Both are very unsettling. I can’t help but wonder if he felt the same when I gave him water.
Before he can spear another piece of food, I pick up my fork so he’ll see I will continue feeding myself.
“Is it nice, Mama?” Simi asks.
“Yes.” I bring a slice of steak to her mouth. “Taste.”
She takes the bite. “Mmm-mm…yummy.”
“You can have some of mine,malkata mi printsesa,” Georgi says. “Your mama needs to eat all her food.”
“Okay.”
As I eat more, I have to suppress a groan. God, it’s delicious. I only have two more bites of the steak before I eat all the vegetables and roll. I’m not used to consuming meat and don’t want to upset my stomach too much.
Georgi seems pleased when I set down my fork, and he even gives me a smile. “Thank you.”
He’s thanking me for eating?
My jaw almost drops, and once again, an ache spreads through my heart because it feels dangerously close to being cared for.
It touches a need in me that I’ve been trying to smother since my mother died.
The flight was incredibly long and exhausting.
I’m so proud of Simi. She handled it much better than I did.
As we’re being driven into New York, Simi and I stare out the window at the tall buildings. Everywhere we look, there are yellow cabs honking their horns while people rush along the sidewalks.
Normal people.
For a couple of seconds, my eyes touch on a tall woman who’s wearing a gorgeous gray dress and high heels. She walks with her chin held high, and people look back to get another glimpse of her.
What is her life like?
“Mama,” Simi whispers while pressing her finger to the window and leaving a print. “Look.”
I follow her gaze, and my breath catches.
There’s a huge toy store on the corner, its display glowing like something from one of Simi’s fairytale books. A stuffed bear in a red bow stands by the entrance, so tall it nearly reaches the ceiling.
A pillar covered with pictures of fairytales towers beside it, painted carousel horses gleam under tiny lights, and a castle made for dolls sits in the center, its little windows lit as if royalty lives inside.
Pretty little ballerinas spin inside music boxes while a miniature train circles a snowy village.
“Mama,” Simi gasps. “That bear is bigger than Georgi.”
“It might be,” I agree.
Her nose nearly presses to the glass. “It looks like the princess castle book.”
“It does,” I whisper.
Simi twists in her seat to look at Georgi. “Is that your castle?”
His mouth curves. “No,malkata mi printsesa, but I’ll take you there tomorrow.”
My heart clenches so painfully that my body stiffens and my eyes water.