A Child's Haven - 69. Chapter 69

I walked into the dining hall and collapsed into a seat, who enters but Murray and O’Shea. “Rumor has it that the Governor was here.”

“He was when you were here this morning. He was up in the activity room overlooking the boys and the floor. I think the tour went very well. I’m sure he’s in our pocket. I expect to see a few other governors to be checking this place out. As long as we keep our independence, we’ll be fine. I don’t think we’ll see anyone from Child Services either unless they want us to take some of their kids.”

“Would you?”

“I’m not sure. I took Jeff and Beth and looked at how they turned out. So I would have to evaluate them. But I won’t say no, nor will I jump to say yes.”

“Do you remember the kid from the pickup at the Senators place, the one that was very aggressive?”

“Yea, I vaguely remember. I wonder what happened to him.”

“Would you take him back?”

“I might, but I’d need to talk to him to be sure there isn’t a relapse. I felt I failed with that kid.”

“You can’t win them all. Look, one out of 350 beats any odds.”

“Yes, that’s true. It just hurts to hear him saying those things. Those men crushed him. I’d like to visit him and talk to him. If you can find out where he is and if I can visit him, I’d appreciate it.”

“We’ll see what we can do.”

“Anything more on our newspaper story?”

“Nothing since this morning, no one is saying anything if there is any news.”

“Was it in all of the papers or just that morning paper?”

“We didn’t look. I’ll go up the street and pick up an afternoon paper and see if there’s anything in it.”

“Dad, were you on the roof?”

“Yes, and I looked at your trees. I think we need to go over to the nursery and get some spray for them. We can go right after lunch, ok.”

I put my arm around Pat and squeezed him. “How was school?”

“Ok I finished my paper, and the teacher said when we finished, we could leave.”

I leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Could you please go and get Officer O’Shea and me a cup of coffee.”

Smiling, he was off to the coffee pot. I watched as he poured the coffee and brought back two cups. After setting one down in front of O’Shea, he cuddled into me again. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes, I’m just a little tired.”

“Where you up late last night?”

“I finished my book, but I’m not sure what time it was.”

“Maybe we should have Uncle Aaron check you out just to make sure you aren’t getting sick ok?”

He shook his head, yes, “O’Shea, we’ll be right back.”

Picking up my coffee with my arm around Pat, we walked to the infirmary. “Aaron, check out Pat. He said he’s a little sleepy.”

I sat with Pat as Aaron took his temperature, listened to his heart, checked his blood pressure, and then checked his throat. “Pat, is it hard to swallow?”

Pat shook his head yes, “I think he has tonsillitis. You should take him down to the clinic and let Don check him out. I’ll send his file to Don.”

I put Pat into the car and drove to the clinic. Janine was in the reception area when I went in with Pat. “To what do we owe this pleasure to?”

“Someone has a sore throat. Aaron sent his file to Don; I’d like Don to look at him.”

She mouthed the word tonsillitis. I nodded my head. “He’s with a patient right now, so when he’s free, I’ll come and get you.” She came back with a cup of ice chips. Pat looked at me. I pointed to his throat, and he started to suck on them. We waited about 10 minutes when Janine came and got us.

Don looked in Pat’s throat. He said one word, “Tonsillitis.” He gave Pat a brochure and said he would make arrangements to have them removed.

I got a call the next day from the hospital to bring Pat there by 1:00. I got some ice cream for Pat and told him not to eat lunch, just eat the ice cream. “Pat, the hospital called, and we need to be there at 1. They will remove your tonsils, and you won’t have a sore throat, but you’ll have to eat a lot of ice cream. I’ll be there with you.”

I told Aaron, and he said he’d go as well and may scrub up to watch the operation. “It’s pretty routine now and not nearly as sore as the old days. They use a laser which cuts the tonsil and seals it, so there is hardly any bleeding. He’ll be fine.”

We arrived at the hospital a little before 1. I could tell Pat was beginning to get nervous. Aaron took him on his lap and told him he’ll be with him when they removed his tonsil. “I bet Brad doesn’t have his tonsils. I don’t have mine.”

Pat looked at me, “I had mine taken out when I was your age. And did I eat the ice cream.”

Soon it was time to go to the room and get prepped. I sat with Pat until he fell asleep. Aaron went and gowned up. He was going to be there. It seemed he was gone no more than15 minutes when he was back. Aaron came in with his scrubs on, “The slickest operation ever. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t leave today.” The nurse came in, spoke to Aaron, and left to get some ice cream. I watched Pat slowly regained consciousness.

“Hey champ, how do you feel?”

He tried to talk, but it must have hurt. He had tears in his eyes. “It’s ok son, as soon as she brings the ice cream, it will feel a whole lot better.” Just as I said that, the nurse came in and gave me the ice cream. “Pat, just let it melt on your tongue and run down your throat.”

I placed a spoon of ice cream in his mouth. You could tell he was feeling better as the ice cream ran down his throat. I kept feeding him the ice cream until it was gone. “Does it still hurt?

He shook his head no. Aaron came in with more ice cream. “Pat, I want you to try and swallow the ice cream without letting it melt, ok?”

Aaron placed a small spoon of ice cream in Pat’s mouth. He tried to swallow; it hurt. “Let it melt. Then we will try again.” Aaron kept feeding him small spoons of ice cream until he was finally able to swallow the ice cream. He had a smile on his face. “Brad, keep feeding this while I get more.”

I did. Pat was smiling as he kept swallowing the spoons of ice cream. Soon the carton was empty. “How do you feel now?”

“My throat isn’t as sore anymore. It feels better.”

“Good, Aaron went to get more ice cream.”

While Aaron was feeding him ice cream, the doctor came in. “I think you can take him home, Aaron. Just keep him in bed for a few days, and give him plenty of cold food.”

Helping Pat to the car was amusing. He kept to my side even as Aaron tried to support him. “Why don’t you guys wait here while I go and get the car?” Aaron nodded yes, but Pat wanted to go with me. “Pat, it would be easier if you waited, I’ll be here within 5 minutes.”

The car was close to the hospital entrance. I knew that Pat kept his eyes on me the whole time I was gone. When I pulled up in front, Aaron helped him into the back seat. Pat wanted to sit in front with me, but he sat behind me with his hand on my shoulder. As soon as we got to Sanctuary, I helped him into the infirmary; Aaron prepared a bed for him. Once he was settled, I went and got him ice cream. I saw Bubba going into the infirmary, so I went back and got another ice cream.

I sat on the bed and fed Pat the ice cream. I remembered when I was sick, and my mom always fed me. I knew I could do it myself, but it just felt better when she did it. Something emotional or the feeling of being cared for was the psychological reason for feeling that way. With Pat, I think an adult showed a special concern for the first time, and I loved doing it. Bubba joked and tried to make him laugh. I believe Pat appreciated Bubba being there. They were friends, and Pat was the only boy Bubba permitted to feed Sandy.

When Pat finished the ice cream, “Pat, I’m going to my office, you should rest now, and I’ll be back when you wake up.” I bent over and gave him a hug and a kiss on the head. “Aaron, let me know when he wakes; I’ll bring more ice cream.”

Walking into Tony’s office, “Tony, instead of building a school on the island, how about we build a large building as they have at campgrounds. We could put a kitchen at one end and serve meals there. It could be used as a school as well. What do you think?”

I saw Tony reach for his little book. “No, you don’t have to record this; I’m going to call Abe from here if you agree it’s a good idea.”

“After the last time we were on the island, it was difficult feeding everyone at the same time. I like the idea. Here’s the phone”

I called Abe and told him to design a large hall with a kitchen at one end. He said he knew exactly what I had in mind and could have the drawings done in a few days. I told Tony what he said. “I think we should invest in Abe’s architecture firm. It has to have a good payback just on the work we give him. Do you want to go for a boat ride this Monday?”

“A boat ride, where are we going?”

“They’re going to pick up the boat and take it to the dry dock to work on it. We need to check the engines and to get it painted. I want to look the boat over, I’ve never been on a boat this size. It’ll give me an idea of refitting it. I’d like your opinion, as well. Maybe together, we can make this asset into something nice.”

“OK I’ll go along. I think it’d be fun.”

I decided to take a tour and just see what’s going on. I walked to the activity room, and it was empty, but there were a lot of models on the tables. I thought that the kids have a lot of trust in each other to leave their models on the table, knowing that no one will touch them. The easels had the paint by numbers on them. I looked at the one Beth was working on, and she was doing a great job. I noticed on some tables there was some needlework. I didn’t remember buying any needlecraft.

Moving on to the 2nd area, the cocoons were quiet. The amenity areas were neat, and there were some tables with card games in progress. Other tables had other games in progress. I walked to the other amenity rooms and noticed there are neat and clean. I skipped the school floor as the kids should be busy. There wasn’t much more, so I decided to check out the annex. The apartments look nice. I knew that Mario would like his apartment, which reminded me I need to talk to him about moving. I left the annex heading toward the cook shack.

“Mario, have you decided on which apartment you want?”

“No, I thought I’d just take one. Are there any differences?”

“Not really, but you might like an end apartment or one close to the elevator. When you have a moment, maybe we could go and check out a few. We’ll need to add some appliances and furniture as well. Now, if you could give me a dish of ice cream, I’ll head over to the infirmary.”

“Before you leave, Brad, what special food is Pat allowed.”

“Something cold, can you make a cold soup or a cold salad that wouldn’t take a lot of chewing and be easy on the throat.”

“I’ll make something cold for his dinner.”

Taking the ice cream, I headed to the infirmary. Pat was still sleeping, “Aaron I brought some ice cream. I thought that Pat would be awake.”

“It took him time to fall asleep. He had a few tears in his eyes. When I asked him if his throat was hurting, he said no. I think he missed you.”

“Pat was the first boy that came to Sanctuary. That day he went out and brought in more than 50 kids. He brought Jeff and Beth, who were the 2nd and 3rd kids. He has been my right-hand man in a lot of ways. I love him like a son. I’d adopt him in a normal situation, but it isn’t easy with all the kids here. It would show favoritism, and with what these kids have gone through, I needed to show each one the love they missed. I always felt that the kids came first, and everyone else came second, including my wishes. I think Pat is a great guy.”

What I didn’t know is that Pat woke up and was listening to what I said. When I looked at him, I saw that he was crying. “Pat, are you ok? Is your throat sore or hurting? I have some more ice cream for you.”

“No, Dad, my throat is ok. I heard what you said.”

“Oh Pat, I didn’t want you to hear that. I didn’t want you to build up any hopes or expectations only to be hurt in the end.”

“It’s ok Dad, I know you love me, and I now know how much. You’re right. All of us need your love.”

“But now you know there is a little special part of my heart that only you occupy. Now eat your ice cream before it becomes milk.”

I sat there and fed the ice cream to a smiling boy. It’s hard for someone like me to visualize what these kids go through. What despair they must have felt, loneliness, and the guilt that they weren’t worth anything. I was so glad that I was fortunate enough to prove to them that they are loved and that they weren’t the ones who lost out in life but the ones who have risen above how society has forced them to live. Now they are being loved and doted upon by people who care for them.

Pat finished his ice cream, “Do you want me to send someone in to keep you company or get you a book to read?”

“Can you read to me?”

“You bet do you have a favorite book or one you would like to finish?”

“The one in my cocoon I was reading last night.”

“OK, I’ll be right back. Are you hungry?”

“A little, but my throat is still a little sore.”

I went to Pat’s cocoon and got the book he was reading. I was impressed he was reading Robinson Crusoe on Mars. As I was leaving, “Brad, where is Pat? He wasn’t in school this morning.”

“He’s in the infirmary, Curly. He had his tonsils removed today. So he’ll be there for a few days. You can go and visit him if you want.”

I watched as Curly left to go to the infirmary. I headed to the cook shack to see what Mario had fixed for him to eat. Mario wasn’t there, “Janet where’s Mario?”

“He took some food to the infirmary.” “Thanks.”

When I entered the infirmary, I heard ‘what’s cold soup’ and then ‘it’s good’.

Now I was curious, “What are you eating, Pat?”

“Mario made this soup for me, and it’s really good.”

“Mario, cold soup?”

“Sure it’s served in a lot of restaurants. Of course, it doesn’t have the Mario touch.”

“What is it?”

“Here, taste Dad.” Pat held his spoon for me to try. I was amazed it was good.

“Mario that soup is good. Could you make it for the kids for lunch someday? I know they would like it.” That’s when I saw Curly taste it as well. He smiled at Mario as if to say can I have some. Laughing, Mario left to go back to the cook shack.

As Pat was finishing eating his soup, Curly sat on the edge of the bed, and I began to read from the book. I read until Pat said he was tired. “You take a nap, and I’ll check back later. If you’re awake, I’ll come and continue reading.”

I kissed him on his head. I heard a quiet ‘I love you’ as I bent to kiss his head. I gave him an extra kiss. I put my arm around Curly “Let’s go and see if Mario has any extra cold soup.”

Mario had a little soup left. I indicated to give it to Curly. His smile told me how pleased he was for the soup. He hugged Mario. I was fortunate in finding my staff. They all showed their love to the kids, hugs, taps on the head, a tickle, and a kiss on the head.

I saw Pat before going to dinner, “I’m going to dinner, and I’ll be back after to finish reading. If you want anything, I think Curly and Bubba will probably be here after they finish eating.”

As I was walking toward the dining hall, I met Bubba and Curly carrying trays of food. “We’re going to eat with Pat.”

“Does Pat have any food?”

“Yes, we have more cold soup for him and juice to drink.”

Smiling, I watched as they entered the infirmary. I waited for Aaron as he came toward me to go to dinner. “I wonder what Mario has cooked up for us tonight. That cold soup was delicious. I’m going to insist he makes it for lunch.”

Aaron just smiled, “Pat enjoyed it. He should be ready for regular food tomorrow. It needs to be soft.”

“I’ll tell Mario, or you can and give him some ideas of what he could make for Pat.”

“Ok I’ll do it.”

“Do you think Pat will be alright there by himself tonight?”

“He should be. I was planning on sleeping there just in case.”