Julio – The Growing Years
 by: Miguel Sanchez

© 2006-2008 by the author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

A few days later I decided to clean Luiz’s room and was met with still another surprise. The man the kids called Uncle was in fact their great uncle and my uncle too.

My father never told me that he and Luiz were brothers. Luiz was the man that kept my family and life in balance. I just hope now that he’s gone I can do him proud with the children.

Chapter 7

Life in the Sanchez household finally began to smooth out and Ronnie took on the role of cook. I started doing the meals but they certainly weren’t like Luiz’s. One evening after dinner Ronnie came up to me and said, “Ah Dad, would you mind terribly if I started doing dinner?”

I smiled at him and said, “That bad, huh?”

“Not really,” he said seriously. “It’s just that Luiz showed me how to do little things with the meat and stuff other than just use salt and pepper. I don’t mind and it’s not really that much work. I can start it when I get in from school then do my homework. Mom showed me how to cook when I was younger, but Uncle Luiz taught me how to cook and that’s what has given me my love for cooking. There is a cooking school here in town that I would love to go to after I graduate high school.”

“I don’t mind you cooking dinner,” I said to him. “But just don’t let that take priority over your school work and I’ll help you in the kitchen too. As for going to cooking school after you graduate, if that is what you really want son, you got it.”

Ronnie started preparing the evening meals and he even taught me some of Luiz’s most tightly held secrets. Soon we were eating meals very close to what he had prepared for us when he was alive.

Time was passing all too quickly for us. Jay was still playing soccer but was finding it difficult to juggle that as he wanted to plan on a future in medicine.

Steven started volunteering at the local animal shelter. One evening he came to me and said, “Dad, I think I’ve decided on what I want to do with my life.”

I sat down and pulled my youngest onto my lap and said, “What would you like to do?”

“I want to become a vet,” he said smiling at me. “I love animals and the girl at the shelter is teaching me some things.”

“I think that’s a wonderful profession son,” I said smiling at him. “I don’t see any reason you can’t do that.”

The next thing I knew Jay was turning 17. About a week before his birthday he came to me and said, “Dad, you know I’m almost a man now, right?”

I was caught a little off guard by his statement and started wondering what he was going to be hitting me up for when I said, “Yes I do son. You turn 17 next week and you will be a junior in high school.”

“That’s right,” he said smiling. “I’ve taken driver’s education and passed.”

Now I know where this was going. “Are you telling me you’d like me to take you for your driver’s license?”

“Un huh,” he said grinning. “I’ve had my learners permit and I think I’m a safe driver.”

I was being set up but I had an idea also so I said, “With the license wouldn’t happen to come a vehicle for your birthday, would it?”

“Well, now that you mention it,” he said giggling.

“I thought as much,” I said. “I have an idea son. Try this on and tell me what you think of it. If you pass and get your license, you can use the car because Dad would like a new vehicle.”

Jay thought about it for a minute then he said, “That’s cool Dad. I like the car and it’s big enough that I don’t have to worry too much about being in an accident.”

The next day I took him to the DMV and Jay took his road test and passed. The examiner was amazed at how he handled the big vehicle. Jay came out with his newly issued license when I said, “Congratulations son. You do remember what this means until you turn 18, don’t you?”

“Yes sir,” he said putting it into his wallet. “If I get into an accident or get too many tickets I can lose my license.”

I nodded my head and let him drive us home. He proudly showed everyone his license then Ronnie asked, “Can I get mine next month Dad?”

“Yes you can son,” I said nodding my head.

Jay’s birthday was both a family and private affair. I took him out to the restaurant of his choice on his actual birthday. That weekend, Ronnie cooked him a special dinner then they spent the evening alone. I don’t know what they did but I had a pretty good idea.

I had originally planned to let Jay and Ronnie use the car but decided to get each of them a vehicle of their own that would last until they finished college.

After dinner the day of Jay’s birthday, Steven, Angel and Ronnie gave him their gifts. I handed him a small wrapped box which looked like a ring box. Jay looked at it curiously then opened it. Inside he found a piece of paper that said, “I owe you one new car.”

Jay’s eyes got big and he came running over to hug me. “I know what I want Dad,” he said smiling. “I would like a Blazer.”

Ronnie looked at me and said, “I would like a Trans Am, Dad.”

I took the boys aside and asked Jay if he minded waiting a few weeks and I would take both boys at the same time. He didn’t have a problem with that so that was the plan. Two weeks later I took the boys to get their new vehicles, and then they followed me as I decided to get a new one myself. I love my car but it was time for a new one. I traded the car in on a shiny new black Blazer.

As the year went on, I had to admit the boys took a lot of weight off my shoulders. If I had an emergency operation to perform, I could let Jay and Ronnie know and they would gladly look out for Steven and Angel.

As Steven and Angel entered their first year of high school, Steven started catching a little grief by some of his peers because he wasn’t interested in sports. One afternoon as Ronnie arrived to pick him up he recognized someone from his class poking Steven in the chest. Ronnie got out of his car and ran over to his little brother and said, “Hey ass wipe, leave him alone.”

“This is none of your business,” the kid said.

“I’m making it my business,” Ronnie said as he stepped in between the kid and Steven.

“I guess I’ll just have to . . .” the boy started saying as Ronnie connected with his balls with his knee.

“I guess you’ll have to leave my brother the hell alone,” Ronnie said to the boy withering on the ground. “You hear me?”

“Yeah,” the boy squeaked. “I hear you.”

Ronnie and Steven walked over to his car. “Thanks bro. I guess I better not make you mad.”

“Nah,” Ronnie said starting the engine. “I’m just not about to let some asshole pick on my little brother.”

They drove home chatting about this and that while Jay was trying to start dinner. The two boys came home and Jay said, “What happened, you should have been here a while ago.”

Ronnie didn’t want Jay getting worked up so he said, “Just unusually heavy traffic bro. What are you making?”

Ronnie helped Jay in the kitchen while the other two worked on their homework. I came in from the hospital and changed then relieved my oldest two and had some coffee.

Angel finished her work and came to see me in the kitchen. She kissed me on the cheek and said, “Hi Daddy. Dinner smells good.”

“Thanks sweetie,” I said returning her kiss. “What’s on your mind?”

She looked a little nervous but said, “Daddy, I don’t think I’m going to want to go to college.”

“I see,” I said looking at her. “What do you want to do then?”

“Well,” she started. “There are two things. The big one is I want to work with you and The Foundation. The other might be just as big but I’m not sure it will happen yet.”

“Oh,” I started. “And what might that be?”

She smiled at me and said, “I want to marry Steven and have his children.”

I smiled at the thought of becoming a grandfather. “I love you very much sweetie,” I said giving her a hug. “I would love to have you for a daughter-in-law too. As for working with The Foundation, I think that can be arranged.”

Angel was taking some business courses and was looking at Foundation reports every chance she got. By summer, she was advising me on things she’d seen that I’d missed. My little girl had quite a business head on her shoulders. Just before spring break, I had a meeting scheduled with my lawyer and banker to give me my quarterly report on the financial status of The Foundation. Our investments were working better than we had anticipated so our funds were now sitting at just over $125 million.

I was totally blown away by the figures I just heard. Angel just smiled and I knew her business mind was working again. I looked at her and said, “I know that look darling; what are you thinking?”

“I have two ideas Dad,” she said looking very serious. “First is looking into the possibility of getting your own plane to take medicines and supplies to the hospital in Receife. I have been looking online and I have found several 737’s at reasonable prices. They have seats that can be quickly removed and then you have a cargo plane. Next, I think you should look at getting a plane for The Foundation. This way when you need to leave you can without having to either go commercial or chartering an airplane plus it would be a good tax write off.”

My 15 year old daughter just laid out some very good business advice. I wanted to see what else she could do so I said, “I want you to find 2 737’s in better than good condition at fair market value and 2 corporate jets. I would like these reports by the first of July.”

At Spring Break Jay was accepted as a volunteer at Children’s Hospital. He loved his brothers and sister and also wanted to go into medicine. When he wasn’t busy helping the patients, he was following several of the nurses around watching some of the procedures. One morning when I was making my rounds, the charge nurse asked to speak with me. “What’s the problem?”

She looked at me and thought for a moment. “Well Dr. Sanchez, I don’t know how to say this but well, it’s your son Jay. He’s a great volunteer here on the floor and the kids all seem to like him. When he’s not with them, he’s following me watching some of the procedures.”

“That’s my son,” I said smiling. “He always wants to learn and when he graduates from high school, he wants to go to med school after college.”

I could see her exhale. “I wished he had told me that. I knew he was your son and didn’t want to think anything well, bad, but it was making me wonder.”

“I can understand that,” I said. “He’s just very enthusiastic about his love for medicine. If you don’t have a problem with this, I’d like to borrow him at times.”

I had him assist me with some things on rounds and Paul did also to give him some insight as to what medicine was all about. He really got his eyes opened when he saw a patient of Paul’s in PICU. When he came back to me he said, “Man Dad, how do you do it? How can you operate on kids and not want to cry while you’re doing it?”

“It’s called being emotionally detached from your work,” I said. “It’s not always easy but you have to, otherwise you will lose your objectivity and you won’t be an effective doctor. I still have compassion for every one of these kids. You have seen that when you’ve been with me, but I never get close to them like I am with you kids. That is something that will take time for you to learn, but it’s a must.

“Being a good doctor isn’t going to be easy, is it?”

“To be good at anything is never easy son,” I said ruffling his hair.

Ronnie was the only one who had a paying job over the break. He managed to land a job with a catering company helping in the kitchen. I found out a few days later that they were so impressed with his cooking skills that he has now been helping prepare food for parties. When school started he worked two afternoons a week and on Saturday.

Steven had left the animal shelter and was working as a volunteer with a local vet. The vet was impressed with his skills and knowledge thanks to his desire to learn at the animal shelter. When he told the vet his plans for the future, the Doctor started his education on the job.

When school was out, all my children were determined to continue pursuing their dreams in their chosen careers. I was also seeing that Angel was pursuing another of her careers and that was Steven. They were spending a lot of time together when they weren’t working. One Friday night they wanted to take in a movie and Ronnie offered to drive. When they were out, Jay came to me and said, “Dad, is it me or are they really getting serious?”

I see I wasn’t the only one noticing this ongoing love affair. “I think love is again in the air in the house son.”

A week before the report was due Angel came and presented me with information on the 4 planes. She handed me the papers then said, “After you’ve read the report Dad, I think we should talk some more.”

I looked at the papers then said, “Alright Angel, I’ll let you know as soon as I’m done.”

I read the reports she prepared and she was right, we did need to talk some more. I think even she was surprised with the figures. I wasn’t sure what else she’d done but I was anxious to find out. I set the report on my desk and walked back to Angel’s room and said, “Come on sweetie, let’s talk.”

We went back to my office and she said, “I take it you looked the report over.”

“Yeah I did love,” I said turning to the numbers page. “There’s no way we can afford this.”

She pulled out some other papers and handed them to me. “Yes there is Dad. It didn’t dawn on me until I read what some other companies do in situations like this.”

I was in the dark with what she was talking about. “And what is that?”

She smiled at me and said, “They don’t buy Dad, they lease.”

I opened the papers and read them. I was blown away that we could lease two planes for about $1.5 million a year and that included maintenance. We would have to buy our own fuel but that was an expense we could live with. I brought her over to me and hugged her saying, “I’m so proud of you love. You’ve really done well here. I’ll call the trustee and have him call the leasing company in the morning.”

That next morning I made that phone call with Angel sitting in. I had the trustee fax me the papers and after reading them over, I signed them and he sent out the check. I looked at her and said, “Thanks for all the help Angel. The Sanchez Foundation just leased a Lear Jet 45 and a 737-300.”

During this time, I’d been keeping tabs on Marco. He was an honor student and wanted to become a doctor too. He was about to enter his finial year of school so I had him start sending out preliminary applications. I also talked to Paulo about looking into applying for a student visa for him. I didn’t know how long all this would take so the sooner they started on this, the better it would be.

The rest of the summer flew by and before I knew it, Jay and Ronnie’s 18th birthday was just around the corner. I knew this had to be a special one for then as they were to become men. I decided to talk with them and see if there was something special they would like. Steven looked at me and said, “I don’t mean to sound petty Dad but what about Angel and me? We turn 16 and it’s pretty big to us too.”

“I know it is son,” I said pulling him into a hug. “I haven’t forgotten that. I have an idea but let me talk with them first, alright?”

“OK Dad,” he said kissing me on the cheek.

I got Jay and Ronnie together and said, “I know this is your big day boys. You each turn 18 and I would like to know if there is something special you’d both like for your birthday.”

They looked at each other then Ronnie said, “Can you let us talk together then we can let you know?”

I nodded then said, “That’s fine. This way you both can agree on something.”

I came out of their room and saw Steven and Angel talking quietly. I went up to them and said, “They’re going to let me know what it is they want. I’ll ask you two the same question. Is there something you two want?”

They looked at each other and smiled. I was wondering what these two had just come up with when Angel said, “There are two things Dad. One I don’t think you’ll have a problem with.”

‘Oh oh,’ I thought. ‘I was wondering when this was going to come, now here it is.’

I looked at her and said, “What is this that I won’t have a problem with?”

Steven smiled and said, “We’d each like a computer. This way we can do our work and research without having to bug you.”

I was wondering when they would want one of their own. They were walking into the living room then they sat on the couch. I followed them and sat in my recliner and said, “Alright, what is this other thing you two want?”

They looked at me then back to each other and in unison they said, “Condoms.”

To be continued...

Posted: 06/13/08