Hitting Record 

As I continue to watch Russian Brides, I back up to my recliner. The more the show played, the more I knew that I wanted to keep it. I jumped up and headed for the VCR to slip in a new tape, and pushed record. 

With the recording, I was able to get the website address for the Russian dating site that had the highest rating out of the 10 listed. 

With my debit card in hand, I signed up quickly and then got busy filling out the information for my profile. The site had a spot for a photo, and I spent the next 10 minutes debating which picture to use. I had just finished my first novel, so I had a good picture that I used on the back. 

Diving In

By 6 pm, I had done all I could on the site, so I jumped on Google to learn more about the process of bringing a woman to the U. S. from another country. I was a bit overwhelmed by the information I found. Background checks, forms, and documentation. I finished quickly so I could watch a little more TV before bed. 

Morning came too early as usual, but I still jumped out of bed and fired up the computer. I’m not sure what I expected to see on the dating site, but I was a little deflated to see that only 2 women had looked at my profile overnight. I wasn’t going to give up, though, so I got breakfast, loaded tools for the day’s work, and headed out running through the info I had found online all through the day. 

I got back home at almost 7 pm that night, and I was beat, but that didn’t stop me from waking up the computer to check the dating site again. Whoohooo, I shouted, making my dogs jump, when I saw that 12 women had checked my profile and 5 of them had sent messages in pretty good English.

All of them asked the same questions:

1. What part of the United States do you live in?

2. What kind of work do you do?

3. What kind of house do you live in?

4. What do you expect from a wife?

Wow!!! I used Wordpad to type out the answers one time, then copied and pasted my answers to each of the ladies. The women had added information about themselves and where they lived in Russia. I brought up a map of Russia and did my best to locate the different cities. The size of Russia kind of blew my mind, and thinking about how I would get there became an obsession for a few hours. 

Another thing became very clear, too: the time difference. If I had figured it right, there was an 8 or 9-hour difference. My morning was their evening. I was going to have to change my expectations of Skype unless there was good communication all around. 

Time had slipped by, and I was late for work, but a few phone calls, and my clients knew I was on the way. Could I actually do this, or was it a pipe dream? No one in my immediate family had been outside of the US. I would be the first, and I liked the idea. My mind was racing, which made the day go by quicker. 

 34 Women

By the middle of June, 34 women had responded to my profile, and I had ruled out over half. A little too old. A lot were too young, or they had children. After looking at my dwindling list another time, I decided to call it a day. 

The 3 AM Call

 I nearly jumped out of bed when the phone rang a few hours later. I saw on my alarm clock that it was 3 am. It could be one of my daughters calling, so I answered.

“Hello?” I asked tentatively. I was not expecting what happened next.

 “Hello Kennet. I Svetlana. I look your profile. You want marriage me?”

I shook my head again to get fully awake. “Hello, Svetlana. I am happy you looked at my profile, but I think I need to make some changes. It is 3 am here in Colorado.” 

There was silence for a few minutes. “Oh, sorry. I not know. I make you good wife Kennet. I know you will want me. Maybe you want marriage me now!!”

 “I am so sorry Svetlana. I don’t even know you, and I know I don’t love you. I will only marry someone I love. I’m sorry.” There was silence again, and I felt like a jerk, but I had to be tough. “I need to go back to sleep now, Svetlana. I have work for the morning. Have a good day.” There was a click, and she was gone.

 Then I Saw Her

 By the end of the week, my list had gone down to 4, and then I saw her. The other ladies had sent photos too, but this lady had me. Liliya Usmanova. I found out later that the a at the end of a last name shows the female side of the family. Her brother’s last name is Shawn Usmanov. Her pose was demure, but I could see strength there, too.

I read through her profile again, Liliya Usmanova. It has a nice ring to it, and I liked the difference from American names. It impressed me that she wasn’t wearing a fancy dress and jewels, just real and beautiful. 

I saved her picture to my phone so I could look at her from time to time during the day, and I found myself looking at her more than I should have.

Saturday At 6

It was finally the end of the week, so I left work early on Friday night so I could check for any emails from her. That morning, I had sent Liliya a message that I wanted to talk with her, if I could, face-to-face. I turned on the computer and rushed to the dating site, not knowing what to expect. On her page was a carefully crafted email telling me that she had to go to an Internet Cafe to use a computer, but all of them had a camera. She could talk to me at 6 pm my time Saturday, which would be 8 am for her. She would send an email when she was ready. 

I had paperwork to do on Saturday, as well as laundry, and make some lunches for the next week. I finally lay down for a nap at 2, but I fidgeted more than I slept, worrying that I would miss her. 

 Hello Liliya

My eyes were glued to my monitor, waiting for her message. At 7:10, the message came, and after sending her my Skype name, she was there. (I made sure to shave so I looked pretty.) My eyes were locked on hers and hers on mine as we mentally compared each other to the photos we had attached to our profiles. 

I couldn’t take it anymore, so I jumped in. “Hello, Liliya. I am so very happy to see you.”

She stared at me for a moment while my words sank in. She took a calming breath and started in. “Hello, Kenneth. I am glad to see you. I am also happy that your face is like your photo. I have been tricked before.”

I smiled and relaxed. “I don’t like to lie to anyone. This is what I look like. I hope it is okay? You look beautiful.” 

Her eyes got large, and she pulled back from the camera a little. After a few minutes, she leaned back into the camera. “Thank you. I have many questions for you. I . . . like you too.” This was the beginning of an hour-long conversation that grew into weekly conversations. 

Next, I will tell you about our growing communication problems and a woman who became our translator and friend.