by Sherie Keys
“You are quite the cook.” He was. He’d only gone on to prove that the few weeks that they had been together. Alicia did not know when she’d last had breaded pork chops, roast beef or even the anticipated ham. Dimitri apparently could whip up anything. She appreciated that-because she would not be cooking anything like that in the near future.
Still chewing her bread, Alicia opened a cabinet. She dug around in it to pull out a pastel green basket. It was filled with chocolate eggs, two larger bunnies, and a bag of jelly beans. Dimitri raised his eyebrows.
“When did that come?”
“I don’t know; the Easter Bunny must have left it.” Alicia gave him a sly smile. Dimitri shook his head. He knew of the story of the Easter bunny. He’d explained to her that it was German lore, and had once been a hare-not a rabbit. Alicia hadn’t known that part. She supposed Europe had a different view on these types of things simply because of the age of their society.
“What are these?” Dimitri was picking up the jelly beans. She’d purchased the generic, basic type. If he liked these, she’d buy some different varieties on the after Easter sale.
“Jelly beans.” Alicia took the package from his hands, tearing it open. “You’ve never tried them?”
“They look like pure sugar.” Dimitri took one out of the bag.
“They are.” Alicia put a red one into her mouth. She chewed on the sugary candy. It was one of her favorite seasonal treats. “Try one. These aren’t the best, but they’re good.”
Dimitri picked a yellow one out of the bag. He eyed it suspiciously. Alicia had to laugh at the expression on his face.
“Come on. It’s isn’t poison. It’s just candy!” Dimitri rolled his eyes at her, but put the yellow ball into his mouth. She watched as he chewed it.
“It is good.” He nodded. “At least the yellow ones are.”
“Red is also good.” Alicia shook a few more into her hand. “So are the white and the green. The black are only good if you like licorice.” That seemed to get his interest. He reached out, taking a black jelly bean from her palm.
“Licorice I like,” he told her as he popped it into his mouth. Alicia beamed. She was glad she could find something that he really liked. She wondered when it had become so important to her that she keep him happy.
“Good, you can eat them.”
“You do not like them?” He poured himself a cup of coffee. Alicia dumped the jelly beans in her hand into the Easter grass in the basket.
“Never have.” Alicia set the basket on the middle of the table. She went back to the piece of bread she had cut, beginning to sip on her coffee. Dimitri continued to examine the contents of the Easter basket.
“Chocolate rabbits? Those I have not seen.”
“They don’t sell chocolate bunnies for Easter?” Alicia tilted her head to one side. “Well, what do you put in Easter baskets?”
“Chocolate eggs.” He held one up. “But they are very different in my country. Yes, we have some like these, but we typically have much larger ones.” Alicia thought for a minute.
“I have seen pictures of larger ones online in smaller candy stores. I guess rabbits are just bigger over here. I never realized the egg is a European tradition.”
“Every culture it adopts its own traditions.” Dimitri shrugged. “The ham needs about two hours to cook. What else should I make with it?”
“Um…” Alicia tried to think of what they had always had at home. “There’s some vegetables in the freezer, and a box of instant potatoes in the cabinet. Why not just those?”
“Instant potatoes?” Dimitri wrinkled his nose. “Maybe I go to store.”
“You don’t like instant potatoes?” Alicia had to fight back her laughter.
“Why eat instant when they make real potatoes?” Dimitri looked displeased at the entire concept. This time Alicia did laugh. It was nice having someone who made her laugh so easily, and didn’t seem to mind when she did laugh. He also seemed so invested in her happiness and well-being. He was so adamant that things go well today for her parents. She appreciated that. She also realized she enjoyed Dimitri’s company a little too much. She didn’t know what that said about either of them.
“All right then, you go ahead and go to the store.” Alicia told him. “I’ll stay here.”
“I go after breakfast.” He assured her, picking up his cup of coffee.
Alicia took another slice of bread and made her way into the living room. She turned on the television, settling down onto the sofa. There wasn’t much on TV this early, so she settled for a rerun of Will and Grace.
Dimitri did not join her. She knew he watched television, but it was always when she was not in the room. They apparently had very different tastes in television programming. While Alicia enjoyed The Bachelor and Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Dimitri’s own tastes leaned more towards historical documentaries and political shows.
“I am going to the store.” She had seen him pass through the living room on his way to his bedroom. Now he had emerged wearing a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved blue t-shirt. She was always impressed with how muscular that he was. She wondered what he had done to get himself built up so big.
“OK” She nodded absently.
“Do you want anything else?” He asked patiently.
“No, I think we’re set. Unless you want to grab some wine, or vodka.”
“What do your parents drink?”
“Red wine is fine.”
“All right then. I get that.” He moved passed her couch, heading through the kitchen to the door. Alicia watched him go. She wondered if she was building more attachment to Dimitri than was necessary. But if she was, was that really so bad?
Dimitri came home an hour later toting potatoes, fresh green beans (he apparently couldn’t do frozen vegetables either), a bottle of wine and a cherry pie. She was glad he was taking care of all this, but she felt inclined to help.
“How about I bake some cookies?” She offered. “Or will that spoil your menu?”
“That sounds lovely.” He smiled at her. Alicia wondered if he just waited for her to offer. She hoped that he didn’t think she was taking advantage of him.
“Do you want me to help you cook?” This time, Dimitri shook his head no.
“No. I enjoy cooking for you. It is…nice change. You know, man cooking for woman?”
“You mean you like the gender switch up?” Alicia was rummaging in cupboards. She dug out flour, sugar and a large bowl.
“I…guess?” Dimitri looked a bit confused.
“You like it when men and women do different jobs?” Alicia had to remind herself that his English was still not the best. This time, what she had said appeared to make sense.
“Ah, yes.” He got out a pan, setting to rinsing it out in the sink. Alicia shook her head.
“OK, how about you go take a break in the living room while I bake the cookies?” He looked a bit curious.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Do I hang out in the kitchen while you cook?” Alicia turned, giving him a knowing look. Dimitri accepted defeat.
“All right, all right. I go.” After taking a can of Coke from the refrigerator, he did. Alicia heard the TV turn on. Almost immediately, Hilary Clinton’s name was being broadcast through the small apartment.
Alicia mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. She took her time, adding in a few minutes to lick up some of the unbaked dough. Dimitri came in to get another slice of bread, calling to her that it wasn’t safe to eat uncooked eggs. She waved him off. He merely shrugged and went back to the living room. Men were funny creatures, for sure.
Once the cookies were in the oven, she joined him in the living room with her own can of Coke. Just as she thought. CNN was discussing the fine edge of voter preference between Hilary and The Donald.
“Who are you voting for?” Dimitri looked over at her.
“Huh?” Alicia sipped her Coke.
“Who are you voting for?” He rep
eated. “I cannot vote…not citizen. So I must do it…through you.” Alicia chuckled.
“Al, I guess I need to decide, huh?”
“You have not decided?” Dimitri looked at her curiously. “Who do you like? Which candidate?”
“Well,” Alicia didn’t really like either of them but she didn’t really want to say that, “I guess I kind of like Bernie Sanders. He seems like a good guy. He’s got good ideas at least.”
That seemed to be an acceptable answer. Dimitri pursed his lips, apparently thinking, and then nodded.
“Sanders would be good president. Hilary? Not so much.”
“What about Donald Trump?” Alicia asked him.
“I only know Trump from Celebrity Apprentice.” That made Alicia laugh.
“You watched the Celebrity Apprentice?”
“Only once.” Dimitri waved her off. “Do not hold against me, ok?”
“No, come on, it was a good show. Who did you like? What season was it?” Dimitri gave her an amused glance. She couldn’t help it; reality shows were kind of her thing.
“I did not like Gary Busey.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s kind of crazy.” Alicia nodded. She remembered when Gary Busey had been on the show. It was one of the better seasons. “Is that the only season that you saw?”
“Yes. After that, no need to watch more. I do not like such programs.”
“Well I know that.” Alicia teased. “You never watch the Kardashians with me.”
“What is it with this country and Kardashians?” Dimitri made a face of disgust. “They are not pretty girls, or smart girls. They are not like you.” Alicia was momentarily stunned.
“What?” He was looking at her more softly, tender almost.
“You are very pretty, very smart girl. You know that.”
“No, no I don’t.” Alicia told him honestly. “We had to get married because of how dumb I am with my money.”
“That does not mean you are not smart. Everyone makes mistakes. Besides, you are pretty.” This time he winked at her. Alicia felt a flush of warmth rush over her. Was he flirting with her? Apparently so. She was not going to turn that down. She needed a good man like Dimitri.
“How did you get so built?” She asked, switching the subject to him. Dimitri looked a bit surprised, but looked down to study his appearance.
“Back in Russia, I work out with…friends.” She noticed that he hesitated on the word, but did not press him further. “Here, I work hard physically. Stay in shape that way. Thought I should probably join gym.”
“Well, we both could,” Alicia offered. “I mean, it wouldn’t hurt me either. We could save a little money, get one of those family memberships.” There, she’d said it. Family membership. They were a family. No matter what had brought them together, they were a family now.
“That sounds very nice.” Dimitri gave her a genuine smile. Maybe this was what they both needed, maybe they needed each other. Maybe the family they had going here right now was all that they needed.
“OK We can look around. We can see who has the best rates, best equipment and stuff.” Alicia figured she would want classes where he would want to lift. With a build like his, he could have been a body builder.
“We…get along well together.” Dimitri did not ask her, he merely stated it. “We are…friends.”
“Yes, yes we are.” Maybe more than that, but Alicia didn’t want to say it. “You’re a good man.” Dimitri was silent for a long moment. He finally smiled at her.
“I have waited a long time for a woman to tell me that.” Alicia was slightly taken aback, but she smiled back.
“In that case, I’m glad that I could tell you it.”
Dimitri fixed pasta salad for lunch. They ate that, combined with more kulich. After they’d finished, Dimitri went to work putting the ham into the oven. Alicia watched him put in a pan she never used. Actually, he used a lot of things in her kitchen that she never used. She didn’t think that her kitchen had ever seen this much use.
Maybe, someday, they’d have to move. It she and Dimitri stayed together, they’d need a bigger house. They’d need a bigger kitchen so that he could-.
She stopped herself. She was getting way ahead of herself. In two years, Dimitri might want to go on his own. They wouldn’t be together anymore. He’d simply take his new Green Card and go on his way. She’d be a long lost thought. And right now, she didn’t want to think about that. She was currently being presented with a lovely holiday, and that was what she wanted right now. It was the nicest prospect that she had in years.
Her parents were expected to arrive at four. By the time it was getting close, the apartment was filled with the scent of ham. Alicia went into her bedroom. She changed into a pair of dark jeans and a navy blue scoop-necked t-shirt. She pulled her hair back into a simple ponytail, and put on some makeup. She wanted to make sure that she looked nice. She didn’t want her parents to get any wrong ideas from a bad appearance.
She’d always had a good relationship with her parents. Neither one of them had ever brought in a ton of money over the years, but Alicia always remembered being comfortable. She’d not had a ton of toys, or been on fancy vacations, but her parents had provided for her. That was what had mattered.
Her mother had been working as a secretary for years and had no intentions of retiring. She believed that as she got older, the fact that she was still greeting clients at a law firm would be adorable. Her father had retired, but now he served as a taxi driver. He claimed that he liked the work so he could talk to all sorts of people. Alicia found she couldn’t really fault him there. She appreciated that she came from such a long line of social people. Maybe that was why she was in the field that she was now.
Returning to the kitchen, she found Dimitri putting the green beans on to boil.
“Want me to set the table?”
“Please. I go to change.” Alicia nodded, beginning to get out the plates. She wondered what her parents would think of Dimitri’s broken English. She hoped neither one of them would be difficult about it. They had never been people who held little things against foreigners, so she hoped it held up now. Especially when they found out he was their son-in-law.
Dimitri apparently didn’t want to risk a bad impression either. He returned to the kitchen wearing a blue collared button down shirt with his typical jeans.
“You look good.” She told him as she put silverware at each place setting. Dimitri smiled.
“Good. I do not want your parents to think that I am…uncivilized?”
“They won’t,” she assured him. “They couldn’t. Don’t worry about that.” It was hard for her to tell him not to worry when it was exactly what she was doing.
Fifteen minutes later brought a knock on the door. Alicia held her breath, and then pulled it open. Her parents stood on the other side. Her mother had taken to wearing her graying hair cut short. She was currently dressed in a bright blue maxi dress. Her father looked more basic. He’d started going bald at an early age. Now he only had a small rim of hair above his ears and around to the back of his head. He was much more toned down in a pair of khakis and a white polo.
“Hi baby.” Barbara Augustus reached out to embrace her.
“Hi Mom.” Alicia returned the embrace before stepping over to her father. Wayne Augustus also embraced her.
“How are things?” He looked passed her into the apartment. “Something sure smells good.” It was the perfect transition.
“That’s all Dimitri.” Alicia stepped aside so that they could both enter. Both of her parents were looking past her to seek out him out at the mention of his name.
“Mr. and Mrs. Augustus.” Dimitri was already moving towards them with his hand extended. “I am Dimitri Petrescu. It is a pleasure to meet you both.” Alicia watched her father take in Dimitri’s size.
“Well, you too Dimitri.” Wayne took the other man’s hand, shaking it firmly. Alicia had to hide a smile. Her father had always had a firm handshake. She imagin
ed that Dimitri was a fair match for him.
“And Mrs. Augustus,” Dimitri released her father’s hand to take her mother’s. “It is lovely to meet you. I can now see where Alicia gets her looks.” Barbara laughed.
“Well, thank you Dimitri. I’ve always thought that myself.”
“Do you guys want some wine now, or with dinner?” Alicia had set the bottle of red wine on the table so it could warm to room temperature. Barbara and Wayne looked at each other.
“I’ll wait till dinner, baby.” Barbara shook her head. “So, Dimitri, you cook?” Dimitri was taking the ham out of the oven. He picked up a small gold packet, pouring the contents into a measuring cup of water.
“I do. I cook a lot.” He smiled politely as he mixed up the cup of water.
“Dimitri is a great cook.” Alicia added. “I could never cook that well.”
“I don’t believe that you could.” Barbara was watching Dimitri glaze the ham. He slipped it back into the oven. “Dimitri, you have to understand that Alicia has never been much of a cook-not even when she was in the home economics classes in school.”
Dimitri laughed. He looked over at Alicia, shaking his head.
“I do not know much about that, but she did bake those cookies for today.” Barbara looked over, studying the cookies.
“Well, Alicia, you never baked us cookies before.”
“I had to try to keep up with Dimitri. I couldn’t let him show me up too much.” Alicia grinned over at him. He returned her smile.
“We will be eating in just a few minutes. You are hungry, yes?”
“Very.” Wayne took a place at the table. “So just where did you two meet?”
“Online.” Alicia offered quickly. She was sticking to that for the rest of her life. It was the truth. They had met online. People didn’t necessarily need to know the details. The one downside to that was that she needed to tell her parents exactly what happened. She wasn’t jumping right into that right now.
“That’s just happening more and more now days, isn’t it?” Wayne shook his head. “I don’t understand it, personally. How do you make a connection to someone like that?”
“It’s not for everyone,” Alicia added quickly. “But Dimitri and I have worked well.” She saw Dimitri turn his smile back to the stove.
