Chapter 99

But I didn’t know enough to judge either, so I preferred to focus on the obvious:

“Ah, I see,” I agreed with a smile, while I wrapped the woven cord of the necklace that Luke had made me around my finger. “But, well! Apparently it seems that your son has already chosen a career, don’t you think?”

He thought about it for a second, swollen with the glory of a father.

“Hmm, Mirko Valery Ivanovich Valinchenko. Pilot. Or maybe an aeronautical engineer. It doesn’t sound bad.”

“Not bad, actually.”

We laughed again, and my cheeks warmed a little as I realized how much those moments were like the ones I used to spend talking to Paul on the phone when he was traveling. As with Ivan, with Paul we talked about everything and nothing, with the slight difference that eventually my husband and I referred to ourselves. From lukewarm, my cheeks began to boil, so I cleared my throat and decided to change the topic:

“And Sasha? Isn’t she awake yet?” I asked.