16
Chloe
To my relief, the atmosphere at dinner isn’t strained in the least, partially because Pavel and Lyudmila join us instead of staying in the kitchen. Their presence adds to the festive feel of the meal nearly as much as all the exotic, colorful dishes populating the table.
Pavel has outdone himself today; it’s more like a gourmet wedding celebration than an at-home birthday.
Aside from the gorgeously arranged, delicious food, there’s plenty of alcohol, everything from wine to vodka and cognac. Every few minutes, either Pavel, Lyudmila, or Nikolai proposes a toast to the birthday girl, and we drink—or in my case, take a sip of wine. There’s no way I can keep up with the copious amounts of hard liquor the Russians are consuming. Well, everyone except Slava. He’s guzzling orange so
