Thorne in Motion

(Continuing Toni & Terry)

by Atonia

Part 3

Terry was no financial guru, money was in the bank it was spent, if not it wasn’t. Right now he was sitting on a tidy sum which had nothing to do with his and Toni’s account in Virginia. He’d just come out of the bank where he’d set up a separate account for Henry, one which he would oversee, but would give the boy a little money of his own. The banker suggested he might think of investing. Terry couldn’t think of investing, he had no idea how to go about it.

And so as he was walking down the street in the banking district, he checked his watch, he still had an hour before reporting to Security International, when someone fell into step beside him; he noticed the expensive Italian leather shoes and looked up.

"Max," he stopped in the middle of the pedestrian flow.

Max smiled, "Terry, how goes it my brother?"

"I’m not going ask what you’re doing here, I was just thinking about you."

"Let’s pop in here for a drink," Max steered him into a pub.

"I have to be at work in an hour."

"No problem; have you had lunch?"

"Yes, before I left home."

"And where is home, here in the city?"

"We have a flat here, yes." He sat down at a table Max found.

"Indulge me, I haven’t eaten." Max ordered them both a pint and himself a sandwich.

"Tell me about Toni, is she well…is she happy…I shouldn’t ask."

"She’s doing fine, Max."

"What happened to Virginia?"

"It’s still there; we’re going back in a week. I found a job with Security International Ltd., which will allow me to work from home. I’m not going back into the field."

"Smart man, but then you always were. I always felt I was a step behind you, never quite getting there. I never got the opportunity to do anything with Toni’s inheritance; perhaps I can do something for you. I’m not quite the cold hearted bastard this city would have you to believe." Max took a drink from his pint.

"I never thought you were."

"Security International is a solid company; they do well on the stock exchange. Want I should play with it, you could own it." He smiled.

"I’ve only been there two weeks, Max."

"You should have your own company, weren’t you going to do that at one time?"

"Ah yeah; that was Dino’s idea…he’s not real Max. You have no idea what this has been like. Some things are real that you remember, and some not. I went through the transition in a taxi, if I’d stayed in the taxi I would have been driven to the gates of the house, as it was I got out in front of my building so everything that was there became real…including my son and my ex-wife, the papers were in my office."

Max met his eyes, "So…you have a son." He thought about Toni…and children, "All the more reason to be your own man. You didn’t expect to find him did you?"

"No, I didn’t expect to find anything but I had to come to London, I had to know."

Max looked at him a moment, "Have you a check book, a deposit slip will do…I just need the number of your account."

"What are you going to do?"

"Watch the stock market and check your email. Ah lunch is served…thank you," he smiled and checked out the waitress’s behind as she walked away. "What I am going to do is look out for my younger brother, I do have certain talents."

"Don’t do anything illegal on my account." Terry found a deposit slip and handed it to him.

"I wouldn’t dream of it, are you sure you won’t have a bite, this is very good."

Terry picked a chip from his plate, it was real and he bit into it. "I should go I have to get across town. Max… I don’t know how to thank you."

"Don’t go soft on me now; I’ve never known you to be soft. Take care, Terry, I’ll be in touch." They shook hands and Terry walked out of the pub onto the street and looked back through the window. Max was not there. Such was his life.

He found a taxi and headed for the office, he had no idea what Max would do but he trusted him. He wondered how Max would have fared had he been the one, what would he have done when he found nothing he knew was real. No banking life in London, and no chateau in Provence. Terry thought he had been extremely lucky.

With only a week left in London Toni was food shopping daily knowing everything would be tossed out when they left. She liked the city and had become acquainted with the neighborhood, met a few of her neighbors in the laundry room located in the basement of their building. When everything had been up in the air she’d reconciled herself to living here. There was a part of her that would miss it when they left. There was so much to do and so many places to go, but Terry assured her they would be back soon.

She would be glad to have Terry back home, his working hours were long and lately his sleeping hours had been short. She’d been in touch with Munchie about the equipment that would be arriving for Terry to set up in his office. Munchie was living in her rooms above the kitchen wing and overseeing the house and grounds. Everything seemed to be falling into place for them.

Terry arranged to meet with Liddy alone for lunch the next day. He wanted to discuss Henry.

They greeted each other with a kiss and sat down. "What’s this about, Terry? You don’t usually want to see me alone." Liddy picked up her menu.

"It’s about Henry; I intend to take an active part in his life now. I had a talk with him last Saturday before I took him back to school."

"Oh that’s right, you took him and Peter to the RAF museum. I’m glad you did; I would have been bored to death looking at airplanes."

"He has a passion for them right now. Why not let him pursue it?"

"Like everything else he’ll be onto something else in a month. Some things are best left alone, let it run its course and onto the next thing."

"He’s wanted to be a pilot since he was ten. Why won’t you let him join the RAF Cadets?"

"Oh so he’s been at you about that, a more sympathetic ear."

"Yes he has. I don’t understand your objection; it’s an admirable thing to do. I think it would be good for him; they don’t just fly planes."

"No but they do fly, it only takes one time for it to fall out of the sky."

"He’s more likely to get hit by a car crossing the street than fall out of the sky."

"Oh that’s comforting. Tell me about this new found paternal instinct you’ve suddenly developed."

"I probably deserved that." Terry took a sip out of his water glass. "You’ve done an excellent job with him, Liddy, but I’m in a position now to take some of that responsibility from you. I want to be a part of his life and him to be a part of mine. He has a school break coming up, I’d like him to come to Virginia and stay with us."

"His break is in three weeks…when are you leaving London?"

"Friday, we’re flying out Friday morning."

"We were going to the south of France, plans have been made."

"Unmake them as far as Henry is concerned. I need this time with him, Liddy."

Liddy studied him, "You’ve changed…is it Toni?"

"She’s had a tremendous impact on my life."

"I’m glad for you, Terry, I wasn’t liking what you’d become. I have no objection to his spending time with you. Have you talked to him about Virginia?"

"Yes I have. I believe he wants to come."

"I’ll talk to him as well. I do wonder how you’re going to spend time with him living across the pond."

"We’ll work it out I may not see him every week but we’ll keep in contact. I’ve set up an account for him, a joint account that he may draw money from for whatever a fourteen year old boy needs."

"You’re not going to spoil him now, trying to make up all those years he didn’t see or hear from you?"

"I don’t think so, but if I want to indulge him once in awhile I will. I told him I would talk to you about the cadets."

"I need to think about that, after his break we’ll talk again. I’m not sure he’d keep up with his school work."

"That might be an incentive for him."

"We’ll see," she smiled, "I’m having a salad, if the waitress ever comes back."

Terry sat back in his chair and smiled to himself.

Thursday they went to St. Albans to see Henry and had lunch at his school with him.

"You’re okay with this, flying on your own, your mother will put you on one end and I’ll be waiting at the other."

"Oh sure, flying doesn’t bother me," he grinned across the table.

"I’m really looking forward to your coming, Henry," Toni was sitting beside him and she squeezed his hand. "It’s a big house and needs company."

"Yeah, I’m looking forward to it too." He was excited about going and spending time with his father. "Did you ask her about the cadets?"

"I did and she agreed to think about it, we’ll talk again after you get back from Virginia. It may all rest on how you handle your school work…just thought I’d let you know that."

Henry sat back in his chair with a little smile on his face.

They were on the plane headed home, Toni slept and Terry worried. He’d received a phone call in the airport from Security International congratulating him, he now owned the company. He’d said nothing to Toni about it, and wasn’t sure how he was going to explain it. He’d been so busy trying to work and getting ready to leave he hadn’t checked his email or the stock market. He didn’t know what the bloody hell he was going to do. This was an established and respected company, not some little rag tag organization like he and Dino were going to start. Oh Max, what the fuck have you done.

TBC

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