— Me, too. I can’t keep taking morphine like this.
— Why is she wearing your clothes?
— You saw hers hanging on the line. She can’t go naked. Besides, I told you, she’s staying with us for a while.
Efim examined the ampoule: nearly empty. Then he drew the liquid into the syringe. —And she came with nothing? Your mistress is your own concern, but why does she not get the rest of her things and just move in? You’re NKVD. You can jiggle registration and residency permits, update her propiska.
— Doctor…
— My name.
Kostya took a deep breath as the tourniquet tightened on his arm. —Efim, please. I don’t want to see you come to any harm. This is a temporary arrangement, very temporary. Next month you’ll have forgotten all about her.
Holding the needle away from them both, Efim sat down next to Kostya. —I am under significant pressure to take care of you, to keep you fit to work. Major Balakirev—
— I know. I know how he can be. Please, if you complain or even just comment to the wrong person, all three of us are in trouble. You live here, the logic goes, therefore you must know something about it.
— I know nothing.
— And I wish to keep it that way.
Sighing, Efim looked at the ceiling.
Kostya reached for Efim’s shoulder and stopped as Efim turned to examine Kostya’s other arm. —We understand each other, yes?
— I understand very little, beyond first my need to fear Balakirev, and now my need to fear you.
— I’m sorry.
Efim studied him for a moment. —Then I’m damned thrice over, because I believe you. Now keep still. I think I found a good vein.
As Kostya set out supper from the deli, a feast of bubliki, butter, yogurt, pickles, and shredded fowl, Temerity joined him. Her damp curls sprang up. —I’ll get my skirt and blouse down right away.
— Are they dry yet?
She took her hand from her skirt. —No.
— Then leave them. You’re shaking.
— The water ran cold. I caught a chill.
Overhearing them as he left his bedroom, Efim glanced into the bathroom; steam fogged up the shaving mirror. He joined them at the little table, saying nothing.
Bouts of chewing, bouts of silence.
Temerity paused to remove a bone from her mouth. —Is this duck?
Kostya swallowed. —Could be. Might be some pigeon in there, too.
He noticed Temerity and Efim had stopped chewing and now stared at him.
Kostya shrugged. —Diet of the bezprizorniki. I could bring home sausage next time, doktorskaya kolbasa. It’s a bit bland, but easy to digest. Very nutritious. Efim would approve.
Efim shook his head. —It’s full of pork.
Giving Efim a quick look, Kostya broke off a piece of bublik.
Efim stood up from the table. —It’s been a long day. I think I’ll go lie down.
As Temerity picked up the dishes for washing, Kostya stared at the ceiling. He felt peaceful, even dreamy. He watched Temerity run the water and struggle to get any lather at all from the scrap of soap, and then walked over to her.
Temerity thought his footfall seemed slower than normal. Less certain, somehow.
Kostya wrapped his arms around her chest and leaned his chin on top of her head. —I got you a present today.
Her neck stiffened. Passport and papers. Please, God, please.
He took his arms off her and opened the pouch on his belt. —Turn around.
In both palms, he held a bottle of Shalimar.
Not just a bottle of Shalimar in Moscow, but one with a chipped stopper.
She felt cold. —Where did you get this?
Smiling, Kostya wagged a finger as if rebuking a child. —Put it on.
Get him talking. —You like perfume?
Watching her draw the stopper down her throat, he nodded.
She dabbed perfume onto her fingertips and then fluffed the curls in her hair. —There. That’s one of my secrets.
— And I didn’t even need to raise my voice to learn it.
— I might tell you many things. Will you pour me some vodka?
He did this, no hesitation, his back to her. —I got something else nice on the way home.
Brown paper rustled; vodka glugged.
He turned around and gave her drink in a large and full glass. A wedge of lemon floated on top, and beneath that bobbed gooseberries and strawberries. —I got the gooseberries from Babichev, but I picked the strawberries near that cemetery by the well.
Then Kostya thought of the strawberries at the poligon.
So lush, so sweet.
Temerity held the glass up to the light. —Cristobal Zapatero liked strawberries. Something he told me as I sketched his portrait.
Kostya almost dropped his drink. Staring at the delicate tremor in his hands, he sounded polite. —Duty, Nadia. Right now it’s your duty to change the subject.
Temerity took a sharp breath, fell silent. They both sipped their drinks. Then Temerity stroked Kostya’s forearm. —I can’t stay here.
He rubbed the back of his neck. —We’ve all got to die sometime.
— Pardon me?
— Not tonight. I hope.
— Kostya —
Hearing Vadym’s voice, I’m worried sick about Misha, Kostya plopped down in a kitchen chair. —Can we just leave the past behind?
— It’s the not past that worries me.
— I had a terrible day, just one in a series. Focus on the present moment, yes? Come. Come sit down. Now, look at me.
— Kostya, listen. Earlier today—
— No. I said leave the past. Right here, right now, we can be together.
— But—
He raised his glass. —Ssh. To love and safety. We can be safe. Just for one day.
After a moment, she raised her glass to meet his. —To love and safety.
Eyes closed, Kostya swallowed much of his drink. —I want to memorize this moment. Just the two of us, at the table after supper, when I can catch your perfume. I’ll need this memory later.
She studied him, his chest rising and falling, his uniform spotless. Street sounds filtered through the open windows; water ran in the pipes. —Listen to me. Your Balakirev paid a visit.
Efim’s bedroom door opened; the bathroom door shut.
— Not now, Nadia.
— Yes. Right here. Right now.
— Very funny. You want to drag Efim with you? He knows nothing of all this, of you and me. One wrong step, and all three of us are marched out that door. And then NKVD arrests Efim’s wife in Leningrad. Do you want to be responsible for that, too?
— Kostya!
— Hush!
The toilet flushed, and the faucets ran as Efim washed his hands.
— Nadia, I am very tired. My shoulder hurts like hell. I must ask if I can sleep in the bed tonight.
Efim’s bedroom door clicked shut.
Temerity finished her drink. —I’ll take the floor this time.
— It’s a double bed.
— One night on the floor won’t kill me. I’ve slept rougher.
He sighed, then stood up from the table and moved to the front room, where he stretched his back. —Give me four hours. We’ll switch later in the night, yes?
She imagined the passport falling out of her pocket as she slept. —Let me get changed first.
Kostya took some frayed pyjamas from the stenka. —No, your clothes are still wet. Here.
She stood beside him now, peering into the stenka drawer. —Wait, is that a book?
Kostya parted some more folded clothes, took out a towel and a pair of shorts for himself. —No need to sound so surprised. I grew up surrounded by my grandfather’s books, Nadia. I’m not a complete savage.