“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Dimitri said in a small voice, his hands up. “I just want my chance with Tania.”

His teeth clenched, Alexander turned away and went back to his quarters.

Lying on his bed with his arms behind his head, Marazov said casually, “Alexander, you want me to take care of Chernenko for you? Is he giving you trouble?”

Alexander shook his head. “Don’t worry. I can handle him.”

“We could reassign him.”

“He’s already been reassigned. Four times.”

“Oh, nobody wants him, so you give him to me?”

“Not to you, to Kashnikov.”

“Yes, and Kashnikov is mine.”

Getting out a flask and taking a swig of vodka, then passing it to Alexander, Marazov said, “We don’t have enough men to throw in front of Hitler’s tanks to hold Leningrad. We are going to have to surrender, aren’t we?”

“Not if I can help it,” said Alexander. “We’re going to fight on the streets with rocks, if we have to.” He smiled.

Marazov saluted him from across the bunks and fell down onto his pillow. “Lieutenant Belov, I haven’t seen much of you off duty. You can’t believe some of the girls that are coming to the club lately.” He grinned.

Alexander grinned back and shook his head. “No more for me.”

Marazov lifted his head in surprise. “I don’t understand the words that are coming out of your mouth, Lieutenant. I hear you. I think you’re speaking Russian, but I just can’t believe what I’m hearing. What in fuck’s name is going on?”

When Alexander didn’t answer, Marazov said, “Wait, wait. You’re not… oh, no!” He laughed infectiously. “Now I know you’re full of shit. What happened to you? You’re not dying, are you?”

“I’m not sleeping, that’s for fucking sure,” said Alexander.

“Who can I wake up? I can’t keep this to myself.”

He leaned over his bunk and hit the sleeping soldier beneath him with a pillow. “Grinkov, wake up. You won’t believe it when I tell you—”

“Fuck off,” Grinkov said, throwing the pillow to the floor and turning away.

Alexander laughed. “Stop it, you crazy bastard,” he said to Marazov. “Stop it before I have you reassigned.”

“Who is it?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Alexander, putting a pillow over his face.

“Wait, is it the girl you keep muttering about in your sleep?”

Taking the pillow off his face, Alexander said with surprise, “I don’t mutter in my sleep.”

“Oh, yes you do,” said Marazov. “And how. Grinkov, what does Belov mutter when he is sleeping?”

“Fuck off,” Grinkov said again, turning to the wall.

“No, that’s not it. It’s some girl’s name. It’s… it’s… Alexander, you’re a fiend for keeping it from your fellow officers.”

“Yes, because you can be trusted,” said Alexander, turning on his side.

Marazov clapped his hands. “I want to meet this one,” he said. “I need to meet the girl who has taken our wandering Alexander’s horse and cart.”

Later, as he lay with a heavy chest, unable to sleep, Alexander knew that it was not as easy as a walk in the fields to reconstruct your heart. If his life in the Soviet Union had taught him anything, it had taught him that. But he was going to try—after he had spoken to her. Everything would be easier to carry after he had spoken to her.

Alexander knew that before he had light instead of darkness, he had to deserve light instead of darkness. The time for him had obviously not come. He still had to earn his stars.

6

In the morning Mama asked Tatiana if she was pleased with herself. No, Tatiana replied. Not particularly.

After they had all left, she started to get ready to go to the hospital. There was a knock on the door, and when she opened it, she found Alexander standing outside.

“I can’t let you in,” Tatiana said, pointing to Zhanna Sarkova, who walked out of her room and stood in the corridor looking suspiciously at them. Anxiety and excitement mixed in equal measure inside Tatiana. She couldn’t let him inside, couldn’t close the door, not with Sarkova standing watching them, yet—

“Don’t worry,” Alexander said, striding in. “I’ve got a whole platoon waiting for me downstairs. We’re going to barricade the southeastern streets.” He paused. “Terrible news. Mga fell to the Germans yesterday.”

“Oh, no, not Mga.” Tatiana remembered Alexander’s words about the trains. “What does it mean for us?”

Alexander shook his head. “It’s the end. I just wanted to make sure you were all right after yesterday. And,” he said pointedly, “that you weren’t going to work.”

“I am.”

“Tatia, no.”

“Shura, I am.”

“No.” He raised his voice.

Glancing behind him, Tatiana said, “I want you to know that that woman is definitely going to say something to my family about you coming by. I guarantee it.”

“That’s why you’re going to give me my cap that I left here yesterday. During inspection this morning, I got fined. I need it.”

Tatiana left the door open while Alexander went into the bedroom to retrieve his cap.

“Please don’t go to the hospital,” he said, coming out and standing in the hallway.

“Alexander, I’m going crazy. All day, every day. In the hospital at least I’ll see some real suffering. It’ll cheer me up.”

“Your leg is never going to heal if you stand all day on it. You have a couple more weeks until the cast comes off. Go to work then.”

“I am not staying here for another two weeks—the only hospital they’ll put me in in two weeks will be a mental hospital!”

“I wish Kirov weren’t on the front line,” Alexander said softly. “You could go back to work there. I would meet you every day.” He paused. “Like I used to, remember?”

Did she remember?

Tatiana’s heart was pounding. But there was Sarkova standing in the corridor watching them through their open door.

Alexander muttered, “That’s it. I’m fed up,” and shut the door.

Tatiana opened her mouth and then closed it again. “Oh, no,” she said. “We’re in more and more trouble.”

He came closer to her.

She backed away from him.

Alexander took another step toward her. “How is your nose?”

“It’s fine. It’s not broken.”

“And how would you know?” He came closer.

She put her palms out. “Shura, please.”

There was a loud knock on the door. “Tanechka, are you all right?”

“Fine, thank you,” Tatiana called out.

The door knob turned, and Sarkova opened the door. “I just wanted to know if you’d like me to make you anything to eat.”

“No, thank you, Zhanna,” said Tatiana, keeping a straight face.

Sarkova glared at Alexander, who turned to Tatiana and rolled his eyes. Tatiana nearly burst out laughing.

“We were just leaving,” she said.

“Oh, where are you going?”

“Well, I’m going to work—”

Alexander whispered, “No you’re not.”

“And Lieutenant Belov is going to build barricades.”

Alexander turned to Zhanna. “Barricades, Comrade Sarkova,” he said, striding toward her. “Do you know what those are? Structures nearly three meters high by four meters thick, stretching for twenty kilometers.”

Sarkova backed away into the hall.

“And each barricade is supplied with eight machine-gun rests, ten antitank positions, thirteen mortar positions, and forty-six machine-gun points.”

“Oh.”

“That’s how we protect the city we love,” Alexander said, slamming the door.

Tatiana stood behind him shaking her head, a smile of delight on her face. “You’ve done it now.” She grabbed her bag. “Let’s go, barricade-builder.”

They went out, locking the door behind them and leaving Sarkova in the communal kitchen, grumbling into her tea.

As he was helping her down the stairs, Alexander took hold of her hand. Tatiana tried to pull away. “Alexander—”

“No.” He brought her to him on the stairwell landing.

Tatiana felt the rumbling inside her, the rumbling of wood crackling on the rack of fire. “Look,” she said, “I will ask Vera to put me to work in the hospital canteen. Maybe you can come for lunch?” She smiled. “I’ll serve you.”