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Two days later, on the second Sunday in July, Alexander and Dimitri, dressed in their civilian clothes, called on Tatiana and Dasha Alexander wore black linen trousers and a white cotton button-down short-sleeved shirt Tatiana had never seen him in a short-sleeved shirt before, seen skin beyond his face and hands His forearms were muscular and tanned His face was clean-shaven She had never seen hi hour fell, Alexander always had stubble Tatiana thought, her heart catching on him, that he looked alo? Let’s go soo to Peterhof"

They packed some food and went to catch the train from Warsaw Station Peterhof was an hour’s train ride away All four of the Obvodnoy Canal, where Alexander and Tatiana ambled every day Tatiana walked in silence Once when Alexander jumped off the narrow pavement and strolled ahead of her with Dasha, his bare arainst her bare arm

On the train Dasha said, "Tania, tell Dima and Alex what you call Peterhof Tell thehts "What? Oh I call it the Versailles of the Soviet Union"

Dasha said, "When Tania was younger, she wanted to be a queen and live in the Great Palace, didn’t you, Tanechka?"

"Ha used to call you?"

"Can’t re so funny The queen ofthe queen of"

Tatiana glanced at Alexander, who glanced at Tatiana

"Tania," asked Dimitri, "ould have been your first act as queen?"

"To restore peace to the ressors"

Everybody laughed Dimitri said, "I reallyand stared out theTatiana, too, stared out theThey were sitting diagonally across fro her neat ponytail, Dimitri said, "Tania, why don’t you ever wear your hair down? I saw it down once It looked so pretty"

Diset it, she’s so stubborn We tell her and tell her Why do you keep it so long if you don’t do so with it? But no She never wears it down, do you, Tania?"

"No, Dasha," said Tatiana, wishing for her wall, for anything, just so her flushed face would not be in view of Alexander’s quietly full eyes

"Take it out of your ponytail now, Tanechka," said Dimitri "Go on"

"Go on, Tania," said Dasha

Slowly Tatiana pulled the rubber band out of her hair and turned to the , not speaking again until their stop

In Peterhof they did not take an organized tour but rounds instead, finally finding a secluded spot on the lawn under the trees near the Great Cascade Fountain to have their picnic

With gusto they ate their lunch of hard-boiled eggs and bread and cheese Dasha had even brought vodka, and she and Alexander and Dimitri drank from the bottle, while Tatiana refused Then everybody had a smoke except Tatiana

"Tania," Dimitri said, "you don’t smoke, you don’t drink What do you do?"

"Cartwheels!" exclaiht all the boys how to do cartwheels"

"All the boys?" said Alexander

"Yes, yes," echoed Dia?"

"Like flies around Tania"

"What are you talking about, Dasha?" Tatiana said, suddenly embarrassed With an effort, she did not h "Tania, tell Dima and Alex how those wild beasts never left you alone" She laughed "You were like honey to bears"

"Yes, tell us, Tania!" said Di

Tatiana was beet red "Dasha, I was irls"

"Yes, and they all buzzed around you," Dasha drew out, looking fondly at Tatiana "Our Tania was the cutest child She had round button eyes and those little freckles and not just blonde but white-blonde hair! She was like a ball of white sunshine rolling around Luga None of the old ladies could keep their hands off her"

"Just the old ladies?" Alexander asked evenly

"Do a cartwheel, Tania," said Dimitri with his hand on her back "Shohat you can do"

"Yes, Tania!" Dasha said "Come on This is the perfect place for it, don’t you think? Here in front of a --"

"Ger not to look at Alexander, lying on the blanket on his side, propped up by his elbow He looked so casual, so familiar, so

And yet, at the saet the Germans," Dimitri said "This is the place for love"

That’s what Tatiana was afraid of

"Co his legs "Let’s see these faarette

Dasha prodded her "You never say no to a cartwheel"

Tatiana wanted to say no today

Sighing, she got up froh, frankly, I don’t knohat kind of a queen I’da dress, not the dress but a casual pink sundress Walking a few meters away from them, she said, "Are you ready?" And fro her "Watch," she said, putting her right foot forward She flung herself upside down on her right ar her body in a perfect arc around onto her left ar a breath and with her hair flying, Tatiana whirled around again, and again and again in an erass toward the Great Palace, toward childhood and innocence, away from Dimitri and Dasha and Alexander

As she walked back, her face flushed and her hair everywhere, she allowed herself a glance at Alexander’s face Everything she had wanted to see was there

Laughing, Dasha fell on top of Alexander and said, "What did I tell you? She’s got hidden talents"

Tatiana lowered her gaze and sat down on the blanket

Rubbing Tatiana’s back, Di of tricks?"

"That’s it," she replied tersely

A little later, Diirls define love?"

"What?"

"Hoould you define love? What does love mean to you?"