Chapter 44

“What a smart boy. Do you know what happens to smart kids like you?” My father left the idea in suspense, and Mirko began to laugh. Dad put his hand through the collar of his shirt and took out from under his clothes a silver chain with a set of metal plates, which he showed to my son. “I don’t need glasses, I assure you that I see better than you. In addition to being ‘alpha,’ I am a ‘watchman,’ little boy. Great view. You see it? It says it here. And if it says it here, then no one can deny it.”

Most of the time, my father spoke in English. He only reserved Russian to say things that he didn’t want anyone other than his blood family to hear, but with Mirko and Sasha he almost exclusively used that foreign language, even though I had made it clear to him that my firstborn knew Russian inside and out. Mirko approached to see the plaques, impressed. My father took off his silver necklace and gave it to my son, with a proud gesture.

“How wonderful! Who made them for you?”