His Wife

36

The entire gang and I were sitting in the hotel lobby, laughing loudly and drinking tea and eating good Russian cookies and bread with some homemade jam.

It was the middle of the night and the only lights that were on were over our table. The rest of the hotel was silent and asleep, but we were having a party. It was my last day in Russia with the boys.

Of course, all of them had some vodka already, but they promised me they wouldn't get drunk and so far they had successfully kept their promises. Besides, the tea with cookies was also insanely good and very traditional for us Russians and so we decided that would be a wonderful replacement for vodka. 

Stephan stood up and then clanked his cup with a knife. "Attention, everyone!"

We all quieted down and turned our attention to him. Misha was tightly holding my hand in his lap, as he had done for the entire night. He never let me go for a second and I didn't want him to.

"Maria, you've been quite a nice addition to our gang. I know that the reasons why we have allowed you to stay with us aren't exactly welcoming but we are still glad that you have been here with us, no matter the circumstances."

I smiled and then mouthed 'thank you' to Stephan. 

"Now, you're about to go off into the sunset and never see us again, but I just really wanted you to know that we have enjoyed having you with us. And I might have seemed like a real ass to you but deep down I appreciate all you have done. You've been a wonderful hostage and an even better friend. You've been a ray of sunshine for us gloomy gangsters. Thank you, you're exactly what we needed."

I laughed and stood up to give him a tight hug. That meant Misha had to release my hand which he hesitantly did. 

I tightly wrapped my arms around Stephan's neck. I never got to know him much but from what I learned he wanted the best for his gang and he wanted to be a good leader. 

"You're a great leader, Stephan. You might come off rude sometimes, but you're an excellent leader. Don't forget that."

I sat back down and Misha immediately laced his fingers with mine.

Shurik slowly got up with a scowl on his face. The little device that sat on his plate was making very unpleasant and strange noises so that would explain the scowl.

"Maria, you've been like a little sister to me. I adore you and bless you on your way to conquer the world. We'll miss you, especially Mishka over there. But so will I, so will I." He said with a half-smile and then took a nice gulp of his vodka.

I laughed and stood up to give him a hug as well.

"Don't bother, don't bother. I'll come over." He said and then noisily made his way towards me. He kissed me on my cheek three times, the good old Russian way and then whispered, "Too bad you're leaving."

I smiled even though my heart was crying. I was leaving them all behind, my new family. I already felt homesick but I tried to get through today's night with a smile and no tears.

"Maria, I guess it's my turn to tell you a few words on your journey back. I appreciate all you've done and all you've been for us. You're a part of our gang and your departure will leave a hole in each one of our hearts. You're family to us know." Eugene said, standing up with his cup of tea.

I smiled and then tightly pressed my lips together to keep the tears from escaping.

"I've watched you become a wonderful attribution to us, and you've brightened each one of us a little. I know it's going to be incredibly hard for you to leave and it hurts you, but it does hurt each one of us as well. We'll never forget you."