Mother Land by Adam Mayle

Author:Adam Mayle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: family, communism, russia, revolution, adoption, cooking
Publisher: Adam Mayle

Chapter 20

Pete and Amy stayed with Sergei until mid-afternoon. Despite the rocky start, the meeting went more smoothly as the morning progressed and the wheels of acquaintance were greased by prolonged contact. To everyone’s relief, Kozyol left soon after the meeting began, excusing himself to attend to unspecified business. He was replaced by an attendant whose main qualification seemed to be an unqualified apathy, absorbed as she was by braiding her hair around her finger and humming to herself. Pete tried to ask her where he could get some water at one point. But she just shook her head. She did not understand a word he said and was not eager to try.

After the Director's departure, Sergei became more animated. He slid off the couch and staggered about the floor. He investigated corners of the room and peeked under the couch. When the attendant fell asleep in her chair, he untied her shoe laces. But his spirit of discovery did not translate into any particular interest in Pete or Amy. As he investigated the room, Pete and Amy, for lack of any better idea, introduced themselves again and again, repeating their names with such mind-numbing repetition that they might have been training a parrot. Oblivious to the couple on the couch, Sergei sat down in the center of the room, removed a shoe, and proceeded to push it around the floor.

With words getting them nowhere, Pete got off the couch and sat next to the boy, slipped off his own shoe and also pushed it around the floor. Although he was not playing with Sergei exactly, he was at least playing around him. Following Pete’s unorthodox example, Amy grabbed the tin of Altoids from her purse. She held the tin high and shook the curiously strong mints like a maraca. Responding to the rattle, Sergei made eye contact with Amy for the first time. And so, with the mediation of Pete’s shoe and Amy’s mints, they made a connection. Gradually, the foundations of familiarity were laid. Progress was made. But it was hard work. Amy found the hours of non-verbal cues, pantomimes, and mint tin percussion exhausting. She never realized how involved a bonding process could be.

The hours ticked by. Noon came and went. At one o’clock the attendant, who had been asleep since arriving, awoke. Her doe-like eyes flicked around the room as though she did not know where she was. She stood up and walked into the hall, her undone laces flopping on her shoes.

The attendant’s exit interrupted Pete and Amy’s parental groove. Amy started to fidget and look at her watch. Pete realized he had to pee. Sergei sat on the floor and vigorously gummed the Altoids tin.

"Amy, can you handle this for a few minutes?" Pete asked as he stood up. "I have to use the bathroom."

"Sure. By the way, when you’re out, if you seen anybody, ask them how long this is supposed to take. Maybe they forgot about us. I'm starting to get hungry."

Pete nodded.

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