by Blake Pierce
Here, as in a version of her sister’s life.
And the truth was, there were things about it that appealed to London.
It was a nice house.
Life here was stable—and safe.
Most of the time, London even liked her sister’s kids.
And of course, she’d surely wind up enjoying her own kids.
Doesn’t everybody?
So maybe Tia was right. Maybe London was just trying to run away from reality, from responsibilities and commitment. Maybe it was time to do what Mom and Dad had never quite done.
Maybe it’s time to really grow up.
“London,” Tia demanded a bit shrilly, “are you even listening to me?”
“Of course …”
A loud artificial whinny was followed by the squeaking and banging of Bret’s toy rocking horse. The little boy had pushed his steed into the kitchen and climbed aboard the spring-mounted animal, rocking with all his might.
As Tia began to reprimand him, London’s heard her cell phone ring.
It was a notification of an item on her schedule.
Meanwhile, the girls had started playing their video game again, filling the air anew with the sounds of explosions and gunfire.
London knew she’d never be able to carry on a conversation, much less deal with the setback she was expecting.
She said to Tia, “I’ve got a video conference scheduled for right now.”
“Who with?”
“Jeremy Lapham. The CEO of Epoch World Cruise Lines.”
“Wow, that sounds important.”
Yeah, it sounds like I’m going to get fired, London thought.
Tia started to move some of the items on the kitchen table.
“I’ll make some room for you right here,” she said.
“Uh, Tia …”
London gestured toward Bret and the girls and the racket they were still making.
Getting the message, Tia said, “Go ahead and take it to the guest room.”
London tucked the laptop under her arm and made her way through the bedlam.
She felt awfully jangled, but told herself that didn’t much matter if all Jeremy Lapham was going to do was give her the ax. It might even be a relief to just get it over with.
Maybe, she thought, sudden unemployment would settle her argument with her sister. Maybe it would make Ian’s marriage proposal seem a lot more attractive.
CHAPTER THREE
London felt apprehensive as she opened up her laptop in the guest room. She really wasn’t looking forward to this video call. If she was going to get fired from Epoch World Cruise Lines, she didn’t know why the company CEO felt that he had to give her the news personally. After all, she was just one among many middling employees, including cooks, cosmetologists, fitness directors, bartenders, and so forth. Surely he wasn’t calling each and every one of them.
But Jeremy Lapham was known for his peculiar ways. London had never met him, but the eccentric, solitary, and shadowy CEO of Epoch World Cruise Lines was something of a legend in his way.
I guess I’m about to find out why, London thought.
With a sigh, London clicked open the videoconference program and waited.
She was startled by a sudden blast of sound, but it wasn’t the signal for a call coming through. It was the computer-game warfare out in the family room blasting louder again. Before she could decide what to do about the noise, she heard her sister’s voice call out sharply.
“Girls! Turn the volume down!”
Again came the familiar chorus, “Awww, Mo-o-mmm …”
“I mean, it girls.”
Then London found herself in relative quiet again—and also back in an unnerving state of suspense.
I just want to get this over with, she reminded herself firmly.
After this was done, she could decide what to do with the rest of her life. Not that there was necessarily much to decide, since Ian and Tia seemed to have plotted everything about her life in such excruciating detail. Probably all she really needed to do was take Ian up on his proposed “merger.”
London’s heart jumped as her computer beeped. She accepted the call and found herself face to face with Jeremy Lapham.
Well, not exactly face to face with him.
The CEO’s webcam was tilted oddly. She had a clear view of his abdomen. He was wearing what seemed to be an elegantly patterned velvet smoking jacket. Stretched on his lap was an enormous, extremely fluffy black and white cat, which he was petting with long, slender fingers. The cat’s purring made a slow, steady, rather ominous rumbling over the speakers.
She could see the man’s neck and his cleft chin and a pair of thin lips. The top of the screen cut off the image just above his nostrils, so she couldn’t even see his eyes. But it quickly occurred to her—maybe this was exactly how he wanted her to see him. It certainly lent him a certain mysterious aura.
Now those lips moved and Lapham spoke quietly.
“Hello, Ms. Rose. How are you today?”
London felt a brief impulse to just be honest and tell him exactly how she felt.
Kind of lousy.
I really want to get this over with.
But she didn’t want to sabotage her chances of leaving Epoch World Cruise lines with the sterling job references she knew she deserved.
“I’m just fine, Mr. Lapham,” she said instead. “How are you?”
“I’m well, thank you.”
At that moment the bedroom door swung open. London turned and saw little Bret come into the room. He walked over near her chair and stood there silently, gazing up at her again.
Although Bret wasn’t within range of her webcam, and she knew Jeremy Lapham couldn’t see him, London knew it would be impossible to ignore the large-eyed boy staring at her.
She silently made a shooing movement with her hand, but he didn’t seem to get the message and didn’t move a muscle.
Then Stella and Margie rushed into the room, complaining in loud whispers.
“You’re not supposed to be here!”
“Mom said you couldn’t come in here!”
Their scolding didn’t seem to make an impression on the boy, who didn’t even look at them. What followed was a flurry of half-whispers and whined complaints as the girls took their little brother by the hand and escorted him out of the room.
When the door closed again, London saw that Lapham’s cat was tilting his head luxuriously backward so that his master could scratch him under his chin.
“I wasn’t aware that you had children,” Lapham said.
“I don’t,” London said.
“No? I could swear that I just heard …”
“Those are my older sister’s kids,” London said. “I’m staying at their house for a few days.”
“So you have no children of your own?”
“No.”
“And you’ve never been married?”
“No.”
London felt a bead of sweat break out on her forehead, and her palms felt suddenly clammy. Probably without meaning to, Lapham had touched on a topic that pushed her buttons, especially today.
“One of these days your biological clock alarm is going to go off,” Tia often told her. “Then you’ll really be sorry.”
London didn’t like being reminded of that.
“I was just having a look at your curriculum vitae,” Lapham continued. “You’re an interesting young lady, London Rose.”
London squinted with surprise.
“Uh, thank you,” she said.
The cat rolled over on his back and Lapham began to stroke his stomach.
“I’ve read your employee evaluations,” he said. “Your supervisors have nothing but wonderful things to say about you. Which is all very remarkable, considering your modest beginnings. You don’t even have a four-year college degree.”
London felt a twitch of defensiveness. Her lack of much formal schooling was something of a sore spot for her.
But Lapham
continued, “And yet you seem to be extremely well-rounded, with a rich understanding of culture, history, art, and music. You also have a keen business sense. In fact, your supervisors say you’re as knowledgeable as many people with advanced degrees in liberal arts and languages and business. You’re even fluent in several languages. How have you managed to make so much of yourself?”
London felt a little dizzy at this last question.
Just now her sister had criticized her for not wanting to grow up.
But this man was praising London for things that Tia couldn’t possibly understand or appreciate.
It felt good, but puzzling.
What’s going on? she wondered.
“Well,” she answered cautiously, “I do have a two-year Associate of Science Degree in Hospitality and Restaurant Management from Ketchum Community College right here in New Haven.”
“How were your grades?” Lapham asked.
“Good,” London said.
“Oh, let’s not have any false modesty. You graduated with a perfect GPA.”
London tried to keep her mouth from falling open. Apparently, Lapham had taken more than a “look” at her curriculum vitae. He’d studied it in some detail. But if he knew so much about her, why was he asking her all these questions?
“What came next?” he asked.
“Well, as soon as I graduated, I started working in a variety of jobs in the hospitality industry. Finally I applied to work for Epoch World, and I got the job. I fell in love with hostessing and worked really hard. I learned how to fill in for this person or that, picking up a lot of skills along the way, from bartending to bookkeeping.”
“Quite the jack-of-all-trades, weren’t you?”
“I guess you could say that,” London said, finally throwing modesty to the winds. “I could lead tours, pair the best wines with any meal. Once I was able to give directions in a city I’d never even been to before.”
London still couldn’t see Lapham’s eyes, but his cat seemed to be gazing at her with approval.
“Excellent,” Lapham said. “But where did you come by your skill with languages?”
London couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
“When you’re a little kid and your parents are flight attendants, and you’re being yanked all over the world from one country to the next, you’ve got to learn some of the local lingo just to play hopscotch with other kids. You could drop me into any country in Europe and I’d manage to get by.”
Lapham laughed aloud.
“You haven’t told me anything I don’t already know,” he said. “But it gives me a lot of pleasure to hear it directly from you. You mustn’t underestimate yourself, London Rose.”
London felt a thrill from head to toe.
Only now did she realize how hard she’d been struggling with insecurity since last night’s dinner with Ian.
She’d really, really needed to have this conversation.
But where is he going with this?
“You may have heard that Epoch World Cruise Lines is running into some financial difficulties,” Lapham said. “It’s a competitive business, and we’ve lagged behind in some ways. I’m afraid we’re having to sell off our ocean-going fleet of liners.”
London’s spirits sagged. It sounded like his kind words were just to cushion the letdown after all.
Then Lapham said, “But we’re not going to go belly-up, believe me. There’s plenty of life in Epoch World yet.”
He tilted his screen so that the cat disappeared, and his own warm, smiling eyes came into view.
“Tell me, Ms. Rose,” he said. “Does this melody mean anything to you?”
He pushed a button, and a recording of a small string orchestra started to play. It was a delightful melody, as light and airy and perfect as last night’s choux profiterole.
London felt a deep, emotional stab of nostalgia.
The music meant something to her, all right—more than Mr. Lapham could possibly know from having read her curriculum vitae.
Don’t cry, she told herself.
But it was hard not to cry. She remembered her mother’s glowing expression as she’d played this very melody on the piano. And now the sound of it flooded London with some of the most wonderful memories of her childhood.
“Well?” Lapham asked.
London gulped down a knot of emotion.
“It’s by Mozart,” she said, “and it’s called Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.”
“Which means?”
“It can be translated as either ‘a little night music,’ or ‘a little serenade.’”
“Very good,” Lapham said. “As it happens, Nachtmusik is also the name of a new cruise boat I just purchased—not a huge ocean-going ship like you’re used to, but a more modest vessel to travel the rivers of Europe.”
“A tour boat?” London asked.
“More like a large luxurious yacht,” Lapham said, “with only about a hundred passengers. I believe there’s a great future in river tours. I’m really hoping to launch a whole new epoch for Epoch World Cruise Lines. But there’s a lot at stake in this new venture. I want to get things off to the best possible start. And to do that, I have to hire the best possible staff.”
London’s heart jumped up into her throat.
She suddenly realized that Jeremy Lapham was about to offer her a proposal—and a very different sort of proposal than the one Ian had made last night.
“I want you to be the Nachtmusik’s social director,” Lapham said. “It will involve responsibilities and duties far beyond anything you’ve done for us before. But before you say yes or no, I should tell you—if you want the job, you must be in Hungary by tomorrow morning. That’s where the Nachtmusik will begin her voyage on the Danube. I apologize for the short notice, but the position came open quite unexpectedly.”
London’s eyes widened. It finally made sense for Lapham to be calling her personally. He had an emergency on his hands, an essential slot to fill, and this phone call was an interview for the position.
“How …?” was the only word that she could get out right away.
He kept on talking. “I’ve already booked you on a flight tonight. I’ve checked it out, and there’s a connection from New Haven to New York, and then it will be an overnighter to Budapest. But you have to let me know right now if you’re willing to go. I’ll email you the contract and details on the compensation package, which I think you’ll find satisfactory.”
Then Lapham was silent, waiting for her answer.
London’s thoughts were racing.
It was Sunday morning now. If she did this she’d be in another country for breakfast tomorrow. A wonderful country, rich with history but also highly developed and comfortably modern.
Even so, this seemed like a staggering decision—especially after all the doubts that had troubled her since yesterday.
At that moment, as if on cue, Bret came charging into the room followed by his two sisters, who were attacking him with light sabers. Howling, he ducked under the covers of the bed and his sisters pounced, beating their plastic weapons at the living lump under the blankets.
Tia came sweeping into the room, scolding her children and tucking Bret under one arm. She gave London an apologetic look. Their eyes met for a moment, and London again had that feeling that she was looking into a mirror—or rather into a future in which she was living her sister’s life down to the smallest detail.
She remembered what Ian had said last night.
“We’ll have one child in two years, then another two years later, and another two years after that …”
Something dawned on her.
That was exactly the schedule Tia and Bernard had stuck to at the beginning of their marriage—three children within the first six years. In that future reality London would not only have a mirror-image family, she’d have the same kids’ toys, the same sink full of dishes, the same …
Everything!
London felt her own future life becoming monotonous
already as Tia herded her children out of the guest room and pulled the door shut again.
Something her sister had just said echoed through London’s mind.
“You can’t go escaping all over the world for the rest of your life.”
But for the first time, it occurred to London—traveling was not escape, at least not for her.
For me, it’s life itself.
“Yes,” she said to Lapham. “Oh, yes. Thank you. I will take that job.”
CHAPTER FOUR
London was dashing through JFK Airport when her phone rang.
Oh, please, let this be Ian, she thought as she took the phone out of her bag.
She’d been trying to reach him ever since she’d gotten off the phone with Jeremy Lapham this morning. But she knew he’d been out earlier today golfing with a client, and he never let himself be disturbed on the links. Although she didn’t look forward to this conversation, she definitely didn’t want to leave the country without resolving things with him.
She took the call, and sure enough, it was Ian.
“Ian, hi,” she said breathlessly.
“Hello, London.”
“Um … I’ve been thinking about your ‘merger’ and …”
“And?”
London was just picking her carry-on bags up after they’d passed through the metal detector.
“Like I said last night, I’m touched,” she said. “But …”
A silence fell between them.
“I got an offer this morning,” she said. “The CEO of Epoch World Cruise Lines called me and offered me … well, a job I just couldn’t turn down.”
She heard a grunt of impatience in Ian’s voice.
“More traveling?” he asked sternly.
The question took her aback. Of course, the answer was yes—but it was also so much more than that. This job was important to her in ways she didn’t know how to begin to explain to him.
“It’s something different from what I’ve been doing,” she said. “It’s a river tour boat that’s setting out on a trip on the Danube. The trip starts tomorrow in Budapest. And I won’t be just a hostess anymore. I’ll be the social director for the whole tour.”
