Chapter One Thousand Three Hundred Twenty-Nine
18th May 1959
Over the Mid-Atlantic
Kristina had fallen asleep wrapped in the white wool blanket with brightly colored stripes that had been a gift from the First Lady of the United States. Louis could see the cloth tag that was stitched onto one corner that said Pendleton Woolen Mills. She had been looking out the window, so her glasses were hanging off the tip of her nose. Louis gently lifted them off her nose and placed them on the table next to the glass of fruit juice that Kristina had forgotten about. Kristina murmured something and fell back asleep. Without the glasses and in the dim light of the cabin, Kristina looked a bit like she had years earlier when she had been a child. Even then she had been opinionated and difficult, her need to ask questions overcoming her being inherently shy. She would do that until the adult she was talking to would eventually flee. It many ways she was still the same. Just the topics had changed, and the questions were frequently mixed with complaints these days.
It had been the questions and complaints that had been why Louis had been reluctant to bring her along after Charlotte and Katherine had suggested it. The whole purpose of this trip was to express solidarity on the world stage, show the American people that they were not demons from the pits of Hell and whatnot. Of course, Charlotte couldn’t travel at the moment. Of Louis’ children, Friedrich would have been perfect except he was unavailable because of his posting in Vietnam. Michael had decided to become the paragon of the Panzer Corps and he was all too likely to fit the stereotype of what too many people thought Germany was about, like if it had been frozen in amber sometime late in the previous century. Kiki was a good choice, but only if she could manage to behave herself. Louis Junior was too young and even if they were older, Louis would never consider taking the twins anywhere on anything like this. Sending Marie and Victoria anywhere requiring diplomacy might as well be a declaration of war.
So, as it had turned out, Kristina had been the best choice available. Though, Louis knew that the last thing needed was his daughter creating an ugly scene on the international stage. Katherine had said that once Kristina understood what was at stake, she would do what was expected of her. It had turned out that was the case, however Louis had spent much of the trip expecting to get a report of Kristina having made some comment that had outraged the sensibilities of their American hosts.
Mostly, Kristina had acquitted herself well. The Press had been on hand for the various things that she had done, and the Americans had this odd fascination with Royalty. It was obvious to anyone that Kristina was no fairytale Princess, instead she was an academic and something of an introvert. Frequently a question was met with no more than a nervous smile. It remained to be seen how the American public would react to her in the future. In the present, the image of her that they were left with was her sitting on a table in a park answering questions from girls just a few years younger than she was.
There had however been a few surprising moments. Like when Louis learned that Nancy D’Alesandro, the daughter of Maryland Senator Thomas D’Alesandro, had been Kristina’s pen pal for the last few years. This trip had been the first opportunity for them to meet in person. Nancy Jensen had arranged for that to happen. Like everything Kristina had done, it had been in full view of the Press. Louis had seen the photographs. Two girls sitting in some informal location laughing about something. It was perfectly in keeping with the purpose of the entire trip. The hiccup had come when Nancy D’Alesandro had told Kristina that she intended to follow her father into politics with others listening in. It had raised a few eyebrows when Kristina had told her it was a wonderful goal. Kristina didn’t know a whole lot about American Politics, otherwise she might have phrased that differently. The child of a United States Senator would almost automatically have Statewide name recognition in their home State, a springboard to much higher office if they desired.
The lightweight bulkheads that compartmentalized much of the cabin of the big airliner gave Louis and Kristina considerable privacy on this flight. The space they had wasn’t particularly large, four seats facing each other and a small desk/table, but for an airliner it was the absolute height of luxury. Even so, it was still being cooped up in a metal tube for hours on end. The rumble of the engines and the hiss of the cabin pressurization were always present to remind one of that. Louis could hear the flight crew, his staff or men from the First Foot talking as they moved up and down the aisle just outside.
The door opened and Nancy Jensen stuck her head in, and Louis gestured to the seat across from him. She had done a good job of making the necessary arrangements ahead of his arrival in the United States for press availability and public appearances, making sure that things ran smoothly. Louis knew that she was a friend of Katherine’s going way back and a bit about her personal history like he did with all the people who worked directly for him. He was also aware that her husband was being considered for that Staff position in the Ministry of War, just getting him to leave his beloved Sealions would prove to be a bit of a challenge, even if it entailed a promotion. When Louis had extended her an invitation to fly with his entourage back to Germany, she had happily taken it.
“Kiki looks so sweet when she’s sleeping” Nancy whispered.
“She does” Louis replied softly.
“I wanted to thank you for letting me fly back on this plane” Nancy whispered.
“It was the least I could do.”
“I had a sort of there but the grace of God, go I moment while I was in New York” Nancy whispered, “Getting home is all I’ve wanted since.”
Louis could only imagine what that might have looked like. There were just too many possibilities.