She poured me a little glass of white wine. “One good thing about being around Italians,” she said, “is the wine.”
“I’m so glad I’m not pregnant anymore.”
Nat laughed. “Right? You can’t do any fun things.”
“I still can’t, not really. I have to be careful how much coffee I drink. Shouldn’t have too much alcohol either. It’ll get into the breast milk.”
Nat nodded. “Men don’t understand. They can drink whatever they want.”
“Vince is far away from understanding,” I said. “Although he’s watching Alexei right now.”
Nat raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know why, but I guess he saw something that made him want to spend time with Alex.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“I really don’t know,” I said honestly.
Nat leaned up against the counter. “What do you think about him?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Of course.”
“He’s an arrogant asshole.”
Nat laughed, nodding. “Sounds about right.”
“But I love being around him. He makes me feel something I’ve never felt before.”
“Yeah,” Nat said softly. “I know just what you mean.”
“He told me just recently that he has no interest in being a father to Alexei.”
“And now he’s babysitting?”
I nodded. “The man is all over the place.”
“Give him time. He’ll come around.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Vince had a hard life,” she said. “He didn’t have a father, and he probably thinks he doesn’t know how to be one.”
“I didn’t realize that.”
“The mob was his family. He doesn’t think you can be a good member of the mob and still raise a family.”
“But you guys are doing it.”
She smiled and nodded. “Vince can be blind to certain things sometimes.”
“It’s just so frustrating. I never wanted any of this. I didn’t come here to trap Vince into being a father.”
“I know that.”
“But now I feel like just being around him is making him feel that way.”
“Maybe,” Nat said. “But again, is that so bad?”
“No, I guess not,” I said, shaking my head.
“Look, can I offer some advice?”
“Of course.”
“I think you need to figure out what you want. You’re clearly torn about Vince, and for good reason. But he’s trying, and if you want him around, you’re going to have to accept that.”
“He is who he is,” I said.
“Exactly.” She smiled, sipping her drink.
“Where are your kids, by the way?”
“With Sonya.”
“Must be nice to have a break.”
She smiled and shrugged. “Sometimes. And sometimes I miss them as soon as they’re gone. It’s strange.”
“Yeah. I know the feeling.”
We spent the next half hour just talking. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to talk with Natalie, but it felt like we got along really well. I was getting more and more comfortable around her, and it was great to have another mother to talk with.
Back at home, I couldn’t talk with my mother. She just wasn’t interested in talking about my bastard son. Whatever my father said was what she did, a good, obedient little Russian wife. It felt amazing to finally have another mother to talk about this stuff with, someone who’d gone through something similar.
After our wine glasses were empty, Nat stretched. “Kids are coming back soon,” she said.
“Okay. I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Before you go.” Her face got serious suddenly. “I wanted to see you for a reason.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Just a warning.” She looked out the window, frowning. “In war, men do stupid things. There are whispers going around. People aren’t happy that you’re still here.”
“But Arturo said I’d be safe?”
“You will be, but he can’t control what everyone does. Just be careful, okay? Don’t wander around alone.”
I nodded. “Okay. I think I’m fine, though. They’re watching me.”
“Good. Just be safe.”
“Thanks, Natalie.”
She walked me to the door and hugged me. “I’m happy you’re here. Don’t go anywhere.”
“I won’t.”
I left her room and heard it click shut behind me I felt good as I walked back to my room. Natalie made me feel safe and cared about, although her warning was nagging at me. I understood why people might be angry about my presence, but I couldn’t imagine Arturo would let anyone hurt me. That’d only make things worse with my family.
Then again, maybe they’d want that to happen.
I tried not to let that get to me too much. I couldn’t control it. I’d just have to make sure I didn’t stray too far from my rooms. There was a war going on, and I could see how people would want to take it out on the innocent Russian girl who had started it all.
I pushed open the door to my room, not thinking, and looked up sharply as Vince stepped toward me.
“Quiet,” he said softly.
“What’s wrong?”
He grinned. “Alex is sleeping.”
I let out a breath. “You scared me.”
“Sorry.”