Chapter 11: SURPRISING VISITS

Seeing Dmitri get teary eyed after discussing Audrey, Isabelle diplomatically diverted the topic of discussion.
"Kenji has a weekend off so I was just wondering if you're also free then we can plan a picnic with the kids to the countryside. He will be delighted to click some lovely pictures of you and Melody," Isabelle offered.
"Oh ! I don't want to bother, Kenji," Dmitri felt reluctant to take Isabelle and her husband"s personal family time. "He must be already fed up with all the photo shoots and ramp coverage for his work," he added. He was always considerate of others' feelings. No wonder Audrey"s parents got away with their wicked ways as he did not want Audrey to feel bitter about them.
"Oh please," Isabelle snorted. "Photography is Kenji's passion. Luckily, for him his passion and profession are the same. To be honest, the best feeling for him is getting paid for what he loves doing. So it's no botheration for him," she shot down Dmitri"s worries.
"You are just saying to make me feel better," Dmitri rolled his eyes.
"Not at all !" Isabelle nixed. "Rather Kenji only suggested this !! He claimed that before the baby days of Melody slipped away, you should make sure to take some photos that you'll be able to cherish when your little bundle of joy isn't so little anymore. Plus, our kids can also play together which is a win-win situation for all of us," she added.
"Then Melody and I are game. See you and Kenji this weekend with your lovely kids," Dmitri rejoiced in excitement of a child on hearing about a picnic.
"Do you need something special from the grocery store for tomorrow's picnic?" Isabelle asked as she planned to pick some snacks for the picnic.
"You are going to brave shopping with the kids ?!" Dmitri smirked.
"The easiest way to shop with kids is- it isn't !" Isabelle replied, making Dmitri grin. "So I'll be going to pick up the groceries while heading home from the hospital- ALONE," she said with a flip of her hair and left for the parking lot, making Dmitri chuckle.
* * * * *
On the picnic day, Melody was more than excited since the night before.
"Hey man ! We are running a bit late," Dmitri breathlessly informed Kenji on the phone as he dashed from one corner of his house to another with a half eaten sandwich in one hand and an iron in another.
"Oh, I hope everything is good there ?" Kenji asked.
"All good ! Just that, she can now zip her jacket by herself," Dmitri murmured while trying hard to help Melody dress up who was reluctant to take any help.
"Oh man !" Kenji threw back his head and laughed in good humor. "Good luck with that," he laughed.
"Thank you. I certainly need that," Dmitri groaned. "Even as a three year old, Melody is quite fashionable. She wants to wear clothes and accessories that only she likes and thinks match. I've learnt to wrap my head around that," he added and Kenji doubled up with laughter before Dmitri blew a raspberry at Melody and coaxed her into her jacket the right way.
"I've mastered the three P"s of raising my daughter: patience, perseverance and playing dollhouse !" Kenji disclosed his secret to parenting his daughter, Sarah and it was Dmitri"s pleasing laugh that resounded through the line this time.
* * * * *
"You watched the score yesterday ? Man, I was thrown away by the last minute goal !!" Kenji said as he helped Dmitri spread the sheet. "That was dumb luck !" He exclaimed.
"I did and I almost shouted when I saw it. I was afraid that I would wake up Melody !" Dmitri replied as he offered a beer bottle from the six pack he had got and Kenji took it without hesitation.
Out of his scrubs and formal wear, on the rarest of rare occasion, Dmitri was dressed down in only a red, dri-fit cut off shirt that showed off his toned, rippling muscles and black shorts that made the female population drool around them.
One could safely say that Dmitri looked as hot when dressed down as he looked as cool as he dressed up.
Taking off his sunglasses, he settled down beside Kenji and grabbed his own beer before the men clinked their boozes and shot the cool drink down their parched throats after a neck and neck match of volleyball with the college studs on the beach.
"God, I miss my own college days," Dmitri commented before bringing back the bottle to his parched, blooming pink lips.
"Oh yeah ! The days when we had all rights and no responsibilities except to make our parents proud," Kenji replied and reached for a second bottle of the iced drink. "Mothers nurtured, fathers provided. Now all those set of gender-specific roles are getting reversed," he added with a sigh.
The universe proved his point at that very moment when little Sarah came to her daddy and asked his help in entangling her hair from a stuck sea-shell.
"True," Dmitri concurred before kicking away the ball precisely at the center that came from great athletic prowess before it hit the father-daughter duo beside him. "But how do you apply roles and rules of parenting when it"s just one of them ?" he murmured and took a swig from the newly opened bottle by Kenji. "Don"t get me wrong. I love my daughter with every fiber of my being but single parenting is darn tough. This really helped me relax. Thanks for inviting us, Kenji," he added as he watched Isabelle run after the girls who loved splashing in the sea.
"No problem, doctor. Plus, those girls should be thanking me for bringing you here," he teased as two girls waved at them while a third winked at Dmitri, making Kenji grin.
However, the third one seemed familiar and that is when it hit Dmitri. It was Eliza out of her work clothes !!
"Why don"t we move the party elsewhere ? Closer to the girls ?" Dmitri suggested.
"Sure ! Why not ?" Kenji replied, not knowing the real reason.
Soon enough the couple was playing good cop-bad cop when the kids refused to listen that sunscreen was meant for applying on their faces and not play with it while Dmitri played both the roles and successfully managed to shift Melody"s attention to the colourful ball he had got with him and that in turn got the other two kids" attention to it.
Thank god he picked it the last minute and brought it with him. Talk about baby emergencies of the weirdest kind.
"God, you are a natural at this," Kenji whistled when he saw the sunscreen tube lay forgotten on their sheet and the kids played with the ball. "Not a single kid ended up crying. Hats off to your patience, man," he added, making Dmitri grin.
"Thanks but that comes after loads of practice and unwilling discipline and you know it," he replied, making the couple laugh as Kenji hugged his wife closer to him.
Isabelle couldn"t help but admire her colleague. He was the perfect man but unfortunately with a troublesome past.
She was woken up from thoughts when Kenji"s chest bubbled up with laughter against her head and he asked Dmitri, "And how do you spend your weekends ?"
"Well, mine are not as chaotic as yours, Mr. Photographer of the Park Ladies," Dmitri quipped, quoting an incident Kenji had shared while groaning and complaining about the thousands of photos he had to take before women in his meditating class finally chose one. "But my typical Sunday goes into planning the week ahead from Monday to Friday and catching up on sleep if Melody allows" he answered while emphasizing how he had also grown a lot and learned so much along with Melody.
"Saturdays ?" Isabelle asked.
"They go in cleaning the house and all other domestic chores," Dmitri replied.
"At our home, after cleaning on Sunday and seeing the status of bed sheets and carpets on Monday, I wonder 'No that isn't the stain of poop, that"s the stain for milk' then I think to myself, 'What's the point of cleaning if my family is going to keep living here ?'" Isabelle shared her hilarious experiences which the men could completely relate to.
"I wish we could do this more often, you know," Isabelle remarked as she stretched and let a tired Sarah lay on her lap and doze off to sleep. "Just enjoy late nights and be with friends. No marriage troubles. No child troubles. Just be a person of your own. Like be free. No other identity tagged to you. Don"t you wish that, Dmitri ?" She asked.
"I do," Dmitri conceded. He was not a party animal per se but even he had his moments when he experienced some FOMO when he saw photos of his buddies having fun or drinking beer on the back nine while he sat at home and watched Dora The Explorer" for the nineteen millionth time. "But then after spending precious little moments with my daughter make me realize that they are everything. Without even thinking about it, my priorities have shifted," he answered, the single daddy soaked every bit in the love of Melody.
"Oh yes, I do get you. However, it is nice to getaway once in a while," she sighed and Kenji wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head in silent support and gratitude for everything she did, making her smile in return.
They were a small, complete and happy family that Dmitri wished for. He took a swig from his iced beer and looked away, wishing that Audrey was with him and his daughter.
Melody caught his gaze and waved at her daddy. That helped uplift back Dmitri"s spirits who smiled brightly and waved back at the sunshine of his life.
"I swear it takes a village to raise a child," Isabelle mumbled as she walked towards her son when he tried to hold an unrelenting Melody"s hand and lead her inside his sandcastle which looked more like a sandy mound or a wrecked house with a hole in the middle.
"Daddy !" Ethan came running towards the men"s hangout place. "I'm bored of making sand castles," he half screamed and half hacked his tender lung.
"Ok, after lunch we'll all swim in the water," Kenji replied as he rubbed his son"s back.
"It"s not easy to get these kids entertained all the time. They get bored so easily," Dmitri said as he caught a wandering Melody in his arms and caged her giggling self in his arms.
"I love when my kids tell me they are bored. As if the lady standing in front of a full sink of dirty dishes is where you go, to get ideas about how to have a good time," Isabelle sarcastically drawled and put the basket of snacks in front of everyone after herding the kids towards the spread out sheet.
"What were you upto, Isabelle ? Where were you wandering with these snacks ?" Kenji teased while wiggling his eyebrows.
"Not all who wander are lost, dear. Some are just moms. Hiding from their children," Isabelle replied in playful picnic mood, making the other two adults laugh.
"I need more potato chips, Mommy," Sarah shouted to get Isabelle"s attention.
"You"ve already had enough snacks, baby. Now we'll have lunch soon," Kenji pacified Sarah who wasn't ready to budge.
"Oh never mind. Here," Isabelle intervened and handed over some more snacks to the kids. "Parenting is yelling 'you"ve just had a snack !' over and over until you give in and throw them another," she explained. "Now I need some Me Time" so you guys go and get some photographs done," she shooed them away before putting on her sun glasses and sun bathing.
* * * * *
"Dmitri, make sure to document all special moments in the baby keepsakes book. They will be your most precious treasure, once she grows up," Kenji advised.
"I do click and capture a few pics, when we are together at home but sometimes it becomes difficult to get her attention," Dmitri replied, making Kenji grin behind the camera.
"Melody is adorable. No wonder your Audrey must be as beautiful as you claim. Is that why you keep crushing the hearts of interns and doctors alike in the hospital by rejecting every proposal coming your way ?" Isabelle teased as she looked at the pictures fondly.
"Yes and Melody has taken her eyes, her smile, her hair and her playful ways after her mom. She's my saving grace and a blessing but I still cry and grieve for my Audrey," Dmitri"s voice turned into a melancholic tone.
"Dmitri, life is long and if you're able to move on and find love again, it can mark a brand new chapter in your life. As a friend, I suggest, you consider one of the many proposals available to you. After all you're the rock star of our hospital," Isabelle said what she had been trying to say for weeks.
"Or you can check out a few morsels of advice from other single dads about how to handle dating as a man with a baby instead of diving into it head first," her legally married husband suggested.
"Nope. Can"t do that," Dmitri negated on the spot. "I can"t get into a relationship again," he elaborated. Once bitten, twice shy.
"Although you don't want to date, or be in a relationship, people who love you, definitely see the need ! It"s always the peer pressure," Kenji said, pointing towards his better half and Isabelle rolled her eyes when she got the message before continuing.
"Your friends want you to meet someone. They are in a relationship, and they don"t want you to be left out," she defended her stance.
"Isabelle, I understand your concern but nostalgia is a powerful thing," Dmitri replied with a shake of his head. "Memory can be hard to part with and it will never be easy to fully say goodbye to the moments shared between Audrey and me which made us feel deeply in love and connected," he added.
"Move on, buddy ! Get over it !" Kenji encouraged him.
"Are people really supposed to be "done" grieving a relationship after two months ? Can"t grief last six months or a year—or, in some form or another, an entire lifetime ?" Dmitri questioned. "I don"t know why I still cry at random times, all these years later. How can there be an endpoint to our love and loss of a beautiful relationship ? Do we even want to be at that endpoint ?" He asked.
"Naturally, most people say they want an end to the pain: Help me not to feel it ! But what they come to discover is that you can"t mute one emotion without muting the others. You want to mute the pain ? You"ll also mute the joy that the relationship gave," Isabelle said as she started packing up for the day.
"So the goal is to integrate the loss into our lives and create an ongoing connection with the person who isn't there while also finding a way to continue living," Kenji added as he squeezed Dmitri's shoulder as they went into their respective cars after a lovely picnic.
For Dmitri, it was not about forgetting.
When someone we love separates, at first we think about them all of the time. Our memories are like a book that we take down off the shelf and go over everyday. The book makes us cry as we constantly read it and focus on it.
Over time, we put that book on a higher and higher shelf and take it down less and less frequently because now we're living our life and looking at other books.
It's not that we have forgotten that book. We still love it and we do look over it from time to time but it's not as often. Now we look at it with nostalgia instead of with desperate grief.
Is that what was going to happen to Dmitri and Audrey"s book and their chapter of love ? Were new books going to replace it and help him forget his grief ?
However to know that, we need to know the first chapter and how it all started.