America 1982-Chapter 517 - 100: Odelia’s Life Plan_2
"Impossible," Odelia said. "This is a standard event organized by the New Century Foundation, a small environmental cocktail party hosted by Bill."
"If I called you directly and said, Odelia, darling, forget about those poor black people in Africa, let’s roll in the sheets in Miami, how would you refuse me? So now, Diane is begging you to meet me, and to roll in the sheets with an invitation at that, plus the cost of the plane ticket can be reimbursed by the foundation," Tommy said to Odelia with a smile.
"Are you saying you arranged the cocktail party? There’s absolutely no need for that, Tommy..." Odelia was stunned for a moment, her pretty eyes fixed on Tommy, and it was only after a dozen seconds that she spoke uncertainly, "You’re joking, right?"
"Of course I’m joking. How could I do such a thing? But you do need to take a break. There are going to be some changes at the KeyBank board of directors soon, and someone else will be taking over your African projects... Jim argued with me a few times over this, I insisted..." Tommy looked at Odelia. "I mean to say, your job at KeyBank is coming to an end soon, and you’ve got a long vacation ahead."
When Odelia heard Tommy say her work in Africa was ending, she immediately sat up, looking very seriously at Tommy: "Hey, Tommy, you can’t decide everything for me. This is a very serious issue; what you’re doing is utterly disrespectful. You should at least consult my opinion first. I’ve always..."
"Calm down, dear, I’m not making decisions for you on my own. Can you let me finish, please? Jim and I had several serious arguments. He thinks you should continue your current work; he’s even more adamant than you are now, because the board thinks you’re doing a great job. It’s me... I just think that now is an opportunity for you to help more African women and children, while also having more time to stay in the US, to allow me to see you more often," Tommy said, sitting up and wrapping his arms around Odelia from behind, resting his head on her smooth shoulder, soothing her slight discontent:
"Jim once talked to me on the phone about the overseas projects of KeyBank and some dealings with United Nations organizations, brought up some of what he called interesting stories. I didn’t find those stories very amusing. I thought they were heartbreaking, which is why I thought of something more important than bringing them clean water, medicine, toilets."
"What did Jim say?" Odelia asked, hearing the seriousness in Tommy’s voice.
"Women’s rights, underage marriage, child abuse, human trafficking, and such issues. Jim told me he heard from a United Nations official firsthand that in some African countries, a second-hand AK47 assault rifle only sells for 5 US dollars with ten bullets thrown in, the second cheapest commodity in that country. And the first? Girls. With just three US dollars paid to the girl’s parents, you can buy a girl," Tommy said to Odelia:
"That bastard Jim said with his annual salary and bonus, he could buy all the women in that country. He finds that funny, but it made me think of another matter—the issue of the proliferation of laws in those African countries. Many countries in Africa have very incomplete laws, as those places are quite underdeveloped, not only in civilization but also materially. And laws concerning women’s rights and child protection are almost non-existent. Expecting those countries to enact relevant laws for the protection of women and children is less likely than France reoccupying them."
"You graduated with a degree in law, you’re a professional. You should use your professional knowledge to help those people. You’ve promoted many philanthropic projects in Africa over the years; you know how barbaric some of those African countries can be. For that reason, I think you should compile what you know into a report and submit it to the United Nations Women’s Rights Protection Association. Use your legal knowledge to do something for them, such as helping those backward countries fill in the gaps in their laws regarding women and children. I think that is truly a great cause. If feasible, you might need to cooperate with renowned legal scholars, judges, and lawyers from the United States and even other developed countries, pushing the legal development based on the realities of those countries," he continued.
"Leave the job of bringing water and fixing toilets in Africa to trashy white men like Jim," Tommy whispered in Odelia’s ear:
"Most importantly, this great work will allow you to spend more time in the United States and not have to fly overseas so often."
Odelia thought about it seriously and then shook her head: "It’s certainly a greater cause, but it’s not very feasible, Tommy. Those countries are independent; they wouldn’t accept someone from another country helping them revise their laws. Such action would be interfering with national sovereignty and would only irritate the government of that country."
"Our goal is to help more people, not make more countries dislike us, right?" Tommy said, understandingly nodding his head.
Odelia nodded, forgiving this man who had made decisions without her permission: "That’s right. Although you’ve suspended my work, I think you’re really kind-hearted, Tommy. I mean, the fact that you can think of such an issue through Jim’s jokes shows you’re a kind person."
"Whether I am kind or not is a topic we can discuss later. Firstly, what I just proposed was merely a bargaining chip. If those countries cannot accept United Nations interference in their legal issues, or if the United Nations Women’s Rights Protection Association and United Nations Children’s Rights Protection Association also find the idea unfeasible and refuse to promote it, then we can offer a more gentle suggestion. For example, you could collaborate with some legal scholars, judges, and lawyers to write one or more books about legal proceedings in various African countries. They shouldn’t be too complex, but rather more straightforward and easy to understand. For instance, if a woman is abused, she just needs to be able to read or have someone read to her from your book, and she would know how to resolve her problems legally in that country. These books wouldn’t be for sale, but distributed for free. It would require a lot of energy because you would need to collaborate with like-minded scholars to research those countries’ legal clauses, translate them, and then express those clauses in clearer and more straightforward language. And you would also need to fundraise for this project. Of course, as your boyfriend, I would be the first to donate, and I will provide as much help as I can," Tommy said, as if he knew Odelia would find his first suggestion unfeasible, so he immediately voiced his real idea.
