Chapter 5 - How Soon Is Now?
It was raining when the plane touched down at Heathrow Airport. “Welcome home,” Sebastian announced with a tinge of sarcasm as they collected Penny’s bags and loaded them onto a trolley. The bad weather slowed down the drive back to Kensington. Neither spoke a word for the duration of the trip; they had been jolted back to an unwanted reality and the future was unclear.
With the car unpacked and Penelope’s belongings neatly stacked in the hallway of her flat, Sebastian took one last look at Penny. They didn’t touch, kiss, or speak. Instead, Sebastian simply smiled a beautiful and genuine smile that let her know how happy and grateful he was for their time together.
His mother’s house was unusually quiet when he arrived home that afternoon. He was only a few steps up the grand marble staircase when he heard his mother’s domineering footsteps enter the foyer. “Sebastian, I want to see you in the study,” she said with an eerie calm. There was no inclination of his pending doom.
He dolefully followed her into the study. She was wearing a black-and-white plaid Chanel suit and modest black pumps. Her brown hair was neatly fixed in an updo. Lady Irons sat behind the large cherry desk with great authority. The chill in the air was palpable as Sebastian took a seat opposite her.
“You’ve disappointed me more than I could ever have imagined. You are a lazy and irresponsible embarrassment to this family,” Lady Irons declared, her steel gray eyes boring a hole straight through him.
There it was: that was the woman he knew. “You’ve forgotten drunken fornicator,” he reminded her, trying to push her over the edge.
She ignored him, continuing, “You brought illegal drugs into this house. Your friend overdoses and there is a police investigation. Did you honestly think I would not find out?”
“Alistair said it won’t hit the press,” Sebastian attempted to reassure her as much as himself.
“Yes, well, how fortunate for you to have a Windsor as a close personal friend,” she said with great disdain. She opened the top desk drawer and pulled out a folder, her eyes never leaving his. Lady Irons slid the folder across the desk and it fell into Sebastian’s lap.
Gathering strength, he picked up the folder and slowly opened it to see what lay in his future. It was a paper airline ticket from London to … “Philadelphia?” he questioned, with equal parts disgust and horror.
“Pack your things. You’re leaving in two days time. I’ve enrolled you in St. Alexander’s Catholic School, where you will repeat the year…”
“We’re not Catholic,” Sebastian interrupted. “You really think I can get a better education there than at Eton?”
“Have you forgotten Eton is longer an option for you? Has your drunken debauchery affected your memory?”
“I’m not an imbecile!”
“Then stop acting like one,” she said, devoid of emotion. “St. Alexander’s is one the top schools in the state. I’ve arranged a tutor, the brightest student they have. Maybe the strict environment will make an impression on you.”
Sebastian shook his head in disbelief. “Why don’t you just send me to a home for juvenile delinquents?”
“It was one of my considerations,” she replied with an evil smile. “You’ll be accompanied by Mrs. Jones, who, in conjunction with the small staff I’ve hired, will report back to me on your progress.”
“Where will I be living?”
“I have an investment property in the suburbs of Philadelphia. You’ll stay there.”
Lady Irons stood and straightened her jacket. “You have one year to fall in line. If you refuse to shape up, you will endure my wrath and wish you’d never been born.”
“You’ve been an absentee mother my entire life. What gives you the right to dictate my future?” Sebastian spat back in anger as he watched her walking toward the double doors to leave the room.
“My money.”
He watched her open the doors and quietly close them behind her. “What the bloody hell just happened?” he wondered aloud to himself. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined she’d send him to America. He felt like a convict being put on a ship to Australia. The punishment was harsh. He shoved the ticket into the breast pocket of his khaki linen jacket and tore off for Nanny’s room.
He burst into her room without knocking. Caught off guard, she jumped. “Sebastian, you know you should never barge into a room unannounced.”
“Sorry, Nanny,” he apologized, slumping onto the sofa.
“Don’t slouch, dear. Now tell me what’s going on. You’ve been missing in action for a week.”
Sebastian corrected his posture. “I’ve been sent down from Eton and Mother has banished me to America,” he gloomily responded. “But you know that already, since she’s shipping you off to watch over me.”
“Sebastian, this couldn’t have come as a great surprise. I tried to warn you.”
“If she wants to treat me like delinquent, then I’ll bloody well act like one!”
“Stop it, Sebastian. It’s about time you take responsibility for your actions,” she scolded. “I love you, but I am tired of this destructive attitude. Grow up and do the right thing.”
Sebastian was taken aback by her stern words. It wasn’t like Nanny to treat him this way. “Please don’t, Nanny,” he pleaded. “You’re right. You’re always right. Now I just need your help to get myself out of this chaos.”
Nanny left her knitting behind in her chair to join him on the sofa. She took his hand, saying, “My dear, you are an intelligent young man who has not made intelligent decisions.”
“What do you want me to do?” he asked in despair.
“I want you to be happy. To do that, you have to make a conscious choice to change your life. The world is far from perfect, Sebastian. There is conflict and heartache, but there is also contentedness and joy. It’s yours for the taking if you just change the way you live your life.”
“And just how do I change my life?”
“Buckle down. Take your education seriously. Have you given any thought to what you want to do with the rest of your life?”
“I was never given a choice, Nanny—you know that. Mother has me graduating Oxford and taking over the reins of Irons Electronics. What’s the point of pondering anything different?”
Nanny took his chin in her hand and turned his head so she could look him straight in the eye. “Sebastian Irons, I raised you better than this. Never, never, never give up.”
“You can quote Winston Churchill, but that still isn’t going to help me.”
“I want you to go back to your room and allow yourself to dream. What do you love? How do you want to spend the rest of your life? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? You always have a choice, Sebastian.” She patted his knee. “Go on. When you find some clarity, come back here and we’ll come up with a plan to make your dreams a reality.”
Sebastian hugged her. “I love you more than anyone in the world.”
“And I you.”
Sebastian walked into his bedroom and threw his linen jacket on the sofa. Flopping on the bed, he grabbed his Walkman from the bedside table, pushed the play button, and adjusted his headphones as he lay back on the feather pillow. Nik Kershaw’s Wouldn’t It Be Good began to play.
He reflected as the music swirled around his subconscious. Nanny challenged him to come up with a list of things he loved. It wasn’t a very long list. He could count them all on one hand: Nanny, Penny, art, and poetry. Penny could never belong to him. Artists and poets usually had to die to achieve any type of wealth or fame. Although he was as miserable as a poet and painter, he wasn’t ready to die yet.
Sebastian grabbed the battered golden brown teddy bear that sat next to him and plopped it on his stomach. “I don’t suppose you have any brilliant ideas, Charles?” The bear didn’t respond. It simply stared back at Sebastian with its crooked black felt smile. He pulled the bear in to his chest and closed his eyes. Soon he drifted off to sleep.
Sebastian dialed the number, the familiar tones beeping in his ear, and waited patiently. Eventually a click signified that someone had picked up the receiver on the other end of the line. “Alistair?”
“Sebastian, where the bloody hell have you been? I’ve been trying to find you for a week.”
“I needed to get out of England. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner,” he apologized—not so much for the lack of communication, but for sleeping with Alistair’s girlfriend.
“Are you okay? Penny said you were out of sorts.”
Sebastian really didn’t want to answer the question, and hearing Penny’s name felt like a small knife stabbing his heart. “Look, I rang you to let you know that I’m being sent to America. I leave in two days. I won’t have the chance to see you before I go. I just wanted to say goodbye.”
“You must be joking!”
“I wish I were.”
“What will Penny and I do without you? We’re the Libertines.”
“Alistair, do me a favor? Break the news to Pen, will you?”
“Of course,” the Prince agreed. “You’ll keep in touch?”
“Absolutely. Goodnight, blue blood.” He set the receiver down in its cradle with a heavy sigh, poured himself a scotch, and hauled the largest suitcase out of the closet to start packing.
Sebastian had all his clothes packed by morning. He decided to visit Nanny to see if he could assist her in any way before they departed. He gently knocked on her partially opened door and entered. “Hello, Nanny. I’ve come to see if you needed any help packing.”
“Good morning, dear. I’m prepared to leave. I don’t require all the bits and bobs you young people need.”
“Are you going to make me feel guilty already?”
“Oh, no, not at all. I just don’t need all these modern gadgets like Walkmen and CDs. All I need is my small wardrobe and my knitting needles.”
“It’s a Walkman,” Sebastian corrected as he sat next to her on the sofa.
“So have you given thought to the questions I posed yesterday?”
“Yes,” he responded in all seriousness. “I know that I love art and poetry. I guess it wouldn’t be a bad thing to attend university and study art history or perhaps English literature, even if it is at Oxford.”
“Who said you had to go to Oxford?”
“Nanny, you know Mother won’t hear of any other place,” he responded in exasperation.
“What if you worked diligently this upcoming year to correct your marks? If you would show vast improvement, I believe you will look very appealing to some universities in America.” She planted the seed in his mind with one simple sentence. Now all it had to do was take root and sprout.
For as long as Sebastian could remember, it was instilled in his brain that he would attend Oxford. The thought had never occurred to him that there was a vast array of choices out there. He never let himself contemplate those choices. He loved her for putting forth the idea, but frowned. “Mother would never go for it. She pays the tuition, after all.”
“Take your mother out of the equation,” Nanny insisted.
“And how will I pay for this fantasy education?”
“I’ll pay for it,” she replied. “Your mother has paid me handsomely throughout my years of service to her family. With her burgeoning career after she divorced your father, I was the one who raised you because she was not around. She provided me room and meals and all of my essentials, so I really had no need for a salary.” Nanny winked at him. “Seventeen years of saving and sound investments add up, young man. I think this is a lesson you need to learn now if you wish to make your own way in life.”
He looked upon her with all the love and affection he could muster before he quietly said, “I can’t take your money. I don’t deserve it.”
Nanny took his hand, smiling sweetly upon him. “That’s why I need to you promise me you’ll take every advantage of the opportunities that await you in America. You are a smart young man with a great capacity to love. I expect you to make an extraordinary life for yourself. I will be pleased with nothing less.”
He hugged her tightly. “I promise I won’t let you down.”
Nanny gave him a stern look as Sebastian pulled away. “Now, this won’t be easy. Nothing worth having ever is. I expect you to use this summer to research universities and decide which ones you wish to attend. Your mother has informed me that she has hired the best student at St. Alexander’s to tutor you. You must take full advantage of your tutor’s guidance to help you achieve your goals. Will you do that for me?”
“Absolutely,” he swore. He still wanted to stick it to his mother, but now Nanny was involved. For her, he would do anything. So now he had no choice but to become the model student Nanny wanted.
“We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I think I’ll have a nap now.”
“Of course,” Sebastian agreed. He kissed her on the cheek and left her in silence, softly closing the door behind him.
There was an optimistic pep to his step as he bounded down the hallway. Maybe he really did have a shot at making his own way in life and escaping his mother’s vice-like grip. He rounded the corner with a smile on his face and started down the marble staircase, two steps at a time.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Lady Irons was crossing the foyer as the butler answered the door. There, in the broad doorway, stood Alistair and Penny. Sebastian stopped in his tracks, grasping the banister for support.
“Prince Alistair, please come in,” Lady Irons welcomed with a curtsey.
“Thank you, Lady Irons. We are sorry to arrive unannounced. We’re hoping we could visit with Sebastian before he leaves for America.”
“By all means. One of the servants will summon him.”
“I’m right here,” Sebastian announced. It was unexpected to see them both. Happy to have a proper goodbye, he continued down the stairs and met them at the bottom.
“I’ll leave you to say your goodbyes,” his mother announced, excusing herself from the trio.
They made their way into the drawing room. Sebastian poured them each a glass of scotch. Alistair raised his glass to make a toast. “To the Libertines.”
They all raised their glasses in unison and repeated, “To the Libertines.”
Sebastian studied his friends. Penny looked lovely as ever in a pale pink silk sheath dress. Alistair was wearing one of his Savile Row suits. It hurt Sebastian to see how perfect they looked together. “I’m glad you came to see me off,” he said.
“What will you do in America?” Penny asked.
“I have a plan. Well, the beginnings of a plan anyway. I think it will be a good trip for me. I can sort out some things. Get my life on track. We can’t continue to party and drink forever, can we? We have to be adults.” He directed the last line at Penny, remembering their last night in Alicante.
Penny nodded solemnly. “You’ll write us, won’t you? I don’t want to miss a moment of your great American adventure.”
“And I promise that Penny and I will come visit you once you’ve settled in,” Alistair added.
“Yes, I would like that.”
Alistair gave Sebastian a hug while slapping him on the back. “Take care, Irons.”
“You too, blue blood.”
He turned to Penny and gently hugged her goodbye.
Sebastian escorted them to the front door and watched as they descended the stone steps to Alistair’s Range Rover. He turned away, closed the door, and started back to his bedroom.
As Alistair opened the passenger door of the vehicle, Penny stopped in her tracks and put her hand over her mouth in distress. “Oh! I forgot my silk scarf. I must have left it in the drawing room.” She glanced over her shoulder toward the front door.
“I’ll fetch it for you,” Alistair offered.
“No, I can get it. Just start the car. It will only take a minute,” she told him.
Penny returned to the house, opened the door, and ran down the foyer calling out Sebastian’s name. He turned, halfway up the stairs, and rushed back down to meet her. She threw her arms around him and passionately kissed him goodbye. She pulled away, wiping a single tear from her eye. “Be happy, Sebastian.”
“You too, Pen,” he whispered back.
She smiled at him, then quickly turned on her heel and rushed out the door, back to Alistair. She artfully pulled the hidden silk scarf out of her handbag and held it aloft for Alistair to see.
Part 2 - America 1985
Chapter 6 - Cruel Summer
“Well, here we are,” Sebastian muttered as they deplaned at Philadelphia International Airport.
“Cheer up. You look as if you’re going in front of a firing squad,” Nanny said.
“I may very well be.” They followed the signs that lead to customs. “I hope this doesn’t take long,” he sighed, looking at the line of travelers queued to have their passports stamped. Sebastian put the palm of his hand on his lower back, wincing as he stretched.
After they cleared customs, Sebastian escorted Nanny down the escalator in search of the hired help, Henry Cummings. Soon he spied a man holding up a white sign with ‘S. Irons’ printed on it. Henry was a fit, middle-aged man with thinning blond hair and pale blue eyes. He was simply dressed in khakis and a white, short-sleeved, button-down collared shirt. Sebastian noticed he wasn’t wearing a tie.
“I’m Sebastian Irons and this is Mrs. Martha Jones,” he introduced.
Henry took Sebastian’s hand and shook it firmly. “Welcome to America. I hope you had a relaxing flight.”
“It was fine, thank you. I’d like to get Nanny Jones home, wherever that may be, as soon as possible. She doesn’t travel well.”
Life's What You Make It: Love's Great Adventure Book 1 Page 5