THE QUEEN ALWAYS STANDS BY HER KING…
Knock! Knock!
Svetlana looked to the door. Who is this? she asked herself. Some chess fan, who wants to see where lives the world chess champion? Or a reporter, who wants to interview chess champion´s wife?
,,I am coming!" she shouted from the kitchen. It could be even Anatoly, back from Merano. She walked to radio, where some man said ,,...yesterday, Anatoly Sergievsky became the world champion, when his rival, Frederick Trumper, resigned, and..." She switched the radio off and walked to the apartme door. When she opened the doors, she saw two men, wear black hats and brown long coats. They looked almost as dangerous as they really were. The higher of them started by a question: ,,Are you mrs. Svetlana Sergievsky?"
,,Yes, I am," she answered. She knew, it would be worse if she will not cooperate with them.
,,And are you Anatoly Sergievsky´s wife?" asked the second men. She smiled a little.
,,Yes, I am." She has the feeling that she saw her husband more in the TV than in a real life recently. ,,And you are...?" she asked them.
They didn´t answer. Instead, the higher of them said: ,,We have some new informations about your men from Merano. Can we go in?"
,,Yes, of course you can." She let them stepped into her and Anatoly´s flat.
,,Nice home," said the smaller of secret guests.
,,Thank you. So...come to kitchen. Would you like something to eat or drink?" she asked them, as they walked to big, light kitchen. ,,Sit down..."
,,Two glasses of vodka, if we can..."
,,You can do everything, so why not drink vodka?" she said under her breath.
She poured two glases of vodka, as her guests wanted, and she sat down to the table. She recalled one problem she caused many years ago - when she and Anatoly married, they moved together. Two weeks after the wedding, he went to some chess tournament to BRD and she stayed home alone. There was an affair around this tournament, because a personal assistant of one player escaped. All chess-players were interrogated, if the defector said them anything before he escaped - and then, they started to interrogate families of chess-players. The KGB came even to Svetlana. But she refused to let them stepped into the apartmen, and said them through the doors that she has more important things to do than be interviewed by the KGB. Day after this incident was Anatoly home - the Soviets disqualified him of the tournament. Anatoly was a little bit angry, because he could win the match, but in fact, he was proud of his wife. But times have changed. Now, Svetlana has two beloved daughters, and she was afraid about them - she knew that if she will do something ,,bad" against the Soviets or the USSR, her daughters could be hijacked or arrest. And Svetlana loved them more than anything another - maybe even more than Anatoly. ,,Well, what do you want?" she asked, when agents drank the vodka. She had the nicest smile on her face. ,,I know you haven´t came to me for a friendly visit. You said you have some news from Merano. What news?"
Agents looked at each other. ,,Well," started the higher of them. ,,We didn´t introduced ourselves - I´m Nikolai and my colleague is Ilya. " Ah, names without surnames. It could mean only one thing . These names are mock and they are secret agents. ,,But now, we have to stop talking about unimportant things." Ilya opened the bag he has in his hand, and excluded some newspapers. ,,Did your husband call you today or yesterday, mrs. Sergievsky?" he asked.
,,No, he called me when he arrived to Merano."
,,And what were you talking about?"
,,About normal things - how me and our daughters are, how is he, what weather is here and what weather is in Italy, if is Merano nice..."
,,Weren´t you talking about politics?"
,,No. We were never talking about politics."
,,Why he didn´t call you more often?"
She shrugged her shoulders. ,,Molokov says that phoning with me breaks Anatoly and then he cannot concentrate on his games."
,,Ah...I see..."
,,It is very nice to have two strange man in my flat, but I want to know why did you come." Nikolai took a deep breath. ,,Well, mrs. Sergievsky...We have one news about your husband and you have to know it."
,,Well?"
,,Your husband emigrated to the West."
Her smile was frozen. She couldn´t believe what she heard. ,,What?"
Ilya said again this sentence.
,,Anatoly? Emigration? No." She didn´t want to know.
,,Yes, mrs. Sergievsky. He escaped."
She refused to believe them. ,,No. I know Anatoly so well and I know he will never leave me and our daughters." Ilya gave her the newspapers he had in hand. There was a big sign: ,,DRAMA IN MERANO: THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPION SERGIEVSKY EMIGRATED TO ENGLAND WITH TRUMPER´S FORMER MISTRESS, FLORENCE VASSY!" Svetlana felt tears in her eyes. ,,It can´t be truth..." she whispered. ,,He cannot leave me."
,,Do you know Frederick Trumper or Florence Vassy?" asked Nikolai.
,,I heard only about Trumper - he was Anatoly´s opponent, wasn´t he?"
,,Yes, you´re right. And Vassy?"
No, I have never heard about miss Vassy before. But now, I know she is the women for what my husband escaped to England. ?,,No, I do not know her."
,,She was Trumper´s assistant and mistress. And now she changed sides. Like Anatoly did."
Svetlana looked on the newspapers. There were three photos. On the first photography, there was Anatoly, when he became the world champion, with the wreath for winners around his neck. On the second photo, there were Anatoly and Vassy, together, hand-in-hand walking along the sidewalk, and on the last photo, there was Florence Vassy, in a white blouse and black skirt, in front of The Hotel Palace in Merano. She is nice. Oh, damn, she is nice.
,,Is Vassy Anatoly´s mistress?" Svetlana asked, when she saw the second photo.
,,Yes, she is. She left Trumper and Anatoly left you." Svetlana didn´t want fight with tears anymore, and they ran down her face. ,,So Anatoly emigrated with his mistress and he left his wife and daughters behind?"
,,Yes, it´s the news we came to tell you," answered Ilya. ,,Dear mrs. Sergievsky, your house will be still under our control. Don´t try to escape, you have no hope. If Anatoly will call you, you have to tell us. If you will not do, what we want, it would be worse not only for you, but even for your daughters. Now we have to go. You will be interrogate soon." Both men shook hands with her and they walked out of the apartmen. ,,Have a good day, comrade Sergievsky."
Good day? Now? She wiped the tears of her cheeks and stood up. No, she won´t surrender. She will get Anatoly back home. But how to get home a man, who has a mistress and who is in England now?
She walked to her daughter´s room. Alyoska stood behind the doors and it looked like she has heard everything. ,,Oh, Aly, why are not you sleeping?" Svetlana asked with a mock smile. ,,You have to go sleep, or you will be very, very tired."
Alyoska looked at her mother. ,,Why is not daddy here?"
,,He went to a chess tournament, Aly."
,,But the tournament is over now, and daddy is a champion."
Svetlana sighed heavily. ,,Yes, daddy is a champion. He is the best chess-player on the Earth."
,,Will he bring me some jewellery from Italy as he promised?"
Svetlana stroked her by hair. ,,I hope he will."
,,And when he will return?"
,,I do not know. He is...he is in England now."
,,What is he doing in England? Why he didn´t return to us?"
,,It is something with...chess...you know, he has a lot of work now, when he is the champion..."
Alyoska looked at her very seriously. ,,He will not return, right?"
,,Oh, darling, what are you saying? He will!" Svetlana kissed her on the left cheek quickly. ,,He will return. But it will take a while. "
