Chapter Text
Florence needs to figure all of this out. So, when she gets home, she picks up the phone, and dials Freddie’s number. Obviously he’s going to be there. Where else would Anatoly have gone?
He picks up on the first ring. “Freddie speaking.”
“It’s Florence, I was just wondering if I could talk to Anat—”
Freddie hangs up the phone. What an asshole! He’s a coward, not wanting to speak to her. She calls again.
“What do you want?” His voice has an edge she hasn’t heard in years. She forgot how cruel he can be, and she can feel it creeping up on her.
Florence takes a measured breath in. “I would like to speak to my husband.”
She can hear Freddie sigh, and hears a muffled yell of “Anatoly!” as he calls him over. Before he gives the phone to Anatoly, he pauses. “I’m sorry. About all this.”
Before Florence can respond, he hands the phone to Anatoly.
“Hello?”
“It’s your wife. Come home, we need to talk.”
She hears a loud clatter as Anatoly fumbles the phone, swearing. “I’ll be over in twenty minutes. I am so, so sorr—”
She hangs up before he gets to finish the word. Who is he to apologize? It was a choice he made, again and again. He chose to cheat on her just like he chose to cheat on Svetlana. It’s his fault, his and Freddie’s. Florence isn’t even beginning to process Freddie’s apology. It might have been fake, but he’s not the kind to apologize for, well, anything. So, it was surprising in the moment. Maybe the psychiatrist and the medications are doing something for him.
Twenty minutes later, there he is. Disheveled and exhausted, Anatoly is standing in the entryway to the apartment like he’s never been there before. He awkwardly takes his shoes and coat off and sits down on the chair across from her. He looks like a stranger in his own house.
Florence folds her hands on the table and looks at him in the eye. “I want a divorce.”
The worst part of his reaction is that he looks like he had expected this. There’s no shock or sadness, just resignation.
“I think that would be best.”
God, he infuriates her! Would it kill him to react? Just once, she wishes she was making him upset, not the other way around. How is he so immune to this? Maybe he’s gotten good at hiding being upset, having been bothered by Freddie for years.
Florence squashes down her anger. “We can talk about specifics with the lawyer, but I want the apartment.”
Anatoly just sighs, and makes a hand waving gesture to signify that it’s fine. “If we’re getting divorced, Freddie and I will find an apartment where we can live together. So that’s fine with me.”
The fact that he’s just accepting all of this, is relieved even, is breaking Florence’s heart. He’s already moving on? Did he ever actually love her? Her question must have shown on her face, because Anatoly gives her a sad look.
“Florence, I love you very much. But I don’t think we work well together. You will never forgive me for this, rightfully so, and I will always feel the guilt. And I think Freddie is right for me.”
Sweet words won’t fix anything, but they do help a little. She sighs, and unhooks her necklace.
“Take your ring.”
He notices that she’s not wearing hers anymore, and silently takes his. Anatoly puts it in his pocket, and takes her hand in his.
“I know that this will not fix anything. But you are one of the best people I have ever known, and one of the only people I have ever loved.”
Florence doesn’t say anything, just stands and kisses him on the forehead. They stay like that, for a long moment, her hand on his shoulder, with his hand over hers, until, finally, they break away.
Three years later.
The bar they’re going to is only a short walk from Florence’s new apartment. She and Svetlana make the walk easily, after Svetlana drops the kids off with the babysitter. Technically, they (or, at least Kolya) might be old enough to stay home on their own, but Svetlana worries too much for that to be a possibility yet. They hold hands in the street, their arms swinging as they walk. The summer heat is fading as the sun goes down, and the sun on Svetlana’s face makes her look like she’s glowing.
“Do you think they’ll be late?” Svetlana asks, laughing.
“Definitely. That just means more time for the two of us though, so that isn’t the worst thing that could happen,” Florence replies. They’re lucky that they aren’t late as well. Summer is hard, having the kids home all the time and both of them working. They’re lucky to get any time with just each other, let alone be able to go out.
The door opens into a small bar, one that Freddie chose. It’s cute, Florence supposes. There are lots of people, though, so maybe Freddie was right for once. She laughs at the thought, eliciting a fond look from Svetlana. Shockingly, Freddie and Anatoly are already here. Freddie waves them over, sunglasses perched on his head.
He smirks at them, and from this angle Florence can see his dark roots coming in. “Wow, I guess they just let anyone in here.”
“What, like fake blondes?”
Freddie puts a hand to his mouth, pretending to be shocked, and then laughs. Svetlana and Florence sit across from the two of them. This had become a semi-regular thing over the past six months or so, after Freddie reached out to Svetlana. It’s been nice. Seeing them happy together has been good, and Florence knows they’re both happy (although Anatoly is a bit confused) that she and Svetlana got together. So they order drinks and talk for a while.
Anatoly has been quiet. He always is, when they meet up like this. Freddie has brought him out of his shell in some ways, but he’s still Anatoly.
He looks at Florence, now. “How are you?”
“I’m doing well. Work has been absolutely hectic, and with the kids, it’s just been very busy. But good. You?”
“Leonid won the US Championships recently. No surprise. I’m glad you’re well.”
Under the table, she feels Svetlana’s hand entwine with her own. They look at each other, smiling, and Florence gives her a peck on the lips. Freddie rolls his eyes, and slings an arm around Anatoly’s shoulder.
“Look, we can both be gross couples. See?”
Anatoly laughs, and pushes his hand off of his shoulder. He and Svetlana start talking about her job, which has been very busy as of late. It’s been keeping her away, but she still comes home every night to her… wife? partner? (they’re not sure) and her children. Florence admires her dedication. She's so lucky to be with such a smart, capable woman. Svetlana and Anatoly are engaged in an animated conversation in Russian, and from what she can catch of it, it’s discussing the continuation of her work for some medication that she started several years before. Freddie looks at Florence, and shrugs, smiling.
“He’s been trying to teach me Russian, and I just can’t get the knack for it.”
“Svetlana and the children have been teaching me some, too.”
He stretches, putting his arm back around Anatoly’s shoulder, who looks at him fondly. “I just assume they’re shit talking me.”
Florence laughs. “So, Freddie, how goes the book writing?”
He sighs. “Not easy! Very difficult, actually. I don’t know how you did it.”
“He complains a lot,” Anatoly supplies.
“I do not! Well, maybe a little. That’s beside the point.” He looks Florence directly in the eyes. “I respect you even more now that I know you’ve been through this tortuous process.”
She laughs. “Are you drunk?”
“Baby, you know I don’t drink on my meds.”
Florence is starting to feel a little buzzed herself, and she can tell Svetlana is too. God, she’s so lucky to have her. The most handsome, sweet, kind, loving woman in the whole world, is her partner. She kisses Svetlana again, and smiles.
Anatoly puts his drink down, and gives them a lopsided smile. “I’m happy for both of you. I know I already said so, but it’s true.”
Florence looks at him. Anatoly looks better these days. He doesn’t have the dark circles that constantly graced his face in years prior, his cheeks have filled out more, and he just has a general feeling of happiness around him. Freddie really did do him some good. And inversely, Freddie is more put together than Florence has ever seen him, laughs more often and more genuinely, and he is just warmer to be around. Anatoly’s effect on him has made him less abrasive, more personable. They improve each other.
“Yeah, I’m happy for you two too.”
The years since her divorce have been the happiest of her life. She and Svetlana moved in together, she got promoted, and she’s been able to be around the people she loves. Florence gets to wake up next to the woman she loves every day, and she feels so lucky. They have to go home eventually, to their respective jobs and responsibilities, but for now, all four of them are alive with laughter and happiness. This is a life that Florence dreamed of for the longest time, and was scared she would never find. But, in this one, perfect moment, she knows that she has found it.