War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 346
"Is she really a translator?" Sui Sui who was hiding in the car asked suspiciously.

"Probably learned acting before. I guess"

Wei Ran tapped on the small box that Kajianka left before getting off the car, "When someone comes out, take a few more pictures, and then I'll translate what they said by the way."

"As for making it so troublesome?" Sui Sui muttered to herself, and brought her eyes closer to the viewfinder frame of the SLR, and together with Katenka across the road, patiently waited for the people in the room to come out.

It took three to five minutes at most, and as the door opened, a man who looked to be in his thirties opened the door.

"Is your client a woman?" Sui Sui asked in surprise while pressing the shutter.

"male"

Wei Ran looked at the man whose face was about [-]% similar to Gorman, and responded absent-mindedly, and then saw that Sui Sui was looking at him strangely, and added an explanation helplessly, "This man should It's my client's son."

"Oh——" Sui Sui responded with a long voice, put her eyes on the back of the viewfinder again, pressed the shutter of the continuous shooting mode again, and started the translation work by the way.

"Excuse me, can I have a glass of sugar water? I have hypoglycemia." Katenka asked for help in English with a strong Slavic accent, "I just need a glass of sugar water, I"

"Come in, Jessica! Come out and help!" The man, suspected to be Gorman's son, yelled into the room, and then helped Katenka up.

Soon, a tall and thin young woman with long red hair ran out from the inside, and after asking a few simple questions, she immediately supported Katenka from the other side.

Watching the two people bring Kajianka into the room and close the door, Sui Sui also put away the camera, closed the car window, and listened to the sound from the small box with Wei Ran.

In the room, Katenka with a frail face sat on an old-looking linen sofa in the living room with the support of the two, and looked at the surroundings while the man was helping him prepare sugar water. surroundings.

The most conspicuous thing in this not-so-big living room is a Christmas tree full of colorful lights arranged next to the fireplace not far away. star.

And on the fireplace, in addition to a pump-action shotgun lying horizontally, there is also an Orthodox crucifix and a cross that is necessary for Orthodox Christians.

On the surrounding floor, in addition to various children's toys, there is a little boy who looks to be four or five years old at most, holding a half-eaten donut in one hand and a donut in the other. Tail of a Maine Coon cat.

That big scary Maine Coon cat seemed to want to give this annoying little ancestor a hard paw several times, but in the end, for some reason, it just put its fat paw gently on the back of the little friend's hand .

Looking at the table next to the sofa, in addition to a plate of cut fruits, there are a few bills that have not been put away in time, and a laptop with a second-hand car transaction page displayed on the screen.

Just at this time, a well-built white old lady who looked 60 years old also came out from the door leading to the garden, and asked in English with a strong Slavic accent, "Makar, what happened?"

"A hypoglycemic girl fainted at the door." The man who had just helped Katenka in spoke and handed Katenka a box of chocolates, while the woman named Jessica delivered a glass of milk into the Micro-wave oven.

"Thank you, I'm really sorry to bother you."

Katenka intentionally continued to express his thanks weakly in English with a strong Slavic accent, and then made the hand that received the chocolate tremble just right, and then tremblingly tore open the tin foil packaging of the chocolate , stuffed it into his mouth.

“What a poor kid”

The rich old lady took off the apron around her waist, sat opposite Katenka, and asked curiously in English with the same accent, "What's your name? I hear your accent. Are you from Russia?"

"Hello madam, my name is Karenina"

Katenka looked at the woman who was somewhat similar to the photo that Wei Ran gave, and continued to say in a weak tone, "I am Ukrainian, are you Russian?"

"Ukrainian?" The rich old lady raised her eyebrows, but did not answer the former's question, but continued to ask, "Where are you from Ukraine?"

"Odessa"

Katenka slightly tremblingly took a cup of hot milk with honey from the red-haired woman named Jessica, took a sip and continued, "That Odessa in Ukraine."

"Are you from Odessa too?" The old lady had already switched to Russian excitedly when she asked this sentence, and even the man and woman who had just helped Katenka in came over curiously.

"Are you too?" Katenka asked with the same excitement and surprise, "This is impossible! What a coincidence!"

"It's really a coincidence. I didn't expect to meet someone from the same place as me here." The old lady said excitedly, and at the same time crossed herself on her chest.

"I didn't expect that either"

Katenka seemed more excited than the other party, "I just couldn't go home this year for some reason, so I came to this city also called Odessa to spend Christmas with friends who also couldn't go home. What a coincidence to think of this!"

"Maybe this is God's arrangement"

The woman named Jessica didn't seem to understand Russian, and immediately after the man named Makar finished translating, she brought another plate of donuts, "Have some donuts, Karenina, yours Where are your friends? Are they not with you?"

"They went to see the crater"

Katenka said helplessly, "I wanted to find a place to eat around and wait for them to come back, but I couldn't hold on until I found it. I'm really sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's okay, it's okay."

The old lady comforted Katenka with a kind face, and then took the initiative to introduce, "I am Uma, this is my son Makar, and she is Makar's wife Jessica, of course, and the lovely girl under the Christmas tree." Little guy Gorman."

"puff!"

In the commercial vehicle on the opposite side of the road, Wei Ran, who had just poured water into his mouth, sprayed it directly on the back of the front seat, and then coughed uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?" Sui Sui, who was startled beside her, hurriedly asked with concern while helping to pat her back.

"No cough cough! It's all right!"

Wei Ran coughed and waved his hands, did he really convince these Europeans, why is it so hard to come up with a new name?Do you have to use a name as a family heirloom?If this were placed in Huaxia, whoever named his grandson after his husband would probably become a joke that the whole village would love to talk about.

"Neuropathy"

Sui Sui rolled her eyes, and after handing Wei Ran a tissue, she moved away in disgust and continued to listen to the conversation coming from the small speaker.

Katenka, who was in the room, did not know the meaning of the name Gorman. After making a brief self-introduction as an international student in the Department of Journalism and Communication of the University of Houston and expressing his gratitude for the help of his family, he took the opportunity to In a curious tone, I asked Mrs. Uma about her experience from Odessa in Kyiv to Odessa in the United States.

By virtue of being from Odessa and she is also a devout Orthodox Christian, the girl won the poor way that the family invited her and her friends to see the crater. My friends are invited to spend Christmas together this evening.

In addition, Katenka also learned insincerely during the chat that this Mrs. Uma is still working as a cashier in a nearby supermarket.

And her son, Makar, runs a small ranch with friends in the suburbs, but it seems that the business is not very good. As for that Jessica, besides helping out on the farm, her main business is He is a veterinarian with a decent income.

In general, this looks like an ordinary family that is considered a standard middle-class family. Although life is not bad, it is also very stressful. This can be seen from the bills that have been collected on the table and the fact that Makar is about to sell. His Ford pickup can tell with some money.

Seeing that the question that should be asked is almost done, Wei Ranyong sent a message "Where are you, we have returned to the hotel" to the other party's number with the phone card provided by Kajianka after landing in the United States.

On the other side, Katenka took out his mobile phone and looked at it, and ended the topic on his own initiative, "Mrs. Uma, and Makar and Jessica, thank you for your help. Now I feel better and I am going back to the hotel with my friends." Converged."

"Bring your friends back to celebrate Christmas with you at night?" Uma said with a hint of expectation in her tone, "When the time comes, you can continue to talk about what Odessa looks like now. Makar, you and Jessica are driving Take her back to the hotel."

"Then thank you"

Katenka thanked him sincerely, "I will ask those two friends for their opinions. Even if they don't want to come, I will come to spend Christmas with you."

"Good girl, you must come tonight."

Mrs. Uma grabbed Katenka's hand and said, "We made a Christmas goose, and you must bring your friends to eat together."

"I will definitely come, I promise." Katenka swore to make a promise.

After bidding farewell to Mrs. Uma, who had been delivered to the door, Katenka followed the woman named Jessica into a blue Ford pickup, and let Makar pull him towards the center of the city.

"Aren't we going to follow?" In the business car, Sui Sui, who was already hungry and growling, secretly pressed the shutter to Mrs. Uma who was standing at the door, and at the same time did not forget to ask Wei Ran beside her.

"hold on"

Wei Ran waited until Mrs. Uma, who was standing at the door, turned around and returned to the room, then bent over and moved to the cab, started the car and followed the blue pickup from a distance.

"Should we spend Christmas with that family at night?" Sui Sui asked expectantly while holding the back of Wei Ran's seat, "The two friends that Big Sister Ka said were going to see the crater are we two?"

"Sister Ka? What the hell is that called?" Wei Ran shook his head dumbfounded.

"Kajianka, Kajianka's card can also be Oscar's card, the big one belongs to the boss." Sui Sui said with a look of admiration, "I almost believe the stories she just made up."

"Maybe she is from Odessa, Ukraine?" Wei Ran teased Sui Sui with great interest.

"how is this possible!"

Sui Sui immediately retorted, "On the way here, she clearly told me that she is from Belarus, and she just came here to study in college two years ago. If it wasn't for lack of money, she would have no time to be your interpreter."

"Your big sister Ka didn't say a word of the truth."

Wei Ran muttered something to himself, took advantage of the situation, turned the car into an intersection and pulled over, and at the same time secretly pondered whether to follow Katenka to Gorman's ex-wife's house as a guest.

(End of this chapter)