Party in Kaimoana

Hey Guys,

Guess who's been writing again? No, not me - Lloyd has and he's really surpassed himself this time. Brilliant!

Todd Mortensen and his dad were running late. It was the final days of their trip, the trip that his dad gave him for his fifteenth birthday. He remembered opening the gift and seeing a document for two tickets and hearing his father say, “Two, one for you, one for me. Two tickets for wherever you want to go. Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Cancun, Rio, Paris, or even something closer, like San Francisco. Or Alaska. Hawaii. Anywhere. But I get to go too. A little birdie told me you’d like us to spend more time together. I liked that idea so much, loved it so much, I thought of tickets to make it real.” Todd picked Australia and New Zealand without realizing how far apart the two countries actually were or that July (because of school, they scheduled the trip during Todd’s summer vacation) was winter in Australia and New Zealand. It didn’t matter; it had been a fabulous trip. They started in Australia where they tended to take tourist excursions. That was probably the way to see the most in the least amount of time. The harbor cruise of Sydney was spectacular as was the flight over the Australian Outback.

New Zealand was quite different. Todd had seen the movie “Lord of the Rings” and was curious to see where it was filmed. They took a tour of the national park where much of it was filmed and that was worthwhile. Todd had read an article in the April 2007 National Geographic magazine about the marine fishing reserves that New Zealand pioneered. The original one was near Cook’s Island at the northern end of the North Island. They flew up there and did some scuba diving, another fantastic experience.

There did not seem to be an easy way to see the South Island except by driving. Todd’s father was a bit concerned about right hand drive cars on the left side of the road but he agreed. They rented a car in Wellington and took the ferry to the South Island. Driving on the “wrong” side of the road was not a problem which was good because when they were on the road, they spent about eight hours a day driving. That was too much really – they tried to cover too much. Typical mistake of tourists.

The first day they went to Westpoint on the West Coast and stayed at the Adelphi Hotel. It was a comfortable well run place but the lady that ran it certainly ruled with an iron hand. Todd could not quite figure out the family. There seemed to be two adult grandsons who were twins. One seemed to have two wives but that wasn’t possible was it? The other, who was a runner – at least he went running every morning – seemed to share a room with a redhead who had a son. They couldn’t be gay could they? In any event they were extremely nice to Todd and his Dad. The redhead and the runner were getting ready for a trip to Australia.

After a day in Westpoint, they drove down the west coast to Queenstown, with a stop just outside to Greymouth to visit Little Earth Village and take a Hagglund off road trip at ‘On Yer Bike’ next door. From Queenstown they skied for a couple of days at the Treble Cone ski area. They were able to rent all the equipment, including parkas, which they needed. It was going to amaze friends back home to tell them they went skiing in July!

The plan was then to travel up the East coast to Kaimoana at the southern edge of the Marlborough wine country. Todd’s Dad said that area produced some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world and it might be fun to visit a vineyard.

But they were running late! They spent more time than they planned in Christchurch and now it was 6:30 in the evening and they were just entering Kaimoana. They found the Ocean View Motel where they had made a reservation.(It was on the waterfront - of course!)

As they checked in, Todd’s Dad said he knew it was late but asked if there was someplace where they could get something to eat. The manager, Patsy Tanner, suggested that they go to the Craypot Café right away. They closed at 7 PM but if the kitchen staff had not left yet, Dianne Sullivan would feed them.

They arrived just before 7 PM. The kitchen staff had not left and Dianne, who greeted them, agreed to give them some dinner. It was a good dinner too but as soon as it was served, they saw the kitchen staff leave. Todd noticed that there were two boys, one with dark hair and a redhead, about his age waiting and bussing the tables. As they were finishing their meal, Todd looked up. The staff had left the kitchen door open and Todd saw the two boys in the kitchen giving each other a quick kiss.

They redhead came to the table to see if there was anything else that they needed and Todd asked him, “Are you gay?” Todd’s dad and the redhead both reacted to the boldness of the question. The redhead said no but what prompted him to ask a question like that?

Todd said, “Well I saw you kissing the dark haired boy in the kitchen.”

“That wasn’t me. It must have been my brother Jacob kissing Riley, his mate.”

“Well, it looked just like you!”

“Yes we do look alike. We are identical twins. Hey Jacob, Riley come out here a minute.”

The dark haired boy and another redhead stepped out from the kitchen.

“What is it Colin?”

“These people saw you two kissing in the kitchen.”

Riley and Jacob turned as red as Jacob’s hair. The three of them stood before the startled Mortensens, two as embarrassed as you can be and one with a huge smile on his face. Dianne saw the three of them standing there and walked over.

“Is there some problem?”



Riley spoke first. “No, no problem. It’s just … well… it seems that these two guests saw me kissing Jacob in the kitchen.”

“I see,” said Dianne. “And why would you be doing that?”

Riley wished he was dead. Mr. Mortensen thought he saw Dianne suppress a smile.

After a bit of awkward silence, Riley said in a very quiet voice, “I’m gay Mum. I’ve been trying to find the courage to tell you but I was sure that you would hate me or at least be disappointed in me.” He expected his mother to react, but not in the way she did.

“Finally, finally you got up the courage to tell me. I was beginning to think you never would.”

“You mean you’re not upset?”

“Not any longer. Riley, I’m your mother. I’ve known for ages that you were gay and that you were in a relationship with Jacob. I was upset that you wouldn’t tell me and I’m glad that you finally have.”

She turned to the Mortensens. “Sorry, to involve you in our family business. Riley is my son and Colin and Jacob are my foster sons.”

Todd didn’t understand where his voice came from but he heard himself saying, “No problem. I’m gay myself and I understand how difficult it is to tell that to a parent.” Looking at his father, he went on, “My Dad knows and he knows my boyfriend, Andy.”

Dianne saw how relieved the four boys were. She looked at the Mortensens, “Look, I don’t want to throw you out but the four of us are due at a party this evening. One of our friends, Gary Stafford, is opening a new business tomorrow, the Kaimoana Emporium: Art, Music and Videos. Tonight is a pre-opening party.” She paused, “Why don’t you come with us. It should be a grand if an informal affair. Gary is a fabulous piano player and his cousin Joel is a fantastic singer. It will be a great evening. You can expect people of all ages, gay and straight, male and female – a cross section of Kaimoana. I think you would have a good time and you will be most welcome.”

Todd and his Dad were not so sure. They did not want to impose, but after much persuasion and encouragement from Dianne and the three boys, they agreed to go with them.

“The Emporium: Art, Music and Video” said the sign on the front of a very large building. The store inside was large but not all that large considering the size of the building. There must be something else in the back part of the building. The store seemed to have two parts. The front was filled with music and video displays. There was a large video screen on the wall that was showing some sort of a musical. The rest of the wall displayed spectacular art works all of which were for sale. The back wall had huge sliding doors which opened into a large room with a small stage. On one side were windows into a glassed in rooms which Todd took to be some sort of control rooms. Art work was hung on these walls as well. To one side was a counter with food serving equipment behind it. It appeared to be some sort of a coffee or snack bar arrangement.

When they arrived, Todd spotted Patsy Tanner. “Look Dad, there is the lady from the motel.”

“Hello there. You arrived with Dianne and her boys so I assume that you were fed at the Craypot Café.”

Mr. Mortensen responded, “Yes you were quite right. The kitchen staff had not left and we were able to have dinner. Dianne and the boys then insisted that we come here.”

“Good for them. These are the best people of the best town on the South Island if not all of New Zealand.”

Turning to the person standing beside her, she said, “Let me introduce you to Olive Braidwood. She is the librarian and also head of the Kaimoana Operatic Society.”

“Welcome to Kaimoana, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Riley took charge of Todd. He decided it was his role to introduce Todd to everyone.

He started with Dr. Stevens. “Sir, this is Todd a visitor from America.”

“Pleased to meet you Todd. Did Riley find you in a cave as well?” he asked with a grin. Todd had no idea what he was talking about. Dr. Stevens laughed and told Todd to have Riley tell him how he met Colin and Jacob.

Riley gave Todd the Reader’s Digest version of the story. Then he went on to explain that in addition to being the Doctor in town, Dr. Stevens wrote the latest musical performed by the Kaimoana Operatic Society. It was a musical telling of the story of Kaimoana.

“Wow” said Todd. “You wrote the whole musical, words music and everything?”

“Well dialogue and lyrics anyway. The tunes, mostly show tunes, were ‘borrowed’ from other sources.” the Doctor explained. “That is the show being shown on the video on the wall.”

“I’d like to get a copy of that DVD,” said Todd.

Dr. Stevens turned to the person next to him, “Gary, here is your first customer. Our American visitor would like to buy the DVD of our latest production.”

“Hi, I’m Gary Stafford. Nice to meet you. Yeah, I think we can get you a DVD. Peter, these new machines will make a copy in the format that works in North America won’t they?”

A guy standing behind Gary turned, “Hello, I’m Peter Lewis. Yes, this equipment will make a DVD that they can take home with them to America. Jay, you make the labels and I will make the DVD.”

“Hello, I’m Jay Kynnersley. It won’t take a minute to do this.”

Peter put a blank DVD in the machine and set the equipment to burn a DVD in the North American format. Jay brought up the DVD package label in the screen, made a few edits to indicate that it was the North American format, and printed out the package label. He placed the label face down on a clip board and wrote across the top, “To the Mortensens, from your Kiwi friends” and signed his name. He turned to Lachlan and said, “Here sign this and get everyone one who was a part of the production, which is everyone here, to sign it as well.”

Jay then brought up the DVD label image on the screen and made similar edits to indicate that it was in the North American format. Peter handed him the completed printable DVD. Jay put the disk in the tray of the printer and shortly a labeled DVD appeared. Jay put it in an empty DVD box and set it aside until Lachlan could get all the signatures on the box label.

Riley continued with his introductions as he ushered Todd and his dad through the crowd. “This is Joel Stafford, Gary’s cousin, who lives upstairs. I hope we are going to hear you sing this evening Joel. This is Virgil Cain who is Joel’s mate. Lachlan McLaughlin, you saw before. He is Gary’s mate. This is Sally Griffin who is also a cousin of Joel. Meet Fern McAuliffe and Emmy Scott. Emmy’s dad, Paul, is the school principal – he is standing over there.”

Todd’s dad stopped to speak with Paul but Riley and Jacob kept introducing Todd to more and more people. Todd gave up trying to keep the names straight or even to remember them.

“This is Dylan James and his cousin William Scott, Emmy’s brother and Paul’s son. Dylan and Wills this is Todd from America.” Another couple turned toward Riley. “This is Suzanne Woods and Brodie Hilliard. Brodie is a long time friend of Dylan. Suzanne lives upstairs in Gary’s spare bedroom now that her parents have abandoned her and her brother, Ashton, for Australia.”

“Mac and Joyce meet Todd from America. It is actually Bryan MacSweeney and Jocelyn Archer but everyone calls them Mac and Joyce or Joss. These two standing with them are Grant and Stevie, Joyce’s younger brothers. This is Kelly Smith and Megan Solomon.”

Riley spotted Peter across the room, “Hey Peter.” Riley turned to Todd and said “I want you to meet Peter de Groot, my best friend here in Kaimoana. He is with Ashton, his mate. They live together in a converted bus behind the de Groot’s home. It was crowded for a while but they are by themselves now that Peter’s Canadian cousins have moved to Christchurch with their mother.”

“I thought I was your best friend.”

“Shut up Jake, you are a lot more than a friend.”

Todd’s dad rejoined the group.

“Peter de Groot and Aston Woods, meet Todd Mortensen and his dad from America.”

“Welcome to Kaimoana. Here, try one of these deserts” said Peter offering a plate to Todd and his dad.

“Oh I had one of these at lunch today in Christchurch. They are fabulous.”

“If you had one at lunch, you had lunch at Billy’s Burgers. That is the only place where you can buy them. They are made here in Kaimoana.”

“They are made here in Kaimoana?” repeated Todd.

“Here in Kaimoana in this very building” said Peter. Father and Uncle are the de Groot Brothers, Master Bakers.”

Todd’s dad asked, “And are you going to be a baker Peter?”

“No, I am going to be an accountant. Next year I go to university and after I complete my education and get some experience with an accounting firm, I plan to open my own firm here in Kaimoana. I hope to be able to get many of the local businesses as clients.”

“Well you seem to have things planned out. What about you Aston?”

“I’m going to university with Peter and then I plan to work in an auto dealership,” said Ashton.

“Ashton owns the Beamer you must have seen parked outside,” interjected Riley.

“I saw three Beamers parked outside,” said Todd’s dad.

“Yes, one is mine, one is Mrs. Matheison’s from Westpoint and the third, which used be my father’s, is Gary’s. Gary is a reluctant Beamer owner; he acquired it when he bought the auto dealership at the bankruptcy auction. I don’t think he really wanted to own an auto dealership but he was concerned that Kaimoana would not have any dealership and he was especially concerned for the people at the agency who would be out or work. Mr. Murchison, the sales manager, has been with the agency for thirty-five years and is just five years away from retirement. There are a number of others with very long service there. So Gary bought it. Mr. Murchison has agreed to run the agency until his retirement. The plan is that after I return from university I will work there and, hopefully, eventually buy it from Gary.”

“Wow,” said Riley. “Does my mum know all this?”

“Of course she does Riley” said Ashton. “Your mum is Gary’s lawyer. She handled all the arrangements.”

“Riley, I thought your mum was the owner and operator of the Craypot Café,” queried Todd’s dad.

“She is, but before she gave up her practice and we moved to Kaimoana she was a top lawyer in Auckland. She just keeps her hand in by doing legal work for friends including Gary, Ashton, the de Groots, and Colin and Jacob.”

“OK Riley, you have been introducing the Mortensens to everyone, let me introduce them to my cousins from Westpoint,” said Jake as two boys joined them.

“Robert and Ross Mathieson, this is Todd Mortensen and his dad from America.”

“Welcome to New Zealand,” said Robert and Ross.

“And I’m their mother, Cecily Mathieson,” said the lady that joined them.

“Ah, the owner of the third Beamer,” said Todd’s father.

“Yes, my job requires me to travel quite a bit and I decided that I would at least be comfortable doing it.”

“And what is it that you do?”

“I work for Billy’s Burgers,” said Cecily.

“Actually, Mrs. M. is the CEO of Billy’s Burgers” interjected Peter de Groot.

Todd was staring at Robert. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like the boy on the Billy’s Burgers sign?”



“Yes said Robert,” smiling. “Dylan James and William Scott made the same observation when they visited us in Westpoint. But it is not me; it is my older brother Billy. It was painted by Jason MacDonald. Hey, Jason and Jordan, come meet the Mortensens. Todd thinks the logo of Billy’s Burgers looks like me.”

“Pleased to meet you, I’m Jason Macdonald and this is my mate, Jordan Taylor. Welcome to New Zealand. Well, Robert, when I painted that logo your brother, Billy, was the same age that you are now.”

“Jason Macdonald and Jordan Taylor,” said Todd’s dad. “This is all your art that is hanging on the walls?”

“Yes it is. We had been considering opening a gallery in Kaimoana and when we learned that Gary was going to open his Emporium, we thought this would be an ideal location to show the east coast our work.”

“It is spectacular work. You are very talented,” said Todd’s dad.

“Thank you. What do you think of the sketch of you and your son?”

“They haven’t seen it yet,” said Gary as he joined the group with Lachlan carrying a clipboard and the DVD case.

Gary explained that this was the DVD of Kaimoana Operatic Society musical history of Kaimoana which Peter, Jay, Jordan and Jason produced. The DVD label and the outside of the package or case label were the work of Jordan and Jason but the inside of this package label was special. At the top were the words “To the Mortensens, from your Kiwi friends.” Below that were the signatures of everyone who was involved in the production which was just about everyone at the party. Todd’s and his dad’s eyes were immediately drawn to the top of the sheet just to the left of the words. There there was a pen and ink head and shoulders sketch of Todd and his dad. His dad had his hand on Todd’s shoulder.

Todd and his dad were awestruck! They had difficulty expressing their appreciation.

Gary explained that the case was one of the new slim clear plastic ones and that when the case label was inserted in its envelope, which he proceeded to do, the sketch and message would show on the inside when the case was opened. Again he demonstrated.

Todd’s dad finally recovered his voice and asked Gary, “How much do we owe you?”

Gary said, “Do you have an American dollar?”

“Yes, but surely it is worth more than that?”

“I was not going to charge you anything but when Dr. Stevens said you would be my first customer, I had this idea. Many folks frame the first dollar they earn in their business. I think it will be special to frame an American dollar as the first dollar this business earned.”

Todd’s dad reached for his wallet and gave Gary an American dollar. “Are you sure we can’t give you more?”

“No, the look on your faces was worth more than any amount of money you can give me.”

Gary then excused himself. “I have to go and play the piano now and entertain my guests. Jason, I am going to call on you to sing Oliver’s song from Oliver after Joel sings. You do remember the words, don’t you?”

Jason responded, “Gary, it has been ten years, but – yeah – I do remember the words.”

Mrs. M. explained to Todd and his dad, “Jason was the understudy to my son Billy when he played the role of Oliver in the Westpoint school production of Oliver about ten years ago.”

Todd’s dad said, “I guess your being the CEO of Billy’s Burgers is how the business got its name and how your son became its model.”

“Not at all, in fact almost the opposite. I work for my son. Billy created the recipe for the original Billy’s Burger when he was fourteen. When and his mate, Justin Reynolds, were fifteen, they decided to launch Billy’s Burgers and came to me with a complete business plan and asked if I would run the company for them. Their plan, which included marketing and finance arrangements, made a great deal of sense and I agreed. It has been a roller coaster ride ever since.”

Their conversation was interrupted by piano music. Gary addressed the assembled guests, “You were promised a concert and that it what you are going to get. I will start by playing some piano selections, then Joel will sing and then I have asked Jason MacDonald from Westpoint to sing. You know him as an artist and one of the camera men videoing our recent production but I found out that he can sing as well as paint. After that it is your turn! We discovered with this production that Kaimoana has a great deal of real talent and tonight is an opportunity to share it with each other.”

Gary started with Whispering Hope and then moved on to a selection of other pieces. After that he asked Joel to take the stage and sing the “Impossible Dream” from Man from LaMancha. This was followed by several other selections and then Jason was called to the stage to sing Oliver’s song. That was followed by group singing of most of the rest of the music from Oliver and then the assembled group sang all the songs from the recent Kaimoana Operatic Society musical.

Todd and his dad had never seen so many people enjoying themselves so much. It was a fantastic evening.

The next morning Todd and his dad went down to breakfast at the motel restaurant. All the Westpoint people who were at the party the night before were there and it was a happy time to renew acquaintances. Todd and his dad again told Jason and Jordan how overwhelmed they were with the sketch on the inside of the album label. Mrs. M, Robert and Ross were headed back to Westpoint after breakfast. Peter, Jay, Jason and Jordan were staying for another day to help Gary. The official ribbon cutting was scheduled for noon.

After breakfast Todd’s dad told Todd to go up and pack while he settled the bill. Today they would visit a vineyard on their way up to Picton to catch the evening ferry to Wellington. Tomorrow they would fly back to the States.

“There is no bill!” Patsy told Mr. Mortensen.

“But I do not understand, we stayed here and this is a commercial motel.”

“Gary was very explicit; there would be no bill for the visitors from Westpoint or the American visitors who were at the party last evening.”

“Why would Gary want to pay our bill? He is just starting a new business; he can’t be doing things like that.”

“Gary owns this place; he can do just about anything he wants about his guests’ bills.”

“Patsy, isn’t Gary about sixteen? How can a sixteen year old boy own a hotel, an auto dealership and run an art gallery, music and video store?”

“Because he is a bloody amazing kid. You heard him on the piano. He also owns the building that houses the store and the bakery. In fact, he has invested a substantial amount in the de Groot Brothers, Master Bakers. Actually, he has had a rough life which forced him to grow up fast. His parents threw him out because he is gay. A family friend took him in and treated him like the son he never had until he died of cancer. He had no family so he left a substantial fortune to Gary. Gary rambled about for a bit and then settled here with his cousin, Joel. He has made many friends here. His efforts with the Kaimoana Operatic Society production earned him the respect and admiration of the entire community – well except for the homophobes. There is no bill! I hope your visit to New Zealand has been a good one.”

“It has and Kaimoana has been special. Thank you.”

As they began the drive from Kaimoana, Todd told his father, “This has been a fantastic trip – you will never be able to top this birthday present, not that you need to. Everything was great, but I think our experience in Kaimoana has to be the highlight.”

“Yes it was. We met a fantastic group of people. They are an incredible manifestation of respect and acceptance. If they are typical of the whole community, Kaimoana is a great place to live. Gary and Peter de Groot are unique in their humility. Peter hopes to establish a small accounting firm to serve the needs of business in Kaimoana. Mrs. M is particularly taken with him. I suspect that his small accounting firm will quickly grow to one of national stature. Gary will become one of the community leaders without ever wanting to be. Lachlan is going to be busy convincing Gary to do what people want him to.”

"I'm coming back here again, Dad. I don't know when, but one day, I'll be back."

"Sounds good to me. Why don't you bring Andy with you next time?"

"Thanks, Dad. I will!"