Free Edge of the Past by Jennifer Comeaux

her away from you. This would be a visit, that’s all. A few weeks until you meet us in D.C.”
    “How do you care for her? You work all day at rink.”
    “She can come to the rink and skate.” Sergei sounded more determined and excited with each breath. “There are so many kids there her age. She’ll love it.”
    I lifted my hand to my mouth. Oh, my goodness. He’s really serious.
    “No. Never,” Elena said. “She not go to America without me.”
    “Then come with us,” Sergei said.
    Every part of me went numb. Sergei had truly lost it. He was on his runaway train again, making plans while leaving me at the station.
    I walked over to Sergei and said quietly, “Maybe we should talk.”
    He took my hands and squeezed them. “This makes the most sense since they’re already coming for Worlds. It’s the perfect opportunity.”
    “How do we go so soon?” Elena sputtered. “And where do we stay? In hotel for weeks?”
    Sergei rubbed his chin, his wheels turning. No way he’d offer to let them stay in his one-bedroom apartment, would he? He wasn’t exactly thinking clearly at the moment. Even if Elena and Liza were at a hotel, Sergei would be spending time with them without me. I had to do something…
    “You can stay with me,” I blurted out.
    Sergei looked at me with one eyebrow lifted. “Em, you don’t have to…”
    Elena shook her head. “We do not bother you.”
    “I have plenty of space. I live with a roommate, but we have an extra bedroom and bathroom. And Sergei’s apartment is only a few blocks from my house.”
    Elena folded her arms and followed the path Sergei had paced. “All is so sudden… Liza is so upset now. And she have schoolwork and skating–”
    “Her tutor can give her work to take with her, and like I said, she can skate at our rink.” Sergei took a few steps toward Elena. “This trip might be just what Liza needs. To have both of us with her as she deals with everything.”
    I fiddled with the small silver cross hanging around my neck. My emotions were fighting each other again. I certainly didn’t want Elena in my house for three weeks, but if she refused to bring Liza, Sergei would be crushed. There were no easy answers to the growing mess of complications in our lives.
    “I want Liza to know I do anything for her,” Elena said.
    “You can show her by doing this,” Sergei replied.
    Elena closed her eyes and stood very still. Neither Sergei nor I moved, waiting for a response. When Elena looked at us again, she said, “We go if we find flight.”
    Sergei exhaled and grasped her shoulders. “Thank you.”
    A gleam of light shone in Elena’s dark eyes. It was the first time Sergei had touched her since we’d run into her at the rink. I clamped my hand around my cross, the sharp edges digging into my palm. The pain was nothing compared to the stabbing in my heart.
    “Can we tell Liza the news?” Sergei asked.
    The sound of a rattling cough and the heavy front door shutting pulled my attention from Sergei and Elena. An older woman carrying a paper sack entered the room and stared wide-eyed at Sergei.
    “Olga,” Elena said in Russian. “You remember Sergei?”
    The woman walked over to him and lifted her bony hand to his cheek. I shuffled closer to translate her scratchy reply. “It is good to see you after so many years.”
    Sergei echoed the sentiment and continued in Russian, “This is my fiancée Emily.” Turning to me, he switched to English. “Olga’s worked for Elena’s family for a long time.”
    She gave me a nod and a long appraisal, and I mumbled a greeting. I felt like I was being sized up by one of the hard-nosed Russian skating judges.
    “I bring Liza out,” Elena said.
    She left us, and Olga angled her head as she questioned Sergei. “You met Liza?”
    “Elena told me everything. She told Liza, also. I assume you know the truth?”
    “I do.”
    I raised my eyebrows. Olga had to be more family than employee if she knew all the dirty little