With a Little Help From My Friends

"Mom, I like Karim, he made you laugh", said Alexey.

"Da, I like Karim too. But he is our neighbor and I hope we can be friends, he is an interesting man", she said.

"If he hurts you, I'll get him. Oma says I am the man of the house", he said proudly.

Ausra sighed as she combed her son's blond hair. He is young, he shouldn't think like that. Even though he is my heir, he is just a boy, she thought.

"Mama, we going?", asked Zaria.

Ausra smiled at her daughter, seeing the tiny girl in her apple-green skirt and blue t-shirt that set off her red hair. "Da, Zasha. We are having dinner at Karim's h ouse, he is the man who visited earlier", she said.

She finished getting the children ready and went to her room to changing, knowing Alexey would look after his sister. Ausra opened a suitcase and looked through the clothes, thinking about what to wear. This is not a date, just a casual dinner. She decided on jeans and a dark green blouse with her hair still hidden under the black kerchief, applying just a big of makeup before going downstairs.

"Mom, you look pretty", said Alexey.

"Spasibo, Lyosha", she said as she led them out the door.

Karim tried to control the giddy feeling in his belly when he walked towards the door, hearing the doorbell ring. "Bonjour, mes amis", he said, kissing her cheek and shaking the children's hands.

"Bonjour, Karim", she said, saying something in Russian to the children.

"I was telling them to behave", she explained.

"Oui, but I don't mind I miss having kids around, my daughter won't be here until the holidays and my family left last week for France", he said.

Karim turned on the TV and changed to a channel playing cartoons while he went to the kitchen, returning with a wine bottle and a bottle of apple juice. He poured them each a glass of wine and juice for the children as he sat on the couch next to her. "You live here by yourself?", she asked.

"Oui, this feels weird. I grew up in a house with eight siblings and it was loud growing up, it's too quiet here sometimes. I have twelve nieces and nephews", he said.

"I have three step-nephews, Laima married a guy with teenage sons", she said.

"Merde, is she older than you?", he asked.

"Non, she is my twin. Danny is thirteen years older, his ex-wife dumped him for a young guy and gave up custody to him. It's a great story", she said dryly.

"Then tell me, the food isn't going to be ready for a while", he said, taking a sip of wine.

"Laima was the boys' nanny until her and Danny started dating. His ex got jealous and claimed she was pregnant by him, my sister got mad and fled to Nicky's house in Sweden. Danny flew to Sweden and found her, the boys said their mom was lying and there was no way it was his kid. Danny proposed to her that night and they got married at his church in Gatineau that month", she replied.

"That sounds like a movie, Ausra. But why was she so upset?", he asked.

"Laima can't have kids, she had a miscarriage years ago and had to undergo a hysterectomy. She loves kids and is very sensitive to the face she can't have kids, her ex dumped her for that", she said bitterly.

"Que mal, I hope she is happy with her husband", said Karim.

"She is, she's a great stepmom and the boys love her. Danny's glad she's holding down the fort while he's with the team, he coaches the Quebec Nordiques", she said.

"That is good to know", he replied.

Ausra took out her phone and scrolled through the pictures, handing him the phone. 'That's her and the boys", she said. A slim blond woman stood next to a dark-haired man barely taller than her, flanked by three large teenage boys all wearing Montreal Canadiens shirts. "That's from when Danny signed to play for the Habs, his favorite team from when he was a boy. I told Danny I'd kick his ass if hurt her, seeing as I'm bigger than him", she quipped.

"Je comprends, Ausra. I do not want to get on your bad side", he drawled.

"Just you watch, no one messes with my family", she said grimly.

Karim nodded in understanding. "I'm the same way with my sisters, it's a brother thing. How did you meet your husband?", he asked.

Ausra sighed and finished her wine, a sadness in her green eyes. "John played for the Nordiques when I worked for them, he was an American from Chicago. I already had Alexey and I didn't want to date anyone at the time, I was afraid a new man would hurt my son and only date me because of my father. But he got along great with Lyosha and didn't care I was an heiress, we were married the following summer and Zaria was born the following spring", she said.

Ausra took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "We were at our summer house outside Moscow with my family. John and my cousin Pavel had gone to see a preaseason game CSKA was playing against Zenit in the city. While they were driving back, their car was hit by a drunk driver and fell into a ditch. John was unconscious and in a coma, he never woke up", she whispered, teaers falling onto her cheeks.

Karim held her close as she sobbed, feeling the tears on the sleeve of his shirt. "Pardon, it's been over a year and I'm sobbing like a baby. I'm an adult, the children should be crying", she sobbed.

"Non, don't say that. You lost your husband and your children's father, you have every right to cry. You are a strong woman, Ausra Moore", he said.

"Spasibo, Karim. Us Russians arent' good with emotional stuff, we are a stoic people", she said.

"I thought Russians were crazy", he said as she smiled weakly. "See, I made you smile. If something like that happened to me, I'd be a complete mess. You are a stronger person that me, Ausra Moore", he said.

Alexey had heard the adults talking as he pretended to watch TV. He saw his mother smile and even heard her laugh a few times, something he hadn't seen in a long while. He makes Mom laugh, maybe she'll be happy and start playing drums again, he mused.

Alexey was thoughtful after dinner, watching as the grownups cleared the table and loaded everything into the dishwasher. When Ausra went to use the bathroom, he got up from the table and walked over to Karim. "You made Mom laugh, she hasn't been happy for so long since Daddy John died. If she's happy, maybe she'll start playing drums again", he said.

Karim was surprised at the boy's words. "Oui, she plays drums?", he asked.

"Da, she used to play all the time for us. She plays Beatles songs really good, Cream, Led Zeppelin, British stuff. She'd play and I'd sing the Beatles songs. Make her happy so she plays again", said Alexey.

Karim bent down to his level and looked into the boy's serious green eyes. "Oui, I will try and make your mom happy, Alexey", he vowed.