Edge of the Past (8 page)

“She still adjust. She need time.”

“Does she have friends? Does she enjoy skating?”

“It is… difficult, with different language. Girls at rink, they do not speak much English. But Liza loves to skate, and she have much talent.”

“What about her coach? Does she like him?”

“He is good coach. Tough, but all good coach are.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“We do not like our coach and we succeed.”

“So, she doesn’t like him.” Sergei left my side to pace along the shiny floor. “Which means she’s probably not enjoying skating as much as she should, and she probably feels alone because she can’t talk to the other kids.”

“You make it sound so horrible when it is not,” Elena snapped.

Sergei stopped pacing and stared at an abstract painting of red and black streaks hanging on the wall. “You’re still going to Worlds?”

“Yes, I promise Liza.”

Sergei put his gaze back on Elena. “Would it be possible for her to come stay with me until then?”

Say what?
I studied Sergei’s eyes, trying to get a read on them. What was he thinking?

Elena gawked at him. “You are crazy.”

“It’s only a couple of weeks. It would give us a chance to get to know each other.”

“You promise not to take her from me and now you ask to take her!”

“I’m not trying to take her away from you. This would be a visit, that’s all. A few weeks until you meet us in D.C.”

“How do you care for her? You work all day at rink.”

“She can come to the rink and skate.” Sergei sounded more determined and excited with each breath. “There are so many kids there her age. She’ll love it.”

I lifted my hand to my mouth.
Oh, my goodness. He’s really serious.

“No. Never,” Elena said. “She not go to America without me.”

“Then come with us,” Sergei said.

Every part of me went numb. Sergei had truly lost it. He was on his runaway train again, making plans while leaving me at the station.

I walked over to Sergei and said quietly, “Maybe we should talk.”

He took my hands and squeezed them. “This makes the most sense since they’re already coming for Worlds. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

“How do we go so soon?” Elena sputtered. “And where do we stay? In hotel for weeks?”

Sergei rubbed his chin, his wheels turning. No way he’d offer to let them stay in his one-bedroom apartment, would he? He wasn’t exactly thinking clearly at the moment. Even if Elena and Liza were at a hotel, Sergei would be spending time with them without me. I had to do something…

“You can stay with me,” I blurted out.

Sergei looked at me with one eyebrow lifted. “Em, you don’t have to…”

Elena shook her head. “We do not bother you.”

“I have plenty of space. I live with a roommate, but we have an extra bedroom and bathroom. And Sergei’s apartment is only a few blocks from my house.”

Elena folded her arms and followed the path Sergei had paced. “All is so sudden… Liza is so upset now. And she have schoolwork and skating–”

“Her tutor can give her work to take with her, and like I said, she can skate at our rink.” Sergei took a few steps toward Elena. “This trip might be just what Liza needs. To have both of us with her as she deals with everything.”

I fiddled with the small silver cross hanging around my neck. My emotions were fighting each other again. I certainly didn’t want Elena in my house for three weeks, but if she refused to bring Liza, Sergei would be crushed. There were no easy answers to the growing mess of complications in our lives.

“I want Liza to know I do anything for her,” Elena said.

“You can show her by doing this,” Sergei replied.

Elena closed her eyes and stood very still. Neither Sergei nor I moved, waiting for a response. When Elena looked at us again, she said, “We go if we find flight.”

Sergei exhaled and grasped her shoulders. “Thank you.”

A gleam of light shone in Elena’s dark eyes. It was the first time Sergei had touched her since we’d run into her at the rink. I clamped my hand around my cross, the sharp edges digging into my palm. The pain was nothing compared to the stabbing in my heart.

“Can we tell Liza the news?” Sergei asked.

The sound of a rattling cough and the heavy front door shutting pulled my attention from Sergei and Elena. An older woman carrying a paper sack entered the room and stared wide-eyed at Sergei.

“Olga,” Elena said in Russian. “You remember Sergei?”

The woman walked over to him and lifted her bony hand to his cheek. I shuffled closer to translate her scratchy reply. “It is good to see you after so many years.”

Sergei echoed the sentiment and continued in Russian, “This is my fiancée Emily.” Turning to me, he switched to English. “Olga’s worked for Elena’s family for a long time.”

She gave me a nod and a long appraisal, and I mumbled a greeting. I felt like I was being sized up by one of the hard-nosed Russian skating judges.

“I bring Liza out,” Elena said.

She left us, and Olga angled her head as she questioned Sergei. “You met Liza?”

“Elena told me everything. She told Liza, also. I assume you know the truth?”

“I do.”

I raised my eyebrows. Olga had to be more family than employee if she knew all the dirty little secrets.

Elena returned with Liza, and Olga ambled toward the hallway. “I finish dinner.”

Elena touched Liza’s long braid while she spoke to her. “Sergei and I have talk, and he invite us to visit with him few weeks before Worlds, if you like to do that.”

Liza’s teary eyes brightened, and she almost smiled. “We’re going to America now?”

“Yes. We leave very soon.”

The smile fully appeared on Liza’s face, and she turned to Sergei. “Thank you
so
much.”

He beamed and tipped his head. I couldn’t imagine what was showing on
my
face. Probably some combination of fascination and disbelief.

“Sergei, it is late. I think it best if you and Emily leave,” Elena said. “You call me with detail of trip?”

“Definitely. I’ll get you our flight information. Hopefully, there are some open seats.” Sergei approached Liza and took a moment before speaking. “It’s been so great to meet you, Liza. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to your visit.”

She smiled shyly. Elena walked Sergei and me to the door, and as he opened it Sergei said, “Thank you again for doing this. I really think it will be good for Liza.”

Elena had more strength in her posture than when we’d arrived, but worry still darkened her face. “We see.”

Sergei and I were both quiet as we waited for the elevator. The doors opened and shut us inside, and Sergei leaned against the back wall with a look of wonder.

“I can’t believe I just talked to my daughter.”

The magnitude of what had just occurred started to sink in, forming a lump in my throat. “She’s a beautiful little girl,” I said, my voice cracking.

We walked outside, and I tilted my head up to watch the snowflakes swirling around the streetlight. My nerves were dancing a similar pattern. Sergei stopped on the edge of the sidewalk and faced me.

“Do you think I’m crazy, doing all this?” he asked. “I don’t know how to explain it, but the first time I saw Liza, I felt this instinct to protect her. I couldn’t walk away.”

That fatherly instinct he’d suddenly acquired added to my confusion about the situation. It was somewhat unnerving but at the same time incredibly appealing. Watching Sergei with Liza had made my heart flip-flop in a whole new way.

“You’re not crazy,” I said, putting my hands on his waist.

He tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear and caressed my cheek. “I told you this before, and I have to say it again. You are truly amazing.”

He kissed me softly, and I pressed my lips harder against his, trying to block out my thoughts.

Was I amazing or a total fool?

Chapter Eight

With a deep sigh, I threw back the comforter on the bed and sank into the stack of pillows. I was more worn out than I’d be if I’d skated back-to-back long programs. Since Sergei and I had just rehashed the scene at Elena’s to my parents, I didn’t feel like reliving the day’s events again, but I had to call Aubrey to tell her about our impending guests.

I slid my phone off the nightstand and scrolled to Aubrey’s cell number. Glancing at the clock, I calculated the time difference and hoped I’d catch her leaving the rink. She should be on her way to ballroom class, an extra off-ice requirement for ice dancers.

“Hey, Em,” she answered.

“Hey, do you have a few minutes?”

“Yep, class was cancelled so Marley and I are going out to Mashpee to shop in a bit.”

I pushed my damp hair away from my face and laid my head back against the starchy pillowcase. Oh, to be at home with my friends, doing trivial things.

“Some crazy stuff has been going on here,” I said. “You’re never going to believe it.”

“Uh-oh. Did Sergei’s dad do something?”

“No, he’s the least of my problems. It’s a pretty convoluted story, but I’ll try to make it short.”

I gave her a rundown of the situation, and nothing but silence came over the line. Finally, Aubrey said, “Back it all the way up. You met Elena
and
the kid she had for Sergei?”

Aubrey, Chris, and Marley were the only people I’d told about Elena’s pregnancy and her father’s threats. My friends had been there for me when I found out Sergei had lied. Sensing more trouble on the horizon, I suspected I’d need them once again.

“It’s been a whirlwind two days,” I said.

“So, why are Elena and Liza staying with us? Did Sergei ask you to put them up?”

I picked at my flannel pajama pants, wincing in advance of the expected reaction. “I invited them.”

“Are you nuts?”

“You know the old saying – ‘Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.’ I mean, I don’t really know Elena so I can’t say she’s my enemy, but you get my drift.”

Aubrey was silent again. I could picture her green eyes crinkling with concern. “This is so totally insane,” she said. “How are you processing all this? Or are you still in shock?”

“I honestly don’t know. We’ve just been going, going, going since yesterday when we first saw Elena. I’m sorta numb right now.” Turning my head, I looked out at the lights of Moscow, visible between the half-drawn curtains. “I’m sorry I didn’t check with you before I invited Elena and Liza. It was one of those things where I had to make a move fast.”

“I know you, and you wouldn’t have suggested something so crazy if you didn’t think it was necessary. Besides, it’s your parents’ house, so you can invite whoever you want.” Aubrey stopped and gasped. “Oh, no, you had to tell your parents everything. Your mom must’ve had a conniption.”

“She wasn’t pleased, especially when I told her about my invitation.”

“Please tell me these people speak some English so I won’t need you to translate for me the entire time.”

“Elena’s English is good. Liza actually lived in the States before her parents died, and I get the impression she knows very little Russian. I’m not sure how much she’ll be talking, though. I think she’s pretty mad at Elena for keeping the truth from her.”

“Great, so we’ll have their uncomfortable drama to deal with.”

“I’m sorry. I know it’s not the best time to throw our routine out of whack with Worlds coming up. Believe me, if I thought there was a better answer…”

“Is Sergei not thinking about Worlds and how this will affect you? How are you supposed to be on your A-game with all this going on around you?”

Hearing Aubrey’s concern lifted a layer of my numbness, revealing irritation. “Sergei doesn’t seem to be thinking about anything except Liza right now.”

A quick knock came from the door. “Somebody’s knocking,” I said. “I really hope it’s not my mom. I ran away tonight before she could corner me.”

“Good luck. Call me tomorrow.”

I put the phone on the nightstand and crept on my bare toes to the door. If it was Mom, I wanted her to think I was asleep. Peeking through the peephole, I discovered my visitor was Sergei.

I opened the door and Sergei glanced at my T-shirt and pajama pants. “Did I wake you? Sorry, I’m still so wired I couldn’t sleep.”

“No, I was just talking to Aubrey.” I motioned him inside and shut the door.

“Is she okay with Elena and Liza staying with you?” he asked, stopping at the foot of the bed.

“She’s worried this is a bad time for them to visit with Worlds in three weeks. And now that I’ve had a minute to breathe and think about it, she has a good point.”

“They can stay in a hotel. You don’t have to–”

“It’s not just the matter of where they’re staying.” I folded my arms “It’s the fact that you invited them to come at all without talking to me first.”

Sergei stepped closer to me. “I’m sorry, Em. When Liza asked to come with us, it got me thinking, and I had to do something quickly. Elena was so upset that I was afraid she might make us leave.”

“I understand you did what you thought was good for Liza, but you still should’ve taken the time to discuss it with me. It scares me that you’re making these huge decisions without me. I hope this isn’t an indication of what our marriage will be like.”

“It’s not.” Sergei gently cupped his hands under my chin. “This was a crazy situation that I never thought I’d be in, and I just started reacting and saying things before I could even think them through myself.”

I dropped my eyes to the silver pendant hanging around his neck, the one I’d given him for his birthday, engraved with
Always
in Russian. It was turned backwards, so I reached up and flipped it forward.

“You should’ve talked to me,” I said, removing Sergei’s hands from my face. “No matter how crazy things get, you have to remember that we’re in this together. We should make decisions like this
together
.”

“You don’t want Elena and Liza to come with us,” Sergei stated.

“That’s not what this is about,” I huffed. “It’s about you doing things that impact me, that impact
us
, without considering my feelings at all.”