Chapter 19

As I walked up the three-car drive that fronted Kirsty's home, I felt my pace slowing the nearer I got to the door behind which she waited. Trepidation was causing my taut nerves to start humming, I was anticipating what was about to begin and it wasn't good.

Was I scared?

Petrified was a better description and the more I'd thought about this meal the worse the feeling had become. The fears that Kirsty had talked about had become mine and I wasn't sure how to handle things.

Finally standing there before the dark wood front door I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders and muttered, "let battle commence," under my breath. I raised a hand towards the doorknocker and as my fingers touched the ornate brass handle the door was yanked open and Kirsty reached out for me.

She grasped the front of my shirt and pulled me towards her, I was still blinking in surprise when I found I was in the hall and she was pressing her body up against mine and pressing her lips to me as well.

"Mmhhhmm," she murmured into my ear after she broke off the toe-curling kiss.

"Now that's what I call a welcome," I responded just as softly and hugged her to me tightly.

She stepped back, breaking our embrace and blushed as she grinned, "Did you miss me?" she asked fluttering her eyelashes.

"No," I responded grinning just as she was. "That was definitely a hit."

"Ohh," she said and took a swing at my shoulder. I was getting used to this response now and swayed out of the way before reaching for her and pulling her back into my arms.

"Kirsty, is that Kevin?"

Kirsty sighed, "Yes, Mom."

"Well don't keep him standing in the hallway," called Rosa, "Bring him through."

Kirsty dropped her eyes and took my hand, gently pulling me towards the living room.

'Into the valley of death rode the one' I misquoted in my mind and plastered a smile across my face as I prepared to meet the enemy. Strange isn't it how I considered someone I'd never met, never even had any dealings with as the enemy?

Kirsty ushered me into the room and we stood awkwardly side by side in the small space between the coffee table and the end of the settee. Rosa was coming to her feet from the armchair across the room and the Auntie was relaxing on the far end of the settee.

Rosa stepped towards me and waved towards her sister, "Ana, this is Kevin, the boy Kirsty has told you about." She smiled at me and continued, "Kevin, this is my sister, Anechka, though we call her Ana."

I nodded in greeting as I processed what I could see. As Kirsty had intimated she had a big bust and the blouse she was wearing, a rather loud yellow item with red buttons did nothing to hide the fact. From where I stood I had a clear view down the valley of her charms, a view she increased as she leant forward to greet me. I was relieved to see that as large as it appeared it was the deformed monstrosity I'd pictured after the telephone conversation I'd with Helen.

"Hello, Kevin, I've heard so much about you," she said smiling pleasantly.

I could feel my face heating up but I figured I was doing well by avoiding dribbling at the display she was presenting. I felt Kirsty's hand squeeze mine and replied just as blandly, "Likewise."

Ana had dark hair, like her sister and niece but she wore it pulled back from her face revealing more of her olive complexion. Her eyes were brown and there were faint traces of lines around the corners, a thing that was masked by more makeup than I liked.

Ana's smile revealed a perfect set of bright, white teeth that quickly took on the impression of a shark's in my mind as she turned to Rosa. "He's a little young, isn't he?" she asked as though I wasn't there.

A look of pain passed across Rosa's face before she answered, "He's the same age as Kirsty."

The pressure on my hand increased but I remained silent, she hadn't been speaking to me, merely about me.

"I'd have thought that Kirsty would be looking for a more, uhmm, mature man," said Ana rising to her feet and looking me up and down as she did so. The look she had on her face was, I don't know, call it demeaning, as though I was less than she'd been led to believe.

I cocked my head to one side and carried out a detailed inspection of this middle-aged woman who was throwing around insults so casually. Her brown trousers were rumpled and she was just a little plump, nothing that couldn't be hidden by a good choice of clothing but the trousers didn't fit that description at all. Height wise she was as tall as her sister, give or take a fraction of an inch, it was hard to tell as both of them were wearing heels.

Maybe she was having second thoughts about the dare she'd agreed to do, now that she'd seen who was presenting the challenge?

One thing was certain. Her attitude was annoying me and having a detrimental affect on all the plans I'd put in place to behave. Her attitude was shredding my restraint faster than I could quell my annoyance.

I felt rather than saw Kirsty prepare to launch an attack and quelled it by leaning over and whispering in her ear, "Are you sure she's your Aunt and not your grandmother?"

Kirsty gasped, went wide-eyed and took a swing at me with her free hand as a snort of laughter escaped her.

"Did you have something to say?" asked Ana frowning at me.

"Nothing for you," I replied with a smile before glancing at Rosa and receiving a smile that I took as encouragement, "it was something for my girlfriend."

"The food is ready," said Rosa before Ana or I could continue our war of words, "shall we get started?"

"Ladies first," I said with an inclination of my head towards Ana. As she turned away I squeezed Kirsty's bum and looked innocent as both of the adults glanced back when she gasped again.

The dining table had been set for the four of us with Kirsty and I along one of the long sides, Ana had the seat opposite us and Rosa was at the head of the table on my right. I did the gentlemanly thing and seated Kirsty and Ana took her own seat opposite us before I could offer to do the same for her.

Rosa disappeared into the kitchen and I had a moment to think about how things had gone so far.

Kirsty took the time to pour each of us a glass of water from the ice-filled jug that had been waiting on the table and I tried to be honest in my mind. The first thing I had to admit was that I hadn't done well. I'd allowed Ana's attitude to get under my skin. I suppose it was inevitable given the warnings that Kirsty had given me and my vow not to let her get away with anything. Even so I really should be more forgiving for Kirsty's sake.

This was supposed to be a friendly meal together so that the two of us could get to know each other and so far it hadn't worked. I let out a snort that attracted attention but I ignored the two of them. We had certainly got to know each other just not in the way intended.

Was I supposed to roll over now and let Ana walk all over me or should I keep the pressure on if she tried anything?

I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment before allowing it to flow outwards taking some of the tension within me away. I'd play it by ear and if Ana was nice I'd do the same, if she stepped out of line, well anything was possible.

I glanced at Kirsty and was rewarded with a shy smile. I returned it and relaxed as far as I was able.

"So, Ana, what do you think of the little bit of England you've seen so far?" I asked before the silence became too oppressive.

"I haven't seen a lot but the bits I've seen are quaint," she replied. "Rosa took me shopping yesterday and after lunch we went to the cathedral."

I blushed as I remembered my earlier conversation with Helen about the shopping trip the girls had been on.

Ana continued, "That was something we don't have back home. We've got churches and some of them are magnificent but they don't have the sense of history that the cathedral invoked. That's the bit I found fascinating."

"Have you any plans to go down to London, to see the sights in the capital?"

"Not on this trip," she replied, "but if Rosa will have me back sometime I think I'd like to do the whole tourist bit at some stage."

Rosa's arrival put a stop to our conversation as we all helped her distribute the soup bowls around the table. A large tureen was placed in the centre of the table and a wicker basket containing slices of dark bread landed next to my elbow.

Kirsty's mother removed the lid of the tureen and I sniffed carefully at the steam that rose from the liquid within. There didn't appear to be anything to worry about as my taste-buds began to salivate, a quick glance revealed a colourful mixture in which I could identify the carrots if nothing else.

"This is a soup called Shchi," said Rosa and smiled at my puzzled look. "It is of Russian origin and in English it would be described as cabbage soup."

I frowned. Cabbages were not one of my favourite vegetables, edible but nothing to write home about and the aroma coming from the dish didn't remind me of the green stuff I got at home.

Kirsty giggled alongside me as Rosa ladled a spoonful into my bowl, "It has some cabbage in it but there are also onions, carrots, apples and diced pork, it's topped off with smetana," she explained as she added a second spoonful to my bowl.

'What the hell is smetana?' I thought.

"Smetana is a soured cream," said Kirsty. "It's the white stuff on the top and it makes the soup very creamy."

I glanced at the girl by my side, was she becoming psychic now?

Ana chuckled from her side of the table. "I love this," she said, "but I could never cook it at home as he didn't like anything from the 'Old world.' If it wasn't American, it just wasn't allowed in our house." She snorted, "But he always wanted pizza at half time when he was watching the football."

I chuckled at the look on her face before turning my attention back to the soup in front of me. It didn't look anything like I'd expect cabbage soup to look like and the swirl of smetana looked creamy. I didn't anticipate any difficulties dealing with this at all.

It was delicious but I kept an eye on those around me to make sure I didn't make any gaffs whilst eating it. I was surprised when Ana and then Rosa dunked their bread in the liquid and was happy to follow suite, dunking was something that mum frowned upon but that might have been because of dad's tendency to drip soup over the tablecloth and his shirts.

Ana jumped up to help Rosa clear the empty bowls away leaving Kirsty and I sat there alone.

She pulled me towards her and whispered in my ear, "Thank you."

"What for?" I asked quietly.

"Treating Ana the way you did," she said. "This is the best she's behaved since she got here."

I didn't have a chance to reply as the sisters appeared carrying more serving dishes.

A plate was placed before me that contained two small piles of what looked like dumplings but they were stuffed with something, a smaller partitioned dish was placed alongside the plate. This contained butter, sour cream, something that looked like mustard and another creamy substance.

Kirsty pointed at the plate, "Those are pelmeni," she said. "The larger ones are stuffed with pork and the smaller ones contain lamb."

I pointed at the side dish and raised an eyebrow.

"Butter, sour cream, Dijon mustard and horseradish," she replied indicating each compartment in turn.

Rosa took her seat and continued the explanation, "This is another dish from Russia," she said. "It can be made in many ways using lots of different meats but I like to keep it simple so each parcel contains either pork or lamb with various herbs and spices."

She indicated the serving dishes in the centre of the table. "Potatoes, pickled cabbage and carrots are the traditional vegetables that go with most Russian meals."

"How often do you do this?" I asked. "The Russian meal thing?"

"Hardly at all," replied Rosa, "But I thought it would be an experience for you and Ana has always liked traditional foods."

I tucked in and had to grab the water after sampling the horseradish, my mouth was on fire.

Ana and Kirsty laughed at the face I was pulling and despite enquiring if I was all right even Rosa was smiling at my antics.

After I'd cleared my mouth of the burning sensation I needed some more water and as Rosa had just emptied her glass into mine she needed a refill as well.