"Where are you going?" Mishka asks.

"To the store. If you are going to spring a last-minute dinner on us, someone needs to do the shopping," Linka quips.

"I can do it. I was not thinking of anything elaborate. I was just going to get takeout from somewhere."

"Real nice. We are meeting your girlfriend for the first time, and you think we will allow her first impression to be that we cannot even cook her a real meal?"

"Grandma has already met her, and we had a wonderful meal. I figured we would not have to go all out for you since you already think you are special with your 'famous Planeteer' gig. Need to take you down a notch," he lovingly teases.

"I am remembering why I stay away. I forgot how much of a pain in the ass my brother is."

"Linka!" Grandma admonishes from the doorway.

Linka jumps as she is startled and her face reddens, but she refuses to apologize.

"You know I am right, Grandma. He is impossible sometimes and intentionally irritating."

"Yes…and you know this, yet you still take the bait every time."

Mishka smiles triumphantly and winks.

"Seriously though Linka, we do not need to go all out. Yana would be just as happy with burgers and fries from the pub as she would be with a home cooked meal. There is no need to go through any big trouble."

"You are a prize of a boyfriend…I feel sorry for, Yana, is it? And I thought you said she was a doctor? What kind of doctor thinks burgers and fries are a suitable meal?"

"She is into American food…you and she have that in common."

"I am sick of American food…which is exactly why I want a home cooked meal. I will prepare one of my favorite dishes. Does anyone need anything else from the store while I am out?"

"No. Pick up whatever you would like to make any meals that you miss. I will make sure you get your fill of your favorites," Grandma says as she hands Linka several bills from her wallet.

"Keep your money, Grandma. I have this. I will be back soon."

Linka looks around the office waiting room, thankful that she is the only one there and hoping that she gets called back before anyone else arrives. She knows it's unlikely that she will see anyone that she knows, but still, the possibility exists.

"Good afternoon Ms. Kovaleva. I am Dr. Petrova. You can come into my office, and we will get started once your partner arrives…is he parking the vehicle?"

"Umm, no. It is just me," Linka says as she enters the therapist's private office.

"Oh…well…this is a bit unconventional. Usually when someone schedules an appointment for couples therapy, there is a couple involved."

"I am sorry. I was not sure who I should be talking to…you were the first appointment available," Linka says sheepishly.

"Ok, let us see what I can do to help you. Is there a chance that your partner would be able to join us for a session sometime in the future?"

"No, that is unlikely. He is not from here."

"Oh? Where is he from?" The doctor asks.

"New York."

"An American?" The doctor seems surprised.

"Yes."

"Well, my job just got easier…there is your problem right there!"

Linka smiles at the joke.

"Yes, that was something that I perceived to be a problem at first too. But it was not."

The doctor nods as she takes notes and begins asking questions to learn more about her client.

"So, what is the problem? Do you argue often?"

"Yes. All the time. Since the day we met."

"And yet you still pursued a relationship with him?"

"He pursued me, mostly. I tried to resist…he did not make it easy though. His charm and flirtations. His personality. I was drawn to him, and eventually I gave in."

More writing. The prolonged silence is making Linka feel awkward.

"Do you feel forced to stay in this relationship? Has he ever hurt you?"

"No! Not at all…and there is no longer a relationship. There never really was. I am the one who always seems to hurt him."

"Are you saying that you are the abusive one?"

Linka is taken aback by the question but takes her time gathering her thoughts before answering.

"Not physically, no. I meant that I hurt him emotionally. He was always flirting with me. Sometimes I would respond positively…mostly that was when we were in private. In public, I would shoot him down…embarrass him. I sent him mixed signals. It was not until we started spending more time alone that I started seeing a different side to him…and I let him see a different side to me."

"Is there a reason you did not let him see this side all along? Do you often mask your feelings?"

"Yes…to both. I guess I do it as a defense mechanism," Linka says, surprising herself at how easily she can open up to this stranger.

"So what is it that led you to finally let him in?"

Linka goes on to recount her fertility struggles, the lengths Wheeler went with her to help find a solution, the ups and downs, and the eventual outcome, the resulting intimacy, and the fallout.

"So, you were not actually a romantically involved couple until yesterday?"

"I guess. It is hard to put a label on our relationship. It seems like it was always unspoken. I never wanted to be with anyone else but him. I came to find out that he felt the same. It became clear that he was not just flirting. He was serious. He wanted more. He wanted a commitment. I was still resistant though because I knew of my medical condition. I never thought I could commit to anyone. I did not think it was wise. It was not fair to start anything with someone if I cannot have a family with them."

More notes. More awkward silence.

"Do you often feel the need to control everything?"

Linka lets out an awkward laugh.

"Yes. Wheeler tells me all the time that I am a control freak."

"And do you realize that there are simply too many aspects of our lives that we cannot have total control over?"

"Yes, I know."

"One of those things being who falls in love with us and who we love?"

"Yes, I know that too."

"So, then you know that just because you tell him that you cannot be with him, he is not obligated to listen…especially if he already knows you love him. He cannot turn it off. He cannot ignore what has transpired between the two of you…and neither can you."

"It is not that simple. I wish it was," Linka admits.

"Good…make me earn my salary. Give me your complicated version of it."

"If I allowed us to be together, inevitably, the topic of starting a family would come up again. The only option he would have to have a child that was at least half his would be to have a surrogate."

"Is that a problem?"

Linka takes a deep breath and prepares to confess her misgivings and hopes that the therapist has a better reaction to them than her grandmother did.

During her explanation, the doctor is scribbling notes furiously fast in their notebook.

"Wow. Thank you," Dr. Petrova says.

"For?"

"Being so open. That was very brave, especially to reveal these feelings to a stranger."

"Well, I told my grandmother and afterwards, she was the one who actually said I needed to speak to a therapist."

"Wise woman."

"She is."

"So you could tell her, and you could tell me…now you need to tell your boyfriend."

"He is not…"

The therapist raises their hand to stop her.

"Yes, he is. That is what you want him to be. That is what he will be once you get over this mental block that is keeping you from him. All that stuff that you just shared with me…guess what?"

"What?"

"I cannot help you."

"WHAT?! That is what I came here for!"

"If you came here looking for me to tell you what you wanted to hear, then you are going to be disappointed. I am here to listen to you. There is nothing wrong with you. I cannot diagnose you with a mental illness because you do not have one. You have insecurities. We all do. The best cure is to confront them. You must go to your boyfriend and tell HIMwhat you have told your grandmother and me. He is the only one who can give you the reassurance that you need to hear."

Linka lets that sink in but doesn't say anything.

"Will you be going back to America soon?"

"I do not know yet."

"I think you should have that conversation with him face to face. If you are not ready yet, I will gladly schedule another session with you after you have had some more time to think about today's session and process it all."

"I would like that."

"Good. That is all the time we have for today, but please stop by to see the receptionist to schedule another appointment."

"I will. Thank you, Doctor."

Linka checks the time. She has been gone for an hour and still has to go shopping. Her family is going to wonder what has taken her so long if she doesn't hurry.

Linka returns and carries her groceries to the kitchen.

"Need any help bringing the rest in?" Mishka asks.

"No, but thank you. This is all of them."

"Really? You were gone for so long."

"I ran into my friend Ana, and we talked for a while," she lies.

"Ana Sharapova?"

"Yes."

"She moved to Uzbekistan two years ago. Her husband got transferred."

Linka quickly recovers to continue with her cover story.

"Yes, that is what she said. She was in town for a visit, like me."

"That is nice. Did you make arrangements to meet up?"

"No, it would have been nice, but her time with her family is limited, as is mine. I am sure she wants to spend as much time with them as possible. We did a lot of catching up at the store. That was probably enough. We have not seen each other in so long, it is not like we are close anymore. We would have nothing more to talk about."

"Seriously? You are a famous Planeteer. Do you not like to brag about that?" Mishka teases.

"Yes, I like to talk about it because I am proud of what I do…but I will not talk about it with people unless they ask."

"Speaking of your former classmates, I saw Marina Federova a few months ago. She was asking about you. When I had told her that you had been home for a visit in December, she said she would have liked to meet up with you and that maybe if you contact her the next time you are back, she can round up some of your classmates for a reunion," Mishka tells her.

"I am friends with Marina on social media. She had a child a little under a year ago. I do not think I can handle hearing stories of how happy she is being a mother and then her asking when I was going to have children or if I was in a relationship."

"Ah. Yes, I can see how that would be difficult and something you would like to avoid."

"I do not know why she would think I would be interested in a 'class reunion.' She and her group of friends probably did not even know my name. They only ever referred to me as 'Mishka's sister.' They were more interested in talking to me about you."

"Really?" He asks, seemingly intrigued.

"My God, Mishka…we are having dinner with your girlfriend…why am I even bothering getting to know her if you are such a pig."

"I did not say I was interested! I was just surprised. That group was rather 'out of my league' so I was just surprised that they'd have been interested in me and my humble upbringing…Considering they always had the best of the best, which was rare for those times when most of the country was struggling."

"Most of their fathers were military or KGB. That is where their money came from. Except Larissa. Her money came from the Americans…until her father got caught."

"No way! Her brother, Igor was in my class. I thought they moved?"

"That is what we were told. She opened up about it on her social media a few years ago. Her family defected to America after her father was killed. It was quite an escape in the middle of the night."

"That is awful. It is unfortunate her father's decisions cost her and Igor their home and stability."

"It is unfortunate that they lost their father, but they seem to have done well for themselves. She is a school teacher and he is a high level manager at a bank. And as for the others, I have no interest in meeting up with them. I am certain the only reason they sent me 'friend requests' was because I am 'famous.' They probably tell all their other friends how they knew me 'way back when.' And how we were the best of friends in school. She only wants to meet up to post photos of herself with me and get 'likes.'"

"So cynical. Maybe she has changed…matured and really just wants to be friends."

"Doubtful."

He can tell that she is in a mood and hopes she snaps out of it before his girlfriend arrives.

"So, change of subject…is there anything I can do to help with dinner since I created this extra task for you?"

"Wash and peel the potatoes," she requests, handing him the bag of potatoes and peeler.

To Be Continued...