Chapter 5
Widows were possessive over their belongings.
Ksenia was protective over her blanket. The first knitted one she ever set eyes on and fell in love with. The soft yellow one with chunky yarn that always helped Ksenia go to sleep. Ksenia would take it with her nearly everywhere. She’s cocoons herself in it or wraps it around her shoulders like a cape as she pads through the house.
And while the sisters mess with each other, there were a few things that they did not mess with. That included Viktoria’s art supplies, Irina’s rock collection, Alice’s flower crowns, Mischa’s candy, Varvara’s comic book collection, Daria’s penguin Popper, and Ksenia’s yellow blanket.
That’s why when it goes missing, Ksenia immediately goes to Yelena to see if she had washed it.
“Is it not on your bed?” Yelena hadn’t washed it, dread forming in her stomach because Ksenia didn’t sleep without her blankie.
“No.” Ksenia shakes her head. Still, Yelena takes Ksenia to her room. Yelena checks under the bed and in the closet before checking the bathroom and laundry room. She checks in with her girls.
“Have any of you seen Ksenia’s blankie?” Yelena asked them, watching as their faces turn serious and glanced at each other. They all swore they hadn’t touched it and Yelena believed them.
It was already late at night and Ksenia was already having a bit of a tough day. The teenager rocks on her feet, following Yelena around as they search the house from top to bottom.
Yelena is stumped about where Ksenia could have left it. As time ticks on, Ksenia grows more and more increasingly distressed.
Yelena was looking between the couch cushions when she hears the telltale sign of Daria scribbling in her notebook. She turns only to see Daria holding the notebook up to Ksenia.
Yelena turns back to the couches and continues to search. She then heads into her bedroom to look for it.
She’s barely been gone for a minute when she hears Ksenia muttering angrily and then the sound of paper ripping. Yelena paused, wondering if this was something she needed to turn her attention to or if she could continue to focus on finding the missing blanket. It was quiet for a few moments so Yelena turns her attention back to upturning her house to search for a piece of knitted yarn that her second younger daughter would rather stab people than sleep without.
And then there it is. “Stop it!” Viktoria’s voice is loud and it immediately causes Yelena to clamber to her feet.
Viktoria was a great and loving big sister but a mediator she was not. She’d rather egg them on from the sidelines rather than shut down whatever squabble was happening. For her to step in and put an end to things meant that Yelena needed to get involved.
Yelena immediately moves toward where she heard Viktoria’s raised voice only to see almost all of her girls there. Ksenia was glaring at Daria. Daria was glaring back at her, Popper tucked firmly against her chest as she leaned against Varvara. Mischa is with Daria while Irina is with Ksenia. Both sides look like they’re holding the youngest back.
“What is going on in here?” Yelena demands and heads turn toward her. Viktoria lets out a sigh of relief as she gives a bewildered shrug. “Well?” She turns her attention toward Mischa who glances at Varvara.
“Ksenia insulted Daria!” Varvara tells Yelena.
“No!” Ksenia denies it, shaking her head. “Don’t lie!”
“I’m not!” Varvara turns her attention back toward Ksenia.
“I didn’t do anything,” Ksenia growls and Irina pulls Ksenia back against her. Yelena can already tell that Ksenia is way past her limit and needs to go to bed.
“That’s enough. Bed, all of you,” Yelena tells them. Ksenia’s eyes grow wide.
“But Ksenia--” Varvara starts and Yelena holds her hand up.
“Bed,” Yelena says and protests start to rise up about the still missing blanket and whatever had happened between the two youngest.
It would seem the tipping point for the second youngest is when Varvara sticks out her tongue at her. Ksenia bursts into tears and everyone abruptly falls quiet when the stifled sob escapes her mouth. Yelena moves forward to collect her second youngest up in her arms and Ksenia clings to her, overly tired, cranky, and missing her blanket.
“Bed,” Yelena reminds the girls who watch with guilt and regret on their faces. “Go on.”
“What about her blankie?” Mischa asked quietly and Yelena doesn’t really know what she was going to do about that.
Then the doors open and Alice enters triumphantly. “Found it!” She calls out, Ksenia’s most prized possession in her grasp. It’s dirty and a little wet and suddenly Yelena knew exactly where it was. “Ksenia forgot it by the creek when Irina challenged her to be on her team when she fought Varvara and Daria with sticks.”
Yelena blinks at the statement, turning her attention to Irina. “What?” Irina gives her an innocent grin, quickly signing that it was time for bed and making herself scarce.
Ksenia seemed even more distraught at the condition of her blanket, torn between grabbing it and getting herself dirty or staring at it longingly.
“Thank you for finding it, Alice,” Yelena thanks her eldest quietly as Mischa takes Varvara and Daria out of the room to usher them to bed now that the mystery had been solved.
The only problem now was that it took nearly two hours to wash the blanket and Ksenia desperately needed to go to bed now.
Luckily, Viktoria was stubborn and refused to go to bed as Yelena had ordered. Viktoria scoops her little sister up on her hip like a small child and carries her back and forth as she paces so that Yelena could get the blanket in the wash and make sure her other girls actually went to bed.
Yelena settles down Varvara and Daria who were still agitated, finally getting the whole story from Varvara.
“Daria just offered to share Popper until Ksenia’s blankie could be found. Ksenia said she didn’t want him, she wanted her blankie. So Daria said that if they couldn’t find her blankie then they could get her a stuffie too. Ksenia said that she didn’t want a stupid stuffie and called Daria a baby and then told her that Popper looked ugly,” Varvara finished. Yelena resists the urge to sigh, smoothing Varvara’s hair out of her face.
“Thank you for letting me know. She shouldn’t have said that and I know that Daria was only trying to help. Ksenia was very upset and she didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” Yelena leans down to kiss her forehead, doing the same to Daria. “Thank you for helping to look for the blanket, even if it ended in a fight.”
Yelena then levels Varvara with a stare. “And you need to stop fighting Irina with sticks.”
“But they make perfect lightsabres!” Varvara protested innocently, grinning up at her as Yelena rolls her eyes.
“Go to bed you little heathen,” Yelena says, tucking them in before heading back to Viktoria. Ksenia had not really calmed down, still sniffling as tears trickle down her face. Yelena holds her arms out and Viktoria pries her little sister off to set her in Yelena’s arms.
Ksenia immediately clings to Yelena, her cries renewing. Yelena kissed the side of her head, adjusting her hold on Ksenia until she can carry her to the armchair in the living room. She settles Ksenia in her lap, the young Widow immediately curling against her.
Yelena doesn’t push her about how upset she was, instead stroking her hair and humming quietly as she holds her close, hoping that Ksenia could calm down enough to rest for a little while.
Ksenia eventually fades to hiccuping whimpers as she clings to Yelena. From there she falls quietly, her fingers playing with a necklace that Yelena had on.
Viktoria eventually passes by the room with a gesture that she changed out the blanket into the dryer. Later on, Alice will come into the living room with a clean blanket in hand. She will drape it over them and Yelena will immediately feel the warmth that clung to the knitted yarn from the dryer.
Ksenia grabs a fistful of the blanket to bring it to her face, rubbing it against her cheek and taking a subtle sniff of the fabric softener. For the first time all night, Ksenia lets out a heavy sigh and relaxes, going boneless against Yelena.
Yelena sleeps in the armchair that night with her second youngest and her favorite yellow blanket.