Unforgiven - Complete

Chapter Seven

Putting the flowers and tin down on a side table, Dimitri immediately took off his shoes and socks, pulling a pair of house slippers out of a shopping bag Rose hadn't noticed and putting them on before picking up the flowers.

"Ahh, Dimitri, nice to finally meet you. We've heard a lot about you," Janine said kindly.

"Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Mazur. These are for you," he said handing over one of the prettiest bouquets Rose had ever seen. It didn't look like a usual store bought bunch – it was filled with very different and pretty flowers and foliage, but somehow it all worked together. "Also my mother baked some gingerbread cookies this morning and sent you some," he said handing over the decorative biscuit tin.

"Dimitri, these are just lovely. Thank you very much," Janine admired, smiling as she went to the kitchen to find a vase. "And I just love gingerbread! What a thoughtful gift from your mother."

"The flowers are gorgeous," Rose admired. "Where did you get them?"

"At the markets," Dimitri said, happy his gift was a success. "Mrs. Dodov knows the flower stall owner's grandmother from church. She told him to make sure it was a nice bunch; creative and different," Dimitri confided in Rose.

Rose smiled. He'd certainly made a good first impression on her mother! She stiffened a little as she heard her father climbing the stairs from his basement workshop. Her mother shot her a reassuring look. Abe came up to the landing, immediately fixing his eyes on Dimitri, carefully taking in his height, stance, what he was wearing, the fact he was wearing house slippers, and the respectful distance he left between his daughter and himself. Not finding anything to immediately object to, Abe stepped forward.

"You must be Dimitri." It wasn't exactly welcoming, but at least he wasn't outright rude.

"That's right, Mr. Mazur. Thank you for inviting me to your beautiful home," Dimitri said, offering his hand and shaking Abe's firmly. "Rozalia told me you've restored it pretty much from the ground up. That must have been quite some undertaking?"

Rose looked at Dimitri in surprise when she heard him use her proper name. Her father certainly noticed and seemed pleased; he disliked people calling her Rose rather than Rozalia.

"It's taken some time," Abe admitted grudgingly. "Do you have an interest in home renovation?"

"I have no experience with anything on this level," Dimitri said self-deprecatingly, "but the apartment block where my family lives is old and has been neglected and poorly attended to over the years. It's owned by an elderly lady, and many of the tradespeople she's employed to fix things have done a substandard job or outright ripped her off. I help out repairing things where I can, and I keep an eye on the work when she needs to employ contractors."

It was only partially a lie. Mrs. Dodov never hired contractors, but Dimitri didn't think it wise to disclose to a city building inspector that he did all the work himself to keep the block limping along!

"Oh, that makes me angry!" Abe said, preparing to launch into his second favorite tirade. Dimitri looked alarmed for a moment before Abe continued, "I hate seeing old people fleeced when they're paying good money to have a job done. What's wrong with a fair day's work for a fair day's pay?! And it's not like these cowboys charge any less! In fact, often they overcharge or charge for work that doesn't even need doing!"

For the next five minutes, Dimitri listened as Abe outlined various situations he'd encountered over his years of inspecting buildings. Rose went to the kitchen to help her mother serve the lunch.

"Well he's certainly started out on the right foot with your father," Janine laughed, smiling at her daughter. If there was something Abe liked, it was someone willing to listen to his tirades.