Leaping for Your Dreams

Soon enough it was the 18th and we were flying out of Detroit airport for Las Vegas. Why Detroit you might ask, well it was easier to get a flight from there than Windsor, plain and simple. We spent the flight trying not to be too excited for the week we were about to spend together.

When we finally got to The Wynn we found out that we had our choice of suites and whom we would share it with when the time came. We took one look at each other and asked if Aleks was coming, finding out she was we insisted on the other half of the room going to her. She wasn’t scheduled to come in until the 19th so we had about a day to ourselves.

There were other NHLers and their girlfriends or wives already in town so we decided to spend some time with them. Mostly that meant laying out by the pool working on our tans, not that it was a bad thing to enjoy the sun. What was even better about it was that the few times one of the guys was recognized he wasn’t bugged really.

We went out that night and didn’t end up coming back to the room until _really_ late. In fact it was sometime after 2 am that we got back to the room. As we opened the door to the room I wondered if they were in yet. That question was answered quickly as we heard another door open and they met us in the short hallway. “Wow you guys look bad. Rough trip?”

Aleks chuckled. “It didn’t start until 11 back home and it’s 5 am there now. You do the math.” They were kind of leaning on each other at this point.

Geno squeezed my hand and went over to hug Aleks. “Sleep important. We be here…” I could see him trying to find the right word, tomorrow certainly wasn’t it, even though he _almost said that. “Later, we be here later. How long you here?”

Sid smiled. “We leave at 11 am on the 21st. Gotta get to Thunder Bay for Jordy’s wedding.” We both nodded in understanding, they had made the commitment to the wedding well before Aleks was told to come out. “We’ll see you guys later, if I don’t get some sleep soon I’m gonna fall over right here.”

We all parted, going to our own rooms. The door was closed behind us cause quite honestly I didn’t want to see what Sid slept in. As we were getting ready for bed Geno came up behind me. “They look bad right now. Make no plans until they get up, da?”

“Sounds perfect. Is it sad that I didn’t worry about Anna all day?” Yep my motherly instincts were kicking in.

He drew my top off of me. “Nyet, she need time without us like we need time without her. She be fine, relax.” He peppered my face and neck with kisses as he drew us back towards the bed. “For now, sleep. I go workout in the morning.”

Sliding into the bed I just chuckled. “You’re on vacation.”

“Want to win next year, start with good training now.” He snuggled close and kissed me lightly. “You welcome to join.”

I semi-wrapped myself around his warmth. “Nah, maybe later. Right now sleep sounds perfect.”

7 hours later I woke to his phone buzzing. With a grumble he turned over and slapped it off. I tried keeping him in bed but I was too sleepy to do it properly. “I go, be back soon. Be up when I get back we go eat.” He smothered me with kisses and left.

I _tried_ sleeping in without his warmth next to me, but it didn’t work. Instead I got up, put on a robe and puttered about making sure things were filled out on the paperwork for the house. I’d gotten a text yesterday that they had finished the demo of the frame and now had only the basement to finish before they _really_ got to work. That gave me less time than I wanted to get things chosen.

About an hour and half or so later I was done with what I insisted on getting done today and turned on the TV, just in time too cause I heard Aleks and Sid waking up. When it was _crystal_ clear that they weren’t coming out of their room just yet, I turned it up a bit. I couldn’t tell you what I was watching as it only _barely_ drowned out the demands being made and obviously given in the next room over.

I turned the TV back down once I heard their shower start. No sense in making it too clear that I’d heard them by having it too loud. About 15 minutes later Aleks came into the living room. “Hey.”

By now I was getting sleepy again, it showed. “Hi, How’d you sleep?” I began unwinding from the blanket I’d wrapped up in to keep from getting too cold.

“Gloriously. We didn’t wake you did we?” Aleks looked very happy. I shook my head no as she asked if they had woken me. “You guys have any plans today?”

“Just to get out of the hotel eventually. Nice by the way. Been a few years since I’d had vicarious sex.” MI didn’t feel too bad about chirping her about it, wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last either. “Stop it, you _didn’t_ wake me. Geno insisting on going down to the gym did. Besides it was kind of nice hearing you demand things of him and so obviously getting them nearly instantly.”

Aleks threw a throw pillow at me. “Shut it. You forget I know how you are too.” Sid came in; he must have heard the conversation, as he was a tad red. “Or do you forget the time you and Brad O’Brien… way back when.” Oh god I could _not_ believe she went there!

“I swear Mal I had no idea you were in the room, let alone that you were asleep in the next bed.” Yeah I still felt bad about that. I really didn’t have a clue she was there, got an earful about it for _weeks_ afterwards.

Sid just chuckled. “Anyway, we should do something tonight. See a show or something.” He picked up and began thumbing through a brochure.

The outer door opened and a very sweaty Geno came in. “Morning. Any plans made?”

I got up from the couch. “Nope, we were just starting to think about that.” I padded over and tucked into his embrace. “”We _should_ do something though. I mean come on we’re all here and we weren’t recognized last night when we were out. I bet you guys won’t be either. We should at least go have dinner out. The dress code isn’t as strict as other places which is nice.”

Aleks brightened, gladly getting off of our previous topic. “That at least sounds fun. We’ve got all day to figure out a plan. I wouldn’t be so sure about not being recognized; most of the guys should be flying in today or late last night like us. That will lead to more Hockey fans around.” Sid curled around Aleks.

“Unfortunately she’s right. Where the NHL goes, so do the fans. You two should go shopping, I bet you could do that without being recognized. I’m not so sure I could.” Poor Sid, he was nearly constantly being harassed by fans who meant well but for some reason didn’t understand the term personal space.

“I go get cleaned up, then food.” Geno said as he made his way to the shower in our room. I followed cause well, I knew it wouldn’t be _just_ a shower with him, or so I hoped. He had other plans though. I sighed and got myself ready for the day ahead of us.

Joining Aleks and Sid again it was clear she had continued the conversation. They were discussing what kind of dress Aleks should get for their rehearsal dinner so I chimed in. “Strapless, that’s what you should go with. Role model yes but not dead. You look great, show it off a little bit.” She dressed in things that didn’t show herself off as much as the Hollywood stars did, she deserved to look hot on her wedding weekend.

“If I got strapless, you find a bandage.” She countered. Trust her to remember the one type of dress I didn’t own…

Sid chuckled. “We’re not gonna have to separate you two are we? You know that if we go with you things probably _will_ happen tonight.”

“You do realize that as much as we may tease each other, we aren’t _that_ much voyeurs.” Aleks always gave as good as she got, Sid knew he was outclassed so he just shook his head as Geno came into ready to go.

Many hours and stores later we were starving; it was _past_ time for lunch. We’d joined the “raiding party” created by Steven Stamkos and Max Pacioretty and their ladies for lunch. We were comparing notes on the best stores when a painfully shy young lady came over trying to ask for Aleks’ autograph and not get in the way. Oh man, Aleks would do something about this…

She stood up and went over to the girl who couldn’t have been more than 14. She held herself like she was proud of herself but worried too. That’s when I caught the conversation between them. “You play don’t you.” The girl nodded nodded. “Under 16 team? Probably bottom six forward but with the potential for more.” She gaped.

I had to go over and put my two well known to be accurate cents in. “Third line, left wing.” The girl nodded furiously.

Aleks and I looked at each other and grinned. “Where are you from and who do you play for?” She asked gently, I could see the guys sitting back and letting Aleks handle this situation.

“I’m Brette, I’m from Kentville, Nova Scotia and got an offer to go to school next year at Shattuck. I don’t think I’m good enough to go though.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, didn’t she know how hard it was to get into Shattuck; I nudged Aleks.

She got the hint as she continued incredulously. “Not good enough? You _do_ realize that they only send those offers out to the best right? Both of _us_ went there and it got us all the way through College too, and by that I mean hockey. When we started at Shattuck I was in the 3rd defensive paring and Mari here was riding the _bench_. It took 4 games for our coaches to realize that we needed a bigger challenge. 4 years later Colleges came to _us_ begging us to come play for them. I bet you’re better than you think, you won’t know for sure unless you try. Besides, I gotta have someone besides my _sister_ to bug when I’m there next year.” Then Aleks’ knack for geography kicked in.

“Kentville… that’s just off the Bay of Fundy right? Northwest of Halifax if I remember right.” Brette’s jaw dropped. “What? Geography is a good thing to know, especially when you spend as much time as I do there.” I heard Sid snort out a laugh. “Ignore him, he’s nobody really.” _That_ got a giggle out of Brette. “Look in all seriousness I can let Tay know that you _might_ be coming and I’m 100% positive that she will look you up. Being in a new place and having even 1 person you know even a little bit helps, a lot. Tay knows that too. What brings you to Las Vegas?”

Brette blushed. “My dad thought coming here for the NHL Awards would be a good way of getting me…” She virtually shut down, I was guessing that was her dad who had come up behind her.

Aleks tilted her chin up so she was looking at her. “Stop shutting yourself down. You don’t do that on the ice do you?” She shyly shook her head. “Then don’t do it with me. I’m a person I _do_ remember what it’s like to be in your position, unsure if you should follow your dreams or go another way.” I let go of her chin and took both her hands. “Don’t _ever_ give up on your dreams. Look where not giving up got me? If someone would have told me a year ago _I’d_ have my name going on The Cup, I would have laughed at them and called the psych ward. Now, I’ve shaken hands with the U.S. President, I’ve hoisted that very same Cup over my head not too far from here. All because I followed the path that my dreams led me on. I know you can do it too, all you have to do is lift your chin and do it.”

As Sid came up to Aleks, I began extracting myself. I’d done my part of the job, and backed up what my heart sister had started. As I sat back down Stammer was in awe. “I’ve never seen someone go from so painfully shy to like that before. How does she do that?”

I chuckled. “That’s just Aleks. She makes friends like the rest of us breathe, effortlessly. She’s been like that her entire life.”

“Man I’ve had kids barely be able to stumble out an autograph request before but I couldn’t draw them out like she just did. You guys really went all the way through school together?” I nodded, not a lot of guys knew much about Aleks yet.

“You should ask Stevie about her. He knows her as well as anyone. He taught her how to skate in fact.” I knew that Aleks was secretly proud of that fact and wouldn’t’ mind that I shared it. Then I heard her mention the 5 am practices we suffered through at school and _had_ to groan at the memory.

Sitting at the table we all watched as Sid and Aleks tag-teamed this father-daughter pair. It was just how they worked, drawing out the shy and reigning in the boisterous. That’s why they worked so well together.

“That is just incredible. If that’s what she can do for one girl, think of what she can do with the League behind her.” I nodded, Stammer was right Aleks could do a _lot of good for Women’s Hockey just by being herself.

After we got back to the hotel I _had to tell her how awesome she was. “That was an awesome thing you did at lunch. I hope she does go to SSM and rocks it.”

Aleks smiled. “Hey I know I’m a role model that means stepping up if I’m needed and I didn’t do anything really but give her a chance to follow her dreams like we did. Tay did the hard part.”

The front door opened and Sid back from his tour. “Well you are officially the most awesome person in the League, after me of course.” He snickered and proceeded to lay his head in Aleks’ lap. “Not only is Brette psyched about going to Shattuck, your good deed overall impressed the big wigs.”
I scoffed. “If they’re impressed by Aleks being herself, they ain’t seen nothing yet! The League won’t know what hit it.” That dissolved us into giggles; we all knew I was right.

Eventually we needed more food and my loving husband had an idea of going out with more Hockey guys, so he texted Pavel Datsyuk who had come into town earlier. Pasha happily agreed to go out with the four of us tonight; it’d been a long time since we’d seen him. Good thing too, Pasha would be a lot easier to deal with over say Ovi. Geno called over to Simon’s to see if we could get the 6 of us tonight. In short order I heard the tell tale signs of him getting frustrated by whomever was on the other end of the phone. I whispered in his ear. “Let me.” He gave the phone up easily. “Hello? Yes, my husband has been trying to make reservations for tonight if possible.” I got _attitude_ thrown back at me. Oh did they try and pull that on the wrong woman. “I will speak to your manager _now_.” Soon after I spoke with the manager about what had been said and how upset my husband, I did name drop I’ll admit it, was. We quickly got good reservations and a heartfelt apology. I turned to everyone else and happily reported. . “We have a reservation for 8:30 tonight.” Geno texted Pasha and life was good.

We arrived at 8:15 after much cajoling by Aleks and myself to get Geno out the door. He was already running on Russian time, but that didn’t fly in Vegas.

Even in the crowded dining room we weren’t hassled by anyone. It was a first for all of us. What was even better was when Chef Simon began walking the room. We didn’t go out of _our way to get his attention but he did go out of his way to come and say hi. “It’s not every day I get people of your caliber in here. I hope everything is perfect.”

That made Aleks and myself both blush; she may or may not have had a serious crush on him years ago. “Everything’s great. It’s been really nice not to have to be in a back room.”

He chuckled. “With the company these gentlemen are keeping I can’t blame them for trying to keep you to themselves. Of course that big Silver Cup _might_ have something to do with that.” Ah the celebrity hockey fan… Gotta love them! We chatted for a bit and he had to make his way along.

At the end of our meal, Kerry came back over with a microphone. “Ladies and Gentlemen please indulge me for just a brief moment. Normally I wouldn’t bother my guests while they are enjoying themselves but I just couldn’t let this lovely lady to leave without getting some acknowledgement for her.” With a nod at Sid, he took Aleks’ elbow and helped her to her feet. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is someone you probably don’t know unless you’re a hockey fan. If you are, then you should also know _why_ she deserves this. This lovely lady in Lavender is none other than Aleks Malakhov from the Washington Capitals. She and her teammates, about a week ago now, won the Stanley Cup.” There was some clapping and I discreetly held Aleks’ hand behind me. “Normally I wouldn’t point out any of my hockey clientele but this lady is special. You see she’s the _first_ lady to ever have her name engraved as a _player_ instead of in the front office crew. I just hope that you all would join me in wishing Aleks nothing but the best next season and who knows, maybe even an award or two.” He hugged Aleks and congratulated her while the rest of the room clapped, there were a few whistles too.

After a few minutes and a dessert to die for; we paid the bill, thanked Kerry for being so wonderful to us all and headed out into the Las Vegas night. Sid and Aleks decided to walk the strip for a little while, this gave Geno and I some time to ourselves.

This proved to be a _much_ better idea by them than I could have imagined. We had no sooner gotten through the suite door than I found myself pinned against it. “So beautiful and sexy.” Geno swung me up into his arms and carried me into our room. By the time I was finally undressed I was shaking and aching for his touch. The man did _not_ disappoint. I would be very surprised if others did _not_ hear and understand exactly how my husband felt about me and even more how I felt about what he was doing just then. With a final rake of my hands down his back I screamed as I came hard. I felt him join me in the bliss of orgasm seconds after. Neither of us even bothered cleaning up after that, the post-coital bliss was too strong, not to mention the need to cuddle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next early-afternoon Aleks and I were sitting in the living room; I was doing her hair. It wasn’t an easy up do, being that there was thread woven into the back. “Why did we like this one so much again?” I asked as I was close to the end of making it stunning.

“It was the best thing we found out of everything we looked at.” Aleks replied. We hadn’t banned the guys from watching which means the peanut gallery was there as well. They were snickering as they watched. “Go ahead laugh now, but this is a dry run for later.”

“Something you were smart to do, hopefully I won’t have to redo it three times then though. Hand.” She held up her hand and I put it where I needed it. “So Sidney, have you seen her dress for tonight?”

Sid stopped laughing. “No, she wouldn’t let me see it. I do know it’s a long gown but that’s only because of the bag ad how she put it in her suitcase.” He was sitting there in shorts and a shirt, not even partially dressed for tonight yet.

Aleks stuck my tongue out at him and he just shook his head. “You’ll love it, maybe even more than you loved what I wore for Skates and Plates.” He had been without words at seeing me that night, in fact he’d made Flower upset over how non-verbal he was that night.

“Ha!” I said firmly from behind her. “Ok girl you’re set and I’ve got the trick of this now. This’ll be a _lot_ easier next time.” I sat down next to Aleks and sighed happily. That was a hard hairdo.

“So what are you doing with your hair?” Aleks asked, mostly cause she was curious. I picked up her brush and began brushing my hair out.

“I found a braid I’ve been waiting for a chance to use, it’s a modified Fishtail. It’s got two 5-strand braids going into the fishtail. Stacey had it in one day a few months ago and she showed me how easy it was.” They all watched as I did my own hair in a lot less time than it took her to do Aleks’.

“You should use that for the wedding too. You won’t need a headband for it except as an accent.” Aleks said happily. I grinned. I had tried this look before at work with Stace coaching me.

“Oh speaking of, do you know what you’re wearing for a veil and your own headwear?” I said as I got up to go put my dress on, but as usual we had other things to plan.

“My grandfather brought my grandmother’s headpiece and veil over for me. He even gave me the perfect idea for the marriage crowns that will fit in wonderfully. Mom called me when they arrived at her place two days ago. Sent me pics on Skype, it all looks so great.” Aleks spotted the clock on the wall. “We should finish up shouldn’t we?”

I nodded. “Yeah, see you soon.” I went to go put my finishing touches on.

I slipped into my dress and watched as Geno’s eyes lit up. “Look _so_ good in that color.” He purred as he came over and zipped me up. I loved how I felt in this dress; I loved even more how I looked when reflected in his eyes.

“We don’t have time for anything right now love. You have awards to win and a crowd to wow.” He sighed cause he knew I was right. As we joined Sid and Aleks in the living room Geno got a look at them and just whistled. Aleks smiled. “You guys look great.”

Geno grinned. “How we get so lucky? Two beautiful ladies in red tonight. We have to watch them carefully.” Sid laughed. “We go walk the carpet now?”

Riding down in the elevator was easy for me. I was with a man who was up for 3 Awards and whom this would be his stepping out with his English skills. I should send a card to Ksana and Sarge to thank them for helping Zhenya when he first came over. Aleks was nervous, I could tell. Sid must have felt the worrying as he softly spoke to her. “You look great, you have every right to be here. They aren’t going to know what hit them.”

Geno and I went onto the carpet first as they were pulled aside by some official. Just before we hit the actually carpet, he leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Time to knock them out.” I just giggled as we joined the que.

We did several interviews as we moved down the carpet, all of who were done gracefully by Geno. We got into the theatre and got seated. We were near the front due to his many award nominations.

The show went by a lot faster than I thought it would. Soon enough it was time for the Ted Lindsey Award. They announced Geno as the winner. I couldn’t help but giggle as he kissed me and went up on stage. One down, two to go…

I was disappointed that Lids didn’t win the Norris again, but Karlsson was a good up and coming defenseman. I was thrilled that there were more trophies for Goalies now, even if they were mostly won by one guy; Brian Elliot of the Blues.

Geno held my hand tightly as they went through the motions of who would win the Art Ross. It was really between him and Steven Stamkos. In the end he was 2 for 2 and happier than I’d seen him in weeks.

Then came my favorite awards, the Vezina. I, like everyone else, laughed heartily at Lundquvist’s F bomb. Talk about being in the moment with how you feel. He was embarrassed about it but to me it was great.

Soon enough the final award for the night was up, the Hart Memorial Trophy. I grabbed Geno’s arm and laced my fingers in his. However this went we would be happy. I noticed that Stammer and Lundy also looked a bit nervous about this announcement. “And the winner of the 2012 Hart Memorial Trophy is…” The whole place waited with baited breath. “Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins.”

He swept it! Oh my god he swept it! He pulled me into an embrace and kiss. “Go rock it.” I whispered in his ear.

He dropped my hands and went on stage. This was what he was nervous about, the speech. I knew he’d be just fine though. "It's a special day to me," He started. "I hope it's not the last one. I try to work every year and I hope to be here again."

I listened, beaming at how proud I was of him. He publicly thanked Sarge for everything he had helped Zhenya with. That was such a nice touch. He ended his speech with a line I would have to take issue with later. "It's the best day of my life.”

At the end of the night I couldn’t stop grinning over Geno’s 3 trophies. Everyone was happy for him; he completely earned them all. While I waited for him to be ready to go, after all his pictures were taken and interviews done, Aleks and I did some small covert planning for the wedding. Mostly logistics of how we were all going to get there and back, especially with what she had to do the day after.

We went to the after party and had a blast at it. Everyone was surprised as Geno introduced me time and again as his wife but they were wonderful soon after. I didn’t realize we were going to take so many people by surprise.

We stayed until the wee hours of the night, when the party finally broke up for good. Unfortunately for us, minutes after we had fallen into bed, Geno’s phone rang. “Это лучше иметь важное значение. (This better be important.)” He growled into the phone. When he didn’t switch to English I knew it _was important. “Ты шутишь. Она не имеет права на дом. Нет, мы расстались в ноябре, я теперь женат. (You're kidding. She has no right to the house. No, we broke up in November, I'm married now.)”

I sat up listening to the conversation and working on figuring out whom it was who would call him at this time of night. “Что ты имеешь в виду, она была в доме, когда вы пошли, чтобы проверить на нем? Ебля сука. (What do you mean, she was in the house when you went to check on it? Fucking bitch.)” Ok that told me who was being stupid… Oksana.

Zhenya was sitting up by now and visibly upset. “Sarge, как я могу получить ее оттуда до моей семьи, и я вернулся на лето? (Sarge, how do I get her out of there before My Family and I come back for the summer?)” Ah he was speaking to Sarge, ok now I had a clue. “Она пытается взять мой дом здесь, она в моем доме нет. Почему я не могу избавиться от этой шлюха? (She tries to take my home here; she is in my home there. Why can I not get rid of this whore?)”

I got up and began pacing a little bit. Again that bitch was doing something to upset him. He and Gonch spoke for a little while longer before they hung up. Geno slid off the bed and captured me in his arms. “Я сожалею, что она руины сегодня для нас. (I regret that it ruins today for us.)”

I leaned back into him. “Сука будет только испортить вечер, если мы позволим ей. Вызвать полицию и заставить их поставить ее. (Bitch will only spoil the evening, if we let it. Call the police and get them to put it.)”

He tucked my head under his chin. “Не все так просто, она может утверждать, что она имеет право. (Not so simple, it can be argued she was entitled.)”

I asked the one question I had been afraid to ask of him before now. “Вы когда-нибудь пойти в ЗАГС с ней? (Do you ever go to the ZAGS with her?)” Points for me, my voice didn’t shake with the fear I felt.

Geno turned me around an tilted my face to his. “Никогда, она пыталась заставить меня пойти, но я никогда не делал. Вы единственный, кого я когда-либо и никогда не будет мужа. Ты моя любовь и были с первого раза мы говорили много лет назад. (Never, she tried to get me to go but I never did. You are the only one I have ever and will ever be husband to. You are my love, and were the first time we talked about many years ago.)” I didn’t realize I was tense until the tension in my body dropped.

Tears filled my eyes. He kissed them away. “Мы будем иметь дело с ней в наше время. Она не заставит нас отовсюду мы называем домой. Нам нужно, чтобы спать прежде, чем мы дело с ее правильном пути. Приходите к кровати, и мы должны. (We will deal with her in our own time. She will not force us from anywhere we call home again. We need to get to bed before we deal with it the right way. Come to bed, and we must.)” He pulled me back into bed and kept himself wrapped around me. His certainty lulled me to sleep eventually.

At about 8:30 I woke up and heard a shower stop. It wasn’t ours so it must be Aleks and Sid, I got out of bed to say goodbye. I knocked softly on the door when I figured they were dressed, Aleks greeted me. “Hey you should go back to bed.”

“I’m gonna but I had to say have a safe flight. Tell Jordy and Heather we love them.” We hugged tightly.

“Enjoy the rest of your quasi-honeymoon. See you in a week or so.” With a smile I then stumbled back into my room and bed.

Hours later I woke up again, although this time it was due to a door closing. I sat up and saw Geno checking on me. “Breakfast?” I nodded and got up, not bothering with a robe now. “We need to get rid of her for good. I do not know how though.”

I munched on my toast while I thought. “ZAGS recognizes marriages from other countries right?”

Geno nodded. “I call Russian embassy in D.C. and register our marriage when I was supposed to be resting before it happen. I call Canadian one too. Paperwork all done. Visas too all ready. We have all paperwork we need for you and Annushka. We only have to go file certificate when we get there. Why you ask?”

I sighed, I brought it up, I had to be the one to continue this. “I, I just don’t want her to try and get between us with some not even legal crap.” My stomach was in knots again.

He moved over next to me. “Misa, расслабиться моя любовь. Она не возьмет меня от тебя всегда. (Misa, relax my love. She will not take me from you ever.)” I must have been freaking him out just a little bit as he moved to grab his phone and then dialed a phone number. He put it on speaker as he spoke to the Russian Embassy in D.C. Turns out that he had, indeed, registered our wedding the day it happened And that both Anna and I’s visa’s were ready for us to pick up and when we did we would have 90 days to travel to and end our travel in Russia.

“Г-жа Малкина Я понимаю ваше беспокойство, все в порядке для вашей поездки. Что касается, как обращаться с бывшей подругой г-н Малкин, я хотел бы предложить вам справиться с этим, когда вы находитесь в стране. Если она пытается сказать, что она, и он были замуж, попросите их позвонить нам, и мы будем это исправить. Пожалуйста, наслаждайтесь свой медовый месяц. (Mrs. Malkin, I understand your concern, it's okay for your trip. As for how to deal with ex-girlfriend, Mr. Malkin, I would suggest you handle it when you are in the country. If she is trying to say that she and he were married, ask them to call us and we will fix it. Please enjoy your honeymoon.)” The weight I had unknowingly been carrying lifted off my shoulders. Geno couldn’t be taken from me anywhere. He told the official thank you and after we finished breakfast he took me back to bed for a reminder of just _how much he was mine.

Days later I had no desire to go home, except I was _very ready to see Anna as well. We were on the plane and about to land. We had a little over a week until Aleks and Sid’s wedding From here I would concentrate on what I needed to get done for our house and making sure that everything was on track for the wedding.

As we pulled up to the house, I giggled. My dad and Anna were outside roller blading. We turned off the car and got out to watch until they saw us. “MAMA! PAPA!” Anna came shooting over to us as fast as she could. We were reunited as a family and spent that night happily with those that we loved.