Page 103 (1/2)

Maoing, Sasha,” she says evenly, and Vera hears the warning in her mother’s tone Always it is about appearances Even now, as the gunfire explodes all around them, a black van prowls in the street

“It is the right thing to do,” Sasha says “We are the Soviet Army The best in the world We will kick the Germans’ asses in no time and I will be home ”

Vera feels little Anya beside her, holding her hand, listening to every word, and so, too, their neighbors, and even strangers She knohat she is supposed to feel and to say, but doesn’t know if she has the strength for it Her father had once said to her : Do not worry, Veronika Petrovna, I will always be here for you

“Promise you’ll come back to me,” she says

“I promise,” he says easily

But Vera knows: there are some promises that are pointless to ask for and useless to receive When she turns to her mother, this truth passes between them, and Vera understands her own childhood She will have to be strong for her children

She looks up at her husband “It is a promise I will hold you to, Aleksandr Ivanovich ”

In the , she wakens early; in the quiet darkness, she finds her one photograph of the

She looks down at their bright and se as she takes it out of the fraain She tucks it in the pocket of his coat

She hears footsteps behind her, feels his hands on her shoulders

“I love you, Veruskhka,” he says softly, kissing the side of her face

She is glad he is behind her She is not sure she has the strength to look him in the eyes when she says, “I love you, too, Sasha ”

Come back to me

In no tione

Nineteen