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Dania sat beside her father and watched him snore during the long night. Dr. Skornick wanted him to go to the hospital, but the stubborn, old Russian was not going back to Newton-Wellesley Hospital unless he was dead. Even though Dania had battled her father, Boris was determined not to go. Dr. Skornick given up arguing, left some pills to help clear his chest of smoke, and told her he’d be back.
It was almost daylight on Saturday morning when Dania finally drifted off for a couple hours. She woke to hammering on her door and stumbled to the door, half asleep.
“Lieutenant Gillespie, back so soon?” Dania sighed resigned to having the police in her life forever it would seem. "Come in. I’ll put the coffee on.”
Boris stirred at the commotion. “What’s all the noise? Can’t a man die in peace?” Boris moaned, holding his head from the hangover. “Dania, get me some aspirin. My head is exploding.”
He sat up and saw Gillespie sitting at the small table. “Ju back again?” He grumbled, swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “Oh, my God, what did I do last night? I don’t remember a thing. Dania, why am I in ju’r place and not mine? Where is that aspirin . . . and get me coffee, too!”
Dania placed the aspirin bottle in her father’s hands along with a glass of water. She put a cup of coffee on the table near his bed. Fumbling with the aspirin bottle,
he managed to get a couple pills out and choked them down with the water. He drank it all and handed the empty glass and aspirin bottle back to her. “I feel better knowing relief is coming. So, Gillespie, what brings ju back to see us this time? Can’t leave us alone?”
“How much of last night do you remember, Koslov?” asked the lieutenant.
“Let’s see. I was playing cards with Hugo and Tevia in the afternoon. We were sharing a bottle of vodka. The vodka hit me hard. Never since I was a young fool in Russia did it hit me so quick. I went back to my trailer, Hugo came with me and we talked for a bit. That’s all I remember. Did something happen to Hugo or Tevia? Tell me! What’s going on?” he coughed.
“Last night a fire destroyed your trailer. You barely made it out alive. Dania’s friend Michael got you out just before the gas heater blew up,” Gillespie informed him. Boris can only stare at him in disbelief.
“How did it catch fire?” Boris asked, afraid of the answer.
“We think the propane heater was on. A blanket and a smashed vodka bottle were found. It was a recipe for fire.”
Boris held his head in his hands trying to remember.
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“I could not have turned on the heater. At least I don’t think I did.” Boris massaged his sore head. “No, I didn’t turn it on. I passed out. Ju can ask Hugo.”
Koslov’s mind is going over as much as he can remember of the previous night. Hugo was in his trailer . . . going to bed . . . Suddenly, the splintering crash of the vodka bottle bursts through the haze. Hugo had broken the bottle and set everything up to look like an accident. What an old fool he was to have trusted Hugo. He’ll take care of him and maybe Tevia too. He coughed again.
“We need to question Hugo and Tevia and see if they saw anything,” the lieutenant said.
“Dania, I know we got your statement last night, but have you remembered anything since we talked?”
“There is something Hugo said . . . ,” Dania hesitated, thinking. “When I went for help, I stopped at Hugo’s trailer first. It’s the closest. He wasn’t there, so I went and got Tevia. Tevia rang the fire alarm. Afterwards, I saw Hugo coming from behind the trailers. I asked him where he’d been, and he said he was at Sullivan’s all evening. He lied. Michael and I were at Sullivan’s and didn’t see him there. Jack Sullivan locked up as we left. Why would Hugo lie about where he was? He couldn’t have been coming from Sullivan’s.”
“Hugo’s been with me for years, ever since Russia. His mother was my sister, “ boris said, “His father died before he was born, and my sister ran away from the circus where we were performers. Later, I heard she had a son but had died. I went to find her son. He was in an orphanage when I found him. I took him with me to have a better life. Hugo has been like a son to me. He was going to take over the business from me someday.” Boris tried to stand then slumps back down on the bed, coughing badly, the smoke from last night still affecting his lungs. Dania rushed for the medicine the doctor left. The coughing worries her.
Lieutenant Gillespie stood, his head almost touching the low ceiling. “I’ll see what Tevia and Hugo have to say and leave you two to rest.”
She walked him to the door, “Thank you Lieutenant.”
“Dania, if you remember anything else, or just want to talk, you have my number.”
****
Sitting at the breakfast table that morning, Michael was on his second cup of coffee. The family was gathered round listening intently while he told them what happened the night before.
“I can’t get over it. You’re a hero!” Christopher exclaimed. His brother Michael was now ten feet tall in his eyes.
“Did you get grilled by the cops?” Frank asked. He is obsessed with the current gangster movies. George Raft was a favorite of his, much to his mother’s dismay.
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“I’m not a hero, and I didn’t get grilled by the cops. I just did what needed to be done and then gave a statement to the police.”
“Ma says you invited your friend Dania to Sunday lunch,” Ellen said, helping to clear the dishes from the table. Ellen leaned over and whispered in Michael’s ear. “Ma said I can ask Tony, too.”
“You’re kidding,” Michael whispered back is shock.
“Quit dawdling, you lot. Michael, take your brothers and make a pen for the chickens between the two sheds down back. That pen they’re in now has flooded, and the chickens will have to learn to swim if they stay there. Ellen, you can help in the garden during this break from the rain. We need to pick some of the vegetables while we can.”
“I heard the weather report on the radio last night,” Donal said. “There’s a storm off the coast moving this way. They’re saying it’s a hurricane and pushing all the rain in front of it. We’re in for some high winds and more rain before it’s over. They can’t say where it’s going yet.”
One by one they went about the day’s chores. Ellen pulled on her boots and jacket and went to pick vegetables. Michael gave Christopher and Frank a list of supplies to gather for the new pen. Moira finished the breakfast dishes and poured Donal another cup of coffee. He was feeling much better these last few days and was spending more time in the kitchen with her and the children. Moira was glad of his company again. She no longer worried so much about him, and the children had their Da back.
Moira was drying her hands on a towel. “I think we’ll use the dining room tomorrow for lunch. We’ll need the extra room. We’ll set it up after church.” A far away look in her eyes. Moira was looking at a changing future.
“You’re up to something, my love, inviting a Russian fortuneteller and a young Italian boy to Sunday lunch.” Donal tapped his chin. “Are you going to grill them? Try to see what their intentions are?” he laughed.
“Yes, in a way,” she admitted, taking a seat at the kitchen table. “This Dania; we know nothing about her. Michael fancies her, and I’m worried. She’s not what I wanted for him. She’s Russian. Is she Catholic? She’s part of a carnival. What kind of life has she had? The police are involved. I want to know what and who he’s getting mixed up with. For all we know she might have killed Johnny Russo.” She said ringing the towel with her hands.
“Now you’re just borrowing trouble. I don’t believe for a second that Michael would be involved with her if he thought she was capable of something like that.”
“I’m not so sure.” Moira said, worry etched on her face.
“You did a good job raising him. Now just sit back and see how well it took.” Donal cautioned her.
Moira looked out the window at the overcast sky. “You say there’s a storm heading our way?”
“You know they can never tell about a hurricane. They usually veer off at the last minute, and we will all worried for nothing.”
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“At least the chickens won’t drown in their new pen. Although, if it keeps raining like it has, we won’t be able to put them in the new pen anyway. Frank and Christopher will have to keep them in the shed until the rains stop.” Moira said. “What’s left in the vegetable garden will be ruined as well. The potatoes are going bad, along with the lettuce. Even the winter squash will have to be pulled up early.”
“We’ll save what we can,” he said, reaching across the table. Taking her calloused and worn hand in his he gives it a gentle comforting squeeze. He remembers a time when her hands were young and soft before the work of raising a family took its toll.
“I’ll have Christopher and Frank help in the garden this afternoon. Do you think you might be able to watch over them while they do it? If it’s not raining cats and dogs, that is.”
“Sure, I can,” he patted her hand. “I can get up and down the path. I only need to tell them what to pick. They can do all the bending and lifting.” Donal was happy to be useful again.
After supper Tony called around for Ellen. He stood there in the kitchen, eyes down, running his hat through his hands. Moira and Donal are getting used to the idea of Ellen dating an Italian. Tony asked if he can take Ellen out for ice cream, and they agreed. The couple hurried off before Moira could change her mind.
Christopher and Frank got into a wild game of dominos with Donal. Moira rocked away in her chair and enjoyed listening to their laughter as she works on an
afghan. She smiled softly wishing every night could be this peaceful. Wondering how many more night she would have her children around her.
****
“I’ve been talking to my folks about you,” Tony confessed, walking with Ellen’s hand in his. “They know I’ve been going over to your house, but I never told them about how I want to marry you some day. Mom knew even before I did that I loved you. How do mothers do that, I wonder? She’s a lot like your mother. I think you’ll like her, and she’ll like you if you get to know each other. She said she’ll have to teach you how to make sauce and some of the Italian dishes.”
“This is hard on both sets of parents. I know they want what’s best for us. Michael said things will work out. I have to believe him.” Ellen hooks her arm in Tony’s and rests her head on his shoulder for a minute.
When they get to the ice cream parlor, all the booths are full. They take two seats at the counter, and their private moment is lost.
After supervising the building of the new chicken pen, Michael headed down Bottle Alley to see Dania. He splashed through puddles along Adams Street toward the fairgrounds beside Our Lady’s church and school. He saw that lights are on in Dania’s trailer. It’s a dismal afternoon, but no rain. Only the thought of seeing her again could drag him out on such a cold and miserable day.
Dania smiled warmly as she greeted him at the door. Stepping in, Michael hung up his coat and hat and sat at the kitchen table.
“Where’s your father tonight?” Michael asked, pleased to have time alone with her now that her father had moved in. He would like to kiss her and never stop, but their time alone has always been so brief. He is afraid . . . no, he knows his heart will break when she leaves.
“He walked to Sullivan’s with Tevia and Hugo,” Dania set coffee on the stove to boil. “I didn’t want him out in this night chill because of his cough, but Hugo and Tevia talked him into it.”
“Dania, I’m worried about your father. I don’t think the fire was an accident, and we both know Hugo was not at Sullivan’s like he said.”
“Tevia and Hugo have been acting strangely, and they’re avoiding me. Even Papa seems to be hiding something.” Daria confessed. “They are hiding something. I know it.”
They sat and talked, mostly about the events of the last few days. They heard shouting. A loud argument outside disturbs their quiet conversation.
“Don’t tell me what I can and cannot do,” Boris Koslov shouted. “I still own this carnival, and I will do what I think is best. My daughter will not be dragged into this.
The man stumbled up the stairs and fell through the door.
“Hello, what a pleasant night . . . tonight,” Koslov said, looking up at Dania from the floor. He wore a drunken grin, but when he saw Michael, his smile quickly fades.
Struggling to get up, Koslov mumbled, “Ju still sniffing around, huh, chuccuo? My daughter is not for the likes of ju!”
“That’s not fair,” Dania closed the door behind him. “You’d be dead if Michael had not saved your worthless life.”
“Ah, cuya moi,” Koslov shouted, pushing her out of his way. He staggered past them and fell, face first on his bed, snoring immediately.
“I’d better go. Looks like you may have your hands full tonight.” Michael grabbed his coat and hat. “Dania, my mother has invited you and your father to lunch tomorrow. May I come by around one o’clock to pick you up? Ellen’s Tony is coming as well.”
“That would be nice. I’m sorry he was so rude. The drink makes him that way.” A blush of embarrassment crossed her cheeks.
“Don’t worry, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Michael said. He slapped his hat on his head and stepped out into the early dark. All the way home, shuffling through the wet leaves and fallen branches, I thought of Dania and his mother. Please God let them like each other.