Chapter 2: The Ambassador’s Girl – Charlie, for now

I stopped at the restaurant across the street and explained the situation. They said they’d have a nice dinner ready for us in about three hours, but insisted they bring it to the room so it was ready to eat when it arrived. Seems they do this all the time, much like pizza delivery.

I asked the head about a drug store and got simple instructions for a place just a few blocks away. Living downtown might have its advantages, but I wouldn’t be able to handle it for long. Convenience doesn’t trump peace and quiet. Never will.

On the way back to the room, since I still had a couple of hours to blow, I stopped at a coffee shop and made some calls. It was still early back home, so I don’t think I upset anyone too badly.

My first was to a lawyer friend of mine. I asked him what happens when someone is declared deceased but isn’t. He explained the process of reclaiming one’s life, if there was anything left to claim, and how they would just keep on pressing on. Then he asked why.

“Roger, it was just a hypothetical. For now. I had a nightmare and just needed some follow-up so I could get some sleep tomorrow. I may need your help when I get home, though. Just keep it between us and we’ll be fine.”

“Charlie, remember the Denver-Las Vegas game? You put ten on the winner, right?”

“I don’t remember...”

“Let me start again. You bet on the winner. I bet on the loser. I owe you ten dollars. Say ‘Yes, Roger’.”

“Yes, Roger.” I started laughing when I realized what he was doing.

“I have that ten dollars in my hand and I am now under a retainer for the discussion we just had. Deal with it and don’t talk to anyone but me and your nightmare about your nightmare until you get home. Don’t let it get ahead of you. I know you well enough to know there is something going on and you can’t talk about it yet. We’ll talk later. You’re still in Paris, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Roger. You’re pretty smart, I mean for a lawyer.”

That time he started laughing. “Asshole. Call me on the way home. I gotta get to work. Bye.” Click.

I sat there shaking my head and wondering how I could be so transparent, but then I realized I telegraphed my situation. Anyone that knew me well and had half a brain would have figured it out. That would be Roger.

My next call was to the office. All was well back home and the edits to the contract we were working on with the automaker here were done, approved, in the system, and on the way back to them here in Paris for signatures. They’d let me know when the deal was sealed.

I just sat there for a while, pondering the situation. This was possibly the most exciting thing I’d ever been involved with, but it would be fun to try to help the girl out and possibly get her to safety and keep her safe until we could put all of the obvious problems behind her. I didn’t really even know if that was possible, considering, but there had to be a chance. Some way must exist. We’d just need to find it.

I left the shop, carrying a little box with some hot chocolate for her, and another coffee for me. One thing I have found here was they have some pretty good coffee in some of the little coffee shops.

I entered the room quietly so I wouldn’t wake Mandy. She was still asleep, and we had at least an hour to wait until dinner was delivered. I sat and drank my coffee, just watching her. She had a bit more color than she did last night, but she was probably still quite a ways from being all the way back to normal, if she even had one. A normal, that is. I turned the TV on, volume way down, and turned to Fox News, about the only thing I could find in English. I wasn’t going to bother learning each of the languages of the countries I travelled to. I’d never keep up. I had translators on call for that. After a half hour or so of nothing but bad news about everything I heard a rustle in the bed.

“Charlie, I had a dream.”

“Pray tell, sweetie.”

“I had red hair and a horse. That’s all I remember.”

“That’s a lot. Do you like horses?”

“To ride? Yes. To own and care for? I have no idea. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I don’t know. You seem not to like the idea of red hair, and I just wanted to get your take on horses.”

She giggled. “You are a pig,” she said, laughing.

“Yes, dumpling, but I am a pig with horses. I think your dream might be telling you something.”

“It’s telling me I’m being thought of as a fattening food, sometimes served with chicken. What next? A sweet substance found in beehives? Charlie, if my dream is telling me I’m going to have red hair and be around horses and you have horses and like red hair, I’m where I need to be. I need a favor.”

“What, honey?”

“There he goes with the sweet substance and bees reference.” She started laughing. “I need you to help me color my hair. My arm is still bothering me a bit.”

“No problems at all, sweetie. I’ll help you with that right after dinner. They’re bringing it over in about thirty minutes.”

“Thank you. Did you get the bandaids and stuff?” I nodded. “Let’s go in the bathroom and do this.” I followed her out of bed then she stood in the bathroom, in front of the mirror, letting the shoulder of the robe slide off showing me all but the very tip of her exposed breast. “Can you get to the cut there, Charlie?”

“Yeah, gorgeous. Hold on.” I cleaned it up again, then put the ointment on the bandaids and applied them gently, but firmly. She was giggling a bit. “What?”

“You and your compliments.” She shook her head.

“You don’t know how pretty you really are, do you? I just saw a beautiful woman, girl, lady, whatever, half naked. I know a pretty woman when I see one. You are one. You really are.”

She straightened her robe up, pulled it tight, tied it, and turned to me. She stood on her toes and kissed my cheek. “Thank you. It’s good to be seen in a positive light. I’m not used to it, that’s all.” She then grabbed my ear and pulled my face down to her and kissed me on the lips. “Don’t say anything,” she whispered, then ran out of the room and back to the bed.

I stood there, stunned, for a couple of minutes, then after contemplating what had just happened, I went back out and threw her t-shirt and shorts her way.

“Dinner will be here shortly. You might feel better in these. If you are better tomorrow, we’ll go shopping and buy you a few more things. For now, these will work.”

“When do you have to go home, Charlie?”

“When you are well enough to travel. Oh, yeah, and when we have you a passport, we can use it to get you a visa to visit me in the states. That’s a big one. Question: How much do you normally weigh? I know that might be a sensitive question in most circumstances, but you look a bit thin.”

“I was around one oh five or one ten, when we were kidnapped. That was what, four, five months ago. I felt good then, so that should be about right.”

“You don’t weigh that now, that’s for sure.”

“I know, but if you keep feeding me, I’ll wind up going the other direction. No one wants a fat Mandy in their life.”

I laughed at the thought. Fat Mandy, indeed.

There was a knock on the door distracting me from thinking about her in that condition. It was dinner and it was brought in by two of the eatery’s staff. They set it up on the table in the sitting room and said they’d be back in a couple of hours to clean it up and take everything back.

Mandy sat at the table in her night clothes, the t-shirt and shorts, and looked cute as a button eating dinner. We went at it until there was very little left.

I poured her a glass of the wine I had them bring. It was a semi-sweet from a vineyard close by that the head told me the locals enjoy. It went over very well. It was a bit strong, but I wasn’t flying the next day and didn’t see any downside. It might even help Mandy sleep some more. Lord knows she needed the rest.

“Charlie, I think that was the best steak I’ve ever had. It was absolutely grand. Thank you. I hope someday I can repay your generosity and kindness. Maybe I’ll be able to.”

“I said it earlier, Mandy. I don’t want or need anything from you but your safety, wellbeing, and happiness. If I can get you there, that will be enough for me.”

“In some ways, I might already be there. Just over a day and I feel reborn. I’m not shaking in my boots, crying, or starving. Thank you.” She got up from the table, kissed me on the lips yet again, and went over to the bed. “I need to sit up for a bit while this settles.” She held her hand over her tummy, smiled at me, saying, “Thank you, Charlie, it was great. I’m going to watch TV and read this magazine about Paris. Will you come sit with me for a while, maybe?”

I did just that a bit later and when I did, she laid her head in my lap and went back to sleep while I rubbed her arm and her back. I was afraid she was going to start crying again, but after a couple of sniffles, she was out like a light. The earlier bout of crying may have just been a release of stress or something similar, because it certainly didn’t seem like she was upset with me. I gently placed her on the pillow, covered her up and waited for the restaurant staff to come and take the dishes away. They finally showed, I gave them each a twenty and off they went, happy as clams in wet sand. I’d left a gratuity on the check already, but I had no idea how they worked those things out. These two would get their share.

I followed Mandy to bed after texting Mikel Hermann and letting him know it would be another day before the picture would be coming. He sent back a smiley face. All is well, and sleep came easy.

With her head on my shoulder and her arm on my chest, I woke again to see the pretty girl in my bed. This time she wasn’t on the other side. She had moved over to me and wrapped herself around me just a bit. Her hand on my chest, her head on my shoulder, and yes, her knee was up over my hip and dangerously close to a morning problem. I was as gentle as I could be in unwrapping her so I wouldn’t wake her. It didn’t work.