“Foul motherfucker,” I said fondly as he approached me. I embraced him and pounded him on the back. “Miserable asshole. Some things never change.”
“Yeah, well, you’d be surprised.”
It was good to be around what I had always considered family — which was ironic, seeing as how I wasn’t supposed to have any of that anymore. “How’s everything?” I asked once we parted.
He sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, Misha. I don’t live here anymore. I’m in Seattle. Like the two of us were supposed to be. Barely scraping rent together.”
I frowned, looking at the house and trying to ignore the accusation that Jonathan hadn’t hidden very well in his words. “What are you doing here, then? Just a visit?”
“Something like that,” Jonathan said, that wary look back on his face. Like I was a stranger he couldn’t trust. Hell, maybe I was. “And you?”
“Sure, a visit,” I said. “Want to go in with me and scare the shit out of Mamachka together?”
“No, I’m leaving already,” he said, jangling the set of keys in his hand. “Nice Tesla, by the way. Maybe I can trade mine in for one.” He kicked one of the tires of his Honda Civic.
The bitterness souring his voice gave me pause. “Stick around for a little while, bratan. I’ve come from across the world. At least come in with me. You can be in on the surprise.” I swallowed and tried to act as casual as possible. “Is Sadie here?”
“Who knows? We don’t talk anymore.”
I blinked. “You don’t talk anymore? The two of you shared the same womb. At the same time.” How could a place that looked the same as it always had throw such a big change at me?
“That is how twins work,” he confirmed. “Doesn’t mean we have to be attached at the hip as adults. We have very little in common. It’s natural to seek out our own interests.”
This was idiotic. “You are twins. Brother and sister. You have more in common than anyone else on this planet.”
“Sadie was always a homebody. She never wanted to move out.” Jonathan ticked a finger. “I wanted to move to Seattle right after we graduated. Mom told me I needed some kind of business degree beforehand — that was what kept me from going right away.”
“That’s one difference,” I said. “One. You’re not very convincing.”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Jonathan said. “But you should find out from Sadie. Not me.”
What the hell was he talking about?
“Just come inside with me so I can say hello to Mamachka without killing her,” I said. “I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“Fifty million.”
That was nothing to me, but it was ridiculous to hear my friend talk so callously. “Fuck you, bratan.”
“Fine. I want to drive the Tesla.”
“All right. But I have to ride with you.”
“Deal.” We shook on it because we were both wily and untrustworthy assholes, and he led me back into the house.
“What’d you forget?” Jonathan’s mother called from the living room. “Or did you decide to stick around for dinner after all?”
“I didn’t forget anything,” he said with a glance at me. “I found something, actually. Or someone.”
“Well don’t be so cryptic. Get in here and tell me.”
I stepped around the corner cautiously. Mamachka’s voice had aged, and I didn’t want to give the old woman a heart attack. That wouldn’t win me any favors with Sadie. She’d probably send me packing back across the world.
Almost nothing had changed about the place, full of well-worn furniture that sagged in an inviting way. It was the same faded, flowery upholstery on the couches we’d disassembled to make forts as children — or hosted video game tournaments as we grew older.
“Remember to be quiet,” Mamachka was warning us as we rounded the corner to the kitchen, which practically pulsed with the smell of baked goods. “They’re all napping — Misha!”
She launched herself nearly across the countertop at me, narrowly missing sending an assortment of measuring cups rattling to the floor.