Home Away From Home - 52. Chapter 52

Five am I was awake and heading to the shower. Today began the last week of school. Carlos will be a senior, Maria will be a sophomore and Tony will be in 8th grade. Time moves fast. This morning there was no one in the kitchen. I started the water for the coffee and tea, took a bowl of eggs out of the fridge along with several pounds of bacon. I was glad we had a commercial ovens, I put the bacon on trays and placed them in the ovens. I washed some potatoes and put them on to boil, skins and all. I made the coffee and tea for me. I looked around the kitchen, I felt so lucky. The friends I had in this house would be with me for ever. For a kid who grew up without brothers or sisters, I have them now.

I started to scramble eggs, I was going to make egg crepes. To the scrambles eggs, I added a little water to break up the egg whites a little. Then I took out the largest griddle we had and placed it on the stove to heat. I took some shredded cheese, a little bit of parsley, salt and pepper and I was ready. “Carlo, what are you doing?”

“I’m making breakfast, seems today is cooks day off.”

“No seriously what are you making?”

“Egg crepes, watch and learn.” I took a ladle and added it to the griddle, I tilted the griddle to allow the egg to coat the surface, then I added the cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. I immediately took a plate, and folding over the top portion of the egg crepe, slipped the egg off of the griddle on to a plate folding the last third over the rest. Then I took some hot sauce and chopped tomatoes, made a quick sauce and added it to the top.

I took a fork, broke off a piece, offered it to him. “It’s very good.”

“Do you think you can make them?”

“Yes, well go to it. You can put them into warming oven but add the sauce before doing that.”

“What is that?”

‘Good morning Puppy, here you eat this.” I got him his tea and a couple of slices of bacon.

“These are good David. We should have them more often.”

“Yes, David these are very good. You should have these more often.”

David started to laugh, Puppy looked at me as if to say, what's so funny.

“David, don’t forget the potatoes. Did you like that egg crepe?”

“Yes, it was very good but why are you and David laughing.”

“I showed David how to make them, in fact, you're eating the one I made. But I’m sure David’s will be just as good.”

“These are good. I could eat another but I need to get to the hospital.” A hug and a kiss he was gone.

I took one of the crepes, a couple pieces of bacon and a few fried potatoes. With a refill of tea, I sat at the breakfast table to eat. Soon the kids started to come in. I got them a glass of orange juice, they were now drinking coffee or tea, David hand me a plate, I set it in front of them and in no time they all had an egg crepe with bacon and home fries. I finished my breakfast, had another cup of tea, and waited for he verdict.

Maria was the first, “Dad, these are good, Why haven’t we had them before?”

“David just learned how got make them, IK’m sure you will have them again.”

As if on cue, “Thanks David these are really good.”

As the guys came in, David was really keeping busy. Troy came and helped fill the plates, after Mom, Dad, Rita and Tony had one, they were satisfied. Nick came in just as Mom and Dad were finishing eating, “Sit here, we're done.”

“How did you sleep Nick? and you Billy?”

“I slept very well, probably the best sleep I’ve had in a long while.”

“And you Billy, did you sleep well?”

“Yep, I slept well.”

“Billy, do you think you could make some of that delicious chicken soup for lunch?”

He looked at his dad, Nick nodded his head yes, “Yes, for you.”

I smiled Mom’s eyes were a little dewy, I'd say. She would help. In less than 24 hours Billy has got into the hearts of all of us.

I saw Billy look at this plate, “He normally only has cereal.”

“Billy, I made that especially because you're here. Tomorrow, we'll have cereal ok?”

He just smiled and began to eat. I watched as he took a bite and then smiled. Maybe we won’t have cereal tomorrow. Nick watched him, looked at me with tears in his eyes. “This place must be magic, he would never eat eggs at home.”

“Well, he's eating them now and looks like he likes them.”

“Billy, tell Carlo thanks for the breakfast.”

“Don’t thank me Billy, thank David he made that for you.”

Billy took his plate over to the sink, gave David a hug and said softly, “Thanks David.”

David gave him a hug, there was a glistening in David’s eyes.

“Dad, why don’t you show Nick and Billy your garden and the chickens.”

Billy took Nick’s hand, he was ready to go. I took a cup of tea and went to the pool.”Carlo, can I have a massage.”

“Sure any time.”

I prepared the table, drew the curtain on the cabana, and got the scented oil. Rita came with a robe, I pretended to get the oil, and when I had my back to her she got on the table. “You aren’t going to fall asleep on me are you?”

“I hope not. You know there was a reason we brought Nick and Billy here, don’t you.”

“I had an idea, but it's ok. It was good seeing Nick and Billy, Billy is a very nice boy in a man’s body. He'll truly enjoy it here. The guys will love him.”

“Sometimes, I’m never sure where you're coming from. How did you come to that conclusion?”

“I have a lot of guys who come here to relax, to know they are at home. The guys at the base call this place the home away from home. You become sensitive to their feelings and there longing to see their love ones. I looked at Billy, I knew why he was here. I also knew that Tony has taken a strong interest in Nick and his cafe. How long does Nick have?”

Rita started to cry. “He won’t make it back home. He has sold everything and put the money in a trust for Billy. He didn’t know what he was going to do. Tony told him to not worry. But that's difficult because you don’t see anyway out. He didn’t want Billy to go to a home, he has no relatives. Tony has all of the papers, you and Anthony need to sign them and you two will be his guardians.”

I stopped the massage, I knew something was up. I just didn’t know it was so soon. “Nick has no fear about Billy. This will be his home, he'll be cared for and loved just like our kids. How has Nick prepared him for his passing.”

“Nick has told him that he'll be going to see his mother. And they will prepare a home for him, when the time comes, they will come and get him.”

“No matter how you prepare someone, it's very difficult. I hope that we can replace that love that Nick has shown him. And we don’t need any money, as you well know.” I dried my tears and handed tissues to Rita. “I must be losing my touch, you didn’t fall asleep. Just lay there, I need to do your legs. I took too long on your back, I lost track of what I was doing.”

I did work on here thighs and calves. Most of the tension was in her calves. “Are you still awake?”

“Yes, can I lay here for a few minutes?”

“As long as you don’t go to sleep. I’m afraid if you do, you’ll fall and hurt yourself.”

“I’ll be ok and i won’t fall asleep.”

I left the cabana making sure the curtain was drawn closed. “Carlo, where's Rita?”

“In the cabana, if you go in make sure she doesn’t fall asleep.”

I left the cabana and headed for the garden. “You guys still here? I thought you'd be back at the house.”

“We stopped at the chicken coop first. I think every peep has a name, right Billy?”

He nodded yes. “Billy, can you show me and tell me their names?”

He took my hand and led me to the coop. There was the rooster strutting around, “Did you name that big rooster?”

“His name is Dad.” Then he continued to point out the various chickens and their names. I noticed that he didn’t mixed them up. When he named a peep, and that peeped moved through the yard he knew where it went. I tried to mix him up. but no I was wrong and that peep was that peep.

We walked back to the house with Billy holding my hand and Nick’s. As we got close to the house I could hear Troy playing the piano. Billy’s head moved in the direction of the music. “Do you like that music? That’s Troy playing the piano, you need to tell Troy you like his playing. Maybe he could teach you a song to play.”

As soon as we got to the house, Billy pulled us to the living room. We sat on the sofa while Billy went and watched Troy play. On a hunch, “Troy, maybe you could teach Billy a song he would like to play.”

Troy got up off the piano bench, Billy sat down and started to play exactly what Troy was playing before he stopped. When he reached the same measure that Troy stopped , so did he.

Troy sat down next to him and played a song. He stopped, Billy played the same song. “Nick, did you know Billy had this ability?”

“No, I’m totally taken back about this.”

“When we were at the chicken coop, he was naming all of the chickens. I tried to confuse him but I couldn’t. When I heard Troy play, I wanted to see what he would do. He has an uncanny way of remembering, I’m not sure if he can remember everything, but he makes your chicken soup right. And I’ll bet he makes it the same way each time. If you leave him here with me, I’ll try and unlock his mind and see what else he remembers. In the meantime, I think I’m going to enjoy some music.”

After dinner that night, and we did have Nick’s chicken soup, Tony, Nick and I met in my office. “Nick, I want Puppy to do some scans on Billy. But my guess is if I showed him a sequence of numbers, he would be able to read it right back to me. What is puzzling me, if I read a story to him, could he read it back to me without the book a week later.”

“Carlo, you know what the score is, I’ve talked to Rita.”

“Yes, I do and I’m very sorry Nick. But Billy has a home here as long as I or Puppy are on this earth. He's a lovable kid in a man’s body. When I look at Billy, I see Tony or Carlo, I don’t see a man who hasn’t developed as he should. He’s a precious angel, and if you are willing, his home is here. He will be loved.”

“That is you Carlo, but there are others how will they feel.”

”Puppy and I already discussed this. I will treat anyone who can’t accept him as he is, as persona non grata. So far that hasn’t happened. Last night and this morning, our kids and the staff have accepted him in a most loving way. The only ones that good prove a problem are the base guys, but as yesterday that hasn’t been an issue. You don’t need to worry about Billy, Puppy and I already love him”

Nick had tears in his eyes. “Maybe I should pay my tab.”

“I’ll get it for you, it’s in my office. But I’m busy right now, maybe tomorrow.”

Nick started to laugh. “I thought I'd never hear those words. You were so insistent on paying your tab. And then when you showed me your account, I couldn’t believe it.”

“You mean this book.” I pulled my accounting book from my pocket.

“Let me see that book, Carlo.”

I gave it to him, he leafed through the book. “You still keep daily expenses?”

“I got in a habit of doing it, so I just continue. Now I do it without thinking.”

That evening I discussed Billy with Puppy. “It was uncanny today with Billy. He has named all of the chickens and when I tried to mix him up by calling the chickens a different name, he reminded me that I was wrong. Then tonight when Troy was playing the piano, he watched and then sat down and played the same music. If he can do that, then we should be able to see if we can correct his brain and maybe he'll be normal.”

“Billy is normal for Billy. There are a lot of cases where people like Billy have performed extraordinary feats, but they are still handicapped. We need to accept Billy as he is, I’m sure that he'll continue to amaze us with what he can do. I’ll bet if Mom shows him a recipe, he'll be able to duplicate it and you won’t know who made it.”

That gives me an idea. “You know I just want him to be happy. I’m not sure how he's going tho react to Nick’s death.”

“We can’t predict that but if he remembers what Nick had told him, he'll be ok.”

“I think I’m going to have Mom train him in the kitchen. Do you think he'll like that?”

“Yes, he had a smile on his face when you were eating the soup.”

“Good, that's what we'll do.”

A good night kiss and Puppy was asleep. It just took me a little longer and I was out as well.

Up at 5 showered, dressed and heading to the kitchen.”David, you re up early.”

“I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to bother Larry. So I thought I’d get breakfast started.”

“Just tell me what I can do to help.”

“Actually everything is prepped, you need to make your tea, I have already made the coffee.”

I made my tea and started to put the glasses on the table for the kids. “David, would you like to train Billy as a cook?”

“Do you want to get rid of me?”

“No, why would you think that.”

“If I'm not the cook, what can I do. I know Larry works for you in the business, but my degree is in humanities.”

“Larry is doing a great job and I have a position for you.”

“You mean besides being a trainer for Billy or something else.”

“Once Billy is trained on the kitchen, then I want you to work for me like Larry does only in a different capacity. I need an administrative assistant. What do you say?”

“I'll see that Billy is trained and I’ll ask Troy to help.”

If the smile meant anything, David was very happy. This should relieve some of the pressure on Charles.

“Why is David smiling?”

“And a good morning to you Puppy.”

“I’m sorry, good morning.” I got a kiss and a snuggle. “Now. what's with David.”

“He has agreed to train Billy as our cook. He’s going to work for me as my administrative assistance. That should take some of the pressure off Charles.”

“You’re going to have add more offices.”

“I thought of building two offices backing on to the conference room. I need one for Gio and now one for David.”

“Maybe you should have bought out Mr. Harou.”

“When you have a chance, can you check out Nick? No one has mentioned exactly what's wrong.”

“I’ll see what I can do. But it looks like you have some kids to feed.”

Puppy sat with the kids, I filled their glasses with orange juice, “What would you like this morning, cereal or what David cooked?”

I set a plate in front of Puppy, David had prepared omelets. When the kids saw what I gave Puppy they all voted for the same thing. “Good morning Troy, you are just in time to help feed the kids.”

I sat next to Puppy but it wasn’t long before there was a table shuffle. Carlos ended up between Puppy and I, Tony next to Puppy and Maria next to me, Manolo next to Tony and and Alessandro next to Maria. I looked at Puppy and he was all smiles.

“Pop, today is the last day of school.”

“And?”

“Are we going back to Disney?”

“I haven’t given it must thought, do you want to go to Disney?”

“What other choices are there?”

“We could go fishing. Why don’t you get together with your brother and sister and see what you would like to do? Then we can discuss it and select an activity.”

“Good morning Mac, have you talked to your dad about college yet?”

“We briefly mentioned it, I have a list of schools I'd be ok attending. If you have the time maybe we could discuss them. I haven’t settled on a specific school.”

“When you are ready come to my office.”

The kids were finished eating, I gave each of them a hug as they boarded the car to go to school. Puppy got a little more than a hug as he left with Marcus for the hospital. That left Alessandro and Manolo.

“What are you two going to do today?”

“Alex is going to teach us how to swim. He was a life guard before he enlisted.”

When I went back to the kitchen, Mom, Dad, Tony, Rita, Nick and Billy were seated at the table drinking coffee, except Rita had tea. “Good morning, where are the boys?”

“They came in took a plate and coffee and headed out to the pool.”

“And how are you Billy?”

With a big smile, “I’m ok Carlo.”

“Good, how would you like a job?”

“I have a job. I work at the cafe making chicken soup and sandwiches.”

“Yes, I know I use to eat their often. But I was wondering if you'd like to stay here and cook for us. David has a new job and can’t cook for us anymore. I need a cook to help Troy. Why don’t you talk it over with your dad, and if you agree to be my cook, David will teach you and I know a very special Italian mother who will also teach you.”

“Troy, when you have time. could I see you in my office.”

Tony and I went to my office, I called Mr. Harou about the extra offices, Charles had already talked to him. “I really should have bought him out. I’m his best customer.”

“What are your plans for Billy? It sounds like you have figured out a way for him to feel needed.”

“Puppy and I had a talk last night about Billy. I was sure that we could do something to help him. After seeing the way he could keep track of those chicken and then play the piano, I felt there was something holding back like a tumor or something. Puppy convinced me that that wasn’t the case. He has a mind that once he sees something he can repeat it, but without emotion. Puppy pointed out the difference between Troy’s playing and Billy’s. I thought that if Billy was going to be happy after Nick left, then I needed to find something to involve him in the house. So I’ll have David and Mom teach him the kitchen. I’ll have Troy manage the kitchen to make sure that the menus are set each day and that we have enough of the ingredients to make the meals. There are only two meals that needed planning, breakfast and dinner. Lunch is pretty much up for grabs except we'll have Nick’s chicken soup. I need to talk to Troy, once he's one board, I’ll talk to Nick.”

“Nick will be happy for that. He'll return with me, he’s going to sell the cafe, then he'll return here. I’ll ask Ants to get his medical records and he can treat him.”