Never walk alone- Walk on - 37. Chapter 37

Devlin-Major was one of the lucky hospitality companies post Covid, in that business bounced back relatively quickly. For the first few weeks after the two lodges in Cape Town reopened, Andrew and Ryan spent a great deal of their time at Blue Bay and The Cameron. Every day, from 8am to 10.30am and again from 4pm to 6pm, one of them would be in the foyers of each lodge, chatting to departing and arriving guests. And the overwhelming response from their guests highlighted the reason. Ambience, homeliness and service. Reservations had begun flowing in as soon as the restrictions were lifted and from having nothing at the beginning of October, by the end of the month it was as if Covid had never happened and they were both stunned when, within two days of one another, both Claude and Richard advised that the Christmas season was fully booked. Not a single room was available from the Friday that the schools closed until the second week after New Year. And year end function reservations, were looking good as well, albeit slightly down on the previous season. Companies were also scaling down on their celebrations and were far more price sensitive.
Shrewdly, for all the owned properties, they refrained from increasing the nightly rates, instead keeping them the same as the previous year, preferring to put bums in beds as opposed to having empty rooms. It meant that turnover remained good, but they ultimately took a small hit on the bottom line. They even went so far as to hold meetings with the staff, particularly at Blue Bay, The Cameron and Drakensberg Resort, explaining the strategy and the effect it would have on the already smaller dividend payouts due to the epidemic closure. Several cost saving measures were introduced in an effort to improve the bottom line, without compromising standards, and although successful, the short period had only a very small affect.

At the beginning of November, Andrew got some news which made him very happy indeed. It came in the form of a Skype call from the Mason's confirming that they would be in Cape Town on 22 December for three weeks. Andrew immediately added them to the reservations for Christmas Day lunch at The Cameron. Out of loyalty they would have another dessert at Blue Bay because New Years Eve would be celebrated at Drakensberg Resort. It would only be them this year as David and Janice were spending Christmas and New Year up in Johannesburg with Donna and Craig.
He also arranged to go sailing for a couple of days on 'Belle Catherine' from Boxing Day, Darren and Kerry would get her all set up before flying to Durban to be with their parents over the festive season, and made reservations at Drakensberg Resort and the game lodge including all the transport arrangements. He advised the air charter company that the Pilatus would be required for the flight from Cape Town to Drakensberg Resort and onward to the game lodge a week later. They advised that there was a group arriving on the Qantas flight from Sydney at 14.30 on the same day as their flight to the game lodge, and that their party would have to fly early in order for the plane to be back in time for a second trip with the Australian guests. Andrew checked to see if and when thd Pilatus was needed. Fortunately things worked out well but it meant Harry would be quite busy as he would need to fly the Pilatus back to Drakensberg Resort on the afternoon before their departure so that it would be on station for the early departure to the game lodge before having to return to Rand to collect the later arrivals and fly them up. Again, the plane was not required for the following day so he made arrangements for Harry to stay over for the night at the game lodge as well and fly back early the next morning.
Andrew grinned in anticipation of seeing Paul and Marie's faces when they realised they were flying on a plane owned by Devlin-Major.

The festive 'silly season' of company year end functions kicked off slightly earlier than normal, so they were kept busy through most of November and the first two weeks of December, but after the schools closed, companies began shutting down as well, and after the Day of Reconciliation holiday on the 16th, things calmed down to a mild panic. Of course now the lodges were busy with all the holidaymakers, but everything was ticking over smoothly.
In the week before the Mason's arrived and Yvonne went on leave, she prepared the guest bedroom for Paul and Marie, and the third bedroom in the main wing adjoining the childrens rooms for Jonathan and Michael.
Andrew and Ryan took leave from the public holiday, so in that week the Devlin-Major family put up all the Christmas decorations as well as the tree, so everything was looking very festive on the day the Mason's arrived.

Because they were not going be be in Cape Town itself for long, Andrew had advised Paul not to bother with a rental vehicle. If they needed a vehicle either his or Ryan's was available for use. Not sure of how much luggage the Mason's were bringing with them, they took both SUV's to the airport to collect their friends from Canada. The reunion can only be described as tumultuous, with much excitement and many tears. Marie clung to Andrew and Ryan, sobbing her heart out. The boys held her close, realising that the Covid epidemic had hit her particularly hard, with the loss of both her parents. She tried valiantly to calm herself when she realised the children were getting upset as well, and it was not long before they bounced back and their happy smiles returned. Cameron and Elizabeth, it seemed just picked up with Jonathan and Michael where they had left off, although Jamie and Fiona were still a bit hesitant, but as happens with children, they were soon chatting happily and insisted on all travelling together back to the house with Ryan. Paul and Marie were relegated to drive with Andrew.

Once unpacked and settled, the adults just sat around the breakfast counter while Andrew prepared a Nicoise Salad for lunch, taking the easy way out and using canned tuna chunks. Of course, he had to add his own twist by including avocado and the salad was served with fresh seed rolls purchased on the way home from the airport. In the afternoon, everyone relaxed in or at the pool, soaking up the warm sun.

Just before 3pm Andrew got a call from Darren advising that 'Belle Catherine' was ready for them, that all the supplies that Andrew had ordered had been delivered and that he and Kerry were on their way to the airport to for the flight to Durban. Andrew thanked Darren and wished him, Kerry and their families a happy festive season before saying goodbye. He smiled at a Ryan as he put the phone down.
"I really don't know how we got so lucky to find those two. They are an absolute blessing and delight. And the guests love them".

As the sun dipped towards the horizon and jet lag began catching up with the Mason's, they ordered in sushi and Chinese for the adults dinner, although the children all wanted pizza. The Mason's went to bed fairly early with Andrew and Ryan following them shortly after.

After a lazy start the next day, breakfast was only at 10am, they all piled into the SUVs and went to do some last minute Christmas shopping. They had lunch at the mall, then drove back to the house and lazed around the pool for the afternoon again. Dinner that evening was a braai, rump sosaties and marinated chicken breasts with some salads. Dessert was one of Ryan's favourites, Pears Belle Helene, poached pears with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Once again the Mason's retired to the beds fairly early, still suffering from the vestiges of jetlag. After getting their offspring tucked in, Andrew and Ryan pottered around doing a bit of preparation for Christmas Eve dinner which would take place at the house. Claude and François would attend. Richard had elected to work the Christmas Eve late shift so that he could be day off on New Years Day when he apparently had something planned for his girlfriend. Andrew suspected they may have a wedding to attend in their future.

Avoiding the usual traditional choices for dinner, Andrew had opted for fish - fresh wild Canadian salmon, which he was serving with baby potatoes, steamed broccoli and glazed carrots. A creamy pink and green peppercorn sauce would accompany the fish, although he had the ingredients for lemon butter sauce on hand in case the children did not like the peppercorn sauce.
The hors d'oeuvres was a thinly sliced biltong, beetroot, white grape and mozzarella salad with a balsamic dressing and dessert was a Black Forest Baked Alaska.

Knowing Claude and François would arrive dressed smart casual, they all dressed up slightly for dinner and when they arrived, with Toby, much to Rascal's delight, all the adults were already downstairs with a glass of their preferred tipple in hand. The lights had been dimmed, Christmas tree lights and the rope lights that were strung across the front of the house were turned on, and the candles on Andrew's traditional gold covered table flickered warmly. The latest holiday album by Pentatonix, an a capella group that the boys had discovered during covid lockdown played softly in the background. Ryan quickly got Claude and François something to drink, refreshed any of the others that required refreshing and they sat on the patio chatting and enjoying the balmy evening with just the merest of breezes blowing. Rascal and Toby were running around the garden barking and having doggy fun.
Just before dinner, Andrew called the children down from the bedroom wing where they were holed up watching movies, and let them each taste a bit of the sauce. Cameron was happy with the peppercorn sauce, but the other three wanted the lemon butter, which he quickly put together and then called dinner.

The hors d'oeuvres were already on the table , all he had to do was place the baskets with the warm bread on the table as well. Bottles of Wildekrans Dry Rose rested in wine buckets on the side table, as well as two bottles of Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir, one opened, should anyone prefer a more robust wine, and grape juice was on hand for the children. As everyone settled around the table, on cue, two panting furballs made themselves comfortable under the table ready for some titbits.

Conversation flowed easily around the table, but was somehow quite subdued, almost as though they were all remembering the difficult months that had passed and the loved ones who were no longer with them.
As expected, Andrew outdid himself, and gracefully accepted all the compliments. After dinner they moved back out onto the patio for coffee and biscotti, and when Paul noticed his two boys battling to keep their eyes open, he and Andrew took all the children upstairs and got them all settled for the night. When they came back downstairs, Ryan and Marie went to kiss the children all goodnight and tuck them in. Claude and François left with Toby shortly after 11pm and the four friends all got stuck in to do the tidy up.
Marie helped Andrew get some pastries and croissants into a warm oven to prove overnight and get mugs ready for the morning, while Ryan and Paul brought the remainder of the gifts down from Ryan's office and placed them under the tree, before heading for their beds themselves, donning sleep shorts and T-shirts, knowing that their offspring were going to have them up and about very early.

The children actually gave them an hour longer than expected, the anticipated stampede down the corridor only occurring just after 7am. Four small exitedly chattering human bodies and one furry barking daschund landed on the bed almost simultaneously. Fortunately the dads were already awake and were expecting the onslaught. A raucous period of squealing, belly laughter and barking followed as the dads got actively involved with tickling their offspring, and getting their fair share in return as the children ganged up on them, while Rascal added to the general bedlam, barking madly. It quietened down when they noticed the Mason's all observing the mayhem happening on the big master bed, huge grins on their faces.

"If this is what happens every morning", Marie commented, "Then I want to come backas a child in this house when I die. We have our cuddles and fun with our boys but never on that sort of scale, I think. But then, at the same time, you two are also still kids at heart. I'll never stop being amazed at how good you are at being fathers", she added.
Ryan grinned at them.

"Oh, this is mild. Usually the bed looks like a tornado passed over it with all the linen ending up on the floor. But yeah, we enjoy our mornings with our five rascals"
Andrew clapped his hand together.

"Who wants to see what Santa has left downstairs?" The only answer he received was dwindling chorus of "me's" as they literally vanished out of the bedroom, followed by excited voices from the lounge. The adults followed more sedately and while Marie got water boiling and the coffee machime stocked and started, Andrew preheated the oven before popping the pastries and croissants into the oven to bake. A tray of blueberry muffins went in on the second rack. Ryan and Paul pulled back curtains and opened all the doors to let the cool morning air waft into the rooms. Ryan turned on some Christmas music. It was a perfect Cape morning, the water in the bay relatively calm, the early morning sunlight sparkling off the dappled surface. Three ships lay at anchor while two monohulls, sails taut, sailed closer to the beach towards Bloubergstrand. Close by, the first church bells rang out, calling members to worship services.

Ryan and Paul then sat the children in a circle and a small mound of gifts slowly built in front of them as they were handed out. Only once they all that tea, coffee or hot chocolate in hand, were they given the go ahead to start revealing their gifts. It did not take long for the floor to be littered with ripped wrapping paper that Rascal was having a ball playing with. He scampered around attacking random pieces of wrapping, grabbing it between his paws and then growling and nipping at it, adding to the general mess. Then he'd look up at his humans with a very self-satisfied look, panting like mad, tongue lolling, then move onto his next target. But eventually he tired of his game, sauntered into the kitchen and could be heard lapping noisily at his water, before collapsing into his basket, exhausted! When Andrew came to fetch a bin bag to collect all the destroyed wrapping paper a few minutes later, the puppy was fast asleep.

With all the excitement of gift opening over, and the mess out of the way, everyone headed for their bedrooms to shower and change for lunch at The Cameron. As expected, James and his brigade had outdone themselves with a superb Christmas Day spread, with the usual mix of local, Scottish and traditional dishes. There was one item that Andrew had never seen on a Cameron buffet before, the card in front of it showing the whimsical name of Rumbledethrumps, and describing it as a Scottish potato and cabbage bake. James came over when he noticed Andrew and Ryan examining the offering and explained,

"It's a traditional dish originating from the Scottish Borders. Mashed potato mixed with chive infused milk and lashings of butter, mixed with sautéed shredded cabbage, onions, bacon and more butter. It's all put in layers, topped with cheddar cheese and baked"

The whole table dished a serving onto their plates along with their gammon, turkey and roast beef and declared it it be a keeper, pairing particularly well with the glazed gammon. The didn't linger after lunch, but headed for Blue Bay for the traditional Devlin-Major second dessert round and to chat to the linger- longers who were still enjoying their lunch.
Then it was back to the house for naps as full tummies pulled eyelids down, and a fairly early night in preparation for sailing on 'Belle Catherine' next morning.

Ryan woke up a couple of times through the night and was aware of the southeaster blowing strongly. The second time he woke up he opened his laptop, checked the weather forecast and his heart sank. There was no way they were taking their beloved yacht out that day or the next, at least. A black southeaster had set in, bringing with it gale force winds, stormy seas and some rain. He was bitterly disappointed when he returned to the warm master bed a few minutes later. Andrew realised the trip was off as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning and heard the wind howling around the house. It was reinforced when he drew back the curtains to reveal a brooding Table Mountain, almost covered by a thick billowing cloud cloth, the bay covered with whitecaps that the wind whipped the tops off, causing a mist to hang over the surface of the bay, and stinging beach sand being blown the length of the beach. It was not pleasant weather at all, and the beaches would be deserted for the next few days or until the wind died down.

Two very disappointed families sat having breakfast in the pool conservatory later that morning. They had all been looking forward to a few days at sea. Now, they were basically housebound as going out was going to be very unpleasant as well. Fortunately, the wind was predicted to drop on the day before they left for Drakensberg Resort, so they had that to console themselves with.
And so, for two days, they watched movies, played Monopoly, enjoyed the overseas sport, and the children played in their bedrooms with only occasional, squabbles and tears . On the first day, however, Ryan, Andrew and Paul drove to the marina to check on 'Belle Catherine' and removed any perishables that could not be frozen, which Andrew and Marie used at the house for meals.

On Thursday afternoon just after lunchtime, the wind began abating and Andrew was very relieved to get a call from Harry advising that he had arrived, the Pilatus safety tucked away in the hanger at the FBO and that he was in his room at the Hotel Verde close to the airport. A departure time of 9am was arranged, with an arrival at the FBO at 8am in time for them to have breakfast before boarding. All this had to be done in great secrecy because the Mason's were still under the impression that they were flying commercial to Pietermaritzburg and then driving to the resort.
The Mercedes Vito that would convey them to the airport arrived on time and after loading all the luggage, and Rascal, the house was locked up, they all piled into the van and off they went. The wind had dropped considerably overnight with only a breeze blowing and a few wisps of cloud rolling down the face of Table Mountain. When they drove into the airport property and turned right onto the service road instead of going left to the commercial departure terminal, the penny dropped almost immediately for Paul.

"I'm going to kill you two", he muttered "slowly and very painfully. You're flying us privately, aren't you?" Andrew grinned at him.
"Yup, we are. It's the easiest, most convenient, way to get to the resort and to the game lodge". Paul looked at Marie saying,

"Jeez Marie, we're going to have to find some new friends. These guys are way out of our league. Hotels, yachts, and flying by private aircraft"

"I hate to say it, my love", she replied, "But I think it's really kinda cool."

"Traitor", her husband muttered. "Okay, so is Dan and Joan in town and allowing you to use their plane?, he queried.

"You'll just have to wait on see. We are almost there", Ryan replied with a grin.

The van dropped them off that the impressive entrance to the Execujet FBO. Porters hurried out to attend to the luggage as they all walked into the building and approached the reception desk. Brenda, the CRO, smiled warmly as she noticed them.

"Good morning", Ryan greeted her. "Devlin-Major party checking in"

"Good morning Mr Devlin-Major. Welcome to Execujet. You're a bit early. We were expecting you for a 9am departure".

"Yeah, correct Brenda. We'll have breakfast before we leave. So there's no need to rushanything", Ryan replied.

"Oh, that's great. Your aircraft hasn't been moved from the hanger yet, so I was a bit concerned. Leave all your luggage with me and go enjoy your breakfast. We will get your luggage loaded just as soon as they position your aircraft on the apron. Your pilot has arrived and is on board, and your catering is already loaded", she explained.

"Thanks Brenda, we'll do just that. Can you give us a heads-up about fifteen minutes before boarding".

"Sure thing. No problem"

They walked through into the restaurant where a small buffet was set up with breakfast items, both hot and cold. The children all had fruit juice, fresh fruit, yogurt and cereals while the four adults just went with fruit juice, bacon & egg rolls and tea of coffee, sitting at a table at the windows overlooking the apron.
About ten minutes after sitting down, Andrew,who was facing the windows, noticed the Pilatus emerging from the hanger, being towed by a small tug, and being positioned on the apron directly in front of the exit onto the ramp. One detail that had changed on the aircraft was that the temporary registration that it had arrived with had been replaced by the official one ZS-DMP, and he had to admit, the plane looked fantastic.
As requested, Brenda came to give them the fifteen minute call and they began finishing their food and shortly after, Brenda advised that they could board.
It was only a few steps to the exit onto the ramp and the aircraft parked right in front of the door. Again, it was Paul who cottoned on first.

"Hang on just one minute. Are you kidding me? That is definitely not Dan and Joan's plane.That registration is ZS -DMP. And it's painted in your corporate colours. That is just too much of a coincidence to not be Devlin-Major Portfolio. You two have bought your own plane!" Marie's eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open in an "Oh" as she realised the implications of what Paul had just said.
Andrew sniggered as he replied,

"Yes, my friend. It's ours. Our should I say half ours. Let's get going and we will explain everything". Paul just looked at them with a shocked expression and shook his head.
Harry greeted them at the foot of the cabin stairs and Andrew introduced Paul and Marie to him before entering the cabin . This time it was Marie who noticed the anomaly.
"There are only nine seats and there are ten of us", she said, looking at Andrew and Ryan.

"Yeah, only nine passenger seats", Ryan replied, "I'll sit up front with Harry".

"Please don't tell me you've got your pilots licence since we last saw you", Paul asked.

"Nope", Ryan replied with a grin. "But maybe that's not such a bad idea".
Paul just shook his head and glared at his friends.

"I wonder if Drew's parents had any idea what they were unleashing when he inherited that money", he muttered, plonking himself into a seat halfway down the cabin. "I dread to ask what you two are worth these days. I suspect about the same as Andrew's original inheritance".

"Not quite Paulie", Andrew replied softly. "But we couldn't have done it without that inheritance, as difficult as that was at the time. But as I said, we'll explain one we are in the air.

They all got settled after Harry requested that the adults sit in the forward part of the cabin for balance purposes due to the weight of the luggage further aft which meant Rascal's travelling basket could go behind the last seat on the port side near the aft loading door, right across the aisle from Cameron.
Then he ran through the safety briefing, closed the cabin door and then waited as Ryan seated himself in the right hand seat of the cockpit before getting himself settled. His fingers flew competently over switches and knobs before requesting permission from the ground control for engine start, which he immediately received. The huge seven bladed propeller turned slowly as the engine whined before turning into a blur as the engine powered up. Harry got the required permission from the control toeer to taxi to the runway and with a powerful surge they were off and they headed into the blue morning sky, flying south over False Bay and then turning to port to head upcountry, reaching their cruising altitude of 30 000ft (9144m) half an hour later due to being fairly heavily loaded ahead of a roughly two and a half hour flight.

When Ryan came back into the cabin to chat, Jonathan asked if he could go sit in the cockpit for a while. After clearing the request with Harry, Ryan helped a visibly excited Jonathan into the co-pilot seat, got his lap and shoulder straps secured before giving him strict instructions not to touch anything and returned to the passenger cabin, collecting a bottle of sparkling water and a packet of thinly sliced biltong on the way, from the cabinet at the front of the cabin after noticing that everyone already had a snack. The four friends swivelled their seats so that they were almost facing one another and Andrew brought them up to date with all the news.

"As you guessed, Paul, the plane is registered to the Devlin-Major Portfolio. When Dan and Joan Kinley told us they were purchasing a game lodge in Mpumalanga, they asked us to manage it for them. We all flew up before Covid hit us, and the place is stunning. So much so that we offered to go into partnership with them instead of just a management contract, which they agreed to", he explained.

"During our discussions with them", Ryan added "we decided to introduce fly-in safari packages, mainly due to the remoteness of the lodge. Once you leave the main road, the access roads are all dirt, and can be virtually impassable if it rains significantly. All the vehicles on the property are 4x4s for that very reason. And so we bought ourselves this plane. It is based at Rand Airport and guests are collected from their flights at OR Tambo by luxury coach, transferred to Rand Airport and then flown to the lodge. You'll get a similar experience when we fly from Drakensberg to the game lodge next week and when we fly back to Rand from the lodge"

"So, to clarify things", Andrew said, "We own 51% of the lodge and the plane. Dan and Joan hold the remaining 49%. And we have the option of procuring that 49% or any part thereof, should they decide to sell"
Paul stared at his friends, slightly dumbfounded.

"I cannot believe how far you two have come in, what, nine, ten years. Believe me when I say we are very happy in Canada, but if I could have looked into the future and seen what you have achieved, our decision to emigrate may not have been so easy. I'm so impressed, and proud of you". Marie nodded in agreement.

"Paul's right. You have a knack of taking lemons and making lemonade"
Andrew grinned.

"Joan once said the same thing to me. It has been hard work, but we've also had our fair share of luck. The Cameron is a shining example of that. And of course our staff are amazing. And the love and support I get from by darling husband", he said, turning to look at Ryan and holding out his hand, which Ryan gently took in his.
They sat chatting for the remainder of the flight until Harry advised that they were approaching the resort and, as it was his first time landing at the resort, requested a second pair of eyes in the cockpit. Ryan went to help Jonathan get back to his seat in the cabin and then settled in beside Harry once again. They buzzed the resort to announce their imminent arrival and then circled around so that Harry could get a good look at the runway before making the final approach and landing, which Harry aced. To everyone's surprise, there already was an aircraft parked on the small apron in front of the terminal building, a high-winged Cessna Caravan. Harry gingerly rolled the Pilatus onto the apron with barely feet separating the wingtips of the two aircraft, but the Cessna having a high wing helped matters greatly, so there was no real danger of a collision. Larry was waiting with the resorts courtesy bus that could transport everyone plus all the luggage. Greetings and introductions over they all headed for reception at the hotel.