Tess Awakening by Andres Mann Page B

gullible.”
    Tess stood up. “So, your answer is no?”
    Amir approached Tess. “If the answer is
‘maybe.’ will I see you again? I don’t hold any grudges. Visit me
again and we can talk about it.”
    Tess was incredulous at the man’s
persistence. “Are you suggesting that something could be worked
out?”
    “It’s possible if you are willing to visit me
again.”
    Tess looked at the General. “How can you
possibly want to be with a person that loathes you?” She instantly
regretted the outburst.
    Surprisingly, Amir did not seem to be
offended. “Tess, I make it my business to change people’s minds.
Think about it. Have a good day.”
    Tess turned around and started to walk out of
the room. Amir admired her cute, tight butt showing through
beautifully cut flowing silk pants.
    Jake stood up and looked at Tess inquiringly.
She was visibly upset. ‘I have my answer,’ he thought. ‘It didn’t
work.’
    The guards led them to the gate and closed it
after them.
    ***
    Jake and Tess caught a cab and went to a
restaurant for dinner.
    The mood was somber. Tess barely picked at
the food, devastated by her failure to reason with Amir.
    Jake, as usual, fell back on his analytical
approach. “Just look at it this way: we knew going in that there
was little chance for Amir to play without some sort of pressure.
What makes the situation even more difficult is the fact that he
does not feel vulnerable.”
    Tess picked at the food; “How about the
gassing of the Kurdish village? Do you buy his claim that it was
the Iranians that did it?”
    ‘Well, there might be some truth to that. I
read the intelligence reports Amir was talking about, and I believe
that a clear-headed evaluation of the facts at the very least
raises some doubt as to who really did it. It doesn’t mean that
Saddam did not indulge in nasty things against the Kurds, but his
use of chemical weapons on the villagers falls in a murky
area.”
    “But one of the rationales for this war has
been to punish Saddam for using WMDs, and to prevent him from doing
so again.”
    Jake looked at Tess and took her hand. “Tess,
try to get you head around the fact that things are not always what
they seem. Bush is intent on avenging an alleged attack by Saddam’s
people on his father for leading the first Gulf war against him.
This attack on Iraq has little to do with WMDs. In fact, I am not
so sure why Bush, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld and company pushed so hard to
start a war in that theater.”
    Tess shook her head. “Are you saying that
people, our people are getting killed because Bush and Company want
to play games? That is really pushing it!”
    Jake shrugged his shoulder. “I hope I am
wrong, but I fear that in the long term, this invasion will not
turn out as well as people think.”
    “It’s your cynicism speaking!”
    “Perhaps,” Jake called for the check.
    As they entered their apartment, Tess sat in
the living room and put her hands on both sides of her head,
despairing. Jake did not speak. He sensed that Tess needed to
process what happened that day.
    “I feel like a failure,” Tess moaned. I built
a career in the Army confident that we were on the good side of
history.” She stood up. “I can’t even rescue a little girl from a
monster!”
    Jake put his arms around her. “There is
always plan B.”
    “And what is that?”
    “I don’t know yet.”
    They walked to the bedroom and lay down. Tess
was inconsolable. Jake took her in his arms and tried to soothe her
with kisses on her face and neck. Tess drew closer to him, grateful
for the gentle comfort offered by a man that she now knew she
loved.
    ***
    Amir left his chauffeured car and the
doorman opened the doors of a charming apartment building.
    He was furious about Tess’s arrogance and the
outrageous demands she made to let go of the girl. But what
anguished him even more was the effect that Tess had on him. He
could not help being enraptured with her, even more than their
first episode at