The Headmaster's Wife(169)

“Absolutely. Listen. I want to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

Jimmy put the music paper away and turned so that he was sitting on the piano bench with his back to the piano now. Before Jimmy had married Mark’s mother, this loft had been used as a haphazard storage space. Mark thought he liked it much better as a music room. Maybe he could talk Jimmy into driving him into the mall in Danbury for the afternoon. Jimmy didn’t like to go to malls. Enough people still thought of him as a celebrity so that he couldn’t really do that without getting mobbed. Mark just thought he was going to go crazy if he didn’t get to do something interesting soon.

“It’s about next year,” Jimmy said, “about you and school—among other things.”

“I thought that was all set,” Mark said. “Mom is paranoid and doesn’t want me living away from home next year. She’s already talked to Canterbury. I don’t mind the idea of going to Canterbury. It’s a good school. And I’ve got friends from Rumsey there.”

“I know, but something has come up. Actually it came up before all that stuff with you and school exploded, but then your mother and I didn’t have time to talk it out because we wanted to get up to see you. We’ve talked about it a little since, and we thought—thought, really—that we’d leave it up to you. Because I’m ambivalent. So you can decide. The future of the family is on you.”

“Excuse me while I go back to bed and sleep for a month,” Mark said. “I turned sixteen two months ago. I don’t want the future of the family to be on me.”

“Hear me out,” Jimmy said. “I’ve had an offer, like I said, from the London Symphony. To spend a year there as composer in residence. If I took it, we’d take you and Geoff and move to London for a while. Not just a single year, you know, because we wouldn’t want to have you jumping around to different schools. We’d stay at least three years so that you could finish high school. We’d put you and Geoff both in the American School. We’d buy a house—”

“Wait,” Mark said. “London? Are you serious? For three years? Doesn’t Mom hate this? I mean, she’s got stuff to do here. She’s got teaching. She’s got television.”

“She’s willing to give up the teaching,” Jimmy said. “According to her, it’s started to depress her. She’d keep the office here and still do CNN on and off, four or five times a year. She’s talking to the BBC about some kind of arrangement over there. And I told her I’d buy her a house in South Kensington near the Natural History Museum. I don’t know why, but it seems she’s always wanted a house near the Natural History Museum. There’s a big one up for sale, six stories or something. I offered to buy her something in St. James Place, but she’s adamant about the Natural History Museum.”

“We used to go there practically every weekend before my dad got sick,” Mark said. “She’s right. I’d rather be in South Ken than St. James Place. Or Grosvenor Square, which is the other biggie where Americans buy expensive houses in London. Three years? In London? Seriously?”

“I take it you’re in favor,” Jimmy said.

“Hell, yes, I’m in favor. I’m surprised you got her to agree to the American School. She didn’t used to like it. She kept saying that if we were going to be in school in England we should go to English schools.”

“Apparently, it’s too late now. You were supposed to start in sixth grade. Although how you can start high school in sixth grade is beyond me.”

“It’s a different system,” Mark said. “Think of the Harry Potter books. They start at Hogwarts in what we’d call sixth grade. They’re eleven. You’re sure she doesn’t mind this? She isn’t going to get over there and resent the fact that she’s had to jerk around her career?”

“Does your mother look like somebody who would offer to do something if she thought she’d resent it later?”

“I don’t know,” Mark said. “Nothing like this has ever come up before. You’re really serious here. Mom actually wouldn’t mind this?”

“I think she’s actually gung ho in favor of it, to tell you the truth,” Jimmy said. “She lives out here because of you two, but I don’t think she’s a country girl at heart.”

“Well, damn,” Mark said. “Yes. If I get to decide, definitely yes. Is Geoff okay with it?”

“We haven’t told him yet.”