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Life's Illusions- Chapter 11 - Family Homecoming
Our homecoming was an absolute logistical nightmare for the staff.
We were lugging the equivalent of a small third world country in luggage, toys, gifts and paraphernalia which I was assured was essential to the kids well being.
There had been a small hiccup at the airport on the way out when Ben our Chief Pilot almost blew a gasket after being presented with the weight of our accumulated luggage.
I'd noticed the problem playing out and had watched Ben pull the security staff and our Nannies to one side.
Ben with hands clasped in front of him, could be seen trying unsuccessfully to explain something, there appeared to be a lot of shouting and hand gestures aimed towards Ben including I noted a Nazi salute from one of the security staff.
Eventually Ben waved off the protests and issued instructions to the handling staff.
I watched as the luggage was separated and one section loaded aboard whilst the other section was loaded onto trolleys and taken away.
Once the loading was completed we were out onto the runway and in a few minutes lifting into the clouds for an eight hour flight taking us home.
The children had been allocated one of the bedrooms and were soon fast asleep all cuddled together as usual with one of their nannies looking on.
Lenny asked what the problem had been and I explained apparently we'd all brought far too much luggage for Ben to deal with and it had caused a few heated exchanges but I had already asked to speak with Ben as soon as he could leave the cockpit.
About an hour into the flight Ben came back to speak with us. I asked everyone to vacate the front lounge area where six individual seats were located and closed the privacy divider we'd had installed after we took possession of the plane.
Ben sat down next to Lenny directly opposite me and immediately launched into explanation, "I'm sorry PJ, Lenny, I had to leave a lot of luggage behind and I know people are upset but it's my decision so if you're angry it's me you need to direct that anger to".
I was taken a little by surprise and Lenny jumped in, "Whoa Ben, first we need to know what the problem was, I'm assuming by your attitude and actions back there the problem could have impacted on safety and that means you are in control and you don't need to explain but if we can help prevent this situation in the future we'd need to know what happened so start from the beginning, explain it for us please".
Ben sighed.
"Sorry Guys I assumed, wrongly, that you would blame me for leaving a whole load of luggage behind, that's my bad. It seems the security guys and the nannies don't speak to each other about what they are transporting and believe they have an unlimited weight allowance which trumps the other. Normally that would be okay but together they combined to overload us and I won't allow an overload ever".
He took a breather.
"I'm afraid neither side would back down in fact they became quite rude when I asked them to prioritise the essential items so I made a decision on what was loaded and the rest will come out commercial in the next 48 hours, sorry".
I'd heard enough to make my blood boil, Lenny again jumped in, "PJ take a minute, I don't want you exploding so let's have some tea and coffee, Ben would you have one of the guys deal with that and by the time you get back PJ and I will have this under control".
Ben went off to arrange the refreshments and I looked at Lenny, "Under Bloody Control!!!! Right now I want to go back there and smack someone silly, we spend all this money safeguarding our family and they risk our lives because they can't communicate and then they throw a pissing contest on who gets to take what. Ben didn't mention it but I saw one of the security guys make a Nazi salute to Ben, I am seriously fucking annoyed".
Lenny did her usual, she listened without interrupting and when I finally ran out of steam she put her hand up to signal I should not (if I didn't want to be sitting next to a Krakatoa style explosion) interrupt her, "PJ this could be partly a problem of our making. I can see you bubbling but hear me out. We hired all of these people and we told each of them how important they are to us, so we gave them a sense of importance".
I knew she'd paused to let me take that in.
"We forgot to tell them they rule in their own world only, they are the big fish in their own little pool but in the big pool they have to play nice with everyone else and they have to communicate and obey the Big Boss in that pool, but more importantly, we forgot to employ someone to coordinate everything. Think of any hotel, if you take away the General Managers what happens?, chaos reigns, survival of the fittest".
She paused again to get her own emotions under control.
"Yes, I'd like to slap someone, but I think it might be better to appoint a PA to coordinate all of our private and personal staff, we've been relying far too heavily on Pip to take up the slack when it's not her job but it has to be dealt with, and more importantly right now we need to praise Ben for dealing with a problem we created, and I want Casey in here next, oh and before you start berating yourself for this it's our problem not yours, I didn't see it coming either".
After Ben left us I asked Lenny if she had any suggestions for a PA and she did, she wanted Pip as our personal PA because she knew me better than anyone else could and Lenny looked on her as a sister which was important when she would have access to our innermost family information.
I had to agree with her and just as I came to that conclusion Ben arrived back with a tray of tea, coffee and biscuits.
This time I gave Lenny a look which told her I'd take care of this, "Ben, sit down, we need to apologise to you".
To say he was surprised would be an understatement, "Thanks Ben, you dealt with a problem we now understand was of our making, and you did it diplomatically, we'll make sure everyone understands what they did wrong and ensure it doesn't happen again, in fact we will appoint our own PA shortly who will be liaison for all areas and believe me if we get who we want it would be a brave person who falls fowl in the future.
As Ben returned to the flight deck I opened the privacy divider and asked Casey if he had a moment to chat, he joined Lenny and I and we again closed the divider.
Casey already had an inkling of what the subject matter would be and started the conversation off, "PJ, Lenny, I heard what happened and I have to admit I feel partly to blame for the confusion, I've traveled plenty and I should have had the forethought to liaise with the others on what we would be hauling, I'll try to ensure it doesn't happen again".
I let Lenny take this one, "Casey that's partly what we wanted to discuss but not the main problem.
We have decided to hire ourselves a PA who will deal with liaison between all parties going forward so this shouldn't happen in the future".
She let that sink in then went on.
"However, when I said that wasn't the main problem I was referring to the fact that PJ sat here and witnessed one of your security detail throw a Nazi salute as an insult to Ben, obviously because he wasn't getting his own way. Ben hasn't mentioned it to us, and he has been extremely diplomatic in explaining that it was all due to communications or rather the lack of, but we can't ignore that gesture because PJ saw it happen".
"I, we, feel it was an unnecessary, offensive and rude act and I'm asking that the person who made the gesture understands that and apologises to Ben before we land.
She didn't just pause this time, she leaned forward to emphasise her next statement.
"The alternative is that person leaves our employment the moment we land. I haven't asked for PJ's agreement on that last point nor will I because it is not negotiable, are we clear ?".
The tone of Lenny's voice left no doubt in Casey's mind that she was pissed as he nodded his agreement.
Casey was fuming, he had no inkling anyone had insulted Ben, he didn't ask who the perpetrator of the act was, he asked to be excused, opened up the divider and called for attention.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, earlier we encountered a problem and it's fair to say that we were all partly to blame including Mr and Mrs Thorn to some extent.
Going forward Mr and Mrs Thorn will attend to that by appointing a liaison officer, however that's not what has prompted me to ask for your attention, this next part I'm addressing to whomever was involved in the altercation outside of the aircraft, several of you were rude to our Chief Pilot and one of you in particular made an extremely offensive gesture to him which although not mentioned by the Pilot, was witnessed by Mr Thorn.
From this point on you have a decision to make, I want you to first weigh up why the Pilot felt he couldn't take all of the luggage we presented, let me help you out here, that amount of luggage or weight as the pilot views it, would have put us over limit and could have caused us to crash, is that what you felt was the better option than prioritising the essentials and having the remainder shipped out later because if it is then I have to look upon you as a threat to safety and I won't have you in this family, draw your own conclusions as to the meaning there.
To sum up I'm telling you that we all need to learn to play nicely together, but to the people involved in the altercation with the Pilot, you have until we land to right your wrongs, failing which you will be making your own way home as an unemployed person, thank you for listening".
No time like the present I thought, telling Lenny I was going to call Pip and describe Pip as the person we were looking for and I bet she wouldn't see it, Lenny bet she would. I placed a call to Pip, "How is the wicked witch?". Laughing as I said it.
"I was having a great day, then I realised the evil King is due back today so now I'm depressed, the only saving grace is that he's bringing the Queen of Hearts, two Princes and a Princess with him, I take it you didn't call to check on my health, so spill the beans oh nasty one".
Lenny was doubled up laughing, I explained the problem we encountered this morning with the staff almost facing off over luggage, I said we felt it was a problem we had created because there was no one to liaise all of our differing staff, we needed our own PA someone who wouldn't take crap and could coordinate the different needs of all of our staff and keep us running but it has to be someone who knew us well, someone we could both trust with all of our personal stuff, someone who would do anything for us just as we would for them.
She was quiet for a moment then, "I could start searching, or there's my assistant, she's good, you'd just need to fill her in on your personal stuff, I think she could do it".
I looked at Lenny and sighed, "See Lenny you lost that bet, I told you Pip was thick, I was describing you Numpty, so what do you think, would you do it, please, please, please ?".
There was no sound for a moment then a crazy high pitched scream, "Yes, yes, yes, how could I refuse after hearing you beg, oh and you forgot to mention the obscenely massive salary you will be paying me, you can fill me in at dinner this evening, I invited myself, I can't wait to see Lenny and the little ones".
I ended the call with Lenny and I doubled up laughing.
Our arrival at Malaga was less fraught than our departure from New York. Casey spoke to us as we prepared for landing, telling us that each of the offending persons had apologised to Ben and one in particular had asked for a few minutes with us, we agreed and Casey led a nervous Graham to us, "Sir, Mam, I wanted to apologise for my actions before we left New York, it was inexcusable, not something I would normally do, I can only put it down to being up most of the night packing all of that stuff Ben left behind, I was seriously pis... Err, upset. I've explained and apologised to Ben, Err, The Chief Pilot, and he accepts my apology but if you feel I can't work for you I will abide by your decision and find my own way back to New York".
I answered this one, "Graham, it's PJ and Lenny unless we are in a formal situation, if Ben accepted your apology then we can consider the matter closed but be assured if there were ever a repeat it would be a certain end to your employment now go get strapped in we're about to land".
Immigration had suggested they would receive us on the aircraft after landing, once that was completed Lenny and I plus the nannies and triplets would be escorted directly to our separate waiting limousines.
Casey, I could tell was nervous about broaching the next bit of information but true to form he took a deep breath and carried on.
"I have deliberately separated you from the children because I want to minimise the risk of losing all of you in one attack, each vehicle will have two security staff comprising of the driver plus one, this will be standard practice unless you object, as the children grow older I will most likely separate them when traveling, again to minimise any loss from an attack".
We agreed he was in charge and would take his direction.
When he left us Lenny and I laughed at the thought of Casey trying to separate the kids and agreed if he did it he could deal with the fall out which would be noisy to say the least.
Homecoming would be better described as a noisy chaotic crash landing into our apartment above SPECTRUM.
Rosa had arranged everything, rooms for staff, dinner, she'd even drafted in the gardening staff and the roof garden was looking fantastic.
Dinner that evening was a rolling buffet of hot and cold dishes which would feed around fifty or sixty, mainly because Rosa had heard from Leo that just about everyone would be dropping by to see the children and congratulate us and Rosa knew we wouldn't turn anyone away.
Rosa had been right, the first to arrive were Philipe, Ramon and Raul who couldn't wait to tell me he was going to watch out for the little ones, he'd be their big brother, then he scurried off to find his partner in crime Reya on whom he doted.
During that evening just about everyone we knew in Torremolinas stopped by to offer their congratulations and welcome us home including the new Priest from the church we were married in, we asked if we could discuss the christenings with him over the next few days and he told us not to bother with an appointment just drop in when we were ready, he seemed so laid back we both liked him immediately.
I dragged Ramon and Philipe out to the balcony which surrounds the apartment floor because there were around twenty or thirty people on the roof above and it was difficult to get a moment to talk in private.
"I missed all of you guys and I missed this town, I'd forgotten how settled I feel when I'm here but I have to oversee The States until Josh is back to full health that's going to be around 12 months and I have a massive problem, I'm stretched to far and too thinly so I have Board agreement to appoint Regional and National CEO's to take overall control and report back to me, so guys any suggestions on who could take up the reigns would be really helpful".
Philipe caught my wink and started laughing, Ramon as usual was puzzled, "Papa this isn't funny, PJ needs our help".
Philipe was laughing louder at Ramon's reply, "He doesn't need our help he needs yours my boy".
I watched as realisation dawned on Ramon's face, it was comical.
"Ramon you still don't understand or believe how capable you are, but trust me when I say I could search this country for an eternity and I doubt I could find anyone more capable of guiding our company safely forward, I want you to take the position CEO Europe, I want you to appoint a Regional CEO for each of our European Countries, they will report to you, you will report to me, there now that's simple isn't it ?".
Ramon just stared at me lost for words. "Simple, simple !, PJ I swear I don't know what I did to deserve you but if you have faith in me then I'll do everything I can to prove myself worthy of that faith".
Just at that moment Pip came looking for us, "Ah perfect timing Pip, I just appointed Ramon CEO Europe, now I know that's no longer your role as our personal PA but I think it's time Ramon moved out of that tiny apartment into something bigger with space for a home office which will need to be high tech.
I know there are at least two units still unsold on the eighth and fourteenth floors below us, both are three bedroom and would be perfect even though as we discuss this I can see Ramon lining up reasons why he can't afford it, you'd think by now he would understand how the process works once I've made my mind up.
When he's decided which one he wants I'd like you to arrange a low interest mortgage for him from my private funds and charge any alterations on the apartment back to Woodruff, now guys lets party".
I'd allowed four days for the handover and so over the next few days I concentrated on getting Ramon set up, we worked in my office and I kept him busy detailing the information I expected relating to European business dealings.
Ramon shared his thoughts on who would be his appointed Regional CEO for Spain and the Canaries, he had three candidates and he explained, he didn't want me to do his job just hear his thoughts and tell him if he was on the right track.
He gave me the names and said if I objected to any I should give him my objections before the end of our four day session because he would be making his appointment of a deputy later that day. Again I was reminded why he impressed me, he was asking for my input but giving me clear instruction on what he expected from me with a set time frame for response.
He named Bryan Fielding, David Parnell and a third candidate Jose Currass.
I searched my memory for a short while and remembered Jose as being one of the three Hotel General Managers from the Madrid Woodruff, my memory was of a very capable and hard working young man but I remembered a drawback, Jose needed convincing of any new process, I didn't see him as having the ability to encourage our colleagues to look for or experiment with new processes, Jose excelled in applying tried and tested methods, in itself not a bad thing but not what I felt was needed in the role Ramon was attempting to fill.
Bryan and David I couldn't object to as I'd appointed both and would agree to either but I wanted to hear Ramon's take on all three.
On day four at around lunchtime Ramon suggested we break for an hour or so get something to eat and he would run through his thinking on the three candidates.
We went to Mano's and sat on the terrace with soft drinks and assorted Tapas dishes while Ramon gave me his thoughts on each of the candidates after telling me who he would actually be appointing.
"I have made my decision and the person I am going to invite to take up the Regional CEO Spain and Canaries position is David Parnell.
In looking at what I believe we want from the person appointed to this post I came to the conclusions we wanted, a level headed thought provoker, one who could encourage fresh ideas and offer support whilst applying our high standards but someone who wouldn't flinch at the amount of work involved nor in ensuring our standards were maintained.
Jose I was taken with when I visited Madrid, he is a tireless worker who goes above and beyond on a daily basis, I never heard a single bad word said about him and I could easily believe the praises heaped upon him, but, when it came to implementing new practices he was reluctant at first, although once convinced of the new practice he gave it his all, but he had to be almost pulled into agreeing to try something new and that one fact alone is why I can't appoint him".
I was pleased he'd hit on my exact thoughts about Jose.
Ramon went on, "Bryan and David I can run through together they are almost equally matched in every area, they both have, and have displayed in action, all of the requirements I mentioned earlier and either one I could appoint with confidence, however I chose David because he has experienced and adapted well too multiple unit working. You may not know this, when you appointed him to his current role he continued to help out at the unit he had come from whilst one of the other General Managers took annual leave, he also honoured a previously made commitment to do stand in at a third unit.
This was an incredibly difficult decision, I've opted for David based on the fact that his experience of multiple unit working puts him very slightly ahead of Bryan, that is the only difference between them though I was swayed by the fact that Bryan would probably want to stay in New York whilst Josh recuperates and I'm guessing that Bryan would be a perfect fit for National CEO North America, saving you a job of looking for a CEO".
I told him I agreed with his reasoning and decision, I also appreciated his logical approach in measuring the candidates and thanked him for leaving me his cast offs, laughing as I said it.
Ramon did tell me that he believed we would need to provide support to the Regional CEOs and once the position had been trialled he would come back to me with his recommendations but he believed those recommendations would reveal the need for a Junior or assistant CEO.
I had been instructed I was not to let Ramon out of my sight on day four and at 3pm I was to bring him to the fourteenth floor. At precisely 2.55pm I asked him to follow me and we descended to the fourteenth floor he was surprised when we were greeted in the hallway by Lenny, Pip, Philipe, Raul, Rosa, Rozel, Reya and Leo.
Across the doorway of apartment 1401 was a red ribbon with a sign saying 'Welcome Home Ramon and Raul'. Ramon was completely at a loss and close to tears, until Raul spoke, "Come on Papa, we worked hard for days and I kept the secret, open the door and see what we did".
Ramon lifted Raul into his arms and opened the apartment door then he lost it, with tears streaming down his face he tried to thank everyone but the girls just shushed him, ushered him inside and led him around a beautifully furnished home.
Out on the balcony there was champagne chilling and when everyone had a glass with Raul and Reya getting lemonade Ramon spoke, "I don't know how to thank you all for everything, I don't know how I'm going to pay for all of this but it's beautiful just like all of you, I'm so unbelievably lucky to have you as my friends, thank you".
Lenny led the toast, "When PJ told us he'd promoted you and he needed you settled in a safe place where you could work and relax we decided we wanted to do something for our friends so everything in here is a present from all of us to you two, so I give you a toast, To Ramon and Raul welcome home".
Lenny and I got chance to speak with Ramon during the afternoon, he was blubbering his thanks but I stopped him, "This was a mercenary gift Ramon, I know you can, and will, do an excellent job for Woodruff but in order for you to do that I needed to know you were in a safe environment and Raul was equally as safe, I'm sorry I pushed you into having your home here but I know there'll be times when you may not be able to get home and I figured you'd be happier knowing that if and when that happens our household staff will take care of him or deliver him to your father, if we are here he'll stay with us, you should also know that I'm assigning security staff to you.
Casey pointed out to me that in elevating you as I have I've unfortunately also made you a target so you need protection I hope you won't hate me for that".
Ramon laughed, "Oh PJ please, hate you, I love you both, you're the big brother and sister I never had, I can't believe how much faith you've had in me, I just hope I never disappoint you, but I need to ask a big favour, I want to set it out legally, if anything ever happened to me would you bring up Raul for me".
Lenny was crying but the answer was yes we would be honoured to do just that and I told him to leave it with me I'd get Pip to have the papers drawn up and filed.
That evening I told Lenny I needed to return to New York, I had to appoint a CEO for North America, once that was done I would be able to relax more and stop this constant shutting back and forth.
Lenny agreed I needed to get this done and she was equally in demand, the house in Lanzarotte was nearing completion and the house in London had completed the first phase and they needed direction on the next phase.
We agreed we would fly out in two days, I would accompany Lenny to Lanzarotte because I was anxious to see what she had created and then I'd travel on to New York the following day, the plane would return to Lanzarotte and take Lenny on to London where she would be for three days then she would fly back to Torremolinas, the plane would come out to New York and pick me up on the eighth day and bring me back to Torremolinas.
The following day was Sunday and as tradition dictates it was family day, around noon we headed to Mano's where we met up with Rozel, her husband Peter and their sons Armand and Berto, Philipe, Ramon and Raul were already there.
Lenny, Rosa and Rozel went off together for a girls chat, Raul and Reya as usual were joined at the hip and playing contentedly. Peter and his sons went out with Leo, Ramon and I to the beach patio where Mano served us cold beers and soft drinks for the boys.
Peter surprised me, "Mr Thorn my boys and I wanted to thank you, I don't know if you understand this but you gave us back the woman I married, the mother who dotes on her boys, the confident strong woman we love and we are in your debt".
Leo explained later that Rozel had been so engrossed in protecting the household staff at Woodruff she had neglected her own family and I'd restored the balance, hence I was a saint in their world.
I asked Leo what Peter did for a living and I was surprised to learn he was Manager of the Theme Park which was close by controlling a staff of over 200 but he worked extremely long hours for a modest almost paltry salary.
Rozel had urged him to apply to Woodruff for a job but he didn't want to appear to be using Rozels good standing within the company to curry favour for himself. Leo summed him up as a hard working, efficient, caring individual with strong family values. Leo just pricked my interest, he'd described the perfect employee.
After a word with Lenny and Ramon who confirmed there was still a need to fill the third General Manager role at Woodruff, we had everyone invited back to ours after lunch which we paid for despite all of the protests. Once back in our apartment we settled on the roof in comfort with drinks under the bougainvillea arbors. Reya, Raul, Armand and Berto wanted to swim so Leo, Rosa and Rozel went to supervise them, Peter made to join them but Ramon put his hand on Peters arm to restrain him, "Peter I've asked you many times to come work with us at Woodruff and you've always turned me down so today the big guns come into play, PJ wants to talk to you".
At that Ramon got up and went to join the others at the pool.
"Peter why have you resisted coming to work for Woodruff ?".
Peter looked down before answering, "I'm afraid everyone would think I was trading on Rozels reputation and in truth I would be wouldn't I ?".
Lenny gave me a hands push gesture, "Peter, my Grandfather founded Woodruff, I inherited the majority of my share of the company from my Grandmother and Mother but I work dammed hard to earn not only my salary but also the respect of the people who work for me. I suppose a lot of people meet me for the first time and have exactly the feeling you describe but I don't mind, it just means I have to prove myself yet again, but you see it's not difficult, I just do what I normally do and nothing more, and that's what I want you to do when you come work for us, agreed?.
Peter nodded, "Great, I'll get Ramon to fill you in on the position we want you to fill, welcome aboard Peter".
I wandered over to where Ramon was watching the children and gave him a thumbs up, he chuckled, "I should have asked you to help me ages ago, I hope the military never get wind of your recruiting skills or we'll lose you to them".
That evening we gave all of the nannies time off and took over looking after our brood.
It was a magical night, between sleeps and feeds we played on the rugs in the small lounge.
All three giggled constantly at peek a boo and were content to lay together while we amused them then Beth started to grumble, a quick check confirmed the need for a clean nappy so Lenny scooped her up and headed for the nursery.
As if a switch had been thrown Pete and Pauly went from happy to concerned and through a grumbling progression to outright wailing.
I was amazed but not alarmed I'd seen this before and I knew how long it would be before order was restored, it would be around 10 minutes exactly before Lenny brought the gang boss back into the room and she would restore order with one short wail and I was on the money.
As Lenny and Beth entered you could see her visibly stiffen at hearing the boys cries but one short wail and both boys were silent immediately, order was restored they were together.
We ended up with all three of the little rascals in our bed that night and received some severe looks of disapproval from the nannies next morning as all three were scooped up and whisked off to the nursery.
This was our last day in Torremolinas for over a week and I wanted to make it special so I reserved a table at SPECTRUM and asked Lenny if she would accompany me to dinner that evening, she graciously accepted and we dressed to impress.
Taking the lift down I kissed Lenny, "Thank you for saving me and giving me a wonderful life with three beautiful babies, I love you, I don't tell you enough but I do".
Lenny was glowing when we approached the front entrance of SPECTRUM.
The Maître d welcomed us and asked what name our reservations were under, I told him Thorn and he asked us to follow him as he led us to a table under the overhanging staircase where we almost had to duck to save a head injury. Lenny was almost laughing, I held up my hand to the Maître de, "I think maybe we would prefer a table on the balcony and whilst you're arranging that you can also get rid of this table it's not in keeping with the restaurant style".
The Maître d was visibly irritated, "I don't think we need your help in arranging the table settings at SPECTRUM sir, nor do we have a table available on the balcony, perhaps you should try somewhere else to dine".
By now Lenny was actually laughing, "Oh boy PJ you sure know how to show a girl a good time, let's go home and we'll get the staff to rustle us up some dinner, as we walked toward the front entrance she turned to the Maître d, I would suggest you have your CV up to date because you just ejected two of the partner owners of SPECTRUM who are now going back to the penthouse on top of the building you are housed in to try and get their staff to rustle up some dinner for them and I may be laughing but I will have my pound of flesh".
Lenny's expression had gone from light, laughing to serious and the Maître d looked visibly shaken as the doorman who we knew from Mano's wished us good night and expressed his surprise we were leaving so early. Lenny bid him goodnight and told him we'd been thrown out and perhaps he might tell the Maître d who exactly he'd thrown out".
Once outside Lenny broke down into full blown laughter, "Jeez PJ, you just got thrown out of your own bloody restaurant, I'm inclined to call the press and tell them, it's a classic".
By now I was laughing with her and I didn't care she made life so much fun, so we went back upstairs and the staff dissolved into fits of laughter when we told them about our romantic dinner where we didn't actually have dinner, they rustled up a table on the roof and pretty soon we were enjoying a beautiful meal.
At around 10pm the staff announced a visitor, and led Ramon up onto the roof. Lenny greeted him, "Good evening Ramon, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure ?".
He was trying unsuccessfully to hide his amusement, "I believe you are owed an apology after being ejected from your own restaurant".
At this point he couldn't control himself and descended into full blown laughter. "I'm sorry really it shouldn't be funny but this could only happen to you two, I have a Maitre d who threatened to sue us when I fired him and on the way in here I met Leo who is gunning for you both because no one had any idea you were out of the building and unaccompanied".
Lenny and I were looking at each other in horror when Leo strode up onto the roof looking decidedly unimpressed and behind him was a similarly unimpressed looking Casey.
That evening we did some serious grovelling but both Leo and Casey impressed on us how stupid we had been, ok without intent, but stupid just the same.
The evening ended with Leo, Rosa, Pip, Ramon and Casey staying for a few drinks and Casey broached what he told us was a delicate subject.
"PJ, Lenny, I appreciate the two bedroom apartment you made available to me but as I'm going to be moving my family out to join me we are going to be a little cramped so I thought maybe I should look for something larger and I didn't want you to be offended".
Lenny responded, "Casey tell us what exactly is the problem and we'll see if we can resolve it first".
Casey explained that he and his partner had adopted two children a boy of 5 years and a girl of 3 years and they needed separate bedrooms so a two bedroom unit was too small.
Lenny almost breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay that's no problem, the floor below us where you currently occupy a two bedroom unit is retained exclusively for our use so we can allocate a three bedroom unit without a problem but, and this is entirely your choice, on the eighth floor is an unsold three bedroom unit, if you would prefer to own your own property PJ will extend you the offer of a low interest loan with no strings attached, doesn't matter if you're working for us or not the loan isn't affected, or if you prefer to buy elsewhere the same offer applies, now while you think on that can I ask some questions about your family ?".
Casey nodded his agreement.
Lenny continued, "Your partner stays home and raises your family ?".
Casey again nodded his agreement.
Lenny carried on, "Are your children home schooled?".
Casey nodded and added, "For the next year we figured it was best, I want to explain but I need your reassurance this will not be discussed outside of this circle ever".
Lenny looked at everyone, "PJ and I agree to Casey's request, if anyone doesn't agree, please leave whilst we talk otherwise you are all bound by the terms of Casey's request".
No one made any move to leave so Casey went on, "I find it hard to talk about this, Phill tells me I need counselling to help me get a grip but I'll give it a try.
Both of our children were runaways they are brother and sister, we found them living in filth in the bin room of our apartment building, we took them in, they had major issues, both had been abused in the worst possible way and even now it hurts me to even think of what they had to endure, we had their parents charged and they're serving long sentences, we've adopted them.
My partner is a qualified teacher who runs their home school class and is also a psychology major so fully qualified to act as their councillor too, believe me when I say they are two of the most loving little people you will ever meet".
Casey had to pause and Ramon moved next to him and put an arm around him before saying, "You're doing okay Casey, but we don't really need to know any more if you don't want to tell us, I know I speak for everyone when I say we're all here for you and your family whatever you need".
This seemed to spur Casey on, "I'm gay, Phill is my partner and he is my rock, our kids are the most important things in our lives, I just wanted you to know all the facts, I sort of thought Leo might have told you but it makes sense he wouldn't".
I jumped in here, "I'll be honest, I did ask Leo about you and his reply was that you'd tell me if you deemed it necessary and I respect that, as far as what you've told us, we're here for you whatever you need, so what do you need?".
Casey looked relieved, "I need for them to travel with me for the foreseeable future because they need the reassurance that I'm there for them at all times so before we make decisions about accommodation you might want to decide if you still want me to work for you".
Lenny jumped in, "Okay enough, first off, your family is as important as any other in this extended family, of course they will travel with us and as for your employment, there's nothing you've told us that alters anything except you need to decide whether you want us to make an apartment of an acceptable size available or will you buy one, your decision".
Casey was visibly relieved, "Leo said you were amazing people, I couldn't even hope you were half as good as the picture he painted, but he was just being honest, you're all he described and more, thank you.
I'd like to explore buying the three bedroom unit, not because I'm ungrateful for the offer of a free unit, it's because buying shows the kids we are serious about having a family home and that's really important for their psychological advance to stability".
Lenny jumped in again, "Okay so that's settled, Pip could you get the finances sorted for us and Casey do us a favour, ask Phil if he would agree to taking on a three and a half year old and a four year old for schooling, if he agrees we could set up a regular school atmosphere for all of the children, which means we don't have to be separated from any of them".
Leo, Rosa and Ramon nodded agreement.
We agreed Casey would arrange for Phill and the children to come out to meet us and I chipped in that if Casey arranged to be with me in New York they could all hop a ride back here on our plane rather than having to fly commercial which he welcomed.
The following day we left for Lanzarotte, myself and Lenny, Leo, Rosa and Reya, and Casey along with two security guards.
We would have a one day stopover in Lanzarotte, then Casey and I would be traveling on to New York leaving the others to complete their work in Lanzarotte before Ben brought the plane back to fly them to London.
The triplets were staying at home with their nannies as Lenny would only be gone a few days.
TBC
Constructive comments, good or bad to cfgw2000@aol.com please, headed "Life's Illusions" in the subject box. Thanks for giving your time to read this.
Author ARB