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Epilogue .

Arielle

“You know babies can hear you while they’re in the womb, right?” I said, and Mikhail’s eyes doubled in size.

“That’s a lie.”

“You wait till he comes out and starts telling you about all the things he heard while he was in the womb.”

“First of all, its a she, and Arielle, I swear if you’re fucking with me.”

“Shhh. No swearing around the baby,” I said, struggling to keep a straight face.

We were currently in Italy for our honeymoon, and Mikhail had made it a point to lay his hands on my swollen belly every morning and plead for the baby to be a girl.

Today, I decided to scare him a bit by telling him babies could hear you from the womb, and if we’re having a boy, he’d be feeling really bad and unwanted from his constant pleas. It was obviously a lie, but Mikhail knew nothing about babies, and I was thoroughly enjoying watching him battle with himself.

“I think you should apologize to him. The midwife said it helps.” He placed his hands on my bump and looked very ready to give an apology when my voice gave out, and laughter poured from me.

“Mama! Daddy! Look what I made!” Jason’s excited voice drowned my laughter as he rushed towards us with a paper kite in hand.

He pulled himself into the bed, squeezing between me and Mikhail. “It’s a kite,” he said, shoving the folded paper into Mikhail’s face, who picked it up and proceeded to give him a whole lecture on kites and what it took to build a real one.

The conversation ended with Jason deciding he wanted to fly kites for a living in the future. Mikhail tried to sway his stance in the direction of becoming a pilot, but my boy maintained he wanted to be a ‘kite-flier.’

I leaned into the bed and watched as they bickered back and forth about pilots and kite fliers, my heart swelling with gratitude at the sight.

“See why I need a girl?” he mouthed, and I chuckled lightly. He’d make a great girl dad.

Mikhail was the best husband a girl could ever ask for and the most wonderful boy dad. I sometimes find myself in awe of how much of himself he pours into our family, being present and still keeping us safe from the harsh realities of his life.

We came to the agreement that our children will be free to take whatever path they choose instead of having a clear path marked for them. It wasn’t a sustainable agreement. They were Ivanov’s and will always be tied to the family heritage, but we’ll cross the bridge when we get there. For now, I was content with watching my boys turn a paper kite into a solid argument.