Date: Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:46:53 EST
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 3, chapter 29 - 30

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 3 by BW                    
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 29 -- The End of the Road.                 

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

Thursday morning was a blur of activity, as we got everyone up and off to
breakfast.  The boys all ate well, and then we went back to the rooms to
get ready to return to the beach.  Nigel and I quickly talked about what we
should do that evening, with him explaining that their accommodations were
much more cramped and wouldn't comfortably house both groups.  Under those
circumstances, I offered to have everyone stay with us one more evening.
He graciously accepted and we told the boys to leave their things in the
room for tonight.

There was a cheer, as everyone seemed to like this idea, and then we went
down to the bus.  During the bus ride, my boys taught their new friends
some old camp songs they knew, and in return, the other boys taught them a
couple of new songs as well.  The boys were still whooping it up when we
arrived at the beach, and were almost oblivious to the fact we had reached
our destination.  The bus driver stopped Nigel and me as we were about to
get off, telling me how he had enjoyed his time with us and got a kick out
of seeing the boys having such a good time.  He said he had seen a story
about the Barstow family and realized that ours was similar in its make-up,
and then he said he tipped his hat to the two of us for doing such a
wonderful thing for those boys.  Nigel and I thanked him and then explained
we got nearly as much out of it as the boys did, but concluded we would
have to finish this discussion later.  It was obvious the boys were getting
impatient waiting for us, which he had noticed as well.  He told us to go
on and have a good day, which we all planned on doing.

After we made our way down to the beach and shed what little clothes we had
on, the bevy of girls that the boys had been hanging around with the
previous day found them almost instantly, so they went off ahead of the
rest of us.  I saw Kevin's look of disappointment as Dustin and the others
left, but he had latched onto Kjetil and they soon took off with another
group.

The day was going quite peacefully and the boys were having a great deal of
fun, until late in the afternoon, when we heard one of the boys scream out.
It was one of Nigel's Croatian boys and he was screaming that his cousin
had been sucked under the waves.  It was obvious the boy had been caught in
an undertow and pulled under the surface.  Instinctively, I resorted to my
old lifeguard days and raced to the scene, with Nigel right on my heels.
The two of us swam out and did a couple of quick dives.  We didn't find him
on those first two tries, so I went under one more time, moving a little
further away from our first dive location, and finally located the boy.  I
grabbed him and pulled him up and out of the water, before lifting him into
my arms and racing to the beach as fast as I could.  I placed his limp body
on the sand and immediately began performing CPR on him.  Nigel informed me
that he was also certified in CPR, so I let him do the chest compressions,
while I tried to breathe life back into the boy's body.

We worked frantically on the kid, while all of our other boys and some of
the other naturists formed a ring around us.  I puffed and puffed into the
kid's mouth, watching his chest rise and fall, while I also listened for
the air to escape again.  While I was doing my job, Nigel had both of his
arms held stiffly in front of him, fingers laced together and the heel of
his hand pumping out a rhythm for the heart muscle to imitate.  The longer
we continued to work on the boy, the more I doubted we were going to be
successful.

During that entire time, I could hear the boy's cousin pleading for us to
save him and crying at the same time, while others tried to comfort and
reassure him that we were doing all we could.  As we kept working on the
boy, I could hear some other people praying or others asking questions
about what had happened, while still others were sobbing audibly.  I
thought we were just about out of time when the boy coughed, spit up some
water and began to gasp for air.  Nigel collapsed back on his calves,
exhausted from his part of the rescue, while I rolled the boy onto his
side, to allow him an opportunity to vacate any remaining water from his
lungs.  Once he seemed fully recovered, I hugged him against my chest,
while reassuring him he was all right.

A cheer went up from the crowd as the boy came back to life, and then his
cousin bolted to his side and tried to hug him.  I had to stop him, telling
him his cousin needed room to breathe and didn't need someone restricting
his chest by squeezing it.  He looked at me, nodded his understanding and
then thanked me, profusely.  Nigel, too, placed his hand on my shoulder and
thanked me several times, telling me constantly that he didn't know if he
could have dealt with losing one of his boys.

Once I had regained my composure and calmed down a bit, I told Nigel that I
understood how he felt and had often wondered the same thing, while hoping
I'd never come even this close to finding out.  It was nearly time to leave
anyway, so we had the boys get their things, while we slipped the lad's
trunks on him, and then I carried him to the bus.  We had the driver take
us to the hospital, where we had him checked out thoroughly.  The driver
stayed with the boys on the bus and watched them for us, while they relayed
the whole story of what happened on the beach.  The doctors checked the boy
out, giving him a complete physical examination, but they felt it best to
keep him overnight, just for observation.  I knew what must be going
through Nigel's mind, so I told him to stay with the son that needed him
now and I'd take care of the rest.  He thanked me and I walked back to the
bus alone.

As I boarded the bus, the driver spoke.  "Magnificent, sir.  The boys told
me how brilliantly you handled yourself today."

After I got past him, then I had to answer everyone else's questions.  By
the time we reached the hotel, the boys were still muddled balls of shock,
grief, relief and joy, yet totally unsure about how to separate all of
these different feelings.  I took time to talk to all of them together in
my room, before letting them return to their own rooms to clean up.  I also
took the time to pull the other Croatian boy aside and assure him his
cousin would be just fine and that this overnight stay was just
precautionary.  He seemed greatly relieved by that news, as he had begun to
think it was more serious than he'd been told, once Nigel and his cousin
were left behind.

After the boys got ready for dinner, we headed back to the same restaurant,
since I'd asked the front desk to call and make reservations for us again
tonight.  I had made that request before we left that morning, so
everything was ready when we reached the establishment.  We were guided
back to the same room we dined in the previous evening and took our seats.
However, tonight had a much more solemn atmosphere about it, although the
meal was just as wonderful.  No one was overly talkative, as many of the
older boys were dealing with another reminder of their own mortality, but
no one was hysterical or over-reacting.  It had been extremely quiet until
Joseph broke the silence.

"You were aces today, sir," he said to me.  "Where did you learn all of
that?"

I gave him a quick rundown of the lifesaving course I took while I was in
high school and explained to him about my various jobs as a lifeguard,
during the summer after my senior year and then throughout college.  I told
him I kept my CPR certification up to date, just in case I needed to use it
at school or now with my own family, and that obviously his father had done
the same thing.  I told Joseph it was always important to know such things,
especially if it might save the life of a loved one.  The whole group
agreed with this comment and then we ate in silence once again.

After we got back to the hotel, Nigel's cousin's son came up to me.  "Sir,
would you ring up hospital and make sure our brother is all right?"

I assured him that I would and eventually spoke to Nigel.  He confirmed the
boy was doing fine and they would both rejoin us in the morning, for
breakfast.  I asked him if he might prefer us doing something else on our
final day together, after what had happened, and he immediately responded
with an emphatic, 'NO!'  He went on to explain that he didn't want his son
to become afraid of the water after that incident and insisted we still go
back to the beach.  He said he would go out with his son, anytime the boy
wanted to go into the ocean, but he expected he would be spending most of
his time on the beach.  He also didn't want the others to develop a phobia
to the water after that episode either, reiterating it was important that
we all returned and carried on normally.

I agreed with his reasoning and rung off, as the Brits would say, then I
told the boys that everything was fine.  I explained that we'd see them
both again tomorrow, when we spent our final day at the beach.  A couple of
my boys looked at me and raised their eyebrows, thinking I was daft for
suggesting we go back there again so soon, but didn't mutter their thoughts
in front of the others.  Later, when I was alone with them, I explained
Nigel's rationale for doing this to them.  After a few minutes of
discussing this further, they finally understood his reasoning.

As it approached bedtime, I sent the various boys off to their rooms, to
get a good night's sleep, but I had the other Croatian boy sleep with me.
I wanted him close by, in case he had trouble sleeping or suffered from bad
dreams.  Sammy and Andrew slept in the other bed, while I cuddled with the
poor kid who nearly lost his only other living relative.  His sleep was not
easy, but I think it did help him feeling me hugging him throughout the
night, and I did hear him crying softly in his sleep a couple of times that
evening, but he never woke up.  The next morning I had to help him get
ready, as he was still not totally coherent.

Just before we were to leave for breakfast, Nigel and the other boy arrived
by taxi.  We gave them time to clean up, which they did quickly, and then
we all set out.  We had a very good breakfast, but much of our time was
spent with the poor Croatian boy answering questions from the others about
what he remembered.  At first Nigel and I weren't so sure about this, as it
seemed ghoulish, but then decided it might be just what was needed.
Therefore, we let everyone clear the air and put this behind them.

Over the course of breakfast, the boys wanted to know if his life flashed
before him or if he saw a bright light, but they were also interested in
whatever else he remembered seeing or feeling.  After we finished eating,
we did put a stop to this discussion, explaining that would be enough for
now and they could discuss this again tonight, but now it was time to set
off and have some fun.  The boys relented and we boarded the bus, ready for
another day.

When we arrived at the beach, the chick clique attacked our boys and
dragged them off immediately.  The other naturists greeted the rest of us
and asked the boy how he was feeling.  Once he told them he was doing fine,
they told Nigel and me how wonderfully we had reacted to the situation and
how impressed they were at how we maintained our calmness.  If only they
knew.  After that, things started to quiet down again and returned to
normal.

After about an hour, Nigel coaxed the boy into going out into the water
with him, which the lad did with some reluctance.  After some tentative
steps and a few moments of near panic, the boy again began to relax and
realize what happened to him yesterday was just a freak accident.  We knew
he would be more careful in the future, but he finally proved he wasn't
about to withdraw totally from one of his favorite pastimes.

The group of boys who were infatuated with the female body was now enjoying
their last hours with their puppy loves, managing to say their good-byes as
the day wore on.  Kevin had a smug look on his face, showing he realized
that he might have lost the battle, but was about to win the war.  He knew
he'd be going home with Dustin in another day and wouldn't have to worry
about any of those girls again.  A minor victory in his war of adolescence,
but he still had a lot to learn about the warfare of love.

As evening approached, the boys began saying their farewells to each other,
knowing we would be spending this evening apart.  Tonight they'd be
sleeping in their own rooms and my group would be leaving in the morning
for the airport.  Nigel's group would have one more day at the beach, but
for my family, our long vacation was coming to an end.

This realization aroused mixed feelings for my boys.  They were sad our
vacation was ending, since we'd had a great time on our two trips, but they
were also looking forward to getting back home and resuming their normal
lives.  There was still much for us to do before school started again,
including reaching a resolution about how to handle Nick's current
predicament.  It was something I had been thinking a great deal about and
now felt I might have an idea about what I was going to do.

When time came to leave, we dropped the Barstows off at their hotel, saying
tearful farewells and exchanging addresses and telephone numbers.  We
promised to stay in touch and invited them over to join us some summer at
our home, before we drove off, with all of the boys waving back and forth
at each other as we departed.  It is never easy to say good-bye, but this
seemed to be an especially emotional parting.  It had only been a few days,
but those days had been filled with endless hours together and a great
amount of sharing and caring.  I knew none of us would forget the others
quickly.

Dinner was very subdued that evening, without much happening.  I offered to
take the boys to see another movie, but they weren't interested tonight.
Instead, we all crammed into my room and spent time together until it was
time to go to sleep.  After the other boys left for their rooms, Andrew
approached me.

"You saved that boy's life and let him live, didn't you, Daddy?" he
observed.

"Yes, I guess I did play a part in saving him," I told him, "but his father
did too."

"You were very brave and you saved him like you saved me from that bad man.
Right?"  he asked, and I began to wonder where this was heading.

"I guess that is one way to look at it," I responded, trying not to say
anything that would lead him in any particular direction or discourage him
from saying more.  Fortunately, it didn't do either.

"I feel safe when I'm with you," Andrew continued.  "I know you wouldn't
let anyone hurt me or any of my brothers."

"Well, I guess that's part of a daddy's job," I agreed.  "We're here to
protect our children and keep them safe.  Maybe someday you'll do the same
thing for your own children."

"I hope that I'm big and brave like you, Daddy," Andrew gushed, momentarily
making me feel like Superman.

"I hope so too, Andrew, but now it's time for you to go to sleep," I urged
him, before he happened to touch on something darker.

Although it had been a short conversation and the content of our discussion
was nothing earthshaking, his few words and child-like innocence had said
volumes from his soul.  I don't think I could have been happier or prouder
about what I had accomplished on the beach that day, even if I had been
knighted by the Queen or given our country's highest honor from the
President.  It was a child's simple observation and comments that rewarded
me more richly than if I'd been given all of the gold in the world.

Sammy and Andrew both slept with me that night, one on either side, and I
think it was one of my best nights of the entire trip.  When I awoke the
following morning, both small bodies were pressed up against mine, and they
each had the most contented expression on their angelic faces.  I almost
hated to wake them when it was time to get up, but eventually had to do
just that.

After both boys were up and heading for the shower, I called the various
rooms and got all of the other boys going too.  Once everyone was dressed,
packed and ready to leave, I double-checked the rooms to make sure nothing
had been left behind.  We took our things down to the lobby, loaded
everything into the bus and then headed out for breakfast.  We only had a
quick simple meal this morning, as none of us were overly enthused about
leaving.

Once we had finished, we boarded the bus and did a quick recount of noses
and belongings, before the driver wheeled the bus onto the highway, in the
direction of the airport.  It was a bittersweet ride, recounting the many
good times we had while here and the new friends we were leaving behind,
but all good things must come to an end.

Before we went to the airport, we first swung by the transportation office,
so I could pay our tab and pick up the souvenirs of this trip that we had
ordered in Eton.  By the time I got back on the bus, I was in possession of
our coat of arms, shield, crest and family history.  I unwrapped each item
and showed it around to the others, listening to their pleased comments
about it, before rewrapping each item and packing them away.  I wanted to
make sure nothing happened to them, so we could proudly display them on the
wall of our home.

When we arrived at the airport, we unloaded our luggage and I gave the
driver a generous tip.  He had served us well throughout our stay and did
everything I asked of him.  When we finally took our leave of him, he
wished us all the best and thanked me for my generosity, both to him and to
the boys.

After entering the terminal, we checked in, had our luggage tagged and
prepared to be placed on our flight, and then we had about an hour and a
half to wait until our departure time.  I took the boys and got them all
drinks, which they sipped on as we sat and watched the other people at the
terminal and observed some of the planes as they took off or landed.  It
seemed like an endless wait until our flight was called, but now we were
making our way to board the plane that would carry us back to the States.

The boys were still pretty quiet as we took our seats and our vacation
slowly ground to its ultimate end.  It wouldn't be long before we'd all be
home and sleeping in our own beds again.  Before long, we were buckled in
and ready for take-off, reflecting on everything we'd seen and done, while
looking forward to resuming our normal lives.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 3 by BW                    
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 30 -- Taking Care of Loose Ends.                  

As usual, Steve was there to meet us at the airport when we arrived and all
of us were happy to see him again.  After collecting our luggage, we
quickly loaded everything into the van, eager to return home.  It was
already late, but we still had a couple hours of driving ahead of us, and
this wasn't going to be easy to endure.  The problem for us was that our
bodies were still operating on the time zone in England, which was five
hours later than our own, so even though we had slept some on the plane,
our bodies were confused about what they should be doing.

Steve asked me questions about our trip and I answered him as best I could.
The trouble was, I was finding it difficult to focus.  Steve seemed to
understand and left me alone after that, saying I could fill him in on the
details later.  I was extremely thankful for his understanding nature.

Due to the fact it was dark out and therefore very little to see, most of
the boys slept the entire way back.  For Steve's sake, I tried to stay
awake and keep him company, knowing he must be a little tired too, but I
wasn't always successful.  I did doze off a couple of times and Steve just
laughed when I tried to apologize to him for that.  When we arrived home, I
merely herded the boys to their various bedrooms, telling Jay and Carlos
that I'd take them to their own homes after we all recovered.  I didn't
have the energy to drive.  Besides, I didn't wish to wake Jay's parents at
this ungodly hour and the trip to take Carlos back was almost as exhausting
as the trip from the airport, but this time I'd have to drive roundtrip
myself.  Both boys understood and soon were asleep with the others.  Carlos
was in with Pat, while Jay slept with Ricky, Cole and Graham.  I passed out
shortly thereafter in my own room.

The next day everyone was a little slow getting moving, as the boys fought
desperately to help their body clocks change back to the Eastern Time zone.
After cleaning up, getting dressed and having some breakfast, I told Jay
and Carlos to get ready and I'd take them back to their parents.  The other
boys didn't need any additional travel, so I put the older ones in charge
and left all the boys at the house to unwind.

Of course I took Jay home first and was helping him get his things together
to take into the house when his parents ran out to greet him.  He was soon
being smothered in hugs and kisses, since his parents were excited that he
was finally back home.  As soon as the embraces were broken, Jay began to
tell his mother and father about all of the things we had done and how much
fun he had.  I enjoyed watching this emotional reunion and let them
continue uninterrupted, until they decided it was time to stop.

Howard and Audrey thanked me for including Jay in on this wonderful
opportunity and said they were pleased their son had such a wonderful
second family as ours to be part of.  I thanked them for their kind
comments, before telling them Jay had been no problem and was always
welcome in our home and would be included in our plans.  After exchanging a
few more pleasantries, Carlos and I excused ourselves and set out for his
apartment.

It took me a couple of hours to drive there, but I could tell Carlos was
excited to see his mother again.  The closer we got to his apartment, the
harder it became for him to sit still in his seat.  It turned out that his
mother had exchanged days off with another employee so she'd be there to
greet him, knowing he would be returning home today.

This was an even more emotional reunion than Jay and his family had shared,
as Carlos' mother was crying and squeezing him like he had been gone for
years, not just a few weeks.  I sat back and let them carry on, knowing
Carlos was enjoying this reunion as much as his mother was, and merely
waited for them to finish celebrating his homecoming.  When they finally
broke their frantic and enthusiastic hugs, his mother asked him how the
trip was, so Carlos started on a lengthy retelling of everything we had
done and seen.

Carlos was so excited and animated in his telling of our adventures that it
caused his mother to laugh at his antics.  They were both having a great
time with this exchange, with him recalling all the wonderful places he'd
seen and her reveling in his excitement.  When he finally finished telling
his tale, his mother hugged him again and thanked me for including him in
our plans.  She said they would both always remember our kindness for
taking him with us and was thrilled he had a chance to do things she
couldn't afford to have him do on her own.  I told her it was no big deal
and her son would always be welcome to join in whatever we were doing.  She
thanked me again and we said our good-byes, with Carlos giving me a hug, a
kiss on the cheek and several thank-yous before I departed.

The ride back seemed long and lonely, since this was the first time I'd
been completely alone in quite some time.  Although solitude is sometimes
nice, and maybe even necessary, I think I prefer to be surrounded by my
boys instead.  They always seemed to do something to cheer me up or say
something that brightens my day.  Just having them around continues to make
me feel young and alive.

I often think back to my lonely, mundane existence before they began to
arrive in my home and wonder how I ever survived the loneliness, once my
wife had died and my older children had gone off on their own.  The best
part was, I would no longer have to consider that, as my house was now full
of love and alive with the energies of youth and an abundance of
testosterone.  I shall never regret heeding Sally's suggestion to become a
foster parent, only wishing I had been moved into action even sooner.

When I arrived home, the boys were continuing to take it easy.  Some were
still putting the rest of their things away, watching a little television
or chatting with friends on the phone or computer.  I had barely passed
through the doorway, when I was literally attacked by Dustin, Danny and
Brandon.

"Hey, Dad, when can we take our driving tests?" Dustin began for the group.
"You did promise us that we could do it after we got back."

I remembered the discussion I'd had with these three before we left, as
they were all getting the itch to get behind the wheel and be able to go
places on their own.  It would also help me, as I made them promise they'd
help take the others various places, including driving the high school
group each morning and evening, thus saving me from making the additional
trips.

"Well, we'll have to do a couple of things first," I responded, "because I
think it would prove to be a huge disadvantage for you to have to take your
test in our big van.  Therefore, I'm going to buy a medium-sized used car
for you to practice on and take your test with, but I'm also going to
purchase a used mini-van or something similar, which you can use when you
take everyone back and forth to school.  I'll do both of those by the end
of the week and then we can begin some practice in the school parking lots,
whenever they are fairly empty.  Does that meet with your approval?"

"Sure, Dad," Danny answered, "but can we help you pick the car and the
mini-van out, since we'll be driving them?"  I could tell he and his
brothers were concerned about having something to drive that wouldn't
besmirch their image.  However, I took a minute or two to consider their
request, before I answered him.

"You can help and give me your input, as long as you remember that the
final choice about what we get will be up to me.  I know you will want a
sporty car, or at least something that doesn't look too parental, but I
will need to make certain that whatever we get is not only nice looking,
but also practical for the family.  I'll see if we can blend those two
concepts together, so I can make all of us happy, but I won't make any
promises.  And remember, you'll be allowed to use either vehicle that I
purchase, with permission of course, as long as you maintain your grades
and I don't get any reports about you being irresponsible or pulling
foolish stunts as a driver."

The boys nodded in agreement and we set Wednesday as the day we'd go car
shopping.  In the meantime, I'd make appointments for their tests and we'd
set up sort of a practice schedule, when I could take them out to learn the
basics.  I'd also make sure that all three were enrolled in the driver's
training class at school, so they could get another viewpoint on how to be
a competent driver.  I had a great deal of confidence in the maturity level
and responsibility of all three boys, but I wanted them to understand that
this was a privilege and not just a right of passage.  I also wanted them
to know this privilege could be lost, just as easily as it was acquired,
especially if they didn't remain mature, accountable and trustworthy.

As they headed off, I concluded it was time to address a more pressing
issue I still had to deal with.  I called Kevin into my room, so we could
speak alone.  "Kevin, I know your birthday was yesterday and we didn't do
anything special for you because of our trip back home, so how would you
feel about having your party next Saturday?  You can help me select the
menu, give me some ideas about what you would like to do and let me know
who you want to invite, besides the family."

"I wasn't worried about it, Dad.  I knew that you wouldn't forget, but
you've done enough already," he told me.  "I mean… going on the trips
was more than enough for my birthday."

"But the trips were for all of us, a family thing, but everyone still has
their own birthday party, and you will be no different," I explained.  "We
had Ricky's and Jay's parties before we left and you will have yours now
that we've returned.  Think it over and let me know what you want to do and
then we'll start making plans."

"Okay, Dad.  I'll let you know later," Kevin replied, before going off to
think this out for himself.

After Kevin left, I thought of a few others things I also needed to do, and
the first concerned a certain young boy we had left behind in Texas.
Therefore, I went into my bedroom and closed the door behind me, so I could
have a bit of privacy, before dialing Brandon's parents' home, to see how
things were going.  Brandon's father answered the phone.

"Hello, Patrick.  This is Josh," I began.  "We just got back from our trip
and I wanted to call and let you know that Brandon was fine and I wanted to
see how Nick was doing."

"Hello, Josh.  How did the trip go?  Did everyone have a good time and are
they happy to be back?" he inquired.

"Yes, the trip went fine and we all had quite an enjoyable time," I
replied.  "I'll let you speak to Brandon after we're done, but I wanted to
see how Nick was doing while we were gone.  I'll also need to talk to him
to try to work something out about his future."

"I think you're going to have your hands full with this one, Josh,"
Mr. O'Hara told me, and I began to worry I'd done his wife and him a
disservice by leaving Nick there.

"Did he give you any trouble?" I asked, concerned.

"No, not like you're thinking," Patrick answered.  "He has been well
behaved and very helpful… it's just his other activities."

"What do you mean by that Patrick?" I pressed, unsure as to what he was
implying.

"Well, I know Brandon is gay too and we will always love and support him,
but this boy thinks all there is in life is sex," he explained.  "I think
he's tried to seduce every boy for twenty miles around and wouldn't take
'no' for an answer.  He would apply as much pressure as was needed to get
what he wanted."

"Do you mean he's forced boys into having sex with him?" I wanted to know,
since I was suddenly worried about how this would play out if he came to
live with us.

"Not in the physical sense," Patrick assured me.  "It's just that he's so
charming he seems to be able to sweet talk his way into getting almost
anything he wants or knows how to apply enough pressure, verbally, to
persuade others into allowing him to get what he wants.  Josh, I really
think that you'll need to talk to this boy about having safe sex and about
the various diseases and other dangers associated with such liberal sexual
practices."

"I will, Patrick, I promise, but how do you know all of this?"  I felt I
had to ask, since I was fairly certain Nick hadn't told him all these
things.

"I found out from a couple of the neighbor boys, whom I have hired to do
odd jobs for me in the past," he explained.  "One day they came over to see
Nick, but he was out, so I started talking to them and asking how they were
hitting it off.  Although they didn't come out and say they were speaking
about having sex, they did explain that Nick was very persistent about
getting his own way and they found it was generally easier to give in to
him, so they could then do what they wanted to, afterward.  I could tell
from their uneasiness with giving details and their scarlet faces what it
most likely concerned, especially overhearing Nick and another boy one
evening, when they were out in our garage."

"Patrick, I'm sorry about dumping this problem in your lap," I explained,
thinking I took advantage of his kindness and generosity, because he felt
he should do me this favor to pay me back for taking care of Brandon for
him.  However, Brandon wasn't a problem, as Nick was turning out to be.

"Josh, don't worry about it," he insisted.  "There's been no major issues,
except I'm worried what types of problems Nick's proclivity might create
for him."

"Patrick, thank you for all you've done and for keeping me informed," I
assured him.  "Do you think I could speak to him now?"

"He's not here at the moment," Patrick explained.  "He went off with a
group of other boys about an hour ago.  They said they were headed to the
park, but I think they had other plans in mind.  I'll have him call you as
soon as he returns."

"No, that's okay, Patrick.  Tell him that I'll call again at 4:00, your
time, and I'll speak with him then.  In the meantime, let me get Brandon so
you two can chat."

I went out and called Brandon and let him use my room to speak with his
parents and catch up on what they had done since they had last seen each
other.  While they were chatting, I was mentally preparing for the things I
would need to talk over with Nick, if I was going to allow him to come live
with us.  I had a plan about how to legally get him here and thought this
plan also had a fairly good chance of succeeding.  Now, I just had to talk
to Nick, present my ideas to him and hope he agreed to go along with my
suggestion.  Only by chatting with him about these issues would I know if
my hopes and intentions were realistic, or even wise.

About that time, Kevin came back with Dustin and told me when he wanted his
birthday.  He also told me whom he wanted to invite, what types of things
he wanted to do and also gave me a couple of hints as to what I could get
him.  I agreed with his suggestions, so he and Dustin went to invite the
others, while I took care of the remaining details.

Kevin had decided to have a fairly typical get together, similar to many of
the other parties we've had for the boys, inviting a few of his old friends
in for the festivities, but he also wanted to ask them to stay overnight.
I informed him they would all probably have to sleep on the floor of the
family room, as the bedrooms were already overcrowded, but Kevin just
smiled and said that would be fine.  He would make sure to have everyone
bring a sleeping bag with him, so it wouldn't be a problem.  He thanked me
once again and the two of them took off.

The rest of the day seemed to fly by, as we did the unpacking, the laundry
and some of the other little chores that had been neglected for far too
long.  Almost before I realized it, it was time to call Nick again.  I went
into my room, dialed the number and he picked up the phone on the second
ring.

"Hello, Nick?  This is Josh Currie."

"Hi, Mr. Currie.  Mr. O'Hara told me you called earlier and that you would
be calling back.  How was the trip?"

"The trip was wonderful, Nick.  I'm just sorry that you couldn't go with
us," I told him.

"Oh, that's okay.  I've had a good time here," he assured me, and I
wondered how much of that had to do with the types of situations Patrick
informed me about earlier.  I thought this would give me a chance to
possibly find out more.

"Really?" I replied.  "So what exactly have you been doing that's been so
much fun?"  There was a slight hesitation on the other end, before he
answered.

"Oh, just made some new friends and hung out with them," he told me, being
careful about what he said in response.

"So you and your new friends have been having a good time?" I continued.
"That's great.  So what have you been doing with them?"  Once again there
was a slight hesitation before he answered.

"Oh, you know.  The usual teen stuff," he explained, in an attempt to shrug
the question off.  "We go swimming, play ball, mess around… You know,
stuff like that."

"Well, as long as the stuff like that doesn't mean you're pressuring anyone
into something and you're taking appropriate precautions," I hinted,
letting him know I had a fair idea about what he'd been up to, "then I
guess it's okay."

"Hey, how do you know what I've been doing?" Nick countered, somewhat
confused.

"It's because I got to know you a bit," I answered, "plus I have a houseful
of teenage boys.  I definitely understand how much teenage hormonal urges
affect what types of things you do and how often."

"Dang, Mr. Currie," he mumbled back.  "That's almost scary.  My parents or
the O'Hara's never figured that out, and they were in the same house as me,
yet you know about what I've been doing while you're miles away."

"Oh, don't think the others are naïve," I warned him.  "I think they might
have also had a fair idea about what you were up to, but they were just too
polite or inhibited to comment about it.  The thing is, I have no such
compunctions.  I often say what's on my mind."

"Okay, I'll remember that," he informed me, although I could sense a hint
of nervousness to his tone.  I think he was intimidated by having an adult
confront him about what he'd been up to.

"But that's not why I called," I continued, taking him off the hook.
"Nick, it's now time to deal with your situation and decide where we're
going to go from here."


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