Stealing Flowers Read Online Free PDF Page B

powder-blue and green fern-like dried plants stood in
several spots around the room. An enormous glass coffee table held
fresh flowers and bamboo shoots in water.
    The television sat on a stainless-steel
stand with only a large palm tree beside it, the pot which held it,
was a silver color, but the whole thing was framed by an enormous
window ten feet behind it which looked out on one of the
side-yards. Directly behind the couches was a long wall of
floor-to-ceiling windows which faced the backyard, although a fine
white sheer-curtain covered them. Two enormous pictures hung on the
wall, but I could see neither one of them clearly. Glancing again
at the television, I was amazed to see the tall thin man now
talking to Stan. I stood out of my chair. “How do they do that?” I
asked.
    Everyone laughed. “The program is about
computers,” Stan answered. “We don’t watch much television, but we
had to see this.”
    I tried, but I didn’t understand much of
what was discussed in the interview, except that Stan’s predictions
about the future were hailed by the man as a windfall for everyone.
The man talked about abundance, new leisure time, and an easier
life for everyone. It sounded absolutely marvelous to my ears and I
was beginning to realize I had been adopted by famous people. I’d
never met anyone who had been on television before.
    After the program was over, we all clapped
and Mary and Stan took Sally and me to the Jersey Port Theater to
see a movie, The Lion in Winter. It was the first time I had seen a
motion picture on the big screen, and though I remember it being
hard to understand, I was riveted through the whole thing.
    The theater seats were comfortable and we
sat high up in the second tier, eating popcorn and drinking ice
cola. I held Sally’s hand through the whole story; the castles,
horses, knights, warriors, and English landscape were thrilling.
That night before sleep, Stan came into my room and sat on the edge
of the bed. “How was your first day with us?” he asked.
    I swallowed to keep the tears out of my
eyes. “Great.”
    “When I was a boy your age, my father left
my mother. He wasn’t much of a father anyway, always drunk and
unhappy. When I started in business after the war, I invented and
patented a lathe machine for making precision tools. Now we have
factories in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Japan, and are
making many things. Soon, we’ll have many more factories. Mary is
wonderful at running companies and knowing what to buy. I was a
fighter pilot in Korea, in a conflict just after the Second World
War. If you don’t know what war WWII was, it is the one where the
Western Democracies fought against nations who wanted to impose a
dictatorial government on the world, where you wouldn’t be able to
vote on who runs things. We have an election going on in our
country for president this year between Richard Nixon and whoever
the Democrats elect in Chicago at their upcoming convention.
    “Mary and I will tell you more about
politics as you grow up. I’m primarily a business man and I’m not
really interested in it. Left to my own devices, I like to tinker
with new ideas and to fly. I can teach you two things mainly:
Commercial enterprise and being a pilot. Tomorrow, I’ll take you
out for a quick flying lesson in my Cessna before I leave on a
business trip. I’ll be away a few days. I quite often am. Next
summer, if you’re all caught-up in your schooling, I’ll take you
away with me a few times. I just wanted to say that I’m thrilled to
have you as part of our family. Remember what Mary said tonight at
supper. We want you to do well and go far. I think you can, but
you’re our son now, and we’ll look after you no matter what.
Welcome home.”
    I couldn’t say anything, I was too emotional
and after he’d left, I made sure the door was closed tight and
looked around the room carefully. I liked the wallpaper with the
airplanes and wondered what kind of games I could