Hammond looked around the room. Some were nodding and some simply watching. “Very well, is this a consensus?” he asked. Now everyone was nodding. Hammond smiled, “Now see, we have already accomplished a quarter of our mission,” he said with a grin.
There was a general chuckle around the room. Everyone knew this was the easy part, but everyone felt the energy now. People were participating and they all felt something big was being done.
“Now to stage two, how are we threatened by our top choice, Russia.” This time, the discussion was much livelier.
The night was very peaceful. Freda could hear crickets in the distance and the light from the streetlamp cast a dim yellow glow across the area. She had only been sitting on the bench for a few minutes when she heard the shop door open and Petyr came out.
“Hi,” she said, “Glad you made it.”
Petyr sat down next to her. He could see the outline of her face in the light of the streetlamp. He was thrilled she had invited him to join her and was working hard not to show it. “Wouldn’t miss it. I used to come out here sometimes myself. It’s nice in the cool of the evening,” he said. He shifted on the bench to face her. “Now, tell me about yourself. About the only thing I know is that you just moved in here and you have to take care of the family,” he said.
She turned slightly to face him. “Where do I start? My father is a banker at the PKO Bank just a few blocks from here. Originally we had a farm outside the city on the other side of the A4, but when my mother got so sick, father decided to move closer to work so he could be home more often. At least that’s what he told us. What really happened is he has spent all we have on special doctors to try and treat mother. We flew her to the United States for care, but she was so far gone, they said the only thing they could do was to put her on something called a transplant list. They sent us home and told us to wait. We call every week or so, but so far, there has been no word. I overheard father telling a friend they didn’t have much hope they would get one in time,” she said as her voice drifted softer.
Petyr could feel the pain she felt. He reached over and took her hand. “I can’t imagine what you have been through. If I had known, I wouldn’t have asked,” he said softly.
She squeezed his hand. “Don’t feel bad, we have seen this coming. Even mother does what she can to cheer us all up. My father is determined to make life as pleasant as possible for all of us. It was just a shame we had to leave the farm. I loved it there,” she said wistfully.
“Did you sell it or rent out the land?” Petyr asked.
“Oh, Papa wouldn’t sell it. We rent the house to a family who works the land. It has been in our family for several generations. It has several hectares of farmland, some forest and a small lake. I loved that lake,” she said wistfully.
“What kinds of things did you like to do there?” he asked.
The smile returned to her face, “Oh, I’m an outdoor girl,” she said. “I love anything outdoors. I used to ride my bike every day, go out with friends camping and swimming. Sometimes I would just go out and soak up the sun. My father used to have to hunt me down for dinner each night. I would be off doing something somewhere,” she said gleefully. “I haven’t had the chance to do much of that lately.”
Petyr got even more excited. Those were the kinds of things he loved to do as well. “Maybe we should take some time and do things like that together. I enjoy being outside too. If nothing else, you can ride with me on my errands,” he suggested.
“That might be fun. Maybe we could go to the park by the Wisla River. I have wanted to get down and see it,” she suggested.
“I’d like that too. Do you want to go some weekend?”
“If I can get the time,” she said.
“Then we will make it work. Sunday afternoon might be the best time,” he said excitedly.
“That may work. I’ll ask my father,” she said.
Petyr held her hands tighter with the excitement. The conversation stopped for a moment as they simply looked at each other. Eventually both realized nothing was being said and they looked away.
“Now tell me a little about yourself,” she finally said. It was a good thing he could not see her blushing.
Petyr looked down and smiled. “Not much to tell. I’ve always lived here. My father was born in Russia, in the old Soviet Union. He came in while this country was a part of the Warsaw Pact. When it all fell apart, he decided to stay. He said he could make more money here anyway. So this has been my home. I have a lot of friends and over the years got to do a lot of the same things you like; camping, fishing, hiking, that kind of thing. As a matter of fact, I know some great places to camp. There are some cabins in the Tatransky National Park that are fantastic. I’d love to take you there for a weekend,” he said with glee.
Freda let out a hearty laugh. “You really can get excited about things, can’t you?” she laughed.
Petyr got a shocked look on his face. He lowered his eyes. “Sorry,” he said.
Freda placed her hand on his cheek. “Don’t be sorry. It makes it fun to be with you,” she said. “And yes, that would be a fun trip. But let’s get to know each other a little more before we plan on any weekend trips,” she giggled. Several of her friends at school had mentioned that he was a burst of energy around them. They were right.
The two sat for nearly an hour before, after a gentle cough from a floor above, they called it a night. Petyr watched her climb the steps to her apartment and go in. That’s when he noticed two men walk quickly down the street from the side of the building. Petyr was surprised that one of the men was his father. He hated going out at night, and Petyr wondered what could possibly make him change.
Entering her home, Freda saw her father sitting in his easy chair reading. Mr. Polski looked up from his book and smiled at his daughter. She was the delight of his life. Watching her grow up had been thrilling for both he and his wife, but tonight he saw something else. Somewhere along the way, she had become a very lovely young woman. When he had looked down on her and the neighbor’s son, he saw them interacting, not as children, but a young couple. What’s more, she had held his hand.
While sitting in his chair he had thought back on all the times of their lives. Apart from his wife, Marta, she had been there — always smiling, always helpful. When Marta could no longer get around, Freda had stepped in. She had never complained to him about anything. For the last five years she had taken over the running of the house, giving up what personal life she had, to care for her mother and the family. He was so proud of her.
He motioned for her to come sit beside him on the stool. “My little Freda,” he said lovingly. “You have always been such a good little girl. I had neglected to see what a fine woman you are turning out to be,” he said. “I think it is time your brother and I took over more of the duties around the house.”
There was a questioning look on her face, “Why, Papa?”
He shrugged his shoulders, “Well, for one thing, you have been doing so much of the work for the last five years. A young woman needs to get out and see things, meet people. I feel like I took all that away from you,” he said.
The smile returned. “It’s alright, Papa, I don’t mind,” she said.
“Oh, but I do. For example, I noticed you have met our neighbor, young Petyr. He is a very nice young man,” he said with a sly look. “I think you like him, maybe a little bit.”