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pounds, minimum. Fortunately, none of Chai's new pants had yet been to the tailor; if they had, the waists wouldn't have fit a normal human being. In their unaltered state, they were almost big enough for me. If I gave up exhaling.
    I was not allowed to skip lunch, however. Donatella would prefer to see me with three or four kilos of body fat less, she said, but not at the expense of lunch. “A meal is more than calories,” she said. “In Europe we do not eat standing up or in the car and we do not drink powdered substances or bars of protein and call this a food.”
    “Okay” I said, “but aren't we introducing the trainees to America?”
    “Introduce, yes. Turn them loose, no. Europeans come here and gain ten kilos. Too many choices. Kimberly takes care of that. We cannot send piglets on a press tour.”
    “I thought food was Grusha's department.”
    “Grusha cooks what Kimberly tells her. You will see how we work, as one great organism. Now, at lunch we make the first impression, so you wear these pants and the Roberto Cavalli top. With the Chanel loafers. How lucky Chai also had feet the size of skis.”
    When I was dressed, Parashie led me outside and over a flagstone path that connected Donatella's house to the other three. We passed a gardener wielding a leaf blower, the body of which was attached to his back like a baby koala. Its noise was considerable, and Parashie and I suspended conversation until we were past him. A dozen other men ate lunch on the grass, in the shade of the adjoining house. This was one heck of a gardening crew.
    “And where do you live, Parashie?” I asked. “Here on campus or somewhere else?”
    She laughed. “That's funny. ‘Campus.’ We all live on the campus. I live in the house I take you to now, with Yuri and Kimberly. Grusha too. Alik lives in House of Blue. That is where the trainees live. You have a nice room there. It was Chai's.”
    Naturally. “And the other house?”
    “Green House. That is for the workers. They build a pool. Yuri lets them sleep there. That house, it is not finished inside.”
    I hesitated, not wanting to seem too inquisitive. “Were you friends with Chai? She wasn't that much older than you, was she?”
    “Of course we were friends. We are all friends, all of us on the team.” She seemed a little less perky, though, so I searched for a safer topic.
    “What's your job title, Parashie?”
    “Production assistant. Like the movies. Alik gave me this title, like a joke. Yuri thought it was clever.”
    “That must be interesting, living in the same house as the boss.”
    “Well, Yuri's not just my boss. He's my father.”
    “Oh.” This surprised me. “So is Donatella your mother?”
    “No, my stepmother. Like Kimberly”
    Was she from Yuri's first marriage? Before I could figure out how to ask gracefully, we were inside Yuri's house, and Yuri was coming down a black marble staircase toward us.
    I was taken in a powerful embrace and kissed on both cheeks, for the second time that day, then Yuri held me at arm's length and positively beamed at me. He turned to his daughter. “Well, Parashie? How do you like her? Is she not exactly right?”
    “I like her.”
    “Good. Good. You look splendid, Wollie. I see Donatella's been working on you.”
    “They're Chai's clothes,” Parashie told him.
    He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “Yes? Good of you to fit into them.”
    “My pleasure.” I was annoyed at myself for feeling so pleased with Yuri's compliments. I was a sucker for charisma. Even as my mind whispered,
He's just saying that to win you over
, I found myself basking in the light of his attention. It's a quality that's fine when you're in primary school, but fairly pathetic when you're all grown up and six feet tall.
    “Come into the great room, let's get you a drink. Sweetheart, see if you can find Alik for us.” Parashie ran off, and Yuri led me through a formal dining room into a large, light-filled space dominated by a long