«I made it myself.» Hannah said proudly, taking the doll out and trustfully handing it to Marina.
«Wow!» Marina took the toy.
Megan smiled. «Honey? We’re going, okay?»
«Bye, mom!» Hannah did not even look at her mother. She addressed Marina excitedly. «Have you ever seen such a beauty? Her name is Lola. She’s a princess.»
«Then we shell made a crown for her,» suggested Marina, and Megan quietly left.
* * * * *
David would have not thought about Marina, but Megan talked about her all the way to the city, and even during the play. The image of Marina involuntarily appeared in his mind, disturbing and worrying him.
He recalled how she flung herself towards him, there in the laboratory. «Why?» he thought, and was afraid to allow himself honestly to admit the reason.
* * * * *
Two weeks later when the VanSteins organized a picnic, David, as an adviser of Vlad Lapin, invited him, with his wife Nina and daughter Larisa.
With delight Hannah looked at the big beautiful bows that decorated Larisa’s pigtails. Nina Lapina brought the same for her, but Hannah did not like to tie her hair, so she refused. Seeing how Nina got upset about that, Megan VanStein took the bows and said thanks.
«I’ll try later,» she assured Nina, and the girls moved aside, still assessing each other.
Larisa was five and younger than Hannah, so Hannah looked down on her. But Larisa’s timidity touched her young hostess, and Hannah recalled that her parents had told her to be polite.
«My Lola is a princess.» Hannah showed Larisa her doll with the crown that Marina helped to make.
«My Margarita is a police officer.» Larisa held up her Barbie.
After her time talking with Marina, Hannah had accustomed herself to understanding Russian people, but Larisa spoke with barely an accent anyway. Hannah looked at the Barbie with skepticism. «If she’s a policewoman why is she not wearing a uniform?»
«She’s not on duty,» retorted Larisa. «She’s a guest.»
Hannah accepted the explanation, and the girls started to play together. They seated the dolls around the toy table and put candy on their plates.
«It will be a tea party,» suggested Hannah. Larisa did not argue.
Nina Lapina did not speak English well, so she could not keep up conversation for long, and when more guests arrived she moved close to Marina Aleksandrova.