Ingrid
My assignment in Paris was ending. The seminar was over and there appeared no reason for me to remain. Dr. Nostradamus stopped by the hotel for a last meeting and Ingrid and I met with him for coffee on the terrace.
Dr. Nostradamus did not engage in idle socializing, at least not with me, and our meeting appeared to be not much ado about anything.
As nothing much concluded, Dr. N rose to leave. Then Ingrid suddenly spoke, "Dr. Nostradamus," she just blurted out, "Dr. Nostradamus, can I come work for you?"
The Maestro looked at her, pausing for what seemed such a long moment. I looked at Ingrid, then at Dr. N. I did not see this coming.
"Go back to Vienna," Dr. N said.
Ingrid's face fell.
But then he continued, "Go back to Vienna; keep your job at St. Anna for the time being but stay light and flexible. Learn how to write and train your memory.
"You work for me but will coordinate through Number One. In the beginning."
Ingrid was beside herself. "Ach du lieber Gott! Danke, danke, danke!" she shouted. And then, regaining her composure, "What's my job going to be?"
"Ingrid," Dr. N said, "Apply the lessons from my lectures. Settle your affairs in Vienna and in six months come to Paris. There will be a responsible position for you at Les Bains.
In the meantime, both of you take a week or so and enjoy France. Drop in to my birth town of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. You will find there a whole cottage industry of Nostradamus fortune tellers.
"This will cover your immediate expenses," he said, handing both us envelopes. "If you run short, Number One, contact Madam Ngo. Enjoy your holiday."
Dr. Nostradamus then took his leave and departed.
What had just happened left us both in a confused spin.
"Who is Madam Ngo?" Ingrid asked.
"Madam Ngo is the Dragon Lady. I'm beginning to think she might be the real boss. We can't be reckless with our expenses."
"Does he hire people just like that? What about background checks, interviews, screening?"
"Trust me Ingrid, you were vetted."
"Did you see this coming?" Ingrid asked, "That was me and I myself didn't see this coming. I sure as hell didn't leave Vienna thinking I was going to be applying for a job with your weirdo rude boss. He even knows where I work."
"No, Leibling, I didn't see this coming, any more than you did."
"Dr. Nostradamus is very rich isn't he?"
I couldn't argue with that.
We did go to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and just for fun consulted the Nostradamus impersonators. Ingrid's Nostradamus was a bearded man dressed in 16th century garb. He predicted she would be highly successful, have a long and happy marriage, two children and many grandchildren.
My Nostradamus was a gypsy lady who called herself Madam Nostradamus. She took my hand and and looked at my palm. She remarked that I had the longest life line she had ever seen. Then, continuing to scrutinize my palm for the longest time, looked up at me for even longer, then back to my palm. Finally, mumbling to herself, the gypsy lady asked to be excused because she was not feeling well.
Ingrid and I returned to Paris for a sweet farewell weekend at the Hotel Les Bains, all expenses paid. With tears and promises to stay in touch and see each other when we could she took the train to Vienna, and I left for Little Saigon.
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