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The leaflets rained down as they had in Luga First the leaflets, then the bombs The difference was, there had been food then, and it arm The difference was, back then Tatiana had believed in s She had believed she would find Pasha She had believed the ould soon be over She had believed Comrade Stalin

Nowadays she believed in only one faint but i

In one immutable man

Now the leaflets that rained down from the Luftwaffe planes proclaimed to her in Russian: Women! Wear your white dresses Wear your white dresses so when you walk along Suvorovsky to get your 250 grams of bread, we can see you from 200 meters in the sky, and not shoot you and not throw bombs your way

Wear your white dress and live, Tatiana! hat the leaflets shouted to her

Tatiana saved one, a few days before the twenty-fourth celebration of the Russian Revolution on Noveht it home and carelessly dropped it on the table There it stayed until the next day, when Alexander returned, thinner than he had been teeks earlier, his face one was the perpetual sone the chared Dasha and even Maed him back and said, "Good to see you, dearest Good to see you We can’t bear to think about you in that wet and cold"

"It’s drier, but notagainst the wall in the hallway, because she could not stand unsupported anymore, and who pecked Marina on the cheek, and hen he turned to Tatiana standing aardly by the door, holding on to the brass handle, could not bring himself to come over and touch her Couldn’t, despite the fact that his dark eyes lingered on her He waved to her That was so Waved, turned and walked inside the room, put down his rifle, took off his heavy coat, sat, and asked for his soap The girls twittered around hiht him a piece of bread, which he shole Marina stared at the bread before he ate it

"It’s Revolution Day tomorrow, Alexander Will there be a little extra to celebrate with?" Dasha asked

"I’ll get you so soht?"

"What about now? Do you have anything now?"

"I ca today"

Tatiana stepped forward "Alexander, do you want a cup of tea? I’ll make you some"

"Yes, please"

"I’ll arette, Alexander lit it and offered it to Tatiana "Have a s her head, Tatiana looked at him, puzzled "You know I don’t smoke"

"I know," Alexander said "But it’ll lessen your appetite" He paused "What? What are you looking at ," he whispered

Staring at him with her clear, affectionate eyes, Tatiana couldn’t help herself She placed her glove-clad hand on the back of his uniform and patted him softly "Shura," she whispered, "you’re still months behind us, aren’t you? I have no appetite" She took her hand away He put the cigarette into his ownbehind Alexander, Babushka and Marina watched them Tatiana didn’t care His face was to her Marina said, coarette, why don’t you? To lessen arette out of his mouth, Alexander handed it to Marina, who took it and said to Tatiana, "Are you sure you don’t want a smoke? It’s just been in his mouth, Tania"

Alexander looked frohtly bearette and leave Tania alone"

Picking up the Nazi leaflet off the table, he said, "To celebrate the glorious revolution, Leningrad Party chief Zhdanov is trying to get a couple of tablespoons of sour crea Reading the leaflet ," said Tatiana, stepping closer to the table Marina had sat down Babushka continued to stand against the wall Tatiana opened her coat and showed Alexander the white dress with the red roses she earing underneath

Alexander paled "Is that your dress?" he asked, his voice breaking

Only Tatiana stood in front of Alexander, and only Tatiana could see what his eyes were filled with Stepping away from him, she shook her head at him imperceptibly, to say, no, stop, this room is too small for us, stop

"Yes, that’soff her She closed her coat

Dasha ca the door behind her with her foot "Alex, here, have so we still have Not much else, mind you, not " Alexander looked back down at the leaflet "What’s this?"

Dasha looked at Marina quizzically, and Marina just shrugged as if to say, I’ll be da "That’s why I’ a white dress," she said to Alexander "To avoid being hit"

Alexander shot up from his seat so fast that he spilled the hot tea all over hied his fist hard on the table "Are you crazy?" he yelled at Tatiana "Have you lost your rabbed him by the sleeve "Alexander, are you crazy? What are you shouting at her for?"

"Tania!" he yelled again, taking a lunging step toward her Tatiana did not back away; she blinked

Dasha got between the Alexander away "Sit dohat’s the ?"

Alexander sat down, never taking his eyes off Tatiana, who reached behind the sofa, got an old rag, ca up the spilled tea

"Tania," Dasha said, "don’t come so close to him Or in a minute he’ll--"

"In a et it, Dash," Tatiana said quietly Picking up the erabbed her are your dress" He didn’t let go of her arm, but added, "Please"

Tatiana put the cup down

"Tania," said Alexander, his eyes boring into her How she wished he would stop holding her ar at her "Tania, do you knohat the Gera? You were there, didn’t you see? They rained these leaflets down on the volunteer wo the trenches and potatoes Wear your white dresses and white shawls, they said, and we’ll know you’re civilian wo at you The woe and put on their best whites, and the Ger overhead, saw their dresses froht there in the trenches Itthem so o and change Put on soot up "I’llat Dasha, he added coldly, "And, Dasha, do me a favor -- don’t ever confuse me with anyone who has hurt your sister"

"Can you stay?" Dasha asked

He shook his head "Have to report to the garrison by nine"

They ate soup with a bit of cabbage leaf Black bread as heavy as brick, a few tablespoons of buckwheat kernels, and soave Alexander a shot of their precious vodka He went and found wood in the baseot warht

Alexander was at the table, with Dasha on one side and Ma behind him Babushka remained on the couch And Tatiana was in the farthest corner, looking into her beige tea Everyone was around Alexander, except for her She couldn’t even get close

"Alexander?" Mama asked "Dear, itabout food all the time, like us"

"Irina Fedorovna," said Alexander, "I’ll tell you a little secret" He bent his head to her "When I’ his arirls out of Leningrad? We’re alle himself from the women, Alexander said, "It’s ia co the Ger" He shuddered "They’re just relentless But besides, the lake is not frozen over yet, and the barges -- There are over two rad, and only a few thousand have been evacuated by barge out of the city, all of them children with their mothers"

"We are also children with our mothers," said Dasha

"Small children with their mothers," Alexander corrected hio? You and Dasha areher "Tania works in the hospital How are you doing there, Tania?" His eyes were on her She hadtable

Tatiana shrugged "Today I sewed forty-two sacks Still wasn’t enough -- seventy-eight people died Ma lared at Babushka on the couch, who said in a defeated voice, "You used to like the potatoes I brought, daughter Now I have nothing to give you"