Selene looks nervous, but she leaves with the women, calling the twins along with her.
Once Selene is out of earshot, I tell Matvei the basics. Adrian and Trifon are standing with Egor close by, listening in with curiosity and varying degrees of concern on their faces. I speak in hushed tones, filling them in on who she is and my concern about her father, and not knowing why she is running. I don’t tell them everything. I don’t know everything, and I want them to treat her with as much respect as possibly while I try to work things out.
Matvei grinds his jaw as he listens. Adrian and Trifon look less angry and more curious. I purposefully leave out my worry about her being a spy all those years ago. But Matvei is sharp, as always, and draws his own conclusions.
“We have to question her,” Matvei says when I am done. “We need to interrogate her.”
“Matvei,” I say sternly. “That is themotherof mychildren.”
“Children you didn’t even know you had. How can you even be sure they’re yours?” he snaps. “She could have lied about…”
Adrian scoffs, “Um, did yousee them?I seriously doubt we need to be wasting time asking whether or not they’re Volkov blood.”
Matvei sighs heavily and pushes his hand through his hair. “Fine, they look like Volkov children. Fine. But we need to question her.”
He stares pointedly at me.
“You mayaskher questions, Matvei. But you may notinterrogateher.”
His mouth pulls tight, but he nods. “Let’s go eat,” he says.
We are all seated around the summer dinner table outside on the patio. It’s a beautiful afternoon, the sky is still bright, and the sun isn’t ready to set yet.
Kids are running all over the garden, including mine, my twins, who are playing happily with their cousins.
Matvei is talking to Selene. And it’s tense.
It’s not an interrogation, that much I can see. He’s being diplomatic about it, gentler than I’ve seen him being before. But he’s also being thorough.
Selene looks uncomfortable. But she is answering as best she can, from what I can tell.
Adrian, Egor, and Trifon are throwing the occasional question into the mix as well. I hate this for her. I understand why it’s necessary, but I hate it.
I am so relieved when Sofie stands up and waves her hand over the finished dinner plates and declares, “Alright, you’ve had your turn with her. It’s our turn to get to know her now.”
“I agree. And I need help getting the desert together anyway. Come on, Selene, let’s leave these boys to their own devices and take a break from… all of this,” she gestures over my brothers.
Matvei raises his brows at her in warning, and she tilts her head to the side, shooting a look back that saysI dare you.And he doesn’t dare.
He nods politely, smiles, and says, “Thank you for answering our questions, Selene.”
Selene smiles tightly. “I hope I answered to your satisfaction,” she says, a little defensive, but trying to be polite.
Once the girls have whisked her away, I turn to look at Matvei. “That was harsher than I would have liked,” I say.
“But there are reasons to be skeptical about things, Simon. There are reasons for us to need to be more aggressive when questioning her.”
We talk back and forth about the potential threat she brings, and I continue to defend her.
When the girls come back in carrying a peppermint crisp tart and ice cream, the men fall silent. The woman is laughing. Even Selene looks more relaxed now.
They set down dessert for the men at the table and carry their bowls to the garden, where they stand, eat, and watch the kids, still talking and laughing.
The sight of her surrounded by my sisters, my family, suddenly has my heart doing somersaults. It’s a sight I have dreamed about without knowing how badly I wanted it. I can picture it so clearly now. Every family dinner involves her. She sits at my side. She smiles and leans into me. Our children laugh and play, and she is a part of this family. My heart aches for this.
But my mind is a quiet voice of reason. I don’t trust her fully. I don’t know what her intentions are or were in the past. I can’t let myself get carried away in these daydreams until I have the truth.
Chapter8 - Selene
