Playing Adult | ✔ | 18+

Chapter 31 - Epilogue

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to TheTrebbledMom for beta-reading this chapter

-=o0/&\0o=-

We pulled in to the driveway behind Mama's car. As Rose and I began walking up to the front porch, Rose asked me, "This is where your whole family lives? You, your mother, and your sisters?"

Instantly, my thoughts turned to shame at the embarrassingly small house that we all lived in. Every instinct in me wanted to hide the truth, but I knew that I couldn't lie to her ever again.

I turned to face her as we walked and said, "Actually, Sonja and Karolina's three children live here, too. And my grandmother."

I was surprised to see that Rose's face was showing neither pity nor disgust that so many of us lived in a run-down house so small. If anything, I would say that she was in awe.

"Nine people? All in this house?! Dimitri, you and your family have done so much with so little," she said, taking my hand as we walked, "I would love you no matter how you grew up, but this only makes me love you more. Thank you for sharing your life - your real life - with me."

When we got to the door, the wonderful smells of Mama's cooking came wafting out towards us.

Rose looked at me and grinned. "I know that smell," she said. It was stroganoff and black bread.

As soon as I opened the door, we were met by Babushka. "Dimka," she said to me in Russian, "You've finally brought your flower home. Be sure to water it."

"This is my grandmother," I told Rose, "Yeva Belikova. Babushka, this is Rose. My ... girlfriend?"

I looked at Rose with a question in my eyes, but she was already focused on Babushka. Rose stretched out her hand to shake Babushka's, but Babushka just stared at it cryptically. "It's an honor to meet you, ma'am. Your grandson is an incredible person."

"Yes, he is. Don't ever take him for granted. If he weren't with you, I probably would have pretended not to speak English, but I know that Dimka would certainly tell you right away."

What a strange thing to say to her. Stranger how I didn't know that I would tell her right away, but Babushka seemed to. I shrugged it off as we began to walk further into the house, but Babushka added in Russian, "Ditya zmei mozhet ne byt' zmeyey, no ona mozhet vladet' yego khitrostyami. Roza mozhet vyrasti, chtoby kogda-nibud' stat' chlenom etoy sem'i, no etot den' ne segodnya. YA yey ne doveryayu. Yeshche net." 

The child of a snake may not be a snake, but she may possess his tricks. Rose may grow to become a member of this family someday, but that day is not today. I don't trust her. Not yet.

Rose bristled when Babushka began talking, but then quickly relaxed her posture. I wasn't sure if her reaction was because Babushka was speaking so cryptically, because she was speaking in Russian, or because of something she had said. Without missing a beat, Rose replied to Babushka, "Inogda prozvishcha neopravdanny. I inogda ulovki zmey dlya ikh sobstvennogo vyzhivaniya. Odnako ne vse zmei zlyye. Nezavisimo ot togo, eto ne imeyet znacheniya. Tebe ne nuzhno doveryat' mne, potomu chto ya zdes' ne dlya tebya. YA lyublyu Dimitri i ne sobirayus' ukhodit' v blizhaysheye vremya." 

Sometimes, nicknames are unwarranted. And sometimes, snakes' tricks are for their own survival. Not all snakes are evil, though. Regardless, it doesn't matter. You don't have to trust me because I'm not here for you. I love Dimitri and I'm not going away anytime soon.

I was in awe that Rose would admit her love for me to my family so readily, especially like this.

"I like her, Dimka," Babushka told me, breaking into a big smile, "She has backbone. And fire. She will make a good Belikova someday."