“Tell that to the Londoners,” said Alexander. “Tell that to the French, to the Belgians, to the Dutch. They’ve been fighting…”

“If you can call what the French did fighting.”

Laughing, Alexander said, “Tatiana, buy the motor oil. You won’t regret it.”

She would have listened to him, but the voice of her father in her head was stronger, admonishing her for wasting his money. She refused.

She asked the shop assistant for a rubber band and tied up her hair nice and neat while Alexander was paying. Tatiana asked how they were going to get all the provisions home.

Dimitri said, “Don’t worry. That’s why I came along.”

“Dima,” said Alexander. “I really think we’ll be all right.”

“Alexander,” said Tatiana. “We do have a lot of…”

“Dimitri the packhorse,” said Dimitri. “Glad to be of service to you, Alexander.” He smirked.

Tatiana noted the smirk, remembering her feeling that when Dimitri walked into the store, past the glass door with the sign officers only, he had been as surprised as Tatiana to find himself inside the Voentorg.

“Are you and Alexander in the same unit?” Tatiana asked Dimitri as they piled her provisions into wooden apple crates and left the store.

“Oh, no, no,” said Dimitri. “Alexander is an officer, and I’m just a lowly private. No, he is a number of ranks above me. Which,” Dimitri said with his smirk, “allows him to send me to the front in Finland.”

“Not Finland,” corrected Alexander mildly. “And not to the front, but to check out reinforcements at Lisiy Nos. What are you complaining about?”

“I am not complaining. I’m lauding your farsightedness.”

Tatiana stole a glance at Alexander, uncertain how to respond to the ironic stretching of Dimitri’s rubber lips.

“Where is this Lisiy Nos?” she asked.

“The Karelian Isthmus,” Alexander replied. “Are you going to be all right walking?”

“Of course.” Tatiana couldn’t wait to get home. Her sister would die when Tatiana showed up with two soldiers. She carried the lightest crate, the one with the caviar and coffee.

“Is that too heavy for you?” Alexander asked.

“No,” she said. Actually, it was quite heavy, and she didn’t know how she was going to get to the bus. They were going to the bus, weren’t they? They weren’t planning to walk to Fifth Soviet from the Field of Mars?

The pavement was narrow, so they walked in single file, Alexander leading, Tatiana second, and Dimitri bringing up the rear.

“Alexander,” Tatiana panted, “are we planning to… walk home?” She was out of breath.

Alexander stopped walking. “Give me that,” he said.

“I’m really fine.”

He put down his crate, took hers, and placed it on top, lifting both crates easily. “Your feet must be killing you in those shoes. Come on. Let’s go.”

The pavement expanded, and now she could walk next to Alexander. Dimitri flanked her on the left. “Tania, do you think we’ll get some vodka for our trouble?”

“I think my father might find some vodka for you, yes.”

“So, Tania, tell us,” Dimitri asked, “do you go out much?”

Go out? What a strange question. “Not much,” she said shyly.

“Ever go to a place named Sadko?”

“No,” she said. “But my sister often does. She says it’s nice.”

Dimitri leaned over a little. “Next weekend, do you want to come to Sadko with us?”

“Umm, no, thank you,” she said, lowering her eyes.

“Come on,” Dimitri said. “It’ll be fun. Right, Alexander?”

Alexander did not respond.

They walked three in a row along the wide pavement. Tatiana was in the middle. When other pedestrians headed toward them, it was Dimitri who stepped behind Tatiana to let them pass.

Tatiana noticed that Dimitri moved behind her with a reluctant sigh, as if it were a last resort, a battle, as if he were ceding territory to the enemy. At first Tatiana thought the passersby were the enemy, but soon she realized that, no, she and Alexander were the enemy because they never moved over, continuing to walk side by side, shoulder to shoulder.

Quietly Alexander asked, “Are you tired?”

Tatiana nodded.

“You want to rest a minute?” He put down his crates.

Dimitri did, too, eyeing Tatiana. “So, Tania, where do you go for fun?”

“Fun?” she said. “I don’t know. I go to the park. We go to our dacha in Luga.” Turning to Alexander, she asked, “So will you tell me where you’re from, or am I going to have to guess?”

“I think you’re going to have to guess, Tania.”

“Somewhere around salt water, Alexander.”

“You mean he didn’t tell you yet?” said Dimitri, standing very close to them.

“I can’t get a straight answer out of him.”

“Now, that’s surprising.”

“Very good, Tania,” Alexander said. “I’m from Krasnodar, by the Black Sea.”

“Yes, Krasnodar,” said Dimitri. “Have you ever been there?”

“No,” she replied. “I’ve never been anywhere.”

Dimitri glanced at Alexander, who picked up his crates and said curtly, “Let’s go.”

They passed a church and crossed Grechesky Prospekt. Tatiana was so lost in thinking of a way to see Alexander again that she walked right past her apartment building. She was a few hundred meters down the block, almost near the corner of Suvorovsky, when she stopped.

“You want another rest?” Alexander asked.

“No,” she said, trying to hide the feelings from her voice. “We missed my apartment building.”

“Missed it?” exclaimed Dimitri. “How can that be?”

“We just did, that’s all,” said Tatiana. “It’s at the other corner.”

Smiling, Alexander lowered his head. Slowly they walked back.

After entering the front door, Tatiana said, “I’m on the third floor. Will you two be all right?”

“Do we have a choice?” Dimitri asked. “Is there an elevator? Of course not,” he added. “This isn’t America. Is it, Alexander?”

“I shouldn’t think so,” Alexander replied.

They climbed the stairs in front of Tatiana. “Thank you,” she whispered behind Alexander, mostly to herself; in fact, she was just thinking out loud. The thoughts were too loud, that was all.

“You’re welcome,” he said, without turning around.

Stumbling, she continued upward.

When she opened the door to her communal apartment, Tatiana hoped that crazy Slavin would not be lying on the floor in the middle of the corridor. This time her hopes went unanswered. He was there, his torso in the corridor, his legs inside his room, a snake of a man, thin, unkempt, malodorous, his ragged mop of greasy gray hair covering most of his face.

“Slavin has been pulling his hair out again,” she whispered to Alexander, who was right behind her.

“I think that’s the least of his problems,” Alexander whispered back.

With a growl, Slavin let Tatiana walk by but grabbed hold of Alexander’s leg and laughed hysterically.

“Comrade,” said Dimitri, coming up behind Alexander and sticking his boot on top of Slavin’s wrist, “let go of the lieutenant.”

“It’s all right, Dimitri,” said Alexander, moving Dimitri away with his elbow. “I can handle him.”

Slavin squealed with delight and squeezed Alexander’s boot harder. “Our Tanechka is bringing home a handsome soldier,” Slavin shrieked. “Excuse me… two handsome soldiers! What’s your father going to say, Tanechka? Is he going to approve? I don’t think so! I don’t think so at all. He doesn’t like you to bring home boys. He’ll say two is too much for you. Give one to your sister, give her one, my sweet.” With glee, Slavin laughed wildly. Alexander yanked his leg away.

Slavin reached out to grab hold of Dimitri, then looked up into Dimitri’s face and let his hand drop without touching him.

Calling after all three of them, Slavin screeched, “Yes, Tanechka, bring them home. Bring more! Bring them all—because they’ll all be dead in three days. Dead! Shot by Comrade Hitler, such a good friend of Comrade Stalin!”