Manhattan Reborn 1978

a new day.

Friday, July 1979, 3.

There are still two days until the traditional Easter holiday.

Houston, Texas, in the south-central United States.

Early morning~

West of downtown, Piney Point Village in the Memorial District, 89 Pinewood Avenue.

The house consists of a two-story building, an attic, a semi-basement, a slightly smaller front yard and a back yard. The single-story usable area is about 160 square meters, with a total of four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

After David bought Villa No. 86, which was diagonally opposite it, he hired someone to carefully renovate the house and replace the old and deformed water and electricity pipes. This was the first time that the new owner moved in.

In a bedroom on the second floor.

David scratched his cheek dazedly, and felt as if a cool breeze blew on his face.

"Huh~" Susan, who was wearing a light yellow nightgown, squatted beside the bed with a rosy face. She blew another breath into David's ear with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Ok?"

This time, David "struggled" to open his eyes a little, and saw Susan's smiling face bathed in the morning light beside him. He smiled and scratched her nose with his fingers.

"Didn't we agree to sleep until we wake up naturally?"

"Yeah, but I woke up a long time ago." Susan reached out and lifted the corner of the quilt, then coquettishly crawled into David's arms, looked up at his chin with stubble, and said in a soft voice.

"We made an agreement with Sierra's mother yesterday. Today, I, Cui Yingying, Zina, and Elena will go out with her to do some shopping for Easter the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah, aren't you coming with us?"

"Oh... uh..." David bent down and kissed her forehead in a daze, then moved his body and put his arms around her back, saying apologetically.

"Sorry~ I have some important appointments today, and I have to meet a few people."

"I'll accompany you after I'm done with these two days..."

Susan pressed, nudging his chin with her forehead.

"It's okay..."

"What about you after Easter? Are you going back to New York right away?"

"No, not yet."

"I'm not needed for the job in New York for now. I plan to finish writing the entire manuscript here first..."

"Oh." Susan responded with secret joy and began to look forward to it.

David gently stroked her back with his hand, opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. His mind gradually became clear and his eyes slowly became bright.

. . .

After getting up and washing.

David asked Susan to go to No. 86 where his parents lived first. He then found two notebooks in his luggage. After thinking for a moment, he put them into a brand new briefcase and left the house.

. . .

More than half an hour later.

In front of No. 89 Songlin Avenue.

Mr. Tianniu drove a 67 version black Chevrolet Impala four-door hardtop sedan and slowly stopped on the side of the street.

This Impala, equipped with a Chevrolet V-8 big-block engine, not only has amazing power, but also has a unique one-piece bench seat that allows the driver and the co-pilot passenger to communicate more conveniently and without obstacles.

"Aren't you going in?" Mr. Tianniu asked, looking into the rearview mirror.

"No, I'll wait in the car." Toby Olga, a former CIA field agent, replied, burying his head in a very thick memo.

"OK!" Mr. Tianniu smiled, turned the key, turned off the engine, opened the car door and left.

Toby didn't seem to notice his departure. He still frowned at the information in his hand, trying to "digest" its contents.

. . .

ten minutes later.

David was wearing a black leather jacket, which is a favorite among young people nowadays, a blue and white plaid shirt, jeans with the cuffs rolled up on purpose, and a pair of black and white striped flat sneakers. He followed Mr. Tianniu out of the house and got into the car.

"Hi~ morning, Toby!"

"How did you sleep last night?"

"fine.."

Toby tilted his head and looked at the "sunny big boy boss" who was exuding youthful hormones, and his mind was a little confused.

Seeing her dazed look, David felt that the effect of his "appearance transformation" was very good, so he turned to the driver, Mr. Tianniu, and asked.

"I just saw the news about the nuclear leak."

"Have you received the latest news from New York?"

"Yeah!" Mr. Tianniu put David's briefcase away, started the car, looked at David in the rearview mirror and said.

"Although the leak at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant has been brought under control, after yesterday's follow-up reports by various news media and the fermentation of various public opinions, there were spontaneous demonstrations of more than 20 people in various districts of New York this morning."

"The crowds participating in the parade shouted and demanded that City Hall and the mayor must order strict control of vehicles and personnel coming from Philadelphia to prevent them from bringing contaminated radioactive materials to New York."

"In order to control the scale and impact of the demonstrations, the New York Police Department announced the cancellation of leave for all police officers, and all officers took to the streets to maintain public order and prevent the outbreak of serious group conflicts."

"Wow! 20 people?" David showed a look of relief on his face, leaned back and sighed.

"I hope the police officers under Chief Matthews can ensure that there will be no trouble on our streets..."

"Haha~" Mr. Tianniu shifted the gears, turned the steering wheel and drove the car, saying with a smile.

"Your bar is a few hundred meters away from Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue where the parade crowds are concentrated, so it should not be affected."

"The gardener said that before being ordered to go on duty, Superintendent Austin from the Auxiliary Police Office specially arranged for several people to look after the bar, restaurant, and art shop."

"Auston!" David crossed his legs and looked out the window, muttering something silently.

Toby, who was sitting next to David and felt ready, put down the memo in his hand and said.

"Last night, I reconfirmed your designated postponed appointment with Maggie who stayed in New York."

"Mr. Kent D. Eisenhower, a friend of Mr. Davis Leahy and Mr. Ethan Kanaotte, has made two appointments with you. You were supposed to meet him yesterday."

"But he was just about to go to New York to meet you yesterday..."

"I know. Have you contacted him?" David asked, his eyes flashing a few times and waving his hand.

"I have contacted him. He came over from Los Angeles last night and is planning to have lunch with you today."

"Lunch is not possible..."

"I've promised Polly I'll have lunch with her family."

"What about dinner? Did you make a reservation for me?"

"No, I thought you wanted to be with your family...so I didn't arrange anything for you." Toby said in a low voice, carefully observing David's reaction.

"It's okay, just help me invite him to dinner."

"The location is set at 19 Songlin Avenue, at six o'clock sharp. I'll wait for him."

"Okay." Toby took out a memo from the briefcase next to him and quickly wrote down the matter.

David glanced at Toby's new memo, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said.

"It turns out that I wanted Maggie to be my work secretary and personal assistant alone."

"But after I asked her twice in a row, she didn't give me an accurate answer."

"So, Toby!"

"Have you ever thought about giving up your job after getting married, having children and becoming a full-time housewife?"

"I... didn't!" Toby paused for a few seconds while recording when David asked him this, and answered seriously.

"I have seen many full-time housewives in London who are busy taking care of their children and husbands every day. They are exhausted by all kinds of trivial matters, but they do not get the understanding and gratitude of their family and lovers."

"I hate this kind of life."

"I will never let myself get bogged down in the endless trivialities of life, only to watch myself age quickly and be despised by others."

"Oh?"

"Hehe~" David met Toby's gaze, looked at her for a few seconds, smiled and nodded slightly, ending the topic.

He reached out and patted the bench seat in front of him, and asked, "Tianniu, has the gardener given you any information about Mr. Kent, whom we are about to meet?"

"Hmm!" Tianniu glanced at Toby, who looked lost, in the rearview mirror and said with a playful look.

"Kent is the son of President Eisenhower, the second son of John Silton Dodd Eisenhower."

"President Eisenhower's family is a large family that has risen in the past century."

"President Eisenhower's father was a mechanic and his mother was well educated. They married and raised seven children."

"Of these seven children, except for President Eisenhower who was admitted to the West Point Military Academy and joined the military, the rest have become elites in various fields."

"They were bankers, lawyers, pharmacists, electrical engineers, and the president of Johns Hopkins University."

"Principal? The principal of Mag Ludwig's alma mater?" David raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked.

"Yes." Tianniu raised his feet slightly, slowed down the car and said.

"This principal brother of President Eisenhower is called Milton."

"Although he served as an informal adviser to the president during Eisenhower's presidency."

"But he is usually very low-key and extremely hates being noticed and exposed by the media."

"So the only information we could find was that he traveled around the world with his family after retirement."

"OK!"

"Forget about him, just continue." David fiddled with the metal zipper on his leather jacket with his fingers and looked out the window.

"Yeah..." Tianniu, who was driving, looked at the street sign to the right, confirmed that he was not going the wrong way, and continued.

"President and Mrs. Eisenhower have two sons."

"Their oldest son died of scarlet fever at the age of three. The second son was Kent's father, John Silton Dodd Eisenhower, known as the General's Son and Little Ike."

"Little Ike has been a gifted student since he was young. He spends most of his time playing tennis, reading history books, participating in the choir, or tutoring younger students."

"Later, he was accepted into the United States Military Academy at West Point and followed his father's example by joining the Army."

"But at his graduation ceremony, his father, General Eisenhower, happened to be in Europe commanding the Allied invasion of Normandy."

"So he spent his vacation after graduation with his father at the headquarters in Normandy."

“After the holiday, Ike decided to follow his family’s advice and continue his studies. He was successfully admitted to Columbia University, where he met his wife.”

"After he got married, he got a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. In addition to being a presidential assistant during his father's presidency, he also worked in various jobs. Finally, he retired in 63 and turned to literary creation and charity work."

"Ike Jr. and his wife had four sons."

"The oldest son, David, graduated from Amherst College in Massachusetts and became a sweetheart with Julie Nixon, who happened to be studying at Smith College, during their college years."