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what had happened in the taxi before she got on the flight, and when she looked at herself in the clear mirror, and inspected the damage, she felt the horror of it rush upon her like a blast of city wind filled with the debris of the street. She shook her head. No. She would not think of it.
    Taking in a shaky breath, she glanced at the huge bathtub. A nice, long bath was just what she needed, but she’d have to wait. Instead, she washed herself off in the sink and then used one of the hanging green towels with lace to dry herself.
    Maggie’s body banged on the door and Hannah panicked that she was going to burst in while she was naked. Quickly, she pulled on a fresh pair of underwear and her other bra, which had a tear in the front, but at least it was clean. Maggie let out a long, low groan.
    â€œOne more minute,” Hannah called, as she took her toothbrush and toothpaste out of her makeup bag and brushed her teeth.
    â€œAre you taking a bath?” Maggie called back through the door in English. When Hannah didn’t answer immediately, she asked the same question in Russian. Hannah noticed her Russian didn’t seem quite as fluent as her English.
    Hannah spit out the toothpaste. “I’m just washing up.”
    â€œDon’t use the towels with lace,” Maggie called. “They’re for decoration.”
    The lacy green towel was now wet and wrinkled. Hannah smoothed it out, hoping it would dry before the parents got home. When she stepped out of the bathroom wearing her new American jeans and the green button-up shirt that matched her eyes, Maggie looked her up and down, examining her. “Cool shirt. Come on. I’m starving to death.”
    Carrying her suitcase, Hannah followed Maggie into the largest kitchen she’d ever seen. It had slick granite countertops, new wooden cabinets, a central island, shiny silver appliances, and pristine white tile floors. They even had a dishwasher! She couldn’t wait to tell Katya.
    Even Katya’s family didn’t have a dishwasher, and they had the nicest kitchen Hannah had ever seen, with cupboards her mother had ordered from Italy. You could put wet plates on the bottom shelf and the water dripped down into the sink. Very high-tech. But Katya would be impressed with this kitchen for sure. Hannah’s family’s apartment was rented, so it had old cupboards with fading varnish, peeling wallpaper, and a small counter with a crack running through it. Their kitchen was always clean, though, and the dishes were put away, even though many of them were cracked. Somehow, Hannah doubted this family had cracked dishes.
    Maggie opened the refrigerator. It was packed with food. Hannah wondered why Lillian needed to pick up dinner with all this food in the house.
    â€œDo you always eat this late?” Hannah asked.
    Maggie began digging past the soda cans. “Only in the summer.”
    â€œNo candy,” Hannah reminded her.
    Maggie rolled her eyes. “I know.”
    Five minutes later, Hannah didn’t know how it had happened, but she’d already broken the first rule. She and Maggie were eating coconut-flavored sirok bars: sweet, frozen brinza cheese covered with chocolate. She’d suggested other options—salami, cheese, yogurt, apples, oranges—and all had been rejected. Maggie only wanted the sirok bar, which wasn’t exactly candy but was close enough.
    â€œYou don’t eat it like that,” Maggie said in Russian. She switched back and forth between English and Russian as if they were just two different pairs of shoes.
    â€œLike what?” Hannah asked, licking her lips self-consciously.
    â€œYou don’t bite ice cream,” Maggie said in Russian. “You lick it or you suck it.”
    â€œThat doesn’t seem very polite,” Hannah answered, thinking how she’d always been taught not to put food into her mouth and take it out.
    â€œIn America, it’s polite.”