Chapter Thirty (translated from Russian)

Alex stood up from Mishka’s couch and threw the Wii controller across the room.

“This stupid game!” he growled angrily.

“Hey, man.  Don’t break it!” Mishka complained, retrieving the controller and inspecting it.

“It already broken. Don’t work right.”

“It is not. What is wrong with you today?”

Alex just sat back down and grumbled.

“Is this about the American?”

“Her name is Zoey,” he said quietly.

“Oh, so good-bye was full of tears, was it?”

“Nyet,” he stated. “Just good-bye.”

“Oh? She made it easy for you then. You should be happy!”

“What do you mean?” Alex questioned him.  He was still in a cross mood and Mishka hesitated before answering him.

“Olga talked to her. She said that Zoey was talking about watching you play hockey.  She seemed to think that this girl really expected the affair to continue,” he said cautiously. 

“Why would Olga think that?” he asked.  He was confused. This did not sound like the girl he said good-bye to this morning.

Mishka hesitated again.  He did not like the way his friend was acting. This American was gone now and things could get back to normal. 

“Sasha, you enjoyed her, now it time to move on. Why does it even matter?” he said, exasperated.

Alex got to his feet again and moved closer to his friend. “What did Olga say to her?”

“Take it easy, man. She told her not to get her hopes up. That it was a summer thing, that you could never choose a girl who wasn’t Russian. Come on, she did you a favor.”

“It none of her business. And not yours either.” Alex brushed past his friend and flung the door open.

“Sasha! She just a girl!”

The BMW roared down the road.  He questioned himself the whole way.  They could not be together for lots of reasons. He lived in a world she knew nothing about. He didn’t know anything about hers either. And she was not Russian. This would never change. Yet, still he found himself rushing back to the hotel. He had to talk to her. He had to know. Did she love him?  Did she put on a good face to save him from feeling guilty?  Did he break her heart?

He didn’t know why it would matter. Everything Mishka said was true except one thing.

She was not just a girl.