5. Visiting Pskov

Dimitri

Joe did not delay me at all, and at the appointed time we were in the car on our way to the city where my parents lived, about three hours away from St. Petersburg. I didn't visit them that often, but I tried to keep in touch regularly.

" Tell me cousin, how is Maria? " Joe teased me.

" What I told you back then still applies, Joe. Stay away from my sister," I threatened, referring to a time during Maria's adolescence when she found herself in love with him.

Joe never got involved with her, but he liked to tease me about it. I knew that despite his fame, he would never hurt his little cousin. But that didn't stop me from threatening him every time he brought it up.

" I'm just saying, I saw her pictures on the internet and the years have only done her good," he insisted.

" You know what else has improved over time? My aim," I glared at him, earning a laugh from the guy.

" I don't think you'd have the guts to do me any harm, cousin.”

" Do you really want to find out? Besides, if you've seen pictures of the whole family, you'll notice that Yuri is about my size. I bet he would love to get revenge for all the times you teased him when he was younger.”

My younger brother was always the butt of Joe's jokes, but now that he's almost eighteen, I doubt that it's that easy to make fun of him. Joe laughed again, looking out the window at the landscape we were quickly leaving behind.

" You're complaining, but you'll miss me when I'm gone, cousin.” 

" Joe, I hardly stayed home at all while you were here," I returned, "I'll be fine.” 

" And when you were home you refused to go out," he returned, "you need to learn to have fun.” 

" Believe me, I have fun, I don't need your help for that.”

And that was true, as much as I rarely went out and visited any of the clubs in St. Petersburg, I never failed to enjoy myself when I was in other countries, I always tried to use my time off abroad to get to know as much as possible of the place where I was, and I always had company for that. I just had enough of the nightclubs in my city, everything was different when I had so many cultures at my disposal.

" Before I go, you must accompany me at least once.”

I ignored him, tuning the radio to some music station, making him snort before looking out the window again.

The rest of the trip to my mother's house was uneventful, Joe and I making small talk in between the advice I was trying to give so that the man could get along with his family.

" I'm not denying that you have a great profession," he explained as we neared our destination, "I just don't understand why I would have to follow in your footsteps.” 

" And you don't. What your father means is that he expects you to do something with your life. You are a graduate for a reason," I pointed out, "go back to painting, try to sell your paintings, do something.”

" He considers everything I do the biggest waste of time," Joe complained, "he treats me like I'm still a teenager.”

" Do you know what an adolescent attitude is? Running away from home after an argument," I took a deep breath, "If you had stayed and made your point, maybe he might respect you a little.”

" He doesn't respect anyone," he returned immediately, ending the subject.

We arrived at my mother's house around dinner time, and she seemed surprised to find us there, but didn't hesitate to welcome us.

" What I mean, Auntie, is that he doesn't believe I can do anything useful," Joe told my mother about his discussion with his father as we helped her set the table for dinner.

" That's not true, Joe," my mother declared indulgently, "you graduated, that proves you can do it. My brother is just a little hard to express himself.”

I took a deep breath from hearing the same complaints over the past weeks since he arrived in Russia.

" I already told him this.”

" You should listen to your cousin.”

" He said I should get back to painting, but what's the point? " Joe continued his complaint as if my mother were some kind of family therapist.

One more week, that's all I can take, and besides, I'll be spending most of it in Lisbon, so it won't be too hard.

" This way you could prove him wrong, you need a better incentive than that? " Maria pointed, entering the dining room.

Joe promptly left what he was doing to hug my sister, kissing her cheek, much to my displeasure. She had become a beautiful woman in her thirties, her pale skin contrasting with the brown hair and green eyes she had inherited from our mother, so that she always attracted the attention of the boys around her.

" Maria, look at you," Joe stood up, winking at my exasperation, "you have changed so much.”

 

" Joe," I let out in a warning tone.

She alternated her gaze between the two of us, searching for the meaning of this interaction.

" What? She deserves compliments, cousin. That's all," he assured my sister, hugging her, "Time has only done her good.”

" Thank you, Joe," she gave her cousin a suspicious look, probably remembering all the times he had run away from her advances.

" You see, she always did like my compliments, didn't she, cousin? " He slung an arm around her shoulder, smiling at me.

Only a week, Dimitri. He'll be gone in a week.

My mother just shook her head as if this was just childish nonsense and went into the kitchen. 

" I'm not sure, Joe. Before you were only interested in complimenting my friends, remember? " She returned the compliment with an almost innocent smile.

Joe laughed, and, unperturbed by my sister's comment, tightened his half-hug a little, making them even closer than before.

" You're right, Masha. I didn't think very well back then.”

" Some things never change, and I guess I'm too old for that nickname," she returned, making me smile.

Maria had always been independent, and that was one of the reasons I didn't get directly involved in Joe's advances, even though I threatened him. I knew that she could take care of herself. 

" We should both go out later, for old times' sake," he ignored her comment, causing me to frown.

All right, I don't want to get involved and fall for his teasing, but him asking her out? That's out of line!

" I'm sorry Joe, but I already have plans with someone else," she removed my cousin's arm from her shoulder, "but you can reminisce about old times with Nadia, she still lives next door.”

My smile widened even more, I really don't need to intervene.

" You'd better give up, Miller. She's not interested," I teased my cousin. But something caught my attention, causing me to frown as I addressed my sister, "and who do you have plans with?”

 " The best part of being an adult is not having to answer to anyone," she returned, "so I have plans with someone who is of no interest to either of you.”

" She has a secret boyfriend, cousin," Joe whispered, "you'd better interfere, secret boyfriends are never a good thing.”

" And what do you know about it? " She rolled her eyes.

" I know a lot, I'm usually the secret boyfriend," he returned.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket, causing me to distract myself from the little argument that had formed between the two of them. I unlocked the screen, finding a new message from Blair.

 "You're not the only one with a great view, Commander" 

That was the caption of the photo of the girl in front of a hotel room window from which it was possible to see a beautiful cathedral in the middle of a sunny city. Blair was wearing a light blue dress with white prints and her hair was a little damp, indicating that she had arrived in town in time for at least a shower.

I restrained a half smile as I read the message before checking the time, preparing myself to reply next.

 "Are you okay? It seems to be hot in there.” 

The answer didn't take long to come.

"The weather is great. Luckily I got rid of the cold in Istanbul.”

I couldn't help laughing at this, it was strange to think of her so at ease while outside my mother's house the temperature was close to zero degrees and the sun had already set.

" Why is he laughing? " Maria questioned my cousin.

" He must be talking to his secret girlfriend," Joe confided.

I took a deep breath ignoring them both, mentally thanking my brother for being at his girlfriend's house, turning my attention to something more important at the moment.

" You would hate to be in St Petersburg right now then. "

"I'm definitely a beach girl, Commander.” 

" Hey, I want to meet this girl," Maria complained.

" The good thing about being an adult is that I don't owe you any satisfaction, Masha," I returned, receiving a frown in return.

" How do you like this cousin? " Joe laughed.

" Mama, Dimulya is dating and won't show me with whom," she shouted suddenly.

" I am not dating, she is just a flight attendant I met this week," I returned snidely, "and what does Mama know about the person you are going out with today?”

" She knows it's not a boyfriend and that's enough," she hummed.

Luckily my mother didn't seem to hear what Maria said, and I was grateful for that. All I didn't need was to have to tell my mother everything in detail. It wasn't enough that Joe was telling my sister everything he knew about Blair, which wasn't much.

But I could use the moment to resume my conversation and I wasted no time, I couldn't stop talking to her.