Adam Blake - 157. Chapter 157

Now I had time to put together a program to award a Master’s degree. At my monthly meeting with Academy and College staff, I discussed a Master’s degree program. “The degrees we give must be a continuation of the purpose of the schools. For example, we would offer a degree in diplomacy as an example of the direction we should take.”

They asked to be given time to think about it. I agreed and said we could discuss this further at our next meeting. I informed them that the staff housing is finished for those who have children and do not want to occupy one of the townhouses.”

The next item was the girls’ school. This, of course, was the most important news for them, particularly if they have female children. I brought them up to date on the progress of the school. Then we talked about teachers. They knew of several female teachers from where they worked before joining Kings College that would be excellent for the girls’ school. They asked if I was going to build a separate girls’ college. I told them no, Kings College would go co-ed.

Have you ever been so busy attending to the everyday minutia that one day you wake up and realize that a significant time had passed? When James came in with Seth to sign the contract for the Fair, I suddenly realized that Gerry’s wedding was quite soon.

During our FaceTime chats, I’m sure he said something, but it slipped by. Now I had to do some crazy planning. I found a quiet place off the coast of Australia, a small island that catered to private citizens who were seeking privacy for a few weeks. I booked the island for Gerry. The plane would fly him to Australia, and then a seaplane will fly them to the island.

“That done, I told Marie that we would spend time after the Fair in Liechtenstein. I was looking forward to my stay.

Richard called and said he looked into the guardianship of the two boys I had enrolled in my school. One of the guardians was his grandmother, and the guardian of the second boy was his uncle. Richard felt the grandmother would provide a parent’s love and that this child was not like the previous boys who were set adrift by their appointed guardians. The boy with the uncle, Richard, said he needed to do more investigating. He looked like a nice guy on the surface, but some rumors are going around about his habits of having big parties funded by the boy’s income.

I was glad to hear about the grandmother and not pleased about the uncle. I decided to do some investigating myself. I hire a top private investigator and set him loose.

I told Morgan about going to see Gerry get married, and we would spend a couple of months in Liechtenstein. He was anxious to see Anton. They became good friends when he was here for the leg operations.

Gerry and Diane arrived on the day the Fair started. Diane was as charming as ever, she and Marie became friends very fast, and when you saw one, you saw the other. Gerry and I spent a lot of time together. I told him about the girls’ academy, and he filled out an admission form for a girl. “Rushing it a little, aren’t you?”

“No, someone told me to do it.”

Now I knew why the project was blessed. “That someone is not only guiding you, but I’m getting help as well.” I told Gerry about the initial rejection of the Board and then their enthusiasm about the project.

We both agreed that we’d have that someone in our lives for a long time. I told Gerry about his honeymoon. He asked if it could be extended for a month instead of two weeks.

While he was in my office, I picked up the phone, called the booking agent, and extended his stay for another two weeks. “Gerry, you are going to love this place. I looked at the reviews, and everyone rated it very highly. Food is brought in every week, and you’ll have to cook it.”

When I said he would have to cook it, the look on his face was worth a million dollars. “I could have a cook staying with you, but you won’t want to have him, or her see you both naked. No, I picked a package of food that is a mix of natural food and food you can microwave. The food will have cooking instructions. You know, you kings are spoiled. If you have a boy, we’re going to rough it. We’ll stay in a tent and cook over an open fire.”

He laughed, but he also knew I was serious.

“I miss this place. I have a lot of memories here, some sad but mostly good memories. Do you ever think about the impact you had on us boys?”

“No, I never looked at what I did from a boy’s perspective. I did what I felt was necessary. I wanted the best education I could provide for you. This has been a project of love for me.”

"Diane and Marie have been getting along superbly, and I wasn’t sure how they would interact.”

“How could you not expect them to become like sisters? You know who arranges things so that the outcome is the best for you and me.”

“Let’s go and find the ladies and enjoy the fair.”

And for three days, that is precisely what we did. When all of the boys were gone, I did one walk though, closed the doors, checked in with the security force I hired, and took the copter to the airport and the plane to Liechtenstein. Billy had flown over just before the Fair with Stephan and Moma. One of Hans’s people will meet them.