A tear ran down Christina's cheek. "You have to talk to me Nina," she cried. "Please?" she whispered as she dropped her head and sobbed quietly. "Nina, you have to open the door. I'm leaving soon, and I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again. Please, don't be mad at me."

 

Being Christina Chase
Chapter 32 - The Last GoodBye
by Admiral Krunch

 

        It was almost ten in the morning when Christina woke up. She lay in bed, still basking in the glow of her uncle's love. Boris broke the spell when he jumped on Christina's bed and demanded attention. "Hey, puppy," Christina cooed. She scratched the dog behind his ears, and he wagged his tail happily.

        "I guess I should get moving," she finally sighed. She walked to the bathroom in her pajamas, paused at the door, then decided to continue to Nina's room. Knocking on Nina's door, she asked, "Nina? Are you awake?"

        "Go away! I'm not talking to you!" Nina shouted in a petulant voice.

        Christina said, "Come on, Nina, open the door."

        "I mean it! I'm never talking to you, ever again!"

        "Nina!' Christina balked indignantly. She grabbed the knob of Nina's door, but it was locked. "Nina?" she asked, but there was no answer. "Nina?" she pleaded. Christina stared at the door, and it finally sank in- Nina really wasn't going to speak with her. A lump formed in Christina's throat as she begged, "Nina, please open the door." There was still no response. "Please?"

        She couldn't really be that mad, Christina thought. Going down the stairs and into the kitchen, Christina assumed that Nina needed a moment to cool off.

        "Good morning, Tina," Misha called from the sink.

        "Hi, Aunt Misha," Christina said.

        "Have a seat, dear," her aunt commanded.

        "Oh, I'm not hungry."

        "You have a big trip today, and you need to have breakfast," Misha corrected. Christina sat down, and Misha piled sausages, biscuits, and scrambled eggs onto a plate, and presented it to her niece.

        Christina didn't bother to point out that there was no way she could eat that much food. She'd grown accustomed to her aunt's attempts to overfeed everyone in the house.

        Misha poured Christina a glass of milk and sat down at the table next to her. "What is wrong, my child?" she asked, "Did Alek not speak to you last night?"

        Christina smiled warmly and replied, "Yeah, he did."

        "Then what can be the matter?"

        "I think Nina is really mad at me," Christina explained.

        "What for?"

        "At the dance last night, David was ..." Christina tried to think of a tactful way to explain that David was drinking at the party, had felt up both Nina and herself, and had planned on taking Nina's virginity.

        "He was what, dear?" Misha asked with concern.

        " ... he was um ... getting fresh with Nina. And I had a little talk with him, and I made Nina leave the dance early and ride home with Andrei."

        "It sounds like you did the right thing."

        Christina sulked, "Yeah, but Nina doesn't even want to talk to me."

        Placing her arm over her niece's shoulder, Misha explained, "Being the older sister is not always fun. It is natural for teenagers to become cross when they are told what to do, but they are not yet adults. And it is very hard when you have to take responsibility. When Nina was a very little girl, she and I were the best of friends. But, the first time she wanted to stay out late, or wear makeup, or go out on a date, I had to be her mother first."

        Christina nodded, but she obviously didn't feel any better.

        "She will forget in time," Misha assured her.

        Of course, time was exactly what Christina was out of. That dreary thought was undercut by the sound of the side door opening. Andrei kicked the snow off his boots and trudged into the kitchen.

        "My my, are we just getting in?" Christina asked with an accusing smirk.

        Misha said nothing, though she shot her son a disapproving look.

        Christina was annoyed that Andre was held to a different standard than the girls in the house. He was allowed to stay out to all hours with Steph, drive at night, and do pretty much as he pleased, so long as the barn didn't burn down.

        Andrei hung his coat over a chair and sat down at the kitchen table.

        Taking a single biscuit off of her plate, Christina pushed the rest of the food in front of Andrei. "You have to eat this," Christina commanded. "Your mother is trying to make me fat."

        "Works for me," Andrei shrugged as he dug into his cousin's breakfast.

        Alek lumbered sleepily into the kitchen, still in his bedclothes.

        When Andrei saw Alek, his mind raced to the previous night. Glaring at his father, Andrei was ready to finish the fight they'd nearly started.

        "Good morning Andrei," Alek said gruffly. "And good morning to you, Tina," he said sweetly.

        "Good morning, Uncle Alek," Christina responded with girlish glee. She presented her right cheek, and Alek gave her a kiss.

        Andrei questioned his cousin with a raised eyebrow which Christina ignored.

        "Misha," Alek said, "I will take care of the tree after I shower."

        "Take your time, Alek," she responded. "There is no rush."

        As Alek left the room, Andrei looked suspiciously at his cousin.

        Leaning across the table, Christina whispered, "You're not going to believe this, but when I got home, your father apologized to me."

        "My father doesn't apologize," Andrei said warily.

        "He did to me," Christina beamed.

        "Not once in his live has he apologized to anyone."

        Christina playfully responded, "Last night, and to me."

        Andrei did his best to assimilate the information. "So, everything is good?"

        "Yes. And I think you're off the hook for sawing the lock off his chest."

        Andrei stuffed a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth and said, "I am sure I will find something else important to saw in half."

        Christina bounced up and gave her cousin a constricting hug. Resting her head on his shoulder, she whispered, "Next time you see Steph, tell her I said she's doing wonders for your sense of humor." Christina sprang back up, and rushed back upstairs.

        Knocking on Nina's door, Christina said, "Nina, please open the door." She knocked again and added, "You can't ignore me forever." Christina waited for Nina to say something, but there was only silence. Christina sat on the floor and leaned against the wall next to Nina's door. Holding her knees bent against her chest, Christina frowned.

        "Please open the door Nina," she begged. "Okay, you don't have to open the door, but just talk to me!" Christina replayed the previous night in her head. Nina didn't know what kind of boy David was; Christina was just doing what was best for her cousin. Why couldn't Nina see that? She remembered the look on Nina's face last night; the girl had been furious. As Christina sat there, she realized that if Nina didn't open the door, that would be the very last moment they had ever spent together. That was going to be how the person she thought of as her sister, and her best friend in the world, was going to remember her.

        A tear ran down Christina's cheek. "You have to talk to me Nina," she cried. "Please?" she whispered as she dropped her head and sobbed quietly. "Nina, you have to open the door. I'm leaving soon, and I don't know if I'm ever going to see you again. Please, don't be mad at me."

        Opening the door, Nina said, "What do you mean you're never going to see me again?"

        Christina said, "Nina ... I don't know what's going to happen when I get back to the city. I don't know where I'm going to work, or where I'm going to live ... And I don't know when I'll be able to see you again. So please, don't be mad at me. I don't want to leave with you mad at me."

        Nina sat down on the floor next to her older cousin. "You embarrassed me in front of David. And in front of my friends."

        "Nina-"

        "And you treated me like I was a little kid," Nina added. "Mom, and Dad, and even Andrei always treat me that way, but you never did."

        "You're right. I'm sorry."

        Nina insisted, "And I could have gone home with David."

        "Nina, it's a good thing David didn't take you home."

        "There you go again!" Nina whined. "I'm not a little girl!"

        Christina put her hand on Nina's shoulder and said, "No, you're not, Nina. And I'm really sorry I treated you like one last night, but I couldn't let you go home with David."

        "Oh, you couldn't LET me!" Nina growled sarcastically.

        Christina asked, "Nina, do you really think I would ever do anything just to hurt your feelings?"

        " ... no," the girl conceded.

        "And you know if anything bad ever happened to you, I would lose my mind, right?"

        "Nothing bad was going to-"

        "I'm serious Nina," Christina interrupted. "You have to know that you're the most important person in the world to me. So please just understand that I wouldn't have done what I did last night unless I thought I had to, okay?"

        "Okay," Nina whispered.

        "And I promise I will never treat you like a little kid again."

        "Okay," Nina repeated, "But you're wrong about David."

        Christina insisted, "David is not a nice boy." Seeing the look in Nina's eyes, she added, "Which is adult advice from your peer."

        Nina leaned against Christina and hugged her. The girls' reconciliation was interrupted by the sound of Andrei stomping up the stairs.

        "Hey Andrei," Nina called. She made a quick flick of her head towards her older brother's room and stood up.

        Nodding, Andrei disappeared into his bedroom.

        Christina stood up and asked, "What was that?"

        Before Nina could explain, Andrei came back into the hall and corralled the girls into Christina's room as he shut the door behind them.

        "What's going on?" Christina asked as her eyes danced back and forth between her cousins.

        Andrei said, "Nina and I figured out a temporary solution to your job problem." He held out a white envelope to Christina.

        Taking the envelope, Christina looked inside and sank on to the edge of her bed. "There's got to be like a thousand dollars in here."

        "One thousand, one hundred, and twelve dollars." Nina announced proudly.

        "What is this?"

        Andrei explained, "Now you have some money to help you out until you find a new job."

        "No," Christina said, "Where did you get this?"

        "It's our money," Nina said. "We had it saved up."

        Christina wiped a tear from her eye with her palm and said, "You guys ..." She waited until the lump in her throat loosened and added, "I really don't deserve you two."

        Nina and Andrei sat on either side of Christina. Andrei said, "Did you really think we were going to forget about you?"

        "I guess not," Christina sniffed. She shook her head slowly and said, "I can't take this."

        "Sure you can," insisted Nina.

        "Okay, number one," Christina objected, "This has to be all the money you have. And number two, I don't know when I can pay you back."

        "It's not a loan," Andrei said. "Nina and I talked about it; we want you to have it."

        "You can't ask me to take this!" Christina cried.

        "Christina, you have to take it," Nina said firmly.

        Christina put the money down on her bed and cried quietly. She whispered, "I don't know what I'm going to do without you two."

        "Lucky for you, you don't have to find out," Andrei joked.

        Christina leaned over and hugged Andrei then did the same to Nina. "How did you two pull this off without me finding out?" Christina asked.

        "You spent a lot of time with Richard last week," Nina grinned.

        "Yeah I know. I'm sorry I didn't see you guys more," Christina apologized. "I had to take one for the team." Nina and Andrei both looked away conspicuously. "What?" Christina asked. Neither cousin answered, and she repeated, "What?"

        "You didn't seem to mind taking one for the team," Andrei observed.

        "I was just acting that way so-" Christina said as she realized her cousins didn't believe a word she was saying. "It was just to get him to help us!"

        "I don't know," Nina beamed, "I think the two of you had a good time last night."

        Christina stood up and looked incredulously at her cousins. Her face turned a dark crimson, and she protested, "It was strictly business."

        "So that kiss last night was strictly business?" Nina asked playfully. She mouthed the word "wow" with her lips.

        Christina looked pleadingly at Andrei who merely shrugged.

        "Richard is not my boyfriend!" Christina stated emphatically.

        "Okay," Nina grinned.

        "And I am NOT his girlfriend," Christina stressed. "It's not even remotely physically possible for me to be his girlfriend ... I don't even LIKE him!"

        "Shu ... ure," Andrei did his best to sound sincere.

        Christina pressed her palm to her forehead in an attempt to make the throbbing in her skull stop. Of all the humiliations she had suffered, perhaps none of them were so degrading as her cousins accusing her of being interested in a man. What was worse, was that the two of them appeared happy for her.

        The sound of the front doorbell followed by Boris' frantic barking cut short Christina's fit. Nina, Christina, and Andrei hurried downstairs to see what the commotion was about. They rushed into the living room and found Misha welcoming Richard inside.

        Andrei leaned over to his cousin and whispered, "Your boyfriend is here."

        Christina punched him as hard as she could on his shoulder, though it was barely enough to move Andrei.

        Alek emerged from the master bedroom and boomed, "What is all this noise?"

        "Tina has a visitor!" Misha announced in delight.

        Going nervously over to Richard, Christina muttered, "Heya."

        "Good morning," Richard grinned. "I see you're not quite ready yet."

        "Ready?" Christina asked absentmindedly. Looking down at herself, it dawned on her that she was still wearing her pajamas from last night. She held the jacket of her pj's tightly around her revealing tank top and blushed furiously. "I guess not," she squirmed.

        Standing by his niece's side, Alek gruffly asked, "Ready for what?"

        "I'm driving Christina to Dover," said Richard, "to catch her bus."

        Closing her eyes, Christina muttered, "Oh right." Christina wondered, of all the things she wished she could forget about last night, why did she forget about this?

        Alek sized up the man who stood in front of him. Draping his gigantic arm around his niece possessively, Alek said, "Tina, I do not think I remember this man's name ..."

        "Um ... Richard," Christina fumbled. "Richard, this is my Uncle Alek. Uncle Alek, this is Richard ... my um ..."

        Richard smiled coyly at Christina.

        "My uh ... legal council?"

        Nina laughed relentlessly as Andrei hurried his sister up the stairs, leaving Christina to her fate.

        Richard held out his hand, which Alek begrudgingly shook. Alek made certain to squeeze Richard's hand with enough force to cause one of Richard's knuckles to crack.

        "Richard offered to drive me last night," Christina explained.

        "That was very kind," Alek said cooly to Richard, "But there is no need."

        Misha cleared her throat and shot her husband a disapproving look. "Nonsense," she dismissed. Taking Richard by the arm, she led him to the couch and assured, "I am sure Christina would love for you to drive her."

        "Actually ..." Christina said.

        "So it is settled," Misha said with an air of finality.

        Alek sat down in a chair across from Richard and focused a suspicious stare on him.

        "Would you like something to drink?" Misha asked cheerfully.

        "A glass of water would be lovely," Richard replied.

        Turning to Christina, Misha said, "Do not just stand there, child, get dressed!"

        Christina walked across the living room, then up the stairs. Shame burned through her body as Richard's eyes followed her up the stairs until only her bunny slippers could be seen. As Christina reached the top of the stairs, she heard her uncle ask, "How exactly did you meet my niece?"

        After a quick shower, Christina emerged from the bathroom wearing only a towel wrapped around her chest. She entered her bedroom and saw Nina was waiting for her.

        "You've got to hurry up before Dad scares Richard away," insisted Nina

        "There's no rush!" Christina giggled nervously.

        Nina rolled her eyes and held up an attractive floral dress. "You should wear this," she announced.

        "No way, Nina," Christina objected. Pulling a pair of jeans out of her bag, Christina said, "This is what we wear on long trips. Besides, Richard already got a show last night, thanks to you."

        "Okay," Nina shrugged defensively. "I'm just saying, if I were you, I would want to look good for my-"

        "Don't say it!" Christina chided. She dropped her towel and pulled on a pair of plain cotton panties. Next she pulled on her cincher, a bra, and a pair of socks. Before putting on her jeans, Christina made certain to retrieve her new silver cross from her jewelry box and clasp it around her neck. Finally, she put on the turtleneck sweater her uncle had given her for Christmas and stepped into her boots. Sitting down at her vanity, Christina deftly made herself up with a reserved look.

        Nina selected a tiny vial of perfume and placed it in front of Christina.

        "There's no need for that," Christina said.

        Nina made a disgruntled look, and Christina playfully stuck out her tongue.

        Holding firmly, Nina slid the vial closer to her cousin.

        "Oh fine," Christina balked. She spritzed her self a few times then ruthlessly sprayed Nina with a cloud of the sweet smelling mist. The two of them giggled uncontrollably; so much so that neither of them noticed Andrei enter the room.

        "So this is what takes so long," Andrei said wryly.

        Putting down the perfume, Christina announced, "I'm all set." She gathered all the items from her vanity and put them away in her bags. She then took the envelope of money off her nightstand and slid it in to her back pocket. Andrei took two heavy suitcases, and the girls each grabbed a bag. The three of them came down the stairs in time to catch the tail end of Richard's grilling.

        " ... and I assure you my intentions towards Christina are entirely honorable," Richard answered.

        Christina felt a whole new wave of humiliation wrack her body.

        Richard stood up as Christina entered the room. He took the bags from both the girls and said to Andrei, "I'll run out and pop the trunk."

        Nina announced, "There's still a few more bags," and Alek stood up and followed Nina back upstairs.

        Misha touched Christina on the hand and said, "I made some things for you to take home." She went to the kitchen, and Christina heard the unmistakable sounds of Tupperware being shoved into paper shopping bags.

        Left alone with Boris, Christina pulled out the envelope containing her cousins' savings. Looking cautiously around the room to make sure she was unwatched, she picked up a picture of Anastasia off the fireplace mantle and placed the envelope in a spot where it would be obscured by the frame. She replaced the picture, taking care to make it appear as though nothing was out of place. Christina knew that her cousins' money would buy her at least a month, but she wouldn't take it. It broke her heart to know that she was never going to see Andrei or Nina ever again, and she didn't want to take their money in addition to disappearing forever.

        "Here we are, dear," Misha held out an overstuffed bag.

        Christina grinned, "You're going to make me fat, Aunt Misha."

        Misha touched her niece's cheek and said, "You do not eat well when you are in that awful city."

        "Nothing could ever compare to your cooking," she replied. She put down the bag and hugged her aunt. "Thank you," Christina whispered.

        "For what dear?"

        Christina let her aunt go and smiled. "You know ... everything."

        Alek and Nina came down the stairs with the last of Christina's things as Andrei and Richard came back in the front door. Andrei, Alek, and Richard took the remaining bags to the car, leaving Christina alone with Misha and Nina.

        Christina grabbed Nina and held her tightly. She said, "I'm going to miss you so much"

        "Okay! Okay!" Nina giggled, "Don't choke me, though!"

        Releasing the girl, Christina said, "Sorry."

        The men returned, and Christina gave Andrei a big hug. Finally, she embraced her uncle, barely able to get her arms around the man.

        "Remember to call as soon as you get home," Alek instructed.

        Christina let go of her uncle and said, "Yes sir."

        He added, "And don't dawdle in the station. It will be very late when you arrive, and you are to go straight home."

        "I will. I promise."

        She kissed her uncle on the cheek and said, "Goodbye Uncle Alek." She gave Boris a quick scratch behind the ears, then went to the door.

        Richard helped Christina with her coat and held the door open. "After you," he said. He escorted the girl to his car and held her door open for her.

        Christina made no objections to Richard's chivalry; she was too preoccupied with her thoughts. Richard joined her in the car, and Christina watched the Levchenko home disappear in the distance.

        Richard watched Christina wipe the tears off of her pale cheek. He reached over and held the girl's hand. "Are you alright Princess?" he asked.

        "Yeah," Christina lied.

        "Is this about your uncle?"

        "No. I completely misjudged him. He said he'd still love me no matter what. I'm just going to miss them."

        "So does this mean you'll be back soon?" Richard asked hopefully.

        "I'm not coming back anymore."

        "Why not?" Richard asked in a hurt voice.

        "I'm not supposed to be here. You know, it's kinda hard to explain. It's like when you're having a dream, and everything feels like it makes sense, but somehow you know that something is off. And sooner or later, your alarm clock goes off, and you have to wake up and deal with reality again."

        "You know, you could throw out that alarm clock," Richard joked, "Or maybe hit the snooze button."

        "I'd be lying if I said that thought never crossed my mind." Christina shook her head and said resolutely, "My life is a mess. I have to stop hiding from it and deal with it." Christina could tell by the look on Richard's face that he didn't understand what she meant, but how could he? Squeezing his hand, she said, "I'm sorry I kept you waiting all morning."

        "Don't be sorry. Besides, you look great in your jammies."

        Christina laughed and shook her head at the older man. "Well, when I went to bed, I asked myself, 'What would Richard like to see tomorrow?'"

        "Come now, you must have something I would like better," he flirted.

        "Oh, I have plenty of fancy things," Christina teased. "Didn't my uncle have a word with you this morning about having pure intentions or something?"

        "That he did. You know, I think the last time a girl's father gave me 'the talk,' I was fourteen years old."

        "Uncle Alek is an old fashioned man. Nina couldn't even go out on a date without a chaperone, you remember."

        "I think there's more to it than that."

        "What do you mean?" Christina asked.

        "I've seen the way you act around your uncle."

        "Just what are you implying?"

        Richard threaded fingers through Christina's and continued to hold her delicate hand. "You are a textbook daddy's girl," he explained.

        "Oh come on!" Christina whined.

        "You definitely are," Richard grinned.

        "Okay fine, but so what if I am?"

        "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. It's just that your uncle is never going to think anyone is good enough for you."

        Christina actually smiled at that realization.

        "See?" Richard joked. "I rest my case. Classic daddy's girl."

        "I'm not going to apologize for loving my uncle."

        "And some day when you grow up, you'll marry a man just like Daddy," Richard flirted.

        Christina stared off into the distance and said, "Oh yeah, you're right! I can see him now- Wow this guy looks NOTHING like you."

        "Okay," Richard laughed.

        "Yeah, he's just like my uncle! He's the man I've been writing about in my diary! You know the one I keep on my hope chest?"

        Richard said, "I'll have to find a way of making you forget about that guy."

        Letting that last comment drop, Christina asked, "Are you going to be in trouble? For going to the dance last night?"

        "No Princess," Richard answered, "But I will be behind schedule."

        "And I made you even later this morning, didn't I."

        "No, not at all."

        Christina gave the older man a suspicious look.

        "A little late," he grinned.

        "I'm sorry Richard."

        "It's alright Princess," he consoled.

        "Tell me about what you're working on." she asked.

        Richard replied, "Do you really want to know?"

        Christina said, "Yeah. I mean, I've been keeping you away from whatever it is you're supposed to be doing. I'm kind of curious what it is."

        "It's nothing exciting. I work with the Dover Medical Group. They're currently renegotiating insurance rates for the practice."

        "What's the Dover Medical Group? Is that like a barbershop quartet for doctors or something?"

        "No," Richard laughed. "It's a partnership of three doctors. They're all residents at the local hospital who retain their own private practice."

        "And you do what exactly?" Christina asked.

        "Saul minds the books. I mostly write intimidating letters these days."

        "You write letters. And you get paid like two-hundred dollars an hour for this?" Christina asked in disbelief.

        "I have excellent penmanship," he joked.

        "How do you get a job like that?"

        "Start off by going to a reputable university. After four years of that, spend another three in law school ... take the bar ... intern at a successful firm ... then it's all downhill from there."

        "I'll get right on that."

        "Saul introduced me to one of the partners, Dr. Redinger, a few years ago. He was having problems getting a certain insurance company to reimburse the practice for a number of patients."

        "Why didn't they pay?"

        Richard replied, "Princess, insurance companies don't make money paying for care."

        "So what, they just said, 'We're not going to pay?'"

        "It was a little more technical than that, but yes that's the idea."

        "Why didn't the patients sue?"

        "It's hard for someone who works for a living to sue a big company. Your average blue collar family can't afford it; the company simply outspends them in court."

        "That's just not right," Christina frowned.

        "No it's not. So I and Jerry filed a class action lawsuit. We got a lot of money for a lot of people. Money they were owed."

        "So basically you're saying you made a great big insurance company pay all the regular people that they cheated," Christina summarized in awe.

        "Not just me. The people had a case; I just presented it," he explained humbly.

        "Oh my God!" Christina balked.

        "What?" Richard grinned.

        "You're the one who's supposed to be chasing the ambulances!"

        Richard laughed, "That's not quite my specialty."

        "You make me feel like the most selfish person in the world!"

        "Why would you say that?"

        "Oh I dunno ... your job is to make sure insurance companies don't cheat people? And in your spare time you help everyone in town with all their legal problems for free. Do you see this coat?" she said holding one side of her fur lined coat. "I spent four hundred dollars on this. Four hundred dollars! Why? Because I just had to have it."

        "What's wrong with that?" the older man laughed.

        "I dunno, I could have spent it on homeless people or orphans or something."

        "Princess, do you realize every time I see you, you're helping someone else?"

        "I know them. It's sorta different."

        Richard squeezed Christina's hand and said, "Nonsense. Lots of people do good things in their lives, but most of the time, it doesn't cost them anything. You were willing to give up everything to make sure your family had a place to live. I wish I could say I was that selfless."

        "It still wouldn't hurt to save a few burning orphans."

        "Oh, they're burning now?"

        "I dunno." Christina shrugged, "Those orphanages are always burning down. Gotta run in there and save those kids."

        "I've got something big on the horizon," Richard said. "I can't say too much about it now, but it may be the difference between a decent pay check, and a big one."

        "... Says the man with the Lexus," Christina joked.

        The two of them laughed and talked for the rest of the trip. Christina found that talking to Richard about his work took her mind off her problems. She also didn't mind holding his hand for the entire trip. She rationalized this by assuming if his hand were in hers, it couldn't get up to any mischief.

        Some time later, the silver Lexus pulled into the Dover bus station. Richard parked the car in the half-deserted parking lot and popped the trunk. He and Christina got out of the car, and Christina immediately grabbed a heavy suitcase. Taking the suitcase out of Christina's tiny hands, Richard insisted, "Allow me."

        "You know, I'm not quite the delicate little flower my uncle and Andrei think I am," Christina objected.

        Richard took Christina's hand, kissed it gently, and said, "You most certainly are."

        Christina threw her hands up and said, "Fine! You want to carry everything? That's fine by me." She watched him carry each bag to her terminal and set them down beside a waiting bus. Though Richard was fit and muscular, he was nowhere near the size of the men in Christina's family. He accomplished in four trips what Andrei would have in two. A porter in an orange vest began loading Christina's luggage underneath the bus. She grabbed one bag containing some snacks and a few magazines and slung it over her shoulder. When all the bags were stowed, Christina faced Richard and held out her hand.

        "I guess this is goodbye," she said.

        Ignoring her hand, Richard pulled the girl tightly to him. "It doesn't have to be," he said.

        "Yeah it does. See that bus? I'm getting on that bus, and I won't be back."

        "I'll come to you," he insisted.

        "Richard, we've already had this conversation. I don't even know where I'm going to be."

        "I don't care where it is. Where ever you are, that's where I'll go."

        "You know, that's sweet," Christina said sincerely, "But this is one of those situations that just isn't going to work out."

        "Why don't you just think about it Princess?"

        "Richard!" she squeaked in exasperation, "There's nothing to think about! I said-"

        Richard stopped the girl dead in her tracks with a passionate kiss. Christina's muffled words melted into a sigh as her thoughts became clouded.

        Richard pulled away, and Christina said, "There's no kissing," through her trance. The man kissed her again, and Christina wrapped her slender arms around his broad shoulders. "I'll think about it," she conceded.

        "I'll call you later," Richard said firmly.

        "You'll call me later?" Christina repeated, still disoriented from making out.

        "I have your cell number."

        "Right," Christina said as she stepped onto the bus. "My cell phone. Definitely call me on my cell phone." Waving goodbye to Richard, she walked into the heated bus. It wasn't quite the firm break she'd hoped for, but it didn't really matter. Sitting down in an empty row, Christina looked out the window at Richard. He stood in the cold, and watched faithfully until the bus disappeared in the distance.

---

Edited into coherence by Holly H. Hart.
Thanks to Sephrena Miller for taking an early read.
Hope you enjoyed it. If you liked it or hated it, please leave a tasty comment.
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