It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to…
I’m definitely going to have to get a good long swim in tomorrow morning before we head off for our flights back to the UK. Right after Nat’s interview, Milly, the Bauer’s housekeeper, insisted on providing a ton of burgers and fries for all the KWT-TV crew as Nat chatted away with another of Lorna’s researchers, telling them about the new scholarship scheme at Allegheny and then about his plans for the remainder of the summer before he goes back to college. I can see how Nat works now, he’s subtly drip feeding them ideas for another mini-documentary about the college, but with him being the key character around which it all revolves. Jackson would be proud of him…
Nat’s always been more interested in history and stuff like that rather than maths and science, and it seems he’s also caught the archaeology bug after spending Easter over with us at my gran’s in York last Easter. Next week he’s off to lend a hand for a fortnight at a dig up at Brooklin, Maine. I guess his mom’s managed to swing it for him through her contacts at the Carnegie.
According to what Nat’s just told the researcher, it’s now becoming accepted that the Icelandic sagas recounting Leif Erikson’s travels to America, previously regarded as just myths, are actually based on truth: there’s been a Viking settlement found at L’Anse aux Meadows in Canada. Obviously, the Planks can’t be outdone by the Canadians and so there’s apparently some work going on in Maine to look into ancient oral histories told by the indigenous tribes about blond haired seafarers that swept down the coast about 500 years before Christopher Columbus didn’t get there either.
There’s also something called the ‘Maine Penny’, a Viking era coin found in Maine about fifty years ago. The coin seems genuine enough but the archaeologists and historians can’t agree on what they call its provenance: basically, is it a genuine find or was it planted there? A team of researchers are about to look at the site where the penny is alleged to have been found, an old native American settlement, and hope to find some indisputable archaeological evidence to show the Vikings really did come down from Newfoundland, perhaps to set up a trading post. Hopefully Nat paid attention to that hole I helped excavate in York, he’s more likely to find ghost evidence like that rather than a big chunk of silver with Leif’s name on it…
* * *
By lunchtime the tv crew had packed up and gone, Nat’s dad had left in the helicopter to go campaigning or something, and Nat’s mum had taken my mom and dad to go into Pittsburgh for a final look around various places. Elizabeth had headed off to meet up with some friends, leaving me and Nat alone until this evening when we are to join them at the restaurant for my birthday meal.
“The interview couldn’t have gone better, Boots,” Nat beamed as he guided me back through the house. “We were hoping for a ten-minute piece to be broadcast ‘live’ mid-morning and then an edited highlight, maybe 30 seconds, even a whole minute, of soundbites, to go out on a couple of this evening’s news bulletins. Now they are going to do a full ‘piece to camera’ with Lorna setting the scene in the studio right after tonight’s main evening news bulletin, then re-broadcast the entire interview again. They’re syndicating it state wide too. Pop is loving the coverage it’s going to get, keeping him in the public eye by association.”
“I thought his advisers were going to have kittens when I stepped up on stage, Nat. They looked ready to pull the plug on the broadcast right there and then but your dad held them off.”
“Yea, he was happy to let it play out whilst we still had that transmission buffer, and he had faith in you too, Boots. He likes you, trusted you. Plus, he seemed to think we had something planned out. I didn’t tell him I was as surprised and clueless as everyone else...”
We both burst out laughing as Nat parroted my “Adapt, adjust and improvise” chant that I impressed on the guys during our Mill Skills lessons, though he was nowhere near getting my accent right. Travis does it much better.
“I was thinking we could go for a ride down the riverbank on the horses for an hour or two, Boots, before we get ready and drive over to the restaurant.”
Nat clearly saw the look on my face and burst out laughing again.
“Don’t worry, Boots, I can teach you easily enough. You can use Elizabeth’s horse, it’s really tame. Shane had no problems riding him when we did our display for Graduation Day at Allegheny. Besides, if you fall off, you can aim to land in the river, it’s softer than the ground.”
* * *
I actually enjoyed learning to ride the horses. I can see why Shane liked it when he went to Travis’s place and the guys all went out trekking for a few days. Maybe one day I’ll get to visit Travis too.
First off, Nat took me to the stables and we brushed the horses and bribed them with a snack, letting them get used to me before we put saddles on them. There were lots of straps and things to adjust and tighten but Nat took care of all that before leading them outside and showing me how to climb on. After that it was easy, my horse just walked alongside Nat’s like a donkey on Blackpool beach, tame and docile as anything. Even on part of the riverside path where there’s a railway on the other bank and a train went thundering by, the horse didn’t startle.
There weren’t many people about on the river path with it being midweek, just a few joggers and cyclists mainly, but when somebody did get close, we just stepped aside onto the grass to let them through and said ’Hello’ as the horses took the opportunity to grab a bit of grass. It was gloriously sunny and the ride seemed over all too soon though Nat said we’d actually done about three miles before turning back. We were just chatting about nothing in particular, each of us a little pre-occupied, knowing this was our last day together, not wanting to acknowledge it.
Once we got back to the house, it took us an hour or maybe a little longer to unsaddle the horses, brush them down, check over their feet and legs to make sure they hadn’t got bitten by bugs or scratched, then feed them. Obviously, I let Nat check their feet: they might have seemed docile but I am still pretty wary of getting up close to a ton of teeth and hooves when it’s off-balance and feeling vulnerable.
* * *
The restaurant place looks pretty nice, it’s definitely in a good part of town, perched up on the leafy hillside overlooking the Coraopolis suburbs and the Ohio below. As we arrived at the top of the exclusive driveway, passing through a discreet security gate, Nat piloted Lemon Steroids to a halt outside the whitewashed stone, chateau-style frontage and handed his keys to a valet.
As Nat began to describe the restaurant to me, explaining how it was divided up inside into quirky little themed areas, a greeter appeared and smiled, waited patiently for Nat to finish.
“Good evening, Mr Bauer,” she said warmly, “Nice to see you again, and congratulations too! You were on KWT-TV just half an hour ago, and they have been running trailers for it all day.” As Nat beamed, she turned to me. “And you must be Craig, or ‘The International Mystery Man’ as KWT-TV termed you. Pleased to meet you too. Now, if you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your table. The rest of your party arrived just a short time ago.”
“You’ll really like this, Boots,” said Nat, then turned to our greeter and asked, “What room do we have tonight? The Round Room perhaps, or maybe Q’s?”
“Well, maybe Q’s would be appropriate with you both looking very smart, almost like James Bond, in your tuxedos, but it’s neither tonight. With it being such a beautiful day, you’re booked for an outdoor picnic in the Glade.”
Nat’s smiling just like a Chesire Cat. “That’s even better, Boots, a great way to end a fantastic day. The gardens here are wonderful, with lots of secluded little groves and alcoves and things where they can set up tables in good weather for an awesome outdoor meal.”
We were led through a small courtyard and then out along a pathway, past a couple of small lawned areas, then around a bend towards a small wooded glade from which we could hear the sound of voices and some quiet music. The greeter smiled and gestured ahead. “Gentlemen, The Glade.”
In the centre of the glade was a long table covered in a shimmering white tablecloth, a huge flower display at its centre and place settings of silver cutlery and crystal glasses down each side. My family and Nathan’s family were already there, along with a few others too.
“Shane!” I yelled, and dashed forward as he leapt up from where he was sat on the grass talking to my dad and stepped forward to hug me. Over his shoulder I saw Kyle and then Lee steeping forward too, all of them heading my way.
“Look who we found earlier this afternoon,” laughed my dad as first Kyle and then Lee pushed past Nathan to get at me. “We only arrived back from Rome yesterday,” said Shane excitedly, “And me and Kyle are just passing through on our way home, staying a final day at Lee’s house.”
Lee grinned as he slapped me on the back, “Just seeing me off the premises, I guess, Oregon, making sure I don’t follow them back to Washington. Hey, and whaddya think of the penguin suit? Italian tailoring…”
All three of them are wearing dinner jackets, Kyle and Shane’s clearly from London, with Lee’s being of a different, more modern but equally stylish cut. Shane smiled. “Me and Kyle got ours in London when we came over at New Year, from that tailor who did yours, Craig. Lee just bought his in Italy…”
“Hadda, bud,” grinned Lee conspiratorially, “These two kept trying to lose me by sneaking off to places that wouldn’t let me in without one…”
Nat’s dad is smiling. “It seems you and Nat aren’t the only ones that like to pull off a surprise. When we heard Kyle and Shane were arriving back yesterday and calling by Pittsburgh to drop Lee off, we got in touch and I invited them along to your party Craig. Swore them to secrecy. I hope you don’t mind…”
Of course I don’t mind! It’s awesome Shane is here, and Kyle and Lee too of course. That must be why mom and dad didn’t push for me and Nat to go with them into Pittsburgh this afternoon, they must have been arranging to meet up and make their way here in secret. Mom’s not met Shane, Kyle or Lee before, but they look to be getting on well, and dad’s already met them at Allegheny.
“I hadn’t a clue either,” said Nat as I glanced over at him.
“We’ve put you at the head of the table, Craig, King for the evening,” said my mom, “With Nathan at one side of you and Shane at the other, then Kyle, Lee and Elizabeth, then Paul and Angela and finally your dad and me at this end. Now, here come the drinks and nibbles.”
A couple of servers appeared and were soon strolling around the glade offering wine to the grown-ups and fruit juice to us, along with a selection of horses’ doofers as I described them to Shane and Lee, as we chattered madly, catching up on everything that had happened since they were over in London after Christmas. It definitely sounds like Italy is a place I need to visit. Nathan had corralled Kyle to one side and they were busy talking about college stuff as our parents occupied themselves at the other end of the glade. Everybody really does seem to be getting on like a house on fire.
After a while mum tapped a glass with a spoon to grab our attention as she saw a troop of servers approaching down the path bearing trays for the first course. For the outdoor picnics it seems there is a set menu rather than allowing everyone to choose individually, which I guess makes it easier to cater for a larger group some distance away from the kitchens. We took our places at the table and the servers set down a range of appetisers for us, a really good selection of seafood sharing platters served with a mix of rice, salads and even fries that we could mix and match.
“Remember the poison oysters we managed to avoid in London, Oregon?” laughed Lee as he looked suspiciously at some of the sea food before spotting a dish of crab risotto and helping himself to as big a portion of it as he dared.
Kyle grinned. “We’re trying to teach him to enjoy the finer things in life, aren’t we Shane?”
Shane nodded and chuckled as he tucked into a small plate of sea bass with ginger and melon but then added, “Trouble is, ribeye and fries are so good aren’t they, Lee?”
“You’ll be fine with the main course, Lee,” added Elizabeth, “It’s a selection of meat dishes specially selected for us carnivores.”
She wasn’t kidding! The main course turned out to be a selection of beef, elk, venison and even boar steaks, strips, burgers and sausages, grilled or barbequed, and again served with bowls of rice, beans, salads or fries to which we could help ourselves. An awesome picnic selection for a warm summer’s evening. I did notice that though we were having fruit juices at our end of the table there was plenty of wine at the other end, including the bottle Noah’s family had given me and Nat to pass on. It was going down well, especially with Elizabeth and my mum. I gave mum my best ‘begging puppy’ look but she just smiled and mouthed “Not here in America, kiddo.” Oh well, it was worth a try.
Shane saw and smiled. “We had plenty of wine in Italy, Boots, but I had to tell them what shandy was. Kyle let me have a glass with most of our meals.”
As we finished our main courses, my mum, who had clearly assumed command for the evening even if I was King, wiped her lips gently with a crisp linen napkin and then spoke softly, ensuring we all quietened down to listen to her.
“Now, as you all know, we’re here today at this wonderful restaurant for several reasons. Firstly, to wish Craig a ‘Happy Birthday’ and secondly to mark his excellent achievements in sitting his ‘A’ levels early and gaining good enough grades to get into almost any university he wishes…”
I’m just smiling. We’ll have loads of talk back home about me going to university. I’m not going to spoil things tonight by arguing.
“And,” continued mum, “I think it’s also worthy of note that both Nathan and Craig have shown how mature and responsible they can be over when they are let free to enjoy themselves.”
“Or smart enough not to get caught,” whispered my dad theatrically to Nat’s dad, causing Kyle especially to grin.
Nathan looked over at my mom, then Elizabeth, who passed him something she slipped from her handbag. Nat stood, waited for all attention to focus on him, before leaning forward to pass me a small, gift-wrapped present.
“Happy Birthday, Craig.”
I took the present, turned it over in my hands, looked at it. It’s only small, but quite heavy.
“What is it, Nat?”
“Open it and see, Deefer,” laughed Kyle.
I tore away the gold striped wrapping paper – at least Nat hadn’t put a fancy ribbon and bow on it – to reveal a small leather box. I flipped open the lid. It’s an amazing looking fountain pen. Quite chunky, with a marbled red and black body and a gold pocket clip.
“Wow, that’s awesome, Nat. Thanks”
I slipped it out of the box, turned it over in my hands. I slipped off the cap and posted it, revealing a shiny gold nib. It balances beautifully.
“It’s a vintage Waterman 52, Craig. I know you like writing with proper pens so I went into the Pen Shop and asked them what they would recommend. When I explained to them how you write in that fancy style...”
“Chancery Italic, Nat,” I interrupted.
“Yeah, that,” he laughed, “They recommended a vintage pen rather than a new one, said the older nibs were far more flexible and better for that writing style. They had that pen in stock, waiting to be refurbished, and they said they could adjust the nib to suit it even better. Elizabeth went back in today to pick it up for me now that they have finished working on it.”
“Thanks, Elizabeth.” Everyone smiled as I leaned over and gave Elizabeth a kiss on the cheek, then laughed loudly when Lee said “You get yours later, Nat.”
Mum’s smiling, reaching for an envelope she’s had hidden. “That’s a beautiful present, Nathan, so thoughtful. Perfect for signing the papers in this envelope…”
Mum’s passing the envelope to dad. He’s holding it, smiling. Everyone is waiting on tenterhooks to see what it is. Especially me! What could need signing? I hope it’s not some bloody tax papers! That’d be just like dad to play a trick like that on me. I glanced at Nat. Does he know what’s in it? I don’t think so, he looks equally baffled. Maybe it’s not to do with our company then...
“Now, as you all know, Craig has had an interesting year, partly in a Chinese proverb kind of way, but on the whole, it’s turned out pretty well and we’re very proud of him, especially as he’s excelled in his studies. So much so that we thoroughly expect him to convert his ‘B’ grade in Physics to an ‘A’ and maybe even add another ‘A’ level to his tally by the end of this coming school year…”
“And join the marines a year early,” I piped up, suddenly realising what must be in the envelope. Enlistment papers, signed by dad on my behalf as I’m not eighteen yet, but needing my signature too to say I agree to it…
“Not so fast, Kee-Mo Sah-Bee,” laughed dad, “Even if you do get two more ‘A’ levels by the time you are seventeen, you have to stay in full time education until you’re eighteen. It’s the law. You know that.”
Oh, Bloody Hell, it’s going to be some application forms for universities. I’m being outflanked. Pushed into uni whether I like it or not.
Nat’s looking across at me, frowning. He genuinely doesn’t know what’s in the envelope, but he can sense I’m not happy about it.
Mum’s smiling. She’s got her way, and there’s nothing I can do about it. And she knows I won’t make a scene about it here, not in front of everyone and spoil their evening too.
“Oh, put him out of his misery, Mark…”
Dad passed me the envelope. “Of course, your final year in education doesn’t have to be in England, Craig.”
What?
“A few days ago, while you and Nat were busy enjoying yourself tearing about the state in Lemon Steroids, your mom and I took a trip over to Allegheny College so she could see it for herself after all you’ve told her about it. See where you and Nat met.”
Mum’s chiming in. “The Commandant was so charming, showed us around, spoke very highly of you and especially of how you stuck by your friends there, even after you left, helped them as much as you could, contributed to the college achieving a Golden Year.”
“So, son, we’re offering you a deal,” smirked dad. “Keep on working hard at school for one more year, then, when you’re seventeen, and have four or even five shiny straight A passes under your belt…”
Nathan’s frown has gone. He’s suddenly smiling. Grabbing the envelope from me, tearing it open, pulling out a sheet of headed paper. Passing me the paper. “Read it, Boots!”
I can read it, but I can hardly believe it. I’m lost for words.
“For those of you who can’t see it,” smiled dad, “And would like to know what all the fuss is about before we die of anticipation and miss out on the wonderful desserts that will be arriving any moment now, I’ll short circuit Craig’s uncharacteristically glacial thought processes for you.”
“It’s an offer of a Senior Scholarship to Allegheny,” I managed to gasp as the penny finally dropped.
“That’s right, Craig,” added mum. “The Commandant has offered you an Arts and Humanities Scholarship. You’re already well up on sciences and mathematics, so an Arts and Humanities Scholarship will complement that nicely, broaden your mind and nurture other talents. Which I think is an excellent idea. After your year at Allegheny, you’ll be eighteen, able to decide your own future…”
I can still hardly believe I’m seeing this despite it being in black and white in front of me. Hearing this.
Nat’s mum is joining in. “And we’re rather hoping that when you come over to Allegheny, you’ll make our home your home too, Craig. A base for you stay on your weekends off, a place to come to if you need a break from anything.”
Dad’s nodding. “Paul and Angela have very kindly offered to act as guardians for you too during your stay, Craig…”
“And I promise not to paint you up like a tiger…” added Elizabeth.
“Arts and Humanities, Craig,” Nat almost shouted as he threw his arms around me. “You’ll be able to be in classes with me most days. Arts and Humanities, Boots. That’s history, music, literature, economics, poetry, art, all the good stuff. You don’t need any more counting lessons…”
Shane’s eased the letter from my hand, placed it on the table. Passed me my new pen.
Nat’s smiling still. Releasing me from his bear hug.
“Sign it, Craig. Welcome back…”
* * *
