Chapter 99: Changes

As 1989 ended, we did the normal stuff before life would change utterly in 1990. Charlie was now in the third grade, which made him a Bear Cub Scout. He thought that was cool, but still didn’t want to wait another year before he could go camping.

Holly and Molly were in kindergarten, and Marilyn had them in the local Girl Scout ‘Daisy’ group. I was curious how that was going to work out. Neither Alison nor Maggie had liked the Girl Scouts up in Cooperstown. Of course, they sold some Girl Scout cookies, which I’m always a fan of. Thin Mints and Shortbreads are my favorites, but Samoas are pretty good, too.

We did two weeks at Hougomont this winter break. The first week we invited Big Bob and Harriet down and took the kids with us. While there, we broke the news of my running for Congress to them, which certainly bamboozled them. While they were proud of me, they were also Democrats and I was a Republican, and therefore the enemy. We had several lively discussions over beers around the pool that week. At least they didn’t threaten to disinherit their daughter.

At the end of the week, Big Bob and Harriet flew home. From Utica, the plane would fly on to Rochester, where it would refuel, spend the night, and then pick up the Rottingens and fly back to Nassau. They would arrive tomorrow morning.

For the next day, we just walked the beach and watched the kids play. We also talked an awful lot about what would be involved in the oncoming election campaign. One of the things that Brew had said was that any vacations we had during the campaign season had to be in the district, and those were going to be photo opportunities as well. No flying off to our multimillion-dollar island vacation home. No, we needed to do some family activities in the area. You know, like normal people. Ridiculously rich normal people.

We didn’t think it would be that much of a problem. The kids liked it at Hougomont, but the girls were too young to care, and Charlie was now at the point where he was getting busy. If we didn’t go away, that meant he could ride his motocross bike in another race, and he was turning out to be a very tough competitor. I’m not sure I was ever going to understand the scoring system, but he had it down pat, and he was routinely placing in the top three on the races he entered and was likely to finish this season at the top of the standings. He was doing better in his age group than Bucky had at the same age.

My sister and her family flew in the next morning. I met them at the airport with a minivan we had rented for them; Marilyn stayed at Hougomont with the kids. Marilyn and Suzie had several long talks on the phone prior to this, and my wife had repeatedly told my sister to feel free to pack anything they thought they might need. They wouldn’t have to worry about luggage restrictions.

I hung around the terminal chatting to the Bahamian customs officer. Before we could load their gear up, he would need to admit them to the country. Once the hatch had opened and the steps unfolded, he went on board. A minute later he returned, smiling and nodded to me. Suzie came out next, carrying Harry in her arms, and she look stunned. “It’s suddenly hit me that this is real!” she cried out to me.

I had to laugh at that. “Come on, let’s get you and your stuff into the van. I picked up a couple of car seats, and Marilyn and I put them in, but you’ll need to adjust them.” I waved at Jack who had scampered out the door and down the steps. “Hi, Jack! You bring any stuff?” John came last, holding Alex’s hand. “Welcome to the Bahamas! Let’s get your gear!”

“This is unreal! You own that plane?” he asked.

“Huh? No, it’s just a charter. I’ve been thinking about it, though.” I shook his hand. “You want to know the truth? The best thing about having my kind of money? It’s not the houses or the vacations or the cars or whatever. It’s being able to not fly commercial! No waiting around airports, no luggage limits, no being crammed into miniature seats, none of the stuff that makes flying more nightmare than dream.”

Suzie was in charge of corralling her sons and loading them into the minivan, and the pilot, copilot, John, and I unloaded their bags and put them into the rear. They had taken us at our word, and packed tons of stuff! Or maybe it just seemed that way. Our kids were out of the toddler stage now, and that was a huge amount of stuff right there! Finally, we got everything inside, and I waved goodbye to the pilot and copilot.

“Ready to start your vacation? Okay! I’ll drive, but later, you can use the minivan as you need to. We have one of our own here. Next stop, Hougomont!” I started the minivan and put it in gear.

“What’s Hugo-whatever you said?” asked Suzie. She was sitting in the middle row, where she could fuss with the boys.

“Hougomont. That’s the name of the house.”

John looked funny at me. “You gave your house a name?”

“Eh, not really. It had a name when we bought it. Hougomont was the site of a famous piece of the Battle of Waterloo. No idea why they named the place that. It’s more the name of the estate. You’ll see when we get there,” I replied.

A few minutes later I pulled into the driveway and rolled down to the house. Marilyn was out there, practically jumping with joy. Charlie and the girls were there too, but more controlled than their mother. They were simply curious. They really didn’t understand my family’s ... problems.

I pulled up to the house and said, “End of the line! Everybody out!”

Marilyn pulled the side door open before I had the minivan in Park. “SUZIE!”

“Oh my God! Marilyn? I can’t believe it!” My sister fumbled with her seat belt and then managed to get it off. She jumped out and the two women began hugging each other and crying.

“Holy Christ!” I muttered to myself.