A Child's Haven - 25. Chapter 25

You ready to go to dinner?”

Tony and I left for the Chinese café. “Wait, I bought a phone for Jeff. I need to give it to him, he can get some of the other boys to sit with Amir, and he can guard the front door.”

I saw Pat leaving the buses, “Pat, come with me.”

He gave me the keys and a slip of paper with the seat count. Entering the infirmary, “Jeff, here's a cell phone; my number is in it along with Murray and O’Shea. I’m going out to dinner with Tony, so I was hoping you could wait for me in the dining hall until I return. Pat will stay here with Amir, and if you see any of the other boys, you can send them over as well.”

Jeff walked back to the hall with me. Seeing Billy and Troy, he sent them over to the infirmary.

I left and met Tony; we continued our walk to the café. We made small talk as we casually walked. We were seated as soon as we arrived; the waiter brought us hot and sour soup along with hot tea. “I think we may be coming here too often. Are you going to try my appetizers or something else?”

“Since it’s only the two of us, I’ll try your appetizers.”

“Great, and I won’t tell Abe.”

Finishing our soup, the waiter came back to take our order, “We’ll have the pu pu platter for two and an extra side order of egg rolls.”

“Pupu platter? What is that?”

“It’s an assortment of appetizers. Mostly what I had the other night, you’ll enjoy it.”

The pupu platter the waiter brought was at least enough for three. I wasn’t going to argue. Tony was funny, what’s this and this. We finished and headed back to Sanctuary. On the way back,

“Tony, look over there. Is that Bubba?”

“Yes, I think it is.”

We walked over towards Bubba, he looked up, and when he saw us, he motioned us to hurry over. “Brad, this dog is hurt. We have to help him.”

“Ok, Bubba, we’ll help him. Go to Sanctuary and asked Jeff to give you a board that we can use to carry the dog to my car.” No sooner were the words out of my mouth than he was gone.

“It looks like he was hit by a car. I was afraid it was a kid.”

Bubba came with a board and Lyle and Billy. Carefully we lifted the dog onto the board. You could tell the dog was in pain. The boys carefully carried the dog to my car. Opening both rear doors, we placed the board on the seat. Bubba sat on the floor while Tony and I got into the front seat. “Billy, tell Jeff what happened, and we‘re taking the dog to a vet.”

“Tony, use my cell phone and see where the nearest vet hospital is.”

I pulled the car around the front of the Sanctuary while Tony looked up an address. “The nearest vet hospital is over on 9th.”

It took me seven minutes to get there; I pulled into a parking space. Bubba grabbed one end of the board, and Tony took the other end. I went into the hospital and told them what we had found. As I was finishing explaining, Bubba and Tony brought the dog inside; the receptionist buzzed us through, “Take the first room to the right.”

As we’re walking, Bubba kept talking to the dog. In a way, it was cute, and in another way, it was sad. Bubba was trying to help this animal, and I’m not sure what he would’ve done if we hadn’t been there.

We laid the board and dog on a table and waited for the vet. When she came in and saw the dog, “We’ll have to take x rays to determine the amount of damage. From what I can see, I’d expect several damaged ribs and possibly internal bleeding. We’ll know in a few minutes.”

We waited, and Bubba was petting the dog, “You’ll be ok, boy. Brad will take care of you.”

Two guys came in, carefully placed the dog on a trolley. “We’re going to take him to x-ray and then to the examination room. You can wait in the reception area, and the doctor will come and let you know the results.”

“Come on, Bubba, we’ve done all we can. Let the doctor and her assistants do their job.”

Bubba was squirming in his chair and looking worried, “Bubba, Tony got us tickets to see Lion King. Want to go?”

“Can I go? I’m not a Sanctuary kid.”

“No, you aren’t, but you are my friend, and I think what you did tonight was very, very good. So this is your reward.”

He hugged me, and Tony got one and a kiss on the cheek. “You get a kiss, Tony, because you got the tickets. Anyway, Brad gets a lot of kisses from the kids, but you don’t.”

We waited almost an hour when I decided to call Jeff. “Jeff, how’s it going? Yes, we’re waiting for the vet. As soon as I know something, I’ll let you know.”

About 10 minutes later, the doctor came out to speak to us. “As I feared, the dog has three broken ribs which have punctured some organs, and there is internal bleeding. I have stopped the bleeding and wrapped the ribs. But I think he should stay here so we can check on him.”

“But he’ll be ok, right?”

“I’m sure he’ll be ok under the doctor’s care, Bubba. We can come back tomorrow and see if he’s ok to take home or needs to stay longer. Doctor, do the best you can. Here’s a little boy who has fallen in love with a dog.”

“She smiled. We’ll do our best.”

I gave my card to the receptionist, “Send the bills to this address, and I’ll take care of them.”

On the way back to Sanctuary, “Brad, can I keep him?”

“I don’t know, Bubba. You’ll have to ask your mom.”

“If she says no, can I keep him at Sanctuary? I’ll take care of him and see that he’s fed and has water. I’ll be there every day, please, Brad?”

“Yes, Bubba, he can stay at Sanctuary. He can be our guard dog and mascot. But, I think there’ll be others who want to take care of him as well. Are you willing to share him?”

It was quiet for a moment, “But you’ll assign him to me to be my responsibility?

“Yes, Bubba, just remember to share him, but he’ll be your prime responsibility.”

I looked at Tony, and he smiled at me. “Bubba, it’s late. Call your mom and tell her you’re staying at Sanctuary tonight.”

Tony and I listened as he explained about the dog.

Looking at Tony, “You spending the night?”

“No, I have some early meetings tomorrow morning. You do know I still need to work for a living.”

“Come work for me then.”

He just smiled; I knew Tony lived alone in a small apartment. Once 3C is finished, I’ll convince him to move here.

When we got back to Sanctuary, all the boys wanted to know about the dog. Bubba was the center of attraction, and he loved it. Jeff came over to return the phone, “Keep it, Jeff, it’s yours.”

I got a hug and a thank you in my ear. Jeff was a nice kid and has helped out a lot around Sanctuary. I just realized how much I depend on him.

I stopped at the infirmary to check on Amir. “How are you feeling, son?”

“I’m a lot better, sir. The boys told me that you started this and you make sure we are safe. Is that true?”

“Yes, call me Brad, all of my kids call me Brad, and the day we picked you up, you became one of my kids.”

“Pat said we are going to see Lion King. What is that.”

“Lion King was a movie that’s now a musical. I have made arrangements for you to come as well, but you’ll have your seat, a wheelchair. It should arrive tomorrow, and we’ll see how you like it.”

“Why did you start Sanctuary?”

“I’ll make a deal with you; I’ll tell you my story if you tell me yours. Is it a deal?”

“I don’t have a nice story.”

“That’s ok. I want to get to know you and for you to get to know me. Deal? I’ll go first.”

He nodded yes, “I was walking home from class at the university when I saw a kid, maybe ten years old. He was wearing rags, there were more holes than cloth, he had no shoes, and he was very dirty. He was hungry and wanted something to eat. I took him into a restaurant; the owner didn’t want to let him in because he was dirty and wearing rags. I yelled in the restaurant. This kid is living on the street wearing rags and begging for food. You people are sitting here in fine clothing and eating fine food. Where is your humanity? One of the customers yelled, you feed and clothe him. I did, I rented a hotel room, told him to get a shower or bath, but get cleaned up, and I went and bought him clothes, shoes. When I came back, he was waiting for me with a towel around his waist. He went to remove the towel. I told him not to, I gave him the clothes, told him to go into the bathroom and get dressed. While he was doing that, I ordered room service. He looked as good as those snobs in the restaurant when he came out all dressed. But when he saw the food, his eyes got big, and tears started to flow; I told him this was for him, eat as much as you want.

That was the first, he opened my eyes, and what I saw I didn’t like; kids starving, wearing rags, stealing to get enough food, and worst of all, selling themselves for food or a warm place to sleep. I couldn’t take it anymore. I was going home crying every night. One night I said enough is enough. I bought this place and hired men to clean it, built showers in the basement, converted the floors into sleeping cocoons, and I’m still not finished. Kids brought kids, Pat was first, and he brought Jeff and Beth. Today I have 130 kids here. They have safe facilities for showering, clean clothes. They are fed and have a safe place to sleep. Has Jeff or Pat told you about the cocoons? They are safe and comfortable. I sleep in one until the third floor is finished. I can accommodate 300 kids here. So I have room for more. I also have a plan to buy the lots next to Sanctuary to make a playground or a garden. I’m not sure what I’ll do next. As soon as you can walk, I’ll have Jeff show you around. That’s my story except that we couldn’t get into; the health department shut them down for insect contamination and unhealthy conditions. They lost all of their customers. I went by after the inspection. The man who wouldn’t let us eat there saw me and came running out. You did this with that filthy kid. I ignored him and kept walking. Ok, what’s your story?”

“I lived in a country where it was common for people to have a big family. Sometimes, it was impossible to feed them or clothe them, so rather than let them starve, they would hire them out as servants. The parents would get the money, and the kids would get a place to live. Although that sounds nice, that doesn’t happen. Parents sell their kids into slavery. Girls are sold to people who make them work as prostitutes, and sometimes the boys are sold to these same people and become personal slaves to be used to satisfy their owner. I come from a family of twelve, four girls and eight boys. My sisters were much older than the boys and were married off. I have a twin that was sold to a man who worked them in his fields. I didn’t want to be sold, so I ran away. I met this man who said he could help me. He promised me that he could get me out of my country and take me to America. It seemed like the gods were looking upon me with favor. But after we left my country, the man became demanding. I realized then I signed on with the devil. He used me for his sexual pleasure on the voyage here to America. It was late at night; he came and told me I must be ready. We are about to dock. When I put on my shorts, the only clothes I had, He put me into a barrel and sealed the lid. I thought I was going to die. I felt the barrel move, and then it was quiet. I thought I came to America to die. Then someone opened the barrel, a hand reached down, grabbed my arms, and pulled me out. They took me to a room, tore off my shorts, and turned a hose on me. An older man entered the room and began to scrub me with a sponge. Then he gave me a piece of cloth and told me to dry myself. After he left, the man who pulled me out of the barrel handed me a pair of shorts and a shirt. They took me to a room that held other boys. One of the boys told me that he heard they were going to sell us to men as sex slaves. At the first chance I saw, I ran. The guy caught me and beat me. He told the other boys; this is what you’ll get if you try to leave. He picked me up, you want to leave, he threw me out of the door, and that is where you found me. Why are you crying?”

“Because I missed collecting those boys. If I show you a map and where we found you, do you think you might be able to identify the building?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll try.”

“Do you mind if I call my security people? I assure you, you’ll not be hurt.”

He nodded, and I phoned Jeff, “Jeff, call Murray and O’Shea. When they arrive, bring them along with the road map from my car to the infirmary.”

“Amir, these two security people are loved by all the boys. They have saved them many times by people getting in and trying to take them out. So please don’t be scared and answer their questions. I’ll be here, and so will Jeff. You may be a hero to all those boys in that house.”

Amir nodded his head, “I’ll tell them all that I know.”

While we waited, “Did you go to school back in your country?”

“Yes, we were taught by an elder in our village.”

“Did you like school?”

“Yes, I wanted to know more, but I left.”

“Well, you’ll be able to go to school here at Sanctuary. Then when you pass the final test, you can go to college or get a job. I’ll help you with whatever you choose.”

Just then, I heard Jeff and Murray talking. Amir and I turned toward the door as they entered. “Pat, I’m so glad you came also. Could you go to the cook shack and bring three coffees, three milkshakes, and some cookies.”

Pat is my assistant. He’ll probably inherit this project. “Murray, O’Shea, this is Amir, the boy I mentioned earlier. Jeff has my road map, and Amir said he would try and point to where the place was that he was taken to be sold.”

“Jeff, show Amir the map and point out where we found him.”

Amir looked at the map and the spot where we found him. After studying the map, he pointed out a building, “This one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”

I gave the map to Murray. He looked at it. “I think that building is a hotel or was at one time. We’ll check it out.”

“Here’s your coffee and some cookies.”

“We’ll take it with us.”