How much should I tell her? She seems to trust Yakov, but does that mean I can too? I try like crazy to get my giggling under control, and I finally stop long enough to take a deep breath.

“I was worried about you,” I say. Do I tell her what I know? “You lied about his being a doctor, so I wanted to know why.”

The shift in her is visible. Her hands slip off her hips, and she hugs herself.

“I used to be a medic,” Yakov says. “In the Russian army. I can’t practice here, so I start a business like a real American. Sue knows this, so she asks me to look her over. She is fine. Nothing to worry about, little one.”

“Yes, yes.” Gram nods hard enough for me to know this is all another lie.

Why? Gram doesn’t seem afraid of Yakov, and there’s a certain familiarity between them. Her being a spy actually makes the most sense, no matter how much I don’t want it to be true. No one here is telling the truth, except for Clay and his farts.

“But—” Olivia starts to argue. I grab her arm and she stops.

“I’m sorry, Gram. I’m so glad you’re really okay. Thank you, sir, for helping her.” I flash my best polite smile and hope Yakov buys it. If he is a spy, then he’ll be able to tell if I’m pulling one over on him. But who ever suspects a kid of anything?

“Thank you for being so understanding, Yakov. You know how young girls can be, yes?” Gram says with a flutter of her hands.

Yakov flashes her a wry smile, and they seem to communicate without speaking for a second before he says, “Da. I understand. My own granddaughters would be the same, I think.”

“You still haven’t explained how you know him,” Olivia says. Her face turns dark red when we all turn to look at her. She avoids my gaze as she continues. “I mean, how did you meet?”

Gram’s hand shakes as she fixes the one curl that always falls over her forehead. Yakov steps closer to her, as if he’s trying to protect her. I cringe. I’m supposed to be helping her, not hurting her. She shouldn’t need protection from me.

“You can tell me later, Gram,” I say in a rush. “Let’s go home. Clay’s hungry, and Olivia needs to get back.”

“Tat… I mean, Sue helped me learn English when I first moved here. We met in college.” He winks at Gram, who is still shaking like a leaf.

“Yes.” Gram’s lips twist into a semblance of a smile.