Mark Spaid - Falcon Down

“Good afternoon, sir,” an elderly man said as he shuffled by with a cane.

“Hello to you, sir.” The man looked and smiled. “Well, someone speaks English, maybe there are more,” Andy thought to himself. “I guess that’s wrong too. No, no, I’m not going to feel guilty for hoping that someone can understand me. I don’t look down on them because they can’t speak English and I don’t think everyone in the world should speak English. But I wish that some of them did so I could make my needs known. If that makes me bad then so be it,” he said to himself then he began chuckling because of his internal conversations. “I should just go ahead and speak out loud because no one could understand me anyway.” He doubled over at that and laughed silently for a few moments then sat up and took a sip of water. Suddenly, something caught his attention. Justin always told him that you can watch people from a hundred feet when they don’t know you’re there and learn much about them. He’d tried that over the years and it worked. Now, he could see two men by the side of the hotel in an alley. They were talking and pointing to the hotel and the buildings down the block and to the park. They took out a map and examined it then pointed again to the hotel. They were tall, maybe six two and wore black pants and black sweatshirts. At times they became animated and on one occasion when one bent over Andy could see a long knife in his belt and later the other guy had a gun in his waist. Andy stirred when he saw those items. Granted he didn’t know anything about the Ukraine. Maybe guns were common for everyone like some southern states so, he didn’t want to rush to judgement. Should he tell the police? No, he didn’t want to presume they weren’t doing their job. He had no desire to perpetuate the Ugly American persona. He should just mind his own business so, he did but still watched. A few minutes later a car stopped by the side of the hotel and the two men got inside. They sat in the back with two other people in the front seat. He could see them talking, pointing and even with the windows shut he could tell the conversation was getting heated. But after fifteen minutes the four men shook hands and the two in the back got out as the car pulled away. Andy was puzzled, he thought for sure there’d be a fight or something. But he had to catch himself again because he was ascribing things to this culture that maybe he didn’t understand. Perhaps Ukrainians argued and shouted at each other as a regular part of conversation. “Okay, I guess that’s not fair either,” he thought. “Look, I don’t know anything about these people and I’d be the first to admit it. I never said I did. Justin and Dave know everything about them and Little Wolf I’m sure but I don’t so there, I’m guilty.” He stopped and chuckled at his own argument with himself. The two men stood talking then one of them took out a notepad and jotted down something. They brought out a map and laid it on a barrel. They pointed to the map then at the hotel and down the street. Finally, one of them looked up at the park and saw Andy. Then the second guy looked as well and they said something to each other. They stared and Andy knew he’d been had. He looked away, but in a blink both men were gone map and all. They disappeared down the side of the hotel. Andy waited for a few minutes then walked across the street as casually as he could and looked down the side of the hotel. No one was there of course, and at the end of the hotel was an opening through which the two men had obviously left. Andy went back to his hotel room and sat in a chair thinking. He wouldn’t tell the police but he’d tell Dave.

“This is a nice place,” Jozette said as the five women sat in a small café in the heart of the city.

“You’ll have to read the menu to us, Tatiana,” Ariel said as she perused the lunch specials.

“Glad to, just tell me what you want.”

“How about a diet salad?” Belinda asked.

“I better write these down,” Tatiana said and took a pencil and paper from her purse. They ordered salads and soups and ate as they talked for about an hour.

“What do you think of the President?” Jozette asked.

“Seems down to Earth,” Ariel said.

“I like her,” Julieta said.

“Me too,” Belinda said, “but I’d like to help her with her make-up.”

“No!” Jozette shouted then put her hand over her mouth when people turned to look at her.

“Careful, Jo, you’ll frighten the natives,” Tatiana said chuckling.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell but, Lind, you can’t give fashion advice to the President.”

“I know, I just said I’d like to, okay,” Lind said sheepishly.

“I’m sure you could help her, honey, but Jo is right, it might not be a good idea to advise the President of the United States on how she could look better in public,” Tatiana said.

“I know that and I can keep my mouth shut if I have to despite what Jo thinks.”

“Sorry, Lind,” Jozette said.

“I know how you feel about the subject, Jo, and I’ll keep quiet if nothing else to keep you from blowing up again.”

“I deserved that, Lind.”

“Hey, let’s move on girls, we want to enjoy the day,” Tatiana said.

“She’s right, Lind,” Jo said.

“Agreed, let’s do something else,” Belinda suggested. They walked the town and saw the art museum.

“I like Picasso,” Jozette said.

“I don’t, I never did,” Belinda said.

“He paints from a different perspective,” Julieta said.

“I guess so but I don’t like people with two noses. I want people to look like people,” Belinda said.

“I have a tendency to agree with you, Belinda,” Ariel said. “I like DaVinci, especially the Last Supper.”

“I like Michelangelo’s paintings on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The two hands touching for the spark of life is my favorite of all time,” Tatiana said.

“Yes, I like that too,” Julieta said.

“I thought you liked Picasso?” Jozette asked.

“No, I understand what he was trying to do but that doesn’t mean I like it. I agree with Belinda, I like paintings of people that look like real people,” Julieta said.

“My own daughter-in-law has abandoned me.”

“Never but we differ on what is art.”

“You sound like a politician, Julieta” Ariel said.

“No, that’s Little Wolf.”

“He wants to go into politics?” Tatiana asked.

“No but he equivocates like one,” Julieta said and they all laughed.

“How about some shopping after we finish here,” Belinda posed. They agreed and went to a Ukrainian version of a boutique.

“Interesting styles,” Tatiana said.

“There’s a euphemism if I’ve ever heard one,” Jozette said.

“It’s all kind of outdoorsee and manly for a woman’s store,” Belinda said.

“Yeah, I think we’re in a rather unrefined area of the country,” Tatiana said.

“I actually I like this hat,” Ariel said. “I’m going to buy it.”

“The girl is a shopper,” Jozette said.

“I found a scarf, Little Wolf likes scarves,” Julieta said as she held up a pink and an orange scarf.

“He likes to wear scarfs?” Belinda asked.

“No, he likes me to wear…” Julieta started then caught herself and gasped. Jozette and Tatiana were grinning. “This isn’t embarrassing.”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about but it was funny,” Tatiana said and Julieta blushed and shook her head.

“Can we go somewhere else?” Julieta asked.

“Of course,” Tatiana said then they paid and left.

“Let’s stop for a rest,” Belinda suggested. They’d been walking for two hours and they were all tired.

“How about that outdoor café?” Ariel posed and they found a table and sat with sighs and moans of exhaustion.