I said to Vlad as we drove away. “You can understand English.” “I can speak it too.” I tried to remember if I had ever said anything around him that had been mean or embarrassing. Couldn’t come up with anything. Vlad grinned. “Have no worries.” “Huh?” “You wonder now if there is anything said about me that came from you.” He spoke with a heavy accent, of course, and didn’t quite put words together like someone who had been born and raised here. But obviously he wasn’t lying about being able to speak English. I frowned at him. “You can read minds too?” A shrug. “Easy to guess at what you are thinking.” “How about now?” I asked Vlad. “What is it that you mean?” “I mean, can you guess at what I’m thinking now?” “Nyet.” “I’m thinking I should punch you in the mouth. You’ve been keeping this secret from me since we met. What if I had said something about you that I shouldn’t have? Like maybe telling people that I think you’re a Russian weenie.”
