Chapter 76

“To tell the truth, I also have something I want to show you,” I responded, with joy.

I put the package of gifts on my lap and Sasha clapped and squealed with all the happiness in the world, almost falling headlong into the bag from the anxiety of knowing what it contained. She squealed even more happily when I showed her her plush cow, a doll with fabric horns and a plastic bell tied around its neck with a red ribbon. The first thing she did, obviously, was bite the cow’s generous pink nose. My daughter said a lot of words but couldn’t communicate fluently yet, so biting was usually used to imply that she liked something. I took Mirko’s book out of the bag and placed it on the duvet cover on the bed. My son returned shortly after, running, with a sheet of paper in his hand.

He jumped onto the bed and ran toward us. He didn’t even notice the book.

So I took it and brought it to him, smiling:

“Look what I got you. It’s an early birthday gift,” I told him.