Part II
Concubine
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Something was cooking. It smelled good, and I felt my stomach rumbling. But I felt so warm and comfortable that I didn’t want to wake up. Finally, my eyes obeyed my stomach and I discovered that I was in a single bed in a beautifully furnished room. The décor seemed to reflect 18th century France: Fleur-de-lis wall paper, gilt borders on the walls, and a chaise lounge in one corner. Directly across from me was a larger bed with a thick quilt and several different patterns in it. There was a teddy bear sitting on the quilt, and the sight of its fuzzy smiling (I was sure it was smiling) face was so achingly normal that I broke down and wept.
“You are awake?” asked a woman’s voice that sounded distinctly French.
“Yeah – yes,” I said in a halt
