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Chapter 149: Turning Eighteen
🕑 Added 2025-01-10 17:25:42 +0000 UTCAs he watched the massive Europa slowly glide into the dock at the New York shipyard, Josh nodded in satisfaction. Once the renovations were complete, he would be able to take his family on trips around the world in this 'big toy'.
Although airplanes were faster, their comfort was still an issue in this era. For work that required speed, airplanes were ideal. But for leisurely travel, ships were far more comfortable—especially a luxury liner, which was larger than an aircraft carrier.
And now this gigantic ship was to become Josh's private toy. Wasn't this far more exciting than the so-called superyachts owned by other wealthy people? Of course, the excitement came at a price. The cost of building and maintaining a cruise ship was far greater than that of a yacht.
Fortunately, the Europa's hull was already intact, so only interior renovations were needed, which greatly reduced the cost. Josh also had a lot of untraceable "extra cash" at his disposal. Otherwise, even he couldn't have afforded such a ship as a private yacht.
But this huge ship wasn't just a toy. After the renovations in New York for power systems and recreational facilities, the Europa would undergo further specialized modifications during its next voyage to Austria.
The reason for bringing the ship to the U.S. for renovations was simple: Austria's shipyards were still under construction and couldn't handle a project of this magnitude. Other countries, such as France and Great Britain, were overwhelmed with post-war shipbuilding needs and couldn't take on such a large job either.
For the time being, only American shipyards had the capacity to modify this 50,000-ton giant. The Europa already had a propulsion system, albeit outdated by post-war standards, so it wasn't too difficult to get her to the United States.
"Let's go home," Josh said to Jiaying, who was standing next to him.
Yes, this time it wasn't just the Europa coming to the U.S. It was also Jiaying, Josh's newly appointed butler who had just graduated from Butler Academy, and four huge Saint Bernard dogs.
Typically, basic training at the Butler Academy takes about six months. However, Jiaying had far exceeded that timeframe.
As someone born into the lower social classes of that era, Jiaying had a weak foundation and needed to learn far more than the average butler. Just learning languages and basic Western social customs required immense effort.
The fact that she managed to graduate in a year was due to Lyndon's providing her with numerous private tutors, combined with her own awakened inhuman abilities, which gave her almost limitless stamina, improved memory, reflexes, and physical strength. Otherwise, it would have taken a normal person years to achieve the same results.
Upon their return to Chicago, Josh didn't immediately put Jiaying in charge of the household. Since she was new to her role, it would take time for her to adjust. For now, she was tasked with shadowing the Vito siblings to familiarize herself with Josh's various assets.
Francisca, who managed Josh's Chicago estate and served as Margaret's personal assistant, had a different role. Jiaying's job was to oversee all of Josh's non-commercial properties around the world. So their duties wouldn't conflict.
Initially, Margaret, as the lady of the house, was wary of Josh bringing in a female butler. However, after meeting Jiaying, her concerns were eased.
Jiaying wasn't unattractive, but she was far from stunning, with a very average figure.
Even the mature Margaret, let alone Francisca, was far more attractive than Jiaying, which finally put Margaret at ease and allowed her to accept Jiaying's presence.
After all, Margaret knew Josh's taste very well.
Josh was a man, and although he had great self-control, sometimes he couldn't help but look at a beautiful woman when he met one outside.
Margaret wasn't stupid; she noticed these things. But she wasn't the type to make a fuss over such trivial things.
Compared to Jiaying's arrival, the four large but gentle St. Bernard dogs were much more warmly received by the entire family.
"Oh my, this little guy is getting chubbier," Josh said as he picked up his oldest son, Mike, from his crib.
"Nonsense! Mike's not fat; he's just growing fast. It's perfectly normal for his weight to increase faster," Margaret retorted with a playful eye roll as she worked on the guest list.
She was preparing invitations for Josh's upcoming birthday party. In just half a month, Josh would be celebrating his birthday.
Normally, neither Josh nor Margaret made a big deal out of their birthdays, inviting only a few close friends.
But this time was different—it was Josh's 18th birthday.
On August 8, 1945, Josh would officially turn 18.
In modern times, Americans usually celebrate three significant milestones of adulthood.
The first is at 16, the age at which most people can get their driver's license. It's a big deal and often celebrated with big parties. However, Josh's 16th birthday in late 1943 came during a somewhat awkward period in his relationship with Margaret, so they kept it low-key, celebrating privately and spending the whole day together.
The second milestone is 18, the legal age of adulthood in the U.S., which makes it very significant.
Now that Josh's status and identity were very different from before, his relationship with Margaret had also changed from a story of a young man and a wealthy widow to a romantic story of a successful young Austrian tycoon and a young American widow.
The third milestone is 21, the legal drinking age in modern times—but that law wasn't introduced until the 1970s. In the current era, the legal drinking age was still 18, so the third milestone didn't exist.
"Good, our little one is growing up, not getting fat. Mwah!" Josh said laughing and gave the chubby boy a kiss on the cheek.
This didn't sit well with the baby, who immediately burst into tears.
"Look at you, treating the kids like toys and making them cry! What kind of a father does that?" Margaret scolded, putting down her work and taking the baby from Josh's arms to calm him down.
Josh chuckled awkwardly. Weren't children meant to be played with? If you didn't enjoy them when they were little, they wouldn't be as cute when they grew up.
With that thought, Josh turned his attention to Carol in another cradle.
But this little girl was much more sharp than her brother. The moment she noticed Josh's gaze, she immediately started crying, leaving Josh completely stunned.
I haven't even picked her up yet and she's already rejecting me?
Now faced with two crying children, Margaret was furious. She quickly shooed Josh out of the room while she comforted the children.
"Ugh, you guys are the best, little kids are so annoying!" Josh muttered in the yard, petting the large dogs that had gathered around him.
