Katerina answers before anyone else can. “They already ordered.”
“Do I trust your choices?”
“No.”
“Good,” I say to the waiter. “Bring them fries.”
Katerina turns to me. “Absolutely not.”
Sofia gasps. “Absolutely yes.”
“See?” I tell Katerina. “I’m building trust.”
“You’re building rebellion.”
“Children need goals.”
Nikolai looks at me as if weighing whether that sentence is useful enough to keep.
Arkady decides this is his moment to recover his dignity.
“It’s good to see a man so comfortable around children,” he says.
I turn my head and look at him.
The table goes quiet.
He smiles, but the smile is working too hard.
I say, “Is it?”
“Yes, well.” He clears his throat. “Not everyone has the temperament.”
Katerina reaches for her glass too quickly and nearly knocks it over. I catch it before it spills.
Our fingers brush for half a second.
She pulls back as if I burned her.
Arkady tries again. “Katerina was just telling us how much she enjoys the pier.”
Katerina turns to him with a level stare. “Was I?”
Vika cuts in, smiling too brightly. “She meant the children enjoy it.”
“Did I?” Katerina says again.
This time even Sofia notices the strain and looks between the adults with the fascinated alertness of a child who knows a fight has started and hopes it becomes memorable.
I decide to help.
“Arkady,” I say, “how long have you known Sergei?”
He blinks at the change in direction. “Years.”
“How many?”
“Ten. More, perhaps.”
