"Actually he just got here," I told Emily. "Do you want me to put him on?"
"Oh yes, please!"
I noticed that James was carrying several packages from which a pungent aroma wafted. "Phone for you," I told him. "It's Emily."
"Thank you." He took the receiver from me, and I went into my bedroom so that he'd have some privacy. He came to find me a few minutes later. "Have you eaten?"
I shook my head. I hadn't even been hungry.
"I brought Indian." He nodded to the packages, which he'd sat on the table and opened. "Have you ever had curry before?"
"What's that?"
He laughed. "I didn't think so. Indian food isn't terribly popular in the states, is it?"
I tasted the curry. It was tasty but also quite spicy, more so than I was accustomed to. I had to take a long drink after my first bite.
James laughed again. "You'll get used to it."
"So, how did the orchestra meeting go?" I asked as we were eating.
"Quite well, actually," he replied. "There's going to be a special concert on Christmas Eve. Some of my family from the states might come."
"My brother-in-law loves classical music!" I exclaimed. "I'll invite him as well."
I waited until midnight to call Dimitri and Rose, knowing that they'd be home from work by then. "Hey, Sis!" Rose said when she heard my voice. "How's it going?"
"Great! Listen, James just told me there's gonna be a special concert Christmas Eve. I thought maybe you guys could come." Although I'd only been gone for about a week, I already missed them.
"I'll ask Dimitri. I'm sure he'd love to go," she replied.
For several days I spent a lot of time in James' apartment alone, as he was busy rehearsing for the special concert. I became very familiar with all the British daytime television shows, and when I got bored, I began to venture outside the apartment, going for walks just around the block at first, then eventually to the park or little shops that were nearby. On one such occasion, I was walking through the park when I noticed that a very old woman of about eighty was watching me. Her long, straggly white hair fell about her shoulders, her face was wizened, and she had dull blue eyes that seemed to perk up in surprise when she saw me. Something about her gave me the creeps, and I hurried back to the apartment as quickly as I could.
On the day Dimitri and Rose flew in, James took me to the airport to meet them. Rose hugged me first, then Dimitri. "How are you enjoying England so far?" my sister asked me.
"Oh Rose, it's like magic!" I exclaimed. I told her all about seeing Buckingham Palace and Big Ben, Covent Garden, Harrod's, and meeting James' family. I didn't mention Helena Vesey.
"Sounds like you've really been having a ball," Rose said.
"So how's your pregnancy going so far?" I asked her.
"It's going all right. I get kind of queasy in the mornings, but other than that, I'm mostly OK, as long as I stay away from spicy or greasy food."
The following day we made another trip to the airport, this time to meet James' uncle, who was flying in from Texas. Mary went with us this time. James' uncle turned out to be a burly man of about fifty with brown hair and eyes and a friendly smile. He was wearing a ten-gallon hat with jeans and a red-and-white checkered shirt.
"You look more like Jordan every time I see you," he told Mary as he embraced her.
"This is my friend Lily Hathaway from Montana," James told his uncle. "Lily, this is my uncle, Justin Tennyson."
"Howdy!" Uncle Justin grinned as he shook my hand.
"Yours is the first American accent I've heard in over a week!" I told him.
"Montana, huh?" he asked. "So how did you two get together?"
"I met up with him after a concert," I told him.
"Sounds like somethin' Jordan would have done," he said. "She was always such a dreamer, always moonin' over those English dandies. That's why she went makin' movies. Got into hobnobbing with the rich and famous. That's how her and Vesey ended up together, although I can't complain, since they were happy in the brief time they had together."
I glanced at James, wondering what he thought about his father being referred to as a 'dandy.' He seemed to have paid no mind to his uncle's remark, but it got me to wondering about something.
"What does it mean to be knighted?" I asked James later.
"It's one of the highest honors a man in my country can achieve," he told me. "It's awarded for exceptional service that makes a significant contribution to the country. It took my father many years to be nominated, and it looks like my brother Leo's well on his way to being nominated himself." He chuckled. "Needless to say, I've still got a long way to go."
"Wow," was all I could say. "Can a woman be knighted as well?" I asked, thinking of Mary.
"Yes, but she would become a dame rather than a knight." He smiled. "I believe that, in addition, you'd also have to become a naturalized citizen."
"Oh, I wasn't asking for myself," I said quickly. "I was just wondering, that's all."
I spoke to Rose later in the day. "You and I aren't the only Americans here anymore," I told her. "James' Uncle Justin just flew in from Texas."
"He has family in Texas?" She sounded surprised.
"His Mom was American," I explained.
The Christmas Eve concert was a few nights later. I went with Dimitri and Rose, and introduced them to the rest of James' family when we arrived at the concert hall. I couldn't wait to watch him play oboe again.
