“I’ve already eaten. But I’d like a large cup of coffee,” said Seneca. “Because when I go back to the office I have to function all day long, and I haven’t had any sleep.”
“Sleep here a bit, Julius.”
“I can’t. I don’t have any time. I’ll have the coffee and leave.”
“And you, Mr. Alexander, you haven’t eaten anything all day.”
“No, thank you, ma’am. I’d like some coffee, too, if it’s not too much trouble.”
Manami prepared the coffee in the kitchen. The dining room table and the kitchen were separated only by a counter. Manami listened to her husband say
“The only difference between Raul and me is that now that he’s gone I cannot hold you here against your will, Alexander. I’ve already told you, I want you to stay as long as necessary. Raul thought that we would hold you captive only until the elections and he knew that you would forgive him. And now we don’t know how long this war will last.”
“It’s not about how long the war will last, Mr. Mayor,” said Pascal. “Even if it lasts only one day, I have to be with the people during these times. I will go to one of our cities, anyone, and I will fight against Erivan. I know that I’m not a commander. Perhaps I am this world’s only chance… or a dreamer, as someone told me…” Pascal paused, wanting Manami to hear, to understand why he cannot obey her wishes, why he could not stay. “But I will cease to be that if I hide here like the greatest coward. Come on, tell me, Mr. Mayor, what would you do in my place? What would Raul do?”
“Both Raul and I would think like you, Alexander. And we’d go to the fight. But neither Raul or I are Pascal Alexander. First of all — the two of us would be good commanders,” Seneca smiled.
“That’s true,” Pascal smiled back.
At that moment Manami placed a cup of coffee in front of her husband and stood behind him.
“Thank you, Manami,” said Seneca, lowering his head and raising the cup to his mouth.
Manami and Pascal looked at each other, as though it was green tea, as though they were in the salon of her house. She moved her lips silently, and from them Pascal read
“Stay. Stay. Stay.”
Chapter 80
Having taken a sip of coffee, Seneca raised his eyes towards Pascal. When he saw that Pascal was persistently looking past him, looking at his wife, Seneca turned towards her slightly and asked
“And the coffee for Mr. Alexander, Manami?”
“Yes, right away, Julius… I was just waiting for you to try… Is it sweet enough?” said Manami, while returning to the kitchen.
“Yes, is good,” said Seneca and continued. “I’ve already told you, Alexander. By leaving the shelter you’ll be rendering the your friends’ sacrifice, a courageous act — futile. In any case, what do you think, Alexander? That all this that you are saying didn’t occur to Raul? That he wasn’t thinking about that while he was silent during our conversation? That he didn’t think of the possibility that you might come across as being a coward if you stayed? He did, Alexander. You can be sure of that. In such moments, when a person knows that they are about to die and that they will die for you, in the moments of such courage, such determination, Alexander — a person’s thoughts are surely crystal clear. And he obviously didn’t believe that you remaining in the shelter would represent an act of cowardice.”
“Mr. Mayor…” Pascal interrupted him, then paused while Manami placed a cup of coffee in front of him. He continued when Manami had sat down next to her husband and looked at him. “Raul… all my friends made the decision for me. I don’t make decisions about my life anymore… about myself. Am I the hope? Am I a criminal who caused the war? The man who created the opportunity for an Erivan to sow evil throughout the world? Am I a dreamer? Am I a coward? I don’t know. And I don’t care. Others decide that. Someone else…” Pascal briefly looked at Manami and returned to Seneca. “I’ll stay in the shelter, Mr. Mayor. And if you don’t mind, I’ll retire to my quarters now.”
“Certainly, certainly, Alexander. I’ll be leaving now, too.” Seneca took another sip of coffee and got up from the table. “I’d just like for you to lock the door behind me, to see how it works. Here’s the key,” Seneca held out a card.
“Good night, Julius,” said Manami, heading towards her quarters. “Actually, for you a new day is just beginning. And who knows what it will be like. Who knows what all awaits you.”
“I’ll make it through, Manami. I’m much more at ease now that we’ve reached an agreement with Mr. Alexander. You get some sleep, until the children wake up.” Seneca was already heading out the door of the shelter. “Lock up, Alexander.”
Pascal closed the door behind him and locked it. When he heard Seneca’s elevator go up he turned towards the interior of the room. Manami was standing in front of her door. They looked at each other for a long time, in silence.
“Give me the key, sir,” Manami finally said.
“The key? The card?” Pascal was surprised.
“Yes. The key will be with me at all times. In my room. You are an impulsive man, sir, and I cannot trust you.”
Pascal walked up to her and handed her the key. “Here you are, ma’am.”
“Am I that ‘other’ who decides about your life, sir?”
“Yes, you are, ma’am. You decided,” Pascal said quietly.
“You’re wrong. I didn’t. You decided. Good night, sir,” said Manami and entered her quarters.
“Good night… my love,” Pascal whispered, after Manami had shut the door.
Chapter 81
“Grasshopper, how much longer until reach the Command?” asked Erivan, when the Grasshopper answered his call from the flight deck.
“Another ten hours, Mr. President. Why do you ask?”
“Well… no special reason. Just to complain a bit…”
“What do you wish to complain about, Mr. President? Did someone…”
“The grieving parents are infuriating me!”
“The parents of the pupils from Short Street?”
“Them. Imagine, they don’t want to give statements. Like — its difficult for them.”
“Doubters!” said the displeased Grasshopper.
“They locked themselves in their apartments and won’t let the television crews in.”
“Well break down their doors, Mr. President.”
“I don’t need you to lecture me!”
“I apologize…”
“Of course I sent the inspectors. They drove the parents into the children’s rooms… and all around — school charts, toys, posters, pictures of the children on the walls… just as it should be.”
“Now I’m relieved,” the Grasshopper sighed a sigh of relief.
“And they complained, whined…”
“Wonderful!”
“You’ll see it tonight, right after the evening news. A special program.”
“I don’t know whether I’ll be able to watch. I’ll be reaching the Command about then. But I’ll watch it later. I’m excited about it.”
“Well… We can’t exactly be excited, Grasshopper. Those are our children, consumers. But, what can we do about it, right?”
“We can’t do anything at all, Mr. President.”
“In every war you have colonoscopic damages.”
“A very adequate name, Mr. President.”
“No, no. I meant coronarographic damages.”
“Well, you could use that too, if the heart were not just a pump.”
“They keep forcing me to have all these tests, Grasshopper, and then that’s all that’s in my head. I’m not crazy to go for tests, and for them to find something. You really like to be a smart aleck, do you? OK, tell me what it is.”