Chapter 19

2009 – Egypt and home

We spent the following day inside the embassy building while some embassy people shopped for us. There were some clothes available inside the embassy, but most of the selection was of military style. Those items, together with the stuff the embassy people purchased for us, gave us enough clothes and supplies to get back home. Despite all the things that had happened and even if all the memories weren’t so good, the women demanded that they wanted to get all the clothes they had been wearing back home. I guess they packed mine, too.

When the girls got their fatigues the amount of giggling was almost something intolerable. On the other hand, I could understand that now when they didn’t need to worry any more for their lives, it felt good to laugh. I also had to admit that they all looked good dressed like that.

Two days later we were sitting in an army plane which was on its way to Germany. There we would change planes and be on our way back home. I looked at my family and Karen and wondered why I still thought of that place as my home. After all, during the last five years I had never been there more than a few months at a time. Luckily for us, we were all handled as Company people and nobody asked about family details. I guess they all assumed that Karen and I were a young-looking family with three daughters.

Even back in the States they kept us together for a few days. Some people from the Company came to talk with us, just to make sure that we wouldn’t talk about the things we had seen during our trip back home - or about some of the things that happened back there. I guessed that they were still sorting their apples and getting rid of the rotten ones. Of course part of the service was the recognition of the marriage between Hana and me, and the adoption of Naiya. We had agreed within the family that Pam and Hana would keep a low profile and that I would stay married to Hana for the time being.

After two days in the navy base I had my own meeting with my boss. He looked a bit older, and I now noticed that he had a slight limp. I still didn’t know what his official position was inside the Company - if there was any. I wasn’t going to ask. We shook hands and sat at opposite sides of the table in otherwise empty room.

“It seems that it doesn’t matter where I send you, Greg - you always manage to agitate some people.”

I shrugged and replied,

“Usually that’s not intentional. At least not in the beginning. But if the situation demanded a reaction, I tried to be ready for it.”

“Like you did in getting married to a fifteen year old girl with a baby?”

“I’d rather keep my family separated from this business. But yes. Besides, it’s not her baby. It’s her sister’s, who died. We just adopted her.”

“And you intend to stay married to her? You know that it may raise some eyebrows.”

“For the time being yes. At least until the citizenship issue is resolved. But we intend to keep a very low profile on that.”

He looked at me intently for a moment before nodding. I was quite sure that he knew something more than he let out.

“On the other hand it should not matter very much, Greg. You see, that I think that we cannot use your services for much longer. As you know we don’t work on our own soil and there are some issues in sending you out.”

I raised my eyebrows a bit.

“You see, Greg, there is a certain religious group who have by now figured out who was behind their failure. It’s highly improbable that they would come after you, but I don’t recommend you or anyone from your family to ever travel to countries where that certain religion is preferred. On the other hand, there are some places in Africa where some important organizations lost some prospects a few years back. They may also carry some grudges.”

“You better believe that I have no intention to of visiting those places again.”

“Another thing is that some people inside my organization would consider it very improper for you ever to visit China again. They might tolerate some contacts with your lady friends, but traveling there or even close, is strictly no-no. I know it’s silly but that’s the way they see it. But that still leaves you Europe and some parts of South America - and of course Canada.”

Even I had to laugh to that.

“Believe me, I’d be very happy to finally spend some time here. I have no intention of traveling any time soon.”

“Good, because even if I came here to sack you, I also came here to hint to you about an open position in a university close to your old home. If a suitable person applies for that position, he might occasionally be asked to give some lectures at Langley, all expenses paid, of course.”

I was silent for a moment before looking at him sternly.

“I know that you sent me out there to expose those people.”

Now it was his turn to be quiet for a moment.

“Yes, that’s part of my job, and you did it, didn’t you? I could say that I’m sorry but that would be a lie. Look, Greg, in certain situations certain kinds of people are needed. I needed your skills and used you. That’s part of my job.”

“I still didn’t like it.”

“I didn’t want anyone there who would have liked it.”

Two weeks later we all were looking for a house. Yes, Karen was still hanging with us. We had a relationship that was not really a relationship. Maybe it was something that might turn into a relationship, or maybe it wouldn’t. We didn’t know, and neither of us was willing to raise the issue. We knew each other, and the sex was better than good; but the truth was that there was a huge ‘elephant in the room’ which we had ignored. Or maybe there were several elephants - our breakup, her past, my past - and the future. And her father!

I could tell that Pam and Hana were happy with the arrangement, since it sort of gave them permission to continue their relationship. Like I had ever done something against it? I loved my daughter and I loved Hana and I wanted them to be happy. One other person that was happy because of Karen was Naiya, and I was surprised to find those motherly attributes in her. Whether they were real or not, it was enough reason for me to take a second chance with her. So when there was extra time available before my family could move to our new house, I started telling her my story. I told her all about it, and honestly.