Chapter 18

“I figure sometimes, if I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, and I don’t cry,” Arkady says, adding sugar to his coffee. He mainly takes it black, but he’s been taking the occasional sugar in it to give him more of an energy boost.

“You don’t cry? Like never?” Cade asks with a slight frown.

“I’m Russian, and my father is old school Russian. He taught me men do not cry. I’m sure I’ve cried before, but I don’t really remember it. If I did, it was as a child,” Arkady admits.

“So, it’s not like a macho thing. It’s more a cultural thing?”

“Culture, and my family. I’m afraid I come from a long line of stuffy, emotionally repressed, intellectual types.” Arkady had always been aware growing up that his family didn’t show emotion the same way others did. They’re not as free with their feelings. Arkady knows it’s kind of a problem, but he’s not sure what to do about it. He’s been talking about it a little with his new therapist.