Chapter 33

12-07-2017

“When was the last time you heard from Stefan?” Jon asked but was met by giggling faces. “What? Am I missing something?” he continued.

“You are kidding, right? You have just made me pass out with the help of my own mother” Nessa said smiling at CC as she was cuddled into Jon’s side, “and you ask if we have heard from Dad!”

“I spoke to him earlier and he was ok. Sissy is struggling badly without anything in her system and he is having to use some hard love to try and get her the help she needs. They will stay at the house for a couple more days and then the church has a place where she can go for a more professional detox.” CC explained cuddled into Jon’s other side. Jon had his arm around both women holding them close to him.

“Well, next time you speak to him, make sure that he knows that if he needs anything just let me know. I mean anything at all!”

“I will and Jon ... Thank you” CC replied before kissing the man In front of her.

Their conversation was interrupted when Jane came over to them. Leaning over and kissing Jon, Jane asked CC and Nessa if she could borrow Jon.

“Yes that’s fine with us, he has served his purpose!” Nessa replied with a big smirk on her face.

“Oh really, it’s like that is it?” Jon replied with a mock pout at the young lady while CC and Jane couldn’t stop laughing at the cheek of the girl. After giving both Nessa and CC a kiss and cuddle, Jon left with Jane into the office in the Clubhouse.

Jane started to explain her concerns, “We have another group that wants to rent a room at the Warehouse. It seems that Millie Dawson and Dawn Burns want to rent a room between them, they both have their reasons and they will have Debbie, Jamie and his girlfriend Liz with them.”

“Ok, well this certainly wasn’t what we expected to happen. Although, we did say that we expected that we would meet people that were like-minded through the camp. I suppose the question is are they really like-minded people or are they just swingers wanted their holiday to continue?” Jon was voicing the same concerns that Jane had been feeling.

“I think that Laurie and friends would easily blend in with us. They also have jobs that would mean that they would integrate into the group but wouldn’t be sat around doing nothing. Pam and her husband are talking about bring their business into the area. Let’s be honest, a bakery would be a nice addition to the local area. I just don’t know what Millie and Dawn would bring to the party, to them I think it would be a bit of escapism.” Jane continued.

“I agree. Did they give any reasoning to their request?”

“Not really, Millie said that Darrell had a big contract that meant he would be away for the next three years except for short breaks but Dawn was a little more circumspect with her response which makes me think there’s more to it than she is letting on. That they are looking to move their kids to a different state at this time of their lives is also interesting.”

“I think I will try to have a chat with Dawn and see if I can get her to open up to me. Now the next thing is the rent we are going to charge. I want to look at a figure around the $4000 a month area with a minimum 12-month contract. Mainly because if we charge $2k a week per head at the camp we can’t make it too cheap. Also, as you know, those rooms can hold four or five people easily and if we use four as the number, it works out at $1000 a head with everything thrown in.” Jon explained.

“When you explain it like that it actually makes sense. So shall we tell Pam and Laurie we are ok if they want to go ahead?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, why not. I will have a chat with Dawn and we can decide from there. Now I have to go and have a chat with some other ladies and I hope they are in a better mood than when I left them earlier.” Jon stated as he gave Jane a hug and kiss before making his way over to Cabin One.

Jo, Susan, Click, Caitlyn, Fiona and Genja were all sitting around a table watching out to the lake as Connor and Sara started to go for a walk.

“So do you think that Sara will be a good auntie to her nephew?” Genja said giggling.

“Oh, by the look in her eyes I think she will be the best auntie ever!” Jo chuckled.

“Aren’t any of you worried that it shouldn’t happen?” Caitlyn said with a sigh, “I mean I should be having a chat with Sara about the implications. You know she really has very little life experience and never really dated properly. The guy she happens to fall for turns out to be family. It just isn’t fair. I blame myself, it was me that dragged her all over the country week after week.”

“Then really, you’re to blame for the way she feels about Connor, Mom. I mean, if you hadn’t taken her with you she would never have met Connor. Anyway let’s not be too hasty, they’re not children, their young adults. Let them find their own way. We just need to be here if they need us.” Fiona responded.

“But it’s incest!”

“Maybe, but more importantly it’s called love. From where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like either of them are being coerced. They both seem to be happy.” Changing the subject, Fiona continued, “So what do you think of this place, think you could get comfortable around here?”

“Your serious about this aren’t you,” Caitlyn said.

“Very, Mom I’ve found my home. I know that I only met Jon five days ago but I can tell you know, I won’t ever be leaving!” The way Fiona said this left no doubt in anyone’s mind. “I know that is also how Genja feels and you would hear the same story from Claire, CC, Chrissy and Beth. Now the question for you is this somewhere where you would like to stay. I’m not sure what Connor will want to do but I think Sara will go wherever you are. This would like having my family again.”

“Where would we stay, I mean I couldn’t expect Jon to let us stay here.”

Genja started laughing, “Jon already expects you to be here, he knows that you were selling your houses when he got Fiona to give you a call. In the little time, we have got to know him, I can tell you that he is one of the most giving people that you come across. Getting your family together for “his Fiona” is something that matters for him.”

Fiona was smiling at her best friend because she knew that everything she was saying was true. The question for her know was what to do with her son. Would he want to stay here? Could he accept the way things happened? She hoped that he would but the way Connor had reacted as things had panned out, caused her to hesitate.

Click was quick to give support to the situation, “You know, Jon didn’t owe us the time of day. Yet here I am with my daughter and very happy. Jo and I have new jobs and some purpose. I have people around me that are willing to help and the start of some good friendships. Oh did I tell you? I had sex for the first seven years with a man that was over thirty years younger than me and I Loved it!” All the ladies were laughing out loud.

“Ok, Ok I’m sold!” Caitlyn said when she dried the tears she shed through the laughter. “But what do I do about Sara? Do you think she will be ok here?”

It was Jo that replied. “Sara will be fine, she seventeen and needs to be able to spread her wings a bit. From how you’ve explained things, it sounds like she didn’t have best early years while your husband was alive and since then she seems to have been living out of a suitcase. From what we can all see, she seems to have her eyes very much concentrated on a certain young man. Being here will mean she can be closer to him.”

“Why don’t we go over and organise some sleeping arrangements and you can take a better look around the warehouse,” Fiona concluded.

Tommy and Jim had gone to see what was happening with the crew that was there to build the road. Carl was also there as he was still clearing the entry into the camp for the road to pass the fencing. Jim introduced Tommy to Slim and then got reacquainted with the guys that used to be his old crew.

“Jim, I’ve put a message out to try and get some workers up here. I have worked on the theory that if I can get fifty men on this, we can get the main infrastructure in place done quickly.” Slim said.

“Do you think that you can get that many so quickly?” Tommy asked.

“With the money I’m offering, I’m sure of it!” Slim chuckled.

“How long do you think?” Jim asked.

“I would say two weeks for the bulk of the work and the curbing. The lights and stuff will be a couple of weeks after that, but that will be just us working on that.” Looking around to check that they weren’t overheard, Slim continued. “I got to ask Jim, some of the guys are a little inquisitive as to the reason for all the security. I mean I know that the place wants to stay private but all the cameras and the retractable posts, then the design of the gatehouse? That’s the kind of thing you do for military buildings or stuff like that. You got stuff that needs to be hidden in there or what?”

Jim and Tommy just looked a bit sheepishly between each other, both thinking what was the best way to address this. It was Jim that found his voice first.

“Well Slim, the people that come to the camp come from all walks of life, Garbage Collectors to Politicians. The big thing is the camp runs on total privacy, and means ‘Total’! To enter the camp you have to sign legally binding contracts so the security of that privacy is a big thing.”

“So what happens at the camp?” Slim asked.

“Anything you want happens. Slim, I know that sounds a bit generalised but that’s the truth is as long as no one is being hurt or there’s no malice involved. The guests do whatever they like whenever they like and wherever they like.” Jim smiled at the bigger guy, “They drink, they eat and they relax!”

“So Jon’s just creating a safe haven in a secure place.”

“Exactly. You’ve been a trusted friend for far too long, Slim. If anything was going on to worry about I would Tell you.”

“OK, guys thanks for the chat. There was just one thing that I wanted to ask. The guys wanted to know if, when we’re done, they could spend some time here with their lady folk?” Slim asked.

“I’m sure we can sort something out when the time was right,” Tommy answered, amused at the direction the conversation had gone.

Jon was mulling over the issue with the girls as he walked to the cabin. They were young and very talented in the field they had chosen. But, like all people of their age, they were Idealistic and had reacted and done things without thinking, some of them very seriously. Amazingly, just by chance, Rita had stopped a couple of their hacks before any damage could be done. They were all bright and came from good families, as much as he could tell. Money wasn’t the reason for what they were doing. He hoped that he could try to cool some of their tendencies before they crapped out on their life before they had even had a chance to live it. He was also intrigued as to how they ended up on his doorstep.

As he approached the door he paused, he could the chatter going on inside. Beth sounded like she had become the mother to the group and could clearly be heard telling people what they should be doing. Interestingly he wasn’t hearing animosity from the group either, in fact, there was a couple of time when he heard laughter. He couldn’t help himself and just leant against the wall outside the entrance, a smile on his face as he listened to his girls. They had taken control of the situation and made things happen. Chrissy and Gail were helping with the clothing choices and didn’t hold back on their opinions of what they were seeing. Sacha and Claire were asking for preferences before helping with the beautician treatments and Beth was just coordinating the whole show.