The Memory Keeper of Kyiv (85)

She smoothed out the shirt, straightened the skirt, and stepped back. She’d need to fix her mother’s hair. Halya whimpered, and Katya stopped working and scooped the baby up into her arms. Comforting Halya soothed her own fears and uncertainty. In Halya, once again, Katya found purpose, and she clung to that.

Halya touched her grandmother’s face, then touched Katya’s cheek. Katya took the tiny hand and kissed it, then together, they brushed Mama’s long hair as she had done for Katya so many times. Only then did Katya let herself cry, her tears falling on Mama’s gray and brown strands.

Katya stood abruptly as she finished. This was all she could do now. She’d need Kolya for the rest, but for now, she had to get out of this silent house.

Snow fell lightly through the sharp, cold air as she walked out into the winter day and away from the house that held her dead mother. Halya cuddled under Katya’s coat, her little body tucked into a cloth wrapped around Katya’s shoulders. Before long, she fell asleep.

Katya walked south until Lena and Ruslan’s house came into view. Though she didn’t want to talk about Mama’s death, Katya thought that Lena would want to know, and she would enjoy seeing Halya, too.

Smoke trickled out of their chimney as Katya knocked on the door. A good sign. Anyone strong enough to make a fire was doing well for the moment.

Ruslan answered the door right away.

“Katya! Come in! Lena, it’s Katya,” he called over his shoulder as he ushered her inside. As soon as Katya’s eyes adjusted to the dim room, she could see that something was off about him. His eyes, she decided, were wider than normal and darted around wildly.

“Oh, Katya, it’s good to see you.” Lena embraced her in a warm hug. Her sallow face framed dull eyes, but they still brimmed with kindness. Katya relaxed as her cousin leaned in toward her. “Is this Alina’s little one?” She peeked inside Katya’s coat, and Halya opened her large, sleepy blue eyes as the cool air hit her face.

“Yes.” Katya glanced again at Ruslan, who was standing off to the side, watching the exchange. “This is Halya. She’s a year old now.”

“Oh, how precious! She looks like her mother,” she said, stroking Halya’s head. “I always wanted a baby, you know. It wasn’t meant to be, I suppose.”

“You would have been an excellent mother, but how wonderful that you were able to help so many other women bring their children into this world as a midwife. “Katya took a deep breath, anxious to get the hard part of the visit over with. “There is a reason for my visit, though. I have some unfortunate news.”

Lena raised her hand to her mouth. “Don’t tell me this news is of your mother! She’s such a strong woman. I thought she would outlast us all. Sit down, please.”

Katya took a seat at the small table. “The pneumonia took a strong hold of her lungs. With the hunger, she was too weak to fight. She passed away in the night.” Katya stumbled over the last sentence. Saying it out loud made it so much more real.

“Oh, you poor dear.” Lena fussed over her as the maternal instinct she never got to utilize came pouring out. “This must have been a terrible morning for you. Is there anything we can do? Do you need help with her body?”

“Or we could watch the little one for you while you tend to your mother,” Ruslan offered, his eyes glittering as they met hers.

Lena glared daggers at Ruslan. An uneasy feeling Katya couldn’t identify swirled in her gut, and suddenly, she didn’t want to be here anymore.

“No, I’ve done all there is to be done until Kolya gets home.” Katya stood and tucked Halya back into her coat. “Thank you, though. I should be on my way.”

“Yes, well, thank you so much for coming here to tell us about your dear mother. We’re so sorry.” Lena’s eagerness as she pushed Katya toward the door was surprising.

As Katya left, she stumbled over something sticking out from beneath the woodpile near the door. Glancing down, she saw a small shoe.

Katya went cold.

A child’s shoe.

Lena kicked it away.

“Lena…” Katya’s voice was shaky. Her eyes slowly lifted, meeting Lena’s guilt–stricken face for one brief, telling moment before Ruslan slammed the door in her face.





27





CASSIE





Illinois, June 2004





Cassie inhaled the sweet summer air and gave a contented sigh. The backyard hummed with bumblebees stopping to sip at each of Bobby’s beautiful flowers. Nearly in full bloom, the yard sparkled with so many colors it almost hurt her eyes to take them all in. She couldn’t imagine a more peaceful setting.

“Your flowers are always so amazing, Bobby.” Cassie picked up the gardening tools and settled down next to the one bare spot in the bed along the back fence. She ran the trowel down the narrow flower bed, creating a neat row. “But isn’t it a little late to be planting sunflower seeds?”

“It’s never too late to try to add beauty to the world.” Even though Bobby sat in a chair and wasn’t actually working in the dirt, there was no question who was in charge. “Go a little longer with that row, Cassie.”

Birdie hopped back and forth on one foot, her excitement infecting them all. “Sunflowers and hollyhocks, sunflowers and hollyhocks. I love planting flowers, Bobby!”