Nikolai and Anya (Anne Marie)

Nikolai and Anya (Anne Marie)

Knocking on the door to what was supposed to be Nikolai’s apartment I waited anxiously for him to answer. After a few moments I heard a sexy, masculine voice saying just a moment in Russian. I hoped that it was Nikolai.
I would know as soon as I gave him the code phrase, and he responded with the completion of the scripture verse.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,” I said quietly in Russian when he opened the door.
“For he has visited and redeemed his people.” He replied in Russian completing the verse. All of our conversations were in Russian, even though I knew English; I hadn’t spoken or even thought in the language for over 15 months.
I told him that I had a message from his parents and grandparents.
Opening the door wider he said, “Come in, please.”
As I stepped into the apartment I noticed that he was wearing a towel wrapped around his waist, and that his thick, wavy dark brown hair was wet, and his shoulders and torso, also, gleamed with sheen of water as though he had just stepped out of the shower. He must have turned the water off just before I knocked at the door, because I didn’t hear the sound of running water coming from the room. He was muscular, but not overly so. And his chest was as smooth as a baby’s bottom in appearance.
As soon as I was inside the apartment, he closed the door and helped me take my backpack off, which he then placed, on the floor next to the door.
“Come and sit next to me, and you can tell me about how my parents and grandparents are doing.”
After he said this he sat down on a small sofa, which was actually more of the size of what one would call a loveseat and invited me to sit down next to him. When I sat down next to him, we were so close that to be more comfortable he placed his left arm across the back of the seat behind my shoulders.
“They are concerned in that they have not heard from you for several months. They are fine though, and hope that you are well. But, I do have some bad news for you. On the way here I was asked to take a message to Chilovo, and the couple that I met there were your grandparents Afanasi and Filipa. Your grandmother is dying from cancer, and they would really appreciate it if you would come to visit and say goodbye. They do not know how long she has. She is in a lot of pain and has lost a lot of weight. I spent a week with them, and they were very kind and sweet to me.”
“May I ask how it is that you came to be in contact with my parents and grandparents?”
“Actually, I’m not a Soviet citizen, and in this country illegally.