Love in E Flat (29 page)

“You are?”

Agata laughed. “I am kidding. I am part Polish. We love to clean. And I love to cook. Do you cook?”

“Nope. You can do the cooking. I’ll help with the cleaning.”

“A match made in heaven.” Agata smiled, feeling happier than she thought she had a right to, but she didn’t care. She was happy.

“The only question left is where all this cooking and cleaning will happen.”

“And what of Dmitry and Ana?” Agata asked, “and the last two questions are the most important.” When she sat up, so did Lou. Agata pulled the sheet around her. Lou made no move to cover herself. “All of this between us is wonderful, but what of Dmitry and Ana? Their happiness and well-being is most important to me.”

“It is to me, too.”

Agata smiled then. “I am glad you agree. There is much to think about. Should I feel guilty that we are here making love and the children are with Edie and John?”

“No, I don’t think you should. Do you?” Lou rolled onto her side to face Agata. She reached over and ran her fingers over the sheet, which covered her leg.

“So much has happened so quickly. Even though it has been months and months since Inga died. The time has gone by so fast. I…I find myself unprepared, you know, not ready for this. And I want to do right by those children. They have been through so much.” She reached down and took Lou’s hand. “I wonder if I am good as parent. I must consider their schooling, where they live.” She stopped for a moment and looked out the window at the late morning sky. The sun disappeared, and the day was gray and the clouds filled with snow. “I had a discussion with Dmitry yesterday during rehearsal.”

“About?

“Their lives. Our lives…” She smiled sadly. “He was worried about my future, as well.”

“He’s a smart kid. Ya know, I wondered last night if he has overheard us talking…”

“I wondered the same things when I was speaking with Thomas. I was telling him how much I was beginning to care for you and—”

“You were?” Lou grinned from ear to ear.

“Yes. Do not distract me. I am afraid he might have heard our conversation.”

“Well, honestly, it’s bound to come up. Dmitry will be fourteen, and I don’t think Ana will care.”

“We will cross the river when we are seeing it.”

“Bridge.”

“What bridge?”

“It’s ‘cross that bridge when we come to it.’ You said…”

“If you are going to pick apart my English, we will not get anywhere. Now back to the children. For the past six months, they have lived here, and I have been with them as much as I can. I rearranged my schedule. I was to be in Europe most of this time. It was no small undertaking to make changes. But I needed to be as close as I could to the children. Thomas had been with them, as well, but they need stability.”

“I agree with you. They need a permanent home.”

“I live in Connecticut,” Agata said softly. “And you live in Chicago. This has been my fear. That we fall in love and nothing can come of it.”

They remained silent, contemplating the situation before them. Agata glanced at the clock on the dresser and sighed.

“I must get ready for the matinee.”

Lou heard the sadness in her voice and stopped her before she scooted off the bed. “I don’t want us to leave this bed unhappy. We just made love, sweetie. And we’re starting something here that I want to continue. We’ll work this out, right?”

Agata smiled and leaned over, kissing Lou on the lips. “Yes. We will. Now I must go take bath and relax before matinee.”

“Right. Your ritual.” She watched Agata slip off the bed, still wrapped in the sheet. “And do I get to be part of this ritual?”

Agata stood in the doorway of the bathroom. “And do you think I will be able to relax on my bed with you staring at me?”

Lou frowned. “Is that a no?”

“It is.” Agata smiled then and dropped the sheet. “But you can wash my back, Comrade.”

Chapter 21

“John! Be careful,” Edie called up. She watched his legs dangling from the door of the attic. She and Ana held the ladder while Dmitry stood on the lowest rung, impatiently waiting his turn.

“I am!” John’s muffled voice called out. “I would be able to move up here if you weren’t a pack rat, my darling.”

Edie glared at the sarcasm and felt a tug on her sweater. She looked down at Ana’s curious look. “What’s a pack rat?”

“I have never heard that expression, either,” Dmitry said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “But it does not sound good.”

“John is just being funny. It means I like to keep things, that’s all.” Edie closed her eyes when John let out a laughing snort.

Ana giggled at the sound. “He sounded like a pig.”

“Hmm,” Edie grunted.

“Okay, I have room.” John hoisted himself up into the attic. In a moment, he poked his head down and grinned. “Dmitry, come on up.”

“Me too!” Ana exclaimed, jumping up and down with Brown Bear in tow.

Dmitry shook his head. “No, Ana. You are too young and too small. You will fall. This is for the man to do.”

Edie hid her grin as Dmitry spoke to Ana.

“You’re not a man yet,” Ana said. “And I won’t fall.”

Edie found it amazing that Dmitry still spoke with his Russian accent, and Ana had barely a trace. The difference between brother and sister did not stop there. Dmitry was the poster child for Russian stoicism, when Ana was more American in her bold independence. But make no mistake, Edie thought; Dmitry was all big brother to his little sister. It was endearing to watch.

“Ana, please do not argue,” Dmitry insisted as he climbed the ladder.

“I’m not arguing,” Ana said. “I’m discussing. Right, Eathie?”

“Right, sweetie. Discussing is always good. But for right now, how about we let your brother and John go up there?” She leaned down and whispered, “They can find all the spiders first.”

Ana’s eyes widened as she nodded. She then smiled sweetly at Dmitry. “Go ahead, Demmi. I’ll wait right down here.” She laughed behind Brown Bear, as if they had a private joke.

Dmitry climbed the ladder, giving Ana a suspicious look while John handed Dmitry the first box.

“You can come all the way up here once we’ve gotten all the Christmas boxes down, how’s that?” John asked.

“Okay,” Dmitry said, struggling with the box. He handed it down to Edie.

After at least twenty minutes, the living room had Christmas decorations all over it. Dmitry wiped the sweat from his forehead as John waved down to him, beckoning him. “C’mon. You can see what’s up here.”

Dmitry stood on the top of the ladder, listening to Ana and Edie telling him to be careful.

“Oh, he’ll be fine.” John rolled his eyes.

With John’s instruction, he hoisted himself up and into the attic. He looked around the dimly lit room. It was eerie with dark shadows all over in the back of the attic. Boxes and old furniture lined the walls, and the small windows looked smoky and dirty.

“Kinda spooky, huh?” John was crouched on a beam, balancing himself. “Try to step only on these beams, kiddo. See this stuff?”

Dmitry nodded as John lifted a big thick pad of white material in between the wood beams. “It’s called insulation. It keeps the cold out in the wintertime. But if you walk right on it, you might fall through the ceiling. And scare the girls. So watch where you go.” John crawled on the beams, then looked back at Dmitry. “Well, c’mon. You can’t explore with me if you stay there.”

Dmitry swallowed and followed John, mirroring his crawl. John pulled out a flashlight and shined it way in the corner. “I haven’t been way back there. I wonder what’s there,” he said over his shoulder.

Dmitry followed the beam of light as it bounced off the shadows. He quickly crouched behind John, holding on to his belt. “What are we looking for?”

John grinned. “Buried treasure?”

Dmitry’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “Do you think there is?”

John shrugged. “Dunno. But we can look. Who knows what was left here by the previous owners.”

“Perhaps they were smugglers and left something behind.” Dmitry adjusted his glasses, feeling his heart beat faster.

As they crawled to the farthest point of the attic, the space became cramped and small. Dmitry laughed as John seemed to be stuck. “You are too big for this.”

“I am,” John conceded. He beckoned Dmitry closer. “You’ll have to go the rest of the way. I see a box in the corner, but I’ll never be able to get to it. I’ll keep the flashlight on it so you can see.”

Dmitry looked from John to the darkness of the corner where the flashlight illuminated the box sitting under the small dirty window. Dmitry nodded slowly. His palms sweated; he wiped them on his pants, then wiped the sweat from his forehead. He did not know what else was in the darkness of the corner, but when he looked at John, who smiled and winked, he knew it would be all right. Besides, he was not a little girl like Ana. Although at that moment, he wished she were here with him. Not that he was afraid…He took a deep breath and started his crawl.

“Just stay on the beams, son,” John said.

Dmitry nodded and continued. What if he slipped and fell into the insulation? Would he crash through the ceiling? He looked down at the wooden beam and continued slowly. He could hear his heart beating in his ears as he neared the corner. John kept the flashlight shining on the box to light his way. Finally, Dmitry was there. He let out a relieved breath and looked at the box before him. “It looks like a treasure chest,” Dmitry excitedly called back to John.

“Is it heavy?”

Dmitry crouched, balancing on the beams and picked up the box. “No, but I believe it is locked.”

“Wow,” John said.

When he heard John’s excited voice, Dmitry too was excited again. Before he picked up the box, he looked out the small window through the grimy dirt. “I can see the rooftops from here,” he called back. “I can see for miles.”

“I know. Isn’t it great? I bet on a clear day we can see Lake Michigan. In the summer, we’ll have to come up here again.”

Dmitry grinned as he looked out the window. Summer, he thought. He wondered where he and Ana would be in the summertime. He turned around in the cramped space and picked up the chest, carefully sliding it across the beam in front of him as he crawled back to John.

“Holy cow,” John said. “What do you think is in there?”

Dmitry shook his head; he tried to swallow but could not. “I do not know. But how will we open it?”

John tried, but it was locked. “There must be a key somewhere.”

“Perhaps back there. I did not look.”

“Well, you don’t have to go back if—”

“Oh, it is all right. I will go.” Dmitry turned, but John stopped him.

“Take the flashlight.”

Dmitry took the flashlight and crawled back. He looked all over, then he saw it. “John!”

“What?”

“I have found it!” Dmitry picked up the long key and quickly crawled back to John and presented the key. “Look!”

“Wow. You did it,” John said, slapping Dmitry on the shoulder. “Let’s go down and show the girls.”

*******

Ana jumped excitedly when Dmitry, dirty and grinning, presented the chest. He gently sniffed the air. “What are you
cooking?”

Edie laughed. “Cookies just came out of the oven. And the roast went in.”

“What is it, Demmi?” Ana asked.

“Oh,” Dmitry said. “I was distracted by the smell. It’s a chest. John has the key.”

John put his arm around Dmitry. “He crawled all the way to dark corner of the attic by himself.”

Ana’s eyes were wide. “Were you scared?”

Dmitry adjusted his glasses. “Of course not. Can we open it?”

“Sit down. I’ve made hot cocoa.” Edie turned off the burner on the stove and poured the hot milk into the cups.

“I love cocoa,” Ana said. The kitchen chair seemed to engulf her as she sat with Brown Bear in her lap. “Eathie? Do you have a high chair for Brown Bear?”

John glanced at Edie, whose smile quickly faded. “No, honey, I don’t.”

“That’s okay,” Ana said. “Can we get one?”

Edie put the cups down on the table and turned back to the sink. John quickly stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay, baby,” he whispered against her hair.

Edie nodded and turned back to the children, who watched them with great interest. Dmitry especially. He looked from Edie to John with a look of confusion and carefully watched Edie as she placed the cocoa in front of them.

“Ana and I made cookies while you two explored,” she said, smiling.

“Thank you,” Dmitry said, still watching her.

“Be right back,” John said as he left the kitchen.

He came back in a moment with a very large book, which he placed on the kitchen chair next to Ana. “May I?” He held his hands out to the stuffed animal

Ana cautiously handed over her bear. John gently placed him on the book and pushed the chair up to the table. “There. How’s that?”

“Good,” Ana said. “You okay, Brown Bear?”

Dmitry raised an eyebrow. “It is stuffed animal…”

“He is not. He’s Brown Bear.”

“Who is stuffed animal,” he tried to explain.

“Okay, Christmas cookies,” Edie announced, setting the plate of cookies on the table.

As she started to sit, Dmitry quickly stood and pulled out her chair. Edie glanced at John, who smiled. “Thank you, Dmitry,” she said as she sat.

Dmitry stifled a groan as he tried to push Edie’s chair closer. Edie offered her assistance and scooted closer to the table.

John nearly laughed at the sight. He cleared his throat and picked up the plate of cookies. “Another cookie, sweetheart?” he asked Edie, who glared at him, but she snagged a cookie nonetheless.

“This is very good, thank you,” Dmitry said, drinking his cocoa.

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Edie said, offering the plate of cookies. He took one, then grinned and took another.

“Mama used to make us this,” Ana said, mostly to Dmitry.

“I know, I remember,” Dmitry said softly. “And this tastes good, too. And the cookies.”

“Mama put sprinkles on her cookies,” Ana said, taking a bite.

Edie felt the tears rise up. “I know you must miss your parents terribly, kids. I can’t imagine how you must feel.”

Ana glanced at Dmitry, who frowned as he looked at his plate of cookies. “We will be all right.”

“I know you will,” John said. “Agata will take good care of you.”

“And speaking of Agata. Her matinee must be over by now. It’s almost four o’clock,” Edie said.

And with that, they heard the car in the drive. John walked to the back door. “You must be psychic, honey. Here they are. Boy, Nick really is Lou’s personal driver. He’s a nice guy,” John said as he opened the back door. “Lou! Ask Nick if he’d like to come in for some cookies and cocoa.”