Chapter 24: Double Dutch
Lying authors will lie (new chapter in only a few days thanks to some extreme procrastination on my thesis)
Admittedly not my favorite chapter, but we need a little exposition…
Ella:
I do not make it a habit to cry in front of others, especially ones who I am keeping hundreds of secrets from, but tonight was too much for me. I still cannot wrap my head around tonight. The twisted combination of Mrs. Jones trying to recruit me to betray my family and being on a date with Alex, all while managing my own feelings about him, is really messing with my head.
Oma had intercepted me immediately–in fairness, I have been avoiding her for the past few days. I forced myself to stop crying and asked to take a shower before talking to her. I am currently sitting on the bathroom floor in my stupid outfit and headband, wondering how I'm going to get out of this mess. Not even a well-timed phone call from Christopher or Johannes will save me now.
Alex:
Alex hesitated out in front of Ella's grandparents' house for a moment. She had run away so suddenly, and it felt very out of character. Alex wasn't quite sure what he had done wrong. Of course, Mrs. Jones had been weird to Ella all night, but she had never let that get in the way of their friendship before. Alex had thought that they were allies.
After a few minutes, Alex finally turned around and left. He walked back to the hotel slowly in no mood to see Mrs. Jones.
Ella:
I turn off the hair dryer and call Noa for the second time today. I look like a mess with red eyes and mascara running down my face. Fenna was right: I really do need to invest in the waterproof stuff.
"What the hell happened to you?" she asks. I quickly detail the events from tonight and Noa just shakes her head. "Yeah, that might just be one of the worst dates in recorded human history. Besides, like, anything with Ted Bundy."
"Thanks, Noa, that really helps," I mumble, "Now how do I explain this to my grandmother? I need to explain away my tears and alleviate her concerns."
"Just lie. Tell her you got stood up by a date or something."
"I would never cry over that. We don't cry over boys, Noa, we cry over spymasters, Disney's Coco, and any Vietnam War Era love song. That's it. Besides, this excuse also needs to not elicit any further questions. You know how Jewish grandmothers are."
Noa nods solemnly. "Can't live with them, can't live without them."
"Anyways, it can't be about my family for obvious reasons. It has to be something completely random."
"Maybe you got rejected from a job?"
"Noa, that's the opposite of my actual problem. Besides, I have a real job."
"Yeah, but maybe you applied to some opportunity at Oxford in the fall that you were really hoping for and got rejected."
I shake my head. "What job in the languages department at Oxford wouldn't want me? I'm the best student they've got."
"Glad you're staying humble," Noa rolls her eyes, "But is it really the worst lie?"
"Why would I make myself look stupid on purpose?"
"Maybe because you would rather look like that than tell your grandmother that you're a spy, that you were asked to betray your own parents, and that you and the boy that slept in your bed Friday night are so obviously into each other but due to the idiot's plot that is your life you're not acting on it."
"Wow, harsh," I say. Noa can be mean. She is usually right though. "You're right. I am just really upset that they selected someone else as their Intro French TA this fall."
"That's more like it. Now, go shower. You look terrible."
Alex:
Alex didn't feel like going back to the hotel just yet, so he called Tom and Sabina back. They had been looking for an update since he had told them how he ran into Ella this morning.
"You had better be calling me during the cigarette," Sabina shouted the second the call connected.
"Gross, Sab," Alex shook his head.
"I'm sorry I have high hopes for you."
"I meant the cigarette," Alex joked, making Sabina laugh.
Tom's face finally appeared on the screen. "Well?" he asked expectantly, "How did it go?"
Alex shook his head. "I can confidently say that was the weirdest date I have ever been on," his friends stayed silent so he continued, "She shows up and immediately it feels a little awkward. She says something about being underdressed."
"Well was she?" Sabina asked.
"I'm not good with that stuff, Sab. She looked cute and I was happy to see her. Anyway, I apologized for Mrs. Jones being so weird earlier, and we walked inside the restaurant. It's Indonesian food and she offers to order for me since I've never had it before–whatever she picked was delicious though."
"Mate, focus," Tom said.
"Right. Yes. She and Mrs. Jones were at odds immediately. Eloise is the type of person who makes it very obvious she doesn't like you unless she's actively on the job. Mrs. Jones picked up on that energy immediately and ran with it. To make a long story very short, Mrs. Jones tries to recruit her to spy on America–her home country," Tom and Sabina's eyes widened, "Eloise gets understandably upset and ends the night very early. During the actual dinner, it was either great or awkward. There was a lot of weird silence but when she spoke to me it was really nice. At the end of the night, I walked her home. I asked if she wanted to walk around for a bit but she's a waitress at this local place and has work in the morning so she couldn't."
"What was the goodbye like?" Sabina asked, "Did you kiss her?"
"Absolutely I did not," Alex shook his head, "I wanted to talk to her for a minute to make sure she was okay and maybe hug her goodbye; but she turned away, saluted me, and mumbled some goodbye before sprinting into her house."
"Ouch," Tom replied, "Have you heard from her at all since then?"
"Mate, that was five minutes ago."
"Give her some space tonight," Sabina instructed, "Because dinner with Jones sounded awful for her. But maybe visit her at her restaurant tomorrow? Just to show you still care."
Alex liked that idea a lot.
Ella:
I exit the bathroom in blue flannel shorts, a gray tank top, and my wet hair wrapped on top of my head in a towel. I walk into the living room where my grandmother is waiting for me.
"Where's Opa?" I ask in Dutch.
"Sleeping," she replies in the same language. You can take the man out of the army, but you can't take the army bedtime out of the man. "Sit here, Elsje," Oma pats the cushion next to her on the loveseat, "I'd love to talk to you for a few minutes." I nod and sit next to her. "Want to tell me what's up?"
"Oh," I pause, "Well it's pretty embarrassing," I start.
"You can tell me anything," she turns to face me.
"Well, I was grabbing dinner with Noa, and on the walk home I received an email. You see, I applied for this really competitive TA position at Oxford–it's this introductory French course–that I was really hoping for to boost my resume," I frown and make the saddest eyes I can, "I got the rejection notice by email right as I was walking into the house. I just overreacted a little because I was sad I didn't get the spot. I worked really hard on the application."
Oma hugs me and I immediately feel bad. "So sorry to hear that, Elsje," she rubs my head, "I can't believe they didn't want you! Your French is perfect." Perfect. I am never letting Noa come up with lies for me again.
"Yeah, it is perfect," I say quickly, "The girl they ended up taking is actually from France so I assume she was just the better choice." Oma nods.
"Nonsense, Elsje, I'm sure you have something better coming your way. Thank you for sharing that with me." Crisis averted. "Now," Oma waggles her eyebrows and I immediately want to disappear, "Tell me about that nice young man I met on Saturday morning."
Alex:
After hanging up with his friends, Alex realized he had nowhere to go but his hotel room. He wasn't going to Ella's, and he certainly wasn't going back to Thee en Zand, so that left him with Mrs. Jones.
Ten minutes later, he was standing inside his room. Staring into the bathroom mirror, Alex felt defeated. He zeroed in on his reflection wondering where it all went wrong tonight when the answer to his question knocked on his bedroom door.
"Mrs. Jones," Alex remarked.
"Can I come in?" she asked him. Alex nodded and soon Mrs. Jones was sitting at his desk while Alex sat cross-legged on his bed. "I'll cut to the chase. I'm not the monster you probably think I am after tonight," Mrs. Jones paused but Alex said nothing forcing her to continue, "I can't explain to you the specifics, but just remember that everything I do is on purpose."
Alex stayed silent. What the hell was he supposed to say to that?
"All I want to say, Alex, is be careful. There is always more than meets the eye." With that, Mrs. Jones exited Alex's hotel room leaving him to ponder that very odd interaction.
Ella:
"Oma I swear, he's just a friend," I protest, "Besides, Noa and Johannes have already teased me about this plenty."
"So there's something to tease you about," she raises her eyebrows at me.
"No, no. He is just a friend. In fact, I don't even know him that well. He was at Oxford for a semester and we had PoliSci together. Then, he transferred to some school in London and I haven't seen him since. He was in Den Haag for the weekend and I invited him to come hang out with Noa and I and a few friends from the cafe. We got a little too drunk and he forgot the name of his hotel so I let him crash with me."
"He seems really nice," Oma observed, "And he makes you laugh."
"Yeah, that's why he's my friend," I roll my eyes and emphasize the word.
Oma shakes her head. "Fine, fine, have your fun," she chuckles. "I'm going to bed. Try and stay out of trouble."
I promise her but sneak out again twenty minutes later. Yuri has another mission for us and it's time to go.
Alex:
The next morning, Alex woke up extra early to pack his bags. He had just enough time to slip out of the hotel and grab some breakfast before his flight.
He made the familiar walk to Rebecca's, hoping that Ella would hear him out over a cup of tea and a piece of toast.
However, when he got to the restaurant, rather than his breakfast, he was greeted with a large red "CLOSED" sign.