Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:13:23 -0600
From: Pete McDonald <bajabudfan@hotmail.com>
Subject: TIME-TO-SEE-76-

TIME-TO-SEE-76

Jerome moved the town car very carefully through the congestion of traffic
around the auditorium looking for his passengers.

Nicky and Jilder were jumping up and down on the curb, while Sean and Murph
looked around in all directions but were forgoing the animation of Nick and
Jilder.  Archie didn't quite understand what everyone was looking for, but
when he heard them all scream, "There he is... JEROME, HERE, HERE!  WE'RE
OVER HERE..." waving their arms, he realized that they were trying to flag
down the transportation.

Max and Brandy stood by composed yet alert to the excitement of the boys.
And when the boys started waving and calling out, they understood that
Jerome must be on his "glide path."

"Those boys have a sixth sense that connects them with the action where
ever they go," Kevin said.  "I don't even SEE Jerome..."

Hugo looked in the direction that the boys were gesturing and eventually
did realize that Jerome was indeed only a short distance away in the car.
"Down that way, Kev," Hugo gestured. "There's Jerome and the car."

"Ooooooh! yes.  NOW I see him..." Kevin replied.

By that time traffic had inched forward a little allowing Jerome to pull
out of the lane of moving (well, very slowly moving) traffic and into the
curb lane in front of Max and Brandy and the rest.

"HE'S HERE!" Jilder called to everyone...

Before Jerome could get out of the town car and open its doors for his
passengers, the boys had flung open all three doors on the curb side of the
car.

"OK, EVERYBODY... YOU CAN GET IN NOW..." Jilder called out.

"I think we're going to have to employ Jilder to act as valet/concierge and
Jerome's First Assistant if our travel party becomes any more elaborate..."
Max said to Brandy smiling...

"Jilder only has a "gas pedal". He has no "brake."  Some kids are just
wired that way..." Brandy replied.

"ALRIGHT, SAME SEATS AS BEFORE... Uh! Except we need to squeeze in a little
to include Archie.  His mum and dad will drive in their car and meet us all
back at Castle Dromoland," Brandy stepped into the role of Defensive
Supervisor of the Youth Division...

"Yes, Sir.... All right, Brandy," the boys called out as they piled into
the town car.

In remarkably little time the car was loaded and Jerome began to negotiate
his way back into the flow of moving traffic.

"That will be back to Dromoland, will it not, Sir?" Jerome asked of Max.

"Absolutely, Jerome.  Although there is no hurry at all; so don't worry
about taking advantage of every traffic accommodation.  Let's just have a
leisurely, relaxed return trip," Max said.

"Certainly, Sir..." Jerome answered.

And the car sped along its way...

*****

Max turned to Hugo and spoke, "Hugo, that was a most interesting seminar.
I especially enjoyed the technical details and watching the video of your
surgical procedure."

"Looking at it as a whole is quite impressive, I must admit," Hugo
answered.  "But experiencing as I did, in what seemed to me was an endless
sequence of infinitely small and excruciatingly slow steps, got to be nerve
wracking."

"Oh, I can understand...." Max said.  Then he paused to think for a moment
before he spoke again, "You and Kevin displayed remarkable courage and
determination in an undertaking that was without precedent.  I can only
offer my admiration and congratulations for the huge success that you
helped to create."

"Well.... Max.... Thank You... but...Come on, there was little I could do
except go along with the flow, which turned out to be the movement of
life... Uh? Well, I guess I could have aborted the whole thing, or worse,
defeated it with pig-headedness... Yes... I must have contributed a
little..." Hugo replied.

"Come on...," Kevin added... "Hugo, YOU ALLOWED the 'good' to come to you.
It's as simple as that..."


*****

Jerome spoke to Max over the intercom. "Sir, I hate to interrupt your
conversations but I must deliver to you a telephone message that I received
in the car while you were attending the seminar.  Seems a Mr. Araxos is
trying to reach you.  He said that you and Mr. Jonathan were needed in
Athens as soon as possible... something about a software problem and
service interruption.  He left a telephone number and asked that I please
request you to return his call as soon as possible."

"Thank You, Jerome." Max said.

Then Max took out his own cell phone and dialed.

*****

"Tef! I just received your message.  You're having some problems?  What
seems to be happening?"

Max turned his cell phone on speaker in order for Brandon to hear the
conversation.

"Max... We have been loosing servers one after another.  Something is
causing them to crash.  Then after we bring them back up and return them to
service, they crash again after about 30 minutes... We can't figure out
WHAT is going on, but the whole system will be down by midnight if this
process continues.  We can barely keep ahead of it... How long would it
take you to get here?" Araxos said.

Brandy looked at Max and said, "Max, if we have Jerome turn around and
deliver us to the Galway airport, we could touch down in Athens about 10pm
tonight."

Then Max switched the cell phone back to single voice, "Tef! We'll be there
about 10pm tonight.  Can you meet us at the Athens Airport?"

"Certainly, Max.  I wouldn't bother you if this didn't seem like a real
emergency.  No one knows this system like you and Brandon. If no one here
can correct the problem--- or even understands what is going on--- the only
thing left is for you gentlemen to step in."

Max said, "No need to apologize, Tef.  These things happen.  But you'll
meet us at the airport in Athens tonight, correct?'

"Of course..." Tef replied.

"We'll telephone you again after we have a flight and an arrival time, Tef.
And don't worry.  We'll make it before the entire system fails... Put all
of the servers into the system; that'll give us a bit more depth before the
whole thing fails."

"Yes, Sir.  And Thanks, Max,... thanks, Brandy.  I'll see you both at the
airport tonight..."

Click.

*****

Max turned to Hugo and Kevin and said, "Well, I guess you could follow
that.  Now we're forced to make that trip to Athens, and to make matters
worse, I must impose on someone to care for Murph and Sean while we're
gone.  Would that be something you two could do? I really hate to ask, but,
as you can see, I'm really forced to go at once."  Then after a pause Max
continued: "Well, I suppose we could take them with us..." He looked at
Brandy for suggestions.

"You know that we won't mind caring for the boys, Max, Brandy, but we do
have a demand on us too.  Next Friday we must be present at the University
of Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany.  It's the last of the seminars that
we're obligated to attend with Dr. Kavanaugh; so there's really no way to
get out of it." Kevin said.

"Humm?" Max said while he tried to think of how they'll have to handle the
logistics...

Max continued: "Kevin, Hugo, if you could take the boys with you to
Heidelberg, we could meet you there next weekend and pick them up..." Then
he turned to Brandy and said, "Of course I'm assuming we can clean this
problem up in a little less than a week..."

Brandy seemed to be thinking out loud, "I think that if Kevin and Hugo can
stand it, the boys would certainly enjoy your plan more than being sent
back to the house in Dublin, to remain alone there with the household
staff..."

"If it's up to us, consider it arranged, because we'd be delighted to have
Sean and Murph join us for a few days of Weinerschnitzel and pomme
frites..."

The boys were listening quietly not interrupting as the adults figured out
how to move along through this problem.  Archie understood how things were
breaking down, and he easily pictured himself being the lone boy to return
to a hum drum life with his parents, if all of his friends were off having
fun in Europe.

"Uh, I guess I'll have to go back home with my parents," Archie said to the
group, sounding more than a little forlorn and definitely not excited about
that possibility.

The adults looked at Archie and then at one another; they all understood
what he was saying.

"Well, Archie, not necessarily," Hugo said.  If we can get your mum and dad
to spring for the airfare, we'll take care of the hotel and food and other
stuff.

Max looked at Archie and said, "Well, Archie, even if your mum and dad
aren't prepared to purchase airfare right now, we'll buy your ticket along
with the boys, and you can join them... that is, if your mum and dad
approve....." After a few moments Max added, "How have you been feeling
with all this activity?  I know that you have to manage your injuries; so
if you've been uncomfortable and need to return to your home for a rest, we
all understand, but we don't want you to feel left out.  We will NOT run
off to Europe and leave our sons' friend alone!" And Max leaned across the
seats to pat Archie on his head, one of the few parts of his body not
devastated by the burns.

"Oh, Sir. That would be super...  I am feeling just fine.  Sometimes I itch
a lot, and my mum and dad can give me the special soaps and oils that I
have to use; and I can take them with us to Heidelberg.  That would be so
good..." Archie said smiling from ear to ear and bouncing up and down in
his seat.

"Yeah! We want Archie to go with us!" Murph announced.  "And WE'RE all
going to Heidelberg!"

Then Murph turned to his dad and asked, "Where IS Heidelberg, dad?"

Max laughed out loud and said, "You don't know where Heidelberg is but you
want to go there! Some logic that demonstrates..."

"Yeah! Sure, Dad. Everyone is going and we've never been there;
so... sure... we want Archie to go too..." Murph repeated slowly,
indicating that HE could understand his logic quite clearly.

Max said,, "Let me telephone Mr. and Mrs. Donnally right now to see whether
these plans meet with their approval." And he flipped his cell phone open
and put the call through right then.

Brandy pressed the intercom button and said, "Jerome, I'm afraid that Max
and I will need to go to the Galway Airport immediately. Can you change our
route and get an estimate of how long the trip will take.  We need to
telephone the airlines for passage out on the next flight to Athens; so
we'll need an ETA at Galway Airport..."

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Jonathan.  Just let me put the new destination into the
navigational system.... Just a moment.... Oh, yes, here it is, Sir.  The
Garmin says it's a 32 kilometer trip. We should be there in about 45
minutes, given the traffic in this immediate area."

Brandy replied, "Thank you, Jerome. That's just what we need to know...."

Then he turned to Max, "Will you call the airlines, or do you want me to?"

Max was just connecting his call to Archie's mum and dad when Brandy spoke
to him...

Max shook his head, he couldn't carry on two conversations at once.  Brandy
realized his message and pulled out his cell phone to put the call through
to the airlines.

"Mr. Donnally, Max speaking: we've developed a little logistics knot
here... Oh, NO! definitely nothing that will endanger Archie..."

Max explained to Mr. Donnallly that he and Brandy had to fly to Athens
immediately, and that Jerome was taking them to the airport right now. All
of the boys would be returning to Castle Dromoland with Hugo and Kevin; so
there was no need for worry. All of the boys would arrive at Dromoland in
about two hours."

Then Max suggested to Mr. and Mrs. Donnally that they consider a little
additional entertainment for Archie.  He explained that his two boys, Sean
and Murph, would be accompanying Hugo and Kevin and their boys to
Heidelberg for the seminar there later in the week; he and Brandy would
join them in Heidelberg after they finished their work in Athens.  And
since the boys were all getting along famously, everyone naturally
considered the possibility that Archie would like to join them.  What would
be needed was Archie's parent's permission, instructions vis-a'-vis special
daily care for Archie, and-- if you'd wish--a small contribution to the
airfare.  We are together perfectly able and willing to absorb the total
costs, if it is not easily handled at your end.  Please, PLEASE, don't let
the cost be your point of decision."

There was a long pause in Max's conversation where he was apparently
listening to Mr. Donnally.

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Donnally. You can speak with Kevin and Hugo in person a bit
later, when they return to Dromoland with the boys.  With luck, Brandy and
I will be over Europe somewhere by that time, on our way to Athens.  But,
we ALL would be very pleased if Archie could join us in this change of
plans..."

"Very, Good, Mr. Donnally. We look forward to seeing you and Mrs. Donnally
in about two weeks, when we return Archie..."

And Max flipped the cell phone closed.  He looked over at Brandy and said,
"Everything seems satisfactory with Archie's parents.  Hugo and Kevin are
in agreement.  That leaves us free to concentrate on business,
Brandy... And I hope THAT doesn't turn out to be insufferably difficult to
clean up...."

Brandy replied, "We're on for a 6:45pm departure from Galway, to arrive at
Athens International at 9:45 Athens time.  Shall I call Tef or will you?"

"I'll call him. And thanks for being the most efficient partner a man could
ever be blessed with..." and Max leaned over and gave Brandy a little kiss
on his cheek.

Brandy turned and said, "Thanks for the G-rated appreciation.  I'll accept
the X-rated addenda later..."

"Ahem!" Max replied, clearing his throat and feeling a little foolish,
indicating awkwardly that he didn't know how to carry on this sort of
conversation in front of the boys,...  who--incidentally--were completely
uninterested in what they were saying...

Then Max turned to Sean and Murphy and Artie, "Alright boys, we've had a
change of plans that you've heard us discussing. I think it will turn out
to be rather pleasant for you.  The three of you will join Hugo and Kevin
and their boys when they fly to Heidelberg later this week.  We have urgent
work in Athens, a city that is about three flying hours away, but we'll be
meeting you in Heidelberg next weekend after we finish our work.  I'm
issuing a direct instruction to ALL THREE OF YOU: do as Hugo and Kevin ask;
they are the parents here.  Use your common sense.  You're all very bright
boys, and you'll understand what is going on.  There are some wonderful
sights for you to see; you'll probably want to go on a river cruise and
visit the zoo... just be alert.  Oh, and Artie: YOU report ANYTHING that
concerns you to Kevin or Hugo AT ONCE! ANYTHING!  Your good health will be
our concern, but YOU will have to help us by telling us what is happening
with you.  Is that clear, Artie?"


*****

It was nearly eight that evening when Jerome pulled the town car up in
front of Castle Dromoland.

The car had barely stopped, but all of the boys were out like a flash, it
being unclear just which one was most motivated:

"I'm so hungry... Let's get Kevin and Hugo to go to the dining room for
some hamburgers and French fries!"

"You want WHAT?" Hugo called just leaning his head out of the car..."That
is definitely NOT healthy food for growing boys... Wait, guys, and look at
the menu! Please??"

Kevin lingered in the town car speaking with Jerome.  "Jerome, if it's
convenient with you, maybe we could speak tomorrow morning about when we
ought to begin our return trip to Mr. Murphy's house near Dublin.  I'm
really a bit tired after the day and then the evening, ironing out new
plans.  That is, if it's okay with you..."

"Oh, yes, Sir, Mr. Kevin... We have no pressures to complicate our trip.
You and Mr. Hugo ought to just relax tonight from your seminar.  Indeed, we
can speak tomorrow."

"Will you call Jimmy and tell him when we'll need to return?" Kevin asked.

"Of course, Sir.  Jimmy will drive over with the sedan and we'll prepare
the vehicles for our return trip.  It will be no trouble at all..." Jerome
said.

"Thank You very much, Jerome.  We truly appreciate all that you have done
to make our visit to Ireland just perfect," Kevin answered.

"OH, Sir. It was a pleasure..." Jerome said smiling.

*****

Max and Brandy had prepared a surprise for everyone that now they would
only hear about later, given that they were on their way to Athens.

Performers from the famous Irish Dance Company would be performing a road
show version of Riverdance at Castle Dromoland that evening. Max and Brandy
had bought tickets for everyone to attend the performance.

None of the boys had ever seen this or any other professional musical show,
but not realizing it, they as well as Hugo and Kevin and Mr. and
Mrs. Donnally would be in front row seats. Riverdance was known to be full
of mesmerizing dancing, stirring rhythms, and haunting Irish melodies, but
the boys didn't know anything about all that yet.

"Dad, do we have to look at a menu?  I know what I want.  I'd just like a
hamburger and some French fries!" Jilder said.

"Jilder.  That kind of fast food is not good to nourish your growing body.
You need lean meat, lots of good veggies, and just a dash of potatoes or
pasta to go along-- fried potatoes are not real good for you. We want to
keep you away from the doctor for a long, long time." Hugo preached.

"Ohhhh, aaalll... right...!" Jilder said bearly "singing" his reply,
resigned to his healthy fate.

Kevin and Mrs. Donnally were helping the other boys order: one had chicken
with broccoli and one had Indonesian chicken salad.  Nicky was always good
for salmon, which was a house specialty at Castle Dromoland.

The maitre de came over to their table, "Sirs, I thought that I'd remind
you that the performance of River Dance will commence in exactly an hour
and a half.  You may wish to use your time for dining accordingly..."

"Thank you," Kevin replied.  "We certainly want the boys to see that
performance.  So we'll be sure that everyone is seated in the grand hall
well before the show begins."

"Very good, Sir." and the maitre de bowed a bit and left their table.

*****

A low murmur of conversation echoed around the hall, as new arrivals
shuffled among seats and time approached for the performance to begin.

The boys, all lined up on the very first row of seating, were excited at
their first professional theater experience.

"Do you think we'll be in the way?" Jilder asked the others.  "These seats
are soooo close!"

Sean replied, "I think that they left enough room for the actors to
be. They know what they're doing, because they do this for a
living... Don't you think?"

Nicky added, "Yeah. But we'll be able to see really, really good being this
close."

"What is Riverdance?" Archie asked.

Murph answered, "I don't actually know. I've never seen it, but my dad said
that this is REAL IRISH dancing and singing, and that they have traveled
all over the world performing for people."

"Oh...," Archie acknowledged.

Mrs. Donnally came up to the front row where the boys sat, leaned across
Sean and Jilder and Nicky and Murph to speak to Archie, "Now be very
careful, Archie Dear.  Don't put your feet out where the dancers will
stumble over them..."

Archie looked at the other boys and clearly wanted to disappear into the
floor.  He slumped down in his seat and replied, "Alright, Mum.  I
won't...."

Murph smiled at Archie and shook his head up and down, indicating that
Archie was handling his over-protective mother the right way... "You're
learning..." he whispered...

As Mrs. Donnally left, Archie grumbled from the slumped heap his body was
in, trying his best to hide, "Geees! My mum drives me crazy!!! Why would I
stick my feet out to trip the dancers????"

Nicky laughed and said, "Oh, Archie. That's just your mum.  Better get used
to it, 'cause it never gets better... Well, maybe when you're twenty-five
years old, it might??? I don't know..."

*****

The lights blinked off and on twice indicating that the program would
commence, and a hush fell over the crowd.  In minutes the Grand Hall went
pitch black dark...

Softly-colored, pencil-beamed lights trained on a multitude of spots across
the stage area rose in illumination from barely visible to brightly-lit and
dazzlingly intense, until they virtually lit up the entire hall.

And all at once, from the darkness as if by transmutation, beautiful young
women and handsome young men materialized in the bright spots of lights.

A solitary flute began its haunting, wailing sounds, and... After a moment
of its playing, all of the young dancers stomped one foot in unison, a clap
of THUNDER, as if to reply to the flute...

The flute paused, then played on, declaring its yearning to be heard; it
played on in quickly rising and then sad, moaning falling notes.  And when
the music's tension could be sustained no longer, all of the dancers broke
into an accented tap dance cadence in unison that thundered through the
hall, first slowly, then growing in tempo, and finally breaking into
strident stomps declaring to the world that the spirits of each one of them
were reaching out to one another and to every single person in the
audience.

The Dance Had Begun...

*****

All five boys were transfixed.  Each of them leaning forward sat on the
front edges of their seats.  Murph and Artie's eyes were huge and their
mouths hung open in awe.  None of the boys had witnessed such majestic
beauty of sound and feeling to which they were being treated at that moment
in time.

*****

And the loveliness of the human spirit, its longings, its celebrations, its
sadness, and its hopes, all found expression in the dance and music that
unfolded over the next hour and a half.

The boys hardly moved a muscle for the entire program.

As the last number finally began, several of the dancers went out to the
audience to claim participants to join them in a dazzling spotlight.

Three lovely young women, each with long black locks cascading over their
shoulders and two muscular young men, dressed in brightly colored shirts,
all went to the first row of the audience.  Each dancer reached out to a
different boy, pulling them up by their hands and out onto the floor, each
to a different spot of light on the floor.

The orchestra began a traditional Irish jig that fairly rolled around the
hall and bounced off the walls in its exuberance.  The performers took the
boy's hands and danced around them smiling brightly, exchanging glances of
happiness and sharing flirtatious looks of love.

At first the boys just stood there, not quite sure what to do, then the
spirit infected them too, and they began to bob up and down and step about,
taking the lead of the dancer.  Before long, everyone in the hall was a
part of the joy playing out on the stage, and all of the boys were lost in
a dimension of human experience that none of them even knew existed.

And then somehow, the dancers held their partner's hands firmly and the
pairs began to whirl around until altogether they reached a climax of joy
and happiness and the music stopped!

Abruptly.

And the audience literally shook the hall with their thunderous applause,
and the dancers smiled and hugged their good natured "volunteers."

The boys were on a high that would take all night and well into the next
day to dissipate!  What a magnificent experience for all of them...

*****

When the lights were brought up and the Riverdance troop began taking its
bows, all of Hugo and Kevin's boys stood off together at one side of the
stage clapping and jumping up and down in excitement for the dancers.

Then, the entire dance troop faced the boys and held out their hands in
tribute to their volunteer partners, and the audience applauded all the
more vigorously.

The boys finally realized that THEN, the tribute and the applause were FOR
THEM, and they smiled broadly and became visibly self-conscious.  Jilder
and Murph bowed timidly, not too much, lest they acknowledge that the
adulation to be for them!

Love and attention are powerful regenerative forces, but their energy and
blessing can be over-whelming if one is not able to accept it freely. The
boys had had no experience with such passionate admiration before.

*****

All of the boys wanted to tag along after the performers they danced with,
as the dancers retreated into the recesses behind the scenery and the
stage.

Sean wouldn't be daunted.  He had his eye on the young lady who was his
partner in the dance.  He boldly followed her right off the stage into the
adjacent dressing area and quickly spoke to her.

"Uh! My name is Sean," he said, his Irish accent fairly dripping from his
simple declaration.  "What be yours?" He asked.

The young lady turned and delivered a broad smile, replying in an equally
strong Irish brogue, "Aye.  My name is Alyana, but everyone calls me 'Aly'"
she said.

Sean didn't really know what to say.  He only knew that he didn't want the
conversation to end-- ever, if possible.

"I never danced with anyone before, and I want you to know that I will
never forget this dance with you," Sean said, suddenly sounding quite
serious...

"My.." Aly replied... "What a wonderful compliment. And what a handsome
young man you are!" she said coyly.

"Uh?" Sean stammered self-consciously. "Thank you... Uh?... I think you're
beautiful too.... Not that I think I'M BEAUTIFUL... No, that's not what I
meant..."

Aly laughed thoroughly amused at Sean's innocence, "I know what you mean,
Sean..." she replied disarmingly.  "And once again, thank you for the
compliment..."

Sean laughed at his own awkwardness, and he appreciated Aly's attention,
but he knew that their worlds were far apart, and that only a miracle had
allowed him to enter hers for this magical moment in time, and allowed him
actually to dance with her before the entire hall of people.

'Maybe life could be wonderful again after all,' Sean thought... For the
first time, he conceived that he would eventually be leaving his night of
terror behind for good, and replacing it with something else wonderful and
beautiful: with love...

*****

The throng and the milling audience members still remained in the hall
where Riverdance was performed...  Artie stood with Murph, while Jilder and
Nicky ran off to find Hugo and Kevin.

A second later, the handsome young dancer with the bright red, shiny shirt
returned from the dressing area to find his partner.

Artie looked up to see his dance partner in the red shirt standing there,
and he instantly became speechless.

"And who be you?" the young man asked of Artie, somewhat out of breath, but
with a big smile nevertheless.

Artie looked up at the young man and melted.  He simply looked at him
unable to make a sound.

"Oh, my goodness!" the young man said. "I hope that I didn't step on your
feet or spin you around too hard!" he said in an attempt to disarm the
paralyzed boy.

"Oh, no Sir," Artie stammered in a meek little voice.  "You dance very,
very well."

"Thank, goodness!" the dancer said, relieved to have broken through to
Artie.

"I'm afraid I'd lose my job if it gets around that I treat the audience
badly!" he smiled and joked.

"Oh, no Sir.  I am happy that you chose me.  It was really a lot of fun for
me..." Archie replied, now a little more relaxed.

"Aye! And.... so.... What be your name?" the dancer repeated himself.

"Oh! Yeah.  I'm Arthur, but me friends call me Artie, 'cause that's
easier..."

"Glad to meet you, Artie." the dancer said.  "I'm Luke." and he smiled
again and reached out to shake hands with Artie.

Artie offered his hand to Luke and then blurted out, "Luke, you are so
handsome and you dance so good, I know you must have lots of friends..."

"Oh! Well? Thank you, Artie, but I think that people don't choose their
friends by how they look.  I think they look inside to see how beautiful
their spirit is, and THAT'S what they want to be friends with.  THAT'S what
they love..."

Luke understood where Artie was coming from with his remark, Artie's own
disfigurement so obvious; and Luke admired his courage to say something
that must have pained him to his core.  That very innocent, candidness
instantly endeared Artie to Luke...

"You be a very good dancer yourself.  I know we must have shocked you all
when we took you out of the audience and dragged you up on the stage and
then started dancing... But YOU forgot about how you might look, how ALL OF
YOU MIGHT LOOK, dancing, and you understood in your heart how to move to
the music... You were a terrific partner, Artie, and I'll bet you are a
terrific friend to people too!"

Artie looked up to Luke and smiled at his compliment and at his message
that he LIKED Artie, that Artie's appearance was no impediment to his
attractiveness. Life may be bearable after all, Artie felt, not really
putting the thought into words: the feeling was sufficient.

"I've never been friends with a STAR," Artie said.  "Would you mind meeting
me mum and dad for me?" he said.

"Hey, what about me?!" Murph said, having been standing next to Artie the
whole while.

Luke laughed at Murph, "OF COURSE! And what be YOUR name, Sir?  I have been
quite rude standing here without introducing myself to you too."

"I'm Murph," Murph replied.

"Oh, of course, your full name must be an Irish Murphy." Luke replied
holding out his own to shake hands with Murph.

"Yep.  And I live in the United States" Murph added.

"That's marvelous.  We get to perform in different places in the United
States too. We recently performed at an Indian Casino called Pala, near San
Diego... Do you know it?" Luke replied.

"No.  But my friends, Nicky and Jilder over there-- and he indicated the
boys standing among the adults-- are from San Diego..."

"What a small world!" Luke replied.  "I'll have to say hello to them too
before we leave."

"Yeah! I think they'd like that," Murph said.

Artie didn't have to find his mother and father.  They found him, much to
his chagrin.  But now was not the time to deal with family issues, he
thought...

"Mum, Dad, look.  I'd like you to meet, Luke, the dancer who chose me to
dance on the stage..." he looked over at Luke just beaming at being
accepted by someone as handsome and successful as Luke.

"Yes, Dear.  We saw." his mother said patronizingly...  "Luke, we certainly
enjoyed your performance this evening.  I will make it a point to get
tickets to another of your engagements... You are unquestionably a National
Treasure."

"Well, thank you very much.  And from whom do I have the pleasure of
receiving such a generous compliment?" Luke asked.

"My name is Hilda Donnally, and this is my husband, Chapin.  We appreciate
your calling upon our Arthur to join the dancers.  It was a special
privilege for us..."

"My pleasure, Mrs. Donnally. My pleasure." Luke replied.

Then he turned to Artie and handed him a little card, his professional
calling card that Artie could use to contact him in the future. "Please
feel free to give me a call sometime if you're in the mood, Artie,
especially if you think I can be of some assistance..." Then he smiled at
the group... "I really must be going.  It has been a pleasure meeting all
of you: Artie, Murph, Mr. and Ms. Donally."  And Luke reached over, patted
Artie on the shoulder, and looked him directly in the eye, "Don't ever
worry about how you LOOK, ARTIE, just think about how wonderful it is to
DANCE..."

*****

The next morning Sean was up early preparing to feed Spirit and packing his
things.  There was still some puppy formula left, plenty to last over the
trip back home, but Spirit had eaten a lot of it.

By now, Spirit wanted to eat and play, but sleep very little, in the
daytime.  He was grabbing bed coverings in his little basket and chewing on
anything he could find.  His teeth must have been trying to come through,
because he was chewing, chewing, chewing-- everything!  (Just ask Murph
whose shirt had fallen into Spirit's bed.  There were holes in it that were
not there before.)

"Spirit!" Murph yelled.  "YOU ATE HOLES IN MY SHIRT!  BAD DOG!"

Sean replied, "Oh, yeah! We're gonna have to watch him close. He's at that
stage."

Artie reached down and picked up Spirit.  "Come on, Boy. Let's get some
breakfast..." And Artie patiently started Spirit on his first bottle of the
day, which he had only moments ago prepared in a clean, nipple-topped
bottle.

Hugo walked into the room while the boys were scurrying about putting on
clothes, engaging in mach combat with rolled-up towels that they would snap
on any vulnerable butt that presented itself-- even Hugo's!

"Ow!" Hugo cried out.  "I'm gonna catch whoever did that and give you a
whacking in appreciation!"

The boys all laughed and thought it great fun to challenge Hugo.

*****

In mere hours, Castle Dromoland and all that it had delivered to their
lives would become an unforgettable memory for all of the boys and their
dads.  At Dromoland too Artie had become a charter founder of the
five-member boyhood clan that would be a secure, rock-solid foundation upon
which these young men would grow and learn to venture out into the
world. All of their lives were just beginning...

Jerome and Jimmy had prepared to return their charges to the Murphy Estate
after everyone finished breakfast.  Max and Brandy would join them all
again very shortly.  Hugo recalled that everyday is new, and life is ever
beginning again with each new morning, and so it would be with Hugo, Kevin
and the boys and all of their many friends...


*****