Title: Saving Sima
Author: Susan Helene Gottfried
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Book Blurb:
This fourth installment in the Tales from the Sheep Farm series continues the story of Delia Ford and Meter Shaikovsky. Sort of. You should probably read Populated before this one.
The six Shaikovsky kids made a pact when they were young: If any of them used the code words, the others would come to the rescue, no questions asked.
Vassily, the second eldest, has always felt invisible, the family jerk and foil to his responsible older brother Dimitry, his fiery sister Anna, and the adorable, mischievous triplets. But when Sima calls for a rescue, it's Vassily who big brother Meter turns to for backup.
The two brothers make an all-night drive to rescue Sima and bring her home, but their problems are only beginning. Sima is a physical and emotional wreck and, inexplicably, chooses Vass, not Meter, as her safe person. And when Vassily loses his home, he and Sima move into Meter and Delia's small condo as he tries to regroup and figure out what his next move is.
As the four of them navigate the tight quarters and the demands of their close-knit family, and as the housing situation begins to resolve itself, Vassily comes to realize that maybe there's a better role for him in the family after all.
Sima's traumas may be triggering to those who've been in situations of physical abuse. While most remains off the page, the emotional and mental wounds and scars remain. Readers, take care of yourself if this will be upsetting to you.
Excerpt:
The girls weren’t back yet and Meter wandered into the spare room to call his real estate agent, so Vassily took a deep breath and called the high-end menswear store, expecting to get a machine. Instead, he got Danielle, who took the news in stride, which left Vass speechless.
“Look, things happen,” she said. “Do you have anything?”
“A pair of pajama pants and a sweatshirt,” Vassily said and confessed to wearing Meter’s too-tight pants.
“Where are you staying?” she asked, pleased when he told her where he was. “Oh, I know that building,” she said after a short exchange. “I thought it… skewed toward an older resident?”
“Mostly,” Vassily said. “I have no idea how Delia wound up here.”
“Delia? Not… not Delia Ford?”
Vassily’s stomach sank into his toes. What a time to forget who Delia was. “Yes,” he sighed. “Delia Ford, the photographer. She’s my sister-in-law.”
“She’s welcome to come too.”
“I, uh, don’t know where she is. She took off with my sister.”
“Well, put those pajama pants on and head on over. I’m here.”
Vassily had already put the pajama pants on, so all he needed to do was wait for Meter and tell him where he was headed. Meter, for some strange reason, decided to tag along. “She knows you’re Mr. Delia Ford,” Vass warned him.
Meter shrugged. “So do a lot of people.”
“But you just got married a couple months ago.”
“It started last year during the art bombing when people realized I was always right there with her. It’s kind of flattering, really.”
“Does anything ever get to you?” He wanted to grab Meter and shake him until he wasn’t so damn emotionally even.
“Yep. I’ve just learned how to roll with it all. C’mon. One of my favorite things about living here is how easy it is to walk everywhere.”
“You’re starting to sound like Delia.”
“She’s not a bad person to sound like. Tell me about this Danielle,” Meter said as they masked up and headed to the elevator.
Vassily did. She managed the store and had worked out the rental program for him which was, Meter noted, pretty slick given that high-end men’s suits were tailored. Vassily just shrugged. “Not mine to worry about. I pay the monthly fees, buy what I want at a discount, and…” He paused as they got to the store a lot faster than he’d expected.
The other trade-off he’d made was right there in the window. Himself, dressed in a Moda suit, his diamond pinky ring glinting. Vassily Shaikovsky, the fine print over his own legs said. Future owner, Catherine’s Jewels.
So they hadn’t updated it yet. Vassily wondered if he’d remembered to tell Danielle of the change.
He half expected Meter—who had stopped to take it in, hands on his hips—to laugh, but all he got was a slap on the back. “Slick. Has Delia seen this?”
“Hasn’t she seen everything in the city?”
“Yeah, but she’d appreciate this.”
Vassily shrugged. He was just one of many regular Port Kenneth people who modeled for the store. Their entire ad campaign was PK people dressed in Moda’s mens, nonbinary, and transmens wear. It wasn’t that big a deal. There were two others, equally as large, in the other store windows.
“You should have a print made,” Meter went on, “and give it to Mama. You know she’d go nuts over it.”
“Give it a rest,” Vassily said and walked inside the store. The dark ambient light, wood floor and trim, spotlights on the clothing, and familiarity of the place felt like it was wrapping around him and letting him know it was all going to be okay.
He hadn’t realized he’d been so strung out.
“There you are,” Danielle said, genuine warmth in her voice. Vassily was grateful she’d been there when he called and they hadn’t needed to wait for her. Sitting out on the street dressed in pajama pants and beat-up sneakers hadn’t been something he’d been excited about doing.
Vassily made the introductions between her and Meter, pleased when she didn’t pursue the Delia angle. She merely invited him to wander around and look at the clothes and let her know if he saw anything that suited his style.
“Suits my style,” Meter said with a nod and a smile that reached his eyes and could have been considered flirtatious—if it weren’t Meter doing it. And if he wasn’t masked. “Good pun.”
Danielle cocked her head and twitched her hips. They were ample hips, Vassily noted, not for the first time; Danielle was unapologetically fat and incredibly comfortable in her body. “Thank you. You’d be surprised how many people don’t catch it.” She put a hand out and caught Vassily at the collar, adjusting it and smoothing it down. “Now, you. What do you need?”
“Everything,” Vassily sighed. “And I mean everything.” He gave her a long look, which she met, her hands still smoothing the sweatshirt over his chest. He’d long learned to not think anything of it. Danielle just liked to feel her customers. Or something.
Besides, he didn’t mind. The contact honestly felt good, every bit as soothing as the store’s ambiance.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
This is the fourth book in the series, so I advise reading at least Populated (book 2) first, so you meet Delia and Meter… and yes, Vassily. But here, in Saving Sima, he’s the star of the show, warts and all. And our boy has some warts. As the story unfolds, with strong themes of family and identity, it comes out that maybe Sima’s not the only member of the family who needs something. Maybe Vass has to learn that the person he thinks he is actually isn’t the person others see.
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Author Biography:
Susan Helene Gottfried is the heavy-metal-loving, not-disabled enough divorced Jewish mother of two. A freelance line editor to authors of fiction by day, her select roster of clients tend to hit bestseller lists, and more than a few have quit their day jobs. It’s not entirely her doing, but like does attract like. As an author, she focuses on contemporary fiction, loving the challenge of creating great characters who find themselves in situations that force them to grow and change.
Susan holds a BA (University of Pittsburgh) and MFA (Bowling Green State University) in English Writing and Fiction, respectively and is the author of the Trevolution six-book series, a smattering of short stories, and the new Tales from the Sheep Farm series.
She lives with a couple cats in the Pittsburgh suburbs, just West of Mars. Visit her at WestofMars.com and TalesFromtheSheepFarm.com
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