The Shadows of Diplomacy

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Miss Blake, let me remind you of why you are in Geneva." Camilla Jones was the Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs, her tone was even and stern as she spoke. "You are there to see to the interests of Jamaica. It is not in the interest of Jamaica to display a morsel of support for Russia at this point. I don't care what your personal opinions are, nor what you think diplomacy is. Jamaica wants nothing to do with matters concerning this war. Cockroach nuh business inna fowl fight. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Arya said, staring into space as she held the landline by her ear.

"Now, you're gonna fix this, and you're gonna leave Russia and Ukraine's business alone. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

Boop. Boop. Boop. Camilla had hung up. Arya put the phone back on its base and took a deep breath. It was not as bad as she had thought it would have been. Arya got her stuff together, it had been a long day for her having sat through Lenkov's address, and then being reprimanded for doing so by Camilla. She couldn't wait to retreat to the comfort of her cosy apartment.

As she exited the Embassy, she was approached by the secretary, Joanna. Joanna was alerting Arya to an interview request for the next day, Wednesday, the second day of March. Arya had a lightbulb moment. "Tell them I'll be there, and forward all the details to me."

As Arya stepped into her apartment, the fragrance of 'Caribbean Escape' enveloped her. The scents of tropical melon, raspberry nectar, and coconut milk mingled harmoniously, creating an essence of the islands within the confines of her own space. It had been a while since she had had a home-cooked meal, but today was not the day she would change that, she ordered in.

In stark contrast to Arya's abode, Alexei's apartment consisted primarily of grey tones and carried the masculine scent of his cologne. He sat on the edge of his bed staring at an item that he had bought on the way home. Arya staying in the room while the other diplomats marched out in protest, despite the consequences that could come from doing so, translated into a bold display of loyalty to Alexei. His respect for her had taken a tremendous climb, and he also now saw her as confident and as a leader. He was deep in contemplation, if Arya was willing to stand by his side through this, as the world watched, would that mean she would be willing to stand by him through anything? The ring was an impulse buy, he loved her deeply and was incredibly proud of her, but Alexei felt a slight unease about proposing to Arya as his world threatened to crumble around him. Alexei shut the box, reminding himself of the fact that he had a whole other identity that she was unaware of. He huffed, flopping back into his bed.

***
Arya's beauty shone as her makeup was neatly applied, she wore a side part as her silky dark hair fell to frame her face. She was clad in a lime green pantsuit, even though such bright colours were not typically worn in Geneva.

"So, Miss Blake," the host on 'Bonjour Geneva' was speaking in French, a language Arya — like all the other diplomats in Geneva — was highly proficient in. "You stayed in the auditorium as more than a hundred other diplomats left in protest of the war in Ukraine, tell us about that."

Arya was confident, she was here to set the record straight, Jamaica was not in support of Russia's attack on Ukraine. "Like I said, Léa, my decision to stay rested upon my personal understanding of diplomacy; I don't have to like what you're saying to listen. The walkout was an effort to show solidarity with Ukraine, I understand that, but my decision to sit in was not intended to demonstrate the opposite of that."

"The other Jamaican envoy that was sitting with you, participated in the walkout, what can you tell us about that?"

"I can tell you that he participated in the walkout because that's what he chose to do. I can also tell you that Jamaica is not happy about this war, the state wishes for this destruction and loss of life to end. We hope that Russia and Ukraine can come to a very speedy resolution."