The next morning, Parker drove Conor and Anna to the community center. When they arrived, Johnathan come out to greet them. "Ah, Conor! You did come back. Good to see you again. You haven't happened to have seen our wayward Cara recently, have you? The kids miss her terribly."
"Did she not tell you? Her new boyfriend Peter has swept her off her feet and taken her off to Targu Province for a sightseeing trip. I believe they are not due back for about two weeks."
"I see. Well, good for her... Tell me, is he worthy?"
"Who, Peter? I believe so. He is indeed very honorable."
"Good, good. She deserves the best. And who do we have here?"
"This is Parker. He just started to work with me. And this is Anna, my real estate specialist. I wanted to show them the work you are doing here."
"Ah yes of course come in! Meet the kids!"
As they walked into the center Conor asked, "Has Mr. Nuri been in touch?"
"He called yesterday. Maybe after we tour some, we can discuss details."
Johnathan brought them to a gym where several kids were playing basketball. "Kids! Come meet some guests."
A few tricked over and shook hands with the group. "This is Jonas, and Kyle, Eric, Andrew, Caleb, and Eli. Over there in the corner, Conor, you might remember Ava, Molly, and Hannah is likely hiding for now. But perhaps we can meet them in a bit," Johnathan explained.
"Do you want to shoot?" Kyle asked, tossing Conor the basketball.
Conor looked at Parker, "I doubt I am any good, but why not."
After a few shots, it was clear that Conor was terrible, but Parker managed to dance around the boys and sink a basket. "And what makes you so good, Parker?"
"When there is little else to do, shooting some hoops is free, and you can practice just about anywhere. Trash can, even a twisted wire can make a hoop."
Conor looked around the gymnasium and saw several of the baskets were shattered and broken. "Down to just the one hoop, Johnathan?"
"Sadly, yes. Funding has been tight. I was lucky to get a new net for this one, but to repair those would be quite expensive."
Conor glanced around for Anna and spotted her in the corner with a few girls around her braiding string into bracelets. Johnathan followed his gaze.
"Mmhm, just a co-worker. Sure. I was young once too. Just, before you settle down, be sure your partner is your equal. If you are going to be anything like I suspect, young Brantley, you will need a strong partner by your side, ready to handle all that your position entails."
The way Johnathan said his last name caught Conor by surprise, as if he knew exactly who Conor was and knew far more about him than he had let on.
"I will bear that in mind."
Johnathan and Conor walked around the facility, while Parker continued with his game and Anna played with the girls. "Mr. Nuri tells me you are interested in doing community outreach on a larger scale and want me to head it up."
"Put bluntly, yes."
"Why?" Johnathan stared hard at him.
"What do you mean why?"
"I mean, why do you want to do outreach? People have many reasons for what they do, rich people most of all. It is uncommon for someone to be in this line of work for the right reasons. So, I am curious what yours are. You have helped here, and we appreciate that help, but now it seems you are something more."
Conor strode along silently for a time, contemplating. "My mother never shied away from an opportunity to help those around her. She said, 'Love is the greatest gift you can offer someone, and when you can give to your community, it is a simple act of love that creates opportunities. Opportunities to be a light in a dark work. When you are able to brighten someone else's day, even a little, you create a chain reaction that can, over time, light the whole world. But it takes a million small acts of kindness done every day to achieve.' I hope that the blessings she gave me can brighten someone else's day. Soon I will have the means to do even more. I want to set the tone for my companies that community comes first."
Johnathan quietly observed Conor as they walked, "Your mother was an amazing woman. You do right by her memory. These kids... this place is all they have. But it would take a small fortune to do what is needed to this place."
"Would another site be an option? Would the kids follow?"
"Another site would be glorious, but I would hate to lose this one. In time, it would be nice to see this one redone completely. But if a new site provided them a place while this one was redone for them, that would be a miracle in of itself."
"If I were to build a site that was focused on the whole community, the kids would have a place there. We could then rebuild a building here. It may take years... but if that is what would be best for them, I think it is achievable," Conor insisted.
"Mr. Nuri sent me a file after our call. It seems your plans are quite ambitious, young Brantley."
"What do you think of them?"
"Oh, it would have the desired effect. Such a site would be the center of all Jinstain social functions. It would cost you a solid ten to fifteen million dragons to even consider it though. I think the kids are just as happy fixing up this site in the meantime."
Conor stumbled a bit at the figure. "I mean... that will definitely take some partnerships, but I think it is doable. Will you join us in this?"
Johnathan paused their walk, "Conor, if you raise the funds and can commit the money, I will join you. But until that time, I don't want to over-sell things to these kids. They have had a hard enough life already, and many have had promises broken their whole lives. I would rather show it to them when it's finished."
Conor nodded, "I can work with that."
They made their way back to the gym and Anna strode over to him slipping her hand in his. "Are you going to help them?"
"In every way, we possibly can. Work with Johnathan here, and finalize what would be needed and most beneficial in a new facility. It will solidify what the land will need to look like. I don't think we are going to be able to effectively renovate a building. We will start from the ground up. Also, if you would, please make a list of some things we can do here in the short term. Nothing major as far as renovation, but if we can supply anything for programming, let's start budgeting each month for it. We may also be able to do minor repairs to keep this place functional until a major project can be done."
"That is something I can handle," She whispered, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before slipping the tangle of string she had failed to make into a bracelet into his hand. She darted off to talk with Johnathan before any other kids could rope her into braiding things.
A young girl wandered over and tugged on Conor's sleeve, "Mr. Conor, when is Cara coming back? We miss her."
"She should be back in a few weeks. Do you want to send her a picture?"
"YEA!"
"Go get your friends and we will take a picture to send to her."
A small group gathered around Conor, and he handed his phone to Parker, who dutifully snapped a few shots.
"Ok gang, let's send it off to Cara and tell her she is missed!"