Early Afternoon
9 February 1974
The Busy Street
Kitri had a rare Saturday off. Of course, she arranged it for the week that her sister, brother-in-law, and niece were visiting. It was their first time visiting Kitri, as she had always visited her family in Leningrad, missing both them and her home, after she officially moved to London.
She had offered to watch her niece, Lidiya, for the day to allow her sister and her husband to explore London without worrying about their nine-month-old. It was a kind gesture, but Kitri didn’t know much about babies or what to do with them. So, she decided to take her out while she ran her usual errands. Just because she was babysitting didn’t mean they did not have to be done. Diagon Alley had plenty of bright colors and interesting things for a baby to look at.
Her sister had told her talking to babies was good for their development, so Kitri chattered to her niece in Russian as she carried her around. Lidiya was balanced on her hip and a bag with anything she might need was slung over the opposite shoulder. Lidiya was entertaining herself with a toy that rattled when shaken and Kitri was walking to a bakery to pick up a dessert for the dinner she was making tonight.
Apparently, Lidiya was bored, or just feeling particularly mischievous (could nine-month-olds even be mischievous?) because she decided to wrap her tiny hand around a lock of Kitri’s hair and pulled
hard. Kitri yelped in pain as Lidiya giggled. She wasn’t done. With her other hand, she launched her toy, which had unfortunately hit somebody else in the middle of their back.
“Lidochka,
nyet,” she chastised before turning to the poor soul who got hit by the toy with an apologetic smile. “I’m
so sorry.”
