Grandma Tonya still remembered those post-war years when Zina’s husband was getting drunk on vodka, and if Zina fell under his hot hand, she always got а fist under her eye. With a bruise under the eye Zina proudly went out into the yard, hanging clothes for drying or just went to the bakery. Many women envied her – a bruise under the eye meant that this woman has a man who returned from the war. Now they were already old. The Zina’s husband has already stopped to drink vodka and has passed to kefir. It can’t be said that he did not drink vodka at all. Sometimes he was drinking on holidays, sometimes without any reason. He often sat in the courtyard and knocked on the dominoes. Grannie Zina had no choice but to go to the bench, where women gatherers, or go to visit hers neighbor Tonya.
On the one floor above lived a grannie Katya. She was not a native Leningrader, but came from the East Kazakhstan region after the war, and was been brought by geologist, for whom she married. Grannie Katya rarely told how she worked in the mine as an ore thrower by shovel during all the war. By a shovel, she threw ore into the carts that the horses were transporting. These horses were blind, and their entire adult life passed in the mine. They lived there. They were not raised to the surface. Grannie Katya was always seen with her old husband. They often went for a walk along the waterfront or together went to the cinema. Left alone, the grannie Katya began to often buy vodka. Her pension was high, more than a hundred and twenty rubles and she could afford to drink vodka every day. Drunk no one saw her. Closer to the dinner she began to slowly walk down the stairs and for a long time rested on them, leaning on the railing. It was hard for her to go down and it was also hard for her to climb up. With a shopping bag, she walked to the store. Two hours later, she similarly slow step by step he passed through the yard to my porch. All the neighbors saw who and what bought in the store. And grannie Katya was no exception. All saw in a string bag at grannie Katya a bottle of vodka and half a bottle of black bread. A pack of cigarettes Belomorcanal grannie Kate always carried in his pocket.
“Catherine”! – Told her neighbors, “sit down with us on the bench, sit down, news at least listen”.
“I have no time to sit with you”, answered the woman Katya and went to the entrance. The lifting by steps on the fifth floor took her twenty minutes. Grannie Zina sometimes sat on a bench and discussed the news, but Grandma Tonya on the bench no one has ever seen. She’s been busy all day with Matilda and her knitted socks. Matilda often read aloud the poems of Agniya Barto and Samuel Marshak. Sometimes grandma asked her to memorize and tell. Matilda was good at that. Grandma Tonya never had driving Matilda to kindergarten. Matilda usually had playing in the yard with the girls. They were playing ball or hopscotch. In the sandbox, the girls hid candy wrappers and covered them with glass. It was called “secret’. Boys from small to large hung on a bar or played chess. Adults played dominoes. Sometimes, they sometimes played cards, but when the police car UAZ had driving into the yard, the cards had disappearing somewhere and there was a knock of dominoes. When Matilda was in the third grade, she was already allowed to attend English language extensions for fifth graders, and her grandmother had to take her out of school later. Grandma was glad that Matilda is honors pupil and was sure that the English language is useful to her. When Matilda was in fourth grade, one day she came back from school wearing a red tie. Grandma began to cry.
“Grandma, why are you crying?” asked her Matilda, “you were a pioneer?”
“No, Matilda, I’m even was not a member of the Komsomol because I don’t have a worker-peasant origin.”
“Who did you work for before the war?”
“Before the war I was a Secretary and typing.”
“And during the war?”
“During the war I worked at a sugar factory here in Leningrad. Night, when I was not on shift, he exploded,” said Grandma Tonya and stopped crying.
“Is fascists blew it up?
“No, the powdered sugar exploded, which rose dust in the shops. Ventilation didn’t work.”
“Does powdered sugar explode?”
“Yes, Matilda, any powder can explosive.”
“Will you tell me more about the war?”
“Yes, of course, but first you have to do your homework and learn all the lessons. You know, you need to learn one lesson in advance, and when the teacher will explain a new topic, you will be all clear and you have questions that you can ask the teacher.”
Trouble never comes alone
It was the fifth year of Perestroika. Matilda was already 17 years old, and she has already passed the school final exams. In the middle of summer her grandmother passed away. Matilda was alone and in the tears. But it did not last long. A week later a UAZ police officer drove up to her house. They were employees of the Children’s room of the police and representatives of Social Security. Matilda has been showed some orders and said to collect her things and documents. She, like a minor, was to be sent to the orphanage. The apartment was locked with a key in the presence of the district police officer, and he escorted Matilda to the police car. Matilda took with her a school bag and old grandmother’s photos. In the backpack was passport, a school’s and a birth’s certificate. After some time, UAZ drove up to the building, enclosed by a fence made of brick columns and wrought-iron lattice. The gate was opened by the watchman Vasily Petrovich. He was the watchman of this orphanage and was on duty this day after three days of rest. UAZ without stopping drove up to the entrance of the building. Matilda was taken to the teacher’s lounge and handed over to director. Then, representatives of the law signed some documents with the director and left. Matilda did not understand what was happening.
“So, girl,” said the Director, “where are your passport and birth certificate?”
“Here in the backpack,” Matilda said.
“Well, leave the backpack here in the staff room, tomorrow morning we’ll wrap it up. Now I’m gonna take you bedroom.”
“Am I must to live here?”
“Yes, until you come of age. And not just live. You can even work in a garment factory, as learner, like all our grown-up girls. It is care of the state and you have to be glad,” the Director said. It was a middle-aged woman with large sizes. Then in the teacher’s lounge was entered the man of thirty years in a sports uniform.
“He is our gym teacher, Andrei,” she said to Matilda, “he’s on duty today at the orphanage.”
The Director then turned to the teacher, “Andrey Andreevich, take her before the dinner in the girls bedroom, let she wait. And I have to run the education Department. Yeah, and don’t forget to give her a mattress, blanket, and bedding. That’s all, I ran,” said Director, and, banging she’s heels, withdrew from the teacher’s lounge.
“Come on, move your ass!” said the teacher and pulled from his pocket a bunch of keys. Matilda stood up and left the teacher’s lounge. Andrei Andreevich closed the teacher’s lounge and led her down the hallway past classrooms. Stopping at one door, he picked the key and opened the door.
“Wait here,” said he and penetrated in the room. Then he came out with a mattress and a blanket. “Behold! Take it,” said the teacher and gave Matilda a rolled up mattress and blanket. Matilda grabbed it with both hands. The teacher returned to the room and took out the sheets and the towel. “Come on,” he said, closing the door, and headed further the hall.
Matilda
