The Whimsical World of Wanda

Chapter eight

In the months following her grandmother's death, Wanda experienced somewhat of a high point in her life. She felt immense joy in cleaning out her grandmother's house with her mother, aunt and occasionally her cousins. She loved seeing all of her grandmother's old stuff, especially if it was bought in the 1970s (her favourite items she found were the glasses her grandmother got when the CN tower opened in 1976, a vinyl recording of one of Mussolini's speeches and a half-naked old doll her mother had). She also loved that every time they went to clean her grandmother's house she got to eat junk food like KFC or Pizza Pizza from the nearby mall.

Life was good for Wanda in all sectors of her life, including one of the ones she held most dear, romance. After the potential for a relationship with Carter fell apart, she slowly but surely found her feelings being reignited for Vasily. The event that fully set these emotions into place was Vasily's birthday. Wanda had left him a funny birthday card about a dirty old sock in his mailbox, expecting little more than a customary thank you message. She was in for a pleasant surprise because an hour after she dropped the card, she received not only a thank you from Vasily but also an invitation to celebrate with him at his house. Wanda had been at the mall with her mother at the time she got his message and explained to him it would be best if she went over to his house on a different day. However, his adamant attitude which was conveyed through several lengthy messages, impressed Wanda and she asked her mum to drive her to Vasily's house immediately.

It was not Vasily that opened the door, instead, his mother, Katya, let her in. Wanda loved Katya almost more than she loved Vasily. Katya was a middle-aged beautiful Russian woman, she had long flowing blonde hair and deep blue eyes, it was clear that her features had been passed down to Vasily. "Come in, come in," Katya exclaimed, everything she said exuded warmth in her lovely thick Russian accent. "Vasily is just in the shower, he'll be down in five minutes. He never showers, silly boy!" Katya teased. "Did he shower just for me?" Wanda pondered.

When Vasily came down the stairs, he seemed surprised to see Wanda. It was almost as if he couldn't fathom the fact his messages had actually succeeded in getting Wanda to come over. "Happy birthday, Vasily!" Wanda shouted. Vasily was more shy than he was at school, his face was red from embarrassment and he only flashed Wanda a quick smile as a response. "Vasily, it's pizza time!" Katya said. Wanda and Vasily went into the kitchen where they were joined by the rest of his family. Wanda felt quite comfortable with Vasily's mother but not so much with his father and younger brother. "Alright Vasily, let's get on with your birthday gifts!" Katya said. The biggest gift Vasily got was a bicycle and this deeply upset his younger brother, Anatoly. "I want a new bicycle!" Anatoly cried. He was inconsolable, and try as Katya might, there was nothing anyone could do to change that. After the gift exchange was done, Vasily suggested that the two of them should watch a movie. Wanda asked Vasily if they could watch Forrest Gump and much to her surprise, considering how proudly American the movie was and the fact she was in a Russian household, Vasily said yes. However, it was far from a perfect, romantic date because Vasily's dad decided to stay in the room beside them with the door open so he could watch "the movie".

It was not until the summer that things between Vasily and Wanda finally entered its romantic phase. Wanda decided she would finally ask Vasily to go on a date with her. Unfortunately for her, she sent that message at the exact moment Vasily left to go camping. She had just about given up hope when four days after the day she had sent the message, she finally heard from Vasily. He responded and said yes and before she knew it, she was on our first date not just with Vasily, but her first date in her entire life. The two of them went to a bubble tea place and in hindsight, Wanda had had more fascinating conversations with other people but Vasily was so handsome that that didn't seem to matter.

Wanda and Vasily's courtship went swimmingly for a month. They would see each other every week, they enjoyed each other's company (even if all their conversations were about food since they had nothing else in common) and Wanda was just happy that a boy she had fancied so deeply was interested in her. However, by the time August rolled around, the fact they had not kissed yet or discussed the nature of their relationship was beginning to concern Wanda. Her concern only increased one night when the two of them were snuggling while watching the Empire Strikes Back at her house and his phone dinged, "Oh no, this is awkward," Vasily sighed. The notification on his phone was clearly from Tinder. "Why are you on Tinder? Aren't we dating?" Wanda asked as she pulled away from him in disgust at what she had just seen. "No, we're not. We're just two friends hanging out," Vasily responded. Wanda couldn't think of any evidence to suggest otherwise and at that moment realized just how big of a mistake she had made by not making her intentions clearer.

Wanda and Vasily did not talk to each other for several days, she was still hurt by Vasily's words and actions. Eventually, she decided she did indeed want to see him again and that the key to solidifying their romantic relationship was an unforgettable kiss. Vasily agreed to go out with Wanda and the two of them returned to the same bubble tea place they had had their first date. Wanda felt awkward because she knew Vasily was probably talking to at least two other girls on Tinder earlier that day. But she tried her best to let go of those negative feelings and before Vasily could say goodbye at the end of their date, she asked him if he could kiss her. Vasily did kiss her but only after he could take off his bicycle helmet, "I don't want my helmet to hit your head," he explained. Wanda appreciated his consideration towards her safety but liked the kiss much more.

A period of bliss followed the kiss. Wanda and Vasily did it all: they kissed, they went bowling, they went to the park together, it was a fun time. In an ideal world, that sentence would be the conclusion of this book. But since giving this book a happy ending would be a lie, that is not the last sentence. This is: Wanda had thought all her problems with Vasily were gone but one day in October, Vasily decided to casually mention that he was still on Tinder. Before Wanda had the chance to give an outcry of anger, Vasily told her he no longer wished to see her and all the times he had agreed to see her were out of pity. Did this hurt Wanda? Of course But did she survive it? Yes.