Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Blair

" What did you bring me this time? " my mother asked, looking at the bag I was carrying as I walked beside her through the streets of the great bazaar of Istanbul.

In three days I would meet Dimitri in London and I had been counting the hours since we last met in Zurich.

" Do you want to see it now? " I rummaged through the bag as we entered a spice store.

" Sure.”

I pulled out the souvenir, handing it to her.

Lauren frowned, shaking it only to watch the artificial snow fall around the Zurich landscape inside the globe.

" A snow globe? " she raised both eyebrows.

" What's the problem?”

" I thought you didn't like snow globes. You always considered them... What was the word? " she thought for a second " tacky, right?”

" I thought you would like them. Dimitri chose.”

" ohhhhh, Dimitri," she imitated a slight Russian accent.

" Why are you talking like that?”

" Like what?”

" Like you've just been hired by a Russian phone sex agency" I returned.

" I'm not talking like that," she complained, indicating to the salesman which spices to bring.

" Yes, you are, and I don't know why!”

" I just want to know about your Russian boyfriend who is making your father lose sleep.”

" There is no Russian boyfriend. We're just friends," I returned, taking the shopping bag from the vendor's hand while she paid.

" Really? Friends? And do friends happen to pick out gifts for their friends' mothers? " she held up the snow globe before putting it back in the bag.

I rolled my eyes in a smile. She couldn't make it easy for me.

" Good friends do that.”

" I've never seen you change clothes five times for lunch with a friend before. And call for my opinion," she insisted.

" Come on, I remember the picture you showed me of you and your friends following the Rolling Stones around Europe for an entire summer. They were very interesting.”

" Blair," she tried to remain serious.

" They were so handsome, I doubt you didn't have anything casual with any of them.”

" Girl, that's no way to talk to your mother! " she retorted, making me laugh.

We walked together in silence for some time while I thought about what she had said.

" We'll get together when I go to London," I admitted, "it'll be the first time we'll have a good time together.”

" So he is your boyfriend?”

" No. It wouldn't work, the distance…”

" Blair, your father is Turkish and I am American," she returned.

" But my father moved to California, it's different.”

" Yes, but both of your jobs make it much easier," she stared at me.

I thought for a moment as she spoke, and she was right, our work does make things easier. But still, it was not the kind of relationship I had envisioned.

" All right, so we get involved, then what? I'm not moving to another country for him, and I doubt he'll move for me," I nodded. “We have fun when we're together and that's it.”

" And you will say that you don't feel anything for him? That you're not looking forward to meeting him in London? Yes, I pay attention to what you say," she returned when she saw my surprised expression.

" I didn't say that," I sighed resignedly.

" Then you do?  " she teased me.

" Can we change the subject? Or I'll tell Yusef that you're trying to convince me to date a Russian.”

She laughed in response, but complied with my request, putting the subject aside. We both went back to the apartment and I went to help her prepare lunch before I had to embark once again for the United States.

I was cutting the eggplants in half to stuff them when my cell phone rang. My mother merely watched as I wiped my hands with a cloth before answering the video call. Dimitri was sitting in an armchair near the large window of his apartment in St. Petersburg and immediately smiled when he saw me.

" Good afternoon Commander, did you sleep late today?”

" Good afternoon Blair, I thought you would sleep a lot, that's why I didn't call you earlier. How is the weather in Istanbul? "His accent sounded like music to my ears, making my heart race.

At first he seemed to make an effort to control it as much as possible, but every day he seemed to care less about it.

" If it were up to her, I'd be asleep by now," my mother called my attention, intruding into the conversation. I quickly pointed the camera at her, not caring much about it, since my father wasn't there " Good afternoon Mr. Voitovich.”

" Good afternoon Mrs. Ozkan," Dimitri replied and I quickly turned the camera back to myself.

" Lauren, please " she asked turning her attention back to her food.

" She is torturing me, Commander. She dragged me shopping early, and now she's making me cook," I whispered as my mother approached.

" And since when do you consider shopping torture? " he teased me.

" And since when is cutting eggplants in half cooking? " my mother added.

" Hey, I'm doing a great job of not chopping off my finger," I warned, "and since you don't need me.”

I picked up the cell phone and went out to the balcony of the apartment, trying to maintain my offended pose as I left.

" You can stop holding in your laughter now," Dimitri warned as I threw myself onto the couch over there.

" My view of Istanbul was worth a picture right now, look at that, Commander," I turned the camera so that he could enjoy the view.

" Blair, we need to talk," his serious tone caught my attention.

" Is there a problem? " I frowned as I noticed his disappointed look.

" About London…”

" What about it?”

A bad feeling came over me and his tone gave me no hope.

" My itinerary has been changed. I am no longer going to London tomorrow.”

" But... really?”

I couldn't help the wave of disappointment that washed over me. I had been looking forward to this meeting.

" Yes, but I'm going to the United States instead.”

" Sure, great. I just have to learn to be in two places at once, and that will be good news.”

He fell silent at my harsh answer.

What are you doing, Blair! ? It's not his fault!

" Excuse me, how long will you be in the United States?”

" I'm going to be in San Francisco for a week," he reported.

San Francisco, on top of everything else, is on the other side of the country, so I won't even have a way to get away before I go to Carmell with Abby and...

" Did you say a week? " I frowned.

It was not very common to stay that long, usually on a trip to another continent we spent two or three days resting before returning, and for short trips we sometimes returned the same day.

" Yes, with this trip I will beat the maximum monthly workload, I will only be able to return to Russia when the month turns around.”

My mind quickly did the math, redoing the frustrated plans.

" I have to go," I hung up without waiting for an answer.

Immediately I dialed Abgail's number, waiting for her to answer.

" Blair. " she yawned, causing me to remember that it must be very early in the morning for her.

" Abby, tell me something. Is that offer to bring a date to your engagement dinner still on?”

" What?  You decided to bring Luke? " she yawned again.

" Luke?  Why would I take Luke?”

Luke was a flight attendant friend, we had gotten involved a few months ago, but it hadn't worked out. But somehow or other we kept our friendship going.

" He is always your escort in these things," she explained.

" No, Dimitri will be in the country and…”

" Ahh yes, Dimitri. Of course. You can take him, I don't mind. Take him to Thanksgiving dinner too.”

" Are you being ironic? " I wasn't sure how to interpret that.

" No, I'm serious, you can take him.”

" You're the best friend there is," I crooned before ending the call.

I didn't wait a second before I returned Dimitri's video call, feeling the excitement wash over me with every second.

This was better than I had expected. Instead of two days with him in London, I would have four days in California. Provided he accepted my invitation, obviously.

" Blair.”

" What if I told you that we could enjoy a few days together in California? " I smiled.

" Are you going to San Francisco?”

" Remember when I told you that Abby was coming across the country for a second engagement dinner? I have already talked to her and if you accept, you will be my date," I bit my lips in a smile in an attempt to contain the wave of excitement that washed over me.

Dimitri seemed to be at a loss for words for a few seconds, but soon recovered.

" I don't know, Blair.  It seems to be something very personal and…”

" Dimitri you're already close," I scoffed, "you've seen her in her wedding dress, you’re practically one of the bridesmaids. “

" I am not…”

" Come on, four days with me, Commander. What do you say? " I tried to wear my most provocative smile.

I wouldn't miss this chance.