With a low moan, Mama slapped a hand to her mouth and leaned onto the table. Irina’s eyes skittered toward them, then fell to the ground in sympathy. She turned her back to the men and hastily crossed herself.
“Is that necessary?” Tato spoke through gritted teeth.
Prokyp ignored him and made his way to Alina and Katya. They stood together, hands still clasped. “And you girls?” he said in a disgusting, sweet voice. “You pretty girls. Do you have any grain hidden in your clothes? We’ve found quite a bit sewn into the skirts of the fair ladies of our village.”
Katya’s stomach threatened to heave as his dirty hands reached toward Alina. She whimpered as he placed his paws on her shoulders. Slower than necessary, he ran his hands down along the sides of her breasts to her hips. His lips curled into a repulsive sneer as he made his way down her legs.
“Take your hands off her!” Fury surged through Katya, and she yanked Alina back at the same time her father stepped closer and shouted, “Don’t touch my daughters!”
A sharp click echoed in the room, and everyone froze. The Russian’s cocked pistol pointed at Tato. “Are you resisting orders? If you are, we will have to label you an enemy of the people. We all know what happens to enemies of the people. I could shoot you right now, and nobody would care.”
Katya’s head buzzed. All the anger she’d felt morphed into sheer terror as she stared at her Tato. His beet-red face glistened with sweat and his hands curled slowly into fists, the anger crackling off him like a hungry fire seeking fuel. If someone didn’t intercede, he would be shot for attempting to murder Prokyp with his bare hands.
Mama, too, saw his inner struggle, for she stepped in front of Tato and spoke calmly. “I apologize for my husband’s behavior. He’s overprotective of his daughters. He didn’t mean what he said. We’ll cooperate, I swear it.”
The Russian smirked and lowered his gun. Dropping Alina’s hand, Katya pulled her father into a hug and spoke in his ear. “Please, Tato, there is no harm done, but we can’t lose you. Please.” She felt the tension lessen from his body, but vibrations of anger still throbbed like the veins on his neck.
Prokyp watched the scene with amusement, then sauntered back over to his cohorts, smiling. The Russian turned to him and asked with complete sincerity, “Have you been offended by this man? What would you like to do, Comrade?”
Prokyp glanced at Tato and then at Alina, who was white as a sheet, but holding her head high as Mama had taught them to. Katya’s legs wobbled, so she locked her knees and held her breath as they waited for this fool to decide the fate of their family.
“I suppose I can overlook it this once, as long as he and his family promise to cooperate fully in the future.” His gaze lingered on Alina. “But we shall have to check back here often to make sure they are behaving.”
Another activist pushed into the house with a large sack of wheat balanced on his shoulder. “I found this, and another just like it, hidden in the barn loft.”
Katya’s heart sank. She’d worried the wheat in the barn wasn’t hidden well enough, but Tato thought it safe out of sight beneath the hay.
“You can’t take that!” Tato shouted. “It’s my seed for planting this fall!”
“This will pay your quota. For now.” The Russian waved a hand dismissively, as if suddenly bored by them. “Come, we must move to the next house.”
The woman cast an apologetic look toward Mama and hurried behind the men as they left. The door swung wildly in their wake, and none of them moved until Tato strode forward and slammed it shut, though not before Katya saw the activists’ cart stacked high with sacks of grain, just like the ones they’d taken from the barn.
9
CASSIE
Illinois, May 2004
The next afternoon, Anna bustled into the kitchen, arms full of bags. “I’ve brought sustenance!”
Cassie set down the book she’d been reading, stood, and took a bag from her mom. “Thanks. This is a big help.”
“Well, I didn’t want you worrying about leaving Bobby. Where is she?”
“She’s taking a nap. Birdie was about to do the same, weren’t you?” Cassie gave her daughter a weary glance. The little girl looked up from the picture she’d been drawing with the new box of crayons Anna had brought the other day.
“Oh, I was thinking Birdie and I could go for a walk.” Anna looked hopefully at Cassie. “Just around the block. The fresh air will help her go down for a nap, don’t you think?”