5.9: Charity

Kayleigh's POV...

   "Hi Logan!" I squealed. He was mine; mommy gave him to me for my seventh birthday. I think Logan looks different. He has different spots and everything. Mommy says that he's just Logan, but I think he's different. "Mommy and daddy said that they had something important to tell me and I needed to come downstairs. Do you know what they're gonna tell me?" Logan squeaked a little, but I didn't speak shrew. I wish I did, cause then I could talk to Logan. I love animals, but I think I love the little ones best.
   "Kayleigh!" I heard Connie call. I put Logan back in his terrarium. There was a new outfit  laying on my bed and I quickly changed into it, throwing my jammies onto the floor. I was really curious about what they were gonna tell me. I thought maybe it was might be a surprise for my birthday, since it was yesterday. Did I say that I turned seven? I'm officially a big girl now. All the other girls in my class were already seven and they said I was the baby, but now I'm seven so I'm not the baby. I ran down the stairs, to the living room.
    "Hi!" I waved at everyone. "What's up?"
    "Kayleigh, please sit by daddy. Connie has something to tell us."
    "Okay." I sat next to daddy, wondering what was going on. Connie wasn't in trouble, was she? I whispered in daddy's ear: "What's sissy gonna tell us?" Dad shrugged. He didn't know. I guess it was a really, really, really, really big surprise if daddy didn't know.
     "Thank you all for coming." Connie began.
     "I live here. And mommy and daddy made me come." I said.
     "Kayleigh, honey, please don't interrupt your sister."
     "Yes, mommy. Sorry, Connie."
     "No, problem. As I was saying, thank you all for coming." She cleared her throat. "Now, you all know that my twentieth birthday is in two months." My parents nodded. "And today is the fourth anniversary of her death." Who was her? Connie looked sad.
     "Connie, are you sad?"
     "Shh!" Daddy shushed me. Oh yeah. No interrupting. 
     "I'm almost nineteen and living at home. I would like to spread my wings and move out, to Bridgeport, New York."
     "Where Trevor is from?" It's funny when mommy calls daddy Trevor.
     "Yep. See, it's a great city, bigger than this town, but not as large as NYC or as high profile."
     "Why Bridgeport?" Daddy asked. "Why not a different town?"
     "Bridgeport produces tons of actresses and actors every year. I would like to become an actress. See, I'm young enough to have a career, but not so young that I only get the child one parts."
     "Why an actress?" I asked. I thought she wanted to be a writer.
     "Well, I'd like to found a charity, named Remedies 4 Relapses. See, she was addicted. I wanted to have a charity that not only helps addicts get through the addiction, but helps the children. Maybe give them scholarships, or help send them to summer camps, or give them a mentor so they don't slip into the habits of their parents.
    Many addicts can't pay for treatments, since they're broke. This charity would create a safe, healing atmosphere; it would offer therapy and, for those who are very far gone, would help pay for them to go to fancier treatment facilities. The R4R facility would have rooms, like a hotel, for the addict and their children to live in. It would be like a group home, only R4R helps keep each patient's home. Living in the facility would be free, each addict just has to do something to help maintain the place. Maybe they'd clean up after meals, or serve as a housekeeper, or prepare food.
    The children would get to go to their school, like normal. During breaks and after school, they'd get to talk to therapists about how they feel, get help with homework, and overall have a safe, nurturing environment, ensuring that they grow up well.
   After a team of doctors, including a team of therapists, say that the addict is cured, they will get one month to stay in the facility. We will help them get jobs, hopefully by helping out around the place they learn valuable skills, that will impress an employer."
    "So... how does being an actress help. It sounds like a great idea, but why an actress?"
    "As an actress I will be able to publicize the charity while doing movies and TV shows. I'll also be able to publish my memoir, about my childhood and how I began the charity, and receive more attention. After people read the book, I hope they donate to R4R."
   "How will you begin? I mean, it sounds costly." Mommy glanced at daddy.
   "We'll rent a building. I'll partner with the hospital, so that way we have the medical staff. I'm hoping we can begin with taking three to five addicts, depending on how many children they have."
    "So, how will you get people to come? The people who need help, I mean." Daddy asked. They had lots of questions for Connie.
    "We'll be a free alternative to court mandated rehab centers  and have a better healing environment than a prison cell. When someone is arrested, the judge could send them to R4R. Also, we'll advertise and go to places where the people who need help are commonly found; they could voluntarily show up."

    "Okay, but how will you pay the rent and for the ads?" Mommy questioned her.
    "Well... this is why I'm telling you guys. I have a college fund of about 10K. That'll pay for my cost of living. I'm also thinking of earning a degree in social work through a college's internet program. I need about ten thousand more dollars to begin, though. If I want to provide for people I'll need a large facility, plus staff. Right now, I can't just rely on volunteers."
    "We'll consider it." My parents said together.
    "Thank you, thank you very much." Connie raised her arms in the arm and took a bow. She moved to the chair and sat down, listening to mommy and daddy talk.
     "If she moved  to Bridgeport, she could stay with my parents." Daddy said. I'd visited grandma and grandpa a few times before; it was always fun.
     "Could I go to grandpa and grandma's?" I asked. Connie shouldn't be the only one who gets to have fun.
     "Sometime, sweetie." Mommy said, turning back to daddy. "Trevor, you're parents? They would drive Connie crazy."
      "No, they wouldn't. I mean..."
      "Your two forty-something year old brother still live at home."
      "Hunter and Blake? Yeah, they never really had the guts to go full on criminal...I heard Blake's dating this girl, though. He met her at the supermarket he works out."
       "Seriously? Dad, no offense, but I really want to stay out. On my own."
       "If you moved in, it would save money though."
       "True, but if I got my own apartment I could always get roommates and live close to the R4R place."
        "Do you even have a place picked out?"
        "I've looked at a few, but I really need to see them and get the feel of them, before I agree to anything." Connie smiled, she must be happy now. "See, mom and dad,  I need to experience-being a mature, responsible adult, if I will be a self-managed actress and charitable worker."
        "I suppose."
        "Really?! Ohmygod thank you so much! Thank you!" She jumped up, hugging mommy and daddy.
        "On one condition. We'll give you a loan. In one year, if the thing is a success, you don't have to pay it back. If it flops, however, and you move back home, you pay back the full ten grand. You want to be responsible, here's your chance."
         "Thank you!" This is how Connie moved out and got her start in the big, wide world. This was how I was stuck without a sister to talk to when things started going downhill in my life... this was why I was at where I was today. And I didn't regret it. Connie was happy; that was good. But me... the mystery of what would have happened if I had someone to talk to, like Connie, is one I"ll try and solve everyday.