“Why didn’t anyone go get her when she was in college and couldn’t get home?” Math pushed. He had no reason for this man to like him, and Tess needed answers about her past to get beyond it.
“Nobody had money or a car that would go that far back then. In those days, each family really only had one car, and everyone had little kids. Today, nobody has money for a trip, and she is even farther away.”
Math felt like that was a thin excuse. “Why does everyone have a cell phone then? How do you have enough money for those?”
“Terezilya pays the phone bills, always has. That’s why the women have the phones.” He looked at him, but Math could tell it embarrassed him to admit it.
“What else does she pay for?” Math knew there was more that she took care of. He saw her apartment, and she wasn’t saving that money.
“Most of my parents’ upkeep. If anyone falls on hard times, Terezilya is called,” Mike admitted. Math could tell the old man resented his sister for her ability to help those who needed it.
Tess’s demeanor was better when she walked out of the hospital room. Ignoring her brother, she turned to Math and said, “Papa wants to meet you in case he dies.”
Math couldn’t tell if she was making a joke or if that was what the man was really saying. She took his hand and led him into the hospital room, willing to show him some affection in front of her family.
You would have never convinced him these were her parents on the day he had applied for a loan. Not in a million years. He knew they were eighty or close to it, but they both looked old beyond their years. Her father was an older version of her brother: small, frail, and tired-looking. The woman who wrapped him into a tight hug was exactly what he’d expected: a little old lady with gray hair and Tess’s eyes. She was talking to him, but she was talking in Russian, so he couldn’t understand.
“Mama says she is happy to meet you, happy she lived long enough to see you,” Tess said, rolling her eyes at the last bit. He knew she was translating word for word, not changing it to save herself from embarrassment.
“Nice to meet you,” he replied. Tess didn’t translate what he said.
But before he could question her, the woman was talking again. But this time, Tess was arguing with her. Math just watched. Tess was speaking so fast and waving at the woman and sometimes at him with her hands, something he had rarely seen her do when she spoke English.
“Mama says that Tasha has a bed for us. She will not let us stay at a hotel,” Tess said, looking down at her mom with a frown on her face. Her mom had a huge smile as she looked at him. Tess had lost the argument, it seemed.
“Listen to your mama, Terezilya,” her father said in English from the bed. “Mathias Nordskov. Sounds Russian.”
“Sorry, sir, it’s Danish.” Math could see how much the older couple adored their daughter.
The old man only nodded as he said, “I am going to say Russian.”
“Papa, you cannot just tell people they are Russian. He is not.” Tess slipped her hand in his as she said the words.
“I am dying. Let me die knowing he is Russian. Now it is late, and you had a long drive, Terezilya. You go to Natasha and Alex’s house now. Rest.” Her father dismissed her.
Glancing at his watch, he realized it was after 9:00 pm, and it had been a long day. Though Tess had slept some during the drive, she looked exhausted now that she had been able to see her father. He let her hand go so that she could hug her parents, then led her out of the hospital room. Mike was still in the hallway, and Math assumed the man would stay there until morning in case his parents needed him. Tess gave Mike a hug, and they headed out of the hospital.
At the truck, he told her to drive since she knew how to get to her niece’s house. Though he half expected her to go to a hotel instead, he was happy when she headed out of town.
“Tasha has sent the boys to my parents for the night, so we will have a bed. But it is still going to be busy. And morning will come early,” she warned.
“It’s okay, Tess. This is where you usually stay, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I only get the couch. Tasha is giving you a bedroom,” she told him.
“She doesn’t want to scare me off. Did your ex get a room, or was he with you on the couch?” He put his hand on her shoulder.
“Neither. He went to a hotel. He insisted that he couldn’t sleep in a house with so many people or spend a lot of time with people who would not just speak English. He never came back, and we were divorced within months.” Her grip on the steering wheel was tight.
“He was a moron.”
“Thanks. But again, I cannot make sure everyone speaks English, and I cannot translate everything all the time.”
“Except for your parents, shouldn’t they all know English?”
“Just Mama does not; she understands it, though. She just chooses not to speak it. The rest of the family should, so just call them out on it,” she said, more to the road than to him.
So, her mom didn’t need the translating that he needed. She understood everything he had said. And he had a suspicion that she might know more English than she let on. Having Tess talk for her was maybe her way of having her daughter know how important she was.