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When the plane touched down in New Orleans and the door opened, they could see Yuri and Mikial standing there waiting for them. Both men smiled as Iosif came down the steps and they both reached out to shake his hand. However, it wasn’t the greeting they gave to Timor.
Timor tended to dismiss people he didn’t think were important as he was and he began to do it here as well until he caught Iosif’s raised brow. Timor looked over at the two men and finally held out his hand. Yuri and Mikial shook hands and then they loaded their luggage into the car.
On the way to Roman’s house Timor commented, “Oh, this is such a joyful day. The Maxim name will continue to a new generation.”
Yuri checked the rear-view mirror and caught Iosif’s eye. Iosif shook his head quietly and Yuri’s lips tightened but he didn’t say anything. Yuri glanced over at Mikial and noted the same sour look on his face but neither of them said anything.
When they pulled up in front of Roman’s home, Timor went immediately to his front door while leaving it to Iosif, Yuri and Mikial to get his bags and bring them to the house.
“Does he really mean to call Roman’s children Maxims?” Yuri had to ask.
“I’m not sure,” Iosif admitted. “Sometimes I think he’s dreaming about how life should have been, not how it really was.”
“You know Roman will never go home with him, don’t you?” Yuri asked.
Iosif nodded. “Yes, I know this and there are times when I almost envy him that choice. Our lives have been so different that I still can’t believe we are brothers.” He paused then added, “My father though, once he knew about Roman has never stopped looking for him. It took him four long years to find him but he never gave up.”
Yuri glared at Iosif. “I won’t allow him to disrupt Roman’s life here.”
“And I’m not asking you to do that.” Iosif nodded. He looked around the property and felt this place could be home for him as well as his brother. He chuckled and asked almost as a second thought, “Could you use another brother?”
Yuri glanced over at Mikial with a quizzical look. Then he looked back at Iosif, “Your father would blow a gasket if that ever happened.”
Iosif nodded. “I know, that’s a real kicker isn’t it? It wouldn’t matter what we really want, only what he wants.”
“Roman’s children carry his name not Timor’s,” Mikial mentioned.
Iosif looked over at them both. “His name is Salizar and as much as Timor doesn’t like it, that’s the way things are. Our parents were never married. When I was born my last name was Salizar as well. But since the day he found me, he’s always called me Maxim. I grew up with that name because I never knew any better. Legally, I am a Salizar but Timor won’t see that or even acknowledge it.”
“Then let’s hope he doesn’t cause any trouble while he’s here,” Yuri warned. “I’m not sure Roman has forgiven him from the first visit you two had.”
Iosif chuckled. “If you think Roman was furious you should have spent the next twelve hours stuck on the plane with my father. He was seriously pissed at the whole situation. He couldn’t understand why Roman didn’t want to come home with him. He put the entire blame on Stevie and Ben.”
Yuri growled. “What the fuck?”
Iosif nodded, “Oh, the four of you caught some of the flack too. Everyone was to blame but him. It took a whole lot of talking to bring him down.”
“The one to blame is your mother.” Yuri scoffed. “She’s the one who never told him about her sons did she?”
Iosif shook his head. “No she never did but I think he showed her the error in her ways.”
Yuri frowned at Mikial but neither man said a word. “We’d better get inside.” They all grabbed some luggage and headed into Roman’s house.
They got inside to see Timor release Roman from a hug. That didn’t seem too bad. Then Timor ruined everything with his next question, “Where are my grandsons? I want to meet the next generation of Maxims.”
Roman snapped his head over to Iosif and glared at him. “Timor, their last name is Salizar, not Maxim.”
Timor growled. “Your last name should be the same as mine, Maxim. You are my oldest son, not some vagabond off the street.”
“Father,” Iosif broke into the conversation in order to sooth the painful confrontation. “Both Roman and I share the same last name and that is Salizar. That was the name we were born with.”
“No!” Timor growled. “You are both my sons and should carry my name. You both carry the blood from my ancestors the same as I do. That’s Maxim blood not Salizar.”
“We carry both and as you and our mother never married, we carry her last name,” Iosif pointed out. “Now are you going to ruin this trip before we even get to see Roman’s sons or are you going to behave yourself?”
Timor glared at his youngest son. His nostrils flared and he looked ready to strike someone. He took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. The past belonged in the past, yet he couldn’t help but drag it into the present. He wanted his place in Roman’s family well established to make what he knew was going to be painful, easier for his oldest son to comprehend. “Of course, I came all this way to see Roman and his sons.” He turned and searched the living room. “Where are the boys?”
“They are with their mother and youngest uncle in the nursery. Benny is watching over them while Stevie rests,” Roman told him.
Timor briefly had a sneer on his lips when he thought about Stevie resting. That was the sign of a weak woman. He let the sneer slip and pasted on a smile when he turned to his sons. “Well, let’s go then. I want to see them.”
Roman led the way down the hall and opened the door closest to his and Stevie’s bedroom.
When the door opened, Ben turned to see who was there. Stevie was busy changing one of the boys and when she saw her husband, she smiled.
Looking over his shoulders, her smile widened when she saw Iosif standing there. Her smile slipped a bit when she saw Timor there as well but she turned her back and finished changing her son. She picked up Dimitri and turned with a big smile on her face. She went to stand beside Roman and held out Dimitri to his uncle Iosif. “This is Dimitri.”
Iosif smiled hugely as the tiny baby was handed off to him. Timor already had Aleksei in his arms and was grinning at the small baby boy.
“Such a handsome son you have Roman,” Iosif noted. “They both truly are a gift aren’t they?”
Stevie chuckled. “I’ll remind you of that tomorrow morning when they’ve kept the entire household awake all night.”
Iosif grinned. “It does take some getting used to doesn’t it? I can’t imagine what that’s like. No one else I know has tiny babies.”
“Back home, babies are often left in the care of nurses,” Timor informed the room. “Do you have a nurse lined up for their care?”
Roman felt Stevie stiffen at his side. He glared at his father. “No Timor, we don’t. Here, it is the fashion to take care of your own children. Stevie, Benny and I are all they need. Occasionally, their other uncles will take them in the future but for now we will take care of our family.”
Timor ignored his son’s outburst. “And what is this young man’s name?”
“You have Aleksei,” Stevie spoke up.
“Aleksei and Dimitri?” Timor repeated their names. Before he could say anything, he caught Iosif’s eye and slight shake and he wisely held his tongue. “Those are good names.”
He went over to Iosif and exchanged babies. He searched the features of both boys and seemed satisfied with them both. As they were clothed in long sleeves he was unable to see if they bore the mark on their shoulders as he did. The mark of the Maxims. He went over to Roman and handed him the boy. “You do indeed have handsome sons. We need to have them blessed by the church right away.”
Roman gave Stevie the baby and drew his father out of the room. This was something they needed to discuss. He glanced over at Iosif and saw him handing off Aleksei to Benny. They all went out to the living room where Yuri and Mikial were waiting for them.
“Timor,” Roman began.
“I’m your father Roman, address me as such,” Timor informed him with a glare. “It’s not my fault you didn’t grow up with me guiding you.”
“Nor is it mine,” Roman told him with a shrug. “But that’s not the point here. Stevie and I want to make the decisions about how we raise the boys. Neither of us attend a local church, so we haven’t spoken about having the boys blessed.”
Timor frowned. “Well, of course, they will be blessed by the church. Generations of Maxim have been born and within three days, they all received the church’s blessing. That’s the way it’s always been and that will continue for generations to come.” He looked over at Yuri and asked, “Is there a Russian Orthodox church nearby?”
“And if we don’t want that?” Roman stood his ground. “I certainly wasn’t blessed and while Stevie was abandoned on the steps of a church, she never attended the institution as a follower.”
“You should have been blessed,” Timor insisted. “Maxims are a very strong influence in the church.”
“Dad, Roman and I don’t share that name. We never have,” Iosif reminded the other man.
“That was your mother’s fault, not mine.” Timor growled.
“And it’s over now.” Iosif tried to calm him. “You found me when I was two and took me home with you. You became my father that day and I grew up not knowing what my brother was going through. I was just too young to tell you about Roman but now we found him and you have to understand that he was already a grown man. You can’t turn back time to give him the life you wanted for him. He’s had to make his own way in this world and now he’s got everything he wants right here. It wasn’t his fault, the same as it wasn’t you’re fault, or mine. Now we all have to learn how to cope with the past and hope we can have a future together. IF you don’t calm down and accept this then he won’t allow either of us in his life again. And I’ll tell you right now, I want to be in his life. He’s my brother and I want to know him as such.”
“But he could have so much more as my son,” Timor insisted.
“Did you ever have to struggle for what you wanted?” Iosif asked. “Did you ever have to struggle and fight to get anything? If you haven’t, then you don’t know about his struggle. You have no idea what he and his brothers have accomplished in this new country. They had to fight for everything they have and the feeling they have when they look over what they have must be incredible.”
“But he could have all of that and so much more as my heir, don’t any of you understand that?” Timor roared.
“Father, he’s got all of that and so much more right here, right now,” Iosif told him quietly. “He’s got a nice home, a nice life, a very good woman, sons to carry his name and he’s got good men who he calls his brothers.” Iosif paused then added gently, “He doesn’t need you and me. I hope he will ask us to stay in his life but he doesn’t need us if he chooses to shut us out.”
“I would never ask you to stay away,” Roman protested. “But I won’t be bullied in my own home either.” He glanced over at his brother. “I’m so glad you grew up in a safe home with the man who calls himself our father. I was barely surviving on my own, at least you didn’t have that horror.” Then he turned to Timor. “I can acknowledge you as my father but until a few short months ago I didn’t know anything about you. You were just another rich man I would pass on the streets. Now you come here and tell me I’m your son and you want me to return with you to a country I left as a very young man. You tell me you didn’t know I was alive, well ok I can accept that. I didn’t know about you either. But the only name I’ve ever know is Roman Salizar, not Roman Maxim. You have to understand that.”
Timor growled but held his tongue. He could see the struggle Roman was going through, it almost matched the same one he was going through only in reverse. He wanted to give the world to his oldest son but he didn’t seem to want it.
“Fine, I’ll yield this time but don’t expect me to do it every time.” Timor growled.
Roman closed his eyes and then glared at the man who claimed to be family. “I don’t want you to yield old man, I want you to recognize that I’m a grown ass man and I don’t have time for this kind of bullshit. If you want to be in my life then you have to accept I am my own man, that there is nothing you can give me that I can’t get for myself.”
Timor raised his hands and backed off a step or two. “Fine. I can accept that but you’re wrong about my not being able to give you anything you can’t get on your own. I can give you your history. I can tell you about your family. A family of strong men and women who have come before you. I can give you that much.”
Iosif smiled then chuckled. “You know it’s almost comical to watch the two of you when you clash. I can’t tell which of you is more stubborn.” He glanced over at Yuri and Mikial. “Tell me something has Roman always been this stubborn?”
Yuri smiled slightly then nodded. “Yes, he’s always been like this since I’ve known him. He’s always refused to give in to anyone. Caused us to get into more trouble than we were looking for more than once.”
Mikial snorted but didn’t say anything.
Iosif shook his head. “Well, that much I think he got from you father.”
Roman glared at his brother for a moment then shook his head. Finally, he chuckled. “At least, I know where it comes from after all these years.” He held out his hands to Timor.
Timor stared at his eldest son then reached out to shake his hand. “Da, it’s a curse at times for me as well.” Pulling his son in an embrace briefly he took a step back. “I really did not come here looking to cause trouble. I was hoping I could at least give your sons what I could not give you.”
Roman smiled. “My sons will always have what they need. I will see to that.”