The Flight Portfolio

by Julie Orringer

What seemed clear to him was that, as ignorant as he’d been when he’d arrived, his work would have been a disaster on a grand scale if it hadn’t been for the others. If he’d had any success at all, if he’d managed to succeed far beyond his original mission, it was due to Hirschman’s fearless ingenuity, Miriam’s intelligence and expertise, Bingham’s proud refusal to follow the consulate’s line, Mary Jayne’s audacity and generosity, Danny and Theo’s sympathy with his cause, Jean’s knowledge of six languages, Gussie’s willingness to stay up all night, the surrealists’ aptitude for mounting parties and exhibitions when others were in danger of losing hope, Madame Nouguet’s talent for producing food for a dozen people from an empty pantry, and—though he could hardly bear to think of it—Zilberman’s hand on his shoulder, his voice like a father’s, perceiving Varian’s exhaustion and relieving him of it for some brief moments. And Grant: but he couldn’t think of that either, refused to consider it. What seemed true, what seemed the only truth, was that the work must go on, whether he was the one doing it or not. ________