Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Dimitri

I went into the living room, flopping down on the couch before speaking up again.

" What is your problem?”

" My problem? What is your problem? Did you tell your mother that we're getting married? " her humor was a mixture of amusement and concern.

My sister gave me a questioning look when she entered the room and heard this sentence.

" No, but my mother thinks I'm too old to be single and now she wants me to marry anyone who will accept it," I let out without thinking.

I only realized the extent of the nonsense I had spoken when I noticed the surprised look on Blair's face.

" Sorry, that sounded terrible," I tried to fix it.

" I'll go change to meet the crew. We agreed to go out," she forced a smile, "congratulations to your brother for me.”

And with that she ended the call, leaving me sitting on the couch feeling like an idiot.

" Yeah, you really do have a natural talent with women," Masha scoffed.

" How much trouble am I in?”

" If I were her, I'd say a lot," she smiled.

I didn't have time to fight back. The door opened and my father entered, accompanied by all the Yahantovs and my brother. And I meant literally all the Yahantovs, Olga's gaze locked onto mine immediately. We hadn't seen each other since the fateful argument that preceded our breakup, and if before I felt uncomfortable about the situation, now more than ever I wished I could be in a hotel in the Bahamas with Blair.”

" Dimulya, I'm glad you're here. Come, I want to hear all about your travels," my father decided to interfere as he noticed the situation, leading me away from my ex girlfriend and her parents.

" We know that travel is his favorite subject," I heard Olga sneer before I walked away.

" Don't mind her, you know the breakup was hard," he stated indulgently, leading me over to the table, where a few bottles of beer were available.

He handed me a bottle, pouring himself another before nodding for me to follow him into the room he used as his office. I knew what this meant and took a deep breath. They probably arranged it among themselves.

" It had been almost two years. It's time to get over it," I shrugged as he closed the door behind him.

" She likes you, give her a break.”

" She chose to break up and I still took the blame. I wasn't the one who asked her to leave," I took a deep breath, wishing I could avoid the subject, even though I knew it would be impossible.

" And it's been almost two years, don't you think it's time to try again? You two are no longer the same, you're past thirty and already have a different perspective of life.”

I closed my eyes breathing deeply, I was already regretting having changed my schedule so that I could come to this celebration.

" Dad…”

" Dimitri, at your age I already had a house and two children!”

" I have my career and my apartment," I retorted, trying hard to keep my voice down.

" And what good is that if you have no one to share it with? You need to start thinking about the future and having a family! Your sister already has plans with her new boyfriend.”

" That's fine, but that doesn't mean it has to be with Olga.

There was no point in arguing, both of them were already desperate about their children's situation, they were probably the only ones in their circle of friends who didn't have grandchildren.

" Your mother says that you are with someone, is it for real? " he asked, appraising me.

" It's as serious as it gets with someone I've known for two months," I shrugged, "I'm happy with her.”

" If that's the case, do the right things this time. Before we didn't get involved in your and Olga's decisions, we tried to keep an open mind to today's world, but it doesn't mean that we should give up our principles.”

I knew how much my parents also disapproved of our decision to move in together, but that was our life and they decided not to get involved. This doesn't mean that I escaped a lecture when it was all over.

" Come on, today is your brother's day and he is very excited. He said he has some great news for us," he decided to end the conversation for good, and I took my chance to run away.

" Did he get that scholarship he was trying for?”

" I hope so, that boy has a great future," my father declared proudly, walking me back to the party, "but he is making a big fuss about this news.”

We returned to the party, and to my relief, everything went without incident for most of the evening. I congratulated my brother, ignored the Yahantovs' hints, and met Alexei, my sister's boyfriend.

It was almost ten o'clock at night when everything started to happen. I was talking to Masha's boyfriend about my last trip.

" I can't imagine what it is like to have such a routine, I usually travel only to visit my family in my hometown," Alexei narrated.

I noticed Olga approaching with a neutral expression.

" Dimulya always knows the most amazing people and places, he met his girlfriend in…”

" Girlfriend? You are dating Dimitri? " Olga asked in a not so discreet tone, attracting the attention of all the guests, who soon fell silent to join in the conversation.

" Yes, I am," I answered, a little uncomfortably.

And suddenly, all the attention of the party shifted to me, to my discontent.

" I talked to her today, she's a lovely girl," my mother declared proudly.

Please don't let her mention all the wedding talk.

" Now that's a surprise, he found time for something else than work," Olga sneered.

I gave her a tired look, which she petulantly returned.

" The point is that she understands and supports my career," I returned.

" Really? And where is she? " Boris Yahantov asked.

" Caribbean " Masha replied " She posted a wonderful photo earlier, didn't she, Dimulya?”

" Caribbean? " Irina alternated her gaze between my sister and me.

" She is a flight attendant and was sent to the Caribbean," I explained, deciding to hide some details of our complicated relationship.

" That explains it," Olga murmured.

I took a deep breath preparing to answer her, but before I had the chance, my brother spoke up.

" Well, I have news for you.”

He raised his voice, giving me an anxious look, probably afraid that we would spoil his party with a fight.

" We've been hearing about this news all day, so let's get the suspense over with," Masha decided to follow my brother's lead.

Everyone was anxiously waiting for him to announce something about his scholarship, and I frowned when he pulled Katia close to his body.

" We're getting married," he declared with satisfaction.

For a moment everyone stared at the two of them, not knowing how to react. Irina was the first to recover and hugged them both, with a satisfied smile on her face.

" Darling, that's wonderful.”

" Yes, wonderful," my mother forced a smile.

It would be great for my brother to get married, but he is so young, soon to go to college, it doesn't seem like the right decision at the moment.

" Shall we have an engagement dinner then? " I tried to support him, remembering Abby's engagement dinner.

Perhaps during that dinner would be the perfect time to introduce Blair to my family.

" That's a great idea, Dimulya, pick a date and we'll do it," my mother assured me under the analytical gaze of my father, who had not yet spoken.

" When you say you are going to get married, do you mean that you will do it soon? " Olga asked.

" No, we'll make it official and…”

" Actually, we have already chosen a date," Katya interrupted my mother, receiving a surprised look in return.

This information lit a red light in my mind.

" Now that's what I call a man with attitude, he acts instead of talking and deceiving my daughter," Boris declared enthusiastically.

" How are you going to get married before you graduate? " I ignored the man's provocation.

" Son, even if you win the scholarship, we cannot support you and your wife for two years. You can get engaged and plan everything calmly," my father decided to interfere.

I saw my sister pull her boyfriend away, whispering something in his ear. And I knew that I should also let my parents sort it out and walk away, but still I couldn't. I knew that I had to let my parents sort it out and walk away.

"Ahh sure, to end up fooling my daughter, like him?" Irina pointed at me.

" I never fooled anyone, Olga chose to leave. I was trying to do the best I could for my family," I defended myself.

" Well, now you can take everything you have and…”

" Dimitri is right, it's only two years, they can wait. It won't be the end of the world " To my surprise, Olga supported me.

" Says the girl who is over thirty and couldn't even hold on to the man she had," Boris cut her off, "the boy is acting like a real man should act, we can take care of the details later.

Olga blinked, stunned by her father's words, but didn't dare retort.

" Son, it won't be easy to study in this situation, I'm not saying that you shouldn't get married, but you have to have one goal and stick to it before you move on to another," my mother tried another approach.

" Mama, that won't be a problem. I've already rejected the scholarship.”

I felt my blood run cold at her statement, and as I looked at my father I knew that the situation would not improve.

" You did what? " he shouted in the direction of his youngest son.

" I got a job in a restaurant.”

" I think I'm going to faint," my mother blushed.

I was about to show my brother how immature and irresponsible he was being when Masha grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away.

" Dimitri, don't get involved in this," she hissed.

" But…”

" I'm angry too, but we're not his parents, let them handle it.”

I looked at the confusion that had overtaken both families, wondering if my sister was right

" I know we met today, but she's right. You'll only make the situation worse by getting involved," Alexei agreed.

" What a fucking inconsequential brat," I growled, before leaving the room and heading for the kitchen.