“I talked to her only as long as I could stomach her,” she said. “She told me you were in the dugout, and I went there to find you sleeping. That’s how little you think of me, is it? You’d rather take a nap than let me know you didn’t get your leg blown off.”
As bad as I felt about giving Klara the shock of her life, her ill words toward my wingman took me off the defensive. “I wouldn’t let her talk about you like that, and I won’t let you do the same. Mind your place and remember she’s an officer, and you are not. And for that matter, so am I.”
“Of course,” she said, giving a half-hearted curtsy. She tried to sound tough, but the waver in her voice and tears in her eyes shattered her façade. “You’re just like her, aren’t you? Looking down at us lowly folk, only bothering to speak when it suits your fancy.”
I groaned in frustration. What I had hoped was going to be a simple day had turned into anything but. I felt like wrapping my fingers around her thin neck and throttling her. My hand ached, and I could tell it wouldn’t be long before it became bothersome. “Go away, Klara, before I say something I’ll regret.”
“Gladly. I’m tired of you playing games with my head,” she said. She turned her back on me and walked off, and as she did, I heard her mutter one last thing. “Stupid, stingy Cossack.”
I grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. The momentum generated whipped her wrench through the air, and it connected with the side of my head. I crumpled to the ground, my world a mess of shapeless colors and a high-pitched ringing.
Slowly, everything took form. Klara was kneeling over me, eyes wide with terror, patting my face. “It was an accident I swear,” she said. She looked up for a second and the color drained from her face. “You have to believe me.”
In a quiet pond, devils dwell. I gave that proverb life when I grabbed her by the back of the head, pulled her in, and kissed her.
Chapter Twenty
Klara’s lips were exactly what I expected the winter goddess Morena’s would be like, soft as down and as cold as a Siberian winter. Klara put a tentative hand on my shoulder. While we were pressed together, I could feel her hold her breath for a few heart beats before pushing away.
“Why did you do that?” she said, her face pale and voice weak. She traced the edge of her mouth with her finger, and her eyes glazed. “It’s not what I wanted.”
I took to my feet, probing my head where she clobbered me. I winced, and my hand came back covered in blood. “I don’t know,” I said. “Seemed funny at the time. Better than hitting you back, don’t you think?”
She stepped away. “Are you crazy? It wasn’t funny, and I don’t want attention.”
“Klara, to the box! Nadya, with me right now!”
I spun around, which caused me to stumble on account of dizziness. Gridnev marched toward us with a couple of armed soldiers. He moved like a dark storm carrying the fury of the sea. I put myself between them and Klara. “I’m fine, Major,” I said. “It was an accident.”
“Step aside and come with me now, Junior Lieutenant,” he said. “This isn’t a polite suggestion.”
I hesitated. I didn’t want to leave Klara to the wolves. Gridnev opened his mouth to say something else, something I guessed would make things a thousand times worse, and I capitulated. “Yes, comrade major,” I said. My shoulders slumped and I moved to the side. “Where are we going?”
“Command post.”
I fell in step behind him when he spun around and left. The two guards rushed by and took Klara into custody. As they led her away, she silently pleaded with me to save her. I prayed I could. Striking an officer was serious, and kissing one—of the same sex no less—was probably as much so. The 20s were friendly to such relationships, relatively speaking, but under Stalin, persecution had been common up until the war. Now the consequence of such behavior was a gamble, largely depending on who saw it and what their attitudes were. I had no idea where the Major stood on the matter.
We entered the command post and from a corner drawer, Gridnev grabbed and threw a cotton rag at me. “Keep pressure on it.”
“Should I see the doctor about it, comrade major?” I asked while doing as told.
“You tell me,” he said. “You said you were fine.”
The side of my head warmed, and I wondered how much it was going to affect a chance at a good night’s rest. However, I wanted the injury to be seen as lightly as possible for Klara’s sake. “It can wait, I think,” I replied. “But maybe if I have some time after we’re done here I’ll still have him take a look.”
“Fine,” he said, plopping down behind his desk. He didn’t ask me to sit, which I took to be a bad omen. “What the hell was that about?”
“She was upset I didn’t let her know I was okay after coming back yesterday,” I explained, trying my best to find a way to put the entire encounter in a positive light. I was navigating tricky waters here, I knew. “She left and I grabbed her to finish the conversation. When I spun her around, the wrench went flying and found my face.”
Gridnev crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “So she was insubordinate.”
I shook my head, even though I’m certain we both knew he was right. “She was hurt.”
“And she lost her bearing, Junior Lieutenant,” he said. “We have rules and order for a reason. Or do you disagree?”
“No, comrade major,” I said. “I don’t disagree. People do things when they are scared and worried that they wouldn’t normally do.”
“Box, nonetheless.”
I shook my head and cursed under my breath. Though I knew he was aware of both, thankfully, he said nothing. “If I may ask, for how long?”
Gridnev chuckled. “A day. I’ll tell her a week, and you’ll not say otherwise. But the truth is, I can’t lock up a mechanic for long and expect the regiment to be combat ready.”
I relaxed. Hopefully that meant his anger was for show and this would blow over soon. “Is there anything else, comrade major?”
“You also need to address that kiss.”
My hopes for a quick and easy dismissal were shattered. “I don’t know what to say,” I replied. “It was unplanned. I was a little dazed, and it seemed funny.”
“Was it?”
Deep down, it wasn’t funny. It was hysterical. I could barely hold a straight face thinking about the shock I gave her pulling her from violence to tenderness. But I couldn’t say that and expect things to go well, so I lied. “No, comrade major.”
“Are you two having any sort of relationship other than professional?”
I could feel my face contort in shock. “Of course not, comrade major,” I said. “I’ve never even considered it.”
“That’s not an ‘of course not’ question,” he said, leveling a finger at me. “I’m giving you a chance to come clean. If you are, I’ll sweep it under the rug and transfer one of you to a different regiment since I’m more interested in killing Germans than I am anything else. If I find out you’re lying later on, I’ll have no choice other than to call in a commissar for an investigation. If you’re engaged in immoral and deceitful behavior, who knows what else you’re involved with. Do I make myself clear?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Yes, comrade major. It was bad judgment on my end. Nothing more.”
“You’re damn right it was,” he said. “From here on out, the two of you will not engage in anything that could be construed as fraternizing between an officer and an enlisted member. Understood?”
I nodded. What else could I do? “Of course, comrade major.”
“You girls will be the death of me, I swear,” he said, sighing. The tension left his voice, and he eased back in his chair. “Now then, on to strategic matters. I’m pleased with the results of your first deep strike. A few more of those and the Germans will have to pull fighters from Stalingrad to cover their rear. That’ll give much needed relief to our fighters and bombers in the area, not to mention some hope for everyone on the ground.”