Page 136 of His to Own

“That was pretty cool,” Adriana says when I walk over to her. “You’ve never read any of your poetry to me before. I liked it.”

“I’m glad you could come.”

“Mom told me that you invited us. I’m happy. You never invite me to anything.”

“That’s because Father doesn’t like you going anywhere,” Lana comments. “It’s not Elena’s fault. Nor is it mine.”

Adriana rolls her eyes. “I know. But it’s easier to blame you two than Father. He’s…” Her eyes darken. “He’s too much of a force sometimes.”

“We should get going,” Mother says to Adriana. “Nice work, Elena. Though, I did think you spoke a little too fast at some times. I thought you could have spoken with a bit more eloquence but other than that, you were good.”

A compliment from my mother is never without an insult mixed in.

But it’s still a compliment and it’s the best I’ll ever get from her.

“Thank you,” I tell her. “For coming. Even after…”

She lifts her chin high. “Yes. Well… I can’t say I fully blame you for what you did.”

“What did you do?” Lana asks.

“Elena hit Father in the head,” Adriana explains. “He was complaining all about it. He even had to get stitches. His head was bleeding.”

Lana’s eyes widen. “What?”

“Apparently, it was with a bookend. Elena just smacked him upside the head.”

“Adriana, enough,” Mother snaps. “This is not the time or place to have this discussion.”

Adriana looks me over. “I never thought you’d have the courage to do something like that. I’m not sure if I should be afraid of you or angry with you for what you did to Father. But I also feel happy.” She shrugs. “So make that what you will.”

“Enough,” Mother repeats. “We’re going home now.”

Polina just has to interject. “You hit your own father?” She pauses. “I mean, he did hit you after all. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“How did you know that?” Maxim asks her.

Polina blinks. “Elena told me.”

Maxim gives me a warning look. The last thing I should be doing is sharing news about my family to Polina, a non-mafia member.

“She doesn’t know,” I murmur low so only he can hear. “Not everything.”

“We’re drawing a lot of attention,” Nikolai says. “We all should get going. I think that’s for the best.”

As a group, we all leave the small theater. The polite thing to do would have remained behind and listened to other people but I don’t want my family drama getting in the way of other peoples’ chances at reading their works on a stage.

The air feels muggy tonight. Spring is fully here with summer close. My semester is almost over.

I can feel the shift in the air. The changing of the winds.

I gently touch my mother’s arm before she can leave. “Can we talk for just a second? You and me?”

She nods and we walk away from our group. I can tell Adriana is desperate to know what we’re saying but Lana grabs her arm, stopping her from coming over.

“About Father…” I start to say.

She raises a hand. “We don’t need to discuss that further.”