Chenkov Family Home
Berlin, Earth
2093.357 (Wednesday 23 Dec)
The only memorable event during the time at the administrative school near Magdeburg was joining Igor to visit his family in Berlin for Christmas. Laura had never experienced the holiday in the way the the Chenkovs celebrated it. Christmas had been a special occasion she was very young but it had never been an event the way it was for the Chenkov family. She remembered her mother had taken her ice skating one year when she was still doing alright, as well as some small gifts and a tiny fake tree with lights that changed colour.
The Chenkov Christmas experience was an eye opener. They arrived two days before Christmas. When they arrived, both Igor’s parents were waiting for them. His mother wore glasses, a long plaid skirt and knitted cardigan that fit very well with Laura’s idea of a typical female professor. His father was the same, with corduroy pants, a chequered shirt and a sleeveless vest as well as a small, slightly unkempt beard. Both were genuinely pleased to meet her. Igor had told her that both mother and father were academics, professors nearing the ends of their careers. They intended to move to Europa upon retirement.
Igor’s mother had already noticed her at HPBT graduation where they had exchanged polite nods. Igor had told his parents a lot about Laura and his mother, Ludmilla, clearly had high hopes for the relationship. She almost felt bad that she wasn’t romantically interested in Igor, it was such a warm and pleasant environment. Of course, she wasn’t really romantically interested in anyone and while she really liked Igor and wouldn’t have minded sleeping with him, she got the impression that he probably wouldn’t be able to adjust to that very well. She’d decided they were better off with a platonic friendship.
Igor’s family was well off and the way they lived was something Laura had never seen up close before. The house had a large tree, so big it seemed to reach almost to the apartment’s high ceilings. It was a real one decorated with lights and there were Christmas decorations, so many of them that it must have taken Igor’s mother weeks to prepare them. Igor’s parental home was in a large three storey building in the customary German urban style. It was a building with large rooms and high, decorated ceilings comprising six large apartments and a large garden surrounding all of it. It had high tall windows that let in a lot of light. Igor and his older brother, who now lived on the planet Europa with his family had each had their own rooms growing up. Igor’s brother’s room now functioned as a guest room for her. It was a warm, loving environment and there didn’t appear to be any significant family tragedies anywhere in sight. There were no jealous ex lovers or stoned acquaintances. It was all very… comfortable.
A completely irresponsible amount of food and drink was available with each meal melding seamlessly into the next. Igor had told her that his family were all atheists but it obviously hadn’t stopped them embracing Christmas when they moved to the EU. Igor, who had apparently made an exhaustive analysis explained that the way they celebrated it was a mix of many different cultures. From Russia his parents had brought traditions normally observed during the Russian Orthodox Easter. The CHenkovs had mixed in German customs and American commercialism and British roasts and mince pies. To Laura is seemed to be a case of ‘and’ rather than ‘or’, with each assimilated tradition contributing both to the amount of decorations and the volume of food. It was quite an expansive event.
“Is this how you normally celebrate?”
“Huh? Yeah. Of course. Used to be more family when I was younger. Lots of people are off world so it’s a small group these days really.”
When Christmas day finally came nd there were fifteen people there. It seemed awfully busy to Laura and she already felt like she didn’t need to eat for a month.
“So it’s always this big of an event?”
“I’m not that into it really Laura. I usually just come here and fill the time eating and drinking until I can go back to doing something useful. It’s always such an overload.”
With her family, she’d never really had enough Christmas to consider the possibility of a festive overload.
“Hmm. I guess… it could be a bit much. Especially the food.”
It definitely beat sitting alone at a deserted army base though. Igor had been right about that.
“My mother always gets really stressed making sure everything is in order. I can never really tell whether she likes it or just thinks it’s the way you’re expected to do it. She can be a little traditional.”
“Traditional? I see… what’s that Disney Rudolf the Reindeer? What about that? Is that like a Russian Orthodox icon or something?”
“I’ll concede that she seems undecided on which tradition is important, but you know what I mean.”
She’d never really realised how segregated people from places like La Tribune had become. The poverty really did affect everything. In La Tribune any gathering of this size had a good chance of becoming a drug or violence infested horror show.
\bigskip
Igor had had to twist her arm to make her come, but in a rare moment of social insight, he had realised that she would be quite alone in a deserted barracks at Christmas if he didn’t take action. He hadn’t taken no for an answer.
“You’re not staying here alone Laura. This place will be deserted and depressing. I’m not having that on my conscience!”
“Look I’ll be fine. I’m sure I’ll find something to keep me occupied.”
“Look, I don’t want to have to talk exclusively to my parents for that long. They keep acting like I’m a bit of an idiot for getting conscripted.”
“What can I say, maybe they have a point?”
“Har, har. Very funny. Don’t try and change the subject!”
“Look, I’ll be fine here.”
“You stubborn idiot! You’re coming and that’s the end of it! Pack your bag or I’ll do it! I’ll drag you along by your hair if I have to.”
It had been an uncharacteristic outburst, such and unexpected thing for Igor to do that she’d agreed to come.
An empty military base is a bleak place at Christmas time, even if you don’t care for the holiday at all. Everything is deserted, most facilities are closed or running at minimal capacity and anyone who has duty is annoyed that they have to be there at all. Igor was right, she just felt really awkward about being at Igor’s home for a vacation.
Laura had never realised that such a thing as a functional family actually existed outside of fiction. It gave her something to think about, an option she had never considered before. She had even gone out into Berlin with Igor to get everyone presents. The shopping areas were insanely busy, but they managed to get everyone something vaguely festive. It was all an unfamiliar ritual to her, but she realised she should be very grateful to Igor for having taken her along. Even if some of it was awkward.
