The Pyramid Hotel in Nakhodka, Russia

Chapter 11

Rules of the Game

The soup was good. Really good. I could feel the blood slowing as my arteries clogged just a little bit more. Solyanka. Russian meat soup. When I saw it on the menu I assumed it would be tough pieces of gristle and fat boiled from a soup-bone and drowning in weak beef broth. I imagined overcooked vegetables too old to be served in any other form but soup. Still, it beat taking a chance on something weird.

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About the Author

John M. Simmons is an adoption advocate and author of the award-winning novels The Marvelous Journey Home and To Sing Frogs. John performs television and radio interviews and writes editorials to share his experience with special needs and international adoption. He appears at book clubs, and is a frequent guest speaker for various groups to increase adoption awareness. He and his wife have three biological sons and six adopted children.