Page 120 of Unexpected Prejudice

“Levi?”

“Yeah, your son. The one you suddenly remembered having? He told me he was spending the holiday with you, but he shouldn’t. He needs to be with his real family.”

“Mom, what’s going on?” the girl asked, and Yelena bent down to eye level with her.

“Everything is okay, Emily. Why don’t you and your brother go to the playroom?”

Nodding, Emily took her brother’s hand and left the kitchen, leaving me alone with Yelena and her husband.

Once they were out, Yelena stood up and returned my stare. “Levi isn’t here.”

“What do you mean he isn’t here? I know he is. He said you two planned to spend Christmas together.”

She pressed her red lips together. “We spent Christmas Eve together, and today, I told him I’d be here with Robert and the kids.”

I gaped at her. “So? Where is he? Did he go out to buy something?”

“No… He’s supposed to be at your house. You see, since Robert and I went through a hard time—”

She was really getting on my nerves. “I don’t give a shit about your hard time. Where’s Levi?”

Getting the message that I had no intention of listening to her bullshit, she cut right to the chase. “I asked him if we could meet afterward because it didn’t feel right for him to be here. Besides, I thought he should see you and work things out. It was for the best.”

Hold on. Hold the fuck on.

“It didn’t feel right for him to be here?” I recited after her in disgust. “He’s your son.” My voice came out loud and clear. “He’s your son, and you asked him not to join you on Christmas Day because he didn’t belong?”

Her stern expression finally broke as her jaw went slack.

“What mother tells her child he doesn’t belong? Isn’t it your job to make him know he’s welcome? Loved? But you know what, you’re damn right he doesn’t belong here. He belongs with me.” After telling her what needed to be said, I turned around and was ready to leave when I remembered something else.

“By the way, your son? The one you abandoned his whole life? He’s fucking incredible. The most amazing person on this planet. Thought you should know that.” Leaving her too stunned to speak, I left.

I came here thinking I’d leave with Levi, only to find out he wasn’t here, so where the fuck was he? My first thought was to find him in the library, but that didn’t make sense. For starters, it was probably closed due to the holiday. What’s more, Levi was feeling alone right now, and knowing Levi the way I did, he wouldn’t admit it. Rather than understanding his mom was a piece of shit, he’d redirect everything on himself and believe he was the problem. If only I’d realized that sooner, we wouldn’t have been in this situation. Not realizing how much my suggestion for a threesome would affect him was a mistake. One I shouldn’t have done, but I’d been too stupid and blind to see it.

While books often helped Levi to keep himself together, this was different. He was alone and sad, and since I was the main cause for that, he wouldn’t come to me.

No. He’d go to see him.

Jessie

Parking the Vespa in the cemetery parking lot, I left my helmet on the seat. No one was around so I wasn’t worried someone would take it.

There was nothing glamorous about this cemetery. The grass was brown, and the palm trees stood naked. The tombstones were simple since the families of those buried here couldn’t afford better. I never entirely understood the need for an extravagant grave. After all, you can’t enjoy it yourself. Since I’d never had someone close to me die, I couldn’t speak from experience, but perhaps knowing your loved ones were resting in a beautiful place helped with the grief.

Walking down the pathway of names and dates, I thought how absurd it was that our whole life was eventually summed up by nothing but letters and numbers. People were so much more. They held stories. This place didn’t just bury people but their whole being.

I’d come here with Levi a few times before, so I remembered the way to his father’s grave. But as I reached the slate tombstone with the name Maxim Levyov Morozov engraved on it, Levi wasn’t there.

“No.” Disappointment and worry took over me. “No, no, no.” Levi was supposed to be here. It was my one and only guess, and if he wasn’t here, where else would he go—

“Jessie?”

Turning around to the sound of his voice, I found Levi standing behind me with a vase of white carnations in his hands. It had only been a week since I last saw him, and yet he looked so different.

He looked sad and tired. He looked alone, and that crushed me. All I’d wanted during the past seven days was to see him, to hug him and tell him I was sorry. In my mind, I’d run through what I’d say to him once we met, wanting to make my apology perfect. But now I was face to face with him and could see how much I’d hurt him, it made me forget my apology and all I wanted was to gather him in my arms and never let him go.

“You shaved your hair.”