Morning
1420 Words
Natia woke up to someone knocking on her door. She got up groggily. It was hard to open her eyes. So she didn’t, until she reached the door. How she managed to do that without stumbling on anything, she doesn’t know.
“Am I supposed to be your personal wake up call?” Sofia asked her with a little annoyance when she opened the door.
“You didn’t have to.”
“Papa sent me.”
“Oh. I will be out in a moment.”
“Give me your number first.”
“Oh okay.” Natia recited her phone number sleepily.
“You are not babbling something in your sleep, are you?”
Before Natia could reply to that, she heard her phone ringing from inside.
“Alright, that’s my number. Save it. And come to the outdoor dining hall on this level.”
Saying that Sofia left her. Natia remained at her door for a whole minute, not fully woken from her sleep, without knowing she was just standing there for no reason. When she became aware of that, she facepalmed and got inside to change.
She changed her dress and brushed her teeth half asleep. She was careful not to unnecessarily splash water on her face. And gently brushed her hair. Why she was holding on to her sleep like that, she doesn’t know. She just doesn’t want to wake up yet, even though her rational mind was telling her, she has to wake up. If she was at home, she would have begged grandpa for five more minutes to sleep.
She then made her way to the dining hall with her eyes half closed. She knew it was stupid and ridiculous, but, she couldn't just keep her eyes open.
The dining space was on the other side of the pool on that level. Coming from her room, she had to go around the pool to reach there. She was half way across the length of the pool when she heard the sounds of others.
“Masha.” She heard her father calling her from her side.
“Morning papa.” She mumbled in greeting without really looking at him.
“Good morning sweetheart.” His sound was nearer now.
"Why are you..." Andrey paused and then laughed out loud.
“Aw! Was my baby just roused from her sleep.?” He cooed.
“Are you planning on getting back to bed after breakfast, Mashenka?” There was a warning note in his voice.
Natia tried to formulate a reply, to plead her case on how necessary it was that she get a few more hours of sleep. It was supposed to involve how she only fell asleep in the morning and how she couldn’t even stand without some more sleep. But, everything was lost on what happened next.
It all happened so suddenly that she didn’t even get time to scream. She felt hands picking her up. She was airborne for a moment. Then... SPLASH
Natia came to the surface of the pool sputtering. The water was cold and she was now soaked and there was not even a trace of sleep left on her.
She could only utter a loud scandalized cry when she found her voice.
“PAPA!!”
And there he was standing on the side of the pool trying hard not to laugh and trying to keep a stern expression on his face.
“What...papa...my sleep...saving...all gone... clothes...just changed...cold...why...you...argh!” Natia was too nettled to say complete coherent sentences. And she was saying each word with her hand punching the water. She knew she must have looked like a child throwing a tantrum. But she was too irritated to care.
At the table Valentin was laughing hard, his food discarded. And Aleksandr, who had just come on to the scene, had an amused expression. And Sofia...Sofia had crept up behind Andrey and Natia had a feeling she would like very much what she thought Sofia was going to do.
“We have not come here to just sleep, Masha,” Andrey told Natia in a mock stern voice.
“You could have just said that. You... didn’t...have to... throw me... in the... water.” Natia was now trying to keep Andrey in conversation, for him to not notice Sofia, though her anger and irritation was not forgotten.
She saw Sofia going to push Andrey. Whether it was because something showed on her face or if he had sensed Sofia behind him, Andrey turned at the last moment. Sofia did push him and he lost his balance, but, he grabbed Sofia too with him, when he was going to fall, and both of them fell into the water.
Natia felt a little better now that she had not only one but two for company in her state of drenched misery. But, only Sofia seemed to regret falling into the water. Andrey looked like he was having the time of his life, laughing and splashing water on Sofia even though his suit was all drenched now. Why was he even wearing a suit?! Was he working again? Natia couldn’t remember even a single time her father worked on a vacation trip. Taking two weeks off must have piled up his work, but he shouldn’t be overexerting himself now. She frowned.
Now, Andrey was trying to wet the other two standing outside the pool and Aleksandr and Valentin were backing off from near the pool. Sofia joined him a moment later. Now, looking at her father, all her earlier irritation drained from Natia. He really was in need of a vacation. She smiled. She moved to join them until a cold, irritated voice was heard from behind.
“What is going on here?”
Vera was standing there with crossed arms and tight lips. She looked around in an exaggerated way that meant the rest of them should also do that. Natia looked around. Not only the area around the pool was drenched, but also the dining area and upholstery, which were evidently placed at a distance from the pool to not get wet like that.
Natia felt Sofia edging towards the end of the pool. She looked back at Vera and was met with narrowed eyes full of disapproval.
“If you want a wild pool party girls, I suggest you go to the beach club,” Vera said with a bite in her voice. Even though she addressed only Natia and Sofia, nobody missed the actual jab was at Andrey. But, he didn’t seem offended at all.
“Alright girls, you heard the mother. Change your dress, eat your breakfast and go to the beach house to have a wild pool party.” He said in a stern voice without missing a beat.
Sofia shook her head and rolled her eyes at her father. But she climbed out of the pool, followed by Natia. They were given a towel by Valentin. And both of them moved to their rooms to get changed.
When Natia returned to the dining table in her swimwear and a wrap around her waist, only Sofia and Aleksandr were there. The dining area was cleaned by the staff by that time. A stewardess was bringing breakfast to Sofia; oatmeal with some berries and bananas.
“What would you like to have for breakfast, Miss?” She asked Natia.
“Uh, what are my options?”
“Just ask for whatever you want,” Sofia said from her side.
“Anything?!”
Aleksandr looked up at that.
“She meant the usual western breakfast dishes. Maybe something Asian too. You are not going to get an Anaconda fried if you ask for it.”
“Oh, thank you very much for your kind warning. I was just going to ask for some steamed Anaconda.” Natia replied, rolling her eyes at him. What’s wrong with him!?
Aleksandr shrugged and returned to his breakfast. She squinted her eyes at his dish. Something brownish...porridge?
“I will have whatever he is having.”
“Really?! You don’t even know what I am eating.”
“It looks like some porridge.”
Aleksandr didn’t even reply to her. He just continued to eat.
“It’s buckwheat Kasha, miss. I could get you a portion if you would like?”
“Yes, please.”
“Anything else, miss?”
“Coffee, black without sugar. Thank you.”
After breakfast, Natia went with Sofia to the beach club. Aleksandr had gone ahead of them.
- Writer
