Meanwhile the story of Anna Nezhdanova and Vivian Laaning had its interesting twists and turns of its own. When Vivian had entered the dressing rooms of Dmitri Arkhangelsky and Anna, she was naturally inclined to secure the attention and possibly a sexual tryst with Dmitri. However, cognizant of Maia's undisguised interest in him, she decided to let her daughter dominate the conversation with him. Besides the vibes she detected from meeting Dmitri suggested to her that he was not in the mood for any after concert sex. Consequently, she didn't think Maia would be able to seduce the opera star for a tryst. Still, Vivian believed that the experience would provide Maia with more confidence once she did in fact become sexually active.
So as Vivian had turned her attention to Anna Nezhdanova, she found the opera soprano to be a delightful and interesting conversationalist and an equivalent heavy drinking companion. They were polishing off shots of vodka as readily as if they were drinking a non alcoholic drink. As stated before, their conversation was conducted entirely in German as it was the most efficient common language between them. Anna's command of English was not strong enough to carry on a smooth dialogue and Vivian had no real grasp of Russian.
They started their conversation with rehashing the grief Anna was experiencing as a result of the war between the Ukraine and Russia. Anna summarized her position, "As a private citizen I have no real say in the matter except to regret that it is occurring. I really do regret the rumors that allege I was a mistress to President Vladimir Putin; as if that were it to be factually true it somehow makes me more culpable to the tragedy of the war. I didn't help my public denial to have admitted I would have liked to have a go at him. I would think that at least every Russian woman would find him sexy like I do."
Vivian interjected, "Well at least you're not as controversial as the Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa, who speaks unapologetically in favor of pro Russian Ukrainian separatists. She has been accused of having parroted Putin's propagandistic talking points about Ukraine."
Anna opined, "I actually admire Valentina's bravery for standing up for what she believes in. Although she is Ukrainian on her mother's side, she's not afraid to voice sentiments that are an anathema to most Ukrainians. I remember a few years back when her concert scheduled to perform in Toronto, Canada was canceled because of her impugned provocative online remarks on her Twitter account.
"One of the Toronto newspapers decried the cancellation by writing and I quote as I best remember it: 'First Valentina Lisitsa was not invited to Toronto to discuss her provocative political views. She was scheduled to play the piano. And second, banning a musician for expressing, opinions that some believe to be offensive, shows an utter failure to grasp the concept of free speech.'
"I obviously endorse such view especially since in my case I keep my political views to myself. I'm a musician first and foremost; not a damn politician who makes war."
Vivian replied, "Bravo Anna Nezhdanova! Well said. I know my father's Estonian generation and especially my grandparents' generation hated Russians with a passion because of the brutal occupation during the beginning of the second World War and the subsequent annexation to the Soviet Union. But as Estonia has been an independent state since 1991, such hatred has dissipated amongst the younger generations. My daughter has two close Russian friends which in turn has improved her command of the Russian language. I guess that is why she can catch Dmitri's attention better than me. I haven't taken the trouble to learn Russian."
Anna replied, "Yes Dmitri is a good guy. I've had the occasion to bed him a few times after concerts, and I can say he is a very good lover. I wish your daughter good luck with him. He seems though to be out of sorts so I'm not sure if she can coax him into her arms. Mind you she sure is very pretty. It's hard to see any straight man could be immune to her charms."
Vivian beamed at the comment about Maia's beauty but was intrigued by the negative reference to Dmitri. So, she asked, "What do you mean 'out of sorts' when you are talking about Dmitri."
Anna responded. "It's hard to put a finger on it. You've heard no doubt that he had mysteriously canceled his entire last autumn's concert engagements; so unlike him."
"Yes I was aware of it, and I was apprehensive that he might cancel our concert tonight as well. Luckily that was not the case."
Anna resumed, "Yes there's no question he was truly magnificent tonight, and he was critically successful with his performance of Il Trovatore receiving justified rave reviews. Still, I've just felt that he hasn't been quite himself like any of the past performances I've shared with him. I had the impression that he was going to be content with just drinking his usual two bottles of vodka and going to bed. At the end of the concert, I had actually given up hope for some nookie with him tonight."
Vivian opined, "Well I guess I had no chance with him tonight from what you say. Maia is actually still a virgin, so I don't think she's sophisticated enough to seduce him either."
Considering the copious amount of straight vodka both of them were imbibing, Anna was not too startled by Vivian's intimate personal information. She asked. "Is your daughter deliberately out to get sex just to get rid of her virginity?"
Vivian replied, "No. Apparently, she is in no hurry as the boys available to her at her school hold little interest for her. However, a man like Dmitri would apparently fit the bill for Maia to induce her to contemplate her first sexual adventure. But I guess it will be all for naught after all."
Anna said, "I'm afraid I've forgotten how I was as a teenager, so I have no real clue as how to raise a teenage girl. As a mother I've only one son to raise and he has been no real problem except that he's at an age where he wants to know about the birds and the bees. Lately he has been pestering me for an answer and so I'm not sure how to answer him."
Vivian responded, "Well perhaps, you can try the description given in a song by Harry Belafonte, the late famous calypso singer from the West Indies."
Anna was astonished and asked, "There's a song that addresses the problem of how to explain the story of the birds and bees to an inquisitive child?"
Vivian replied, "Exactly. The song starts with the singer describing that as a lad of three foot three he asked his father for the meaning of the birds and the bees. Then the chorus of the song is the graphic explanation provided by the father."