“He is good man. He loves Alexi. That is all that matter. Lyubov vazhna. Love is important.”
Cam listened to them speak in rapid-fire Russian, and though he’d picked up a few phrases here and there, no way could he understand what was being said. Dmitri played out the scenario from his seat across the room and gave him a discreet nod and smile. Babushka, as usual, had the final say.
“On tvoy syn…on tvoy dusha. He is your son. He is your soul. Tell him you love him.”
For the first time since he and Alexi met, Cam came face-to-face with Vladimir Karpov. Lines of strain creased his brow, and dark circles ringed his eyes. Perhaps it wasn’t as easy as Cam had believed for him to forget his son.
“Welcome to our home.” Vladimir stuck out his hand, and Cam immediately took it. Refusing to back down, Cam challenged Vladimir with his direct gaze.
That’s right. Look me in the eye. I love your son and he loves me.
“Thank you for having me. It’s nice to finally meet you all.”
With a short nod, Vladimir let go, his full attention on Alexi.
“Papa…” Alexi began but faltered.
Vladimir said nothing, but Cam watched his eyes well up. He opened his mouth and cleared his throat. “Ya skuchal po tebe.”
A tear streaked down Alexi’s face and behind Cam, Alina burst into tears. What happened? What did he say? Cam didn’t know whether to be angry on Alexi’s behalf or happy for him, until Alexi threw his arms around his father, burying his face in the crook of his neck.
“I’ve missed you too, Papa. So much. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Cam wiped away the wetness on his cheeks, thrilled for Alexi that his father seemed to have come around.
“Let’s all sit, please. Alexi, Cam, please. I want to hear all about Cam and then your studies in England.” Alina pointed them to the sofa, while Dmitri jumped up to wheel Babushka closer. Vladimir remained standing, but he never took his eyes off Alexi, seeming to drink in his presence.
Cam sat next to Alexi, and their thighs pressed together. “What would you like to know? I’m just happy to be here with all of you.”
“Cam is a teacher. Isn’t that wonderful, Vladimir?” With the ice broken, Alina sought to make conversation. “It’s the best profession. He shapes young minds. And I hear you’re a singer as well.”
An ache rose inside him. “I love teaching the kids. I’ve missed them so much these past six months. As for the singing…” Cam shrugged, and Alexi took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. “I, uh, had to give that up.”
“Why?” Vladimir asked, his eyes fixed on their clasped hands.
“Doctor’s orders. I had polyps on my throat, and singing made them worse. I’ve already had two surgeries, and my doctor warned me that if I don’t give up the singing, I might lose my voice completely.”
Alina’s pale brows drew together, and she gave him a sympathetic frown. “I’m so sorry. That must be devastating, to have to give up something you love so much.”
“It was. It’s part of the reason why I went to join Alexi in England. Aside from missing him terribly, without my singing, I needed to occupy my time.”
“I remember Cam singing on the boardwalk the past two summers. He was great.” Dmitri flashed me a smile. “He even sang for Jasmine last summer. She never stops bragging to her friends how romantic it was to have someone sing to her.”
“You’re still seeing Jasmine?” Cam couldn’t help being surprised. He’d always imagined Dmitri to be a player, with a different woman every night and yet here he was, almost a year later, with Jasmine who, from what he remembered, was a sweet, almost shy girl.
“Yeah.” His eyes avoided them, and he couldn’t stop fidgeting with his hands. “She’s, uh…special. I don’t need to keep running around every night to the clubs. Jasmine is special.”
Alexi snickered. “Get out. You? With the same woman for all these months?”
“Yeah, why?”
Shocked at Dmitri’s red face, Cam understood. The first time you realize you’re in love is special, and you want to keep it to yourself for a little while. “I get it. She seemed perfect for you.”
His face lit up. “She is, right? Perfect. That’s what I keep telling her, but she doesn’t like to hear it.”
“Alexi was the same way. He didn’t believe me either.”
“No one is perfect,” Vladimir interjected. “We all make mistakes, right?”
“We do,” Cam said, wondering if this was an apology. He preferred being straightforward, but if this was all Vladimir could offer right now, he’d accept it. “The most important thing is to learn from those mistakes and not repeat them.”
At Vladimir’s red face, Cam knew his message had been received.
“And your studies, Alexi? Tell us everything. Your emails were so short. We miss hearing it all from you personally.”
Cam settled back and let Alexi enjoy this time with his family. He had little in common with the people in Alexi’s classes. They were all studying accounting and economics. When he mentioned he was a public school teacher and musician they gave him polite smiles and resumed their discussions of reclassifying European debt and its effect on international trade. More often than not, Cam would find his eyes drifting shut from their conversations.
“It’s so interesting to meet people from all over the world. I’ve made friends with other students from Japan, India, the Middle East…” The words tumbled out of Alexi’s mouth, and Cam loved how excited he got when talking about his studies. “I’m doing really well in my classes, and my professor said he can help me try to get a sponsorship for an internship. But even if I do come home, this will help me get a much better job than I ever could’ve gotten.”
“If you come home?” Cam shifted in his seat to slant Alexi a confused glance. “I thought you were only doing the time at university, then coming back.” This was all news to him, but it wasn’t the right time to get into a heavy discussion.
Alina rushed in to cover the silence. “You’re finally following your dream. I remember as a little boy even, you wanted to travel to where the ocean ended. You thought if you dug deep enough in the sand, you’d end up in China.” Alina hesitated. “Is it everything you hoped for? Maybe you miss us a little?”
“I miss you all so much. You have no idea. But I can’t deny how much I love it there.” The tips of his fingers brushed Cam’s hand. “Having Cam there reminds me of home.”
“That’s good,” Alina said. “Isn’t it, Vladimir? Alexi is less lonely with Cam there.”
Vladimir might not have much to say, but he hadn’t taken his eyes off Alexi, and Cam could see how much having Alexi home meant to all of them.
“It’s good to have a familiar face. Someone who knows you.”
Over the past six months together, Cam had gotten to know Alexi on a deeper, more intimate level. Each day Cam woke up next to him brought him greater pleasure than the last.
“So, what do you do when Alexi’s in class?”
An innocent question from Dmitri, but it hit a sore spot with Cam. He needed to figure out what to do with himself because he couldn’t go on like this for all the years Alexi had left to finish his degree. It was a topic he’d yet to bring up with Alexi since his decision to get a visa was spur of the moment. Now, there were some hard decisions he needed to make, but Cam wasn’t yet ready to discuss his future with Alexi’s family before he and Alexi had a chance to talk it out.