Prejudice Ch. 01

"The most beautiful woman in the world is my wife. I want to memorize every inch of your body. When I'm at the factory I want to be able to close my eyes and see the little birthmark on your shoulder. I want to remember the dimple right above your hip. I want to know you're with me even when you're not with me."

She grabbed his head and mashed her lips to his. This time was slower. He teased her. He would touch her bump for a few seconds and then leave it lonely for several minutes. Eventually neither one could hold back. She rolled to her knees and he mounted her again. When she climaxed, he held her up until he finished also.

They slept again and then had a quick sponge bath before dressing for breakfast. They would stay one more night and not go back to the factory until Tuesday.

When the maid saw them go down to breakfast, she hurried in to change the sheets. After putting fresh sheets on the bed, she took the old ones out to her cart. Another maid was passing by. "Looks like a successful wedding night," the first one said. Both of them could see the blood spots and three large wet spots on the linens. They laughed.

***

They began their married life living with Niki's parents. His parents had a larger apartment than Anna's parents and Niki's old bedroom became the bedroom for the new couple. Unfortunately, the bedroom wasn't large enough for a double bed, so Anna and Niki shared his old single bed. As with most young couples, they didn't notice the lack of space at night.

There were other things that Anna did notice. Her mother-in-law, while well-meaning, was always making suggestions to Anna about how the bedroom was kept up. And she almost never let Anna cook. During the week this was alright. Anna still worked in the factory, so to come home and not have to cook was a relief, but even on the weekends Anna was kept out of the kitchen.

Anna and Niki also had to be proper and quiet in the apartment. Quiet was especially difficult. Niki's old bed squeaked, so often they made love on the floor. The sex was good, but sometimes uncomfortable. Anna also wanted to be more vocal, like on their wedding night. But then she would have to look at her in-laws across the breakfast table and that embarrassed her.

Anna wanted an apartment for their own even if it was a small one. She was realistic though. They were on a waiting list. Young and without children, they were not a priority. She knew some couples in the city who were still waiting after three years and one child.

Niki surprised her the day after the October Revolution celebration. "Anna, I got the notification today that we can move into an apartment in two weeks!"

"Oh, Niki, that's wonderful!"

"Congratulations boy," boomed his father. "I knew they'd see what a great addition to the Party you were."

Later that night Anna and Niki lay together in bed. "I can't believe that we're going to have our own place. Some of the girls at the factory have been married over three years and are still living with their parents," Anna whispered to Niki. "I'm so proud that they've given this to you for your great work."

"Well," he started, "membership in the Party helped, but I had to finish saving some more money, also. I arranged to meet the Housing Administrator for the factory at the October Revolution celebration. A hundred rubles over a bottle of vodka got us moved right on up the list."

"Oh," Anna replied. She hadn't known you could pay somebody to get a favor.

Later in the week Niki and his father and Anna's father had gone to a football match, so Anna went to visit her mother. After some small talk about Anna's job and how her father was getting along, Anna brought up her concern. "Niki bribed the Housing Administrator to get us an apartment."

"So?" Her mother looked at her as if waiting for some other revelation.

"What will I do when he gets arrested?"

"My child. If they arrested everyone who gave a bribe and everyone who took one, there wouldn't be enough people left to stretch from here to the corner."

"Mama! But we're all supposed to be equal!"

"It's true, dear. Your father paid a friend to get his first job in the machine shop and that was when the Czar still ruled. I remember your grandfather had to slip some rubles to an official to build the house your uncle lived in. It's no different under the Party. Different hands, same work."

They moved in to the apartment two weekends later. Anna rewarded Niki that night three times even if they were both tired. Then they began to try for a child in earnest.

Although Niki tried almost every night, at the end of six months Anna still was not pregnant. They both wanted children: Niki wanted a boy and Anna a child of either sex as long as it was healthy. They didn't speak about it. They both knew couples who had never had children, but they didn't want to admit to each other that it might happen to them.