"Mrs. Caine asked a question earlier on. She asked, 'if a man betrays the country of his birth, what stops him from betraying his country of adoption?' The reverse is true too: if a man fights for his country of birth, he is the kind of man who will fight for his country of adoption. Mr. Feschuk has earned the right to call himself a Canadian."
Kat looked over to Genya. Their eyes met. Kat saw that her older sister's eyes were wet with tears.
Then the hearing was over. Kat breathed a sigh of relief; her grandfather was clearly innocent.
"I will review the evidence before me," said the judge. "I hope to have a decision soon. The court is adjourned."
As people filed out silently, two people stayed behind from across the aisle: the protester, and the girl with the hair clip. They waited until most of Danylo's supporters had left and then they walked up to Danylo and his family.
The protester looked troubled and agitated. She held out her hand to Danylo, and he grasped it gently.
"I survived the Holocaust," the woman said. "And what I remember is being led away at gun point by the Nazis, while the Ukrainians looked on. They did nothing to save us."
Danylo understood how her memories could be shaped that way.
"What I realize now is that the Ukrainians were as helpless as the Jews." Tears welled up in the woman's eyes. "My name is Sarah Goldman," she said. "And this is my granddaughter Carol."
The teen stepped forward and shook Danylo's hand and then she looked at Kat and smiled.
Throughout this exchange, Danylo's supporters had listened in silence. Dr. Nguyen stepped beside Danylo and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ian and Lisa were close behind.
"Mr. Feschuk," said Dr. Nguyen. "I would like to invite you to a get-together at our house tonight."
Danylo turned to Dr. Nguyen in gratitude.
"Yes," said Lisa, stepping forward. "A potluck. All these people here," she motioned with her hands to show Danylo's friends and supporters, Mrs. Goldman and her daughter, "are invited too."
CHAPTER 40
THE PHONE RANG.
Kat had just changed from her court clothing into jeans and a sweater. When no one else answered, she flew down the stairs and grabbed the phone. It was for her mother.
Orysia listened with surprise, and then put the phone back on its cradle. "They think they've found the graffiti artist again," her mother said.
Kat frowned sceptically. "Let's hope they have some evidence this time."
"Actually," said Orysia. "They think it was Dylan Tomblin, that boy you used to go to camp with."
"Dylan?" exclaimed Kat. "Why would he do such a thing?"
"I don't know," said Orysia, "but Dr. Bradley called the police last night after the concert because she was concerned about vandalism. When they got there, they caught this boy on school property with a spray can in his pocket."
"And from that, they think he's our graffiti artist?"
"No," said her mother. "They ran his fingerprints through the system, and it matched."
When Danylo stepped through the threshold at the Nguyens' house, he was enveloped in hugs, handshakes, and the steamy scent of lemon grass simmering in broth. He felt as if he were in a dream state as he looked around him and saw so many familiar faces, all regarding him with happy smiles. His friends from the church and the Ukrainian community were there, and his neighbour, Mrs. Wentworth, as were the Vincents, Ian and his family, and even Karen — Genya's friend.
Danylo could feel tears of gratitude fill his throat. This hearing had been so hard on him, yet these people had not prejudged. They listened to the testimony and drew their own conclusions. It gave him a sense of relief to know that Canada worked differently than the regimes he had fled.
Lisa's parents had set up a table along one wall of the kitchen. She handed Danylo the first plate, and grabbed him by the hand and led him to the head of the line. There were fragrant casserole dishes, and bowls and platters of food. Many of the dishes were entirely new to him, but they all smelled wonderful. He spooned a bit of each onto his plate and savoured the moment.
The weekend passed and there was no word from the judge. In spite of the fact that she had pretty well lost the year, Kat went to school on Monday. She craved a routine: something to take her mind off of her grandfather's trial.
She walked into art class with a sense of déjà vu. It was as if time had stood still. All the same people she had not seen or even thought about in the last few weeks were all there, and they were all chattering away about the usual things: music, clothes, who had the hots for whom. There was not even a ripple of attention or interest at her sudden return.
Well, that wasn't entirely so: Beth turned in her chair and regarded Kat appraisingly.
"You've got a lot of catching up to do," she said.
"I know," said Kat. "But I've been doing some projects at home too."
"Did your grandfather get his papers filled out?" she asked. "Sort of," replied Kat. "We're still waiting to hear from the judge."
Just then, Michael walked in, and he slipped into the desk beside Kat. He gave her a grin.
"Your father was awesome on Friday," said Kat.
"Your grandfather wasn't so bad either," replied Michael.
At lunch, Kat noticed that there had been changes. Callie and Beth sat together at the table with the other grade ten arts students, but Michael wasn't there. Kat stood at the cafeteria entrance with her laden tray and scanned the room. It didn't take her long to spot Ian's shaved head. As if his unusual scalp wasn't enough, he was standing, flailing his arms so she'd notice. As she walked closer, she noticed that not only was Lisa sitting with him, but so was Michael.
Kat set down her tray and regarded these three true friends of hers. Who would have thought that this unlikely trio would have stuck with her through thick and thin?
Lisa swallowed a spoonful of chocolate pudding and then looked up at Kat with an excited grin. "Ian has news," she said.
Kat set her tray down beside Michael and across from Lisa and Ian. "What?" she asked. She looked over at Ian and saw that he looked like he was about to burst.
"Remember that guy who came out of the concert with Dr. Bradley?" he asked Kat, his eyes shining with excitement.
The concert seemed like a million years away. Kat thought about it. "Oh yeah," she said. "The agent."
"That's right," grinned Ian. "I tried out for a TV commercial yesterday."
"You're kidding," said Kat, her eyes glowing with pleasure. "Did you play the piano for him?"
Ian's grin diminished almost imperceptibly. "No," he said. "He was interested in my look, not my music."
"Oh," said Kat.
Lisa, who could barely contain her excitement throughout this exchange, bumped her shoulder against Ian's affectionately and said, "Come on, Ian, just tell her what happened."
Kat looked at Ian questioningly.
"I got cast in a TV commercial for an Internet banking company," said Ian.
"That's a riot," said Kat. "I would have never pegged you as a banker type."
Ian smiled. "You're always underestimating me."
CHAPTER 41
A WEEK WENT by. Then another. And another. Time stood still at the Baliuk residence. Every time the phone rang, Orysia jumped to answer it. Kat would watch her mother's face, her heart pumping in anticipation, but soon she would realize that the caller was yet another neighbour or well-wisher or friend.
Kat's father was still posted in Oregon, and her grandfather was still in Genya's bedroom. There was only one thing that didn't stand still in the Baliuk household, and that was Genya. Once the hearing was over, she plunged herself into her school-work as if nothing else mattered.