at once, and ran to the adults.
The women rushed to their children. Nina Lapina quickly checked Larisa out, and sighed with relief, seeing she was fine. But Megan saw her son suffocating and convulsing, and she screamed with horror.
«Call an ambulance!» she yelled at her husband. Perplexed, David ran to his son, then back to the house.
Suddenly Marina flew to Dylon and grabbed his feet. Holding the boy upside down, she started to shake him, and Megan watched them with bewilderment.
«What is she doing?» Megan thought. «She’s killing my son!» But as in a nightmare, she could not move a limb.
Dylon coughed, a candy fell from his mouth, and he cried. It was the best music that his parents had ever heard. The voice of the boy rang loud and clear. He was all right now, and Marina passed him to his mother.
«Marina,» mumbled David. «You saved his life!»
He opened his arms to the girl. Marina came close and hugged him, pressing herself to him. She put her head on his shoulder, and he sensed her trembling.
Suddenly, he noticed that everybody was silent, staring at them. David saw the baffled gaze of his wife, and he felt embarrassed.
«Marina,» he said very carefully. «It’s over. Thank you. Thank you so much!»
The girl slowly raised her head, looked around, and her face went red.
«Excuse me,» she mumbled, and almost ran away.
Everybody exchanged glances. This episode ended well, but the picnic was irretrievably spoiled, and soon, one by one, all the guests left.
***
Late in the evening, when the VanSteins were in bed, Megan spoke to her husband with irritation in her voice. «When Marina hugged you, it looked as if you liked it.»
«I couldn’t push her away when she had just saved the life of our son, could I?» David tenderly retorted. «Don’t be jealous. She saved our Dylon. She saved him.»
Megan wept and hugged her husband. Soon she fell asleep, but David just lay there for a long time thinking about Marina. His wife was right, when he sensed her so close he felt excited.
«But it was just a natural male reaction,» he whispered, looking at the calm face of his sleeping wife. «Marina’s just a young, pretty girl…»
«Pretty, eh?» a mocking inner voice sounded so loudly in his mind that David got scared, and he carefully smoothed Megan’s messed locks, admiring his wife. But this revived his memories of Marina’s hair smelling like fresh grain and tickling his face when she put her face on his shoulder. Damn! The same shoulder upon which Megan’s head was reposed right now.
«It’s okay.» Shaken, David suddenly felt sick. «I just have to be more careful and colder when communicating with Marina.»
This thought calmed him, and he was able to sleep.
***
The next day Nina Lapina visited Marina. She came alone, and Marina wondered, «Where is your daughter?» as it was evening already.
«I left Larisa with Vera Grach,» Nina explained, looking around the apartment with curiosity.
It was a studio, and at first sight one was able to guess that here lived a single teacher or scientist. Papers were piled everywhere. A desk with a computer took the central position in the room. Some tables against the walls and a couch instead of a bed finished this picture.
«How long have you known Vera?» asked Marina, walking to the kitchen with Nina following her.
«Since we were kids,» Nina replied, taking a cup of tea from her hostess. «She lived a few floors above in the same apartment building. She’s our best friend. When Vlad got the position in the U.S., he told Vera how to apply for study here. She sent samples of her work, and the University invited her, and, moreover, they gave her a grant.» Tasting the tea, Nina sat on the couch and took a cookie from the plate on the coffee table.
«Really? Is she so gifted?»
«I’m sure she will be the next Picasso!» exclaimed Nina emotionally.
«And who is her husband?» Marina moved an office chair from the computer and sat next to Nina.
«Oleg?» Nina shrugged her shoulders. «A businessman. Selling, reselling cars, apartments. It’s all that I heard. I bet even Vera doesn’t know for sure. They got married just before they moved to the States. They barely had time to finish all the formalities. What was he doing in Moscow? Some Russian business, I suppose.»
«A crook, eh?» Marina snorted.
«It’s none of our business, is it?» Nina smiled. «Nah, he’s a good person, he’s teaching Vlad how to drive a car, he helped us when we moved. No, he’s not bad. Vera told me she doesn’t like his greediness for money, but I don’t know… Vlad, for example, is a very niggardly man, but I think it’s better than if he was a squanderer.»
«Vlad told me you were studying in the same group in the University, right?» asked Marina, as a new idea came to her.
«Yes,» confirmed Nina. «But I did not graduate.»
«No matter. Could you help me to finish checking the students’ tests? I have a lot of work left, but I’m babysitting tonight.»
«Of course, I’ll be happy to help. But how did you find a client? Most of the people in town are still afraid of Russians.»
«Maybe,» Marina answered calmly, and held out a bunch of papers. «But I’m sitting with the children of the VanSteins.»
«Ah.» Nina nodded. «Yesterday when you helped Dylon, you so impressed all of us. You are a hero. It’s a shame, but if something similar happened to Larisa, I would be only able to faint or sob, not act in such a resolute manner.»
Looking at the first test, Nina did not notice the face of Marina flush. Thinking about David, she closed her eyes for a second, recalling his hug. The memories of his tender strong arms around her body filled the girl with hot sweet emotion and her breathing became panting with thrill and excitation.
«My God!» Nina gasped with great surprise. «This student classified oxygen as a poison gas.» She checked the next paper. «The molecular mass of water is sixteen tons? What the hell is this?»
«Cool down, buddy.» Marina smiled at her reaction. «Just count the numbers of mistakes, okay?»
«Deal.» Nina shook her head, still murmuring with amazement.
The woman silently helped with the grading, then Marina said thanks and drove her home.
Nina opened the door, and Marina heard Larisa screaming happily: «Mommy, Mommy! Aunt Vera taught me how to draw a horsie.»
A huge feeling of loneliness fell heavily on Marina, and she quickly drove away, dreaming about David. When she finally saw him standing on the porch of his house, like a captain on the
