Her voice trailed off at that. Because Anatoly hadn't been there this time. Physically, yes, but that version? No. And that was where the real issue was. Svetlana knew that, had her Anatoly been the one to respond to her request for him to come over when she needed him, had he been there when the girls had been shot, when they died... if he had been there, she wouldn't be so closed off and so cold. Because she knew that he would have been there for her, even to just sit with her. But because she hadn't had that when she first got back, because she had to steel herself against all the words and insults hurled her way, Svetlana thus couldn't let him close now even now, after knowing for certain and having known for certain that he was there.
Hearing the small joke, Svetlana's lip twitched into a faint smile. Good. She was able to joke, that was definitely something. She wasn't locked in her mind, she was on the road of recovery and that was good, important.