The Charm School

added helpfully, “Jane does their cooking and laundry. They help me with house repairs and heavy cleaning chores. It teaches them a little about domestic life, handiwork, and all.”
    Jane said, “These two are real assholes. One of them made a pass at me, then was ball-less enough to say it was only training.”
    Lisa smiled and asked, “Where are they now?”
    Landis looked at his watch. “They had a driving class today. They go up and down the main road. The Soviets buy your old embassy cars and bring them here.”
    Hollis nodded. “I always wondered what they did with them. I never saw one around Moscow.”
    “Well,” Landis said, “now you know why. Most Soviets, as you know, can’t drive. Even young guys like these two, most of whom were going to become pilots, for Christ’s sake. So anyway, these two—Sonny and Marty—should be here in a few minutes, if you want to meet them.”
    “All right,” Hollis replied.
    Jane Landis said to Lisa, “Sonny is the one who wants to get in my pants. Keep an eye on that pig. He has a hormone problem.”
    “Okay.”
    Hollis drank his coffee and stared out the bay window. He tried to put himself in Tim Landis’ life, tried to imagine how it would have been in a North Vietnamese POW camp, then to be transferred to a Red Air Force POW camp to train pilots, then the evolution of the POW camp to the Charm School. Then a wife, a son. Nearly two decades. Who was Tim Landis now? Even Tim Landis didn’t know.
Did
they want to go home? How would Maggie Landis react? She had remarried about ten years ago. Hollis knew that because he’d known an officer who’d flown to San Diego for the wedding. And if these people got out of here, were their new wives and children supposed to go with them? With every hour that passed in this place, Hollis had more questions and fewer answers. The final answer, however, might be that they would all simply die here of old age.
    Tim Landis got up from the table, found a pencil and pad, and wrote on it, then handed it to Hollis. Hollis read:
Do you know about Major Dodson? Did he make it to the embassy?
    Hollis wrote in reply:
We know about him, indirectly, through Gregory Fisher. Fisher story in American newspapers. Dodson still MIA.
    Landis read it, nodded, and turned away. Hollis thought he was crying. Hollis crumpled the paper and put it in his pocket.
    Jane Landis was about to say something when the back kitchen door opened and two men in their mid-twenties came in. One of them said, “Hi. Who’s this?”
    Tim Landis seemed to have gotten control of himself and made the introductions. Hollis looked the two over. Marty was a bit chunky, dressed in grey sweats and a ski parka. He had a pleasant, smiley face, and Hollis thought he looked rather innocuous. Sonny was uncommonly handsome, with curly black hair, dark eyes, and a sneering mouth that Hollis thought some women would find sensuous.
    Sonny smiled at Lisa. “Glad to meet you. Everyone here is talking about you.”
    “Is that so?”
    Sonny’s eyes held hers. “Yes, it is. There are only six other real American women here.”
    “Why don’t you just photostat them?”
    Sonny laughed. “Say, are you and Sam involved, as they say, or just friends?”
    Marty interjected, “Lay off, Sonny.”
    Lisa stared hard at Sonny. “That’s none of your damned business.”
    “Sure it is. I want to date at least one real American before I cross over.” He smiled.
    Hollis’ swing caught Sonny in the abdomen, doubling him over. Sonny staggered around the floor, odd noises coming from his mouth, then he sank to his knees, trying to catch his breath.
    Hollis said to the Landises, “Will there be any trouble for you?”
    Tim Landis shook his head. “He had it coming. I’ll square it with his Russian control officer.”
    Jane Landis added, “Good training for him. He doesn’t seem to comprehend the etiquette of putting the moves on a woman.”
    Marty added as he helped Sonny out of the kitchen, “This guy’s gonna get himself killed in the States by some hot-headed boyfriend.”
    Hollis said to the Landises, “Thank you for coffee.”
    Tim Landis got an electric lantern from the cupboard. “You’ll need this to find your way.”
    Lisa said to Jane Landis, “We’ll speak again.”
    She replied, “I like you two already.”
    Tim Landis walked out with them and handed Hollis the lantern. He said, “Thanks for stopping by. We’ll have you both for dinner one night. Jane cooks