Page 72 of Leo, My Partner

I tense, hoping Ivan won’t spout some dumb shit. “Very. He’s mine.”

Ivan nods. “That is good. I never had the capacity to feel anything for anyone but you my entire life. Even though it’s a foreign concept to me, I wanted you to find the happiness most of the world feels. The way you look at each other, I think you have found what has eluded me all my life.” He switches back to English. “And I like him. He good for you.”

“He is. I love him, Ded.”

Ivan nods sagely. “I can tell.”

I pull out my phone and give Blu a call. He’s off work, upstairs with June. I ask him to come down because I have someone I want him to meet. I can tell Blu’s antennas are up, but he trusts me, so he doesn’t ask any questions.

“Be right there,” he says before hanging up the phone.

Two minutes later, there’s a knock at my door, and Ty shouts that he’ll get it. Blu and June round the corner, looking puzzled.

When Blu sees Ivan, his eyes widen, and he freezes in place. June looks back and forth in confusion, taking Blu’s hand.

Ty steps up, grabbing June’s elbow. “Come on. They need to talk. I’ll explain everything.”

After they leave, I stand and motion to Ivan. “Blu, this is Ivan. Our grandfather. He raised me.”

Slowly, Blu walks closer, his eyes not leaving Ivan’s face. He sits down across from him and stares. Blu has the facial expression perfectly in the middle of me and Ivan’s. He can appear stern, almost scary when he’s not trying to fake emotions. When he has to, he looks like your average hard-ass but not like a psychopath. Maybe Ivan could have learned a thing or two in that area.

“I didn’t think I’d ever meet you,” Blu finally says.

“Me either,” Ivan says in a hoarse voice. I’m not sure if it’s from his coughing fits or from emotion. “I do not have much time. Weeks, maybe months if lucky. I should have met years ago. But I did not want to disrupt your life.”

Blu nods, still staring at Ivan as if he’s trying to memorize his face. “What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you have much time?”

“Cancer. Radiation has not made tumor small, so I decline more care. Easier to come here and die in comfort.”

I pipe up. “I have a place about an hour away I can take you to. I was telling Ty it reminded me of our house in Russia, without the snow. I think you’ll like it.”

Sighing, Ivan nods, then breaks out into a fit of coughing. When he has himself under control, he says to Blu, “Your father? Where is he?”

“Home, I presume,” Blu shrugs. “He retired from his job a few months ago. Do you want me to call and tell him you’re in town?”

“No. Surprise him.”

Blu pulls out his phone and steps into another room.

“You should have told me,” I say to Ivan with more venom than I ever have before. “I should have known. I could have brought you here for top-of-the-line care when you found out. I have enough money to make sure of it.”

“Nyet. I wanted to stay in my home for as long as possible. I also had to settle affairs. I have left everything to you and Blu. Now that is complete, I can live my last days with family.”

That foreign lump forms in my throat again just as Blu steps back into the room. “He’s home. We can go now if you’re up for it. He lives an hour and a half away.”

Ivan stands on shaky legs, using the arm of the couch to assist him. I don’t try to help—he’s too proud to accept it anyway. He’s dying, not helpless. “I just spent ten hours on flight to America. I can handle one hour, nieto.”

Blu dips his head. “Understood. Little fox,” he says over his shoulder. A few seconds later, June comes out of my bedroom with Ty, pasting himself to Blu’s side. “This is Ivan. My grandfather.”

June smiles wide and holds out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m June.”

“He’s mine,” Blu says simply.

That stiff smile blooms on Ivan’s face when he shakes June’s hand. “It is nice to meet you, June.”

I hold out my arm, and Ty ducks under it, threading our fingers together. “We have to take a quick trip to Blu’s father’s house. You two keep each other company.”

Ty nods. “I can teach him now to bake those cupcakes he likes.”

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