Salvation - 48. Chapter 47

The next morning I told Judy what my plans are. She was all for it. I called the architect from my office and told him it’s a go.

Now the boys had the construction of the movie theater and office building to contend with. Questions? I got a thousand of them and several repeats.

Alex asked what I was going to do with my current house office. “I don’t know. There are my personal files and the boy’s files. These should be kept separate from my business files.”

“If it’s possible, I’d like to share it with you. Even though I spend a lot of time here with you, I do have some businesses I need to attend. My Dad keeps me busy.”

“That would be a good idea, you are familiar with the boy files, so I wouldn’t have to worry about them being kept private. Consider it done.”

Saturday, I took the boys and Alex, in particular, to the doctors for medical check-ups. I still had the dental check-ups to do on the current new boys.

Alex complained from the time he got into the car until we got home. As I suspected, there was a serious problem, and if it weren’t taken care of, Alex wouldn’t be around much longer. In his earlier days, he contracted a rare intestinal worm that nearly deprived Alex of the vital nutrients he needed. He ate like he did because the worm consumed most of the digested food.

The doctor gave him a prescription and told him when he took it, be close to a bathroom as he will have an urge to evacuate. He was to continue to take the medication until his system was free of the worm. The doctor said he would know when he was free. How he would know, I didn’t know.

Later that evening, I heard, ‘Oh no, not again’ Alex was having severe cramps.

In the morning, Alex looked like he hadn’t slept all night. I set a cup of coffee before him. He looked at me with a death stare.

“I know you did this for me, But Carleton, my ass is sore.”

“Keep taking the meds. It’s for your good. Two more days should do it for you.”

Three days later, Alex came to the kitchen, he looked tired and a little haggard, but he smiled. “Last night, everything was normal.”

“Good.” Now was the test. Dave made a plate for him. He started to eat, and I noticed him slowing down.

“I can’t finish this.”

Sal looked at me and smiled. Alex was normal. “In the old days, you would have that plate empty looking for more. I’d say the doctor knew what he was talking about.”

After a few days of normal eating and sleeping, Alex was his old self.

Construction started on the office, the movie theater was under roof, and most of the work was inside, which meant the weather couldn’t interfere. Between their chores, taking care of the dogs, and attending school, they were kept very busy.

Jon went for freshman orientation, came back talking a mile a minute. He was excited, and that excitement carried over onto the boys.

Later that evening, after reading a story to the boys and tucking them in, Jon came into my office. “Dad, I’m excited about going to college. But I don’t know what I should study?”

“Usually, during the first year, all of the classes are the same. You’ll get a feel of the various programs the school offers. The thing to remember is that four years is a fictitious number. You can take as long as you want to get an education where you will succeed. My time in school was ten years. I had a business degree, then went and got my law degree, and then I study two more years to get my International Legal degree. I never noticed the time I was in school, I was learning, and that’s what matters.”

“So if I start working on a degree in psychology and change my mind, which would require me to take additional courses, you wouldn’t mind.”

“Jon, what I would mind is if you didn’t take advantage of what they offer. Study hard and get good grades, and the doors will open. I knew a math major; that is all he talked about, but one of the degree requirements was a course in abnormal psychology. He liked the course and now holds a Ph.D. in psychology, a far cry from a math degree. Just keep your mind open, and I’ll always be here as your sounding board. I’m very proud of you.”

“Thanks Dad, I think I’ll turn in.”

“I think I will also. Just remember my door is always open to you.”

I gave him a hug which if anyone saw it, they would laugh. Jon was at least a foot taller than me.