With a Little Help From My Friends

"I can't wait to see Nastya again, my father doesn't approve of her lifestyle but I was the one who had to stand up for her, she isn't doing anything wrong", said Ausra angrily.

"Is she a lesbian?", asked Gareth, thinking the most obvious for him.

"No, she's in a menage a trois with two guys, one of whom is a Muslim. My father doesn't like Muslims and he think it's shameful she has two boyfriends. Her father is a drunk and gets a stipend from the family he says away from the business, Nastya has the brains her father doesn't", she retorted.

Iker nodded as he tried to process this information, wondering why that sounded familiar to him. "Un momento, is she the girl living with Dzeko and Kolarov? Perdon, but I can see why your father was upset", he said.

"Verdad, that's her. She's not going to inherit much and she doesn't live in Russia, so it's no one else's business. Nastya is lucky to have two boyfriends, it could be worse", she replied.

It was a short distance from Liverpool to Manchester and they were at the hotel barely an hour later. Ausra set down her bags and bid goodbye to Gareth as she left the room with her purse and phone, going downstairs to the lobby to hail a cab. She gave the driver the address and set a text to her cousin Anastasia as she watched the city retreat as the cab headed out towards the suburbs.

The cab stopped in front of a modest two-story house near the Etihad and she paid the driver, walking up to the door and knocking. "Privyet, Ausra. Let me get you a cup of tea", said Anastasia Narishkina. The tall slim blond wore jeans and a simple pink blouse but the jeans fit her body tightly and the blouse was tied below her breasts to reveal her flat toned stomach with belly button ring. "Where's Aleks and Edin?", she asked.

"They are doing grocery shopping, they insisted on it. Luckily the manager decided not to have training today, you are going to see Balkin hospitality at its finest", she laughed.

Ausra nodded as she was handed a cup of steaing tea, adding a spoonful of cherry jam and a tiny amount of hot water from the samovar. "I haven't had tea with a samovar in a long time, since John died", she whispered.

"You are recovering, that is not easy. But you are a fighter, Ausra Narishkina, you have the blood of boyars and soldiers", said Anastasia.

"Da, we fought the Nazi and Soviet bastards", she agreed.

"That's the spirit, cousin", said the blond girl.

The door opened as Aleks and Edin entered, carrying bags of groceries. Anastasia kisssed them both on the cheek and took the bags into the kitchen. "Privyet, Ausra. How is Madrid?", asked Aleks in his Serbian-accented Russian.

"Ja govorim srpski, sjećaš se? I'm settling in, the kids are starting school in September. Pozdrav Edin, šoku protiv Roma", she said.

"Hvala, Ausra. We were just having fun, I always liked Italy and I had a good feeling", said the tall Bosnian striker.

Aleks took out a bottle of rakia and poured everyone a generous amount into four tumblers. "How is Dad doing?", she asked.

"Uncle Pasha is busy with his girly, Tanya is stupid but harmless who keeps him happy. Pasha is kept out of the big decision making in the business, Dad clearly got the brains in the family", she retorted.

"Both of them are cheating on each other and they think I'm the bad one", said Anastasia bitterly.

"You are our girlfriend, Nastya. Your parents are stupid people", said Edin.

"Da", agreed Aleks.

"On a lighter note, we can agree Pasha and Natasha are wankers", she deadpanned.

The trio burst into laughter. "Da, you are crazy", laughed Edin.

While Edin and Anastasia were in the kitchen preparing dinner, Aleks poured them each another glass of rakia and handed one to her. "How are the kids doing, Ausra? Is your son learning Spanish and footy?", he asked.

"Da, Lyosha is going to attend school and go in a Spanish immersion program. He'll mostly likely learn fast, the rules are similar to French. And if anyone messes with him, I told Lyosha to fight back. My dad told me the same thing, we are Narishkins", she replied proudly.

"Ya paneymat, you were raised wtih a lot of pride. This is why your father is successful, he never forgot. My father was a bus driver in Belgrade, but I am going to teach our children about all of our heritages", he said.

"Is she pregnant?", she asked.

"Nyet, but we are planning to. Edin and I discussed it, since I am older the first child is going to be mine and the second is his. Any other children can be either of us", he said.

"Good luck, that child is going to have strong genes. Half Serbian footy player and half Russian princess", she teased.

"Da, I don't care if it's a boy or a girl, as long as they are healthy. I do think Edin wants a girl, his sister's children are all boys", he chuckled.

"Da, my sister has three boys and it would be nice to have a girl in the family", said Edin from the kitchen.

"You won't know until it happens", Anastasia retorted cheerfully.

Ausra bid goodbye to the little family after dinner and got in the cab, feeling thoughtful and a bit lonely. The three of them are an unconventional family and my uncle's family disowned her, but they're happy and planning on having a baby. We had that when John was still alive, she thought as tears stung her eyes.

Ausra was still deep in thought when the cab dropped her off at the hotel. Karim was seated at the hotel bar nursing a Hennessey when he saw her, inviting her to sit. "A Henessey, how very French", she said dryly.

"Oui, and very hip hop. What do you want?", he asked.

"I'll have a Blackberry Stoli, straight up", she replied.

Karim nodded in approval. "Girls usually don't have vodka straight, and not Stoli either", he said.

Ausra nodded in thanks and took a sip. "I am Russian, monsieur Benzema. We don't mix are vodka, we have ours straight", she said proudly.

"I thought it only guy, the girls I've known drink mixed stuff", he said, ordering another Henessey.

"Then you haven't met any Russian ladies, Karim. Mixed drinks are for wimps", she laughed.

Karim nodded in understanding and sipped his Henessey. "I like opinionated women, they are interesting. All the girls I've dated had no brains", he said.

"Footballers WAGS aren't known for their brains, Karim. Maybe if you hung out at bookstores or colleges you would meet some girls. I wouldn't get along with the WAG's, I ought to speak only in Russian to confuse them", she laughed.

"Not Irina, Cris' girl. She's Russian and smart", he said.

"She's Russian, she's cool. At least she does something and isn't living off of his money", she replied.

"Oui, but the other girls are not too bright, especially the girlfriends, the wives are all right", he said.

"That's why I never got along with many women, just my sister, Jelena and my assistant Natalia back in Quebec. Jelena wen to the same schools as me, Ste. Eulalie and Carnegie Mellon, we were both in the Russian Masters program. And Natalia is a Game of Thrones fan", she said, taking out her phone and scrolling through the pics.

Karim saaw photo of three women in graduation robes, Ausra, Laima and a tall girl with curly dark hair. "The brunette is Jelena, she's Czech. Her Russian is good as mine and she's a translator for a publishing company, she's clearly Sid's better half", she laughed.

"Who is Sid?", he asked.

"Her boyfriend, Sidney Crosby. He may the Penguins' captain and the best player in the world, but he still speaks French with the worst Anglo accent", she joked.

"That guy? Your friend is a WAG then", he remarked.

"She's too smart to be a WAG, she has a Masters in Russian. Sid learned French when he played in Rimouski but he has a thick accent, she tried to teach him Russian but it didn't take. At least he got himself a smart girl", she chuckled.

Ausra looked down at her phone and saw the text from Anna. "Pardon, but I am going to speak with Lyosha and Zasha before they go to bed. Bonne nuit", she said.

"Bonne nuit, mon amie Russe", he said, kissing both her cheeks.