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Her brothers all seemed to come in at about the same time, and he talked to them about farming. They were very interested in what farming was like in North Dakota. He asked them about farming here all their lives. Most of them had worked as farm labor since they got to this country in their late teens.
None of them had managed to scrape enough money together to buy land; it was just too high of a price for them with their large families. After talking to Alex, he had learned that the farm he had been so desperate to buy a few months before was cheap compared to what he was interested in buying. And he knew the man would never get enough money together for a down payment, no matter how many shifts he did at the dairy barn. Which might be why Tess had been silent that morning.
But mostly, he learned more about Tess. Most of the family called her Terezilya to her face, but when talking about her, they all called her Tess, mostly to distinguish her from all the other Terezilyas in the family. She had never noticed it. He had even met the sister-in-law with the same name, who Tess hated, but had given her a big hug since she was Tasha’s mother.
As Math watched Tess talk with everyone, he was surprised to learn she knew what was happening in everyone’s life, even living nine hours away. And they all hugged her upon seeing her and asked about the baby—they all knew. No one seemed to care that Tess was unmarried or that they didn’t know Math at all. They were all just happy for Tess.
To his surprise, they had told him about all the jobs Tess had while in high school. From farm labor to raising animals to sell for a profit. Alex even talked about the summer he and she had spent with Tess working at the dairy farm, milking cows twice a day. Then they would bale hay between milking. It was exactly like he had made her move weeks before, all so Alex could buy a wedding ring for Tasha, and she could pay for her senior year in high school.
Whenever one of the women came in with a baby, they always seemed to end up with Tess, who would carry it around until either the mother left or the baby fell asleep. Math didn’t know if they were doing it because Tess was pregnant or because Tess always did it. She didn’t seem to notice that it was happening.
By the time the surgery was done, he had lost track of everyone who had come and gone. He did know they were gathering at Ilya’s place since the hospital was too small for the entire family, but he was sure Ilya’s place was too small as well. So far, Tess had stayed in hopes of seeing her father. She’d already anticipated returning to Landstad as soon as she could.
Leaning back in his chair, he watched her. She was exhausted but would never admit it and would probably be mad if he pointed it out in front of her family. That made him smile. He was starting to see why she didn’t admit weakness. She must have noticed he was watching her because she turned to him and smiled back.
Walking his way, she said, “You must be bored here after so many hours. Did you want to go back to Tasha and Alex’s?”
Taking her hand when she was near enough, he pulled her onto his lap, “No, I’m learning everything there is to know about you.”
It surprised him when she went willingly. Her body settled into his as she rested her head on his shoulder and said quietly, “I cannot imagine there was anything interesting to learn about me.”
Encircling her with his arms, he admitted, “I don’t think I knew anything about you before we came here.”
He felt her sigh and start to pull away from him. “I understand.”
Math just held tight to her and replied, “I don’t think you do, Tess. I think that you are waiting for me to run away from here as fast as I can. But really, I see the real you, the one few get to enjoy. And I’m enjoying her as well.”
“I am always me,” she argued.
“Nope, but you are going to be. I want Terezilyaandthe bank president. I want them both.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, Mathias.” She finally pushed out of his arms, and he let her go since her sister was looking at them. So far, he hadn’t won over the older version of Tess, not like he had won over her mom. But her mom had been a marshmallow compared to her oldest daughter.
“This is who she is, under it all. You cannot change her.” Ilya had walked up on him while he watched Tess walk away.
“I don’t want to change her; her life has made her who she is. I like who she is.”
“Why?” Ilya demanded in her thick accent.
“She is different.” He used the word that everyone used for her, a word that said everything and nothing at the same time.
“She’s been that way ever since she was a baby. When she was four and dying, I promised that I would let her be whatever she wanted to be if she lived. When she lived, I kept that promise. I helped her when I could: get into that school and found her jobs that paid well. Because she was different and was not going to be happy here. Will she be happy with you?” Ilya demanded, her eyes searching his for the truth.
“I hope so. I want her to be who she is,” he admitted as he watched her talk to her mom.
“Good, she needs to be happy.” Ilya smiled for the first time at him.
“What was she dying of?” he asked. She had just glossed over the statement, though it had made Math’s blood run cold that she had ever been in danger.
“Starvation, she still eats little. You have to make sure she eats,” Ilya stated.
He knew she had still been in Russia when it happened, that it had affected her even today. He knew it was the reason she sends money to those that need it, so they don’t feel the hunger she has felt in her life.
Before long, the entire group left heading to Ilya’s place to eat. The small house was full of people and food, some he had never seen and some he saw at every family event he had attended. As Math followed Tess through the line, he tried to take everything she took so that he could try it. But some things, he wasn’t brave enough to try. Finding a place to eat was tricky, so they sat under a tree with her leaning into him.
As they ate, she told him what they were eating, and what things he hadn’t taken, she let him try. When their plates were empty, Ilya brought out desserts to them. He now saw it as an effort to get her sister to eat more. And this time, it worked.
Tess might think no one would notice if she stopped coming here, but he could tell she was missed when she was gone. There was no way her family would let her just drift away without a fight.
