They also discussed the new living arrangement that Jason had arranged with Eileen Behr, Jonathan’s aunt and Madeline’s younger sister. “I think you will enjoy having Aunt Eileen around,” Jonathan said. “In some ways she is like us, starting over and trying to get training for a new career.”
“I am the closest to her of any of our remaining family,” Madeline replied. “But even that relationship was neglected while I was under the influence of the drugs.”
While Madeline was finishing out her rehabilitation program, Jonathan had been staying at Tim’s house. Jonathan was very happy to be living in a house where there were no drugs around. Now he could recuperate from his ordeal at the hands of Scott Brewster in some privacy and with the companionship of his best friend. Because Tim had been through a similar traumatic experience when he was at Camp Chinquapin, he knew what Jonathan was going through and what to expect. He knew someone had to be there for Jonathan when he had bouts of uncertainty, depression, or guilt and to always show his friend a positive attitude about things. For Tim, this was a big step forward in his development, given his recent history.
“Tim, I am going to miss our time together, when I go back to living with Mom,” Jonathan said one day.
“Don’t worry about it,” Tim replied. “You are still my best friend and I plan to spend a lot of time with you. Now we will be able to do some of it at your house! No longer will you have to worry about having some low life meth dealer there when you open your front door!”
The main thing that Jason, Daniel and the other band members had to do was keep Jonathan occupied and not thinking about his old house while Jeff was secretly remodeling everything. To facilitate this, Jonathan was told to get everything he could possibly need out of there while staying at Tim’s house. Tim and Jeff took him there to do that the day he was released from the New Horizons House. “This way we can shut the house down and save you some money while no one is living there,” Jeff Wilkinson said. Meanwhile, he was working hard on the remodeling efforts. Through a contact Jeff had at the permits office, and an explanation of what he was doing, the permit came through in just two weeks, giving Jeff a full month to do everything he needed to do.
As it got to the last week, Jonathan asked Jeff, “Shouldn’t I go over there to my house now and get everything straightened up and ready for when Mom is released from the clinic?”
“Don’t worry about that, Jonathan,” Jeff told him. “All of your friends are going to help you out this weekend. We will make a fun party of it. You’ll see!”
Actually, all of the special preparation work had already been going on that week. Jeff Wilkinson had actually finished the remodel work by Monday afternoon, and he had house painters at work all day Tuesday, so Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were days to get everything ready for the Kowalski’s return. On Wednesday, all new furniture and appliances were delivered to the house and installed. Thursday and Friday, everyone in the band extended family started to bring over what they had agreed to provide. With everyone contributing something, the Kowalskis would be given a fabulous start to their new lives.
Finally, the big day arrived. Saturday morning Tim, Jeff, and Jonathan drove over to the Hope Clinic to pick up Madeline Kowalski when she was released at 9:00 AM. While they were doing that, all of the other band members and their parents who had participated in the house project went over the Kowalski house for the big surprise.
Jason and the others had organized a fabulous package of gifts and staples for the house. Jason and Laura went on a shopping spree for Jonathan, and filled his dresser and closet with brand new clothing, outerwear and shoes. Laura and her mother Dorothy did the same for Madeline, complimenting what they had found in the house with new outfits appropriate for both work and leisure activities. Daniel’s parents filled their freezer and pantry with meats and canned goods from one of the local wholesale stores. Jason’s mother Edith contributed a year’s supply of cleaning products and implements while Bill Hunter brought over a couple of nicely framed prints from his store. Eric and Rebecca brought over a couple boxes of homemade jams and purees that were made down at Ben Kessler’s place during the summer. Eric’s aunt and uncle brought over all kinds of flowers and plants and put together a little garden for the Kowalski’s in their back yard and brought over an outdoor barbeque grill that they weren’t using any more.
Nick’s mother Caterina sent over her gardening service people, who worked on the lawns, and trimmed all the bushes and trees. Nick contributed a book of sonatas for flute and piano that he and Jonathan could play together sometime. Daniel contributed a brand new quality music stand and some saxophone music for Jonathan to practice. He also brought over the ATA case with Jonathan’s new set of saxophones. Diana and her mom contributed fresh baked breads and rolls along with a beautiful layer cake that was inscribed, “Welcome Home Jonathan and Madeline.” Jonathan’s Aunt Eileen had arrived in town on Thursday. She brought along all of her kitchen flatware, cooking ware, and silver ware, and organized all of the drawers and cupboards so the kitchen was fully operational.
Around 10:15 Jeff Wilkinson pulled his truck into the driveway of the Kowalski home. Madeline was amazed. “Everything looks so nice outside! Have you been working on the yard, Jonathan?”
Jonathan was equally amazed. “No, Mom, Jeff and the others said to stay away. He was going to keep the house shut down to save money.”
Jeff had a big smile on his face as he said, “While you were gone, your friends decided to help you out, and give you a little boost for when you came back from the clinic and from your recovery. Come on inside the house and I will tell you all about it.”
Jonathan, Madeline, Tim, and Jeff got out of his truck and went to the front door. Jeff opened the door and indicated that Jonathan and Madeline should enter first. As soon as they walked into the living room, everyone yelled “Surprise!” and “Welcome to your new home!”
Madeline and Jonathan Kowalski looked around the living room with stunned expressions. There was new carpet, all new furniture, the room was freshly painted, and there was even art on the walls.
“I can’t believe what I am seeing!” Madeline exclaimed. “Is this for real or am I dreaming this!”
Jason stepped up and said, “This is all for real, Mrs. Kowalski. We all wanted you and Jonathan to have a fresh start on your lives, and so everyone contributed something to make that happen!”
Madeline’s sister Eileen then stepped up and gave Madeline a big hug. “It so great to see you again. You look wonderful. I am so looking forward to living here with family again!”
Jason then continued, “The first person you should thank is Jeff Wilkinson. He worked tirelessly on getting your house remodeled and ready for today. As you can see he has done a fabulous job here!” Everyone applauded after Jason said that.
“Most of all,” Jeff answered, “you need to thank Jason and his foundation for what you see here today. He made all of this possible!” Everyone applauded again.
“Now, it is time for the grand tour,” Jason said. “Since there are so many of us, let’s divide into two groups, adults to go with Madeline and teens to go with Jonathan.”
Jason had the adult group go first while all the band members and their girl friends gathered around Jonathan giving him high fives, hugs and knuckles in greeting.
“You guys really pulled one over on me,” Jonathan said. “I have never in my life experienced anything like this. Joining your band has literally changed my life!”
Tim came over to Jonathan and put his arm around his shoulder. “Jonathan, you haven’t seen anything yet! Let’s take the tour now!”
The adult group was just vacating the kitchen area so they started there. Tim described to Jonathan what his father had done to remodel everything, and replace the appliances with all new energy efficient ones. Tim also pointed out the new hardwood floor and countertops. Then Eric and Rebecca opened the cupboards and showed all of the food that they and the others had contribut
ed.
“There is enough food here for an army!” Jonathan exclaimed. “This will last us a long time!”
“Well maybe not an army,” Rebecca said. “But certainly enough for a hungry teenager and his friends for the time being!”
The tour moved on into the other part of the house. Tim pointed out how his dad had created a half bath in an unused space next to the kitchen, so now the house had two and one half functional bathrooms. They then moved down the hall to the bedroom area.
“Here is your mom’s room and your Aunt Eileen’s room,” Tim continued. The bedrooms had all new furniture and had been painted and re-carpeted.
Finally, they arrived at Jonathan’s room. “Now for the best part of the tour, Jonathan, your room!”
When Jonathan walked in he was amazed at all new furniture including a new bed, night stand, dresser and closet with built in shelves for his things. “This is awesome!” Jonathan exclaimed. “I can’t believe this is the same room!”
“Be sure to check everything out carefully!” Jason said.
Jonathan opened the drawers of the dresser. Inside were brand new tee shirts, polos, rugby shirts, and long sleeved shirts, new underwear and socks, and pajamas. Next he opened the closet. There were built in shelves that had pairs of jeans and shorts. On hangers were a bathrobe, sweatshirts, jackets, and a couple of suits for concerts. Near the floor was a shoe rack that had a pair of dress shoes, work boots, and five new pairs of chucks in different colors and models.
“I can’t believe what I am seeing,” Jonathan said with intensity in his voice. “You bought all of this great clothing and shoes just for me? I am overwhelmed!”
Jason then responded, “I told you at the time of your rescue that you were long overdue for the good life, and that time is here now. We all had a great time getting you stuff. I remembered how you said you really liked wearing chucks so I wanted you to have a cool set of pairs to choose from. Now your well beat up optical white high tops have some new companions in the closet!”
“I can’t thank you enough for your generosity!” Jonathan continued. “I don’t know what I could have possibly done to deserve all of this!”
Tim answered, “I do, my friend. First of all you are an awesome reed player, a great musician, and a great friend. You are a genuinely nice guy, very loyal to your family and friends, and you stick up for what you believe, even when it puts you in harm’s way. I can’t think of a more deserving person than someone like you, Jonathan!” Everyone cheered at that statement.
“There is one more very important presentation!” Daniel announced. “Eric, will you do the honors?”
Eric went to Jonathan’s bed, kneeled down, and from under the bed pulled out the ATA case containing the new set of saxophones. He picked it up, and placed it on Tim’s bed. “This is for you, Jonathan, from all of the band!”
When Jonathan opened the case, his eyes lit up as they focused on the soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones inside. “Selmer saxophones in a matched set! I think I have died and gone to heaven!”
“That’s why I got you that heavy metal music stand,” Daniel said with a smile. “Now you have a lot of practicing to do!”
“You can be sure I will!” Jonathan exclaimed. “Your trust in me will be repaid over and over again, guys. You can count on that! I still can’t believe all of this is happening to me. This is by far the best day of my life, ever!”
“This is just the start of a whole series of great days for you, Jonathan,” Jason said giving his friend a high five. “And I can’t think of anyone more deserving of some good times than you are. But don’t worry about practicing right now. Today is a day for celebrating and partying! We are all here ready to do just that! Now let’s go have a good time!”
Outside Gary Hunter and Jorge Ferreira were getting a barbeque going and the women were in the kitchen preparing salads and other dishes.
Jonathan went and found his mom. “Can you believe what is happening, Mom? This is like Christmas, my birthday, and winning the lottery all at once!”
Madeline gave her son a big hug. “It’s all because of you, Jonathan. It’s all because of you!”
Chapter 33.
Requiem, Part 1
(Tuesday, late October)
After many weeks of preparation, it was finally the day of the performance for Nick’s Requiem for the Lost Children. Since the high school would only have the theater for one day, there was a lot to do before even one note of music could be played. All of Daniel’s band equipment needed to be brought over and placed on stage, all of the percussion and large instruments for the school groups had to be brought over in a truck, and the back stage areas had to be designated for the various groups, soloists, and conductor. Additionally the stage had to be set up with risers, music stands, and chairs for the performers. The sound system had to be installed, along with cameras and video equipment to record the performance. Jason’s foundation had arranged for a professional company to come in and do sound and video.
With so much to do, Jason, Daniel, Nick, and the other band members decided to take the day off from school. “There is no way I could concentrate on my classes today, anyway,” Nick said. “I’ll make up the work later this week!” David Molinari came over late morning to make sure everything was set up correctly for the performing ensembles. He had coverage on campus for his classes. The band and orchestra classes were just going to pack equipment and load it on the school district truck anyway.
The morning was dedicated to the stage set up and placement of sound and video equipment. On stage left and in the front was where Daniel and his band would be. Nick’s grand piano was just to the left of the conductor’s podium, and Jonathan would be placed in front of the curvature of the piano. On the conductor’s right would be Daniel, Eric, and Tim’s drum set. Next on the stage was the string orchestra set in the traditional set up with violins on the left, cellos, violas and string basses on the right. Behind the strings were the wind band players, flutes and oboes in the first row, clarinets and bassoons behind them, with saxophones to the right of the bassoons. Then came the brass section, trumpets, horns, trombones and tubas. Left of the brass section was the percussion section, including timpani, bass drum, snare, tenor and field drums, chimes, cymbals, and a large tam-tam. On the tallest risers and in back of all of the instrumentalists would be the choir. Microphones were placed for Daniel and the other band members, and in the various sections of the orchestra and band, and for the choir in the back. A large mixing board was in the rear of the orchestra seats, and a trio of television cameras were strategically placed to get close-ups and panorama shots of the ensemble. A bank of video monitors was placed next to the mixing board so the video director could cue the camera shots.
After all of the set up was complete, it was lunch time, so Daniel and the others walked over to a sandwich shop nearby. The band had a sound check scheduled for 1:30. Percussion players were to arrive by 2:15 to get the percussion section set up correctly. Students in the performing groups from Merriam High would be bused in by 2:30, and the dress rehearsal was to be at 3:00 PM. When the rehearsal was over the bus would return to the high school. That evening most performers would be coming with their parents so the bus wasn’t needed. Jason did arrange for anyone who didn’t have a ride downtown or didn’t want to drive to have free light rail passes.
The sound check and dress rehearsal went well. The first part of the rehearsal was mainly to get everyone seated and in the correct place. David Molinari carefully went over other logistics like when the choir should be seated and when they would stand. The performance of the music went very well. The student musicians were accustomed to putting on quality concert performances, as Merriam High School had a tradition of outstanding performing groups. Plus the students were pumped up by the significance of the occasion and the opportunity to perform in a first class concert hall. By 4:15 the rehearsal was completed and everyone was dismissed until the 7:15 PM call time that evening.
That evening there was excitement in the air but also some anxiety as the audience wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Nevertheless the audience came streaming in as did the student performers, dressed in their black concert outfits. Jason was there early with Laura, his parents, Daniel’s parents, Nick’s mother and Mr. Ponticelli, Nick’s piano teacher, Diana’s mother, and Laura’s parents. He had a block of seats for the band members and their families. Also attending were Eric’s aunt and uncle, Tim’s father, mother, and sister, and Jonathan’s mother and aunt.
After everyone in his party was seated, Jason went back stage for a few minutes to talk to Daniel and the other band members. When he arrived at their dressing room, things were actually quite somber in tone. The impact of what they were about to do was on their minds and they also felt nervous about performing in front of such a large audience. Jason had a feeling that the band members would react this way, so he had something special for them.
Jason got everyone’s attention and then said: “I know you probably have the jitters before such an important event in your lives, but I just wanted to remind you that you are all incredibly talented musicians, and I know you have what it takes to deliver a first class performance out there. Even so, don’t worry about the audience. You aren’t performing for them, you are performing for those kids! You all have had personal experiences that were like what they went through, so you know the pain and suffering they endured. Tonight you are speaking for them!
“I have something special for each of you, a reminder of what I just said.” Jason then took out of his pocket a set of yellow rubber wrist bands which he passed out to each band member. “I want each of you to put one of these wrist bands on. These bands have the names of the murdered kids on them, along with the name of the work, Requiem for the Lost Children. Let these wrist bands give you a little extra confidence when you are out there on stage. One more thing. When I go and play a basketball game with Chauncey Jackson and the other guys, we always put our hands out for a quick team yell. You guys are my A-List musical team! Now put your hands out and give me a quick band yell!”
Eyewitness News Page 24
