“TIIIINNNNA! Otvoriti vrata! Sada!”
Oh my god!
That heavily accented voice demanding I open the door is my dad’s! A huge smile appears on my face, I chuckle while I open the door.
As soon as it opens, my dad yells, “Where is the fuck bastard?!”
Ah, okay.
Dad looks a little out of sorts. His hair is a mess, his eyes are bloodshot and he is spitting angry.
My brow furrows and answer, “Which fuck bastard, Tata?”
He pushes his way into the apartment and makes a show of looking around. Lifting sofa cushions, peering down the hall, checking under the dining table and going so far as to even check if I’m concealing someone in the kitchen cupboards.
He stands in the kitchen and turns to me, he responds, “THE fuck bastard. He no here?”
The fuck bastard. That could only be…
I answer softly, “Jace isn’t here, Ta. I haven’t seen him in years. Before Mia was born. ”
Dads eyes flash and he tells me, “He call. He call me looking for you. He ask where you live, Valentina. I no tell him but he try find you. ”
What? No way.
I shake my head and say, “Tata, you must’ve been mistaken. He’s not here so…”
I haven’t even notice I’ve left the door open til I hear, “Everything okay, babe?”
I spin and see Nik standing there staring holes into my father’s head. He has a pizza box in his hands and is dressed in sweats and a t-shirt.
Le sigh.
He looks amazing.
I spin back to my back and see Dad staring holes right back into Nik. The funny thing is that Nik is acting protective of me. Okay, so my father has his hands on his hips while wearing a scowl but if my father were a dog he would be a Chihuahua. All bark and no bite.
I ask Nik quietly, “What are you doing here?”
Nik continues to glare at my dad and answers, “Nat thought you might need some company tonight with her being out so she asked me to come. ”
That little sneak!
Dad loosens up at this. He storms over to Nik, holds out his hand and says, “Nat tell you to take care my Tina? Natalia is like my own child. If she like you, I like you. ”
I roll my eyes and introduce them, “Nik. Dad. Dad. Nik. ”
Dad shakes Nik’s hand and replies, “You have longer name?”
Nik nods and replies, “Nikolai Leokov. ”
Dad smiles and says, “Ahh, Ruski!” Then he looks at me and says, “Nije hrvatskom, ali on je okay. ” Then he leans forward as if Nik isn’t there and whispers loudly, “But Ruski are communists, Tina. ”
Oh my God, Dad!
I did not miss my father embarrassing me at all. Luckily, I hear Nik chuckle and he asks me, “Is there a problem? You looked anxious when I got here. ”
But it’s my dad that answers a heavily accented, “Big problem, Niki. So big problem. The man try see Tina, she no want to see him. He call me today. ”