ARROW - 71. Chapter 71

That evening over dinner, we brought Colin up to date. I told him about meeting with the Professor and having students to do the painting in the doctor’s office and meeting with the security man. Tommy told him about school and meeting a friend from the orphanage. Colin had questions about the security inspection and when will we receive his recommendations. He asked Tommy about his friend. I listened until Bill came up from the club. There was someone from the alcohol board that Colin had to handle.

Tommy and I cleared the table.

“Do you have all of your homework done?”

“Yes”

“Let’s go downstairs.” We did, Colin was busy talking to some guy, I went and stood at the bar, Tommy sat on his stool drinking a new drink that Jimmy created for him. It had ice cream in it as well as cherry syrup.

“What do you call this drink, Jimmy?”

“Tommy's float.” Saying that he reached over and ruffled the hair on Tommy’s head.

When the Liquor Board inspector left, Colin came over to the bar.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, he thought we served other alcohol drinks than beer and wine. I gave him a tour, he checked our stock, the bar and the kitchen.”

“It’s a good thing none of the members bring whiskey or other alcoholic drinks with them.”

We stayed there for a while, Tommy had a drink to finish. One of the girls came over and wanted to dance with him. Tommy looked at me. “Go ahead, she’ll teach you how to dance.” The band was playing music one could slow dance to. Colin and I sat there watching him learning to dance.

“He’s doing okay.”

“A lot better than I did when I first learned how to dance.”

When the music was over, Tommy came over to us. “Dad, let’s go.”

Colin had to stay to close up, so Tommy and I went to the roof to wait until Colin came up.

Tommy sat next to me, I had my arm around him. He actually snuggles into my side. “Are you cold?”

“No”

I knew what I was going to do this week-end. Tommy and I are going to the zoo. I wasn’t sure if Colin could go but if he did go with us, I’ll make sure he has his camera.

The rest of the week, we followed our usual pattern. I took Tommy to school, spent time at the gallery, went home and painted or prepped canvases. Some times I’d make frames. I stayed busy until it was time to pick up Tommy. Then lunch, it seemed Tommy’s friend was becoming a lunch third.

We would spend some time at the gallery. Tommy would sit at Mom’s desk and do his homework.

Friday, Mr. DuBois’s recommendations were delivered. I read them, they appeared to be reasonable, I signed the contract. He said he would oversee the work.

That evening I told Colin about the security proposal that I signed. He thought it was a good idea. “I was concerned about Mom’s safety as well as the safety of your paintings and those from the school. I think this was a good idea and I’m glad you are doing something.”

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Nothing special, why?

“I told Tommy we would go to the zoo this Saturday. If you come with us, bring your camera.”

Taking Tommy to the zoo in New York City was an experience. We had to stop at each exhibit stayed a while and then moved on. Colin would take a picture of the animals and then of Tommy with the animals as a background. I don’t think Tommy smile didn’t end until we had lunch. Even then, he was looking around.

Colin went and bought peanuts. He told Tommy, they were going to feed the peanuts to the animals. I told him I would meet them at the gift shop. I wanted to take some back ground shots.

I waited about 30 minutes after I had all of my shots. I could hear them before I saw them, Tommy was talking a mile a minute. As soon as he saw me, “Dad, can we come back?”

Looking at Colin, “I guess you all had a good time.”

“Yes, we spent most of our time in the petting zoo.”

“Then we definitely will be back.”

Arriving home, “Colin, as soon as you get the photos, I would like to have them. I want to paint an endangered species with Tommy.”

“Didn’t you paint a portrait of the boy with the whale?”

“Yes, I have it in the gallery. Mom said she had a bid on it but I haven’t seen the bid.”

Tommy was a good looking boy. The freckles across his nose just added to his charm.

When we got home, Colin went to the club,

“Dad, it was fun today but…”

“But what?

“I had a lot of friends at the orphanage that have never seen a zoo. Could we take them the next time we go?”

“I don’t know. I’ll tell you this, Monday I will stop at the orphanage and see if it’s possible. How is that?” I got a hug and smile.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, I had hotdogs at the zoo.”

“How many did you have?” He held up four fingers.

“Let’s go and see Jimmy.”

Walking into the club, we headed to the bar. Jimmy handed Tommy’s stool to me, I set it up next to me and lifted Tommy. Jimmy had a cherry fizz ready for him. He let Tommy add the fizz to the glass.

I had a glass of my wine, we sat there listening to the music. Colin came over, Jimmy poured him a glass of wine.

“Did you have fun today?”

“Yes Pop.”

“What animal did you like the best?” I watched as Tommy thought about which animal he liked the best.

“The monkeys were funny, the camel ride was great. I was very high in the air. Can I ride an elephant the next time?”

I sat there, sipping my wine as I listened to Tommy telling Jimmy about the animals. If I can catch that enthusiasm in my painting, they will sell quickly. I need to do some homework. I wondered how many endangered species are at the zoo. I needed to do some research on all of the endangered species. That will require trip to Yale’s library.

We received a letter from Angela thanking us for the wedding. She apologized for not writing sooner but she hadn’t had a moment of peace since the wedding.

“Geno, is following me around like a puppy dog, that is what mom says. The painting of our wedding is beautiful and mom has it in the living room. All of the neighbors have come to admire it. Now you and Colin need to make a trip. Love, Angela”

“I guess we will have to schedule a trip to Italy.”

“Let’s take Tommy.”

“I’ll need to get him a passport.”

“I’ll take care of that. I’ll need his papers. When is school out?”

“I don’t know. I’ll check when I take him to school Monday. I’m going to stop at Yale and see if I can find a tutor for you and Tommy. You both need to learn more Italian.”

Monday was going to be a busy day for me. I had to make a list. 1. Check with Tommy’s school to find out when school is over, 2. Stop at the orphanage to see if they would approve a trip to the zoo, 3. Meet with Mr. DuBois for the security program, 4. Stop at Yale to check out a language teacher and 5. Check with the Librarian for a list of endangered animals.

The first two items didn’t take long. School will be out on June 4th for the summer break. The orphanage will permit a trip to the zoo but staff must attend as well.

Mr. DuBois showed up as scheduled. “I believe that if we wire the door so that if the door is forced, an alarm will go off. We will install a system at the police station that will monitor the door. You will need a special key to open the door. The key will notify the police that you or the woman that works here is entering the gallery. As for the large window, we will put an electrical band around the glass on the inside. If the glass is broken, the police will know. We will also build a metal curtain on the inside so that when you leave, the metal curtain will cover the window. The back door, will be set up similar to the front door. There will be a metal screen that can be dropped from the inside.”

As he talked I took notes. I wanted to let Colin know what is happening. “How fast can you start?”

“We can start tomorrow.” He handed me the proposal that he just walked me through. The proposal also included the cost.

I took the proposal went to the office and briefed Mom on what I have agreed to do to improve the security of the gallery.

“Armand, is there a way to have a direct line to the police. Someone could come in during the day and steal one of the paintings or a student’s exhibit.”

“I’ll stop at the local police department and see what they recommend.”

On the way back from the police department, I noticed that Tommy’s school was about to let out. I drove to his school and waited for him.

I watched as he was coming out of the door, he had a group of kids around him and he was talking, waving his hand as he was telling them something. As soon as he saw me, he began to run toward the car. Have you ever been hit with a running 10 year old. He slammed into me. It was a good think I was prepared as I leaned against the car.

“Dad, what are doing here?”

“I had to go to the police department and since it was time for your school to let out, I thought I’d come and give you a ride.” I thought one was going with me, but as it turned out, I had a car full. Tommy introduced the kids to me. They were students from the orphanage, “Dad, can we get a hot dog?”

That meant everyone got a hotdog with fries and a coke to drink. I think Tommy could ask for a steak and I would have got it for him. I felt like the luckiest man alive as I sat at the table surrounded by Tommy and his friends.