Russian Roulette

I get off the plane and I’m exhausted. I hated flying and having a 16 week old fetus in my stomach definitely didn’t help. We had landed in Moscow where Geno spent his off-season’s. He grew up in in Magnitogorsk but Moscow was a much nicer place to live in. I’m overwhelmed by the constant stream of Russian so I stick close to Geno’s side. We get a cab and I can’t wait to unpack and nap.

“You excited?” he asks.

“Very,” I reply. We finally get to his place and it looks really nice from the outside. We get inside the apartment and I’m floored. It was the nicest apartment I’ve ever been in and I knew he paid a lot of money for it. The walls were all white and the furniture was very modern.

“Is nice yeah?” he asks.

“Wow Zhenya this place is amazing,” I reply while walking around.

“What we do first?” he asks excitedly. I yawn and suddenly feel embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, I’m exhausted. The flight plus being pregnant is really taking a toll on me.”

“Is fine. We nap.” He takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom. There was a large king size bed with fluffy white bedding in the middle of the room. I smile at how inviting it looks. I see Geno take his jeans and shirt off and climb into bed. As turned on as I was I needed sleep first. I take off my Penguins sweater and climb into bed next to him. I entangle my legs with his and drape my arm over his toned stomach. I close my eyes and instantly fall asleep.

I hear Geno speaking Russian so I open my eyes. He’s on the phone so I get up and take a quick shower. It felt good to get the travel feeling off of me. I’m wrapped in a towel at the sink brushing my teeth when he walks in already dressed.

“We go for supper with friends. Want to meet you,” he says smiling. Feeling much better after my nap I decide it wouldn’t hurt to meet Geno’s friends. I blow-dry my hair and put on maternity skinny jeans, a white tank top and a black fedora. We head to a nice restaurant and there’s ten people sitting at table near the back.

“Zhenya!” they all exclaim. He goes around and hugs everyone individually.

“Все это моя невеста Куинн, (Everyone this is my fiancée Quinn,)” Geno announces. I meekly wave and we take our seats. Geno tells me everyone’s names but I know I won’t be able to remember them all.

“Is nice to meet. I’m excited for wedding,” a handsome man named Alexei tells me.

“Me too,” I smile.

“А ты говоришь по русски? (Do you speak Russian?)” a large man beside Alexei asks.

“маленький, (A little,)” I respond.

“Когда наступает срок вашего платежа, (When are you due?”)” a very attractive blonde woman asks.

“В сентябрь (In September,)” I reply. I sit and listen to Geno catch up for the rest of meal, and I answer the odd question here and there. The meal finishes and we head to a lounge with drinks and a hookah and the inner party girl in me wishes I wasn’t pregnant so I could enjoy these things. After they’ve had enough drinks, we head to a nightclub and I’m stunned. The nightlife in Moscow was 10x better than the nightlife in Pitt. Geno gets me water and I make idle chit chat with the attractive blonde. Her name is Anastasia and she’s dating Alexei.

“All Russian girls are sad that Yevgeni is getting married,” she tells me.

“Oh yeah?” I say surprised.

“Da. Russian girls love Yevgeni. I’m surprise he end up with American,” she laughs.

“I’m half Russian,” I say smiling.

“Ah I knew it. Yevgeni not like other American girls.”

“Did you know Oksana?”

“Da. I not like her though. Very fake girl. I always tell him he could do better but never listens. Until you! I’m happy he find you.” I smile and sip my water. I look around until I found Geno with his group of guy friends but they’re not alone. There’s a few girls with them but I don’t think too much of it. I get to know Anastasia more and I start to really like her.

“Mama Malkin was telling me about wedding. Is so exciting!” she exclaims.

“Yeah. I haven’t talked to her lately so I hope the plans are going well,” I reply.

“Vera does most beautiful weddings. You not worry.” I look over to Geno and just he and the girl are standing there and she has her hand on his arm. I’m not really the jealous type but I didn’t have a good feeling so I ask Anastasia a question about Alexei to distract myself. I drink the rest of my water so I head to the bar for a new one.

“You’re Quinn,” I hear a guy with a thick Russian accent say.

“I am,” I reply.

“You’re hot. How Geno get girl like you,” he laughs. I suddenly feel awkward and I don’t know how to handle this situation. I look around for Geno but he and the girl are gone.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Alexander,” he replies.

“Have you seen Geno?”

“Da. Back room.” I grab my water and say goodbye to the obnoxious guy. I walk around the dimly lit place and look for a back room. I look down at my stomach and realize how bizarre it must look seeing a pregnant woman in a nightclub. I walk up some stairs and see a room with doors in the corner. I walk in and it’s so hazy from smoke I can barely see.

“Quinn!” I hear him say. I look around the room and it’s him and his friend Sergei with a bunch of attractive women everywhere. I see the chick he was standing with earlier and she’s almost sitting in his lap. I turn around and walk back out. I walk down the stairs and find Anastasia.

“You’re back!” she exclaims.

“Who was that girl Geno was talking to earlier?” I ask her. Anastasia seemed to be my intel for everything.

“That’s Alyona. She friends with the guys but she always like Yevgeni. Not good person,” she says shaking her head. We continue talking for a bit until I feel someone tap my shoulder. I turn around and
see Geno standing there confused.

“Come,” he says while holding out his hand. I take his hand and follow him outside.

“What’s wrong?” he asks once we finally get outside.

“It’s nothing,” I say brushing it off.

“Why leave?”

“I can’t stay in that room. It’s not good for the baby.”

“She just friend.”

“If you know why I’m mad then don’t ask,” I snap.

“Nothing happening.”

“G she was practically in your lap. She likes you. Like every other girl in this nightclub.”

“I not care. Only one girl I care about,” he says softly. I wanted to be mad but I couldn’t.

“Let’s go back inside,” I sigh. He smiles and we go back inside to where Anastasia and Alexei are sitting. We sit and talk until I leave to get another water refill. I accidentally bump into someone and I turn only to see that it’s Alyona.

“Sorry,” I mutter.

“That was not accident,” she hisses. I try to walk away but I feel something cold and wet hit me.

“You did not just do that,” I say stunned. I couldn’t believe the bitch threw her drink at me.

“Sorry,” she says mimicking me.

“You’re not even worth my time,” I say disgusted.

“So you force him with baby to marry you. Poor American girl can’t even find American to like her.”

“He didn’t want you before and he doesn’t want you now so back off,” I say getting in her face. She stares back and all off a sudden she pushes me. I lose it and grab her and push her. She grabs my hair so I grab hers. All of a sudden I large pair of hands picks me up and drags me away. Once we stop moving I look up and see Geno looking down at me.

“It wasn’t my fault. She started it!” I yell. He shakes his head and we leave the club.

“So what, you’re taking her side? The bitch who threw her drink and tried to start a fight with a pregnant person,” I huff angrily.

“What side? No side,” he replies. We get in the car and drive to the apartment in silence. Why was he mad? I was just sticking up for myself. We get to the apartment and I finally break the silence.

“You’re not allowed to be a mad at me,” I finally say. I look at him and he starts laughing and I’m confused. “What?”

“You. You funny. You try fight when pregnant.”

“I would have won,” I say smiling. I go up to him and he leans down and kisses me.

We spend the next month touring and hanging out. I was quickly falling in love with Moscow and I never wanted to leave. Our wedding was in a couple days so we were meeting with Vera to go over final plans.

“Yevgeni, Quinn, is nice to see you,” she says warmly. We sit down in the local café and she brings her ipad out and she begins to explain what traditionally happens during a Russian wedding. As she goes on and on I’m shocked at how different it is compared to a traditional American one. I look at Geno and he’s smiling and I can tell he’s excited. After our meeting with Vera we head to a clinic where we were getting our 20-week ultrasound.

“Want to know if boy or girl?” Geno asks.

“Do you?” I ask.

“Da.”

“Me too,” I smile. We get led to an exam room and a doctor comes and put jelly on stomach and uses the transducer to find an image. We hear the heartbeat and a smile breaks out on my face.

“Ребенок выглядит здоровым. Вы хотите, чтобы узнать пол, (Baby looks healthy. Do you want to find out the sex?)” he asks. I nod my head and he looks back at the monitor.

“Это мальчик, (It’s a boy,)” he smiles. I squeeze Geno’s hand and look up at him and he has tears in is eyes. The doctor prints off a picture and I can’t help but stare at it. I could see his head and spine and feet. We leave the clinic and head to the airport to pick up the guys.
We pull up to the airport and they’re standing there waiting with their luggage.

“Hey guys, how was the flight?” I ask as they’re hopping in the vehicle.

“So long. Man I’m starving though,” Elias tells me.

“Well we can go eat somewhere. So guess who’s having a mini Malkin?” I ask.

“It’s a boy?” Elias asks. I nod and he starts clapping.

“Congrats Quinn,” Matt tells me.

“I can’t wait till the kid gets drafted.” Elias winks. I hand them the ultrasound photo and Elias whistles.

“Kid’s got your nose. He’s going to be a heartbreaker.”
We go to a restaurant nearby and order some food.

“So how excited are you for the wedding?” Matt asks me.

“I’m excited. Weddings are a pretty big deal here,” I reply.

“When is Audrina getting here?” Elias asks.

“Tonight. Her and James are staying with us. Geno is staying at his friend’s house starting tonight,” I tell them.

“Is that a custom?” Elias asks Geno.

“No. Anastasia idea,” he replies. We get our food and talk more about the wedding. I was hoping for a small gathering but I knew Geno had a large family and a lot of friends.
We drop the guy’s off at their hotel and Geno drops me off at the apartment. I’m watching TV when the doorbell rings. I get up and open the door and Audrina and James are standing there looking tired.

“You guys are here!” I yell while hugging Audrina.

“Wow, this place is nice,” James says impressed.

“Isn’t it?” I reply. We visit for a while but I could tell they were both exhausted. We say goodnight and head to our respective rooms for the night.

Notes