"Here you go, Mr. Zakhrov, three beef, and one chicken hot dogs, made fresh and perfect," said the hot dog vendor, handing out the hot dogs to Ivan, Mikaela, Stefan and Maria.
Stefan and Anna had rejoined them after riding on the roundabouts, and Anna seed to have gotten over her sulking.
"Here you go, Ms. Petra, cucumber and mint sandwiches. I made them myself this morning," said Anna, pulling a Tupperware container out of her backpack, and opening it.
"Anna, darling, you're a lifesaver," said Annette, eagerly taking a bite out of the sandwich.
"I'm trying to reduce my at intake too, so I knew when Dad said that Mr. Zakhrov is taking everyone, it was going to be a sausage fest," said Anna, basking in Annette's attention.
"Well, you could just not be stubborn and eat a hot dog," pointed out Mikaela, waving her hot dog in Anna's face.
"No! And you should be ashad of yourself for letting a poor cow die just so you can eat," snapped Anna.
"Well, perhaps I should eat you instead then," snarled Mikaela, getting ready to pounce on Anna.
"OK, break it up you two. Anna, apologize. Everybody has a right to eat what they want," said Stefan, as he and Ivan quickly moved to separate Anna and Mikaela.
Anna stuck out her tongue that was stained green by the mint sauce instead of apologizing.
Mikaela, took a big bite of her hot dog, and chewed with her mouth open to spite Anna.
"Mikaela, stop that. Close your mouth and chew, you are a Princess, not so cow that keeps chewing like that," admonished Ivan, and Mikaela quickly closed her mouth and straightened, trying to appear more sophisticated.
"Yes, you're right. Sorry, Daddy," she said.
"How was the roundabout, Anna?" asked Maria, trying to move the situation along.
"Oh, it was fun, Ms. Washington. It was nice, not too fast and not too slow, and Dad enjoyed it too," said Anna, as they all settled at a table in the food court area.
Edward and Ruth arrived just as they had finished their hot dogs, and sandwiches.
"Did you two love birds have fun?" asked Stefan with a teasing smile.
"Yes, yes we did. How about we order lunch now?" asked Ruth, blushing furiously.
"We already had hot dogs, but yes, we can get sothing more substantial," said Ivan, raising his hand to attract the attention of the waiter.
"Hello, Mr. Zakhrov, here is the nu," said the waiter, handing them the food and beverage nus.
"Ok, seriously. Did you do so fancy reservation or sothing?" asked Annette, unable to contain her suspicions.
"Worse than that, my dear Annette. I co-founded and co-own this amusent park, with DuPont Hospitality and Services," said Ivan.
"You what?" asked Annette, unable to process the revelation.
"Mr. Zakhrov has shown to be an excellent entrepreneur and employer. This was an arid dump not too long ago, and all our farms were struggling. It is thanks to him that we live comfortably now, and didn't have to sell our land to the big agribusiness guys," said the waiter, inadvertently making the situation worse.
"I see. In that case, I'll have the vegan steak," said Annette.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but there is no vegan steak," said the waiter.
"I'm the wife, so I say, make a vegan steak," said Annette.
"You're the ex-wife, and you don't own shit. Now be civilized, and order sothing from the nu," said Ivan, his voice hard.
"Fine. I'll have the green salad, and please make sure the chef understands that I will not eat animal products," said Annette, her hands shaking.
"Sa for ," piped up Anna.
"Mikaela and I will split a T-bone steak," said Ivan.
"I'll have the cheeseburger," said Stefan.
"Sa for ," said Maria.
"A T-bone steak for us as well," said Edward.
"Very good," said the waiter and left for the kitchens.
"How many more secret jobs and endeavors do you have Ivan? Just who the hell are you?" asked Annette.
"You may take that up with my attorney when he is on the clock. For now, let's enjoy this afternoon shall we?" suggested Ivan.
"Fine, but you could have had a wine nu here" groused Annette.
"So that you can chug it straight from the bottle like so sorority girl who's just hit the legal drinking age? Not happening," said Ivan, as Annette's cheeks burned crimson.
"Mr. Zakhrov, please," warned Ruth.
"All right, all right. I'll simply tell you this, Annette. I'm not the sa man you married, let's leave it at that. And as for your fears and concerns. I'm not going to take Mikaela away, I just want to spend so ti with her like how I am now," said Ivan, as part of a peace offering.
"Your very presence is an affront to , Ivan Zakhrov. I cannot stop you from seeing Mikaela, not anymore. But what I will not stand for, is you undermining and undoing each and every thing I try to teach. I cannot make my position any clearer than this," said Annette.
"Very well. I shall abide by your wishes," sighed Ivan.
He turned to Mikaela.
"Princess. I need you to do sothing very brave for . I want you to listen to your mom, and not argue all the ti with her, but when we're together, I'll let you say and do whatever you want. OK?" he asked.
"OK, Daddy. For you. But you have to see more often, OK?" asked Mikaela.
"OK," said Ivan.
The waiter returned with their orders, and they started to eat.
Annette seed to have been satisfied with Ivan's answer, but there was still tension in her movents as she ate her salad.
---
"Dad, I'm coming with Ms. Petra. I cannot stand another minute in that Lambo," declared Anna as they left the amusent park.
"Fine, be that way. I'll see you at ho," said Stefan with cool nonchalance.
"Um, Daddy?" asked Mikaela, fidgeting nervously.
"Oh, it's all right. You ride in Stefan's car," chuckled Ivan, as Annette pursed her lips.
Mikaela went with Stefan, while Anna and Annette sat in the back of Ivan's BMW M5.
Ivan started the car, and it let out a powerful rumble.
"Please go slowly, Mr. Zakhrov! I get motion sickness," pleaded Anna.
"All right, all right," sighed Ivan, and slowly pulled out of the parking lot.
---
"What took you so long?" demanded Mikaela, as Ivan finally pulled into the driveway at Annette's house in Palm Springs.
"Unlike you, I don't like going fast," retorted Anna, as she stepped out of the BMW M5, with Annette.
"Well you have to ride in Mr. Stanislaus' Lambo now anyway," said Mikaela.
"No, Ms. Petra said she can drop ," said Anna, clinging to Annette's hand.
"Hey, Anna? Would you like to swap places? I'm perfectly happy to live with Daddy and Mr. Stanislaus. You can stay with my mom," said Mikaela, feeling a pang of hurt and envy at the way Anna was clinging to Annette.
"What? No! I don't want to do that," said Anna, quickly disengaging from Annette, realizing she had crossed a line.
"Mikaela, honey. I know that I can be a bit hard on you, but I love you. I'm your mom. Co here, sweetie. I'm not trading you for anyone," said Annette, getting down on her knees to hug Mikaela.
"Mommy!" wailed Mikaela, throwing herself into Annette's arms.
"Ms. Petra, can I borrow your car keys? I'll take Anna ho in your car, and bring it back," asked Stefan, after Mikaela and Annette had separated.
"Well, I suppose that's all right. What do you say, Anna?" asked Annette.
"T-that's OK," said Anna in a small voice.
"Anna, I know you're hurting after mom died, but I'm trying to take care of you as best I can," said Stefan, softly, hugging Anna.
"OK, Daddy," sniffled Anna.
"I'll see you soon, Mikaela," said Ivan, happy that Annette had looked like a mother for once, and not an ideologue.
With that, he and Stefan left. Stefan in Annette's Hyundai Ioniq, and Ivan in his BMW M5.
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