CRYSTALLINE - 14. A Low Act

Thomas called Virginia to arrange a visit to her Mallacoota property.

“Well, it’s about time you gave yourself some time off and that man of yours. You work him too hard”

“Don’t let him hear you say that. He’ll want more money”

“I won’t get into that argument, but glad to hear you two are going to have some time to yourselves. You can have the property any time you like and for as long as you like. Treat it as your own holiday house. After all you are family, Thomas”

“Thanks Virginia. We were thinking next week, if that’s ok”

“That will be no problem. I’ll courier the keys out to you and don’t bother returning them. Keep them for your use anytime”

“Thanks, and you’re right, Dante and I don’t have enough time off. I’m doing it now because the resort project is getting very busy. This will probably be the last opportunity before it opens”

“Have you set a date?”

“In three months, at this stage. But I don’t expect any delays, so we should meet that deadline”

“I hope it all goes well for all of you. It’s definitely not the sort of project I ever expected Jon to be involved with. Lachlan has certainly brought out the man I never knew. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not disappointed, quite the opposite, I’m pleased to see them getting on so well”

“I agree, and the project is exciting, I’m really looking forward to getting it up and running”

“I hope I get an invitation to your opening. Will you be having a big celebration with lots of hunky waiters?”

“Haven’t planned that far ahead, but whatever we do, I’ll be certain to include you. Now what have you been doing lately?” asked Thomas

“I seem to be spending more time at the meal centre. Every month the number of clients is increasing. It’s very sad to see so many homeless people. But you know the most disturbing aspect is they are getting younger. When I first started it was mostly, older men, then the number of women increased, now it is young people coming for meals”

“That is alarming, do you know why that is?”

“A number of reasons like youth unemployment, high rents and such. I was talking to a young man the other day, just finished high school, did well in his exams and was ready to take on the world, then when he turned eighteen he was thrown out on his own”

“His parents threw him out, was it because he told them he is gay?”

“I don’t know whether he’s gay or not, but he was thrown out of his home because he was fostered and when he reached adult age the foster carer’s payments stopped and he became homeless so they could take in another younger youth and get paid for it”

“That’s a low act. I would think that if he was fostered he would be treated like family, regardless of his age”

“You’d expect so, but he’s not the only one. There are a number of young men and women being treated the same. I wish I could do more than just give them a hot meal”

“I suppose they’re homeless because they don’t have work either”

“Exactly, you expect your parents to support you, at least until you have work. Problem is one thing leads to another. No job, then no home and loss of self esteem. That leads to lower job prospects and less training opportunities”

“Couldn’t you offer them some work at the centre?”

“Some of them volunteer a bit, but we can’t pay them. Funds are so stretched here that most weeks I have to put in cash to stock the pantry, especially fresh fruit and veg. When I first came here the priority was to fill their bellies with lots of bread and rice and soup but my priority is to fill them with highly nutritious food”

“Virginia, I’ve got an idea. If I gave you a few days notice, would you be able to have some of these young people attend a meeting. I could come to the meal centre if that is more comfortable for them”

“I’m sure I could do that, but what do you have in mind. A pep talk might not be enough to get them motivated when they are already so low in self confidence”

“No not just a pep talk, but I would like to find out what they really want and what they are prepared to do to help themselves”

“I guess they want a job and a home. Can you provide that?”

“That’s what I’m thinking”

“Go on, I like the sound of this, but not sure how Jon will take to housing homeless youth”

“I’m thinking of providing them with more than a home. I can offer them jobs and modest accommodation. The property next door has staff accommodation and the resort is going to need lots of workers. We could also provide them with on the job training and for those that show promise in a particular field we might subsidise some tertiary training”

“Thomas that would be wonderful. I’ll talk to a few of the young people and you let me know when you want to come to the centre”

“I’ll need to run it by Jonathan and Lachlan, but I think they’ll come onboard”

“Oh Thomas, you’ve made my day, I can’t wait to get to the meal centre tomorrow and spread the word”

“Ok, I’ll get back to you and maybe we can arrange to meet some of them when I return from Mallacoota”

“I’ll send the key over tomorrow”

***

“I spoke to Virginia today and she’s sending over the key for Mallacoota, so we can go next week, if you can work around that”

“No problem. If I leave Patrick some work to do, can you put him on the payroll?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem”

“Good, I think it will be good for him to have some work. He seems a bit distant from me lately, maybe he’s jealous about not having a job”

“That’s partly my fault, I did tell him I would find some casual work for him, but nothing’s come along. I haven’t noticed any change in him”

“Must be just me he doesn’t want to hang with”

“He does have a girlfriend you know, and Carol can be demanding”

“Maybe it’s that. Are you ready to go to dinner?” Dante asked.

“Give me a couple of minutes. I’ll meet you there after I call Craig about fostering”

“No way, you’re not thinking of fostering a child, are you?”

“No not me, but I need to know about what happens when foster kids reach eighteen, I heard something quite disturbing from Virginia today and want to check it out with Justin or Craig”

“Ok, just want to make it clear I’m not ready to be a father in any form”

“You seem very strong about that. Is it because of your father?”

“Maybe, but just not ready for that sort of commitment”

“Does that reluctance to embrace commitment include me?” asked Thomas

“What? Why would you ask that?”

“Just checking”

“See you at dinner”

<>

Over dinner, Thomas explained the situation about homeless youth, by way of introducing his plan for staffing the resort.

“So would these be problem kids?” asked Cook

“Not necessarily. They have only become homeless because their foster carers put them out when the money stops”

“That’s the most heartless thing I’ve heard of” commented Carol.

“That’s what Craig said, but then they’re not doing it for the money. They actually want to help their foster kid and they put most of the money paid by the government into a trust fund for him, after they give him pocket money”

“They sound like a wonderful couple” said Cook.

“So these kids will be eighteen or older?” asked Carol.

“Yes, given the adult nature of the resort, we really can’t employ younger people”

“Adult nature?” asked Cook

“Yes, we’ll be serving alcohol in various locations around the property, the pool area will be clothing optional and then there is the clubhouse in the old stables. Jonathan has some very adult plans for that”

“Do I want to know more?” Cook questioned

“Maybe not now; I’ll talk more about that as plans are firmed up”

Just then Patrick returned from the cellar with a few bottles of wine. He opened one bottle and poured for Cook, Carol and himself.

“Can you pour for Thomas and I?” Dante asked

“Have you got a broken arm? There’s another bottle, so here’s an idea...open your own” stated Patrick.

“Ouch!” exclaimed Dante. As he opened the second bottle, Cook gave Thomas one of her, what’s going on here, looks. Thomas just shrugged and left the subject by proposing a toast “To the success of the resort and new opportunities for us all”

***

Later that night, in Carol’s bedroom, she asked “Have you and Dante had a disagreement, I hope it’s not because I asked you about your parents?”

“No, nothing like that”

“Sibling rivalry isn’t something I’ve noticed between you two before. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“No, just leave it will you”

“Ok, just thought I could help”

“You can’t, ok!”

“Alright, forget I asked”

“Fine”

“Hey, I think you need a distraction”

“What did you have in mind?” he asked as he raised his eyebrows.

“Give me a sec” Carol replied as she went to her bedside drawer, took out a small box labelled The Rabbit.

“What’s that?”

“Just wait and see” she replied as she removed the toy, lie back on the bed and said to Patrick “You just relax and watch”

“Fuck! Is that what I think it is?”

“That depends on what you think”

“It looks like a bloody vibrator”

“I prefer to call it a stimulator”

“Should I feel inadequate or redundant?”

“Not at all, I just thought you might like a show”

“Then let the entertainment begin”

“Bugger!” exclaimed Carol “Can you look in that drawer and find me a couple of new batteries?”

“Ah, a little flat are we. You do know I’m fully charged”

“Ok, let’s see what you’ve got to offer. I’ll give you the rabbit in a snatch show some other time” she said as she flicked her long blonde hair provocatively.

***

The following morning Thomas presented his plan for homeless youth to Jonathan and Lachlan.

“While I appreciate your good intentions and support your efforts, I’m not sure the resort will be a suitable place for a youth refuge” said Jonathan.

“I’m not sure that’s what Thomas is proposing, Jonathan”

“Lachlan’s right, it won’t be a refuge but a working and learning opportunity for these young adults. And that’s exactly what they are...adults...but without a good start in life. I want to give them that good start”

“Ok, I’ll trust your judgement Thomas. But you know I have zero tolerance for drug use or other anti-social behaviour”

“Of course, I’m the same. They will be well vetted and given strict instructions before starting work here. The resort is a legitimate business venture and as such will be run on a strictly professional basis. I know you wouldn’t expect anything less and neither do I”

“Ok, for what it’s worth, you have my blessing. What say you Lachlan?”

“I fully support the plan and hope I can be involved with their training”

“Thanks Lachlan” replied Thomas “I can see it now, Lachlan’s School of Waiting”

“Of course” added Jonathan “All those years of service at the Regency Club should not go to waste. Now I’m fully on board with this”

“Thanks gentlemen, now I’ll talk to the rest of the staff and see where we can fit in some others”

“Oh, one more thing. Dante and I are planning to have a week at Virginia’s place in Mallacoota next week, if that’s allright”

“Thomas, around here you are your own boss, but thanks for letting me know and have a good time” concluded Jonathan

***

Thomas then called Cook and asked her to meet him in his office for a meeting at one o’clock, and bring lunch for four.

“Please help yourself to food and we’ll work while we eat. I’ve spoken to Mr P this morning and he’s fully supportive of my plan to employ and train young homeless people. Now we need to work out how you can be involved. I don’t want to overload you with trainees, so what I’m proposing to start with, is to give each of you one trainee before we open the resort. Hopefully by the time we do open, each of your trainees will be a useful member of staff. If that works out then we will look at employing more as needed. Are there any questions?”

“And what do we teach them?” asked Carol.

“In short, you teach them to do your job. Each will be your assistant, because as the resort grows so will the need for more staff”

“Me train someone?”

“Of course Carol. If you know your job then you can teach it. Of course your jobs are going to change dramatically when we open. Whereas now you look after the residents here, you will eventually be serving guests. Each of you will become the head of your departments and have staff under you”

“Wow!” exclaimed Carol “Does that mean I’ll be a supervisor, a boss?”

“That’s the general idea. Now Cook, as I mentioned before I want you to provide home cooked snacks for the guests between formal meals, as well as catering for staff. So the best thing you can start with is sharing some of your secret recipes and train your assistant in all aspects of how your kitchen works”

“No problem, but not sure my recipes are a secret”

“They’re a mystery to me” replied Thomas

Everyone laughed, then Thomas added “Carol, you will have someone to make all those extra beds as well as doing the laundry” Then looking at Dante “And you will have an assistant gardener to help with the labouring work initially. Then if he or she shows promise we might look at a TAFE course for them. Is that ok?”

“Sure, but I could also use an assistant to look after the pool” said Dante

“Yes, I’d forgotten that was tacked onto your job description during lockdown. How about we see if Patrick can take on that job? It’s certainly not a full time job, so he can do it as well as his occasional courier duties”

“Have you given any thought to the need for a pool attendant when the resort opens?” asked Dante

“You’re right. When this becomes a business, we will have a duty of care to our guests to ensure their safety in all areas of the property. In short we’ll need a lifeguard on duty. We will need to get him some first aid and life saving training”

Thomas then called Patrick to join their meeting.

*****