Mother Country

by Irina Reyn

  The phone buzzed in her hand before she could dial him first. In the background she could hear the loud noise of shuffling cars, the cacophony of automotive logistics. Angry men flinging obscenities at other angry men.

  “Talk quickly,” she said. “Just tell me where you are.”

  But Boris was screaming into his phone as if she couldn’t hear him.

  “They shooed me away from the front door but I’m coming back around. I’m coming to get you, do you understand? Do you hear me? Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be there soon.”

  She raised her voice to match his. “I hear you. Yes, yes. We’re waiting right here in front of door number three.”

  Her daughter was crumpled into herself, her spine the curved shape of a hook. A plane was taking off and the trajectory of its ascent into the sky seemed to be occupying her full attention. One of her hands was draped across the top of her belly, the other leaning against the handle of her luggage. Wisps of sun-flecked hair framed a gleaming forehead. She was smiling, lost in thought, but also drained, it seemed, by the effort of leaving. Watching her, Nadia recognized the true cost of reunion, of bringing back together what was once—reluctantly, violently, unnaturally—wrenched apart.

  Acknowledgments

  I’m grateful for the support I’ve received from so many people during the writing of this book. In particular, I would like to thank my writing group, Allison Amend and Amy Brill, for their brilliant input draft after draft. Angie Cruz, Peter Trachtenberg, Paul W. Morris, and Claire McMillan also offered invaluable advice. Immense thanks go to Maryna Yarmoshevych and Tetyana Yarmoshevych. The University of Pittsburgh, Ledig House, and Brooklyn Writers Space provided me with the time and space to dream.

  Thanks to Ladette Randolph from Ploughshares and Michael Dumanis from Bennington Review for believing in this story enough to excerpt chapters.

  Kimberly Witherspoon and David Forrer at Inkwell continue to be the very best literary advocates any writer could hope for. Thanks to Laurie Chittenden for believing in the project, and Vicki Lame, Jennie Conway, Jessica Preeg, and everyone at St. Martin’s and Picador for such an enthusiastic and welcoming home.

  Thanks to my family for their deep wellspring of love and support, including Mark Reyn, Elizabeth Reyn, and Sonya Bekkerman. This book is dedicated to mothers and daughters, particularly to my mother, Gina Reyn, and daughter, Simone Lowenstein. I feel lucky to share the everyday with Adam Lowenstein. He infuses the journey with magic.

  Also by Irina Reyn

  The Imperial Wife

  What Happened to Anna K.

  About the Author

  Irina Reyn is the author of What Happened to Anna K. and The Imperial Wife. She is also the editor of the anthology Living on the Edge of the World: New Jersey Writers Take on the Garden State. She has reviewed books for the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Forward, and other publications. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in One Story, Tin House, Ploughshares, Town & Country Travel and Poets & Writers. She teaches fiction writing at the University of Pittsburgh. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Brooklyn, New York. You can sign up for email updates here.

  Thank you for buying this

  St. Martin’s Press ebook.

  To receive special offers, bonus content,

  and info on new releases and other great reads,

  sign up for our newsletters.

  Or visit us online at

  us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup

  For email updates on the author, click here.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  1. First-World Problems

  2. The Western Ones

  3. After the Mandarins

  4. Our Ukrainka

  5. To New Happiness

  6. Not Too Young to Know Nothing

  7. Fondue

  8. March of the Immortal Regiment

  9. The Center of the Forest

  10. Poppies for the Living

  11. Give My Baby the Heart

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Irina Reyn

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  MOTHER COUNTRY. Copyright © 2019 by Irina Reyn. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  Excerpts from Mother Country have appeared in Ploughshares and Bennington Review.

  www.thomasdunnebooks.com

  www.stmartins.com

  The Library of Congress has catalogued the print edition as follows:

  Names: Reyn, Irina, author.

  Title: Mother country: a novel / Irina Reyn.

  Description: First Edition.|New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2019.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018039822|ISBN 9781250076045 (hardcover)|ISBN 9781466887374 (ebook)

  Classification: LCC PS3618.E95 M68 2019|DDC 813/.6—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018039822

  e-ISBN 9781466887374

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  First Edition: February 2019