A Child's Haven - 33. Chapter 33

As we were leaving, his mother thanked me, and Corky gave Pat and me a hug. “Why are you helping them? He’s not being abused.”

“Your right he isn’t, but does that mean he must starve and steal to eat because his mother is sick? Here’s a woman because she has no education or job skills, must work at any job she can find, and must accept whatever they pay her. Education is important. Fortunately, she has a skill I need; with 189 kids, I need to train kids to do laundry, I need to have a mother figure besides Mrs. Jenkins. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I help someone. And you may not admit it, but you also do.”

He looked at me and smiled. I tussled his hair, “You’re a good kid, Pat, and I like you. It’s going to be fun seeing you grow into a young man. I think you’re never going to end, surprising me.”

When we got to Sanctuary, I went to my car for the catalog I got from the furniture store. I took a cup of coffee and sat at one of the tables to look through the catalog. I noticed it wasn’t a sales catalog but instead a buyer’s catalog. The prices listed were the prices the store would pay. As I started to go through the catalog, there were several examples of offices showing the desk, chairs, etc. I was so absorbed in looking and reading the descriptions; I hadn’t noticed that someone sat down next to me with a cup of coffee and one for me. That could only be one person, “Tony, I picked this up today. The owner said all I’d need to pay is 20% above these costs.

“What are his costs?”

“He gave me this catalog, and it’s his order catalog. I don’t know if he meant to give me this or not. But now that I have it, I can figure out his cost and see if 20% is appropriate. I also thought maybe we should buy a basic office set up and then let each individual add to that as they need. For example, I may not need a file cabinet, but you might, so you would order a file cabinet beside the standard office layout.”

“Have you seen one you like?”

“I was looking at this one. There is a bookcase on top of a cadenza, the cadenza holds four file drawers, and the desk is classified as an executive desk. I think each person should choose their desk chair. What do you think?”

“I like that idea, I may need extra file cabinets, and you may need a small conference table. If the secretary is going to be with me, we need to look at that office as well.”

“We will also need a conference room table for the Board Room.”

“Do you still want a small kitchen for coffee at one end?”

“Yes, and also a board for showing slides, and to demonstrate any ideas; one of those erasable boards, like we used in the school rooms.”

“Sounds like a project for Abe.”

“Your right, I’ll call Abe. I need to bug him on the carpenters and the elevator.”

“Here are the checks for the staff. You need to put Adam on the payroll, he’s 17, and according to the records, he should be turning 18 in a few months.”

“Ok, anyone else we should put on the payroll?”

“Jeff will be 17 soon, and he can go on as part-time until he turns 18.”

“I should take a look at the roster and focus on the ages. I should be able to discuss the allowances Monday after the show. I’ll have the banks by then, and I can do it on the third floor or one of the amenities rooms”

“You might as well do it here because, after the first one, the others will know.”

“Yea, your right. I’ll start with the youngest and work up. I’m going to give Bubba an allowance the same as the boys, except this will come from my personal account. I can’t wait to get this building done.”

“What are you going to do when this building is done?”

“I guess I’ll focus on the lots after a breather. Maybe we’ll take the boys on vacation for a week. We could hire a campground, and it would be like sending the kids to camp. We could go somewhere else and have a grown-up vacation.”

“What do you think?”

“Sounds nice. I could use a break.”

“A break from what?”

“Running all of your errands and crazy ideas”

“Aw, you love it. You need to know I hired a woman today to manage the laundry. Currently, she is sick, but when she’s well, she’ll work for us. I want her to supervise and teach the kids. It’s a valuable lesson for later in life.”

“How much are you going to pay her?”

“Currently she works for that guy who runs that laundry a couple of streets over. He pays her 5.50 per hour and holds her to 30 hours per week so he can claim her as part-time. So I offered her a full-time position, 40 hours a week but haven’t mentioned a salary yet. I guess since she has a supervisor title, I should pay her monthly.”

“Does she have a kid?”

“Yes, I paid for his apple from the grocer up the street. He snitched it and was being chased when he ran into me. I paid the guy the quarter, brought him into the dining hall, and then Pat took him for a shower. He told me his mother was ill, and they ran out of food. I fed him and made a weekend emergency pack for them. Monday morning, I’ll take the boy and go grocery shopping. I expect she should be ok by the end of the week.”

“I spoke to your mom; she has the pants and shirts. She asked if she should bring them over Sunday night or Monday morning.”

“I need to call Lester about the shoes. Monday morning is better. After the shower and had breakfast, they can check out the clothes. Did she tell you about the ties?”

“Yes, she said she had her ladies club shopping for ties. She thought it was funny that some of these older women told the store clerks they were shopping for their grandsons or granddaughters.”

I smiled, that’s my mom. “Let me call Lester before it gets too late. Lester, this is Brad. How are my shoes? …Yes, just so they are a little higher than the boys. … That’s great. …Yes, you can deliver them tonight and if you want stay and have dinner with us. …Great, see you in a little while.”

“The shoes are here?”

“Yes, I asked for a 1-inch heel for the girls, but all they could find is ¾ inch heel. That should be enough for them.”

“Oh, your mom said she got bands for the girls’ hair and make-up.”

“Make-up? I’ll see what she has before she gives it to the girls.”

It was getting close to dinner time. You can always tell when the kids start to fill up the dining hall. Yep, it’s close, there’s Jeff pushing Amir. When the doorbell rang, the kids thought it was their spaghetti dinner. That had already been delivered to the cook shack. When I opened the door, it was Lester with one of his employees.

“Come on in. You are just in time for dinner. Boys, these are your shoes for Monday. I want you to take the box with your name, try on the shoes, and if they are ok, put them in the shoebox under your cocoon.”

Lester took the shoes and put the boxes with the names facing the center of the hall. The kids came and took their box. Immediately they put them on and walked around the room for a minute. Then off into the box, and they were gone. The girls were delighted with the small heel. It was high enough to give them some posture. They looked nice. Smiles all around, a mad dash for their cocoon and then right back again for dinner. As hungry as they were, they waited until our guests had filled their plates before the boys started. The first boy in line was Jeff; the first plate was Amir’s. After Amir had his plate, Jeff got in line like always. He was a caring boy and felt the loneliness and hurt of the kids. He’ll make a mark in this life. He has made one in mine already.

When dinner was over, I called Pat over. “Pat you and Adam take two dinners to Corky and his mother. Don’t forget to ask his mother how she’s feeling.”

I watched as he walked over to Adam. Adam looked at me, and I just nodded my head.