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Tata shut the back door finally with a sigh, then settled into a seat at the table.“You can imagine how much I enjoy that.”
They all laughed.Nacha handed Mama and Tata plates and began spooning eggs and pancakes onto them.
“I think it helps,” Mama said with a wink at the boys.
Nacha had taken to calling her “Mama”, just as Jan did, after she and Jan were married, at Waltrina’s insistence.It was second nature now.And she’d realised that all along she’d thought of Waltrina as her mother for a long time.She was so grateful to have her as a mother-in-law.
They ate together, regaling each other with tales of their new lives.Where Mama had gone for a walk.How Tata wanted to get a dog.The fact that Jan still struggled to use English phrases when dealing with customers.Nacha suggested he join some social groups and clubs to hone his language skills.She’d found picking up the language much easier than he had, although she was still fairly limited in what she could say.
“I’m not joining a club.I’m too busy,” he replied.
And she had to admit he was right.He had the fruit shop to run, as well as a business he’d established with Walter, who now lived in Austria.They imported and exported items into and out of the Soviet Union through Austria.Jan would fly to Austria later in the year for one of their cross-border trips.
Nacha referred to it as their smuggling operation, since it was done in secret, and Jan would wink at her and tell her he’d never stop carrying supplies over heavily guarded walls to the people who needed them—it was in his blood.The Iron Curtain was just another fence he could scale, and the thrill of not getting caught still brought a smile to his face.
It was a profitable enterprise, and one that ate up all his spare time.Not to mention the family commitments—he was an involved father and loved spending time with her and the boys.
When breakfast was over, Nacha carried a handful of plates into the kitchen and set them on the sink.She stopped still for a moment and looked around their unit.It was small, but bright.They’d been gifted a number of items of used furniture through the local refugee centre.And they had managed to find clothes, toys and other goods cheaply at charity stores throughout the surrounding suburbs.
Andrew was enrolled at the local preschool and attended two days per week.He loved it there and was already speaking English with a thick accent, enough that the preschool staff could understand him and he them.Life was good—far better than she could ever have imagined a little over a decade earlier.
Tata and Mama had taken the boys out to the backyard to play with a new soccer ball they’d brought with them.She returned to the table to get the rest of the plates and Jan grabbed her from behind, then pulled her into his lap.
She pretended to struggle, and fell against his strong chest.He kissed her, his eyes gleaming.
“You get more beautiful every day.”
She blushed.“You always say that.”
“It’s true.How did I get so lucky to find you when I was only a boy?”
She shrugged.“It’s hard to believe.”
“We made it,” he whispered, kissing the tip of her nose.“We have a new life for ourselves and our boys.They’ll never know the struggles we’ve endured.”
She looked out the back door at the small yard beyond the stairs and car park.Tata kicked the ball gently to Andrew while Mama pushed George around on a tricycle.“They’re very blessed.”
His arms were her safe place.She nestled into his warmth and let her head rest against his chest.There was no other place she’d rather be.Imagining a future with him here was something she could finally do again.
She’d given up dreaming and hoping for so many years.The struggle for survival was all consuming.But now she could dream again.And her dream was of him and their family living in this land for as long as they had breath in their lungs.
