A Child's Haven - 48. Chapter 48

After lunch, I rounded up Bubba and Pat to take to the nursery. Walking to the car, Corky asked us where we were going. I told him to a nursery to see about some plants. He asked if he could go. Before I had a chance to answer, Pat and Bubba said, “Sure.”

The drive to the nursery was a little way out of the city. When we arrived, I told the boys to stay together. An older woman approached us and asked if she could help. I explained I wanted to develop a hanging garden concept on my roof. She offered the traditional hanging basket, which was used for flowers. I told her that wasn’t what I wanted; I explained that I was thinking about large boxes to grow vegetables. As we were walking through the nursery, “I’d like something like those seedling beds but a little smaller.”

“If you gave us a plan, my husband could make you something like this. I’m assuming that your roof is on a rather large building.”

“That’s an excellent idea, and I know three boys who would love to measure the roof space and perhaps design the boxes. I want to thank you, and we’ll be back next week.”

Driving back to Sanctuary, “Boys, how would you like to develop the rooftop gardens?”

Bubba was quick to answer, “Can we ask the other boys to help?”

“Sure, when we get back, after dinner tonight, I’ll make an announcement and tell the kids if they are interested to see the committee.”

“Who’s the committee?”

“Who else but you three.”

As I looked in the rearview mirror, I saw three grinning boys.

When I arrived at Sanctuary, I went to my office and started to organize my files. I wanted to have a file for each kid. Their files would contain their birthday, a copy of their birth certificate, obtainable, cocoon assignment, and other achievements. I also wanted to keep track of their work assignments, this I could do on a large worksheet. I needed to start making an assessment of the probability of their educational success. It’d be nice if I had the assessments by Mrs. Chester. Then I could have an idea of their progress and even potential.

I started a new file called the future. Here I put my thoughts about the trade school, a more extensive garden, a small apartment building, and a recreational facility.

With Tony’s help, I needed to set up the trust fund. I also need to understand the current level of expenditures. I made a note to sit with Tony and pull together a budget to monitor my spending. That’d be a good project for tomorrow.

I left the office and went to the Infirmary. I wanted to get Patrick’s story.

“Patrick, how are you feeling? I’m happy to have you here. I have asked Beth to come and enroll you in Sanctuary. You’ll be our 199th member.”

“I’m glad that Jabir told you about me. I don’t know what would’ve happened if he hadn’t.”

“I’d like to know more about you. Will you tell me your story?”

“My parents are dead; I was sent to America to live with my uncle. When I got here, everything was fine. Of course, I missed my mom and dad and my friends. After nine months, some men came to my uncle’s house. They said that he owed some man a lot of money and had two weeks to pay it back. I don’t know why he owed them the money, but two weeks later, they came back and shot him. One of the men grabbed me and took me to the place where you found me. The man that owned the place told me I was going to be his sex slave. I told him there was no way I was going to be a sex slave. He hit me, and I must have blanked out because I was tied to a bed, naked when I came to. The man came in and asked me if I changed my mind. I yelled at him, and then he raped me. The men who took me from my uncle also raped me. I was bleeding, and they took me downstairs, hosed me down, and put me in a cage. For the next six months, they’d come down and use me. If I said I was hungry, they’d feed me dog food. If I was thirsty, they’d peed on me. It wasn’t until Jabir came that I was left alone. Jabir would bring me water and the dog food, but he would sneak me a piece of bread. I thought I’d die there. Then two men came, pulled me out of the cage, and started to beat me with a club. I blacked out, and when I woke up, you were there, and I was in the hospital.”

“The two men that beat you were arrested. When Jabir told me about you being in the basement, I sent our security people to get you. When they got there, they arrested the two men and got an ambulance to take you to the hospital. I was very upset when I saw you. I thought you were going to die. Dr. Franks said he’d do everything he could to save you, and he did. Now you’re here, and I’m happy.”

Just as we finished talking, I looked up, and Aaron and Jeff were standing there. Jeff had tears in his eyes. Aaron just smiled and patted Patrick on his head and whispered something in his ear. Patrick’s face lit up with a big smile, and he nodded yes. Jeff left and brought back a dish of ice cream for Patrick and himself.

Patrick was going to be ok. The kids spent time with him, so he was never alone. Aaron watched over him like a mother hen, and you could see the results in Patrick.

For the next few weeks, I had a chance to relax. The boys were anxious to start school. I was anxious to get 3C finished. The day the elevator for the building was operational, the boys couldn’t wait to ride it up to their rooms. Mrs. Chester had a chance to see the school rooms and take advantage of the lounge. Since she wanted her office in the school, I had Abe construct an office for her and a secretary in the lounge area. He placed a wall between the lounge and the offices, thus guaranteed the teachers’ lounge’s privacy.

“With the elevator finished, we spent the week bringing school equipment to 3A, and there was a crew to install the desks, under the guidance of Mrs. Chester. I noticed as the rooms began to look like a schoolroom, Mrs. Chester was starting to get excited. She was anxious to get started.

I had Grace supply us with a standardized test to use for the evaluation of the kids. Once we had those results, we could separate the kids and begin teaching. “Mrs. Chester, if we find a child has proficiency in one area and a deficiency in another, how do you think we should organize that. I wouldn’t want a kid to become discouraged by repeating something they already knew.”

“In the old days of the one-room school, the kids were sorted by age. One of the outcomes was that younger kids learned faster since they’d hear the teacher present the lesson to older kids. We could do something like that, and if we have six kids who can do 7th-grade math, we could separate them and teach 8th-grade math while we teach 7th-grade math to those who aren’t proficient in that level of math. Let’s wait until we see the results of the proficiency tests.”

“Have you been able to hire any teachers?”

“I have interviewed several that I think would enjoy the challenge. They are older and very experienced. Most are recently retired and are finding time on their hands. I think they’d love working here.”

“That’s excellent, and I can now cross off that project as being complete. As soon as the tests arrived, we should get to it. With the elevator operational, why don’t you invite the teachers you’ve selected to have lunch with us, and they could have a tour of the facility. It’d give them a chance to see the kids as well as the school.”

“I think they’ll be amazed at what you’ve done here. I know they’ll like the lounge.”

“Good, just let me know in advance so I can tell our cooks. If you have a moment, please let Tony know the teachers’ names and, between you and him, decide the salaries. I’ll catch up with Tony when that has been finalized. Once your staff has determined the tests’ results, I’d like you to address the Board. I know my mom and dad are interested in the education program. I think Grace may use any innovative ideas to push at the State level.”