Vanished! by James Ponti

Author:James Ponti
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2017-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

17.

Peace and Friendship

LUCY AND I DID SOME research on Pierre Charles L’Enfant and then went downstairs to the library, where the White House curator showed us a drawing from 1791 that laid out the original plan for the city. Although some of the names had changed (for example the Capitol and Capitol Hill were originally called Congress House and Jenkins Hill) the basic layout looked remarkably like modern-day Washington.

“Is that what I think it is?” I asked, pointing at the lower corner where someone had written “G. Washington.”

“President Washington’s signature,” said the curator, nodding. “And some of these notations over here are his as well. He’d been a surveyor, so he had a great interest in the design of the city.”

Even Lucy seemed impressed by this.

We ate dinner in the family dining room, which was small and intimate by White House standards but still bigger than any room in my house. Modern art hung on the walls, and while I didn’t recognize any of the artists, I could tell the works were museum valuable.

There were four of us at a round table. The president sat across from me, while Lucy and the first lady sat to each side. Peruvian chicken comes with the leg and thigh still attached to the breast, so it was a constant battle to remind myself not to use my fingers, but instead to cut off small pieces. I was also thrown by the fact that a butler was serving us. I didn’t know when I was allowed to reach for something or supposed to ask. At one point I sat there frozen as I tried to figure out what to do.

“I know how you feel,” the first lady whispered as she leaned over toward me. “Sometimes I get nervous, and I live here.”

This made me laugh and I finally began to relax.

“Florian just moved to Washington from Rome,” Lucy said.

“Is that right?” asked her mother. “Are you Italian?”

“Half,” I answered. “My mom’s Italian and my father’s American. I was born in Boston, but I’ve lived most of my life in Europe.”

“Rome is one of my favorite cities in the world,” she replied. “When I was in college, I spent a semester there and loved every second of it.”

“Okay, Florian, I’m going to put you on the spot and I want an honest answer,” said the president as he flashed me a humorous version of a death stare. “Imagine it’s the World Cup and Italy is playing the United States. What team are you rooting for?”

I tried to hold back a smile as I answered, “I’d rather not answer that here in the White House.”

“That’s what I suspected.” He turned to the butler and instructed, “No cake for him.”

“Hey! That’s not fair,” I protested. “Besides, you said we’re having limoncello cake, and that’s Italian.”

“Good point,” he said. He turned back to the butler again. “He can have cake. Just make his piece a little bit smaller.”

After that it no longer felt like I was at the White House.

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