He's Strong. He's Hot. He's Foreign. (And He's in the Mafia?)

What are you doing to me, Janey?!” Jeremiah exclaimed once I told him about our new dinner guests.

“I thought you were friends with Mitch” I replied innocently. Peter was in the living room, knocking shots of vodka back with Gabe and a couple of Jeremiah’s friends. Peter was taking shot after shot. A normal person couldn’t stand so much alcohol without going into cardiac arrest. I was in the kitchen, making my special barbeque sauce for the baby back ribs Jeremiah was about to grill.

“The kids too, Jane? Seriously?!” Jeremiah snapped, taking a long gulp of his beer.

“Oh don’t worry, Jeremiah, I’ll be sure to keep them out of your way so you can get piss-drunk” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

“Be sure that you do, baby” he growled, kicking my butt. Before I could respond, he picked up the ribs plate and walked out onto the deck, slamming the screen door.

“Jane! Your fiancé is the man!” Dean, one of Jeremiah’s friends, called from the living room.

I looked over towards the living room, exasperatedly. Peter’s eyes met mine, an almost childish smile on his face.

“Come over here, Janey” Peter called, sitting back in the armchair, opening his arms.

I sighed and walked up to Peter who, without warning, grabbed my waist and pulled me on his lap. I let out a surprised shriek, followed by a giggle as Peter kissed my cheek.

“It seems as though these gentlemen aren't accustomed to the Russian way of life” he smirked, ruffling my hair.

“What? Booze, sex, and money?” I muttered, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Sounds like the way of life for me!” Mikey exclaimed, slamming his glass down on the table, “Shit! Where do I sign up?”

Gabe leaned back on the couch, a sour look on his face, “So what?” He took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

“Want one, Janey?” Gabe asked, holding the pack out to me.

“You know I have asthma, Gabriel” I mumbled, playing with a piece of Peter’s shirt.

He laughed and said, “I thought that was just your way of getting out of gym class”

Before I could respond, the doorbell rang. I leapt out of Peter’s lap and skipped to the door, opening it. Mitch, Diane, a girl around five years old and a boy around 3 years old were standing on the porch.

“Jane!” Diane exclaimed, giving me a choking hug.

“Hey Diane…you’re right on time” I gasped, when she finally let go of me.

“Jane I would like you to meet my kids Michael and Sally…and then of course you know Mitch” Diane said, picking up Michael. Mitch grunted a hello, wearing a cameo jacket and worn out jeans and military boots.

Diane and I entertained the kids in the dining room while the guys hung out on the patio. Peter wanted to stay with me but I knew if he wanted to be respected among Jeremiah and his friends he would have to adopt the philosophy that children were for womenfolk, at least when he was around them. Sally was extremely introverted. She was pretty content sitting on the carpet, brushing her doll’s hair. Michael, on the other hand, was a maniac. He pretended that he was Godzilla intent on destroying the world, the world aka the living room.

“I’m gonna kill all of you!” Michael thundered, storming around with loud exaggerated steps, adding his own soundtrack.

“He’s darling” I muttered to Diane, suppressing a grin.

She laughed, “You should see how he got when he drank one of Mitch’s beers!”

I paused, making sure I had heard her correctly, “He drank beer?”

“Yeah…I mean it’s not like I gave it to him or anything…to tell you the truth…” her voice got real low and she glanced out the window out at Mitch, Peter and the others, making sure they weren't looking, “I think Mitch gave it to him”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sally perk up. She was staring at me with so much meaning in her eyes.

“Did he, Sally?” I asked, knowing she had the answer. I’m sure there was a lot of Diane’s problems Sally had the answer to.

She nodded, “Daddy hoped it would put him to sleep, because Daddy wanted to watch the football game and Mikey was being real annoying”

I sighed and leaned against the chair as Diane gaped. “Southern men” I muttered, closing my eyes.

“Stupid asshole” I heard Diane whisper, pure menace in her voice. She got up and marched onto the deck, not bothering to close the door. She stood in front of Mitch and before he could say anything she slapped him across the face, screaming, “What the fuck is your problem?! You gave a three year-old beer?! I hate you! I ha…” Before she could finish, Mitch grabbed her wrist and spat, “You don’t hate me, bitch, you don’t hate me at I make you purr like a kitty-cat during those nights when the kids are asleep”

Diane let out a sob and struggled under his grip. I looked at the kids, and even Michael was silent. He hid his face in his sister’s shoulder, whining, “Make them stooooooop” The guys on the porch weren't doing much. Jeremiah acted like nothing was going on and the rest of them just kind of backed away. Peter was also just standing there, which infuriated me. I got up and walked up to Mitch and Diane snapping, “Let go of her you jackass!”

“Stay out of it, princess” Mitch growled, pulling Diane into the house and slamming the door shut.

“Just leave it, babe” Jeremiah sighed, “They do this all the time, of course you wouldn’t know that”

I felt Peter grip my hand, pulling me to him and whispering, “Let them work out their own problems”

I let out a ‘humph’ and slouched against Peter’s chest, hearing muffled shouts from Mitch and Diane. Hopefully that wasn’t what lay in store for Peter and me.
Mitch and Diane weren't speaking. The guys sat in the dining room, eating and being drunk. Diane and I sat in the living room with Sally and Michael, eating in a sort of eerie silence.

“So Peter, how’s Jane in the sack?!” I heard Mikey ask, followed by a drunken laugh.

“None of your business!” I screamed.

“It’s like all they think about is sex” Diane sighed, setting down her empty plate on the table and sitting back on the couch, wiping her mouth with a napkin. I, on the other hand, couldn’t eat anything.

“I know, right?” I muttered, sliding onto the floor, digging my head into my knees. “You think I made the right choice coming back?”

Diane looked down at me thoughtfully, “Who knows? I mean you obviously still care about what your family thinks if you made the trip, so maybe you need to remember the good things other than dwelling on the bad…ya know?”

“My family doesn't have a good side” I mumbled. Then, I heard the unmistakable beeping of Peter’s Blackberry. That noise was what would usually send Peter running off to take care of some ‘business’.

“Excuse me” I heard Peter say.

Peter walked out the door quickly, his phone to his ear in a flash. Without thinking, I sprung to my feet and followed him.

I gripped Peter’s hand while he stood on the porch, speaking on the phone in swift Russian. I leaned against Peter’s shoulder, not sure I’d be able to survive in that house without him there.

Heaving a sigh, Peter shoved his phone in his pocket and took my face in his hands.

“W-what is it?” I stuttered, reaching up to hold his hands.

“You’re going to hate me after I tell you this…” he murmured, looking down at me, thoroughly exhausted.

“No…Peter you can’t…” I whispered, knowing what he was going to say. I gripped his shirt, silently pleading with him not to go.

“It’s very important, honey…I’ll be back by this time tomorrow, I promise” he purred, kissing my forehead.

“And that’s just enough time for Gabriel to start getting in my head…or for Jeremiah to throw another bottle at me!” I exclaimed.

“I trust you, Janey; I know you won’t let Gabriel get to you, now you just need to let yourself know it” Peter said, taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger, allowing our eyes to meet, “And as for Jeremiah…how about you spend as much time out of the house as possible tomorrow? I’m sure there’s a lot for you to do…you are getting married after all…” Peter grinned and pressed his lips against mine, kissing me slowly. I savored his kisses, knowing they would be the last until he got back.