“Retirement communities and college dorms in one.” The teen shifted nervously as she spoke. “University students need affordable housing. Retirees can use help with all kinds of things that aren’t overly difficult or complicated, but they may not be able to do on their own any longer - like grocery shopping or walking their dog.”
The other woman took over. “There are some programs where students have to spend a certain number of hours a month volunteering in different capacities. There are others where the students are primarily some sort of performer and are housed in exchange for a certain number of performances a month along with helping with errands and stuff. One of them was in a renovated hotel.”
“That sounds like a fascinating idea.” It really did. “What would it take to get something like that started?”
They exchanged another look. “We’re not quite that far yet,” the teen admitted. “I came across an article a couple of weeks ago and it sort of just clicked as a potential extension of this adopt-a-grandparent program.”
“Perhaps like some kind of exchange student program,” the other woman said. “But we’ve just started looking to see how it could work and what it would take to put something like that together.”
An aide gave Elise a nod. She returned it.
“I would love to hear more about this,” she told them. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the time right now, but please reach out to my office.” Saying she had an office sounded so odd to her.
“Yes, ma’am,” the two answered in unison, then curtsying the same way. “Thank you.”
Before she could reply, Elise was ushered off.
She and Frederick were driven to a nearby early education building. They spent the rest of the morning with preschool children.
Elise loved every minute of it. She played with several children and one sat in her lap during story time.
Then lunch at a local upper elementary school. They ate in the lunchroom with the students, eating the same meal the children did. Would it have been pizza day if they weren’t going to be there?
She sat with several eight- and nine-year-olds. They talked about their favorite subjects and what books they’d been reading. Elise remembered reading a few of them when she was a child.
Once lunch ended, they went to the gymnasium where students from every grade took part in a performance. It seemed as though the entire school was in attendance, though since it was the summer program, it likely wasn’t as full as it would be in a few months.
They were seated in chairs in a place of honor on the gymnasium floor. They were surrounded by the same children they’d been seated with at lunch.
Much of the performance required audience participation - whether doing motions to a song or seeing which gender could sing louder.
Elise put everything into helping the girls. Frederick laughed, but she noticed he didn’t go quite all in. Because he felt itunbecoming of a king - and if so what did that mean for the queen? Or just because he wasn’t comfortable with it?
By the time the performance ended, Elise couldn’t stop smiling and laughing with the girls next to her.
Frederick seemed to be having a good time as well, but more reserved.
Afterward, the leaders of the school took them on a tour and told them about some of the initiatives they were participating in or preparing for when the next school year started.
There was an adopt-a-sibling type program with a nearby secondary school.
Was it the same school with the adopt-a-grandparent program? Could there be some way to tie both programs together?
Elise decided to ruminate on the idea as they said good-bye and went to the local governor’s house to change clothes and have dinner with those dignitaries. She suspected these would actually be people who considered themselves Very Important.
As they prepared to enter the dinner, Elise had a thought.
The groups they’d met earlier in the day were the real VIPs.
16
By the time they returned to the yacht, Frederick found himself more than ready to get some sleep.
Over the course of the day, he’d found it increasingly difficult to keep up the sunny persona expected of him on a day like this.
As soon as they were in a vehicle, he let the mask slip.
It wasn’t anything he could put his finger on, just a lingering sense that something wasn’t quite right.
