A Child's Haven - 47. Chapter 47

“If other cities heard what he’s doing here, they would send their street kids here.”

“And I’d take them in even if I have to build another building so that they can eat and sleep here. I won’t turn a kid away.”

“What’s your dream, Brad?”

“My dream Christine is that every child has a happy childhood, but I’m realistic enough to understand dreams don’t happen because someone wishes it. Unfortunately, I believe there will always be street children as long as evil can walk the streets. But I’ll do everything I can to take those kids in before evil finds them. That’s my dream and my realistic dream.”

“Is this a private meeting, or can I join?”

“Sure, sit down, Aaron. Christine and I just finished the tour. How’s Patrick?”

“He’s still being introduced to the kids. Some of them gave him homemade get well cards.”

I just smiled. There’s something about people who share the same road, they know the bumps you have traveled to get here, and they are ready to soothe your sore muscles.

“We’ll need to post those cards. Do you think he could come to the dining hall if he’s in a wheelchair? I think it would brighten his spirits and the kids as well.”

“Christine, what do you think? I think he could do it, he’d be sitting, and I could attach an electronic blood pressure gauge to his arm.”

“I don’t think you’d need to monitor his blood pressure. He should be alright. It’ll be good for him.”

“He was laughing when one of the kids told him about sleeping in a cocoon. He couldn’t figure what a cocoon was until one of the kids said it was like a butterflies’ cocoon. He wanted to know if he would grow wings. The kids laughed, and when one of them explained why their sleeping units were called cocoons, he laughed. Laughter will be the best music for him. I’ll sit with him tonight in case he has bad dreams.”

“I thought maybe we should’ve piped music into the hall and the infirmary. I was going to put a jukebox in here. What do you guys think?”

“If we did that, we’d need to control the sound. Do you think we could use a system for music and an intercom?”

“I don’t know. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. We’d have to be sure whatever station we used isn’t like the music in a supermarket. I could hear, ‘our special today is in aisle 4.”

“Christine is going to join us for dinner, and then Murray and O’Shea are going to return her to the hospital. Of course, she could always stay and sleep in a cocoon.”

Aaron smiling, in a whisper, “I’d keep you warm.”

“We already had that discussion three years ago, and my answer hasn’t changed.”

“Hey, a guy can try, can’t he?” He got punched in the arm for that comment.

Mario came into the hall and acted as if he was looking for someone. Spying Aaron, he came over to our table. “Aaron, are there any special dietary restraints for Patrick.”

“No, he can eat anything.”

When he said eat, I need to tell Tony we need to set up appointments for the kids to get their teeth examined. “Aaron, we need to do a full examination on the kids, including a blood test. This should be an annual check-up. That means you will have to have a database for each child. I can get you the roster from Beth.”

“Is it possible to hold off until we get some nurses? One hundred ninety-eight kids for a physical will take a lot of time. I probably can’t do that alone and still have it done by the end of the year.”

“Are there places where we can get temporary nurses to help? How about seniors in nursing schools; is that a possibility?”

“Let me think about it, I have to get them enrolled, and that will take time.”

“I might get some of the nurses at the hospital to donate their time. It won’t be the same nurse all the time, but they could maybe offer a day or half-day.”

“You know we are a 501c organization. If they keep track of their time, they could deduct it from their income tax.”

“That might be a good incentive.”

We continued to chat until I saw some of the kids drift into the dining hall. “It must be getting close to dinner time.”

“Their stomachs are better than a clock.”

“Don’t they snack?”

“I’m sure they do, but it can’t be much. I use to fill the snack, juice, and milk machine daily, now about two to three times a week.”

“Where do they get the money for the snacks?”

I laughed, “When we take in a new kid, we tell him he doesn’t need money because he has magic Sanctuary money. It’s all free. Everything here is free for the kids and those that work here.”

“He even gives the kids allowances based on their ages. Red, come here a minute.”

“Yes, Officer Murray.”

“Red, could you go and get your bank and show this lovely lady what you have?”

“Sure, I’ll be right back.”

Red ran to his cocoon and brought his bank back to show Christine. “Each Friday, we get an allowance. We can spend it any way we want, but I want to save mine. When I put my allowance in the bank, the total shows here. So I’ll always know how much money I have.”

Murray reached over and dropped a quarter into his bank. “Thanks, Officer Murray. Wait until I tell the other kids.”

I started to laugh, “Murray, I have 198 kids. That quarter could cost you 50 dollars.”

The expression on Murray’s face was worth the 50 dollars. I took out fifty dollars, be sure to have quarters when you show up tomorrow. Every kid will come to breakfast with their banks.

“I’ll give them a penny; I’m not as rich as Murray.”

Mario wheeled in a very large decorated cake, written across the cake in green was, ‘welcome home, Patrick.’ Mario had decorated the cake with green shamrocks and little people. In the middle, he had a black pot made out of candy filled with gold-wrapped chocolate.

As the kids came in, they saw the cake and rubbed their stomachs. We could hear their “Yum’ from where we sat. Then a large pot of what looked like boiled potatoes followed by a large pot of boiled cabbage. This was an Irish dinner, including the corned beef.

Once all the kids sat down, Jeff wheeled in Patrick, followed by Amir on his crutches. I watched Patrick’s face when he saw the cake. His eyes sparkled but not because of the cake but rather because it reminded him of home. Jeff leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Patrick nodded and smiled at Jeff.

When everyone was seated, Jeff went and got a plate for Patrick and then did the same thing for Amir. Jeff sat down and waited his turn. I watched Christine out of the corner of my eye; I think I saw a tear there.

One by one, the boys went to the line where Mario and Adam put food on their plates; I saw where Adam had to tell the boys to move on as they stopped in front of the cake. I noticed that Bubba and Corky were the last in line. Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Jenkins followed the boys. When everyone was served, Aaron took Christine, and I followed Murray and O’Shea. I swear Tony can smell food a mile away. He was right behind me.

When we had our plates, we went back to the table. Sitting down, Aaron introduced Christine to Tony. “Are you the new nurse?”

She smiled, “No, I came to help with Patrick.”

“I gave Christine the grand tour this afternoon; I must’ve scared her away.”

“How did you find Aaron?”

“I knew with Amir being ill, that I needed a nurse. Of course, I preferred an NP since being all alone with all of these kids. I thought I’d need a little more expertise. The NP at the clinic down the road suggested I look at the School of Nursing at the University. Of course, she still thought I was looking for a nurse. When Tony and I got there, we went to see Dr. Donnelly. I told her a little about Sanctuary and the need for onsite medical expertise. She gave us the name of two grad students who were about to graduate. We had lunch with them and then I invited them here. Of the two, Aaron accepted the position.”

“Interesting; who was the other student.”

“It doesn’t matter that student didn’t want to work here, which is perfectly within their right. This job is not cut out for everybody.” I was watching out of the corner of my eye to see Aaron’s reaction. But there wasn’t any; he kept on eating.

I saw the line form for the second helping of the food. I caught Bubba’s eye and smiled. He rubbed his stomach, indicating that it was good.

After all the kids had eaten, it was time for dessert. Adam took the tubs of dirty dishes back to the shack and returned with clean plates for the cake and ice cream. Jeff wheeled Patrick over to the cake; Adam gave him the knife and showed him where to cut the cake. Jeff and Adam must’ve whispered something to him because he smiled as he cut the cake.

Adam put a piece of cake on a plate, followed by ice cream and whipped cream. On top of the whipped cream, he placed a gold coin. Next was Amir, and the same thing, this procedure was followed with all of the kids.

“Brad, the kids aren’t eating their gold coins.”

“That’ll become a souvenir for them to remember this night. But don’t be surprised if it’s gone by morning. It’ll go soft in the cocoon, and then when they realize it, it’ll be eaten.”

I saw Bubba and Corky in line for their second piece of cake. I indicated my cup, and Bubba nodded. We sat there and watched Murray and O’Shea as they went up for the second piece of cake. “Christine, if you’d like another piece of cake, go right ahead.”

“Yes, come on, Christine, I’ll go with you.”

When they left, “I think Aaron has a crush on Christine.”

“I think you’re right.”

Bubba brought my coffee over, “Where’s mine?” Corky sat a cup in front of Tony.”

“What do I owe you for this fine service?”

Bubba must be reading one of the books I gave him, with a bow, “One gold coin, sir.” I laughed and gave him my gold coin, and Tony gave his to Corky.

When dinner was over, and the boys left, the line was cleared and the only ones left were the adults. “I enjoyed today, the first in a few weeks. Mrs. Jenkins and the staff did a good job. Tony remind me to call Abe in the morning.”

“You won’t have to. He’ll be here in the morning.”

“Great, get your notepad, and we can go over it when he’s here.