back to New York tonight,” Nicole opened.
“What for?”
“She’s cramming for exams.”
How logical women are. Michele never crammed for an exam in her life, and if it were necessary, by some odd chance, she could carry a book or two to Washington.
“Any other reasons?” André felt compelled to ask.
“She needed your comfort tonight.”
“Are you going to get around to telling me why?”
“She and Tucker had a fight.”
“I didn’t know Tucker fought. And I still don’t see why she went back to New York.”
“Because she had a fight with Tucker.”
“Her logic and your logic are absolutely similar. And if Michele had a fight with Tucker, that is no reason for her to go back to New York or for you to start one with me.”
“She needed your comfort.”
“Then why the hell didn’t she stay?”
“What’s the difference? You’re never here when anyone needs you. There have been a few times, my dear, when I’ve needed your comfort, too.”
“I admit I am a bad husband and a bad father.”
“No one said you were.”
“Where in the hell do you think I went tonight?”
Robespierre left the room.
“Isn’t it strange that Mollie Spearman left a few minutes after you? Isn’t it convenient that I had to remain till every last person was gone.”
“Oh, my God, woman. Will you please shut up?”
“Did you meet her for lunch last week or didn’t you?”
“Yes, in a secret rendezvous at the center table of the largest dining room in Washington. I needed a favor.”
“Yes, yes, yes. I understand Mollie is quite liberal with her favors.”
“All right, my dear. You’ve got me cold. I’m desperately in love with Mollie Spearman and I want a divorce so I can marry her right away.”
Nicole spun off the bed, lifted an ashtray and smashed it against the wall. Then she buried her face in her hands and cried.
“Go to bed,” he said.
“I had a long talk tonight with Dr. Kaplan. He said you’re on dangerous ground and you can’t push yourself any further.”
“So is that a reason to make a scene? Besides, the good doctor and all the good doctors are alarmists. That is their stock in trade, to alarm, to give advice no one can follow.”
“How in the name of God can you ask me to stand by silently and watch you die? André, let’s try something else. They don’t even appreciate what you’re doing here. The Embassy is filled with strangers.”
“And how do you intend to live outside of this rarified air?”
“Why don’t you stop blaming me for something you can’t give up?”
“You’re right, of course, Nicole. I am afraid I am committed to a battle from which I cannot withdraw.”
“There are men who have left the service who live like decent human beings. We have many friends ... and opportunities. In Paris, in Washington if you wish, New York, anywhere. Maybe even on an island in the Caribbean.”
“An island in the Caribbean,” he said.
André stretched on the bed and he patted his knee for her to come beside him and they snuggled together. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were as compatible out of bed as we are in? The trouble with us is that the night always ends and there’s that day-to-day living.”
“As long as we have this,” she said.
His mind had strayed to that hospital room in Bethesda and the shadowy word “Topaz.” He would never leave, for his commitment was total.
Part II
The Rico Parra Papers
1
Summer, 1962
I N N EW Y ORK C ITY, Rico Parra, high in the Castro regime and leader of the Cuban delegation at the United Nations, strode into a room set up for a press conference. He sat behind a name plate bearing his rank and stared angrily into the television cameras and at the assemblage of reporters. His black eyes bore hatred and his black beard glistened under the lights.
“Negro members of the Cuban delegation have been mistreated and insulted by the staff of the Wharton Hotel. It is typical of the disgusting behavior of the
“What for?”
“She’s cramming for exams.”
How logical women are. Michele never crammed for an exam in her life, and if it were necessary, by some odd chance, she could carry a book or two to Washington.
“Any other reasons?” André felt compelled to ask.
“She needed your comfort tonight.”
“Are you going to get around to telling me why?”
“She and Tucker had a fight.”
“I didn’t know Tucker fought. And I still don’t see why she went back to New York.”
“Because she had a fight with Tucker.”
“Her logic and your logic are absolutely similar. And if Michele had a fight with Tucker, that is no reason for her to go back to New York or for you to start one with me.”
“She needed your comfort.”
“Then why the hell didn’t she stay?”
“What’s the difference? You’re never here when anyone needs you. There have been a few times, my dear, when I’ve needed your comfort, too.”
“I admit I am a bad husband and a bad father.”
“No one said you were.”
“Where in the hell do you think I went tonight?”
Robespierre left the room.
“Isn’t it strange that Mollie Spearman left a few minutes after you? Isn’t it convenient that I had to remain till every last person was gone.”
“Oh, my God, woman. Will you please shut up?”
“Did you meet her for lunch last week or didn’t you?”
“Yes, in a secret rendezvous at the center table of the largest dining room in Washington. I needed a favor.”
“Yes, yes, yes. I understand Mollie is quite liberal with her favors.”
“All right, my dear. You’ve got me cold. I’m desperately in love with Mollie Spearman and I want a divorce so I can marry her right away.”
Nicole spun off the bed, lifted an ashtray and smashed it against the wall. Then she buried her face in her hands and cried.
“Go to bed,” he said.
“I had a long talk tonight with Dr. Kaplan. He said you’re on dangerous ground and you can’t push yourself any further.”
“So is that a reason to make a scene? Besides, the good doctor and all the good doctors are alarmists. That is their stock in trade, to alarm, to give advice no one can follow.”
“How in the name of God can you ask me to stand by silently and watch you die? André, let’s try something else. They don’t even appreciate what you’re doing here. The Embassy is filled with strangers.”
“And how do you intend to live outside of this rarified air?”
“Why don’t you stop blaming me for something you can’t give up?”
“You’re right, of course, Nicole. I am afraid I am committed to a battle from which I cannot withdraw.”
“There are men who have left the service who live like decent human beings. We have many friends ... and opportunities. In Paris, in Washington if you wish, New York, anywhere. Maybe even on an island in the Caribbean.”
“An island in the Caribbean,” he said.
André stretched on the bed and he patted his knee for her to come beside him and they snuggled together. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were as compatible out of bed as we are in? The trouble with us is that the night always ends and there’s that day-to-day living.”
“As long as we have this,” she said.
His mind had strayed to that hospital room in Bethesda and the shadowy word “Topaz.” He would never leave, for his commitment was total.
Part II
The Rico Parra Papers
1
Summer, 1962
I N N EW Y ORK C ITY, Rico Parra, high in the Castro regime and leader of the Cuban delegation at the United Nations, strode into a room set up for a press conference. He sat behind a name plate bearing his rank and stared angrily into the television cameras and at the assemblage of reporters. His black eyes bore hatred and his black beard glistened under the lights.
“Negro members of the Cuban delegation have been mistreated and insulted by the staff of the Wharton Hotel. It is typical of the disgusting behavior of the
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