33. You were a kid

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Before they had a chance to exchange more than a couple of phrases, several spots cleared up in the parking lot near the cafe.
"Look at this, it's like feast or famine. Guys, I parked the car wherever the hell, I'm going to move it here, okay?"
"Sure thing, Cam," Nika murmured, and Camilla left in a hurry. "Everything has changed a lot here, the city is completely different."
"You should come visit more often, Nika."
"I would love to, but I don't want to accidentally run into my mom on the street. It's better if you come to us!"
"Nika and I have a very strict, conservative mother," Alex explained.
"People call such a person 'neurasthenic homophobe'," Nika corrected him. "Is it okay if I say that?"
"Yes, don't worry, Eva is one of us."
"It's been a long time since you've seen your mom?" Eva asked sympathetically.
"Since I was seventeen, almost eighteen."
"Wow..."
"Nika ran away from home. I still feel like such an idiot..."
"No need, Alex, you were upset with me, I completely stopped paying attention to you."
"I really missed our team."
"What did Alex do?"
"Nika told me everything about Cam, but of course, we didn't tell our mother. And when Nika and I argued and she went to the cinema with Cam, I was so mad that I spilled everything to our mother. I was an idiot."
"No, buddy, you were a kid," Nika tried to calm him down.
"And then what happened?"
"They screamed at each other in the kitchen all night. I hid under my covers and cried like a five-year-old, I was so embarrassed. I knew immediately that I had done something terrible. The next morning, Nika was gone," Alex's eyes watered, but he managed to control himself.
"I hid out with Cam for a couple of months, then I turned eighteen and we left the country with whatever money we had left."
"I lost Nika for four years. I thought she would never forgive me and we would never see each other again."
"But we did see each other!" Nika took his hand. "I found him on the internet, messaged him, and we agreed to meet in secret. And I come here once every year or two. Everything's fine! Especially now."
Nika and Alex looked at each other, as if silently deciding whether to continue the topic. Nika continued:
"This time, I came to tell Alex that he's going to be an uncle."
Eva welled up with tears.
"I envy that kid so much," Alex smiled. "It's hard to imagine more caring and attentive parents than these two."
Nika smiled and placed her hand on her barely visible belly.

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