Chapter 37: Crisis

“ARE YOU GUYS going to be home for a while, please? I can’t take much more of this.”

I almost expected stressed-out Patricia to need to be settled down a little when we got back Monday night, but having Anna whimpering to me was completely unexpected.

“Anna, my rock. My glue. What is happening?”

“Patricia and I have been at each other ever since Adrienne left to go with you. First, she accused me of wanting her to be a slave like Adrienne, and then when you got back and only stayed two hours because you’d been kidnapped, and then Toni fighting in school...”

“What? Slow down, honey. Where do you want to start?”

“Might as well start with Toni. I know that’s what interests you most.”

“Yes, I’m interested in what happened with Toni, but I want to know what is happening with you,” I said. Toni in a fight? I couldn’t believe it. Still, I had to deal with first things first.

“I don’t want a slave! I wasn’t trying to get Patricia be one. I just sort of ... I sort of slapped her on the butt when she was running around naked. I wasn’t trying to punish her. Really. I thought I was being playful. But then she lit up about how she wasn’t my slave and if I ever touched her again, she’d kill me. Nate, I didn’t mean to hurt her. I never even treat Adrienne like that. I’ve never hit anyone in the family. I really thought it was being loving. I don’t want her to hate me!”

She’d stopped me on the way into the house, letting Ronda go ahead of us. She turned and buried her face in my chest and sobbed. I could imagine Ronda facing the same torrent inside with Patricia. Christ! We did not need the family to fall apart when we were so close to finishing our term. Another couple of months and we’d all go home.

“I’m sorry, Nate. I just never expected that of her. I thought we loved each other.”

“You do, honey. It’s just a misunderstanding and we’ll get it straightened out. We’ve all been under a lot of pressure. We’ll work things out,” I said. I just hoped we could.

I put an arm around her and carried my bag into the house. About three steps into the house, Ronda met us, pulled Anna into an embrace, and said, “Switch,” to me.

“Where?” I said.

“Upstairs.”

I carried my bag up the stairs and followed my ears to where Patricia was sobbing. Toni was standing defiantly outside Patricia’s door.

“It’s not my fault, Daddy!” she said, stamping her foot. “I want to see the Ambassador.”

I dropped the bags where I stood and scooped my girl up in my arms.

“I love you, Toni,” I whispered. “I’m not going to be mad at you and I’m not ready to punish you for anything. Let’s see if we can settle this without drawing the Ambassador into it. Where’s Alex?”

“She’s playing with a doll Aunt Addie gave her. It’s not her fault, either.”

“Of course not, honey. And I don’t think anything you did is what has Mommy upset. Can I go talk to her before we start dancing?”

“Yes, Daddy. I’ll make sure Alex is quiet.”

I put her down and she ran to the room she shared with Alex. I went into Patricia’s room.

“Honey?” I asked from the door.

“I’m not a good mother!” she cried. “I’m not a good wife. I’m not even a good companion. I should go back to Tenbrook!”

Fuck! This was not good.

“Patricia, your family is here and we need you,” I said, sitting on the edge of her bed to touch her back.

“Why? I’m selfish and tired and whiny. Even my daughters don’t want to be around me,” she said.

“Whatever gave you that idea? I look forward to being with you every time I come home. Toni and Alex adore you. Ronda and Anna love you to the end of the world and back. None of us think you are selfish or whiny. And if you are tired, then we should find ways to help you.”

“I feel so worthless, Nate. Anna goes to the embassy and just helps there. I take Alex with me and volunteer at the school, but they don’t really need me. At home, Ayesha and Tariq do everything. They cook the meals, clean the house, and even play with the girls. There’s nothing for me to do here except spread my legs when a lover wants between them.”

“Oh, that is so untrue, Patricia. I know you know your worth in this family and I won’t even try to argue with you about it. Now what can we do to help you feel better?” I asked “I’m happy just to hold you and rock you if that is what you want. Just say the word.”

“I love you,” she whispered. “I felt like such a failure today. When we went to pick the children up from school, Toni was being held in an empty room and I was told she’d beaten up a boy in her class and would not be allowed back in school. He was taken to the hospital. Nate, Toni has never hit anyone, even in play. When Anna slapped me on the butt, I just lost it. I immediately assumed Toni had picked it up from yours and Anna’s treatment of Adrienne. Toni knows we’re a non-violent family. You’ve never hit her, have you?”

“No. Have you talked to Toni about what happened? The first thing she said to me was to demand to see the ambassador. What is this all about?”

“The school didn’t say anything regarding what caused the fight, but apparently Toni did some serious damage. The boy is the son of one of the airport managers,” Patricia sniffled. “What did I do wrong, Nate? Why would she suddenly fly off the handle like that? I can’t have her out of school. I can’t teach her at home. I don’t know enough. She’s already smarter than I am by half.”

“Well, I don’t think there is anything we can say until we find out what actually happened. I sincerely hope we don’t have to visit the ambassador.”

“Nate,” Ronda said at the door. “Can you two pull yourselves together? The ambassador and his family are here. They brought qahwa and figs.”

“Well, I guess we don’t have a choice about that one. Can you pull yourself together, honey?” I asked Patricia.

“Yes. Let me just wash my face.”

I went downstairs and found Anna seating Ambassador and Mrs. Wells and their daughter Claire at our little table. We’d never gotten around to replacing the table and cushions with a western dining table and chairs. The ambassador stood to shake hands and asked us to bring the whole family to the table to share in the coffee ritual.

“I can’t tell you how shocked I was to hear about your ordeal in Iran,” he said. “Your boss called to inform me of what was going on but, of course, you’d already taken off for the US by that time. Are you all okay? I’m so sorry we didn’t know in time to come and visit Anna and Patricia while you were gone.”

“Thank you for your kind concern, Mr. Ambassador. We could hardly expect you to take time out of your schedule to visit,” I said.

“Sometimes, we have to take time off of being diplomats in order to be a family,” he said.

Just then Patricia and the children came into the room. Claire, the ambassador’s daughter, immediately jumped up to run to Toni and hug her. Alex was quickly caught up in the hug as well. Anna brought lemonade from the kitchen for the children and Mrs. Wells began pouring little cups of the qahwa.

“You know this is truly one of the most civilized rituals in the world,” Wells said. “I mean, can you think of another place in all your travels where guests would show up at your door and bring the hospitality with them? I think when this assignment is over, we’ll keep this tradition alive as much as we can.”

“It’s really quite lovely,” Ronda said. “The closest thing we have to it is a guest bringing a bottle of wine.”

“Yes. I’m not missing alcohol,” Mrs. Wells said. “I’d have to say that’s one of the civilized things about this country, too.”

We all sipped the coffee and took a bite of fig. Another of the civilized things was not to rush to the purpose of the visit. Having a cup of qahwa could take an hour just to have small talk.

“It seems our misadventure last week will have at least one change,” I said. “I intended to visit you tomorrow. The State Department is assigning two bodyguards to travel with Ronda and me on our future trips. I don’t know that they will require any space in the chancery, but I’m sure they can use our office if they need anything.”

“That’s good,” Wells said. “It’s also typical. Take precautions after the occurrence. Like building walls or fences around chanceries after an ambassador is killed in Nicosia. I’ve seen the architectural drawings of the proposed new chancery here in Muscat and it’s like the maze entrance of a medieval castle. Enter through the portcullis into the killing field and then get into the grounds if you are acceptable. I’ve asked Robert to please find a way to make it look less fortified.”

“It’s true. But I’ll feel better about the trips with a couple of people who are there just to be watchful. We’ll be traveling quite a long way on these next trips,” Ronda said.

“We had a bit of excitement at the school today,” the ambassador said. “I wanted to personally check to make sure my special envoy was well.”

“I’m sorry about the disturbance, Ambassador,” Patricia said. “We haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet. I’m afraid the family has been a bit upset.”

“Patricia,” Mrs. Wells said, “I can imagine the upset you must be feeling, but please don’t apologize. We owe a debt of gratitude to Toni.”

“What?” Patricia asked.

“Toni, Claire tells me you saved her today,” the ambassador said. “Could you tell us a little about what happened from your view?”

Toni put a piece of paper on the table and looked at her writing.

“Mr. Ambassador, when I was released from class to attend our noon meal today, I was looking forward to visiting with my friend Claire. I did not see her in the lunch room when I arrived, which I thought was strange since the rest of her class was there. I decided to walk to her class to meet her. When I got there, I saw Simon McKenzie with Claire backed into a corner. She was attempting to push him away, but Claire is much smaller than Simon, who is in the fourth class.”

“And with Claire in the corner, what was Simon doing?”

“He was trying to kiss her and when she turned her head away, he got angry. He reached out and pinched her ... on her chest and yelled for her to kiss him.”

“Did you go to fetch a teacher?” Mrs. Wells asked.

“No, ma’am. He was hurting Claire. I ran and jumped on him and knocked him down. I told Claire to run and get a teacher.”

“So, all you did was knock him down?”

“No, Mr. Ambassador. Simon fights dirty. Everyone at school knows that. He pinched my chest, too, and I started hitting him. He hit me, too. My tummy is still sore. When he started to roll over, I kicked him and hit his head against the floor.”

“Claire? Is that what happened?” the ambassador asked.

“I didn’t see the fight. Simon pinched me and tried to kiss me. He hurt me until my friend Toni jumped on him. Then I ran to get a teacher.”

“Did you go back to the classroom with the teacher?”

“No, Daddy. She said to stay in the lunchroom. I didn’t see Toni after that.”

“Toni, honey, didn’t the teacher ask you what happened when she got there?” I asked.

“No. She grabbed my ear and dragged me to the principal’s office. I sat in an empty room the rest of the day.”

“Oh, my baby! I’m so sorry I was upset,” Patricia wailed, rushing to Toni. She hugged her.

“My ear hurts and my tummy hurts, Mommy.”

“Oh, honey. Come upstairs and let’s take care of you.”

“May we join you?” Erin Wells asked. “I’d like to take a look at Claire, too.”

“Yes, of course,” Patricia said. “Um ... Anna? Can you come and help with Alex? I made such a mess of things today.”

“Of course I will, sweetheart.” The women left Ronda and me with the ambassador.

“You know, there’s a lesson in diplomacy to be learned here somewhere,” the ambassador said. “Claire has complained about the older bully in school before. We gave her all kinds of advice on how to avoid conflicts, but we didn’t take it too seriously. You know ... just typical school stuff. Until, like with your bodyguards and the walls around chanceries, something has already happened that suddenly wakes us up to a problem. I can’t say I wasn’t warned, and I’m sorry this has come to rest on your family as well.”

“It’s always hard to know what is happening until afterwards,” I said. “We have always taught Toni non-violence, but I can’t criticize her behavior in this instance.”

“Please don’t. Claire was hardly coherent when she got home from school today, so it took us a while to sort through what happened. When Robert came into the chancery this evening and told us the basics of what had happened last week and in Washington over the weekend, we decided we needed to rally our support and visit you,” he said.

“Have no others complained about this boy’s behavior? The description Claire and Toni gave is of a would-be rapist. And at what? Nine or ten years old?” Ronda asked.

“Exactly. I suspect he has been reported in other instances. His father is an unpleasant man as well. But he’s the number two man at the airport and I bet none of his employees want to get on his bad side.”

“Do they really not care about their own children being assaulted?”

“You know as well as I do that people let the bullies get away with murder before they stand against them and risk their own lives. You have quite a daughter there. I’m glad she is my daughter’s friend. Now, how are we going to address this situation with the school and with the father?”

We continued to discuss the situation through another cup of qahwa. Erin and Anna came back downstairs and joined us.

“Patricia has the girls and Toni has invited Claire to spend the night,” Erin said. “With your permission, of course.”

“I’m glad she’ll have the company of her friend,” I said.

“Both girls are bruised,” Anna said. “We used some of Adrienne’s healing salve on them. What a vicious boy! If you want to do damage to a girl and not have it seen, you would naturally attack her most vulnerable part—a part girls are taught from infancy not to show anyone. Fortunately, we’ve never taught Toni that.”

“Bill, he pinched both girls hard enough to bruise all around their nipples,” Erin said.

“We’ve decided to pay a visit to the school tomorrow, and to the airport, if necessary,” the ambassador said. “Everyone at the airport is afraid of Lowell McKenzie. It’s time he found out there is someone more powerful in town than he is. I plan to ask the Sultan to expel him from Oman.”

“You can do that?” Anna asked. “He can do that?”

“The Sultanate is an absolute monarchy,” the ambassador said. “He could have the boy arrested and beheaded if he decided that was in the best interest of the country. I’ll try to keep the specific crimes out of the conversation.”

“As long as Toni can return to school with no backlash, I’m fine with that,” I said. “However, I have no faith that the school would act to curtail the problem.”

“I am sensitive to the position of mothers in this, Erin,” he said. “However, I believe this is a case in which the fathers should go to address the matter.”

“I would object to that in other parts of the world, but I’ll agree in this instance. I’ll talk to Patricia about it.”

It took another half an hour of chitchat before our evening was finished. The ambassador wanted to know when we’d be traveling again and what our proposed itinerary was. Ambassador and Mrs. Wells wished us a good evening and took their coffee dallah and their cups with them when they left.

Ronda, Anna, and I went upstairs and looked in on the children. It was rather late, but I didn’t think I’d be sleeping much after a couple of cups of the highly caffeinated coffee.

The girls were asleep and I placed a soft kiss on the heads of my daughters. Then we went on to the master bedroom where we found Patricia standing naked beside the bed.

“Honey?”

“I was such an idiot today,” Patricia sighed. “I didn’t stop to think about anything I was doing. I yelled at my daughter and at my wife. Yes, Anna. My wife. I am so sorry I screamed at you. Without you, I’d be even more of a wreck than I am. Please, love, can you forgive me?”

Anna rushed to Patricia and just hugged her.

“Of course, my love. This was a very stressful day. I had no idea how serious things were either. I was too focused on getting our husband and wife back home to be paying attention to what you were going through. I’m so very sorry. I’ll never slap your bottom again,” Anna said.

“Don’t promise things you know we can’t keep to. We’ve had playful slaps on the bottom before. You’ve never hurt me and I’ll never hurt you.”

“Why don’t you come to bed and let our husband soothe you in the best way possible,” Anna said.

“I ... um ... I’d like that,” Patricia said. “But Anna, love, if you can stand my touch, I would much rather soothe and be soothed by you tonight. I need to regain my sense of family with the woman I share more of it with than anyone.”

“Um ... I’d love that,” Anna said. “But how about if we invite the other two to bed with us. You know we’ve missed them for four weeks and they’ll be off again next week.”

“That’s true. Maybe we could team up on them?”

“Now you’re talking!”

I guess it was a good thing that I was caffeinated and wide awake.

The ambassador and his wife showed up at the house the next morning. Erin stayed with my wives and her daughter while the ambassador and I went to the school. I was upset about this trip. It happens whenever I confront authority. When I confronted the principal at our high school the day he tried to expel Patricia, I nearly threw up on his desk. I was amazed at how calm Ambassador Wells was. I guess that’s what it takes to be a diplomat.

“Ambassador, how may I help you today?” the principal of Toni’s school said.

“Arden, it seems there was a problem at school yesterday. I’ve brought Toni Kowalski’s father with me so we can talk about it. I’ve also requested that Lowell McKenzie come to discuss what has transpired,” Wells said.

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not necessary,” the principal said. “We’ve handled the situation. We can’t have a child beating up other children. I’m sorry, Mr. Kowalski, but your child will have to leave the school.”

“It’s Mr. Hart. On what grounds is my daughter being expelled?” I asked.

“Well, she beat up a boy during lunch yesterday. There’s no excuse for that.”

“And you talked to her about that?”

“No. We kept her in isolation until her mother got here to pick her up.”

“So, you really don’t know what happened, do you?”

“She was caught, punching the boy’s face into the floor. He was taken to the hospital for a broken nose and several loose teeth. When the teacher arrived in the classroom, your daughter was on top of the boy hitting him.”

“Simon McKenzie is in the fourth grade, is he not?” Wells asked.

“Yes.”

“And I take it he is a small and underdeveloped boy?”

“No. He’s quite normal. Perhaps a little big for his age.”

“Weight?”

“About ninety pounds. I don’t see that is relevant. It’s obvious...”

“And a six-year-old first-grade girl under four feet tall and forty-five pounds simply beat the tar out of this boy nearly twice her size?”

“As I was saying, it was obvious that she ambushed him in order to get the advantage. She may have hit him with something so he was stunned.”

“How long has Simon McKenzie been bullying children in the school?” Wells asked.

“There are no reports of...”

“Why is that? My wife and I have talked to several other parents who have confirmed their children have reported the boy for hitting, or otherwise assaulting them. But nothing has been done about it,” Wells said.