A Child's Haven - 62. Chapter 62

Monday morning started as usual with a breakfast smorgasbord. I knew that Mrs. Jenkins put together this smorgasbord from leftovers. Amazingly the food was good, and the kids looked forward to having their favorites again. The start of each week always brings challenges. “Tony, have you looked over the paving contracts?”

“Yes, and I think we should go with Paving Inc. they not only have a good price, but they also will come back after one year and resealed the pavement.”

“Ok, tell them to go ahead, and I’ll countersign the contract. You can sign it and send it to them to get started, and then I’ll sign it later today.”

Our security force came for their breakfast. Murray and O’Shea got their plates and coffee and came over to sit with us. “Gentlemen, what good news do you have today?”

Murray looked at me, “How many open cocoons do you have?” With that question asked, my interest perked at what may be next.

“I think currently I have 132 empty but will have about ten more by the end of the week. Why?”

“We got word from the FBI that Interpol had found more of the men who fled the US when we cracked down on the slave auction. They also found these men were active in increasing their holdings by buying other children from families in the Far East. Now when they are arrested, there are several children.”

“So what’s going to happen to those children?”

“That leads to my question. They can’t be returned to their parents because they were sold to these men, and they received money for them. It seems in some cultures, the selling of children to support the family is an accepted practice. Interpol tried to get their home countries to accept them, but they refused. So want to take a guess where they are headed?”

“You got to be kidding. It wasn’t my intention to build Sanctuary to house the unwanted children of the world. I’m not sure I can afford that, let alone have enough room for them.”

“Look, Brad, you can’t turn them away. We’ll find a way to get the money if we need it. You need to call Abe and get the new building finished as soon as possible.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I wasn’t going to sacrifice the kids; I have to accept more, and then I couldn’t turn a kid away. I need to talk to my father.

The following evening I called my mom and told her I would be coming home. I needed to talk to Dad. She said to come for dinner, and maybe we all could help with whatever problem I had.

The evening at dinner, I told them what Murray said about what Interpol found, and that Sanctuary was becoming international. “I’m not sure Sanctuary has enough money to handle any more kids, at least not for the immediate future. The new building will bring in some money, which hopefully will help to pay for itself. I’m going to have to expand the cook shack again and add more tables to the dining hall.”

“Well, maybe I can help Brad. These men that were caught overseas have bank accounts in offshore banks. I have been working with the FBI and the IRS in identifying these banks. We cannot access these accounts, but we can sue these men, and if they don’t pay, they’ll go to selected prisons where child profiteers are not well-liked. If they do pay them, we will send them to high-security prisons. So let’s see what happens. But I think you cannot go against the principles you have established for Sanctuary.”

It seems no matter how large my problems seem to me. Dad always finds a way to help. I’m lucky to have them as parents.

“Abe, I need to have the third floor of the new building finished. We also need to order the cocoons for that floor. Murray just told me our population would be growing soon.”

The next day at breakfast, I brought Tony up to date on my conversation with Mom and Dad. I also told him about my conversation with Abe.

“I think we’ll be ok, Brad. The bank accounts are in good shape, and the kids’ trust funds are safe. I think we can manage without a problem.”

“But can the cook shack handle more kids, let alone this hall? I’ll need more tables”.

“The cook shack can handle more than you think. We can buy additional freezers and cold boxes; we can move the cold box from the basement to the cook shack. I think Abe built an expansion when we refurbished the cook shack.”

“I need to look over those plans again. But moving the cold box in the basement to the cook shack makes sense. Showers might be a problem; even now, the kids have to shower in shifts. I asked Beth to make sure the girls shower first, and once they are finished, we can use those showers for the boys. If we move that cold box, maybe I can put more showers there. I’ll ask Abe about that.”

Tony had a way of calming me. With his assurances and knowing Dad was on board, I relaxed a little. After school, the activity area became a hive of activity. Building models and painting pictures occupied the kid’s time, as well as homework. Jeff was ready to take his GED tests as well as two other boys. The kids as a whole were becoming self-assured and began to realize what Sanctuary was all about; they took an interest in contributing to the ideals of Sanctuary. The older kids took the younger kids under their wing and began to act as older siblings, helping them with their schoolwork, chores, and projects. The walls in the dining hall began to fill up with shelves holding completed models or completed paintings.

Tony just smiled at me, “What we’re doing is good, someone is looking over our shoulders, and they’ll see that everything will be ok.”

I believed in what Tony said. As I reflected on how Sanctuary began, I remembered the little boy I took to the hotel that day. I wondered whatever became of that boy. He would be a young teenager by now if he were still alive. I noticed Tony looking at me, “What?”

“Where were you? You seemed a thousand miles away.”

“Do you remember me telling you about that little boy I met coming home from classes, the very first child I met who hadn’t eaten for a few days, the one I took to the hotel and bought food for him and new clothes? I was wondering whatever happened to him?”

Tony started to laugh, “What’s so funny?”

Tony stood up and signaled a boy to come over, “Would you please go and get Jim Boy for me?”

The boy left, and about five minutes later, he returned with a boy that a vaguely remember as being in the first 90 boys that came to Sanctuary. “Brad, do you remember this boy?”

“Yes, Jim Boy, you were one of the first large groups of boys that came right after Sanctuary opened.”

“There is something else, Jim tell him.”

“Brad, you were the person that took me to that restaurant that’s now out of business, then to a hotel where I had a shower. I came out with a towel wrapped around me, you said not to take it off, and you gave me some new clothes to wear. When I came out of the bathroom wearing new clothes, you had a table loaded with food.”

“Jim, I didn’t know you were that boy. It was you who inspired me to create Sanctuary. I thought about you a lot. I’m so glad to see you knowing you’re one of my boys.”

I hugged Jim. Looking at Tony, I mouthed the words, ‘thank you.’

Abe called and said the new cocoons would be arriving in 30 days. When Murray came in for coffee, I told him about the new floor and had an extra 100 cocoons in the next 30 days. As I told him this, I realized that the floor would be finished by then so that the cocoons could be immediately set up. “Tony, let’s take a look at the drawings for the new building. I wonder if we made that floor of cocoons all boys and if there is space to build a few showers in that area at the end of the rows of cocoons. We could turn that area into a shower area, and perhaps with that area and the small basement under a part of the building, we could add some shower stalls there as well. This might solve the problem of having enough shower stalls.”

“If you can put showers where that old cold box was located, there may be enough for the girls, and then we could use what are now the girls’ showers for the boys.”

“That’s a good idea. Why don’t you call Abe and let him know.”

Tony just looked at me as he took his note pad and scribbled something in it. He didn’t know that I already mentioned to Abe to draw up a shower station where the cold box was.

When I stopped and realized what everyone was doing to help, I realized that Sanctuary was not only a safe haven for the kids but gave purpose to a lot of adults. The staff has grown at Sanctuary, administrators, teachers, supervisors, a fully staffed clinic, and a cook shack that could outclass any restaurant in town. Kids were starting college, some starting special schools learning a trade; in anyone’s definition, Sanctuary was a success.