The Lives Of The Romanovs

Family Is Our Fortress (Season 6 Finale)

Vladimir

It was cloudy today with a gray sky, perhaps it would rain again. I sat inside my house with Paul. He sat on the floor playing with his toy soldiers while I read one of my books. Our Cocker Spaniel, Sneg, was curled up to him. Sneg was a gift for Paul's birthday,  and he adored him so much. Paul and I did not have much on our agenda besides dinner with the Tsar and Tsarina tonight. So we had plenty of time to relax.

"Daddy, when is lunch to be here?" Paul asked in French. I had been trying to practice more French with him at a young age. He spoke English with his grandmother, but Russian with everyone one else. I wanted him to be confident in all three-languages.

"Ah, you are speaking in French now. What would like for lunch, my son? Borscht? A ham and cheese sandwich with a class of juice?" I asked him. Paul furrowed his eyebrows and tried to think, but ended up standing up and stomping his foot.

"Daddy, that is not fair! I not know what that means!" Paul cried out in Russian again. I chuckled and stood up from my chair. I came over and picked him up, placing him on my hip.

"Why don't we go tell the chef what we want to eat, hm? However, you must ask him in English or French. You get to choose. And if you ask correctly, I will buy you a toy. How does that work?"

Paul just nodded and we went to the kitchen together. Happily, Paul told the chef his lunch order in English. It became abundantly clear which he was better at. However, my son was not yet five-years-old and had much time to practice his languages. He was very clever, just like his mother. We sat down at our dining table with sandwiches and juice for lunch. Paul and I did not hesitate to start eating it quickly.

"Paul, your birthday is less than one-month away. Do you know what you want for your birthday? What about Christmas?"

Paul shrugged. "Well...I don't know."

"Yes, you do. I know you do! You are always looking through toy magazines and playing with your cousins. Tell me, what do you want?"

"I want a pony."

"A pony? What on Earth do you need a pony for?"

"My cousins all have ponies. It's not fair."

I groaned. "I am not raising you to be spoiled, my boy. How about I buy a rocking horse instead? You can ride it for all the seasons unlike your cousins."

"Alright." Paul slumped down in his chair as he started to play with his sandwich. I was not going to raise him to be spoiled. Maria and I wanted to raise him traditionally with chores and not too many gifts growing up. Paul was going to have to learn how to make his own fortune in this life. I hoped to teach him some life lessons that his cousins would never get.

"Paul...you know how much I love you, right? You are my greatest pride and joy. You remind me so much of your mother." I leaned over and stroked his hair, to which he raised his head.

"I love you too, daddy."

"Come on, eat your food." I smiled. We both continued to eat our lunch with only a few words exchanged.
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Olga

Igor and I still were not exactly on speaking terms. We were sleeping in separate beds and few words were exchanged. Igor was starting physical therapy in one-week. It would be three-days a week of intense physical therapy. We had the hope of him walking with a cane by next July, but we were not too sure yet. For today, the boys wanted to go play in the snow, so Stephanie and I were bundling them up before going outside.

"No shoving, punching, or wrestling. If I see any tears or fighting, then you are not coming with Papa and I to see Dedushka and Babushka tonight. Understood?"