An Ocean Apart

by Robin Pilcher

  Footsore and weary, they arrived back at the Ritz at two-thirty and, amidst loud protestations from Benji, who was keen to continue with their adventures, they headed off to their respective rooms to recharge their batteries.

  “This is going to be boring!” Benji moaned as he threw himself onto the bed.

  “You don’t have to go to sleep,” Jennifer said, taking her wash-bag from the still-unpacked suitcase and making her way through to the bathroom. “Watch TV. But if you don’t have some kind of rest, you’re just going to flake out tonight.”

  “No, I won’t!” he said, pushing himself off the bed and walking over to the chest of drawers to pick up the remote control. “I’m not tired.”

  He flicked through the channels, stopping only long enough to give each of the programmes a cursory glance. There was an old black-and-white war film, an Australian soap opera, a cooking demonstration, and something that had just started called “Westminister Today.”

  “There’s nothing on!” he called through to his mother.

  “Oh, come on, Benji!” Jennifer shouted back, as she splashed water on her face from the basin. “You’ve had a pretty good morning. Just make do with what’s on.”

  Benji tutted and threw the remote onto his bed. He pushed his head into the pillow and kicked up his legs, executing a perfect headstand against the back wall and knocking squint the picture of the galloping racehorse that was hung upon it. A woman’s plummy English voice sounded out from the television.

  “Good afternoon, and welcome to ‘Westminister Today.’ We are going to begin our broadcast by going live to the House of Lords where a particularly heated debate on the present government’s Companies Bill has been in progress for the past two days. We join it now at the Committee Stage where some one hundred and twenty amendments to the Bill have been put forward for discussion.”

  “Booriing!” Benji said out loud as he flumped down onto the bed, then kicked his legs up once more against the wall. “Mom?”

  “Yes?”

  “What’s the House of Laawds?” He drawled out the last word.

  Jennifer appeared at the door of the bathroom, rubbing at her face with a towel, and looked over at the television.

  “I suppose the best way to describe it is that it’s like the Senate. You know we have Congress. Well, that’s like the House of Commons, and the Senate is like the House of Lords. It’s what’s called the Upper House of Parliament. We went past there this morning on the bus, remember?”

  She smiled at his upside-down face and returned to the bathroom.

  “Well, it’s pretty boring stuff to put on television. I mean, who’s going to watch this stuff?”

  Benji watched from his inverted position as the camera zoomed in on a man in a long white wig who was sitting on a huge red sofa.

  “We pass onto Amendment Twenty-four. The Lord Inchelvie.”

  “The Laawd Inchelvie,” Benji said, with his mouth drawn down at the sides. “The Laaaawd Inchelvie.”

  “Your Lordships’ Committee might wish to consider the aspect of the Bill that is addressed on page fifty-one, line seven. This sets out proposals for the merger between two companies, where it is presumed that the principal of each company…”

  Benji fell heavily down onto the bed and stared at the wall, concentrating hard on the voice that was coming from the television.

  “There is, however, an aspect that has been overlooked. Even over a short period of time, the management structure of a company can become obscured. And, my lords, if that is the case…”

  Benji jumped off the bed and ran over to the television. That wasn’t Lord Inch—what’s-his-name’s voice! That was David’s! He pressed his face against the screen, trying to make out the figure that was speaking from the long shot being broadcast at that moment.

  “… e.g. discretion may have been given to a certain family and its members to control events, but it may not be clear to the family concerned which board members…”

  The camera cut to a close-up of the speaker’s face. It was! It was David! Benji began jumping around, shaking his hands in the air, his voice muted with excitement.

  “MOM!” he blurted out.

  Jennifer came running through from the bathroom, a white towelling band pulling her hair back and protecting it from the white cream that covered her face. “What’s the matter?” she said in a startled voice.

  Benji looked at her, an expression of amazement on his face as he pointed at the television.

  “It’s David, Mom! Look, it’s David! He’s on TV! He’s in the House of Lords! Look!” He ran over to her, and grabbing her hand, which was slippery with cream, he dragged her in front of the television.

  “It’s David, isn’t it? He’s all dressed up, but that’s David!”

  Jennifer slowly turned from her son and stared at the tall pin-stripe-suited figure that stood amongst the red leather seats. Her heart missed a beat as she listened to the familiar voice talking, and Benji watched as her face broke into a huge smile.

  “It is,” she said quietly, her face registering total dismay. “That’s David.”

  “C’mon, Mom!” Benji said, dragging her towards the door. “C’mon!”

  “Where are you going?” she laughed.

  “To the House of Laawds! C’mon, we went past there this morning! It’s just down the road!”

  Jennifer pulled her hand away from Benji’s grasp. “Benji,” she said, smiling at him and shaking her head. “This must be a recording. David won’t be there now!”

  “He is!” Benji exclaimed, frustrated. “They said it was live! That means it’s coming from there now!”

  Jennifer turned slowly back to the screen. “It’s live?” she said in an astonished voice.

  “Yes!! C’mon, Mom, before he finishes! We gotta go and see him!”

  Jennifer stood gazing at the screen as the camera zoomed into a tight close-up of David’s face. He was sitting now, and she watched as his face broke into a grin over a light-hearted rebuff made by one of the lords on the other side of the house. She knew it so well. She knew that face so well.

  “Okay!” She ran through to the bathroom and grabbed a towel, then came back into the bedroom, rubbing the cream from her face. “You go down to reception and get a taxi, darling, and I’ll be with you in a minute. I’ve just got to tell Jasmine and Sam.”

  Benji rushed from the room, and she heard him running down to the passageway, yelling out “The House of Laawds! The House of Laawds!” over and over again as he went. She picked up the phone and dialled Jasmine’s room. A sleepy voice replied.

  “Hello, Jasmine here.”

  Jennifer smiled to herself, wondering if she announced herself that way to everyone.

  “Jasmine, Benji and I are going out again.”

  “Where to?”

  “I won’t tell you until we get back. But I think it could be a pretty big surprise for you!”

  “Oh, okay,” Jasmine replied uninterestedly. “I’ll just go back to sleep and wait ’till I hear from you then.”

  “Right.” She pressed her finger on the button to disconnect the line and dialled Sam’s room number. It was Russ who answered.

  “Russ? It’s Jennifer.”

  “Hi! You sound excited. What’s going on?”

  “It’s David, Russ! He’s on TV—in the House of Lords. And it’s live.”

  There was a moment’s silence at the other end of the line.

  “Russ? Are you still there?”

  “Yeah, sorry. David’s here? In London?”

  “Yes!”

  “Well, Chrissakes, what did I tell you? Looks like you knocked on the right door! Go for it, Jennifer! Just go for it! Sam and I can handle the meeting. God, what am I saying? Forget us, Jennifer. Just go for it!”

  “Will you explain to Sam?”

  “Yeah, but he’s heard anyway. He’s sitting here nodding his head, and if he nods any more, it’s going to fall off!”

  Jennifer laughed, feel
ing her eyes prick with tears of elation. “Okay! Okay! I’m going!”

  “Good luck, old friend,” he said quietly.

  “Thanks, Russ.”

  She put down the receiver and rushed to the door, then turning back to pick up her handbag she took another quick glance at the television. David was standing once more, speaking. She smiled, blew him a kiss, then turned and ran out of the room.

  * * *

  Benji was already sitting in the cab outside the hotel, leaning forward and watching out for his mother coming down the steps. She jumped in and was about to announce their destination when the taxi took off.

  “I’ve told him, Mom! He says he knows where it is!”

  “I hope so!” Jennifer laughed. She opened up her bag and took out her make-up, and jammed herself into the corner of the taxi to give some support to her already shaking hand.

  By the time they drove down Whitehall, she had finished applying a make-shift covering to her face, while Benji had engaged her in an excited though uncomprehending discussion as to how David Corstorphine had suddenly become Lord Inch—what’s-his-name. The taxi drew to a halt outside the Houses of Parliament next to a large statue of a man on a horse, and the driver pulled open the partition window.

  “You want to go into the Lords, luv?”

  “Yes,” Jennifer replied, leaning forward and pulling a ten-pound note out of her purse.

  “That’s the queue there,” he said, pointing to a roped-off section of the pavement. “Not many people. You should get in with the next lot.”

  “Thanks,” Jennifer said, handing him the note. He delved into his pocket for change, but both Jennifer and Benji had jumped out of the taxi.

  “Keep the change!” she called back with a smile. “It’s worth it!”

  “I hope so, luv!” he yelled after her.

  As they joined the queue, a man in a uniform came forward and unclipped the white rope and began ushering them into the building. They entered a huge stone-floored hall and followed the line as it moved sedately along between the stone statues of past politicians. At the bottom of the stairs, the usher turned to them and told them in a lugubrious voice that they would have to wait there in the Central Lobby until such times as the last intake of visitors had left the Public Gallery. Undeterred by this, Benji walked to the front and confronted the man.

  “Excuse me, but my mom and I know someone who’s in the House of Lords, and we want to see him.”

  There was a murmur of amusement from the other visitors, as the man bent slowly forward to speak to him.

  “I’m afraid that you will have to wait, young man, even though you are acquainted with one of the Peers of the Realm.”

  Benji turned with a disconsolate look on his face and walked back to his mother, scuffing his feet along the floor as he went. He sauntered over to one of the statues and leaned against the base, watching for any movement coming from the stairs.

  Five minutes later, the first of the visitors began to descend, turning eventually into a steady stream of people. Benji sighed impatiently, realizing that it was going to take some time before they would be allowed to go up, and turned to read the inscription on the statue against which he was leaning.

  “BENJI?”

  The voice echoed around the Central Lobby, and everyone, including the usher, turned to look up at the top of the stairs. Charlie was staring down at him, holding hard to the banister and stopping the flow of people who were coming behind him.

  Benji’s face lit up as he watched Sophie and Harriet thump against the banister beside him.

  “CHARLIE! SOPHIE! HARRIET” Benji yelled out, and ran towards the bottom of the stairs as he watched Sophie and Charlie push their way unceremoniously through the crowds towards him.

  When they reached the bottom, they stood three feet apart, looking at each other, incredulous grins spread across their faces.

  “What are you doing here?” Charlie asked in an amazed voice.

  “Mom and I saw your dad on television. We’ve come to see him!”

  “Your mother’s here?” Sophie asked, looking around for Jennifer. She saw her, still standing in line, leaning sideways and smiling at her. She took off at a run and threw herself into Jennifer’s arms, clasping her hands around her neck.

  “What are you all doing here?” Benji asked. “I thought you were at school in Scotland!”

  “We are, but Granny took us off for two days and brought us down here, ’cos she thought we would like to see Dad talk in the House of Lords.”

  Benji looked past him to see a tall old lady come down the stairs holding on to Harriet’s hand. Charlie ran up the first two steps to meet them.

  “Granny, this is Benji, my friend from America. He’s here—in London!”

  His grandmother smiled at Benji as she approached him, her hand outstretched. “Yes, I can see that, darling. How do you do, Benji? How very nice it is to meet you.”

  Benji shook her hand and turned to find that his mother and Sophie had come to stand behind him.

  “Granny,” Sophie said excitedly. “This is Jennifer.”

  Alicia smiled warmly at Jennifer and stepped forward and kissed her on both cheeks. “My dear, I am so delighted to meet you. I have heard so much about you, both from Sophie and from David.” She stood back, shaking her head in astonishment. “I cannot believe you’re here! What an extraordinary thing!”

  Benji walked up to his mother and tugged at her hand. “Mom, can Charlie and I go and see David now? He knows where to go.”

  Jennifer looked down at him. “In a minute, darling. There are still people coming down the stairs.”

  Alicia looked around. “Oh, I’ll see if we can’t pull a few strings.”

  She walked over to the usher at the head of the queue and talked quietly with him. He nodded and accompanied Alicia back to where they stood.

  “This very kind gentleman will take you two up to the Public Gallery. But remember, Charlie, you have to be very quiet.”

  “All right, Granny!” Charlie exclaimed and both he and Benji began running up the stairs, squeezing past the oncoming traffic, followed as briskly as he was able by the elderly usher.

  Being between intakes, the Public Gallery was completely empty, and all was silent except for the single low voice that droned from the chamber below. The usher showed the two boys to the seats at the very front, and stood beside them as Charlie pointed out his father to Benji. He craned forward in his seat, desperately trying to catch David’s eye, then turned to Charlie.

  “Can’t we call him?” he whispered.

  “No, it’s against the law,” Charlie replied sombrely, pressing his mouth against Benji’s ear. “Granny says you’re not even allowed to wave.”

  “How can we get his attention then?”

  “We can’t. We have to wait until he looks up.”

  Benji gazed down on the house, looking at each of the lords in turn. “He looks as if he’s the youngest person there!”

  Charlie put his hand to his mouth to stop himself from giggling. “Granny says that some of them have been sitting there so long that they have cobwebs stretching from their heads to the backs of their seats.”

  Benji too clamped his hand to his mouth, but not before letting out an involuntary snort of laughter. He turned guiltily around to the usher, who put his finger to his lips.

  At no time did David make any effort to look up at the gallery. Benji moved his head fractionally from side to side to try to attract his attention, but it was all to no avail. David didn’t know they were there. It was all too much. He had to let him know. He stood up.

  “DAVID!”

  Charlie grabbed at him and dived below the level of the balcony in embarrassment. Every face turned up to the gallery, each issuing loud murmurs of “Order! Order!” The usher gave Benji a hard pat on the back and pointed to the door. But it was all too late. Benji’s call had had the desired effect. David started in his seat, and looked up at the gallery in time to see the bea
ming-faced boy waving at him as he was ushered out. God, it was Benji! What the hell was he…? Charlie’s face suddenly appeared from below the balcony, and as he too got up to leave, he gestured with his hand for his father to come out. David shook his head in disbelief, then turned to look around the chamber. All eyes were on him. He handed his papers to the peer directly in front of him, then stood up and walked as fast as he felt was permissible towards the double doors.

  Once outside the Debating Chamber, he hurried across the Lords Lobby, pushed hard at the large swinging doors and entered the Central Lobby, arriving just as Benji and Charlie reached the bottom of the stairs.

  Benji picked him out immediately from the crowd. “DAVID!” he yelled and ran up to him, throwing his arms around his waist.

  David held hard to the boy and bent down and kissed the top of his head. “Benji,” he said, laughing, “what on earth are you doing here?”

  Benji pushed himself away from him, just as Charlie came to join them.

  “We saw you on TV. We’re staying in the Ritz, and I turned on the TV and saw you. I didn’t recognize your name. You changed it!”

  “Yes, you’re right. I have. Who’s ‘we,’ Benji?”

  “Mom, Jasmine and me.”

  “All of you? You’re all here in London?”

  “Yup. Jasmine is still in the hotel, but Mom is here somewhere.” He turned and looked around the crowded hall.

  “There they are!” shouted Charlie, and he and Benji turned and began running over to the entrance door, where Jennifer stood talking to Sophie and her grandmother.

  David walked slowly towards them, his eyes fixed firmly on Jennifer. As the boys reached them, she looked around and saw him approach, and her face broke into a wide grin.