Falling Dawn (II)

Chapter 17

The next morning, after Tom let me sleep in - again - and got the kids ready for school, he set off to get his visa organised. With the court case against him dropped, nothing was in his way anymore. While he spent hours on the phone, I decided to get started on my new position in Tom's social responsibility unit, or ours, as he would put it.

I had absolutely no idea where to start. So many ideas ran through my mind. Research would be the way to go, I decided and looked up the German website of Tom's company. There was, however, not much information on social projects they were running. Apart from some fun runs and a work experience project for people with disability und underprivileged students, there was not much. I was surprised, as I was under the impression Tom was very dedicated to charitable causes. Looking over from my seat on the sofa to the desk where Tom was sitting, I could see him still talking on the phone, looking all businesslike. I'd have to ask him later. In the meantime, I typed Tom's name and the terms "charity", "fundraiser", "social projects" and many other variations into the search engine. The first three pages I scanned through were entirely articles about Tom and me at the fundraiser I'd organised at the Botanical Gardens. It just had to wait until I could ask Tom. Instead, I dedicated my time to research possible projects we could run or participate in. It was important to me that the cause was something close to Tom's heart.

Through my previous job I was familiar with many charities and social projects, so I commenced by researching new territories. Tom had started his business to pay back for all the pain he had endured during his childhood. Why not follow his plan. Reading up on the subject, I came mostly across articles on the Stolen Generation. Of course I had been familiar with the policies that had been in place in Australia until 1970. Tens of thousands of Aboriginal children had been taken away from their families in the name of child protection and placed in mostly religious institutions. Girls had often been placed with foster families where they usually worked as maids rather than being raised as children. The aim of theses governmental policies was to prevent the aboriginal culture, in particular in half cast children. Nowadays, many laws were in place to adjust the social differences between European and Aboriginal Australians. The large gap in health, education and employment, however, was still unmistakable. An employment program with the aim to close this gap could be a start.

But then there were also the Child Migrants, British orphans who were sent to Australia, also up until the 1970s. It was cheaper to raise them here and they were useful in building a European country. Most of them though had parents, often single mothers who had their children forcibly taken off them. These kids, too, were sent into the unknown with promises of a better life, just to endure abuse and neglect.

I felt very strongly for both groups and had tears in my eyes when reading individual stories from survivors. While reading each story, I asked myself if it had been the same for Tom. Many of the stories were told by survivors at least thirty years older than Tom. Would it take him that long to fully open up? And most of those victims never managed to live in a functioning relationship. I was scared that we might not be able to make it. Right that moment, Tom glanced back at me with his beaming smile, followed by a thumbs up and a blown kiss. No, we are functioning. We have problems, but they are solvable. We'd make them solvable.

Having been so absorbed in my reading, I'd forgotten the time. Midday already. My phone rang and showed Hannah's number. She asked if I wanted to catch up for lunch, as she had a work meeting nearby. I still felt a little insecure and split wether to bring Tom along or not. But luckily Hannah didn't mind and it could be a good opportunity for the two of them to get to know and like each other.

Shortly after, I was in the kitchen making tea when Tom shot around the corner with a sexy twist and sparkling eyes. The radio just played "You make me feel like dancing," when Tom grabbed me by surprise in an embrace and began swirling me through the kitchen. His good mood was contagious.