The Don And His Flower

36

Xander Alexi Kholodov.

Imani watched as her baby boy calmed down as her husband cradled the child with a bottle in his hands. The two had privately celebrated Xander's seven months of age the previous day.

Seven months, they have had a sense of peace. But it's been nearly nine months since her husband had last heard from his own brother. It made Imani nervous, she didn't like how distant her husband and his brother were. Valis had expressed to her that he simply didn't care to talk with his brother.

She watched him burp the child, rocking him back to sleep before placing him in his nursery right next door. The following silence brought relief to both parents, happy that their teething child might be down for the rest of the night.

After the fiasco with his father, Imani made the conscious decision not to ask him anything regarding the Family.

She didn't want to know.

Not after what she's been through. She'd raise all her babies with a clear conscience. Willfully be ignorant to the ways of their lives.

Valis was content in her unspoken decision. He had little to no intentions of ever pillow talking to his wife about being the Kholodov Mafia.

Xander cooed and laughed lightly, his father's voice calm and soothing as he said something in their tongue. Tanned skin with dark brown droopy eyes smiling with a few teeth pushing from his gums so slightly. The boy had the spitting image of his father.

Only thing that Xander had was her hair. Tight black coils that the occasional comb gets stuck through. It was challenging the first few days of having Xander. The reality of knowing that she was a mother. That she had a child that depended on not only her, but her father. It scared her. Scared her to know how little she felt in this world that she was in. Scared her to know how much she depended on Valis as well.

Xander's soft laughter drew her from her thoughts. He gave another drowsy laugh, silence following right after.

She watched the dim light in the connected room go out. Light up stars on the walls and ceilings before Valis entered their bed room, monitor in his hands.

The glow on the clock on his bedside dresser made her smile.

3:47 a.m.

"Happy birthday." She whispered against his lips. He grunted softly, kissing her as she laid back against the pillows. "Twenty two is a big number." She smiled against the man.

He nodded, grabbing her leg.

"So is twenty one. A few more weeks right?" He smirked, kissing her face.

Such low volume played on the TV, a sleeping wife in bed beside her husband. He played awake, listening to the soft breaths of his wife.

Getting out of bed, he went back to the nursery. Xander was sprawled out on his back, head to the side with a small plop of drool in the corner of his mouth.

He went downstairs carefully, looking at the corner of the large main doors. Piles and piles of boxes remained still stacked high. He grabbed one, opening it carefully as he inspected the gift.

A ball pit.

Looking at the other massive boxes with the same praising handwriting, he assumed those were the plastic balls. What drew his eyes was the small rectangular box with black and white wrapping.

The Don went to unwrap it, noticing how many more of the same black and white packages there were with the other ones. Tossing the wrapping to the floor, he opened the top case, breath hitched at the sight before him.