Part II: The War
“You have no right to be mad at me, Dorika,” Gloria told her colleague and friend. The two of them had sat down alone, Gloria by the window and Dorika next to her, to calmly discuss the newly-arisen problem.
Dorika was silent, staring at the back of the seat in front of her.
“You called me while I was waiting for you at the club and said that you weren’t feeling well, that you had a migraine and that you had to go to bed immediately. Isn’t that right?”
Dorika didn’t answer.
“Isn’t that right, I asked you!”
“Yes.”
“There, you see.”
“But that’s not an excuse,” Dorika softened up and looked at Gloria. “This thing with Svetlana was so important that you should have woken me up. I would have taken another pill for my head and…”
“I know…”
“Well if you know, why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Because… but not a word to anyone!”
“You saw Pascal too?!”
“No… it has nothing to do with them…”
“So?”
“Promise me that you won’t tell a soul.”
“I promise. Tell me already!”
“Last night, when you said that you wouldn’t be coming to the club, I paid for my drink and started for the exit. What was I going to do there by myself, right?”
“And?”
“So I’m already nearing the door when I hear… it was noisy, loud music… you know how it gets there…”
“What did you hear?”
“Well… I wasn’t at all sure in that noise. I thought that I had imagined it. I didn’t even turn around…”
“OK, so?”
“And then, a second time, much louder. I heard someone shout ‘Gloria! Gloria!’, and I turned around…”
“Who was it?”
“A young man.”
“A young man! Really? Was he handsome?”
“Very handsome”
“Wow, tell me more! How did he approach you? How did you get introduced?”
“Well… we didn’t get introduced.”
“I don’t get it. How didn’t you get introduced? Why then did he call out to you?”
“You don’t get it, Dorika. He called me by my name. There was no need for us to get introduced.”
“You know him?”
“You know him too.”
“I know him too. Where do we know him from? What are you trying to tell me, Gloria? He isn’t one of our guys, is he?”
“You promised that you wouldn’t…”
“Yes, I did! Who?”
“Guess!”
“Guess?... alright. You say he’s handsome?”
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’? You said…”
“I said ‘very handsome’.”
“Could it be…?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Habib!”
“Yes, him!”
“Wow, Gloria! Tell me, tell me everything! So you turn around and you see Habib calling you! My leg would have turned to jelly.”
“What do you think, that mine didn’t?”
“Come on… tell me…”
“I didn’t see who he was with at the club. He never left my side. Whoever he was with didn’t interest him anymore.”
“You lucky girl!”
“We danced, we talked…”
“What did you talk about…”
“Nothing much… about our campaign, our work… it was too loud in there. And I was keeping a distance, like between coworkers.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean ‘why’? Well you can’t immediately show how much you like him. The guy has to work a little.”
“Wow, you know everything. Lucky you.”
“I’ll advise you, when you find a guy.”
“A guy? Me? I’ll never find a guy. And where would I find one? We work all day long.”
“You’ll find one, you’ll find one. Now, when Pascal becomes president, we’ll work less, get good salaries, buy only the most beautiful things… guys are going to be all over you.”
“Eh… you think?”
“Absolutely! You bet… this is what I wanted to tell you. It was because of him that I didn’t wake you when Svetlana cried.”
“Because of Habib?”
“Yup. I told you. I pretended not to be interested in him. And I saw, I know how to recognize this, that he was really into me. From before, you get it? Not only last night at the club.”
“Really?”
“Really. I can read men between the lines. And when we went back to the hotel I immediately told him good night, and went to our room. I was certain that he wouldn’t resist and that he’d knock on our door, and take me down to the bar for a drink, and then he’d tell me that he’s liked me for a long time…”
“Aw, Gloria… and what would you have told him?”
“I would have said that now, ahead of the elections, really wasn’t the time for such talks.”
“Would you, really?”
“I would. But only in the beginning, when he first mentioned it. So that he would have to repeat it, to explain why he likes me. To tell me what my hair is like, what my eyes are like, that he can’t sleep… that he’s constantly thinking of me.”
“And what if he didn’t repeat it? What if he accepted what you said and actually waited until the elections?”
“He’ll repeat it, he’ll repeat it. And if he doesn’t, then I would pout until he said again that he likes me. You can’t really plan it like that. You have to feel the moment, and then either be silent or smile or pout. As necessary.”
“I wouldn’t know how to. I’d immediately tell him how handsome he is.”
“I know, but… this is what I want to say to you. That is why I didn’t wake you. Last night when I entered our room, I stood fully dressed near the door for a few minutes. And then I quickly changed, put on my nightgown and lay in bed. So that when I opened the door he would see me in my nightgown. So that he didn’t think that I was waiting for him.”
“You’re really clever. You think of everything.”
“You have to, Dorika. Of course, I didn’t take off my makeup. Who would put makeup on again? Men really don’t get those things.”
“Of course.”
“So I’m lying there… and I hear Svetlana and all that. And after that I still hoped and waited for him… And that’s why I didn’t wake you, you get it?”
“I get it.”
“So you’re no longer angry?”
“I’m not. Actually, I am! Why didn’t you tell me this morning about Svetlana?”
“This morning? What’s with you, Dorika? We were all in panic. Raul banged on everyone’s door and shouted ‘Get up! Pack! We’re leaving Megapolis!’”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I remembered Svetlana only after the plane had taken off.”
“What are the two of you doing here all alone?” asked Habib, a member of Liam’s team, standing behind Gloria and Dorika.