Adam Blake - 129. Chapter 129

Christmas was just around the corner. I had to do something for my knights, something special. “Marie, I have to do something special for the Knights. What do you recommend?”

“I suppose it would have to be something that they would never expect. They probably have enough money to buy anything they wanted, so normal gifts would be out of the question.” While she was talking, she was playing with her rings.

That was my answer, a Knights ring. I got up and kissed her, “You’re a magician. I know what I’m going to give them, a Knight’s ring, and I have just the guy in mind to do it. Let’s go to Mom and Dad’s this coming weekend. I’ll bring our new family.” As it turned out, we brought all of the Knights. I gave Mom a heads up. She reserved a hotel for us and then planned a barbecue with the help of Bill and Dad.

Hans took care of the security, Dad had notified the police, and they provided additional security.

I called Sammy and told him what I wanted. He asked for ring sizes. Now I had a problem, how do I get ring sizes without telling them about the rings. Gerry solved that problem. “Father, can we go and see the ring maker? He had some cool stuff in his store.”

I called Sammy and told him I was bringing 112 kids to see him. He laughed, and when I told him why, he stopped laughing.“And you want these for Christmas? That gives me four weeks at most.”

“Are you saying you can’t do it?”

“No, but I need to think about it.”

That Saturday, I took about half of the kids to Sammy’s in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Sammy had some silver coins, part of the sunken pirate ship’s treasure; I bought a coin for each boy.

Barbecue at Dad’s was something else. Bill brought his grill over and helped Dad barbecue hamburgers. Mom and Jen made potato salad along with baked beans. I knew there would be a stink tomorrow.

Sammy did work it out, he ordered blank rings in gold, and then he would add the design to it. I showed him the design I wanted, a square with a knight in the center.

For dinner that night, Dad had called Moma and asked her if she could prepare a dinner for a party of 120 people. When Dad told her, she said she couldn’t house that many, but she could cater if we found a place.

Dad checked with the hotel, and we took over their large conference room. Between the hotel and Moma, we had a fantastic Italian dinner. Gerry was smiling as he introduced his brothers to Moma. They laughed when she gave them all a hug and kiss.

I had to explain who these boys were and why we were here. She smiled. I knew she approved.

On the way home, the boys wanted to know if our chefs could prepare a meal like Moma. I thought maybe an antipasto but not the spaghetti. Only Mama could prepare that sauce.

Sammy sent me a copy of the ring, it looked great, and I advanced him half of the costs. Marie thought they were great. But now I needed something special for my sons. That would be a problem.

Mom and Marie suggested a cardigan with perhaps a special embroidering on it. I thought that was a good idea. Mom said she would take the initiative to get me the sizes and colors. I asked Jane and James to get the sizes of the boys.

Now I needed to get a gift for my staff. That was a more difficult situation. Again I turned to my two special people, Mom, and Marie. I settled on a gift box of specialty items and a one-week cruise. The school would be down between Christmas and New Year, so a seven-night - 8-day cruise would be perfect.

Mom made all of the booking, including airfare. She sent me the itinerary. I make copies and then placed them each in an envelope with the staff member’s name. My chefs would get a trip to France, all expenses paid. I needed a special gift for James.

Marie suggested we pay for their honeymoon. I didn’t know when they were getting married, Marie said she’d find out. I was the one who found out.”

“Doc, what are the plans for the school for the holidays?”

“I don’t know, James. We need to ask Jane.”

While we were eating our dinner, James came and said Jane told him what we did for the last three years. As if there was a mental link, Richard asked if the school’s closing for the holidays would be the same as last year.

I looked at James, “Jane said they closed for two weeks last year.”

“Yes, Richard, it will be the same as last year.”

One of the boys had tears in his eyes, the same boy whose parents couldn’t take him until midsummer. “If any of my Knights find out that they must stay here during the holidays, you are invited to stay with Marie and me.” I looked at Gerry.

I knew we were planning on spending one week in Liechtenstein, the week of Christmas and New Year. That wasn’t going to change. We’ll just take these boys with us.