Wellstead - 18. WSD Chapter 18

Emm brought me out of the doldrums as he announced that he had arrived in Brisbane safely, and that he had settled into his grandparent’s home, where he was organising plans for that night’s dinner before going to the school to collect the twins at the end of the school day.

We spoke by telephone for about an hour every evening after the twins had gone to bed, not only general chat but also about business, as I kept Emm up to date on what was happening at the office, and Emm couldn’t help but take some of the work load off me.

Emmanuel had taken his work laptop and portable printer, briefcase and phone with him to Brisbane, and ended up spending half the day doing business work from his grandparent’s home while the twins were at school, with house-cleaning, laundry, shopping and food preparations in between all of that.

Emm even managed to attend two meetings in the city, representing the mayor. Once the meetings were over he wrote a summary report about each meeting plus a copy of the minutes he had written, which he forwarded to me to read. I really don’t know how I could do anything without this young man; he was able to keep me in order with business, as well as developing a wonderful personal relationship which was making me very happy.

On the Friday of the long weekend Emmanuel, Lucas and Micah were on the early evening flight from Brisbane to Townsville. They arrived shortly after 7pm, and the twins greeted me with a hand shake followed by a warm hug, which took me by surprise. Emm just had a huge smile on his face.

Once in the penthouse apartment I informed the twins that, due to room restrictions in Emm’s apartment downstairs, I had arranged for all of them to spend the long weekend in the penthouse, with Emm taking the master guest bedroom and the twins sharing the other bedroom, which had two king single beds in it. I even had brought up some of Emm’s clothes from his apartment and put them away in the master guest bedroom. I ordered takeaway for dinner, which arrived just twenty minutes later. The twins were very hungry after such a long day.

Just as we were finishing off dinner, Emm’s mobile started ringing with number with-heldshowing up on the screen. With a puzzled look he answered it, and after a few moments he stood up and walked into the study, closing the door behind him. Meanwhile I encouraged the twins to help me to clear the table and to help wash the dishes. I was surprised they gladly agreed to do so with each boy grabbing a tea towel to dry the dishes.

Once we had finished I noticed that Emm had not left the study. As I approached the study door I could hear Emm speaking in Italian. He didn’t sound too happy. Quietly I opened the door and peered in. Emm saw me and motioned me to come in, so I closed the door behind me and sat down in a lounge chair in the corner.

As I listened to the one side of the conversation, I was starting to realise that something horrible had happened in Italy with his parents and grandparents. When the telephone call ended Emm burst into tears and collapsed into a heap on the floor. I carefully sat down next to him and pulled him into an embrace and let him cry, knowing that eventually he would tell me all that had happened.

About twenty minutes later, Emm had calmed down enough to inform me that a truck that had lost its brakes, had forced the hired car off the road and down a steep embankment, where it came to a stop after rolling a number of times. When emergency services had arrived, they had found four deceased people inside, identified as Emm’s grandparents and parents from their passport photos, credit cards and visa documents.

There was a knock on the door, and the door opened. The twins peered in, and on seeing that their older brother had been crying, they rushed in and sat on his lap. They hugged him tightly.

“What’s wrong, Emmanuel? Why have you been crying?” they both asked at the same time. That was enough for Emm to start crying softly, and so I took the opportunity to explain things to the twins.

“I’m sorry, boys, but we have some very bad news. Your parents and grandparents were killed in a car accident in Italy the day before yesterday…” The twins also started crying and so I decided to leave them alone with Emm to grieve for their loss. I made my way out into the lounge, closing the door behind me.

About half an hour later Emm came out of the room and closed the door behind him before joining me on the couch, where I had been reading the paper. After a few moments Emm sighed and looked across to me.

“They cried themselves to sleep, so I think it’s best to leave them there to sleep on the couch.I have told them that we will be flying to Italy as soon as I can make arrangements, so I will be asking for some more time off,” Emm said to me.

I nodded my head in acceptance and we sat there quietly for some time, before I stood up and made my way to the kitchen to put the kettle on. After having a hot drink, I helped Emm to carry the boys to their bedroom and put them to bed, just removing their shoes and socks and t-shirts before tucking them in. I left Emm to watch over the boys for a while, as I made my way to my bedroom and prepared for bed.

About ten minutes later Emm stuck his head through the door to wish me a good night andthen made his way to his room. It was a very restless night for everyone. I heard the boys wakeup crying a number of times during the night and heard Emm go in and get them settled and back to sleep again.

At about 9.30am the next morning Emm appeared from his room, looking very tired and ragged. I was sitting at the dining room table having my second cup of tea. I stood up and poured Emm a cup of strong black tea, and handed it to him with a smile, as he sat down at the table.

He had only taken a couple of sips when the silence was broken by the ringing of his phone.Emm looked annoyed at being disturbed but answered it any way.

“Emmanuel speaking.” He listened to what the caller had to say before hanging up without saying a word. After finishing his cup of strong tea, Emm looked at me to let me know about the phone call.

“That was the family lawyer. I had left a message letting him know about the death of my grandparents and parents and asked him to call me in the morning. He wants me to come and see him at the earliest time possible and suggested at 11am today. Can you look after the twins while I go and take care of that business please?” I nodded that this would be fine, and he smiled before heading to his room to shower and get ready for the meeting.

Just ten minutes after Emm had walked out the door, the twins made an appearance from their room, showered and dressed, and they looked around for their older brother. I informed them that Emmanuel had to go and see the family lawyers, and that he would be back as soon as he could. I suggested that they eat some breakfast while they were waiting for his return.

Once I had fed the twins we went down to the private pool and gymnasium located on the first floor where we remained till it was time for a late lunch. I had left a note on the dining room table to let Emm know where we were if he came back before we returned to the apartment, and just minutes after we walked in Emm walked through the door.

He was glad to see that the twins looked happy, and on seeing their older brother they rushed to him and gave him a big group hug, which resulted in him getting damp as the boys were still wet from their swim.

After the twins had showered and changed, we all sat down to have a light lunch, and Emm explained what happened at the meeting with the lawyers, informing the twins that both their parents and grandparents wanted their ashes scattered in Italy, which made it easy as that is where their bodies were.

So, it was decided that they would travel to Italy to organise and attend the joint funeral service and spread their ashes before returning home to Australia. While the boys went to explore the rest of the building with strict instructions not to go swimming until adults were present, Emm and I sat down in the lounge to relax a little, and I took this opportunity to offer to cover all transport and accommodation costs for the trip to Italy for him and the twins.

Emm was a bit shocked at this very generous offer from me, and he was a bit too stunned and unsure what to say in reply. I told him that it was a gift with no conditions attached, and all Emm could do was nod to accept the offer. With the offer accepted I stood up and grabbed my mobile off the coffee table and dialled a number that was on my phone contacts list.

“Rebecca, this is Grant Wellstead speaking. Can you please book three business class seats for the first available flight to Rome, with a return flight 14 days later. Also, can you arrange for a 4 star hotel suite in Rome for a period of 12 days, with a master bedroom and a twin bedroom, plus a hire car for a period of 9 days, under the names of Mr Emmanuel Guildford, and Masters Lucas and Micah Guildford, both aged 13 years… yes that’s correct and all for now. Thank you. Goodbye”.

After I had hung up the phone, I saw Emm with a very shocked look on his face. I handed the phone over to Emm as I knew that he had a few phone calls he had to make. I went to locate the twins who were in the central garden playing tag with another two boys who were visiting relatives in the building.

When I returned to the apartment, Emm had just hung up from a call, and he explained that he had called the school to notify them that the twins would be absent for just over two weeks due to a death in the family overseas.

I asked Emm if all of them had passports, and they all said yes at the same time; Emm explained that they went on a family holiday just over two years ago to New Zealand. I picked up the phone off the coffee table and dialled a number I knew by memory.

“Hello, Sir. I was wondering if you would know who I need to speak to for obtaining emergency visas to travel to Italy, as my work colleague has just lost his parents and grandparents in a car crash in Italy while they were on holiday, and he needs to get there fast to arrange and attend the funeral… yes that’s right… his name is Emmanuel Guildford. You may have met him at the Gala Ball on the Island two years ago. His two younger twin brothers aged 13 will also be travelling with him… yes Sir. Thank you for this. Goodbye,” I said, and smiled as I placed the phone on the table again.

Emm was looking at me, wondering who I was just speaking to, who would be able to arrange travel visas so fast, and I just laughed. “You remember my good friend Judge Samuel Andrews? He is looking into that matter for me, so hopefully in a few days you three will be on your way to Italy; all we have to do is organise some suitable travel clothes and some suitcases for your journey,” I said to him with a big smile. Suddenly the phone rang and I answered it on the second ring.

“Hello, Rebecca. That was fast… yes, that would be perfect thank you. We are just working on the visa issue now so hopefully it will be sorted by then… just put it all onto my personal account. And thank you for doing this on your day off. I owe you a 4-star restaurant dinner for this. Bye for now.”

I put the phone down and leaned back on the couch for a moment before telling Emm, “The flights are booked and paid for - travelling on Tuesday morning. The flight leaves Brisbane at 7.05am, going to Rome via Perth and Mumbai. It’s a 32-hour flight with a 3-hour stopover in India. You are booked into a 4-star hotel, and Rebecca managed to get you upgraded to an executive suite for your stay there, plus a chauffeur driven Limo is part of the deal, for a period of 6 days in the capital.” Emm was speechless at how much I was doing to help him and his brothers, so I just went over to him and gave him a big long hug.

The following morning, I had a call from Judge Andrews, who informed me that he had sorted the issue with visas, and I passed the information on to Emm and the twins. Later that morning we went shopping for travel luggage and clothing for their trip, plus we had a short lunch at a small café, before returning back to the apartment to wash, dry and pack all the new clothes.

On Monday morning, a special courier parcel arrived from Brisbane carrying the twin’s passports, which the family lawyer had organised to collect and send to Emm in Townsville.That evening I watched them leave on a plane bound for Brisbane, where I had arranged hotel accommodation close to the Brisbane International Airport. After they had passed through the boarding gate, I felt very alone. I just went back to the apartment and had an early night, as I had a busy four days ahead of me, mainly because I had to delay some appointments by a day.

The first day was the hardest as I was constantly thinking of Emm and the twins who were now well on their way to Italy, and I hoped that everything went smoothly for them. At about 11am two days later, I received a text message from Emm.

“Hello. We have arrived in Roma safely, and we are amazed at the hotel suite. It is about as big as your Townsville penthouse. Mumbai was quite a shock to see. Thank you once again for everything that you have done for us. We will keep you posted. The boys said to say hello before they fell asleep. Bye for now, Emm”.

For the next two weeks’ I received a daily late-night update text from Emm, letting me know what they were doing. The twins were enjoying their first visit to Italy, meeting a lot of distant relatives, and seeing a lot of the wonderful tourist sights.

The funeral was simple but big, as there were a lot of people who knew their grandparents, who wanted to pay their last respects, and a wake was held at a relatives’ vineyard property, with over two hundred people attending. When I received a text message on the following Monday, I was a bit disappointed at what I read.

“Hello Grant. We have been asked to stay a bit longer in Italy, to spend more time with relatives. I have contacted the airline and they were happy to extend the ticket for an extra week at no extra charge.

Although the funeral and wake was a very sad and difficult time for us, we were greatly supported by our extended family, and the twins are now very fluent in Italian, and mine has improved dramatically too. Both boys have wonderful tans from the beautiful Mediterranean sunshine here. I miss you very much and you are in my thoughts every day. I look forward to getting home to spend more time with you. The boys have guessed about us and send their love, Emm”.

I was a bit surprised at the last piece of the message and smiled at the thought that they didn’t seem to care. I was missing Emm and the twins very much and started to count down the extra days that they were away. I received an update text every second day, and on day 8 the message read, “We are at the airport in Roma, about to board our flight home. See you when we arrive in Townsville on Thursday evening your time, Emm”.

I was so pleased that they were finally on their way home, and I slept very soundly that nightand the following night, knowing I would be seeing them again very soon. I had made sure that my schedule had been reorganised so I could have a few extra days off, and straight after work on Wednesday, I rushed to the airport to catch the evening flight to Brisbane.

When the International flight from Southern Europe landed at the airport on Thursday evening, I patiently waited for Emm and the twins to appear from the crowd of passengers, but when there was no sign of them after the last passengers had come through and the gates were closed, I started to panic. I knew they were on this flight, as I had a text from Emm saying they had arrived in Mumbai for a 4 hour stop over. My mind was in a scramble trying to work out what may have happened and what I should do to find out why they had not arrived in Australia.

Eventually I made my way to the Terminal Administration office, which had just opened for business for the day. “Can I speak to the Terminal manager on an urgent matter please,” I asked nicely. I was not too happy with the response I received.

“I am sorry, but the manager does not speak to ordinary members of the public without an appointment,” was her reply. This made me quite annoyed.

“Now listen here, young lady, although I am very young, I am not just an ordinary member of the public...” I started to say in a loud voice, which brought the attention of other staff in the administration office. One of them happened to recognise my face and stepped forward to take control of the situation, much to my pleasure.

“Mayor Wellstead. It is an honour to have you here today, Sir. How may I be of service toyou?” the gentleman said. When the receptionist heard who her colleague was speaking to her face when white. With a shocked look she retreated to the back of the office. I explained to the gentleman that my personal assistant from Townsville had to make a trip to Europe to attend to a family tragedy, including organising the funeral, taking with him his younger twin brothers, and that they were due to arrive on that morning’s flight from southern Europe, but they were not on the plane. I explained that I knew they had left Rome, Italy, and arrived in Mumbai for a four hour stop over, but that was all.