Family

New York City
With high school nearly at an end, Charlie was glad to be back at home for one final weekend before his end of term exams. Then, he’d have the summer off before he attended Harvard in the fall. Though it had been a difficult decision for him to make, his father assured him that Harvard’s business program was one of the best in the country, and if he wouldn’t be attending his father’s alma mater, then Harvard was the next best thing.
Walter would be attending New York City University, and Charlie was a bit concerned about not having any friends at his new school, though he did know of a few others from his school who would be attending. It wouldn’t be the same not having Walter around, but his mother had recently taken ill, and he wanted to stay close to home. Charlie had also considered NYCU but in the end, he just didn’t feel there were many schools in the same league as Harvard, and NYCU certainly didn’t meet the mark.
Grace and her husband Peter were also visiting, and he was looking forward to having an opportunity to spend some time with his sister. It had been quite a while since they were able to visit, though they did correspond from time to time, and he had telephoned once when he was visiting home. She lived upstate now, and her social circle kept her very busy. While Peter had been given the opportunity to work for his father’s shipping company, he had taken on his own challenge and decided to open a factory working on an invention that would allow the air inside a home to be cooled via electricity, a concept he wasn’t familiar with but that intrigued him. Charlie was interested in new inventions and experimentations, so spending time talking to Peter was never a waste.
Charlie had just returned from a stroll around the grounds, something he missed while studying in the city. He spied Peter sitting in a chair in the parlor, open newspaper in hand, and his father seated across from him looking over what appeared to be a business magazine.
“Charlie, old boy! How are you?” Peter asked when he noticed Charlie had entered the room and sat down nearby.
“I can’t complain,” Charlie replied. “Anything exciting in the paper today?”
“Nothing to write home about,” Peter replied, setting it aside. He had a nice looking moustache that Charlie was more than a bit envious of, though he’d never tried to grow one himself. He never thought it would look quite right on him. Now that he was seeing Peter’s again, however, he thought he might give it a go. “How’s life at Prep?”
“Same old, same old,” Charlie shrugged, crossing one leg so that his ankle rested on his knee. “It’s been a wonderful experience, but I think I’m ready to move on.”
“Harvard—those are big digs,” Peter laughed.
“Yes, we finally decided that was the right school for Charlie,” John chimed in, setting his magazine aside and joining in the conversation. “Not an easy decision, I assure you.”
“I should say not,” Peter agreed. “There had to have been hundreds of proper universities vying for your attendance, what with your excellent grades and family legacy.”
“Charlie might be an Ashton, but his acceptance to Harvard was due to his hard work,” his father assured his son-in-law with a smile.
“I’ve no doubt,” Peter nodded. “Grace is always saying what a studious young lad you are, that you’d rather be reading a textbook than out running about with the other young men.”
“I do enjoy studying,” Charlie admitted, “but I also try to get some exercise and fresh air regularly. I feel I can study better when my head is clear.”
“Good point,” Peter replied. “Wonderful attitude to have. I find I do my best thinking after a good, brisk walk.”
“Indeed,” John agreed. “There is something to be said for fresh air.”
“You must have plenty of fresh air in Buffalo,” Charlie said. “Surely there isn’t the type of polluted air up there that you’ll find down here in the city.”
“Oh, it’s lovely,” Peter agreed. “There are a number of manufacturing facilities there now, including my own, but it’s not nearly as dense as what you’re used to here. Not nearly the people, the movement, the noise. I quite like it.”
“I imagine it’s more peaceful,” John agreed. “Grace seems to be enjoying it.”
“The people have certainly embraced her,” Peter nodded. “She is the toast of the town. It seems everyone wants to have brunch with Grace Ashton Buckner.”
They all laughed, though Charlie wasn’t quite sure why that was so funny. His sister had always been good at entertaining. It shouldn’t matter where she was living; he was certain she would always love to throw a celebration of some sort. “Tell me more about your factory.”
“Well, right now, we are mostly producing pieces for existing coolant machinery—ice boxes, fans, that sort of thing—not really that exciting, but we have in development some very exciting innovations that may actually allow one to cool their home to whatever temperature they like, even in the summertime,” Peter explained, leaning forward with his lanky arms on his knees. “It’s really quite exciting.”
“It sounds fascinating,” Charlie admitted. He continued to ask questions about how the new product would work, and Peter did his best to answer them though there were times that Charlie’s questions stumped even him, the owner of the factory. John sat and listened for the most part, only chiming in to express his amazement periodically. After a lengthy discussion, Charlie finally managed, “Well, I’m very impressed. And I think it says something that you didn’t feel pressured into running your father’s company. Going out into the world and making your own mark really speaks volumes about your character, I think.”
“Why thank you, Charlie,” Peter smiled. “I appreciate the sentiment. But I’m sure you’ll do the same. I’ll still take over my father’s company whenever he is ready to retire, but in the meantime, I may as well find my own interest and do my own thing. I’m learning a lot about business, probably more than I would if I was solely under my father’s tutelage. Though he knows a great deal about running a business, having my own factory allows me to do everything for myself, to take my own risks and learn my own lessons. It’s really the way to go, I feel.”
“Charlie will always be able to start his own business if he so chooses once he’s graduated,” John interjected “I believe he knows that.”
A bit surprised to actually hear these words from his father, Charlie decided to mask his astonishment so as not to offend him. “I have always been interested in taking some risks, looking at some cutting edge technologies. I hope to have the opportunity to do so someday.”
“And you will also have Westmoreland Textiles,” John reminded him.
Though he was aware of this condition in the agreement his father and Mr. Westmoreland had come to so many years ago, it wasn’t something Charlie was looking forward to. The textile industry simply didn’t interest him, and it seemed as if this particular company was not doing well from what he could gather in the business pages if and when it was even mentioned. “Yes, Father,” Charlie replied. “Another venture I’ll need to be sure I’m prepared for while I’m at Harvard.”
“How is Mary Margaret?” Peter asked. “Have you met in person yet?”
Charlie wasn’t sure why Peter was asking since he was fairly certain this is something his sister would have discussed with her husband. Perhaps he was trying to make a point, though Charlie wasn’t quite certain what it might be. “Not yet,” he answered. “Though we do correspond rather regularly. She sent a likeness the last time she wrote.”
“Oh, how lovely,” Peter nodded. “I’m sure she’s breathtaking.”
Though the picture Charlie had received was a few years old, and therefore he wasn’t certain what the young lady might look like at her present age, he decided it would be better to avoid that entire discussion. “Yes, she’s certainly very pretty. Of course, she’s not reached her majority yet, so only time will tell.”
“Her mother was quite a striking young woman,” John offered, the look in his eyes revealing faded memories at play. “I can’t imagine Henry and Mildred Westmoreland’s daughter being anything less than beautiful.”
“Indeed,” Charlie nodded. “At any rate, I should like to go and visit her at some point, but that will be difficult with me going off to school in the fall.”
“Couldn’t you go this summer?” Peter asked. The question seemed innocent enough, but Charlie wasn’t exactly sure, again, what he might be getting at.
Before he could formulate a response, John replied, “I’ve decided not to go to England this summer. I was there in the winter, and Charlie couldn’t go because of school. I have several meetings lined up with business associates who will be visiting the city this summer, and I intend to concentrate on them.”
“I see. And Bertram Westmoreland isn’t one of them?” Peter probed.
“Not at present,” John admitted, “though it would be nice if he were to drop by. We honestly don’t do much business at all with Westmoreland Textiles anymore, but it would be suitable to know how business is as we approach the shift.”
“We have a few more years to worry about getting that all straightened out, though,” Charlie reminded them.
“Yes, of course,” Peter replied, perhaps realizing he was nearly stepping out of bounds. “Well, I do hope you know what you have to look forward to. Married life is so much better than I ever thought it would be. To come home from work each day to your sister’s smiling face and to know that the house is in perfect order because of her tireless efforts—it’s really not something one can understand unless he lives it.”
“Now that, she gets from her mother,” John laughed. “Pamela has always done a wonderful job of making my home my solace.”
As the other two gentlemen continued to ramble on about how important having a good wife was to one’s sanity, Charlie’s mind began to wonder. He hoped that Mary Margaret would have those skills, but he had no way of knowing, and since he hadn’t even met her, it was likely he wouldn’t find out until after they were married. Times like this made him wish he had some sort of a say, a choice in the matter. But since he knew he did not, he briskly brushed those thoughts aside and put his faith in his father and his college roommate. Surely, they knew what was best for their children. They just had to.