Monday Part 1

Alexander had not been able to enjoy the early morning silence alone for long. If he was honest with himself, the peaceful feeling he usually got had sunk to the freezing point since his grandmother's visit. Rationally, he understood that extreme security considerations had to be taken into account, given what was at stake. Emotionally, he sometimes had a hard time extinguishing the fire in his heart and forcing himself not to immediately go to heaven, drag Casiel out, and just burn the rest of the damn place down. Burn it down and be done with it, a little voice in the back of his head kept telling him. Elise had entered the garden shortly after him and had plopped down on his lap with her mug of tea. Something that had become a tradition, and he found it even more enchanting than the most beautiful sunrise. The rest of the inhabitants had also appeared quite quickly after that. While the adults were still trying to catch the lull before the storm, the children were busy talking among themselves about their near and far futures, starting with the campus.

Liz asked:

"What's next on our schedule today, Alex, after we enroll Brandon and Pamela?"

He thought for a moment and asked:

"Liz, Domino, how would you feel about being roommates for a while until I have a little more time to arrange something more permanent for Domino? The house is definitely big enough for the three of you, so there will be no lack of privacy. There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. I want to clear my head a bit for the Deflin House itself. Allow me to concentrate on that for a few days."

The two young women looked at each other and smiled, then nodded in agreement.

"Good, then I suggest you hang out together today. Liz, call Emma or just drop by and pick out a car for Domino. You both have access to my play account, so go nuts, I would say. Do Elise and me a favor, Domino. When you pick out a ride, think about the precious cargo you are carrying with you. But first we are going to pay a visit to Frank to register Brandon and Pamela. After that, you two can spend a few hours at the house or so. Just take a bunch of markers and write on the floors and walls what you want. Bathroom, kitchen, furniture, and so on. Either get a good picture in your head or do it like the girls did. I make sure there is a stack of magazines in the house, pick out what you want, tear it out, and put it where it should be. The more you do it that way, the faster I get it done, the faster your house will be ready."

He drained his cup of coffee:

"I suggest we meet back here around three o'clock and put our heads together some more. Elise and I will have visited Deflin House and have a rough idea of what needs to be done to it. Not just the structural side of it, that is my package. I was more referring to the things I don't know that much about and what needs to be done. I may be the Antichrist and have serious powers, but sometimes humanity and what humanity needs is a big mystery to me. I am certainly not too proud to admit that I am incompetent in many areas. Simply because I have never lived a hundred percent as a human being. Let's assume for the sake of convenience that the people we're bringing here have been plucked from a real crisis situation and thus come empty-handed."

Elise nodded:

"So, everything, starting with a toothbrush. You wanted to set up some kind of trailer village love?"

"Indeed. The garden behind the house is more than big enough to make a kind of pleasant village there. The trailers themselves are not shoe-boxes on wheels. They are really quite luxurious, so yes, a nice village with all the trimmings."

"Then I think it would be wise to provide three additional buildings, Alexander. One as a sort of grocery store. Say a kind of Seven/Eleven. A second with a dozen washers, dryers, and ironing facilities. A third, a little bigger, for all kinds of necessities like towels, baby stuff, plates, cutlery, toys. Things like that with an attached warehouse where there is plenty of inventory. We were talking about 250 trailers. Assuming an average occupancy of just two people per trailer, you're looking at two thousand towels, a thousand bath towels, five hundred bathrobes, and so on."

He looked at Red for a moment in silence. He shook his head and muttered:

"That's not sustainable for me. I'm the only one who can manifest things. I can't possibly build a building the size of a mini Walmart and keep it stocked. We're going to have a thousand other things to do, and I want to be able to spend time with my family and friends, damn it!"

Domino said:

"Staff Alex..."

He nodded:

"Indeed, there will be no alternative. But first Frank and drop the kids off at the campus. We'll work out some details later, at three o'clock, before Dad gets here."

This made Liz laugh and he asked amused:

"Is something funny, Liz?"

She nodded eagerly:

"I've heard the devil's name mentioned in many ways, Alex. Never in any of those conversations has the word Daddy been mentioned!"

With all the children out the door, Elise and Alex made their way to the mansion. Pamela had apparently borrowed a uniform from Fay or Hope and was getting the same treatment from Frank that her sisters had received. Brandon had been dragged by Sam and Jules in the direction of Hettie's class. So Domino and Liz split up to concentrate on their new home. As they took their seats in the demon and the beast growled to life, Elise said:

"It's one thing to read about this monster or see it on TV. It's another thing to sit in one and hear that engine. Not to mention feel that engine... Well, you know where pfff. I hear these things are like a thousand horsepower."

Max seemed to agree wholeheartedly with Elise's assessment and let out an assenting squeal from her lap that was probably meant to be some sort of frightening roar and failed miserably at that. Alex decided to just ignore the cat/dog to avoid the risk of a headache and said:

"Yep, not a kitten to tackle without gloves. At least not this one. Had a little help, so to speak, and there's closer to 1500hp under the hood."

She said with pleasure in her voice:

"Boys and their toys..."

He returned teasingly:

"Fortunately, I recently found a new toy. Not a kitten to be handled without gloves either."

Which earned him another playful pat on the shoulder as she cracked a rather mischievous smile.

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up what had once been a stately driveway to the old estate. Though it looked far from neglected, they could immediately tell that this estate was on its last legs. That only the most necessary work was being done to keep it from falling into immediate disrepair. At the main entrance, they were met by a middle-aged couple. It was immediately clear that they were insiders by the way they greeted them:

"My lady, my lord, welcome to Deflin House. Mrs. Deflin has informed us that you are the new owners."

Alexander immediately felt a contradiction. He saw that both of them had a mark that meant they were destined for Hell, but also that they radiated so much light and warmth that they could never be destined for Hell. So he asked sternly, but certainly not unkindly:

"Have you been practicing black magic?"

The man replied with a somewhat desperate tone in his words:

"Yes, my lord. It was an incredibly stupid childhood sin when we were teenagers, but unfortunately, it branded us. Mrs. Deflin led us away from that path very quickly, and we have turned our backs on it for thirty years."

The woman said on the verge of tears:

"We have lived quiet lives, trying to do good where we can. The darkness just won't let us go."

Alexander said:

"I would like to scan you if you don't mind."

"Not at all!"

The man said fearlessly and held out his hand. Alex took the hand and his eyes immediately glowed gold. After doing the same to the woman, he said:

"Good, I'm going to solve this little problem tonight. When you wake up tomorrow, you will be as free as the day you were born. You will notice the difference very clearly."

They both looked at him speechlessly, and the woman shed a few tears. The man said:

"My Lord, how can we ever thank you?"

Alex smiled and replied:

"Well, you could start by telling us your names. I'm Alex, but you already know that. This is my Elise and I am very protective of her because she is my future wife. And that thing she's holding is Max, he has a bit of an identity problem, so don't mind him."

"This is my wife Tess, short for Theresa, and I'm Franklin. We have been employed here for almost thirty years. In fact, Ms. Deflin hired us right after she found us and took us away from the dark side. My last position was supervisor of the estate. Tess started here in the kitchen and her last position was head of the housekeeping staff. It's just terrible that such a beautiful place is coming to an end. But it has become far too expensive to maintain. Maintaining enough staff to run it as a private estate is almost financially impossible. Unless you're one of the super-rich."

Elise smiled softly at Alex and she could almost hear his brain crack.

"What do you think, Love?"

He got a smirk on his face and said full of energy:

"Yep, this will be perfect for what we want to do! And I am one of the super-rich."

He looked at the couple:

"Franklin, Tess, why don't you give us a tour so we can get an idea of what needs to be done to get this place up and running as soon as possible? Believe me, there is no end to this property. On the contrary, it will be bigger and busier than ever before!"

Just under two hours later they arrived back at the main entrance and Alex said:

"I have a proposition for you. If you are up for it, I would like you to come and work for us. Both are back in their last positions. Franklin, you are in charge of everything outside the house. Tess, you are in charge of everything that happens inside the house. We are going to need all the help we can get, very badly, because this house is going to be very much alive again, very soon."

The couple stood there for a moment, not understanding, until Elise replied:

"We are going to turn this property into what you might call a halfway house for white witches. But not just for witches and their families. Good people who are in serious trouble in this cold, dark society and need some help to get back on their feet and start living a good life again."

Tess said:

"This is a wonderful initiative. We would love to be a part of it. Right, honey?"

She looked at Franklin who nodded vigorously with a big smile. Alex asked:

"Franklin, do you have the blueprints of the house around here somewhere and a more or less accurate map of the property?"

He nodded:

"Forty years ago was the last major renovation, those plans are in the office and are accurate. About twenty years ago, a final map of the rest of the estate was made after much of the land was sold to local farmers, so the boundaries of the property were accurately marked."

"Good, I'll need those and take them with me. I'll take care of the structural part of the house and the property. I like the ground floor as it is now. I'm going to turn the main dining room into a new spacious ceremony room for a white coven. I'm also going to add some modern offices and a conference room downstairs. And, of course, a brand new kitchen. The rest I'll leave more or less as it is. I am going to make an office for Elise and me out of the beautiful antique study annexed to the home library. The atmosphere in that room is just gorgeous. It has so much personality and history that I can't resist it and wouldn't dare change it. The old-fashioned parlors and beautiful antique rooms like the music room and the drawing room seem to have been taken from the set of Gone with the Wind, which I think is wildly cool. I'm going to turn the second and third floors into residential units, six on each floor. You guys have your living quarters under the roof. I'm going to turn that whole floor into two modern suites. So more space, more comfort, more luxury, more light. Just choose which side of the floor you want to live on and I will do that first. That way, you can quietly move your things into your new suite, and then I can make the other side into the second suite. I'll be here tomorrow morning to do it myself, so you can also tell me which kitchen and bathroom you prefer."

He pulled out a credit card:

"Let the local economy have some fun too. Any furniture you need for the two suites and the twelve living units in the house, buy it locally. I would start shopping right away if I were you. Living rooms, bedrooms, nurseries, TVs, and on and on. The only condition is that they have to be able to deliver super fast. I'll bring your new contracts tomorrow. You can read them while I'm working on the house. If you want to add or change anything, let me know and I'll take care of it. Are you okay with that?"

"Absolutely Alex!"

Tess said with a very big smile:

"It's like the house is already starting to breathe again!"

"Wonderful! Is there anything else you can think of right now, Red?"

"Yes, could you put a pool in the garden, like the center of the village you envision, with a wading pool and a fairly large playground for the little ones?"

"No problem, just show me on the map what you want, where and how you want it and I will take care of it".

She asked with a dreamy look in her eyes:

"And a full spa in the basement?"

He laughed:

"I thought we were setting up a halfway house, but apparently the lady wants Club Med?"

This earned him a friendly tap on the shoulder.

"No problem, babe. Franklin, if things were still in full swing around here, how many people would be employed to keep things running properly?"

"For the green service, just for the private part of the estate, an absolute minimum of five plus myself. As things stand now, it would take a temporary doubling. To get everything back in perfect order. There are also some parts that are now more or less decaying. There is the Manege, the buildings are still there but no animals, and there is the pond."

Alex said more to himself than to anyone in particular:

"Why stop halfway?"

He turned to the couple:

"Are you and Tess in contact with people like you? People who have turned their backs on the darkness, but can't get away from it? People who don't immediately go into a state of panic when they witness the supernatural or the appearance of Celestials like me?"

"Yes, we know people like us. People who never really did anything bad, but like us, got stuck. Some are in big trouble!"

Alexander thought for a moment and murmured quietly:

"What the hell is going on? This shouldn't be happening!"

He took a deep breath:

"Is there a good motel or hotel around here? I mean something decent. Not some fleabag dump in a dangerous neighborhood full of junkies."

Tess said:

"I have a friend. She and her husband own a small motel with about two dozen rooms. Most of them are for families, so rooms with a walk-through for parents and kids. Nice, neat, and clean in a reasonable neighborhood. Although they don't have it easy, they can count themselves lucky that they seem to have survived this covid mess without losing everything."

"Are they good people, Tess?"

"Yes Alex, absolutely!"

"Good, then from today on they will not lose anything anymore. They can start to make up financially what they had to swallow because of that fucking Covid. Call them, we'll rent the whole motel indefinitely. Have them send their account number and the total amount for six months to my cell phone number and I'll pay in advance for the next six months. No discounts, just full price. For the rest, start contacting the people you know who are in the shitter. Offer them a job, either with you, Franklin, or with Tess. If there are a few more, no problem, then everyone's job will be more peaceful and pleasant. Don't do your own little calculations in your head trying to figure out if something is cost-effective or not, okay? That's not how I work! Like you said, at least five people for Tess and at least ten people for you. In addition, preferably two or three for the pool and playground area and maintenance, and two or three for spa maintenance. Also put your ear to the ground to see if you can find a supervisor, or preferably more than one, to keep an eye on the pool to ensure the safety of the children. There are a lot of vets in trouble or on the street. Maybe there are some who have a background, something like the seals. The safer the pool is for the kids, the better I would feel. Oh yeah, get some for security as well. This will be a gated community to keep the people inside safe, but also with that feeling of safety, they will be able to start relaxing after a time of stress. I want vets guarding the gates 24 hours a day and patrolling the entire property on foot."

He manifested a thick envelope:

"You use the credit card I just gave you to bring them here. You divide the money in this envelope among them so they have some money in their pockets. I will replenish it as we go. This way they can also start buying the basics of what they need. Toiletries, clothes, whatever. Everything else will come as we grow in this project. Tell them they will get a luxury trailer on the property itself as soon as possible."

The two looked at him with big eyes and dry mouths. He said with his typical smirk:

" Franklin, Tezzie, it's going to be fast from now on, damn fast. I can assure you that you will have a damn good feeling about this project. The beginning may be a little problematic and chaotic, but I'm sure if we all pull together, we'll get it done".