A Child's Haven - 19. Chapter 19

As we were eating at Aldo’s, “Abe, I need to accelerate the carpentry for the 3rd floor. What do you think about putting a team on 3B and 3C? If one team gets finished before the other team, we still have the amenity areas to finish. I want to get the building finished. Then I can concentrate on the outside and enjoy the inside. Tony will have an office in the new office building, how about you do you want one as well?”

“No, I’ll use yours when I need one.” And then he laughed when he saw the look on my face.

“Tony, are all the bills current?”

“Yes, Abe”

“Brad, I’ll talk to the carpenters and see what they can do. Do you have the layout for the classrooms?”

“I’ve hired a school superintendent, gave her the floor plans and the ages of the kids, she was going to put together a plan and room layout. I’ll give her a call, and we can meet tomorrow. What time is best for you?”

“Do it in the afternoon. I have a few meetings in the morning I can’t miss. Say around two would be good.”

“Tony, I need a salary for the teachers. And we haven’t calculated the allowances yet. So can we do that in the morning, if possible?”

Tony nodded his head. Aldo came over to the table with some cookies and Italian coffees. Sitting down, “How’s Mario doing?”

“He’s great. The kids love his cooking, and he has made some great recommendations. We have about 120 kids now, so we need to up the Saturday menu.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I know he felt a little left out since I have been concentrating on teaching Aldo to take over when I retire. Do you still want the leftover pizza?”

“Sure, I’ll have Mario freeze it, and then when we have enough, he can prepare it for lunch, unless Tony eats it first.” Yep, another shoulder shot and a smile.

Paying Aldo for dinner and thanking him for the pizza, he gave us take out for our kitchen, we started to walk back to Sanctuary. We stopped and heard a lot of commotion in front of the building. The security alarm went off, which automatically called the police. Yep, there were our two special police officers, Murray and O’Shea. When Murray saw us, he came over seeing the pizza box I gave it to him.

“What’s happening? Why are all those people outside Sanctuary?”

“They are a group from one of those radical churches. They’re carrying placards saying that this is a place of abomination.”

“What’s the yelling?”

“They are supposedly praying.”

“Don’t they need a permit for that?”

“Yep, any group over ten needs a permit to demonstrate. Want to guess which judge denied them a permit?”

“So, what happens now?”

“The squad car is on its way. They’ll be asked to stop and to go home. If they don’t, they’ll be arrested.” Looking at his watch, “And who do you think the judge will be who’ll hear their plea?”

I thought, good ole dad.

“Abe, Tony, if you want to go home, I’ll be ok.”

“Abe, he doesn’t want to share the entertainment. Too bad, you don’t have a devil’s costume. They could go home smelly.”

The picture that comment drew in my mind had me laughing. I could see them running in fear. “What would be better if Jesus appeared with Angels and told them that they’re going to go to hell and they are an abomination?”

“I doubt they’d believe that even if the real Jesus appeared.”

“Well, it looks like they’re going to argue and not leave.”

We watched as two busses pulled up in front of Sanctuary. The windows were covered in metal, and on the side, the word ‘POLICE’ was painted. The police asked them one more time to leave. When they didn’t, they were handcuffed and led onto the bus. Soon it was quiet. The street was covered with their signs. The police picked them up and took them with the demonstrators. “We’re going to follow them, and I’ll come back to let you know what happened.”

“With that excitement, I’m going home.”

“Come on, Tony, I know you want to hear what my dad does.”

We entered the dining hall, and it was quiet. But there’s quiet, and there’s quiet. Something was going on, indicating for Tony to follow me, we quietly went to 2A. Walking through the aisle of the cocoons, everything looked ok. Going on to 2B, we didn’t have too far to go when we heard voices in one of the toilets. “Just do it. Push his head in the toilet and flush it.”

“No, he didn’t do anything. Untie him and let him go back to his bed.”

“If you don’t do this, I’ll do worse to you.”

Just then, the door flew open as one of the new boys ran into me. When he looked up and saw Tony and me, he started to cry. “I didn’t want to do this, but he said if I didn’t help him, he’d hurt me. He did it before, and I know he’d do it again.”

I hugged the boy, asked him his name, and told him to go back to bed. Tony opened the door, the kid who was tied up was the one that sat on my lap, and the other kid was evidently mean to him at the previous house. Tony took the boy, untied him, and held him. I took the older boy and brought him to the dining hall just as Murray and O’Shea entered. When he saw the cops, he got very cocky. He pulled away from me and yelled, “Help me, he tried to rape me.” Murray and O’Shea just started laughing. I thought they were going to have a breathing problem.

“Kid, you pulled that stunt on the wrong guy.”

Just then, Tony came down with the boy, “He’s scared to go back to his cocoon.”

“I pulled the boy toward me and sat him on my lap. You don’t have to be afraid. The cocoon locks from the inside, and no one can open it from the outside except me. You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”

The kid said, “No.”

I nodded to Tony, who took the kid back upstairs. Bigmouth, “That’s the kid that attacked me.”

Again they laughed, took out a pair of handcuffs, and handcuffed the kid. You would think the kid would shut up by now. But he didn’t, “Oh, so you like to play a little rough, I can do that.”

I had tears in my eyes. When Tony came back down, he asked what was wrong. I told him what happened and what the kid said. “What’s going to happen to that kid? He has gone through hell and now has this streak of brutality. It’s not his fault. It’s the fault of the bastards that did this to him and made him like that.”

Tony and I were still in the dining hall when the doorbell went off. “Sit there. I’ll get it.”

It was Murray and O’Shea, “What’s going to happen to the kid?”

“He’ll be held overnight and then go before a juvenile judge. We came back to tell you what happened at your neighbors trial. Your dad offered two options, 500 hours of community service or a 250 dollar fine and seven days in jail. The preacher, if you wanted to call him that, said he would pay the fine and take the jail time. He has a slight problem, no money. He wanted to pay with a check. Your dad told him it would have to be a certified check. He was sentenced to jail until he paid the fine, and then his seven days would start. The others were given the same option. They took the community service. Do you want to know what was on the list? When O’Shea and I left the courtroom, we checked with the clerk to see what options there were for community service. There was park clean-up, road clean up and service at Sanctuary. So you better come up with some work projects that will last 500 hours.”

“I’m sure they’ll appeal that sentence.”

“They might, but it’ll cost them money, and your dad has quite a few followers. I’m sure they discuss cases among themselves.

I looked at Tony and smiled, “It has been a long, long day. I can’t wait till 3C is finished. The cocoons are ok for the kids and probably adults, but I toss and turn a lot.”

“Is that where you sleep?”

“Sure, you should try it sometime.”

“Maybe I’ll try one tonight.”

So with that, Murray and O’Shea left with an invitation to come for breakfast. I was anxious to show off the buffet; Tony and I climbed the staircase to 2C. “Tony, pick out any cocoon. Don’t be surprised if you come out of your cocoon as a butterfly.”

Sleep didn’t come easy that night. I felt for a failed boy. I could rationalize that I didn’t make him that way, but still, I felt there was something I could do. Eventually, I fell asleep.

The next morning, I followed my usual routine, took some clean clothes and my shaving kit, and went to take a shower. On the way back upstairs, I met Jeff on his way down. “Jeff, after breakfast, can you go and check on the kid at the clinic.” With a nod, he headed toward the shower.

I put my stuff back in my cocoon, put my dirty laundry in the laundry chute, and headed back down to the dining hall. Mario was setting up a four-stage pancake grill. “Where did you get that? I hadn’t ordered anything for the buffet line?”

“Dad gave it to me. We used it for family gatherings. It sat for years in the garage. The last time I saw it in use was when I was six. Dad said, take it, and I did. I’ve been cleaning it since Saturday.”

“I’ll have to thank your dad for this. Do you think you could grill hamburgers or make it like those Japanese restaurants where the chef cuts up the food?”

“Probably some, but I’m not a Japanese chef.”

I watched him set out pans of cut fruit and berries. This definitely will be a treat for the kids. One of the kids who were training to be a cook came in with a pan of sausage. Good morning, Adam. I see Mario has you working.”

“Yep, he had me up at five this morning helping him to carry this monster grill here.”

“I’m sure the kids will like it.”

As I was pouring myself a cup of coffee, Murray and O’Shea walked in. “Hey, looks like you guys are getting professional.”

“Good morning to you also, Murray, O’Shea, help yourself to coffee. If you tell Chef Mario, he’ll fix your pancakes to your liking.”

And they were the first to test out the new system. Mario and Adam smiled as the guys told them how they wanted their pancakes. I was amazed at how many pancakes Mario could make at one time. When Tony finally arrived, he also sampled Mario’s pancake skills. Then one would’ve thought the world ended with all the noise as about 15 kids came up from the basement, showered and ready for the day. “Get your drink, then tell Mario what you want on your pancakes, and Adam will put sausages on your plate. Just remember, what you take, you must eat, and you can always go back for seconds or thirds.” Murray looked at me when I said that. I smiled and nodded my head as well.

Tony stood next to me and watched as the kids came to get their pancakes. Most took 2, but there were a few of the older kids who took 3. As the kids finished, they put their plates and silverware in the tubs. At last, Mario made pancakes for Jeff and me. Sitting together with Tony, Murray, and O’Shea, Jeff brought us up to date on the kid at the clinic.

“Jeff, is he talking?”

“The nurse says no, but he talks to me.”

“Did he tell you his name?”

“Yes, it’s an odd name, Amir.”

“Sounds like a middle eastern name.”

“As soon as he’s able to be moved, we’ll bring him here to our infirmary. I’ll get a hospital bed for him, the food will be better, and he’ll have the company of kids his age.”

“Janine said to give you this.”

I open the folder; it was a list of equipment for the clinic and the suppliers. “Tony, can you get on this and order these supplies. Order the hospital bed first, and make sure it’s a good one. There isn’t an air mattress on this list. Order one with a pump for the hospital bed.”

“I’ll do that as soon as I get back to the office.”

“Thanks. I appreciate your help.” He just smiled and patted me on the back and left.

I had a lot on my mind today. I need to meet with my lawyer and call Mrs. Chester to set up an appointment for this afternoon with Abe. I also need to look for a nurse for the infirmary. Going out to the new office area, I climbed the stairs to the second floor. Looking at the area, I decided to make this floor into an executive office with a smaller office for a secretary. I’ll convert the small office in the dining hall into an area for Beth to use. I’ll probably need a record room, and I could put that on the top floor since it doesn’t need to be large. The other floors will be used by staff. I need to ask Tony which floor he would like and if he needed an assistant.

I wish the 3rd-floor areas were completed. As I looked out of the second-floor window at the lot next to me, I let my mind wander. Should I build more of the small apartments and rent them to single people, or should I turn it into a playground or a garden? The lot wasn’t big, but is there a way I could make it pay for itself and still have it utilized for the kids.