15. Michael

Michael

I t took Olga a solid three days before she was feeling human again, and another week before she felt one hundred percent. By some miracle, I avoided getting sick while taking care of her, something I was immensely grateful for.

Something changed between us during that week when Olga was sick. We got used to snuggling together when we were on the couch and giving each other casual touches as we passed each other in the house.

We were close before, but now there was a sense of intimacy that hadn’t been there before. I had a feeling we were careening towards taking our relationship to the next level, and as much as I wanted that to happen, I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or terrified.

The week after she was sick, I went with Olga for dinner at her parents’ house again. This time her sister Alona was there, along with Jayden, the brother-in-law. I’d seen pictures of the two sisters together, but I didn’t realize how much they looked alike until I saw them side by side. They had such similar features and mannerisms, there was no way anyone could doubt that the two of them were sisters.

They were also eerily in sync, finishing each other’s sentences and seeming to have entire conversations without ever speaking. d

Alona had apparently decided that her mission for the evening was to embarrass her younger sister in front of me. She told one embarrassing story after another until Mrs. Pavlenko finally took pity on Olga and put a stop to it.

Olga and I were sitting side by side at the table, with Alona and Jayden sitting across from us, and her parents at either end. I’d won over her parents last time, but as dinner went on, I could feel her family warming up to me even more, especially after Olga told them all about how I’d taken care of her when she was sick.

“You were sick like that? You never get sick, Olyu. Why you did not call me?” Mrs. Pavlenko asked.

I noticed her accent thickened when she was excited or irritated with one of her family members.

“I didn’t want you to get sick, Mama, then you would also get Tato sick. Besides, Michael took very good care of me.”

Her mother looked between us curiously, no doubt remembering my last visit when she’d tried to sell me on marrying her youngest daughter.

Seeing her mother’s expression, Olga added, “Mikey is a good friend. He gave me Tylenol and soup and tea, and made sure I stayed warm and got my sleep. He even changed Nutella’s litter and fed him for me.”

She didn’t mention that her cat tried to kill me while I changed his damned litter. I only narrowly avoided getting scratched again that time.

“Aw, Michael, you are a good boy,” Mrs. Pavlenko praised. “ Spasybi. Thank you. Olga needs strong man to take care of her.”

Olga turned to me and rolled her eyes. I gave her a smirk. Then it was Olga’s turn to smirk as her mother added, “Maybe you make marriage like I say.”

“Mama!” Olga said firmly. “Stop trying to marry me off. I keep telling you that we’re just friends.”

“Is very easy for friends to fall in love,” Mrs. Pavlenko said. “Your tato and I were friends at one time, you know, before we were in love.”

Alona took pity on her sister and changed the subject. “Mama, did I tell you that the Olivers invited us all to go to Kansas for Christmas again? Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“It was fun to have Christmas with them and then have Orthodox Christmas at home later,” Mrs. Pavlenko agreed, making me remember that in Olga’s faith the major holidays ran on a different calendar. “We must do this.”

Later as we drove home, loaded down with leftovers, Olga apologized. “I’m so sorry about my family. If they’re not threatening you, they’re trying to get you to put a ring on my finger. They’re incorrigible.”

I had a sudden image of my ring on Olga’s finger, and I couldn’t say I hated the image.

“They’re fine,” I said. “Don’t worry. Sooner or later you’ll meet my family, and I can guarantee you that they’ll do something embarrassing too. Like your parents, my mother is quite suspicious about our living arrangements. She thinks I’m hiding something from her.”

“Where is your family?” she asked. “I don’t think we ever talked about it.”

“My mother and sister live in Pittsburgh,” I said. “Mom got remarried my senior year of high school, and the summer after graduation her husband got transferred to Pittsburgh. My sister moved with them, but I stayed back here in Chicago to go to college.”

Looking at my friend out of the corner of my eye, I couldn’t help but think that if I’d accepted my mother’s invitation to move to Pittsburgh with her I might never have seen Olga again. She’d only been back in my life for a few months, but already I couldn’t imagine a world where I didn’t talk to her every day.

“You must miss your family.”

I shrugged. My family was never as close as the Pavlenkos clearly were. “I usually see them about once a year.”

“Hey, do you mind stopping at the quickie mart?” Olga asked. “We’re out of twinkies.”

Olga had been obsessed with twinkies since I’d first shared one with her as a kid. She ate them regularly as an adult and just like when she was a kid, she’d break her twinkie in half, stick out her tongue, and lick out a portion of the whipped cream filling. Unlike when we were kids, seeing her tongue covered in cream now made me think of very different activities.

“Yeah sure.”

When we got home, we put away the leftovers from dinner and opened a bottle of wine. For some reason, having a glass of red wine and a twinkie had become a little ritual of ours on some of the nights when we were home together.

“The best thing you ever did was introduce me to these,” Olga said, her eyes closing in pleasure as she licked out the cream filling. “They’re like a little slice of heaven.”

I closed my eyes and willed my cock to be still. Every time we did this, it became harder. I’d even had a sex dream where she put some of that cream on my dick and licked it off.

I ate my own twinkie thoughtfully as I replayed the conversation at dinner.

“Why are your parents so convinced that you need someone to take care of you?” I asked.

“It’s partly my fault,” she said. “I’ve never been married or had a long term relationship. I’m always moving apartments, even though my boss has offered a dozen times to help me buy a place of my own. My moving every year or two makes them think I’m flighty, and out of pure laziness I never really replaced the crappy old furniture I thrifted when I first graduated college and moved out on my own.”

“Is that why you ditched your furniture?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah, it wasn’t the best. Looking back, I’m embarrassed that I was living like a kid, and spending so much money on takeout and delivery apps. It just…I don’t know, didn’t feel important to do anything else.”

She sighed deeply, then took another bite of twinkie. “In their minds, I’ve never really grown up.”

“But you have an important job, with a lot of responsibility.”

“Yeah, but I’m not changing the world like Alona is with her job working to resettle Ukrainian migrants in this country. As far as my parents know, I’m just some rich guy’s secretary, making coffee and taking notes.”

“Don’t they know you’re a project manager, and real estate tycoon Mark Barone’s right hand woman?” I asked. “Did you tell them that he gave you the responsibility of setting up his new foundation too?”

“They’re not really interested,” she said sadly. “I’m just the flighty baby of the family, and that’s why I need someone to take care of me.”

“Your family doesn’t know you at all,” I said firmly.

Her eyes met mine. “Yeah. They really don’t, not like you do.”