At sound of his full name being shouted from their bedroom was not a good sign. He climbed the stairs raking his mind for what he had or hadn’t done. As he entered their bedroom he flashed her a quick smile to soften her up. 

“Hey Hun. What’s wrong?” he asked. He glanced down to the open bag behind her in the walk in closet.

His heart froze. He could see the rolls of cash, the passport and the hilt of the 9mm pistol jut out of the bag.

He froze. The colour of his cheeks drained white. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Time stopped.
No...
No...
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. He screamed internally. He knew deep down he would eventually tell Alix the truth, but never like this. 

“Alix... ,” Josh tried to speak but couldn’t. No words came to him. He couldn't look her in the eyes.

“Oh Alix,” he whispered. 

Not knowing what to say he walked over to the bag. Sticking his hands into the pile of cash he grabbed the large envelope stashed at the bottom of the bag. He walked over to the bed, opened the envelope and emptied the contents onto their bed. 

“This is who I am,” he said looking at the contents on the bed: an old passport, a collection of photos, dog tags, newspaper clippings. He picked up a passport from the envelope and opened it to the first page. The entire thing was written in Russian with his 18 year old self head shaven, with a cocky arrogant expression on his face. Fresh out of school and 24 hours before his Dad shipped him off to Military service. 

Alix had always wanted to see photos of him when he was younger. Ironically she got her wish. 

Josh handed Alix the passport. This is it, he thought, no turning back. From now on their life will never be the same.

“Nikolai Sokolov is what my parents named me.” He paused, not sure how much he should say.