The Lives Of The Romanovs

Turn Of Events

Tatiana

Dmitri and I were on a search for another friend for Little Dmitri. However, no student seemed to match a good description for him. We wanted a young boy around his age and could speak. Majority of the boys only knew sign language or were a different age. Dmitri and I were not going to give up on finding a friend for our little one, but it was still difficult.

While we were still looking, Baby Irina could not wait for Katya to come back. We arranged for the girl to come visit and spend the afternoon with us. The girls were going to go play in the snow, build snowmen, have snowball fights, and more. Baby Irina was beyond ecstatic and waited at the main staircase all day.

"Little one, you mustn't wait like this all day." I walked around to the stairs. Baby Irina sat with her arms on her knees and her her head in her hands.

"I cannot miss Katya when she gets here. I have to be the first one to greet her."

"Dear, this is ridiculous. Come on, let us go finish lunch." I reached for her, but she slapped my hand away.

"No, Mama! I will not be moving from these stairs!"

"Do not speak to me that way, Irina Dmitriaevna Romanova. I am your mother." I said in a calm yet strict tone. Baby Irina lowered her head in shame.

"I am sorry, Mama. But I am not hungry and do not wish to move from the stairs."

I sighed and straightened my back. "Very well, then. But do not blame me if you are hungry later."

Katya would not arrive for another thirty-minutes. Once the doors to the palace opened, Baby Irina squealed and jumped up from the stairs. Katya was equally excited to see her. The girls ran to each other as quickly as possible and wrapped their arms around each other. It was nice to see Baby Irina with a friend, possibly a lifelong one. Little Dmitri ended up running to the main hall too with a small smile on his face.

"Little Dmitri, are you excited to play in the snow with your sisters and Katya?" I signed to him. However, he seemed as if he were in disbelief. Little Dmitri scanned the room and turned around multiple times to look at me. I was puzzled about what was the matter.

"Mama, can we go outside now? We want to build a snowman." Baby Irina moaned. I giggled and nodded at the girls. The three of us turned around and began to walk away. That was until I heard the sound of someone stomping their foot.

"B-Boris! I want Boris!" Little Dmitri shouted loudly and then broke into sobs. The three of us stopped together. Little Dmitri...spoke. He had a very strong lisp. But he spoke a full sentence for the first time. It felt as if it were a dream.

"Dmitri, what did you say?" I signed to him. But the child was too distraught to even rely. Little Dmitri fell to the floor and continued to cry. I rushed over to him and knelt down. "Dmitri, look at me. Look at me." I tried to lift his chin, but he refused.

"Boris is a friend, Mama." Little Dmitri said through his tears. It felt moving and beautiful to me. I believed the boys had not got along well and he would not have minded me sending him home. However, I was wrong. Little Dmitri and Boris were friends. And my son...spoke to me. Tears formed in my eyes as I started to smile widely.

"You want Boris? Boris is your friend?" I asked, letting a tear fall. Little Dmitri wiped the tear from my face.

"Do not cry, Mama. No reason to cry." Little Dmitri signed to me, but went back to being silent. I wrapped my arms around my son and he hugged me back. I heard heavy footsteps approaching us. Little Dmitri and I took our arms away from each other and looked up at Dmitri who was looking over us. I stood up and smiled.

"He spoke. We were wrong, Dima. We must get Boris to come back to the palace." I smiled. Dmitri's eyes widened as he looked down at our son. Dmitri picked up Little Dmitri and swung him around. Our little one laughed loudly. He was then set down.

Dmitri nodded at him. "Very well, then. Boris will come back soon, alright? Go play with your sister." He waved Little Dmitri on. Little Dmitri took off running with Baby Irina and Katya. Dmitri and I exchanged looks and then hugged each other.

"I never thought he would speak." I muffled into his shoulder.

"Me neither. This is a miracle. I am so joyous, Tanya." Dmitri pulled away, but still had a smile on his face. "I will have the chef prepare a lot of steak tonight. This is a special occasion."

I giggled as we pulled away from each other. As a parent, I was so concerned about my son. I believed that because he was deaf, that he was going to have a harder time in this world. But it turns out that Little Dmitri knew what he was doing this whole time. And I was going to keep encouraging him for all his life.

"Tanya, I also got a telegram from Olga. There is going to be a speech made in Petrograd. We have been invited to stand behind her and Igor."

"A speech? Whatever for?"

"To encourage the people to fight for the zoo and talk about the pride of being Russian. Just all of that."

"Are my parents going? And Vladimir?"

Dmitri shook his head. "The Tsar and Tsarina believe it is too dangerous for them to go out. Besides, your mother's arthritis has been acting up lately, according to your father. And Vladimir is too busy writing, of course."

"I see. We shall have to dress warm, for the fact it is snowy and middle of November." I softly chuckled.

"Yes. Apparently the stage is huge and right outside a park. It should not be hard to find."

"Alright, I will start to find an outfit then." I leaned up and kissed my husband's cheek. I started to walk off and toward the staircase. As much as I now needed to think about the speech tomorrow, I was still only thinking about Little Dmitri. Perhaps I would not sit inside while the children played. I think I am going to get my coat on and build a snowman with them.