Ruth stood in the doorway and watched as Zhanna Kovalev changed little Ben’s diaper. She sang a Russian folksong to him as she finished snapping his nightshirt then pulled him into her arms. When she turned and saw Ruth in the doorway, she smiled and said in her broken English, “Mama home.”

When Antoly Kovalev died in prison, Boris turned state’s witness. With his testimony, he managed to bring down the entire Kovalev empire on an international scale. Ruth and Victor were finally free -- free to reclaim their identities, and free to live without fear.

Zhanna lived with them in their Florida home, helping care for their children. They’d relocated to Gainesville. Ruth had contacted Ben, and they met him and his wife for lunch in a cafe near the hospital where Ruth worked. She felt such a relief in telling him the whole story, in having the opportunity to speak to him openly and honestly, even ten years later. The two couples had become good friends. They regularly visited each other and let their toddlers play while they worked on a shared ministry project.

Because of Victor’s father’s dealings with slavery and the sex trade, Ben had helped him and Zhanna set up a ministry to help those who had once been enslaved receive counseling and rebuild their lives. He had just begun his residency at the hospital’s psychiatric ward and had future plans to widen the reach of the ministry while Zhanna took English classes and went back to school to become a family counselor.

When an arm wrapped around her waist, she jumped in surprise only seconds before her husband’s scent reached her nose. She placed her palms on his forearm and leaned against his chest. Zhanna set Ben on the quilt on the ground and handed him his favorite little rubber dinosaur. Their little red-haired Zhanna, named for her grandmother, rushed toward them and threw her arms around Ruth’s legs. She laughed and picked her up, burying her face in her daughter’s curls.

As she did daily, Ruth thanked God for the way He had protected them, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, over the events of the last decade. She leaned back and rested her head against her husband’s chest. “It still amazes me, what God did,” she murmured.

“He had a plan all along,” Victor replied. He kissed the side of her neck. “Without us, Forty-Twenty-Nine wouldn’t be.”

They named their ministry after Isaiah 40:29, which read, “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might, He increases strength.” Her arms tightened around her daughter, and her eyes filled with tears at the sight of her precious son. At her weakest moment, God had given her the power to stand firm and stand up to the evil that tried to destroy her.

Sometimes, she had a hard time remembering living in fear, faithful Major at her side protecting her from forces he didn’t really understand, providing her the only security that would allow her to sleep at night. Now, as she looked around her home, she thought of the love that filled it and the peace and contentment contained in the walls. They would teach their children that they had the power to change the world because God would be beside them, increasing their strength.

Victor let her go and stepped away. “I need to start the grill. Ben and company will be here soon.” He tickled baby Zhanna, making her giggle and wiggle in her mother’s arms. Ruth laughed at the joy their daughter exhibited. Victor cupped her cheek and gave her a long, sweet kiss. When he stepped away, he said, “I love you.” He tapped Zhanna on the nose. “I love you, too, little girl. Want to help daddy cook fish?”

“Fish!” Zhanna yelled as she let Victor scoop her out of Ruth’s arms.

Ruth watched them go out onto the patio, then walked into the room and lowered herself onto the floor next to little Ben and his grandma. He tossed the toy down and crawled into her lap, happily babbling in his baby talk.

The End