Sharks and Minnows
Five
-Six Weeks Later-
We’re sitting in the doctor’s office, and my heart feels like it’s about to explode out of my chest. I’m borderline nauseous, and Noemi isn’t looking much better. I reach out and squeeze her hand reassuringly, and then the ultrasound technician walks in.
“Okay Miss Benko, are you ready to find out whether your little trouble makers are boys or girls?” she asks, smiling broadly as she squirts blue goo onto Noemi’s stomach. She takes a sharp breath, but I know it’s because the gel is cold. I feel something flutter in my stomach at the sight of Noemi’s borderline bulging stomach. I know that there are three kids in there, but it’s hard to believe sometimes. Once the ultrasound tech begins the ultrasound, and the sounds of heartbeats fill the room, my head starts spinning. Noemi squeezes my hand tightly, and I take a deep breath. I was nowhere near ready to be a father, but here I was sitting there, waiting to find out if I was going to have boys or girls. After a few minutes the ultrasound tech stops what she’s doing and smiles at us.
“Ready?” she asks. Noemi and I look at each other, and then nod slowly.
“Ready when you are,” Noemi smiles.
“You’re having three boys,” the ultrasound tech beams. I let out a sigh of relief, and Noemi looks at me strangely.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with four girls!” I chuckle, and she lets out a laugh of her own.
“Well it looks like we’ll have a few more hockey players running around, huh Vlad?” she smiles as we walk into the apartment. I nod, and then look around nervously.
“Noemi, this place isn’t big enough,” I say suddenly.
“What?” she asks, putting her purse down and sitting on the couch. She looks exhausted, and I frown.
“The apartment, not big enough for three kids…not even for one,” I say before pulling out my phone. I immediately call Ilya.
“Ilʹya mne nuzhenhoroshiĭ perevodchik,(Ilya, I need a good realtor)” I say.
“Ne govorite mne, chto ty raspalsya. Vladimir, chto zhe ya mogu skazatʹ o ostaviv yee (Don’t tell me you’ve broken up. Vladimir, what did I say about leaving her?)” Ilya asks, anger filling his voice quickly.
“Net, net! My vse yeshche vmeste. YA prosto ponyal, chto my sobiraemsya nuzhno bolʹshe zhiznennogo prostranstva s tremya malʹchikami begayut,(No, no! We’re still together. I just realized that we’re going to need more living space with three boys running around)” I smile, and Noemi is listening with interest. She doesn’t know much Russian at all, but she listens every chance she can get.
“Tri malʹchika ? Moi pozdravleniya drugu! YA tekstechislorieltor , kotoryĭ prodal nam nash dom. On otlichnyĭ parenʹ, (Three boys? Congratulations my friend! I’ll text you the number of the realtor that sold us our house. He’s a great guy)” Ilya beams, and I can’t help but feel my smile broaden. Ilya is the only person other than Noemi that knows that I’m going to be a father, so it feels awesome to share the news. Ilya and I chat for a few more minutes, and then I turn to Noemi.
“Noemi, I want you to come to the game tonight. I want you to meet the guys. If we’re going to have babies, I want you to meet them. They’re like my family away from home,” I explain, and Noemi smiles.
“I was wondering when you’d ask!” she chirps, and then gets up.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Getting ready for the game, duh!” she smirks before walking into her bedroom.
I feel my jaw drop as Noemi walks out a little while later. She’s wearing tight black leggings, black and red flats, and a jersey. No, not just any jersey. My jersey.
“Where did you get that?” I ask quickly. She blushes and smoothes the white fabric over her baby bump.
“I stole it out of the closet,” she says, and I smile. I kiss her. It’s not a fleeting, innocent kiss, but it’s not the down and dirty kind either. It’s the kind of kiss that makes her knees go weak, and I hold her tightly against my chest as I kiss her.
^^^^^^
My heart is racing as Vladimir kisses me. He’s sweet, and gentle, and everything about the kiss makes my body weak and tingly. I feel a tear roll down my cheek as I kiss him back. I feel safe with his arms around me, crushed up against his chest. I can feel his heart beating under my fingers. He breaks away just briefly enough to catch a breath before capturing my lips in his own once more. We rock gently back and forth, completely comfortable in each other’s arms, sharing the feelings that have been developing between us through our kisses.
^^^^^^
“YA lyublyu tebya,” (I love you) I mutter against Noemi’s lips, and she looks up at me curiously.
“What?” she asks, obviously not understanding what I just said. I push her back gently, and examine her carefully. She looks gorgeous, from her big blue eyes that are staring up at me in confusion, to her cute little feet that are tucked into those little red shoes with the big black bows on top. I cup her jaw in my hand and press my forehead against hers.
“I love you,” I say slowly, making sure to say every word as clearly as possible. I don’t want anything, not even my accent, to ruin this moment. It had taken me a while, fifteen weeks in fact, to fall in love with her, but in that moment I knew that she was the one. I suddenly understood what Patrik was talking about in the bar the night I met her, and I wasn’t afraid at all of being in love. Noemi’s eyes fill with tears, and I began to panic however.
“What? Did I do wrong?” I ask, my heart thudding heavily. She smiles as tears roll down her cheeks.
“No, I’m just so happy Vladimir. I love you too. I love you so much,” she squeaks before hugging me tightly. I kiss the top of her head and just hug her. Even with the baby bump keeping us slightly further apart than usual, I feel closer to her in that moment than I have ever felt with any other human being. I place a hand on her stomach and she giggles quietly before standing up on her tip toes and kissing me gently.
We’re sitting in the doctor’s office, and my heart feels like it’s about to explode out of my chest. I’m borderline nauseous, and Noemi isn’t looking much better. I reach out and squeeze her hand reassuringly, and then the ultrasound technician walks in.
“Okay Miss Benko, are you ready to find out whether your little trouble makers are boys or girls?” she asks, smiling broadly as she squirts blue goo onto Noemi’s stomach. She takes a sharp breath, but I know it’s because the gel is cold. I feel something flutter in my stomach at the sight of Noemi’s borderline bulging stomach. I know that there are three kids in there, but it’s hard to believe sometimes. Once the ultrasound tech begins the ultrasound, and the sounds of heartbeats fill the room, my head starts spinning. Noemi squeezes my hand tightly, and I take a deep breath. I was nowhere near ready to be a father, but here I was sitting there, waiting to find out if I was going to have boys or girls. After a few minutes the ultrasound tech stops what she’s doing and smiles at us.
“Ready?” she asks. Noemi and I look at each other, and then nod slowly.
“Ready when you are,” Noemi smiles.
“You’re having three boys,” the ultrasound tech beams. I let out a sigh of relief, and Noemi looks at me strangely.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with four girls!” I chuckle, and she lets out a laugh of her own.
“Well it looks like we’ll have a few more hockey players running around, huh Vlad?” she smiles as we walk into the apartment. I nod, and then look around nervously.
“Noemi, this place isn’t big enough,” I say suddenly.
“What?” she asks, putting her purse down and sitting on the couch. She looks exhausted, and I frown.
“The apartment, not big enough for three kids…not even for one,” I say before pulling out my phone. I immediately call Ilya.
“Ilʹya mne nuzhenhoroshiĭ perevodchik,(Ilya, I need a good realtor)” I say.
“Ne govorite mne, chto ty raspalsya. Vladimir, chto zhe ya mogu skazatʹ o ostaviv yee (Don’t tell me you’ve broken up. Vladimir, what did I say about leaving her?)” Ilya asks, anger filling his voice quickly.
“Net, net! My vse yeshche vmeste. YA prosto ponyal, chto my sobiraemsya nuzhno bolʹshe zhiznennogo prostranstva s tremya malʹchikami begayut,(No, no! We’re still together. I just realized that we’re going to need more living space with three boys running around)” I smile, and Noemi is listening with interest. She doesn’t know much Russian at all, but she listens every chance she can get.
“Tri malʹchika ? Moi pozdravleniya drugu! YA tekstechislorieltor , kotoryĭ prodal nam nash dom. On otlichnyĭ parenʹ, (Three boys? Congratulations my friend! I’ll text you the number of the realtor that sold us our house. He’s a great guy)” Ilya beams, and I can’t help but feel my smile broaden. Ilya is the only person other than Noemi that knows that I’m going to be a father, so it feels awesome to share the news. Ilya and I chat for a few more minutes, and then I turn to Noemi.
“Noemi, I want you to come to the game tonight. I want you to meet the guys. If we’re going to have babies, I want you to meet them. They’re like my family away from home,” I explain, and Noemi smiles.
“I was wondering when you’d ask!” she chirps, and then gets up.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Getting ready for the game, duh!” she smirks before walking into her bedroom.
I feel my jaw drop as Noemi walks out a little while later. She’s wearing tight black leggings, black and red flats, and a jersey. No, not just any jersey. My jersey.
“Where did you get that?” I ask quickly. She blushes and smoothes the white fabric over her baby bump.
“I stole it out of the closet,” she says, and I smile. I kiss her. It’s not a fleeting, innocent kiss, but it’s not the down and dirty kind either. It’s the kind of kiss that makes her knees go weak, and I hold her tightly against my chest as I kiss her.
^^^^^^
My heart is racing as Vladimir kisses me. He’s sweet, and gentle, and everything about the kiss makes my body weak and tingly. I feel a tear roll down my cheek as I kiss him back. I feel safe with his arms around me, crushed up against his chest. I can feel his heart beating under my fingers. He breaks away just briefly enough to catch a breath before capturing my lips in his own once more. We rock gently back and forth, completely comfortable in each other’s arms, sharing the feelings that have been developing between us through our kisses.
^^^^^^
“YA lyublyu tebya,” (I love you) I mutter against Noemi’s lips, and she looks up at me curiously.
“What?” she asks, obviously not understanding what I just said. I push her back gently, and examine her carefully. She looks gorgeous, from her big blue eyes that are staring up at me in confusion, to her cute little feet that are tucked into those little red shoes with the big black bows on top. I cup her jaw in my hand and press my forehead against hers.
“I love you,” I say slowly, making sure to say every word as clearly as possible. I don’t want anything, not even my accent, to ruin this moment. It had taken me a while, fifteen weeks in fact, to fall in love with her, but in that moment I knew that she was the one. I suddenly understood what Patrik was talking about in the bar the night I met her, and I wasn’t afraid at all of being in love. Noemi’s eyes fill with tears, and I began to panic however.
“What? Did I do wrong?” I ask, my heart thudding heavily. She smiles as tears roll down her cheeks.
“No, I’m just so happy Vladimir. I love you too. I love you so much,” she squeaks before hugging me tightly. I kiss the top of her head and just hug her. Even with the baby bump keeping us slightly further apart than usual, I feel closer to her in that moment than I have ever felt with any other human being. I place a hand on her stomach and she giggles quietly before standing up on her tip toes and kissing me gently.
♠ ♠ ♠
Her outfit