Break Noses, Not Hearts • andrei svechnikov

Epilogue

I laid back onto the beach chair and crossed my legs. It was nice being back in North Carolina after Andrei was traded to Winnipeg, as I had so many friends here and of course, my family lives here.

"Mom!" Alexei said.

I opened my eyes and noticed that he was standing next to me, holding Madi's little hand in his. Alexei was now six years old and had recently graduated kindergarten, while Madi was entering preschool this upcoming fall. It seemed like yesterday I was in the hospital giving birth to Alexei, and now I had two adorable kids to take care of.

"What is it?" I asked him as I looked at him looking a bit concerned.

He frowned. "I left my floatie in the car," he said. "I'm sorry."

I looked around to see where Andrei had gone. "Where did Dad go?" I asked them.

Alexei shrugged. "Bathroom I think," he responded, and since he hasn't mastered the phonetics of the th in bathroom, he used the f sound instead of th.

I chuckled. "Of course," I said, then I got up from the chair. "Madi, do you need anything?"

She innocently shook her head. "No," she responded.

I nodded my head and grabbed the car keys. "Alright Alexei, let's go get your floatie," I said, then I held his other hand and led him to the parking lot to the beach we were on.

"Thank you, Mom. I'm sorry," he said as we walked toward the car.

I looked down at him and smiled. "It's okay," I told him, then unlocked the car. He let go of our hands and opened the car door, then grabbed his yellow duck floatie in between his and Madi's car seats.

Once Alexei grabbed his floatie, he shut the door and I locked the car again. He held mine and Madi's hands, then we walked back over to the beach.

"Where did you guys go?" Andrei asked as we made it back to the area with all of our stuff.

"I forgot my floatie," Alexei told him. "Can I get ice cream?"

Andrei chuckled as he looked at me. "Ice cream, huh?" he questioned as he looked back at his son. Alexei was a practical copy of his father. His hair, his eyes, even his frame. Alexei also had a bit of an accent, but it wasn't that noticeable compared to Andrei's accent.

Alexei nodded his head. "Please?" he asked with puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip.

Andrei laughed again. "What is that in Russian?"

"Пожалуйста," Alexei responded. Ever since he began learning to talk, Andrei's been teaching him basic Russian, which was practically a given ever since we found out I was pregnant with Alexei. I'm sure he'll do the same thing with Madi.

I chuckled as I looked at Alexei. "Good job," I told him. He beamed and his deep brown eyes lit up with excitement.

"Now can I get ice cream?" Alexei asked Andrei.

Andrei deeply chuckled. "I suppose," he said, then Alexei let go of my hand and put his hand in Andrei's. They walked over to the one building where concessions were for the beach, then I walked Madi back over to the chair I was sitting in.

"I want ice cream," she told me with a frown on her face.

I sighed and looked over to where Andrei and Alexei were in line for ice cream at the concessions bar. I looked back at Madi, who was giving me puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip.

"Okay, come on," I told her, then she put her hand in mine and we walked over to the concessions bar.

We hopped in line. There was another family in front of us before Alexei and Andrei, so I asked Madi what flavor she wanted.