Page 38 of Love In Translation

“So, does this mean you’re ready to go back to work?” Abi demanded. “And are you over that hot-mic, viral-video thing?”

Rheo widened her eyes at her, and Abi winced. She, like Carrie, spoke first and thought later.

“How’s the waffle?” she asked Rheo, trying to recover. “They’re good, right?”

Rheo appreciated her attempt at distraction. She cut off a small bite and held out her fork to Fletch. “Try it. I guarantee it’s the best waffle you’ll ever taste.”

Fletch took the fork and chewed. He agreed it was excellent as he pushed his empty plate to the side. “What hot-mic thing?” he asked.

Damn, he wasn’t easily distracted. Abi lifted her eyebrows, silently asking whether Rheo would explain. She didn’t have to—Fletch wasn’t entitled to her secrets. She’d told him more about her past than he’d told her about his...

Oh, he’d talked about the funny and not-so-funny things that happened on his many trips, and enthralled her with his descriptions of far-flung places. He was always,alwaysinteresting to listen to. But she didn’t know why he’d chosen this life, why he did what he did, and what pushed him into a transient, nomadic life. She knew nothing about his childhood.

She wasn’t an open book, but he was an impenetrable vault.

“Just tell him, Rhee,” Abi said.

Rheo flushed, embarrassed. She’d not only humiliated herself, she’d dragged her boss and the UN Translation Services under a hot, uncomfortable spotlight.

“Well?” Fletch asked, leaning forward. “Are you going to tell me or not?”

“Yeah, are you going to tell him or not, Rheo?” Abi demanded, clearly enjoying their battle of wills.

Rheo glared at her. Whose side was she on?

“It’s not a big deal,” Abi told her. “Maybe if he sees it, he’ll agree, and you can relax a little.”

Fat chance of that happening.

Fletch tapped his finger against his coffee mug, clearly impatient. Rheo, annoyed with him and with Abi, accessed the viral video on her phone and handed her phone to Fletch.

Rheo didn’t need to see the clip; it was burned into her memory. During a break in the General Assembly meeting, the cameras in the rotunda filmed the speaker, quietly talking to her aide. There was no noise until her voice, ten seconds in, came through the speakers, crystal clear.

“The damned idiots! Jesus, this isn’t rocket science. The planet is dying. Why can’t we agree on that? Anyone who denies climate change exists is a grade-A asshole in my book, What? What’s wrong? Oh shit!”

If Fletch smiled even a little, she’d stab him between the eyes with her fork. He wasn’t allowed to smile while he watched the worst moment of her life, the catalyst for everything going wrong in her career.

His eyes crinkled, and Rheo tightened the grip on her fork. “So, how did it happen?” he asked, passing her phone back.

Rheo gestured to Abi to explain.

“When translating, Rheo works in a soundproof booth. She was the lead translator on that day. The chair spoke in Spanish, Rheo translated into English, and the other translators translated from English to French, or English to Arabic...got it?”

Fletch nodded.

“When an interpreter is not actively translating, you’re supposed to switch the mic off,” Abi explained.

“And Rheo didn’t,” Fletch said. He shrugged and looked at Rheo. “You were right though. Climate denier politicians are a bunch of assholes.”

Rheo groaned. “Yeah, but you can see how insulting UN General Assembly members wasn’t a smart career move.”

“Rheo was sanctioned,” Abi told Fletch.Too much information, Abs, thanks.“That’s translating speak for saying she was disciplined, but they never released the name of the translator. The video went viral, but no one associated it with Rheo.”

“Except my boss, my boss’s boss, his boss, and all my colleagues,” Rheo muttered. “Nobody but them.”

Abi mimed a violinist playing. “You didn’t lose your job, Rheo.”

No, but it did start her on a spiral of self-doubt. The spiral widened and grew until she could barely function. And the more she tried to control her perfect, placid, and predictable life, the more the spiral intensified, turning into a whirlwind, then a tornado. Eventually, anxiety and self-doubt caused a crippling paralysis, enough to make her blank out on her next important assignment.

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