Prologue



- Where are we going, mum? – Ivan asked when they were way out of the city.

- West, – she said, - We’re playing pioneers. We’ll meet numerous hardships on our way. We might get lost in the prairies. We might have to fight the Indians. But we’ll be fine in the end.

- How do you know?

- I just know.





She still couldn’t believe it. Walking with him to the garage, watching as he pushed the button on the wall to pull the garage door upwards. Then he walked past his Jaguar and a jeep to an old Toyota Corolla, opened its trunk, hurriedly walked to her car and started to take her belongings from there to pack them in Corolla. She didn’t say a word until he finished packing, closed the trunk and came up to her.

- Here you are. The keys.

He had to unlock her fist to put the keys there.

- What are you talking about? – She said as if waking up from a dream.

- You can keep the car. I’ll get rid of yours.

- What are you talking about? – She repeated in disbelief. She came to his place because she was sure to find comfort and help. She had told him everything. She had been crying when she parked at his house. She never knew her sister-in-law’s husband was a drug dealer. Didn’t he understand that if she had known she would have never come to stay with her sister in America?

- Yelena, don’t pretend you don’t understand. You have Russian mafia on your trail. You have to go.

- No, Bill, wait. It is not what you think… Listen… - she had to try once again. One more attempt to explain the obvious, - Listen, they are not after me! They don’t know me. I have nothing to do with all that.

- Neither do I. And I hope to stay well out of it. Yelena. Just go.

- Listen, they are not on my trail! Bill, they don’t care who the hell I am! You can’t do that to me.

- I’m helping you. If you haven’t noticed. That’s all I can do. Wait, one more thing…

He took a wallet of is pocket. - I haven’t got much cash. Not much use of it, cards everywhere anyway…Here - he said producing three hundred dollar banknotes from the wallet. – All I have at the moment.

- Wait. We’re engaged. We’re supposed to get married!

Now she saw him losing his temper, his face getting red as he started shouting at her.

- I didn’t propose to a relative of a Russian gangster! Do you want to ruin my life?! I have a life of my own, my practice, my patients! I don’t want any shooting around! Fuck you, Russians! You come to this country to kill and destroy, fucking shit, they should close this county to any dirty immigrants!

- What?!

He stopped in his tracks.

- Ok, ok, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean it.

- Oh, no, you did.

She turned and walked into the house to take the kids. If not for them she would never plead with him. If not for them she would never take neither his damn car nor his damn money.





The old Corolla broke down in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. She took it for a sign.