Page 107 of Born into Chaos

“I’ll give you some to take to Simona and Max,” Katya tells him.

“Thanks. They’ll love that.” Danil takes another bite and then grabs his messenger bag. Pulling out a manila folder, he hands it to me and says, “Congratulations.”

I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but Sveta wastes no time in grabbing the folder out of my hand while she asks, “What is this?”

Danil smiles at her. “Open it and find out.” Looking over at Niki, he says, “Your cousin worked his ass off, and I couldn’t be more proud.”

Niki tries to hide his smile as Sveta rips open the folder and takes out a stack of papers. “What the hell?” she whispers, tilting the paper in her hand so I can see. It’s a birth certificate for Samantha Kozov with Sveta and I listed as her parents.

“I told them to make her a Melnikov, but they wouldn’t listen to me,” Vitaly says.

I reread the words over and over again. Seeing Svetlana and Samantha Kozov listed as my wife and daughter makes everything real, and instead of hesitation or fear at being thrown into marriage and fatherhood, I feel nothing but relief, because this means they’re mine. This is proof that we’re a family and that we belong together.

“What about her real birth certificate?” I ask. “Is there any way someone could find it and use it against us?”

Danil shakes his head. “Niki changed the original. He even changed her blood type on the hospital records and wiped her prints. There’s still a record of Erin Lyons’ birth, but it’s never going to match up to Samantha Kozov.”

Niki grins and says, “Tony and Dr. Bianchi helped with makingSamantha’s immunization chart and all the check-up info. The records are perfect. No one will ever think that Sveta didn’t give birth to her.” He looks over at his cousin. “You opted for a natural, home delivery.”

Sveta laughs. “Yeah, that sounds like me for sure. I am such a trooper.” She looks up at me. “Just for the record, when I do actually give birth, I want drugs. Lots of ‘em.”

I smile and kiss the tip of her nose. “Whatever you want,pcholka.”

She flips through to the next piece of paper and then looks back at her cousin. Before she can ask, he quickly says, “We just thought that maybe you’d want it on paper that you were married before you had her. I can delete it if you want me to.”

Sveta and I stare down at our marriage certificate. I point at the date and say, “I can’t believe I missed our one-year anniversary.”

“That was really crappy of you,” Sveta says, not missing a beat. “I’ll expect you to make that up to me in an extravagant way.”

“You can always have a wedding ceremony,” Katya says, “and just celebrate that as your wedding date instead. This is just something to have as proof.”

Sveta nods but her focus is still on the wedding and birth certificates in her hand. “I can’t believe you did all this. Thanks, Niki and Uncle Danil.”

“Sure thing, kiddo,” Danil says.

Niki smiles at us and says, “No problem. Any excuse to do something illegal and learn a few more skills.”

“Jesus, he reminds me so much of you when you were younger,” Vitaly says, looking over at Danil.

“Yeah, except he’s way smarter,” Danil says with a proud grin.

We sit around talking for a few more minutes while Samantha is passed around the table and then given her bottle. I laugh and smile with the rest of them, but my mind is on the paperwork we’ve just been given. Legally, or not so legally, depending on how you look at it, Sveta and I are married. She’s my wife, and I’m desperate to know how she feels about that.

When Danil and Niki stand to leave, I try not to appear too antsy, although I’m eager to follow them out.

“We should get going,” Danil says. “Thanks for the pie, Katya. I’m going to be very popular when I get home.”

“If Max isn’t there, I’m eating his slice,” Niki says. He squats down to kiss Samantha’s cheek and smiles when she reaches for him. Unable to resist her, he picks her up and gives her another kiss before handing her over to his dad. Danil gets a few belly laughs and then puts her in Vitaly’s arms.

“It’s good having another baby around. I’ve missed this age,” Danil says.

“Yeah, it’s a good one,” Vitaly agrees. “Always happy to see you and they never talk back.”

Sveta walks over and hugs her dad. “I’m always happy to see you, and I never talk back.”

Vitaly laughs. “One out of two isn’t bad.”

Danil laughs and grabs the plate of leftovers, giving us a wave as he and Niki leave, and then Samantha yawns, giving me the perfect excuse to start packing up. Sveta can sense how anxious I am, so she starts saying her goodbyes. Val promises to visit soon and Katya packs up a container of leftovers for us.

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