Page 53 of I Dated a Retired Hero

Calina paused and said, “Well, it looks pretty, and it’s tradition.”

“Tradition? I thought that was the ring thing.”

“No, that is just for the groom. This is from the groom’s family. It means even if he buggers off, you still have a mom.”

Litha teared up as they walked into the house, and Kiska rubbed her back.

By the time Lidiya arrived, the pierogi-making was in full swing.

She switched out with Sergei to season the ribs for the following day, and when that was done, it was back to the flour fight.

Kiska laughed and wiped flour off her forehead. “The first thing Litha told me about flour was that it was highly combustible. I should never light anything near loose flour.”

Sergei was cutting the dough circles and rolling out more dough, and the ladies were putting in the filling and sealing the crescents.

When the trays finished, they were swept off to the freezer on flat sheets. Fortunately, there was a vertical freezer for just this sort of thing.

By six, they were all hungry, so Kiska called in a pizza order and went to get it. She was back in six minutes with a huge stack of pizza and a bag of sodas. Lidiya got some canning jars out, filling them with ice cream, and they poured in the soda. Floats were had by all in the dust of their labours. While the pizzas were passed around, Litha looked around at the women and Sergei. He was at ease with men and at ease with women. He smoothed over all lulls in conversation.

He grinned and said, “Ma, Litha’s a dancer.”

Calina smiled. “Lovely. I was a dancer in my younger days. It’s how I ended up as a wife with two children instead of just a mistress. My activation was minor, but it let me survive both pregnancies.”

“Much to my father’s consternation.” Lidiya chuckled. “Sergei was a delight, and I was a shock.”

Sergei chuckled. “See, Litha? I am a delight.”

She laughed. “You are wearing pepperoni on the side of your face, dumbass.”

Kiska started laughing. Litha looked around just in time to see Calina look at Kiska with a finger to her lips in a shushing motion. Kiska grinned and leaned over to hug Litha with one arm. “Love you, Mom.”

Litha felt suspicious, but there wasn’t any malice around the table. They talked about childhoods and fond memories, and everyone but Kiska took part.

Kiska was smiling and laughing with them, but when Calina looked over, she sighed in response to the question. “I don’t want to bring down the mood, so I am not going to answer. On to the first time Litha melted her ice cream before it could get to her mouth.”

Calina frowned, and Sergei said, “She was raised in an Uraddan lab, Ma.”

“Oh. Fuck. I am sorry. I forgot.” Calina frowned.

“We can talk about it another day.” Kiska grinned. “I don’t think we are going anywhere.”

Litha smiled. “I hope not. I am liking this feeling.”

Lidiya laughed. “Me, too. Litha, thank you for rescuing my thug of a brother, and Sergei, thank you for not going mad before she could find you.”

He toasted her with his float.

Litha said, “Well, I did get paid for it, so...”

They laughed, and soon, Sergei had to return his mother home so she could make preparations to join the party the next day. She had things she wanted to bring.

They all went outside and hugged. Lidiya drove Kiska back to town, and Sergei took his mother home. Litha went inside, organized the leftovers, and was taking the boxes outside when Sergei arrived.

“Tidying up?”

“Yeah, the flour is clear. Now I get to do my favourite trick.” She held up her hand and fired two streams of plasma at the cardboard, causing it to roar and then turn to ash.

She laughed. “I love using that one.”

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