A Child's Haven - 30. Chapter 30

“Dad, yes, I was wondering if we could meet. I’m in the neighborhood now. Ok, the coffee shop across the hall from the Court Building. See you there.”

I drove to the city parking garage, walked to the coffee shop, and waited for dad. I wasn’t there very long when he entered. “Hi, Dad, that didn’t take long.”

“One of the secretaries is retiring, and there was a little going away party. So what can I do for you? I heard from your mom that you impressed some of her friends today.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t planned. We enrolled our first Afro-American kid today when they were there. It’s so sad, and I guess I got emotional, and they saw me. They also witnessed an intake procedure. The kids are the ones that really impressed them. I’m so proud of them. That’s why I needed to see you. The money from the lawsuits I want to go into a trust fund for the kids. Tony has worked out a scheme based on age and tenure regarding what their share will be worth. When a kid leaves us, they’ll get their share. I also want to use some of that money to start a college fund. So the question is ‘where are we on the lawsuit’?”

“The trial starts Monday. I’m not the judge, but I’ll be called as a witness. From what Allen tells me, we’re talking millions.”

“There’s a second issue. I’m not sure if you are up-to-date on the child slave ring. The police took down their operation, and we took in 44 kids before they were sold. Murray and O’Shea brought one kid they picked up from a guy who had bought him before the police raided the place. We know they’re more out there, and fortunately for us, they kept records that go internationally. I think the FBI has become involved. I want to sue these people and the money to go into the trust as well. What’s your opinion?”

“I’ll talk to Allen. How are your funds holding up? You know if you get tight, you can come to your mother or me. You could also do an appeal.”

“I don’t want to bring too much attention to Sanctuary. They’re still men out there that could target us.”

“Let me talk to Allen and see what he has up his sleeve. We might get the state involved somehow.”

“Make it low key. When the state gets involved, it becomes a legal mess, and control is lost. If I have to take Sanctuary private, I’ll do that even if it means giving up our 501c status. And it wouldn’t hurt if some of your rich friends wanted to make a contribution or set up a trust with the interest going to Sanctuary. Just remind them we are a 501c charity.”

Laughing, dad gave me a hug and a kiss on my head. “Love you, got to run.”

I headed back to Sanctuary with the wheelchair.

When I arrived, Bubba ran to the car, “Dad, come see what we bought for Sandy.” So we have named the dog.

Entering the dining hall, Tony was smiling; Bubba grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the room I used as an office for Beth. Opening the door, there on the floor was Sandy, surrounded by five kids. He looked relaxed, eating up all of the attention. Bubba started to show me his dishes, bag of food, leash, and collar. “What, no toys or chews?”

The look on Bubba’s face was priceless. “Tomorrow, we’ll go and get him some toys, OK.” The smile returned. Roughing his hair, I beckoned for Tony to follow me. I took out the wheelchair. “Let’s see if we can get Amir into this chair and wheel him into the dining hall.”

Jeff was with Amir. They were becoming good friends, “Jeff, help me to get Amir into the chair.” I was surprised to see Amir standing without any help.

“Wow, Amir, you’re standing; that’s good.” He just smiled as he sat in the wheelchair. “We’re going to take you to the dining hall. If you get tired, let us know, and we’ll bring you back to your bed, ok?”

“Brad, how are we going to get him down the steps?”

“That’s the easy part. Getting him back up is going to be the hard part.”

Pushing Amir to the steps, I turned the chair around, facing the infirmary, and backed him down the stairs. Then Jeff took over and pushed him into the dining hall. There were a lot of kids playing games. When they saw Amir, they all rushed over like a welcoming committee. Even Bubba brought Sandy to see Amir. Everyone was talking a mile a minute. It was hard to understand what was being said. I looked at the table, and Marvin was sitting alone. This was not good. As the group broke up, Amir wheeled himself to a spot in front of Marvin. Soon they were talking a mile a minute. Jeff went over, followed by Pat, and the four of them began to talk and laugh. Slowly the other boys joined in, and then the room was full of laughter and giggles. One of the boys brought a juice over to Marvin. He looked at him and smiled. It was Jeff who came over to Tony and me explaining what happened.

“Amir said there were a lot of children in his town who were black, and he had a brother who was black. He told Marvin not to be ashamed because he was Allah’s child. Some of the kids that were to be sold were picked up by black men and used them as their toys. That was why they didn’t want to be friends with Marvin because of the memories. They’re all friends now.”

It’s incredible what kids can do; they can hurt as well as heal. I still didn’t get Marvin’s story, and I wanted to find out if his story will lead to more kids.