Chapter 58: Chapter 58

Blair

I arrived at my loft in Newark early the next evening, feeling exhausted from jet lag, but struggling to stay awake for the next few hours. I had a lot to do before I could move.

After ordering my dinner at a local Indian restaurant, I grabbed two suitcases from my closet and started to put away some clothes and shoes.

Tomorrow I would have to buy some bubble wrap to pack the decorations that I would take to my new home.

My new home. How have things changed in such a short time? It has been almost a month since I received the call about my parents and left my apartment. That day I could not even imagine that I would come home just to pack everything.

I managed to fill an entire suitcase before fatigue overcame me. I fell asleep amidst a pile of clothes on the bed, waking up only the next morning with the ringing of my cell phone.

" Good morning, Commander," I greeted him with a yawn.

" I don't even need to ask if you slept well, the drool on your face already answers," he teased me.

I sat up in bed, stretching before running a hand over my face in an attempt to make myself look more presentable.

" Hey, I drool in my sleep, you better get used to it, in a few days you'll be sleeping next to me every night. I'll definitely drool on you! " I yawned again.

" I can't wait," he laughed.

" How are you feeling?”

" Better, the pains have been getting less and less, and Dr. Pavlova said that if it keeps up, I'll be home by the end of the week.”

" Good, I'll make an effort to tidy up before you get home." I got out of bed, heading for the stairs.

" Have you eaten?”

I frowned as I walked down the steps.

" Dimitri, you woke me up. Sometimes I talk in my sleep, but I haven't reached the level of eating in my sleep yet," I sneered.

" You talk in your sleep? " he raised his eyebrows.

" It's not something that constant.”

" But you do?”

" Hey, you asked me to marry you, you can't give up at the first defect you discover," I warned him.

" Actually, Masha proposed to you, not me. And that's the second defect," he winked.

His good humor made me smile. He was certainly recovering and that made me feel good. I went to the cupboard, grabbing a packet of cookies.

" In that case I think I'll marry your sister, I'm sure she won't complain about my shortcomings. By the way, where is she? She didn't sleep with you?”

" She went after some ring catalogs. She is committed to helping me get the perfect piece of jewelry for you, since she was responsible for this situation.”

I felt my heart racing, feeling anxious to receive the ring and make this impromptu engagement official.

" In that case I'd better hang up and go back to packing, I want at least the model of the ring to be a surprise," I decided to say goodbye to him.

After I finished with the package of cookies, I got ready and went in search of everything I needed to finish my task. Soon I was sitting on the floor of my living room surrounded by several decorations that I had taken from the shelves.

A nice breeze was coming from the open window to ease the hot August weather. I had turned the music up loud, humming as I wrapped each item in bubble wrap.

I tried not to think too much about how much my life was about to change, I've never been very good at dealing with change and would rather avoid an anxiety attack at that point.

I paused the music as I heard the doorbell ring, before I could get up, Abby's voice sounded on the other end.

" Blair?”

Abby, how much will I have to explain to her? My friend didn't even accept when I said I would resign, advising me to think carefully before making any decisions.

" The door is open," I shouted in response, picking up the music box Dimitri had given me, turning the crank to listen to its melody.

Abby opened the door and I tried to act natural as she and Noah walked across the room with a surprised expression.

" Good morning Abby," I greeted her with a smile.

" What are you up to?"

" Did you decide to redecorate the apartment, Blair? " Noah added.

I sighed, wondering how to tell my friends about my move.

" Sort of, I decided to redecorate Dimitri's apartment," I forced a smile.

Noah arched his eyebrows while Abby looked even more confused.

" Are you going to return the music box he gave you? " she frowned.

" I think she intends to decorate the apartment with the decorations and his closet with her clothes," Noah teased me.

I offered a wry smile in return and went back to packing the ornaments while Abby processed the information.

" Wait, you're moving in with him?"

I frowned at her, was she bothered by this?

" Yes, Dimitri will need care after the surgery, and besides, it will be easier to organize the wedding while living in the same country as him," I decided to throw all the information out at once.

" Wedding? " Noah's eyes widened.

" Tell me you mean that you are going to help organize his sister's wedding!"

Wait, is she really upset by the news? That wasn't my reaction when she told me she was getting married!

" I tell you that I'm engaged and this is your reaction? " I asked, getting up.

" Blair, this is crazy, you two have known each other for a few months and have spent more than half that time apart!"

" And now we're back together, it's not like we're getting married tomorrow!"

" But you're moving in together, it's the same thing," she returned.

" Abby, this is a decision for both of them."

I couldn't understand what her problem was. It's not as if I agreed to marry someone I've known for a week. I know that theoretically we have only spent a short time together, but our situation was not so favorable for a long relationship.

" What exactly did you think would happen when I told you that I was getting back together with Dimitri?"

" I didn't think you would come back from St. Petersburg engaged. You should slow down!"

I stared at her, not knowing how to respond; I didn't expect this reaction from her!

" Instead, you quit, and now you're about to give up everything you know for a guy."

" He is not just a guy. This guy was the only support network I had at the moment I needed it most. This guy made me a priority when no one else cared, and this guy almost died without knowing how I really felt, so I'm sorry if I decided not to waste any more time." I returned angrily, sitting down again.

Both of them stared at me, surprised by my outburst, but Abby was the first to sit next to me, letting out a long sigh.

" Sorry, I'm happy for you," she began.

" I find that hard to believe," I murmured in response, rolling up a ceramic chicken that I had bought on one of my few visits to northeastern Brazil.

" I am, really. But... Blair, you're my best friend and you just told me you're leaving for Russia. Russia!"

Okay, I understood the feeling inside her. I felt something similar when she and Noah got engaged, and we are still neighbors! The difference was that I kept this feeling to myself, or rather, I dumped it on Dimitri.

Noah sat down next to us, picking up one of the ornaments and packing it away.

" I will still be your best friend, even in Russia. And you can visit me," I assured him.

" It won't be the same, I bet you will call your sister-in-law to be your maid of honor, I will miss all the important moments, we won't choose china together, or make the gift list, I won't even help you choose the perfect white dress. I wanted to be the first to see you in your wedding dress," she sniffled, averting her face so that I couldn't see her pained look.

" Oh my God, why are you so emotional? Of course you'll be my maid of honor, and as for everything else, we'll work it out together!"

I hurled myself toward her, enfolding her in a hug while Noah worked in silence.

" And you've already seen me in a wedding dress, you even chose the dress."

" I mean a real dress, not that old rag I picked out to annoy you," she rolled her eyes, sniffling.

" That old rag cost ten thousand dollars," I reminded her, pulling away after letting go.

Abby's smile was more natural, picking up the merlion Dimitri had given me on our visit to Singapore.

" How did he propose? " Abby asked.

For a moment I thought about telling the truth about our engagement, but after considering it for a moment, I decided that the fewer people who knew the truth, the better.

" He never actually proposed officially. He prefers to wait for the ring," I explained.

" He proposed to you without a ring? " Noah frowned before showing his wife my shisha."Why don't we have one of these?"

" We don't smoke.

" Neither does Blair!"

" Dimitri had the ring, and was going to propose when I got to St. Petersburg. But it was with him in the accident " I kept the story straight.

" Did he lose the ring? " Abby sighed regretfully.

" He and Masha are looking for another ring, so let's make it official," I explained.

" And how is he doing? " Noah asked.

" Physically he is recovering, he had a small piece of his intestine removed and spent a few days in isolation, I was only able to enter the room on the third day."

" And psychologically? " Abby looked at me.

Well, psychologically he is a mess, immersed in trauma and nightmares.

" He wants to get over it, which I think is a good start, but it's not that simple. He was devastated when I told him about the death of his colleagues, he still thought he had made a mistake."

" How did the controller send him to a busy airstrip? " Abby asked, nonconformist.

" We can all make mistakes, the difference is that in our profession, this mistake can cost many lives. The accident could have been much worse," Noah sighed, and I couldn't help but agree with him.

We went back to work in silence, enjoying each other's company.

" Why do you have a cuckoo clock? " Noah picked it up.

" It's a Swiss cuckoo clock, I bought it in Zurich," I explained. "Shouldn't you be working?"

" That's a great story, tell it to Blair, honey," Abby teased her husband.

I alternated my gaze between the two of them, waiting for the full story.

" I'm on medical leave until tomorrow," he murmured without taking his attention away from his work.

" Medical leave?"

" Do you tell or should I tell, Noah? " Abby sneered.

The two of them were acting unnaturally, which only aroused my curiosity even more.

" I had a concussion yesterday," he sighed.

" Concussion? How does a flight controller get a concussion on duty? " I blinked in a daze.

" Falling out of his chair while stretching," Abby laughed, receiving a scowl from her husband.

I alternated my gaze between them, imagining the scene before I started to laugh. No matter where I was, I was sure I would miss my friends.