her other hand went down to cover his wrist. He didn't stop until he felt her body convulse gently and she cried out quietly. When she had come down from her orgasm, Anatoli moved Ivory around so she was sideways in his lap and started kissing her. They stayed in the tub together soaking in the wine bath kissing for several minutes. Anatoli eventually lifted Ivory so he could get her on her knees facing the wall of the tub so he could come up behind her. Then he remembered something and turned her around so he could get her seated on the lip of the tub. Ivory whimpered his name as he dipped his head between her legs to lick her intimately.

"I see you like the wine a lot more this time around," Ivory moaned when he began pleasuring her.

"No, the wine is awful, but I like how you taste," Anatoli answered and dove right in.

Ivory moaned again and kept her hands on the lip of the tub to stay balanced with her head held back savoring the feel of Anatoli's tongue against her. It took very little for Ivory to reach a second orgasm and when she had, Anatoli returned her back to her knees as he'd had her before and slipped inside her. It really was just as Anatoli remembered when they'd done this for that briefest time before Ivory reminded him they needed their protection in place. There would be no such interruption this time and Anatoli thrust into her forcefully holding onto her hips while she leaned over the lip of the tub enjoying each movement of their hips together. Through their intimacy, Ivory was getting close to another high, but she could feel Anatoli was much closer than she was so she dipped her hands between her legs so they could climax together. Anatoli brought one hand up to her shoulder to help keep her balanced and to allow him to go just a little harder. By the time Ivory reached her final orgasm and whimpered with pleasure beneath him, Anatoli saw stars behind his eyes as he reached that high along with her and had to grab a hold of the lip of the tub to keep himself upright. It took a moment for the two of them to calm down as they breathed heavily. When Ivory finally opened her eyes, she noticed her flowers on the floor.

"I lost my flowers," Ivory mumbled in a pleasured hum.

"You and I both know you are not a virgin," Anatoli answered and Ivory swatted at him with a giggle and Anatoli finally saw her flowers on the floor that had been in her hair. "Oh," he said and Ivory pushed him to sit back in the tub and climbed on top of him.

"I meant the flowers that were in my hair," Ivory smiled and kissed him. "How could you call your wife a whore on our wedding day?"

"I did not say you were a whore; I only meant this is not the first time we have had sex," Anatoli said even through Ivory's kisses.

"I know; I'm teasing you," Ivory smiled. "Consider it payback for tickling my feet." Anatoli smiled and returned her kiss but reached down and tickled her foot again making her squeal which made him start laughing. She splashed some water at him and then slapped his chest before falling back into his arms.

Among the guests that had retreated to their rooms were Caleb, Levi and Sergei. The three of them went upstairs together so they could relax for the night before bed. The three of them did rock paper scissors to determine what order they would get to shower and Sergei won the first round. Caleb and Levi played again while Sergei got into the shower and Levi lost, so he would get the last shower of the night. The two of them sat on one of the beds together playing cards while waiting for Sergei to get out of the shower when a knock came at the door. Levi dropped his hand and went to the door expecting it would be one of their parents, but instead it was Nadja at the other side of the door and Levi went rigid with nervousness. She was still wearing her dress from the wedding but she was wearing a pair of slippers and her hair was no longer done up. Regardless, he still found her captivating beyond his understanding.

"Good, you're still awake," she said. "I wanted to apologize for what I said this evening. Calling you a nerd was very rude."

"Uh….yeah, sure. It's okay. I'm not mad," Levi finally said when he found his voice.

"Good," Nadja smiled. "Anyway, it may be a little early, but I thought I would give you a Bar Mitzvah present." She presented the book she was holding: The Devils of Loudon by Aldous Huxley. The cover was an extremely pale pink with a black church outline on it with the title of the book, a caption and the author's name. "It's about a convent of 17 nuns that claimed to be possessed in 17th century France and accused a man called Urbain Grandier of being the one responsible. I cannot recommend this book enough. It's a very interesting true story."

"So a French version of The Crucible?"

"Oh no, this is a true story. I suppose imagine if Abigail Williams were Mother Superior and convinced her entire convent she was being possessed and getting the others involved all because John Proctor refused to become the new Confessor for their convent."

Levi was briefly thoughtful and then said, "So The Crucible but in France?" This time Nadja giggled and shrugged.

"I will just let you read it," Nadja said. She was about to walk away when Levi stopped her.

"Hold on," Levi said and went inside to his suitcase and pulled out what he'd been reading on the plane, To Kill a Mockingbird, and returned to the door to hand it over to Nadja. "Have you ever read this?"

"I can't say as I have," Nadja said and accepted the book, looking at the cover then the back for the synopsis.

"It's a fascinating read. We read that for my English class last year and I really enjoyed it."

"It sounds interesting," Nadja said and opened the book, already beginning to read it. "Well then, I'll make sure to read this on the plane home."

"Likewise," Levi said. She was about the walk away but Levi stopped her again, blushing profusely. "How long will be you in town? We aren't leaving until Monday."

"We leave Monday as well," Nadja said.

"If you're free tomorrow, do you want to see a movie with me? I hear Taming of the Shrew is showing. It's the one with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It might be a good review."

"I saw that yesterday, but I will happily see it again," Nadja said.

"Great! We..uh…how about we go after the family brunch? Or…wait, you don't really eat do you?"

"I do not generally choose it, no," Nadja said, "But we can meet afterwards. How about noon?"

"Noon's great!" Levi answered. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I'll see you tomorrow. Unless there was something else you wanted to discuss?" she teased.

"No, that's it. I'll see you tomorrow," Levi said. "Night."

"Good night," Nadja answered and finally walked away. Levi stepped back into the room closing the door behind him looking at the book Nadja had given him.

"You're going to a movie with Nadja?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah," Levi said with a smile, a little baffled that he'd managed to ask her.

"Levi has a girlfriend, Levi has a girlfriend," Caleb said in a teasing song and Levi came over and shoved Caleb to make him stop, but Caleb just started laughing.

"What's going on?" Sergei asked after he'd gotten out of the shower a towel wrapped around his hips.

"Levi asked Nadja on a date and they're going to a movie tomorrow," Caleb said.

"What movie? Maybe we should join you as…shit, what is the word in English? People that watch you on a date?"

"Chaperon," Caleb said.

"We're seeing Taming of the Shrew and you two aren't coming with," Levi said.

"She even gave him an early birthday present," Caleb continued.

"Let me see," Sergei said and reached for the book but Levi averted him and Caleb started to chase after Levi around the room to get a hold of the book to see it. Caleb managed eventually to pin Levi down on one of the beds and took a hold of the book so he could see it but not forcing it out of Levi's hand.

"The Devils of Loudon?"

"Let go, Caleb!"

"A book? That's it?" Sergei asked.

"He gave her his copy of To Kill a Mockingbird as payment," Caleb said and finally released the book. Once free, Levi pushed Caleb off him and Caleb and Sergei started laughing. Levi tucked the book into one of the pockets of his suitcase so it was safe and rushed to the bathroom to take a shower. After the door closed, Caleb realized what happened and rushed to the bathroom door opening it demanding Levi get out so Caleb could take his shower.

The following morning, the family met downstairs in the hotel's restaurant for brunch together. Anatoli reminded Lilliana not to go too crazy since he was taking her out for ice cream later. That turned into Anatoli taking a bunch of the kids out for ice cream since they didn't want to be left out. Lilliana eventually agreed but stipulated she got to pick her ice cream first. Levi was nervous through breakfast and Caleb's and Sergei's teasing was not helping. He eventually snuck away when it was close to noon and went outside to wait for Nadja.

"Where's Levi?" Kevin asked when he realized Levi was gone.

"He's meeting his date," Caleb said and he and Sergei started snickering.

"Wait, what?" Kevin asked. Levi was outside for a few minutes waiting. He had ten dollars in his pocket that he was hoping would be able to pay for tickets and food. Every time he heard the door open, he'd glance back to see if it was Nadja, but one time when he looked back, it was Kevin. "What are you doing out here?" Kevin asked.

"I just wanted to go out for a bit," Levi said nervously.

"By yourself?" Kevin asked just as Nadja was stepping out.

"Oh, Mr. Black," Nadja said, "it's a pleasure to see you again."

"Morning, Nadja. I didn't get to tell you; Amber loved your performance last night. She told me you're trying out for a play when you get home?"

"Yes, sir," Nadja nodded. "I'm trying out for the role of Katherine in Taming of the Shrew. Levi and I are actually going to see Taming of the Shrew together to refresh my lines. Mama and papa took me the other day, but I couldn't resist seeing it again."

Kevin glanced at Levi a moment and laughed just a little bit under his breath, "I see. You're parents know?"

"Yes, I let them know. I think they're relieved they don't have to treat me to another movie," Nadja giggled. "Mama and papa are overly frugal."

"Well, have a good time. Levi, do you have money?"

"I have ten dollars," Levi said. Kevin pulled out his wallet to get another ten dollars and handed that to Levi.

"For cab fare," Kevin said. "Have fun you two. Be back before dinner."

"Yes, Mr. Black," Nadja smiled politely and went to one of the cabs that was out front just as some people were coming out.

"Have fun, Levi," Kevin said, ruffled Levi's hair and went back inside.

Levi was still blushing when Nadja called out to him to let him know she'd hailed them a cab. The driver took them to the nearest movie theatre and they made it too late for the 12:30 showing but there was another showing at 1:30. Levi bought them their tickets and they waited outside the assigned theatre for its showing.

"I started reading To Kill a Mockingbird," Nadja said while they waited.

"How do you like it so far?" Levi asked.

"I did get a good laugh at Scout expressing her remorse at being unable to join her brother and his friend in a peeing contest for…I think she'd said it was because she was 'untalented in this area'?" Levi started laughing a little remembering the scene she was talking about.

"So you like it so far?"

"So far I do," Nadja said. "Did you start reading yet?"

"I didn't get a chance to, but I'll start reading on the plane for sure," Levi said. "Is it your favorite book?"

"It's one of my favorites," Nadja said. "I read that one on my own time. Usually Mrs. Smith has me reading 'appropriate literature' like Bronte, Shakespeare, Austin and the like. I enjoy those, but I always ask to read more recent stuff. Her compromise was for us to read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier."

"Rebecca?"

"It's about a man that remarries a woman that never even gets named because she's overshadowed by the memory of Rebecca. She's your main character and you don't even know her name," Nadja said. "I will give it points for Rebecca's servant being in love with her, but leave it to Miss Du Maurier to make the lesbian crazy."

"I take it you didn't like it? I only saw bits of pieces of the movie and I haven't really wanted to see the rest of it," Levi said.

"It was not my favorite book, no," Nadja said. "So what else have you read recently? To Kill a Mockingbird can't be the only book you like."

"I don't really like reading honestly," Levi admitted. "I'd just rather play with my friends or watch TV. We've read The Tempest and Hamlet in my English class this year."

"Everyone's read Shakespeare," Nadja said as she waved her hand dismissively. "I think every child in the English speaking developed world has read Shakespeare. There's nothing special about that."

"This from the girl who's dead set on the role of Katherine," Levi remarked.

"Most people have read Shakespeare. Far fewer can say they've performed Shakespeare," Nadja smiled. "If my audition goes well, I will be able to count myself among those to have performed."

"Well, I hope you get the part and any others you want in the future," Levi said and Nadja smiled.

"I hope so too," Nadja said. "Mrs. Smith tells me I should try out for a less demanding role than a Shakespearean heroine, but I am determined."

"Is Taming of the Shrew your favorite?"

"No. That is reserved for Othello," Nadja said. "And Hamlet. I love Hamlet."

"Of the plays I've read, Hamlet is one I preferred," Levi said.

"Have you ever read Lord of the Flies?"

"No," Levi said.

"You should," Nadja said bluntly. "It's good to have an interest in reading. It builds the imagination. While I'm sure mathematics build a powerful mind, it does not build an imagination."

"I think that might be meaner than you calling me a numbers nerd," Levi said managed to joke.

"Admit it: you didn't give me calling you a numbers nerd a passing thought. Mother is the one that insisted I had been rude and should apologize."

"Then you tell me I have no imagination," Levi poked.

"I hadn't meant to be offensive," Nadja replied. "So tell me what other interests you have. We've got another hour before our movie starts after all."

Levi and Nadja talked while waiting for the beginning of the movie and funneled in to take their seats as soon as they were able to enter the theatre making sure to get seats in the back center. Nadja was paying close attention to Elizabeth Taylor's performance taking mental notes of her delivery and chemistry with Richard Burton. Granted she could not predict the chemistry with the leading man, but she would be prepared. Levi still found himself intimidated by her but admired her at the same time. After the movie was over, they walked out of the theatre to find a cab and made their way back to the hotel before dinner as they'd been directed.

"Thank you for taking me to see a movie," Nadja said. "You will have to write and let me know what you think of The Devils of Loudon once you've read."

"I will," Levi promised. Obtaining a pen and paper from the front desk, Nadja wrote down her address and handed it over to him.

"I look forward to hearing how you liked it," Nadja said. "Enjoy your flight back home okay?"

"Yeah…you too," Levi answered shyly. She walked back to her room and Levi made his trip back up to his room. He passed Kevin as he was walking and Kevin stopped him as soon as they crossed paths.

"Did you just get back?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah," Levi answered.

"How was the movie?"

"It was fine," Levi answered. "Nadja had a good time."

"So your date went well?"

"It wasn't a date, dad," Levi protested blushing heavily.

"Alright," Kevin chuckled and patted Levi's shoulder. "Anatoli and Ivory left, so we're on our own for dinner tonight. I already told Caleb and Sergei to order themselves room service, so you do the same."

"Okay," Levi said and dashed to his room while Kevin chuckled and made his way back to the room he and Amber shared.

"Did Levi get back?" Amber asked when Kevin came into their room.

"Yeah, he's back. I told him to order room service," Kevin said.

"You said he went to see a movie right?"

"Yeah. Taming of the Shrew I think it was," Kevin said and that caught Amber's attention.

"He wanted to see that?" Amber asked, confused, and Kevin shrugged.

"I guess so," Kevin answered.