Chapter Text
Chapter 5
More Questions
Galina frowned at the spot where Gloria usually sat, which was uncharacteristically empty. Another quick glance at the clock showed that Gloria was over twenty minutes late. Usually, nothing kept her back from her lunch...
An exciting thought ran through Galina's head and a smile played on her lips as she picked up her phone. She dialed Gloria's number without stopping to think - she knew it by heart - and waited as it rang.
"Hello?" Gloria answered breathlessly. She sounded as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders alone.
"Is the baby coming?" Galina asked, unable to help herself. She knew that her due date was inching closer at only two weeks away. She could hardly believe how fast time was flying. It also meant that Nicky had been with them for two weeks now. Fourteen days had never flown so quickly. Nicky had well and truly slotted in as another one of the family.
"No," Gloria said with a sigh. "I'm just not feeling well. Sorry. I should have called you to let you know. I hope you didn't waste any food."
Down the street, upstairs to the little bodega she had built from the ground up, sat Gloria, glumly clutching the phone. Despite her best attempts with a bottle of foundation and a stick of concealer, the ugly patch of yellow-purple bruising on her cheek remained. Her lip was split, too. It hurt to even talk.
She knew it was bad - worse than usual, even - when Julio had taken one look at her that morning, gasped, and asked in that tiny voice Gloria had grown to love more than anything, "Mama has a owie?"
"You're not?" Galina asked, her voice thick. "I could come look after you if you need me..?"
Gloria swallowed hard. Her third trimester had hit her hard enough, even without the beatings, and she longed to say yes. To have someone care for her, for once. But reluctantly, she shook her head.
"No. Arturo's here to look after me," she lied.
Truthfully she had no idea where he was. And she was glad about that. It seemed like it was getting easier to set him off. Ever since she'd told him the girls couldn't come back, he had been cold. His coldness only cemented her decision; a chill ran down her spine as to why he was so upset that he wouldn't be sharing a home with two teenage girls.
"You can't just uproot them from their home!" Lourdes had exclaimed. "You snap your fingers and expect them on the next plane over, do you? Well, what's it to do with you?"
Arturo cursed in Spanish under his breath, which both Gloria and Lourdes ignored. Gloria simply tensed, simultaneously glad that Lourdes was here to say what should have been obvious to him, and worried that she would be in trouble for this. From the dark look in his eyes, she would definitely be paying for it later.
"What's it to do with you?" he retorted. "They're not your kids."
"They're not yours either!" Lourdes snapped. "Ah, Gloria, tell him! Your girls aren't puppies from the pound. If you don't do this carefully, you could make everything worse and then they won't feel at home anywhere."
She looked at Gloria for a response.
"I don't know what you want me to say," Gloria replied, rubbing her head. "You're the one who keeps telling me to bring them home."
It felt as if she was being torn in two.
"Yes, but not like this," Lourdes cried. "Not this way at all! You'll have a newborn, Julio, and two teens to think about. Don't you think they'll feel pushed out if they come back to this?"
"I'm tired, Tía," Gloria said after a moment. She rubbed circles in Julio's back, her breath shaky. "I need time to think about everything and I need to sleep."
Lourdes stared at her niece, her lips pressed into a line. "You need to grow up."
"You can go now," Gloria said.
She didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified when Lourdes picked up her purse and walked out the door without another word. It slammed behind her and Gloria covered her face with her hands.
The silence was the worst.
He said nothing. She wanted him to scream, to curse Lourdes' name, to do anything but stare at her with that...that disgust in his eyes.
"Mm," was all Galina managed in response to that one, but the tiny noise said it all. "If you need me, I'm on the other side of the phone."
"Thanks," Gloria said tersely, as Julio screamed in the background. He had thrown himself to the floor in a tantrum and she didn't have the energy to deal with him right at that moment.
"Lourdes didn't take Julio?" Galina asked in surprise.
"I told her not to," Gloria admitted, although what she failed to mention was why. Julio would undoubtedly mention the black eye and split lip to Lourdes. Or, more accurately, Lourdes would quiz Julio on everything Arturo related. She hated him. And that morning, Gloria could understand why.
Galina laughed as she heard another ear-piercing scream. "You're regretting that now, I take it?"
"Kind of." Gloria sighed.
"I'll take him if you want," Galina offered. "You both sound miserable. Let me have him and relax. Put on a face mask and wash your hair. You deserve it before the baby comes."
Gloria hesitated. "I don't know…"
"I'm not taking no for an answer," Galina said. "I'll be over in ten. Have him ready for me. I'll take him for the day and bring him back after dinner. You need to take it easy."
Before Gloria had the chance to counter, Galina had put the phone down.
Hauling herself up from the couch, Gloria picked Julio up from his spot on the floor, wincing as a flying foot came to hit her in the ribs as he continued his tantrum. She held him surfboard style as he screamed, huffing as she did so. It was getting harder to catch her breath these days.
"Galina is coming to pick you up," she told him. "I bet she wants to see you happy when she gets here."
The screaming subsided into hiccupping cries as he listened.
"She probably even has something yummy for you."
He looked up at her, quiet now. "Cake?"
"Mhmm," she said. "Now let's get dressed, okay?"
Once she had wrestled him into some clothes, Gloria sat him down on the couch and went over to her mirror to deal with her own appearance. She wouldn't bother getting dressed, but the bruises weren't looking any better. If anything, she thought, squinting at her reflection, they looked worse.
Thinking about what Galina had said, Gloria hurried to the bathroom. From a drawer she hadn't touched in months, she yanked a sheet mask for her face. Without even washing her makeup off, she plastered it on and winced at how it stung. But at least it covered the bruises.
Just as she finished, Galina knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Gloria called, checking her face in the mirror one last time. "I'm just getting a head start on my beauty routine."
Galina poked her head around the door and chuckled. "You deserve it. Julio and I will be just fine. Won't we, hm?"
"You can sit here, Julio," Galina said as she sat him down behind the counter. She set a piece of paper and some crayons next to him. "You can do some coloring with me. How does that sound?"
Julio beamed up at her and she smiled back at him. Always such a happy kid, Galina never minded watching him. Especially when Gloria wasn't feeling well. It was the least she could do.
Besides, it wasn't a busy day. The rain had scared everyone off and it stayed unusually quiet. She would only be sitting alone if not for Julio because the kids wouldn't be home from school for hours yet. After a few moments she looked down at his drawing, gasping in faux delight.
"What a beautiful picture!" Galina said. Squeezing Julio into a hug, she picked up his artwork. She studied it for a moment, tracing the lines and squiggles that looked like nothing in particular. "Let's see. Is that you and your mommy?"
"Mhm," he said sweetly. "Where is Mommy?"
"Mommy's at home," Galina said, stroking his back. "She's just resting. But don't worry, we'll have lots of fun here."
Julio seemed to think for a moment. "Mommy has a owie."
Galina shook her head. "No, she doesn't. Mommy's just tired. Don't worry about her. She's okay, and you'll see her soon."
He shook his head and pointed to his eye. "Ouch."
Galina said nothing for a moment. Her stomach twisted despite her reassurance to Julio and she studied the little boy's features.
"How did Mommy hurt herself?" she asked casually, going round to the back of the counter and selecting a little cake for Julio. She sneaked a look up at him as she did so.
He shrugged. He didn't look particularly upset, but his insistence troubled her.
"I've got a little treat for you," Galina said as she walked over and set the cake in front of him. "I know they're your favorite."
He grinned at her as he got stuck in, icing covering his rosy cheeks. "Cake!"
"So did Mama fall over?" she asked lightly. "Did she trip up?"
Julio shrugged again and turned away from Galina, a little frown on his face. It was clear that even if Galina wasn't, Julio was done talking about it.
The phone ringing broke the silence, and with a sigh, she went over to answer it, her eyes still glued on Julio.
"Reznikov's Russian Market, Galina speaking. How may I help you?"
A formal voice broke the silence on the other end. "Is this Mrs. Reznikov?"
"Speaking," she said, her brow furrowing. "Who's this?"
"This is Mrs. Fletcher, the attendance officer," she said. "We noticed you didn't ring to let us know Nicky wouldn't be in today. Of course, we understand the circumstances, but -"
"But Nicky is in school," Galina insisted. "At least, she left this morning with her backpack and lunch money…"
"Well, she's not here. She wasn't here for roll call."
Galina gripped the phone. "Okay," she said, her voice sounding far away. "I...I'll call her social worker."
"In the future, please let us know in advance."
Galina prickled. "Of course," she snapped. "But that would mean I know of it. Now, excuse me. I have to go find her. That's my main concern."
She slammed the phone down, her heart thudding. Panic surged through her. Nicky hadn't even been with her for a month, and she was already missing. She was miles away from an irresponsible parent, but this made her look feckless. Julio looked at her with wide eyes.
"Sorry," she said upon seeing his face. She forced a big smile, swallowing her panic to soothe him. "I was just playing around."
"Like Daddy."
Galina frowned, but didn't have time to think much more about the impact of his words. Instead, she took a deep breath and hurried back over to him.
"Come on, honey. Let's go see how Mommy is feeling now. You can take your cake with you. And let's get one for Mommy, too."
She plucked the dessert from behind the glass case, wrapped it up, and then heaved Julio out of his chair.
"Arms out," she instructed him as she pulled his coat around him. "Good boy."
She hurried out the door, Julio by her side, quickly locking it behind her. Closing in the middle of the day was the last thing she wanted, but waiting for Dmitri to return would have been torture. With a little sigh, she took Julio's hand and led him down the street towards the bodega.
"Up," he demanded as she walked with him. "Up!"
"You're a big boy now," she said, the very thought of lifting him making her back muscles spasm. "Aren't you?"
He thought for a moment, then nodded.
"You're so big and strong, I can't carry you anymore. You're almost as big as Yuri!"
Julio grinned up at her. If Yuri was around, Julio clung to him like a little monkey. He wanted to be just like him.
"Can you hold my hand and show me how big boys walk?"
He took her hand without much complaint and her heart squeezed at how sweet he looked, swinging his hand in hers. If only all problems were as easy to fix, she thought.
Nicky consumed her thoughts until she reached Gloria's apartment. She knocked on the door and waited, but no reply came. With no car seat, she couldn't take Julio with her, so from her purse, she pulled out her spare key.
The sound of knocking hadn't woken Gloria, who up until now had been snoring softly, but the sound of hurried footsteps up the stairs did.
"Arturo?"
"No, Gloria, sorry it's me," Galina garbled. "Nicky didn't show up at school and -"
A sharp intake of breath cut her sentence short as she caught a glance at Gloria's face. "Oh honey..."
Gloria immediately covered her face. "What are you doing here?"
"I was bringing Julio back-"
"Did you let yourself in?" Gloria demanded, snatching Julio's hand from Galina. She heaved him up and held him over her shoulder. "You've no right! That key is for emergencies!"
"Well, it is an emergency," she protested, but Gloria had turned her back on the other woman.
Julio stared at Galina over her shoulder, his face crumpling as they fought.
"It's okay, Julio," Galina said softly. "I'm going to go pick up Nicky now. Enjoy your cake and remember to give Mommy her piece."
Gloria closed her eyes at the sound of Galina's tender voice. She couldn't even bring herself to turn around for Julio's sake. What kind of mother did that make her, she wondered?
"I've got to go, Gloria," she said after a moment. "I have to find Nicky. But I could come back later...we could talk?"
"No," Gloria said quietly, her voice catching. "I'd rather you didn't. And leave your key, please."
Galina hesitated for a moment, and then placed her key down on the table. "Call me if you need anything. I mean anything."
Galina hadn't expected much when she phoned Mrs. Figueroa, but she'd expected more than what she got.
"She'll turn up," Natalie said, and Galina could hear the amusement in her voice. "She's just testing the boundaries. Not unusual."
"Aren't you worried?" Galina asked. "Shouldn't I do something? School finished half an hour ago, and she's not back yet."
She'd spent the afternoon running around all the spots she knew Nicky liked; she'd been to the mall and the park, and then she'd realized that Nicky really didn't go many places. She didn't even know the names of her friends.
"You can look for her if you want to," Natalie said. "But she'll come home when she's hungry. They always do."
Galina sighed. Natalie had a lot more kids to worry about than Nicky, but she had hoped for a little more guidance than that. Aside from the initial visit, she had left Dmitri and Galina hoping that they were making the right decisions when it came to Nicky. And despite asking to meet Nicky's mother, it hadn't happened yet.
Galina put the phone down as her front door opened. The boys streamed in, complaining of hunger after their long day at school...followed by Nicky.
"No way!" Nicky exclaimed.
"Seriously," Yuri nodded. "Joel says he bought a six-pack and they didn't even ID him-" He stopped short as soon as he saw Galina standing in the kitchen. "Mama," he stammered. "Why aren't you working?"
"Because I got a very interesting phone call this afternoon from Nicky's school." No point in beating around the bush, she thought. Better get straight to the point.
"Oh," Nicky said, her face dropping.
One hand curled around her backpack strap, she chewed on her bottom lip. A glance at the boys showed that they had already scattered, safe in the knowledge that it was Nicky who was about to get in trouble instead of them. If life was a cartoon, their outlines would be hanging in the air next to her.
"'Oh' is right," Galina said. Then she remembered what Gloria had told her when she'd first brought Nicky home, and sighed. "Come and sit down with me. We'll talk about it. You're not in trouble. Yet."
Nicky followed Galina to the kitchen table. She slung her backpack down on the floor next to the table leg and sat down.
"Why didn't you pick up your phone?" she asked. "I've been calling you all afternoon. I was worried, Nicky."
Nicky frowned. "Sorry," she said, as if the thought hadn't occurred to her. Then, after a moment, she said, "I lost it."
"You lost it?" Galina's voice was steeped in skepticism. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought you'd be mad."
"I'm more mad now," Galina said. "You should have told me. You can borrow my old phone until you get another. But for now, I'm more focused on your education. You have to go to school, Nicky. It's important for you but also for me. I'm responsible for you, and it doesn't look good that you've missed your classes, does it?"
"But I don't like school," Nicky complained. "They all think they're hot shit-"
"Language," she cautioned. "But you know, the receptionist also thought she was hot shit when she rang me to tell me you weren't there, and I said you were."
Nicky had the good grace to look sheepish, but pushed on. "I don't want to go anymore. Marka didn't care if I went or not."
Galina sat back. "Now I'm sure that isn't true."
"She didn't think I was going anywhere anyway. She said as much."
Red heaved a sigh. "Listen, honey. I didn't like school either. But you just have to get through it. You have to focus on the good parts, like your friends."
Nicky shrugged.
"You could invite them over," Galina offered. "There's always space at our table."
"No!" Nicky said quickly, looking down. "I don't want that."
"Okay," Galina said. She hesitated. "I know you're probably used to a...different home, and maybe your friends are used to penthouses and name brands, but you could still have a good time."
Nicky gave a little snort. "It's not that."
"Oh," Galina said, a little relieved. "Well, what is it, then? I can't help if I don't know."
Nicky bunched up the material of her school skirt. "I...I don't really have many friends there."
Galina rubbed her forehead. "Well, that's because you're never there," she said softly. "You haven't had time to make friends. Your attendance is atrocious."
"Can't I go to a normal school?" Nicky asked. "Everyone at my school wants to be a lawyer or a doctor, or something...they're different to me."
"Different, how?"
"They just are."
"Your mother pays a lot of money for your school," Galina said with a sigh. "She's trying to give you a leg up in the world. But...if you go to school every day for a month, and you still aren't happy, then I will bring it up with your social worker."
That wasn't a thought she relished. No doubt Natalie would tell Nicky to suck it up - she didn't seem the type for sympathy - and then any credibility she'd managed to build with Nicky would evaporate. Galina just hoped that in a month's time, Nicky would have made some friends and would be feeling happier. She didn't want Nicky calling her bluff.
"I think you should join some clubs, too," she said thoughtfully. "That'll help you make friends. You have to really make an effort, though. Will you do that?"
Nicky perked up, a grin lighting up her face. "I will."
Galina smiled. One problem solved. Now, it was only Gloria weighing heavily on her mind. As Nicky scurried off to join the boys, she leaned back in her chair and rubbed her head. Maybe she should have knocked. Maybe she should have just taken Julio with her...but that still didn't change that God-awful bruise on Gloria's face, or how it got there.
Yes, she knew one thing for sure. Despite sorting Nicky's problem out, she knew she wouldn't be sleeping that night. Nor any night any time soon, at least until she'd managed to get the truth out of Gloria.