Chapter 6
“ H ere he comes now.” Frank Haynes waved his hand over his head at the lanky teen as he rounded the corner of Forever Friends.
Dodger, David Wheeler’s midsize mutt and constant companion, trotted alongside his master as they crunched across the frozen ground toward the group of men huddled in the adjacent vacant lot.
Josh Newlon and Tim Knudsen turned to watch David approach.
Frank opened his arms wide to greet the boy he loved like a son. “I picked up the architectural drawings for the new guide dog school yesterday. I’m so glad I got them while you were home on Christmas break.”
David stepped into Frank’s loose embrace, and they patted each other on the back.
Sean Nash stood next to his stepfather, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, waiting to greet David.
“Hey, man,” David said, swinging toward the adolescent boy and greeting him with high-fives.
“This is a big day for you both,” said the other man, standing with them in the cold sunshine of the winter morning.
Tim extended his hand to David, and they shook.
“Founding a school to train seeing-eye dogs is huge, Frank. Going to school to become a guide dog trainer—and to train others to do the same—is incredibly impressive, David.”
“It means a lot to me that you could drop everything and join us today, Tim. We’ve relied on your expertise in real estate since the inception of this project,” Frank said.
He turned to Josh. “Your education in school administration fills a gap in experience that I don’t have.
David’s knowledge of guide dog training will be at the heart of our venture. ”
Frank turned his attention to Sean. “And Sean has stepped in to fill the void left by David’s absence at Forever Friends. He’s been my eyes and ears over there while I focus on making Forever Guides a reality.”
Frank tapped the open palm of his left hand with the two-inch-thick roll of architectural drawings he held in his right. “Sean and I took a quick look at these last night. I think you’ll be thrilled to see what our dream looks like on paper.”
Frank removed the rubber band from the tall cylinder of drawings and carefully unfurled them. He stepped forward to stand in front of the others as they gathered behind him, leaning over his shoulder to view the plans.
“This first sheet,” Frank said, “is a rendering of the front elevation.”
Tim whistled softly. “Wow. That’s impressive,” he said. “I love the swoosh of the canopy over the wall of double glass doors at the entrance.”
“It’s dramatic,” Josh agreed. “It looks like you’re entering someplace important.”
“You are,” Frank said. “Forever Guides is going to improve the lives of thousands of people. The walkway up to the doors is twenty feet wide, with lush landscaping on either side. I wanted the architecture to set the tone for the experience within our walls. It needed to look welcoming, with a sense of permanence.”
He glanced over his shoulder at David.
The young man’s throat tightened. It took him a moment to find his voice. “It certainly does,” he said. “I expected this to look like the entrance to Forever Friends.”
“Forever Friends is a terrific facility, and I’m proud of it,” Frank said. “But it’s utilitarian in design and function. The entrance isn’t memorable.”
“If Forever Guides looks half as good in real life as it does in these plans,” Tim said, “you’ve achieved your goal.”
Frank flipped to the second page of the plans. “This shows us the entire Forever Guides campus. I know we had originally talked about one building, but the architects convinced me we would be better served by three buildings.”
“The one in the back is going to be the puppy center. We’ll house our breeding program there, and the puppies will stay until they go to their puppy raiser families.
Our veterinary clinic will be there as well.
The larger two-story building on the right will be the dormitory for guide-dog users when they come to campus to train with their dogs. ”
“I thought we weren’t building a dormitory right away,” David said. “We were going to put people up in one of the nearby business hotels when they’re here for training.”
Frank inhaled. “I know that was the plan, but staying off campus isn’t ideal for the handler or the dog.
You’ve told me about the residential program at the Guide Dog Center, where you’ve been working and training.
A lot of synergy takes place while people are together, learning to become a handler-guide dog team.
It would be a shame for them to miss out on that. ”
“Where did the money come from?” David asked bluntly.
“I think everyone here knows that Forever Guides has a secret donor—and it isn’t me.” Frank raised his eyebrows as he looked from face to face.
“You mean Gordon Mortimer?” Tim asked.
“The donor wants to remain anonymous, so I won’t confirm or deny,” Frank said, smiling. “When I consulted with him after we received the preliminary plans, he insisted that we construct the entire project from the get-go.”
“That’s incredibly generous,” David said. “It is important for the handlers-in-training to live on campus with their guides. I’m stoked to hear this.”
“The dormitory building will house twenty hotel-style rooms with en suite bathrooms, a fully equipped catering kitchen, a communal dining room, and a large central living room for people to watch television, play games, or talk. There will also be dog relief stations on either side of the building,” Frank said.
“The last building on this drawing is the one whose elevation you viewed on page one. It will be the administration building. Josh’s office and the other administrative staff will be there.
We’ll have a conference room, another small kitchen, and a gift shop. ”
David reached over Frank’s shoulder and traced his finger along sidewalks that looped between the buildings.
“We’ll use these in the early stages of our training, before our handler and guide dog pairs are ready to go into the outside world.
We’ll construct overhead obstacles, sharp turns, inclines, and intersections with roadways to teach our students mobility skills with their dogs. ”
The sun ducked behind a cloud, and the morning felt even colder. Frank rolled the plans back into a cylinder. “Do you want to inspect the detail drawings?” he asked. “You can see where your offices will be.” He smiled at Josh and then at David.
“Sure,” David said. “I want to go over all the plans. I’ve been so excited.”
“Me too,” Josh said.
Frank studied the expanse of open land in front of him as he replaced the rubber band on the drawings. “Can you imagine it?” he asked, looking at David.
“I can.” David nodded. “There’s nothing going on here right now, but I can feel the energy in this ground.”
Josh agreed, “When this place is built and filled with humans and their guide dogs, it’s going to be remarkable.”
“I’d like to review every drawing in that stack, too,” Tim said.
“Okay, everybody, let’s go back to my office at Haynes Enterprises. We’ll spread these out on the conference room table and go over them with a fine-tooth comb. I want each of you to consider them carefully. If there’s anything that needs to be changed, please speak up.”
“Now is the best time to make modifications,” Tim said. “Before you send these out for construction bids.”
Frank led the way to the parking lot. “Dream big, everybody,” he said. “We’re creating a magical place.”