Tatiana and Alexander: A Novel(146)

And then another week would begin.

And another.

And another.

Every month she went with Anthony to visit Esther and Rosa. They had no news.

Every month she called Sam Gulotta. He had no news.

New York's new construction was happening at a rate seven times the rest of the country's. The refugees to Ellis stopped being refugees and became immigrants once more. The veterans left NYU except for the long-term ward. Every week, she checked her post office box. But no one wrote to her. She waited for him against all reason, and danced on Saturday night, and went to the movies on Friday night, and cooked dinner and played softball in Central Park, and read books in English, and went out with Vikki and loved her boy, and through it all, she looked at every man's face that came her way, at every man's back, hoping for his face, for his back. If he could have come to her, he would have. He didn't.

If he could have found a way to escape, he would have. He didn't. If he were alive, she would have heard from him.

She hadn't. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

"This is just the beginning of your life, Tatiana," he says to her. "After three hundred million years, you'll still be standing, too."

"Yes," she whispers. "But not with you."

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

The Motherland, 1945

THE TRAIN WAS STOPPED, once, twice, fifteen times along the way, the way to where? Alexander told Ouspensky they would know when it was their turn. But they didn't. They changed trains always in the middle of the night. Alexander felt as though he were hallucinating when he rattled his chains across the tracks, up the metal steps. He couldn't wait to lie down on the wooden shelf and close his eyes.

Alexander's train pushed east on the tracks. The train car shook the bodies of the chained men headed from war back to the Motherland, while Alexander and Nikolai ate thin gruel out of one bowl that spilled each time the train lurched.

Over the plains and the forests and over the Elbe, the train continued.

Alexander covered his face with the crook of his arm. The Kama was covered in ice. Through the night in front of him was her laughing, freckled face.

Through the mountains the train sped, past the pines and the moss and the stone treasure caves.

Days and days and nights and nights, a cycle of the moon, and still they were not done.

They had gruel for breakfast, for dinner.

It got cold inside the train car at night. The northern German plateau lay vast around them.

He slept.

He dreamed of her.

She wakes up screaming, and sits up in bed pushing away something in front of her. Alexander, murky from sleep, sits up slightly behind her. "Tania," he says and gets hold of one of her arms. With astonishing strength, she rips herself away from him in defined fear and fury and without even turning around, with the back of her clenched fist, punches him square in the face. He is unprepared and has no time to move. His nose opens up like a dam. He is less sleepy. Concerned for her, he grabs her by the arms, this time much tighter, and says in his loudest, deepest voice, "Tania!" All the while the blood streams from his nose down his mouth and chin and chest. It is the middle of the night, and the bright blue moon outside illuminates just enough of the cabin to see her bare silhouette panting in front of him, and to see black drops falling on the white sheet.

Tania comes to, breathes and starts to shake. He figures it is safe to let go of her arms. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

"Oh, Shura," she says, "you wouldn't believe the dream I just had," and then turns to him and gasps. "Dear God, what happened to you?"

Alexander sits and holds the bridge of his nose.

Tatiana jumps over him, jumps from the bed, runs to get a towel, climbs back up and sits against the wall, pulling him to her. "Come here," she said, "come here, quick." She cradles his head against her knees, keeping him slightly elevated as she holds his nose with the towel.

"Dis is great," Alexander says, "but I can't breede." He gets up for a moment, spits out blood, and lies back down on her, lifting the towel slightly away from his mouth.

"I'm sorry, honey," Tania whispers. "I didn't mean to--but you won't believe the dream I had."

"I had better beed caught with adother womad," Alexander says.

"Worse," she replies. "You were alive, but motionless, lying in front of me, and you were being fed to me piece by piece. They--"

"Who's they?"

"Couldn't see their faces. They were pinning my arms back, and one was cutting flesh from your side and shoving it in my mouth."

He looks up at her. "You were eating me alive?" he asks.

She gulps.

Alexander raises his eyebrows.

"A chunk of your side"--she touches him below his right rib--"was missing."

"How do you know I was alive?"

"Only your eyes were moving, blinking, pleading with me to help you." She closes her eyes. "Oh, God..."

"So you were helping me by punching your captors?"

She nods, looking down at him with misty eyes. "What did I do?" she whispers.

"Break my nose, I think," he says casually.

Tania starts to cry.