“I’m meeting Josie at Arrows, thanks Ma.”
“Okay. How is she?”
“Very busy. Her new boutique is lovely. Her clothing lines are flying off the racks.”
“Please, give her my love,” Mom said and took two plates off the shelf.
“Come on, Ian. Wash your sticky paws. Dinner’s ready.”
I sat with them while they ate.
“I saw Peter today,” I said and popped a cocktail tomato into my mouth.
“Oh? How is he?” Dad asked.
“Good. He says he’s up for a parole hearing next month.”
“That’s big news,” Mom said. “How do you feel about that, sweetheart?”
“I’m not going to think about it too much until it comes around. He wasn’t successful last time.”
“Yeah, it must be tough.”
“I hate going to see him. Prison is such an awful place.”
“I for one will be glad when you don’t have to drive out there anymore. It’s a creepy place.”
“I agree with you, Dad.”
After they were done with dinner, I kissed them goodbye, and I left to meet Josie st Arrows.
I wondered how Max’s trip went. I’m sure we’d catch up on Monday.
8
MAX
Iwas tired and emotionally drained when I returned from Moscow. It was hard to keep my tongue in check when all I wanted to do was tell Grigoriy Yegorov exactly what I thought of his new proposal. But, that would be as wise as shoving my head in a woodchipper, so I nodded and told him I would give it some serious thought.
It was Saturday afternoon. I called my sister, Inessa.
“Maxi! This is a nice surprise. What’s up?”
“Hey, Sis. Yeah. Are you busy tonight? I thought we could grab a bite. We haven’t seen each other in far too long.”
“Yeah, sorry about that, Maxi. Jeremy is teething. I can’t remember when I last slept through the night. Uhm, let me see if Charlie can watch him. Hang on.”
I heard muffled sounds as she placed her hand over the receiver and called her husband’s name. A few moments later she spoke again.
“Charlie will keep an eye on Jeremy. What time did you want to go?”
“Tell him I said thanks. I’ll pick you up at 7 pm. Okay?”
“Okay. See you then.”
“Maxim,” Inessa said before I could hang up. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, why?”