Home Away From Home - 40. Chapter 40

“Carlo, can we do a little business.”

“Sure let’s go to the office. Do you need Doug or Charles?”

“Not now, I want to do some thinking with you and to discuss some projects I had in mind for Europe.”

We spent the next 4 hours in conference. Tony made several calls and lined up some meetings.

“Ok, let’s get Charles and Doug so we can block out the times.”

I called Charles and Doug, we sat with a calendar and blocked out the times. I told Charles to contact these people and see if they can clear their schedule for us. “Work something out so we don’t fly from one end to another and back again.”

“I understand.”

“Doug, pull together a file on each of these, handling him the list of people and businesses we were going to see.”

“How is he working out?”

“Fantastic, he'll pull a dossier on each of those businesses and people. You'll be able to predict when they go to the bathroom. You wait and see. I was thinking of giving him Japan and South Korea. Those are mostly maintenance accounts. But it'll allow him to get his feet wet.”

Tony agreed. “Are you serious about your mom and dad moving here?”

“Yes, why, do you see a problem?”

“No, I think it’s a superb idea. I think you took your dad by surprise.”

“Also my mom, but it's best for them. I’m their only child. It would be different if they had other interests. But they don’t. Mom is a stay at home mom, Italian women of her times where just that. Dad loves his garden, that was his interest outside of work. I actually look forward to my mom’s cooking again. Puppy is great, but he has his hands full at the hospital.”

“How does he like his car?”

“He actually loves it but not for the normal reason. He's already figured that with the back seats down, he could use it like an ambulance.’”

The holidays were great. We actually ate in shifts. Thanksgiving and Christmas with the kids were unreal. I flew the adults to Japan, South Korea and Australia for Christmas shopping. We used Dad’s plane for business. The guys from the base did the baby sitting. Even Anthony had a stocking, Carlos made sure of that.

It was early February when the Colonel made his second visit. During his visit, he confessed the intent of his first meeting. It appears that his son was going to have the summer free, his ex was getting married and was going to send his son to a summer camp. The Colonel wanted to know if he could stay with us. “He really doesn’t want to go to summer camp. I only get to see him three times a year. I love that boy, it would please me if you could do this favor for me.”

“Colonel, I’m sure you know that I have opened my home to those men on the base who can’t go home for leave unless the leave is a long one. If I can open my home to strangers, I definitely can open my home to a friend.”

I never knew a Colonel to hug anyone, but I got one that day. About a week later, Chris from the base brought me a letter from the Colonel. “The Colonel said to give you this.”

It was a letter addressed to Mr. Romano. I opened the letter, it was from the Colonel’s son thanking me for allowing him to spend the summer at my home. He had included a picture and you could see his dad in him. He said he was 15 and active in sports, an A student and interested in mathematics. He signed it Douglas M. Haskins. I showed the letter to Puppy that night, “Want to bet his middle name is MacArthur?”

“Carlo, I think I have found a place for herbs. They will get the morning sun and indirect sun the rest of the day. They should do well there. If you have seeds, I could start before I leave.”

“Let me check around. When I go to the PX, I'll see what they have. Do you think you'll have a hard time selling your home.”

“No, your mom has enough relatives that would buy it.”

“Maybe Doug might be interested.”

“No, he has three children. The house has only two bedrooms. I think your aunt and uncle might buy it. They have that big house and all the kids are gone. Don’t worry, the house will be sold before we go home, if I know your mom.”

As it turned out it was sold. My aunt and uncle bought it and Doug and Clair bought their house. I guess they are planning a big family. They are off to a good start with three.

Christmas would be unusual for the visitors, there wouldn’t be a Christmas tree, those tree’s don’t grow in Guam. But the ever capable Tony took a flight to South America on business. He stopped on the way home and picked up a Christmas tree.The ornaments were a mixture of homemade and some that Tony brought with him Thankfully he did bring lights. Puppy made us a decorating snack, and drinks, hot chocolate for the kids, although I noticed a few guys from the base drinking it, and egg nog for the rest, with and without rum.

One of the guys from the base had a cd of Christmas songs that we played and tried to sing along with. For Carlos, Maria and Tony this was something new. Previously, we did not have a tree although we did buy them presents. They understood the significance of Christmas, but not having a tree as part of the Holidays. I think the base shut down for the day. All of our single base boys were at the house. Larry had convinced me to add the next addition of Puppy’s and the builder knew I would probably expand soon, so he was ready. The last week in November, the extension was complete. Now we had 12 rooms that could sleep a total of 24. Doug and Troy moved into the house and took a bedroom on the second floor. With all the kids, we decided they would have a camp out in the living room. We brought down extra blankets, the guys brought over foam mattresses and sleeping bags. The kids had a ball.

Holidays over and it was back to work. Dad and Rita flew back home with Mom. I was surprised that Dad had wanted to stayed. Mom was so glad he had perked up and was feeling better, she agreed to him staying. I watched Dad interact with the boys from the farms back home. He was definitely in his element.

By Easter, Mom was ready to come back. Joe and Roy wanted to go home for a while, so we fired up Puppy II, we flew them home, and picked up a few more paintings. Then picked up Mom and the stuff she was going to bring back. She had 4 suitcases of clothes but she had several boxes of what she called memories. Later I found out she brought everything from my room and more than 50 percent were from her kitchen. She had all of her written recipes that she copied from her mother. She was happy, so was I.

Easter we colored eggs, the base guys brought over gifts for the kids. On one of my trips, I picked up clothes for the kids, and I had to get Easter baskets. I arranged for David and some of the guys to make a spit for roasting. I bought a lamb which they roasted for dinner. I didn’t tell the kids it was a lamb, they would have cried. We used some of Dad’s herbs but most of them came from the PX. A few of the boys brought some. They said they asked their parents to send some. As it turned out we had plenty.

Dinner was fantastic. Again we ate in shifts. Mom made a desert that I know will be all over the base by morning.

Life returned to normal, at least normal for us. Puppy worked a schedule that permitted him to be home every evening. There were times he would go in to check on a patient. He was getting quite a reputation. As a resident doctor, he had an office in the hospital where he could see patients. Although most were personnel assigned to the base and their families, it wasn’t unusual for one of the people from Guam to stop in at his office.

I was flying again along with Doug and Charles. There were times when Doug and Charles went without me. Doug has his territories which he had to service. Unless there was an issue, I let him handle those areas, If he needed help or didn’t understand anything, he knew he could come to me.

Mom started to teach Troy how to cook. Knowing that Doug was gone a lot, either by himself or with me, Mom decided that Troy needed a job. As it turned out Troy liked to cook. He and David took over the kitchen preparing all the meals, except when Mom was teaching. Mom and Dad were learning to relax and let other people help out. That never happened before.

When you are busy, you don’t noticed how fast time flies. I came home one day and three kids were waiting for me. “Dad, we have our final report cards.”

“What do you mean final, you have another month of school.”

“Nope this is the end of May and the end of school. Here look at my report card.”

I sat down with the kids all around me. I opened Carlos’s report card, all A’s. “Carlos, this is a good report card. I’m going to have to do something special for you.”

“Dad, here’s mine.”

I looked at Maria’s card and it also was extremely good. I wondered if the school was really teaching or just passing the kids on. Tony’s report card also was great. “These are great report cards. I’m very pleased. I’ll come up with something to celebrate these cards. Do you mind that I keep them to show Doc.”

I gave each of them a big hug. “Go and ask Nonna for a treat.”

I checked Doug’s office and he wasn’t there. There could only one place he could be, in his room. I’ll wait until after dinner to talk to him. I didn’t have to as I heard him and Troy coming down the steps. “Doug, had you seen the kid’s report cards?”

“Yes, when they came home from school. They did great, didn’t they?”

“Yes, I’m quite pleased. What's the quality of the teaching? Are these grades real or are the just something to please parents?”

“You’re finding hard to believe your kids are that smart?”

“Well, I know they are smart, but perfect report cards is a little unusual. Don’t you think so?”

“If they were any other kids yes. But with you gone and Doc working, either I or Troy have been helping them with their homework. The kids are smart.”

“Puppy and I really lucked out. Now I need to give them something to thank them for doing so well. Thanks Doug and you also Troy.”

That evening, Puppy and I discussed the kid’s report card. “You know they did so well, we should take them on a trip.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Disney World in Florida, if we go soon it won”t be crowded as some schools are still in session in the States.”

“We would have to take security and I think that Doug, Troy and Charles will want to come as well. I’ll bet if Joe and Roy find out, they'll want to come. We'll have to book a hotel to hold us all.”

“Let me get Charles on it and see what he can manage. Can you get off work?”

“Yes, most of my patients have been discharged and the few remaining can be seen by the other doctors. They owe me a favor. How many days will we be gone?”

“Including flying time 10 days. That will give us a full 8 days at the park.”

“Well, speak to Charles tomorrow, for now let’s play submarine.”

I just kissed him and we did try and sink the submarines.

My life with Puppy was as complete as a life could be. I had a job I liked, a home that was unbelievable, family that I couldn’t love more, friends including our security that completed the picture. But best of all I got to share this with my man, Puppy. I wished every one, gay or straight could find the happiness I now had.

Charles came back and said he could arrange accommodations for all of us. “We can book several rooms at the Disney Animal Kingdom. I’ll download the information, just let me know if that is ok.” Charles did downed the information, I reviewed it with Puppy and we decided to go with it.

“I need to inform Colonel Haskins since his son is arriving that week.”

“Why doesn’t he meet us in Disney and then he can fly back with us.”

“Good idea, let me check with the Colonel and see what he says.”

I did late that evening, the Colonel thought it was a great idea and offered to pay for Douglas. I told him the cost would be what he ate and that wouldn’t be much.

“How do we tell the kids?”

“Let’s tell them we are going on a safari. In sense we are, only at Disney World and not in Africa.”

It took a week to get everything organized. Joe and Roy were going to meet us there. Larry, David, Ed and Andy were as excited as the kids. I told Tony what our plans were, he said he would cover any emergencies while we were gone. I told the pilots, Roger and Bob about the trip and that I expected them to stay with us. “It’s too bad none of our base buddies could go.”

“Maybe the next time Puppy.”

Everyone pitched in to help the kids packed. We actually packed light because I knew we'd have a lot of Disney clothes and souvenirs on the way home. There was a lot of excitement when we left that morning. Mom and Dad volunteered to look after the place and to take care of our boys from the base. Carlos had to hug Anthony before leaving.

We boarded everyone into the bus, all that the kids knew, we were going for a plane ride. Boarding was something else. The kids have never been on a plane, so this in and of itself was something new. Dan and his assistant, Charles, got the kids settled in their seats. Roger started the plane rolling for takeoff. Tony looked a little scared but Carlos was laughing and Marie was holding his hand. Then lift off. If this is your first plane ride, lift off and landing where always a thrill, this was no different for the kids. As soon as we reached altitude, Dan and Charles served drinks. Puppy and I took the kids and showed them where the bathrooms were, and walking around in an airplane was something as well. Adults miss the wonder of flying, we are so stoic in our approach to technology. But for kids, the first time is an eye opener.

Dan was efficient, I'd say he found his niche. Lunch was a salad and sandwiches, these weren’t a few slices of meat and cheese between two slices of bread. No, these were subs with a salad, two kinds of meat and cheese, the bread tasted like it was just baked. I asked Dan about this later and showed me an infrared oven on the plane and the bread was, just baked. Once lunch was over, Dan put on a Walt Disney movie. That kept the kids quiet except for the few giggles. The flight time from Guam to Florida is quite long. After the movie, the kids tilted back their seats and fell asleep. Dan covered them with a blanket and everyone started to nap, except Doug and I. We went to the back of the plane and discussed some business options. “Carlo, did you ever think about investing in some of the construction we get involved with?”

“No not really, why?”

“We have been in negotiations in Japan for the construction of a hotel. The prospects really look good. I think if we bought in, say 25%, we could land that contract. The profits from the contract would reduce our buy in.”

“Doug I like the way you think. Let’s follow up on that when we get back.” I also wanted Tony’s input before totally committing.

I napped a little, with Puppy’s head on my shoulder when Dan came and said unless we wanted to eat dinner after we land we should do so now. I agreed, he and Charles headed for the galley to prepare dinner. As the smells began to permeate the cabin, it seem to come alive.

Charles helped the kids to set up their trays. Dan put music on and it was music from Disney’s film. None of the kids caught on. Dinner was simple but good. We had soup, salad and fish with various vegetables. This was followed with ice cream. I and Puppy had our tea, the kids had milk and the guys had coffee.

After everything was cleared away, Roger announced that we would be landing in 45 minutes. The kids change seats so they could look out the windows. I watched Tony as the plane began to descend. Then the bump when we landed. They had smiles and as far as they were concern this was a great gift. But wait till we head to Disney.

As we deplaned, a cart came to pick up our luggage. As we cleared customs, I saw Roy and Joe waiting for us by a man with my name on a placard. Standing next to the man, was a young lad. “That must be the Colonel’s son.’

As it turned out it was. Roy introduced the group to the lad while I arranged for out luggage to be delivered to the car which really turned our to be a small bus. We had one of the kids in the middle,Tony, and the other two on our side, Carlos next to Puppy and Maria next to me.

“Dad, look there’s a Disney sign.”

“I guess there is a Disney close by, maybe if we have time we could check it out.”

Nothing was said but I knew the thoughts ‘I hope we have time’ that would have been my thought.

So who do you think would comment? “I think we can make time for at least one day at Disney.”

“Thanks Joe, now we will be pestered to hurry up so we can spend one day at Disney.”

Everyone laughed because we were going to spend 7 days at Disney. “Pop, can we spend one day at Disney?”

“No Carlos because we are gong to spend 7 days at Disney.” That took awhile to sink in.

“Really seven days? Is that our surprise?” There were three kids with very wide eyes.

“Yes, Carlos that's your surprise.” There was a chuckle behind me as Douglas found the reaction of the kids funny.

I don’t think reality sank in until we drove into Disney and headed toward the Animal Kingdom Villas. “Dad, that sign says Animal Kingdom. Is that where we're going to stay?”

“Yes, Maria, here look at this.” I handed her the printout that Charles had made.

“Pop, where is Dan and Charles?”

“They and Roger and Bob are cleaning and securing the airplane. They will join us tomorrow for breakfast.”