Salvation - 46. Chapter 45

That night I didn’t sleep well. I knew that Nour’s family could cause problems if they knew where he was. The next morning I spoke to Alex, Sal, and Mo about my fears.

“Don’t worry, they will never find out, Dad made sure of that. Do you remember the story about the man found in the river when we were in Israel? Well, there was a second story about a young Arab lad found dead on the street. A local mosque claimed the body and buried it as commanded by the Quran. It would be strange if someone found out differently, particularly a blond, blue-eyed Arab.”

I called Judy and arranged for Moses’s mother to meet in my office tomorrow morning at 10. I knew she wasn’t going to like what I had to say, but I did what I could.

After breakfast, the boys and I were going to take a walk. Of course, we had six little followers, the conservatory was doing fine, I had to pick a few herbs and smell them, and of course, they looked at me as I chewed them. Then we went to the orchard.

“Well, boys, I think there will be some fruit this fall. Not sure about the cherries, but these small plums and maybe apples will have a little. Next year you’ll have a lot.”

The swimming pool was coming along. The sides were in, and they started on the rock wall. I noticed the hot tub, I’ll enjoy that.

It took us two hours to walk around. It was a slow walk, and of course, I had to listen to everything they said. We stopped at the schoolhouse. I asked about the library, some of the boys didn’t know about it, so a trip to the library. Of course, I showed them some of the books I thought would be of interest to them. I ended up reading them a book. They sat on the floor all around me. I sat on the floor, as well. I had my two sitting on my lap. As I read, I tried to sound like the character; they laughed. I enjoyed what I was doing. I remember some of the stories, but the boys listened as if they never heard any of them, then I realized they never really heard any of them.

Then I thought of my next project, a movie theater for them.

I continued to read until Maria found us and said lunch was ready. I had to promise the boys we would come back after lunch, and I’d finish reading to them.

Walking into the dining room, “Where have you been?”

“I was in the library reading to the boys.”

Lunch was hamburgers; they were very large hamburgers. The boys ate them along with their french fries. “Boys slow down, don’t eat so fast. We have plenty of time to finish the book.”

I looked at Alex, “We need to get them some current children’s books. Why don’t you come to work with me tomorrow and you can buy some for them.”

He nodded, yes. I knew he would load up on New York hot dogs. “Sal, how is the security fence coming along?”

“It’s on schedule, they’re working on the back of the property now. The front from the driveway and the left side is done, looking at the house.”

Lunch finished, back to reading. This time I took a pillow with me. I tried to put in some sound effects, they laughed. I’d have stood on my head if I thought they would laugh. As I read the story, I’d look at their faces. They were into it. This was going to be one of my rituals, may not be every night but at least one night a week.

I read until dinner time. I still wasn’t finished. I had to stop a few times to explain what I was reading. Some of the boys never heard of a raft, for example, so I had to explain what a raft was. That was okay with them. Alex asked if it was the reading or the time I was spending with them. It didn’t matter to me. I was enjoying myself.

When I went to give them their hugs and goodnight kiss, they thanked me for reading to them, which got them an extra hug. Nour since this was his first night. I spent some extra time with him.

“Have you met some of the boys or all of the boys?”

“They all came and told me their name, but it’ll take me a time to remember.”

“Did you like the story?”

“Yes, could you get the Arabian Nights? My nurse read them to me. About Aladdin and Sinbad, I think the boys will like them.”

“I’ll look for them tomorrow when I go to work. If I find them, you’ll have to help me with the sound effects.”

He gave me a hug and a kiss on my cheek. Of course, he got my hug and kiss as well.

My two devils, Charlie and Vasily, get a special treat, a nursery rhyme with them as the actors. Only I was running out of nursery rhymes. Tonight was Jack and the Bean Stalk. It was Jack and his helper, and Mo was the giant. But Mo wasn’t a bad giant. I wonder what would happen when they knew the real story.

I fell asleep and felt good. I was visited by a smiling boy who threw me a kiss.

I just wished he could’ve shared this house with me