Uncomfortable meetings

must occur on a regular basis in the world of politics and diplomacy. Looking at the body language between Mr Kim and Mr Trump yesterday I doubt either of them was feeling relaxed about the occasion. Mr Kim certainly wasn't. "The eyes of "my people" on me? Fine. That's where they should be. The eyes of the rest of the world? No, I don't really care for that."
Mr Trump was also looking uneasy. I suspect he has been given a sharp behind the scenes reminder of the fact that he is Mr President and not Mr Head-of-the-company. 
The Senior Cat had cousins, now deceased, in the diplomatic service of this country. One of them rose high in the ranks. He was still alive when I was at law school in the nation's capital. We didn't share the same surname which was probably fortunate for me as connections count for a lot in law, diplomacy, and politics.  The nation's capital thrives on all three. 
Of course one of the staff in the law school inevitably found out - and told the rest of them. Yes, I was "X..'s cousin - first cousin once removed."  Fortunately for me he was very highly regarded, in fact regarded with some awe even though he was officially retired. 
Certainly his retirement had not stopped them calling him in on occasion. Sometimes he and his wife still hosted dinners for visiting dignitaries. I went to the occasional one if there was a need for a female to even  up the numbers. Of course there were other people they could have asked but his wife would phone me and say, "We need to do a dinner for.... and we thought it might be interesting for you to meet...."
And yes, it would be interesting to meet people from X or  Y country and listen to them talk.
And sometimes it would be, "We need to do a dinner for....and it might be a bit awkward so could you come along and help...."
There would be perhaps just two people they knew didn't get along particularly well. Relationships between their different countries might be a little tense right then. 
So I would prowl off decently dressed for the occasion and make polite conversation over an excellent meal and, once in a while, talk to people about my ideas for what became International Literacy Year and why I was doing a law degree as a "mature age" student and how I was tutoring English as a Foreign Language students at the same time. 
I never expected to meet any of them again and, for the most part, I didn't. They were not the sort of people for whom the Governor-General or the Prime Minister of the day held dinner parties but they were often people who would be attempting to work their way up to that level. 
There was often tension in the air and the Senior Cat's cousin would deftly smooth things over, change the subject and generally ensure that the uncomfortable meetings became something everyone could handle. 
Ms W's father was in the nation's capital yesterday. He left me a message this morning saying that the Senior Cat's cousin has not been entirely forgotten even now a decade or more after his death. Apparently someone said they could have done with him at the meeting between Mr Kim and Mr Trump. 
I couldn't help wondering what a dinner party for both men would have been like say twenty years ago. It might have been an interesting occasion.