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Life's Illusions - 10 years on - Chapter 4
It was early January and they'd enjoyed a wonderful Christmas in Lanzarotte, wonderful except for one small niggling problem, a problem by the name of Pablo which was destined to start with irritation, progress to an explosion, ending with a revelation, but after that it was a wonderful Christmas.
Pablo Cortez, Beth's boyfriend was one of the schools, well the towns, most eligible seniors, sought after by every girl in town, and several boys too, though the boys were a lot more discreet, or so they thought.
Each and every one of them would drop their knickers at the simple bat of his eyes, and a good many already had, he was an athlete, muscles in all the right places, looks aplenty, and by Woody's definition 'an absolute prick', he was the typical arrogant jock, his parents, sole owners of a Hotel Supplies company were wealthy, as was he, except his wealth was one of bad manners and attitude to spare.
He was extremely narcissistic, never passing a mirror without looking in, his major failing was being stupid, prone to making mistakes, although he was a senior and a built jock, one of his major mistakes was not realising he was no match for Woody, who at three years his junior was a wrestler and built like the proverbial 'brick shithouse', he dismissed Woody as a child, and therein lay a really, really, bad mistake.
Things got off to a rocky start when Pablo was conspicuously absent at the appointed time for the flight out, finally arriving over an hour late at Malaga, he saw nothing wrong with giving his reason for being late, he was partying the night before and overslept, the flight was arranged far too early in his opinion anyway, no apology just a statement.
It took all of Beth's persuasive skills to keep a lid on Lenny and PJs fury.
Arriving at Arrecife Airport in Lanzarotte they were met by Cesar who with his wife Allis were the housekeepers of the family's home in Playa Blanca.
Cesar had arranged a fleet of taxis to complement the 2 large 4x4s kept permanently at the property, most of the drivers were well known to PJ and Lenny, who took time to speak with all of them whilst their luggage was being loaded.
Pablo decided conversing with staff was beneath him and promptly settled himself in the first 4x4.
Noticing Pablo had seated himself in the the first 4x4 Cesar politely asked if he would use the second vehicle as this was Mr and Mrs Thorns vehicle, Pablo's reply was scorching, "Fuck off, I'm comfortable you oaf, put them in the other car, now go earn your wages peasant".
Pablo would possibly have got away with it if Woody hadn't heard him, but that was the start of his downfall.
Woody, like his brothers and sister, followed the example set by his parents, everyone was equal, bad manners were frowned upon, striding over to the first car he eased his head inside so no one other than Pablo and Cesar could hear him, looking directly at Pablo he said, "This is my parents car, now get your fuckin arse out of here in the next 10 seconds or I'll drag you out by the balls and drop kick you down the fuckin runway just for fun, are we clear?".
Pablo was stunned he had never been spoken to in this manner, he just nodded as he gathered his hand luggage and exited the car.
Unfortunately by the time he'd got himself out of the car the other 4x4 was full so he was relegated to a taxi into which jumped Woody, Chris and Reece who'd been helping make sure all the luggage was loaded.
Pablo didn't speak once during the journey to Playa Blanca despite his traveling companions trying to engage him in conversation.
At the house Beth and Pablo took one of the bungalows which ran either side of the pool area leading down to the promenade and from the moment they entered the sound of shouting could be heard, notably Pablo's raised voice.
Cesar approached Woody as they gathered on the terrace before dinner to apologise for causing the earlier problem, as he said, he hadn't meant to be rude but obviously he must have come across that way and he intended to apologise to Mr Cortez as well.
Lenny had unfortunately or fortunately, been close enough to hear Cesar and immediately asked, "What happened Cesar".
Before Cesar could reply Woody chipped in, "Cesar asked in his usual polite manner if Pablo would use the second car to leave your car free, Pablo's response was to call him a peasant and tell him to go earn his wages, so I had a word, and miracles above, he saw the light".
Turning to Cesar he said, " As for you sir, I don't accept your apology because you have nothing to apologise for, I won't have my friends treated in that manner ever, and I will ask that you do not apologise to Mr Cortez because it should be him apologising to you".
Winking at Cesar he sauntered off as Lenny whispered to Cesar, "What did he say to Pablo?".
Lenny's raucous laugh could be heard plainly across the terrace as Cesar recounted verbatim Woody's little speech to Pablo.
A few minutes later Lenny was still smiling when Beth and Pablo appeared on the terrace and as soon as her gaze fell on him Lenny lapsed into further laughter much to PJs bafflement until she whispered in his ear and he then burst out laughing too.
Pablo sensed immediately they were laughing at him and could be seen bickering constantly with Beth who looked as though she'd already been crying, right now she was close to further tears, so much that she walked up to her parents with glistening eyes and openly begged them to stop their humiliation of her boyfriend.
At dinner the family were surprised to see Alma, Cesar and Allis's daughter waiting table instead of eating with them as was expected.
Lenny made a mental note to ask Cesar and Allis about that later.
As it happened Pablo's mood deteriorated further after everyone was seated when he realised in conversation he was seated next to Anton, son of Anna the family's traveling chef and immediately saw this as a sleight aimed at humiliating him by placing him next to a servant.
The bickering between Beth and Pablo became audible around the table until Beth finally swapped places with him and he looked pointedly at Lenny with a snide smile.
During dinner he was heard several times berating Beth for her family's lack of social understanding, servants should know their place and keep to it.
By the end of dinner most of the party had heard enough and it was clear several tempers were frayed.
Lenny announced that coffee and brandy would be served on the terrace, more to ease the tension and give everyone chance to get away from Pablo than for any other reason.
Out on the terrace the sofa and armchair groupings were quickly filled with friends catching up on events since they'd last met, all except the sofa and armchairs where Beth and Pablo had chosen to sit, they were noticeably empty despite the overcrowding on other groupings.
Alma was serving coffee along with brandy and as was usual she started service with Lenny and PJs group of seats, moving on to each group she was nearing Beth and Pablo when she ran out of coffee, rather than just leave them high and dry she approached them and apologised for the delay, explaining that she was just going to replenish her coffee jug and would be back momentarily.
Pablo was heard to comment that Beth's uncouth mother probably engineered the lack of coffee to further humiliate him.
Beth was going to freshen up as Alma came back out onto the terrace, leaving Pablo sitting alone.
No one was paying any attention as Alma poured the coffee and brandy for Pablo, until that is, Alma let out a shriek and dropped the tray sending glass and China fragments in every direction along with coffee and brandy which landed mostly on Pablo.
Pablo immediately jumped up and slapped Alma across the face screaming how inept and stupid she was.
Alma turned and ran crying from the terrace.
Woody had turned in their direction a fraction of a second before Alma screamed and saw Pablo's hand slide up under Alma's skirt.
As Alma ran crying from the terrace Beth returned to find Pablo ranting.
Beth was trying to calm Pablo and mop the mess of coffee up when Lenny approached only to be verbally attacked by Pablo about the ineptitude of her servants, he didn't get any further as Woody was suddenly in front of him delivering a Thorn family inherited right fist hammer blow to his jaw.
Pablo went down like a sack of potatoes, in a daze on the coffee soaked sofa.
As Lenny and Beth protested PJ had joined them, he turned to Woody, "Explain yourself please son".
Woody had looked at Beth, "I'm sorry Beth but there has to be a limit, he's lucky he wasn't smacked senseless at dinner, but the final straw was when he groped Alma, that's why she screamed and dropped the tray and that's why he got the smack in the mouth, now I'm putting my foot down, the family has been prepared to endure constant insults from this prick for your sake, but no more, either he leaves this house, this island, tonight, or I call the police and have him arrested for molestation and believe me I'm not joking, Alma didn't deserve that it's disgusting, he's sick, for god sake wake up Beth".
Beth just turned to her father, "Woody's right Poppa". She turned and went into the house leaving Pablo to clear up his own mess.
PJ pulled out his phone and called Ben Capple his Chief Pilot, "Ben, my apologies for disturbing you, do we have anyone capable of taking one of our party back to Torremolinas as soon as possible this evening?".
PJ had listened for few minutes before he ended the call and turned to a still dazed Pablo, "Get your things together you're leaving in 15 minutes, I'll be calling your parents and telling them to expect you, I'll also be cancelling all of Woodruffs contracts with your fathers company, but I'm sure you have confidence he'll agree with your attitude and won't be concerned to lose around 20 million Euros of revenue so that shouldn't worry you, now move".
Leo and Casey escorted, or rather dragged a protesting Pablo to the Bungalow to pack and within 15 minutes he was in a 4x4 and on his way to the Airport.
Woody went in search of Alma and found her in the kitchen being comforted by her parents.
Cesar was understandably furious, Woody spoke deliberately to all of them, "I want to apologise to all of you but in particular to you Alma, that man is disgusting, I know what he did and believe me, his jaw is now telling him he was out of line, he'll be leaving the island within in a few minutes but if you want to call the police and press charges I will support you".
Alma, moved away from her parents and kissed Woody on the cheek, "Thank you Woody, you shouldn't be apologising, it was you who defended my honour, I don't want to do anything except forget it happened, it's probably better he leaves the island, I don't want my father in trouble and that's more than likely if he stays".
Woody smiled, breaking the tension, "I think if he stayed your father would be way back in the queue of people waiting to kick the shit out of him, now I need to find Beth, she may not want to see me after I laid her boyfriend out on the terrace".
Leaving them he found Beth in her old bedroom sobbing, as he expected, Pete and Pauly were wrapped around her.
He wasn't sure what sort of a reception he would get but he guessed if Beth was angry his brothers would take his part, he needn't have worried, "I'm sorry Beth, really, not about smacking him, he deserved that, I'm sorry I spoiled it for you".
Beth stopped crying and held her hand out to pull Woody in with them, "It's okay Woody, I should have done what you did a long time ago, I was too frightened of losing him, but you made me realise, I didn't love him, I didn't even like him really, and he's got a really small cock, he was crap in bed".
On that last point they all dissolved into laughter before Beth got a dark look on her face and went back to crying.
Beth finally asked them to get Billy, there were things they needed to discuss.
When Billy arrived he hugged Beth, "Okay what's wrong princess, you got rid of the frog, you should be happy not crying".
Beth just looked at him, "Is that right Uncle Billy, and you reckon Uncle Pete, Uncle Pauly and Uncle Woody will feel the same way?".
They all just looked at Beth puzzled until Woody got it, "Oh shit, oh fuck, oh bollocks, you're in the club".
The boys just stared at Woody as if he were stupid or talking some mysterious foreign language, then as one, the light came on, their heads snapping back to Beth who was nodding in agreement.
The pandemonium that ensued finally saw Beth cover her ears and scream "Stop".
There was silence, Beth looked at them just as Lenny and PJ opened the bedroom door, "Come in Momma, Poppa, there's something you need to know".
Lenny sat on the bed and pulled Beth into a hug, "If you mean about your pregnancy, we're way ahead of you, now how's about we figure out what needs to be done like doctors visits, anti natal care, nursery, child care, nannies".
At the look on Beth's face Lenny said, "What?, you don't think a mother knows, you'll learn my girl, you tend to develop a second sense, and are your father and I upset?, no we're not, we'd have preferred a father on the scene, but if that bloody idiot is the only prospect we'll go it alone".
Beth was streaming tears again but this time she felt happiness for the first time in a long time, she'd been dealing with this on her own for over three months and it was a relief to share the burden but she couldn't see how it was going to work, university and motherhood seemed impossible, "I don't see how it can work Momma, I'll need to give up Stanford".
PJ chipped in, "Not necessarily Beth, it's true you'll be a little pushed but with nannies and a couple of dedicated uncles I don't see it as impossible, I think you should give it a try and if it gets too much you drop out, but at least give it a try, now, our friends and family have been rather shabbily treated so far and we've ignored them for the last hour, so what's say we put all of this on the back burner for a while and devote ourselves to having a pleasant evening".
As a group they exited the bedroom and rejoined the rest of the party on the terrace.
As they walked back to the terrace Pete asked if he could bring Chris up to speed and Beth agreed Chris deserved to know what faced him if she decided to try Stanford and motherhood.
Out on the terrace Beth watched as Pete pulled Chris across to a secluded sofa and saw the series of confused looks on Chris's face before there was a big beaming smile accompanied by a very vocal "You bet, woo, hooooo", next minute Chris was heading for Beth and scooping her into a hug, "Congratulations Sis, I can't wait to meet this little guy or gal, and don't worry, between us we'll manage".
The rest of Christmas and New Year was an enjoyable time.
When they arrived home Lenny told them she'd closed on the Palo Alto house called 'Pacifico' meaning 'Peaceful' in Spanish.
Beth attended her first anti natal clinic with Lenny holding her hand.
The doctor confirmed Beth's suspicion that she'd become pregnant on that day in mid August when she lost her virginity to Pablo, in Beth's mind it was the only time she had ever enjoyed intercourse, each time after that had succeeded only in making her more and more disillusioned with the idea of it being an expression of love, her due date would be 15th May, Beth and Lenny left the doctors office stunned, only hearing one phrase over and over, "They're both doing okay", it was twins.
In Late February a trip was planned to visit the completed house in Palo Alto.
Winter Thorn Development had transformed the 15 bedrooms over two floors to 5 master suites on the second floor and a further 4 master suites and a nursery suite with separate nannies accommodation on the top floor.
Of the existing rooms on the first or ground floor the layout had been retained and only the decor updated.
Rosa had been busy scouring agencies in the area for a housekeeper without much luck, they'd interviewed 4 possibles but none had really appealed to Lenny or Rosa.
On their 4th day Pete had been watching a young guy he guessed to be about his own age driving the lawn cutter on the lawns that bordered the winding driveway from the road up to the house.
He'd watched the guy cleaning down the mower and putting it back into the garage.
Waiting for him to come back out of the garage he'd shouted, "Hey, over here".
Beckoning for him to come over to where the kitchen porch led out onto the patio he watched as the guy approached and holding out his hand introduced himself.
"Hi I'm Pete Thorn, you look bushed, could you use a cold drink?".
The guy took Pete's hand into his firm grip.
"David Morton, Dave preferably, and I wouldn't say no to a drink, the agent had let the grass get far too high it was a fire hazard, I've taken it down close to the ground and it really should be done on a regular cycle since the sprinklers aren't working".
Pete left him sitting on the patio while he fetched two large glasses of lemonade, once he'd returned he asked about the sprinkler system and Dave explained, "All of the lawned areas have an underground watering system but it stopped working before the last occupants left and it's never been repaired, without it there's a danger that a brush fire could race up the hill towards the house, that's why it's important to keep the lawns low, if a brush fire did take hold at least there'd be less flying embers.
Pete asked what they needed to do to get the watering system running, Dave admitted he didn't know but could ask his father to have a look at it, he'd been a maintenance manager until recently when the company he worked for went belly up and he lost his job.
As they were talking his parents along with Rosa came out onto the patio, Pete introduced them and told his father about the watering system, PJ thanked Dave for spending the extra time to get the lawns down to a safe level, he knew Dave was only contracted to do 2 hours and it was now 1pm, he'd been hard at it since 8am, he said he'd call the agency and make sure they knew how many hours Dave had put in today.
Dave smiled, "It's very kind of you to be concerned sir but the agency don't pay extra hours, they work on what they call an average hours policy, the good and the bad should even out, I just don't seem to get any of the good but I can't complain I'm a bit desperate for the work right now".
Predictably PJ was intrigued, "Are you at University or working Dave, if you don't mind me asking, and its PJ not sir?".
Dave gave one of his easy smiles, "I've a place at Stanford this fall but that's a bit in flux at the moment, my father was made redundant when the company he worked for went belly up, he's not had any luck finding anything since, hence why I'm desperate for all the work I can get, the money helps out at home and I save what I can for my course books but it's not looking good".
PJ liked this young man, he was well mannered and obviously prepared for hard work if it was needed.
"Tell me Dave, do you think your father would be kind enough to take a look at the watering system for me?".
Dave was really pleased, whatever it turned out to be his Dad would be grateful for the work, "I'm certain he would sir....er.. PJ, but it would have to be tomorrow, it'll be tea time by the time I walk home so he could walk up in the morning with me when I come to trim the lawn borders".
Pete nearly choked on his drink, "You walked, how far?".
Dave smiled again, "Actually I ran, I'm a track runner, so it sort of serves as my out of season training, but I will admit the walk home is a bit of a killer, it's about an hours walk, we lost our car when my fathers job ended so it's not really a choice thing".
Just at that point Beth came out onto the patio with Woody, they were talking but as they neared the group Beth's gaze hit Dave and likewise, he stood, their eyes locked.
It was like the rest of the party didn't exist, they just stared at each other, it took Pete saying, "Beth, Beth", before she turned in a daze towards him.
"Beth, Woody this is Dave, Dave my sister Beth and my brother Woody.
Dave shook Woody's hand mumbling something about it being nice to meet him but he never took his eyes off Beth, she in turn almost pushed a giggling Woody out of the way to get to Dave's hand as he pulled back from Woody and reached out to Beth.
We sat chatting for another half hour before Pete suggested he'd give Dave a ride home, Beth said she'd go with them for the ride and glared openly at Woody when he said he'd tag along too, until he whispered, "Loose the attitude Sis, if I'm riding shotgun you'll have to sit in back with Dave". Beth blushed but gave him a kiss on the cheek.
The ride back to Dave's home took them into a really run down area, the properties were shabby and had definitely seen better days until Dave's house came into view, it was like a ray of sunshine in a storm, immaculate, freshly painted with neat gardens and borders.
When Pete commented on its condition, Dave replied that it was only rented but the landlord had been good to his parents when they were down on their luck, so his father had chosen the only way he knew to pay the landlord back, he'd improved the property value for him by carrying out as many repairs as he could on their meagre budget.
Woody and Beth opted to stay in the car while Dave invited Pete inside to meet his parents.
"Pete Thorn this is my mother Dianne Morton and my father Robert or Rob Morton, Mom and dad this is Pete Thorn, his parents bought 'Pacifico'.
The Morton's were an extremely friendly couple, Pete's mouth was watering at the smells coming from the kitchen where Dave's mother had been baking, evidenced by at least a dozen pies cooling.
Dave told his dad about the watering system at 'Pacifico' and PJs request for Rob to take a look at it but Rob surprised them.
"I already know what's wrong with it, I looked at it last year, it was one of my maintenance contracts, the feeder valve is rusted shut, needs replacing and there are a couple of hoses into the pressure unit which need replacing, the previous owners weren't willing to spend the money to get it fixed, the parts alone are about 1000 dollars, I could do it for you but I'd need your parents to fund the parts for me, I'm a bit strapped for cash right now".
Pete couldn't believe the honesty of this man, he could so easily have played dumb and earned himself an extra day's pay pretending to find the problem before fixing it, but no he'd offered the information without a thought of gain".
"Would it suit you if I picked you up at around 9am and we can go to wherever you need to get the parts from, I'll pay then take you back up to 'Pacifico', and it's just a thought, if Dave's going to be there most of the day, how about I collect you Mrs Morton about 3.30pm and you all stay for dinner, we were planning a cookout for tomorrow and we'd be really pleased if you could make it?".
Pete left after getting their agreement for the following day and as he jumped back into the 4x4 he was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.
Beth wanted to know what took so long, she blushed bright red and smacked his shoulder from the back seat when he said he'd invited her boyfriend to dinner the next day, she acted indignant but truthfully she was as excited as hell.
At home Pete pulled Lenny and Rosa aside, "Before I say anything, I apologise Momma, I may have been less than honest about something but there's a good reason".
Lenny was skeptical, Pete wasn't usually dishonest, "Okay Pete let's have it, what have you done?".
"I invited the Morton's for dinner, but I told them we were only having a casual cookout, I wanted to get them all here without them feeling overwhelmed, they are the perfect family you are looking for to run 'Pacifico', I promise you, so tomorrow you get your chance to interview them".
The following morning Pete collected both Rob and Dave at exactly 9am and Rob directed him to a Hardware store to get the parts.
The store owner was an obnoxious, fat, greasy slob who didn't wait for Rob to speak, "Cash only Morton your credits no good here".
Pete was fuming, "Rob, how far to the next nearest hardware store".
Rob looked at him, "About another 15 minutes down the highway there's a megastore but I thought this might save you some time".
Pete then turned to the store owner, showing him a list of the parts they needed which would total around 1000 dollars and flashing his Amex Black Card, "you should know what this is".
The store owner nodded, before Pete continued.
"You ever see the Richard Gere, Julia Roberts film, Pretty Woman?
Again the store owner nodded before Pete continued.
"Big mistake, huge, come on guys, I wouldn't spend a nickel in this place if my life depended on it".
They walked out of the store to the sound of the store owners wife giving him hell for the lost takings.
They drove down the highway to the megastore and found everything they wanted.
Pete paid with his American Express Black Card and that alone raised eyebrows in the store.
As they approached the big wrought iron gates of 'Pacifico' Pete leaned out to punch in the security code and they were driving up towards the house.
As soon as they arrived Rob went directly to the pool house plant room which housed the motor mechanism for both the pool and the watering system, Dave backed a small and quite old looking Quad Bike out of the garage and hooked up a trailer, he loaded an assortment of edging, trimming and pruning gear before disappearing across the vast lawns toward the front property line.
At 12.30 Rosa asked Pete and Woody to round up Rob and Dave for lunch so Woody took one of the other Quad bikes to locate Dave and Pete went down to the pool plant room to get Rob.
Lunch was an assortment of sandwiches, pies and pastries with cold drinks, tea or coffee.
Rob enjoyed meeting everyone, when PJ asked how he was doing he was surprised to hear Rob had completed the repair an hour earlier and was now repairing the pool pump which had a badly leaking gasket and was flooding the pool plant room.
When asked about Mrs Morton's employment Rob was not ashamed to say she cleaned private houses whenever the work was available and likewise Dave and Rob took any maintenance and gardening work they could get.
Lenny and Rosa were almost bubbling, two down one to go, if Mrs Morton was as easy to get on with as her husband and son they could be on to a winner.
Rob tried the watering system after lunch warning Rosa to make sure all of the house windows and doors were closed because there would unfortunately be a rotten stink at first as the system expelled the stagnant water in its pipes, he also warned everyone to stay clear of the areas where it would be operating.
He ran the system for around 30 minutes and was satisfied it was working okay, he reminded PJ that the sprinklers were equipped with heat detectors so if a brush fire did start the system would override the timers and come into action, no fire should be able to gain more than 20 yards before it was either doused or it ran into wet ground and was denied fuel.
At 3pm Pete went to collect Dianne Morton who had several pies in a tray.
Back at 'Pacifico' introductions were done and both Rob and Dave were gathered in for drinks on the patio while PJ and Leo fired up the grill.
After dinner slices of Dianne's Peach, Apple or Forest Fruit pies were served with helpings of ice cream and double cream.
Lenny asked Rob and Dianne to share a walk with her and PJ, they slowly meandered out to the rear of the property, leaving Dave talking with Beth, Woody, Pete and Chris.
Beth looked at Woody and nodded, he understood he was to be spokesman.
"Dave, right now we suspect our parents are offering your parents employment as Housekeepers of this property and I know that's a surprise, but there's things we want you to know so you can decide if they should take the positions offered or not. We aren't doing this because we're in anyway ashamed of ourselves but we believe in having all of the facts on the table".
Dave stopped Woody, "Look I think I know part of what you're trying to tell me and if it's about Pete and Chris, I already guessed that, they ooze devotion if that's possible, and I don't give a rats ass what they do in private so what else have you got to throw in the mix?".
Pete was smiling, he was right, he'd said Dave already had his number guessed.
Woody continued, "Pete and Beth are two out of three triplets the other triplet is Pauly he lives in Marbella Spain with his husband Reece who is 10 years older than Pauly".
Dave spoke again, "Keep it coming I'm not fazed yet".
Woody looked at Beth and Pete, "Our oldest brother is Billy he's at University in Chicago and he lives with his girlfriend and boyfriend".
Dave was almost giggling now, "Bloody hell you lot believe in pushing the boundaries don't you, is there anything that's likely to actually throw me?"
Woody looked at Beth, she only said two words, "Tell him",
Beth was looking down as Woody said, "Beth dumped her prick of a boyfriend before Christmas when he was caught groping the daughter of one of our housekeepers, but Beth's pregnant and she's keeping the babies as well as attending Stanford in the fall".
This time Dave was quiet, really quiet, Beth still had her face looking down but it was clear from the drips on the patio she was crying.
Dave leaned over, put his arm around her and whispered, "Don't cry, that face was made for laughing, everything will be okay".
Turning to Woody he said okay so I'm still not fazed what about you?".
Woody smiled, "I just enjoy rubbing myself against other hot sweaty guys".
Dave smiled, "A bloody wrestler, now that could be a deal breaker, look guys, I thank you for trusting me with some of your most private and personal details but I don't care, I like you, I have no reason to judge you but I do respect you, it took guts to tell me all of that and you have to know I'll respect that trust".
They all noted, he hadn't taken his arm from around Beth who was now leaning contentedly into Dave.
Further out from the house Lenny holding PJs hand stopped in front of Rob and Dianne.
"We feel a bit guilty because we got you here under false pretences, oh don't get me wrong, we definitely needed the watering system sorted out and Dave would have been here anyway, but Pete knew we've been looking for someone to look after this property for us and we haven't been able to find anyone we like until now, which is why he invited you over. Would you consider taking it on, please, please, please".
Rob and Dianne were stunned but Rob answered.
"Wow, that's quite an after dinner speech, could we have a chat with Dave and see what he thinks, I'm sorry to stall but as a family we always discuss everything and it's usually majority rule that wins out, though I have to say, if I'm reading my wife's expression correctly you may already have two out of three in your hand"
Back on the patio Rob and Dianne took Dave aside to explain and everyone clearly heard, "Bloody hell yes".
Rob, Dianne and Dave moved into 'Pacifico' 3 days later, they'd chosen the nearest cottage to the house on the left of the rear.
The cottage had been upgraded from 4 bedrooms to 3 ensuite bedrooms, downstairs it had a kitchen, separate lounge and dining room. They were overjoyed but still couldn't believe they were effectively managers only, there to ensure that the house functioned as it should with staff, maintenance etc.
Beth was adamant she wanted the births to be in America, she wanted her children to have American nationality and decided she would move into Pacifico at the end of March.
Stanford had a first class medical facility, her babies would be born there.
Chris and Pete would move in Mid April and spend the summer getting to know the house and the area before term started at the end of August.
For PJ it had been a year to remember and it was only February.
Following his meeting with Billy and Julia Fielding just before the previous year end Woodruff had commenced the legal requirements to acquire Fielding International and incorporate it into Woodruff.
Woodruff was a cash rich company which meant the purchase of Fielding was a fairly simple procedure and initially it was agreed the companies and all of their properties would be merged under the Woodruff banner, Fielding would disappear.
It was Woody who changed all that and made his father realise that the future leader of Woodruff could be right there in front of him.
With each of his children PJ had introduced them to the boardroom and it's monthly meetings at the age of twelve exactly as he had been.
Pete, Pauly and Beth had made it quite obvious they were attending only to humour or appease their father, no more, the meetings bored them, they weren't inclined to input anything and couldn't wait to escape, but not Woody.
At his first board meeting Woody challenged a host of items which had been long considered to be unchangeable, his prime focus on that day was the staff bonus scheme based on attendance.
He sat and listened with interest to the reasons why existing practice could not or should not be changed.
When at last the old guard members of the board had exhausted themselves and sat back smugly in their chairs Woody responded, "That , ladies and gentlemen, with respect, is the biggest load of hot air I have heard in a long time".
He pulled from his pocket a bar of chocolate, tapping it against the table edge to show its hardness, placing it in full view in the centre of the table.
"A block of chocolate, manufactured with a purpose in mind, produced in a particular way, solid, hard, to be bitten, crunched".
He paused and could see a mixture of interest, confusion and irritation that this child would not only challenge them but bore them with theatrics as well.
"The bonus package currently in use, is not really fit for purpose, it has, in its day, been a good incentive package and has allowed many to benefit from its existence, but it can be unfair as well, it's time to modify it, after all it's not set in stone".
All of them were now listening intently, skeptical or not, they wanted to know where this was going.
"This block of chocolate is, as we said, hard, designed for a particular pleasurable experience, but can we change it and still get a pleasurable experience?, of course we can, we can melt it into a sauce, warm it and mould it into shapes, add it to other ingredients, what I want you to understand is this, Woodruff, just like this block of chocolate can evolve, and the practices within Woodruff must be allowed to evolve as well. I have a proposal I'd like you to consider for staff attendance bonus, which will, I believe, be much fairer for each individual, and I fully expect will reward Woodruff handsomely".
He explained under the current system a bonus for attendance was based on departmental performance so an individual could attain an exemplary record of attendance but never achieve a bonus if every individual within the department didn't achieve the same results.
In a department of 20 staff, 19 could achieve 100 percent attendance, but if just 1 person missed 1 shift, no one in the whole department received the bonus.
Some departments consisted of only 2 members, some 4, growing in numbers until, like bar and restaurant there may be as many as 20 in a department.
The likelihood of a 2 member department achieving the right result and being awarded the bonus was far greater than a department with 20 members, he gave as an instance, the gardening department with 4 staff had never, since the bonus came into existence, missed earning the payment month on month.
Yet the Restaurant department had never, ever, achieved payment of the bonus.
The Bars and Beverage department had achieved payment of the bonus only 4 times over the previous 3 years, 4 months out of 36 months.
By then Woody had them in the palm of his hand, not just because he'd done his homework, but because he'd taken the time to carefully explain how a seemingly generous incentive bonus was actually achieving the opposite of its original purpose, causing irritation and jealousy amongst the staff.
Woody explained his plan was to implement roughly the same scheme, but make it reliant upon each individual's singular performance, the performance of a colleague or colleagues would have no bearing on an individuals performance, the period for qualifying would be extended to 3 calendar months but would be increased from 15 euros per month to 100 euros for 3 months, giving a potential for each staff member to earn an extra 400 euros each year.
In proposing a motion Woody requested a 12 month trial with a reporting programme to evaluate the cost of the increased bonus payments opposed to what he expected to be a much reduced amount of overtime expenses from covering staff who hadn't turned in for a shift, at the end of 12 months they would vote on keeping, amending or scrapping the new arrangement.
His motion was seconded and carried.
PJ had been so proud of Woody he was fit to burst.
Since that first meeting Woody had turned board meetings into lively debates and they'd adopted a policy of preparing literature packages for new projects so that reading up and understanding what was to be discussed became standard practice.
Apart from his showing of expertise at board meetings Woody was a healthy young man who was experiencing growth in other areas too.
It was accepted amongst wrestlers that they often got boners whilst wrestling and Woody was no exception.
For a nearly 15 year old, Woody had all the hormones that most teenagers had raging away, whilst as a wrestler, he had the body and looks which meant his outlet was readily available in the form of girls of every shape and size, but Woody didn't go there, he'd discovered his hand could give him pleasure, he was equally certain the girls could be even better, but in his mind he wanted to hang on, wait for the one who was out there just for him, he was certain she was out there somewhere.
Woody's closest friend and honorary brother was Aly (Alejandro) son of Leo and Rosa and brother of Reya
The boys had been born on the same day, Woody was officially 10 minutes older than Aly but to look at them, apart from a slight difference in hair colour they could be twins, built in such a way that only a fool would mess with them.
It was well known and understood by all sensible students that bullying a junior could be a painful experience.
Woody and Aly had the potential to be top dog bullies, but from an early age they became mentors, big brothers to the younger crowd, they'd run an after school self defence workshop with their wrestling teammates every week for girls and boys alike, encouraging even the smallest most timid students to have a go.
As Woody had explained to the Principle and their coach when asking permission to set up the classes, it's not about teaching them to harm someone, we want to show them how to disarm a threat, how to protect themselves.
With the approval of the principal several boys caught bullying had been given a choice, meet Woody or Aly on the mats, face suspension or worse, most chose the mats, none had been tempted to practice bullying again, a couple had been marched to the mats protesting, but since it was usually their parents marching them, they accepted their fate.
During one of their classes a boy of about 12 turned up who Woody hadn't seen there before, even from a distance Woody could see the bruising around the boys eye and cheek, he'd sat on the benches, his Beanie hat pulled low on his head, watching with obvious fascination as Woody and his teammates went over defensive and blocking moves.
Woody made a point of getting closer to the boy until he was close enough to sit down next to him.
"You mind if I sit a while, I'm completely bushed?".
The boy had stiffened as Woody sat down but relaxed a little when Woody spoke so he carried on.
"Not seen you here before, you want to join in, I'll give you a few moves one on one if you want?".
The boy looked nervous, as if he were about to bolt so Woody went a little further.
"Look, I'm guessing someone is not being nice to you, you're looking for some help, any help in getting them to stop being so nasty, well I know, in fact I guarantee, I can teach you how to stop them hurting you, so what do you say, fancy giving it a try".
The boy nodded timidly.
"Okay let's go over to the mats on the other side there, its quieter and there's more space.
Woody had encouraged him to take off his coat and woolly jumper leaving him in a short sleeved T shirt.
That's when Woody got a real shock, the obvious young breasts under the T shirt told him this boy was actually a girl but more seriously, the bruises, blue, black and yellow patches caused Woody to catch his breath and the girl realising what Woody had seen started to tear up and re dress.
Woody stopped her.
"Here put my practice top on it'll stop anyone seeing anything while I show you a few moves".
The girl was hesitant but she did as Woody suggested and for the next hour they went through a series of blocking and dodging moves, the girl hardly making a sound except to grunt at the obvious exertion she was putting into the moves.
She was a quick learner and engrossed in the lesson until someone announced it was 6.30 time to wind it up.
She'd suddenly adopted a terrified look and Woody put his arm around her shoulder asking what was the matter.
Woody was almost shocked at what she said.
"I shouldn't have stayed he'll beat me for sure".
Now Woody was incensed, "Who is this 'he' your talking about?".
"My Foster Dad, I didn't ask if I could stay out, I should have, he'll be mad".
Woody was itching to meet the person who administered the bruising, but he'd learned from an early age there were ways and means to get what you wanted, he needed to know more.
"You say it's your Foster Dad, what about your parents?, I'll help you, I promise, you only have to trust me".
She was crying now, the tears rolling down her face as she dressed, she didn't answer his question just grabbed her beanie and was gone running out of the Gym.
Woody was shocked but asking around it took only minutes to find out who she was from the other kids.
Her name was Roselyn, but everyone knew her as Rosy, she was in foster care because her parents had died when she was small, no one seemed to know exactly when, but the stories all had the same theme, her foster father was a drunken bully who beat her constantly, there was no foster mother, Rosy had to do all of the cleaning and cooking.
Woody managed to get her address and called his parents.
Lenny answered his call, "Momma I need your help, it's not me, I have a friend in trouble, will you come pick me up and bring Poppa and Leo, we need to go see my friend, I'll explain when you get here".
Lenny had only said a few words, " 5 minutes son, hang tight".
On the way to the address he'd been given he explained everything to his parents and Leo.
"When we get there will you let me go first?, I don't want to cause more trouble but if he's hurting her, she's coming with us, one way or another".
At the address, a block of apartments which had seen much better days, they parked and with the adults hanging back but not too far behind, they watched as Woody approached the door and knocked loudly.
An unkempt man in probably his 50's opened the door, crying could be heard behind him.
"Whoever you are get lost".
He started to push the door shut but one heave from Woody sent him sprawling backwards down the dingy hallway towards where Woody could see Rosy on the floor in a ball sobbing.
"You hurt her".
The man was obviously drunk and enraged now, "She'll get more than that when I've finished with you, now get out you little bastard or I'll show you how we deal with nosy fuckers around here.
The man was suddenly brandishing a knife which, after he'd taken a few drunken stabs at Woody, Leo stepped forward and had no trouble taking from him.
A short right jab from Leo put him on his backside on the floor out cold.
Woody went to Rosy who was curled into a ball sobbing, he lifted her easily in his arms and by now the others were inside.
Woody looked at his mother, "She can't stay here Momma".
Lenny saw the look on his face, she just nodded and pulled out her phone dialling as she walked away.
Woody cradled Rosy in his arms sitting on a dirty sofa in a disgustingly dirty lounge, "Hey gorgeous, you're safe now, I'm gonna make sure of that, you're leaving this place tonight and you're not coming back, no one will ever harm you again I promise, now how about you give me a reward, say a little smile".
She looked up at him, her face badly bruised, her lip swollen and bleeding, "My knight in shining armour, you came, you said you'd help, I didn't think you could".
And then she passed out.
Woody's scream brought Lenny and PJ running into the lounge.
It was only a matter of minutes before the Chief of Police, a personal friend arrived, meanwhile an ambulance took Rosy to the local hospital.
When she'd woken her first sight was Woody fast asleep in the chair beside her bed, she thought he was beautiful, he was different, he was kind, she'd never known anyone so kind, until then everyone who had shown her kindness had wanted something from her, her foster father was the worst, she'd worked hard but nothing pleased him, she'd tried to keep out of his way but when he was drunk he'd always find her and slap her around, the tears ran down her face, why life was so hard she didn't know, it just was.
Woody sensed it, he didn't know why, something was wrong, opening his eyes he'd seen the tears running down her face and he was out of the chair like a shot.
Wrapped in his arms the tears stopped, she felt safe, and for Woody it was like an electric current, he realised, he suddenly understood, that crazy explanation his father had given him years before when he asked how did you know, it was so simple, Rosy was the one, no doubt.
TBC
ARB Allan
Enjoy folks, comments, if you have time, to Allan at cfgw2000@aol.com Headed 'Life's Illusions.