‘And have you thought about where we’re going to live?’ asked Annie. ‘I don’t want Lucy brought up in New York.’
‘I agree,’ said Fletcher, as he tickled his daughter under the chin, ‘I’ve been talking to Matt Cunliffe and he told me he faced the same problem when he joined the firm.’
‘So what does Matt recommend?’
‘He suggested three or four small towns in New Jersey that are less than an hour away by train from Grand Central Station. So I thought we might drive up there next Friday and spend a long weekend seeing if there’s any particular area we like.’
‘I suppose we’ll have to rent a place to begin with,’ said Annie, ‘until we’ve saved enough to buy something of our own.’
‘It seems not, because the firm would prefer us to purchase our own property.’
‘It’s all very well for the firm to prefer something, but what if we simply can’t afford it?’
‘That doesn’t seem to pose a problem either,’ said Fletcher, ‘because Alexander Dupont and Bell will cover the cost with an interest-free loan.’
‘That’s very generous of them,’ said Annie, ‘but if I know Bill Alexander, there has to be an ulterior motive.’
‘There sure is,’ said Fletcher. ‘It ties you into the firm, and Alexander Dupont and Bell are very proud of having the smallest turnover of employees of any legal practice in New York. It’s becoming obvious to me that once they’ve gone to all the trouble of selecting you and training you in their ways, they then make damn sure they don’t lose you to a rival firm.’
‘Sounds to me like a shotgun marriage,’ said Annie. She paused. ‘Have you ever mentioned your political ambitions to Mr Alexander?’
‘No, I wouldn’t have passed first base if I had, and in any case, who knows how I’ll feel in two or three years’ time?’
‘I know exactly how you’ll feel,’ said Annie, ‘in two years, ten years, twenty years. You’re happiest when you’re running for something, and I’ll never forget when Dad was re-elected to the Senate, you were the only person who was more excited about the result than he was.’
‘Don’t ever let Matt Cunliffe hear you say that,’ said Fletcher with a smile, ‘because you can be sure Bill Alexander would know about it ten minutes later, and the firm are just not interested in anyone who isn’t fully committed. Remember their motto, there are twenty-five hilling hours in every day.’
When Su Ling woke, she could hear Nat on the phone in the next room. She wondered who he could possibly be talking to so early in the morning. She heard the phone click, and a moment later her husband returned to the bedroom.
‘I want you up and packed, little flower, because we have to be out of here in under an hour.’
‘What...?’
‘In under an hour.’
Su Ling jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. ‘Captain Cartwright, am I allowed to know where you are taking me?’ she called above the sound of running water.
‘All will be revealed once we’re on the plane, Mrs Cartwright.’
‘Which direction?’ she asked the moment the taps had been turned off.
‘I’ll tell you when the plane has taken off, not before.’
‘Are we going home?’
‘No,’ said Nat, without offering to elaborate.
Once she was dry, Su Ling concentrated on what to wear while Nat picked up the phone again.
‘An hour doesn’t give a girl a lot of time,’ said Su Ling.
‘That was the idea,’ said Nat, who was asking the front desk if they could order him a cab.
‘Damn,’ said Su Ling as she looked at all the presents. ‘There just isn’t going to be enough room to cram them all in.’
Nat replaced the receiver, walked over to the cupboard and produced a suitcase she’d never seen before. ‘Gucci?’ she asked, surprised by Nat’s unusual extravagance.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Nat, ‘not for ten dollars.’
Su Ling laughed as her husband picked up the phone once more. ‘I need a porter and could the bill be ready by the time we come down, as we’ll be checking out.’ He paused, listened, and said, ‘Ten minutes.’
He turned to see Su Ling buttoning up her blouse. He thought about her finally falling asleep the night before, and his decision to leave Korea as quickly as possible. Every moment spent in that city would only remind her...
At the airport Nat waited in the queue to collect the tickets, and thanked the woman behind the counter for dealing with his early morning request so promptly. Su Ling had gone off to order breakfast while he checked their bags in. Nat then took the escalator to the first floor restaurant, to find his wife seated in a corner, chatting to a waitress.
‘I haven’t ordered for you,’ she said as Nat joined her, ‘because I told the waitress that after a week of marriage I wasn’t sure if you’d turn up.’
Nat looked up at the waitress. ‘Yes, sir?’ she said.
‘Two eggs, sunny side up, bacon, hash browns and black coffee.’
The waitress studied her pad. ‘Your wife has already ordered that for you.’
Nat turned and looked at Su Ling. ‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
‘You’ll find out once we’re at the gate, and if you go on being a nuisance, not until we land.’
‘But...’ she began.
‘I’ll blindfold you if necessary,’ said Nat as the waitress returned with a pot of steaming coffee. ‘Now I need to ask you some serious questions,’ Nat said, and saw that Su Ling immediately tensed. He pretended not to notice. He would have to remember not to tease her too much for the next few days as she so obviously still had one thing uppermost in her mind. ‘I recall you telling my mother that when Japan came on-fine with the computer revolution, the entire technological process would speed up.’
‘We’re going to Japan?’
‘No, we’re not,’ said Nat, as his order was placed in front of him. ‘Now concentrate, because I may have to rely on your expertise.’
‘The whole industry is on the gallop right now,’ said Su Ling, ‘Canon, Sony, Fujitsu have already overtaken the Americans. Why? Are you thinking of looking into new IT companies? In which case, you should consider...’
‘Yes and no,’ said Nat as he turned his head and listened carefully to an announcement on the PA system. He checked the bill and covered it with his last few Korean notes, and then stood up.
‘Going somewhere, are we, Captain Cartwright?’ asked Su Ling.
‘Well, I am,’ said Nat, ‘because that was my last call, and by the way, if you have other plans, I’ve got the tickets and the travellers’ cheques.’
‘Then I’m stuck with you, aren’t I?’ said Su Ling as she quickly drained her coffee and checked the departure board to see which gate was showing final calls. There were at least a dozen. ‘Honolulu?’ she said as she caught up with him.
‘Why would I want to take you to Honolulu?’ asked Nat.
‘To lie on the beach and make love all day.’
‘No, we’re going somewhere where we can meet my former lovers by day, while we still make love all night.’
‘Saigon?’ said Su Ling, as another city flicked up on the departure board. ‘Are we going to visit the scene of Captain Cartwright’s past triumphs?’
‘Wrong direction,’ said Nat, as he continued walking towards the international departure gate. Once their passports and tickets had been checked, Nat didn’t bother to stop at duty free, as he continued heading for the check-in desks.
‘Bombay?’ hazarded Su Ling as they passed gate number one.
‘I don’t think there are many of my old lovers to be found in India,’ Nat assured her as they passed gates two, three and four.