"Next time let's do the story with the witch," he says.
232 THE RUSSIAN WORD FOR SNOW
"OK." And then I read all of Woolly Mammoths, not just the disgusting part.
"Good night," I tell Alex when we've come to the end, a picture of a lone mammoth standing in the snow. "Sweet dreams."
"Good night, sweet dreams," he repeats.
I bend down to kiss the mark on his forehead, the one we once thought was a bruise and has now faded almost away.
"I will always love you," I promise him. "More than anything."
"I will always love you," he says. "More than a woolly mammoth. And they're the powerfulest."