The Union Club

"Alexander? I didn't speak a lot with him in the last few weeks, only some phone calls from time to time. Do you think he is unhappy with how things are going?

At first I was not sure who to ask to be the CEA of Red Bull between the two of you, but you always seemed like the more adventurous person between the two of you. But I never wanted to give Alexander the feeling that I didn't trust him the same as you.

Do you think I should apologize to him?"

Simon was honestly a little surprised by this. He didn't expect his brother to feel bad about his decision.

"Honestly I'm not really sure. I talked with Mom and Dad about Alexander and they didn't want to meddle in the affairs of us siblings. I think we should just go ahead and talk about it with him.

There's really no point to strain our relationship with him over a misunderstanding. I'm not even sure if he is offended by anything we did or just not accustomed to the current circumstances."

In the end Caroline and Simon agreed that only talking frankly with their brother could resolve any misunderstandings. But they were not sure how to approach this conversation. After some short deliberations Simon had a beautiful idea.

"How about inviting him to the Union Club? Recently I received many invitations to the club and I always wanted to spend some time there. Before I left New York we only ever attended events at the Union CLub with our elders. We could make this the first time with just the three of us as adults."

Caroline was immediately on board with this decision and very happy with the place Simon suggested.

The Union Club of the City of New York (commonly known as the Union Club) is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1836. The clubhouse is located at 101 East 69th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in a landmark building designed by Delano & Aldrich that opened on August 28, 1933. 

A continuous projecting cornice divides the nine-story structure into two distinct sections that reflect the interior program. The massive lower floors house the primary social spaces, such as the dining rooms, billiard room and library, and the U-shaped upper floors contain more than sixty bedrooms. Located at the southwest corner of Park Avenue and 37th Street in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan, the main (north) façade incorporates a curved double-height entrance pavilion and oversized Palladian style windows, as well as a large pediment framing a cartouche with the club's initials.

During the second term of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, qualifications for membership were somewhat relaxed, with a 1937 resolution permitting "enrolled Democrats" to join. The following year, in 1938, the Union League celebrated its 75th anniversary. An exhibition of the club's "treasures" was organized and an "open house" was held, allowing women "to inspect the sanctuary of male Republicanism."

The club itself is not without its faults and one shouldn't ignore that women would only gain full membership privileges in 1988.

But Caroline didn't mind this right now, as her mother was visiting the club with their father many times in the past. In 1970 the feminist movement wasn't quite as strong as during SImon's former life. Right now she only focused on getting the relationship between the siblings back to normal.

Shortly after their conversation Simon called his older brother and invited him to the club to have dinner together. They would meet up together a few hours later and enjoy a nice day at the Union club. 

The rest of the morning they spent talking about all the things Simon had seen during his vacation, some problems Caroline encountered during her first time as an entrepreneur and they had a small breakfast together. 

Both of them enjoyed this time together not only as siblings, but also future business partners. If someone described this situation to Caroline a year before, she would have never believed it. Her little brother would turn into a famous entrepreneur who started a company worth potentially billions in the future and she dropped her job at the family law firm to start a food and beverage company.

At 11 o' clock in the morning they joined together in Simon's luxury car and his bodyguard. Caroline's bodyguard and her personal secretary followed behind them in her car.

When they arrived at the Union Club, which was not very far away from Simon's apartment, their older brother was already there. The greetings were very cordial and Simon honestly didn't feel any resentment from his brother at all. Everything seemed as usual and while looking at each other Caroline and her brother could see doubts in their eyes while walking behind Alexander.

They enjoyed a few hours full of new culinary experiences and Simon had to observe his older siblings tasting wonderful wines while he was still too young. Right now he deeply misses Europe and their laws regarding alcoholic beverages.

Of course they didn't start drinking a lot and shortly after they decided to play some snooker together. Both Caroline and Alexander were exceptional players and just watching them play was pure enjoyment for Simon.

They spent all day doing different activities at the Union Club and sometimes some old friends came by visiting them and they met many of their old childhood playmates. The day was very nice overall and they all agreed to repeat something like today at least once a month in the future, if all of them were present in New York.

By the end of the day they were enjoying some small desserts while Alexander was smoking a special cigar on a private balcony of the Union club. Honestly Simon didn't even want to mention their concerns in the morning anymore, because he never felt any negative emotions from his older brother all day.

But Caroline was present during the last few weeks and was absolutely sure that there was something wrong with Alexander. She didn't want to waste this perfect opportunity to clear any problems between each other and hinted constantly to Simon to start the rather awkward conversation. After getting pinched on his waist continuously by Caroline he finally couldn't take it anymore.