De setting: een slaapkamer ergens in het Witte Huis, niet zo lang geleden, s’avonds even na elven. Zij ligt al in bed, hij zit nog achter zijn laptop.
“Barack, come to bed. It’s late.”
“One moment Michele, I’m just finishing my preparations.”
“Preparations – what for?”
“Well, remember I told you about that Nuclear Security Summit I am putting together with Angela and Francois…”
“Angela and Francois… who are they again?”
“Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany and Francois Hollande, president of France… Come on, Michele, by now you should know who they are…!”
“Well, Barack, then call them Merkel and Hollande like the rest of the world does! But what are you preparing?”
“Well, the summit is in the Netherlands, and I am just looking at websites of hotels and caterers over there.”
“Don’t you have people who can do that sort of thing for you?”
“Of course, but the CIA tells me food in Holland isn’t all that wonderful and the hotels aren’t that amazing either. Apparently they have great healthcare, but food and hotels…”
“So how are YOU going to find good food and hotels from here?”
“Well, believe it or not Michele, I have found this website of this Dutch photographer, and he has some pretty wonderful images of this catering company and this really nice hotel… I’m thinking we should go there. You should come: it’s right on the beach!”
“Really? What hotel and catering company is that?”
“Well, the catering company is called van der Linde, and the hotel is House Ter Down… I can’t pronounce these names — but I bet Mark can.”
“Mark? Who’s Mark?”
“Mark Rutte, Dutch prime minister. Nice guy, smiles all the time…”
“Barack, come to bed…”
“One more moment, dear… I’m just going to give Mark a call and tell him to check out the website for this photographer!”
“Now? It’s like 5 AM over there! You can’t call Mark now!”
“Sure I can. I am the leader of the free world. Gotta make sure Putin doesn’t get there first! Besides, Mark is a bachelor and I doubt he ever sleeps!”
Ik zeg niet dat het zo gegaan is, maar feit is dat de Amerikaanse delegatie verblijft in Hotel Huis Ter Duin, en dat de catering tijdens de Nuclear Security Summit wordt verzorgd door Van Der Linde Catering — beide partijen waar ik mooi beeldmateriaal voor mocht verzorgen.
