The Foreigner's Caress. Kim Shaw

to do with you? Nothing to do…Correct me if I’m wrong, son, but don’t you work for your father? Of course it has everything to do with you.” Janice Elliott huffed as she considered her son’s serious countenance and his earnest request. She resealed the designer duffel bag that she had just closed for the second time as she stuffed yet another toiletry in the already full carrier. They’d bought two extra pieces of luggage in order to accommodate her shopping expenditures, and she feared that she would still not have enough room. She’d been considering the possibility that she’d have to have the hotel ship some of her belongings when Steve had knocked at their Waldorf Astoria suite door.

      Another look at her son and Janice realized that this conversation would require her complete attention. Their flight to London was scheduled for an eight o’clock departure the next morning and she had already done most of the packing for herself and her husband, who was in the bedroom of their suite at the posh hotel taking a conference call. Janice stopped her packing, sighed and sat down on the edge of an ottoman.

      “I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that…Well, you and I both know that Dad can handle things for the time being without me,” Steve said at length.

      He moved across the room and sat down on the sofa. Janice eyed her son, her only child, marveling at the fine young man he’d become, which was a behavior she’d found herself engaging in more and more often recently. He was slightly taller than his father, having inherited her side of the family’s stature. His chestnut-brown skin matched Gregory’s, and he shared the same powerful features. She watched as her son matched the tips of his long fingers together, pressing each hand against the other, something he always did when he was thinking or pressed by some urgent decision. Janice’s brow wrinkled as she realized that her son had something very important on his mind. She moved closer to him, taking a seat beside him on the sofa.

      “What’s going on, Stevenson?” she asked.

      “There’s nothing going on, Mother. I just want to spend some more time here in the States. Look, I know that Dad’s got a lot going on and I understand why you guys need to get back right away. But, Mother, I’ve been working day in and day out since I finished at the university. I need a little break.”

      “Isn’t this a little sudden, son? I mean, you haven’t mentioned anything about wanting to take some time off before. Why now?” Janice pressed, wanting her son to confide in her the way he used to.

      “There’s no specific reason. We’re here in New York City and it’s a great city. I just thought I could take a few more days…perhaps a week or two to get to see more of it. Take in some shows, a couple of basketball games at the Garden…you know. Look, I’ll be back at home and at work before Dad even misses me. Come on, Mother, what do you say?”

      “Well, Stevenson, you’re a grown man. You certainly don’t need my permission,” Janice replied.

      “I know that, Mother, but I want it just the same.”

      “No, what you want is for me to soften the request to your father,” Janice countered.

      She knew her son well and she also knew that like her, he was well aware of his father’s demanding nature.

      “All right. I was thinking that Dad would be less likely to flip out if you were on my side,” Steve admitted. “You know that you have a way with him. So what do you say?” Steve said, nudging his mother’s thigh with his leg.

      Janice grinned as she looked into her son’s face, never having been able to resist that infectious Elliott smile of either her child or his father. She’d gladly take the brunt of Gregory’s discord if it meant sparing Stevenson the same.

      “Oh, all right,” she said. “But you’ll have to make your own arrangements. We’re not paying for you to keep your suite here. It’s an expense that isn’t necessary, considering the amount of time you’ve actually spent indoors. Where will you stay?”

      “That’s already taken care of. I got a room at the Crowne Plaza near the United Nations building. It’s right here in the heart of Midtown and it’s a whole lot cheaper than this place.”

      “Oh, you have?” Janice said, eyeing her son suspiciously. “Well, I guess you’ve thought this all through. All right, well, make sure you contact the travel agent, Elaine, and have her reissue your return flight ticket. And when exactly will that be?”

      “I’ll call you in a few days, Mother, and let you know. Listen, you and Dad have a safe trip and I’ll talk to you soon,” Steve said, kissing his mother swiftly on the cheek before jumping up from the sofa.

      “Aren’t you going to wait to speak with your father?” Janice called as he began making his way toward the door.

      “Oh, you know he’s going to be on the phone with those Wesco guys for at least another hour. I’ve got to get going…I have plans for tonight. Don’t worry, I’ve already packed my belongings. You can just have the bellhop leave my bags with the concierge and I’ll pick them up tomorrow. Love you, Mother,” Steve said.

      With that, he was gone, leaving a puzzled Janice staring after the closed door of the hotel suite, wondering just what had gotten into her son. She also wondered exactly what he meant by a cheaper hotel, hoping that he hadn’t checked in to some economy dive.

      She slipped into a reverie of a time that didn’t seem so far away. When she was her son’s age, her life had been difficult at best. She and Gregory struggled to make ends meet while getting his business off the ground. Janice remembered the early days vividly. She’d given birth to her only child when she and Gregory still lived in a tiny two-room flat that lacked indoor plumbing in the rural farmlands of Jamaica. Both she and Gregory had been raised in the countryside of St. Elizabeth. Gregory was a couple of years older than her, but their families had attended the same ramshackle church where they’d played together as children. Both she and her sister Claudia had carried crushes on Gregory Elliott all through grade school, but it was Janice who’d won his heart.

      Janice always knew that Gregory would be successful. She would sit and listen to him talk for hours about how he was going to get out of the country, out of Jamaica and live a good life. As the youngest of five children in a Seventh Day Adventist family led by a hardworking but indebted farming couple, Gregory had dreamed of a life far removed from the one he’d known. He was sorely embarrassed by his family’s lack, even though all of their neighbors, and the entire town for that matter, were no better off. Gregory became an exceptional student and a determined young man. He had done whatever was necessary to become the success he always knew he could be, and she’d supported him in every way she knew how. Janice supported him emotionally and physically as he earned, bribed and brown-nosed his way into a successful career after starting out in the natural resources manufacturing and trade business in Jamaica.

      By the time Steve turned five years old, Gregory had relocated to England and brought his family over after a six-month separation, leaving the poverty behind. In doing so, they’d also gladly severed all ties to their shameful beginnings. Gregory made every one of his and Janice’s dreams come true, and she was proud to know that their son would have options and opportunities that they had only dreamed of when they were his age. She’d always reasoned that someday there would be retribution for the things they’d done, but she never let that certainty deter her. One of her greatest joys was the knowledge that her son would never have to work as hard as his father had worked. He would never have to sacrifice the way they’d had to. Most importantly to her, his conscience would never be burdened by sins of the past the way hers was. As heir to the Elliott Corporation, one of the largest import/export companies in England, Stevenson was assured of his future.

      Janice smiled again as she thought of her son. She realized that he did deserve a little time off, as he had always worked hard and lived up to every expectation they held for him, even when he was just a little boy. Soon enough it would be time for him to take over more of his father’s operations and settle down to begin a family of his own. She looked forward to the day when she and Gregory could sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labors. She’d already begun planning the trips