—— We Were Young ——91‘Sandra, who was that who came just now for Zhigaryov?’
I asked our ward sister, Sandra Nevzorova, as disinterestedly as
possible.
‘That’s our Tina, the civilian sister from registry. Why? Has she
taken your fancy?’
‘And what does she do in this registry?’
‘Looks after all your things, and documents. If anybody needs
anything, you can apply to her.’
‘In that case she’s the person I need. How do I find her?’
‘Well, it’s too late today, but tomorrow I’ll ask her to call on you
in the morning. What did you want?’
‘Well, it’s just that... ’ I stopped short, ‘I want to ask her to
bring my wallet to check if everything’s all there.’
‘All right, tomorrow I’ll bring her to you, Nikolaev.’
Of course, for the rest of the day the conversation was only
about her. We remembered peacetime, our families, friends, those
close to us. We indulged in boasting where we could – some with
photos, some with letters from their beloved. I had nothing like
that to show.
The next day I woke up earlier than usual, two hours before it
was time to get up, and began to wait. However, she turned up only
after the doctor’s rounds.
‘Who wanted to see me?’
‘I did! Come a bit closer, please,’ I said as calmly and earnestly
as I could, although my mouth was melting in a smile. ‘I can’t see
or hear you very well.’
She came up to my bed. ‘What questions have you got for me,
comrade patient?’
‘Sit down here, please, and I’ll explain it all to you now, Tina!’
Summoning up courage, I took pleasure in pronouncing aloud that
name which I liked so much. ‘I want to ask you to find my wallet.’
‘All right, I’ll go and look for your wallet. What’s your surname?’
‘My name is Nikolaev! Yevgeni Adrianovich Nikolaev! Date of
birth 1920, sniper of the 14th Regiment, senior sergeant.’
Within half an hour she was handing me my own wallet: