could see from Kelly's grin that she could smell as well as I did that Jan still bore the scent of Candice's 'fragrance' on her. Neither of us said anything about it; rather, Kelly just said 'You look like you could use some nourishment.'
Jan grinned, and said 'Yeah, I could. I'll bet Candice could, too!'
Kelly grinned back, and got up to head into the kitchen to make something to eat for both of them. While she was in there, Jan leaned into my side and pulled my arm around her, holding my hand over her breast. She watched TV with me until Kelly reappeared with food and drinks; when she sat up to eat, she moved my hand down to rest on the inside of her thigh, while Kelly took the same liberty on the other side. By the time Jan had gone through about half her sandwich, Candice made her way in to join us. Jan didn't complain when Kelly moved over a bit before gesturing that Candice should sit on her lap, which she did.
As Candice tucked away her own meal, random pairings of the three of them would share kisses between bites.
When the meal was over, I took the dishes back into the kitchen and loaded them into the dishwasher. Back in the den, I found the three of them snuggling with each other on the couch. Not wanting to intrude, I started for my favorite chair when Candice told me 'If you don't come over here and sit with us, I'm going to be real upset.' I smiled, and changed course to the couch, where Jan and Candice separated to make room for me as Kelly stood up. When I was seated, Kelly promptly took station on my lap while the other two snuggled into my sides.
A while later, I broke the news that if we were going to make Candice's flight, we had to get going before long. Jan told us that she'd said her goodbyes – Candice mischievously asked 'Screams of passion are a way of saying 'goodbye'?' – and that she'd have to pass. When Kelly said that she wanted to go, all four of us managed to get off the couch. I accompanied Jan to the bedroom – she to take a shower, me to collect Candice's luggage – before the three of us got in my car and headed for the airport. We got there in plenty of time, and Kelly and I kept Candice company as she waited for her flight to be called. Finally, with a kiss for each of us, we watched her head down the jet way on her way to her assignment.
Back at home, we found that Jan had already left – after getting the dishes cleaned and put away, then making sure we had fresh sheets on the bed.
It being a little late – and neither of us having gotten enough rest recently – we undressed and went to bed, holding each other close as we drifted off to sleep.
Bill sent the list as he'd promised; there were going to be a half-dozen people going with me, including to the lawyers. I got that information to Marlyn as quickly as I could, so that she would have as much time as possible to make the necessary arrangements.
Late the next morning, Kelly and I left the office to make our appointment with the Bishop. We got there a couple minutes early, and his secretary told us that he'd said we could go right in when we arrived. Inside, we found him reading something; he gestured we should have a seat and told us 'I'll be with you in just a second.'
When he was done, he poured us coffee from a carafe on his desk. After we'd all had a chance to taste it, he looked at us before asking me 'Well, Dan, as always, it's a pleasure to see you. What can I do for you?'
'Actually, it's not me that you can do something for. Rather, it's some other people that Kelly and I had a chance to meet recently.'
He got a mischievous smile on his face, and said 'I'm thinking it's something to do with an orphanage in San Fernando in the Philippines?'
Kelly and I were both surprised, and I asked him 'Yes, that's the place, exactly. How did you know?'
He picked up the sheet of paper he'd been reading when we came in, and told us 'This is a little communication I received from the Vatican yesterday. Essentially, it's a 'thank you' to me and commendation for you two, from the priest you met there – Father Villanueva.'
Kelly and I both nodded, and he went on 'It isn't often that someone makes enough of an impression on a priest that he feels obliged to send something like this to the Vatican, via his leadership – all of whom gave it their whole-hearted approval, by the way. Whatever you did there, it must have been something. But after my experience with you, I'd have expected that!' – the last part a gentle teasing about how we'd gotten to know each other.
Kelly and I both smiled at his jibe before I told him 'Kevin, all I did was provide some much-needed temporary relief to them. What I'm here for is to see if there isn't some way to arrange something that would be both more substantial, and longer lasting.'
He nodded, saying 'I've never been there, you understand, but I've heard the stories; the Philippines is a poor country. What did you actually see that moved you so much?'
With that, Kelly and I took turns telling him about the conditions we'd found there, and what we'd done in response – accentuated with some of the photos she'd taken. When we finished, he looked greatly troubled, and told us 'Yes, I can see why you would be so inclined to help them.
What is it that you would like my help with?'
'Kevin, the vast majority of parishioners in this diocese are relatively affluent, and I've come up with a couple of ideas that I think would let the membership help not just this one orphanage, but several. And all with little or no strain on the members.'
He looked intrigued, and asked 'What are your ideas, then?'
'First, I think that you could organize periodic collections of things that the orphanages need: clothing, toys, school supplies, that sort of thing. We throw away far too much stuff in this country that these people could use; I can't think of a single reason it should be like that.'
He nodded, and I went on 'As was pointed out to me over the weekend, there are some things that only money can help with – utility bills, food, and such. If the diocese can see it's way to parting with some of the funds collected locally, and forward them to the orphanages, it would be of tremendous benefit: as I told Kelly, even if it was only ten percent of what you collect, the money sent over there would do twice as much good as all the rest of the money that stayed here.'
He looked doubtful, and I explained to him 'This past weekend, a few friends got together with Kelly and me. When they heard about the orphanage, they came up with over fifteen hundred dollars. I added some of my own money to bring it up to two grand, even. I wired the money to the orphanage, and was assured that that two thousand dollars would cover ALL of their utilities – electric, water, and so on – for at least a year, with plenty left over for other needs. Can't the diocese spare that much on a yearly basis?'
He looked surprised at how much could be accomplished with the money I'd forwarded, and answered 'Yes, I expect we could, easily. What else?'
'I expect that they would also benefit from some supplemental items, such as multivitamins, baby goods, and so on. Keep in mind, it's an orphanage – all they deal with, really, is kids. And kids being kids, they have their share of scrapes and scratches, babies need diapers and all that, and what kid anywhere wouldn't benefit from a vitamin supplement each day?'
He nodded at that, and I finished by telling him 'I'm not suggesting that the diocese cut back on local programs – just that some of the fat be trimmed. All I'm asking is that people that aren't in any position to really help themselves aren't forgotten along the way.'
He looked at Kelly, then me, before saying 'You make a good case for helping these people. Even better, you don't just ask us to help them, but offer substantial suggestions on how we can help. My only question is, once we get these things together, how do we get them to where they're needed?'
It was my turn to smile before I told him 'I've got an 'in' with a local company that's getting ready to set up a factory over there. I'm willing to bet that I can get them to let you 'piggyback' your supplies in with their shipments, for free.'
He laughed, and told me 'Yes, I'd bet you could, too. Okay, you've got my support. I've got to run this up the line, but I don't doubt that it'll be approved.'
Kelly and I both thanked him, and he told us 'I should know better, by now, but it never ceases to amaze me at how much you can accomplish when you get going, Dan! I'm just glad you're on our side, and helping people.'
We thanked him again, and the three of us stood. He shook hands with me, and accepted a kiss on the cheek from Kelly before we left his office.
The rest of the time between our visit with Bishop Ferguson, and my departure for the Philippines was filled with doing everything we could to get ready for the amount of work we knew was coming. My client got their architect to send me a set of plans for the new facility; once I'd made some basic engineering decisions, Kelly was
