[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Darcy nodded.  Yes, sir. I would.
 All right. Then that brings us to the question of your citizenship. What is
your citizenship? That is, where were you born?
Darcy cleared her throat, inaudibly, she hoped.  Uh, it s Canadian. I mean, I
think it s Canadian.
 I see. Canadian. That s fine. So, somewhere in Canada, there is a record of
your birth?
 I don t know, she said softly. She shot a glance at Cheryl.  You see, I m an
orphan, sir. My parents are no longer living.
Al Past
96
 Hmmm. Braithwaite paused.  I m sorry. He looked down as Darcy s heart
sank.
 Well then, we may have to resort to a certain legal nicety. I happen to be Bar-
badian, Ms. Darcy. I am quite familiar with Barbadian naturalization law. If the
Barbadian government were to agree, you could become a citizen of Barbados
after six months residence on the island, and, assuming you qualify, take part in
the Olympics as a Barbadian citizen. Would you be willing to do that?
Darcy s eyes widened.  Yes, sir! I would! But& .
 Yes& ?
 Don t the Olympics occur in four months, four and a half months?
 Yes, they do. That should be no problem. I will apply to the government on
your behalf for a waiver of the six month residency period, and I expect it will be
granted. The ministers involved are all old acquaintances of mine. But you will
have to do your training there, of course, as a part of your residency. Will that be
a problem for you?
 No, sir! Thank you sir!
 Excellent! That pleases me immensely, Ms. Darcy! Now let us discuss the
details of our proposal to you& .
Cheryl clasped Darcy s hand below the table top and squeezed it hard with
both of her own.  All riiiight! she whispered.
The next morning Darcy waited with Cheryl in the lobby of the hotel for the
taxi to take her to the flight back to Texas.
Back in the room, she only needed fifteen minutes to pack her new clothes
into her new suitcase and return to the lobby to meet a second cab. The little jet
would take her, Chuck Henneke, and Hartley Braithwaite to Barbados to meet
with the Barbadian Olympic committee, file a petition for naturalized citizen-
ship, and get her training regime established.
She was dragging her suitcase from the elevator to the lobby not because it
was that heavy but because she wasn t tall enough to hold it off the floor when
a handsome young bellhop rushed over.
 Miss! Miss! Please! Allow me! he said with a smile.
She had watched the people in the lobby earlier, while she kept Cheryl com-
pany, and knew she was expected to tip the young man for his help. Fortunately,
she still had some bills left from Matt s gift. She handed a couple to the man with
a smile.  Thank you.
Al Past
97
 Thank you, Miss! the bellhop said.  I heard you are going to be in the
Olympics! I bet you win a medal! Would you give me your signature, perhaps,
please?
He produced a half sheet of raffle tickets and a ball point, and handed them to
her.  Make it  To Mario,  he requested.
To that she added  Thanks for your help, and signed  Ana Darcy, giving
the sheet and pen back to him with a smile.
 Mil gracias, señorita! Good luck to you in the Olympics! he gushed, and
bowed, his hand over his heart.
I guess that s my first experience with fame, she thought if only Mario won t
have forgotten her completely a few months from now.
C H A P T E R 25
May
Darcy was stunned by the beauty of Barbados. It was just right: not too moun-
tainous and not too jungly. From almost any point she was generally within sight
of the ocean. The weather was perfect and the people welcoming. The typical
greeting upon walking past a stranger was  OK, which she soon understood to
be the answer to the unasked question,  How are you?
She eventually stopped worrying about being hunted. In Miami she and
Cheryl had augmented her theatrical makeup with a latex overlay that removed
the slight bend in her nose, changing her profile completely. She d have to see if
athletics affected it, but so far it worked fine. Cheryl had also approved a pair of
breathable wigs that gave Darcy brownish, short curly hair. She judged Darcy
now had a slightly mulatto, or maybe  third world appearance, and it must have
been true, since a clerk in a grocery store in Bridgetown, the capitol, had asked
her whether she was  from India, or Trinidad? It was silly not to simply cut her
hair short and dye it, but back home that would have been unthinkable. Despite
her rebelliousness of late, she still couldn t violate that taboo.
After several days getting settled, she felt comfortably oriented in the island s
social structure. As a minor celebrity, she occasionally hobnobbed with the big
shots, but she also met many ordinary people, athletes and others. She had no
trouble sensing the proper way to behave. It wasn t that different back home,
where she had been a chief s daughter and privileges were balanced with responsi-
bilities, and order reigned.
- 98 -
Al Past
99
The Barbadian Olympic committee was composed of a number of prominent
gentlemen and one woman, all business people or politicians. The chairman was
a distinguished and unpretentious man named Lisle Hedley, a senator and owner
of one of the island s biggest rum distilleries. He put the entire first floor of his
large plantation house on the north end of the island at her disposal. (He lived on
the second floor, which had the better view.) The staff included a driver, a custo-
dian, and a man whose English Darcy could barely understand who would bring
her fresh coconuts cut from the trees, or other goodies from the garden. His name
sounded like  Lossie, but it turned out it was spelled  Lacey.
It took a week to decide her training schedule. She had to perform yet again [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]