by Terri Dixon
"So, doesn't anybody monitor Peter's podcasts and so forth?" I asked.
“I don’t think that they want to worry about what Peter’s doing. At least they weren't until you showed up,” Steve said. “They’re much more worried about it now that you are running around their country. People here are restless. They want change. They haven’t heard any good new ideas. That’s why so many of them are talking about going back to the ways of old.” He paused and thought for a second. “I don’t know that I think it would be best. I’ve studied what happened under the Tsars for most of my life. I don’t think that people are aware enough of what that time was like. It doesn’t seem that it was any better than it is now. They have that grass is always greener on the other side of the fence problem around here.”
“So, you don’t want to run me into the Kremlin and put a crown on my head?” I asked. “Good, because the thought of it is staggering.”
“Now, there’s where you’re wrong.” Steve commented. “You are the wildcard. You’re the Romanov, this is true. The thing is, you’re not the kind of Tsar that was here a hundred and fifty years ago. You’re an American. You come here with all the beliefs that are instilled in the private citizens of your country. You don't even have the perception of a politician from the U.S. You have a different way of life. You could bring this place the real change that it needs. You, my dear, are that one in a million lottery ticket that most of the world is always waiting for.”
“So, the only reason that you want a Tsar, is because I’m American?” I asked.
“If you’d come from the , I wouldn’t be half as interested.” He said. “, , , , any of them would have made you an unattractive choice as a rule. It would still depend on what class of person it was. You just happen to come from the one place that most other folks around the world would like to be from. They want your lifestyle. I’m thinking that if we had one of you as a legitimate Russian Royal, we could live more like you do. You would, after all have the power to bring your ideals to the table and put them into action. It would be all up to you.”Middle EastAfricaSouth America
I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t think that my life was so great. I realized that I didn’t know anything about life in other countries, but how bad could it be? I knew that the things I saw on TV were awful. Maybe some of that stuff was true. I was beginning to wonder which things I saw on television were real and which ones were fantasies. I felt that I should travel more, not less, in order to figure it all out. My mother would have a heart attack if I did something like that.
Out of the blue, the phone rang. I hadn’t heard one of the old fashioned old time bells since my grandmother had been going deaf before she’d died. It was loud, and it scared me. I only heard it once. I figured that Tish had picked it up somewhere else in the house. A couple of minutes later, Tish came barreling into the kitchen.
“Who let my grandson take off this morning?” She demanded.
“No one, Tish.” Steve answered her. “He’s a big boy. He didn’t ask my permission. Why?”
“Did he say where he was going?” She demanded. “Did he say when he thought he would be back?”
“No, why?”
“That was the university.” Tish said to Steve. “The detective administration sent some men out there today and confiscated everything from the girls’ room. That was Dr. Rostov on the phone. He said that he’d seen all of you on last night and thought you might be here. He wanted you to know that the police and the detective administration men are combing the city looking for all of you. He doesn’t know if they’re looking for Peter yet, but I’m sure they will be soon.”
I suddenly felt like I wanted to throw up. That was too much. I couldn’t take any more of the cloak and dagger political uprising crap. I didn’t want to be a Romanov. I wanted to hurl. I got up, ran to the bathroom down the hall and puked. When I got back, no one looked surprised that I’d gotten sick.
Tish watched me for a moment as I came back into the room. “Are you done now?” She asked me sarcastically. “This is no time to lose your nerve. We have a real problem here. Now, I’m not losing any more people around here to political issues. I’ve had enough of that. Steve, go get my truck, and go into town to the lab and bring Peter back here. I am sure that is where he went to. Whatever he’s doing, it’s too late now. We have to figure out what to do with these girls.”
“What did she mean by losing people to political issues?” Tania leaned over and whispered to me.
Tish heard her. “My son was hung in and my husband was rammed by a streetcar during the August Coup. Is there anything else I can tell you?” She snapped at Tania.Red Square
“N-no.” Tania stammered. “I’m sorry.”
Tish fell into the chair that was left between me and Tania at the table. “I did nothing those times. I stayed out of it like they told me to. I’ll never do that again. I won’t lose Peter like that.” She glanced at Steve. “What did I tell you?” She yelled at him. “I said, go and get him!”
Steve jumped up out of his chair. “Yes sir, I mean maam.” He said. Then he looked at her for a second. “If you want me to take your truck, I’ll need the keys.” He said, softly.
She threw a set of keys at him so hard that I could tell they hurt his hand when he caught them. He didn’t say a word. He left the room and went and got his coat.
The next thing that I heard was a very loud engine coming out of the garage which was right next to the kitchen. I looked out the window to see a very tall Hummer coming out of the garage. This was no ordinary Hummer either. This was the old fashioned original Hummer H1 Humvee, still painted in camouflage. It had been modified. In addition to resembling a tank, this thing had been built up like a monster truck. I guessed that she’d had that done for just such an occasion as the snowstorm.
As Steve barreled away through the deep snow, I turned back and stared at Tish. “Wow, now that’s a truck.” I said.
“I bought that thing from Swarzkopf after the first Gulf War. He got to keep it, and it didn’t suit him, he said.” She scoffed. “I had to make some modifications on it though. I needed a real car out here. Those pansy Iraqi’s have no idea what tough terrain is like. No one’s tougher than us Russians.”
“So, why didn’t Peter take that thing, instead of a snowmobile?” I asked.
“The snowmobile was Peter’s.” She answered me. “There are a few things that you should know about me, dear. First and foremost, I’m a control freak. That’s how I stay rich and powerful. That’s why I don’t pay those protection payments disguised as taxes. Second, I’m a real bitch. No matter how old Peter gets, he’ll still be a little scared of me. He would never take my prize Hummer without asking me.”
“So, why didn’t he ask?” I said.
“What would have been the point?” She mused. “I would have beaten him like a Soviet propagandist for pulling a stunt like trying to forge passports for the two of you. He knew that.” She sat smiling at me. “I told you I was a bitch.”
“Why don’t you take over the government?” I asked sarcastically.
“I find people to be a general pain in the ass, that’s why.” She said, still smiling. “I hate people, why would I want to deal with more of them than I already have to?”
I sat back in my chair and tried to eat my pancakes again. I’d known it before it had happened. I didn’t want to be in a room with Tish unless Peter was there.
The Ring of the Queen