A Child's Haven - 61. Chapter 61

That afternoon when Adam was finished with the kitchen, I took him to several car dealers. He was hesitant about buying a car. “Adam, don’t worry about the cost. I want you to have a reliable car to get you to school and back. Come with me.” I took him to my dealer where I had bought my last two cars. “Jerry, I need a reliable car for this young man. He’s starting college and needs to have reliable transportation. What do you have?” Jerry showed us a sedan, and while he was talking, Adam had his eyes on a pick-up, “Jerry, what about that pick-up?” Adam’s head swiveled, so his eyes looked at me. Jerry showed us the pick-up; it had four-wheel drive, which I thought was just the ticket for the winter. “Adam, why don’t you sit in the pick-up and let me know if it’s comfortable. I’ll be with Jerry and see what else he has.”

I walked into the office with Jerry, gave him a check for the pick-up, called my insurance company, and added it to my insurance. “Is he a relative of yours?”

“Jerry, how familiar are you with a place called Sanctuary?”

“I heard about it but never saw anything written. Usually, I overhear the cops talking about it at the diner.”

“Well, that young man works there as a cook. I gave him a scholarship to the culinary school in town. That’s why he needs reliable transportation. If you get a chance, you should stop at Sanctuary and find out what they do. You may be surprised.”

Taking the keys to the truck. “Adam, do you have your driver’s license with you?” He nodded, yes. “Here put these papers in the glove compartment.” Handing him the keys, “Drive your new pick-up home.”

Adam had tears in his eyes as he started the pick-up and headed home. I followed in my car. When we got home, he had to stop to open the gate. I’ll get Tony to get him a clicker so he won’t have to get out to open the gate. I followed him in and parked beside him. When he got out of the pick-up, he moved his hands over the body as if to convince him it was real. I got a smile from him when he saw me. As I was walking to my office, he caught up to me and gave me a hug as well as a thank you. I felt good on the inside when I just said, “You’re welcome.”

The rest of the week seemed to go by very slow. Beth helped me to put the boy’s names on the models they had indicated they wanted. I called Abe and had him order craft tables for the model room. He suggested card tables that could be folded when not in use. I agreed and ordered enough to cover two models per table; I ordered four-card table chairs for each card table ordered. They would be delivered this coming Monday.

“Beth I bought some paint by number kits. Do you think any of the kids might be interested in doing them?”

“Yes, I think they might. I remember doing them. Where are the kits?”

I gave her the cardboard box that had the kits. She took them out and began to look at each one. She picked up one and started to cry.

“Beth, what’s wrong?”

“I was working on this picture as a surprise for my parents when they had the accident. I never finished it.”

“Now you can in remembrance of them. Every time you look at it, you’ll remember the love of your family. You know that I depend on you helping me with Sanctuary. You and Jeff have contributed a lot to making this place the haven it is. I’m sure your parents would have been very proud of both of you. I don’t know your religious beliefs, but I know that everything happens according to a divine plan. You and Jeff are part of that divine plan. Now dry your tears knowing that the love in your heart will keep your parents close to you.”

After Beth left with the painting kit, I thought about what I said. Was the idea of bringing fruition to Sanctuary a part of a divine plan? I wasn’t a church-going person. I believed in a higher being that promoted goodness. But is Sanctuary part of this higher being’s divine plan. The more I thought about it, the more I came to the realization regardless if Sanctuary was or wasn’t, it didn’t matter. The fact that something inside of me felt a need to provide a safe place for these kids, who, no fault of their own, were being preyed upon.

I contacted several paving companies; Tony and I interviewed them and expected their bids by Monday. As Tony and I walked around with the various companies’ representatives, I noticed that the area on the right side of the cook shack would provide enough parking spaces for the buses and probably ten cars with a little organization. When I mentioned this to Tony, he agreed and said that should handle our needs for the near future.

Of course, Adam had to show his pick-up to Mario and Mrs. Jenkins. “I’m glad that you got a pick-up. Now we can go shopping and save on delivery charges.” Adam just smiled and nodded his head, yes. Over the next few days, he had many admirers of his pick-up, and at dinner on Saturday, I announced that Adam was accepted to the city’s best Culinary School, and from now on, we can expect gourmet meals. The kids all laughed and ran to Adam, giving him hugs. Adam’s face glowed. The kids liked Adam, he was good to them, and of course, Adam and food was the same thing. He never turned a kid away who said they were hungry. He’d go to the cook shack and reheat a leftover for them. They appreciated that, and we’re now showing it in the hugs they gave him.

Sunday was a very quiet day. The kids were spending time in the amenities room, some were working on their homework, and others were doing chores. They were all busy, and I felt I should be doing something as well. I walked around and looked over their shoulders. In one of the amenity rooms, I was challenged to a game that I lost to their joy, but I got a hug for playing. I’ll trade a win for a hug any day. These kids were growing on me. I wanted to check on the new kids. They were playing a card game and were speaking Spanish and English. They seemed to pick up English faster than some of the kids were picking up Spanish. Even I had learned a few words in Spanish. One of the girls offered to teach me Spanish, but I told her I was too old. She laughed and disagreed with me. Sometimes, the girls we rescued from southern California had learned that favors could be gotten with the right promises. This bothered me greatly. As the boys got older, they would be tempted, and the end result could be wrong.

At dinner that evening, I sat with the kids with my Chinese appetizers. Of course, the kids wanted to know what this was and what that was. I gave a sign to Adam, and he brought over a tray of egg rolls. He gave one each to every kid. When everyone had one, I told them that this is called an egg roll. When I dipped mine in the duck sauce, I saw that Bubba had followed Adam and gave each sauce a small plastic dish. When everyone had dipped their egg roll, I took a bite of mine. Some of the kids took a bite of theirs without any hesitation, and some waited to see what the reaction would be. The kids said it’s good, and then they all ate the egg roll. In no time, they were gone. I saw Tony take out his note pad. Next, I took a dumpling, which was the clue for Adam and Bubba to make the rounds again. When everyone had gone, I dipped mine into the soy sauce and took a bite.

There was no hesitation this time. They all repeated what I did. I then took one of my steaks on a stick; again, Adam came and gave each one a stick. As I bit into mine, the kids did the same. Then I took my crab Rangoon, dipped it in soy sauce, and ate it. I repeated the same with my potsticker. The kids repeated everything I did. “Do you like my dinner?” There was a resounding yes. I went over to Mario, “When you order the meal for next Sunday, order an appetizer for each kid. maybe then I’ll get to have my dinner.”

Mario smiled, reached under the grill, and gave me a plate with more appetizers. “Mario, you’re worth every penny I pay you. By the way, did you buy the ring yet?”

“I haven’t had time.”

“Ok you take off Monday morning, let Adam handle breakfast, and I’ll speak to Mrs. Jenkins. If we need more help, I’ll see if Adam can convince some of the boys to help.”