landscaping, gardens, terraces, two swimming pools, several fountains. It'll be nice."
"What about the park?"
"What park?"
She leaned down and pointed to a spot. "Right back here. Washington Square Park, just beyond this open area."
"Well, that borders on the parking lot—that open area." He touched a spot on the paper. Amalise was silent, and he glanced at her. "But the park won't be touched," he assured her. "We'll plant a hedge or some trees or something between the park and our lot."
Robert reappeared. Bingham sensed tension in the air as Amalise straightened and stood there while Robert took a chair on the other side of the table, facing Bingham.
Bingham looked at Robert. "How're you coming on the levee problem with the sewage and water board?"
"I'm working on that."
"Well get moving. Can we do something for them down in that area?" On the survey he placed his finger near the point where Elysian Fields and Esplanade met near the river. "Maybe donate a small strip at that end to the city for a walkway or park or something?"
Robert nodded. "There's something like that going in the Quarter, on the levee behind Jackson Square. Mayor Moon's for that one. It's in the planning stage." He grinned. "Maybe we could put a statue of the mayor, or his wife, on our spot."
Bingham nodded. He watched as Amalise walked back to her chair without saying anything. Robert went on about regulations and permits, and Bingham tuned out. Really, this transaction couldn't close soon enough, he thought.
In her office later on, Amalise frowned as she sorted through stacks of documents, looking for the draft of the syndicate's loan agreement. Despite her resolutions, despite every effort, she couldn't get the family on Kerlerec out of her mind. She made a mental note to replace the groceries she'd destroyed in their kitchen. And she thought of the child Luke. So small and timid. Malnourished, she supposed. What would happen to him if Caroline and Ellis decided not to adopt him? Or if the adoption wasn't approved? Either way, he'd be sent back into that institution.
Luke could have been any child she'd seen on the news two years ago at the end of the Vietnam War. He could have come from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos. He could have been one of the children flown out of Saigon during Operation Babylift, just ahead of the Viet Cong invasion of the city. She frowned and tightened her lips, remembering one of the Babylift flights that had crashed on takeoff. The images came rushing back, the horror of that day, the pandemonium.
Thoughts of those shadow children had stuck with her the past few years. Was that why she couldn't let go of the family on Kerlerec Street? Was Luke a living reminder of the helplessness she'd felt, that everyone had felt watching the nightly news back then? She turned her head to the window and stared at nothing for a moment, then roused herself.
She found the loan agreement and pulled it from the pile. Pushing the rest of the documents aside, she opened this one to the first page. She told herself, as she began to read, as she had many times before, that she must focus now, that there was nothing one person could do to change things so far away. Wars, famine, orphans—that was the way of life on the other side of the globe. The only things that ever seemed to change were the names, the faces, and the geography.
Holding the agreement with both hands, she shook it, as if to focus her attention. This agreement. This agreement! Would it change anything for the better? Frustrated, she thumped the page and set it down on the desk before her. Abba! Why had she been given a second chance to make her life worthwhile, only to be stuck with this odious transaction? The question opened again that infinite void inside, the same emptiness she'd felt when she'd realized that Jude and Rebecca were in love.
Looking at the deal books on the shelf facing her desk, she knew these weren't the kind of things that could fill the empty
"What about the park?"
"What park?"
She leaned down and pointed to a spot. "Right back here. Washington Square Park, just beyond this open area."
"Well, that borders on the parking lot—that open area." He touched a spot on the paper. Amalise was silent, and he glanced at her. "But the park won't be touched," he assured her. "We'll plant a hedge or some trees or something between the park and our lot."
Robert reappeared. Bingham sensed tension in the air as Amalise straightened and stood there while Robert took a chair on the other side of the table, facing Bingham.
Bingham looked at Robert. "How're you coming on the levee problem with the sewage and water board?"
"I'm working on that."
"Well get moving. Can we do something for them down in that area?" On the survey he placed his finger near the point where Elysian Fields and Esplanade met near the river. "Maybe donate a small strip at that end to the city for a walkway or park or something?"
Robert nodded. "There's something like that going in the Quarter, on the levee behind Jackson Square. Mayor Moon's for that one. It's in the planning stage." He grinned. "Maybe we could put a statue of the mayor, or his wife, on our spot."
Bingham nodded. He watched as Amalise walked back to her chair without saying anything. Robert went on about regulations and permits, and Bingham tuned out. Really, this transaction couldn't close soon enough, he thought.
In her office later on, Amalise frowned as she sorted through stacks of documents, looking for the draft of the syndicate's loan agreement. Despite her resolutions, despite every effort, she couldn't get the family on Kerlerec out of her mind. She made a mental note to replace the groceries she'd destroyed in their kitchen. And she thought of the child Luke. So small and timid. Malnourished, she supposed. What would happen to him if Caroline and Ellis decided not to adopt him? Or if the adoption wasn't approved? Either way, he'd be sent back into that institution.
Luke could have been any child she'd seen on the news two years ago at the end of the Vietnam War. He could have come from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos. He could have been one of the children flown out of Saigon during Operation Babylift, just ahead of the Viet Cong invasion of the city. She frowned and tightened her lips, remembering one of the Babylift flights that had crashed on takeoff. The images came rushing back, the horror of that day, the pandemonium.
Thoughts of those shadow children had stuck with her the past few years. Was that why she couldn't let go of the family on Kerlerec Street? Was Luke a living reminder of the helplessness she'd felt, that everyone had felt watching the nightly news back then? She turned her head to the window and stared at nothing for a moment, then roused herself.
She found the loan agreement and pulled it from the pile. Pushing the rest of the documents aside, she opened this one to the first page. She told herself, as she began to read, as she had many times before, that she must focus now, that there was nothing one person could do to change things so far away. Wars, famine, orphans—that was the way of life on the other side of the globe. The only things that ever seemed to change were the names, the faces, and the geography.
Holding the agreement with both hands, she shook it, as if to focus her attention. This agreement. This agreement! Would it change anything for the better? Frustrated, she thumped the page and set it down on the desk before her. Abba! Why had she been given a second chance to make her life worthwhile, only to be stuck with this odious transaction? The question opened again that infinite void inside, the same emptiness she'd felt when she'd realized that Jude and Rebecca were in love.
Looking at the deal books on the shelf facing her desk, she knew these weren't the kind of things that could fill the empty
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