“Big surprise there,” I scoffed.

“I’m saying that I’ll believe it when I see it,” my brother added.

“You won’t see it because I’ll be gone,” I said matter-of-factly, “and I won’t see you not seeing it because, you know, gone.”

“I like this,” Grygoriy decided, leaning over in his chair so he could clink his glass against mine. “It’s exciting.”

“You’re only excited because your boy will take over Viktor’s racket,” my dad razzed his brother. “You will be disappointed when you realize my son will not go.”

My father’s insistence that I would rot in Chicago alongside them had me more irate than I had been in a while. I scolded myself for having taken so long to come the decision, realizing that every day I didn’t move forward was another day I proved to my father, whether he knew it or not, that I was who he thought I was. For so long, my greatest fear was that my father would recognize that I wasn’t who he thought I was. It seemed the more egregious sin would be to become precisely who he believed me to be.

“It sounds like we should make a wager,” Grygoriy grinned. “I have fifty on him leaving in a six-month span.”

“I’ll shake on it,” my dad decided, reaching for his brother’s hand. “I’ll look forward to Viktor watching me receive my funds.” He gave me a playful nudge and I gnawed on the inside of my cheek, trying to contain my desire to knock him out.

“Are you game?” Igor asked Maks. “Same terms?”

“I am most definitely game,” Maks replied, giving me a covert wink.

I was looking forward to hearing about their expressions when they paid up to Grygoriy and Maks, and I knew my cousin would be more than happy to tell me all about it, tangents and all.

Though I’d tried to remain cool, calm, and collected, summer in Chicago had me the opposite. The August days were long and hot, and I spent much of the month wishing it away. I was glad to have few belongings when I slaved in the sweltering apartment to pack my things at the end of my term. Waves of unexpected sadness hit me as I stood in the stark space once I was done. There had been a profusion of pain within those walls, but there were happy memories too. Though I hoped Rosie was in a better place, I felt a certain sense of regret as I closed the door to the apartment one last time. It was as though I was leaving Rosie behind, like he was trapped in the only place where he’d truly felt safe, even when it was time to go.