episode 9
PPD, the Guest and Mata Hari stopped right at the dockyard in Spain, ready to board a ship to Cornwall, England. It was November 1916, and the trio had chosen this particular place and chronology, because Mata seemed keen to revisit old connections.
"I never get to chooze," she complained. "How vill you know my story?"
The Guest and PPD exchanged nervous glances. They were both well aware it didn't work out well for her! That night was a rocky night on the boat. The sea lurched with the anger of a colicky child, churning acid back and forth as mother earth rocked them to sleep. PPD was his usual motion sick self, holding onto railings looking churlish, cursing his association with the two crazies.
"I feel de end is near for me," said Mata, prophetically. "And I haven't even told you my story, leeteel ones!"
The Guest pulled PPD's head onto her lap, to give him some semblance of stability and told him to listen. PPD's penchant for stories got the better of him, and distracted his inner ear from its splashing vortex.
"I vaz born in Holland to Dutch parents," she began.....
Holland was an uncomplicated land you see, we Dutch are very direct people. My parents were divorced early in life and I had the usual misfortune of being cast about from one relative to another like dirty laundry: Light enough to transport, heavy enough to feel the load! I tell you, I felt der waz just no vun person to protect me. One disgusting teacher in school made unwanted advances. I told my Godfather and dankfully, he pulled me out! I learned the ard of self protection very very early, and of surviving. Whatever it took to survive, right? I vas like a lizard on da voll. Hold on. Hold on tight. I saw my ticket out of dis laundry system in the form of my husband, Rudolf Macleod, working in the Dutch indies."
"That's Indonesia," PPD whispered to the Guest.
"Can you imagine? I answered a noospaper ad? Yes. I will come and marry you. From the noospaper! A crisp yellow Dutch newspaper, before it became a table cloth on our keetchen table! Dutch Indies was a hot, humid, tropikal island, very very beautiful, much more beautiful than my hometown and I loved the sun! Oh my God, so much sun! It vud come down in neat rays, perfect lines from a giant ball of fire, just to touch me wid the most delicate finger! It is der dat I learned to shed layers and layers of cloding and lie naked while the sun's rays kissed my intimate body parts. I make you blush with discomfort Dr. OB, I can see, but surely as peepeedoc, you see plenty of nakad veemen? I learned how beeyootiful my body vas, and i saw it reflected in Rudolph's eyes. They were turning into saucers ven he glanced at me, and i vud see the saliva collect in the corners of his mouth. He vud lick his lips like i vas Gouda cheese. Golden, soft, perfectly round. His friends often told him "she is diamond" and that "she is special" and I would see him frown in worry. He vud take a sip of his whisky and order me to stay inside the room Ven they came. But I enjoyed their faces Ven they saw me and showed myself in silhouette form through the thin-sheer mosquito nets. Rudolph in anger vud chug more and more of his whisky and order me to disappear. Two cheeldren later, the story only got vurse. Rudolph spent his time between the whisky and beating me. It was a nice sport you see. Drink, hit, drink, hit. It was not uncommon to hit your vife. It was his right. Then vun night the vorst happened and my precious daughter got sick. She died in my arms, how can I describe you? Have you felt loss? It cut through me like a knife. I was draped over her lifeless body like a shroud, vailing, when he came, peeled me off and flung me into a corner. Maybe his grief was talking or maybe he vas just the deveel. I took my son Jeanne and escaped for Holland dat night, on a rickety boat. No money. No future plans.
I don't vish for your pity, you two. My story is not a sad one. It's von of a voman claiming her life. I danced my vay through Holland and Paris, and developed a very clever act on a horse back. I vud get completely naked at the end of my exotic dance! Heee hee!! Not completely. I have smoll peemples for breasts, you see, so I have never let anyone see me nakid. But I have such beeyootiful body, you two vill be hot with desire for me if you see me.
See, here's a photo. I not shy.
No i don't vont to tempt you. I'm just telling you dat my currency was my body. I had no skeels. I could not type, I could not cook, clean. I had this one body given by God, and da ability to lose myself to da rhydm of da music. I listened, i absorbed, I let it seep into my cells and i would move. Sometimes I would be nakid and panting at the end, and not know how. How? Who took off the clodes? Can my sekret puver be sensousness? Seeduktion? I fell madly in love with a Russian Officer and vonted to only be vid him. He vas my One True Love. My dear PPD and Aai, He went avay to war and i vaited. Patiently i vaited for letters. Notes. Nothing come. Den I decided to find him. For dat I approached the Deuxième Bureau de l'État-major général, or maybe you call it french secret service? Dey told me it was simple. Dey vud find Maslon (dat was his name), and give me 1 million francs if I seduced the Crown Prince Willhelm. I vas ready to do anything. I was dancing in the highest circles in Europe, I had da men eating out of my palm. I went on the mission and trained myself to memorize patterns of rooms castles, offices of poverful peepel. I learned conversations in different languages. I learned the language of love in different cultures. Some were cruel, some were tender. I vud do any ting to see my love again. Now dey said "go to England, he is there..." Do you know i am steel looking for him? Dey have not stuck to der end of da bargain....."
Her voice trailed off into a whisper. The Guest had tears rolling down her face.
"She doesn't know....." she whispered to PPD.
"No she doesn't," said PPD wiping his eyes.
"You tell her," pushed the Guest.
"How can I? For her, right now, she is hoping to see his face in Cornwall."
"She doesn't know she is meeting the firing squad."
----------to be continued.