America 1982-Chapter 661 - 4: The Way Home

Tommy changed into casual clothes, put on sunglasses, and walked towards the vehicle now parked at the entrance of the Hawk’s Nest.

"This car is really cool," said the nerdy-looking Hilbert, leaning against a column nearby, straightening up as he saw Tommy approaching the car.

It was a four-seat hard-top convertible painted in an all-encompassing black and blue. You didn’t need to inspect the interior to recognize its value; the golden goddess emblem towering above the car’s large front grille gave away the mechanical monster’s hefty price tag.

A limited edition of two hundred units worldwide, it had once been the biggest, most expensive and most luxurious Rolls-Royce Phantom IV convertible in the world.

"The cost of customizing it would be enough to buy three more like it," Tommy turned to his son, "Dorothy said you’re going to Caltech with your high school friends today for a visit."

Hilbert nervously spread his hands: "They’ve already left, and I... uh... Mom called just now to say that before you remarry her, Uncle Dennis will be throwing you a bachelor party..."

Seeing his nervous look, Tommy frowned, "I had no intention of inviting you."

"Uh... Mom left last night and gave this to me, for you, she said you should open it on the day of the party," Hilbert handed Tommy an envelope.

Tommy stared at his son and neatly tore open the envelope.

Inside was a Newport scenic postcard, on the back handwritten by Odelia, "Have fun, remember to come home for dinner the next day," and affixed with a Viagra tablet and a Trojan condom.

Hilbert quietly moved closer and glanced at it, whispering, "Very heartwarming."

"I’ve never needed this stuff, and the price is steep," Tommy tore off the pill and threw it away before pinning the postcard to the front of the car: "The wedding is two weeks from now. All I can do is drive this car alone across America, enjoy my last fling, and then return to family life, to be a gelded old stallion."

"Maybe... not alone," Hilbert began, "I mean, I could come home with you. It’s just..."

"Are you considering studying at Stanford University?" Tommy asked his son, after hearing the proposal to accompany him on the long journey.

Hilbert shook his head: "No, I never thought about it, MIT is my only faith."

"Then stay away from me, kid."

Hilbert somewhat frantically said, "I’ve explained to you, SSD is not right for me, my teacher recommended that I join a cooler honor society for physics enthusiasts, and I did try to please you by trying to understand SSD, but I cannot accept the things they talk about, like why I have to be stuffed with a hundred coins in my ass by them to join SSD, to stand horse stance, then have a newbie swing a blow-up hammer at my head until the coins fall out because of the concussion! That’s pure bullying and humiliation. Were you also stuffed full of coins when you joined SSD?"

"Their recruitment methods are that cool now? Well, I admit, I never enjoyed that program, and you can refuse it too; after all, I think it’s indeed a bit too much. Save the first time for your Connie or some other girl," Tommy noticed the look in Hilbert’s eyes and quickly explained that he had never experienced such a recruitment method himself.

"If someone doesn’t start their life the way you’ve planned, you give them the cold shoulder, right?" Hilbert mustered up the courage to speak to Tommy.

Tommy raised his eyebrows displeased, "I haven’t forced anyone, son. Have you been given the cold shoulder by me? You can still go to MIT; it’s just that I’m somewhat sad because a lot of resources at Stanford University are now going to someone else for cheap."

"Another child? Who?"

"Archie, your Aunt Diane’s son, a bit older than you, dropped out of high school for a while, but lately he’s been willing to take my advice and go to Stanford University to study something related to information engineering."

"The child of the lady who once played mom in a movie? Another half-brother or sister like Felice? If one day the descendants of the Hawk family want to sort out the family tree, they will surely be overwhelmed, or maybe my sister Jenny will request to never publicize the lineage of your branch."

"Can’t put all your eggs in one basket. See you at the Newport wedding, son." Tommy patted Hilbert on the shoulder, then turned to get into the car and drove away, with his final lesson to his son echoing in the wind:

"I don’t belong to the Hawk family; you can’t find any information about me on the internet for the past twenty years, so don’t think about how many half-siblings I’ve fathered for you."

...

Stephen Binn, clad in black, followed the crowd out of the church and just happened to see Tommy leaning against the front of a car, smoking and looking at him:

"Your assistant said you came here for the funeral."

"My girlfriend’s grandfather passed away," Stephen walked over, pulled off the white flower on his chest, and pointed at the young woman in the crowd who could barely suppress a smile and looked no older than in her twenties, introducing her to Tommy, "Her grandfather was two years older than me, and he was my senior at the Fraternity when I was in college."

Tommy took out a cigarette and offered it to him: "The smiles on those people’s faces make me feel like it isn’t their relative who’s died, but their enemy."

"Because I did something really stupid." Stephen lit the cigarette and looked towards Tommy.

Tommy had a knowing look: "You proposed to his adorable granddaughter at your senior’s funeral? Were you afraid he’d break your golf clubs if you’d asked her while he was still alive?"

With a somewhat wistful smile, Stephen nodded slightly to Tommy, "That’s right, although it was a bit... unexpected, I indeed did. I couldn’t lay in a coffin alone like her grandfather, I also want a bunch of family surrounding my body, wracking their brains to recall the few good things I did in my life worth talking about, to loudly tell God, in the hope he might take pity on me for those good deeds and bless me into heaven."

"Unless an accident happens, with the current medical standards, you’ll probably have to wait another forty to fifty years for a natural death to come by. Considering the time, you could indeed create a large number of relatives with your little girlfriend to surround your body after you’re gone," Tommy blew a smoke ring, "I’m sure you’ll build a bigger family when you factor in all those real and fake illegitimate children."

"Let’s change the subject. What did you want to talk to me about? To notify me that since someone accused Caver of violating the US securities laws and I didn’t act swiftly enough, you’re ready to replace me to handle the business and let me retire to enjoy my honeymoon or is it some other business related to streaming media you wanted to discuss?" Stephen asked Tommy.

Stephen Binn, now the undisputed King of Hollywood, or rather, the Keeper of its graveyard, under his Crave online video streaming service, countless movie companies have been destroyed. Crave, an endeavor Tommy helped Stephen set up, is a replica of Netflix, only more damaging to Hollywood than the now-nonexistent Netflix ever was, because long before the internet could handle smooth streaming, Stephen, under Tommy’s guidance and pretending to be a wealthy fool, infiltrated Hollywood and tricked a bunch of people into buying up to seventy percent of the Hollywood Movie Company’s online broadcasting rights. By the time the era of internet streaming media arrived, Crave had already begun their own film and TV production without worrying about losses. As a result, in the era of internet streaming media, no movie or video company had such a rich library of content as Crave, not only American films but also films from England, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and others.

Today, Crave has over 340 million paid subscribers worldwide. With a subscription fee of 9.99 US dollars, the monthly income from paid subscriptions alone amounts to more than three billion. Although the expenses are equally staggering, such a giant enterprise cannot be challenged by those Hollywood movie companies. It speaks with direct figures, like Crave’s brazen promise to produce 300 original film and television works per year with an annual production budget of up to 15 billion US dollars. With such confidence, no director or actor around the world can refuse an invitation from Crave.

Those traditional movie companies have now become content providers for Crave.

Today’s Stephen Binn has realized his initial dream; his office is filled with Emmy and Oscar Grand Slam awards, having completed the collection of all prizes from these two award ceremonies.

Tommy shook his head, "The guy who accused Crave committed suicide, and the Supreme Court also stated that after an investigation, they found the evidence insufficient. I didn’t come to talk business, Stephen. I came to say that I’m getting married too."

"Let me guess, it can’t be Sophia, because there’s no point, and it can’t be Diane, that silly woman has been brainwashed into a medieval wife, so it’s Jenny’s husband’s mother, the German woman who spent a few years at Stanford, your pregnant in-law? Her husband finally couldn’t stand such an absurd life and committed suicide?" Stephen began his own guessing after seeing Tommy’s serious expression:

"Or is it Sandra Block’s lawyer sister? She would match you well, as shady as you, and don’t tell me your relationship with her is pure employment, I know you’ve been stackling in the Four Seasons Hotel..."

"Odelia," Tommy said to Stephen.

Stephen was stunned, looking at Tommy, "Odelia? You’re joking, right? The Odelia Farrell you once hurt, Justice Odelia Farrell of America?"

"Jenny’s exposure in Germany will increase in the next few years, it’s necessary to show the public she comes from a distinguished family that is acceptable and harmonious, with a judge mother and a small businessman father, and she had a happy childhood." Tommy blew a smoke ring, "I thought the opposition to remarrying and returning to the family would come from my brother, my father, or even Odelia, but I didn’t expect that only Jenny voted against it. She feels there’s no need for my help to create a false happy upbringing."

"She’s still angry at you," Stephen mentioned Jenny with a bit of annoyance, "You made Jenny unwilling to return to the US. I have to vacation in Germany as a godfather just to see her. Poor girl."

"Angry with me for what? I admit, I did screw her husband’s mother, but that was before I married her off to him! And I compensated Jenny, I gave her an entire Germany to go wild." Tommy discarded his cigarette end, looking to Stephen, "I promised Odelia I wouldn’t mess around after marriage, so the bachelor party Uncle Dennis is throwing me the day before the wedding will be my last chance to interact with youthful flesh. Remember to come."

"Marriage comes at a bit of a price. Having heard what you said, I now have to reconsider whether I want to marry my little girlfriend, after all... I just turned sixty, and I’m not quite used to spending the rest of my days with just her." Stephen grinned at Tommy, "I bet you’re going to drive over and tell Jason, Jim, Pam, and those others, send my regards to them."

"See you at the retirement ceremony for the golf clubs." Tommy climbed into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove down the road ahead.