Uncorking the Truth

The world felt as though it were still spinning even after I collapsed into my bed. I slept for hours—a deep, heavy, and much-needed slumber. Crossing so many time zones in under twenty-four hours had left me entirely hollowed out, and the exhaustion was only compounded by the minor infection I was still fighting.

When I woke at last, the room was bathed in the soft, muted light of late afternoon. A strange, lingering disorientation remained, though the fog had begun to lift. I reached for my phone, scrolling through the silence until I found Sera’s contact.

Made it home in one piece. I did have to make a stop at my hospital to handle a minor infection.

What happened? Are you alright?

The stitches were removed several days too soon. The skin split hours later while in the airport. I could only do what I could at the airports and airplanes.

That is inexcusable. Who handled your follow-up? I will have their heads for this.

Don’t fire them, Sera. They really are the best providers I have ever had at the hospital. Just let it go, please.

I have access to all of the charts of my patients so I can see who it was. Because it’s you, I’ll let it slide, but I’m checking in on you over the next few days.

I set the phone aside, pushed myself out of bed, and stepped into the shower. The hot water was a welcome reset, scouring away the remnants of sleep and residual fatigue. Once dry, I brushed my teeth and hair and applied deodorant. I pulled on an oversized shirt and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

The kitchen was quiet and inviting after being away from home for so long. I picked up my phone, my thumb hovering over Matteo’s name before I decided to message him. It was a brief invitation, though I knew better than to expect an immediate reply; he was undoubtedly asleep. Not everyone crosses multiple time zones without being thoroughly exhausted by jet lag.

Hey. When you wake up and get dressed, come on over.

With the house settling around me, I turned to the fridge. The leftovers from Aditi’s sat waiting on the middle shelf. I retrieved the containers, opening them and bypassing the butter chicken—a dish that demanded heat to be properly appreciated—to reach for the samosas instead. I took a bite, savoring the cold, spiced pastry. While not the ideal way to enjoy it, in that moment, it was exactly what I needed. I finished them quickly, then took an antibiotic with a glass of ice water.

Refilling my glass, I grabbed my phone and headed to the couch. I set the water on the coffee table and sat down to text my brother.

I’m home safe and sound, Bob. I have a small infection from the surgery but I went to the hospital to get checked out. I was provided antibiotics and Aditi fed me. I’ll reach out in a few days after I’ve slept more and have taken more antibiotics.

Aditi told me that you were home. Thanks for getting checked out before heading home. I should be home in a few days myself.

Ok. I’ll see you then.

I laid my phone on the coffee table, stretched out on the couch, and drifted off for a couple of hours. The buzz of my phone eventually woke me. Though I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes again, I checked the screen to see who was calling. It was Matteo.

“Hey,” I said as I answered.

“Is your offer still open?”

“Yep. Come on over.”

“I’m five minutes away.”

“You live an hour from me.”

“Yeah. I was going to text you sooner but I knew that you needed your sleep. Go freshen up.”

“See you in a few.”

I hung up and headed upstairs to quickly brush my teeth and hair. I took a little extra time, even though I knew Matteo wouldn't care how I looked. It was the weekend, meaning there would be some extra traffic, but by the time I walked back downstairs and reached the front door to open it, he was already there, hand raised to ring the bell.

“Hey,” he said, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

“Hi. Come on in,” I said, stepping back to allow him inside.

“Your brother did a great job keeping up your house while you were away.”

“He did, and I’m thankful,” I said.

“Are you happy to be home?”

“I’m not quite awake enough to answer that yet.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Bob said that you’ve been traveling to work with sports teams, but I don’t quite believe him.”

“Why is that?” I asked, heading into the living room.

“Well, you don’t care much about sports.”

“Not the ones you care about. Horseback riding is a sport and takes more coordination than most of the sports you like, plus the rider has to work with an animal that weighs over a ton.”

“True, but horses and rugby have nothing to do with each other, especially in different countries. It’s way hotter in New Zealand than it is here.”

“Splitting hairs again, friend?” I asked with a smile.

“Always.”

“How have you been while I was away?”

“Doing really well,” he said. “I was in therapy for a bit after witnessing my former fiancée was cheating on me.”

“That’s good to hear,” I said. “On the flight here, you said that you wanted to speak to me about my work.”

“Yeah, I do. You said it wasn’t safe to do so on the plane.”

“Yeah. It wasn’t terribly safe to do so on the plane. We can talk, but I can’t answer all of your questions due to the multitude of NDAs I signed,” I said.

“Um, ok?”

“Have a seat. Want anything to drink? I have tequila,” I said. “It’s been in the fridge, so it’s cold.”

“That sounds good,” he said.

I went to the kitchen to grab the bottle from the fridge and headed back to the living room. At this point, Matteo was so curious to know what was going on that I didn’t bother with glasses.

“Thought the bottle might be quicker,” I said as I handed it to him and sat down.

“Bob said that you work with multiple governments but your cover is you help coach and manage sports,” Matteo started. “He pretty much said that job was to be a spy and that you’re not who I think you are.”

“My brother is right, Matteo,” I said. “I work for many governments as a citizen of that country and sometimes as a spy. The name that you’ve known me by is not my real identity, and I’m not Canadian,” I began.

“Ok?” he said, taking a heavy swig of the tequila.

“My name is Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna. I’m a distant but direct descendent of Czar Nicholas Romanov of Russia, though I was born in Italy,” I began. “I have multiple passports in that name, as well as Deppgrl Smith and several other names.”

“Wow,” he said, downing a quarter of the bottle. “Can you share those names with me?”

“No, I can’t. NDA shit,” I said. “I spent several months in New Zealand to help the All Blacks rugby team, was stalked by a former stalker before he committed suicide, then I headed to Russia for most of the time. I needed to get proof of who I was to the Kremlin. I was nearly arrested, and I was almost killed by a trained assassin. My brother was there for that. I was brought into Italy to help someone who is like family—in more than one way—to get them out of prison. My friend, who I grew up with for the first fifteen years of my life and is like a brother, was arrested and in prison for about a year without being charged with a crime. He is the supposed head of a crime family, but he is only so in name, money, and muscles. I am the true leader of the crime family as the brains and the boss.”

“Holy fuck,” he slurred, taking another deep drink. “I think I need to replace this bottle for you.”

“No need,” I said. “That bottle is worth more than your yearly salary times twelve.”

“Damn,” he said, hiccupping. “Can I stay the night?”

“Yeah. You’re certainly in no shape to walk, bike nor drive home.”

“Too true. What’s the alcohol percentage in this bottle?” he asked. “There’s more to tell me, right?”

“It’s like 40% alcohol,” I said. “Some.”

“But you’re going to tell me because I’m drunk as fuck and I won’t remember when I sober up, right?”

“Something like that,” I said.

“Never mind then,” he said. “You told me more than I needed to know already.”

“There’s still two things, though I doubt you’ll remember,” I said. “Not only am I a relative of the Romanovs, but my Russian passport states that I am a diplomat and can use that passport any time they need me to work for them—though I’m banned from their country for the next fourteen and a half years—and I’m also a member of the Canadian Parliament.”

“What?” Matteo asked, sounding suddenly sober.

“Give me the bottle before you break it,” I said, gently prying it out of his hands. “Thank you. Hop on the couch and stretch out.”

Thankfully, he climbed onto the couch and stretched out. I knew that by the time I put the tequila back in the fridge and came back, he’d be out cold, snoring away.

I was right; he was asleep before I returned from the kitchen. I hoped that with the amount of alcohol he drank, he’d forget most of what I told him but he has an excellent memory, drunk or sober.

I snacked a little bit on cold butter chicken and took another antibiotic. I knew that I had to take another one before bed and that I needed to space out the medicine better the following day. I cleaned up and headed back to the living room. Bob had left a book for me that he knew that I’d enjoy. I sat down, picked up the book and started reading it. I read for a few hours and as I was halfway through with it, Matteo woke up and grumbled.

“Was I dreaming?”

“About what?”

“With what you told me?”

“Maybe some of it,” I said slyly.

“Gotcha. I can’t say anything, right?”

“You could since you haven’t signed an NDA,” I said. “But you wouldn’t say anything out of respect for me. If you do say anything, no one would believe you anyways.”

“Good point,” he said. “Why did you let me drink so much hooch?”

“It’s leaps and bounds above hooch and you know it,” I said. “You’re going to regret how you feel for a bit but you won’t regret the smoothness of that tequila.”

“Absolutely,” he said.

“Hungry?”

“For food or for you?”

“Either works.”

“Really?”

“Yeah but I think we’re going to wait a few days for the me part,” I said. “You’re a bit jetlagged still and a little incapacitated. I’m dealing with a little bit of an infection from surgery.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “Where do you want to go for dinner?”

“Definitely Sombra!”

“Alrighty. I need to get dressed.”

“Care if I watch you dress? I find it so sexy to see you try on your clothes as you decide what you want to wear,” he said. “Fuck. Every time I imagine you naked or see you naked, my dick gets so hard.”

“Sure,” I said.

We headed upstairs and with each step, I knew that Matteo’s dick was getting harder and harder. Even though I said that we’d have sex in a few days, I’d have to walk back on that statement. I couldn’t leave my friend with blue balls. Seconds later, we made it to my room. I opened up my closet doors to see what I could find.

I found a few shirts that I could pair with my favorite jeans. This pair of jeans hugged my ass and fit the curves of my hips.  I tried shirt after shirt but didn’t like how the were restricting my recently lifted tits.

“Fuck this shit,” I mumbled as I threw the fifth shirt onto my floor. “That’s it. I’m not going.”

“Deppgrl, there’s a dress that you have that’s super low cut. It might be best to wear that,” he said as he glanced over my body that I knew he’s always enjoyed. “Let me grab it for you. I vaguely remember putting it away about two years ago.”

I nodded and sat down on the corner of the bed. In a matter of minutes, he found the dress and hooked the hanger on the doorknob for me.

“Fuck, I want you,” he moaned as he pulled his shirt over his head. “I need to eat that magic pussy of your and fuck you until you can’t walk properly.”

“Come get it,” I said as I uncrossed and spread my legs wide for him.

In four strides, Matteo was kneeling in front of me, spreading my legs wider. He leaned forward and started eating my pussy. He licked and sucked my pussy lips, bit my clit and fingered me. I couldn’t tell you how many times I came on his tongue due to his skills in cunning linguistics. When he came up for air, he had to take a minute to catch his breath.

“Condoms?”

“Don’t have any.”

“Do we need any?”

“No.”

“Good,” he said as he finished stripping. “My god. You’re stunning.”

“Fuck me already!”

“Damn, you’re so needy!”

“Yeah, I am,” I stated. “I’m in need of your dick.”

Seconds later, Matteo shoved his massive and thick dick into my dripping wet pussy. We both moaned in pleasure and he came instantly. He started trusting in and out of me. As he was fucking me into an oblivion, he sucked my tits and bit my nipples. The times that he was squeezing my tits, he was careful of keeping his hands and his strength away from the incision site of the breast lift. My tits were still sore from being manipulated during surgery. We both came hard and often.

“I’m not fragile,” I moaned as I came on his dick again.

“I know you’re not,” he said as he grunted. “Fuck. You’re tight and feel amazing!”

Matteo and I fucked until he was fully drained. When he pulled out, he helped me off the bed as the tummy tuck area was sore.

“I need to shower. Care to join me?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “I hate going to restaurants when I smell like sex and sweat.”

I nodded my head in agreement and headed to my en suite bathroom. I let the water run until it got to temperature while I grabbed fresh towels from the linen closet in the bathroom.

“Hey. Do you have any clothing of mine that I may have left behind in the past?”

“I don’t think so. Try the armoire. If there’s anything, try in the bottom drawer,” I said.

“Thanks,” he said. “I like having fresh boxers after a shower.”

I nodded then hopped into the shower. He headed off to my room to look and he came back moments later.

“Found some clothes and boxers,” he said.

“Good to hear.”

We showered in mostly silence but did ask the other to pass shampoo and the like. When we were both rinsed off, we dried off and I wrapped my hair up in a small towel. After he dried off and hung up his towel, he went back to my room to get dressed. I applied deodorant, brushed my hair and hung up my towels.

“Can I steal some of your deodorant?”

“Yea.”

I got dressed as he used my deodorant. I was thankful that it was the end of the stick because when he leaves tonight after dinner or in the morning, I’d toss the remaining deodorant out of the stick and put the applicator into recycling. I raided my closet again and found another sundress. I skipped the bra due to where the breast lift suture site was but I threw on a pair of thongs, put on the dress and put on my most comfortable flipflops. I grabbed my phone, my Canadian license, passport and keys.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Yep.”

“I’ll drive.”

Matteo nodded and followed me to my car. We hopped in, rolled te windows down and we were on our way. We blared the radio as we’re typically awkward with each other after having sex. From my house to Sombra is normally a thirty minute drive but we made it in twenty thanks to my heavy foot. I pulled up to the valet parking, parked, grabbed my phone and license and hopped out. Matteo followed suit.

“Prime Minister,” Charlotte, one of the valets, said.

“Hey, Charlotte. How are you?” I greeted the young lady. She couldn’t have been olde rthan twenty four years old.

“I’m doing well, thanks! Welcome back!”

“You’re welcome. I appreciate that, my friend. How’s the job market for fashion?”

“It’s very lousy but thanks to my job here, I’m able to make ends meet. How was your around the world tour?”

I just remembered that I have a doppelgänger that could easily pass as me AND travel all over the Middle East to speak to leaders in those countries. From what I had been told from my office, my doppelgänger acted, behaved, walked, dressed and even talked as me…everyone thought she and I were the same person. I needed to reach out to my office to get this doppelgänger into my regular salon, sneak out someway and I leave through the front door showing off my newly red hair. In reality, my office could just say that I stopped in another country on my way home to dye my hair. I sent a quick text to my head of staff to have the office leak that….I’m in a highly popular area and it would be too late now to do the “Great Hair Salon Swap”. I was told that they’d leak it in the next hour or less. My response was a quick “Thank you.”

“It went very well, thanks. I just got home recently and haven’t had much energy to cook so I figured my friend and I could come here. Please tell me that you’re not packed?”

“I’m so glad that the meetings went well and that you’re back. I think it’s awesome that you went to the Middle East. I love when women prove to conservative men that women have the right to work and be in government work. And no, we’re not packed. When I saw and recognized your car, I texted Pia that you’re here. She’s going to make sure that not only do you have a table but it’s in a good but quiet location.”

“Perfect, Charlotte. And yes, I agree that it is pretty awesome conservative men wrong. I appreciate you letting Pia know that I’m here,” I said. “Is your Venmo still the same?”

“It is.”

“Fantastic. On our way in, I’ll send you your tip for the assistance.”

“Appreciate it, ma’am!”

“We’ve talked about this before.”

“Ms. Smith.”

“Much better,” I said. “Keys are in the ignition. And yes, you’re still the only employee here allowed to touch and drive my car.”

Matteo and I headed inside and I unlocked my phone. I opened up the Venmo app, selected Charlotte and her account and sent her $350 Canadian. She was super protective of me, my vehicles and my privacy. Sending her the large tip was nothing.

When we entered the second set of double doors, Pia was there waiting for us.

“Prime Minister. Sir,” she said. “Welcome back from the Middle East. It sounds like everything went well.”

“Thank you, Pia. It went far better than I expected it to be,” I said thankful that my office and I were in constant contact with each other as I was doing other stuff. My head of staff and their second in command were always with my doppelgänger in the meetings to make sure everything was discussed as it should’ve been and thorough notes were taken. “Nothing will be in the news for a few more days.”

“That’s good to hear. It’s awesome to see that you have a little bit of a tan while over there.”

“As you know, it’s super conservative over there. Thankfully, where I stayed, I was able to have an extremely private areas of different beaches blocked off for me so I could soak up so some sun. I took extra precautions even in the women’s only sections as the women are still modestly covered. Out of the respect for the women and the beaches, I had sent over fifteen foot walls made out of wood sent ahead of each stop so they could be set up for me at the end of each meeting. Before leaving, I helped break down the fences and helped cover the costs of the wood to low income areas for the people there to use the wood in their braziers. They need a way to cook their food as well.”

“That’s impressive, Ms. Smith! Your respect of others and ingenuity are wonderful,” she said. “I have a table in by window for you. It’s kind of towards the back. Is that alright?”

“It is. I don’t have my personal credit card with me. I froze it before coming home and just haven’t unfrozen it yet. Is it still ok that I send payment to the owner via Venmo?”

“As long as you have funds in your Venmo to cover the cost of the food and beverages ordered and the tip.”

“Then we’re all good,” I said.

“Follow me,” she said as she grabbed two menus.

“Prime Minister? PRIME MINISTER!” Matteo hissed at me quietly. “When were you going to tell me this?”

“I told you that I was an MP,” I said. “I didn’t need to clarify it.”

“You’re going to be the death of me, Deppgrl.”

“I get told that frequently, Matteo.”

We arrived at our table. Thankfully, it was out of the way and as promised, by a window.

“There are many things I need to keep on the down low,” I explained. “Politics are to me what sports are to you.”

“I understand, sort of,” he replied. “Why in the past has no one said anything or called you Prime Minister in front of me before?”

“Part of it is that I just got into this job about six months prior to leaving for New Zealand and the other part is that when I intend to go to certain restaurants, I call ahead and ask them to not use any titles or major formalities.”

“I see,” he sighed as he opened up his menu. “I take it that you’re trying to protect yourself.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.”

We sat and stared at our menus for a few minutes. A server came over, greeted us and put glasses of water on the table for us.

“Hi, welcome to Sombra. My name is Val and I’ll be taking care of you tonight,” she said. “Can I start you guys off with any drinks or apps?”

“I’ll have a frutas margarita,” I said.

“Val, can we have a pitcher of the frutas margarita?”

“I think so but I’ll have to ask the bar manager first.”

“Not a problem. Is it ok if we order our apps before you check with them or do you want to come back?”

“I’ll get your app orders and as I put them in, I’ll ask.”

“Awesome,” I said. “We’ll start with the nachos con todo, the queso fundito skillet and the Sombra bowl.”

“All of them are amazing and the bowl is my favorite,” she said. “I’ll put these in, get the answer for you and get back to you in a few.”

We thanked her before she left.

“How’s the teaching and coaching gig?” I asked.

“I’m still teaching math to seventh and eight graders. The school year that just ended, I had to add teaching sixth grade math as well. Coaching is great as always. It’s awesome to see the shy and quiet kids open up and make new friends.”

“Wow! You’re teaching about one hundred and eighty kids math throughout the day. How many kids do you coach?”

“It’s quite a few students,” he chuckled. “Obviously, I know most of my math students already if they’re in eighth grade. The first few weeks is a little tricky so I tried having the students wear name tags and come up with a word that starts with the first letter of their first name to help me remember. For instance, with you, you’d be Daring Deppgril.”

“I’m sure that helps.”

“It certainly does.”

Seconds later, Val navigated her way back to our table, carefully carrying the pitcher of the frutas margaritas. Right on her heels was another server, balancing a large tray with our appetizers. Val put the pitcher and our glasses down. Together, they laid down the nachos con todo, the bubbling, sizzling queso fundito skillet and Sombra bowl, setting them down in the center of the table.

"I’ll be back in a few to check in on you,” Val said with a warm smile. “Do you want to hold onto the menus?”

"Thanks, Val," I replied. “That would be great. I don’t know if we’ll have enough room for any entrees but I’m sure we’ll order something to take home.”

Val smiled and nodded then departed with her colleague and we wasted no time. The table was crowded with food, and the rich, spiced aroma of the sizzling skillet made my stomach growl.

Matteo eyed the cheese. "Tell me we're not waiting for this to cool down."

"Not a chance," I said. "Please pour the margaritas while I serve us this amazing food."

"An excellent plan," he said, reaching for the pitcher. “We’ll definitely be eating like kings today.”

I served both Matteo and I the appetizers, scooping generous portions of the hot, gooey queso—watching the melted cheese stretch—and the loaded nachos onto both of our plates. While I was serving our food, Matteo gripped the handle of the pitcher and carefully poured the frutas margaritas into our glasses, filling them to nearly the top.

Once the food was served and drinks were poured, we lifted our glasses to clink, all I could say was: “L'Chaim!” To life. We dug into our food in silence and looked at the menus again to see if we wanted to order any entrees.

“Hey, how is everything?” Val asked when she swung by. “Can I get you guys anything else a the moment?”

“I’d love to order some food to take home,” I said. “I can give you that order now or later, it’s up to you.”

“I’d love to order some food to bring home as well. I can order whenever Deppgrl orders her to go as well.”

“I’ll take the orders now,” Val said. “It’ll be easier.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “I’ll have the borracho burrito, tacos de chicharron, carne asada and taquitos de birria. All without cilantro.”

“I’ll have the same but WITH cilantro,” Matteo said.

“While Val is here, I think we should order dessert but eat it here.”

“I agree!”

“For dessert, we’ll have the churros, tres leches and the banana chocolate cake.”

“Ok, I’ll repeat this all back to you. Two orders of the borracho burrito, tacos de chicharron, carne asada and taquitos de birria. One with and one without cilantro. These are to go and for here and to split are the churros, tres leches and the banana chocolate cake.”

“Perfect as usual, Val!” I said.

She blushed, nodded and left.

“She’s a wonderful server,” he said.

“That she is. When she is working and I come in, she is the only server that takes care of me. The others don’t want to.”

“Why’s that?”

“I am very particular about things and cilantro is one of them. Any time that Val is here, she makes sure that there isn’t a spec of cilantro or anything else I don’t like on my plate. The other servers are good but they don’t care as much as she does.”

“Wow.”

“When it comes to dining out, I am more than a handful.”

“You’re also a handful elsewhere!” he said. “No, I won’t say where because we’re out!”

We both laughed as we continued to eat our food and drink the fabulous frutas margarita. Val eventually came back to clear our plates and utensils.

“The deserts and entrees to go will be out shortly. Can I get you guys anything else?”

“Just water and the check, please, Val,” I said. “I will be taking care of the bill tonight.”

“Of course, Prime Minister,” Val said.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, Deppgrl,” she said as we smiled. “I’ll bring everything out momentarily.”

“Thanks.”

She left.

“Why are you correcting people when they call you Prime Minister?”

“It’s a title rather than a name. Plus, I don’t want anyone to treat me any differently than they had been prior to my employment as prime minister.”

“What about the portfolio job?”

“Oh. Tara officially runs the company now and we’re both co-owners. She gets most of the salary as an owner she does most of the work but I still get a cut from it,” I said. “I needed to get out of working there as many of the clients were toxic.”

“As you often like to remind me, we are our own biggest investments so we have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others.”

“Exactly,” I said.

“Sorry for the wait,” Val said. “I don’t have enough hands. Here are some waters and your desserts. I’ll be back with your entrees and your check. And Deppgrl? Pia took the margarita pitcher off.”

“Please thank her for me.”

Val nodded and left. I did some mental math and it was a bit of a struggle. By the time I had a guesstimate of the cost of the food, Val came out with our entrees that were clearly marked and the check.

“Thank you, Val,” I said. “I’m going to Venmo tonight. The total to the owner and the tip to you?”

“You’re welcome,” she said. “Yes, that’s fine.”

“Thanks for everything. The food was superb as always.”

“You’re welcome. I’m happy to hear,” she said then left.

I picked up the check and it came to $229.91 Canadian. I pulled out my phone to send them money for the meal then followed up with a text stating that I was sending the tip directly to Val. Seconds later, I sent Val a tip of $70.09 Canadian.

As Matteo and I were enjoying our desserts, Val came over a little sheepishly and was wringing her hands.

“Deppgrl, I’m so sorry. I think you made a mistake,” she said. “The tip is almost 30.5% of the bill.”

“Val, it wasn’t a mistake. I meant to tip you that much,” I said.

“Thank you, Deppgrl,” she said.

“You’re very welcome.”

She blushed and left us. I then remembered that I need to order a ride for us as neither Matteo nor I were able to safely drive. I texted my head of staff to ask them to please send me a driver at the restaurant. After getting confirmation that a driver would arrive in fifteen minutes, we finished our desserts quickly, grabbed our entrees and headed out.

“Ms. Smith, should we bring your car around?” Charlotte asked.

“No, that’s ok. A driver from my office will bring us home. You can do me a favor,” I said as I texted Pia. “You can follow us in my car and the driver will bring you back. Does that sound good?”

“It does,” she said. “What about Pia?”

“I just texted her and she’s typing out a reply now,” I said. “I’ll let you know what she says when she responds.”

“Ok.” Poor girl was nervous.

“Perfect!” I said. “Pia said it wasn’t a problem. I’m a firm believer in asking for permission first than beg for forgiveness later.”

“That makes sense.”

“The driver will be here momentarily, Lottie,” I said calling her a nickname that only she allowed me to use.

“I’ll grab your car so I can be ready to follow,” she said as she left.

“She seems like a great kid,” Matteo.

“She is but she doesn’t come from a great family situation. Half her family are addicts and her parents are barely above the poverty line. She’s been working her butt off to earn enough to go through college and earn a degree but sometimes her money pays her parents’ bills. I’m doing what I can do – ethically – to help her out.”

“Wow. Poor kid.”

“She’s tough and she won’t take much from anyone – even from me. I’m about to start a scholarship at her university. It’ll be for the few in the school who have situations like hers.”

“That’s incredible,” he said.

“Oh, here’s the driver. Not a word in the car as he’s her brother. University was never his thing so he started working for me at a young age.”

“Got it.”

“Hi, Miss Deppgrl,” Ronan said as he popped out of the car.

“Hi, Ronan. How are ya’, bud?”

“Great! Is Char on her way?”

“Yep. She should be driving out now,” I said.

Seconds later, my car came out of the garage with Charlotte behind the wheel. Matteo and I hopped into my one work car. Ronan sped away with Charlotte right behind him. The way that Ronan drove, it didn’t take us long to get back to my house. Food coma hit Matteo along the way and I had to practically drag him out of the car when we got to my house.

“I’m good,” he said as he got out of the car.

“Ronan, I just wanted to make sure that you get paid overtime,” I said as I reached into my purse. Yes, I knew he would but he’s trying to get his own apartment. “Think this should be good.”

Miss Depprgl, $250 is more than enough,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I can write it off as a gift or something. Appreciate you coming all the way over to the restaurant.”

“My pleasure, Miss,” he said. “Come on, Char. The fancy lady needs to get her sleep.”

Charlotte and I busted out laughing and Matteo didn’t know what to make of Ronan’s statement of being the ‘fancy lady’.

“Good night, guys,” I said. “Thank you both very much.”

They nodded and Charlotte tossed my keys to me. I caught them and we headed inside as she hopped into the car next to her brother.

The flight home and the nightmare

"Move it, Mike. Get your ass in gear," I muttered.

It was an absolute struggle just to keep him moving through the terminal. He simply wasn’t used to traveling across multiple time zones the way I’d been doing for the last twenty years. To him, this was an exhausting ordeal; to me, it was just another Tuesday.

"I’m just so tired,” Mike mumbled, his feet dragging heavily against the linoleum. “I’ve crossed like five time zones in twenty four hours.”

I had to constantly urge him on, physically steering him forward as he was practically asleep on his feet.

"Listen to me," I said, trying to shock some life back into him. "In the past eleven months alone, I’ve crossed thirty five time zones and spent at least seventy four hours in the air traveling. It’s probably more time zones and more time in the air but ff I can keep moving, so can you."

Mike blinked at me, squinting through his heavy-lidded haze. "Do you have jet lag?" he croaked.

"Yes," I admitted grimly. "I do. Now keep walking."

By the time we finally made our way through customs and dragged ourselves over to the Lufthansa ticket counter, we were among only a few passengers left scattered in the entire terminal.

The ticket agent behind the desk looked up, her expression a mix of professional politeness and sheer exhaustion.

"Next, please," she said.

I stepped up to the counter. "I’d like two seats," I told her, my voice quiet. "But not near each other. And I’d prefer that my ticket is first class."

"Understood. Passports, please," she requested.

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out my passports and slid them across the counter. As she looked at my Russian and Canadian passports, I watched her eyes widen slightly. She opened them, comparing the photos and names. Right there in front of her, she saw that I was a Russian diplomat with one name on one passport, and a Canadian Member of Parliament with an entirely different name on the other.

She paused, looking from the documents up to my face, and then back down. Without asking any questions, she quietly slipped the Russian passport aside and used my Canadian passport to get me a ticket.

"I'm processing the Canadian passport now," she said quiet enough for me to hear. Her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Thank you," I said.

She tapped a few keys, looking at my profile on her screen. "Well, due to your status as a frequent flyer with Lufthansa and the substantial amount of points you've racked up over your travels, your first-class seat is completely free." She then glanced over at Mike, who was practically snoring while standing up. "However, your companion’s seat is not. That will be four hundred seventy five Canadian dollars."

Mike jolted awake at the sound of the price. "Wait, what?" he stammered.

"You heard her," I said, nudging him.

With a heavy sigh, Mike pulled out his credit card out of his wallet. As he was doing so, he mumbled something about having to pay for his own ticket as his was paid for as he travelled to meet me

As the agent kept typing, her eyes shifting over my face. Without asking us for our preference, she decided to book us on a direct flight, even though there is usually a layover on this specific route. She had clearly noticed how incredibly tired I looked and acted, and I assumed she felt it was absolutely imperative that she book us directly to get us to our destination as fast as possible.

She handed the boarding passes to me with a soft, understanding smile. "Here are your boarding passes. I've put you on the direct flight rather than a layover. Get some rest on the flight if you can."

I took them, looking at her with deep appreciation. "Thank you," I said sincerely.

Then I looked down at the boarding pass, and my heart sank. The gate was miles away. We had only a few minutes to walk—or rather, sprint—a two and a half miles to the gate.

"We have to run," I told Mike, grabbing his sleeve.

"Run? Where?" he gasped.

"Two and a half miles to the plane. Now!"

By the time we finally arrived at the gate, gasping for breath and wet with sweat, the gate agents were already in the process of closing the ramp to the plane. The metal barrier was beginning to slide shut. The second we landed, I knew that I had to go to the hospital. I’d have to use the last of my gauze to protect the skin where I had my breast lift as my skin had split a little bit.

"Wait!" I called out. “We need to get home.”

Once they saw me, they froze. Recognition immediately washed over their faces. They stopped what they were doing, quickly checked our tickets, and waved us through.

"Right this way, Du ---- Ms. Smith,” the agent said, stepping aside. "Have a safe flight."

Mike and I headed down the jet bridge to the plane swiftly as I didn’t want to cause any further delays for the crew and staff. We found our seats soon after boarding, stored our small luggage in the overhead bin and within minutes we were in the air. I grabbed my crossbody bag and headed to the bathroom.

Once inside and door locked, I lifted my sundress in order to access my tits. I drained the sites, washed around the drain sites, washed where my skin split for the incision area of the breast lift and let the skin dry naturally. When the incision area dried, I gently lifted my tits a little bit, put the gauze on the area and gently let my tits drop into place. I washed my hands one last time and left the bathroom.

I tried to rest but I was uncomfortable and in pain. I knew better than to run after plastic surgery – especially after a breast lift. It wasn’t to the point where I needed to take Tylenol or Advil so I figured I’d close my eyes and try to rest. I fell asleep minutes later.

I was woken up hours later by a little turbulence. The pilots easily navigated te turbulence and we were out of it in a matter of minutes. Twenty minutes later, the flight attendants came around with the meals that came with the airfare. I wanted to brush my meal away but at this point, I needed to take some Advil. I just hoped that it wasn’t see food. When I opened the packaging, it wasn’t, thankfully. It was supposed to be meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans in a garlic and butter sauce. The only food that tasted what it was supposed to was the green beans with the garlic and butter sauce.

I took some Tylenol and walked around the plane a bit before a flight attendant came over to me.

“Ms. Smith? I’m sorry to be stopping you from your stroll but the pilots wanted to talk to you,” she said. “They heard about how many pilot licenses you hold.

“I guess I can spare them some time, right, Nora?” I said as I read her name tag. “Lead the way.”

“Of course,” she said.

After a brief walk, she used the phone on the wall and called into the cockpit.

“I have Ms. Smith with me,” she said. “Can you please unlock the door so I can send her in?”

As she hung up the phone, I heard a click from the door. She knocked twice and then pushed the door open.

“Hi, I’m Deppgrl Smith,” I said as I reached out my hand to shake their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,”

“I’m Ryan and this is Rob my copilot. Our other pilots are on their rest time.”

“I’m sorry I missed them. May I ask why you guys asked me to come up?”

“We’ve heard that you hold over one hundred and eighty pilot licenses. This is the most we’ve heard someone ever having.”

“Well, aviation is something that I enjoy,” I lied. “Clearly, you guys understand the rush and the freedom in it.”

“It’s definitely thrilling,” Rob said.

“How did you get so many pilot licenses” Ryan asked.

“I travel so much for work and I tend to stay in multiple countries for long stretches at a time. It was easier for me to start in Italy as I was born there then Canada followed suit because I’m a naturalized citizen. From there, wherever work sent me, I took flying lessons and over time, I was able to earn my licenses.”

“What do you have to do to keep your licenses up to date in each country?”

“In between work trips and due to overtime, I take time off and revisit each country. I then go fly for the hours with an instructor the amount of hours required by each country. I also fly different aircraft….I can fly anything from a helicopter to a variety of fighter jets.”

“That is amazing!”

“Have you flown any important people?”

“I flew Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II here and in Britain on both my recreational and professional license. She was an absolute delight to fly and talk with. I miss her greatly.”

“Wow! That’s incredible!”

“It was truly quite the amazing experience.”

“We miss her as well. She was quite progressive in her later years.”

“That she was,” I said.

The conversation halted a little bit before Ryan spoke again.

“We called you up here to partly talk with you about your flying experiences but there is another passenger on board that knew you were on this flight. He was brought up to the door as we were talking. Apparently, he said that it’s a private conversation with you.”

“Great way to have an excuse, right?” I asked. “By the way, do I get my wings since I met you both?”

“You’ll get two wings since we were both up here,” Rob said. “Do you fly commercial flights or is it more professional for whatever line of work you do?”

“That’s great I get two wings!” I said. “It’s a mix of personal and professional but it all depends on the circumstances. I don’t want to assume that you know who I am but sometimes it’s more of I need to get myself out of sticky situations that are life threatening.”

Ryan and Rob looked at me before Ryan spoke.

“Yes, we know that you are the Grand Duches Marie Alexandrovna,” Ryan said. “You were flagged when your ticket was bought by the ticket agent. She is also Russian and part of her family is Russian – she knew who you were immediately. We received the message as you met the gate agents but once the message was read by both of us, it disappeared.”

“Does the rest of the flight crew know?” I asked. “Also, with all major airlines, I have spoken the higher ups to have it that way – my flagged identity gets deleted from the system. IT with the highest security are the only ones to access that information once its deleted. If my true identity were used, there wouldn’t be a flag however, if I provide both my Russian diplomatic passport along with another passport, the ticket agents are made aware to use the other one, flag my true identity as who I am but to use my other identity.”

“We’re the only ones who know as we have a higher security than the rest of the flight crew,” Ryan said. “We’re also sworn to privacy when we have diplomats – known or unknown – as well as MPs on board.”

I nodded my head.

“Thank you both so much for everything. I hope that with your sworn secrecy, you don’t discuss us meeting with anyone but yourselves – that includes family and other pilots.”

“Due to our contracts and sworn secrecy, we can’t discuss meeting important with anyone other than our pilot that was in the cockpit. If we do discuss it privately, we use secure rooms at airports and in our homes.”

I nodded my head again and left the cockpit. As I exited and closed the door, there was Matteo.

“Hey. So Bob reached out to me to let me know that you would be on this flight. How he knew is beyond me. After we land, he had me promise him that I would take you to the hospital to be checked out. He said that some woman who owned the hospital you were in while in her hospital said that there would be two cars. One would be blue and the other would be silver. We’d have the blue car. Are you traveling with someone?”

“Matteo, it’s so good to see you. Remind me to text Bob to give him some shit for texting you. I had surgery recently and Bob knew that traveling would aggravate it somewhat – I’m ok though. Good. Glad there’s going to be a car there for us. And yes but also no for traveling with someone. My brother texted an old friend and neighbor to meet me in Italy to be my travel companion due to his past military experience and ability to travel across multiple time in such a short amount of time but he’s failing epically.”

“Tall skinny dude with blond hair in economy?”

“Yeah, that’s him.”

“He’s been out cold since we got in the air. The only time he woke up was to eat and then he fell back asleep again.”

“How he was able to cross multiple time zones in the military and still function is beyond me. In eleven months, I crossed well over thirty and functioning far better.”

“Wow.”

I looked at my watch.

“It looks like we’re on schedule and we’re due to land in the next twenty minutes.”

“I’ll see you when we land. I’m back in Economy as well.”

“Heads up though, Matteo? Be expected for a surprise when we land.”

He nodded and then we headed to our seats. When I got back to mine, I organized all my stuff, double checked I had all of my passports, identifications and other documentation. Thankfully, I did. I buckled up and was ready to land. Thanks to Ryan and Rob, we had a smooth landing. Once taxied to the airport, I unbuckled my seatbelt, grabbed my stuff from the overhead bin, threw on my crossbody bag and disembarked the plane.

I headed towards Customs and waited for both Matteo and Mike. Under the lights inside the airport, Matteo looked exhausted and Mike was now wide awake. Mike would have his ass handed to him since it’s now midnight and he slept for about ten hours…it’ll take him a few days to adjust back. They were talking and it was clear that Matteo was explaining to Mike what was going to happen once we saw the cars. Mike didn’t look happy at all and he said so when they reached me.

“I thought that I was going to drop you off at home.”

“Were you asked to by either my brother or I? No. I’m appreciative that I had a partial flying companion but at the same time, I’m still incredibly hurt of how you treated me the last few times we saw each other before my leaving to New Zealand. You will be brought home miles from me. I’ve been nonstop since landing in New Zealand and the last thing I had time for was dealing with the hurt that you caused. Yes, it was unintended but words matter.”

“But I came all the way to Italy and back!”

“With a brand new passport, a one way ticket to Italy and a one way ticket to Newfoundland paid for by other governments. The only money you spent yourself was the ticket here. Go to the main exit and wait for us.”

Mike nodded then did as he was told and went through Customs alone. As he did so, I pulled Matteo aside.

“I’m not who you think I am,” I began. “We may be stopped due to the passports I handed to Customs when we landed in Newfoundland. I gave my Russian diplomatic one and of course my main Canadian passport. Both are under separate names. My Russian passport has my true identity but this Canadian one doesn’t. I have a second Canadian one that has my true identity. Most of my passports have different names.”

“Wait. What in the actual fuck, Deppgrl?” he just about shouted.

“Be quiet!” I said. “Go home, shower, eat and get some rest. In a few hours come over and I’ll tell you what I can legally tell you.”

“I can’t wrap my brain around this but once I’ve slept, I’ll come over.”

I nodded and led us towards the main exit. I had hoped Mike could stay awake on his feet or even doze off on a bench. Thankfully, he was awake and on his feet waiting for us. Once we all stepped outside, both sedans that Sera sent us pulled up.

“The silver one is for you, Mike,” I said. “It’ll take you directly home. Matteo will be with me in the blue one – I’ll be dropped off first then he will.”

Mike nodded.

“Here’s an envelope to hand to your driver when you get home. Whoever sent the cars paid for their time, fuel, mileage and tip. An extra tip doesn’t hurt as not everyone tips a driver.”

Mike nodded again and mumbled is thanks. I nodded in return. When Matteo and I got to the blue sedan, the driver immediately stepped out, popped the trunk and greeted us.

“Duchess,” he said as he bowed his head slightly. “Sir.”

“Hello, Dom,” I said as I handed him my large bag. “I’m packing light this time around.”

“A complete shock!” he said as we laughed. Matteo threw his overnight bag into the trunk and closed it.

I headed to the front passenger seat to sit next to Dom. I was thankful that he was the driver as he was always so friendly and respectful. Matteo sat behind me. Once we were all in Dom’s car and had our seatbelts on, Dom headed in the direction of my house. It was a quick drive, happily. When he parked, he went to the trunk to get my bag as I grabbed my crossbody bag and got out.

“I’ll be back in about half an hour to bring you to the hospital. Does that work?” he said as he handed me my bag and my keys that were mailed to him.

“It does, thanks, Dom,” I said. “I’ll take a shower, change the gauze, dress and meet you back out here.”

“Sounds good, Duchess,” he said.

Matteo took the front seat as I unlocked my house. Before I could close and lock the door behind me, Dom was on his way to drop off Matteo. When I did enter my house and lock the door behind me, I dropped my bags and headed upstairs to the bathroom. As I was going upstairs, I peaked my head into each room to see the state of each room. Bob came by three times a month to dust and vacuum my house while I was in Europe. My laundry that I had left behind was washed, dried and put away.

I eventually made it to my bathroom. I kicked off my flip flops, peeled the sundress over my head and took the gauze off from where the skin split a little bit. That pull hurt and I knew that the water was going to be horrendous. After turning on the water, I grabbed a new bar of mild soap and my most basic shampoo and conditioner. I checked the water again, adjusted it and hopped in.

The water felt so good on my skin. I just stood under the water for a few minutes before I started to wash and condition my hair. I rinsed everything out, washed my body with the soap and used face wash for my face. I stood in the water for a few more minutes to rinse off. I didn’t want to get out but I knew Dom would be back soon to come pick me up. I dried off, applied deodorant, brushed my hair and teeth and headed into my room.

I raided my closet and drawers just to pick panties, jean shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt. I got dressed, put my flip flops back on and headed downstairs. I grabbed two bottles of water for Dom and I, grabbed my keys and my crossbody bag and headed out. I locked the door behind me. Not even two minutes later, Dom arrived and in his personal car. I hopped in.

“All ok, Marie?” he asked.

“I hope so,” I said. “I had plastic surgery about a week ago – eye and eye brow lift as well as a breast lift. I don’t think the drains that were placed in my tits are helping much and my skin where the stitches were under my tits tore a little bit. Think there could be some kind of infection. I’d rather get looked over to be safe.”

“Oh wow. Do you want me to stay with you?”

“I’d appreciate that, friend. We could be a while.”

“I’ve got nothing to do but be with you.”

“Thank you.”

We parked and walked in. I checked myself in with my Candian license and insurance card with my true identity. The hospital has two charts for me – one as Deppgrl Smith and the one under Marie Alexdrovna Romanov. I hoped by using my id with my true identity would get me in faster.

“Why are you here, ma’am?” the ER receptionist asked.

“I believe I have an infection from plastic surgery.”

“Can I see your identification please?”

“Sure,” I said as I handed it over.

She hummed and hawed then hawed then hummed.

“Don’t merge the charts,” I said. “There’s a reason why they are separate.”

“Oh. Ok, I can do that,” she said. “Is the healthcare card up to date?”

“It is,” I said.

After checking me in, adding the reason why I was wanting to be seen and being handed back my id and health card back, she told us to have a seat.

“Thank you,” I said as we walked away.

We didn’t have a chance to sit when I was called.

“Marie?” a nurse called out.

“Coming!” I said.

We were brought back to an exam room.

“What’s going on, Marie?” Susanna asked me.

“Well, I had an eye and eyebrow lift and a breast lift within the past week. Drains were inserted under my tits but there’s a little bit of an odor. Stitches were removed but the skin split earlier and there’s a small leak. The fluid that’s coming out of the drains and from where the skin split is mostly clear but with a slight pink color.”

“We’ll check you out to see what’s going on,” she said. “Do you want your companion to stay in the room or do you want him to step out?”

“Dom will be staying.”

Susanna nodded and asked if I could take my top off and I complied. As I was doing so, she put on exam gloves. Dom couldn’t stop staring at my lifted tits. I had to chuckle.

“I am about to examine you. Do I have your permission to do so?”

“You do.”

Susanna nodded then proceeded to examine me. I knew that it was a medical necessity and that the ER doctor would as well.

“It does appear that there’s a mild infection that’s draining from your breasts,” she said. “Since I can’t officially diagnose you, the doctor will have to. I’ll send one over as soon as one is available.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome, Duchess,” she said as she took off the exam gloves. “I’ll get you an exam gown. Have it open in the front but you can cover yourself up until the doctor is ready to examine you.”

I nodded. She tossed the used exam gloves in the garbage, grabbed a gown and handed it to me. She turned her back to me as Dom helped me get it on and helped me cover myself.

“I’m all set, Susanna, thank you,” I said.

She nodded, opened the door and left.

“Why did you get a breast life, eye lift and a brow lift?”

“Well, when I went to Italy to search for Rob, I entered the country as Marie and searched boldly for him as Marie. I knew it was a mistake but the surgery was to barely change how I looked so when those who I had spoken with saw me in the future, I’d look familiar but not identical to how I did before. I also had my hair dyed thinking it’d be a bigger distraction than the surgery.”

“Your hair and your beautiful tits are a distraction itself. God damn!”

“Red doesn’t suit me and straight men are often distracted by my tits.”

Dom laughed hard and loud as he agreed that straight men are distracted by my tits. We then heard a knock on the door. Dom headed over and opened the door, revealing a doctor that I had seen many years ago, Dr. Diana Figeroa.

“Marie. What have I told you about plastic surgery? You don’t need it.”

“It wasn’t full on surgery, Diana. It was a few tweaks,” I said.

“Your face looks stunning already and your bruising has fading significantly around your eyes. Mind if I examine your incision site and drain site?”

“Go right ahead,” I said as she threw on gloves.

She came into my space to check both drains and the incision sites. She stepped back to get a kidney tray to see what comes out of the drain.

“This may hurt a little bit but it isn’t my intention,” she said as she started to drain a little bit. “Susanna said there was a pink hue to the clear fluids that came out and thought it was an infection. She is right….there is a small infection.”

“Of course there is,” I sighed.

“I am going to remove these drains, flush the area then look at the incision sight, ok?”

“You got it, boss,” I said.

“You are one chill royal,” she chuckled.

She lifted each tit, removed the gauze and sighed.

“Slight infection here, too. Don’t worry. I’ll flush the area as well, apply antibiotic ointment, use skin safe glue and steri strips, ok? Check all the areas each and call me if there’s any change.”

I nodded. She removed the gloves, tossed them and went to get her supplies. A few minutes later, she arrived back with everything. It took about ten minutes to remove and flush the drain sites and about eight minutes for the incision sites. She covered the drain sites with a little bit of antibiotic ointment then followed up with steri strips then skin glue.

“I have a prescription of oral antibiotics for you here with me as well,” Diana said. “We don’t want the infection to get any worse than what it is. Take one tablet three times a day for seven days. I also have a prescription for Ibuprofen 800 mg in case you need it for painAre you up to date with your Depo Provera birth control injection?”

“You are amazing, Diana. I’ll definitely take the antibiotic as I don’t want to be any more miserable and uncomfortable than I already am. The Ibuprofen might be beneficialI think I’m due in a few weeks for the shot.”

“I have a syringe ready and here with me. Let’s get it taken care of as a precautionary measure.”

I got up, dropped my shorts just past my hip, lifted the gown and turned around. I felt the cool alcohol spread over my skin. A moment later, I felt the needle enter my skin and the contents of the syringe enter my body. Seconds later, she was finished, applied the bandage and said that I was all set.

“And don’t forget yogurt with the antibiotic!”

“I won’t!”

“Get dressed and I’ll get your discharge papers started, ok?”

I nodded and she left. I got off the exam table and Dom helped me get dressed.

“When Diana gets back with your discharge papers, I’ll step into the hallway to call Aditi to see if she can make us dinner for us to pick up on our way back to your house,” Dom offered. “That sound good to you?”

“That would be perfect,” I sighed out of exhaustion. “I don’t know if the restaurant will still be open but it’s worth a try.”

“What’s worth a try?” Diana asked as she reappeared.

“Dom reaching out to Aditi to see if we can pick up dinner on our way home,” I said as Dom stepped out.

“No wonder you’re friends with Aditi. She and her husband have amazing food.”

“Part of it is her food but mostly she and her husband are truly amazing people,” I said. “Aditi has been beneficial to what I do. She’s done what I do many years and has taught me what I know.”

“And Dom?” as she handed me my discharge paperwork.

“Eye candy and occasional fuck buddy,” I said. “He’s also a good friend.”

“Good lay?”

“Amazing. Talk about sex being so good my eyes roll to the back of my head, screaming and multi-orgasmic.”

“Take a day or so to heal before your eyes roll to the back of your head, ok?”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“What does?” Dom asked.

“Her eyes rolling to the back of her head and her toes curling.”

“Marie, you’re going to be the death of me.”

“Oh, you always say that when you’re balls deep in me, Dom.”

“Even when fully clothed, you’re going to be the death of me. Aditi said that if we leave now, we can make it before she closes and cleans up.”

“Diana, thank you so much for taking care of me. I’ll check the areas a few times a day and keep you posted. If push comes to shove, Dom will help.”

“Sounds good, Marie. Dom, take good care of her.”

“Will do, Doc.”

Dom and I shook Diana’s hand and we left. It was a quiet walk to the car.

“What did you order from Aditi?”

“She said that she was going to give us some of everything. I told her that we were fine with that.”

“Good. Her food is amazing.”

“It is. Is it true that Aditi taught you everything you needed to know for your government work and spy work?”

“Most of it. I did have to learn the technology, of course, through each government.”

“Did you get training in luring men in to have sex with you?”

“Really, Dom?” I asked. “That’s extremely insulting and rude.”

“I’m sorry.”

“When we stop at the restaurant, take me home. We’ll divvy up the food and then you’ll go home. I don’t need your help with my recovery.”

“Marie, I’m really sorry. I didn’t say it to be insulting and rude.”

“I know but you said it anyway.”

“I’m still sorry.”

“I accept your apology.”

For the rest of the twenty five minute drive, it was silent. Dom kept looking at me from the corner of his eye as he was driving. I ignored him and didn’t cry though I desperately wanted to. I knew Dom didn’t mean it but he said it and it still hurt.

When we arrived at Aditi’s restaurant, he parked leaving the car running and ran inside to pick up dinner. It took him a few minutes to get the food and when he came back, he had two bags of food.

“Aditi split the food for us. Your name is on yours. She clearly knew what was up before I stepped foot inside.”

“Ok.” I didn’t tell him that I texted her when he wasn’t looking at me while he was driving.

A few minutes later, we arrived to my house. I gathered my crossbody purse, my discharge papers, my prescriptions and my food. I slammed the door without saying anything. When I got to my door, I unlocked it and entered. I dropped the food into my kitchen and texted Aditi.

Thank you so much for the food, friend. I appreciate you getting it ready so late in the night. It’s great to be eating your cooking again after almost a year. I’m home safe and sound and Dom is heading to his own home. I couldn’t deal with him any longer. He didn’t mean to be insulting and rude but he was because he said it out loud. I’ll eat, take my meds, hydrate and go to bed.

You’re very welcome, Deppgrl. I’m always happy and available to cook for you at any time of the day. Glad you’re home safely. Once you told me what he said, I gave him shit for talking to that way. Expect big gestures from him though I demanded that he didn’t. I’m very happy that you sent him on his way as he doesn’t deserve any part of you. Please do take care of yourself. Let me know if you need anything.

Thank you.

I put my phone down and ripped open the bag so I could get the food out quickly. Aditi gave me so many containers of beef, chicken and vegetable samosas and buttered chicken. I hate about half of the samosas and a quarter of the buttered chicken before I felt stuffed. I sat there contemplating how thankful I was for Aditi. She was the only one who understood what this life is like. I eventually got up, put the food in the fridge, took the antibiotic and Ibuprofen then headed to bed for the night.

The flight over the Atlantic

Once the plane took off and was at altitude, the steady hum of the engines filled the cabin as we leveled out, the wings slicing through the sky. The hum was soothing though irritating at the same time. Boats across the ocean took forever and a land vehicle wouldn’t work due to being the wrong vehicle to cross the ocean so a plane was the best way to get back to Ontario

Suddenly, I heard the muffled sound of an explosion.  A bright orange fireball erupted violently on the ground, tearing through the area with incredible force. I saw the reflection of the fireball from the window. The reflection immediately made me look down to the general area from where the explosion was.

Far below, the landscape stretched out in a quiet, sprawling grid of roads and buildings, dotted with the tiny, faint pinpricks of streetlights. I knew right away that Marlon had taken care of the car. Marlon not only took out the car but several buildings as well. He always helped me out and always stuck to our plans but he gets slightly carried away.

"Wow!" I said.

Unfortunately, it got Mike’s attention. He immediately shifted in his seat and looked out his window as well, searching the ground below. It didn't take him long to spot the massive, flickering orange glow. He watched the flames dance from the distance as a thick column of smoke began to plume upward into the air.

"That is impressive," Mike said, his voice quiet as he stared at the where the explosion took place. "Is that the car we used?"

I just nodded my head to confirm that it was. I kept my mouth shut, leaning back into my seat. I was trying to look casual while my eyes subtly scanned the cabin. I looked at the seams in the wall panels, the overhead light fixtures, and the small air vents, wondering if there was a hidden microphone tucked away somewhere out of sight. I didn’t know if the plane was bugged or not, but after living my life traveling back and forth between different countries, I wasn’t going to risk saying anything until I knew it was safe. Mike kept staring at me, waiting for me to say something.

A few hours later, I raided my bag to find my equipment to detect listening and recording devices. These were my personal devices and were a higher quality than the ones provided to me from the Italian government. As I stood up from my seat, I turned the devices on and went through the main cabin of the plane. I didn’t find anything so I headed towards the bathroom and didn’t find anything there either. Despite not finding anything, I still didn’t feel comfortable discussing anything about what I did since landing in New Zealand. I’d be more comfortable either out in the open at a large field or at my home. However, if it were at my house, I would have to check my house first though.

Mike eventually fell asleep. I stayed awake as I can’t sleep in a plane. I familiarized myself with the plane and due to this phone that Roberto gave me, I was able to pull up the plans of the plane without using internet connection. I wanted to see if there any places that I may need to relocate if anyone on board – crew or otherwise – knew of my identity and wanted to blow it. I ended up connecting my phone to the outlet connected to my armrest and pulled out a book. I was almost done with it by the time he woke up.

“Hey,” Mike mumbled as he was waking up. “Where are we over the ocean?”

“Just halfway over,” I sighed. The pain and the pressure that I was feeling so soon after the surgery was super uncomfortable. I groaned in pain. I knew that I need to take some kind of pain relief medication and there was no way that I was going through customs on strong pain meds from Sera and Elena’s plastic surgery hospital. I got up from my seat, grabbed my crossbody bag and started for the galley. “I’ll be back momentarily. I just need to stretch my legs.”

Mike nodded though he knew something was up. When I arrived at the galley, I spoke with the head flight attendant.

“I’m so sorry to bother you. I’m in seat 3A and I’m getting a little hungry. I also have a bit of headache and want to take some Advil – my doctor wants me to eat before taking it. Are you able to drop a snack and some water off at my seat while I’m using the bathroom?” I asked.

“Yes, Duchess,” he said.

“Shhhhh, Martin!” I quietly begged as I read his name tag. “I expect the staff to know my identity due to my passport but I don’t want the rest of the travelers to know. A pseudonym that I’ve used in the past is “DeppGrl Smith”. My travel companion has known me as that for years and just recently found out my true identity. Can you please speak with the other flight attendants about this? I’d be appreciative of it.”

“Of course, Ms. Smith,” he said. “I understand your request for. And yes, I’ll talk to the rest of the flight attendants and pilots about this. I’ll ask the pilots to contact ground control when we get closer of your request to be more anonymous.”

“Thank you,” I said. “No rush to get the snack and beverage to my seat as I’ll be a few minutes. If my travel companion would like anything, I’ll pay for it as well. I’ll make sure I square up long before we land.”

“Of course,” he nodded.

I headed to the bathroom. When I got in, I closed and locked the door. I hung up my purse, lifted my dress and released the drains in my breasts that Dr. Aris and Dr. Welsh inserted. I sighed in relief that some of the pressure was released. I knew that I’d feel better once we landed and used ice. I knew that Mike needed to be shuttled to his place once we landed and I would need to be brought to my local hospital to be checked out as I fear for a possible infection. I closed the drains, washed the areas, used the bathroom, washed my hands, grabbed my purse and left the bathroom.

I made it back to Mike about fifteen minutes after I left him.

“All ok?” he asked. “I asked the flight attendants about you and they all said that you were ok.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I sighed. “I needed to take care of a few things from my surgery a few days ago.”

“Holy fuck! Are you ok?” he asked.

“Sore but fine. Once we land, you’ll get brought home and I’ll head to the hospital to get examined again,” I said. “It wasn’t life threatening surgery.”

“Necessary?”

“Yes, necessary. We’re leaving it at that.” I said. “As for stuff about New Zealand and everything after that, it’ll be a conversation for another time.”

He nodded as I sat down. The head flight attendant came around to drop off meals to both Mike and I. When he arrived to me and was placing food and a large bottle of water, I gave him four hundred and seventy five euros. He opened his mouth and before he could say anything, I did.

“I can’t thank you enough for your kindness for bringing meals to us. I hope it’s enough for the food, beverages, the time it took for you to heat everything up and bring it over,” I said as I handed him the money. With my other hand, I slid five envelopes under the fabric that covered the card he used for the other flight attendants. However, there was only three hundred euros in those envelopes. I had given Martin four hundred to cover the small cost of the food (which was about twenty five euros) but he had received more due to being the head flight attendant as well as speaking to the entire flight crew with my request to be called ‘DeppGrl Smith’. He didn’t have to but he did.

“Thank you, Ms. Smith,” he said with a wink to acknowledge the envelope under the fabric. “I appreciate you paying for your meals before leaving as well as the generous tip.”

I nodded my head.

“What was all of that about?” Mike asked as he was eating.

“Nothing for you to worry about,” I said.

I opened my food to see that it was eggplant rollatini in a marinara sauce, tortellini in a cream sauce, garlic bread and a side salad. It was great as plane food goes but too salty for my liking. I thought that I should see a cardiologist while I was at my local hospital after getting checked for infection from my plastic surgery locations.

After eating and having some of my water, I took the bottle of Advil from my purse and poured three onto my hand. I closed the lid, popped the Advil into my mouth and took a swig of my water. I tossed the bottle of Advil back into my purse, twisted the lid of the water bottle back on, reclined my seat and closed my eyes. I hoped that this would relay a message to Mike that I wanted to get some sleep. Thankfully, it worked. I heard him begin to snore minutes later. After he was asleep for an hour, I got up and went to the bathroom again. The pressurized air was beyond uncomfortable on my stomach and breasts but not so much my eyes.

Once inside the bathroom, I lifted my dress to access the drains in my breasts. I opened them and released the drainage. It was slightly pink but looked good. I closed them, washed the area around the drains and rinsed the sink. I adjusted my dress and headed back to my seat. My tray was cleared and put back as was Mike’s. I sat down and pulled up the screen in front of me to see what the status was of our flight. We were ninety minutes from Newfoundland, Canada. I forgot that we had a quick layover there before flying to Ontario. Usually there is a layover on the way to Ontario from Newfoundland but I felt that with my Russian diplomat status, we could get a direct flight there. Again, I called out to all of the deities I could name in eighty five minutes.

I had another fifteen deities to name before we landed but I was able to finish when Mike, the rest of the passengers and I collected our personal belongings from our seats and overhead bins.

"Finally, that's done," I said, slinging my pack over my shoulder. "I actually managed to name all eighty five."

Mike rolled his eyes playfully. "I still don't know how you got through all of them with a crying and screaming baby two rows back."

“It wasn’t easy,” I said. “I hate screaming and crying babies.”

I thanked each cabin crew member as we exited. "Thank you so much, have a wonderful day," I told them as we stepped onto the stairs that lead us to the tarmac.

“Unfortunately and yet fortunately, we landed but we in Newfoundland as a layover,” I said. “Clearly, we still need to fly to Ontario. Typically, there’s a layover to that flight as well but I’m hoping we get a direct flight.”

"A direct flight would definitely make things easier," he agreed. "How long of a flight is it?"

“It’s a nine and half to ten and a half hour flight,” I said. “It varies on the weight of the plane and the weather.”

“Let’s hit customs and get our tickets,” he said.

I nodded in agreement.