The Interview
It was Friday and I suppose a bit early for me to be nursing a Bloody Mary but it was hot and humid. I had just had a surprising conversation with a young woman to whom I was very attracted. Jane was an Aussie like me she had drifted into the service (foreign that is) and been around for a good many years. She was pretty in a homely way, a little plump, but known as a good sport and absolutely un-flappable. I had lusted after her from the first time I saw her. Her small stature, her short wavy mousy brown hair and above all her dazzling smile had attracted me. She had just put me down; ever so gently mind you and I was nursing my bruised ego with a Bloody Mary.
Just how Jane had done this was taking some getting used to! We had quite literally bumped into each other just a few minutes earlier. Jane was in the Banda Aceh Bistro (Tent!) that had become the de-facto after business hours meeting place for all the aid workers and consular staff, all the foreign nationals working amid the tsunami-devastated area of northern Sumatra. We had embraced; her kiss was full on and genuine. She was pleased to see me! I had instantly thought 'At last she has some feelings towards me'. Then she said the usual platitudes, 'I know that you lost everything in the tsunami, I was so sorry to hear of your loss. I know that time will heal your wounds. Did you hear about my amazing rescue?'
I acknowledged her words, I knew of her rescue, where was the rescuer? Jane was close to tears and sat beside me, 'the bastards killed him, and I am out of here! They deserve all they get!'
Her outburst could only refer to what had been reported as a shooting that morning. The rebels had gone back to their old tricks and someone had been shot. "He's dead?" I held her trembling body close to me.
"Yes the nicest man in my life other than you is dead and I am out of here!" Jane was close to tears.
This was information overload. Yes, it was bad news that the man who had rescued her from a treetop and nearly died himself in the attempt, a man well respected by the locals, someone who had dedicated his life to helping people had been killed for 'Effect'. But I was struggling to get my head around the other words 'other than you?' what did that mean?
"Are you booked on a flight, or looking for a place to sleep?" I held her close as she sobbed into my shoulder. Her head came up and the sobbing stopped.
"No, I do not have a flight booked and it is full until next Monday. I do not have a room booked, but although I once had a thing for you, I will not stay at your place. I will find somewhere, but first I intend to get drunk. Bye for now dear man. Keep safe and watch out for dangerous blondes!"
Jane had made a beeline for the bar and a crowd of sympathetic aid workers. I took the Bloody Mary that was getting warm and sat in my usual corner seat by the notice board. 'Damn it she had had a thing for me at some time in the past, when? Why had she not told me?' I must have been involved with someone else at the time just a passing affair, well were they not all. If she had told me, I would have dropped the bitch who ever she was. Damn and damn again!'
The Bloody Mary sank without trace and a second soon appeared at the table, my coaster was ticked and I tried to look aloof and busy with the Times crossword. What happened next I blame on Jane, she really had rattled my cage! I am still wondering just how I was set up and then snared into this adventure that will define the rest of my life.
I think that I need to explain a few things. I am an Aussie; a career diplomat. Not very successful, but as every boss I worked for says, 'Useful, resourceful competent and a good linguist'. I was the wrong side of forty. I spoke seven languages and could get by in a dozen dialects. I was good with the natives, 'Sorry, Locals' I had worked the islands from Fiji, to Java even did one stint in Sri Lanka. I was never going to make ambassador, but after the promotion that had come out of the tsunami effort, I could expect to get full consul status in my next posting.
The Earthquake had interrupted the Christmas gathering at my billet. I had a Dutch, on again, off again girlfriend, and a German doctor and his wife, a very good nurse spending a rather boozy Christmas at my place. The quake bought the house down around our ears. We all suffered some minor injuries. I was worried, I do not know why, this was just a large quake, one of many I had experienced, but I was worried. This quake had been noisy, all quakes were of course, but this noise had been felt rather than being the crash of crockery and houses falling down. The quake had also been so violent yet went on for so long. About three minutes I thought.
My guests gathered their equipment and made their way towards the most obviously damaged buildings where there was already a major wailing going on. I jumped into the Toyota and said I was going into town. I would try to contact Jakarta! Now my billet was some ten Kilometers out of town, just back from one of the small beaches that lie along the coast. All low lying land but heavily forested. The road led away from the beach and so I was almost into Banda when I saw what I instantly recognized and that which explained why I was so worried.
The ocean had gone. There were people standing around looking at the boats aground where there was normally several meters of water. I sounded the horn in a continuous blast and waved at the people standing there. I looked to the horizon, it looked distorted. I abandoned my intended route, veered along the Jakarta Highway, and then right toward the small hill to the north east of the town. I was blasting the horn and slowed to tell people they were going the wrong way, but they some how did not understand and I soon gave up. I knew I had to get to high ground. Was I being a coward, should I go back to my home and warn my guests. I felt that that way was certain death.
I look back upon those few minutes; I tell myself that even stopping to give some one a lift would have meant being caught by the tsunami. The Toyota was almost swamped and I was almost swept away as it was. I never saw my girlfriend or my guests again. I looked for their bodies, but with so many and so much else to be done I had forced myself to work, work, and work.
The main relief efforts were now well under way and I had been promoted into a kind of supervisor. I was waiting for a new posting, but was now out of sync with Canberra; I had some leave coming so was hanging around being useful while waiting for the right time to go back to Canberra.
The people in Jakarta had told me that there was a special hush hush job up country somewhere that would suit me, but I needed some R&R and up country, hush hush was definitely not close to what I wanted. I had been musing about Jane and when she had had feelings for me and a third Bloody Mary was in my hand when I became aware of an extraordinarily beautiful woman looking at the notice board beside me.
She was stunning. My spirits lifted immediately. She was Blonde, a striking yellow head of mid length wavy hair. She was perhaps 160Cm tall in stiff white blouse and black skirt. She had a small overnight bag beside her and she was looking at the accommodation section of the notice board. She must have sensed my interest as she turned and gave me a smile.
Her eyes were a vivid blue. "Just here till Monday," she explained. "Hotels full and I need somewhere with a phone line."
My spider web twitched as I offered her the bait. I laughed at the euphuism for hotel that meant that the tent city had no spare cots again. "I have spare rooms. I am waiting to be posted out of here so don't actually have a real job, but deputy consul is about as near as you will get, where have you been to end up here at this time of day and on a Friday to boot?"
"I had to bring some stuff up in the bag and I was bounced off the helicopter going back. Luckily I did bring an overnight bag with me?"
"Never trust a helicopter pilot when he offers a round trip! Let me buy you a drink and I will take you to the billet and perhaps I can take you to dinner. You have not been here before have you?" I was certain of this; someone so strikingly beautiful would have sent alarm bells ringing all over Banda Aceh and I would have been told of a beautiful blond to add to the dozens of notches to my bed head. "Who bounced you? At least a General I hope! I know that I do not rate a helicopter seat if there is a general around so don't feel too bad, one has to be well up the pecking order to fly out on a Friday from here. Still you look like Helen of Troy, I bet the pilot wishes you had enough pull not to get bounced!"
I began to feel a little self-conscious, why was I prattling on. She seemed to have accepted the bait. She was smiling and graciously accepted the gin sling I had whistled up. I realized I had ordered her the drink without asking her preference. Jane and now this beauty had put me off my game! I took a deep breath and waited for some response. There had been a flicker of something in her eye back there. What had I said that had touched a nerve? I waited the silence out.
The blonde smiled and responded, "I know who you are of course I think everyone in Banda Aceh knows you. The grey hair makes you look very distinguished. You look a lot better than the pictures of you in the papers. It must have been dreadful loosing so many people. You have done so much to help these poor people and I think you deserve a good break. Have they not offered you anything, not even a hint?"
This conversation was setting the hair at the back of my head on end. Who was she? She knew too much to be a simple secretary on a courier job. A few facts registered upon my unusually dimwitted brain. Three people who I knew well and who usually came to sit with me, had spoken and veered off to sit elsewhere. They were trying to watch me and the beautiful blonde. Finally I put two and two together and the answer came to four. I really had put my foot in it.
I attempted a recovery; words spilling out of my mouth in a veritable torrent, "Can we start again? I feel I have made a bad impression, I am as you know sort of deputy consul and I think you are Helen the person known as 'Helen of Troy' and you are here to talk to me about a job, stop me if I am wrong, and I apologize profusely, I did not mean to give any offense, I have had a hard, day, week, month, year, a young lady has just told me she had a thing for me at some time and I did not ask when, I think I need that holiday, I am talking too much again aren't I...?"
I was treated to the most dazzling smile, two megawatts at least. I wilted. "You are doing quite well considering," was the retort delivered with a devil of a smile and more than a hint of humor.
"Considering What?" I bounced back as best I could.
