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- 07/25/2021
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Adam Blake - 152. Chapter 152
The day before Richard arrived, I told Caleb to get one of those small chickens, the smaller, the better. Cook it, so it looks like a crow. He wanted to know what crow looked like. I told him the skin should be black.
Richard arrived, and James brought us coffee. I apologized again to Richard and pleaded my case. I showed him the plot, and thankfully it had a date on it. I then took the time to explain the gardens, which would also act as a fence, and the building would be fenced at the property line. I told him about the garages for the buses. He knew who paid for the buses. He also knew who paid for the land expansion.
“I’m sorry I took that tone with you. I know you, but I was in a bad mood that day, and your information hit my desk. You know the outcome.”
“Just so we are clear, no contracts are ever signed without board approval except for everyday items like paper, books, and food for the kitchens. All major expenditures must have Board approval.”
Richard relaxed; he was back to himself. “Richard, there is an ulterior motive. I will provide the future wives for the boys who are enrolled here.”
Now he laughed, he was relaxed, so I went over the Board presentation with him. I then realized that this was very important. His input was critical to approval. I’ll have this meeting before a Board meeting from now on.
We went and got another coffee, “I see Rusello’s apprentice had a fantastic show in New York. He’s being hailed as one of the great artists not seen for several years.”
“Yes, we followed his accounts. Rusello was walking around like a peacock. His mother said she would quit now, but she likes her job. He’s a good kid, a little shy, but I’m proud of him.”
“Do you have any of his paintings?”
“No, except what he has done here in the Academy. I should have him do one of my family. How about you?”
“No, but a family painting would be nice. I suppose I’ll get a break on the cost. I couldn’t afford the cost of his paintings in New York.”
“He told Rusello he sold out.”
“He’s going to have more money than you.”
I laughed, “He’s going to need a money manager. I’ll volunteer.”
We went to dinner, going through the line, Caleb told me he had a special meal for me, and he’ll bring it to the table. I got my coffee and went and sat down. The boys came and sat down after hugging them. I waited. Richard came and sat down across from me. “Where is your dinner?”
“Caleb said he had a special meal for me. Here he comes now.”
He sat the dish in front of me. I think the bird was a real bird, it was the smallest chicken I ever saw, and it was as black as black could be. Richard looked at my plate, and you could see the expression on his face.
“This is a crow. I thought after our conversation I should eat crow to show you how sorry I am for not giving you the heads up.”
He got up and went to the hall outside the dining hall, and we could hear him laugh. The boys were wondering what happened. “Knights, there will be times in your life you’ll forget your best friend and make decisions that will affect him as well as yourself. The problem isn’t the decision, but if you don’t let them help you decide, they feel hurt. Then you have to eat crow.”
“So, Father, you made a decision that didn’t include the Ambassador’s comments, and now you are eating crow?”
“Yes, Morgan, that is exactly right. Let’s eat our lunch. The Ambassador will be back as soon as he can stop laughing.” I no sooner finished saying that when Richard returned to his dinner.
Richard reached over and took a piece of my crow, “Not bad.” The boys looked.
I mouthed the word, “Chicken.” They smiled and went back to eating as only young boys could eat.
The Board meeting went exceedingly well. They were quite enthusiastic about a centralized clinic for both schools. It meant the consolidation of equipment and supplies, taking advantage of bundled discounts.
The idea of a girls’ academy took a long time. The first discussions involved did we need one since an alternative would be to send the girls to another academy. I told them I couldn’t guarantee that their teaching method would be the same method we have here at the Academy and College, putting the girls at a disadvantage.
“Remember, we will still hold the same standards we have for the boys. It’s possible that your sons may even marry one of these young ladies.”
“Are there enough to fill a school?”
“We could start it like we did the college, One class, and then as that class moved on, we would start a new class. I guess that there are sisters of the boys who will want to attend or are now attending a school and will want to enroll.”
The Board wanted to think about it, so we tabled it until next month. I didn’t have a problem with that. I had a secret force to unleash.
I saw Richard off, and I went back to my office. At supper that night, I let it slip out that I thought of having a school dedicated to young ladies. I did the same thing at dinner at the college.
“A week later, we had applications for admittance to the Girls Academy.
“James, how many of these have we received?”
He brought in a stack, dropped them on my desk. “You’re going to have to answer them. Some think the school is ready now.”
“Okay, let’s separate them into groups, those that would be of the right age in 3 years, file. The other I’ll handle after I sort them by age. After I have drafted a response, you can copy it, and I’ll add a note and sign them.”
As we started to separate the requests, I was thinking of my army. They never fail me. “James, call Henry to come and see me. I need to start on the Academy.”
Have you ever notice that life is not a continuous line but a one with major and minor blips. I was to get a major blip.
Henry had started the construction of the clinic. We finalized the purchase of the land for the girls’ academy. And then, it happened. Gerry informed me he was engaged to be married, and he wanted me to meet his fiancé. That meant a trip to Liechtenstein> I was happy for him.
I told Marie, she also was happy but informed me she couldn’t go with me. She was consulting with Henry.
I made the arrangements and let Gerry know I was coming. That might Dad visited and said he was in agreement and this lady would be a great help to Gerry, he approved.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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