'I'll have some help with me. Someone has to try to stop the filthy bastard.'
'You're both right. If you go up there, Tom, you'll have to back off if there is the slightest hint of danger. Anyway that wasn't what I wanted to talk about. First, we should fix up for Darren to have a medical check. Since I'm so familiar with hospital routines these days I'll make an appointment and take him to the clinic.
Second, we need to turn our minds to the long term, to improving his circumstances. That's where the real problem lies. He's bright, talented, but he's in a dead end job, he's drifting. Unless we do something about it, how long will it be before he lets himself be led into another sleazy mess? There are plenty of others like our friend from the club, and worse. We need to give the boy a sense of purpose in life, a reason for turning away from that sort of nonsense.' He looked directly at me. 'I know you have your hands full with the hotel at the moment, but the business will soon settle in, and you're the one who can make a difference here.'
'So this has become my problem now, has it?'
'The fact is the boy relates to you, he looks up to you, he listens to what you have to say. That wretched job of his is half the problem. He ought to go back to his studies. We could get him into a college of some kind. I could take him on part-time at the garden centre, he has a real feel for horticulture. Look how well he's done with the gardens and the container plants at the hotel. Even better, you could take him on. You would be able to fit his hours around attendance at a college much more easily. All that changing beds and vacuum cleaning you do, you should spend more time managing the business, taking a broad view of how it's developing. Yes, that's the answer, don't worry about money, we'll sort something out between us.'
I was annoyed by the way Andrew was planning a new role for me in Darren's future. 'Why me? You're the one who befriended him, took him out to concerts and all sorts of places. I let him stay on at the hotel because you wanted me to.'
'Don't get angry with me, please. I'm asking too much of you. Let's forget the whole business, it would be an imposition. I shouldn't have mentioned it. This is what happens when heterosexuals breed irresponsibly, leaving others to cope with the problems of their offspring. We'll talk about something else. Tom, what about that new ventilation equipment I want installing in the nursery. No desperate rush, but are you likely to be able to make a start in the next few weeks?'