Chapter 7 – Food for thought
At 05.00 am the Queen gave up on hoping to get some proper sleep. Half an hour later on she was seated at her desk.
At six she picked up her phone to order tea and toast. Her call went unanswered which made her glad that her own staff would take over that afternoon.
´Unless they want to go role-playing too,´ she mumbled. Glancing at a picture of her younger son she added: ´Would you have thought Joseph to like that pumpkin?´
Philippe kept smiling at her.
´I miss you little one.´
She continued reading, but it didn't take long before she looked at her son's picture again.
´He could have had me already, if only he wouldn't crave for Clarisse the Submissive or Clarisse as Someone Else.´
She shrugged. ´But enough of that.'
She casually leant forwards. ´I'm going to visit your daughter today. She is lovely Philippe. She will turn into a beauty in a few years time. She's very American and she's got your stubbornness, but I think she also inherited your thoughtfulness, even though she makes a point of being blunt.´
Blinking, Queen Clarisse caressed her son's frozen face.
OoOoOoO
Joe entered his Queen's office under the pretext of updating her on the planned visit to her granddaughter. She saw through him of course, but there was something she needed to discuss before re-entering the argument they'd had the previous evening.
´I heard you talk to Charlotte Joseph.´
Nervously and in an effort to lighten the mood Joe smiled and said: ´You weren't eavesdropping were you?´
The Queen couldn't help but think that eavesdropping would inspire Joseph to fantasize. Her reply (´Seriously Joseph´) sounded cool.
Joe, thinking that perhaps his love, having heard only parts of the conversation, had somehow jumped to wrong conclusions, summarized that Charlotte and he had talked about the consulate's garden. ´I told her how much you love your gardens.´
The Queen rose and walked to a nosegay. ´What you said was: Clarisse loves her gardens.´
Silence.
´We are on first name basis Joseph. I'm not my secretary's friend though.´
Joe didn't like it that she was in the right.
´I apologize. It was a slip of the tongue ma'am.´
She raised her eyebrows at him.
Joe cleared his throat.
´Are we still?´ he asked.
´Excuse me?´
´Are we still friends? Can we still be friends?´
´Our disagreement is a lovers' quarrel Joseph.´
´We aren't lovers. Not in that way. And your staff will arrive today.´
´That is irrelevant.´
´Irrelevant? In Pyrus we were always aware of all the eyes and ears and -´
´We don't have a connecting door between our rooms there do we? We love each other Joseph. We are attracted to each other. Yes, we can be lovers. We need to continue yesterday's discussion first though.´
´Because it takes two to tango.´
´Yes. We simply need to agree on the type of dance.´
In a flash Joe thought about the tango being a macho dance and Clarisse not wanting that and everything having to be done her way.
He cleared his throat. ´It never bothered me before that we have an employer/employee relationship but...´
He didn't finish his line, preferring to have her draw a conclusion.
´Now you feel that even in the bedroom things have to go my way?´
Ignoring her evenly tone, Joe nodded.
´And instead you would like things to go your way.´
´You could try it.´
´Joseph, role playing has the same appeal to me as bungee jumping or Russian roulette.´
She walked toward him and with some effort, for she was upset and she could see the tension building in her lover, she tentatively placed her hands on his chest.
´But you Joseph, you have more appeal to me than any other man.´
When he relaxed she moved her hands to the back of his head. Her fingers caressed his skin and his eyes darkened with desire. Clarisse's lips parted slightly and Joseph placed his hands on her hips. The next moment they were kissing but they couldn't enjoy each other very long: footsteps neared the office. When they came to a halt in front of the entrance Clarisse and Joseph parted.
A knock, a ´Yes?´ and Charlotte entered. She handed Her Majesty some copies of photos, the Queen thanked her, inquired whether Miss Thermopolis had made any changes in the plans, Charlotte replied negatively and reminded the Queen to call Mr Motaz. Her Majesty told her aid that she'd already done that. All in all the interruption didn't take long. To Joe, standing in a small bow window with his back against the room, it had been unwelcome as well as lengthy. After the door fell close behind Charlotte, Joseph heard his love click-clacking toward him. Standing behind him she placed her arms around his waist.
´Now where were we?´ she huskily whispered.
Was she acting assertively to get even with him?
´This is easy for you isn't it?´ he said. She made an inquiring sound and moved to look at him. Her right hand rested on his left shoulder.
´Going from private to public,´ he explained.
She smiled. ´And back to private again.´
Joe stared into her eyes. Clarisse, Her Majesty, Clarisse, Her Majesty. She played everyone around her and she played her own parts. Why wouldn't she play for him?
Here she stood, his fair love with her warm smile, her enchanting voice and her elegance.
´Joseph?´
´Will we find a dance we both like?´
´Do you like kissing me?´
His eyes answered her soft question. She smiled. Her left hand trailed down his arm to his hand.
´Do you like holding me? Touching me?´
´Clarisse...´
He cleared his throat. She was doing it again: rendering him helpless with want.
´Do you like to please me?´ he said in a gruff voice. He freed his hand from her gentle grasp to touch his ear piece.
´I'm sorry for my remark about sex and power Clarisse. It was... You know I will never force you.´
She took a small step backwards and nodded.
'You would like to... bring some of your fantasies alive.´
´Very much so,´ Joe replied in a low voice.
She slowly said: ´Expecting me to try something that has no appeal to me and that will make me feel uncomfortable and ignored- ´
´Ignored?´
´Yes: I want you to want me. Me, not a fantasy, me. Clarisse.´
´I know, you told me so, and I told you that there's no one but you.´
He took a small step toward her.
´As a schoolgirl or Miss Obedient...´
´Clarisse...´
She eyed him.
´No one but you,´ he said, ´In my thoughts, in my fantasies. You alone.´
´Fantasies don't have to come true to be arousing still.´
´Bedroom sport doesn't have to be the same all the time.´
´I hope not,´ Clarisse countered, ´But role playing is not my cup of tea.´
´Have you ever tasted this brand of tea?´
´Let's not get into a game of words Joseph. You master your fantasies. I can and will not stop you from doing so. Can't fantasizing be enough?´
Sunlight danced on her hair. Joe felt the spell she put on him.
'I have to think about it,' he stiffly said.
OoOoOoO
´It's OK with me,´ Mia said after her grandmother had confirmed that her bodyguard would stay with her. ´But it's not like anyone here means you harm.´
Helen announced that she would prepare tea.
Mia cooed her cat, who was sitting on the stairs, to come over, but the animal made it for the second floor. Mia wondered whether it meant that he didn't like their visitor, but she shook off the feeling and shrugged: ´Cats! We'll just follow him OK? I'll show you my room.´
´I'd like that Amelia.´
When by the sound of it they'd made it upstairs, Helen mumbled: ´Puke on her shoes Louie!´ It wasn't until after she said it, that she realised that the bodyguard might still be around. After a moment she mumbled: ´Would you like some tea too Mr Romero?´
No reply.
She turned around.
´Mr Romero?´ she said.
Joe stopped surveying the room to look at her. Nothing betrayed that his hearing was rather good.
´Miss Thermopolis?´
´Would you like some tea too?´
´No thank you.´
´Coffee? Anything else?´
´No thank you.´
Feeling confident again Helen wondered what the bodyguard had made of the state of tidiness of her house. The pillows on the couch lay in merry disarray, papers and books were spread on tables and jars filled with brushes made a nice tableau with paint cans. Add the cat's hairs, some brown and smelly bananas on a fruit-dish and an almost loaded waste-paper basket to complete the picture.
Having visitors come over normally made Helen clean the place before their arrival. She'd actually started doing so but she'd thought the better of it. The main reason why Helen had not touched a duster was that when the Queen would make a face seeing her perfect shambles, and Mia would notice that, it would win her, Helen, a point.
By the time the water boiled Mia and her grandmother returned. Seeing her daughter come down the stairs instead of using the pole, made Helen think that Professor Higgins had already started moulding.
After the Queen and her hosts had seated themselves, the former made a remark about a square she'd seen in San Francisco and how it resembled a square in Pyrus. Before Helen and Mia realised it their guest was talking about Genovia, mixing descriptions with historical details and personal anecdotes. At one point Mia's eager expression (the Queen was talking about an oddly shaped rock in the ocean, a beacon for sailors and a favourite diving spot for Mia's father and uncle) made Helen inquire whether apart from having ancient towns, Genovia still had ancient laws. Mia at the same moment asked to hear more about her father's sportive activities and Helen wasn't surprised when the Queen answered her granddaughter's question, after which she smoothly changed the subject to Genovia and its people again. From time to time Mia asked her things. Innocent things such as ´Does Genovia take part in the Olympics?´ but Helen had the feeling these weren't questions asked to abide the rules of politeness. When the Queen took a sip of tea, Helen made her a compliment on her blue bolero.
With a smile and perfectly hidden suspicion, the Queen thanked her. She couldn't help but think that Joseph hadn't mentioned her appearance at all.
´Have you worn it at home too?´
´Mum! She doesn't throw away her clothes after wearing them once!´
Addressing her grandmother she added: ´You don't do you?´
´Of course not Amelia.´
´Oh good! It would be so unethical.´
´I understand what you mean,´ the Queen smiled. ´Did you know that recycling is very popular in Genovia?´
´Cool.´
´Yes,´ Helen agreed, ´It's just a pity that old fashioned habits are popular too in Genovia.´
´Did dad tell you about that?´
Helen hoped that Philippe's mother would interfere red faced, denying that her son had ever made any negative remarks about his country. The Queen smiled sweetly and said: ´My guess is that after spending minutes mocking Genovia's rituals he spent hours speaking about the things he loved about his country.´
Mia looked from her mother to her grandmother and back.
´What did he tell you mum?´
´He told me things about etiquette. For instance that there used to be a time when servants had to walk out of a room with their backs to the door, for it was impolite to turn their backs at royalty.´
´Ew!´ Mia cried, ´Grandmother?´
´That rule was cancelled long before your father was even born,´ the Queen assured Amelia.
´Was it hard for dad to be a prince? And having to be a king? And dealing with stuff like etiquette? It seems so fake. And from his letters and what mum and you told me he doesn't seem fake. You know?´
´Your father Amelia, was... He was kind and warm. He was... fun-loving and responsible. He understood the needs of others. He could roar with laughter. There was nothing fake about him.´
Helen nodded, her lips curved in a fond smile. Mia noticed it and it moved her.
´Your father didn't let etiquette rule his life, and rightly so,´ the Queen continued, ´Do you know why etiquette was invented?´
´To suppress people?´
Helen smiled in her cup.
´Etiquette provides a guideline for interacting with others. If you were to go to Lilly, and she would have someone over you didn't know, she would introduce the two of you wouldn't she?´
Mia shrugged in acknowledgement.
´She might simply say: Mia, this is Michael's friend Daniel.´
Mia nodded.
´Introducing two people that haven't yet met, is a form of etiquette, of social rules. And social rules are created to make it easier for people to interact. After all, if Lilly would simply ignore her brother's friend's presence, you would find that awkward, wouldn't you?´
Not looking at her mother, Mia thought it over. ´Yeah,´ she agreed, ´I would introduce myself to him then.´
´Exactly! Because it is a social rule.´
Mia laughed. ´I never thought of it that way.´
´Royal etiquette isn't like the one normal people use at all,´ Helen interfered.
´Really grandmother? How does royalty greet -´
´More tea? Would you like some tea too Mr Romero?´
´No thank you Miss Thermopolis.´
´I hope you don't mind me asking, but does etiquette forbid you to drink in present company?´
Mia, not quite knowing who she was addressing, quickly said: ´It's not as if he can get drunk from a cup of tea.´
´That is true,´ the he in question remarked, ´but the split second I'd need to drop my beaker and draw my gun might just be too much.´
Mia grinned, wondering where Mr Black kept his gun, and Helen smiled insincerely before walking to the kitchen. She heard the Queen offering Mia some pictures of her father's family. She got some tea bags, sugar and cookies as she waited for the water to boil and herself to calm down.
The Queen meanwhile commented the photos.
´Who's this?´ Mia asked.
´That is Jean. He used to be your grandfather's personal bodyguard.´
´But he and dad and uncle Pierre are playing soccer in the garden right?´
´Yes they are.´
´Is your bodyguard near you all the time too?´
´When I'm not at the Castle he is.´
´Do you know how weird that is? I'd go nuts if someone followed me around. I mean can you go to the toilet without...´
´In my suite I don't have a guard near.´
´And when you're outside your suite there are cameras everywhere,´ Helen helpfully remarked over her shoulder.
´Cameras! So when you pick your nose, people can see that?´
´Why would I do such a thing?´
Mia exchanged a glance with her mother who returned with the tea things. Helen lifted her head, like a ballerina. Mia bit the inside of her cheeks.
As Helen offered her former mother-in-law a cookie, she said: ´I'm not too pleased with you going to Mia's school Clarisse.´
She used the Queen's name to annoy her - thinking that she wouldn't be allowed to do so any more - but she didn't get as much as raised eyebrow in reply.
´I understand that. But you'll appreciate that circumstances made me act the way I did.´
Looking at her granddaughter she added: ´There is after all a lot at stake.´
Mia bent over to adjust a boot-lace.
´The people of our country need to know who will rule them in the future.´
Mia sat up again.
´Shoot,´ she said.
´Shoot?´
´Yeah. That's like: tell me. I guess people your age don't say that right? Or perhaps no one in Genovia says it. I mean there must be words only people in Genovia use. It's weird right, how people who spoke the same language years ago now use different words. Like h-o-n-o-r. Say, have you visited the Palace of the Legion of Honor? You would spell it h-o-n-o-u-r I guess? You sound British. No offence. How do the people in Genovia speak? Like you?´
´There are three languages in Genovia,´ Helen pleasantly said, ´They speak English, French and Spanish.´
´No shit! All because of that French prince and his Spanish wife? Why couldn't they stick to one language? Would I have to learn French and Spanish?´
The Queen didn't voice the thought that Amelia needed to be taught English as well.
´You'll get excellent tutors Amelia.´
´If I wanna do it grandmother.´
Helen smiled at her girl.
´How long have you been a queen?´
´For forty-eight years.´
´Jeez! You were eighteen?´
The Queen nodded.
´Yes, I became Queen on the day I married the King.´
´The King? Why don't you say Rupert? Did you have to call him Your Majesty?´
´Not in his face,´ the Queen said with a smile.
Mia didn't know what to think of that. From a pocket of her jeans she produced a small piece of paper.
´I wrote down some stuff, cause otherwise I'll forget to ask you about it. So here's my first question.´
She looked at the paper.
´It's about the age thing you mentioned. You know at school? What's the thing with the twenty-first birthday? I was thinking: dad was way older than me and he wasn't a king. Why would I have to be a queen then? Doesn't seem fair.´
´That is a good question Amelia. You must know that nine years ago your grandfather turned ill. It was believed that he would soon recover so there was no reason for him to abdicate. Your grandfather made me his Regent. In the following years his health remained poor and at some point instead of making me a Regent for a few months again, he made me a Regent for an indefinite period.´
Mia nodded as if this was every day business to her.
´Despite his delicate condition your grandfather died unexpectedly and your father asked me to remain a Regent for some time.´
´Because?´ Helen asked.
´Philippe liked to finish a program he'd set up.´
´What kind of a program?´
´It was a learning course Amelia. He travelled the world to gather information about a great many topics.´
´Smart. But don't you think I should be able to do that too? Why should I be a queen at twenty-one? I won't even have finished university by then. Not to mention learning other languages.´
When Helen heard a peeping sound indicating that the dryer had stopped working in mid-program, she excused herself to empty its condensed water container. She didn't feel uncomfortable about leaving Mia with her grandmother: her little girl was doing just fine. She started humming, refusing to think about what Philippe would have wanted their daughter to do. The wind was increasing and Helen went to close some windows. When she returned to the living room she took a moment to observe Mia and the Queen. The girl was sitting cross-legged and she was absent mindedly scratching her arm. Her Majesty was sitting as upright as always. Mia earnestly listened to her. Helen stopped humming.
´Did I miss anything?´
´Hi mum. Grandmother thinks twenty-one is too young too.´
Helen knew that Mia could dread things in the near future, but once for example a test paper was rescheduled into a more distant future, she'd forget her worries for the time being.
´That's nice. But what does Parliament think on the subject? Clarisse, do you really think you'll be able to win over the MPs?´
´Their power derives from their voters Helen and my people will agree with me that twenty-one is too young to rule a country.´
Helen sighed dramatically. ´What if she says yes, and you won't manage to get support for your cause? Mia can't retreat then, now can she?´
´Grandmother thought about that mum. She already entered a bill to have some rules of constitutional law changed, one of them being the age when a prince or princess can become a king. Or queen. Sneaky huh?´ the girl said with an appreciative grin. ´And when that's all settled, she will announce that I will take dad's place. If I wanna do it of course.´
´You thought it over didn't you?´ Helen said. ´But to get a bill passed will take months if not years. What about the people of Genovia needing to know who will rule them? Von Troken will gain support.´
´I am aware of that Helen. But as much as I want Amelia to become Genovia's next Queen, I will not expose her to the public until she is ready for it. I will have to counter Von Troken's scheming.´
Mia tilted her head, moved by her grandmother's support.
´Who's Von Troken? Sounds German. It would be a great name for the bad guy in a Bond movie.´
´From his mother's side Baron Von Troken is a descendant of Charles III, your grandfather's grandfather.´
´And he wants to be king?´
´I'm afraid so.´
´Is he a creep?´
The Queen could say a great many things about the man, but for now she admitted that "creep" was a rather nice synonym for him.
Mia grinned.
´Do you ever say stuff like creep?´
´Only in French,´ the Queen said with a twinkle in her eyes. It made Mia laugh aloud.
´Were you like me grandma?´
Both the Queen and Helen noticed the informal address. For reasons of their own they both preferred 'grandmother', but the Queen knew she was making progress, so she didn't correct the girl, who chatted along anyway: ´You know, were you from a normal family? Living in a normal house?´
´I wasn't born a princess,´ the Queen replied.
´Only because nobility don't pass through the female line. Your grandmother Mia, is the great-granddaughter of a Spanish King. Her father was a Genovian count. Philippe told me about the holidays he spent in his mother's childhood castle.´
Mia felt oddly down, but well, castle and grandmother made a match. She was about to ask her grandmother whether she too had slept in a tower, when she was startled by the voice of forgotten-he-was-there-Mr-Black: ´Hello Miss Lilly.´
Lilly stepped inside. Not quite knowing how to address Mia's grandmother, she simply said:´Hi everyone.´
´Hi!´ Mia replied.
´It's good to see you again Lilly,´ the Queen kindly said.
´Come have a seat,´ Helen invited. She glanced at her watch to find that Lilly wasn't awfully early. Mia had asked her if it was all right to invite Lilly over for dinner. Helen understood that her daughter wanted to discuss things with her friend and she wished she'd have someone to talk to as well.
´I'll order Chinese,´ she announced. Addressing the Queen she added: ´Will you join us?´
´I'd like to, thank you.´
´Mr Romero doesn't have to do without food, does he?´
´I happen to know that Joseph likes Chinese food,´ the Queen smiled. ´Joseph, will you inform the staff that I will not have dinner at the consulate?´
Joe inclined his head.
While the Head of Security and Helen made their calls, Lilly mentioned that she liked it that Mia now had a grandmother: ´I like spending time with my grandmothers myself.´
´Yeah, but you hate the sweaters granny Brown makes you!´
´That's true, but I love gran.´
´Do you knit?´ Mia asked her grandmother, just to be sure.
´No I don't. I do like to embroider,´ the Queen said.
Lilly started laughing.
´What?´ Mia said, ´There's nothing wrong with embroidery!´
´No no, course not.´ Looking at Mia's grandmother Lilly explained: ´I can just see you making Mia a nice embroidered dress, a princess dress. With smocking too.´
´I'm not a princess.´
Lilly glanced at the Queen, who calmly looked at Mia.
´Well you're the daughter of a prince Mia so -´
´I haven't made up my mind!´ Mia interrupted her friend.
´Have the two of you known each other for a long time?´ the Queen asked.
´For ages,´ Lilly replied for Mia devoted her attention to cleaning a nail. ´We were seven. We met in a play garden.´
She deliberately gave a false recollection and Mia took the bite: ´It was during swimming classes.´
´Was it?´
´Say,´ Mia remarked, ignoring her friend's reply, ´You think this Von Troken bloke will do something villain-like when he's a king?´
´King of what?´
´Genovia,´ Mia explained, irritated by her friend's redundant question. ´Or do you simply not like him 'cause he's not a Renaldi grandma?´
´Von Troken. Sounds German,´ Lilly said. She got a small smile from the Queen but Mia ignored her completely.
´Accepting a royal heritage has to do with an urge of being useful. The Baron doesn't understand that concept.´
´Who says I do?´
´Oh Amelia, you can't fool me,´ the Queen said with a loving smile. ´For years I only knew you from the letters your mother sent to your father and now that I met you I know for certain that you a sweet bright girl who wants to make a difference.´
Lilly nodded supportively and when she caught Mia's eye, she smiled at her proudly. Mia blushed.
´You're only saying that stuff about making a difference because dad wanted to make a difference.´
The Queen placed a hand on her granddaughter's leg.
´Don't you?´
Mia shrugged. Sure she didn't want to live a meaningless life, but if she would make some people happy by being a loyal friend, a valuable colleague, a loving wife and a warm caring mother, wouldn't she make a difference too? It didn't have to be big. Right?
Helen returned from placing her order.
´A few minutes and we'll eat. What were you talking about?´
´Oh, stuff. Grandma, what sort of difference did dad want to make?´
´He wanted his people to prosper.´
´Like they'd all have two cars?´ Mia said, disbelief in her voice.
´Prosperity that equals materialism isn't true prosperity. Living in a peaceful country, with a good educational system and good healthcare and freedom, that is what your father wanted to guarantee.´
Helen pained her mind for a sharp reply. Mia stared at the note in her hand.
´So that's all arranged for isn't it?´ Lilly remarked, ´I mean, because you said guarantee.´
´Freedom and all other rights need maintenance. That is what a King or Queen should take care of.´
´Yeah,´ Mia said, wishing her grandmother would leave, ´but Queens also have to take care of protocol and all. Do you ever have fun?´
´Do you still like riding?´ Helen inquired without waiting for a reply, ´It's a pity that your schedule barely allows you time to relax, isn't it?´ Eyeing the girls Helen added: ´I remember her telling me about an ordinary day at court. Rise early, one meeting after the other, from dealing with the housekeeper to talking to dignitaries, then making a working visit to some village, dinner with guests, reading, signing.´
´Never a dull moment,´ the Queen said with a smile.
Lilly laughed. ´Have you been a queen for many years?´
´Forty-eight,´ Mia replied.
´Seriously?´ Lilly scrutinized her friend's grandmother. ´You must have been... very young.´
´Eighteen,´ Mia said.
´Man! Hold on: does Mia have to be a Queen in three years time?´
The Queen didn't bother to open her mouth, expecting her granddaughter to answer Lilly's question.
´Six. Well, five sort of.´
´You're kidding girl?´
´Nope.´
´I will fight to have that rule changed Amelia.´
Silence.
´Amelia?´
´I think I heard something outside,´ Mia said and she escaped to the front door where she was greeted by Mr Black: ´Princess.´
Behind her her mother asked Lilly whether her father had already returned from his business trip.
´Don't princess me,´ the girl told the bodyguard. ´My name is Mia. And why don't you just sit down?´
´I prefer to stand.´
´Right.´
The bodyguard pointed at his ear-plug: ´You heard correctly: food is on its way.´
´You've got your men out there?´
´Yes I do.´
The doorbell rang.
Mia stepped towards it, but it was Mr Black who opened the door, received paper bags with food and paid the delivery man.
The girls had a good giggle when the Queen wanted to move to the kitchen table to have dinner.
´When we have pizza or Chinese we always eat here,´ Mia explained.
Soon the coffee table was covered with boxes. Helen recommended her former mother-in-law to have some pork from box 18. She'd eaten it herself once and it had given her a restless night. The Queen said that she might try it later on. She may not be used to eat from boxes, but to Helen's chagrin she didn't complain about it and she handled her chop-sticks as if she used them all the time.
Mia started chatting with Lilly about a film they'd seen. Helen joined them and the Queen merely ate some mushrooms and listened until Lilly asked her whether she'd seen The bodyguard. The Queen shook her head.
´Really? But you've got bodyguards yourself. Wouldn't it be fun to see a movie about a bodyguard?´
The girls glanced at Mr Black, who'd taken a seat next to Helen from where he could eye the front door. He had retreated into silence again.
The Queen swallowed her food and replied: ´I'm not a fan of Kevin Costner.´
´Have you ever met any actors?´ Lilly asked.
Mia joined her friend in naming film stars, going 'oh!' and 'ah!' when they learned that the Queen had met among others Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Glenn Close, Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman and John Travolta. When the girls couldn't find another name on the spot, the Queen told them that she'd met Ronald Reagan too.
Helen hid a grin. After a moment the girls started laughing, more because of the Queen's serious expression than for sensing the underlying irony.
Joe -in a flash- found some players for a fantasy: the Queen of a small European country and an FBI agent. The former was being questioned for insulting a former President of the United States. Joe's heart wasn't in it though and before the agent could advise the Queen to cooperate, he left the interrogation room to return to the here and now where he helped himself to some more of the rather good pork.
´... special to meet so many famous people. Have you ever met Nelson Mandela?´
´Yes I have.´
The girls looked at each other wide eyed.
´Wow!´ they cried out.
´Wouldn't it be great to meet someone like that Mia?´ Lilly said.
Chewing on scrambled eggs with tomatoes Mia voiced her agreement. Her grandmother told her something about the South African hero and about other VIPs as well. She didn't gossip and her comments were kind, even when it concerned people she privately disliked. She spoke about the value of state visits and how wonderful it was to bring people together. The girls looked questioningly and the Queen told them about meeting a high ranked Kenyan civil servant who wanted to start a program to inform mothers about childcare. ´The CEO of a Genovian multinational was part of my train and I knew that her company wanted to contribute to a social cause so I introduced them to each other.´
´And then the company helped to set up the program?´
´Yes they did.´
Mia felt her friend look at her, but she pretended not to see.
´But that's not really your accomplishment, is it?´ she asked before removing a piece of tomato from a tooth.
´But if she wouldn't have introduced those people, they wouldn't have met,´ Lilly reasoned.
´Say, do you girls have a lot of homework?´ Helen casually asked.
´It's Friday,´ Lilly pointed out while at the same time Mia said: ´Loads.´
´My staff has arrived today,´ the Queen remarked, feeling that it was about time for her to leave, ´And since I don't want them to spread word about a girl calling me grandmother -´
´But you thought Mia was sweet and bright!´ Lilly said.
The Queen nodded understandingly. ´I do Lilly. My staff now consists of my countrymen and I fear that knowing that I have a granddaughter will make them contact Genovian journalists. I want to shield Amelia from the press until she has reached a decision.´
Lilly nodded: ´To become a queen.´
´Or not,´ Helen added, ´You can visit us if you want to.´
´Thank you Helen.´
Helen focused on the coffee table and without knowing what she was doing took the remaining titbit from box 18.
OoOoOoO
With a pleased sigh the Queen stirred her perfect cup of tea. She then watched Joseph making sure that her balcony door was locked, waiting for his reply to her question about the best strategy to handle Amelia.
´Maybe you can tell her about the Renaldi riches?´ Joe said in a hurry to go to his room.
Unaware of her lover's predicament, the Queen shook her head.
´Really Joseph. I don't want the lure of wealth to attract her to the throne.´
She took a sip of tea. ´I thought I almost had her. Not in saying yes already, but -´
´She's warming to you and to Genovia. What you told her made an impression.´
´Right now her mother is feeding her different words.´
The Queen sighed and put down her cup. She longed to feel the warmth of Joseph's body. ´Will you not join me on the sofa?´
Joe admired the princess for not giving in just like that but he knew that his support should be for his lovely Queen. He longed to reassure her and hold her, but right now he just couldn't.
´All will be well Clarisse. Now if you excuse me I need to execute some checks. Good evening.´
A few moments later on the Queen stared at the door through which Joseph had left.
She hit an unsuspecting pillow. For several minutes she was deep in thought. At last she rose to make some calls.
