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region during the revolution. The man’s concrete form appeared to be overstuffed as if to pad his importance, and his chiselled eyes gazed skyward. Paul lounged against the statue, Ted and Maria at his side, the three of them wrapped in intense conversation. Paul’s bulging backpack rested against the stone.
Just as Jennifer was about to go over to him, Hank tugged at her sleeve saying, “Jen, uh, Mrs. White, you’ve got to look at this. Listen to this itinerary. ‘First, we go to the family home of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, now better known as Lenin,’” he read aloud from the guide. “’We see the humble abode where our great leader passed his childhood years in preparation for the workers’ struggle.’” Some of the students snickered. “’Then we go to Lenin’s school to be shown his very classroom and his desk which is kept as a special shrine’—it really says shrine! Presumably we see where he parked his chewing gum and where he kissed little Krupskaya, too.” Everyone was laughing and Hank basked in the attention.
Jennifer glared at him. “Show some respect. Remember where we are. This city is Ulyanovsk—named after the Ulyanov family. What were you expecting? Disneyland?”
“Yeah, think of it like a visit to Graceland,” David said, “only instead of seeing Elvis, we see Lenin.”
“Oh, I get it,” said one of the twins. “It’s like a Lenin theme park. I hope there’s rides and cotton candy.”
“Please stop laughing or we’ll have a diplomatic incident. The Soviets take their leader very seriously.”
Hank waved the schedule. “But Jen, you haven’t seen the rest of it yet. After this sojourn with the family’s life, we get a 15-minute break. Oh yeah, after which—now get this—we go to the Lenin Museum!”
Jennifer smiled despite herself. “That does seem like too much. I’ll ask Natasha if we can pass up the afternoon visit to the museum in favour of some free time for everyone. But please, act interested in seeing the Lenin home. It’s a very big deal to the Soviets.”
As she moved away to search for Natasha, Paul took her arm. “Don’t talk to her about that right now. It might put her in a bad mood. Truth is, I don’t know what to do, who to talk to about my leaving.”
“I don’t know how to help you.” Jennifer felt genuine concern.
“What if I was interrogated?” Paul went on. “I couldn’t take it. I thought Natasha would be savvy about defecting but what if she has to report this to her boss?”
Libros Libertad 