“Why do you need an armored car?” Peter asked. “Is this something I should worry about?”
“No. When I bought my last car it was already armored, and it turned out to be very helpful a couple of times, especially when I rolled it end-to-end. Mike Freeman’s company has a division that armors vehicles, and when I was out of a car, he lent this to me. I liked it, so I got the law firm to buy it for me. Mike gave them a good deal.”
“What was the other occasion when having an armored car helped?” Peter asked.
“Somebody threw something at me from a motorcycle that might have hurt me, except for the armored glass.” Stone didn’t mention that what had been thrown at him was a bullet.
They drove out to Brooklyn and beyond and pulled into Eduardo’s driveway at exactly twelve-thirty. Pietro, Eduardo’s butler, valet, and probably bodyguard, stepped out the front door and got the car doors for them. “Everybody is ready,” he said. He took their coats in the foyer, then led them down the hall in a direction Stone had never been in the house. He opened a set of double doors, and they stepped into a small, quite beautiful chapel.
Eduardo greeted them, and Stone introduced Arrington and Peter. Dino and his former wife, Mary Ann, and Ben were there, as were Bill and Marian Eggers, and then they were surprised to be introduced to the mayor of New York.
“His Honor will perform the ceremony,” Eduardo said.
“Do you have the license?” the mayor asked.
Stone handed it to him.
Eduardo arranged everybody in front of the altar, and the mayor read the ceremony from a small book. Dino dealt with the ring, Peter gave away his mother, and Marian Eggers served as matron of honor. Stone and Arrington kissed and the mayor dealt with the paperwork. “I’ll see that everything is filed,” he said.
Eduardo led them to his large living room, where his elderly sister supervised the pouring of champagne, and toasts were offered. Then Pietro opened the doors to the dining room, they found their place cards, and were seated. There followed a parade of food that could have fed everyone in a Salvation Army chapel, where, Dino whispered, most of it would end up, with the mayor delivering it personally.
After Christmas dinner they adjourned to Eduardo’s handsome library for coffee. Ben came over to Peter, whispered something to him, and Peter handed him an envelope from his little leather case. Ben went to his grandfather and asked if he could speak to him alone for a moment. They were out of the room for, perhaps, ten minutes, then returned. Ben flashed Peter a thumbs-up.
Stone leaned over to Peter, who sat between him and Arrington. “What was that all about?” he asked.
“Ben’s grandfather is going to help him change from Columbia to Yale, so that we can go to college together. He’s going to pass along my application, too.”
“You shouldn’t have asked Eduardo to do that without talking with us first,” Arrington said.
“I didn’t ask him, Ben did.”
“Still.”
“Mom, he’s just passing along my application. I think it’s better than mailing it in, don’t you?”
“I hope you both get in,” Stone said.
“We’ve both got the qualifications,” Peter replied. “It’s the interview that’s important, and at least they’ll know who we are when we get there.”
Stone looked at Arrington. “I don’t think Dino and I could have dealt with this as well as the boys have.”
Dino pulled up a chair. “I’ll second that,” Dino said.
Peter went over to talk with Ben and his grandfather.
“Ben’s not going to law school,” Dino said. “He wants to be a movie producer.”
“I can imagine where he got that idea,” Arrington said.
Stone spoke up. “I think it’s a good idea that they go to college together.”
“I’m for that, too,” Dino said. “I suppose you dealt with Peter’s birth certificate.”
Stone nodded. “Bill Eggers did it through an L.A. judge with whom we both went to law school.”
Later, Stone had an opportunity to talk with Eduardo.
“I’m very impressed with your son,” the older man said.