Page 60 of Mistaken
“Christmas Eve dinner is always best when it’s after midnight and it’s already Christmas,” Mariya said with satisfaction, sucking her thumb after a pickled mushroom dripped on the way to her mouth.
Pickled everything…I thought,lucky that I like this stuff.There was toast with sauerkraut, cute little gherkins, and pickled apples. And so many little pies! Tasty pastries stuffed with meat, veggies, or fish. I put the fish one down after a bite.Mushy…I looked for something to drink to kill the taste.
“This is???????,”Maksim poured a golden liquid into a glass mug, garnishing the edge with sugar.
“ZBEEtyn'?” I attempted.
“Quite close,” he nodded. “It’s a honey drink with cinnamon, coriander, cloves, and our chef’s special ingredient, bay leaves.”
Nodding, I took a sip, it was mellow, warming my throat as it went down. I shivered for a moment. I would never forget to be grateful for moments of warmth after falling through the ice. My feet prickled as if agreeing with me.
“Is everyone ready to retire to the library? Sofia is arriving any minute.” Mrs. Morozov waved her manicured hands gracefully.
Retiiiire to the Libraaary, my inner snark was giggling. I stopped being snarky when I walked into said library.I’m going to live here,I thought,I don’t care what I have to do. Drop in a mini fridge for snacks and I’m never coming out.
This elegant paradise was two stories high, two of the walls were lined with beautiful oak shelving, and each one was crammed with books. Two tall rolling ladders reached up as high as the ceiling so a lucky soul could grasp any book they wanted. A third wall faced out onto the garden, where the snow was falling softly, and on the fourth, a huge fireplace faced with beautifully carved stone with a thick wood mantlepiece. The gigantic fire busily roaring away could have roasted six oxen. There were multiple nooks furnished with comfortable chairs, little tables, and reading lamps. In front of the fire, Maksim had clustered two huge leather couches and a long, low table.
Leaning down, he murmured, “I had them light the fire, I thought you might be getting cold in this giant, drafty house.”
Sighing, I stared back up. “That is the most romantic thing you have ever said to me.” He laughed, and the sound made his family all look up and stare at him.
Nope,I thought,the man never laughed. Now if I can just keep tricking him into laughing more.
“Ah, happiness and merriment, what a wonderful way to begin.”
Yuri was ushering in an elderly woman in a black caftan, an alarmingly large fur coat, and silver hair flowing down her back. Essentially, who you’d send in for a Central Casting call for an “enigmatic psychic.”
“Ella, this is the wise and beautiful Sofia Ivanova,” he said, laying it on a little thick but it was clear she was enjoying it. “And lovely one, this is Maksim’s new wife, Ella Givens Morozov.”
“Lovely,” she said, plopping herself down right next to me. “Yuri, be a darling and take my coat?” Well, damn… Her eyes were black, her pupil and iris both, an endless sea of darkness and a little scary. And they were focused on me. “Fresh blood. This family could use some vigorous American energy to offset their centuries of endless stoicism.”
My cringe was a reflex, just waiting for Maksim to strike her down for such outrageous comments. But to my shock, he gave the Gracious Morozov Pakhan chuckle, “Already with the taunting, Sofia? You haven’t even begun the readings and already, the insolence?”
She waved an age-spotted hand, “I have so much stored up for you, young man. Now, who is first?”
“Me!” piped up Ekaterina, and with the expertise of a Las Vegas croupier, Sofia spread the tarot cards in a graceful flourish.
Maksim…
After pouring a drink for Yuri and myself, I seated myself next to Ella, who was watching Sofia work with fascination.
“Have you never had a reading?” I ask, enjoying the little spray of goosebumps along the thin skin of her neck as I whisper to her.
“Nope,” she murmured, careful to keep her voice low, “I’m a science-based person, I never believed in it. But it looks interesting, all the same.” I can tell she’s a little startled when I put my arm around her but in the privacy of my family home, it feels comfortable. For once, I don’t have to be concerned if it makes me look soft. My father beat any softness out of Yuri and me, but he is dead and I am Pakhan now. And since I nearly lost Ella to the river, I find myself touching her constantly, always ascertaining that she’s well and safe.
Yuri is watching us with a subtle grin that I want to smack off his face, but it fades after a moment.
“Hey, Yuri, come over here.” Ella pats the couch next to her. “I have some questions about the library, and…” They’re chatting within moments, and I wonder if my wife had seen the same loneliness on his face that I did.
“Are you ready for your reading, Pakhan?” Sofia says it with a little smirk, but after decades of reading our family’s future, she is allowed.
She spreads her cards, and Ella leans in with interest to watch. “Hmm… well, Maksim, this is an interesting year ahead.” Sofia turns over The Emperor. “Your power as Pakhan is strong. Your people respect you and your authority.” Next, the Five of Swords. “There is victory through deceit, not yours, it is a betrayal, a double cross within your own system. And the Wheel of Fortune, change is coming, an inevitable fate.” The room is quiet, aside from the soft shuffle of the cards and the crackling fire. “Ah, the Queen of Swords reversed. There is someone vicious, bitter, and cruel in your path. She will not be turned away. The Tower…” she hesitates here, fingers caressing the card that shows cataclysmic loss and death. “Upheaval. Foolish pride will cost you, Pakhan, disaster, if you hold your control too tightly. And the Queen of Wands. There is strength, courage, and determination waiting for you to see it.”
Sofia’s hands go to her lap as she waits for questions. I never have any. I do not ask for clarification. But The Tower card… upheaval? Destruction? The foolish pride is not something I wish to examine.
“Thank you,” I nod in appreciation. “And now my wife?” Despite her claims as “a woman of science,” I’m amused to see Ella lean forward eagerly.
The first card turned over for Ella’s reading is The Fool. Laughing, she says, “Well, that’s an auspicious start.”
