21. Michael

Michael

I was watching the basketball game when I heard swearing start from Olga’s side of the apartment. She was speaking Ukrainian, but I’d spent enough time around her to know that she was swearing up a blue streak.

She came storming into the living room, her eyes wild. Her thick brown hair was a mess, as if she’d been digging her fingers in it, and her little hands were folded into fists.

“What’s the matter, baby?”

The endearment slipped out without my conscious thought. Judging by the mutinous expression on her face, it just made her madder.

Technically, we were still only friends with benefits. I was madly in love with her, and my feelings for her grew stronger every day. I hadn’t worked up the nerve to tell her how I felt yet, mostly because I wasn’t sure how she felt about me. Olga was like a vault. She kept her emotions close to the vest.

Except for right now. There was no mistaking the look on her face. My love was pissed off. And in a panic.

Turning off the TV, I strode over to her and placed my hands on her shoulders. I gave her a gentle squeeze and waited for her to look up at me and tell me what was going on.

“Olga,” I said carefully. “What’s wrong?”

“My father is going to kill you. Slowly and gleefully, the way he learned in the military. Then my mother is going to send me to the convent. I’m going to be a terrible nun…!”

Her words broke off in a high pitched wail that I’m pretty sure every dog in the neighborhood heard.

“Why would your father kill me? He loves me, and so does your mother.”

He’d been a hard nut to crack, but Mr. Pavlenko seemed to really like me now. As for Mrs. Pavlenko, she’d been very vocal about her desire for me to marry her daughter. I was all for it, I just needed to get that daughter on board with the plan.

“They’re not going to love you now,” she said bitterly.

“Why?”

“Because you knocked up their unmarried daughter!”

I stared at Olga in shock, sure that I must have misheard her.

“What did you just say?”

“I’m pregnant!” she wailed, pulling away from me to throw herself down on the couch. “Oh my God! What am I going to do?”

My mind was racing as I struggled to catch up. Olga was pregnant? How had this happened?

I joined her on the couch, pulling her hand between both of mine, holding tight when she tried to pull away.

“But we always used condoms,” I said lamely. It was the first thought that came to my head, and I blurted it out, unable to form any cogent thoughts.

“Condoms aren’t one hundred percent effective,” she said bitterly. “Apparently one of your swimmers moved right past the barrier.”

For some ridiculous reason, I suddenly felt proud about that. I didn’t share that little tidbit though. I wasn’t trying to be castrated tonight. A father. I’d never really considered the idea before, but with Olga, it sounded like the logical next step. We’d make excellent parents, I was sure of it.

“Olga, calm down. We’ll figure this out. Together.”

Her tears turned to sobs, and I pulled her into my arms, holding her and rubbing her back while she cried against my chest. When she finally was cried out, she pulled back. Even with her eyes red and swollen she was beautiful.

“I didn’t plan for this to happen,” she said miserably.

“Neither of us did, but it’s not the worst thing. In fact, it might be good.”

The more I thought about it, the more excited I became about her being pregnant. Unfortunately, Olga didn’t seem to feel the same. She looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“How could this possibly be a good thing?” she demanded.

“I love you, and I think you maybe love me too. We can get married and raise the baby together.” I gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s going to be awesome.”

“Are you fucking insane?” she screeched. “You don’t tell a woman you love her after you just found out you got her pregnant. That’s almost as bad as blurting it out during sex. It means nothing!”

“It means everything,” I said firmly. “Because it’s true.”

She pulled away, leaping off the couch. “I can’t talk to you right now.”

“What? Why?”

“I need to get out of here.” Her voice sounded almost hysterical.

She started to walk away from me, and I grabbed her wrist, stopping her progress.

“Olga, I meant what I said. I love you. I’ve been in love with you for a long time, ever since I saw you for the first time at Sweet Cocktails.”

She stared at her feet, but she didn’t punch me, so I took a deep breath and continued.

“I should have told you about my feelings before now, but I couldn’t tell how you felt about me. I kept telling myself that if you really only wanted to be friends, I should keep my trap shut. I thought I shouldn’t mess it up or do anything to lose what we have now.”

I put a finger underneath her chin, bringing her gaze up to mine. “All I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to lose the woman I love.”

The tears started flowing down her face again.

“We’ll figure this out, Olga. Together. I promise. This is going to be a good thing, you’ll see.”

She shook her head. “I know we need to talk Michael, but I need some space to process this. I’ve got to go. Can you feed Nutella for me in the morning?”

“What? Where are you going?”

Her voice trembled as she replied, “I need my sister.”