Chapter Fourteen

 

“We’ll travel to New York in style.” Those were Drew’s words before they left Ohio and now, looking around her, Kate saw he was right. Drew had booked them a Drawing Room suite, a car that was special ordered from the Pullman Travel Company. The unit had a spacious living room with a wide sofa and two movable lounge chairs. A luggage space with a wardrobe for hanging their clothes was in one corner. A huge bed and bath were part of their accommodations, too. “I thought we’d be sleeping in bunk beds like last time,” Kate exclaimed as she entered the car. Their personal porter took the baggage and was already putting things away.

“Well, that booking was last minute. I would have definitely gotten better accommodations if I’d known sooner. I thought we deserved a honeymoon and this is it. When we arrive in Chicago, our car will automatically switch to the one taking us to Grand Central Terminal in New York City. We don’t have to get off and change trains. We stay in this car.” Drew appeared proud of himself. “If we have to travel for a few days, we may as well enjoy it. The porter will bring our food and clean the room.”

“Just like a hotel.” Kate thought it was a little much but wasn’t going to complain. She spotted the bed and knew she and Drew could sleep together on this trip, not in separate berths like last time. She hadn’t been looking forward to a sleeping car again. The family had seats for the day and then retired to a private car with four small beds, two on top and two on the bottom, like bunk beds. “And on the way home?”

“Same thing.” Drew beamed at her. Suddenly, Kate realized he was accustomed to the finer things in life. She knew little about his past and wondered what his house in New York was like. Maybe she was in over her head when it came to the rich and famous of the 1920s. Too late to do any research. No laptops on the train or wi-fi available...if only she had her phone. A thought occurred to her and she turned to the porter. “Would it be possible to get some magazines?”

“Of course, ma’am, right away.” He turned and left the quarters.

“I didn’t mean right away...”

“That’s their job, Kate. They’re trained to take care of the customer. It’s not a big deal.”

Kate settled in with her pile of magazines. She was surprised to recognize many of them. She pulled Good Housekeeping and Better Homes and Gardens from the stack and set them aside to look at later. Vogue was her first choice after scouring through a pile of vintage movie magazines. Those people loved their movie stars.

She slowly flipped through the pages of Vogue. Most articles were about the latest fashions from Paris and what to wear in the upcoming season. Kate was pretty familiar with the fashions of the day but needed more information about how people lived, what they used in their homes. One article caught her eye. It talked about the four social zones of Fifth Avenue. It seemed like high society lived around Sixty-Eighth Street and beyond. After glancing through the story, she grabbed the pile of magazines and began to sort through them again.

“Kate, you’re so serious over there. Why don’t you take a break and join me? The countryside is breath-taking.” Drew had been staring out the window for quite a while. “I can never get enough of it. The landscape is so different from back east. Everyone should experience this.”

Kate slid next to him. “Yes, it is so beautiful.” She snuggled up next to him. “Drew, I was thinking, we need to take your parents a gift...something for their home. What would they want?”

“Well, we hold lots of lawn parties in the summer and cocktail parties in cooler weather so Mother and Father could always expand their Waterford crystal collection.”

“Wow, I can just imagine those parties, like The Great Gatsby.” Kate thought dreamily of playing croquet in the yard during one of those social gatherings, sipping lemonade from a crystal glass. “Would we have time to shop before we go to the house?”

“Of course, we can do anything you want. I wired ahead that we’re coming. A car will be waiting for us.”

Kate loved the idea of shopping in old New York City. She kissed Drew on the cheek and he returned the kiss. She dissolved into his arms. The magazines could wait.

* * * *

Although it was still afternoon, Kate slipped on her silk nightgown with matching robe. It was dark purple, almost black in color. She felt so grown-up and glamorous in it. Drew had given it to her on their wedding night. Now she felt they could act like a married couple with no interruptions. She could wear a nightgown in the middle of the afternoon if she felt like it.

“Mmm, I like that,” Drew said drowsily.

“Hope you always will because we’ll be married for a long time.”

“I like having you as my wife and my girlfriend. Makes life interesting.” Drew rolled over in the bed and leaned on his elbows gazing at her.

“Stop it, you’re making me blush.” Kate tossed a pillow at him. Drew tossed it back. “Drew, why can’t we be like this back in Ohio? We can have it all there, too.”

“It’s not the same. I feel like you’re my wife here, but not in Ohio. The times are different, I realize that now. I like having both lives, don’t you?”

Kate had to admit she did. “I hate when you’re right!” She threw the pillow back at him. There was a knock at the door which interrupted their fun. Drew jumped from the bed and opened the door just a crack.

“Dinner menu, sir.” A voice came from the other side of the door.

“Thank you, I’ll take it.” When Drew turned around, Kate was dressed and sitting in one of the lounge chairs. “Wow, you’re fast, Mrs. Martin. I thought you might be embarrassed to be seen in your nightclothes. I’m sure he’s seen his share of women in various stages of undress.” He chuckled. “Would you like to read the menu and order dinner?”

Kate nodded and took the menu from his hand, loving the train ride to New York City.

The dinner they ordered turned out to be wonderful. It was romantic to be just the two of them at their table. She loved hearing the clanking of the train on the rails and watching daylight turn to night. She slept well and looked forward to another whole day before arriving at Grand Central Station.

* * * *

“We’ll be arriving later today.” Drew reminded her as they got ready for the day. They’d left Ohio a day earlier than planned so they could arrive on Friday and have the whole weekend with Drew’s family. Kate’s heart skipped a beat. She was a little nervous about seeing Nicolas again. Ilene had been sweet to her and Kate hoped they would get along. It was just that Nicolas was so scary...

“Did you hear me, Kate?” Drew took her by her shoulders.

“Yes, I did.”

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

Kate brought herself back to reality. “Oh, yes I do.” She was doing it for him. He needed to see his family and make things right. This would be the last time they’d see him. She had no plans to ruin it.

As they pulled into the terminal, Kate couldn’t help notice the multitudes of people and how old-fashioned everything seemed. She had to pinch herself to see if it was real. “Ouch!” she said aloud.

“Are you alright?”

“Fine, just checking to see if I’m really here.” She giggled because she’d done that once a long time ago when she’d first arrived at the Grand Canyon. She thought she was dreaming so she had pinched herself then, too.

“I see him.” Drew pointed out the window. “See that man holding the sign? That’s our chauffeur, Salvatore. Stay here and I’ll be right back.”

Did Drew just say our chauffeur? The Martins have their own chauffeur? When Drew said someone would pick them up Kate assumed it would be a taxi service. The porter came into the car, took their luggage to the landing and was greeted by Salvatore and Drew.

“Sal, this is my wife, Kathryn.” Drew took Kate’s hand as she stepped forward and helped her down the steps.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Martin.” Sal gave a slight bow.

“Thank you, Sal.” She noticed he had an Italian accent and wondered how long he had worked for the Martins. She’d ask Drew later.

“Sal, we’d like to go shopping before heading home. Would you please take us to Saks Fifth Avenue?” He put his arm around Kate. “This will be fun. I can’t wait for you to see all the stores on Fifth Avenue.”

Kate had been in New York with her mother a few times and they’d shopped along the Avenue. She was familiar with Saks and was surprised it existed in 1927. Again, Kate felt she’d better brush up on her history.

Sal pulled the Cadillac in front of the department store. Jumping out, he ran around to the passenger side of the car and helped them out. “I’ll be waiting, sir.”

“Thanks, Sal, we won’t be long.”

They entered the store and a man, looking very official, came scurrying up to them. “Mr. Martin, it’s a pleasure to see you again. Anything I can do for you today? And this must be your lovely bride.” He looked at Kate for a brief moment, but all of his attention was on Drew.

“Yes, Jonathan, this is my wife, Kathryn. We’d like to purchase a gift for my parents, something in Waterford.”

“Good choice, sir. Come right this way. Fern will be most willing to help you. Fern!” He darted away as quickly as he appeared.

“Drew, you’ve got to be kidding me. People are fawning all over you.”

“Are they?”

She so wanted to give him a little push and bring him back to his senses but realized that was his way of life in the past. It had no effect on the way he treated people. She would never guess he was a rich snob. Kate chuckled to herself. Snob was not a word she associated with Drew.

A lovely, young girl approached and Kate guessed she must be Fern. She led them to the crystal department on the second floor and took them to the Waterford section, leaving them to make a choice.

“A decanter would be nice.” Drew pointed to a few he liked. Kate had no idea what to pick so she let him make the final choice. After talking to Fern, Drew turned and took Kate’s hand, heading for the elevator.

“Drew, we don’t have the gift! Where are we going?” Kate kept looking back at the crystal department as the elevator doors opened.

“It will be wrapped and delivered tonight,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Oh.” Again she felt overwhelmed.

Sal was waiting for them as promised and whisked them down Fifth Avenue toward Drew’s home. Kate tried to take everything in as they drove along, but she was so overcome by the train ride, the chauffeured car and buying the gift, it was all going by in a blur. Then she saw trees and greenery and realized they were driving by Central Park. She remembered her trip to the zoo with her parents.

“We’re almost there.” Drew pointed to a street as Sal turned. Kate quickly looked at the street sign...East 74^th Street. She should have guessed he lived in the upscale part of town. Didn’t she just read all of New York’s rich lived on 68^th and beyond? The car rolled to a stop in front of a huge four story townhouse of neo-Italian Renaissance design. Drew kissed her on the cheek, “Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.” Kate took Drew’s hand and they headed up the stairs to the round-arched double doors which were quickly opened by the maid.

“Mr. Andrew, welcome home. Everyone’s waiting for you in the study.” The maid took their coats and disappeared.

Standing in the large foyer, Kate began to feel a little queasy. She held onto Drew’s hand tightly. Artwork lined the long hallway looming in front of her and Kate tried to catch a glimpse of it as they walked toward the study. Nicolas rose from his seat behind a large desk when they stepped into the room.

“I didn’t think we’d see the newlyweds until Christmas. Andrew, you said you were going back to school to finish the semester and the same for Kathryn.” His steely eyes burned right through her and she squeezed Drew’s hand harder.

“Father, we thought you’d enjoy a visit before we both headed back to school.”

“Then you are returning to school.”

“That was our intention all along. We’d love for everyone to join us at the canyon for Thanksgiving, but we know that’s asking too much.” Kate was glad Drew held his ground about having the holiday there. “Kathryn, I’d like you to meet my sister, Maria.”

A lovely girl of fifteen stood up and came over to shake Kate’s hand. Her hair was dark like Drew’s, but after looking again, Kate saw it shone with red highlights so it almost appeared a dark auburn. Maria’s eyes met Kate’s and they were definitely the eyes of her father. The dark brown eyes penetrated through her, but were more quizzical than judgmental. Kate took her hand and said, “Lovely to meet you, Maria. Sorry you missed the wedding.”

Maria just made a strange noise and sat down. Ilene was the next to greet her. “I’m so happy you’re here.” She hugged Kate tightly and it felt like she meant what she just said. “Federico is not home yet. You’ll have time to meet him later at dinner. Maria, would you show Kathryn to her room so your father and I can talk to your brother? She’d probably like to get freshened up for dinner.”

Maria slowly got up, acting like any disgruntled teen. “Come on.” She waved her hand at Kate.

Kate had barely had time to take in the room and now she was being ushered out. Glancing at the high wall filled with books, she thought it was a place she’d love to have a few hours to explore. The rest of the room was dark oak and the furniture was fine Italian leather. Choosing a book and curling up in one of those huge, overstuffed chairs in front of the fireplace sounded very appealing.

As they ascended the stairs Kate decided to reach out to Maria. “You know, Maria, I really meant it when I said I was sorry you missed the wedding. Andrew said your parents would never take you out of school to come.”

“You mean we were invited?” Maria seemed surprised.

“Of course, you were. You would have been one of my bridesmaids.” Kate was astonished by this information. Drew’s siblings were never told they were invited to the wedding. That was one thing she could fix and make better.

Kate put her arm around Maria and felt the girl stiffen and then relax. They stopped on the landing before turning to go up the second set of steps. Kate hoped it was a good sign and that Maria wanted to talk. She decided to wait and let her speak first.

She stared out at 74th street through the large front windows. A car pulled up in front of a residence and its passengers disembarked. They entered one of the homes across the way. Kate tried to guess if they were the homeowners or guests. Such a different world compared to living at the canyon. Everyone seemed to have to follow so many rules of society. Kate wasn’t sure she would like that. Maria’s voice suddenly broke through her thoughts.

“I could have been in the wedding? It would’ve been my first time. Oh, I hate my parents sometimes!” Maria stomped her foot like a little girl.

“We all hate our parents at times.” The two girls giggled as they started up the next set of stairs and entered a very large bedroom to the right of the hallway.

“This is Andrew’s room. I guess you’ll be staying here, too. Father argued for a guest bedroom...” Maria covered her mouth. “Sorry, I have a big mouth.”

“That’s quite alright. I like truthfulness.” She sat on the bed and motioned for Maria to join her. “Now I want to hear all about you—your studies, if you like any boys, what you do for fun...”

Maria cut her off. “Really? My parents don’t even care what I’m doing.”

“Well, I do. So please, tell me anything you’d like.”

Maria told her about boarding school and how the girls sneak off on weekends to meet the boys across campus at the boys’ boarding school. She even told stories of Andrew playing baseball with the family in the backyard when he was younger. She said she missed him when he was sent away to boarding school at the age of twelve. “I really miss him. We could talk for hours. He gave me good advice and never judged.” Maria sighed. “Freddie should be home soon and I know he will love you, too.”

Kate was relieved to see her attitude change. “Freddie?” She assumed she meant Federico, but decided to check.

“Well, his name is Federico Nicolas, but we all call him Freddie, except my parents. He likes Freddie better, makes him fit in with his friends.”

“How did Andrew get his name when you two seem to have such Italian names?” Kate was curious.

“Mother said she got to name the first child and then Father could name the rest. So that’s how he got his name—actually it’s Andrew Kelly Martin. I’m Maria Katerina, named for Father’s mother and grandmother. Then there’s Freddie who got the longest Italian name in the family.”

“So I will call Federico, Freddie,” Kate said.

“He’ll like that very much. He should be home from his violin lesson soon.”

“Wow! He plays the violin.”

“Badly! He hates it. Father insisted we all play a musical instrument. When Freddie wouldn’t pick one, father did it for him.”

“Let me guess, you play the piano.” Kate looked at Maria as she nodded in agreement. “I can’t picture Drew playing anything. Let me think...”

“Drew, is that what you call him? That’s so cute.” Maria smiled brightly. “He also played the piano...badly! Please don’t ask him to play.”

Loud stomping could be heard out in the hallway. Maria began to chuckle. “Freddie’s home and not too happy.”

A red-haired boy with freckles and green eyes appeared in the doorway. “Mother said I had to meet Kathryn and she’d better not ask me to play this thing!” He lifted the violin case in the air with one hand. “Death to the violin!”

Kate couldn’t help herself. Freddie was so cute, she ran to him giggling. “You can throw it out the window for all I care.”

“One for the good guys!” He hoisted the case higher over his head and beamed at her. “You’re pretty...nice, I mean.” He stammered and fumbled a bit and Kate gave him a hug. “Got to go...nice meeting you.” He ran across the hall to his bedroom, slamming the door shut.

“I should let you get ready for dinner. When mother says, ‘freshened up,’ she means completely change your clothes and put something on that’s suitable for dinner.” Maria disappeared out the door.

Kate had time to investigate Drew’s bedroom. It was very large with a dressing room and bath. All the woodwork and furniture were dark, Italian in design. The drapes and bedding were dark red with a gold medallion motif making the room look like something for a grown-up man, not a teenager. Kate decided she could get used to all this opulence, with people waiting on her and calling her ma’am. She did say she would stay in the past and live there with Drew if he wanted. It could be her life.

Sinking back on the bed, Kate was overwhelmed by sadness. What was she thinking? She didn’t like that life at all. If she did live in the past, she wanted to be at the canyon riding horses and breathing the fresh air. Her friends were there, plus the beloved boardinghouse. If she stayed in the past, that’s where she pictured living with Drew, the simple life of the cabin, not in New York. She wasn’t sure what his plans were. He just said he wanted to go to college out west. What if he changed his mind and wanted to live in New York City instead?

Kate was overwhelmed with the urgent need to talk to her mother or Lindsey. She felt around in her bag for her cell phone and then it hit her. There would be no calling her mother or anyone else from her present life if she stayed in the past. Panicking, she began to tremble and couldn’t stop. It was silly, she knew that, but seemed to be having some kind of breakdown or panic attack.

“Kate, are you alright?” Drew had slipped into the room without her noticing. He took her hands. “You’re shaking.”

“Drew, it’s just something stupid. I wanted to call my mom and tell her about the day and realized I couldn’t. I was overwhelmed for a moment. I’ll be okay in a few minutes.”

“You’ll see your mother soon enough. We’re here for the weekend, but we’ll head back to the canyon on Sunday. And besides...” Drew got up and walked over to a phone located on his desk. He dialed and then spoke softly into the receiver, beckoning her over.

“You called my mom?” Kate laughed.

“Almost, I think you’ll like this just as much.”

Kate took the receiver. “Hello?”

“Hi, pumpkin! How are you doing?”

“Dad, Daddy, is that you? You’re here?”

“I couldn’t let you be eaten by the wolves alone could I? I’m staying at your grandmother’s. We’ll see you tomorrow at the cocktail party.”

“Cocktail party?”

“I’ll let Andrew fill you in. Grandma Lilly says hello. She can’t wait to see you again.”

“Tell her the same for me. I’m so glad you’re here.” Kate placed the receiver back in its holder. “Drew, what cocktail party?”

“My parents just told me about it. Seems like they invited the whole city to meet you. Mother wanted to give us a reception, I guess. Oh, and I forgot to tell you that our gift was delivered. Mother is saving it to open after dinner.”