"Little" Sister Pt. 07

Memorial Day was memorable. We rose late. As promised, tea and scones were delivered, with the promise of more the next morning. Central Park was all out for the holiday. We saw performers and dozens of artists. Lars and I had a pencil sketch drawn. After a couple of hours, we rode the subway to Yankee stadium.

The Yankees beat the Mariners 7 – 1, behind CC Sabathia. I would have explained the game to Lars, but I was a little fuzzy myself. That was OK. It was child's play to get half a dozen of the local fans to explain things to my German husband. When the crowd learned we were newlyweds, our money was no good. We soon had our fill of dreadful nachos and warm beer. Lars allowed that the bratwurst was edible, though not the style he was accustomed to eating. He even made a couple of business contacts.

In addition to explaining the game of baseball, our friends-for-the-day had a lot of advice on what to see in Manhattan. Not far from the stadium, we attended a free Philharmonic concert at one of the big churches. It was too late in the day for the Fleet Week events, but the Naval Museum was open late. We dined at Civitano's. To my surprise, the owner remembered me. Lars paid for dinner, but the wine and dessert were on the house. It was after midnight before we made it back to the Plaza. We were almost too tired for sex.

Tuesday was our last time together. Lars had the morning off, so we had time to walk over to Tiffany. He was a little bemused, since the wedding was already over, but he followed my lead. I asked the jeweler to engrave "Kraft Disziplin Kinder" in each of the wedding bands. Lars' smile was like the sun rising.

We made arrangements for Lars' ring to be messaged to his office. For my band, I would return after checking out of the hotel. As I left, I asked to have a jeweler to look at the contents of a thumb drive. It was a copy of the documentation of my four piece set. If possible, I wanted to speak to the artisan that did the work on the reproduction. At the Plaza, I asked the concierge to deliver the jewels to Tiffany.

Lars and I parted over street vendor food. He took a cab to the financial district. I walked back to Tiffany. The store manager, a striking Indian woman named Akta Lake, met me in person. It turned out my jewelry was disrupting the day's work. While the copy had been crafted there, it was something of a mystery. Records of the original work were on file, but no one had referenced them until recently. Even that was at arm's length, since Sheila never left New Jersey.

Most of the negotiations were done by email, often with attached imagery, and confirmed by certified letter. The jewelry was shipped by bonded courier. Tiffany's artisans did a thorough cleaning and repair. During the course of cleaning the original, laser measurements were taken. From these, a rough casting was poured, then crafted to the details of the original. With modern techniques, the reproduction was not difficult.

That said, the artisans were impressed by the original work. Mrs. Lake said that the senior jeweler was of the opinion that my set was an important transition piece. He believed that Charles Tiffany, the owner and founder, did the basic design. Charles turned it over to his son, Lewis C. Tiffany to execute. The result was a fusion of both of their styles.

To make a long conversation short, Tiffany and Company wanted to exhibit the work in their museum. To do that, they needed my permission. Moreover, they wanted to do a second reproduction for the display. I brought Sheila and Sean and into the discussion. We licensed Tiffany and Company the image of me holding the original necklace over Cindy's crib, plus one taken then, using the set I had with me. I showed, but did not release, the image of both the original and the reproduction being worn side by side.

For license of the crib image, release of other images, including those taken during the work, and leave to do the reproduction, Tiffany and Company agreed to do all my future engraving work at no cost. I purchased a desktop sign and had my married name engraved on it. Up to that point, they did not realize I was a member of Congress. Unusually, it did not seem to matter.

Before I left, I asked Mrs. Lake about my engagement ring. She said it was Bavarian work, from the late 19th century, worth about twice the gold value. The Louis C. Tiffany set she valued in excess of $3,000,000. Because of the importance of the original set, the reproduction was worth more than twice what Sheila paid for it. Once the second copy was displayed in their museum, the value would further increase. Mrs. Lake also said that the documentation of provenience was textbook perfect.

It was an interesting dichotomy to chew as we drove to Virginia. The original set of jewels was too valuable to wear. Even the reproduction set was a bit scary. The ring Lars gave me had comparatively little monetary value, hence it could be worn at any time. More than that, I took comfort from the intimacy it gave me with his family.

I let that seep through me. Lars was hours of travel away, yet we were connected. A wedding band is a symbol—no beginning and no end. Continuous. Though he was not with me, his promise was. His commitment was. I resolved to do whatever it took to make the marriage work. And I hoped biology would do its part. Ten days later, in the middle of a vote, my period started.

To add insult to injury, both New York Times Magazine and Unique Bride covered the reception at the Plaza. I was in Congress, but it was also a chance to recap Sean and Sheila's landmark wedding. Both articles ran side-by-side pictures of me—one in the the men's style suit and the other in the short formal dress. Those pictures followed me all year.

That said, I looked damn good. For an ugly child, that is a very important point.

Chapter 38 – Epilogue

I left home days before my eighteenth birthday. Eleven years later, I married. It took two years of weekends and vacations to catch a baby, but I was lucky; I caught two. I was thirty-one when identical twins Frieda and Hannah were born. A year later I had Rolf.

Cloudrest began as a vision, then a project, finally a home. Between donations, fees and grants, I raised about four hundred thousand dollars. Various programs and sponsors contributed thousands of man-hours of expert workmanship and many thousands of dollars in furnishings and decorations. In all, my out of pocket was about seven hundred thousand dollars. I spent an additional hundred thousand buying adjacent lots. Hillsborough County values the whole property at a million and a quarter. Fair market value was estimated at close to five million dollars. The land value alone doubled from the attention.

Cloudrest Industries runs the place. Through the company, Lars and I own a maple syrup brand, an apple and cherry orchard, a canning company, a lumber company and a furniture and cabinet company. Tours are five dollars, children under twelve are three dollars, infants and toddlers are free. After years of complaints, the county finally agreed to upgrade the road enough that school buses are safe. For now the kids are home schooled.

Trip Lusk runs Cloudrest Industries. Elspeth runs the house and the nursery. Between my three and her five, patience is required. It has been a good place to teach our Amish girls the ropes. Cloudrest is a favored place to spend a portion of Rumspringa. In addition, we have two permanent Amish families. One is the blacksmith. The other tends the berry garden, orchard and maintains the grounds. Their wives home school their children and do part time in the main house.

Lars is still in New York City. He made Vice President after three years in Manhattan. We celebrated by taking a working trip to Europe. Lars had two weeks of meetings with senior management. Elspeth and I were able to show the kids a bit of the outside world. I think Rolf's German is better than mine. Meeting Lars' family was interesting. Lars embarrassed me by showing the lederhosen picture. He protested that his thumb was covering my breasts, at least until I punched his arm. That night we conceived Gretchen.

During my third term in the House, the party asked me to run for the Senate. It was a Presidential year. All the Washington insiders were either elated or worried that Hillary might be the Democratic candidate. She was, which is all that needs to be said. I became the newest Senator from New Hampshire.

Three years into my time in the House, Housing and Urban Development started looking into Sean and Sheila's work in my hometown. Sean came to Washington to testify. At the news conference, Sean introduced me as his "little" sister. We were both standing. In my heels, I was about 10 cm (4") taller. Everyone laughed. When he mentioned I had a Sociology PhD from Yale and was attending as an expert, they got quiet fast. I was able to glean a good deal of information from their whispered conversations.

Sean described what K&T Properties had done my hometown. The property group, of which K&T was a founding member, had done similar things in other northern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania communities. Sean had his eye on a distressed neighborhood south of the Baltimore docks. By the end of the Congressional term, K&T had permits and waivers from HUD, the State of Maryland and City of Baltimore.

Six months later, I moved into my new loft apartment. Sheila did the design. A Baltimore architect/general contractor did the work. The neighborhood made it work. My experience in Boston paid off. Being the Big White Bitch had its value. Being able to read lips had more. It did not take long to establish myself as a reliable buffer between the cops and the citizens. My "feelings" and "hunches" grew to mythical proportions.

I also brought employment. FDC Security set up a storefront. Initially, it was a karate dojo that doubled as a recruiting office. Eventually, it expanded into a full-scale training center. South Boston kids came to Baltimore. Baltimore's kids went to Boston. In both places, they learned to work closely with the police. Some of the graduates patrolled my building. Before long the Navy set up down the block, on the other side of the drug testing clinic. Clean became a neighborhood by-word.

For me, it was nice. The commute was much shorter. Johnson had an apartment near the garage. I still did not have a place to entertain, which would be a larger issue as a Senator. Washington is a much different place than my first term as a Congressman, though women's groups still hate me and Ann Coulter still thinks I'm a scary bitch.

Today, I am taking a day away from my office, even though Congress is in session. Cindy, my niece is competing in the North East Region, fourteen and under gymnastics competition. Even though she is the youngest girl participating, Sean thinks she has a real shot at medals. Sean is not one to use plurals accidentally. The event is at Syracuse University. I will meet Elspeth and the kids at the airport. Lars will meet us in the morning.

Here's hoping for the best.

*Late addition. Cindy won four gold medals—three individual events and the individual all around. Those are the first gold medals for a participant under age twelve and a record haul for anyone. Cindy complains that she's too short for the bars. It will not last.