intro Ben, intro Thomas

Part 3 Introduction Ben Saultner

"What it does, it works on your enzym system and this affects the functioning of a lot of organs. You pancreas is effected and your stomach but we can still turn it around, it's not uncurable. Remember, you are not in trouble mrs Saultner." Dr. Barloski flipped through the pages of the medical report that was made up at the hospital. Leonora had to stay overnight to get some testing done but all of this didn't really interest Ben Saultner very much. Dr. Barlowski degrees lined up on the wall boasted a world of knowledge. Although his long pauzes and checking his email gave away he wanted us to leave. I looked at Leonora. She took the news well. She had been worrying since Barloski's secretary had called that the results were in.

"Thank you very much doctor" Ben finally spoke up reaching out his hand to the doctor.

"No problem mister and mrs Saultner, I'll let Maura schedule new tests at the hospital. She'll work around your shop hours with the hospital so you can come in early."

"I appreciate it."

Ben waited for his wife to make appointments with Maura. Leonora was wearing her classic high block heels. She had seen them in the Anne of Green Gables movies and Ben found them in a shop in Italy. I had pulled them from the rack. EUR415. Well certainly not cheap. Leonora was sitting on a stool in the store. Boxes were spread out around her and the lady helped her fit shoes.

"Oh darling these are all so cute, I'm thinking about buying these red ones with the straps or the black ones. Although the black ones are really chique and probably not for every day walking... what you got there Ben?"

Ben held the shoes in the air and Leonora fell silent. He appreciated the silence and secretly found out he didn't like that rambling she did. Ben saw how pretty Leonora actually was. Her fine lines and her thick hair on the frail body she had. Yeah, she was pretty. How on earth she had grown these huge breasts was a true gods miracle but that was Leonora. A truly jummy woman,a cake many men wanted to take a bite from. Probably more than one bite.

"Oh Ben you are..." Leonora stood up and took the shoes. In rapid Italian she explained the shoe lady on the floor and the lady smiled back. The shoes fitted her perfectly. She could have been Anne of Green Gables.

The ride home was silent. Ben Saulter overthought a jacket and what colours to use, his fingers almost felt the fabric. He considered a light colour difference between the jacket and the pants but he put the thought away and focused on the traffic. Stopping a good idea somewhere in the middle was a strategy that worked pretty. The idea might not come out as nice if every detail was thought through.

On 89 Bloomfield he looked at the sign he loved 'Saulter, HM tailor' It was the only house with a blue roof.

"The funny thing is that I don't feel bad at all. Leonora said suddenly when Ben pulled the car key from the slot. " Should I change my schedule at school you think?"

"No don't be silly. But I have been thinking... Why don't I stop working an hour earlier and prepare supper for us from now on? I can ask Margaret to get us groceries. By the time you get home I can have supper ready. I can research a bit what we should change in our meals. And get you better."

Ben had a superior feeling.

"Would you do that?" Leonara asked with unbelieve.

"Thomas can finish the suits and do hemming the last hour of the day on his own and I can help you!"

Leonora stared at the little particles in the sun beam that lit up the dash.

"Well it would save me an awful lot of time"

"And I want the best for you"

The studio Ben worked in was on the back side of the house on Bloomfield 89. Ben Saultn carefully cut fabric and used his steady hand to mark pleats and plackets of men's jackets and trousers. Ben's assistant, Thomas, worked silently alongside Ben Saultner.

"What happened?" Ben asked

"What do you mean sir?"

"You're so silent. Did you go out last night. Or got dumped again?"

Thomas smiled. Fire red hair was peaking out under his newsboy hat. Thomas made his own fashion, long hight pinstriped pants were not fashion but he loved them.

"Nah, its that girl at the consulate"

"Haven't forgotten about her..."

"Nah..." Thomas confirmed and it went silent again. "I got the dress done for miss Oland. Hideous fabric by the way but I got 'ir done"

"Good, I'm glad you're good with that stuff."

Clients came by to get shirts, pants and jackets measured. Effortless Mr Saulter calculated how much extra ease to use for thick thies and some women exposed their oversized bossoms and behinds to him pretending they hadn't meant to. In the afternoon Thomas took over and mr Saulter would go to the Market on Hayfield to get fresh vegetables for his beautiful Leonora. He washed them carfefully and cooked them on a timer to not loose too many vitamins

On the morning of June 6^th there was quite some excitement on Bloomfield 89. The alarm clock sounded at 4:30 am and Mr Saulter got up and started shaving with a knife. He thought back about a song from the nineties, or was it later?

Pump up the jam, pump it up
While you feet are stompin'
And the jam is pumpin'
Look at here the crowd is jumpin'
Pump it up a little more

Yeah pump it up a litte more.'

"Well I wish that fucking clown will go early" Ben mumbled to his image in the bathroom mirror.

The knife slid across his chin and Ben listened to the scraping sound of the hair being cut off leaving a perfect shiny skin. Ben took a shower and felt completely new after he was done. In the kitchen he baked a nice omelet for Leonora and put it in the small Sears heater oven at 100 Celcius. He didn't wait for her today but went to work right away.

"Good morning Thomas"

"Good morning sir"

"You think we should make some coffee"
"That is a good idea, although the prime minister explained how he's trying to cut down caffeine"

"Wonder why that would be" Ben Saultner said and he motioned his hands in half a circle up and down from his belly. Thomas laughed.

"Yeah I guess you're right sir. Oland wouldn't exactly qualify as a ballerina"

The silence returned suddenly when the doorbell rang.

"Let the charade begin" Ben said.

Thomas let in the security guards. Ben stood at the cutting table and watched how the man in a cheap Italian suit tapped Thomas down. The security guys inspected the building. To me it seemed they were quite confident, they had been here before. Many times. And there was no danger. Ben Saultners thoughts went over a small and brilliant plan.

"Turn around sir" the security guard said

Ben turned around and the woman scanned for metal objects. The scanner produced a zooming beep.

"Can you empty your pockets" It wasn't even a question.

Ben put the measuring tape in his pocket on the table. The ends had metal strip so they wouldn't curl.

"Turn around again please You know the drill sir, we will stay close to the PM at any time, you cannot use scissors or unpicking tools in his presence and measurements around the neck can only be taken with a paper measuring tape. Do you understand?"

"I understand ma'amr" Ben Saultner said loud and the waiting started. It only took six minutes for the parade to appear at the front door. A lot friendlier this time Prime Minister Oland stepped through the door. He had clearly lost weight Ben noticed, 'wonder why' he thought. Ben bent a little when the PM

"Goodmorning Ben" Oland said and shook Ben's hand.

"Goodmorning [Your Honor] you look mighty fine"

"Thank you, I feel pretty good. Which is a bloody miracle with the medication I'm taking"

"Well sir that means your medications works"

"I hope so, I need to live another 30 years or so " Oland laughed.

Saultner fitted pants on Oland in silence. Saultner clipped the allowance of the pants under the guarding eye of the security guard. Saultner would rather have used pins, tailor pins, like he was taught at the Tailoring Institute de Bordeaux.

"I am selling my 1973 BMW M3"

"Are you sir?" Ben said.

"Yeah, I still have 2 others so if you're interested. Or your wife, what's her name again, man, what a beauty she is!"

"Leonara. Yes she is very beautiful"

"How is she doing nowadays. I remember her presenting those Polish snacks, they were very good. Everytime I'm in the house trying not to fall asleep I think of her and her cookies. It keeps me quite awake."

"Rogaliki you mean?"

"Man they were good"

"We have some in the other room, Leonara baked them yesterday"

"John be a dear and get them for me" Oland commanded his security guard. "God you guys are wonderful." Oland said when John was gone. There was a moment of silence and Ben Saultner hoped that Thomas had understood his instructions. And as it appeared Thomas was very good at it. "How was Germany?" Ben asked.

"Oh Ben, we are doing awesome. We got the contracts with the Japanese and everything is backed up with the African diamond industry, DeBeers you know them?"

"I have heard of them" Saultner said. He failed to say that the whole DeBeers family made a trip to his tailor shop at the beginning of October to have their suits fitted. Oland didn't need to know everything.

"We have an estimate of 519 Billion US dollars and you know where things went wrong so we are backed by another 500 in case. We will form a new nation. We will kill them with kindness!" Oland laughed.

Saultner cringed by the idea that his beloved France would be swallowed up in one nation.