Tatiana and Alexander: A Novel(46)

She wished she could have brought Alexander his sleeping son.

Something about Ellis Island's contained, confined nature soothedher . She could stay in her whitewashed, clean-linen room with Anthony, and she could eat three meals at the cafeteria, saving her meat rations and her butter rations. She could nurse her son, pleased by the heft of him, by the size of him, by the health and shine of him.

Edward and Vikki, one late summer afternoon, sat her down in the cafeteria, put a cup of coffee in front of her and tried to convince her to move to New York. They told her New York was booming during war, there were night clubs, there were parties, there were clothes and shoes to buy and perhaps she could rent a small apartment with a kitchen and perhaps she could have her own room, and Anthony could have another, and perhaps perhaps perhaps.

Thousands of miles away there was war. Thousands of miles away there was the River Kama, the Ural Mountains which had watched it all, seen it all, known it all. And the galaxies. They knew. They bent their midnight rays to shine through Tatiana's window at Ellis Island, and they whispered to her, keep going. Letus weep. You live.

The echoes spoke to Tatiana, the corridors felt familiar, the white sheets, the salty smell, the back of the robes of Lady Liberty, the night air, the twinkling lights across the bay of a city of dreams. Tatiana already lived on an island of dreams, and what she needed, New York could not give her.

The fire has gone out. The clearing is dark, but on the cold blanket they remain. Alexander sits with his legs open and Tania sits between them, her back to his chest. His arms swaddle her. They are both looking up at the sky. They are mute.

"Tania," Alexander whispers, kissing her head, "do you see the stars?"

"Of course."

"You want to make love right here? We'll throw the blanket off and make love and let them see us--so they will never forget."

"Shura..." Her voice is soft and sad. "They've seen us. They know. Look, can you see that constellation up to the right? You see how the cluster stars at the bottom form a smile? They're smiling at us." She pauses. "I've seen them many times, looking beyond your head."

"Yes," Alexander says, wrapping his arms and the blanket tighter around her. "I think that constellation Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

is in the galaxy of Perseus, the Greek hero--"

"I know who Perseus is." She nods. "When I was a little girl, I lived inside the Greek myths." She presses against him. "I like that Perseus is smiling at us while you make love to me."

"Did you know that the stars in Perseus that are yellow might be close to imploding, but the stars that are blue, the biggest, the brightest--"

"And they are called novas."

"Yes, they shine, gain in brilliance, explode, then fade. Look how many blue stars there are around the smile, Tatia."

"I see."

"Do you hear the stellar winds?"

"I hear rustling."

"Do you hear the stellar winds, carrying from the heavens a whisper, straight from antiquity...into eternity..."

"What are they whispering?"

"Tatiana...Tatiana...Ta...tiana..."

"Please stop."

"Will you remember that? Anywhere you are, if you can look up and find Perseus in the sky, find that smile, and hear the galactic wind whisper your name, you'll know it's me, calling for you...calling you back to Lazarevo."

Tatiana wipes her face on Alexander's arm and says, "You won't have to call me back, soldier. I'm not ever leaving here."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Baseball in Central Park, 1943

JULY HAD GONE BY, and August, too, and September. Seven months since she left the Soviet Union. Tatiana stayed at Ellis, not venturing once across the harbor, until finally Edward and Vikki had had enough of her, and they took her and Anthony--nearly by force--in the ferry one Saturday afternoon to see New York. Against Tatiana's objections ("Vikki, I don't have carriage to put Anthony.") Vikki bought a carriage for four dollars at a second-hand shop. "It's not for you. It's for the baby. You can't refuse a present for your baby."

Tatiana didn't refuse. She often wished her boy could have a few more clothes, a few more toys. A carriage perhaps for the walks around Ellis. In the same shop Tatiana bought Anthony two rattles and a Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

teddy bear, though he preferred the paper bags they came in.

"Edward, what's your wife going to say when she finds out you're out with not one but two of your nurses, gallivanting around gay New York?" asked Vikki with a grin.

"She will scratch out the eyes of the wench who told her."

"My mouth is shut. What about you, Tania?"

"I'm not speak English," said Tatiana, and they laughed.

"I can't believe this girl has never once been to New York. Tania, how do you keep from going to the Immigration Department? Don't you need to speak to them every few weeks so they can see how you're doing?"

Looking at Edward gratefully, Tatiana said, "Justice Department come to me."

"But three months! Didn't you want to go to New York and see for yourself what all the fuss is about?"

"I busy working."