Every moment in Paris was a joy. Mary kept thinking how much she wished Edward were there.
The next day after lunch, they were driven to the airport. Inspector Durand watched them as they checked in for their flight to Rome.
The woman is attractive—quite lovely, in fact. An intelligent face. Good body, great legs and derrière. I wonder what she would be like in bed. The children were a surprise. They were well mannered for Americans.
When the plane took off, Inspector Durand went to a telephone booth. “S’il vous plaît, dire à Thor que son paquet est en route à Rome.”
In Rome, the paparazzi were waiting at the Leonardo da Vinci Airport. As Mary and the children disembarked, Tim said, “Look, Mom, they followed us!”
Indeed it seemed to Mary that the only difference was the Italian accents.
The first question the reporters asked was, “How do you like Italy…?”
Ambassador Oscar Viner was as puzzled as Ambassador Simon had been.
“Frank Sinatra didn’t get this big a reception. Is there something about you I don’t know, Madam Ambassador?”
“I think I can explain,” Mary replied. “It isn’t me the press is interested in. They’re interested in the President’s people-to-people program. We’ll soon have representatives in every iron curtain country. It will be an enormous step toward peace. I think that’s what the press is excited about.”
After a moment, Ambassador Viner said, “A lot is riding on you, isn’t it?”
Captain Caesar Barzini, the head of the Italian secret police, was also able to predict accurately the places Mary and her children would visit during their brief stay.
The inspector assigned two men to watch the Ashleys, and each day when they reported back it was almost exactly as he had anticipated.
“They had ice cream sodas at Doney’s, walked along the Via Veneto, and toured the Colosseum.”
“They went to see the Trevi Fountain. Threw in coins.”
“Visited Termi de Caracalla and then the catacombs. Boy became ill and was taken back to hotel.”
“Subjects went for a carriage ride in Borghese Park and walked along the Piazza Navona.”
Enjoy yourselves, Captain Barzini thought sardonically.
Ambassador Viner accompanied Mary and the children to the airport.
“I have a diplomatic pouch to go to the Romanian embassy. Would you mind taking it along with your luggage?”
“Of course not,” Mary said.
Captain Barzini was at the airport to watch the Ashley family board the Tarom Airlines plane bound for Bucharest. He stayed until the plane took off, and then made a telephone call. “Ho un messaggio per Balder. Il suo pacco è in via a Bucharest.”
It was only after they were airborne that the enormity of what was about to happen really struck Mary Ashley. It was so incredible that she had to say it aloud. “We’re on our way to Romania, where I’m going to take up my post as ambassador from the United States.”
Beth was looking at her strangely. “Yes, Mother. We know that. That’s why we’re here.”
But how could Mary explain her excitement to them?
The closer the plane got to Bucharest, the more her excitement increased.
I’m going to be the best damned ambassador they’ve ever seen, she thought. Before I’m finished, the United States and Romania are going to be close allies.
The NO SMOKING sign flashed on, and Mary’s euphoric dreams of great statesmanship evaporated.
We can’t be landing already, Mary thought in a panic. We just took off. Why is the flight so short?
She felt the pressure on her ears as the plane began to descend, and a few moments later the wheels touched the ground. It’s really happening, Mary thought incredulously. I’m not an ambassador. I’m a fake. I’m going to get us into a war. God help us. Dorothy and I should never have left Kansas.
BOOK THREE
18
Otopeni Airport, twenty-five miles from the heart of Bucharest, is a modern airport, built to facilitate the flow of travelers from nearby iron curtain countries as well as to take care of the lesser number of Western tourists who visit Romania each year.
Inside the terminal were soldiers in brown uniforms armed with rifles and pistols, and there was a stark air of coldness about the building that had nothing to do with the frigid temperature. Tim and Beth moved unconsciously closer to Mary. So they feel it too, she thought.