Chapter 22: Independence

Meredith

THOSE DAYS after the party were both hectic and relaxed. I made arrangements with my professors to complete the term from home. It wasn’t difficult, as I had finished reading the texts and had only a term paper and exams to complete. But in the midst of that, Liam was completing his final paper for Elenchus. And I learned so much.

Liam’s analysis of the labor issues at Covington Shoe Company was complex. Where he cited the issues brought forward by workers as the direct cause of the strike, his analysis delved into the tensions between classes and the perception that certain classes felt they were trapped and unable to advance. He mentioned Randy’s observation that ninety percent of the students at his high school were classed as Dexter, a number that far exceeded the national average. While nearly half the population is classed as Dexter, having such a high percentage in one location spoke of a culture in which money and heritage played too large a role. He even suggested the teachers at that high school should be reevaluated to determine if they are truly capable of participating in class assignment.

I discussed his analysis as he wrote the paper and we brainstormed other aspects of the problem. Then I typed it in triplicate from his handwritten copy. I was privileged to attend his presentation and was happy to see his parents, grandmother, Mr. Ferguson, and Randy Peters in attendance as well. He even challenged Elenchus, asking why there were no Dexters or Cognoscenti in the student body or on the faculty. He suggested the school was elitist, offering superior education to children of the wealthy and automatically classing them according to their parents’ wishes. It was interesting to watch students and adults alike shifting uncomfortably in their chairs. However, his academic counselor, Mr. Peoples, was ecstatic over the presentation.

It would be an interesting year at the University if Liam continued to challenge the notions of class division that were so ingrained in our society.

It was becoming very easy to kiss Liam goodnight. We frequently joined each other for events at the University, in the theater, or at the concert hall. I was comfortable holding his hand but concerned that we were progressing toward a relationship that would exclude others and inhibit his ability to grow as a Leader.

At the same time, I despaired that we were not progressing enough to suit my tastes. Each kiss made me desire the next. Sometimes, we spent ten minutes in the hall outside our rooms, kissing. It was all I could do to keep from inviting him into my chamber. I got in the habit of simply leaving the door between our studies open all the time, hoping he would open his.

And he did when we had work to do. But during those hours, he was a perfect gentleman and focused on the work at hand. Most of the time.

“What do you think of Tiffany Loveland?” he asked one day. I cringed. Tiffany Loveland was wonderful. She was bright and could challenge Liam on an intellectual level that was above mine. I didn’t think she was smarter than I was, but my mode of working with Liam was more as support rather than as challenge.

“She’s beautiful,” I said simply.

“In a matter of beauty, I am more than satisfied with what I see before me now.” His look was so intense—so hungry—that I felt the heat rise in my face. I shook it off.

“She is also very intelligent and has a way of responding to your questions with more depth of understanding than most people. Have you shared your paper with her?” I asked.

“No. We’ve talked about it on the phone. I’ve asked her out this weekend.”

“I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time.”

“Meredith,” he said, “you have pointed out to me that we are too young for a permanent entanglement. Do you not know I struggle every day not to fall to my knees and ask you to marry me? I feel the same about entanglements when I meet with any other woman, including Tiffany. I find her interesting, challenging, and beautiful. But I would cancel our date in an instant if you disapproved.”

“I find resisting that entanglement to be very difficult,” I sighed. “I fear I’ve already stepped too deeply into your life ever to extract myself.”

“Well, that, at least, will never happen. You have become my best friend, my confidante, and my most trusted ally. I have little one-on-one experience with women. It is only since meeting you that I’ve become more comfortable in their presence. But I always look forward to coming home to you.”

Our kiss that evening was more delicious than ever.

The week before Christmas, we moved from Buxton House to our apartments. From the moment we moved in, it seemed, the doors between our studies were seldom closed. There were family visits, of course. My parents wanted to see where I was living and my father wanted to cook for the combined families in Liam’s kitchen. With Liam’s parents in attendance as well as his grandmother, it was about the maximum number that would fit comfortably in his dining room.

He’d kept the antique dining set and a few other pieces in the living room, but most of the original furnishings had been donated to a second-hand store. We’d shopped carefully and I found out more about his taste for clean lines and open design with many decorative geometric patterns. He said the patterns led his eye in a kind of hypnotic way that allowed him to focus on only the problem before him.

Letters and phone calls had begun arriving at Buxton House before the holiday and I found it necessary to make a trip to the mansion two or three times a week to collect the correspondence and check the messages. Liam’s role in the strike settlement and his photograph in the newspaper caused people to notice him for the first time. The party had been attended by enough people to begin spreading gossip about the newest Leader to emerge in our community. The Cyning name linked him to one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the state. Everyone wanted to become his ‘friend.’

“I’m not sure how to filter these requests,” I said. “Do you have any specific guidelines regarding what you would want to attend or with whom you would like to correspond?” He leaned back in his desk chair and clasped his hands behind his head.

“I suppose this is only an introduction to what will come,” he said. “I think I’ll invite us to dinner with Grandmother. She’s dealt with it far longer than we have.”

And so, we ended up in the rooms of the matriarch just two days after moving out of Buxton House. It was an informal and light dinner. I hoped the unique serving of French toast topped with savory shaved ham and cheese would be enough to satisfy Liam’s appetite.

“I thought they would wait until after the holiday to start with the requests but people move so much faster these days than in my youth,” Regina said. Erich also joined us but was content to quietly focus on his food rather than participate in the conversation.

“Some of them are worthy causes that I thought nothing about,” Liam said. “Others seem frivolous at best. A few look like legitimate requests to work with someone on a specific problem.”

“Party invitations, charitable events, and even date requests have come in,” I said. “Some are still months away.”

“You have only seen the beginning, I’m afraid,” Regina said. “It is one of the key reasons I wanted to get you and Meredith established as a team early on. There are a few guidelines I can offer, but the real test will be what interests you. First, a Leader must be incorruptible. If your ethics weren’t pristine, you would not have been classed as a Leader. So, the first filter is to determine which contacts are after nothing more than legitimizing their cause by association with you. No doubt, for example, there will be other labor-management disputes in which one side or the other wants to be allied with you. Now that the terms of the Covington Shoe Company agreement have been released, you will find people believing that you will either get a labor union more than it asks for or that you will lead the company into new areas of profitability.”

“I certainly can’t promise that! I was very lucky with Fergie and Randy. It could as easily have been a failure,” Liam said.

“Good. Don’t assume success in one instance guarantees success in another,” Regina said. “Now, charitable events are sent to you because you are from a wealthy family. You have funds of your own, but not the kind they are looking for. If you see a charity that particularly appeals to you, you need to bring it to the family to see if you can persuade us to join you in support. Otherwise, politely decline the invitation. I might say the same is true of party invitations. If it looks like fun and doesn’t have an implied endorsement of a person or organization, go if you want to. I suggest that you not go unaccompanied. The hostage situation at Covington Shoes was a spontaneous event that turned out well. There is no guarantee the next one will be so benign.”

“You think there is a real possibility that I would be kidnapped again?” Liam asked.

“Yes. Less now than when you were young and helpless. As an adult, you are more capable of defending yourself. But the temptation for criminals will still be high. Remember, any class might have a criminal element,” Regina said, dabbing her lips with a napkin. “As to the dates you are being offered, the temptation is on your part. Do you really want to connect with random women? I would suggest you limit dating to women you already know. That field will expand rapidly once you enter the University setting.”

We discussed the other kinds of correspondence and Regina impressed upon me the importance of my own ethics in dealing with them. Liam would depend on me to respond to people with the same standard of judgment he was using. It would be too easy to withhold information that I found unpleasant but would come back to bite me—or worse, Liam. I agreed.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s, Elizabeth Kendrick moved into her apartment, not far from where we lived. Liam immediately invited her out for a welcome to the University dinner date. He said it was fun and he believed Elizabeth would become a good friend in the future.

And then classes started and we were all too busy for any extraneous social activity. I’d had a few months to get used to the University experience. Liam came home in shock after his first day of attending lectures. It was not at all the learning environment he was used to.

Still, we found time to sit and relax together for a while in the evening or to study together if we had reading to do. I felt as at home in his apartment as in my own. He was very excited to share a dinner of fried chicken he made as a testament to his ability to feed himself. We were getting along well and I still cherished our few minutes of kissing before we went to our rooms.

Liam

I SAT AT MY DESK reading the assignment in the textbook, US History Since 1877. The rigid structure of the University, including showing up for lectures with a hundred other students, would take some getting used to. It was so different than the unstructured learning environment of Elenchus Scholé. I had attended three lecture classes, two labs, and a writing class and it was only Wednesday evening.

I glanced through the open door to where Meredith was working on correspondence. Seeing her in her space always set my mind at ease and let me set aside the stress of the University. She would separate out letters that had arrived for me into those she could reply to and those which required my personal attention.

I was thankful for the writing course I was taking. It was amazing how many letters I’d received since the party—and they were not all from guests. I received personal invitations to charitable events, requests to help with personal problems, and what I could only describe as love letters from women I’d never met. Meredith dealt with most things, simply asking me whether I would attend this or that event or if I was interested in a woman who had included her scantily-clad photo. What would I do without her? I’m just so thankful for Meredith.