The Lives Of The Romanovs

The Unfortunate

Olga

The boys were finally starting to get over strep throat. That would mean that they would go back to schooling lessons and running around the house. We sat at breakfast together with a traditional English breakfast the chef made: scrambled eggs, sausage links, toast, and grilled tomatoes. It just so happened to be Kostya's favorite meal so he was decently excited about it.

"Mama, you must let us play in the snow!" Lyokha begged.

"You just got over being ill, little one. You all must wait a few more days before going outside."

"But Mama, we have been waiting to feel better for so long! We want to build a snowman and name him Prince Myshkin."

I tilted my head to the side at him. "Prince Myshkin? Why?"

"Because of his book, The Idiot. It reminds me of Kostya." Lyokha snickered at Kostya. Oleg started to snicker at him too. Kostya crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at his brothers. But Kostya was not the type of boy to stay mad for long. He started to laugh and then stole a piece of toast from Lyokha's plate, which we all found rather amusing. Unfortunately, the only one not laughing or paying attention was Igor. He was reading the newspaper and many other papers he had with him. It seemed like he carried down letters and bank statements to read at breakfast.

"Igor," I took a bite of scrambled eggs. "I thought we agreed to not read at the table."

Igor looked up at me. "You are right. I apologize." He set his papers down. He started eating again, but I could tell there was a lot on his mind.

"Papa, what is the matter? Is it from Dedushka?" Oleg asked.

"Oh, it is nothing you children need to worry about. Just eat your breakfast and then get ready for your French lesson."

Oleg groaned. "I understand, but it is Saturday! Saturday should be a day to relax and play!"

"And you can play once you finish your French and Mathematics lessons. You shall have all of tomorrow to play as well." Igor nodded at his son and then moved his eyes to me. "Olga, could we speak for a moment in my office?"

After breakfast, we sent the children off with Stephanie. Igor and I moved to his office. He pulled out a letter from Vladimir and told me to read it. There had been a brutal bombing at one of the largest banks in Petrograd and he had to witness it with Paul.

"My goodness, poor Vladimir. And my dearest nephew. I hope they are both alright." I sighed and handed Igor the letter back.

"I believe they are fine. This is dreadful how the Russian commoners are reacting to the stock market crash. It must be terrifying for them." Igor sighed.

"There must be something we can do. My soup kitchen is open for all hours of the day...but that may not be enough. My Papa still has not even found out the true extent of the damage of the economic crash."

"In my opinion, we should be alright here in Russia. Your Papa must hurry as it has been more than a week since the economic crash. And the poor Americans though. So many are out of work now." Igor shook his head. "The 1920s was such an interesting time for them with parties and speakeasies. And now? Poor, unemployed, and scared."

I sat down on Igor's desk. "There must be something we could do. Perhaps send money?"

"We need to figure out our issues first. The zoo may be effected. There's a chance we are going to lose funding. If we lose funding, then we may have to close down the zoo. Which is very possible. Not as much money will be coming in."

My heart dropped when Igor said that. The Russian commoners, and even aristocrats, loved the zoo. It was the heart of Petrograd for almost a decade. We could not close down the zoo. We had to find a way to keep it open.

"I refuse to let the zoo go down without a fight. There must be a way." I nodded and stood up. I walked over to Igor and put my hand on his face. "The zoo...it is not just something for the Russian people. It is apart of our children's childhoods. It is our sanctuary from Romanov and world problems."

Igor softly chuckled. "I know. I will do everything I can to protect our zoo. We must let the Russian people know that too."

"You should make a public speech. That way, you can reach everyone in Petrograd. It will be in the papers so everyone in the Russian Empire will know. Ukrainians, Belorussians, and more." I pressed my forehead against his.

"I will do that. My Olga, no matter what happens in this world, I will always love you. And I will always love our family."

I weakly smiled. "I know. I love you too." I wrapped my arms around Igor and we hugged tightly. Our family was everything to me. And in spite of it only being a place, the zoo was our family as well. The animals our children gasped and laughed at. The Russian commoners we got to meet everyday. It was truly something special to us. So we were going to work hard to protect it. No matter what happens.