A Child's Haven - 38. Chapter 38

During the intermission, the boy said his name was Jabir, and he came from the village next to Amir’s. The story was the same. Amir whispered something, and he relaxed and started to enjoy the play. When we’re ready to leave, as the buses pulled up, the boys were grouped into four rows. Andy gave up his seat so Jabir could ride the same bus as Amir. When the buses were all loaded, we headed home.

The timing was perfect. I instructed the boys to change their clothes. I didn’t need to say anything to the girls. They were already heading to their cocoons. I took Jabir with me as Andy and Jeff unloaded Amir and took him to the infirmary.

When everyone was in the dining hall, Tony handed out a souvenir program signed by the Lion King cast. You would have thought they won the lottery. Kindness costs nothing, but it’s worth millions. Adam and Mario had changed and were in the kitchen, getting the food ready for dinner. Mom was still there talking and helping Mrs. Jenkins prepare the meal. When Beth arrived, I told her a new boy with Amir needed to be inducted into Sanctuary. I invited all of the police that provided security on our trip to stay for dinner. Of course, I didn’t need to ask Murray and O’Shea.

Dinner was great, the beef was tender, and the kids enjoyed the meal. All you heard was Lion King this and Lion King that. “Tony has a surprise for you. Besides the programs, he has a DVD of the play and a DVD of the movie.” The kids wanted to play them right then. “You’ll get a chance to see them any time this week. But there is another surprise.”

Adam and Mario brought in this cake that looked like the lion king standing on his stone overlooking his kingdom. It looked so good the kids didn’t want to cut it. “Look, if you don’t want any, then I’m going to throw it away.”

As it turned out, the lion on the stone was plastic, so it became an ornament that had to be posted on the dining room wall. Tony was already on the phone with Abe to get permission to ask one of the carpenters to make a shelf for it.

I went to the car, brought in one box of banks, and then went and got the other box. I didn’t say anything; the kids were dying to know what is in the boxes. Tony sat down at the table and called the youngest boy to come and see him. That was Billy, who was four months younger than Pat.

“Billy, in a family, the parents always gave their children some money each week called an allowance. Sanctuary is your parent, and so you’ll start to receive an allowance of 1 dollar and 50 cents each week on Friday.”

“Billy, to save your money, so you don’t lose it; I have a bank for you. You can put it on the shelf in your cocoon. I also have a key ring with your name and cocoon number on it. On this ring, I’ve put your key to this bank, and you need to put your key to your cocoon on it.”

The other children were called by their age. I gave Pat a little extra to start him off. I pulled him aside and told him it was our secret. He hugged me, with his arm around my neck, he whispered in my ear, “Can I call you dad too?”

I whispered back, “I’d be mad if you didn’t.” I heard the sob and held him a little longer. My brave soldier was really a kid at heart. When he had finished crying, I handed him my handkerchief and kissed him on the cheek.

“Tony, you can continue for a few moments. I need to talk to Andy. Be sure to mention to Adam that I want him to be prepared to take the GED in 3 months. If he needs tutoring, I’ll arrange it. I’m going to enroll him in culinary school as soon as he’s 18.”

I left the area looking for Andy. I found him in the infirmary with Jeff and Amir. “Andy, may I see you for a minute. Come walk with me, I have a favor to ask you, and I want to show you something.”

I entered the dining hall and started to walk up to 3B. As we were walking, “I’d like Adam to pass his GED so he can attend culinary school. He probably will need help, and I’d appreciate it if you would help him.”

Reaching floor 3B,” I’m having a special design quad being built here. My idea is to use this as a stepping stone to a college dorm and independent living. I have one almost done.”

I led Andy to quad number 3B-1, opening the main door; “This area will be a kitchen with a microwave, under the counter refrigerator, a sink, and a small counter. Above the counter will be cabinets, and under the counter next to the refrigerator will be a small cabinet that will contain a drawer for cutlery and microwave cooking utensils. There will be a table here with board seats that fit under the table. On each side, there’ll be two rooms like this one. It’s the only one finished at this time. All of the beds are the same size. The cabinets above the bed are storage for the occupants and have a key. This is a small but adequate bathroom, and there are closets with drawers below them for socks, underwear, and clothes that don’t need to be hung. In this quad, there will be four rooms like this. Altogether there will be several quads on this floor. At the end of the quads, there is a common room with TV, sofas, lounges, small tables for games, a small library, and one room with a kitchenette and bathroom. The single room is for the dorm leader. I want you, instead of paying rent, to be the dorm leader of these quads. You can continue to work and to go to school. When you graduate from college, we’ll discuss what’s next, depending on your interests. You got 5 seconds to think it over.”

“So I get to live here free, have my apartment, and all I have to do is to be sure everything is working fine.”

“Yes, more or less, don’t forget Adam’s GED.”

“Yea, I’ll take it. This is better than I hoped. The cocoons were comfortable, but this is being a little independent. May I have guests over?”

“I’d assume you’ll be respectable. We have some very troubled kids here; I wouldn’t want any wild parties, no sex, and no alcohol. If you want to have a friend or two over, I have no problem. Just use discretion. I’d like to know in case of an emergency. Sanctuary is a haven, and these kids, as you saw tonight are very sensitive. They live with the fear of being abducted or being put back on the street. That’s what I must deal with every day. Making sure they feel safe. There are still kids who wake up in the middle of the night frightened.”

“I understand. I’ll introduce you to my boyfriend, and then I may ask him to stay overnight. Is that a problem?”

“You must be discreet. I need to meet him and get to know him. Then you let me know in advance. I wouldn’t want one of the boys or girls from a quad to walk in on you or see him sneaking out of your room. But let’s set the ground rules after I meet him.”

“When is this room going to be ready?”

“I’ll ask some of the carpenters to work on this room ahead of one of the quads.”

I headed back to the dining hall, and as I walked in, there were my favorite two security people and my partner Tony. Well, he didn’t know it yet, but he’ll agree soon enough. Getting a cup of coffee, “How did it go, partner?”

“Actually, it went better than I thought. None of why does he get more than me actually, they were surprised. You have one more child to deal with.”

“Where is he?”

“Guess, Sandy.”

“Do you have his number and bank?”

“Yes, according to our system, it’s 2 dollars.”

I walked back to the room where Bubba was sleeping, I knocked, and he said, come in.

Entering, “Bubba, I need to talk to you. As your father, I have your allowance. This is your bank, and this is your allowance. I’ll give you 2 dollars a week until your birthday, and then I’ll increase it by 50 cents. How is that?”

He got up off the bed and threw his arms around my neck. “I didn’t think I’d get an allowance since I’m not a Sanctuary boy.”

“Well, Sanctuary can’t give you an allowance that’s why I’m giving you one. The money that Sanctuary has is for the kids, but since you’re my son, you get your allowance from my pocket.”

“But I went to the play today with the kids.”

“Yes, you can join in with them, but I bought your ticket. And on future outings or events, I’ll include you because I’ll pay for them and not Sanctuary.”

“I guess I’m lucky to be your son.”

“Yes, but you’re also lucky you have a mother who loves you. Wasn’t dinner good tonight?”

He smiled. I kissed him on his head, wished him a good night, “Don’t stay up too late.” Scratching Sandy behind the ear, I went back to my coffee.

“Is everything square between you and your son?”

“It couldn’t be better. Any comment on tonight’s event from your friends on the police department?”

“Most of the comments were how well the kids behaved. Some of them knew the boys from when they were on the street, so they were shocked to see them clean and smartly dressed.”

“I’m glad they are good kids. They just got a rotten start. Tony, zoo tickets are next. Do you think we could get them to close the zoo for us, maybe on their least busy day?”

“I’ll try for you, partner.” I thought that comment went over his head, but evidently, it didn’t.

“How’s the kid we brought back with us, what’s his name?”

“Jabir, he’s from the same place as Amir but a different village. Beth signed him in, and Pat took him around on tour,”

“What did you find out about that guy?”

“Evidently he’s some big shot. Your dad is holding him for 24 hours. Jabir told Amir that he has another kid he keeps locked in the basement. He said he had taken dog food for him to eat. Call your dad and tell him, I’ll have someone go over and get a search warrant, and we’ll find that boy if he’s there.”