Belly of the Beast (8 page)

Niki signed over her samples to the phlebotomist at the blood lab.

“You have some clout,” said the phlebotomist. “I’m supposed to process these immediately. Dr. Baxter wants you to call her this afternoon at two.”

Yuri rolled up his sleeve. “I’ll give a sample too. I’m Russian. Maybe Niki and I are distant relatives.”

Yuri bought lunch and talked about his son and granddaughter. Niki kept checking her watch. At one fifty-eight she called Dr. Baxter. Then she called Rob.

“I just want to go home,” Niki said as she returned to Yuri. “I talked to Alex and he sounded terrible. I feel guilty that I left him.”

“You did what you had to do.”

“Rob said his white cell count is up.”

Yuri put down his after-lunch coffee. “I don’t know what that means.”

“Leukemia produces white blood cells, but they’re abnormal and immature. They push out the normal white cells that fight disease and the red cells that carry oxygen. Alex is losing. They need to irradiate his bone marrow to kill the cancer cells, then introduce healthy marrow from someone else. He’s running out of time.”

Yuri took Niki’s hand in his. “What did Dr. Baxter say?”

“Lana is a three-point match; that’s not enough.”

“And me?”

“You’re only two points, but thanks. Dr. Baxter felt badly also and gave me her home phone to call, but I’m just wasting my time here.”

“I’ll take you to the airport.”

“My ticket was in my purse.”

“I’ll buy another.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“Of course you can. You left the clothes. I told you I owed your mother a favor.”

“That must have been some favor. Do you want to talk about it?”

“Some things are best unspoken.”

Yuri drove Niki to the airport and stood in line with her at the United ticket counter. In front of them, a newborn threw-up on his mother’s shoulder, strained beets on a folded diaper.

“The snow was scarlet,” said Niki. “What if I actually was born in Russia outside in the snow? What if Galina was my mother and she gave me to Lana? What if—”

“Lana didn’t know Galina then. You’re grabbing at straws. Go home. Be with Alex.”

“I need to talk to Galina again.”

“She’s just a crazy old woman.”

“Next,” called a ticket agent.

Niki turned her back to counter. “Yuri, I appreciate what you’ve done, but I’ve got to know for sure.”

“Galina lives in fantasies. There is no sense in going back.”

“Next, please.”

Niki stepped out of line. “You said Lana did her best for me. I need to do my best for Alex. I know where your safe house is. I’m going there.”

“This is not the place to talk about such things.”

“I’m going.” Niki headed toward the door.

Yuri followed. “Please don’t make a scene. I’ll take you.”

“We’ll need cake and a present.”

A few minutes later, Yuri groaned as he picked up cupcakes at an airport quick serve. Niki bought a trinket across the aisle at the
Bayshore
Gifts and News
.

“You’re late,” said Galina when Yuri and Niki arrived.

The room was transformed with cut flowers in a vase and a table set with cloth napkins. Galina sat opposite Lana in two of four ladder-back chairs. Both women were transformed too. Lana wore a ski sweater and pressed slacks. Galina, on the other hand, wore a blue lace dress. Both women had their hair brushed nicely, and Galina wore red lipstick.

Galina smiled. “I had Thomas prepare a few things.”

 Yuri placed the cakes on the table.

Lana faced the window and stared blankly at the cracked pane as she had before.

“Mother,” Niki said softly, “I’m sorry I wasn’t a better daughter. It couldn’t have been easy for you doing what you had to do. I think I understand now. I’m sorry—”

 “Where is the samovar?” interrupted Galina.

Yuri turned to Niki. “Would you go downstairs and ask Thomas to bring up plates and tea. I need to remind Galina about manners.”

“Tea in a samovar,” said Galina.

“We do not have a samovar,” said Yuri.

“Then I am not telling my story.”

“That’s fine,” Yuri replied. He nodded toward the door. “Niki, let’s go. You’ve made your apologies.”

“Sit down,” said Niki. “I haven’t come this far to go back empty handed.” She turned to Galina and lowered her voice. “Galina, we’re going to drink tea from a pot and pretend it’s a samovar. Won’t that be fun?”

Galina frowned at Yuri. “You should sit down. I want Niki to get the tea.”

Niki left, returning a few minutes later. “Thomas is going to bring the tea,” she said as she sat between Galina and Lana.

Galina outstretched her hand, palm up. “My present?”

Niki handed over the trinket, a cloisonné streetcar with
San Francisco
written across the side. Galina wrapped her fingers around it and smiled at Yuri. “Niki has much better taste than you.”

“Thank you,” Niki replied with a slight smile.

“Yuri said there were things I shouldn’t say,” said Galina.

Niki turned sharply toward Yuri.

“For security,” Yuri replied quickly. “Galina knew many state secrets.”

“I know many secrets,” said Galina.

Thomas, older than any in the room, entered with tea and plates.

“You do your job well,” said Yuri.

 Thomas nodded, poured the cups, and left without a word.

Galina looked at Niki, then nodded toward Lana. “You have to help her eat.”

At the nursing home back in Colorado, Niki had helped many old people eat, but she never thought she’d be feeding her own mother. She hesitated.

“We have to be nice to each other,” said Galena. “Put cake on her fork and put it in her mouth. Yuri was nice to me. He was supposed to kill me.”

Yuri shrugged. “‘Decommission her,’ was my order. I used a liberal interpretation.”

Niki raised a piece of cake to Lana’s lips. Lana opened her mouth and ate but never took her eyes off the window. Galina ate all of her cupcake and emptied two cups of tea. Lipstick covered the edge of her porcelain cup and the back of her sleeve.

Niki gave her mother more cake and some tea, then turned to Galina. “Tell me what you know about January fifteenth.”

“I can have all the tea I want,” said Galina. “I wear Depends.”

“That’s nice,” said Niki, “but January fifteenth, 1962, you probably don’t know anything about that, do you?”

“But I do.” Galina patted her napkin to her smeared lips, then closed her eyes. “Khrushchev himself invited me to the big meeting. He asked me to tell him about the explosion.”

“She’s delusional,” said Yuri. “Galina was a courier. She never—”

“Hush,” said Niki.

“Hush,” repeated Galina. “I’m telling the story. I was very important. I went all the way to Leningrad by train, and then a chauffeur drove me to a Black Sea spa in a black Chaika with brown leather seats.”

“I’m sure you were very important,” said Niki.

“Secretary Khrushchev said I was very important, and he should know. I wasn’t just any interpreter. I was the chief interpreter at Mayak.”

 “Only talk about fifteen January,” warned Yuri.

Galina waved her finger at Yuri. “Do not interrupt. I will lose my place.” Galina reclosed her eyes and continued.

“It was late. Music played, vodka flowed. There were many KGB around, but no one questioned why I left the party early. I was very pregnant.”

Niki slid to the edge of her seat.

“I saw skis by the sauna,” Galina continued.

“I thought it was night,” said Yuri.

“I saw them in the day, now it was night. You’re trying to make me make a mistake.”

“Go on,” said Niki.

“I remember where the trails were. I remember everything.”

“I’m sure you do,” said Yuri, “and then some.”

“Don’t be rude,” said Niki. “What else do you remember, Galina?”

“I remember the fog. I had to feel my way around to find the building where ski boots were kept, but I also found a larder and stuffed a rucksack with
salo
.”

“Bacon fat,” whispered Yuri.

“Don’t whisper,” said Galina.

“Get to the point,” said Yuri. “Lana took skis and went out on the ice.”

“No, it wasn’t Lana. This is my story.”

Niki shot Yuri a look. “What’s the matter with you? Let her talk.”

Galina smiled. “I was the one who went out on the ice, but first I waxed the skis very carefully. Slide on the glide, stick on the kick.”

Mother’s saying,
thought Niki. There was no doubt in her mind that Galina knew Lana very well—or vice versa. She glanced at her mother. Lana was still expressionless. Niki felt sorry for both old women.

 Galina continued. “Outside, fog poured from the sea so I knew there was open water. I stayed near shore heading north. It was cold. I skied fast. Did I tell you I was a very good skier?”

“Once you told me you were a ballerina,” said Yuri.

“I didn’t ask you. I was talking to Niki.”

“I suspect you were a great skier,” said Niki.

Galina smiled again. “I skied most of the night, then something told me to stop. When I did, my ski tips were over water, and I could not see the other side. Waves had lapped over edge of the ice, then froze hard. I took off my skis and walked carefully along the crack toward shore, being sure to leave no tracks. Eventually there were footprints where men had come to the open water to fish. I followed them step by step to a highway. I knew Finland was somewhere to the north, but I crossed the road and followed an animal trail east. I walked backwards for a long way to confuse anyone who might follow, then put on my skis and crossed a series of bays and islands. I stole food from a trapper’s camp. Eventually I turned north.

“Now we know how your mother might have escaped,” said Yuri. “She probably made it to Finland and New York, then had you. The date is just confused.”

“The baby was born fifteen January,” said Galina. “As soon as I left the animal trail, he started kicking.”

“
He,” said Niki, surprised by her own condemnation. “I thought we were talking about me. I could have been halfway home by now. My son needs me.” She stood to leave.

“I told you,” said Yuri.

Galina snapped open her eyes. “I’m not finished. I dug a burrow in the snow to rest. When you come back with more cake tomorrow, I will finish my story.

“I won’t be here tomorrow,” said Niki. She knew she had wasted half a day, but she pitied Galina. “It was a nice story. I’m sorry I can’t stay for the rest. I’ll just say goodbye to my mother now.”

“I’ll come back next week,” said Yuri. “You can finish your story then.”

Galina smiled. “I think you will come back in the morning. Did I mention that baby turned out to be a girl? She was born in the burrow.”

Niki turned. “Don’t play games with us, Galina. You know my son is dying. Are you my mother or not?”

Galina looked away. “I know things about Yuri, too, but I’m not going to answer any more questions until we have another party.”

Niki tried to find words for Lana, but Yuri hurried her from the room. “You can still catch an evening flight if we hurry.”

Halfway back to the city, Niki announced, “I am going to stay in California until I know what’s going on. At the very least I need to get a blood sample from Galina.”

“No problem,” said Yuri. “I’ll get you to your flight and hire a private nurse to draw Galina’s blood first thing in the morning.”

Niki looked at Yuri. “You really didn’t want me to talk with Galina, and you seem very quick to dismiss everything she says. What does she know? What are
you
hiding?”