Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty

At five o'clock in the morning on the day Beth and Tim went to school, the embassy called Mary to inform her that she had received a "Night Action" telegram demanding an immediate answer.It was a busy day for her.Back at the mansion, it was already seven o'clock in the evening, and the children were eagerly looking forward to her. "Hi," Mary asked, "how's school?" "The school is wonderful," replied Beth. "You know what? The students come from twenty-two different countries. There's this nicely dressed Italian boy who keeps staring at me the whole class. The school is great."

Tim added: "The school also has a beautiful science lab and we're dissecting frogs tomorrow." "The strangest thing," said Beth, "is that the English they speak sounds funny." "Remember," Mary said to the children, "if anyone speaks with another accent, it proves he knows one more language than you. Anyway, I'm glad you're out of trouble." Beth said: "If it weren't for Mike's thoughtful care, we would definitely be in trouble." "Who?" "Mr. Slade. He told us to call him Mike." "What does your schooling have to do with Mike Slade?"

"He didn't tell you? He dropped me and Tim off at school to introduce our teachers. He knew all the teachers in the school." "He also knew a lot of his classmates," Tim said, "and introduced us to them. Everyone liked him, and he was a nice guy." Too good to be true.Mary said to herself. Early the next morning, Mike stepped into Mary's office and Mary said to him, "You sent Beth and Tim to school?" He nodded: "They are lovely children. It is really difficult for them to adapt themselves to foreign life." Does he have children?Mary immediately realized that she knew too little about Mike Slade's personal life.Maybe it would be better this way, she comforted herself, he made up his mind to see me stumble.

She set her sights on success. On weekend afternoons, Mary took the children to the Diplomats Club.This is a place where people from the diplomatic community gather and chat a little. Mary looked over to the outdoor dining room where Mike Slade was drinking with a woman.The woman turned, and Mary saw that it was Dorothy Stone.Mary was shocked for a moment, as if her secretary was in collusion with the enemy.She wondered just how deeply Dorothy was involved with Mike Slade.It seems that this woman should not be taken too seriously.Mary wondered.Don't take anyone lightly. Harriet Kruger sat there alone.Mary stepped forward and asked, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"I can only be happy." Harriet took out a pack of American cigarettes: "Smoking?" "No thanks, I don't smoke." "If you want to live in this country, you have to smoke!" Harriet grumbled. Mary laughed heartily. Harriet Kruger added: "You know what's the biggest black market item here? It's our VCR." "They like watching our movies?" "No, they like video commercials. Anything we think of as normal—washing machines, vacuum cleaners, cars, televisions, etc.—they want to get it right away because it's so hard to buy. At the beginning, they went to the bathroom."

Mary looked up just in time to see Mike Slade and Dorothy Stone leaving the club.Where are they going? Mary worked at the embassy all day, and it was late at night when she got home.All she wanted was to take a shower, change clothes, and go to bed.In the embassy, ​​there is something to do every minute, and there is no time for yourself.Things were just as bad at home, she soon discovered.Wherever she went, the service staff followed there.She was upset that these people were watching her all the time. One day, she got up at two o'clock in the middle of the night and went downstairs into the kitchen.She opened the refrigerator door and heard a voice behind her.Looking back, the housekeeper, Mihai, was standing there in his nightgown, and Rosica, Delia, and Kaman also rushed over.

"What do you want, madam?" said Mihai. "Nothing, I just want to find something to eat." Chef Cosman walked into the kitchen and said dissatisfiedly: "As long as Ma'am tells me that I'm hungry, I will cook for you. How can I ask you to do it yourself?" Everyone in the room stared at Mary reproachfully.Mary hurriedly explained: "I'm not really hungry, thank you everyone." She hurried back to the room. The next day, she told her children about it: "You know what? I feel like the second wife in the movie." "What's 'Rebecca'?" asked Beth.

"This is a terrific book, and you will read it in the future." Mary walked into the office, where Mike Slade had been waiting for a long time. "We've got a chap who's sick and you should go and see," he said. He led her through a narrow corridor and into a small office.On the couch lay the sick Marine, pale and moaning in pain. "What's the matter?" Mary asked eagerly. "Probably appendicitis." "Then take me to the hospital immediately." Mike turned to her and said, "We can't send you to the local hospital."

"What do you mean?" "He can only be sent to a hospital in Rome or Zurich." "Absurd!" Mary scolded.She lowered her voice so that the patient could not hear her. "Did you not see how ill he was?" "Whether it's absurd or not, people from the American embassy are not allowed to be hospitalized in hospitals in this country!" "What's the point?" "Because loopholes will be taken advantage of. Our patient numbers will be in the hands of doctors and personnel from the Ministry of Security. They will either be anesthetized or be tricked into various intelligences. The State Council has made strict regulations for this - using an airplane Send him away."

"Why doesn't our embassy have its own doctor?" "Because we are a C-level embassy, ​​this expense is not included in the budget. The American doctor only comes once a quarter. There is only one pharmacist here, and he can make up for the headache." Mike walked to the table and took a sheet of paper. "After signing Yu on it, he can go on the road. I will arrange a special plane to take him off." "Very well," Mary signed, walked up to the sick soldier, and held his hand. "You will be well soon," she comforted kindly, "you will be well."

Two hours later, the patient was on the plane to Zurich. The next day, when Mary asked Mike how the soldier was doing, Mike shrugged and said, "It's an operation, it's nothing serious." His attitude was again indifferent. Cold-blooded animal, Mary was angry again, and she didn't know what could bring him mercy.