A Polish Adventure

I took her in my arms. "Jenny, there is nobody in this life for me except you and Maureen. They can try whatever they want, and the response will always be 'no'.

She hid her face on my chest, sniffled, and then said "James, you can go on your own - I'll allow it. But I'd be very disappointed if you actually would go ...."

I hugged her and told Allan to continue his explanation. The joke had gone a bit too far. He took a little tablet from the sideboard behind him and asked Jenny to give him the pendant. She took it off the chain and he laid it on the right superior corner of the tablet, typed some letters on the keyboard, and pushed the start button. For a moment nothing happened, and then the scene we had just gone through, was repeated in HD and clear sound. The quality was really surprising.

"James, my friends told me that it could tape for twenty-five minutes, so be careful when you use it. You press this other button and the images are recorded in a safe file on this tablet. Remember to use a complicated (but easy for you) password! "

He handed me the tablet and after some family gossips and teasing, we went home. I called Mr. Smirsky that we would fly to Poland in two days (but would pass through Berlin to talk to the Foreign Ministry) and be in Elk on Wednesday evening, and asked him to prepare a meeting with the Mayor and any other people he might find necessary to consult. My secretary called the Polish Prime Minister's secretary and they agreed that I would be in Warsaw on Monday the following week.

There was nothing else we could do here. Maureen was still upset that she could not go with us but understood the situation. She made certain, however, that she received the full compensation for the forced absence: her best friend George was invited to visit all her openings and he accepted the invitation gratefully, and with surprising vigor. When we said goodbye at the airport, she looked at me for a long time.

"James, be careful and watch out! If anything happened to you or Jenny, I'll move heaven and hell to punish whoever was responsible! It might cost me the company but there will be no mercy!"

Suddenly I saw her mother in her; when she was really angry there was nothing that could stop her!

I kissed her, told her not to worry and reminded her that Jenny was with me; did she, in fact, believe anybody could get to me if Jenny was with me? She shook her head, sniffled a bit, and made me promise to be careful. Then she hugged Jenny and made her promise too, that she would keep me safe. Jenny embraced her and murmured something to her; Maureen looked at her, nodded, and then both hugged once more.

"James, you know that I don't like long goodbyes, and especially not today. Be careful, and I love you. Remember your promise to be safe and look out for Jenny!" One more kiss and she turned away.

The flight to Berlin was long and tiring; even Business Class did not help. I was surprised: there was no upgrade? One can get rapidly accustomed to certain benefits! Jenny grinned.

"James, Lufthansa is upset with us -- we stole a big customer from them. They liked our service better than the cold efficient German efficiency! You might understand this..... "

We went back to the Adlon Hotel and this time, the service was even better than at our last visit. They had observed the increased bookings from our company; I used the hotel occasionally to give a bonus for special service. The productivity in the company had improved a lot once the wives of or employees (including drivers) realized that they might have a chance to live it up in a five-star hotel in Berlin with all expenses paid, and they were a very strong supporting force for us!

When we entered the apartment, it was funny to observe Jenny. A look around whether everything was as she wanted it, a short nod and she relaxed. The little mouse had changed into a roaring lioness! We called Maureen, told her that everything was going well up to now, and promised to call the next day. She was not happy but accepted it.

Our dinner was excellent -- and when we retired, Jenny glanced at me.

"My love, what do you want to do now? Have me? Sleep? I must admit that I'm a bit tired, but you know that I'm always ready to make love -- anywhere and anyhow .... Any preferences? Perhaps we can order some smoked salmon -- I saw that there is vodka in the fridge ....."

I shook my head "Darling, let's just sleep tonight. We have busy days ahead, but keep that thought in your head. I'm certain that in the Castle, we will enjoy ourselves with more enthusiasm!" I asked her what she had whispered to Maureen and she hesitated, but then looked straight at me.

"I told Maureen that I would protect you with my life and that nobody would hurt you! "

She hugged me, we had our shower (with just a little fooling around) and fell asleep. She made certain, however, that she gave me her breasts for my goodnight kisses, and whenever I moved around during the night, her hand took mine and placed it back on her breast. It seemed that in the morning she was recovered from the flight - after a long conversation with George (who enthusiastically encouraged her to go all the way), we made long and tender love. The day had started well!

I had arranged to meet my main contact in the Foreign Ministry, Peter von Richthofen. He was creative in finding ways around state bureaucracy, whether German or in Brussels, and had facilitated long and dreary negotiations about funds for our projects in Elk. It helped that he was remotely related to our family -- father had told me about his relationship with Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, the Red Baron.

We were expected at the Ministry and Peter was waiting for us. He worked in the new building, all glass and concrete. Ugly, but apparently functional. The furniture -- modern Scandinavian -- helped to lighten the official setting.

"James, what are you up to now? And the lovely Miss Parker! What can I do for you?"

I told him about my problems with the Polish authorities in Australia and his friendly banter vanished.

"James, you have a real problem in your hands. We have observed the changes in Poland with great concern, but it seems that there's nothing we can do at this moment. Any official intervention would worsen your situation. All I can do is recommend utmost caution in everything you say or do; knowing you, however, this might not happen. Miss Parker, please restrain your husband -- the problem is so bad, you might lose the lot."

Jenny smiled prettily, gratified that he had acknowledged our special relationship. Peter continued.

"James, as I said, there is nothing we can do officially, but you know that we stand behind you. Always!"

He gave us more information about the political situation in Warsaw, how Law and Justice had taken over the administration clearing out most of the independent bureaucrats, fired half of the Supreme Court, and in general, had created a huge mess. The opposition hadn't yet decided how to oppose them, and the people were supporting his anti-foreigner, anti-German diatribes. Then he changed the subject.

"What are you doing tonight? Can I see you?"

I wondered why he wanted to see us later, while we were sitting now in his office. I looked at Jenny and she nodded.

"Peter, it would be nice to see you later. All we have planned to go to a concert and listen to Orff's Carmina Burana."

He looked at his diary and we agreed to see him at the Adlon at five o'clock. We left, and Jenny waited until we were outside, before asking me.

"Don't you understand? He cannot say anything official, but he's willing to help and I'm certain that he'll give us unofficial information at night!" I knew why I loved this woman, my wife.

We had lunch in the beautiful Adlon Esszimmer, as imposing as the hotel with its great dining room, dark décor, and a beautiful colorful round alfresco on the ceiling, showing warriors and troubadours doing their things. Jenny looked at the Pidgeon. I strongly advised against it, repeating what I had said once to Maureen "Pidgeon is a waste of your time. There is a lot of colorful decoration and 50 grams of tough meat. Forget it!"

She doubted first, looking once more at the beautiful photo of the dish, but in the end, she trusted me. So we had caviar with a spoon of sour cream as a starter, accompanied by a glass of Champagne. Then I decided on a braised lamb shoulder, with white beans, chamomile, and pomegranate sauce, and Jenny had a filet of lamb, with fermented garlic, pearl onions, and grapes. I had never seen that combination before and was curious. Jenny decided on a half-bottle of the Laurence Margaret River Cabernet (patriotic choice!) and I, following the sommelier's recommendation, on a half-bottle of Cantina Santadi Grotta Rossa Carignano del Sulcis. The dishes were superb, and we could not decide whether the Semillon's fruity aromas and golden hue or the darker rich and intense red was better suited. We liked them both, however.

We rejected the dessert, however .....

Jenny decided that we had to go shopping, and even with my protests that I had to work, she called a car and we went to the DKW, finding a nice purse for Maureen, a beautiful Hermès scarf for Eileen, and when I saw Jenny looking at a very pretty set of diamond earrings, I dragged her into the shop; there were a few formal protests -- which I knew I didn't have to take very seriously -- we left with a present for her also. She wanted to purchase something for me, too, but I escaped because we were running out of time. The weather was nice -- early autumn, and we walked back to the hotel.

We were sitting in the Adlon bar, trying to explain to Jenny what Carmina Burana meant -- the Songs of the Monastery of Benediktbeurern, a small village in the South of Germany, when Peter walked in. He asked for a glass of wine and came to the point.

"James, I cannot tell you anything officially, but be very careful in your contacts with the Prime Minister, and especially his Chief of Staff. I've been informed by reliable sources in Warsaw that while the Prime Minister is presenting the image of the anti-corrupt, integer politician, we believe that he is very corrupt, and that money has been exchanged for official favors. He tries to stay above minutiae, but we know that he has the final word. His Chief of Staff handles details and he's quite a nasty character. Be careful, James, they're trying to get you! And Miss Parker, I'd be very careful not to be alone with these people!"

He drank his wine and wishing us luck, left.

We looked at each other and I shrugged. "Well, darling, life has become interesting!"

She nodded, taking a deep breath.

"James, the three of us have been living in interesting times for a long time, and together we'll win this one also!"

I agreed, and we went to see Carmina Burana in the Deutsche Oper; it had its history -- the institution was over 100 years old, the building had been destroyed in WW2, and completely rebuilt afterwards. When we arrived, I thought that it was an example of German rigidness: Concrete all over! The interior was decorated in brown, beige and grey colors, and the only warm spot was the big dark red curtain to the stage. It was one of the biggest opera houses in Germany and I had heard that the acoustics were excellent.

I had always liked Orff's composition, taking 22 of the original 47 verses in secular Latin verses from the early medieval years. I remembered that a friend of mine had once explained to me that they covered many topics: the capriciousness of fortune and wealth, the fleeting nature of life, the joy of the return of Spring, and the pleasures and perils of love, drinking, gluttony, gambling, and lust. Orff combined rousing choral music with sweet solo arias, and especially the opening part 'O Fortuna' had been used over the years in everything from commercials to action movies.

When the lights dimmed, and the curtain opened, there must have been more than 150 singers in the chorus. A moment of silence and the music exploded: "O Fortuna, velut luna, statu variabilis ...."

Jenny looked at me, not understanding anything. I whispered "Medieval Latin" and pointed upwards, where the lyrics were projected in Latin and in German.

'Fortune is like the moon, constantly changing ...'

It showed the fickleness of fortune, helping some, abandoning others. The sound was fabulous, almost overwhelming with the strength of the singers. The following parts included the spring awakening with its bright colors and deep love, the foolishness of farmers in a night of too much food and drinks, and that love can change from on a moment's notice from happy to sad. There were rousing choral songs and arias both sad and happy. In the end, 'O Fortuna' was repeated and the audience exploded in applause.

Jenny loved it and when we came back to the hotel, she was still humming some notes from a love song. It had been a productive day, with a wonderful finish. We had another call to Maureen, and this time Jenny stayed with her for a long time. I wondered what they had discussed but was told that it was wife talk and that husbands were not invited. She made up to me later, however .....

The next day reality started. We had hired a small jet to get us to Elk, and the Mayor, Mr. Tussek, was waiting for us.

"Count, Miss Parker, thank you for coming so soon. We need to discuss what we've heard, and how you want to play this."

Our company car (it was not a Lada, but an armored BMW, as it was better to be safe than sorry!) got us to the Castle; the staff took our luggage and we used the meeting room to get down to details -- dirty or not.

Mr. Tussek started. "Miss Parker " (finally, he remembered who the CEO was!) "the new government will announce soon measures that will nationalize some foreign-controlled projects, and we will be included in that list, and Count, it does not help that you are German and nobility! They'll play that forever! The best that we can hope for is that they will want to have control of everything in Elk that you have built up, and you may stay as a minority investor, but without control. You know what this means ....."

I knew it very well -- we would lose everything. But this was not a one-sided play! He stayed for two hours and in the end, we still had no solution. We agreed that I should see the State Governor, Mr. Smirsky, the next day, and were assured that he was totally on our side. We invited him to come back at night for dinner and bring his and our friends; perhaps as a group, we could find a solution.

We went to our apartment and the staff had already arranged everything; Jenny smiled when she saw me looking around.

"Remember invisible service? What they can do, I can do better!"

She definitively did not forget the terrible twins ....

We showered, had a nap (no fooling around), and then we were ready to receive our guests.

Whenever Jenny was ready to go out with me, I adored seeing her gliding closer and closer. The sexy dresses she wore at home (when she wore anything at all) was replaced by an elegant cocktail dress, hiding partially her charms, but revealing that there was a beautiful woman below. It was dark blue, fitted her body like a glove and accented her narrow hips and long legs. The most alluring was, as always, her face, smiling at me with love and pride in her eyes. A little blush on her cheeks, a smudge of eye shadow, and a pastel gloss on her lips showed the world who she was: a successful woman, proud to be seen with me, and proud of herself. She smiled when she saw me admiring her.

"My love, I adore when you look at me this way; but dear husband, let me say that you are not ugly either!" I had used the suit she had laid out for me -- I would not dare anymore to make my own decision on what suit or what tie to wear if I were to accompany one of my two ladies!

We walked down the big circular staircase, the butler (well, it was a castle!) handed Jenny a glass of white wine and served me a tall glass of water, and we waited for our guests. I looked around and was proud of what we had achieved here. People were moving around, as the accommodations were fully booked, and a young couple sat in front of the big fireplace, holding hands and she had her head on his shoulder. There were two Asian couples with one of the women in a silk cheongsam dress, the other in a black cocktail dress. Other couples were sitting in the big chairs with wine glasses or tumblers on a low table in front of them, and our serving staff, with the women dressed in Polish traditional dresses and the men in black suits, was quietly moving around, looking after our guests. It was a mixture of a Lobby and a Bar, with the reception area hidden away at the end of the big space.

Mr. Bronislaw was the first to arrive and greeted us smilingly.

"Miss Parker, Count de Winter, welcome back. We have missed you during the last months! Don't you like us anymore?"

He stepped forward, hugged Jenny and was answered with a warm hug from her. His family had been with us forever, and in recent years nieces and nephews had come to Australia to serve and study. Some were already married and worked in one of our companies! Then he turned to me.

"Count, welcome also!" I received a hug, too, but not so tenderly. "The others are coming also. How do you want to handle this?"

"Mr. Bronislaw, we'll have a drink first, and then we'll convene in one of our meeting rooms to compare notes and perhaps come up with a strategy. I know that the situation is serious, but with the support we have from friends -- no, our friends -- we'll find a way!"

He nodded, I looked at one of the waiters close to us and he brought a bottle of Żubrówka vodka for him. I knew that he preferred this premium Polish brand, with its slightly herbal flavor and yellowish color coming from the Bison grass added when distilled. He told me once that the US prohibited it's import because this FDA alleged that this grass (and one blade was included in every bottle) was blood-thinning! This just confirmed his opinion that Americans were crazy!

He took a shot and nodded satisfied. "Count, you have not forgotten!"

Mr. Tussek appeared with three of his main assistants, and we could start -- obviously only after a glass of vodka for them also. I took them to the small meeting room, had water served -- no vodka -- and we started. I had asked Jenny to summarize the information we had up to now, and then I opened the subject for ideas and discussion. They could offer only some more details, but nothing new. It was bad: The Prime Minister had used all his strength to rally patriots behind him, supporting his small majority in the Sejm, and was now using foreigners as the main enemy that threatened Polish autonomy and independence. It was obviously all invented, but he spoke well, with a loud voice.

We had a fine dinner with a local duck in a strange sauce -- blackberries with chocolate? -- and the wine selection was horrible (I had to talk to Maureen and our sommelier; he still had to learn a lot), but didn't find a solution. Perhaps Mr. Smirsky had better information?

We retired, called Maureen with the latest news, but Jenny continued to mumble all the time and suddenly she exploded: "And to hell with these corrupt politicians!"

I tried to calm her down and after a while -- and some kisses -- she was willing to give me some compensation for the wasted dinner. She looked around as we entered our bedroom, hesitated for a moment, and asked me "Do you remember when we made love here for the first time, Maureen, you and me? And what happened afterwards?" I remembered well, since both became pregnant.

"Darling, I want another child and I have discussed this with Maureen. She agrees - will you agree please also? Pretty please? This is not a moment's decision, but what we've discussed for some time now, and this trip allows us to fulfill my desire. This is a special place for us; your family has been living here for centuries and we'll do everything so that now our family will continue that tradition. I know that it takes time to become pregnant again, but we could practice......?"