Life Goes On - 42. Return to Russia

June 1992

Exhausted Vlad and Aiden stood in the slow moving line at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. The odyssey had started nineteen hours earlier with their departure from Cleveland Hopkins Airport. With three flights, two layovers and a time difference of eight hours they arrived Moscow at 5pm (17.00) having departed Cleveland at 2pm (14.00) the previous day. Sleep was difficult in their cramped economy seats during the eight hour New York to Frankfort portion of the trip. Exhaustion was not Vlad’s main concern. As he observed military guards throughout the airport with their automatic machine guns he pictured himself being dragged away for deserting the Soviet army forty-five years earlier. He leaned into Aiden. As their shoulders touched each felt the intimacy of the other. For them touching shoulders was the same as a kiss. If they leaned in hard it was a deep kiss. Pressing so hard that each had to brace their legs to keep from falling to the side indicated a deep, tongue down the throat kiss. As Vlad leaned to the left, Aiden leaned back to the right. Each leaned harder. Vlad shifted his legs to give himself a good foundation and leaned firmer. As Aiden pushed back Vlad whispered in his ear, “If you push any harder I’m going to cum in my pants.” Aiden smiled at his friend as the two drifted apart and Vlad’s dick receded. Their moment of passion had brought them to the head of the line and Vlad was now facing the dreaded passport control officer. The bored appearing cute, blue eyed young man took Vlad’s passport and examined the photo and then looked up and scrutinized Vlad’s face, returning to the passport and again looking at the photo. He then found the visa and examined it carefully for about thirty seconds which to Vlad seemed an eternity. Then to the shock of Vlad the young man again studied Vlad’s face, the photo and Vlad’s face again finally saying, “добро пожаловать домой в россию” (“Welcome home to Russia”) with a smile. He then stamped the passport and visa and handed them back to Vlad.

Vlad, still trembling, passed through the barrier and waited for Aiden who appeared to move through the process faster.

Another concern Vlad had as they entered Russia was money. Since the use of credit cards was not yet available they carried enough cash to finance their visit. In addition to the normal required cash Vlad and Aiden were carrying $500 that Fedor had asked them to give Dimitri and $4,000 that Vlad would give his parents or brother if he was able to find them. This extra cash of forty-five $100 bills was carried by Vlad and Aiden in their shoes between the insole and bottom. Upon arrival at the airport they were required to fill out declarations of what they were bringing into Russia. They had not included this extra cash on the declaration as there could have been questions about the amount of excessive cash they were bringing into Russia. The cash declaration was one of the forms the cute, blue eyed passport control office had taken. Upon departure they would have to report the amount of cash they were taking out of the country. Fedor had suggested the method they used to smuggle in the cash.

Fedor had suggested they use public transportation to get to their hotel. Some Moscow taxi drivers would take advantage of foreign tourist with excessive fees. Also, it was likely the taxi would get bogged down in Moscow’s gridlock traffic. Thanks to Fedor’s instructions they easily found the local bus to a metro station. Riding the metro was a challenge. With the largest passenger ridership in Europe it transports almost as many as the New York subway and London underground combined. In 1992 all signs and information were only in the Russian language. If one could not read the Russian Cyrillic language riding the metro would be nearly impossible to navigate. Since the names of stations were not usually visible from inside the wagons the difficult to understand announcements even for Russians were the only way to know where you were. At one point they got off the train and waited for it to leave the station so they could read the station name only listed on the wall across the track opposite the platform. Since another train would arrive in 90 seconds this did not cause an excessive delay. Once Vlad determined where they were they got on the next train and counted three station stops to determine where they should get off. (Today the announcements are much clearer and station names are easier to see from the train. But during my first visit in 1997 I used a combination of getting off the train to determine where I was as well as station counting.)

They had one change of trains at the Kitay Gorod station. Vlad and Aiden followed the mass of people walking through the tunnel connecting the two lines meeting at that station. A man of about thirty began talking to Aiden who of course did not understand what the man was saying. The stranger pointed to the suitcase Aiden was pulling on rollers. Both Vlad and Aiden had one large suitcase, a smaller carryon and a small backpack. To help identify their suitcases and protect them from accidental opening they had secured a multicolored strap around each one. Vlad then asked the man what his concern was. As the crowd continued to pass by the man said to Vlad in Russian, “You have a rainbow strap on your suitcase. Does this mean you are a man of the rainbow?” Vlad thought he understood the man’s comment. When he had bought the straps for their suitcases he had not considered the rainbow significance. He just thought the many colors would be easier to identify their bags. Possibly this man was asking if they were gay.

Vlad replied, “My friend and I consider the rainbow a symbol of our lifestyles. May I have your phone number? Maybe we can meet sometime to discuss Russian culture.” The man smiled as he opened his man purse, common in Russia, and took out a small notebook. He wrote a phone number down and handed it to Vlad. He smiled as he told them it would be a pleasure to have a discussion with such handsome men. He shook both of their hands while gazing into their eyes with a smile of lust. As the man hurried away Vlad explained the encounter to Aiden. “Should we call him? If my assumption is correct we could have a very interesting discussion of Russian culture.”

Aiden laughed as he commented, “Will it be a hands on lesson?”

(Note to reader: This actually happened to me as I walked through a crowded tunnel of the metro pulling my suitcase with its rainbow strap. Unfortunately I was walking in a daze of exhaustion having just arrived in Moscow and did not encourage the handsome man. Possibly I was wrong about his intention. I do not speak or understand Russian. If I had an opportunity to do it again I could have asked for his phone number and then have a Russian friend help me communicate with him.)

Although it was almost 10:00 (22.00) by the time they were settled in their room Vlad suggested they call Dimitri. Fedor had given him numbers at both his apartment and Dimitri’s room indicating that Dimitri would most likely be at his number. Vlad called Fedor’s apartment first and Dimitri answered on the second ring. Since Fedor had given Dimitri no notice by phone or letter that friends were visiting Moscow, Dimitri was suspicious of Vlad’s intent. Fedor had not warned his lover of the visit as he did not want anyone at the Embassy to know he had American friends and he assumed his phone calls and letters were monitored. The only way he could send a letter to Dimitri was to put it in a diplomatic pouch and have it mailed by the Foreign Ministry in Moscow. A letter sent by US mail could take weeks to arrive if at all and may have been given to authorities in Moscow by the Russian Post Office. Vlad was careful as to what he said as he had been warned there was a small, very small, possibility that the phone call was monitored. Vlad assumed that Dimitri’s reluctance to show any emotion was for the benefit of possible monitors. Vlad did not mention he had brought a letter, money or gifts from Fedor. He just told Dimitri that he was given his name as someone that might give them tourist information. When Vlad told Dimitri that he wanted to know where to get some delicious Russian bread that was so pleasing to the lips (remember the code word, bread = kiss) Dimitri gave a gasp and told him he would gladly help Vlad find tasty Russian bread. They arranged to meet the following afternoon at the entrance to the VDNK metro station near the Cosmos Hotel.

Vlad related his conversation to Aiden while both undressed. Naked Aiden walked to the bathroom and soon called to Vlad, “How in hell does someone take a bath or shower in Russia?” Vlad laughed as he walked into the bathroom and saw the small bathtub. There was a rubber hose attached to the bathtub waterspout with a sprayer at its end. There was no shower curtain. Vlad then explained how to shower by standing and directing the spray so that stray water hit the wall next to the shower being careful not to get the entire room wet or he could kneel and wash himself. Then Vlad suggested, “Why don’t I just wash you?” By the time Vlad had finished washing the travel grime off his lover using the tiny bar of harsh brown soap and giving special attention to the crotch he was on his knees sucking his friend clean. Aiden then returned the favor, washing and sucking. Then they dried each other using the thin towels that were the size of hand towels at home.

At this point each just wanted to go to bed and each got into one of the two single beds. Vlad told his plans for the next day. They would visit his home that he had last visited in 1943, forty-nine years earlier when he had an opportunity to visit his mother when he was stationed in Moscow during the war. Both his father and brother were away fighting in the Soviet army. Knowing that Soviet citizens rarely moved once they found a place to live he hoped to find his brother there and possibly his parents who would be in their 90s, if alive. Or at least he hoped to find one of his old neighbors who would have information about his family. In addition to finding his brother and possibly parents they would meet with Dimitri and sometime in the next few days call ‘rainbow man’ from the metro. As he fell asleep Aiden’s last words were, “So many men, so little time”.

Late the following morning after taking the wrong metro line Vlad and Aiden finally found themselves standing outside the building Vlad had lived in until he departed for high school and willingly into the bed of his German teacher, Franz Eberhardt at the age of 16, 56 years earlier. The only change to the exterior of the building since the 1940s was the installation of a heavy-duty entrance door and a row of doorbells. While each doorbell had a place for a name card next to it there were no names. (I was told by my Russian friend that during Soviet times names were not posted making it difficult for authorities, especially the police, to know exactly where one lived.) They decided to wait until someone arrived at the door either coming or going and hopefully get in or at least information about his family. Soon the door opened and a lady probably in her 50s came out. When Vlad started to tell her he had lived in that building she glared at him with suspicion and just walked away. Ten minutes later a young woman arrived pushing a baby carriage. When she approached the door Vlad again started to tell his story. She listened to him and replied, “Why don’t you enter and go up to your old flat. Most of the residents of this building have lived here for years. Hopefully someone will answer your knock and have information for you.”

As she released the door using a fob pressed against round plate next to the door Vlad held it open so she could push the carriage in. Then as she took her child Aiden carried the carriage up three flights. Vlad stopped at the second flight and found himself standing in front of a door he had not entered for almost fifty years. With a feeling of trepidation he pressed a button next to the door. He could hear the sound of ringing inside. He waited, no response. He pressed again. Finally he heard some movement inside. Then a very unfriendly sounding voice called out from the other side, “Who is there? What do you want?”

Vlad replied, “Hello, I am Vladimir Melnikov. I lived here with my parents and brother and grandparents before the war. I now live in the USA.”

The voice behind the door, “Vladimir Melnikov died at the end of the war.”

“No he did not. I am living proof that he is alive.”

“How do I know you are really the handsome Vladek?”

Vlad (or Vladek as he was called in Russia) then described his flat, told that his father was a tram operator and described other people in the flat including a pretty little girl Katrina who always asked him to help her with her studies.”

Vladek then heard the door being unlocked with multiple keys. When it opened a woman about his age rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him. “Oh Vladek, what ever happened to you?” Then standing back she exclaimed, “You are as handsome today as you were many years ago.” He suddenly realized he was looking into the eyes of Katrina. She grabbed him again and kissed him cheek to cheek three times in the Russian tradition. Aiden who had returned from helping with the carriage stood in bewilderment as his lover was being passionately attacked by this Russian lady.

She then ushered the two in. Holding Vladek’s hand she directed them to her room. “Sit down while I make tea. She plugged in the electric water pot that was on a table in her room. She left the room and returned within a minute with cups and a plate of cookies. Pouring tea she began, “I am sure you want to know about your family. Your mother passed away about twenty years ago. Your father is as handsome and healthy as ever at the age of 94. My husband never returned from the war. A year after your mother died Boris (Vladek’s father) moved from across the hall to this room. We have been a great comfort to each other.” Vladek realized his 94 year old father was living with this woman in her late 60s. They began their relationship when he was in his early 70s and she in her late 40s. Then he chuckled to himself as he realized he was now about the same age as his father and Aiden the same age as Katrina when they began their relationship. He remember how sensual his father had been and assumed he had and possibly still made Katrina very happy. Vlad translated this bit of news to Aiden adding that they were sitting on the sofa that opened into a bed and love nest for his father. Katrina continued, “Your brother, Pavel, his wife and one of their sons and his wife live in your old room. He worked for the Ministry of Transportation and is retired. Their other son, his wife and two girls live near the Arbat. On Wednesday mornings Boris and Pavel go to the banya (public bath). It is the free day of the week for pensioners who fought in the war. After the banya they usually sit in the park at the end of our street drinking beer and talking to friends. Pavel’s wife is visiting her daughter-in-law at her place near the Arbat. You could go to the park and find your father and brother.” Vladek translated the information to Aiden. Katrina gave Vladek an extra fob for the door at the street and the two departed for the park. Vladek remembered the park with feelings of nostalgia.

As Vladek entered the small park he immediately recognized his father. He would not have recognized his brother. With tears in his eyes he told Aiden, “That handsome man on the third bench is my father and my brother is next to him.” They were talking to three men who were on a bench opposite them. There was a small space at the end of the bench next to his father. Aiden suggested, “Why don’t you go and sit next to your father. I will sit over there for now. You can introduce me later.”

Vladek walked over to his father’s bench. He sat down next to his father. His father looked at him and said, “Do I know you? You look familiar.”

Vladek leaned forward and looked into the old man’s eyes. “Yes, you know me very well. But you have not seen me for almost fifty years. I am your son, Vladek.”

“No, you cannot be Vladek. He died in the war. After the war one of your army mates came to our room and told us you had disappeared in Berlin”

“That is true. I did disappear when in Berlin. It is a long story. I will tell you the entire story but not today. It is too complicated. I have lived in the United States since 1947.”

“When you walked up to my bench I knew it was you but did not believe myself,” the father said with tears in his eyes. Vladek reached for his hand and then they fell into an embrace.

Vladek then turned to his brother, “Pavel, I understand you are a father to two boys and grandfather to two little girls. Congratulations!” Pavel smiled as the two brothers reached for each other’s hands with their father between them. “I went to our room and met Katrina. She gave me some details of your lives and told me where I could find you.”

Vladek then motioned for Aiden to join them. Since Aiden’s Russian was limited to a few words their greeting was limited to handshakes and smiles.

On the way back to the apartment Vladek insisted on buying food stopping at a store that sold meat in one section and dairy products in another. After purchasing sausage and cheese they continued and bought bread at a window level with the sidewalk and finally some carrots and cucumbers from a street vendor. Each place had a very limited amount of food. (As the economy gradually switched toward capitalism the stores began selling more products at considerably higher prices.) Of course they easily found beer, vodka and soft drinks. Vladek gladly paid for all the purchases. He realized the cost of the sausage and cheese was priced as a luxury item for most Russians, something purchased only for special occasions.

The remainder of the day the father and two sons discussed their life stories since the end of the war while Aiden, having anticipated the long discussions read a book he had brought, John Grisham’s latest, The Pelican Brief.

The three also discussed the changes in the economy. They had heard that the government would soon turn over homes to the occupants. Boris who was the registered tenant of the room where his son and family lived would soon own the room. Likewise Katrina would own her room. Eventually they could sell their room or buy additional rooms in the apartment.

Late in the afternoon Vlad discretely asked Aiden to go out to the hall of the apartment and retrieve $4,000 from their shoes. (In Russia and just about every place in the world except the USA shoes are removed when entering a home. There is usually a pile of slippers near the entrance for residents and guests.) Since privacy was limited Vladek then suggested he and his brother Pavel go to the kitchen for a private chat. At that moment no one from any of the four families that shared the apartment were in the kitchen. Vladek gave his brother the money. The brother was dumbfounded as this represented more than a year’s salary. Vladek told his brother that he should use the money in any way that would benefit their father or his family. He suggested that the money might be used to buy Katrina’s room and any other rooms in the apartment that might become available.

By 5:00 (17:00) Vlad had met his sister-in-law, nephew and his wife. Their conversation would have continued into the evening if they did not have the appointment with Dimitri. They arranged to return the next day. Pavel gave Vladek a fob to enter the building and a set of keys for the apartment and their family’s room within the apartment.

Aiden and Vladek then rushed to the metro station and with no difficulty arrived at the metro station near their hotel ten minutes prior to the agreed meeting time with Dimitri. When they emerged from the station they saw numerous people, single, in pairs or groups apparently waiting for friends. Aiden spotted an incredibly handsome man of about thirty. When their eyes met Aiden felt his dick give a happy response. Hoping this was Dimitri they approached him. Vladek asked, “Dimitri?” The Adonis smiled and held out his hand. As Aiden touched it he remembered Fedor’s comment about Dimitri having the hands of an athlete. The touch and firm shake sent an electrifying message to Aiden’s dick.

Vladek then asked Dimitri, “Are you the friend of Fedor?” Dimitri smiled as he replied that he was. “When Fedor learned we were visiting Moscow he told us we should meet his friend. Let’s go to the hotel bar and get to know each other better. I am Vladek and this is my friend, Aiden. He does not speak Russian.”

Then in a slow English Dimitri replied, “I am learning to speak English. If I make mistakes please correct me. Although it will be difficult for me to talk in English it will be good practice.”

As they walked to the hotel Vladek told their new Russian friend how they had met Fedor. He told how at first he thought they were in trouble and would have their visa applications denied when they admitted to have lived together for years. They were greatly relieved upon discovering Fedor was in a similar situation and just wanted someone to talk to in the USA.

As they sat at a table in the hotel bar they shared life adventures without any mention of sexual activity. When Vladek was satisfied this was the real Dimitri he told their new friend that Fedor had given them a letter, gifts and money to give him. Vladek asked Dimitri if he would like to come to their room to receive the items or if he did not want to go up to the room, Aiden would go and get the items. Dimitri replied that he would prefer the privacy of their room.

After the door to their room had closed Vladek first retrieved the letter and handed the sealed envelope to Dimitri. While their friend read the letter Aiden took the remainder of the smuggled money, $500, out of his shoe and Vladek placed the gifts on one of the beds. Dimitri was crying by the time he finished the letter. Aiden asked him if the letter contained bad news. “Oh no. It is just that I miss him so much. He told me you are good men and that I should do everything possible to show you a good time during your visit. He underlined the words ‘good time’.”

Dimitri was surprised at the $500 cash gift. American dollars were coveted. Since the fall of the Soviet Union inflation caused a decrease in the value of the ruble, sometimes daily. Having money in dollars not only gave him money to spend it protected him from the devaluation of his own currency while he held the dollars.

He then turned his attention to the gifts. Fedor had sent him a pair of sneakers, two pairs of 510 button fly Levis, (one black – the preferred color of Russians and the other blue), four muscle T shirts and six pairs of underwear. Just touching the silky, nylon underwear had given Aiden a hardon as he packed them. There were two pairs of briefs (red and white), two pairs of bikini briefs (light green and yellow) and two posing straps (black and lavender).

Dimitri inspected each pair of jeans, the T shirts and lingered on the underwear. “I must try these on.” Without hesitation he stripped naked. Both Vladek and Aiden had to restrain gasps as they viewed this muscular handsome man of about 5’ 10” (1.78 m). While he appeared stocky there was no fat, just muscle. Facing them he asked, “What should I try on first?” This hesitation on his part appeared to be an excuse to show off his body. With no shame Aiden and Vladek examined the stunning body: hairless chest, flat six pack stomach, generous uncut cock, crowned by a small thatch of black hair, ample balls, muscular hairless legs and solid feet. As he learned over and turned around to pick up the pair of white briefs his rounded ass cheeks spread revealing an inviting rosebud. Dressed he happily modeled the outfit: a muscle T shirt, jeans and sneakers.

Aiden commented. “It fits perfectly. Fedor certainly knows your body.”

Dimitri smiled, “Yes he does! Never have I worn such luxurious underwear. I must try on the other styles.” He again got naked now having a somewhat inflated dick. He handed the two bikini briefs to Aiden. “Which one should I try on?” As Aiden selected the yellow ones he thought to himself, ‘this guy is certainly enjoying enticing us’. Dimitri put them on and walked around the room wearing only the bikini. He inspected himself at the small mirror near the entrance door. Then looking at both, “Would you like to feel the softness of this material?” Both fingered the soft yellow material, Vladek near the dick which he could feel rising and Aiden the bubble ass.

Removing the yellow bikini he asked Vlad to select a posing strap. Vladek handed him the lavender one. Now with an almost hard dick Dimitri stepped into the posing strap. He stood in front of his friends. As he raised his arms over his head revealing black tufts of armpit hair the front of the pouch moved out as his dick rose. He turned around displaying his perfect ass with the string of the strap running up his ass crack.

When he turned to face them again Aiden said, “Do you mind if I inspect the design of your underwear?”

“It would be my pleasure to have you inspect this gift that you so thoughtfully carried across the ocean to me.”

Aiden kneeled and fingered the delicate material of the pouch. With his index finger under the pouch and thumb rubbing on the outside he felt the soft material and the now rock hard dick that was straining to be released. Aiden moved the pouch to the side and the manhood sprung out almost hitting his face. Precum oozed out of the opening in the uncut skin that covered the cock. As Aiden pulled the skin back and licked the juices from the dick hole Vladek leaned in and nibbled on a nipple.

Dimitri stepped back, “This is not fair. We should be equal. Get naked so I can have pleasant sights and feelings with my hands, mouth and ass.”

Then he notice another gift on the bed. “What is this other package on the bed? Is it also from Fedor?”

“Open it”, Aiden replied. As Dimitri opened the package the two men quickly undressed. Now three naked men with hard swinging dicks stood in the room.

Dimitri smiled as he opened the package of four dozen (48) condoms. “Preservatives (Russian word for condom) from America. Russian ones are not dependable, always breaking. Fedor is telling me to be safe while he is away. It would give me great pleasure to have you demonstrate their use.” As he said this he eyed Vladek’s impressive dick. Still wearing the posing strap with a string running through his ass crack Dimitri bent over leaning against the bed. Needing no additional invitation Vladek eagerly opened a condom package and rolled a pre lubricated one over his eager dick. Pulling the string aside he used spit on his finger to provide additional lube to both the willing hole and condom. As he leaned over the Russian Vladek whispered in his ear, “Do you want me to be easy or wild?”

Dimitri turned his head, “I learned an American phrase in class last week, ‘No pain, No gain’.”

With that encouragement Vladek clamped his hand over Dimitri’s mouth to stifle a possible scream of pleasure, placed his dickhead against the hole and with no mercy rammed in. Dimitri gave a muffled shriek as the older Russian thrust in and out. While he would have normally paced himself, Vladek could not resist the temptation to continue until exploding. As he pulled out Aiden inspired by the reaction of Dimitri to Vladek’s attack shoved in his condom clad dick. To both his and Dimitri’s disappointments he shot within seconds of his first thrust. As Aiden pulled out Vladek pushed Dimitri onto his back. Grabbing the young Russian’s dick he roughly jacked it a few strokes until it erupted spewing cum over the chest and face.

The three snuggled together and rested for about ten minutes. Then Dimitri said, “I am very happy that my Fedor sent gifts that so inspired all of us. You must tell him how much I enjoyed our meeting. I am going to go to the bathroom and clean myself.” When he returned a few minutes later still wearing the posing strap he asked, “Please fuck me again. This time long and slow.” He laid on his back, placed a pillow under his ass and smiled at the visitors from America.

Forty-five minutes later as he dressed putting on his new Levis and muscle T shirt they discussed a future meeting. Dimitri told them that the following evening he was required to attend the birthday party of his boss at the boss’s apartment. Then he lamented, “I hope what happened last year is not repeated. I had too much to drink and went to use the toilet. One of the administrators, a women of about fifty who also had too much to drink, followed me into the small room and locked the door. She said, ‘I want to watch you piss.’ I had to go so bad I just pulled it out and let the piss stream out. Then as I shook off the last drops she pushed me away from the toilet, got on her knees and swallowed my soft dick. Lips on my dick, even those of a woman, got me hard. She sucked me until I shot down her throat. She swallowed, stood and opened the door. One of the other women from the office was waiting to use the toilet and saw me standing there with my hard dick sticking out. I zipped up my pants and as I walked out the door she looked at me and smiled. A week later one of my man friends told me he had heard about the session with the administrator and that the women were discussing my, as he said, ‘beautiful, manly penis’. This year I will not drink and never go close to a bathroom.”

Vladek stated that he planned on spending all day Saturday with his father, brothers and their families. Since all the conversations would be in Russian Aiden would probably prefer to go sightseeing with Dimitri. Their new Russian friend stated that he was sure he could provide the American friend with an interesting day. They kissed goodbye in the room and then escorted Dimitri to the nearby metro station.

Returning to their room they helped each other shower and in a state of exhaustion crawled into one of the narrow beds, wrapped their naked bodies around each other and almost immediately fell asleep. In the middle of the night Vladek felt a familiar warmness on his dick. After giving his love liquid protein he used his fist while holding the ever ready glad rag to relieve his man. In less than five minutes the double encounter was over and each was asleep holding the other.