Tutoring

She opened the door and smiled. "Hi, Shane. Thank you so much for coming over. Please come in."

He saw a chocolate Lab sitting obediently and waiting to be released. "This is Cocoa, my other girl. She'll probably want to sniff you so do you mind if I let her up?"

"Wow. She's very well trained and no, I don't mind at all. I love dogs—especially Labs."

"Cocoa. Up!" The Lab jumped up and immediately walked toward Shane. Her tail was wagging a hundred miles an hour as he knelt down to pet her.

"Hey, there!" She sniffed while he petted. "Oh, you're such a good girl, aren't you?" he said. He looked over and saw Alexandra smiling at him.

"Привет!" he heard her say.

"Hey, there munchkin!" he said in Russian. "Come here and give me a bug hug, okay?"

She ran straight to him and put her arms around his neck. He picked her up and said in her language, "Look how much you've grown since yesterday! What's your mommy feeding you to make you get so big!"

Alexandra giggled and held him tight. He was going to put her down but she wouldn't let go.

"I think you have a friend," Libby said.

He told Alexandra what her mother said then she said to him, "You are my friend!"

"Do you remember my name? Can you say Shane?" She repeated it perfectly and he praised her before asking, "Hey, are you making lunch or is your mommy making it?"

She giggled again and said, "I can't cook. I'm too little."

"Wait! You're not little. Yesterday you were little. Today you're BIG!" As he said the word 'big' he tickled her ribs with one hand as he held her tight with the other. Alexandra squealed with delight and laughed so loud and so long it made Libby start laughing.

"I may have to hire you to work here full-time," she said with a pleasant smile.

"I'm not sure my employer would like that too much," he said returning her smile. "Can I set you down now?" he asked Alexandra. She didn't want to let go but he offered to hold her hand so she finally gave in. They followed Libby to the kitchen where something smelled very good.

"BLTs?" he said looking at the stove.

"Coming right up," she told him. "Food is just one more area of frustration," she told him as she got things ready. "I can't even ask Alexandra what she likes. I don't know how to make borscht or pelmeni or other Russian dishes so..."

"I know it's frustrating now, but you'll be amazed how quickly she'll learn English. Children are driven to communicate and before you know it, she'll be fluent and have no accent whatsoever. You on the other hand, will always speak any Russian you learn with an accent because no adult can completely get rid of it. Just give it time."

"That's easy for you to say," she said politely as she sat the first BLT on a plate. "We have so many things to do and so little time to get them done. School starts in three weeks and I'm looking for a job myself so it's kind of crazy around here."

"Anything in particular?" he asked.

"I'm hoping to work at a flower shop in town. The owner is an old friend and she told me she really needs some help. I love flowers and we could use the money. Paul's life insurance...my late husband...is running low so I really need a job. I'm planning to begin working as soon as Alexandra starts school."

Libby also volunteered a little extra information. "I used that money to pay off the house and car plus the property taxes as well as for the three trips to Moscow to adopt Alexandra. Paul and I...well, Paul...couldn't have children and we always wanted them so much."

"Libby, you don't need to tell me anything personal. I'm just happy you were able to adopt this precious little girl. She certainly is a charmer."

Libby agreed with him then said, "If you don't mind me being nosy, may I ask what it is you do for a living, Shane?"

He told her what he did and she said, "I had the feeling you might be in the Air Force and I was pretty sure you were a well-educated young man." She smiled and said, "Not because you speak fluent Russian. You just have...that look."

Shane Fields did have that look—or at least a look. He was 5' 11" and in great shape and he was a very good-looking guy. He had short, very thick black hair, blue eyes and a great smile. Like Libby, he wasn't hard to look at.

"Well, I'll take your word for that, Libby. I'll trust that by 'that look' it's not a bad look. Like a wanted poster or something."

Libby laughed politely. "No, not at all, Shane. You're a very nice-looking young man. If you don't mind me asking, is there anyone special in your life?"

"If you mean other than this pretty young lady right here..." he said looking down at Alexandra who was still clutching his hand tightly, "then, no." He explained in Russian what he'd just said and Alexandra giggled again and called him silly. "Silly? ME???" he said putting his forehead on hers. "Are you saying I'm crazy?" He made circles with her eyes and Alexandra shrieked with laughter again.

"No. You're not crazy," she said. "You're just silly!"

"Well, I think you're silly, TOO!" he said before tickling her again.

"I wish I knew what you two were talking about," Libby said clearly loving watching her daughter laugh.

"We were just making plans to run away together. That's all." He translated for Alexandra who laughed even louder.

"Okay, lunch is ready!" Libby announced. "What can I get you to drink? Iced tea? Coffee? Water? Maybe even a beer in spite of the early hour?"

"Iced tea, please," he said. "Let's get Alexandra to say what she wants in English, shall we?"

"Oh, I would love that!" Libby said. She stood still and listened carefully.

Shane explained what her choices were then said each in Russian then in English. "Vah-DAH is water." He repeated it slowly and clearly then did the same for iced tea.

"Wat-ter—please!" Alexandra said. Libby's eyes lit up as she heard her daughter's first real word spoken in English. She moved around the island in the large kitchen and hugged her tight and told her how proud she was as she brought her a glass. Shane translated and the little girl was thrilled to learn her mother was proud of her.

As they ate, Shane taught her several other words and phrases such as, may I please have... I would like..., etc., as a way to preface her requests.

"How is she doing other than language-wise?" Shane asked before taking a big bite of his BLT.

"Well, I love that she's with me 24-7 and she seems very healthy and otherwise happy, but she won't even play with her toys or dolls unless I'm with her."

"How about we give that a trial run after lunch?" he suggested. He turned to Alexandra and asked her, "Хочешь поиграть с куклами после обеда?" "Do you want to play with dolls after lunch?"

"Вы с мамой там будете?" "Will you and mommy be there?" He told her, "Of course." She took a big bite of her sandwich and nodded hugely up and down and up and down.

Libby shook her head in amazement and said, "We have a guest cottage out back if you'd like to just move in here."

"Um, yeah. Sorry. I've got that whole day-job thing going on. Well, sometimes it's a night job, but you know what I mean."

After lunch they played in Alexandra's room for nearly an hour before Libby said, "Shane, I really didn't mean to monopolize your time. I just needed to..."

"The forms! I completely forgot. Can you bring them in here? I'll work on them while you two play, if that's okay."

"You really are a lifesaver!" she said as she got up to get the paperwork.

Alexandra was playing with two dolls and asked, "Как сказать кукла?" "How do you say KOOK-la in English?"

"Doll," he told her. She repeated it flawlessly. "Молодец!" he told her letting her know she was awesome.

When Libby came back in Shane said in Russian, "Tell your mom your new word."

She held up the toy and said proudly, "Doll!"

Libby dropped the papers and hugged her again. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart." Shane translated and Alexandra smiled.

"Okay, let's see what you've got here." Within ten minutes, Shane had written the English translation for every block on every form next to or below the Russian. "It's all just basic stuff with one exception. Let me show you." Libby sat next to him and he said, "See this? It says here she's allergic to penicillin. Did you know that?"

"What?" Libby said with clear surprise. "Really? Show me again." Shane pointed to the medical form. "How could they not tell me something that important?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "The good news is we know."

"I'm getting her a bracelet this afternoon." She looked at Shane with eyes that weren't filled with tears but genuine thanks. "I owe you SO much. Thank you. You may have literally saved my daughter's life."

"Hey, you told me I was a lifesaver, right?" he said with a smile.

"You're fast becoming my hero, Shane Fields," she told him.

He sat up straight and in his best John Wayne voice said, "It's all in a day's work, pilgrim."

Libby laughed harder than he'd seen her laugh before and Fields knew it wasn't that his imitation was all that funny. She was just very relieved to finally have some help. You know, with little things like a previously unknown, life-threatening allergy or just being able to communicate with her daughter at a primitive level.

By the time they finished playing in Alexandra's bedroom she could not only say 'doll' but 'you, me, I, mommy, bed, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ear, and teeth." Shane kept reviewing them with her then asked her to not only say the word but a full sentence. "This is my eye. This is your ear. These are my teeth." Each time he'd smile and tell her she was the smartest girl in the whole wide world. She even learned, "I know" before they stopped.

He told Libby to keep reviewing those words with her and now that she new the phrase, "What is this?" she could teach her the same way she'd teach English to a toddler.

"I'd say that's a pretty good start for a first try," he told Libby as he got ready to leave. "Things like singular, plural, and subject-verb agreement will come along naturally and quickly. Human beings are programmed to learn grammatical rules so as she builds her vocabulary the grammar and syntax will come along."

She walked him to the door and thanked him sincerely again. He told her she was more than welcome then said, "I meant to tell you how nice you look today—well, again, that is. You looked great yesterday too, and I suspect that's always the case and you probably hear that rather often."

Libby looked...flustered? No, that wasn't it. For the briefest of moments he thought perhaps he'd come on a little too strong for having just met her and yet it was just a compliment. A sincere compliment but nothing more than that.

"Thank you, Shane. That was really very nice of you to say, but no, I don't hear that often or much at all. I mean, it's not that I don't think you're sincere, it's just that I've only been on a handful of dates in the last six months or so and..."

"Anyone special?" he asked knowing she'd asked him the same thing.

"Um, no. Well, not really. Paul's brother, Keith, has been incredibly helpful through all of this and since his divorce, he and I have gone out a couple of times." Libby smiled and said, "It's almost like having Paul around or something, you know?"

"That has to be comforting," he said not really knowing what else to say.

"Well, yes and no," she offered. "I loved Paul—a lot. It's just that we got married so young, you know? Too young to really know what we wanted in another person. So while the similarities bring back fond memories they also remind me that well...knowing what I know now, I'm not sure I'd have done the same thing." She'd been looking away then looked right at Shane and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to ramble. You asked a very simple question and I started writing a book in response. I can do that sometimes, I suppose. But when you don't have anyone to talk you it's tempting to want to talk someone's leg off once you do and in you're case..." She stopped and said, "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

"I don't mind at all," he told her. "I enjoy your company, Libby."

"Same here, Shane. This was not only very helpful but it was also really nice."

"So...I'll see you next time you need some help then?"

"Oh, right. Sure. That sounds good," she told him.

He opened the door then said to Alexandra in Russian, "Can you tell me goodbye in English?" He said it twice then heard her say, "Goodbye, Shane." He hugged and told her again, "Молодец!" which is kind of universal word for expressing 'well done' or 'aren't you smart.'

"Oh, one more thing?" Libby said.

Shane closed the door and said, "Shoot."

"Can you teach me...or Alexandra...how to say 'I love you' to each other?"

He told Alexandra what he was teaching her mommy then said to Libby, "Repeat after me. Ya tee-BYA lyoo-BLYOO." Libby botched it terribly the first time and Alexandra giggled.

"I'm so bad at this!" she said. Shane repeated it again and Libby got it all right except for the last syllable which she pronounced like the color blue. "Not 'blue' but 'blyoo' with a 'y' sound."

She repeated one more time and aced it causing Alexandra to clap and say, "Молодец, mommy!"

"Alexandra just told you you're a smart girl." He turned and knelt in front of her and said in Russian, "Now tell your mommy 'I love you.'" On the very first try, Alexandra said it perfectly.

Shane looked up and smiled and saw Libby on the verge of crying again. He picked Alexandra up and said in Russian, "Let's give mommy a hug, okay?"

Alexandra said 'okay' in English as it was the same word in both languages. She saw her tears and asked Shane, "Is my mommy sad?"

"No, honey. She's crying because she's so happy. Because she loves you SO much."

Alexandra's little arms were around Libby's neck as she said in her tiny voice, "I love you, Mommy."

"Oh, I love you too, Alexandra. I love you so, so much!"

"Looks like my work here is done," Shane said doing the John Wayne thing again.

Libby wiped away her new tears then said, "Let's give Shane a big hug too, okay?" Alexandra didn't understand but when she saw her mom hold out her free arm, she got it.

The two girls each hugged them as Shane put his arms around them. He was almost startled when Libby kissed him on the cheek. He flinched slightly causing her to pull back immediately and say, "Oh, my goodness. I am so sorry. I have no idea why I did that, Shane. Please..."

"It's okay," he told her. "In fact, it was a rather pleasant surprise."

"I just never do that kind of thing and I feel so embarrassed."

"It was just a kiss on the cheek, Libby. I've been helping you out and you were overcome with joy hearing your new daughter tell you she loves you and..."

As Shane said the words 'loves you' Alexandra said, "I love you!" again causing the adults to laugh and Libby to hug her.

"Ya tee-YA..." She looked at Shane and said, "I already forgot how to say it."

He laughed politely and said, "No worries. The good news is Alexandra won't forget the new words she's learning so you wouldn't need Russian words for very long anyway."

"Oh, okay. Then I guess that means we can't keep you here," Libby said with a smile and a look that told him she was only mostly kidding.

He opened the door again and told them goodbye, but before he took a step Libby blurted out, "Shane? Would you like to maybe go out sometime?"

He stopped, turned toward her and saw a mortified look on her face. She set Alexandra down and said, "I...I'm clearly losing my mind. I don't even know what to say or why I said that. I feel so...stupid." She looked away from him and he could tell she really did feel foolish.

He closed the door a second time and said, "I'd love to go out with you sometime, Libby. And if it could be with both of you beautiful girls, that would be even better."

"Shane, no. You don't have to say that. You were right. I got all caught up in the moment and the emotions and don't get me wrong. I really am grateful. It's not that you're not a great guy or really good looking or anything, it's just that what I meant was I only wanted to..."

He took a step toward her, waited for her to look him in the eye and stop talking. Once she did, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and said, "You were trying to write another book. Learn to take 'yes' for an answer, okay?"

Libby just stood there too stunned to speak. "Okay," was all she said.

"Поцелуй!" Alexandra said pointing to her cheek. "Kiss!"

"You want a kiss?" Shane said in Russian. "From...ME?"

Alexandra giggled as he zoomed in like an airplane, made a screeching sound like the plane was stopping, then pecked her the cheek—three times in a row and very fast. "Раз, два, три!" he said between each kiss. "One, two, three! Now you count in English."

"One, two, three!" she shouted. Shane raised his hand for a high five but Alexandra had never seen that before so he held it out to Libby who gave it a whack. Once she knew the deal, Alexandra did the same thing. He explained that's what 'high five' means and Alexandra immediately repeated it holding up her palm getting responses from both Shane and her mom.

"Okay, this time I'm really leaving," he said, "but I'm holding you to a date."

"Oh, right," Libby said. "A date. As...friends, right?"

Shane smiled at her and with an unmistakable twinkle in his eye said, "As friends? Okay. Sure. I can live with that—for now." He saw Libby's eyes opening wide as he waved goodbye as Alexandra pushed the door shut.

"Note to self," he said on the way to the car. "Don't call Heidi."

He was pulling a 24-hour shift starting the next morning and wouldn't be reachable so he texted Libby that evening. "Thanks for lunch and for inviting me over. I had the best time ever today! How would you like to go kayaking or canoeing Tuesday afternoon at Sloan Lake? If that's not your cup of tea, I'm open to suggestions. After all, you do owe me a date." He put in a smiley face wearing sunglasses and hit 'send.'

A few minutes later he got a reply: "That sounds wonderful! And thank you again for helping today. Oh, and also thanks to you, I'm out getting Alexandra a bracelet letting people know she's allergic to penicillin. We look forward to seeing you again soon! L&A"

Fields smiled and settled in for a few hours of studying before going to bed around 11 o'clock.

As they walked outside following the 24-hour shift in the 'hole', the 'brown bar' or second lieutenant, who was on shift with him said, "Why does it always feel like we just got released from prison every time we walk out into the light of day after a shift?"

"I hear you," Shane told him. "Which circle of Dante's hell do you think the LCC would be?" The lieutenant laughed and said, "See you in 24 hours?"

"Make that 23 hours and 30 minutes," Shane said in reply.

"Roger that!"

It had the makings of another beautiful summer day in Cheyenne as he got into his car. He turned it on and let the AC run then texted Libby. "Just got off shift. Any chance I could take you two beautiful girls to lunch before we go out on the water?"

He was backing up when her reply came. "If you think you can take that much of us in one day, we'd love to!"

He put the car in park and typed. "Hmmm... It could push me to my limits, but I'm willing to risk it. See you around noon?"

"Definitely!" was her one-word response.

He glanced at his watch and thought he could get maybe three hours of sleep and a shower in before leaving and that would be more than enough to get him through the day.

When he rang the doorbell right at noon, he was pleasantly surprised when Alexandra opened it. "Привет!" she said.

"Hello to you," he said in English as he picked her up. "You look very pretty today," he said in Russian. "Where's your beautiful mother?"