FALLING STARS
Chapter Thirteen
The next few years were peaceful ones for the
Dawsons. Jack took the job managing the art gallery, showing a great deal of
business sense. Since he had plenty of experience as an artist himself, he had
compassion for those artists who were struggling to get ahead, and often
showcased their work just to bring them additional publicity.
The Dawsons’ second child, Libby Emma Dawson,
was born on March 13, 1915. She had a headful of curly red hair, like her
mother, and her father’s amazingly blue eyes.
Nathan Hockley died in July of 1915, leaving
seventy-five million dollars of his eighty million dollar fortune to his son
Caledon, as well as the Hockley steel mills. He also left four million dollars
to Ruth, along with several boutiques that he had invested in at her urging.
Ruth showed a surprising business acumen for someone who had once refused to
work for a living, and soon had turned one of the boutiques into a successful
department store.
Much to the surprise of everyone, Nathan
Hockley left one million dollars and the art gallery to his stepdaughter and
her husband. Jack had been running the gallery for over two years by then, so
it caused little change, and neither he nor Rose were particularly interested
in trying to join the ranks of the upper class. They put most of the money away
in the bank, using only a small amount to buy a larger house for their growing
family.
The Dawsons avoided Cal’s family whenever
possible. Despite the changes in both families’ lives, there was still a fair
amount of tension between them, and they still didn’t trust each other. Rose
disliked Laura, who had a snobbish streak a mile wide, and Laura equally
detested Rose, who she always suspected had designs on her husband, and his
fortune.
Cal and Jack didn’t like each other much,
either, although they usually hid their animosity behind a facade of civility.
They were both businessmen now, although they were in very different
businesses, and they maintained this demeanor for the sake of their businesses
and families.
Still, life was good for the most part, and
the Dawsons lived contentedly and peacefully in Philadelphia until the United
States entered World War I in 1917.