Love in E Flat (23 page)

“Hot cocoa,” Nick announced, shoving the steaming cup at Lou.

“Thanks,” Lou said, sipping the hot cocoa. She smiled when she saw the little marshmallows floating on top.

“Now where were we?” He blew on his cup of coffee. “You said you were content. So you’re not content anymore?”

Lou took another drink before answering. “No, that’s not it. I am. I just…I guess this is a lot at once.” She glanced at Nick, who concentrated on his coffee. “You don’t mind hearing this?”

Nick looked up, giving her a raised eyebrow. “I’m standing here, drinking coffee, eating what I shouldn’t be eating and I’m hot. I brought ya here, remember? Now start talking.”

“If I was honest, I’d admit I liked Aggie from the get-go.” She proceeded to tell Nick how they met.

Nick laughed, nearly spilling his coffee. “Well, it’s not a typical romantic start. And that’s not to say it’s a bad thing. But have you two talked about, ya know, anything other than the interview?”

Lou gave Nick a side-glance and drank her cocoa. Again, aware of Nick’s gaze.

He grinned then. “I can see by the look. So what’s the problem?”

“She’s leaving in a week. Now there’s a new wrinkle.”

“A new one?”

Lou told him about the Dmitry and Ana situation, leaving out very little. And for some reason, she didn’t think Agata would mind Nick knowing.

“Wow,” Nick said with a deep frown. “That’s very sad. So that’s why she was at that building and the children’s center. Is Agata going to adopt them?”

Lou shrugged. “She’s their legal guardian. Her friend, Tom Farnsworth, delivered all the paperwork. I’m sure it’s just a formality now. I think Aggie is very worried if we start something, where can it lead?”

“I can understand that.” Nick nodded, scratching the back of his head. “It’s a tough one. So can I ask ya...Is this just fun for you? Or are you serious?”

Lou thought about it and nodded. “I’m serious.”

“Wow,” Nick said again.

“Yeah. Wow.” Lou looked at the kids on the train and frowned. She leaned forward and peered at the railcar and laughed.

Nick followed her gaze. “What?”

“See the dark-haired little girl in the front car, holding the stuffed bear?”

“With her hands in the air?”

Lou nodded. “That’s Ana. Edie shouldn’t be far away.”

Lou looked around and found Edie. She put two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Edie’s head shot up, and she found Lou. She laughed and waved, then pointed to the railcar. Lou nodded and laughed as Edie made her way to them.

“What in the world are you two grown-ups doing here?” Edie asked, eyeing Nick’s pretzel.

Nick offered it to her, and Edie broke off a bit. “I’m starving. We were just about to go get McNuggets…”

“Yuck,” Lou said.

“When Ana saw the train. Look at her. Had to be in the front seat. We waited for nearly half an hour before it was vacant.” Edie laughed as she watched Ana as the train stopped. “Let me get her. Be right back.”

Nick and Lou laughed as Ana dangled poor Brown Bear by the neck and ran up to Edie. Her little cheeks flushed with excitement, Ana could barely contain herself. “Eathie, did you see Santa? He waved at me.” She then saw Lou, and her eyes lit up even more. “Lou! Did you see?”

“I did,” Lou exclaimed. “Did he say anything to you?”

“Oh, no. He was busy with some kid,” Ana said, looking at Nick. “Hi.”

“Well, hello,” Nick said, offering his hand. “I’m Nick.”

Ana’s eyes grew wide. “Like St. Nick?”

Nick glanced at Edie and Lou. He took off his cap, showing his stone-white hair. “Kinda like that. Me and Santa are like this…” He crossed his fingers and winked at Ana.

Ana frowned. “What does that mean?” She motioned to his fingers.

“It means me and Santa are on good speaking terms. We’re buddies.”

“You are?” Ana’s mouth dropped.

“Yep. I drive a cab, and I drove him around one Christmas when his sleigh got stuck in the snow,” Nick said, drinking the last of his coffee. “It was crowded with Rudolph and the rest of them in the cab.”

“You are fooling me,” Ana said, holding Brown Bear up to her face to hide her grin.

“Yeah, I am. But we are good buddies,” Nick said.

“So you guys are having fun?” Lou asked.

“Oh, yes. Eathie bought me this.” Ana presented her wrist.

Lou and Nick looked at the tiny silver charm bracelet. “What are those?” Lou motioned to the silver charms.

“Santa’s reindeer,” Ana said proudly and shook her wrist. “See? It jingles like sleigh bells.”

“That is so cool,” Lou said.

“It’s beautiful,” Nick said softly.

“I know,” Ana said with a smiling sigh. “Can we eat now?”

“Sure,” Edie said. “Let’s find a McDonald’s. We’re in desperate need of McNuggets.”

“With barbeque sauce,” Ana reminded her.

“Join us?” Edie asked as Ana pulled her along.

*******

They sat in the booth watching Ana devour her McNuggets and fries while trying to hold on to her stuffed animal.

“Why don’t you put Brown Bear down?” Lou asked. They saw the hesitant look on Ana’s face as she glanced around the restaurant.

Edie leaned over. “I have an idea for Brown Bear. I’ll be right back.”

She came back with a high chair and set it next to Ana. “May I?” she asked, reaching for Brown Bear.

With a skeptical eye, Ana handed over her animal and watched as Edie gently placed it in the chair. She then put a napkin across its chest and placed a few french fries on the tray. “I hope he likes fries,” Edie said to Ana, who hid her grin as she watched.

“She,” Lou corrected Edie.

Ana leaned into Lou. “Brown Bear is a he.”

Lou frowned. “Oh, I can’t seem to get that right.”

“Eathie does,” Ana whispered.

“She does, huh?” Lou asked. Edie preened like a cat as she smiled and ate her salad.

Nick’s cell phone went off. He looked at the screen. “Sorry, ladies. As much as I’d love to stay, I got an important fare.” He stood and shook Ana’s hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ana.” He bent down and whispered, “I’ll put in a good word for you to Santa.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “And Demmi, too?”

“Sure, kiddo.” He patted her on the head. “Lou, gimme a holler if you need me. I’ll be back in the area in twenty minutes or so.”

“Thanks, Nick.” Lou turned back to Ana and Edie after watching Nick disappear in the lunch crowd. “So how did your shopping spree go?”

“Ana got a very nice gift for her brother and Agata.”

“And Eathie got something for John, but it’s a secret,” she said to Lou.

“Gotcha. My lips are sealed,” Lou said. “Will he like it?”

“He will love it,” Ana said with enthusiasm as she ate her McNuggets. “Won’t he, Eathie?”

“Of course he’ll love it. You helped pick it out.” Edie reached over with a napkin and wiped the ketchup off Ana’s chin. “You’re wearing it more than eating it.”

Lou smiled as she watched Ana laugh and lean into Edie. She was shocked when Ana looked up and whispered, “I love you, Eathie.”

By the dumbfounded look on Edie’s face, she felt the same. She swallowed, or at least to Lou, it looked like she tried to. “I love you, too, Ana. Thanks for coming out with me today.”

“You’re welcome.” Ana happily went back to eating her fries and feeding them to Brown Bear, as well. Then unexpectedly, Ana said, “Brown Bear misses his mama.” She wiped off Brown Bear’s chin with a napkin.

Edie looked at Lou with tears in her eyes and shrugged, not knowing what to say. Edie gently ran her fingers through Ana’s curly hair. “He does, sweetie?”

Ana nodded, not looking at Lou or Edie. “She’s in heaven. But he still misses her. So I let him sleep with me at night, and I tell him stories. And I take him to McDonald’s.” She looked up at Edie. “He loves french fries.”

“That’s very sweet of you, Ana. I’m sure Brown Bear is very happy.” Edie kissed the top of Ana’s head.

“Do you have a mama?” Ana asked.

“I did,” Edie said softly. “But she’s in heaven, too.”

Ana frowned and looked at the table. “So is my mama.”

“I know, honey. And you miss her, don’t you?” Edie glanced at Lou, who tried to wipe the tears away before Ana saw them.

Ana reached over and pulled Brown Bear out of the high chair, holding him close to her chest. Edie turned sideways, and in the next instant, Ana was in her arms, her sob muffled against her stuffed best friend.

Lou watched, brokenhearted, as Edie soothed Ana with quiet words of love and affection. She gently rocked both child and animal back and forth in a comforting embrace. In a moment or two, Edie pulled away and wiped the tears from Ana’s flushed cheeks with the back of her hand. “It’s okay to miss your mother, Ana. And it’s okay to cry. I think even Brown Bear is crying.” She picked up a napkin and dabbed the stuffed animal’s nose.

Ana sniffed and whispered, “Demmi won’t cry. He says he doesn’t want to be a big baby.” She looked up at Edie. “Am I being a baby?”

“Certainly not.” Edie kissed her forehead. “You cry as much as you want.”

“She is, though, right?” Ana asked through her sniffs.

“Is what, honey?”

“In heaven,” Ana whispered.

The look on Edie’s face broke Lou’s heart. “Yes, sweetie. Your mama is with mine and even Brown Bear’s. They’re all together.”

“Good,” Ana said. “I don’t want her to be lonely.” She looked up once again at Edie. “Can I have ice cream?”

Chapter 17

“That was very good, Dmitry. You did just fine.”

Dmitry reverently ran his fingers over the black and white keys before closing the lid. Agata kept an eye on him as she placed her cello in its case. She gathered the sheet music from her stand, then walked over to the piano.

“Ana and Edie should be back soon,” she said absently. “I hope she was no trouble to Edie.”

Dmitry smiled then. “I’m sure she was.”

They laughed quietly as Agata sat next to him on the bench. She tentatively put an arm around his shoulders. Dmitry stiffened for a moment, his jaw set in stoic silence.

“Would you like to talk of anything?” Agata asked.

Dmitry shrugged; he reached for his sheet music and examined it. Agata knew he was not concentrating on the music. “What is to happen now, Agata?” He leafed through the music with a professional air.

Unsure of what exactly he was asking, Agata gauged how to answer. In all this time since Inga’s death, she knew she would have this conversation with Dmitry. Of course, he wanted to know what would happen. He was protective of Ana and worried what the future would be. They missed their mother horribly—Agata missed her best friend.

“I made a promise to your mother to see to your happiness,” Agata said. “We have not had too much time to talk of things, Dmitry. Of your future, of Ana’s future.”

Dmitry looked at her then. “And of yours.”

That statement took Agata by surprise. “My future?”

“Yes.” Dmitry adjusted his glasses and scooted away from Agata. He walked over to the window and leaned on the windowsill. It struck Agata how much older he looked, not at all like a thirteen-year-old. Too young to look so old, Agata thought, swallowing her emotions. “It will snow today. Soon it will be Christmas,” he said in a quiet voice. He turned back to Agata. “Where will we live? We cannot stay at the children’s center. Mrs. Penkov has been so kind to us, making sure we keep up with our schooling. But it is not permanent.”

“You will come with me,” Agata said. Any other solution never occurred to her. “Do you not want that?”

Dmitry nodded. “We will live here in America?”

Agata brushed the wave of hair off her forehead with the back of her hand. “To be honest, with so much going on, my main concern was to make everything legal so there is no question of me being your guardian.” She shook her head, feeling very inept. “I assumed you would want to be in Ukraine. What do you want? Do you miss your homeland?”

He sat on the windowsill, leaning against its frame. Agata saw his pensive profile while he contemplated her question and smiled. He looked like Inga but also so much like his father. “There is much I do miss.” He looked back at Agata and grinned. “Americans do not know how to make good borscht.”

Agata laughed then. “Yes, they are a backward people.”

Dmitry grudgingly laughed along. “McNuggets is not even a food group.”

“True, but Ana loves them so.”

“Yes, she does.” He looked out the window once again. “She likes it here, I think.”

Agata walked over to him. She did not touch him; she faced the window and looked down at the busy Michigan Avenue traffic. “And you like it here, as well?” she asked softly, waiting for his reaction.

He shrugged his answer but did not elaborate.

“Demmi!”

Agata and Dmitry turned to see Ana running into the rehearsal room with a smiling Edie and Lou right behind her. “Look what Eathie bought me!” She ran up to Dmitry and presented her wrist.

Dmitry grinned and examined the charm bracelet. “It is beautiful, Ana.”

“It jingles, like Santa’s sleigh,” Ana said, demonstrating for him. She looked at Agata. “See, Agata?”

“I do see. Dmitry is correct. It is beautiful.” She bent down and whispered, “And did you thank Edie for this?”

Ana nodded and whispered, “Yes. She got something for John, but it’s a secret.”
           

Agata nodded, as well. “I see. Then we will not speak of it.” She kissed the top of Ana’s head. She looked at Lou and Edie. “She was not too much trouble?”

“Oh, no.” Edie set her shopping bag down. “She was perfect. We had a wonderful time. Didn’t we?”

Ana nodded emphatically, struggling out of her coat. Edie and Agata stepped up to help, and both backed off at the same time. Lou raised an eyebrow as she watched both awkward women. They laughed and assisted Ana out of her winter coat. Lou was keenly aware of Dmitry, who watched them intently. It still amazed Lou how grown-up this kid looked. Maybe it was the dark horn-rimmed glasses he constantly pushed up his nose.

She glanced at Agata, who looked gorgeous. Her soft blond hair shimmered as the sun peeked through the window. She wore a pair of black wool slacks and a light blue sweater that accentuated her eyes and her delicate features. But as attractive and alluring as Agata was, she too looked as serious as Dmitry. Maybe it’s a Russian thing, she thought. All brooding, all serious, all the time. Then she remembered Agata’s kisses—well, not serious all the time, she thought. She had the urge to go to the library and pick up a book from a Russian novelist like…Hmm, she couldn’t remember one. That’s sad, she thought. After all the college and the literary classes she took, you’d think she’d…Anton Chekov. She smiled, that’s a good one, she thought, very proud of herself for remembering. Now what did he write?
 

“Lou?”

She blinked when she heard Edie’s insistent voice. “Oh. What?”

Edie gave her a disturbed look. “Where were you?”

Lou laughed. “I was thinking of…” She looked immediately at Agata, and once again, she remembered the previous night. She felt the heat rise to her face as she gazed at Agata’s puzzled look. “Um, Anton Chekov.”

“I did not know Chekov could cause someone to blush,” Agata said; a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

“How come your face is red, Lou?” Ana asked very seriously.

“Is it?” Lou pulled at the collar of her coat. “Must be hot in here.” She glanced at Dmitry and couldn’t gauge the look on his face. Was it sarcasm? For an instant, Lou got the feeling Dmitry knew what had transpired between her and Agata. Was that possible? It was definitely getting hotter. “So…What are we doing for the rest of the day?” She looked at Edie. “You’d better call the office. Ron said something about your article and the editors.”

Edie snapped her fingers. “That’s what I forgot this morning.” She pulled out her cell phone and dialed as she walked away from the group.

“You’re in trouble,” Lou called after her. She laughed and looked down at Ana, who frowned deeply.

“Eathie is not in trouble.”

“No, she’s not. I’m just kidding. So what are your plans?” Lou asked, looking at her three new friends.

“Well, you had lunch, but Dmitry and I have not.” She looked at Dmitry. “Where would you like to go?”

Dmitry grinned. “Is there a place that has good borscht?”

“What the heck is borscht?” Lou asked. “It sounds painful.”

Ana giggled and hid behind her bear. Dmitry rolled his eyes. “It is soup. A delicious soup.”

Ana grimaced. “It’s yucky, Demmi.”

Edie came back to the fold, snapping her phone shut. “All set. The article is at the editors and will be ready. So what are we doing?”

Agata looked at her watch. “Dmitry and I have not eaten. We have enough time to get something light and rest before the concert. Would you like to join us?”

“Sure,” Lou said quickly. “Where to? I’ll call Nick.” She made the call while listening to the discussion. She smiled when she heard “McNuggets” in a tiny voice. After confirming with Nick, she snapped her phone shut. “He’ll be outside in five minutes. That guy is the best.”

“Oh, by the way,” Edie said. “Ron is paying for Nick. He said he would.” She helped Ana back into her coat.

“He doesn’t have to do that,” Lou said, feeling awkward that someone else had to pay for her not owning a car. “It was my decision.”

“He knows,” Edie said. “Are we ready?”

Agata nodded. “All set. Now where do we go?”

Lou had an idea then. “I have the perfect place.” She once again pulled out her cell phone.

Edie, Agata, and the kids all glanced at one another. “I know, kids. It’s scary,” Edie said.

Lou glared playfully until the restaurant answered, and Lou tried to make quick reservations. When she found how hard it was to get a table, she pulled out all the stops. “Okay, would it help that I write for the
Sentinel
and I have Agata Karetnikov with me, the famous Russian cellist? And she especially wanted to eat there?” She gave a hopeful look to Agata, who glared and shook her head.

“Hmm,” the woman said. “I don’t know.”

“And I can get you tickets to tonight’s performance at Orchestra Hall.” Lou hoped that was enticing enough. Once again, she looked at Agata, who sighed helplessly and nodded.

“Okay,” the woman said. “You got it. I can fix up a table for you.”

“Thank you very much.” Lou snapped the phone shut. “I guess you really are famous. Let’s go before they call back and change their minds.”

*******

Nick had just gotten out of his cab when they walked out of Orchestra Hall. He laughed when he saw all of them. “I was just going to come up and get you…”

Agata smiled and waved. “No, no. We are here. And it is getting cold. Get in, children.”

Lou grinned and helped Ana in the backseat; she wanted to sit next to Edie.

“Dmitry? Why don’t you sit up here with me?” Nick offered. “Too many women in the back.”

Dmitry grinned and jumped in the front seat. Lou watched as he looked all over the cab with great interest.

Nick dashed to the cab door and held it. “Good afternoon, Agata.”

“Hello, Nick. How are you today?”

“Can’t complain, madam. Can’t complain. But you’re right, it’s getting colder. Looks like snow today.”

Agata laughed and looked at the sky. “Yes. It is possible. That would be nice.”

Lou still grinned as she watched Agata. She looked beautiful. She wore a long leather coat, matching boots, and an adorable black fur headband. It was a wonderful contrast to her milky white skin and deep blue eyes. She looked like she stepped right out of the pages of a Russian spy novel.

Lou scooted over a little more when Agata slipped into the backseat with the rest of them. “We are like sardines in can.”

“Where to?” Nick asked over his shoulder. He nodded approvingly when Lou gave him the street address.

On the other side of Lou, Ana laughed and groaned as Agata settled in next to Lou. Edie was smooshed, as well. She raised her arm and put it around Ana, giving them a little more room. “Brown Bear is squished,” Ana said.

“I know the feeling,” Edie said with a groan.

Agata looked at Lou, who had difficulty looking away. “What is wrong?” Agata asked, adjusting the fur hat. “Are you that hungry?”

“You’re beautiful,” Lou whispered. “I mean, really, Aggie. You are.”

Agata blushed deeply; her hand crept up to her neck as she pulled the collar of her coat up, almost as if to hide. “
Dzikuj
,” she whispered.

Lou sighed. “Say that again.”