Chapter 7: Lullaby
The limo ride was about an hour or so since the mansion was located in the Massachusetts countryside. When they finally arrived they had to drive through large wrought iron gates with a large cursive "T" on each one. The front lawn was long and sloping as the house sat up on a hill. Large bushes lined the driveway up to the house, which curved slightly until it ended up right in front of the front door. It continued on to a large garage, but the driver stopped in front of the door to let the passengers out. Everyone inside except London was in awe of the place.
"I'm surprised you didn't just live here instead of the hotel," Woody said.
"I liked being in the middle of all the action. It was so boring out here," London said.
Everyone piled out of the car and stretched their legs while a butler exited the house to welcome them.
"Hi Jeeves," London said to the butler and he bowed.
"You actually have a butler named Jeeves?" Zack asked with a chuckle.
London nodded as she led everyone into the house. As they were going in the butler leaned over to Zack and said, "My name is actually Harold, but we let her call me Jeeves because it makes her happy."
"This place is so beautiful London," Bailey said as she looked around the foyer of the house.
On the floor of the entry way was a mosaic of the cursive "T" for Tipton. When they looked up they saw a high ceiling with a skylight dome. In front of them was a winding staircase with beautiful polished banisters.
"This place is awesome! Can we slide down the banisters?" Woody said in anticipation.
London shook her head vehemently to say no and Woody looked disappointed. As they reached the bottom of the staircase Mr. Tipton came in from the room on the right.
"Welcome to my home. We will be having dinner soon, until then feel free to relax in the den," he said and led them into a large room with many couches and love seats.
Zack and London took a seat on one of the love seats, while everyone else found a spot. The room was decorated with antique furniture, paintings, vases, and other items found from around the world. Carey walked around looking at all the decorations with wide eyed wonder. As she stood looking at a painting Mr. Tipton came in and walked over to her.
"That's one of my favorites," he said from right behind her.
Carey jumped slightly and tried to quickly regain her composure.
"Mr. Tipton I'm sorry I didn't realize you where there," Carey said with a nervous laugh.
"That's quite alright Carey, please take a seat," Mr. Tipton said and motioned towards a chair beside Cody and Bailey.
As Mr. Tipton looked around the room, for a second his eyes stopped on Zack and London. Zack was holding London's hand to help calm her and Mr. Tipton saw it. His eyes narrowed for just a second before he continued looking around the room. Zack was extremely nervous, but he refused to let go of her hand. Thankfully for him Mr. Tipton had ignored it for the time being. Another butler walked over to Mr. Tipton and whispered something to him and he nodded.
"Dinner is ready if you will all head to the dining room," Tipton said.
They were served a four course meal at a large dining table that could have seated around thirty Zack guessed. London sat right next to her Dad, who sat at the head of the table. Next to London was Zack, followed by Cody, Bailey, and Woody. Across the table from them were Moseby, Esteban, and Carey.
"Esteban I trust things are going well at the hotel?" Mr. Tipton asked.
"Oh yes, very well," Esteban said with pride.
"Moseby is my ship still in one piece?" Tipton asked and Carey nearly choked on her food when he asked.
Zack had a feeling that Tipton was referring to him and Cody.
"Yes sir, it's in tip top shape," Moseby said and then flashed a warning glare and Zack and Cody.
Zack glanced over and noticed that London hadn't touched much of her food.
"Are you okay?" he whispered to her and she gave him a slight nod, but her face said otherwise.
Mr. Tipton must have noticed because he turned his attention to Zack.
"I understand I have you to thank for looking after my daughter these last few days," Tipton said to Zack.
"Yes sir, I care about your daughter a lot," Zack said and braced himself for whatever was coming.
Mr. Tipton eyed Zack as if he were studying him before saying, "I also understand that I have you to thank for most of the ship's repair bills."
Zack laughed nervously, but Tipton only flashed a half grin before returning to his food.
"I don't know if I'd say most," Zack said and began to laugh again, but it quickly faded.
Zack suddenly became very interested in his food, but he managed to catch a stern glare from his Mom and Moseby. Zack was thankful that dinner ended soon after and they all moved back to the den to talk. As they were leaving London took hold of Zack's hand and guided him in another direction.
"Come with me," she said.
"Will your Dad mind?" Zack asked, but it didn't stop London.
She led him to her room, which made Zack very nervous, but she gave his hand a light squeeze to tell him it was alright. Once they got there Zack was not surprised to find her room looked almost exactly like her room at the Tipton. There were photos all around of her and her friends, including Zack and Cody. Zack was busy looking around when something small brushed past his leg and jumped up on London's bed.
"Ivana!" London cried out.
London picked up her dog and hugged it close.
"I've missed you so much," she said and then laid the dog back on the bed.
London then turned her attention to a cabinet at the back of the room. She opened it up and pulled out a large book. When she brought it over Zack noticed that it was a photo album. London motioned for Zack to sit on the edge of the bed with her where she opened up the album.
"These are pictures of my Mom and me," London said and pointed to a page full of baby photos of London.
Zack had to smile at the cute pictures of her as a baby. London seemed lost in thought as she turned the pages. Occasionally she would explain a picture.
"This was my crib when I was a baby. It was made of gold," she said.
"Wow, that's nice," Zack said as even in the old picture you could still see the sparkle.
As they were looking Zack thought he heard a noise in the hallway and turned to look, but nothing was there.
"Are you okay?" London asked.
"I'm fine, your Dad just has me a little nervous," Zack said.
"Don't mind him, I have him wrapped around my pinky," London said with a grin.
Zack went back to looking at the photos and tried to relax.
"So was your Mom Chinese?" Zack asked.
"I think so, when I asked her she always told me she was 'among' them, what ever that means," London said.
"Oh I think you mean Hmong," Zack corrected her.
"Isn't that what I said?" London asked confusedly.
"Yes, yes that's what you said," Zack said and couldn't help but smile at that innocence that made her so cute.
Zack noticed that London was staring at a picture of when she was around one year old. Finally after a few moments London spoke up.
"I don't have many memories of when I was a baby, but I do remember this lullaby my Mom always sung to me. Rock-a-bye baby in the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks the cradle will fall. And down will come baby cradle and all," London sang, and for the first time Zack could ever remember she hit every note perfectly.
"It's kind of a scary song for a baby when you think about it, but Mom always told me that when the cradle fell the Mommy was there to catch the baby. She said that it meant that life will be rough, but someone will be there to catch you," London said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Zack wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. He looked into her eyes and had every intention of kissing her. He was even leaning in when all of the sudden his Mom called out to him.
"Zack, where are you?" Carey called.
"We're back here," Zack said and the two of them stood up and exited the room.
Thankfully they found his Mom before she realized that they were in London's bedroom, but she was still a little upset that they had gone off alone.
"Guys don't go off by yourselves like that," Carey said.
"Why not?" Zack asked.
"You know why not young man," Carey said sternly.
The two of them walked back to the den and rejoined everyone. It was starting to get late and many of them were beginning to yawn. Mr. Tipton then reappeared in the den to talk to them.
"You are all welcome to stay the night. We have plenty of rooms available to you. I'm going to turn in, but feel free to stay up as long as you want. We will always have someone who is up to assist you. Goodnight and thank you for coming," Mr. Tipton said and then left the room.
The adults decided to turn in and one by one they left the room. As Carey was leaving she turned to Zack and said, "You should let London get some sleep, and that goes for you too Cody. Let the girls got to bed."
Both Zack and Cody groaned at their Mom, but Bailey stood up and said, "She's probably right. We'll have all day tomorrow to hang out Cody."
As Bailey left to go to bed she kissed Cody, which caused a raised eyebrow by Carey. London reluctantly got up, but as she did she slipped a paper into Zack's hand and winked at him. As the girls left with Carey Zack read the note, which said, "Meet me back in the den after everyone is asleep."
Zack waited in his bedroom for about an hour and then slipped out quietly. When he reached the den he found London already there. Quietly he came over and sat down on the couch with her.
"Took you long enough," she said with a quiet giggle.
"Sorry," Zack said, but in truth he was glad to see her smiling again. "Do you think this is a good idea?"
"Probably not, but I really wanted to see you," she said. "I do believe we were in the middle of something earlier when we got interrupted."
Zack's heart began to pound as she leaned in close and finally after all the waiting their lips met. It started soft and gentle, but emotions overwhelmed London and she flung her arms around him. Her tears began to pour out as they kissed. After a minute or so she broke the kiss and fell into his arms, crying her eyes out.
"I was beginning to think you didn't like me the way I like you," she cried. "Every time I thought we were going to kiss you backed off."
"I do like you London. I'm so sorry, but I didn't want to feel like I was taking advantage of you while you were so upset. I wanted to kiss you all those times, but I didn't know what to do," Zack said.
London looked into his eyes with a look of pure adoration as she said, "It's not taking advantage of me if it's what I want too."
The two of them kissed some more while lying on the couch. Soon they found themselves drifting off to sleep. London lay on her side with Zack on his side behind her. His arm was wrapped around her waist as the two of them fell asleep.
"We should probably go back to our own rooms," London said quietly as she drifted off. "Someone might…," she started to say, but sleep overtook her.
Zack knew that it was crazy for them to be sleeping in here, but he did not want to leave. London was sound asleep, but Zack's nerves had him waking up on and off. Each time he swore to himself that he was going to go back to his room, but he couldn't pry himself away. Zack was beginning to drift off again when a noise woke him up. Zack's heart plummeted as he knew someone was in the room. Slowly Zack looked up and saw the last person he wanted to see.
"I think you need to come with me Zack," Mr. Tipton said quietly.