Home Away From Home - 48. Chapter 48

Must of the flight home was at night. Late afternoon take off from Germany guaranteed we'd be arriving Guam in the night. Charles, Dan and the security guys, slept some on the plane, Dan slept with one eye open. I just had to look at him and he'd get me a cup of tea. I chatted the entire trip with my cousins. It was nice to play catch up. I learned how they met, what they had planned for their future and surprisingly, they had only been married for two years. I teased them about being newly weds. I was comfortable with them and knew the gang back home would be as well.

When you're busy, time seems to pass quickly. I saw Dan and Charles go the galley and bring table clothes, napkins and silverware. We had a very light dinner, as it was rather late at night. Dan served a nice chef salad with an assortment of meats and cheeses. I knew he tapped the food we brought on board in Milan. It was good and did’t really fill you too much.

When we landed, we were met with the bus and two of our security people. They unloaded the luggage and some of the boxes. “Ed, you can get the rest of the boxes and what's in the galley when you return for the pilots, Dan and Charles.”

We drove to the front of the house, there were the guys, Puppy, Giovanni and the kids waiting for us. I was glad to see them. As soon as I got out of the bus, I had three kids in my arms. Tony had his arms around my neck, and I had Carlos on one side and Maria on the other. I love home coming.

The guys unloaded the bus and headed back to the plane. I told them were to take the various boxes, Puppy picked up my luggage, after giving me a kiss, of course. “Giovanni, please show Paolo and Gianna to one of the huts. You can give them a tour if they are up to walking around.”

I took the time to spend a few minutes with the kids. They headed to bed and I also, with my Puppy. I wanted to take a shower, he insisted that I was too tired to do it myself, would help, well you know what happened and now I really was tired. “I’ll tell you what happened in the morning, but right now I want to snuggle into a deep sleep with you.” As always, as soon as we're in bed, he snuggles into my chest and before you say goodnight, he is sleeping. I don’t know how he does that. Talk about falling asleep at the drop of a hat, he falls asleep almost the moment his cheeks touches my chest. But for me, it’s the greatest feeling.

I woke up about 7 in the morning. When I opened my eyes, there was Puppy with a cup of tea. “I didn’t realize I slept this late. Why aren’t you at the hospital?”

“When I knew you were coming home, I decided I'd go in at noon.”

“Will they let you do that?”

“I have been at the hospital as a doctor for a few years and rank does have it's privileges.”

“You don’t have any rank?”

“Yes, but there's a certain Colonel Haskins who does. He has overall responsibility for the base and that includes the hospital. Actually, he didn’t need to do that. I worked last night and one of the doctors is covering for me this morning. I don’t have any critical patients.”

I pulled the covers back, “Want to join me?”

He laughed and gave me a kiss, “Tonight.”

He left the room, I got up showered, shaved and brushed my teeth. When I walked into the kitchen, sitting at the table was Mom, Dad, Paolo and Gianna. Mom gave me a kiss and handed me a plate of eggs and ham for breakfast. “Carlo, you have a fantastic place here. No wonder my aunt didn’t come home after being here for a few weeks.”

“Thanks, I hope Gio showed you around and explained everything to you?”

“He did, and showed us his room and the balcony, I think he called it a Captains Walk.”

“That's what they call it when a balcony wraps around the house. Did he explain why they call it that.”

“Yes, particularly when we saw the ocean.”

“Did he show you Dad’s farm?”

“I didn’t know you had a farm, Frank.”

“ I don’t really, I have an area where I have a few items planted and some chickens. I wouldn’t call that a farm.”

“You can be the judge of that Paolo. Where are the kids, all of them?”

“You must have lost time, they are in school today. You know school will be out in a month, are you planning anything for them if they bring home good report cards?”

“I’ve been giving it some thoughts. I don’t want to do Disney again. I’ll come up with something. How many guys are here?”

“There were 5 for breakfast this morning but that was about 5 hours ago.”

“Dad, did they finish the garage expansion for the new pilots.”

“Yes, except for furniture. He builds fast.”

“Yes, he does, but the secret is he has a lot of it made in his shop, then it’s brought here an attached. The framing takes the longest. When Doug goes to Japan, I’ll have him order furniture.”

“You might check with your builder, he asked if you were going to furnish the addition like the apartment over the garage, I said I thought you were.”

I called our builder, Mr.Harou and asked him if he had furniture for the new add on. He had taken it upon himself to bring furniture from Japan that matched the furniture in the apartments over the garage, He said he could deliver it next week. Maybe I should buy his business and put him on my payroll.

I called Tony to bring him up to date on Germany as well as to let him know we had a place for the pilots for PUPPY I. He indicated that Rita and he would be arriving next week for a 7 day stay.

I told Mom about Tony and Rita coming and I knew what she was going to do. I saw her head to Tony and Rita’s place with a mop. My mother would make sure their place would be clean and ready for them.

“Carlo, you need to pick up some coffee and tea for Rita’s kitchen.”

“Mom, take the coffee from the locked pantry, that's the coffee Tony likes. The tea I’ll get at the PX when I go there later today. How are Gianna and Paola doing? I’ll probably be flying back to Germany after Tony leaves so I can take them home, if they want to leave.”

That evening I told Puppy about Dad and Mom coming for a week. “It has been a while since we saw them. I’ll be nice to see them again.”

“How did Dad’s physical go?”

“He’s not in bad shape considering his age. He needs to lose a few pounds, nothing serious. Which reminds me you need to get a physical as well.”

“You check me out every day, why do I need a physical?”

“Yes, I do but you need to get a blood test. As far as a physical goes, I take your temperature a lot with a special thermometer. However I noticed a definite rise in your blood pressure and heart beat when I do take your temperature.”

“I think I have a fever now. Maybe you should check my temperature.” And he did.

The next few days seemed to pass very quickly. I spoke to Mr. Harou about making a conference room. Looking at various options, I decided to make a large room with my desk at one end and a conference table with 8 chairs as part of the same room. I'd give Doug my current office and move Larry into Doug’s office. Mr. Harou drew up a design, I approved it and he started the next day.

By the time Tony arrived, he had the room framed and began putting in additional lighting. At the rate he was working, I was sure it would be done by the time Tony left.

The new pilots were introduced to Puppy and I along with a stewardess. Tony realized that if both planes left at the same time, we would need another steward.

“Carlo, This is Greg and Alex your new pilots. Alex’s wife Helen will be the stewardess when they fly. They have been checked out on PUPPY I but you should have them checked out on PUPPY II.”

“Welcome to the home away from home.” Tony looked at me when I said that. “I have prepared rooms for you in the annex. Come and I’ll show you.”

They followed me to the new apartments along with Tony. Mr. Harou had just finished placing the furniture, I introduced him to Tony. The new pilots were pleased with the arrangements. “You can use the kitchen or join the group in our house. Breakfast starts at 6 and dinner is at 6 pm. You’ll find that everything is self help except dinner. Our pilots, Roger or Bob can answer your questions. Helen, Dan who is also a steward can answer any of your questions. You can move in when you're ready. Coffee or tea is always available in the kitchen. I’ll have one of the guys give you the tour and introduce you to the residents and visitors.”

They decided to bring their luggage to the rooms and then come for coffee. I saw Roger and told him to introduced himself to the new crew and to show them around, after bringing them to the kitchen for coffee.

“Tony, I’m going to expand Doug’s responsibility by giving him India and China. He has done a great job in Japan and South Korea. Due to his and Larry’s efforts, we own 25 percent of the new hotel we built in Japan, and the best news, it only cost us 15 percent of projected investment.”

“How did that happened?”

“Charles, Larry and Doug did an analysis which showed what 25 percent would actually cost based on total cost of the project. They devised methods to lower the cost of the project, sold it to the developers. We got to manage the project, so we made money there as the management team which allowed us to install our cost savings ideas. They did a great job.”

“Maybe I should put Doug on my team.”

“No way, he loves it here. I got word from Gerhard that everything was handled in Germany. He didn’t have all the facts but I bet you do.”

“I think you are getting to know me too well. The individual in the accounting department was an American who was on the take. He had an unfortunate accident and was killed. Otto Meyer was the man who he was working for, Meyer was head of an union that normally had all of the construction in West Germany. We didn’t use him as his bid was way out of line. So what we found out, he had one of his people applying for an accountant position. The guy had all the right papers, so he was hired. When you told us what Gerhard had found, then everything started to fall in place. When they went though Meyer’s home, after being arrested for the accountant’s accidental death, they found his Swiss account codes, that money is now in our project account in the Barbados. We will probably use it to offset the project over run, which will occur because of the thefts.”

“Were you able to pin the accident on Otto?”

“Doesn’t matter, his company is in bankruptcy, there are many angry people after finding out what he was doing. Evidently, he was doing this on all projects. When I had someone check his projects, they all were over the projected cost by 10 to 15 percent. He'll be kept in jail while the police do an investigation. My guess, he'll plead guilty because he knows he's a dead man outside of custody.”

“I’m glad we can put that to bed.”

“I think you should plan on a trip to meet all of your agents. You need to get close to them all. They are good, honest men.”

“I’ll have Charles set up a schedule and I’ll have to break the news to Puppy.”

“That won’t be as hard as you think. He has an idea of what you're doing, remember he grew up in my house. He knows how I had to make a lot of trips, so he'd be expecting something like this.”

That evening, as we sat at the pool, it seemed like old home week. We chatted about what was happening at the resorts. Chet is about to become a father and his wife Alika said he doesn’t let her do anything. “Chet will be a great father and if it’s a girl, she’ll be a daddy’s girl for sure.”

I called Charles into my office, “Charles, call Tony and get a list of all the names of our agents in Europe. Then contact them telling them that we will be planning on meeting them to review current projects and any potential new projects. Then the hard part, you need to plan a route that doesn’t allow back tracking or at least a minimal. Get Larry to help you.”

That evening, ‘Puppy I talked to Dad today. He suggested that I make a trip to meet all of my agents. If I do that, I’ll be gone for several weeks.”

“I was expecting this but didn’t realize that it would come so soon. Dad always made long trips and then he would be home and devote his time to Mom and I. I guess it's part of the business. I’ll keep busy at the hospital, except I'll miss you at night.”

I realized I'd miss him as well. “You know that I want to meet our accountants. Suppose I end my trip in Switzerland and you meet me there. We could have a few days to ourselves.”

That got me a long, intense kiss and the resulting smile, told me that's what we would do.

It took Charles and Larry about two weeks to have a tentative schedule worked out. Tentative, because I knew if I went to Rome to meet our Italian agent, I'd have to stop in Milan. The question is, how long in Milan.

“Geo, Charles is planning an extensive European trip for me to meet my agents. One of the stops will be Rome, can you think of anyway I could not stop in Milan with out hurting Aunty’s feelings?”

“Carlo, you know that will be impossible. Your mom talks to her almost daily. I wouldn’t be surprised if she doesn’t already know.”

“Charles, you have to juggle the schedule to include a stop over in Milan.” He just smiled and I knew Mom must have asked him about the schedule. One thing about living at home, there are no secrets.

Trying to delay the inevitable, I set the first of the following month for the trip. This allowed Charles to schedule the stops, the hotels and to let the agents know well enough in advance so they can prepare. Between him and Larry they put together an agenda, which they sent to all the agents.

The night before we were planning on leaving, “Carlo, Paolo and Gianna wanted to know since you're flying to Milan, if they could go home with you.”

“Of course, we're planning on leaving tomorrow morning at 9. Tell them to meet me in the living room at 8:45.”

I could have left earlier but I wanted one more morning in bed with Puppy. This was going to be a long trip and many a lonely nights. “Gio, are your ready to go?”

“Yes, I heard your Mom tell Gianna to be ready by 8:45. So I’ll meet you here as well.”

I had discovered that Gio had a degree in civil engineering, so I hired him. He'll accompany me on this trip since many of the projects are civil in nature. Puppy was all for this because he still thought that Gio and Al would become a pair.

In the last communication we got from Joe, he told us that they were named as guardians for twins. The woman who managed his gallery in Wyoming was diagnosed with breast cancer and it had progressed to far. There was little hope and she was making sure her kids would be safe and not broken up. Puppy and I were sad when we read his letter but also glad that they could help to give her peace of mind. “I think I need Mr. Harou to enlarge their hut.”

Earlier this week, after receiving Joe’s letter, I had a meeting with Mr. Harou concerning adding another bedroom to Joe and Roy’s hut. He suggested a new hut since it would be easier and faster than to modify the original hut. We took walk and he said he could build one that would still be in view of the pool on any of two lots. I decided why not two utilizing both lots. I signed the contract and promptly forgot about the project. Mr. Harou had done enough work for me I didn’t feel the need to be on top of his workers.

The morning I was to leave was hard, I didn’t want to leave Puppy that long. “Carlo, you need to get up. I don’t want you to leave as well, you probably won’t have to do this again.”

“No, if I do, I’ll fly them all here.” Puppy was smart, he left for the hospital before I left for the plane. He didn’t like goodbyes either. I took three security with me leaving four for Puppy.

As soon as the plane reached altitude, Dan was serving drinks, I had tea of course. I looked over the itinerary and noted the that we essentially flew up the West coast of Europe and then returned more centrally, ending up in Switzerland. Our first stop would be in Milan and then onto Rome.

“Charles, do we have agents in Spain, Croatia, Serbia, Austria, Hungary or Greece.”

“No, Tony never got around to sourcing those countries. When we get back home, let’s pull together some economic on those countries, industrial development, and new construction under contract. If there's a need for our services, we should source an agent in those countries.”

Dan served a light lunch, at least for me, I knew that our security eats about three times what I eat. “Carlo, is it ok to offer beer to guys?”

“Yes, but no more than two, we still have a few more flying hours and I don’t want to land with slightly intoxicated security.”

When Dan came with the cart with drinks, I saw three bottles of beer on the top. I saw Gio, take a glass of wine, I just had my cup refilled with tea. Paolo came and sat opposite me. “Carlo, I want to thank you for the great time we had. Gianna and I never had a honeymoon, so in a way being at your place took the place of the honeymoon.”

“I’m very glad you both had a good time. It isn’t like a resort hotel but it so much better. Family and friends, you couldn’t ask for anything more. Puppy and I were glad to get to know you and Gianna and I know Mom and Dad were glad you had come.”

I’m going to have to ask Gio how many more relatives are going to want to come.

I looked over the list of countries and in the order they were schedule. I was glad to see Liam and Gerhard’s name on the list. At least not everyone would be a stranger. “Gio, I’m just going to introduce you as member of my team. I’m not going to mention that you have a degree in civil engineering. What I want you to do is to listen to the presentation, ask questions only for clarification and then I want you to write a report to include your concerns and any ideas for improvement. If you have a concern, I'd appreciate any recommendation to address that or those concerns.”

“I will do that. But why not mention my training?”

“I want them to think I’m not an engineer or any of my staff are engineers. If they are honest and care about the projects. they will try to explain the projects in a manner that someone without technical knowledge will be able to understand. I’ll ask questions and they should explain the answer clearly and concisely not using technical terms. If I make a suggestion, they need to be able to determine if it will work or not, and support their views. These men represent our company, they must convince non-technical financial people to support our position, as well as non-technical management.”

“So in reality our agents are salesmen.”

“Yes, but they are more, they are also responsible for assessing the projects that hire us, they are responsible to assist by offering cost cutting measures without sacrificing safety. Since most have an engineering background, we want them to be a part of the project team.”

“So in reality, it is like a joint venture.”

“Yes, in some cases it is a joint venture, with us taking a stake in the project. Doug was very effective in getting us the project and a 25% stake in the project. When we go home, sit down with Doug and let him tell you about it.”

I’m going to enjoy working with Gio in fact I feel pretty good in the team I’m building.

Landing in Milan is always something. As we taxied to the private section of the airport, you could see the families waiting at the gate. “Gio, are all those people family?”

“By blood, no, but in Italy every friend, neighbor is family. So in a broader sense of the word, yes they are family.”

A village of family, sounds great, but I’ll be needing another plane to just keep ferrying people from Pavia to Guam.

Dan open the door as the ramp was brought to the plane. Marcus was the first one out followed by Paolo and Gianna. I looked at Gio, he smiled and shock his shoulders, mouthing the word family. I smiled as I left the plane. Dan would stay with the plane along with the pilots and Ed. Andy would join Marcus as security for me.

We no sooner cleared customs, I believe they were family as well. I just walked through as they greeted me. Aunty was the first to reach me, as she grabbed into a hug. Then rushed to a car and we were off to Pavia. “Carlo, are we going to eat there?”

“Yes, Marcus, we'll spend the night there, but we have to leave no later than 8. Roger and Bob have reserved that time slot for take off, which means we leave Aunty’s at 7:15.”