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His body smells like sweat and smoke, but he’s alive and that’s all that matters. I hug him so hard that he groans, but I refuse to let go until I’ve had enough. I need him close to me and I don’t want him to ever leave for so long again.
I look up at him, pressing my chin into his sternum. “How did it go?” I ask.
“It’s done,” he replies, a triumphant smile spreading over his face. “We’re never, ever doing that again.”
My heart leaps into my throat. “Do you promise?”
“Yes, my dear,” he says, running his fingers through my hair. “Yes, I promise.”
EPILOGUE
Lily
As difficult as it is to raise three babies at the same time, it’s also infinitely rewarding. Words can’t even describe the joy I feel when I witness the boys playing together.
Dimitri is the leader of the bunch, always encouraging the other two to take action, whether it’s circumventing child safety locks on the cabinets, or planning surprise attacks on Ivan when he comes home from the store.
The other two boys, Donovan and Andrei, are slightly different, always insisting on doing things together even if Dimitri won’t join. It’s a cute dynamic they have going, developing in new ways as the weeks progress.
Today, Dimitri has convinced Donovan and Andrei to grab onto Ivan’s legs, hoping to pull him down onto the grass so they can bounce on his chest. I’m not sure what the purpose of such a game is, but they’re quite determined to do it when I let them out through the back door.
Ivan is outside already, spreading food in the grass for the ducks. He’s discovered that their waste makes an excellent fertilizer for some of the flowers, so he’s trying to attract them to the garden.
So far, he hasn’t had much luck, but he’s out there every day, spreading food across the ground and calling them over like they’re dogs. It’s adorable, but his little mission is about to be interrupted by the triplets.
I watch them from the doorway as they all waddle over to Ivan. At first, he genuinely doesn’t notice them approaching, but then there’s a shift in his demeanor, an obvious display of obliviousness that drives the boys wild with delight.
They’re already laughing with each other, overjoyed that they’re going to take Ivan by surprise this time.
“Oh, I seem to have dropped too much food here,” Ivan announces, speaking slowly as he bends over. He pretends to sift through the grass a bit, giving the boys ample time to strike.
Dimitri is the first to lunge at Ivan’s legs, wrapping his chubby little arms around one of them as Donovan and Andrei take the other. Ivan lets out an exaggerated yell as they attempt to pull him down, and he flails his arms around like it’s working.
I can’t help but to laugh at the way he’s moving. What’s even funnier is that the boys genuinely believe they’re going to be able to use their weight to topple a man of Ivan’s size.
“Oh, I’m falling!” Ivan exclaims, leaning over in slow motion as the boys explode in uncontrollable laughter. He topples over onto the ground, rolling over to break free from the boys’ grip.
They run after him, but he keeps rolling, pretending to have lost control as he rolls into a bush. The boys are jumping around now, hardly able to believe what they’ve done. They keep looking at each other like they’ve achieved some sort of incredible victory.
Ivan knows how to build their confidence, but ultimately, he always reminds them who is in charge.
He jumps up to his feet when they try to climb on top of him, letting out a roar like a beast. “Who did this to me? Who pushed me over?” He points at the boys, who are now huddled in a group. “You three!”
The boys scatter, going in all directions to avoid Ivan as he pretends not to be able to catch them. In reality, he’s fully capable of scooping them all up and tossing them in their cribs. We keep them separated when they sleep, but they’re in the same room so they don’t get lonely.
Dimitri runs up to me, squealing as he jumps inside to safety. Donovan and Andrei are hedging their bets on the rose bushes, crawling underneath them in the hope that their father won’t see them.
And Ivan pretends not to, walking around them and scratching his chin as they laugh at their perceived cleverness. “Where have those boys gone?”
I don’t even want to watch TV these days because I’m always so entertained by the shows Ivan puts on with the boys. He’s going crazy these days, running around with them and providing endless entertainment.
I laugh as Ivan finds Donovan and Andrei, reaching under the bush and pulling them both out. They snuggle into his arms, and he carries them back to the house. “I caught the escapees.”
I take Andrei and kiss him on the cheek. “Dimitri is inside already. I might give them some snacks before putting them to bed.”
“Oh? Why don’t you get Dimitri and bring him outside before we do that? I have a little surprise for everyone.”
I blink a few times, trying to figure out what he could mean by that. A surprise? He’s taken me so many places with the boys in the past few months that I can’t imagine it being another trip. Ever since Project G was finished and went into its rollout phase, there’s been nothing but lavish vacations, shopping sprees, and a whole new collection of supercars sitting in the driveway.
