Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Kaz laughed like I was the ridiculous person in the tub, and then I realized that I very much needed to hear Kaz laugh. The very sound of his joy calmed me.
I swallowed. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you too.”
I let out a long breath. “The lions will feast.”
“They will.”
“And. . .” I undid my arms and raised my hand to the surface to touch bubbles. “Our wedding should beautifully merge Russian and African American cultures.”
“I like this.”
“I just don’t know how we will do that.”
“The wedding planner will help us.”
“Maybe, the vows could be in Russian and in English.”
Kaz smirked. “Yes. This is good.”
“A jazz band could be at the ceremony. We’re in New Orleans after all.”
“Perhaps, we can fly in a balalaika player too.”
“What is that?”
“The balalaika has a triangular-shaped body and typically three strings. It comes in different sizes.” Kaz pretended to play one in the water, looking like an odd Honky Tonk player. “And the balalaika player strums and plucks, playing folk tunes or even classical compositions.”
“Then, I’m down.” I shrugged. “Let’s fly a few in.”
Kaz winked.
I shook my head, getting even more tipsy. “What colors should the wedding be themed?”
“I do not care as long as your dress is white and so pretty, it will be fun to tear it away.”
“Wow.” I chuckled and some of my sadness left. “The menu has to be a fusion of Russian and African American food.”
“Interesting.” He opened the beer and took a gulp. “What are you thinking?”
“Russian appetizers like blinis with caviar.”
“This is a must.”
“Bite-sized chicken and waffles.”
Kaz quirked his brows. “I have never tried this.”
“You will like it. Max loves chicken and waffles. . .” My heart broke. “Umm. . .anyway. . .I like it too. . .and fried okra. . .and. . . Bronx Salad.”
Kaz tilted his head to the side. “Bronx salad?”
“A fresh mix of greens, including kale and spinach, topped with apple slices, walnuts, and a balsamic vinaigrette. Very chill. And there’s Five Boroughs Bean Soup. It’s a. . .” I thought of how X would always make a large pot on Sundays and wanted to cry. “It’s. . .a hearty blend of beans, seasoned with smoked turkey and collard greens.”
He smiled at me. “This sounds good.”
“Maybe. . .the wedding will be weird.”
“Mysh, we will have lions on a roof. Let us have fun with the menu too.” He took another gulp of beer. “What are other things you want on the menu?”
“Pelmeni and borscht.”
“My food has become some of your favorites too?”
“Definitely.”
“There must be vodka.”
“And the best wine.”
“The best.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “I don’t want a regular wedding cake.”
“No?”
“We should do like this big medovik cake.” I thought about the Russian honey cake, so decadent and layered with sweet cream.
Kaz drank more of his beer and set it down. “It is a traditional custom for the bride and groom to be greeted after the ceremony by family, with bread and salt in an embroidered cloth.”
“Why?”
“It is for future good health and fortune.”
“Then, let’s have tons of bread and salt.”
He chuckled. “And what about you, mysh. Is there some tradition you could add?”
“Maybe. . .jumping the broom.” I shrugged. “It’s about sweeping away the old and welcoming the new.”
I closed my eyes. “It’s from the slavery days when slaves were not able to get legally married.”
“Then, you and I will jump a broom.”
I smirked.
For some reason, it sounded funny coming from him.
Kaz continued, “And who will walk you down the aisle?”
X’s face flashed in my mind.
“I don’t know.”
“We will choose someone who is worthy enough to do it.”
I thought of J.P. “We must invite the Corsican.”
“Must we?”
“Yes, Kaz. We must.” I didn’t even open my eyes, knowing Kaz wore a pissed expression.
Silence came.
Then after a few quiet minutes, Kaz whispered, “Mysh. . .”
I kept my eyes closed and yawned. “Yes, baby?”
“Thank you for not killing my cousin tonight.”
I tensed and snapped my eyes open.
He finished his beer and then set it down next to the other bottles. “It would have been fine, if you did—”
“It would not have been fine—”
“I trust you—”
“It would have hurt you, Kaz. I could never have done it—”
“But, you wanted to—”
“I just wanted to kill someone in the hallway.”
He nodded. “But you held back and thought of me.”
Sighing, I stared at the water. “I never want to bring you pain.”
“You love me very much.”
“I do.” I let out a very long breath. “Before we arrived in New Orleans. . .I thought. . .”
“What did you think, mysh?”
“I thought that if I didn’t heal as soon as possible, Lunita and my mental illness would ruin us. It would destroy our love. You would leave or fucking go crazy after more shit, more fucking cheating with some stranger. . .more killing of people you learned to care for. . .I was scared of losing you due to. . .her.”