Country Retreat - 49. Hunter

“Here, get this into you, and try and find a place to get out of this cold air,” I said to the young man who accepted the burger and drinks and gave me a small smile before starting to unwrap the large burger with the lot and nibbling at it, and not wanting to embarrass him I returned inside. When I had finished my meal and headed outside, there was no sign of the young man anywhere, so I hoped that he had gone home where it was warmer.

Over the next few nights, I made a point of having dinner at the pub, but there was no sign of the young man anywhere, so I just hoped that he had a safe place to live and that he was eating ok, as he looked awfully thin when I gave him my spare coat. I had been staying at the motel for eight days before I finally got the call to say that the settlement was completed and that I needed to come and sign the papers and collect the keys to my home in Allendale East, and with it being my fifth day at work, I had to arrange to do that after work, which she reluctantly agreed to.

During my final appointment for the day, which finished a little earlier than planned, I quickly gathered everything, shut down the computer and set off for my vehicle in the staff car park. “Oh Mr Kingston, can I have a moment of your time please,” one of the administration staff asked me as he followed me out of the front door of the Admin building. “Not today, I am sorry Chris, I have an appointment to get to and I can’t be late,” I said as I continued to walk to my vehicle.

“But this is very important, we need to discuss an issue with the interview room that you keep booking for your counselling sessions,” the staff member said to me. “Sorry Chris, I will see you first thing on Monday morning, now I have to go, bye,” I said, as I unlocked my vehicle and climbed in, noticing the staff member not looking very happy about not speaking to him.

A few minutes later, I entered the real estate office, where I received a wide smile from the agent, and less than ten minutes later, I had all the documents signed, and given copies of it all, along with two sets of keys and congratulated on having my new home in the countryside. After thanking her for all of her work on finalising the purchase so swiftly, I exited the building and decided to head over to the shopping centre to do a bit of clothes shopping, as I needed to improve my work wardrobe.

After spending close to $700 on clothing, including jackets, jumpers, trousers, and all the accessories needed, I carefully placed them on the back seat of my vehicle. As I closed the door, I spotted the young man again, not realising what was about to happen. The pain in my hand was soon apparent when I closed the door on my hand, and I yelped as I did this, quietly swearing to myself at what I had just done, I looked around to see if I could see the young man again, but he had disappeared.

I returned to the motel and informed the reception that I would check out in the morning, as my more permanent accommodation was now ready to move in. Back in the motel room, I packed up everything I had in my room, including all the belongings I had brought with me, although most of it was still in boxes and suitcases.

The following morning, I was up early, even though it was Saturday, as I wanted to get down to my new home and get settled, so I loaded up all of my luggage and belongings into the very back of my vehicle and set off to get some breakfast, and I decided to be a bit naughty and headed to a well-known food chain and ordered two breakfast meals, as I was feeling quite hungry. When I spotted the same young man seated outside eating some fries, I jumped out of my vehicle and ran towards him, not giving him any time to react.

“Hello… is that all you are having for breakfast?” I asked as I sat down beside him, and as he tried to stand up, I rested my hand gently on his shoulder. “I am not here to hurt you, I am just concerned that you are not in a good place in life right now, I would like to help if you will let me,” I said to him. “I know who you are Mr Kingston, as I have seen you around campus, so no thanks I don’t need a psych to tell me that I am having a hard time in life right now,” the young man replied.

“You are a student at TAFE or Uni? I asked sounding surprised, and this got a small smile from him, “Yeah, but now I have no home and no money to keep going at Uni, so I was thinking of going down to Port Macdonnell to see if I can find some work down that way,” the young man replied. “Well you know who I am, may I ask your name please?” I asked. After a few minutes of silence, I heard him sigh, “It is Hunter Davidson, and I was studying Business specialising in Sport & Recreation Management,” he replied. “Well, how about having a proper breakfast with me, so we can have a chat, as it happens I am moving into my new home today, and an extra pair of hands could be useful, and I am happy to pay you for your work,” I said to Hunter.

“Really? You would do that for a homeless guy like me?” Hunter asked, “Yes, I would, and there is no pressure about telling me your story, just when you are ready to tell me,” I replied as I stood up and waited for Hunter to do the same, before returning to my vehicle, where I had created a traffic jam, and a staff member was not looking at all pleased with me. “Oops, sorry, I will move my vehicle right away,” I said, as I indicated for Hunter to join me in my vehicle, where I parked in the car park and we went inside to order.

I apologised for the holdup in the drive-thru area, ordered large meals for both of us and paid for it. Once we were seated and eating, I waited until Hunter was at least halfway through his meal before speaking. “I am actually from WA, but I have been living in Adelaide for the past few years studying at UNI SA there, and now I have decided to take a bigger challenge and do some work as well as continue my studies,” I said to Hunter.

“You have more than one degree?” Hunter asked me, “Well I have one Degree, a Diploma and Certificate 4 in three areas, and apart from work, I am working on a Cert 4 in Agriculture Business and a Degree in Secondary Education, which I will complete when my work contract ends in two years,” I replied.

“Wow, you are a real bright spark… I have a Certificate 3 in Hospitality and a Cert 3 in Retail, and this was meant to be my second year in degree in business,” Hunter informed me. “So you are 21 years old?” I asked, and I heard Hunter give a little laugh, “Nope, I did the two Certificates while still in high school, so I am still only 18, turning 19 this year,” Hunter replied.

“You are a smart one too, it is a shame that you have had such a hard time continuing your studies… maybe I can help you with that. Are you up to date with your fees to pay for your studies?” I asked, “Yeah, I am a little lucky in that way, my Mum… had made sure that I get looked after with college or uni studies since I did quite well in high school, but…” Hunter said between sniffles, and I knew right away that there must be a lot more to this issue.

“Please Hunter, let me help you, I don’t want you to miss out on your studies and a career afterwards,” I pleaded, and he looked at me and frowned. “I am not doing anything nasty for you, so you can forget that,” Hunter said angrily, and the shocked look and changing expression on my face had him confused before I laughed out loud.

“If you are implying what I think you are saying, you have no problems there, I am 100% straight, and although I have a few bisexual friends back home, my only concern is your future, nothing more,” I responded. “Well that is good to know, just so we understand each other. Since I have been on the street, I have… well you can imagine what some dirty old men have been asking me to do, and I just get the hell out of there," Hunter said.

"Do you have any luggage or belongings?” I asked, “I do, hidden in a locker back at Uni, but there isn’t much there since I was kicked out of home, thanks to my bastard step-father since Mum went into care… she has cancer and they say she doesn’t have that long to live,” Hunter informed me as he began to sob. Once he had calmed down and finished his meal, we left the restaurant, and headed back to my vehicle, glancing at my watch to see what the time was and smiled when I saw that it was after 9 am.

“Ok. I have a suggestion for you to consider. As I said before, I am moving into my new home today, but it isn't in the city, it is further south in Allendale East, because I come from a farming family and I prefer living in the country. How about you come and stay at my place and continue your studies at university, in return if you can do a few hours of gardening each week, then I will keep you well fed and give you transport to and from Mount Gambier each weekday,” I suggested.

“How about we see how I go with helping you today and then I will decide if I will accept or not,” Hunter replied, “You have a deal, now let's jump in I have a bit of shopping to do before we head south,” I responded, and after three blocks, I turned off the main street and parked near the end of the first block. “Come on, this won’t take very long,” I said to Hunter as we climbed out and he followed me across the road and into a Thrift Shop.

“What are we doing in here?” Hunter asked softly when he caught up to me, as I stopped at the men’s section. “You badly need some more clothes, and I am guessing you won’t accept brand new clothes, so we are here instead,” I replied, and after half an hour, with a few trips into the changeroom, Hunter had three sets of new clothes, a pair of boots and a pair of sneakers.

After dropping off the bags in my vehicle we went down the street to another Op shop, where we came back with warm jackets and jumpers, more shoes, a suitcase, some shirts, socks and a few more jumpers and pairs of jeans. “You are spending way too much money on me, please stop,” Hunter pleaded with me after I had paid for the latest purchases, and we exited the store.