At that, a laugh rippled through the group, and Elena began to introduce her friends to him one by one. Agostina, Gaetana, Vincenzo, Adalberto, and more.The names came too fast for Carter to possibly remember, but that did not concern him, for he was certain he would have more time to learn them all later. What mattered to him most was that they seemed friendly enough, if a bit standoffish. Each of them gave him a polite “ciao” or “piacere” when introduced, but little more.

One of the young men, Alfonso, did not reply at all. Instead, he gave Carter a quick nod of his head and said aloud for all to hear, “Has anyone seen Armando tonight?”

Elena gave a toss of her hair.

“Who?” she said, as if the name had no meaning to her. Then she released Carter’s hand and went off to huddle with her girlfriends. She stood in their midst, all of them talking in hushed voices.

Carter thought nothing of it, for he was of the opinion that women everywhere behaved much the same way whenever they got together. He flattered himself, conjecturing that they were all asking Elena about him. Meantime, the men drew closer and, despite Elena’s admonition to avoid talking politics, began to ask him pointed questions about America in general and its Middle Eastern policies in particular. They seemed quite agitated by the subject, and from what he could gather, their opinions of America were unanimously disapproving.

Carter listened politely, trying to understand their questions and respond as best he could, but they seemed less intent on listening to what he had to say than on lecturing him on their own views. For Elena’s sake, Carter took it all with good humor. That was, until Alfonso, lurking in the back, gave him a dismissive wave.

“America,” he huffed. Then, with marked derision, he added, “George Bush.”

Alfonso punctuated this statement by holding his nose, as if he had just smelled something bad.

Now, at this point in his life, Carter had little more than a passing interest in politics and world affairs. Many times back in America, especially on campus, he had heard far worse remarks about his country and his president over the years, and paid them not the slightest heed. Carter had always looked upon them as part of a national family squabble, of sorts. They had rarely bothered him because he had been brought up by his parents to believe that it was all right to say whatever he wanted about his family—so long as he said it at home. Outside the house, however, in front of strangers, that was a different story. There he and the rest of the family were expected to show a unified front, and they stuck up for one another without question, no matter what.