Let's Run

“Think about how excited mom will be!” I sighed and ran a hand through my dark hair as my sister attempted to make me feel better.

“I’m thinking more along the lines of how mad dad will be.” I replied, finally lifting my head to meet Elena’s excited eyes.

I wished I could be as excited as she was. I wished I could be as happy as I’m sure Evgeni would be. I couldn’t help but feel like I was failing, though. I felt like I was doing something wrong. I knew my parents would be happy, supportive, but I knew that there would always be a part of them that was disappointed in how all of this came about. Extremely traditional Russian parents tended to be a little angry when their daughters had children out of wedlock.

Elena had only been in America for a few weeks, but already I was dreading her return to Russia. My little sister had always been my closest confidant and my biggest fan. Now that I was getting used to her constant presence, losing her would be hard. I was sure that once my parents knew about their future grandchild they’d be on the first flight to Pittsburgh. They wouldn’t leave until they absolutely had to either.

I chewed on my lip and finally stood from my perch on the edge of the bathtub. Elena hopped off of the counter and followed me out of the bathroom where we’d been hiding for almost two hours now. I gripped my little sister’s hand to hide the way mine was shaking and walked down the stairs towards the living room.

Ev glanced up at us. I smiled timidly and dropped Lena’s hand. I slowly made my way through the living room and over to his side on the couch. He frowned in confusion and glanced at Lena for answers, but my little sister only shrugged her shoulders and left us alone.

I sighed and reached over, gripping his large hand in my much smaller one. I took a deep breath before looking up and meeting his confused gaze.

“I’m pregnant.” I murmured, almost silently.

He remained silent for a few moments before letting out a breath. I nervously chewed on my lip and watched him, waiting for any indication as to how he felt about the situation. Finally, he turned to me and smiled widely. I smiled bashfully, lifting my shoulder in a shy shrug.

“We’re going to have a baby?” he asked quietly, bashfully scooting closer to me on the couch.

I smiled and nodded, tucking myself closer into his side.

We spent the rest of the night in that position. Ev wrapped his large arms around me and pulled me close, resting his head against mine. We sat in silence, lost in the moment and the whirlwind of what was happening. In nine short months we’d have a baby. Time seemed to be completely lost to me at that moment. It felt like just yesterday Ev and I were little kids skating on the frozen pond behind my house.

Vero was the first person I told after Lena and Evgeni. She was overjoyed, ecstatic beyond belief at the thought of Stella having a play mate. She began making plans the moment I told her. I’d quickly learned that my new best friend was a planner. She was a master at events and organization. I’d seen firsthand how she whipped the other WAGS into shape when we had some kind of event to plan. She was ruthless. I knew without a doubt that she’d be the best person to have around during the insanity that was sure to come in my near future.

Natalia and Vlad were next. We had to teach them how to work FaceTime on Vlad’s iPhone. Half of the conversation was to their foreheads because they didn’t know to tilt the camera down to show their faces. Ev and I sat cuddled together on our bed, resting our backs against the headboard while we broke the news to his parents. His mother was unsurprisingly overjoyed. She began crying as soon as she realized what was happening and didn’t stop until after the conversation ended.

Denis was told through a quick phone call. He was excited, but not nearly as dramatic as his mother.

Viktor’s phone call was much longer than the one we’d made to Denis. He insisted on talking to Ev privately after we broke the news. I sat impatiently in the other room, trying and failing to overhear Ev’s murmurs. He exited the other room and handed the phone to me.
“I’m not happy about the timing, but I am really excited to be an uncle.” Viktor explained. “Everyone saw the two of you coming a very long time ago.”

I smiled up at Ev and then quickly explained to my brother not to tell my parents. Viktor was annoyed that we hadn’t told them yet, but agreed not to say anything until after I’d talked with them.

It had been several days since I told Viktor that I was pregnant. I was standing at the counter in our kitchen, making breakfast for Lena when I heard my cellphone ringing from the other room. Lena jumped up from the bar stool she was perched on and retrieved my phone. I wiped my hands off on a towel before taking the phone from her.

“Hello?” I answered as I adjusted my phone to rest in between my ear and my shoulder.

I finished the yogurt parfait I’d made for Lena and slid it across the countertop to rest in front of her. She blew me a kiss in thanks before digging in. I turned my back to Elena and leaned against the counter.

“Hi Baba!” I smiled brightly at my mother’s voice. “It’s Mama.”

“Hi Mama.” I replied, turning to glance at my sister over my shoulder.

Elena paused with her spoon halfway to her mouth. Her eyes widened and she shrugged quickly, leaning in to listen to my conversation.

“Papa and I are gonna come see you!” she cheered excitedly.

My eyes widened even more as I stood up from the counter and began pacing the kitchen.

“We miss you and we wanted to see what your house looks like!” Mama explained. “We are going to come in a few weeks and we’ll take Lena back with us when we leave.”

I knew there was no arguing with my mother. She’d found out only hours after Evgeni and I officially started our relationship that we were together and from then had been insisting on coming to visit. It was only a matter of time before she figured out when she was coming. I wrote down her flight information and eventually convinced her that I needed to hang up so I could tell Evgeni about their visit.

When she finally hung up I placed my phone down on the counter and took a deep breath before looking up to meet my sister’s equally as wide eyes.

“I guess you have to tell them now, huh?” She murmured.

“I guess I do.” I replied.