Let's Run

I wiped down the countertop for what was probably the fifth time since Evgeni left to pick my parents up from the airport. Elena watched me with an amused expression as she sat at the counter and typed out messages on her phone. She told me she was texting Ev about how crazy I was acting and he was informing her of his progress in picking up the in-laws.

I stared down at the counter for a moment. I heard the garage door opening and whipped my head up. I straightened out my top and then walked through the kitchen to the foyer. The door opened to reveal Evgeni. He smiled at me and walked forward to press a quick kiss to my mouth.

“It’ll be okay.” He murmured before stepping past me and towards the stairs, rolling my parents’ luggage behind him as he went.

“Baba!” I smiled widely as my mother stepped through the door and into my home.

She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around me tightly. I squeezed her back, relishing in the comfort of my mother’s arms. There really was nothing in the world that could compare to a hug from your mother. I wondered briefly if my child would think the same thing about me.

Mama pulled away from me and quickly moved to hug Lena while Papa stepped forward and wrapped me up in his arms.

Yury Petrov was a large man. My father stood at about six feet six inches, towering over my mother, sister, and me. My brother got his height from our father, though even he was shorter than Papa. My entire life my father had been a foundation for me. If Vlad was my rock, my Papa was like a steady oak tree. He was strong and strict when he needed to be, but loving and kind when I needed it as well. While I had always been closer with my mother, I knew that my father would do anything I asked of him. He worked hard my entire childhood to give my siblings and I a good home.

Papa came from a very traditional Russian family. They held all values to a high standard and Papa was no different. If I feared telling anyone about the baby, it was him. I knew he’d come to accept it and would love my child no matter what, but he’d be disappointed in the situation. He’d demand, without a doubt, that Evgeni and I get married as soon as possible.

That wasn’t out of the cards for us. Ev and I were completely in agreement that we’d get married eventually, though we didn’t think we were ready quite yet.

Papa finally let me out of his strong embrace and reached his hands up to cup my face. I could feel the calluses from years of hard work as he held my face.

“I have missed you.” he murmured before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to my forehead.

My heart broke at the thought of disappointing this man. He had always worked so hard to give me the best life possible. I knew having a baby wasn’t going to be the end of the world, but I couldn’t fathom making my Papa ashamed of me.

We settled my parents into the other guest bedroom where they’d be staying. It was almost ironic that the room they were staying in would soon become the nursery for the baby. They were both very tired from their traveling and decided to just relax for a little while before we went out for dinner.

I quickly left them alone in the room and hurried into mine and Evgeni’s room. He followed me silently and closed the door after us. I fell back onto the bed and stared aimlessly at the ceiling above me.

Ev climbed onto the bed next to me. He pressed his face against the blankets and groaned. I turned onto my side and began to run my hand through his hair, knowing fully well that it calmed him.

“When do we do it?” I murmured.

“At dinner?” he replied, turning his face to look at me. I shrugged. “We should just get it over with.”

I nodded and then lay down. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around me, pulling me closer into his side. We stayed there for several hours before we had to get up and get ready to take my parents out.

I brushed out the nonexistent wrinkles in the black skin hugging dress I’d put on. I clutched the black leather pumps in my hand as I exited the bathroom and headed over to my vanity table in the corner of the room. I sat down and ran my fingers through my dark curls. I’d noticed in the past few weeks that my hair was getting longer and fuller. I’d read somewhere that pregnancy hormones and prenatal vitamins could cause your hair and nails to get stronger and grow faster.

I put in a pair of diamond stud earrings and clipped a necklace Ev had given me for my birthday around my neck. Satisfied with my appearance, I slid the pumps on and grabbed my clutch from the bed. Ev walked out from our closet and modeled the suit he’d chosen to wear. I smiled in approval and walked over to him.

“You look very handsome.” I smiled up at him as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“And you look very beautiful.” He replied as he leaned down and kissed me.

I pulled away a few moments later and stepped back to look at my full outfit in the mirror. I froze, however, when I noticed a miniscule bump that hadn’t been there before. I turned sideways and stared at what used to be my flat stomach. Years of figure skating meant that I never had a lot of body fat to begin with. The tiny bump wouldn’t have been noticeable on any normal woman, but on someone like me who had never had any sort of tummy to begin with, it was more obvious.

“I have a bump.” I broke the silence as I slowly reached down and touched my stomach.

Evgeni raised an eyebrow and stepped behind me, staring at my reflection in the mirror. He smiled and reached down to tap my belly.

“Barely. No one will notice unless you draw attention to it.” He replied before grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers. “Let’s go, your parents are waiting.”

We all climbed into the Range Rover. Papa sat in the passenger seat as Ev drove through the suburban neighborhood we called home and headed towards downtown Pittsburgh.

Throughout dinner Mama and Papa asked us all about our lives in America. Lena spoke up every now and then, telling our parents about how much fun she’d been having in Pittsburgh. I reassured my mother that though Lena was having fun, I was still making her do all of her summer work before school started in September. Elena rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath about me already acting like a mom. I glared at my little sister and kicked her under the table, causing her to wince and then glare at me.

“Girls?” Mama raised an eyebrow and frowned at our actions. “Why are you behaving like children?”

Elena sighed and apologized before turning back to her meal.

Evgeni reached under the table and gripped my hand in his. I glanced up and met his gaze, knowing that he wanted to tell them now. I took a deep breath before turning to my parents.

“We have something to tell you.” I said just before biting down on my quivering bottom lip.

Mama perked up immediately, leaning forward to hear whatever it was that we had to say. I took a deep breath and turned to glance up at Ev. He nodded eagerly, tightening his hold on my hand. Finally, I broke my gaze and turned to look at Papa. He raised an eyebrow, confused by my actions and waiting impatiently for me to break the silence I had unknowingly caused.

“I’m pregnant.” I finally admitted, waiting in anticipation for their reaction.

I was incredibly surprised when both of my parents broke out into wide grins. I stared at them dumbly and turned to see Ev and Lena with similar expressions. Mama turned to Papa and grinned.

“I told you!” she cheered.

Papa shrugged, “You were right. I should’ve known better than to bet against you.”

Mama turned back to us and laughed at our varying surprised expressions.

“Oh sweetie, you are my daughter.” She explained. “I know you better than anyone else on this planet, I could tell from a mile away.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked. “And why are you taking this so well?”

“We wanted you to tell us.” Papa spoke up.

“And we’ve been preparing for this since you moved in with Evgeni in February. It was only a matter of time before you blessed us with a beautiful grandchild.” She smiled widely, tearing up almost immediately.

The rest of the dinner was spent discussing what we were going to do in the coming months to prepare for a baby. I’d be due in April, which was when the regular season would be ending. If all went well, the playoffs would start soon after that and then the final in June. It’d be hard the first few weeks with a newborn baby and with Ev gone for games, but we’d make it work.

My parents stayed in Pittsburgh for two weeks before heading back to Russia with Elena. I cried when they left and promised to visit soon before the baby was born. They’d be back in April for sure as would Natalia and Vlad. If the guys made it to the final they’d all be back for that as well. We would have a full house come June, but everyone would be far too excited and happy to really care about the close proximity to one another. It wasn’t like our house was small by any means either.

The house was quiet without Elena around to keep me company. Vero and I dived headfirst into planning for the baby, though, which distracted both of us from the upcoming season that would take Evgeni and Marc away for a while.