“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 travelers’ checks.”
“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 toward 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.
Su Ling continued to study the posted names as they walked toward each gate. “Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong?”
“No, no, and no,” he repeated as they passed gates eleven, twelve and thirteen.
Su Ling remained silent as they continued on—Bangkok, Zurich, Paris, London, before Nat came to a halt at gate twenty-one.
“Are you traveling to Rome and Venice with us, sir?” asked the lady behind the Pan Am desk.
“Yes,” said Nat. “The tickets are booked in the name of Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright,” he said as he turned to face his wife.
“You know something, Mr. Cartwright,” Su Ling said, “you are a very special man.”
Over the next four weekends Annie lost count of the number of potential homes the two of them viewed. A few were too large, some too small, while others were in a district they didn’t want to live in, and when they were in a neighborhood they liked, they simply couldn’t afford the asking price, even with Alexander Dupont & Bell’s assistance. Then one Sunday afternoon, they found exactly what they were looking for in Ridgewood, an
d within ten minutes of walking in the front door they had nodded to each other behind the agent’s back. Annie immediately phoned her mother. “It’s absolutely ideal,” she enthused. “It’s in a quiet neighborhood with more churches than bars, more schools than movie houses and it’s even got a river meandering right through the center of town.”
“And the price?” said Martha.
“A little more than we wanted to pay, but the realtor is expecting a call from my agent Martha Gates; if you can’t get the price down, Mom, I don’t know anyone who can.”
“Did you follow my instructions?” asked Martha.
“To the letter. I told the agent we were both schoolteachers, because you said they always hike the price for lawyers, bankers and doctors. He looked suitably disappointed.”
Fletcher and Annie spent the afternoon strolling around the town, praying that Martha could get them a sensible deal, because even the station was only a short drive from their front door.
After four long weeks finalizing the deal, Fletcher, Annie and Lucy Davenport spent their first night at their new home in Ridgewood, New Jersey on October 1, 1974. No sooner had they closed the front door than Fletcher announced, “Do you think you can leave Lucy with your mother for a couple of weeks?”
“It doesn’t worry me having her around while we’re getting the house in shape,” said Annie.
“That wasn’t what I had in mind,” said Fletcher. “I just thought it was time we had a holiday, a sort of second honeymoon.”
“But…”