A child’s voice and Andrei’s low bass filtered in from the bedroom. An uncertain, bittersweet pain gripped Maria’s heart.

She took out the rubbish, grabbing the hallway rug along with her, shaking it free from dust and hair, sneezed again—how much rubbish can one-and-a-half men produce anyway?—and stopped on the stairway on the way back. Looking at the empty letterbox, she dwelled on the emptiness of her home. And then Fryderyk. There was no avoiding thinking about him on Saturday, when there would be no letter. Or maybe there would be one?

How did you work out where I lived, you bastard? If you had sent the letters to my mother’s address, they would all have ended up in the bin. Mum is like that. It was time to take Tykhon to her, by the way. And there is still the carpet to vacuum, the sheets to be ironed, and hair to be washed. I hate unfinished work. And this house . . . she left the thought unfinished. She sneezed again. Let someone else complete that thought. She thrust a little finger into a hole in the front of that insentient ribcage of a letterbox. She took the keys out of her pocket, knowing the box was empty, but opened it anyway.

Up and down the stairwell, back into the flat. She pulled the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard and dragged it into the bedroom. She pounced on Tykhon, who was bouncing on the bed, and kissed his neck. He giggled from the tickling, wriggled out of her arms, and hid under the desk where Andrei was playing his game. Maria hugged Andrei and kissed the side of his mouth. He leaned to one side, his eyes fixed to the screen. Maria backed away. The cat peeped at the vacuum cleaner warily and left the room.

“I advise you two to do the same,” Maria said, watching the cat’s departure. “And Andrei, would you please change the bulb on the stairs? And both of you get ready for Grandma. You remember my office party this evening? Tykhon, you’re going over to Grandma’s tonight. We’ve got to go in half an hour.”

“Gimme a sec,” said Andrei.

“Gimme a sec,” mimicked Tykhon.

“No more secs guys. Now!”

Silence.

“What are you, deaf?”

“Alright, alright.”

Andrei raised his hands to show he’d finished with the game, sighed, patted Tykhon’s head and opened YouTube on the browser. He beckoned Maria with a finger.

“Come here, come look at this for a minute.”

It was the Kharkiv governor speaking at a rally. Andrei skipped ahead, smiling maliciously. A scuffle broke out in the crowd around the stage. A brilliant green dye had been splashed into the governor’s face. Tykhon leaned out from behind Maria to watch, but she covered his eyes with her hands. He pulled his face away, trying to catch a glimpse. The governor was hunched over, rubbing his eyes. Andrei chuckled as a fracas unfolded on the screen.