Reunited After 25 Years 40: The Joke

The next morning Andrea awakened to find she was alone in bed. She noticed that Anton had left a note on his pillow. 'Gone to make sure Dasha is all right. Did not want to wake you up. Back soon. Love, Anton.'

Andrea got up and had breakfast, then dressed and went to sit on the front porch drinking a tall glass of iced tea and awaiting Anton's return. He arrived just before lunchtime.

"Is she all right?" asked Andrea.

"She is all right," Anton told his wife. "She no longer wants to go back to Russia, thank goodness. Denny and I convinced her to press charges against her boss. If he goes to jail, then he cannot do it to someone else."

Until he gets back out, Andrea thought. "That's good. I'm glad you did that," she told her husband. She made sandwiches for their lunch, and then they took a walk along the beach. Andrea collected seashells to use in making craft projects. Anton sat on a sand dune and pulled Andrea down beside him. They sat together, holding hands and watching the waves gently lap the shoreline for awhile.

"When I'm here with you like this, I just feel like nothing bad could ever happen again," said Andrea.

"Even if it does, it will be all right, because I am here with you, and we will face it together," Anton told her.

"I love you, Anton." Andrea hugged her husband tightly and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too, Andrea." He held her tightly and kissed the top of her hair.

The following evening, Andrea called Denny to ask how things had gone at the courthouse.

"They went all right," her son told her. "The court official told us that two other women who worked at the restaurant have filed similar complaints. They're going to let us know when the trial will be. Dasha will have to testify. She doesn't want to, but I told her I'd be there for her the entire time."

"Your father would have been proud of you," said Andrea. Once the words were out of her mouth, she was astonished that she'd said them, but then it occurred to her that she hadn't thought about how angry she felt at Dennis for his betrayal in a long time.

After several weeks of job searching, Darya finally found a part time position at the college library. Although she now didn't work as many hours as she had at the restaurant, she enjoyed the work much more.

"Now I am like you," she told Andrea with a smile. Anton and Denny had gone fishing together, Fawn was with friends, and Andrea and Darya were spending a rare afternoon together.

"I'm happy for you," Andrea told her stepdaughter. "I've always enjoyed library work."

"Just think, if not for what that man did to me, I would still be working in the restaurant," Darya said. "So something good came from it, after all."

They walked into a small clothing store which they were about to pass.

"Shopping with your mom, huh?" the salesman asked Darya.

Darya nodded. Andrea opened her mouth, but the younger woman held her finger to her lips and winked at her, so she grinned in response and didn't say anything.

A few minutes later, Darya approached the salesman and asked where the fitting rooms were. He told her, and she walked in their direction but stopped just outside them.

"So what country are you two from?" the salesman asked Andrea.

"I'm from right here in Gloucester," Andrea told him.

He looked bewildered. "You look like you could be her mother, but you sure don't sound like it."

Andrea had a hard time keeping a straight face herself as she looked over at Darya and saw that she was doubled over with laughter.

Andrea and Darya finished shopping, and Andrea went home and prepared dinner. Anton arrived much later, carrying a pail.

"Don't even come near me until you've had a shower," Andrea said. Anton laughed and headed for the bathroom. A few minutes later she felt him hugging her from behind.

"All nice and clean now," he told her.

"So how much did you catch?" she asked him.

"Enough to feed us for several nights," he told her. "Did you and Dasha have a nice time shopping?"

Andrea told him about the incident in the clothing store. He found it hilarious.

"Dasha is a funny girl," he said. "Just like her mother."