you and your babushka back to live with me. I hope that does not make you afraid of me. It does not make me afraid.
And, I must tell you, my beautiful pictures make me want to make love to you. I hope you know what that means. It means sex. But in a good and pure way, the way two people who love each other have sex, in a way that has meaning and hope in the future.
She dropped the letter and said in Russian, “Can this be happening?”
“Good happening, or bad happening?”
“Wonderful happening.” She continued.
He went on to tell her about his childhood in Sacramento and his Irish Catholic upbringing. He said he was not religious, so whatever her beliefs were was fine with him.
Toward the end of the long letter, he answered her questions. She thought it strange to name a truck after frozen land. Why would anyone want to name a truck after useless land? But when he explained what ‘in the millions’ meant, she was taken aback.
“Dear Heart, do you want to know what ‘in the millions’ means?’”
“Yes, Little Bird, what does it mean?”
“It means he was millions of dollars.”
“Dollars like money dollars?”
“Like money dollars.”
They looked at each other. “This can’t be right,” said Natalya. “He must have misunderstood.”
Actually, she had no concept of how to even consider millions of dollars. It was just beyond her. Then she read the final paragraph.
Natalya, I want to help you and your babushka. There is an American Express in Yakutsk. I’m sure you know where it is. My accountant has sent twenty-five thousand dollars there in your name. All you need to do is take identification to prove who you are and they will put the money in any bank you want. I was assured that the American Express people there will give you any help you need. It will probably be a good idea just to leave the money there and use them as your bank.
That money is for you and your babushka. Do whatever you want and help whoever you want with it. I’m told that twenty five thousand dollars is a lot of money there due to the exchange rate between dollars and rubles. But, if you need more, I will be happy to send it.
She blinked at the words, thinking she didn’t read them correctly. She read it again and again, wondering how this could be possible. She had never known anyone with that much money. She read it again. Some of the syntax was very strange to her but she was sure or the meaning. That is what it says, she told herself.
She didn’t have a bank account. She had never had enough left over to worry about it. What should she do?
Not taking her eyes off the letter, she reached over and shook her babushka. “Dear Heart, help me.”
“What is it, Little Bird?”
She translated the paragraph into Yakut. Her babushka was equally dumbfounded. “Does it really say that?”
“I have read it five times. It really says that.”
“How much is twenty five thousand dollars in rubles?”
“I don’t know exactly. But I know it’s over thirty rubles to one dollar.”
“Eeeeyiiiii,” said her babushka.
Natalya did a quick calculation. “That would be over seven hundred and fifty thousand rubles.”
“Eeeeyiiii.”
“This can’t be right,” said Natalya.
“Maybe you should go and see tomorrow.”
“I will. Now, let’s look at our pictures.”
The pictures were of her Misha in their house. They looked at each room. There were so many big and beautiful rooms. Misha was in some pictures, and her cousin was in others. Natalya stopped many times to cry.
The next day, Natalya took a bus to the American Express office. As she walked in, she saw a line of four people being helped by one person working behind the counter. Natalya got in line and waited. The people in line chatted with each other about everyday things. They tried to include Natalya but she was too nervous to do anything but smile and respond only when she had to.
When Natalya finally stepped up to the counted, a young blond man said in Russian, “Yes. How can I help you?”
Natalya had rehearsed what she was going to say. “My fiancée from California has wired some money here for me.”
The young man nodded. “What is you name?”
“Natalya Ivanova Bombla.”
The young man raised his eyebrows. “Yes. But it is a great deal of money. Do you have identification?”
Natalya showed her identification. The young man checked her identification and looked at her. He nodded and said, “One minute, please.” He went and talked to an older man behind a desk, pointing at Natalya. The older man took Natalya’s identification from the younger man, stood up, and came over to Natalya, extending his hand as he came.
“Miss Bombla, I am so happy to meet you. I am Mr. Petrov, the manager. Yes, your fiancé, Mr. Valentine, has wired you twenty-five thousand American dollars. We have it here for you. I was wondering, Miss Bombla, we offer banking as well as many other services. Can we convince you to deposit this money with us? I assure you, we are an international financial institution and I’m sure we can meet your needs.”
Natalya was shocked. It was true - she was rich. And, yes, she wanted the money to stay right here because that is what her Misha suggested.
“Yes, Mr. Petrov. I would like to keep the money here.”
He seemed relieved. “Excellent, Miss Bombla. We just have a few papers for you to fill out. It will not take long at all. Thank you so much for banking with us.”
He snapped his fingers and the young blond man stepped forward. “My son Alix will assist you. He will do everything he can to make this process quick and efficient. Will you be drawing any money out today?”
She blinked at him. “May I?”
The way she said it told Mr. Petrov volumes. He smiled. “Miss Bombla,” he said with great respect. “You are now a rich woman. Mr. Valentine informed our counterparts in the United States that he is fully prepared to send more money if it is needed. You may draw out as much as you want, all of it if you want. The information we received from America indicates that your fiancé is an extremely wealthy man.” He took a chance. “Did you know that, Miss Bombla?”
She blushed. “No. I mean he said he was wealthy, but… It’s just…” She took a deep breath. “I knew he received a disability pension from being wounded as a policeman. I knew he had enough. He told me he had money, but I did not know he was very wealthy.”
Mr. Petrov smiled and nodded. “Congratulations on your marriage, Miss Bombla. And congratulations on becoming a rich woman. Now, will you need any money today?”
It never occurred to her that she could actually take money with her. This was mind-boggling. Her Misha had sent her allot of money, the man in whom she had placed her faith since she was a little girl was now taking care of her. Her ghost was real.
She did take some out, but not much. She wanted to buy a present for her babushka and some shoes she had been wanting very badly. But that was all. She wanted time to think. The last thing she wanted to do was make stupid mistakes.
When she left, the manager thanked her again for her patronage and told her to come back anytime. He gave her his personal phone number and told her he would be happy to assist her in any way he could. She now had a great deal of money and an extremely wealthy fiancée. If she needed any advice at all, he would be