Rowan #2
I suspected he and several others would be unhappy about my duplicity, but it could work in the resort’s favor, resulting in a great deal of funding.
So I just shrugged. “Nothing I can think of, but the list of rules that could result in trouble was as short as they were grounded in common sense.”
“You may have noticed, but in a place devoted to digging into yourself and freeing what’s there to heal, there is a danger of intense emotions. Sometimes those can be displayed in volatile ways.”
“You’re referring to emotional outbursts and violence.”
“I am, yes.”
“Is that common enough to be a concern?”
“A concern? Yes. Common? Not really. Mind you, that is less to do with the environment we foster, or the power people attribute to the location, and more about making sure every member of the staff is trained to recognize the signs and how to de-escalate a situation before it spirals out of control. And if it does...well, you might not have read the contract you signed, but it covers all legalities surrounding the need for direct methods of calming someone down.”
“Drugs?” I wondered.
“It’s been known to be necessary,” Mr. Shepherd said with a shrug. “Obviously, a last resort, but it is better to chemically restrain someone long enough for them to calm down, then figure out what to do.”
I frowned. “That sounds as though you don’t remove the person from the resort.”
His brow raised a little. “Do you think we should?”
“If someone is a clear danger to others, it would protect the environment that everyone I’ve talked to seems to fawn over,” I said with a frown, looking around. “Admittedly, it is hard to argue with the peace and security this place offers.”
He chuckled. “Well, there is that, but we encourage people to be their authentic selves as much as possible. I saw from your file that you are a corporate auditor, making sure employees and management are handling things properly, correct?”
“Yes,” I said, the nervousness about the subject from before making a return. “What’s your point?”
“Well, when you find someone making mistakes, do you immediately suggest they be terminated?”
“That...isn’t a yes or no answer.”
“Then what is your answer?”
“It would depend on the mistake, its severity, cost, repetition, and the motivation behind it. If they make a repeated mistake because they were trained incorrectly, the fault lies with management rather than the worker. If it’s simply incompetence, it depends on how much the employee has cost the company and whether it’s fixable.
But if it’s clear they were a lost cause, a detriment, then yes, I would give that advice.
And obviously, if it’s found to be malicious, it should be self-apparent. ”
Mr. Shepherd flipped his hand around to gesture at me with outstretched fingers. “That is no different from what we would do with a resident who has a violent outburst.”
“Resident, not guest,” I repeated.
He smiled. “Much like your Guide, I’ve worked for a few care facilities in my time.
The terminology has stuck, but I suppose it would be more accurate to call someone a resident at that point than a guest. After all, if you’re willing to commit violence, then a plan needs to be agreed and acted upon. ”
“More restrictions and rules, in other words.”
“Oh, certainly. Required one-on-one sessions with a therapist as well as group sessions. Among other behavioral changes, requiring them to at least attempt one of our creative arts sessions, as well as ensuring they do something active daily and something calming, like our meditation and yoga sessions...something I noticed you don’t join. ”
“And if you’ve read my file, you know why,” I said with a frown. “Or was that a barely concealed attempt to coax me into talking about the accident?”
He chuckled. “Reggie mentioned you could be blunt to the point of prickly.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What exactly was your role at those care facilities?”
He smiled, chuckling softly. “Now I see what else Reggie meant.”
“I suppose this is where I ask what it was he said.”
“That you and I have similar sorts of minds, but with noticeable differences.”
“And which of us is taking the greater insult there?”
At that, he grinned. “Knowing Reggie, he would never say that about a guest, so if he did mean a criticism, it was leveled at me, rather than you.”
“I suppose there is some comfort in that.”
“But I do see his point; there is a certain similarity in your mind that I can sympathize with, even understand.”
“And what similarity is that?”
“You are a careful man, methodical, and serious. You seem more cynical and doubtful than I am, but I, too, do not take what is presented to me at face value. I am fond of taking a conversation after the fact and twisting it in my head to see it from every angle. Facts are facts and cannot be argued with, but how they are interpreted matters a great deal and can change from context to context.”
“Doubt is healthy,” I said.
Self-doubt was a lesson I’d been forced to remember. I had assumed after a few days that everything was barely contained chaos, without any guidance for people who would have been lost without structure.
Yet, Luka encouraged me to get involved in the program, practically dragging me at times.
Didn’t the therapists host group sessions and offer private ones to those who sought them or were encouraged to take advantage of both?
Weren’t there options aimed at helping people through meditation, yoga, guided mindfulness, or self-awareness?
I had to take notes at times for my report. I had to remind myself and future me that I had arrived expecting one thing only to find something else. My notes would ensure a proper judgment when the time came.
“It is,” he agreed smoothly. “And doubt is precisely what led me to begin this resort.”
I frowned. “And now you’ve lost me.”
He shrugged lightly. “I doubted traditional therapy, recovery, and rehabilitation. There was enough evidence to support a new way of doing things that shouldn’t be available only to the rich and famous, but also to others with.
..less means. Yet those ways weren’t being utilized, and everything was presented as the only way to do things. I disagreed.”
I cocked my head. “I’ve asked this question before, but now I’m dealing with the founder being honest; why male only?”
“Another one of those new things that isn’t usually tried.
There are scores of women-focused support systems out there.
I do not begrudge them in the slightest. In fact, I felt a certain envy, as they work wonders for the women who attend,” he said with such smoothness and honesty that I believed him easily.
“But that envy...well, why not use it to create something similar for men? I was not without resources and connections, so I was able to create a place like this to see if what worked for women might also work for men.”
“I’ve seen this place; it seems like a lot of money to pour into it.
The kind that if it came from your own bank account would make you stand out,” I said, and pivoted slightly.
I didn’t need him to realize I came from an influential family with wealth and power.
“And in my line of work, you get acquainted with the names of those with money.”
“Money can buy a great many things, but as I said, I had connections as well,” he said with a shrug.
“My point is that this place came from a doubt formed from my criticisms of the help available, almost envy of the process, and a stubbornness that I have been reminded repeatedly comes from genetics and upbringing.”
“And you chose Reggie to help you pioneer Arete.”
“I did. I note you have lost some of your doubtful tone when mentioning him.”
His awareness took me by surprise, but I chided myself.
I was, after all, dealing with the head of the resort, which was tailored to help people with mental and lifestyle troubles.
It would have been easy to believe the man at the top wouldn’t be intuitive or as aware as those working directly with people.
I had to remember that many of my assumptions about Arete had missed the mark so far.
And Reggie? I admit I had gotten him wrong. He had proven to be a capable leader, and from what I learnt, he had been a phenomenal Guide. That he ended up a good programmer and a dedicated, if somewhat erratic, administrator was impressive.
I knew how to give credit where it was due.
“He is...not as I originally believed.”
“He is what happens when you take a thinker and a feeler, cram them into the same body, and shake it up with some ADHD...though don’t say that to him.”
“Does he disagree with you that strongly?”
“No, I meant specifically because he despises the term ADHD or the older acceptable ADD, despite being diagnosed. Don’t get him going on the subject, or you’ll wonder when the end is coming.”
“Duly noted,” I said, remembering a similar warning from Luka. “And you said something about mystical powers for this place?”
Mr. Shepherd sighed, and for the first time he looked almost embarrassed.
“It all came from when we started the groundwork for the facility. I cannot remember for the life of me whether it was the architect, someone on his team, or one of the builders, but someone made the statement that this was good land. Healing land, I believe was the word used. Which was overheard and passed on.”
“Overheard by Reggie,” I said, and smirked when Mr. Shepherd shot me a pained look. “Apparently, he isn’t as skeptical as you and I.”
“He doesn’t give himself time to be skeptical.
For him, if something works, sometimes that’s enough.
..other times he’ll dig and dig until he figures out why,” Mr. Shepherd said with a sigh.
“But you need people like that in the world, I think. The ones willing to move on to something bigger, or at least willing to keep pushing for something better.”