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Mort will deduct his commission, then wire transfer the remainder of your funds to your bank account,” Stone said to his son. “And as soon as you get home, you have to write a check for five million nine hundred and fifty thousand to the Internal Revenue Service.”
“Ouch!” Peter said.
“Get used to it, Peter,” Mort said. “You’re going to be writing a lot of checks to the IRS.”
“And, Peter,” Leo said, “I have a surprise for you: your film has been accepted for the Sundance Film Festival.”
Somebody found a bottle of champagne, and Peter’s success was toasted.
On the way home Peter said, “What do you want me to do with the money?”
“I think you should open a brokerage account with the Chase Private Bank and let them recommend how to invest it, then buy yourself a nice gift.”
“I’ll have to think about that,” Peter said.
“I’m not going to have anything to do with the money you earn,” Stone said. “I want to see what you do with it.”
“Thank you, Dad,” Peter said.
“Thank you for asking,” Stone replied.
That weekend, Ben Bacchetti took the train down from Choate, picked up his father’s car, and drove himself, Peter, and Hattie to New Haven, to look for housing for themselves. Joan had reserved three rooms for them at a local hotel.
The following day Peter called home.
“Hello?” Stone said.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yes. In fact, it’s better than okay.”
“How so?”
“We found the perfect apartment for us-three bedrooms, living/ dining room, kitchen, and a nice study.”
“What’s the rent?”
“It would be around five thousand a month, if we were renting,” Peter replied. “It’s a new building, to be completed in a couple of months. We saw the model apartment, then took a look at the top-floor unit to get an idea of the space. I’ve decided to buy the apartment.”
Stone thought about that for a moment. “That might be a good use for some of your money, and you’ll probably make a profit on it when you leave Yale. How much is it?”
“It would normally sell for around a million and a half, but they’re as
king a million two, because of the recession. I’ll buy the place, and Peter and Hattie will split the monthly maintenance payments.”
“Offer them a million, then settle for a million one,” Stone said. “Give them a check for ten percent and bring home the contract for me to read before you sign it.”
“Great, Dad, I’ll do that. Something else.”
“What?”
“As soon as I get home I’m going to take driving lessons and get my license, then I’m going to buy a car. I’ll need it around here.”
This, Stone thought, was as inevitable as sex with Hattie. “All right,” he said, “but if you get a speeding ticket the keys are mine.”
“Agreed,” Peter said.
