We were in bed early and had fallen asleep almost immediately so we were almost awake when the alarm went off at six. “Tell me, husband, why we’re getting up so early.”
“We have a ten o’clock appointment at the Wilmington airport.”
“They’re going to let Lady on the plane with us?”
“Sure, dogs fly all the time, even flying commercial. But, as you know, I’ve arranged for a charter.”
“A charter?”
“Yeah…you, me, and Lady with the flight crew and a steward. I have to find that vest that John gave us.”
“Look in the hall closet. Should I get a suitcase? How many nights should I pack for? What kind of clothes will I need? Oh—I’m so excited!”
“There are two 24-inch cases in the closet in the blue room—one for each of us. I think we should take a carry-on for toiletries, shaving—you know…whatever. I’ll put Lady out and come right back to help you.” I kissed her quickly and led Lady down the hall.
Jennie had the bed made and the open suitcases on it when we returned. “We have reservations for five nights so I’m taking two suits and maybe four shirts. I’d take that coral dress you look so good in and some good casual clothes. Leave room in your suitcase so we can do some serious shopping for you. If necessary we can always get another bag or two. Would you like to meet my mother?”
“Of course; you’ve never mentioned your parents or anything about growing up other than studying at MIT.”
“We can talk at length on the plane. We’ll fly into LaGuardia and take a limo into Manhattan. It’s not that far, but we could spend close to an hour because of the traffic. Well, you’ll see for yourself once we get there.” We spent almost a half hour packing before taking a quick shower. Jennie was right. The vest was in the hall closet. Lady stood perfectly still while I fitted it around her shoulders. It looked to be comfortable and didn’t restrict her movements at all.
I locked up and we were on the road heading north by eight. Wilmington was almost an hour away and we needed breakfast before boarding the plane. We could eat on board, but I hated eating in the air. Truth be told, I occasionally suffered from motion sickness. I’d been sick several times on ocean cruises, but never on either of my small boats. I found that difficult to explain and even harder to understand.
We stopped at Golden Corral in Shallotte for their weekend buffet and ate heartily. I had no trouble bringing Lady into the restaurant. She stayed at heel whenever Jennie or I went to the buffet, but sat quietly at our feet, even when I slipped her a piece of bacon. We left at nine sharp and I pulled into the general aviation lot at the airport at 9:40. I removed the cases from the trunk while Jennie held Lady on her leash. We met the pilot inside the building and he helped with our bags. They even had a special harness to secure Lady in the seat. They’d covered the seat with a soft terry-cloth slip cover, both for Lady’s comfort and to protect the leather seat from Lady’s claws.
Jennie had Lady lie across the seat with her head across Jennie’s thigh. I clipped the short harness into the seat belt buckle. The steward explained that this was just for takeoff and landing when the inertial stresses were greatest. There I go again with nerd speak. It’s inertia that seems to push you back into the seat when the pilot rams the throttle forward. It’s kind of complicated physics so –please-just take my word for it.
We had just taken off when Jennie released Lady. She curled up at Jennie’s feet. Jennie looked across the aisle with a smile and asked me about my parents. “I grew up in East Setauket. That’s a community on the north shore of Suffolk County in Long Island. My father is a professor of chemistry at Stony Brook State University about two miles from our home. He must have done pretty well because Mom was the only stay-at-home mother in our neighborhood.
“I attended the public schools there in what’s known as the Three Village School District. The schools there have an excellent reputation. I’d guess that more than ninety percent of the graduates go on to some form of higher education. Anyway, like most kids I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license. I was so proud the day I did I drove Mom’s car to the university to show it to him. Instead, I opened the door to his laboratory to find some fat bitch lying across the lab table with my dear old dad behind her, his pants pooled up around his ankles.”
“Oh no, Doug; how terrible for you!”
“He was so occupied that he never even noticed I was there. I walked up almost within arm’s length before speaking. “I thought it was dangerous to sit or lie on a lab table, Dad—something about acid on the surface. Good to see you’re following good safe lab procedure. Don’t ever speak to me again. You’re dead as far as I’m concerned.” I turned on my heels and left, but not before seeing that he never missed a beat.
“I drove home in a fog and it’s a miracle that I didn’t kill someone on the way. Mom knew the instant I walked into the house from the expression on my face exactly what had happened. ‘Dear God,’ she told me. ‘You caught him, didn’t you?’ It turned out that she had caught him on three separate occasions. I thought that I loved my dad before that day. After, I couldn’t have hated him more. I’ve never spoken to him since…not even a single word. There wasn’t much he could have done about it. I was much bigger and stronger than he was. I was about a month from graduation so I left home in September and I’ve never gone back while he was there. I’ve seen my mother quite a few times, but never him.”
“I feel so badly for you, Doug. That’s as bad as my story.”
“No…not even close; I never had to suffer physically the way you did and when I left home I went to college for six years. You had to worry about your very survival every single day, but no more…never again.” I rose from my seat and walked to Jennie. Our kiss would have lasted longer were it not for the steward who asked us if we wanted a drink. We declined. It was too early for alcohol and the flight was only two hours long. I kissed Jennie quickly and returned to my seat.
Using the in-plane phone I placed an important call. I had just ended it when we were told to prepare for landing. Jennie called Lady up to her position on the seat and fifteen minutes later we were on the approach path, flying low over Flushing Bay to the runway that extended almost all the way to Riker’s Island. Ten minutes after touchdown we pulled into the General Aviation area and stopped. The door was opened and I walked out, turning to help Jennie and Lady down the steep steps. Our stretch limo awaited us just outside the fence.
We left the airport at 12:43 and pulled up in front of the Plaza fifty-one minutes later. The bell staff couldn’t get to our bags fast enough. Ten minutes later we had registered and were shown into our suite. It was exactly as requested—more than nine floors above the street with views of Central Park just across the street. I locked our few valuables in the safe and we removed our clothes to the dresser and closet.
Once that was done we went down in the elevator so we could get Lady into the park. I had brought a garden trowel and a supply of plastic bags to dispose of her wastes. Her bowls and a ten pound bag of Dog Chow would do for the next five days. We crossed at the light and stepped into the park.
“So this is Central Park. It’s beautiful and so big.”
“It really is great, Jennie, but it’s a good place to stay away from after dark. It can be dangerous, with groups of street punks looking for an easy mark.”
“Is that why we brought Lady?”
“It’s part of the reason. I’ll buy you more than a hundred thousand dollars in jewelry. That alone is reason to be careful. Of course, if we get robbed, just hand over the cash and the jewels. They can be replaced; you can’t.” Lady had sniffed around a few trees before squatting to do her business. I was right behind her to clean up her mess which was fortunate because a city cop was only twenty feet away on the footpath. I knew the law in New York City was often ignored, but not by me. I dropped the bag in a trash receptacle and we crossed the street to the Plaza then turned left, walking about a block and a half to Luke’s Lobster for their lobster roll and Cokes.
After lunch we went back toward Fifth Avenue and turned south. A block later we entered Harry Winston’s. The service here has always been, well, let’s just call it “attentive.” A fortyish woman greeted us. “I was told to ask for Martin,” I said as I handed her one of my business cards from when I was CEO of Software for Idiots, Inc. She retreated to the rear of the store, returning less than two minutes later with the manager. My contact at Vanguard had phoned him to discuss the transfer of funds. He was told it had been done probably dozens of times and was one of their preferred means of payment. There were no credit card charges and payment was immediate. I asked to see an assortment of engagement rings.
Jennie was offered a seat at a low glass counter as Martin first measured her finger while an assistant brought out four trays, each of which had at least twenty rings of various sizes and designs. She looked at me then told me, “I don’t want to spend too much.”
I grinned as I replied, “For you there’s no such thing as too much. Find the one you love and ignore the price. We’re here to spend money and I have more than enough to buy out the entire store.” I leaned down to kiss her. I could see her shock in her eyes. She knew I was rich, but I was much richer than she thought. I’d explain everything to her tonight.
Martin showed her maybe twenty different designs to see what type of ring she wanted. Once that was decided there was the question of size. Jennie was a tall woman, but slender even after gaining weight over the past few months. Her fingers matched her body—long and slender. Even though I could afford the biggest ring in the store, a really big ring looked ridiculous on her finger. She finally decided on a blue-white stone of two carats in a yellow gold setting. I thought it was perfect.
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