New Beginings - 25. NB Chapter 25

It was six days before I was finally released from Stanley hospital, and it was Tom and Margaret, who came in to pick me up and take me back to the farm, as the twins were in school and Jose and Sebastian were out on the farm working, and once on the farm, I was told to just relax, and take it easy, till the boys get home.

I wandered over to the cottage that is now the administration centre for Wagner International Investments, and I was surprised to see a satellite dish on the roof, that wasn’t there before, and walking into the cottage, I was surprised that the dining area was set up as a reception and meeting area. The bedroom was set up as main office, and the lounge area, remains the same, with the storage cupboard used as a document storage area.

I was impressed with how everything was set up, with the open office area having all the required equipment, that is when a telephone rang, which made me jump, and I answered it as I sat down at the open office desk. “Wagner International, Huon Devonport parlando” I said in Italian as I searched for a pen and paper to take notes. “Hello there, it is good to hear you are well again, this is Paul Kingsley speaking” came a familiar voice, which made me smile.

“Hello captain, how are things going on the ship?” I replied in English, “Yes all good thanks, just wanted to let you know that we will be leaving Invercargill on time tomorrow, and that we should be there at the Falklands on time on the 3rd of next month, we have all your new furniture, and other supplies loaded up today, so you will be living in more comfort in a few weeks time” the Captain informed me.

“Very good thanks for that Captain, have a good trip and we will see you at Stanley on the 3rd, I will arrange a few trucks to come and pick up all of the supplies, bye for now” I said and we ended the call. Using the company phone, I dialled the farm number, even thou the main homestead was just a few hundred metres away. “Douglas Farm, Margaret speaking” I heard the familiar voice say, “This is Wagner Investments Head office, I was wanting to know if Stanley has a freight transport company please” I said in a serious tone.

“Huon, what on earth are you doing calling me from the cottage for, when we are just a few hundred metres apart” Margaret said scolding me, and I burst out laughing, once I had calmed down a little I spoke up, “Sorry, I was feeling too tired to walk to the homestead, I am in the office doing some administration work” I responded.

“Well as long as you are taking it easy, then it is ok, yes we have one fella who does freight work, what do you need him for?” Margaret said to me and I spent the next few minutes explaining, before she gave me the contact details of the freight company.

Once I had contacted the freight company and organised them to be available when the Southern Explorer arrives, and the port authority to organising unloading the supplies off the ship and onto the trucks, I sat down on the lounger and leaned back, and soon fell asleep.

When I woke up some time later, the fire in the wood stove was going and the cottage was nice and warm, moments later the door opened and Margaret walked in, quickly shutting the door, “A storm is heading our way, so the outside temperature has dropped quite a lot, I have brought over some lunch for us both, and the kettle is on the stove. Once we are done, we need to get you home to your cottage, where you will be more comfortable” Margaret said to me calmly, “Where are Jose and Seb?” I asked, “On their way back, hopefully well before the storm hits the area” she replied.

“I think I might stay here, that way I can continue doing work when it is required, without getting exhausted by walking between the cottages. I will get the lads to set up a temporary bed for me here” I announced, “Well ok, as long as you don’t over do it, and I will bring your meals over for you, so you don’t starve” Margaret said, as she went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea for us.

“How are the rascals going with their schooling” I asked as we sat down to enjoy the meal that Margaret had prepared, “Very well actually, Sebastian decided that they should do home schooling until they are caught up, as they are a little behind with their lessons, We have turned my formal dining room into a classroom, and I am supervising them, which I am enjoying the challenge, and they are eating their lunch at the moment, before they have an hour of rest” Margaret informed me.

“I hope you and Tom are ok, with the family and I settling into your farm? I said to Margaret, “My dear boy, we are full of joy to have the place always full of people, especially with children, we never thought we would see the day when there would be kids running around the farm” Margaret said with tears in her eyes, and I was pleased that she was happy with the situation.

When lunch was over, Margaret went to check on the boys, and get them started on their afternoon schooling, while I returned to the desk to see what else needed doing with office work, seeing a large stack of paper work that needed sorting.

I had just finished organising everything into seperate neat piles, when Sebastian came charging into the cottage, just as a gust of wind followed him in, blowing all the papers from the desk all over the floor.

I stared at the mess, that Sebastian had just created, and frowned, “Oops sorry cousin, the storm is really brewing out there” Sebastian said as he got down and started to pick up all of the papers and place them in one pile on the desk. “I guess I should have put something heavy ontop of them, but I wasn’t expecting the wind to catch it all” I replied with a frown, and I bent down to help Seb to clean up.

“No you sit down and relax, I will do this, you are meant to be resting” Sebastian told me and so I walked over to the lounger and sat down, and closed my eyes, and soon fell asleep, as Seb continued to work. When I woke up next, it was when Margaret arrived with two dinners on a tray, and after a few moments of looking around, I saw that the desk was neat and tidy, with only one small pile of papers on it.

“Hello boys, I brought over your dinner, Tom is minding the rascals as Huon calls them, while I bring over your dinners” Margaret said, as she placed the tray on the coffee table nearest me, “Thanks Margaret, that is so kind of you, I will be over to take care of the boys, as soon as I have finished dinner” Seb replied, and Margaret headed out again, and I noticed that it was already dark outside.

Seb walked over to the lounger and sat at the end near my feet, which I had up on the lounger, with a blanket covering me, and I sat up and picked up a plate of dinner from the tray. “They are really spoiling us here” Seb commented after eating his first mouthful of the food, “That is because they are extra happy to have us here, especially with the boys, Margaret is really enjoying supervising the boys schooling and looking after all of us” I replied happily.

“When you fell asleep, I got to work on some of the paperwork, so you didn’t have to worry about it so much, I was just a little behind, as I was so busy learning all about farming. Sorry about leaving it to you to deal with, then making a mess with the wind spreading everything all over the floor” Seb explained to me.

“Thats fine mate, and I have to keep myself busy some how, while I am recovering from hospital” I replied, “In the morning, Jose will come by and make a few changes, we will move the desk that is in the bedroom, out into the dining area with this one, and put a bed in the bedroom for you to sleep in, and I have already brought over some of your belongings, which are in the bedroom” Sebastian said to me.

Over the next two weeks, my strength improved slowly, as I spent more time working in the office, Tom would chop some wood for me each day, and get the fire started for me each morning, I had plenty of food to make my own breakfasts, and two days after returning to the farm, Louis and Joachim came over and spent lunch time with me, and they were starting to speak more fluently in English now, which I was pleased about.

One day in the late afternoon the telephone rang and I answered it in Italian, “Hello Huon, it is James Andrews, 1st Officer speaking” came the voice at the other end, “Hi James, how had your trip been so far?” I responded, “All good thanks sir, just wanted to let you know that we will be arriving in Stanley at about 0900 tomorrow, the Falkands Port Autority have been notified, and we can start unloading your supplies once we have cleared customs” the 1st Officer of the Southern Explorer informed me.

“Very good thanks James, I will let Mr Wagner know right away” I replied, and soon after I ended the call, and dialled Sebastian’s mobile number, which went straight to voice mail, meaning he was out of mobile range, so I called the homestead. “Douglas Farm, Louis speaking” I heard a young voice say. “Hello you, what are you doing answering the bosses phone” I replied with a smile.

“Ms Margaret is busy with cooking, and asked me to answer the telephone” Louis responded, “I see, well can you ask Margaret if she knows where Sebastian is, as I need to speak to him, and he is out of mobile range” I asked my young cousin, “He came home earlier, said his horse stepped on his mobile and broke it, he is at the main shed with Jose at the moment” Louis said giggling.

“Well he is a naughty horse for breaking his mobile, when you see your big brother, ask him to come over and see me please, as.... never mind he just walked in, talk to you later little man, bye” I said and I ended the call, as Sebastian walked in and sat down on the lounger. “Bloody horse broke my phone today” Sebastian grumbled, and all I could do was laugh.

“I was trying to contact you, to let you know that the Southern Explorer is arriving in Stanley at 0900 tomorrow, maybe we can get Mary to organise getting you a new phone, and send it out on the transport truck” I said to my cousin, “Yes that would be great if you wouldn’t mind, I have some conference chairs to make the dining table a conference table, also book shelves and filing cabinets, to store all the documents, some new comfortable furniture for the homestead, yours and mine cottages.

I also have a brand new washing machine and dryer, plus deep freezer and new television for Margaret and Tom, and some more stuff for the boys schooling, including a large whiteboard, and laptop computers” Sebastian explained to me on what was coming from the ship.

“I presume, Tom and Margaret have no idea of the stuff coming for them” I asked my cousin, who smiled broadly, “not a clue at all” Seb replied as we both started to laugh. “Any other surprises?” I asked, “Well maybe a few more things, Jose is moving in with me, so we are getting some extra cupboards, a huge big screen television, and some game systems for the rascals” Sebastian replied.

“Well congratulations, does this affect the company in any way?” I replied, “Only that Jose has signed a document agreeing to only a small increase in shares, so in case of my death, all three of my relatives will receive an even amount of my 52% of shares, that being 16% each, on top of the shares you already have, meaning my brothers would be the two major share holders, and you would become Managing Director and CEO of the company till they have bother turned 21 years old, and Jose’s shares will raise to just 6% total.

In the case that I have a permanent disability, Jose’s shares will raise to 6%, my shares will drop from 52% down to 20%, yours will double to 20%, and the boys will be equal major share holders at 28%, once again with you as MD and CEO till they are both 21 years old. Shares can not be sold or given away to anyone, apart from family members, if Jose wishes to sell his shares, and when my brothers have reached the required age, it will be up to the three of you to decide what happens next” Sebastian announced.

“Wow you have really worked all this out, and if you do get disabled or killed, what do we do about all the stuff we have here?” I asked, “Yes, I have that sorted as well, all technology introduced to the farm, plus all new furniture and everything arriving tomorrow will remain on the farm, just the company files and documents remain the property of the company.

Tom can use the office furniture in here to update his office, or he can move his office to here, our lawyers are fully aware of all of these decisions, so all you have to do is let them know what happens and they will take care of everything” Sebastian said. “That is very generous of you, are you definately sure about all of this, don’t you think your brothers should have most of the shares of the company?” I said to my cousin.

“They have majority shares, that is all that is needed, to keep the company secure” Sebastian replied, “Well lets just hope and pray that nothing happens to you, as the boys and I would battle to cope without you” I said quietly, not wanting to talk about the subject any more.

The next morning, two large trucks arrived shortly after 10am, while I was at the homestead watching Margaret supervise the boys, and Tom was having a morning off, and relaxing in the lounge room, having caught a mild case of the flu. “Now what on earth is all that noise outside” Tom said, which resulted in the boys rushing to window to see, and I couldn’t help but smile broadly.

Jose and Sebastian, who were in the shed doing some vehicle maintenance, and were chatting to the drivers of the two trucks, when Margaret, the boys and I stepped outside. “Sebastian, what on earth is all this about?” Margaret asked uncertain what the trucks contained. “Oh nothing special really, just a few things to make us all comfortable, that's all” Sebastian replied with a big grin, and I heard Jose chuckling behind him.

“Oh, and what exactly does that mean?” Margaret asked, “Well for you and Tom, we have a new lounge suite, a large screen flat television, a new deep freezer, washing machine and dryer, the old stuff we will donate to a needy family, if that is ok with you, for my office, some bookshelves, conference chairs, filing cabinets and white board” Sebastian announced, then turned to me.

“For the boys schooling, there is a white board, a laptop computer each, a printer / scanner, and some extra books, for each of the two main cottages, there is new lounge suites, beds, cupboards and large screen televisions, plus some game systems for Seb’s Brothers” I added before turning to Jose, who was standing next to Seb holding his hand, “one more thing we need to tell you, and that is I am moving in with Sebastian” Jose announced, which at first stunned Margaret, then she smiled, knowing they were really in love.