A Rose for Sergei
Chapter 1
(Part 1)
Fall 1972
“Excuse me;
I would like to go to the men’s…how do you say in America…restroom?” Sergei
asked in his broken English. “Is that
the right way to say that?”
“Yes, that
is the right way; you could also say men’s room. And it’s okay to excuse yourself,” I
said. “It isn’t rude. I’ll be fine sitting alone a few minutes at
the table until you return,” I assured him as I smiled and tried to restrain
from laughing. He was so incredibly
polite. The way he spoke, his broken
English combined with his Russian accent, could be very amusing at times.
We were
having dinner at the JW Steakhouse at the Key Bridge
Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. My date
was Sergei Kourdakov. He was twenty-one
years old, and he had defected from the Soviet Union over a year ago. He had been a member of the KGB, the
Commissariat for State Security or secret police, and a Soviet naval
intelligence officer—intimidating credentials for sure. He was also very good looking, which I found
even more intimidating.
I worked as
a secretary at the Office of Information for the Armed Forces, a division that
came under the Office of the Secretary of Defense. I was also twenty-one years old. We had recently met at my office in Rosslyn,
Virginia. Sergei had flown in from Los
Angeles and was meeting with Government Officials in Washington DC. Sergei’s incredible story was making
headlines in the United States. Future
plans were being considered for Sergei to record/broadcast his story in another
section of our office, the American Forces Radio and Television Service. My boss was the liaison officer tasked with
assisting Sergei.
As Sergei
got up from the table and sauntered off in search of the men’s room, I could
see that all eyes in the restaurant were on him. Both men and women stared at him, even the
wait staff. I was not surprised at their
seemingly awestruck reaction. He was very
tall with huge broad shoulders and muscular arms that strained at the seams of
his shirt, the result of years of body-building. His stride was confident, purposeful, and he
definitely commanded attention. He stood
out in any crowd.
Chapter 1 - to be continued next week!
Coming Soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment