Chapter 14 - THE PROMISE WITHOUT A PRICE
Z
By the following autumn, Anya and Nikolai had been dating for eight months. She still maintained her own apartment, her own bank account, and her own work. Nikolai learned to ask rather than arrange. When Maksim wanted to spend Saturday at a science museum instead of on a yacht, Nikolai bought museum tickets and carried the boy's backpack.
Boris recovered enough to teach a weekly mechanics class for teenagers at the dockworkers' community center. Misha became its unofficial mascot, although the old dog slept through most lessons. Boris's students called him Captain, a title he accepted only when they remembered to clean their tools.
Nikolai proposed to Anya on an ordinary evening in her kitchen. Maksim had gone to bed after beating him at a board game. A pot of rice sat on the stove, perfectly cooked for once.
Nikolai opened a small box. Inside was a simple ring with a pale blue stone.
"I can't offer you a life without complications," he said. "I can offer you honesty, respect, and the work of becoming someone you can trust."
Anya looked at him for a long time. "And if I don't want to move into your mansion?"
"Then we won't."
"If Maksim needs me more than you do?"
"He should. He's your son."
"If I tell you you're wrong?"
Nikolai smiled. "You'll probably be right."
She laughed, then cried. "Yes," she said. "But I'm keeping my last name."
"I wouldn't ask you to give it up."
In the hallway, a small voice shouted, "Does this mean Misha gets to be the ring bearer?"
May you like
Anya opened the door. Maksim stood there in dinosaur pajamas, grinning. Nikolai knelt to embrace him. "Only if Boris approves."
"Boris always approves of Misha," Maksim declared. "It's the rest of us he worries about."
