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"Of course I am Now, let's start with the relevant history In 1960 or '61, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, or FSLN, was founded"

Tully wrote as fast as she could

For just under teeks Tully worked her ass off Eighteen, twenty hours a day she was reading, writing, s In the few rare hours when she wasn't working or trying to sleep, she went to the kind of stores she'd never frequented before--caht pocketknives and netted safari hats and hiking boots Everything and anything she could think of If they were in the jungle and Edna wanted a da to produce it

By the time they actually left, she was nervous At the airport, Edna, wearing a pair of razor-pressed linen pants and a white cotton blouse, took one look at Tully's

For the endless hours of their flights, through Dallas and Mexico City and finally onto a sua, Edna fired questions at Tully

The plane landed in what looked to Tully like a backyard Men--boys, really--in ca rifles Children cale to play in the air kicked up by the propellers The dichoto Tully knew she'd always reot out of the plane until she reboarded the flight for home five days later, she had precious little tiery

Edna was a les, listening to the shrieking of howler ator-lined rivers Sometimes they were blindfolded, sole, while Edna taped her intervieith el jefe, the general in charge, Tully talked to the troops

The trip opened her eyes to a world she'd never seen before; more than that, it showed her who she was The fear, the adrenaline rush, the story; it turned her on like nothing ever had before

Later, when the story was done and she and Edna were back in their hotel in Mexico City sitting on the balcony outside Edna's rooht shots of tequila, Tully said, "I can't thank you enough, Edna"

Edna took another straight shot and leaned back in her chair The night was quiet It was the first tiunfire in days

"You did well, kid"

Tully's pride welled to almost painful proportions "Thank you I learned more from you in the past feeeks than I learned in four years of college"

"So, nment"

"Anywhere, anyti Nelson Mandela"

"Countorange glow fros under her eyes In this light she looked ten years older than usual, and tired; ot a boyfriend?"

"With hed and poured herself another shot "Hardly"

"Yeah," Edna said "The story of ret it?" Tully asked If they hadn't been drinking she never would have asked such a personal question, but tequila had blurred the lines between them for just this ues instead of icon/newbie "Making this your life, I eneration, at least, you couldn't do this job and be et married--I did; three tiet about kids When a story broke, I needed to be there, period It could have beenday and I'd have left So I've lived by myself" She looked at Tully "And I've loved it Every daives a shit? I here I wanted to be every second ofthatbaptized into the religion she'd always believed in "Amen to that"

"So, what do you know about South Africa?"

CHAPTER TWENTY

The first twelve months of motherhood was a riptide of cold dark water that all too often sucked Kate under

It was e how ill-equipped she turned out to be for this blessed event that had been her secret girlhood drea, in fact, that she told no one how overwhelhtly and saidthat had ever happened to her It was even true

Yet soeous, pale-skinned, dark-haired, brown-eyed daughter was more than a handful From the moment she came home Marah was sick Ear infections followed each other like cars on a train; just when one ended, another began Colic caused her to cry in-consolably for hours at a time Kate had lost count of the ti roo daughter and quietly crying herself

Marah would be a year old in three days and she had yet to sleep through the night Four hours was her record so far Thus, in the past twelve ht Johnny always offered to get up In the beginning he'd even gone so far as to throw back the covers, but Kate had always stopped hih she often felt like one

Johnny had a job; it was that si up in the night was her job At first she'd done it willingly, then at least with a sh, when Marah let out her first wail at eleven o'clock, Kate found herself praying for strength

There were other probleone to hell She was pretty sure this was yet another ripple in the no-sleep pool No amount of makeup or moisturizer helped Her skin, always pale, was J P Patches white lately, except for the shadows under her eyes, which were a lovely shade of brown She'd lost all of her baby weight except for ten pounds, but when you were five-foot-three, ten pounds o sizes She hadn't worn anything but sweats in almost a year

She needed to start on an exercise program Last week she'd found her old Jane Fonda workout tapes, a leotard, and leg war

"Today's the day," she said aloud as she carried her daughter back to bed and gently tucked her in beneath the expensive pink and white cashift fro Marah chose to sleep with No matter what toys or blankets Kate offered, Tully's was the one "Try to sleep till seven o'clock Mo, Kate went back to bed and snuggled up to her husband

He kissed her lips, lingering as if , and then he murmured, "You're so beautiful"

She opened her eyes, staring blearily at him "Okay, who is she? Guilt is the only reason you'd say I was beautiful at this godforsaken hour"

"Are you kidding? With yourthree wives The last thing I want is another woman"

"But sex would be nice"