Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:21:46 EST
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 3, chapters 17 - 18

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 3 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 17 -- Houston, We Have a Problem.

**Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read
this.

We all met up for breakfast the next morning and then set off for Houston.
I followed Mr. O'Hara along I-10, but since I knew Patrick didn't like to
drive fast, I knew this trip would take longer than it needed to.  It was
lunchtime when we arrived, so we stopped for pizza before continuing on.
After eating, we pulled into the parking lot for the Astrodome, ready to
take a tour of the facility.

The boys were excited, because they thought they were going to see a game,
but I quickly informed them the Houston Astros now played at a new
ballpark, so that wasn't possible.  They were disappointed, but not for
that long, as we entered the structure and began our look around.  The boys
soon learned that the noted architect Buckminster Fuller had designed the
Astrodome, at the beginning of the 1960's.  However, construction didn't
begin until 1963 and there were many obstacles to be overcome in building
it.

Although there are all sorts of domed stadiums now, this was the first
structure of its kind and had a span of 645 feet.  The side of the dome was
constructed mainly of steel and they'd erected 37 towers to hold up the
roof.  Many so-called experts claimed the baseball players would hit the
dome with pop ups or long fly balls, so they allowed a group of
professionals to spend several days trying to hit the top with a batted
ball.  They tried their hardest, but they eventually proved the experts
wrong.  The next problem was a surface on which to play, because it would
be difficult to keep grass growing inside a building.  Scientists came up
with an artificial turf, originally called Astroturf because it was first
used in the Astrodome, and it soon became a commonplace surface on all
types of college and professional stadiums.

It was a very interesting tour and we spent a couple of hours there.  As we
were ready to leave, one of the boys commented that it was too bad we
couldn't see a ballgame.  I asked them if they'd be interested in seeing
the new ballpark, Enron Field, and nearly everyone exclaimed that would be
nice.  Seeing they were in agreement, we made our way to that location.

When we arrived, I sent the O'Haras on ahead with the boys, telling them I
needed to see about tickets for the tour.  What I didn't tell them was I
had already reserved tickets for tonight's game against the Dodgers.  I
picked up the tickets and then took everyone out for our little tour.  As
we looked up, I pointed out the retractable roof on this stadium, unlike
the Astrodome, so games could be played in either indoor or outdoor
conditions.  It was actually quite intriguing.

The first game was played in this stadium on March 30, 2000, and was an
exhibition game against the Yankees, so this was a very new ball field.
The boys were excited when the players started taking the field for batting
practice and they asked me if there was a game today.  It was then that I
broke the news to them that there was a game today and we were going to
stay and see it.  I explained we could buy food at the concession stand for
dinner, and then we would take our seats, which were just on the outfield
side of the home dugout.

Needless to say, the rest of the day was a blur of activities.  I bought
the boys each a program and they went down to get autographs from players
on both teams.  I did manage to get them to eat in between gathering
autographs, shagging foul balls and talking to other kids who were as
excited as they were.  When the game started, our private game of
musical-lap started, as the little ones took turns sitting on my lap, Uncle
Patrick and Aunt Brenda's laps, and then even on their brothers' laps, for
some extra attention.  For some reason, they all needed a little extra
loving this evening, as we watched the Dodgers defeat the Astros, 7-3.

After the game, we made our way to the hotel, checked in and assigned
rooms.  I gave Mr. & Mrs. O'Hara the first room, with me taking the one
next to theirs.  The 'sex room' would be the one next to mine, so we would
have the rooms on either side of that one, to prevent other guests (or the
O'Haras) from wondering what was going on in there at night.

Danny, Brandon, Cole and Graham were sharing the 'sex room' tonight,
although there probably wouldn't be much sex actually taking place.  The
older boys were protective of the younger pair and would not do anything
they felt might hurt them or be more than they were ready for.  In fact,
other than a little kissing and hugging, the boys merely spent their time
enjoying each other's company and Danny spent the night cuddled against
Cole, while Brandon snuggled up with Graham.

Actually, the other room arrangements were slightly unusual for us.  Ricky
and Jay wanted the four little ones in the room with them again, so Dustin
and Kevin asked to stay with me.  Pat and Carlos quickly teamed up with
Dion and Trey, so that left Nick to be included somewhere.  Dustin and
Kevin realized what had happened and asked him to join us, which Nick did
in an instant.  I still think he has his eye on Kevin, as well as Ricky and
Brandon, and is just waiting for an opportunity to get closer to him.  I
might be wrong, but I would be very surprised if I were.

After their showers, I inquired who was going to sleep where, and Nick
quickly indicated he wanted to sleep with the other pair, but Dustin became
an instant gentleman and offered to sleep with me, so the other two could
have some elbowroom in bed.  I was surprised at his suggestion, thinking he
would be jealous of Kevin spending time with another boy, but I think the
lesson he'd learned a while ago was still in his mind.  After that near
disastrous blow-up between the two of them, when Trey first arrived, and
the time they spent together when each of them had been in the hospital, I
think Dustin had come to learn he could trust Kevin and didn't have to
possess him completely.  I was pleased by his maturity and Nick was pleased
at the opportunity.  Later that night, when I got up to use the toilet, I
saw that Nick was wrapped almost completely around Kevin, kind of like a
squid wrapped around its prey.

I went back to sleep, knowing there was another big day ahead of us, so I'd
need my rest.  I needn't worry about the boys, however, as it looked like
they were going to be well rested for our next outing.

Thursday was bound to be an interesting day.  I only had one stop planned,
but it was certain it would take up the entire day and give us plenty of
interesting things to do.  After breakfast we loaded up and headed over to
NASA's Johnson Space Center, the heart of the US space exploration program.
Mission Control is here, as well as the training center for astronauts.  We
would be at Space Center Houston, the official visitors center.

We began the day in the Space Center Plaza, an immense area that rises up
five stories above the shiny, black-lacquered floor that houses the current
display.  There is a full-size Space Shuttle mock-up located there, which
gave the boys a close-up look at the mid- deck and flight deck of the
orbiter -- from the control panels all the way to the sleeping quarters.
At this point the boys were hooked and I knew the only way we'd get them
out of here today was if security threw us out when they closed.

The rest of the attractions opened off of this central space, so we went to
The Feel of Space area next.  This was a hands-on exhibit area where you
could experience the physical and psychological sensations of space flight.
There are various flight trainers there that allowed you the chance of
trying to land the shuttle or the opportunity to retrieve a satellite from
orbit, using very realistic computer simulations.  All of the older boys
tried their hand at one or the other, with the younger ones cheering them
on.

It was obvious the hours they spent playing computer games added to their
dexterity and made it easier for them to complete the task, while those of
us who where a little older struggled to perform even a portion of the
task.  "That's okay, Daddy," Graham told me after I lost the satellite I
was trying to retrieve, "you're too old to be an astronaut now anyway."  I
wasn't sure if that comment was meant to make me feel better or not, but it
just made me want to grab my walker and leave.

In the Living in Space show, we learned how astronauts handle the routine
activities, like eating, sleeping, and showering, in zero-gravity.  They
selected a 'volunteer' to help them with this demonstration, and it just
happened to be Cole who got the honor.  He went up and got to see what it
would be like eating and exercising in space.  "Man, that food didn't taste
all the great," he whispered when he came back.  "I don't know how
astronauts can stand to eat it."

"Well, I think they do it more for sustenance than taste," I offered, "and
most of them don't stay up there for too long, so they probably just
tolerate it and then pig out when they get back."  He laughed at that, and
then we continue to watch what was going on.

There was also a simulated flight in a Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), which
is operated on an air-bearing floor, and I couldn't believe our luck, when
Dustin was selected to give it a try.  He got a chance to race against time
and perform a series of necessary commands, before he ran out of fuel.  If
that happened, he and his entire crew would be lost in space.

"Man, that was tough," he complained, after getting back.  "Nothing worked
the way I thought it should and knowing I had to finish before time ran
out, just made me mess up even more.  I can't believe I'd be stuck floating
around out there forever."

"Well, it's like flying a plane, rather than driving a car," I offered.
"When the fuel's gone, it's not like you can get out an push it to the next
gas station."  He laughed at my analogy, but got the point.

After that, the little ones even got to try on the various space helmets
representing the four distinct eras of space flight.  The helmets were
huge, compared to their heads, and they looked more like some alien being
from a B-rated movie than an aspiring astronaut.  Little Nicky kept trying
to hold the front of the helmet up, so he could see out of the visor, but
the weight of it kept pulling it down and dragging his head along with it,
toward the floor.

>From there, we went to the Space Center Theater and watched a 25-minute
film entitled "To Be An Astronaut".  This was projected on a screen that
was five stories tall and showed us how the astronauts trained and the
teams prepared for in-flight situations, before ending with personal
comments from several of the astronauts.  The boys were buzzing now, saying
how they wanted to be an astronaut or wanted to design or help plan for
these flights.  It was quite electric.  On the way out, we checked out the
exhibits of flight suits, from the very earliest ones, on up to the present
day models.

After that, we took the official NASA Tram Tour, where we were taken behind
the scenes of the Johnson Space Center.  There are actually two separate
tours.  The first was a 75-minute tour, during which time we visited the
astronaut training facilities, including the Space Environment Simulation
Laboratory, and the Mock-Up and Integration Laboratory.  Then we took a
45-minute tour of the historic Mission Control Centers and the brand-new
Space Station Operations Control room.

"Was that the place we saw in the movie 'Apollo 13'?" Ricky asked, after we
left the historic Mission Control Center.

"That was not only the place you saw in the movie," I informed him, "but it
was also the place all of those people actually worked when they helped
bring that flight back safely, not to mention all of the Mercury, Gemini
and Apollo flights that were monitored from that center."  That seemed to
answer his question and he seemed more impressed by it, after my
explanation.

By the time we finished the second tour, we were well past our normal
lunchtime and everyone was starving.  I suggested it was time to make our
way over to the Zero-G Diner, where the boys managed to eat enough to
satisfy themselves.  Their mouths were going the entire time, even while
they were eating, as they happily recounted all of the wonderful things
we'd seen.  I was going to chastise them about talking with their mouths
full, but noting their excitement, I didn't have the heart to dampen their
enthusiasm.

We began the afternoon at the Mission Status Center, where we were able to
listen in on the up-to-the-minute details of the mission currently in
progress.  We even heard the astronauts talking from their orbit high above
the earth and listened to Mission Control communicate with the Space
Shuttle astronauts, exchanging information and asking and answering various
questions.  It was almost as if we were part of the group managing this
flight.

Next, we went to the Starship Gallery, beginning with a visit to the
Destiny Theater.  There we watched the film 'On Human Destiny,' which told
the story of the first thirty plus years of space exploration.  It began
with the Goddard Rocket, continued through the various Mercury, Gemini, and
Apollo missions, and then went on to discuss the Space Shuttle and the
Skylab.  When the film ended, we went out to check the various displays,
including a suspended Lunar Module, the "Faith 7" Mercury capsule (which
was flown by Gordon Cooper), the Gemini V capsule (piloted by Pete Conrad
and Gordon Cooper), and the Apollo 17 Command Module (which took Gene
Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt to the moon).  The boys were
even more excited now, after seeing all of these capsules that actually
went up into space, and they were really hyper as we headed into the last
area.

The Kids Space Place was the last stop at the Center.  Here all of the boys
got to do something.  Some tried out the interactive displays and exhibits,
while the rest 'walked on the moon', and others 'commanded or lived on the
space shuttle'.  By the time they walked out of that area, it was like they
had been on a sugar high for a week.  They were fully wound up and I knew
it was going be tough to calm them down again.

Some of the boys wanted to use the restroom before we left, so I told them
to go ahead and we'd meet them back here.  As the other boys were nearly to
the toilets, Andrew announced he too had to pee, so I told him to hurry and
catch up with his brothers, but warned him to stay close to them until they
got back.  He raced off after the other boys and the rest of us started
talking about our day.  Several minutes later the boys returned, but once I
counted noses, one of the boys was missing.  I quickly determined it was
Andrew.

"Didn't you see him in the men's room?" I asked all of them, but no one in
particular.  They all looked at each other, before responding that none of
them had.

"I did hear a door to one of the stalls open and close," Dustin told me,
"but I didn't see who it was."

"Well, that was probably Andrew," I suggested.  "He might have decided he
needed to take a dump.  Why don't you older boys come with me and help me
make sure we find him, so we can leave."

I told the others to stay with Mr. & Mrs. O'Hara and the rest of us headed
toward the restroom.  When I walked in, I only saw a pair of men's feet in
one of the stalls and the rest of the place was empty.  Just for the hell
of it, I called Andrew's name.  I heard a weak, quickly stifled "Daddy"
come from the stall.  I quickly sent Trey to get security, placed the other
boys near the exit, and then addressed the guy in the stall with my son.

"You might as well come out of there now," I advised him.  "There are
several of us out here, so you're not going to get away.  I've already sent
someone to get security.  If you let my son go, we might go a little easier
on you."

There wasn't an immediate response, but I could hear clothes rustling and
then the door opened and Andrew came out, in tears.  However, the guy
stayed where he was.

"Are you all right, Andrew?" I asked him, very concerned.  He nodded that
he was, although he continued to cry.  "What happened in there?" I pressed.

Andrew looked up at me, but hesitated answering.  "It's okay, Andrew," I
told him, reassuringly.  "You didn't do anything wrong, but maybe that man
did.  What happened?"

Andrew looked at me with very sad eyes, not sure if he should tell me, but
finally he did.  "He touched my pee-pee... and he made me touch his," he
sobbed.

I was afraid something like that had happened, but tried not to sound
upset.  "Is that all he did?"

Andrew shook his head and then responded further.  "His pee-pee got all
hard and then...  and then... well... he tried to put his pee-pee in my
heinie."

That did it.  I was fuming now.  I had done my best to keep the little ones
away from any sexual activity and then this guy tries to molest him in a
public restroom.  I pushed Andrew toward Dustin, who was standing closest
to us, and then I kicked open the door, smashing the guy in the face with
it.  That sent him backward and caused him to land on the stool, none to
gently.  I then went in and dragged him out, before slamming him up against
the wall.

It was at this instant that I realized the example I was setting for the
boys, so I relaxed and released the guy, while we waited for security to
arrive.  As I turned back toward the boys, the guy made some obscene
comment to my sons, which instinctively caused me to whirl back around,
with my right fist leading the way.  I smashed my knuckles into his face
and sent him sprawling again, but I didn't stop there.  Once he was down, I
leaped on the bastard and was ready to smash his face in, when Trey arrived
with security.

They came forward and dragged me off that sorry excuse for a human being
and I tried desperately to calm myself down, for the sake of the boys.
Once things had settled somewhat and they had cuffed their suspect, the
officers started questioning all of us about what had happened.

While they were performing those tasks, another of the officers was
snapping Polaroids of the crime scene.  Sometime during this period,
Mr. O'Hara came in to see what was going on, and Brandon quickly informed
him about the situation.  Shocked and concerned, he returned to his wife
and the other boys, trying to keep them all calm, while they waited for us
to rejoin them.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 3 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 18 -- Coping.

We soon found ourselves down at the police station, so we could give our
accounts of the events that took place earlier.  We drove our vehicles
behind the squad cars, following them to their headquarters, and then all
of us who had been part of what happened, starting with Andrew and me, and
then the boys who had been in the mens room when we found Andrew and the
guy released him.  Our statements were video-taped, and after that another
group of officers typed them out, so we could sign and date them.

The Desk Sergeant. said it would be unlikely we'd have to come back to
testify, seeing we caught the bastard in the stall with Andrew, had so many
witnesses to that fact, and also had Andrew's account of what had happened.
He figured the guy would most likely accept a plea-bargain, rather than
face a jury of angry adults, who would most likely be willing to throw the
book at him.  Now that everything had been taken care of, we thanked the
police for their help and left to return to our hotel.

I had been holding and carrying Andrew since we rescued him and he was
clinging to me more tightly than my old army uniform, since it was now
several sizes too small for me.  We all tried to comfort and reassure him
that he was fine, everything was all right and he was safe again.  I had to
let Brandon's father drive the van to the hotel for me, while his wife
drove their car, since Andrew didn't want to let go of me, even for an
instant.

By this time, we decided to just pick up subs for dinner, which we could
eat in our rooms, and we bought some soda and chips to go with them.  After
the boys ate, I gave the little ones their baths, tucked Sammy, Andrew,
Justin and Nicky into one bed, while Cole and Graham sat on the other bed
to keep them company.  I was to meet everyone else in the O'Haras' room, to
discuss how we were going to handle this.

As I walked in, the boys were filling Brandon's mother in about how I had
'beat the crap out of the guy,' which didn't make me feel all warm and
fuzzy inside.  The boys then began to tease me about being a mother bear
protecting her cub, but it was all good- natured ribbing.  They each made
certain to let me know they were really pleased that I had gone the
distance for Andrew.  I'm not sure how proud I was of myself at that point,
but I knew I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, if another situation like
that ever arose.

It was then that the boys began calling me 'slugger', 'champ', 'Rocky' and
'the terminator', but I quickly informed them we would not discuss what
happened in this fashion in front of the little ones.  I didn't want to
scare them any more than they already were, and I didn't want them to
become overly paranoid about something similar happening again.  I told the
others I would explain to the boys again about being able to say 'no' to
people who want to do things like that and the importance of staying with
an older person when we are out in public.  If the truth were to be known,
I was really blaming myself for just telling Andrew to go catch up with his
brothers, instead of going with him.  I knew this would haunt me for a long
time to come and I'd relive my guilt every time I looked into his precious,
innocent face.

Once that discussion ended, we all went back to our own rooms.  Danny,
Brandon, Dustin and Kevin were in the 'sex room' this evening, but I knew
they were all too upset about what happened to their brother to do
anything.  I went back to my room and got ready to get into bed and Andrew
woke up, just as I was about ready to turn off the lamp.  He asked if he
could sleep with me and I told him that would be fine.  As quick as
lightening, he scooted over from his bed to mine and crawled under the
sheet beside me.  I held him tightly all night long, as my silent apology
for letting such a terrible thing happen to him.

The next morning I chatted briefly with Andrew, while the other boys were
brushing their teeth, and he seemed to have already recovered from his
ordeal.  Fortunately, the guy never had time to penetrate his little butt
before we rushed in there, so there was no physical damage done and the
psychological scars were already beginning to heal.  Andrew actually
thanked me for saving him from that bad man and seemed quite content to
leave it at that, although it still didn't ease my guilt.  I was pretty
sure this wasn't entirely over yet, but I was willing to take things at his
pace.  I gave him a hug and a kiss, before sending him off to brush his
teeth, and then we joined the others for breakfast.

The older boys were totally protective of the younger members of the group
now and made certain that someone was either carrying or holding the hand
of each of the five smallest family members, which included Graham.  Even
though he was older than Dion, he was much smaller physically and much more
vulnerable to a predator.  Graham didn't seem to mind, in fact he seemed to
be enjoying the extra attention, and none of the little ones were able to
make a move, without being accompanied by one or two of the older boys.

Now it was time to go back to having fun and giving the boys something else
to focus on.  We did that by driving to the San Jacinto State Park, so we
could see the Battleship Texas.  The ship had participated in both World
War I and World War II.  In WW I, it was considered the most powerful
warship afloat, because of her ten 14"/45 guns in five twin turrets.  In
1919, the Texas also became the first US battleship to launch an aircraft
from its deck.  After that, the Texas received the first commercial radar
in the US Navy in 1939 and in 1940 it was designated flagship of the US
Atlantic Fleet.  Another first was accomplished when the First Marine
Division was formed aboard the Texas in 1941.

"Look at the size of those guns," Pat remarked, standing in awe of her
impressive weaponry.

"Bet it could fire and hit targets miles away," Kevin added, thinking about
how much damage the shells from those guns could do.

After that, we learned the Texas transmitted General Eisenhower's first
"Voice of Freedom" broadcast in 1942, when he asked the French not to
oppose allied landings on North Africa.  However, the French didn't heed
his advice and still put up resistance when they landed.  The Texas
provided gunfire support for the amphibious assault on Morocco, to protect
the allied troops as they landed on the North African shore.  The Texas was
also at the Normandy invasion, firing on Nazi defenses as the allied forces
stormed the beaches.

The Texas was later transferred to the Pacific fleet, where it provided
gunfire support for landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.  In 1948, the Texas
became the first battleship to become a memorial museum in the US, and in
1977 it was designated a National Historic Landmark, before being placed
under the stewardship of the Texas Parks and Wildlife department in 1983.
Since that time, the Texas has been restored to her 1945 Pacific theater
condition and that's how we saw the vessel today.

"How can they get something so heavy and made from metal to float, Daddy?"
Graham wanted to know.

Even though I tried to explain the dynamics of how it was accomplished, I
failed miserably and finally gave up, while telling him I'd find a way to
explain it better, once we got back home.  After that, we gave the boys
some time to pretend they were sailors fighting in the war, as many of them
began running around the deck, pretending to battle an unseen enemy, which
happened to also entertain some of the other tourists that were onboard at
the same time.

Eventually, the O'Haras and I managed to drag them off of the ship and get
them into our vehicles, so we could make the short drive to Galveston.  The
first thing we did there was to visit another ship, this one being much
older and made of wood.  The Elissa is a restored nineteenth-century
sailing ship, which was first launched in late 1877.  It is 162' long, with
a molded depth of 16', and has a gross capacity of 430 tons.  The ship
carries 19 sails made of canvas and her hull plates and forms are made of
iron, except where it has been restored with welded steel.

The Elissa began her career as a cargo ship, transporting coal, but it was
sold many times over the following years and used for many other purposes.
It is now one of the few surviving square-riggers in the world and the
oldest one listed in the Lloyd's of London 'Registry of Shipping.'  It is
now under the control of the Galveston Historical Foundation, which is
responsible for restoring the ship, and was placed on the National Register
of Historic Places during the summer of 1978.

The boys were intrigued with the differences between this vessel and the
Texas, which led to a discussion of the history of sailing ships and the
various changes that occurred in their design and construction over the
centuries.  We talked about the Phoenicians and the Romans, focusing on how
they used ships to establish trading and political empires.  We then
discussed the Spanish Armada and how the British had defeated it and then
become the rulers of the sea for many years afterward.  That fact alone
made it possible for them to establish their vast expanses of colonies and
led to the saying 'the sun never sets on the British Empire.'  We also
discussed the use of metal in ship construction and how it evolved over
time.  I think we might have a couple of future sailing men in this group,
as they expressed an interest in finding out what it would be like to spend
so much time on such a vessel.  When our tour ended, we decided to do lunch
and continued this discussion while we ate.

After lunch, we went to our hotel, which was along the fine Galveston
beaches.  It was then that I informed the boys that our last couple of days
in Texas would be spent here, enjoying the sun, sand and the waters of the
Gulf of Mexico.  Everyone was excited about this announcement and happy we
would be spending the next two days just loafing about and relaxing, before
we headed back home.  We took everyone to their rooms and got them settled
in, before we all changed into our swimwear and headed down to the beach to
spend the rest of the afternoon in the sun.

We hustled down to the water's edge and right away the older boys took to
the surf, having a grand time in the mild waves.  Even Dion and Carlos went
out into the water, although not as far or as recklessly as the others, but
they too seemed to be enjoying themselves as well.  The younger ones stayed
on the beach, just letting the waves come up and wash across their lower
legs and feet, as each wave swept ashore.  Brandon's parents and I watched
the boys, while enjoying the warm rays of the sun as they caressed our aged
bodies.  We also made sure the boys didn't wander out too far or get
careless in unfamiliar territory, besides seeing they didn't wander off
anywhere else on their own.

The older boys soon ended their frolicking and came in to help the younger
boys build sand sculptures.  They broke up into groups, decided on what
they wanted to make and then began to sculpt it.  One group made a
traditional castle, as another decided to make Shamu out of sand, while the
next tried to make the Space Shuttle and the last group worked on trying to
make a ship.  They all turned out quite well and we adults were impressed
with their abilities, noting the details that each group added to their
particular sculpture.

After they finished their designs, the older boys took the younger ones
with them, a little farther out in the water, but it wasn't anything they
couldn't handle.  Even Dion and Carlos joined them this time.  At first, I
was concerned the older boys would forget the little ones were with them or
that Carlos and Dion were still non-swimmers and start their horsing
around.  However, they were very careful and very attentive, while making
sure no one was placed in a hazardous situation.  They eventually came back
in, spread their towels out on the sand and sprawled out all around us.

After resting for a few minutes, Brandon reached into the gym bag he had
carried down with him and pulled out a Frisbee and a Nerf football.  When I
shot a questioning look at him, he gave me an instant reply.  "I brought
these from home and kept them in the car, just in case we might need
something to do," he said, with a grin.

"Good thinking, old man," I teased him.  "I didn't think any of you ever
thought that far ahead."

"Oh, we do more planning than you'll ever know about, Pop," he responded,
giving me a wink.  I wanted to ask him what kind of planning he was talking
about, but was afraid of his possible answer, especially with his parents
sitting right there.  Fortunately, they didn't give his comment a second
thought.

The boys played an interesting game of Frisbee tag that included everyone,
even the younger boys, in the game.  The little ones thought it was big
sport to chase the older ones and tag them by throwing the Frisbee and
hitting them with it, and they continued this game until they decided to
throw the Nerf football around instead.  Eventually, they ended up playing
a game of keep-away with the football and I was getting dizzy watching the
group in the middle chasing the ball, as it flew back and forth.  The boys
finally tired themselves out and came back to join us again, plopping down
on their towels again.  However, they only rested briefly, before dragging
us adults out into the waters of the Gulf and making sure we got totally
wet in the process.

We spent the whole afternoon enjoying the sun and the water and I concluded
the boys would sleep well tonight.  The fresh air and exercise always seems
to have that effect on them and I figured this would be no exception.  As
the afternoon progressed into evening, the boys announced they were hungry
and it was time to eat.  We quickly collected all of our things, went back
to our rooms, cleaned up and changed, before trying to locate a restaurant.

The boys had taken a quick survey amongst themselves and decided we should
do Chinese this evening.  They approached the desk clerk, to ask him if he
knew of a place, and he was very helpful in directing us to a very good
establishment.  As we were sitting there eating, it suddenly struck me that
the boys had probably done this for Andrew's benefit, to help keep him from
thinking about yesterday's experience.  Even though Sammy and Andrew were
Japanese, not Chinese, they still liked this cuisine and it was a less
obvious choice than a Japanese restaurant.

As I began watching all of the boys, I noticed that each one of them was
making sure to take the time to say something positive to their little
brother or do something helpful for him.  Now, I was totally convinced that
my assumption was correct.  I made a mental note to check with one of the
boys later, to verify my suspicions.  However, I was very proud of their
thoughtfulness, suspecting this to be the case.

On the way out of the restaurant, the boys saw a poster for a free concert
in the park, featuring a collection of local talent.  It was slated for
tomorrow evening, so they asked if we could go.  I talked it over quickly
with the O'Haras and we saw no reason why we shouldn't attend, so we told
the boys it would be fine.  Then we asked them what they wanted to do
tonight and they said they wouldn't mind just going back to the room and
ordering a movie.  I told them we could all go to my room and I'd let them
order the movie, so we could all watch it together.  I invited the O'Haras
to join us, but they said they'd rather select their own movie and view it
in their own room, and I told them I understood.  Therefore, I led all the
boys to my room and left Patrick and Brenda to enjoy their time alone.

The boys quickly checked out the listings for the evening and agreed on
some action- adventure movie.  I set things up for them and then settled
onto the sofa, where I was quickly surrounded and buried beneath a
collection of young male bodies.  The little ones sat on or beside me,
while the older boys sat on the floor or leaned up against us.  Andrew was
one of the ones who found his way onto my lap and he watched the entire
movie with his head resting against my shoulder.  When the movie ended, I
sent all of the boys to their rooms to get some sleep.

Cole, Graham, Pat and Carlos were in the 'sex room' this evening, and I was
pretty sure that Carlos would be trying out some more oral sex.  Dustin,
Kevin, Brandon and Danny were going to share a room and they asked Sammy
and Andrew to join them.  I agreed with their plan and they all took off.
Andrew spent the night tucked safely between Brandon and Danny, while Sammy
was protectively snuggled between the other pair.

Nick asked if he could stay with Nicky, Jordan and me this evening, and I
told him he could, so Ricky, Jay, Trey and Dion went to the final room.  I
was surprised to see Nick get into bed between my two grandsons, one
wrapped in each of his arms, and they spent the night cuddled together like
that.  I believe that, having been an only child, Nick was beginning to
enjoy having all of these others around.  For the little ones, he was
becoming a loving big brother/uncle and he enjoyed the older boys as
brothers, friends and sex partners.  For the first time in quite a while, I
slept alone, but I was happy that the others were content with their
current situations.

We spent Saturday on the beach again, except this time it was much more
crowded.  There were tons of other kids around too and the boys were soon
busy making new friends and engaging in activities with some of these new
acquaintances.  We gave the boys plenty of space to enjoy themselves, only
watching to make sure that no older children or adults approached them in
any threatening way.  I was just about ready to pounce on this one guy who
was approaching Nicky, when he noticed his own son, who coincidentally
looked very much like my grandson, and went to him instead.  I realized it
was just a case of mistaken identity and relaxed once more.

We ate early that evening, in order to make sure we could get to the park
for the concert and find a decent seat.  It turned out that some of the
groups were quite good and the various artists represented quite a broad
spectrum of musical tastes.  The first group was a country group that
performed some of the recent country favorites, plus a couple of their own
pieces.  The next group was a rock-oriented group, but they were eclectic
in their tastes, performing pieces by several well-known groups.  The third
group basically did blue-grass songs and the fourth group was a real
head-banger rock group.  After that, there was another country group,
followed by an older group that performed mostly classic rock and roll.
The group after that played contemporary pop and the final band was one of
the big name local rock-groups.  All in all it was a pretty enjoyable
evening, although I could have survived it better without the head-banger
group.  When it ended, it was already quite late, so we went directly back
to our rooms.

No one really cared about the 'sex room' tonight, so we didn't even make an
assignment.  Tomorrow we would be flying back home and this caused quite a
few mixed emotions.  There was a lot of fidgeting going on with some of the
boys, as they tried to get to sleep, and in the middle of the night I heard
a knock on the door to my room.  When I opened it, I was surprised to find
Nick standing there.

"Nick, what's the matter?  What are you doing up this late?" I asked him.

"I couldn't sleep very well," he replied.  "Can I stay here with you?"

"Sure, come on in."

I just happened to be sleeping alone again, that was until Nick jumped into
bed with me.  Soon he was cuddled up against me, his arm thrown across my
stomach and laid his head on my chest.  After lying like this for several
minutes, he lifted his head and looked me in the eyes.  "You ARE going to
let me come join you at your home when you get back from England, aren't
you?" he asked.

"Certainly I am," I replied, suddenly understanding his need to join me.
"I'm not going to leave you without a place to go.  Brandon's parents will
take good care of you until we return and then we'll have you fly out and
join us."

"Promise you won't forget," he insisted.

"I promise, Nick.  I could never forget you," I told him.

With that, he put his head back on my chest and eventually fell asleep.  I
guess I never considered that Nick would be insecure, after what he had
been through, but he needed reassurance the same as any young boy who felt
he wasn't really loved or wanted.  The next morning I made sure I
reinforced my commitment to him, before I did anything else.

I let all of the boys sleep late that morning and then we went out for
Sunday brunch.  After eating, we went back to our rooms to pack.  We loaded
all of our things into the van and then said good-bye to the O'Haras and
Nick.  All of the boys said their individual farewell to Nick and then he
came over and threw his arms around me.  I kissed him on the forehead, told
him that we'd see him again in mid-August, and then I hugged him as hard as
I could.

The O'Haras said their good-byes to everyone too and then they got in their
car to make the drive back to San Antonio.  I saw Nick looking out the back
window, tears streaming down his cheeks, waving bravely at us as they
pulled away.  My heart was breaking, because I couldn't take him with us.

I finally got the others into the van and drove to the airport, where we
turned the van back in and checked in our luggage.  Within the hour, we
were boarding our flight to head home for the next couple of weeks.  This
part of our summer was behind us and now we had to prepare for the next
phase.


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