The Lion Tamer

Chapter XXV

in which two years have passed

Emil comes back twice in two years: Once for his father's trial after Christmas, and once during a two-weeks-worth of holiday which they spend in Brighton. Otherwise we talk every day, one way or another. Sometimes he sends me memes or classical music pieces he wants to learn to play. Other times we skype, and actually talk, but sometimes we just do our own things in relative silence, listening to each other's soft rustling.

Emil receives surgery for his hand in Poland where they fix the nerves and tendons. It takes him two months of physical therapy, three times a week to be able to use his hand fairly normally. He never plays the violin again, but he manages to learn piano, first with one hand, then with two. Danuta got him a private tutor as well as a place into a bilingual school for all three of them where the girls are taught Polish but also have classes in English. Emil goes back to work as soon as he can because he's so used to being independent that he can't imagine living any way else. Still, his cheeks fill out and his eyes brighten every week, now that work is not the only way to survive.

I tell myself I'm not missing him. I tell myself that turning off my webcam after talking doesn't feel like tearing off a limb. I still see him fairly regularly, right? I'm still part of his life. It only hurts at night when half-asleep, I reach out to the other side of my bed and all I touch is the space he left. Who knew I'd get addicted to his presence in my bed? Who knew that when I wake up I'd feel the ghost of his breath in the crook of my neck and his absence would stun me so bad I'd need minutes to get up? But I know him leaving was the best thing that ever happened to him.

His family welcomes them back like long-lost children and they put a lot of effort into maintaining family ties, meeting the grandparents and cousins and distant relatives, as well as Danuta's roommate/life partner, Pola. Apparently, she neglected to tell the court she was a lesbian lest they deny her the rights to the children. She did everything to keep her relationship on the downlow, especially because it's not legally recognized in Poland; the Basinsky siblings discover it on accident when Zula opens the door on them sleeping in the same bed, naked. The only thing she was surprised by was Pola's rib tattoo because she'd never seen such a pretty pattern.

Pola is the pretty blonde woman on Danuta's Facebook pictures. I don't understand how I didn't catch on, not even when she said life partner instead of husband, but I reason it with the incredible stress of those days. As Danuta said, Pola works as a programmer at a big firm, paying into rent and utilities every month and although she's not recognized legally as Danuta's partner, Emil says it feels like she's a second aunt to them.

With their support, Lidia becomes first in her class and the favourite of librarians. They also notice she desperately needs glasses when she doesn't recognize Danuta upon meeting her on the street. Zula rules over her class with an iron-fist like before, even when she doesn't speak Polish as well as the others. Apparently, living in the UK is considered a big deal to those kids, and Zula can discipline them with a stern gaze and a perfectly pronounced 'Quiet!' just on that authority alone. I wish I could see her; the house seems so empty without her chattering. And I miss Lidia's shyness, the way she squinted at her books, all her growing pains into a teenager. It's hard going by a bookshop without thinking of her.

My grades improve in the second semester. I'm still busy with volunteering and dance practice for a summer performance, but at least the musical is out, so I put every energy into preparing for my A-levels. The next year at the audition I snatch away from Richard John Procter's role in the Christmas performance of 'The Crucible' and even he says I made a good job of it. When it's time, I apply to every Drama course in London and get a conditional offer from one, and an unconditional offer from another. Now the only thing that remains is to pack up and go to London to shake the West End.