Panthera Spelaea

The quiet life at the remote farm lasted until just before Halloween.

Daniil was more than happy to drive down to Moscow for us on days he didn’t have a charter. We used him to pass messages to Marina, our lawyer, and get us things we needed from the big city. Mostly, that was meat. We went through a LOT, and Daniil spread out his purchases between stores so they wouldn’t raise so many suspicions. If Marina needed to get ahold of us, she had Daniil’s number. Since Marina could assure the Judge we were still in compliance with her order to stay in Russia, the police couldn’t arrest me if they found me. After all, the order did not require me to check in or submit to invasive tracking.

As for us, the fall was a glorious time to spend together. We’d go a week between Daniil’s visit and not see another person. During the cooling days, we’d work, fish, and play outside. There was plenty of wood to chop, constant Russian language practice, and frequent sex. At night, I’d call my lion forward to hunt and play. The local deer herd got thinned out as the big cat hunted for his fast food.

The three of us grew incredibly close during our time in hiding. Looking back, it was the best thing for us; we were able to work out our unique relationship without outside influences. Svetlana, Anna, and I bonded together at all levels, and we were happy.

Like all fun things, it couldn’t last. Four things conspired to force our return to Moscow.

First was the weather. Pavel had been honest about the remoteness of the home we’d rented; once the heavy snows of the Russian winter hit, we weren’t going anywhere until spring without a snowmobile or a helicopter. I didn’t want us snowed in, and I wasn’t a fan of winter.

The second was our health. We were in fine shape; I was stronger than before, after weeks of cutting and splitting wood, swimming, and running in the woods. The girls were far more athletic now, with defined muscles and excellent stamina. Both had not had a period since we were in Moscow, and my lion could smell the life blooming inside them. Yes, both were pregnant, despite their Depro-Provera injections ten weeks earlier. The shot was supposed to last three months, preventing the release of eggs and thickening the cervical mucous to keep sperm out. “No defense could withstand your Super Sperm,” Anna said as we talked about their budding pregnancies. “So much else has changed in our body. Is it any surprise that making us fertile would be one of them?” It didn’t matter now. Both carried my babies, and we were thrilled about it.

The third was my desire to propose and marry before their bellies swelled with obvious pregnancy. They were MINE, and my cat and I wanted something to ward off other men’s advances so I wouldn’t have to kill them. I wanted the blessing of Lana’s parents, as old-fashioned as that was. I also wanted to sneak out to buy the girls their engagement rings. I had to hope I’d be able to bring the girls home to meet my family sometime.

And that led to the fourth. Daniil showed up on Friday evening during our post-dinner romp, forcing us to scramble for clothing before he arrived at the door. “I have news from Moscow,” he said. “Marina has a hearing before Central District Judge Vitali Shemkov on Monday morning. The police have made no progress in their investigation, so she has petitioned the Court to return your passport. You need to go to Moscow, John.”

We invited him in for coffee and quickly decided we were leaving and not coming back. We left the keys with Daniil and had our car loaded two hours later. I wanted to travel at night, making it less likely to be identified on the drive home. Since the police were likely tapping her parent’s phone, we didn’t call to warn them. We all knew they’d find us eventually, but we wanted as much freedom as we could get.

I drove the first leg of the eleven-hour road trip, with Anna riding shotgun and Svetlana sleeping in the back. We rotated through the driving overnight, each getting a few hours of sleep overnight.

Svetlana’s parents were eating breakfast when we arrived in Rybinsk early the following day. Nadezna screamed when she saw our car pull in and rushed out to greet us. “LANA! ANNA! JOHN!”

The girls ran forward to hug her, and I joined them soon after. It took a few minutes for everyone to settle down and go inside. We eventually sat at the table and told them about the court hearing.

When the girls went out to retrieve the food we’d brought home, I was finally alone with the parents. “There’s more than just the court hearing, isn’t there,” Nadezna said.

“Yes. I love Svetlana and Anna, and the three of us are committed to making it all work. We have agreed Svetlana will be my legal wife. They will be sister-wives in private, and I will love them equally. I ask your blessing of this before I propose to them.” I was going to get engaged before they found out I’d knocked their daughter up, THAT was for sure. The girls would see their OB-GYN in Moscow as soon as they could get an appointment, and after that, we’d tell her parents.

“I still don’t know if your love triangle can work,” Sergei said warily. “Anna deserves a husband of her own.”

Nadezna was more supportive than I had hoped. “Anna seems more than happy with the arrangement. Look at the girls, dear! Have you ever seen our baby so happy?” She turned back to me. “That’s not all, is it?”

Svetlana must not have gotten away with anything as a child; Mom didn’t miss a thing going on in the house. “No, but the rest will wait. I still have court hearings and murder investigations hanging over my head, after all.” I was expecting the police to show up any time now. “I was hoping to propose tomorrow, so we need to drive to Moscow today in time for ring shopping. Do you know their ring sizes?”

“You are already engaged, aren’t you,” Nadezna said.

Awkward? Party of one? Your table is ready. “I pledged my undying love to Svetlana and Anna, and they pledged their hearts to me, but I didn’t get on a knee and ask for Lana’s hand in marriage.”

“Your relationship is different, and the girls have tastes of their own. Let them pick their rings with you; maybe they will want them to be the same, maybe not. Get your rings and propose properly, with us watching.”

It was good advice. “Thank you, Mom,” I told her as she pulled me into a hug. Sergei embraced me as well, his daughter’s happiness being more important than his reservations about our relationship.

We were back on the road an hour later. We’d left much of the food with the parents; we didn’t have an apartment in Moscow now, so it was back to hotel rooms. We turned our phones on as we left, seeing the police car stationed down the road and knowing our time in the shadows was over. The police were following us, but at least they weren't riding our tailgate.

I scrolled through the hundreds of missed calls and text messages, but I had other calls to make as Svetlana drove us away from her childhood home. The first was to my lawyer, Marina, asking for an appointment early on Monday. She’d see me at eight to go over strategy for the ten o’clock hearing. The second was to my Mom, letting her know we were heading back to Moscow for the hearing. She wanted to know about the girls and how things were getting along. “Do I need to start planning a wedding and baby shower yet?”

“Mom!” I wasn’t going to talk about that yet. “Things are going well with Svetlana, but we’ve only known each other a few months.”

“Oh, please. Love has no time limits. Let me talk to my future daughter-in-law.”

That was not happening. “Svetlana is driving, Mom. We will call you again when we get to our hotel in Moscow.”

“Fine. Don’t screw this up, John. She’s a sweet girl.”

I wasn’t going to. “I won’t. Love you, Mom.”

Anna had reserved us a room for a week at the Metropole Hotel, the hotel near Red Square we’d stayed at on the night we saw the Bolshoi Ballet. While we drove, I talked to the girls about engagement rings. “We’ve got a few hours on the road, so look through the designs and think about what you want,” I told them. “There’s one part of the design I won’t compromise on, though.”

“What is that,” Svetlana asked.

“The rings will have three diamonds, a big one in the middle with a smaller one on either side.”

Anna got it first. “The Lion and his two girls.” We all smiled, and Anna started looking at websites.