“Me too,” Candace said as she followed suit.

Kevin motioned toward the dining room and trailed the women in. Esmeralda had laid the table at one end since it was large enough for twelve. There was a small tablecloth just covering the area under the dishes. There were also candles burning in glass holders.

“How romantic,” Candace commented.

“I hope we’re having wine,” Melanie said as she took the seat closest to her.

Candace went around and sat opposite Melanie, leaving the head of the table for Kevin.

“White or red?” Kevin asked.

“Any color,” Melanie said. Then she laughed.

“What are we eating?” Candace asked.

“It’s a local fish,” Kevin said.

“A fish! How appropriate,” Melanie said, which caused both women to laugh to the point of tears.

“I don’t get it,” Kevin said. He had the distinct feeling that when he was around these two women, he wasn’t in control of anything and understood less than half the conversation.

“We’ll explain later,” Melanie managed. “Get the wine. That’s more important.”

“Let’s have white,” Candace said.

Kevin went into the kitchen and got the wine that he had earlier put into the refrigerator. He avoided looking at Esmeralda, worried what she must be thinking with these tipsy women as guests. Kevin didn’t know what to think himself.

As he opened the wine, he could hear them carrying on with lively conversation and laughter. The good side, he reminded himself, was that with Melanie and Candace there were never any uncomfortable silences.

“What kind of wine are we having?” Melanie asked when Kevin reappeared. Kevin showed her the bottle. “Oh, my,” she said with feigned condescension. “Montrachet! Aren’t we lucky tonight.”

Kevin had had no idea what he’d picked from his collection of wine bottles, but he was pleased Melanie was impressed. He poured the wine as Esmeralda appeared with the first course.

The dinner was an unqualified success. Even Kevin began to relax after attempting to keep up with the women as far as the wine was concerned. About halfway through the meal he was forced to return to the kitchen for another bottle.

“You can’t guess who else was at the chickee hut,” Melanie said as the entrée dishes were being cleared. “Our fearless leader Siegfried.”

Kevin choked on his wine. He wiped his face with his napkin. “You didn’t talk to him, did you?”

“It would have been hard not to,” Melanie said. “He graciously asked if he could join us and even bought a round, not only for us but also for the guys from the motor pool.”

“He was actually quite charming,” Candace said.

Kevin felt a chill descend down his spine. The second ordeal of the afternoon which scared him almost as much as the first was a visit to Siegfried’s office. No sooner had they evaded the Equatoguinean soldiers then Melanie had insisted on driving there. It made no difference what Kevin said in an attempt to talk her out of it.

“I’m not going to stand for this kind of treatment,” Melanie had said as they mounted the stairs. She didn’t even bother to speak with Aurielo. She just sailed into Siegfried’s office and demanded that he personally see to it that her car was repaired.