The Seven Boxed Set

by Sarah M. Cradit

  There was not much more about Ekatherina’s family. Only that the young sister, Anasofiya, had been battling a long-term illness.

  Ekatherina applied for her au pair VISA two months after her father’s imprisonment. She flew to New York in January of 1971, where she stayed for a few days, and then to New Orleans, where the Connelly family took her in, and she worked for them up until she came to work for Augustus in the winter of 1972. There was also mention of the business school Connelly had paid for her to attend. She’d quit upon accepting employment at DMG, but now Augustus wondered why she hadn’t continued. Perhaps she didn’t think he’d allow for such flexibility in her schedule.

  Augustus slipped the papers back in the envelope. He pressed the brad flat and laid the file upon the desk, spreading his palms across it.

  Russia. The communists could call this ancient country whatever they wanted, it didn’t change what a place really was. New Orleans had changed hands more times than he remembered from history, from French, to Spanish, to French, but this city’s identity hadn’t wavered. Leningrad, which had not even fifty years ago been Petrograd, had for most of its history been St. Petersburg. One of the few classics Augustus had ever enjoyed, War and Peace, had captured his vision of the city forever, of sparkling lights and masquerade balls at the Winter Palace; the bravery of Tsar Alexander I as he faced off against Napoleon.

  Much had changed there since then. Lenin, Marx, Stalin, the Bolsheviks. Brezhnev was only the latest in a long line of Chairmen who had upheld the colorless and dispiriting legacies of stripping the life and history from the Russian people. Augustus knew enough about communism to understand it was the perfect embodiment of a good idea that never had a chance of being successful as long as men were prone to corruption.

  Why had Ekatherina’s father aligned with the Communist Party? Out of fear? To protect his family? Perhaps, he, too, had read Marx and Engel’s Communist Manifesto and seen a better world. But then why had he fallen out with them?

  Of one thing, Augustus was convinced. Ekatherina’s timing of leaving her mother country was not coincidence. Nor was the way she kept to herself, politely but always refusing invitations from her co-workers for anything social… kind, but never friendly. It wasn’t his business what she did with her money, but she wore the same five outfits each week, and he could see where they’d begun to wear.

  Somewhere, someone had told him it was illegal for the Soviet immigrants to send money back to their families in the USSR. It upset the careful balance the Communist Party sought to maintain with their policies and led to unplanned inequities.

  And what had she said, the one time he’d worked up the courage to ask her about her family?

  No, Mr. Deschanel. I cannot afford to bring them here. But I save money and I will do as I promised and bring them all here.

  Augustus wondered how many opportunities existed between the nations, that would have allowed her family to come with her. Was au pair the only option? Anasofiya, the young sister, was too young, but perhaps that would become an option for her as well. But the parents? The son?

  If money was all that was needed, there would be many more immigrants from the Soviet Union living and working here. Of that Augustus was almost certain.

  Augustus had something Ekatherina didn’t have, no matter how much money she socked away. He had a name that held weight, and he had connections.

  The very things he’d hoped to leave behind him were precisely what he could use to help her.

  * * *

  Evangeline tapped her foot. Augustus released a series of confused sounds as his head flew back off the desk.

  “I think it says more about you than me, that I knew you’d be here in the office on a Saturday.”

  “Saturday,” Augustus repeated. He hastily wiped at the corners of his mouth.

  “Yes, Augustus, the day following Friday. You didn’t go home last night. Probably confused the hell out of your little pet.”

  “My pet?”

  “You’re tired, not stupid.”

  Ekatherina. In a quick panic, he pictured her the night before, awaiting him to walk her out. Possibly wondering if she should bother him, or if he was somehow cross with her. His heart sank.

  “You haven’t stayed the night here since before the place opened,” Evangeline said. “I think I know why. Can I guess?”

  “Seems like you’re about to anyway,” Augustus grumbled.

  She grinned. “Bingo. I am. You needed an excuse for why you weren’t at the party today.”

  Augustus glanced up at the clock with shock. It was nearly three in the afternoon. Had he slept that long? How?

  “The party.” He searched his groggy brain. “You’re going to need to help me out here.”

  “Rory and Carolina’s party, you oaf!” She leaned over his desk and fell forward on her palms. “Don’t play coy, Aggie. Everyone noted your absence, and they all know why you didn’t come.”

  “And why is that, Evangeline? Other than the fact I wouldn’t have come even if I remembered it?”

  “If you wanted people to think you don’t care, showing up and acting gracious and supportive would have sent that message more clearly.”

  “But I don’t care,” he snapped. “I’m happy for the two of them. That thing with Carolina only happened once, and I put a stop to it for a reason.”

  “She was good for you. She could have been so good for you, you know?”

  “Thanks for your confidence in me to handle my life without a woman,” Augustus gruffed. “And that’s a good reason to be with someone, you think? That they’d be good for you?”

  “Happiness isn’t a disease, you know.”

  “Adding you know to the end of your sentences doesn’t remove the condescension, you know, or make you sound any more wise.”

  Evangeline pulled herself up and crossed her arms. “It’s summer. The birds are singing. Love is in the air.”

  “You’re a woman of science. You know love isn’t in the goddamn air.”

  Evangeline wrinkled her lips and made a derisive sound. “Colin and Catherine are marrying soon. Your brother’s engagement party is right around the corner. You could at least pretend to give a shit about any of this.”

  “Catherine is in love with that very same brother of ours, who is marrying a woman who is more miserable than all of us combined. And Rory and Carolina? Are we to pretend that Rory didn’t marry Carolina to get back at Colleen? How are these things worthy of celebration?”

  “What is wrong with you?” Evangeline demanded. “You’re even more cranky than usual.”

  The venom died in Augustus. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep here. It was an accident. One that had nothing to do with the party.”

  “Oh?” Evangeline slipped into the chair across from him. “Any time you do something that’s not like you, I assume this deviation implies a disruption in your life.”

  Augustus rolled his eyes.

  “It’s that girl, isn’t it?”

  “If you’re talking about who I assume you’re talking about, she has a name.”

  “Ekatherina.” Evangeline made a sour face. “Carolina was good for you. Ekatherina is not.”

  “My interest in Ekatherina is not romantic.”

  “But you are interested in her.”

  Augustus had a flash of guilt as he thought about the envelope locked in the top drawer of his desk. “I find her plight intriguing.”

  “What a bunch of bullshit. Her plight is intriguing?”

  “Evie, how many young women do you know who found a way to escape a complicated life? Who came to another country, learning a language not native to them, and worked night and day to make a better life?”

  Evangeline softened. “Sure, she’s a hard worker. And I don’t know what it would be like to grow up amongst all those commie infidels, waiting hours for bread, getting arrested for questioning your government. But there’s something n
ot right about that girl, Augustus—”

  “Ekatherina.”

  “Ekatherina. Fine. She’s done a lot for herself, I’ll give her that. She’s resilient. But resilient people aren’t often the ones most concerned with lawfulness. She’s very determined. Determined people find ways around the rules, not through them.”

  “That’s very nihilistic, Evangeline, even for you.”

  Evangeline slouched in her chair. She watched him. “You really don’t care about Carolina, do you?”

  “I said I didn’t.” He quickly added, “I’m happy she’s happy.”

  “She would have been happier with you.”

  Augustus laughed. “Come on, even you know that’s not true. I would have made her miserable. I don’t think there’s a woman alive who could live with me.”

  “Except Ekatherina.”

  “We’re back to that, are we?”

  “You can deny things all you want, but you forget I know you.”

  “Then you should know I’m really tired of talking about this with you.” Augustus pulled himself out of his chair. His body ached, head to toe, from the cramped sleep his chair had provided. “And you know, Evangeline, I’d think you of all people would recognize the passion for learning in Ekatherina. She’s hungry for knowledge. You should relate to that.”

  “Don’t take financial advice from her.”

  “What?”

  “She told me she’s offering you advice on your investments.”

  He shook his head. “Really? I know how to invest my money. You know that. I listen to her advice because it makes her happy when I do. It just so happens most of what she suggests to me is exactly what Jamie Sullivan has already recommended. If she thinks the advice came from her alone, what’s the harm in it?”

  “There you go, trying to make her happy.”

  “Are you done now?”

  “Never,” she said and laughed. “But since you’re awake now, let’s go check out that townhouse on Esplanade Mom is interested in.”

  Augustus nodded. He reached for his briefcase, but then decided better of it. Maybe this was a good weekend, for once, not to work. He’d promised his mother his help and had put her off, but he shouldn’t put that off any longer.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” Evangeline said, as she pressed the down arrow on their newly-installed elevator. “I won’t be leaving for Massachusetts next month.”

  He turned to her. “What? Why?”

  “Let’s just say Colleen is about to share some news of her own, and I think I can wait another year.”

  Seven

  Friend of a Friend

  Scotland.

  It wasn’t that Colleen’s interest hadn’t been in earnest when she applied to University of Edinburgh’s medical program. Even the edges of this idea filled her with a very unexpected thrill, in a way few things in her life ever had.

  And had she thought they’d reject her and just thwart the dream before she could up and leave? No, she’d known her grades and transcripts were solid enough. She knew she’d be asked to interview, and that when they called, she’d ace that, too. Her admissions packet had been top of the line.

  Yet it had still felt hazy and surreal, like the strange caprices of a growing child. Nothing more than a fantastical idea. Her world was here, with her family. With her deep, abiding love for caring for them, and for the history that built them.

  Now, though, she had the letter in her hand, confirming her acceptance into one of the best medical programs in Europe. In Edinburgh, where she’d never been but longed to go.

  The program started in the fall, next year. She had a full year, then, to make her plans here at home before departing not only the family home, but the city, the state, and the entire country.

  Colleen finished Professor Green’s stack of tests an hour ago. Though she wasn’t taking summer courses this term, being as far ahead as she was, she’d offered to come help him, and he hadn’t hesitated to accept that offer. She wouldn’t have any courses with him in her final year of college at Tulane, and her disappointment in that was surprising; not the fact of it, but the depth.

  The door opened and Professor Green’s familiar gait sounded across the floor.

  “My afternoon class was cancelled,” he announced. “Someone pulled the fire bell on the other side of campus and now they want to clear the whole damn campus.” He shook his head as he assembled his folders, sliding them into the leather folds of his briefcase.

  “The whole campus? But why?”

  “This political climate,” he replied, as if that should be obvious. Colleen made a mental note. “Did you know we had two bomb threats? This week, I mean. This week alone!”

  Colleen’s mouth dropped. “But there’s been no news about that.”

  “We don’t advertise the behavior of bad actors. Besides, we didn’t want to rile up the students over nothing. I shouldn’t even have told you, but I know you can keep a secret.”

  Colleen flushed. “I would never repeat anything you said to me in confidence.”

  Professor Green secured the buckle and looked up with a smile. “I know that. That’s why I told you. I trust you.” His eyes lingered on her a moment longer, and then he snapped back into action. “They’re almost done clearing campus. You’ll need to leave, too. You didn’t hear the bell?”

  She shook her head.

  He squinted behind his glasses as he looked around the room. “Ahh, yes. They haven’t outfitted this building with the inside alarms yet. I’ll send a note to facilities.” He turned back to her. “Come have lunch with me, Colleen. Now, I know you’ve probably got your slew of excuses loaded, but there’s nothing wrong with two adults enjoying each other’s company.”

  Colleen had assessed and reassessed his previous invite so many times she’d made herself dizzy with her assumptions. Professor Green was married, but he didn’t wear a ring, and she’d seen no evidence of a family in pictures on his desk, or in his office. But this combination of facts could mean anything, and, aside from him being her elder, professionally and otherwise, she wasn’t comfortable not understanding his personal situation.

  Then again, she was probably overthinking the whole thing, which was a particular specialty of hers. What interest could he possibly have in her?

  “Your mind is whirring. I can see it,” he teased. His smile lit up his whole face, and his blue eyes sparkled behind his thick glasses. “Maybe I can help. Yes, I’m legally married, Colleen, but we’ve lived separately for years. We’ll eventually work things out with the lawyer, but for now, it’s financially easier for us to just live the way we have been.”

  Had he seen her staring at his ring finger?

  “At least, I assume that’s your hesitation?”

  “It’s one of them,” Colleen replied. “I also don’t want to get you in any kind of trouble here at the school.”

  He grinned from one side of his mouth. “I’m not trying to get you into bed, you know.”

  Her stomach lit up with a mess of flutters. “No! No, I know. I know that.”

  “I see you more as a colleague, Colleen. You’re not on the level of the other kids coming and going to classes. You’re ahead of your time. I’d say you’re going places, but I think you’re already halfway there.”

  “I’m leaving for Scotland next fall,” she blurted.

  He nodded slowly. “I assumed as much when they asked for my recommendation.”

  “They asked you?”

  “They did. And I not only gave one by phone, I wrote a letter singing your praises.”

  “You’d do that for me?” Colleen exhaled and steadied herself in her chair. “You did that?”

  “I would, I did, and I’d do it again,” he said. “You’re going to go on from here to do amazing things. And I’ll be able to say I was but a small part of it.”

  Colleen blushed deeper. “Stop. You’ve helped me in so many ways. You have no idea.”

  “So tell me,” he pressed, still smiling. “O
ver lunch. Or drinks, if that suits your fancy.”

  Colleen was abashed with how easily she was about to acquiesce. The invitation was innocuous enough, but the underlying situation was far more complicated… though tempting.

  But she couldn’t, for other reasons. “Another time. Really,” she added, when his face fell. “I actually have a date tonight.”

  He gave her an appraising nod. “A date, huh? Anyone I know?”

  “Friend of a friend.” This was a half-truth. Rory wasn’t really her friend anymore, as much as she tried. But accepting the blind date offer that he’d proposed served two purposes as she saw it. One, it would show Rory she’d moved on, regardless of whether that was ultimately true, and two, it would show she was capable of the same level of normalcy as her peers.

  “I see. Well, I won’t keep you, but don’t let the guards catch you in here.” He winked. “I appreciate your help this summer, Colleen. You’ve really been a godsend.”

  She smiled and looked down at her hands, wound in her lap. “I’ll help you as long as you’ll have me.”

  “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he said, his tone that of a tease, his eyes something else entirely.

  * * *

  Bobby had hardly paused for breath in the past twenty minutes, as he regaled Colleen with nostalgic anecdotes from his glorious, but short-lived, high school football career. Colleen knew next to nothing about football, or any sport, but she knew enough to know that the role of a tackle was not as prestigious as he’d like her to believe.

  “And then Joe, you know Joe, one of those quarterbacks, couldn’t help himself. I used to tell him to just think for a half second before putting the ball in play, but he couldn’t handle the pressure of the defensive line and always had to get rid of the damn thing. Damn, damn fine quarterback, if not for that. But good guards and tackles know the weaknesses of their quarterback and know how to hold off the line. Conrad shouldn’t have caught that damn ball, everyone knew it, but we held off defense and that’s why we won state.”