Act Two

XIV

"(1) *До свидания, drive home safely." The teacher waves farewell to his class as they rise from their foldable chairs to leave. Yakov decides to stay a moment longer, having a question to ask. "Yasha, are there any other things you need help with?" The man, similar in age, asks upon acknowledging the blonde's presence. "Yes, I was wondering if you could help me." He nods. "What can I help you with then?" The teacher takes a seat across from the blonde, clasping his hands together in front of him. "Yaletha-Levovna, the student in my class with hearing loss. She wants to compete next season but it seems there's a bit of an issue I ran into." Yakov explains, leaning back in his metal chair. "What is the problem?" The other man listens. "I don't know how she will sync with the music if she can't hear it. How will she know when to start or what if she falls and has to catch up?"

Yakov never realized the difficulties this will bring.

"Yasha? Did you make it home safely?" A familiar voice answers once the phone stops ringing. "Good evening, Lilya. I did. I know you feel better when I'm home after dark which is the reason for this call." The man responds with a small grin, fiddling with a button on his shirt. "That's good, I'm glad to hear it. Listen, I was wondering," "Go on." Yakov encourages, causing the woman on the other end to chuckle slightly. "We're going to go dancing soon and I wanted to know if you would like to have dinner afterward at my place?" Lilia offers, wanting to have a wonderful night with her partner and thank him for everything he has done in such little time. "Of course. I would love to, Lilya. I will pick you up thirty minutes before the class starts." He can tell how excited she is by the slight change of tone in her voice. "I can't wait, Yasha. I will see you then. Or perhaps, sooner?"

Thursday morning arrives and Yakov is back at the rink, entering the large building with his skate bag slung over his shoulder. "(2) *Доброе утро, Fedya." He greets, spotting the fluff of brunette hair atop his head. "Oh, hey, Yasha." The younger male waves him over, sitting on one of the benches while he laces his hockey skates. "I haven't caught you out here in a few days, what have you been up to?" The blonde sits to the other man's left, unzipping his bag. "My wife has been making me late to work now. Suddenly, I'm in charge of getting my boys to daycare which I really did not need." He sighs, tying off his right skate and moving on to the left. "How old are they now?" Yakov asks, pulling out his skates to put on. "Four and three, I know, it's crazy. We are having another though, surprise!" Fiodor chuckles, forgetting he never told his friend. "You are? Then, congratulations, Fedya!" Yakov is surprised but laughs it off. "Thanks, Yasha but if it's another boy, I don't know how I'm going to handle. The two I already have are pretty high maintenance."

Yakov can not wait for the day that his future wife tells him he will be a father. It sounds like a dream come true to be quite honest. He already plans on being the best father he can be and support his child no matter what, as his parents did the same for him. Much like his students, he does not want to let them down. He's always looking out for them anyway. In a way, they are like his own children. Usually, listening to him about half the time. Now, he imagines himself with Lilia in the future. She has gorgeous features, he can only imagine a child taking after her beauty. A little girl just like her mother, dancing on a stage or on the ice. Either sounds wonderful. Raising a daughter would be his preference. He's been surrounded by women his whole life so it is all he knows. You could say it's the main reason why he cares for them so much. Many women take up most of his family, it is who he is comfortable with even if he is still new to learning about them on an intimate level.

Would he want a family with Lilia? Would she want one too?

"So, how are you and Lilia? Still going out?" Fiodor breaks the silence. "Yes, we see each other very often now. I don't think either of us would survive very long without seeing each other. Maybe a week at most." He answers with a chuckle. Fiodor nods, grinning. "That's good, Yasha. You like her a lot then?" Yakov thinks of Lilia for a moment, enjoying the memories they've created thus far. There's no doubt in his mind that he likes her. "I love everything about her. She's wonderful and I couldn't ask for anything else." The blue-eyed man answers, looking towards his friend. "Oh, so you love Lilia?" He snickers, teasing the other man. "N-No, I did not say that. I only said I love the things about her." Yakov shakes his head, cheeks a bit pink. He wants what Fiodor has.