Chapter IVOur first real argument was because of my name, which Andrei didn’t like at all.
He struggled to pronounce it correctly, and made it sound ugly, common and impersonal, yet it was the only name I’ve ever had – Maria. In our intimate moments, he always tried to change it, substituting it for affectionate pet names which I stubbornly resisted.
“I have to warn you, Andrei, that whenever you call me by some other name, I won’t answer you.”
But his real angst surfaced when he had to introduce me to a stranger, and then, assuming I would be too embarrassed to protest, he would alter my name through a French or English pronunciation or else he shortened it, according to his taste, often omitting the first syllable.
He called me Marie, Mary, Ria. And inevitably, when he tried this gam
