Going inside and opening her trunk, Tatiana pulled out a large white cotton button-down shirt with short sleeves, a knitted cotton shirt, a cream linen shirt, and three pairs of drawstring trousers made out of bleached linen. She also had a couple of sleeveless tops for him, and some drawstring cotton shorts. “To go swimming in,” she said. “What do you think?”

“These are great.” He smiled. “Where did you get them?”

“I made them.”

“You made them?”

She shrugged. “Mama taught me how to sew. It wasn’t hard. What was hard was trying to remember how big you were.”

“I think you remembered quite well,” Alexander said slowly. “Tania, you… made clothes for me?”

“I didn’t know for sure you were coming, but if you were, I wanted you to have something comfortable to wear.”

“Linen is expensive,” he said, very pleased.

“There was a lot of money in your Pushkin book.” She paused. “I bought a few things for everybody.”

Ah. Less pleased. “Including Vova?”

Tatiana guiltily glanced away.

“I see,” Alexander said, dropping the clothes into the trunk. “You bought Vova things with my money?”

“Just some vodka, and cig—”

“Tatiana!” Alexander took a deep breath. “Not here. Let me change,” he said, turning away from her. “I’ll be right out.”

She went outside while he changed into the trousers and the white cotton shirt that was slightly tight around his chest but otherwise fit fine.

When Alexander stepped down from the house, the old women clucked at how nice he looked. Tatiana was gathering clothes into a basket. “I should have made it a little bigger. You do look nice.” She swallowed and lowered her eyes. “I haven’t seen you often in civilian clothes.”

Alexander looked around. Here it was, his second day with her, and they were still clucking around four old women, and he was still unable to get to whatever was bothering her, to all the things that were bothering him, much less to her ample blondeness. That was it. “You’ve seen me in civilian clothes once,” he said. “In Peterhof. Perhaps you’ve forgotten Peterhof.” He extended his hand. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

Tatiana stepped up to him but did not take his hand. He had to reach down and take hold of her hand himself. Being so close to her made him a little light-headed. “I want you to show me where the river is.”

“You know where the river is,” she replied. “You went there yesterday.” She took her hand out from his. “Shura, I really can’t. I’ve got to hang yesterday’s laundry and then wash today’s.”

He pulled her with him. “No. Let’s go.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Shura, no, please!”

Alexander stopped. What the hell was that in her voice? What did that sound like? That wasn’t anger. Was that… fear? He peered into her face. “What’s wrong with you?” he said. She was flustered, and her hands were shaky. She couldn’t look at him. Letting go of her hand, he took hold of her face, lifting it to him. “What—”

“Shura, please,” Tatiana whispered, trying to look away from his eyes, and then Alexander saw, and he knew.

Letting go of her, he backed away and smiled. “Tania,” he said, in a soothing voice, “I want you to show me your grandparents’ house. I want you to show me the river. A field, a fucking rock, I don’t give a shit. I want you to take me to two square meters of space where there is no one around us, so we can talk. Do you understand? That’s all. We need to talk, and I’m not talking—I’m not doing anything—in front of your new friends.” He paused, keeping the smile away. “All right?”

Deeply flushed, she did not raise her eyes.

“Good.” He pulled her by the hand.

Naira said, “Tanechka, where are you going?”

“We’re going to pick some blueberries for tonight’s pie,” Tatiana yelled back.

“But, Tanechka, what about the clothes?”

Raisa yelled, “Will you be back at noon to give me my medicine?”

“When will we be back, Alexander?”

“When you’re fixed, Tatiana,” he said. “Tell her that. When Alexander fixes me, then I’ll be back.”

“I don’t think even you can fix me, Alexander,” said Tatiana, and her voice was cold.

He was walking with all deliberate speed away from the house.

“Wait, I have to—”

“No.”

“Just one more…” She tried to pull her hand away. He wasn’t having any of it. She tried again.

Alexander wasn’t letting go. “Tania, you can’t win this,” he said, staring at her and squeezing her hand harder. “You can win a lot of things, but you can’t win a physical struggle with me. Thank God. Because then I’d really be in trouble.”

Naira yelled after them, “Tania, but Vova is coming for you soon! When shall I tell him you’ll be back?”

Tatiana looked at Alexander, who stared back coldly, shrugged indifferently, and said, “It’s me or the laundry. You’re going to have to decide. I know the choice is tough. Or it’s me or Vova.” He let her hand drop. “Is that choice tough, too?” He’d just about had enough. They had stopped walking and were standing facing each other, a meter apart. Alexander folded his arms across his chest. “What’s it going to be, Tania? The choice is yours.”

Tatiana yelled back to Naira, “I’ll be back in a while! Tell him I’ll see him later!” Sighing, she motioned for Alexander to come.

He was walking too quickly, and she couldn’t keep up.

“Why so fast?”

Temper was flaring up in Alexander, like the sizzle of an antipersonnel grenade before it exploded. He breathed in and out deeply to calm himself, to shove the pin back up the hole. “I’m going to tell you something right now,” he said. “If you don’t want trouble, you will have to tell Vova to leave you alone.”

When she didn’t reply, Alexander stopped walking and pulled her to him. “Do you hear me?” he said, raising his voice. “Or perhaps you’d like to tell me to leave you alone? Because you can do that right now, Tatiana.”

Not raising her eyes and not trying to get away from him, Tatiana said quietly, “I’m sorry about Vova. Don’t be upset. You know perfectly well I just don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Yes,” Alexander said pointedly, “nobody’s but mine.”

“No, Alexander,” Tatiana said, and this time she looked up at him with sullen reproach. “I don’t want to hurt yours most of all.”

He was not letting go of her. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” He squeezed her arm. “One way or another, he will have to leave you alone—permanently—” Alexander said, “if we’re to fix what’s wrong between us.”

Weakly prying his fingers off her, Tatiana said, “I don’t know why you worry about him…”

“Tania, if I’ve got nothing to worry about, then show me. But I’m not playing these games anymore. Not here. Not in Lazarevo. I will not do it here for strangers, do you understand? I will not be guarding Vova’s feelings the way I guarded Dasha’s. Either you tell him, which would be best, or I tell him, which would be worst.”

When Tatiana, biting her lip shut, didn’t say anything, Alexander continued. “I don’t want to grapple with him. And I don’t want to have to pretend to Zoe as she brushes her tits against me. I won’t do it just to keep peace in this house.”

That made Tatiana look up. “Zoe does what?” Shaking her head, she muttered, “Vova doesn’t go around brushing anything against me.”

Standing very close against her, Alexander said, “No?” He paused. His breath quickened. Tatiana’s breath quickened. And very lightly Alexander brushed against Tatiana. “You will tell him to leave you alone, do you hear me?”

“I hear you,” she said faintly. He let go of her, and they resumed walking.

“But frankly,” she continued, even more faintly, “I think Vova is the least of our problems.”

Alexander walked faster down the village road. “Where are we going?”

“I thought you wanted to see my grandparents’ house.”