The first months of the New Year passed quickly. When the girls woke up from their usual nap after a ferocious Friday at the end of February, Drake suddenly announced, “Pack up your things girls! We're moving!”
It did not take long. Two busy days after the shocking announcement they were all in a new apartment.
A new apartment! This was incredible, unbelievable! And the apartment itself. It occupied almost a whole floor of a building! Not a very big building, but almost a whole floor of it. Well, half a floor. There was one other apartment up here on the eleventh floor with them.
Was moving to this big and beautiful place the greatest surprise? No! The other apartment? It contained Kelly's “favourite Aunt”, the woman she'd been named after, Ann Kelly, along with her husband, Mitch Kirkwood and their two children, Jimmy and Judy. Katie was ecstatic. Judy, a year younger, was her best friend.
“Mommy!”, Kelly said, at a loss for further words. Katie added her voice in full agreement.
In this apartment were many rooms, enough for Avelina to have one of her own. She looked at Kelly. Kelly looked at her. “Mommy, how about a spare room with one bed in it and lots of space for stuff, and then my room, our room, with two beds in it. That way we can sleep in the same room, like now, or different ones, when we want. Who knows, we might want to have boys over and need separate rooms!”
Avelina blushed. Sally just laughed, not saying a word. But when the furniture was all moved in, the girls had the room layouts Kelly had specified.
Now the whole Tech Fantasies Trio and Ann's husband lived on one floor of a building. They could run the organization as never before. They needed that proximity, for both women were far along in their carefully timed pregnancies and had become rather slow moving.
A month later, in March, Sally surprised everyone but herself. She had known from sonograms, but the others were shocked when Sally produced not one but two babies, a boy and a girl. Drake at last had the son Sally'd wanted him to have. As Kelly said, the other baby was “a fine female person, like the best of us.” The boy was named Nelson Mitchell Phillips, after Ann's husband, Mitch Kirkwood. His twin sister was named Clarity Ann Kirkwood.
A week later Ann Kelly had her own child, a daughter, named Jane Alice Kirkwood. Very fond of Alice Ames, Ann had persuaded Mitch that they should use her name.
The three babies, born so close together, would be treated almost as triplets. For at least the first few years of their life they would always be together. Kelly and Avelina would share some of the responsibility for looking after the babies with their four parents, who now lived on the same floor of the building.
The new apartment had a large dining room and parlour as well as a family oriented living room. The kitchen was large and had its own table, large enough for the family to eat at. The dining room and parlour were for company, including company arriving by video wall, which was much larger than the one they'd had before. It was opposite the windows, but its bright LED display could be seen even in a sunny room.
One evening Kelly was sitting at the side, mostly watching and listening while Avelina talked to Future Green, but adding a few remarks sometimes. She liked to just sit and listen, to watch the sparks fly between Avelina and Future, who were more compatible than any two people she knew. But suddenly Avelina turned to Kelly and brought her into the conversation in an almost invisible way which made it perfectly clear that it was now to be a three way discussion.
“Kelly. You know about Chure's family, don't you? That her father is rich and powerful? We haven't really discussed it. I think Chure asked you not to mention to me. She told me before, but I did not understand. Now I do. He owns this whole building. He donated the building for your father's college. The school building, too. He is rich beyond rich. I didn't know that.”
“Yes, Future wanted to tell you herself. I didn't know about the buildings though. Mommy and Daddy don't talk about who donates what.”
“Thanks, Kelly”, Future said. “I needed us to be this close, to have this magical connection, before I told her. I've told her other things, too, about my family. You might know about all my half-brothers and half-sisters. I think that was more of a shock than all the money stuff. Right, Lina?”
“Yes. Kelly, that man! Future brought him to her video wall one night, and we talked with him. He is wise and kind, but oh, to have so many women and so many children. I don't know what to think.”
“But you do know something, Lina. You have been thinking, and well. Tell Kelly.”
“Yes, yes. Kelly! I understand it now. I see it! Future and I are are from different worlds. Her home and her family are not like mine. There is no comparison. Her mother is a fine woman, like my mother, but highly skilled. I have met Chure's family this way. I believe that Chure's parents do love one another, though they live separate lives. They are educated, they have everything. They live in luxury in a rich city. My family is poor, I grew up in a house made of metal sheets tied together with wire, and went to school in temporary schools which moved around. But Future and I are the very best of friends. I love her. We know each other.”
“But we don't, in a way”, Future said. I could have come over anytime, but didn't want to push myself into your relationship. I want to visit, now. But that is beside the point. Go on, Lina, get to the good part.”
“Yes, yes! Kelly! If I can be such a good friend to a girl from a different world, then so could any person in my favela. São Paulo is huge. Like New York. And rich. Not like New York, but for our country, rich. There are millions of people who could be matched with our poor people. The favela could be completely dissolved, absorbed into the city, all that is needed is to use compatibility. That is all. Give a rich man a compatible friend, it will not matter if that friend is poor.”
“I think that is true, Lina. I don't think you are the first to have this insight, but it is a good one.”
“No, wait. I am not finished. It is a good idea, but hard to do, yes? But our school, we know how to do it, we are experts, you see?”
“Yes, I see. But I don't see.”
“Let me”, Future said. “About 3 ½ percent of the school is from Brazil. About 150 students. Suppose they were all linked to that school in Brazil that their government is planning. That school could quickly learn the message and spread it to the people, teach them to link up. I think I can talk my father into helping set up schools where they are needed. He cannot afford to pay for them, or pay for so many scholarships, but he could do a lot.”
“Yes, Chure, I understand. But the whole world needs help, not just Brazil. He is not that wealthy.”
“Tell her, Lina.”
“I had an idea. This school has made the part of New York around it more valuable. Chure said her father thought that might happen, and has invested in it. Um, not to say the wrong thing, but Mr. Green is a very smart man. Donating money to the school has made him money. Maybe more than what he donated. I am sure his intentions were most honourable, he did generously make true donations, but he is a smart man, and perhaps has more money now than he gave away.”
“I'm sure he has, Lina. And this is the great idea. Daddy will go for it, I know he will. He can't afford to start up schools everywhere, but he could start with Brazil. Buy some land and donate some money for a school, provided the government makes some agreements with him, I don't know what, just so they they don't sabotage his plans. Our plans!”
“Oh, I like it. Please talk to him about it, Chure.”
“I will.”
The following evening, Future Green called back, very excited, saying that her father liked the idea. The weekend was not far away. When it arrived, so did Ken and Future Green, who would stay with Sarah Rivers, in her huge apartment. Avelina and Future hugged each other with great enthusiasm, then Chure hugged Kelly as well.
“We can all talk later. I am sure you two have much catching up to do”, Kelly said, though in fact the girls had been in daily contact by video. They always had more to say, though, and physical proximity made it even more magical than usual.
Everyone was invited to Sarah's for dinner Saturday evening. Ann and her family came as well.
Kelly's six year old half-sister Kate was surprised to discover that their hostess had a boy about her own age. Sarah had married a musician named Albert Standish and given him a son, a boy named Rivers Standish. Shy at first, Kate soon warmed up to Rivers, especially after he played the piano for her. Kelly was impressed. He played much better than she did.
Ken Green let Sarah take charge of the meeting. She was good at that and seized every opportunity to do so, without actually being bossy or offensive.
“The girls have an idea. I am not going to apportion blame, but I think Kelly is relatively innocent for once. I don't know Avelina very well, but I know Future can hold her own in any company. Should I be asking you, Chure?”
“Avelina wants a school like ours in her country. So does the Brazilian government. They need a little stimulus and probably help, too. Money would be nice. She noted that Daddy might have actually made money by donating to the school. He admits it.”
“I would have been just as happy to donate money to the school if its presence did not increase the value of property near it, but I do not regret investing in that property, now that you mention it.”
“Me too”, Sarah said. “I've sold some of what I bought, to buy more. He bought some from me, but has been flipping more, I think. The outer periphery is owned by others now, who have mostly bought property from us, but between us Ken and I own most of the property near the school. Devious, eh?”
“Damn. Could have used some of that as residences”, Sally said.
“I got the building between your school and its residences only recently, Sally. If you wanted to move your residences into that building, it could be arranged. I should have suggested it”, Ken said.
“Daddy, let me return to the point”, Future said. “Everybody, he told us that we could get started wherever conditions are good. The one the Brazilians were going to start up hasn't gotten going. Politics, probably. Daddy thinks he can help with that. He has some influence with Brazilian officials and would be able to fund a school in São Paulo and offer scholarships to students who need it, especially the really poor ones. All they would have to do is put in writing some agreements to keep their hands off the land nearby the school, which he would buy. Right, Daddy?”
“Let me in on that, too”, Sarah said, not giving Ken a chance to reply. “What about other countries?”
“Not Mexico City, Sarah, for example”, Ken said. It is in a natural depression and will always have a dirty atmosphere. But there are lots of other choices. On the edges of cities, perhaps. Land the city will expand into once the school lures them out into it.”
“Dare I say the word 'college'?”, Drake asked.
“It would help, I think”, Sarah said. “Put both the college and the school on the edge of the city, but not too close together. Encourage infill between them. On property we own. I'm getting into this, folks.”
Avelina said little at first, then spoke about her dream of dissolving the favelas. “I think back to all those people I saw a year ago. They were just people. I liked some of them, I didn't like others. They were all unique. Pick any one of them at random, I think you could find someone in the big city who would gain from their mutual friendship. I am sure of this. I just know it. Don't you? Is there any doubt?”
Ken Green spoke carefully to the girl. “Yes, Avelina. You are right. I am sure you know that we have similar dreams. It is very hard to make them a reality. Future tells me you have ideas about that. Would you like to tell us about them?”
“Mr. Green, can you understand how much the school has changed my life? More than I ever imagined it could. But there is only one other person from a favela near São Paulo. Just one. A boy. I have met him and talked about home with him. We shared some nostalgia, even for such a poor place. But that is all I had in common with this boy, we were not compatible. There is no link between us, we could do nothing to bind together our people. That was a disappointment for me. But it no surprise, given the numbers. You all understand how the odds work, don't you”?
The others nodded, sensing both sadness and anger beneath the new feelings of happiness and understanding she exhibited.
“A quarter of the people in Brazil are poor”, she went on. “My city is rich, but it still has its poor, like those in my little Tiana, my favela, my slum, you would call it. Our city of 10 million people, 30 million altogether counting its metropolitan area, is like New York, but has more than a million poor people in it, four million in the metropolitan area. Four million!”
“Wow, that's a lot, Avelina”, Drake said. “I didn't know that. How many could be students in a school like ours?”
“The poor people are younger as a whole, since many die young, a tragedy. About a fifth of the people in the favelas are school age, almost half of them about the age for this school. Suppose we say it is about one in every ten of the four million, that would be 400,000 of the right age. I don't think more than 120 thousand would have enough education to go to high school at all. But that is enough for every high school student to have a Level Five friendship. A school could be filled from the favelas alone. If the government school was the same size as this one and was fair about it, not giving preference to the rich, then maybe a thousand poor students would be in the school. I have looked up these numbers and I think I am right.”
“That sounds about right, Avelina”, Sally said. “You know that our school draws from all over the world and gives scholarships to the poor. You know we have an incentive program, so people seek out eligible students for us. That works. It may surprise you, Avelina, but we have at least a thousand poor students, and about three hundred from a level of poverty like yours.”
“Three hundred! That is amazing. But of course I would not know that, your scholarships make us all appear rich. I am very grateful.”
“No matter”, Future said. “What is important would be getting those thousand students from around São Paulo into a school like ours. They would help tie together the city. They would begin the dissolution of the favelas, their absorption into the city.”
Ken nodded, proud of his daughter for her role in all of this.
“I say take the initiative, Ken”, Sarah told him. “We can both do it, but I will get started. I'll use your name freely, and your money too, if you don't mind. I'll lean on Brazilian officials, reminding them of how much business we do with their country. Maybe reminding them of how they might personally gain from taking an interest in our project.”
“Tut, Sarah”, Ken said under his breath.
“I am not talking about actual bribes. Let us say unique opportunities. Legal, if just barely. Then I'll offer them a school on a few conditions. We'll want the right to chose a principal with them, nominating Brazilian educators for their approval. We'll pay for the building, if we can say where it will be. We'll ask for fair treatment of the poor and offer scholarships as an inducement.”
“Where you choose to place the school would be in the middle of land suitable for investment, then”, Sally asked, though she was sure she knew the answer.
“Well, again, we will just nominate a place, for their approval, but we'll lean on them a bit harder.”
“What about government expropriation of land”, Ann asked. “Could you stop them, if they chose to force you out at a loss.”
“I think so”, Ken said. “My people get good intelligence from the area and have a lot of influence. It is speculation, and speculation always has its risks, but my people have done a lot of it. They are good at what they do. Of course I am no expert myself, what do I know? But I hire good people and pay them well. I give them large amounts of money to invest here or there, moving it around as necessary. We could do without Brazil, you see. We could withdraw all our operations from it, contribute nothing more to their economy. Contribute nothing more to the campaigns of people seeking elective office.”
“You would do that? All for the sake of one school?”, Avelina asked.
“Probably more than one”, Sarah said. “But yes. That would be the threat. We need to think about creating schools all over the world, and that is only possible if land speculation makes it affordable.”
“Oh, oh, I am so excited”, Avelina burst out. “I can believe now. I can see it happening. When do you think it might happen. Can you tell me something about your plans.”
“The day I heard about this from Future I set my realty people looking for sites in the area”, Ken Green said. “I expect a full report in a few days. Then I will just buy what looks best. If the government won't agree to that site, I'll sell it again, probably after doing some land consolidation, which will increase its value.”
“Ken wants me to handle most of this. As usual I get stuck with the dirty work”, Sarah said, with feigned weariness and resignation. “I am going to say something like, 'Here is a site. We own it. We'll build you a school building and help you get going quickly, if you agree', then hint at other possible projects, instead, such one in Buenos Aires, maybe Naples, or some city in Asia. In other words, 'Cooperate or we take our business elsewhere'”.
Sally Aston looked on, amused. She liked watching Sarah at work.
“Let me help, let me help, please!”, Avelina begged. The project excited her.
Now that they had seen each other in person, Avelina and Future could not be kept apart. The latter had an unlimited budget for air travel and arrived every other weekend, though she never interfered with what Kelly and Avelina liked to do. Their sightseeing and volunteer work went on, Future helping quite happily.
It took seven weeks, but one Saturday the families of the Tech Fantasies Trio were invited over to have dinner with Sarah Rivers. Future Green had flown in for the weekend and spent the afternoon in deep and intense conversation with Avelina, bubbling, the girls were excited to be together as always, but their discussions were heavy stuff.
“We have a deal”, Sarah announced. We have set up dummy companies to own the real estate around our new school. Some Brazilian officials have wisely chosen to invest their own money in those companies. So have a number of rich and influential Brazilians, though Ken will be the majority shareholder in them. The government has wisely accepted our offer to build the school and manage it for a while, also accepting our offer to provide scholarships to poor students.”
“When, when? Where?”, Avelina could hardly contain herself. “Soon, and you'll see”, were the answers, repeated given, in not quite those terms.
Some better answers would appear soon. The next Friday afternoon, wilted and withered by the bright light of education at its best, Kelly and Sally were picked up in a car which contained not only Future Green but a boy about the same age.
“Avelina, Kelly, may I introduce my half-brother, Solid Green. His mother is a construction engineer, who has worked on some of Daddy's building projects. Solid knows about building sites. Right, Sol? Daddy asked him to come along and check out things before the architects went crazy.”
“Check out things?”, Avelina was confused.
“We are going to São Paulo, honey”, Sally said.
“We are!?”
“I hope you don't mind, but I packed some things for you. We're on our way to the airport right now. It will just be the weekend, so I didn't pack much for you.”
“My family! Will I get to see my family?!”
“Yes, dear, if you want. I hoped you'd want to do that. And we'd like to meet them.”
“Oh, but where we live. It is so poor. My mother would be ashamed.”
“We are not going to dress up, Avelina, or drive up in a fancy car. Nothing to overwhelm them. And we have presents packed. Good practical things.”
“Oh, well, my mother is a proud woman, but she is desperate. If you bring something to make their lives easier and don't make a big splash, it would be good. I'd like you to meet them. My sisters are very pretty.”
“I like pretty girls”, Solid noted. That was probably true. He had been turning them from Kelly to Avelina, back and forth, completely ignoring the New York sights and sounds. Sally saw no point in trying to talk to him. Future was amused. Boys!
Avelina was ecstatic to be flying back to Brazil with her two closest friends beside her. They had been met at the plane by Drake, who thought a quick trip might be fun. They caught the 6:10 flight from JFK, which landed at São Paulo's GRU airport just over 9 hours later, at 3:30 AM. The girls had been too excited to sleep on the plane, so by the time they reached their hotel they just dropped off to sleep, exhausted, in a matter of minutes.
Kelly and Avelina had put in one of those overwhelming Friday's at STH even before getting on the plane, so they were tired out, while Future had already taken the plane from Vancouver to New York. They got a room with two king size beds in it. Avelina regularly slept in the same room with Kelly, so they now shared a bed. Future was content to have the other.
Solid Green had a smaller room of his own, to his delight, in which he would watch pornographic movies on the TV and drink forbidden beverages from the minibar. Drake and Sally were not too tired to entertain themselves in ways they never got used to. Now forty, Sally was at an age when female sexuality is strong, and Drake was always strong. Willing, able, well-equipped for the task, and strong. Now almost 13 years older than when Sally had first taken him into her, his talents and enthusiasm were undiminished.
Though Sally had just mentioned a deal, more was underway. Rezoning had already been pushed through to allow the construction of educational, and residential buildings in a large neighbourhood of northwestern São Paulo. Not a bad part of town at all, there were a couple of strips blighted by low-grade commercial operations, such as used-car lots and unprofitable strip malls.
All four of the young people were surprised to find a huge area of ground which had already been cleared. “The Brazilians love what they call football”, Sally explained. “They insisted on big playing fields for soccer and other sports. The school will look like any other suburban school, surrounded playgrounds and parking lots, but there will be some residences, too.”
“Where will the school building be?”
“Here look at this site map.”
“OK, I've got the general picture”, Solid Green said, a moment later. “I've got to walk the site.” He then pulled a notebook out of his pocket and started walking. The girls watched as he began to traverse the perimeter of the cleared area.
A few large pieces of machinery were sitting idle near one edge of the area. Kelly wondered about that, then noticed men sitting in or on them, apparently eating. Yes, it would be lunch time.
Soon some large black cars drove up. After them came a grey van with with high-tech equipment on its roof. Two men and a woman got out of the van and set up a news camera. With the camera pointed at the black cars, various well dressed men and two women emerged. Kelly understood the real reason for their visit. Publicity.
Solid and Future Green suggested staying out of sight, but Kelly and Avelina were wanted for the show. They had to endure the various introductions. Everything was done twice, once with the officials who could speak English doing so, and once entirely in Portuguese, using a translator. Apparently the tapes would be edited into two versions, one suitable for distribution in the English-speaking world and one for the Brazilian media.
For Avelina the Portuguese one came first. Kelly could see the shock on her face, but not understand what was said. Then, in English, she heard an official introduce Avelina to one of the women who had arrived with him.
“Avelina, my dear, this is Mrs. Mendez. We have looked all over Brazil to find her. She will be your teacher.”
As the welcoming passed her by, Avelina turned to Kelly, tears in her eyes. “I must come back, to São Paulo, to be the first student in the school. They want me soon, before the building is finished, and will find me other friends. Kelly, oh, Kelly.”
The two girls hugged and cried. When they could get away, they rushed to where the other kids were standing. Avelina hugged Future and cried. All three of them were upset. Kelly couldn't believe it. Avelina, to be gone, just like that. It wasn't fair.
After a while, the official welcome completely, the kids got back in the SUV they'd rented at the airport. Drake drove. Sally was emotional too, but managed to reassure the girls somewhat.
“You can still be friends, still talk everyday. Avelina, you and Future already have a long-distance friendship. You can do that with Kelly, too. I know you will still be close.”
But it would not be the same, would it?