Dorsai - Kelly's adventures

When all of us were relatively full, I mentioned that I'd like to spend the next day at the beach. Kelly seconded the idea, and went on to say that Marlyn and Marilyn were both welcome to join us. Marlyn looked a bit hesitant, but Kelly quickly assured her that we wanted to get to know Marilyn, too. She thought it over a bit – getting some whispered input from Marilyn – and eventually agreed.

Kelly's next suggested that the three of them go shopping. Marlyn readily accepted that idea, though Marilyn looked a bit reluctant.

Kelly seemed to know what the problem was, and asked Marlyn "Does the orphanage accept donations?"

"Oh, yes!" was the answer, "That is often the only way they can get the things they need."

"Then I'd like to get some clothing for the children there – all of them."

Marlyn easily understood what Kelly was getting at, and told her "I think that would be fine. I know that they would appreciate it very much."

That settled, I tossed in my own thoughts: "I do not want to go shopping with you three – I know who'd wind up carrying all the packages. How about if we find someplace where I can sit outside and drink beer, but is close to some stores? That way, when your arms get full, you can just put the stuff in the van, and go back at it while you leave me in peace?"

Kelly laughed, as did Marlyn, and both of them cheerfully agreed. I went on to say "Marlyn, if Bhoy wants, he's welcome to join me. I trust him not to drink too much, and I'm not looking for someone to talk to – just drink beer with."

Marlyn had a quick conversation with Bhoy, then told me "He says that sounds like a good idea to him, too – he doesn't want to carry packages, either!" with a laugh.

With our plans for the afternoon settled, we all decided that some ice cream was called for – Marilyn being the most happy at the idea. Kelly and I both suspected that she didn't get much in the way of treats in the orphanage.

Refreshed from the ice cream, we all again piled into the van – Marilyn still careful to keep her distance from me, though not quite as shy.

Marlyn directed Bhoy to a medium-sized shopping mall toward the center of town; across the street from it was a chain restaurant where Bhoy and I could sit outside and drink. Bhoy parked the van so that the shoppers could find it easily, and we all headed to our self-assigned duties.

Bhoy and I spent the next four hours sitting on the patio of the restaurant, drinking beer under the shade of a large patio umbrella.

Between the shade and the light breeze, it was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Neither of us felt any obligation to say anything except to order another round from our exceptionally cute waitress – both of us were content to simply sit there and watch the world go by.

We were interrupted only once, when Marlyn came over to complain to me "Kelly is spending too much! She is buying clothes for everybody at the orphanage!"

My only response was a calm "Okay". She looked at me closely, to see if I was drunk; seeing that I wasn't, she realized that I really didn't care how much money Kelly was spending, and gave up – to go shopping some more.

By the time the three of them came to get us, I was giving some thought to supper; when Bhoy and I got to the van, we saw that they'd obviously had a real good time shopping: there was barely enough room for all of us in the van.

At my suggestion – and with Marlyn's agreement – our first stop on the way back to the hotel was at the orphanage. There, we unloaded about 95 percent of the stuff from the van – and becoming instant celebrities while the people that ran it repeatedly assured us that they would be praying for us. Marlyn told me that the rest would go back with Marilyn.

With a little more room for people, the ride back to the hotel was a bit more comfortable. I saw Marilyn watching us as Kelly quietly hugged my arm as thanks for letting her help the kids in the orphanage.

Back at the hotel, we all paused in the lobby as I told Marlyn "You and Marilyn are welcome to join us for supper, if you want. But Kelly and I will both understand if you want to have some time for just yourselves, too."

Marlyn nodded her understanding, and thanks, and I went on to tell her "We'll be leaving here for a restaurant about 6:30?" – the last a question to Kelly, who agreed – "If you want to go with us, we'll meet you here then. If you're not here, that's fine, and we'll see you in the morning."

When I was done, Bhoy said something to Marlyn, who told us "Bhoy says that there are several nice places to eat about two blocks from here, to the west. This is a quiet area, so you don't have to worry about any trouble. If you want to go someplace else, he will be happy to drive you."

Kelly and I shared a look, and I said "No, that will be okay. We can walk a couple of blocks. He can go ahead and take the evening off and have fun."

She relayed the message to him, and he left us with a smile.

Kelly and I started to head for our room when Marlyn reached out a hand to touch my arm. When I stopped, Kelly did too, and the two of us turned to face her again. Hesitantly, she told us "I… I wanted to thank you.

Not just for helping me, but the orphanage, too. You have been very kind to me, and Marilyn. I think maybe too kind" – that with a reproachful look at Kelly, who ignored it – "It isn't often that I get to meet Americans that are as kind and generous as you are. And I understand, now, what you meant when you told me in Manila that you are not the kind of people that take advantage of others, or hurt people. So I want to apologize again for my suspicions that night – now I know how wrong they were."

Kelly responded by telling her "its okay, Marlyn. All that matters to us is that we're able to help."

Marlyn looked at both of us carefully for a few moments, then gave a small nod of her head before we all headed to our respective rooms.

Back up in our room, Kelly quickly moved to hug me after we'd closed the door behind us.

"That was so happy to see them together!" she exclaimed as she started to cry.

"Yeah, it WAS nice", I answered.

"Marilyn is so cute! You can look at Marlyn and just know what she's going to look like when she gets older. But that place, that orphanage! I don't know how they manage to keep it going!"

"I know. But we'll be sending them money – and more than just fifty bucks a month! All the stuff we – you! – bought will help a lot, too.

We're going to find out what else they could use right away before we leave, and see that they get it. After we get back, there are some other things I plan to send them, too."

"Marlyn tried to tell me that I was buying too much" – "She tried to tell me the same thing; I just ignored it." I told her – "but I could tell that she was still having fun. Did you see that dress Marilyn was wearing when we were done?"

"Yeah, I saw it. She seems pretty shy, so I didn't think I'd better say anything about it."

"Oh, she's shy all right – but just around you. She was SO happy while we were shopping – talking to Marlyn and me, both. I was surprised at how good her English is; we didn't have any trouble understanding each other. She didn't ask for anything, but I could always tell when there was something she really liked. Marlyn stopped me most of the time, but I still managed to get her a couple of special things, just for her.

Marlyn told me that Marilyn thinks you're handsome – guapo, right?"

I nodded, and she went on "She wants to thank you for helping her, but she's not sure how. I told her that she didn't have to, but she *really* wants to. Is it okay if I tell her it's okay to kiss you? At least on the cheek?"

I grinned, and told Kelly "You know I'm always willing to accept a kiss from a pretty girl. Yeah, I think a kiss on the cheek would be okay here – she's still young enough that nobody would think anything about it.