Tatiana and Alexander: A Novel(70)

"More than anything."

"Let's go."

Afterward, it was nearly one. "Alexander," she said, sitting on top of him, panting, "I must say, you're quite a strenuous lover...and I don't say that lightly."

"Thank you."

"Are you having a good time?"

"Of course."

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

She laughed. "Do you feel we're saying it all?" Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

"We're saying all I need to."

"You want to meet next week?"

"Sure."

"Do you have a free day? Maybe you can come to my place for dinner? I don't live too far from here. On Fifth Soviet. You can meet the family."

"I don't have many free days."

"What about Monday or Tuesday?"

"This Monday or Tuesday?"

"Yes."

"I'll see. No, wait, I've got to--listen, maybe in a week or so."

"We can't keep meeting like this."

"No?"

"Well, we could." She grinned. "But maybe we could go somewhere?"

"Where would you like to go?"

"I don't know. Somewhere nicer. Maybe to Tsarskoye Selo, or Peterhof?"

"Maybe," he said noncommittally, lifting her off, getting up, stretching. "It's getting late, Dash. I have to get back."

He returned to base where he sat for a few minutes with Sergeant Ivan Petrenko, the sentry, sharing some vodka and a cigarette before he went back to his quarters.

"You think the rumors are true, Lieutenant? You think we're going to war with Hitler?"

"I think it's unavoidable, Sergeant, yes."

"But how is it possible? It's like England going to war with France. Germany and the Soviet Union have been allies for nearly two years. We signed a pact."

"And divided Poland just like old friends." Alexander smiled. "Petrenko, do you trust Hitler?"

"I don't know. I don't think he'll be stupid enough to invade us."

"Let's hope you're right," said Alexander, stubbing out his cigarette. "Good night."

All he wanted was to go to sleep; why was that so much to ask? But both Marazovand Grinkov were with women on their beds, covered with sheets up to their hair. Alexander averted his glance as he Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

climbed atop his bunk, put a pillow over his head, and closed his eyes.

"Alexander," he heard a strident female voice say. "Youbastard. "

Sighing heavily, he pulled the pillow off and opened his eyes. The girl who had just been with Grinkov was standing in front of his bunk. Behind him, Alexander heard Grinkov chuckling.

"What did I do?" he asked tiredly. He recognized her slightly bloated, greatly drunken face.

"Don't you remember? You told me last week to come and meet you here tonight. I waited for three hours for you at the damn gate! Finally, I gave up and went to Sadko and what do I see but you making time with some girl who is notme. "

Alexander did not want to get up, but he felt that at any second he was going to be slapped, and he didn't want to be slapped while he was lying down. "I'm really sorry," he said, rising and sitting with his legs dangling off the bunk. He vaguely remembered her. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"No?" she said, very loudly. Grinkov was laughing into his pillow. Marazov and his girl were going at it and couldn't be less interested. Neither could Alexander.

He couldn't remember her name. He wanted to tell her to get out, but he didn't want to make her feel worse in front of listening ears. He jumped off the bed, and as soon as he did, she made a fist and went to strike him in the face. Grabbing her wrist, he pushed her away, and shook his head. "I amnot in the mood for this."

"You're all the same, aren't you?" she said. "You are all just woman haters and whoremongers, you don't give a shit about any of us."

"We're not woman haters," Alexander said with surprise. "I'mnot. But--" God,what was her name! "If we're whoremongers, what does that makeyou ?"

She gasped.

"Oh, listen..." he said. "I'm tired. What do you want from me?"

"A little respect, Alexander. That's all. Just a little consideration."

Alexander rubbed his eyes. This was ludicrous. "Look, I'm sorry--"

She broke in with, "You can't even remember my name, can you?" Her hand went up again. Alexander almost didn't stop her that time.

But he did stop her. He hated to be hit by anyone. All the hair on his body stood on end.

"God, I feel sorry for the girl who is going to fall in love with you, you bastard. Because you're going to shred her to pieces, you heartless swine!"

As she walked down the corridor to the stairs, Alexander called after her, "I remember--you're Elena."

"Fuck you," said Elena, disappearing down the hall. Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html

Well, if that's not a soldier's farewell, I don't know what is, Alexander thought, going back to his quarters. He wanted to smoke and smoke again inside these prison walls, and he wanted a quiet room where he could remain composed and alone, and where he could nurse his wounded pride and think of how far he had come away from Krasnodar and from young Larissa, who had given him some of her sweetness right before she died, and from Comrade Svetlana Visselskaya, his mother's friend, who had said to him, Alexander, your gifts are so abundant, don't squander them. Well, Alexander thought, any minute now, one of the girls he had carelessly discarded was going to come by the barracks with a gun and blow his brains out and on his tombstone the epitaph would read, "Here lies Alexander, who couldn't remember the name of any girl he had f*cked."