A Child's Haven - 72. Chapter 72

I closed my office and went to my bedroom. I sat in front of my computer, looking at boats, interiors, exteriors, equipment, and gadgets. My mind was a mile away. I got ready for bed. I couldn't sleep. I paced the floor, I hurt, and I cried. Eventually, due to exhaustion, I fell asleep. I was awakened by someone knocking on my door. When I opened it there was Pat with a cup of coffee. Tears came to my eyes as I looked at his smiling face.

"I brought you your coffee. Are we going to the nursery today?"

"You bet, son. Let me shower and dress, and I'll be right down." I kissed him on his head as my dad did to me.

When I walked into the dining hall, it was empty except for Murray and O'Shea.

"Sleeping late must have been up all night."

"No, I just had a hard time falling asleep. What exciting news in the paper today."

They opened the paper and pointed to an article, but that isn't what caught my attention. A man was arrested last night in front of Sanctuary. The police said it appeared he was casing the place. He wasn't armed but did have a camera and was taking pictures. "Murray, what is this all about?"

"I didn't see that. I was looking for an apology for that article. O'Shea, we need to check this out; we will be back."

I took the paper, "Tony, we're going to the island. Make arrangements. I want to leave either Tuesday or Wednesday. Read this."

I paced the floor as Tony read the article. I called Abe, "Abe, I'm planning on going to the island on Tuesday or Wednesday. …Oh, you read the article. …Yes, I'll notify the security service to make sure the property is protected."

Murray came running into Tony's office, "It's starting."

"What is starting?"

"The round-up. The guy who had the camera also had pictures of some of the guys they were watching. Remember the guy who went after the kid in the hospital? He cut a deal when he saw the pictures. He identified every one of the guys, and the police, along with the FBI, started to arrest them this morning at 5 AM. They had been watching them for two weeks now. It seems they are prominent businessmen who belong to a men's club over near the courthouse. I think we can rest a little easier now."

"Does Dad know?"

"I'm sure he does, according to the Captain, he signed the search warrants."

I called dad, "Dad, Murray just told me that you signed a bunch of search warrants for the guys who prepaid for the boys? … So it is true then, this is over? …Oh, what a relief, I was ready to go to the island. …Yes, this summer, but not now. I just wanted to make sure the boys are safe in case of a fire. …Ok, can you keep me posted? Thanks, Dad, love you too."

"Tony, get ready to receive some donations. Hefty ones and probably a few stocks as well. Murray, make sure we get papers. I want to read all about it."

"Tony, have you noticed how fast he snaps out of those moods of his."

"You keep bringing me this kind of news, and I won't have a chance to get into a mood."

"Let's go to the shack. I think I missed breakfast."

That didn't take long until we were all on our way. On the way over, Tony, I want to give the staff a Christmas bonus this year equal to one month's pay. Calculate that out for me, please."

When we entered the cook shack, Mario saw me and prepared some oatmeal for me. "Thanks, Mario, may I have some Italian coffee also. Give these guys what they want also."

"Thanks, Mario."

"Mario, when are you moving into the apartment?"

"I think the first of the month."

"Mario, you can move anytime. Your rent will not start until the first of the month. Can Janet handle lunch?"

"Yes" "Good, as soon as I finish eating, we'll go over and start looking at what you'll need. Then will pick up some catalogs, you can drop them off at a certain young lady's home and tell her to look them over. Mark the ones you decide on, bring it here, and we'll buy them and have them installed in all of the apartments. Andy is living in a one-bedroom now. I think he furnished it himself or rather his partner. We could take a look at that one or not."

"I think your idea was better. Will let Mario and Mrs. Mario pick out what they like, and then we can see if it makes sense to standardize."

"Mario, another cup of coffee, and then we can go.' Mario gave me a fresh cup, and I started walking to the gate between the two properties. I looked behind me, and they were standing there. Come on. You can walk and drink your coffee at the same time."

"Bossy, isn't he." They all laughed.

"Mario, have you picked one out? Show us which one"?

Mario led us to a front corner apartment. The front faced in the same direction as Sanctuary. I produced my master key and opened the door. "Mario, you go first since this is your apartment."

We followed Mario, and it was a nice apartment. The kitchen was large enough for a breakfast table; the next room was divided into a dining room and living room. It looked very comfortable. The bedroom was very large, with an ensuite bathroom and a rather large closet. I looked for a powder room and couldn't find it. "What are you looking for?"

"The powder room, I know there was one on the print, but I forgot where."

Tony took me by the arm to the door, he closed the door, and there was the powder room. "What do you guys think? Will Mr. and Mrs. Mario be happy here?"

Mario had a big smile on his face; I pulled him into a hug and slipped the keys into his hand.

"I need to call Abe; there is one feature that needs to be addressed. The hallway needs a water sprinkler, and I think a balcony would look nice. I still think we should invest in his company."

On the way back to my office, I called Abe, "Abe, my friend…. Why do you always suspect that I have more work for you? I don't understand it…. Yes, there was a reason, oh yea. We need a water sprinkler system in the halls of the apartment building. And how much trouble would it be to build balconies with a fire escape on the apartments that face out? …Come on, Abe, you know we all love you; even the kids call you Uncle Abe. …Ok, drop over, and I'll pay for dinner. At the China Doll, of course."

"Tony, we're having dinner at the China Doll tonight, my treat. Come on, let's see what kind of deal we can reach with a few suppliers of kitchen equipment."

"Remember, you have to be back for lunch. You have a trip to the nursery."

"Look on your phone and see if you can find a discount store or a large appliance store."

"There is a large appliance store in the Wheaton Mall. Let's go there."

It was a large appliance store. Tony and I walked around looking. I went up to a desk and asked if they had a catalog. The girl went behind the counter and returned with a catalog and who I assumed is the manager. "Gentlemen, may I help you?"

I let Tony do his thing. "We just completed an apartment building which has 24 apartments, so we'd like to see your catalog and look at your prices."

"In that case, let me get you a contractor's catalog. Would you want us to install them as well?"

"If we can work out a reasonable package deal that would be convenient, may we take this catalog and have our architect look at it to be sure the piping and electrical systems can handle the load."

"Certainly, here is my card. Just let me know, or better yet, drop by, and we can sign a contract."

We shook hands and said goodbye. "Tony, call Abe and ask him if he knows these people."

On the way home, I listened to Tony's side of the conversation. "Yes, Abe, you should assign someone full time to us. …As long as you sign off on it, I'm sure he would go along with it. …If not, he'll probably bring it up at a Board meeting…. Ok, thanks for the information."

"Abe said he hadn't used them, but he thinks they have a good reputation. He has worked on other projects that the owners used them, and they were satisfied."

"Maybe we should check out another supplier. Did he say who he used?"

"A firm over on Water Street, want to go there?"

"Do we have enough time?" I looked at Tony, and he is nodding yes. So we went to the store on Water Street. It wasn't as big as the other store, but at first glance, it seemed to have the same manufacturer's products. A clerk came over and asked if he could help us. I let Tony again handle the conversation; I just looked around at some of the equipment. I recognized a good bit of it and knew this is where Abe purchased the cook shack's equipment.

"Tony, I see a lot of the same equipment that Abe purchased for the cook shack. Do you supply Abe Carver?"

The clerk acknowledged he knew Abe and has supplied him with equipment. Tony told him that he was the architect on our project. He then asked for a catalog and inquired about installation. He gave Tony a catalog, which he said was for builders, but they didn't install. Then I remember Abe had used his plumber's to install the equipment. Tony thanked the clerk, and we left.

"I recall that Abe always used the same plumbing firm for the showers and anything else that need plumbing. Maybe we should go with the first guy and let him install everything. If we have a problem, we know where to go."

Pulling into the parking lot, three kids were waiting. "What time is it?" "12:30" "Tony, drop the first catalog off to Mario and tell him we'd like to have it back in a few days. Come on, kids, let's go."

The boys got in the car, and Pat got into the front seat. "Did you guys eat lunch?" I heard from a new voice in the back seat, "Yes, Dad." I looked at Pat, and he had a big smile on his face. If I couldn't choose because it would hurt someone, I didn't have to choose because they all chose me.

Arriving at the nursery, I couldn't be more proud. The woman we bought the plants and the miniature trees came with a big smile on her face. "Hello, Brad. What can I do for you today?"

"We seem to have blight on the miniature trees. We don't see it on the plants."

"If I show you a picture, could you identify it?" The boys shook their heads, yes. The lady produced a large book, and the boys began to leaf through it. They came across several pictures that look like the blight on the trees. They showed it to the lady; she said that the pictures showed the same blight, only in different stages. She gave us a can of a spray to use. You must be sure to cover the whole bark. Don't breathe it and keep it downwind. I bought a few extra cans and some gloves. I could use the surgical masks from the infirmary. I also decided I'd be with them when they did this.

On the way home, Curly asked if they could stop at a MacDonald's. I knew who put him up to that. "Do you want to go in or eat in the car?" I was hoping they would want to go inside. And they did. I let them order while I just had a coffee. I sat across from Bubba, and when he looked away, I stole one of his fries. Curly caught me but didn't say anything. Then Pat caught me and didn't say anything. They had to get into it as well. Curly would say something about outside, Bubba would turn his head, and two fries would disappear. It took a while before he recognized that his fries were disappearing. He looked at me, and I started to laugh. I got up and got three large fries. This time, we couldn't get Bubba to look away. Pat had enough and pushed what fries he had left toward Bubba. Bubba smiled and took them, and soon he had Curly's leftovers as well. We got a soft ice cream and headed home.

I took the cans of spray into my office, "We'll spray tonight when there isn't a wind, ok."