The Russians are Coming!, 14 Months in the Life of the Town

«She’s just a moral woman,» he whispered, suffering with the despair of the situation. «She has to think about the reputation of her family. I’m sure, if she were free…»

Jeff tried to force himself not to think about Vera, but he was unsuccessful. He closed his eyes, and her strange snow-white face stood in his mental view. He yearned to hug her, to feel her slender refined body. For only one kiss of her thin purple lips, he was ready to die.

«Vera,» he repeated, taking pleasure from that sound and tormented at the same time. «Vera…»

* * * * *

…They slowly made their way together along the edge of the summer forest. On the left side a plain stretched to the skyline. Hot yet tender sunshine washed over the young couple.

Jeff walked holding a primitive cotton bag. A bottle of water, a few oranges, and a loaf of bread were inside. It was all their food and neither knew when they would be able to get anything else, but it was no matter for them.

Somehow Jeff was not surprised seeing Vera wearing a strange dress. This indigo robe with a deep décolleté, fleecy and lacy, looked very elegant and expensive, but absolutely out of date.

They reached a barn, and sat on the porch. Jeff looked at Vera with an elated smile; she was his mistress, and she loved him, and they both knew and enjoyed it.

He took out an orange, peeled it, and broke it into segments. He held one out to Vera, and, closing her eyes, the woman took it with her lips, holding and sucking his fingers as well, and, overloaded with desire, they uttered a simultaneous quiet moan.

* * * * *

The beaming sun peeped through the small window of the barn, stealthily spying upon them making love on the fluffy pile of aromatic hay. The magic fragrance of the dried grass made them drunk, increasing the pleasure beyond reality, and some straws pricking their bodies stimulated them like a spur drives a horse.

Panting with overflowing delight Jeff was close to that magic line when nothing exists except the enjoyment when he heard a worried voice, and saw a black girl wearing a very old-fashioned gown.

«They found us,» she said uneasily. «You have to run.»

* * * * *

Helping each other, they ran, struggling through a marshland forest along the bank of a river. The ground was swampy, and Vera ran holding the edge of her very long dark blue skirt.

Looking at her superannuated dress and being clothed himself in a wide shirt and cotton pants, Jeff wondered, «Why are we wearing this?» But another worry pushed this thought aside.

They heard dogs barking behind them, and they knew the hounds had come upon their tracks. They did not have much time.

The thorny branches of the bushes, lianas and brushwood, shrubs and ferns were catching their clothes, making their trail into a nightmare. Every passing yard asked the maximum strain of their decreasing strength.

They had already abandoned the bag with the food and water. A tree branch tore Vera’s blue hat off, but she did not stop. She did not lose even a second of their valuable, diminishing time. She was still running full out, and the chestnut mane of her beautiful hair seemed like wings on her shoulders.

Glimpsing the brave face of his sweetheart with anxiety and helpless compassion, Jeff nevertheless felt sincere veneration. Exhausted, she neither complained nor faltered. She ran as fast as she could, and it was not her fault that the relentless barking was getting closer.

The dying vermilion light of the sunset lit up a glade.

They ran from forest to glade and understood at once – it was the end of their escape. There was no way out.

On one side of the glade the plain was open. The lovers saw horsemen galloping toward them, and Vera’s husband was their leader. The dogs were behind them. On the other edge of the glade the timberland was impenetrable and a river seemed the only possible way out, but when Vera and Jeff went close they saw many huge alligators down the steep slope.

«Better to be eaten up by crocodiles than get back into his claws!» she cried, rushing to the river. Jeff followed her, ready to share her fate no matter how horrible it might be.

Bursting out from behind the trees, the hounds blocked their way, baying and showing their fangs. The bloodshot eyes of the angry animals glowed in the falling darkness, and foam was dripping from their jaws.

Although the dogs could tear Jeff to pieces, they stopped not far away from the hunted victims. Vera covered Jeff’s body with hers and the hounds dared not attack the white woman.

She turned toward Jeff, and they embraced each other. Closing their eyes, they stood still. The lovers knew it was their last hug as the horsemen neared, and any kind of resistance would be pointless because their sheer numbers left not even a little hope of success.

A man roughly pulled Vera from Jeff’s arms, and he felt as if his soul had been brutally torn from his body. He saw the men place a big cross in the middle of the glade, and set fire to it. The reddish orange angry light flooded the glade as it would an area of Hell.

The men tied Jeff’s arms behind his back, while the others threw a rope on the branch of a tree, fastening a noose. He saw the swinging loop waiting for him, but it did not matter to Jeff.

He kept his eyes on only Vera, and thoughts that he could not help or protect her filled Jeff with boundless despair.

Squeezing her elbow the man rudely dragged Vera to her husband. Oleg welted her across the face, knocking her to the ground, and Jeff screamed, feeling such pain, as if it was not the woman who collapsed, but his own heart.

«I’ll deal with you later, my darling,» Oleg said very quietly, yet his words rumbled into Jeff’s ears like thunder.

«No!» he cried out. «It wasn’t her fault! I forced her to go with me!»

«No, Jeff.» Vera slowly got up, and her death-like white face was gleaming in the dusk. «I love you. I’m not sorry that I was with you.»

He saw Oleg take out a gun, and, forgetting everything, Jeff rushed forward and rolled down into a murky abyss.

* * * * *

Covered with cold sweat, he sat up in bed and wildly looked around.

The scarlet and saffron raging light oozed through the blinds and flooded the bedroom. He heard dogs barking outside, and, still caught up in his dream, Jeff did not realize at once that the nightmare was over, and he was in reality again.

«Thank God!» Panting, Jeff pinched himself to be sure he was awake, and smiled, unnerved with the stress. «Just a bad dream. Oh Vera, my beloved. There is no price that I would hesitate to pay to be with you, but I’d rather die than bring you any troubles.»

The fire outside now caught his attention. Menard went to the window and looked through the blinds.

A car in the next parking lot was enveloped with flame, and a sense of duty coupled with ordinary curiosity compelled the policeman to dress and go outside.

He walked to the car and saw the owner, a very young female student, standing not far from the vehicle. Her dog was barking and jumping around. Bill Thompson’s golden retriever was yapping as well from the porch of the house. Neighbor’s dogs echoed them. Jeff decided that it had been these sounds, and gleams of the flame, that had been the basis of his nightmare.

Shimmering lights flashed, a siren sounded as a fire truck arrived, and the fire fighters started extinguishing the fire, covering the car with foam.

The owner looked at Jeff and sniffed.

«I left a bottle of kerosene in the car,» she confessed confusedly, and she cried. «Mom’s gonna kill me.»

«There, there,» Jeff hugged the girl. «It’s not the worst that can happen in life. Take it like a celebration of a New Year.»

This phrase cheered up the student, and she laughed.

They looked around. The expiring flame and the neighbors’ Christmas decorations, bright and shiny, accented with the lights of the fire truck and the oncoming police cars, bizarrely colored the snowy night street.

It was impossible to be angry or upset tonight, this, the second night of the new year. Optimism and hope involuntarily reigned in everyone’s souls. But, recalling his dreams, Jeff sadly thought about the unattainability of being with the woman he dearly loved.

Chapter 9: The Crash

It was getting dark and the freezing rain had turned into a snowstorm.

Ruslan Grafinsky, struggling through the beating wind, was thinking that he would never get home. He walked along scarcely able to see the road. The sidewalk seemed like a skating rink and Ruslan could barely keep his feet.

He was wearing a warm coat, but his pants and gloves, wet after the rain, felt like they were made of ice, and he was chilled to the bone. Dozens of nails pricked his limbs, his frozen hands became numb, and a dagger thrust into his knees with every step.

Ruslan was Russian; he was born and raised in Moscow and had been accustomed to cold. But it was the first time in his life he had faced such weather – when moist gale and frost united their efforts as though planning to terminate all living beings.

«I will be okay,» he thought, walking as if in a bad dream. «But how do the poor animals stand it? Birds, deer, others, who have no hole or shelter.» He recalled the many homeless animals on Moscow’s streets, and he almost did not feel his own pain, suffering with a sense of compassion more than with the cold.

But everything has an end.

He climbed up on the porch and entered the apartment. He took off the hood of his coat and sighed with relief, enjoying the warmth and serenity reigning here.

He saw Vera Grach, and smiled. Nina Lapina was pottering about in the kitchen.

«Dinner is almost ready!» she exclaimed. «Wash your hands.»

«What weather!» Ruslan shook snow off his coat. «I thought I’d become a snow man.»

Vera looked through the window. «My God!» She gasped. «My car didn’t start,» she explained to Ruslan. «So I walked. After school I passed the house and came in here, hoping the weather will ease and I could go home. But I see now I was wrong.»

«Don’t worry.» Nina smiled. «Vlad will be home any second, he’ll drive you.» She checked the refrigerator and became upset. «Sour cream. We’re out of sour cream. How can we eat borsch without sour cream?»

«I’m so hungry.» Ruslan made a puppy face. «I just need some hot food to warm me up.»

«Vlad!» Nina saw her husband enter the apartment. «Don’t take your clothes off. Let’s go, we need sour cream.»

Vlad looked at Nina and sighed. He almost never refused anything she asked, but now he was very tired. He got the first driver’s license in his life less than a month ago, and driving in such weather scared him. However, he did not want to show this to his wife. So he only said, «I’m waiting in the car.» And he went outside.

«Wait!» Nina grabbed her coat. «Guys, we’ll be right back. Vera, dear, could you give Ruslan his dinner, please? Larisa is in her room, please tell that dawdler to start preparing for bed.»

«Go, go.» Vera waved to her. «I’ll do everything, don’t worry.»

Nina left and got into the car, sitting on the front seat.

«Put on your seat belt,» Vlad told her with a gloomy face.

«Come on.» Nina looked outside. «In such weather nobody will notice if I’m buckled up or not.»

«I won’t go anywhere if you don’t do it.»

«Oh.» Nina fastened her seat belt. She knew Vlad very well, and if he said so, he would do so. «Are you happy now?»

Glum, he did not reply, and drove away.

Nina looked at her husband with concern. «Why are you so angry?»

He muttered something, but she did not understand.

«Some trouble at work?»

«Honey, I’m trying to drive,» he said nervously, and only now Nina realized the seriousness of the situation, so she fell silent and looked outside.

The snow was sticking on the front window, and the wipers were almost useless. The car barely had contact with the slippery road, and Nina got scared too, and understood the feelings of her husband.

«Let’s go home,» begged Nina. «Let’s go home.»

«But the sour cream?»

«To hell with the sour cream.» She started panicking. «Let’s just go home!»

Vlad turned the car, but suddenly a Jeep neared them. The driver could not stop his vehicle. Sliding on the road surface, the Jeep hit Lapin’s car, tossing it forward.

If Vlad had more experience, he probably would have taken control of the vehicle, but he was new, and the scream of his wife completely bewildered him. The car spun around a few times and skidded into a gas station.

Nina saw an oncoming gas pump. She buried her face in her palms and thought about her daughter. «Larisa will be so upset…» was all that she had time to think.

The impact threw Nina forward, but her seat belt worked, and held her as she lightly bumped her head against the window. Shocked, she barely opened the door and fell out.

«Are you okay, ma’am?» A man helped her get up. Nina looked around, slowly coming back to her senses. She saw that they had crashed into a pole holding the sign with gas prices, not into the pump, and she realized that Vlad had turned the car at the last second, avoiding a much worse accident.

Tenderness and worry for him crammed her heart, but she calmed down at once, seeing her husband walk towards her. He was all right, and she showed him a weak smile.

Grabbing her shoulders, Vlad anxiously gazed at the face of his wife. «Are you okay?» His voice trembled. «Honey, are you okay?»

«You saved our lives.» she breathed out.

Vlad tightly embraced her. «Damn me,» he murmured. «I could’ve killed us both!»

«Put on your seat belt.» Nina recalled his order, and, shaking with stress, she nervously chuckled.

* * * * *

Jeff Menard drove the Lapins home.

He went in with them to be sure that they would be fine. He did not expect to see Vera Grach there, and, surprised, he stood still near the front door.

«Larisa is asleep already.» Vera saw the Lapins and gasped. «My God! What happened?»

«Sorry, Vera,» Nina Lapina replied with a weak voice. «No ride for you. We crashed our car…» But a new idea came to her, and Nina turned to Jeff. «Officer, could you give Vera a ride?» She did not notice a happy smile light up the face of the policeman.

Vera looked at Jeff and recognized him. They stared at each other. He was looking with hope in his eyes. She hesitated. But finally, Vera grabbed her coat, nodded to Jeff, and they said good-bye to the Lapins.

In the vehicle Vera looked around with curiosity, since she was in a police car for the first time. «I thought that policemen are always with a partner.»

«Not all the time.» Jeff cleared his throat. He lost all his confidence, and the policeman was puzzled, as it had never happened to him before.

The snowstorm was still raging outside, hiding the world, and it seemed as if he and Vera were the only two people on Earth.

«How wonderful it would be if it was true,» he fantasized about this situation. «No husband for her, no one who can impede or blame our relationship.»

«What kind of relationship?» his mental voice asked with sarcasm. «She’s just one of your neighbors in the town. And if you would not stare at her all the time when you see her, she’d probably not even notice that you exist.»

He became upset with such thoughts, and only kept his eyes on the road. Looking through the window, Vera did not say a word, and Jeff felt too uncomfortable to start talking. So, they sat quietly. The car moved slowly along the street.

«Jeff,» she suddenly said, and the heart of the policeman jumped. «Jeff, can you not drive me home right now? Is it prohibited if I stay here while you are patrolling?»

He could not believe his ears.

«Won’t your husband be worried about you?» he forced himself to ask.

«Oleg called me.» She shook her head. «He has some business to attend to. He won’t be home tonight.»

«It’s just a dream,» Jeff thought excitedly. «Damn; if it’s a dream, I wish never wake up!»

They entered into a conversation and were pleased to discover how many things they had in common. Their dialogue ran smooth and seemed to be endless.

Jeff drove from street to street. Most of the houses still had Christmas decorations up, and multicolored lights twinkled through the snow, painting the insides of the car with a kaleidoscope of hues. Jeff and Vera felt like they were in a fairy tale, and even the nonstop chattering of the police radio did not dispel the magic.

And strange! Although the subjects of their conversation were very ordinary – they were just discussing their favorite music, the town’s latest events, and weather – they both felt and understood that something remarkable was going on between them, and all their words had deep hidden meanings.

The darkness awoke their natural instincts. The beauty of the night roused romantic dreams, and the intimacy of the situation brought them together much closer than all these months of usual communication that had passed by.

They both realized – whatever happened to them in the future, they wouldn’t forget this ride and this feeling, and from now on they couldn’t be the same as they were before this night.

They forgot about the time, and, then were surprised to see that it was morning already. The storm had abated, and the golden pink sunrise blazed on a clean, bright blue sky.

Jeff parked the car next to the apartment building and turned to Vera.

The crossbars separated them from each other, and he saw Vera’s long refined fingers mechanically run over the screen. Captivated with that sight, Jeff slowly stretched out his arm, and touched her hand.

«How strange that our palms are the same color…» involuntarily noticed Vera, feeling a chill creep over her body that neither disgust nor fear.

She sat, still gazing at Jeff, and the boundless ocean of a new feeling overtook them.

They were not he or she anymore. They amalgamated into each other. They fused together in the cluster of souls.

But the radio came to life again, driving them back to reality.

Without a word, Jeff got out of the car, opened the door, and helped Vera out.

When she leaned on his arm, and he sensed her so close to him, the desire to embrace her struck the policeman. It was all he could do to suppress this wish. He was afraid someone would see them.

Having the same fear, Vera stealthily squeezed his hand and quickly went to the house. Returning to the cruiser, Jeff kept his eyes on Vera until she entered the building, then he slowly drove away.

* * * * *

In the morning Ruslan Grafinsky checked the car with Vlad Lapin. The front was smashed so hard that the right wheel could barely turn. Ruslan lifted the hood, and Vlad stared at him with hope, awaiting his diagnosis.

«We can fix it,» Ruslan said, and Vlad sighed with relief. «We have to replace the radiator, and we need to fix the body.»

«How?» wondered Vlad.

«I think I know.» Smiling, Ruslan got into the car, and Vlad followed him without doubt, as he trusted his smart friend.

Ruslan drove to a mansion surrounded by a tall iron fence.

«What is this place?» Vlad asked.

«The Limpsons’,» explained Ruslan getting out and taking out a towrope. «In this hole, it’s probably the only enclosure that is strong enough.» He fastened the rope around the iron bars and fixed the other end through the body of the car. «But we better be careful. Stay here, buddy, and watch that we don’t break these stupid rods.»

He got into the car and started the engine, slowly moving the vehicle backwards. Vlad watched as the smashed parts of the car became straighter.

He glanced at the bars with worry, but they seemed fine, and when he looked to the car again, he saw a limousine stopped next to them. Mr. Limpson opened the window and gazed at him. Ruslan noticed it also and got out.

«What are you doing?» the businessman asked with a smile. «Why are you trying to knock down my fence?»

«Not to worry, Mr. Limpson,» grinning, Ruslan assured him. «It will be okay. We’re just fixing the car.» As he explained, Mr. Limpson became serious, and he narrowed his eyes, searching this Russian.

«Last time we had a very interesting talk, Mr. Grafinsky,» he said to Ruslan. «I’d like to continue, but I have business to attend to. Would you come with me right now? My man will drive you home after.»

«I promised my friend to fix his car.» Untying the rope, Ruslan shook his head.

«You moron!» exclaimed Vlad, speaking Russian. «To hell with that piece of junk. We can fix it later. You shouldn’t lose your chance.»

«Listen to your friend, Mr. Grafinsky.» Unexpectedly, Mr. Limpson cut in. «Listen to your friend!»

The young men stared at him. «Do you understand Russian?»

«No.» Mr. Limpson snorted. «But I bet you told your friend not to push his luck.»

A slightly ashamed smile flashed on the lips of Ruslan. He glanced at Vlad, nodded, and got into the limousine.

Chapter 10: The Day of Love

David VanStein and Vlad Lapin were playing ping-pong in the recreational center.

They could not go home due to the experiment that was running in the laboratory, but it did not require their constant attention, so they had a little time to stretch their limbs.

They were playing and talking.

«I heard your friend helped you fix your car,» David said to Vlad.

«Ruslan is a handyman,» Vlad replied, hitting the ball. «I’m very glad that he met Mr. Limpson.»

«Yes, I was very surprised when I heard Mr. Limpson paid for his study here. Do you know why?»

«Because, I bet, Ruslan will be a second Edison, and Mr. Limpson is smart enough to realize it.» He made an adroit strike, and smiled. «That Christmas party was a very good idea.»

David thought about Marina. He missed the ball, and giggled nervously.

«When Marina sang that song, I was shocked,» the professor said, hoping his voice sounded casual enough.

«Yeah, David,» Vlad shook his head. «You should be more careful. In Russia, professors often have student lovers…»

David stood still, and lost the ball again. Vlad drew near to him, and continued, dropping his voice, «But as I know, here in the U.S.A. you can have trouble.»

«We are not lovers,» mumbled David. He looked at Vlad, and saw he did not believe him. «My God! I swear, nothing has happened between us.»

«Relax, professor.» Vlad tried to support his adviser. «I’ll be the last who will throw a stone at you.»

The professor staggered to the bench and tiredly sat down. «Vlad, what shall I do?» Clutching his head, he murmured with depression. "Fire her or what?»

Realizing that his chief spoke the truth, Vlad was taken aback, and kept silent for a while.

«I think you should talk with her,» Vlad said to him finally. «Marina is a very good and kind girl. She’ll understand.»

David gazed at him with hope. «Do you think so?»

«I’m sure.» Vlad looked at his watch. «Go right now. If Megan calls, I’ll cover for you.»

They shook hands, and David quickly left.

* * * * *

He drove to her apartment building, and carefully looked around. Nobody was here, and David parked his car in the next street. He walked to the door of Marina’s apartment, and knocked.

Marina opened the door, saw him, and gasping, she stepped back. Frightened that someone would see him here, David hastily went in.

«Marina, I…» he started and turned towards her. She embraced him. Her lips pressed to his, stifling his voice. Her enigmatically sparkling eyes bewitched him, and he lost his will to resist.

«My God!» he thought unexpectedly sensing pity for her. «How she loves me! And she’s so alone!»

She led David to the couch, brought him down, and got on top of him.

«Marina,» David murmured, feeling as if he was going insane.

«Ssshhh!» she whispered, pressing her aromatic hand to his trembling lips. «Listen to my story. Once upon a time there was a brave pirate captain. His people boarded a ship and got a lot of prisoners. Among them there was a young girl, and he took her for himself…»

She caressed David giving vent to all her saved tenderness and love, and, sensing this, the shocked David could not force himself to push her away. He just closed his eyes.

«It’s delirium,» he thought. «I’m simply sick and raving.»