She didn’t say anything to this for which he was grateful. He certainly didn’t want her to think he was a ‘mummy’s boy’, though maybe it was worse to be the sort of person who didn’t mention his family at all, at a time like this. Everyone probably behaved very differently in war time.
‘Okay,’ she said, ‘I have something to ask you. I’m pretty sure that Peter will say yes, but it will only work out if you agree to do it too. In other words, you have to say “yes”!’
He gulped back that very word, knowing he should at least wait for her question or he would look as desperate as his five-year-old charge. How could she know that he was incapable of ever saying the opposite to her?
She continued on, ‘The thing is, Mother is getting worse instead of better. So much so, that I don’t like leaving her alone.’
Yuri nodded expectantly, wondering if she wanted him to bring her mother out for walks with Peter.
Tanya sighed. ‘It’s just that I’m needed to work more hours at the factory.’
‘Would they take me on?’
His question surprised them both. Raising her eyebrows, she said slowly, ‘Well, now, I’m not sure. We’re probably too busy to train in anyone new.’
He blushed. At least she didn’t tell him he was too young.
‘And, anyway,’ she continued, ‘what would Peter do?’
Yuri blushed even deeper; it cannot have looked good that he could forget all about her former neighbour, the neighbour who was now regarding him with a worried look. Yuri sighed. ‘It’s alright, Peter, I’m not going anywhere.’
Tanya seemed to understand his ego was a little crushed. ‘But I’ll let you know, if they change their mind.’
Yuri nodded and thanked her for her kindness, if nothing else. He knew she must have noticed his limp and he felt ashamed. Maybe she thought him too weak for physical work.
In actual fact, Tanya had paid no attention to Yuri’s legs, being much too absorbed in finding a solution to her own problem. ‘Now,’ she began again, ‘the reason I was looking for you is that I’ve been thinking about Mother, and it seems to me that the only sensible thing to do is have you and Peter come live with us. That way I know Mother has company, leaving me free to do what I have to do.’
Peter gasped a breathless, ‘Yes!’ While Yuri had to stop himself from leaping into the air. Hoping to come across as mature and calm, he kept his face serious and asked, ‘Are you sure? I mean, won’t your mother mind?’ He didn’t hear her answers, but she must have said ‘yes’ followed by ‘no’, because then she said that they should meet her when she finished her shift and go back with her that very evening.
‘There’s no point in waiting any longer. I presume you’ve no suitcases or furniture to bring with you. I hope not,’ she grinned, ‘because there won’t be much room for much else when the four of us are home together.’
Home! Yuri hadn’t heard that word in so long.
They arranged to meet her at the doorway a little after 7pm and said goodbye. Now all the boys had to do was keep busy and stay safe until then. It was the first time in ages that they had something to do at a particular time and, for some reason, it made the day even longer than usual. As they walked, Peter, who was normally happy enough to be without a particular destination in mind, asked where they were going, as if there were plenty of choices in the matter.
Yuri, feeling wonderfully cheerful, asked him in return, ‘Where would you like to go… and don’t say the statue of the dancing children?’
The way Peter pursed his lips made Yuri believe that he had guessed exactly what he had been about to say.
Hearing shouts in the distance, they veered off in another direction. ‘What did you do before the war, Peter? You can’t have looked at the statue every single day.’
The child was quiet for a few minutes and then said, ‘I went to school and then Larissa and me would go to her house to play. She let me go on her bike and then Mama would collect me for my dinner.’
It was the most Yuri had ever heard him say in one go.
‘Who’s Larissa?’
Peter looked bashful and tried not to smile, which made Yuri laugh.
‘Is she your girlfriend?’
Peter shrugged a baby shrug, ‘Yes.’
Yuri was in a giddy mood. ‘Are you going to marry her?’
Not appreciating that Yuri was getting so much fun out of what he was saying, Peter frowned a little as he said, ‘Yes, and we’re going to live on a farm, with lots of horses and dogs. And I’m going to drive a tractor.’
It sounded like a wonderful plan to Yuri, and he said as much, though he didn’t think that Peter believed he was sincere. They walked on in silence for a while until Peter’s curiosity forced him to ask, ‘Are you going to get married?’
Yuri guffawed, ‘You’re the first person ever to ask me that.’
The young boy looked pleased with himself, taking this as a compliment.
Yuri rubbed his nose. ‘I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it, but I suppose I will, one day.’
Peter asked an obvious question, ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’
Yuri detected a hint of smugness in his tone; that even though he was the oldest Peter had something he didn’t have. It was his turn to frown as he said somewhat gruffly, ‘Not yet!’ This sounded a lot better than just saying a plain ‘No!’ Then Yuri thought of another question: ‘Er… does Tanya have a boyfriend?’
The look the five-year-old gave him made him feel quite small and quite, quite silly.
‘Oy! You two!’ It wasn’t a shout, more like a loud whisper.
Yuri stopped suddenly; it was bewildering to hear a voice come out of nowhere. Holding out his hand for Peter to take, he was horribly aware of just how exposed they were, standing in the middle of what used to be a street.
The speaker must have had the very same thought since he snapped, ‘Get over here! Do you want to get yourselves shot?’
Two Russian soldiers appeared from behind a window, or what used to be a window, really it was just an empty square-shaped hole in the wall. Hoping he appeared a lot braver than he felt, to Peter, at least, Yuri approached them cautiously.
The taller one, whose face was so grimy that it made his teeth and eyes glisten like precious jewels, cocked his head at Peter, and asked, ‘How old is he?’
Peter’s hand tightened in his as Yuri stammered out, ‘He’s five.’
The soldier’s partner grunted, ‘He’s small enough, sir. A perfect fit, I’d say!’
Yuri gazed at him, wondering what he meant by ‘A perfect fit’.
The first soldier, seeing the boy’s fearful expression, put his hand on Yuri’s shoulder, ‘We need to borrow your little friend, comrade. We’ve a very important job for him to do. Is that alright?’
What could he say to this? Besides, before Yuri could say anything, the man had crouched down in front of Peter and asked him, ‘What is your name, friend?’
Peter’s reply was barely heard by any of them.
The soldier stood up again, telling them to follow him inside so that he could explain the situation to them, adding, ‘We don’t have much time.’
Yuri recognised the building, it used to be a bank – although no one would have guessed it because of the state it was in. The entire roof seemed to be lying on the floor like a crumpled blanket. Fortunately it wasn’t raining. Inside there were seven or eight other soldiers, sprawled across bricks and sharing out some bread and cigarettes.
‘This is our headquarters, for today.’ The friendlier of the two soldiers smiled. He called over to the group, ‘Private Guriev, bring over some of that food. I have two hungry boys here.’
‘Yes, sergeant!’
They were handed a thick, uneven cut of bread, along with two mouthfuls worth of sausage. What a feast! Neither of them had eaten meat in a long, long time. The sergeant watched them gulp down the meal. Once they had finished, it was down to business.