Date: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:51:16 EST
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 4, chapters 25 - 26

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 4 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 25 -- Let the Good Times Roll.

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

I called Carlos and his mother as soon as Pat and I had finished at Doctor
Bailey's office, and I told them I was going to pick them up in an hour and
we'd all go out to dinner together -- my treat.  Mrs. Garcia thanked me and
told me they'd both be ready to go by the time I arrived.  I could hear
Carlos in the background after his mother shared the news with him,
whooping it up and thrilled they would be doing something different.

Pat and I went to check in to our hotel in the interim and freshened up as
well.  This way we could just come back to the room after our meal and then
checkout the next day, before going to pick up Mark.  I think we were both
looking forward to seeing him again.

We had a lovely dinner and I let them pick the restaurant, since I didn't
know the local choices.  It was a Mexican-American establishment and the
meal was excellent, but most of our fun came from listing to Carlos talk
nearly non-stop while we were together.  Of course, he started by asking
Pat questions about his condition and telling him how sorry he was about
the accident, but hopeful he'd be able to see again some day.  However,
after that, Carlos rattled on about his school, his friends and the
wonderful life he was enjoying, since we'd helped his mother and him start
over again.  Mrs. Garcia just beamed to see her son so alive and happy
about everything.

After we'd finished, we drove Carlos and his mother home and then went back
to our hotel.  Since Pat couldn't see the television, I put it on a channel
playing music and Pat and I talked more about his idea to encourage
awareness about organ donations.  After doing that for an hour or more, we
turned in early, as we were both quite exhausted from the day's activities.

After waking, cleaning up and having breakfast, I checked out of the hotel
and paid the bill.  We still had a couple of hours until Mark's flight was
scheduled to land, so I drove over to one of the city parks and took Pat
for a walk.  It was a lovely, warm day, and I thought the exercise and
fresh air, if there were such a thing as fresh air in a big city, would do
us both good.  Pat agreed and held on to my arm as he had done since his
accident and we set off.  We talked about many things, as we made the loop
around the park, and by the time we returned to our starting point, it was
nearly time to leave for the airport.

The drive there was slow and the traffic congested, but we still arrived
early.  We sat around the terminal and waited for Mark's flight to land and
we both were happy that it arrived nearly on schedule.  Mark was smiling
from ear-to-ear when he saw us, but even though I had told him about Pat's
accident shortly after it happened, I could still read the pained
expression on his face as he noticed Pat standing beside me, gently
gripping my left arm, just above the elbow.  However, he was able to hide
his feelings as he greeted both of us and I don't think Pat was aware of
his initial reaction.

About halfway back, we stopped for lunch, and Mark happily told us about
his school year and how he was looking forward to spending the summer with
us.  He and Pat also discussed Pat's condition and I think Mark was
somewhat surprised by how well Pat was handling this traumatic episode in
his life.  I believe it made a major impression on him and caused him to
look at Pat in a whole new light.

When we arrived home, the boys all raced out to greet us.  They welcomed
Mark and asked Pat and I how the appointment had gone.  We quickly filled
them in and Pat used this opportunity to tell his brothers about his idea
to promote organ donations.  The boys all agreed it was an excellent
suggestion and said they'd all be willing to fill out an organ donor card,
just in case something happened to them.  At least then someone else might
live and benefit from their misfortune.

They also offered to do whatever they could to help him, including working
with whatever group we found that would do this.  We hoped we could find an
organization that would use this as their community service project and
spread awareness of the need for organ donations and organ donors.

Once this discussion had ended, I had Danny and Brandon show Mark to his
room and help him get settled in.  I think they were all excited about
spending time together and Mark was looking forward to starting his summer
job.

Over the next couple of days, the boys made a list of fraternal and service
groups, many with national affiliations, which might take up our cause.  I
worked with Pat and some of the others to compose letters that would be
sent to the various groups, asking for their support with this endeavor.
After we had come up with what we thought was a suitable proposal, one that
made our point with a minimum of verbiage, we began to address the
documents and mail them out.  Now, we would have to wait and see if we got
any replies.

The next week was the final week of classes for the high school, as the
week after would be entirely devoted to finals.  Danny and Brandon broke
their big new on Wednesday of that week, as they started telling some of
their friends and teammates about their love for each other.  It turned out
to be less of a problem than they thought it might be, as those closest to
them accepted it without adverse reaction, but of course there were some
snide remarks made to them by some of their detractors, especially the Boy
Scouts who had been negatively affected by our campaign to end their
bigoted practices.  By the week of finals, talk of their news started to
die down, as most of the students concentrated on their upcoming tests,
rather than the gossip.  Before they knew it, school was out and the boys
felt whatever negative reactions they had faced would die down by the fall.

The next big event on our May calendar was Dustin and Frankie's graduation
from high school.  It was a very proud moment for the three of us.  It was
a beautiful day and the ceremony was being held outdoors, so more people
could attend.  This allowed me to bring all the boys so they could witness
this accomplishment and I hoped it would inspire them to want to achieve
this same goal for themselves.  As we sat in the bleachers waiting for the
ceremony to begin, the boys began to horse around a bit, in order to pass
the time.  I didn't mind their shenanigans, as long as they kept it to a
dull roar and didn't bother the others seated next to us.

When the procession music finally began, the graduates marched out and took
their seats, and then we sat through several speeches given by the
superintendent, the high school principal and the class valedictorian.  The
smaller boys were extremely bored by time we reached the keynote speaker,
so they began fiddling in their seats and starting to do things to the
others as a distraction for themselves and a means to have a little fun.  I
tried my best to keep them from annoying anyone else, but I understood why
they were acting as they were.

Mercifully, the speeches ended, so now it was time to hand out the diplomas
and the younger ones could hardly wait until their brothers' names were
called.  They planned to cheer loudly for their siblings, while holding up
a couple of homemade signs they had designed for the occasion.
Fortunately, the school listed Frankie as a Currie, although his adoption
wouldn't be finalized for a couple more weeks, so he and Dustin would
receive their diplomas one after the other.

I let Danny sneak down toward the platform, so he could take pictures of
our two graduates as they received their diploma and handshakes.  Of
course, both of them had to ham it up when they came off of the stage, and
fortunately Danny also got a couple of pictures of that as well.

When the ceremony was over, we had to wait for Dustin and Frankie, as they
wandered around to say good-bye to all of their friends and teachers.  When
they were done, they came back to find us and I drove the younger boys
home, so they could help me get ready for our graduation bash.  Dustin took
Frankie and some of the older high school boys in the Suburban, because
they wanted to attend some of the other graduation parties they had been
invited to, since we planned ours for the early evening and into the night.
That was so the boys would finish up their festivities at our place,
because I felt they would probably have a little to drink, even if they
weren't quite old enough, and this way I wouldn't have to worry about them
driving when they shouldn't.

It took us a couple of hours to get everything ready, but that was because
we weren't really frantically rushing around to set up.  We knew we had
plenty of time before anyone arrived and we wanted to be rested up enough
so we could actually enjoy the celebration too, once everyone arrived.  Of
course, our extended family would be showing up to party with us, and I
wanted to be able to enjoy their company while they were here.

Our party began around six and the partiers began to show up a few at a
time.  The boys had placed trays containing various types of foods on
banquet tables I had borrowed from the school, so our hungry guests could
partake without having to wait for a formal announcement to chow down.
There were hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages with pepper and onions, several
sheet pizzas and various salads, such as potato, macaroni and garden
varieties.  We also had two huge sheet cakes, with each having a personal
message for our graduates noting the college they would be attending in the
fall.  We also had plenty of soda, punch and other non-alcoholic drinks in
coolers at the end of the tables, as none of the boys were close to the
legal drinking age, but we did have a keg on hand for the adults.

Throughout the evening, many parents and other students showed up to help
us celebrate, along with our extended family.  Everyone made sure to find a
moment to congratulate Dustin and Frankie, hand them their cards and gifts
and then ask them questions about their plans for the future.  I knew after
an hour or so the boys were getting tired of repeating basically the same
story to each individual as they made their rounds, but both managed to
keep their emotions in check and continued being good hosts.

About halfway through the evening, I presented both boys with their
graduation gifts from the family.  I watched eagerly as they opened the
packages and they both seemed more than pleased with what they got.  I had
purchased a top-of-the-line laptop computer for each of them, for their use
at college.  Those computers had the fastest processor I could find, huge
hard drives, and all the other bells and whistles to satisfy any need they
might possibly have.  They both thanked me and each gave me a hug, before I
reminded them there was no reason for them to lose touch with us while they
were away.  I also informed them I expected at least one email each week or
I'd have to have someone check up on them and see if anything was wrong.
They both looked at me and mumbled something about they thought they were
going to be on their own at college, but then they laughed and hugged me
again.

As the evening wore on, I herded the younger boys into the house, since the
older boys had their girlfriends there and obviously needed some privacy
from spying eyes.  As the party wore on, many of the adults eventually
decided they'd had enough and returned to their homes, but they all thanked
us first and informed us they'd had a wonderful time.

Throughout the night, I noticed various boys seemed to disappear from time
to time, almost always with their girlfriends in tow, and I think we all
knew what they were up to.  I believe they realized they probably wouldn't
be seeing much of each other over the summer or during the next school
year, as each had their own vacation plans and jobs for the summer and none
of them were planning to attend the same college in the fall.  It was a
kind of bittersweet time, since they had reached the pinnacle of their high
school careers, after putting thirteen long years into the public
educational system.  However, now their lives would change drastically over
the next few weeks as they prepared for a new learning experience in a much
more demanding environment away from the community they had been living in.
They were approaching this time with great excitement, but also great
trepidation, as they wanted the freedom that college life would offer them,
but they also hated to lose the security their family and friends had
provided for them.  In the long run, most teens reach this point sooner or
later, whether they go away to school, get a job or enter military service.
It is just another stage in the process of maturation.

A little later, some of the other older boys went into the house too, in
order to give Dustin and Frankie a chance to spend some time alone with
their remaining guests.  We would clean up from the party tomorrow, after
enjoying a good night's rest.

For a while after we went inside, I could hear those still in attendance
talking and horsing around outside, but after a while it grew silent and my
imagination began to run wild with thoughts of what might be going on.  As
much as I was tempted, I stayed inside and trusted the boys to heed the
advice I had given them in the past and not ruin their lives by making any
foolish mistakes, such as getting one of the girls pregnant.  I had always
trusted their judgment, and except for a few occasions during Frankie's
first stay with us, they hadn't given me any reason to doubt them, so
tonight would be no exception to the rule.  Besides, in a couple more
months I wouldn't be there to monitor Frankie and Dustin's every move, so I
would have to learn to trust their self-restraint and hoped they would
honor the basic tenets I had tried to instill in them during the time we
had been together.

I did sleep fairly well that night, although I woke up from time to time
and walked around the house to make certain everything was all right.  I
never noticed anything out of the ordinary while making these rounds, so
each time I went back to bed and slept a little longer.  I would be able to
tell better how things went in the morning, after the sunlight began to
penetrate the gloom.

The next day started off very busy, as we cleaned up the mess from the day
before.  Everyone pitched in and helped, so it wasn't long before we could
all kick back and just relaxed.  I think each of us needed the downtime,
and I know I certainly enjoyed it.  Not only that, but the boys even seemed
to appreciate the change from our recent hectic schedule.

That afternoon, Mark and I also had a chance to talk and I asked him how he
liked his job.  He started beaming almost immediately, as he told me that
he loved the work they had him doing and was very fond of his mentor, who
was also my friend.  He said he was learning a great deal from the man and
felt everything he learned here would help him not only with his classes in
school and overseeing my family's investments, but would benefit him
throughout the rest of his life.  I was happy to discover everything was
working out so well for him and ecstatic over his positive outlook on this
experience.

The next big event in May was Pat's birthday, which we celebrated on the
Saturday before Memorial Day.  It seemed strange to me at the time, but the
only outsiders Pat asked me to invite to his party were Shannon and his
father.  The reason this seemed so odd was that Pat always had a few
friends he liked to include, but he told me later that he didn't want to
this year.  After trying to discover why, he admitted there were a couple
of reasons.  First, he still felt people were gawking and feeling sorry for
him, but he also wanted to let the shock wear off from Danny and Brandon's
coming out announcement at school.  He felt it would be best to give
everyone time to digest that news, before putting them in a situation where
they would be confronted with it head on.

After thinking about this for a while, I told him I would honor his wishes.
I would even invite Shannon and Jake personally, but let them know it was
Pat's request.  He seemed pleased that I didn't object to his idea, so I
tried to get him to help me plan for the big day.

Pat basically decided he didn't wish to vary from our typical birthday
celebration, but a few strange things did happen as the day progressed.
The first thing occurred when Pat announced he wanted me to stay with him
during the day and told me his brothers had agreed to do the barbecuing in
my place.  At first, I wasn't sure how to react to this, since that job
that had always been mine, but I felt maybe he was still a little insecure
about being blind and wanted me by his side, just in case.  However, that
idea began to fall apart, when Pat made sure I was seated next to Jake,
while he spent most of his time with Shannon and his brothers.  Maybe it
was his plan for me to occupy Jake's attention, so they could pry Shannon
away and not leave Jake all alone, since he didn't know any of the others
in attendance.  I assumed Pat thought Jake would be more comfortable
chatting with me, instead of trying to fit in with strangers, but then some
other peculiar things began to happen.

It began when Pat suggested his brothers should enjoy themselves and play
games, as they normally would have, if Pat weren't blind.  Not only that,
but he also encouraged the adults to participate too, namely Steve, Jake,
Mark and me.  Up until today, the boys usually liked to have their own fun
first and only included the adults if they were shorthanded or getting
tired.  Not only that, but they made sure that Jake and I were on the same
team and put Steve and Mark on the other side.  We did have a good time,
although it didn't take Steve, Jake and I very long to become extremely
exhausted from the physical exertion.  However, I soon forgot about being
tired when the next strange event began to unfold.

While we, the mature men, were recuperating, the boys came over and invited
Shannon and his father to join us again on Monday, when we'd planned our
traditional Memorial Day cookout.  Not only did they do this without
checking with me first, they all knew this traditional celebration had been
restricted to family and extended family in the past.  Seeing this was out
of character for them, I was beginning to wonder if one of them had a
serious attraction to Shannon and felt this was a way to get close to him.

When Memorial Day arrived, it began with a bang, instead of a whimper, and
that bang held special significance for my family.  For the first time
ever, our little community had decided to ban the Boy Scouts from marching
in the annual Memorial Day parade.  The town council had voted on this
recommendation at their last meeting and had nearly unanimously agreed.
There was one vote against this idea, from among the eight councilpersons,
and that was by the councilman who had ties with the Scouts.  I heard the
troop leaders were more furious over this slight -- even more than any of
their previous setbacks, because this parade is a highly visible event and
often got other boys interested in joining either the Cub or Boy Scouts.
Only the Fourth of July parade got them more attention, so not only didn't
the Scouts get to march in the parade and show off in front of their
friends and family, which they always looked forward to doing, it was also
perceived as a major blow to their recruitment efforts.  Needless to say,
their leaders were less than pleased by this turn of events.

However, this wasn't the only rude surprise for the Scouts.  In the past,
one of the older Scouts had always played taps at the ceremony following
the parade, but this year the planning committee had asked one of the
trumpeters from the school band to perform this honor instead.  This was
another major blow to the prestige the Scouts had previously enjoyed and
indicated our movement was beginning to affect the Scouts in ways they
never thought possible.

After the activities in town had concluded, we all headed back to the house
for the remainder of the day.  Again I was pushed out of my normal
barbecuing duties, but this time I was replaced by the ladies.  I was
beginning to think no one liked my cooking!

I discovered later that the boys had made a point to ask Aunt Sally, Aunt
Mary, Audrey Curtis (Jay's mother) and Margaret Spence if they would take
over that duty this afternoon, proclaiming they had other plans for the
men.  The women agreed, of course, and the boys were soon dragging the rest
of the males to the side yard for a game of touch football.  Once again,
the boys made it a point that Jake and I played on the same team, and then
they suggested I be the quarterback and Jake the center, to allow them to
play the more strenuous positions of running backs and receivers.  After
some give and take on this suggestion, we finally agreed to the
arrangement, but only if Jake and I could switch positions from time to
time.  I didn't want Jake to be stuck with the thankless job of center the
entire afternoon and felt it best if he also got a chance to do something a
bit more fun, and definitely more glamorous.  Once again, we all managed to
have a great deal of fun and I'm extremely grateful I got to enjoy this
time with my boys, instead of watching over the meat on the barbecue.
Maybe this was just their way of building some special memories of our
times together, before they went off to college, as Dustin and Frankie
would soon be doing.

Before the day was over, I had another request put to me, although this one
was of a more individual nature.  After the game, Brent came up to me and
asked if he could go on a two-week vacation with one of his friends'
family.  It appears they invited him to join them on a trip to Myrtle
Beach, so their son would have some company his own age while they were
there, as he was an only child.  I told Brent I would need some time to
think it over and would also want an opportunity to talk to the other boy's
parents before I made my decision.

Immediately, he took the chance to lobby in favor of the idea, by telling
me how much this opportunity meant to him.  He also reminded me that we had
no vacation plans for this year, except for possibly some weekend trips,
due to Pat's impending operations.  Additionally, he brought up the fact
that he had missed out on our previous vacations, because he hadn't been a
part of the family yet and emphasized he'd really like a chance to go on a
trip such as this, as his family had never done anything of that nature
while he was growing up.  I asked him if he knew the dates when they were
going and he told me it wasn't until July, so I told him he'd have his
answer by the following weekend.  Reluctantly, he accepted my response,
although I knew he was hoping for an immediate affirmation that he could
go.

After we had a chance to cool down and clean up after our game, we went out
to eat.  Once again the boys placed Jake and I together, only this time
Steve sat with us too.  During the course of the afternoon, Jake told the
boys they didn't need to be so formal, by calling him Mr. McCarthy all the
time, and they could just call him Jake.  The boys countered that they'd
feel better calling him Uncle Jake, which he agreed to, so Shannon began
calling me Uncle Josh, which made everyone happy.  Moving to a more casual
relationship also put the day back into perspective, as it now made the
McCarthies part of our extended family as well.

During the course of the evening, Jake brought up the topic of Danny and
Brandon's coming out at school, and emphasized it was a very brave thing to
have done.  He went on to explain it had also helped Shannon out too, by
making him feel less alone at school, and now there were others he felt he
could relate to.  Although he knew the boys were gay before they came out,
he still felt alone at school, since he was the only one definitely known
to be gay by his classmates.  Now, he would feel a little less conspicuous
and less of a target, since my two had followed him out, into the open.

During this discussion, Nick announced he was also thinking about coming
out when he returned to school in the fall, and this made Trey say he
thought he might do it as well.  That was, he was planning to do it until
Dion objected.  Dion said he wasn't quite ready to tell everyone he was bi
yet, but felt he would have to if Trey came out.  This caused a small rift
between the two boys, but I quickly realized it wouldn't become a major
disagreement between them.  I was confident they'd work out their
differences on their own, by coming up with an option both of them were
happy with before school started again in the fall.

Our big celebration finally came to an end and everyone thanked us for
being invited.  They all told us they'd had a good time and enjoyed
themselves immensely, but had to go home to get ready for work the next
day.  Although I didn't have to go in to school, since it was out for the
summer, I still had to clean up this mess the following day, although I
knew the boys would help me.  After saying good night to everyone, the boys
and I went indoors and relaxed until bedtime.

During the following week, I spoke to the parents of Brent's friend and
discussed the possibility of Brent going with them.  They told me they
really did want him to join them, if it met with my approval.  They said
otherwise their son would have no one to hang around with while they were
away, unless he was lucky enough to find another young person who wouldn't
mind him tagging along.  However, they made it clear they would prefer not
to take that chance of having him hook up with a complete stranger and
thought Brent and their son would get along well and have a wonderful time
together.

After some discussion about their plans, and after we got to know each
other a little better, we did reach an agreement.  I would let Brent join
them, as long as they would allow me to give them some money toward his
expenses.

At first this couple was reticent to accept any money from me.  They felt
by inviting him as their guest and companion for their son, they should pay
for everything he did or needed.  After some serious negotiation, they
eventually allowed me to chip in toward his overall expenses.  I was now
satisfied and agreed Brent could go with them.

I didn't get a chance to inform Brent of my decision until later in the
day, but when I did, he got all excited and started racing around in
delight.  Once he settled down again, he enthusiastically hugged and
thanked me for many minutes, after which he told me how awesome this was
going to be.  When he got the excitement worked out of his system, I asked
him to not make a big deal about it in front of his brothers, as I didn't
want to have any hurt feelings about his getting to do something they
weren't going to be part of.  He agreed he wouldn't, so we were both
satisfied.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 4 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 26 -- Opening Windows.

Between the graduations and our Memorial Day celebration, Sammy and I had
spent time together planning for his birthday, which was June 1st.  He was
turning thirteen this year and decided to have his party on Friday, which
was his actual birth date.  He also wanted to invite some of his school
friends to stay for a sleepover, because he felt this might be the last
time he would have one and this way he and his friends could also play
together for most of Saturday too.  I agreed to his suggestion, so he made
out his invitations and sent them out to his friends, with some help from
Andrew.

The celebration started off simply enough when the boys began to arrive in
the early afternoon.  Not all of the boys had been here before, so Sammy
started off by showing them around the house, which included all floors --
even the attic bedrooms.  His friends seemed amazed by how large this place
actually was and wanted to know what it was like to have so many brothers.
After Sammy explained all the benefits, he admitted their were a few
drawbacks too, like trying to go places with so many people in tow or
buying Christmas and birthday presents for so many.  The boys hadn't
thought of that and wanted to know how they did it, so he explained they
pooled their money for birthday presents and drew names from a hat for
Christmas.  That was enough information to satisfy their curiosity, so they
went back to investigating our abode.

After the grand tour, Sammy asked me if I'd take them out for a hike in the
woods behind our house, since he wanted his friends to see how much land we
owned too.  Since our guests all seemed eager to do this as well, I took
them out and spent the next couple of hours roaming around our property,
which included showing them the ravine.  They were impressed with their
tour and quite worn out and very hungry by dinnertime.

I had ordered a several sheet pizzas in advance and set the delivery time
for 6:00, since the extended family was told to show up at 5:30.  I had
also stocked up on other things to go along with the pizza, so we also had
plenty of soda, salads, potato chips, dip and cheese twists to go along
with it.  As with most of these get-togethers, the food disappeared quickly
and I had to urge the adults to make sure they got their share before the
swarm of teenage locust devoured everything in sight.  I believe each of
them did manage to get his fill, or at least I'd hoped so, since there was
only a few crumbs left over.

Now that they were sated, the boys went back outside and played around
until dark or shortly thereafter.  I left them to their own devices, which
seemed to make them happy, while I stayed in with the older group and
enjoyed their company.

Sammy and his friends did many things throughout the course of the evening
and played a final game of hide-and-seek before they came in for good.
They chose this particular activity because it was nice and dark out, as
the moon was in its earliest stages and even that light was almost totally
obscured by the cloud cover.  The rest of us weren't paying much attention
to what was going on outside until I heard someone scream, so I raced out
to investigate.  Once I discovered the source of the disturbance, I had
quite a bit of trouble stifling my laughter, but the young man involved
definitely didn't think his situation was the least bit humorous.

It happened like this.  One of the boys lived up the road from us and had
ridden his bike to our place.  Unbeknownst to him, his dog must have
followed his scent to our house sometime later in the day, looking for the
boy.  During their game of hide-and-seek, one of the boys had chosen to
hide behind some bushes in front of our house, hoping he could go unnoticed
there.  While he was waiting for his chance to dart to safety, the male dog
came up to the bush, cocked its leg and peed all over the poor unsuspecting
boy.  The commotion I had heard and responded to were the sounds of the boy
screaming at the dog and then cursing about what the dog had done to him.

The other boys began laughing hysterically after they found out what had
happened, except for the owner of the dog, who apologized profusely for
what his pet had done.  After I got the boys to stop calling the poor kid
'urine pants' and 'the yellow scourge,' I advised him he could go inside
and shower, while I rounded up something that he could wear in the
meantime.  Once he was clean and changed, I would wash his clothes, so he
would have them to wear home when the time came.  He seemed grateful for my
input and happily went inside to use the shower is my master bathroom,
while I brought him clean garments and took his and tossed them into the
washer.

When the rest of the boys came inside for the night, we had cake and ice
cream, followed by the opening of presents.  Sammy got a bunch of nice
things, but I think he was more pleased with the camaraderie of his
classmates than he was with his gifts.  I was glad to see him beginning to
blossom.

As the evening wore on, some of the adults began to leave and said their
good-byes to Sammy and the rest of us.  By the time the last of our
extended family had departed, Sammy asked if I would tell one of my ghost
stories for his friends -- a request all of them seemed eager to go along
with.  Sammy had hinted earlier that he hoped I might do this for him and I
think he was looking forward to having me give his friends a good scare.

After things quieted down and the boys set up their sleeping bags in the
family room, I went in to tell them a couple of my infamous ghost stories.
Of course, I had also set up something special for the finale, since I was
forewarned of this possibility.  The first story was about an old one-room
schoolhouse that once stood just a few hundred yards from where we lived.
Everyone in town knew the building had once existed and was eventually
destroyed by fire, since it was included as part of the local history
course taught in my middle school.  I just took the story a little further,
embellished it slightly and turned it into something that might cause a
group of boys a bit of uneasiness.

What I did is add the fact that the teacher had also died in the fire,
after getting trapped in his quarters, which were attached to the rear of
the schoolhouse.  It had been a mandatory provision in his contract that he
live in the two small rooms added on to the back of the school, so he could
keep an eye on things, make sure the building was warm in the winter and be
able to spend more time with his students.  I also added the idea that
after the fire the teacher's ghost had been seen roaming the area and
checking on children, especially the young boys, to make sure that they
were behaving themselves and punishing them when they were not.  Seeing the
old school house had once stood close to where we lived, I made certain to
emphasize the teacher might be spending a lot of time looking into our
windows, to see if all of them were being good.

Although this wasn't one of the best of my stories, I suspect it made the
hair on the backs of their necks start to stand on its own and I saw more
than one of them glancing at the two large picture windows in the room, to
see if anyone was looking in.  Now that the stage had been set, I began my
second story, which I hoped would get to them even more.

This story was about a Civil War regiment that originated in our area and
was part of the local folklore.  It was also included in the local history
class taught at the middle school, so most of these boys already had some
limited knowledge of this event.  Most of them already knew the men in this
regiment were captured during one particularly disastrous battle and then
sent to the notorious Confederate prison camp at Andersonville, GA, just
southwest of Atlanta.

The conditions at this prison camp were sub-standard, at the very least,
and particularly harsh.  Many of the men imprisoned there ended up dying
from various diseases, many of which were caused or worsened by the
unsanitary conditions in the camp, or suffered a slow and agonizing death
due to malnutrition, since food was very scarce.  If the soldiers were
lucky enough to survive those hardships, they might later be shot for
crossing the deadline, which was an imaginary perimeter established to
create a buffer zone and prevent escape, or executed for committing various
infractions of prison rules.  Only one member of this regiment survived his
imprisonment there and made it home, so he could tell his and his comrades
relatives what it had been like there.

Some of the bodies were also later returned to their families, so they
could be reburied amongst their loved ones.  Three of those returned were
buried in the local cemetery and it has been rumored that ever since those
corpses were placed in the ground, strange things began happening.  Almost
immediately afterward, many local residents reported seeing the spirits of
these poor souls roaming the countryside at night and suspected they were
looking for those responsible for their poor treatment and eventual death.
Others claimed to hear the pitiful wails of these tortured souls, as they
continued to react to the unbearable pain they had suffered before passing
from this world.  I ended by making a point that reports still come in to
local law enforcement where someone claimed having heard or spotted these
men, as they continue to do their duty for the Union and hunt those
responsible for such an atrocity.

After I finished both stories, I stayed in the family room for a while
longer, primarily so I could see what happened next and avoid being blamed
for what was about to occur.  Since most of these boys had never been to
one of these sleepovers before, they would naturally assume that no one
else would know which stories I was going to tell and, therefore, wouldn't
be able to carry out a prank specifically related to them later.  If only
they knew how wrong they were.

Earlier in the week, I had asked some of the older boys to help me with
this little surprise, and gleefully they agreed.  We had managed to procure
costumes and props appropriate to the stories, white facial paint to make
them look deceased, some old looking kerosene lanterns and even some wigs,
so we could hide the natural color of their own hair.  I gave my chief
prankster, Ricky, the role of the teacher, and Frankie, Dustin, and Danny
got to play three of the Civil War soldiers.  Of course the lights had been
off in the family room as I told these stories and shortly after I finished
the second one, a lantern emerged in the picture window at the front of the
room, where a black cloaked figure, wearing a flat black hat, stood looking
in.

This sent all of the boys screaming and running in my direction, as they
sought whatever protection they could find.  They were all wide-eyed as
they scurried about the room, wailing like banshees and trying to explain
to me about who or what they thought they had seen.  I acted as if I had
witnessed nothing and asked them questions about what they had observed,
before I suggested we go over and look out the window, so we could
determine if anything was out there.

The majority of the boys pleaded with me not to do that, since they not
only didn't want to provoke whatever it was, but mainly because they didn't
want me to leave them alone for any amount of time.  Still others were
actually concerned for my safety, as well as their own.  By the time I
convinced them to let me do this, Ricky had turned his lantern flame out
and moved away from the window, so he was now standing where none of us
could see him.  As I went to look out the front window, the other group saw
this as their signal to do their thing and approached the window on the
opposite wall of the room.

Without any of us seeing them, they lit their lanterns and moved in front
of the other picture window.  You see, the family room was built as an
addition to the side of the original house. It was rectangular, with three
additional walls being connected to the side of the old farmhouse, and
picture windows had been installed on both the front and rear sides, to
take advantage of the wonderful scenery.  However, at this particular
moment, the boy didn't believe the view was so great.

Suddenly the screaming and commotion within the room started anew, as the
boys saw this new spectacle behind them, but I pretended to keep looking
out the front window and trying to see what was upsetting them so
horrifically.  What the boys didn't realize was, I could see what was
happening behind me in the reflection of the window I was looking out of.

My three soldiers hammed it up big time.  They very stiffly walked up and
peered into the other window, holding their lanterns low and weapons high
enough to be recognized as being quite old, and this had the younger boys
all nervous and jerky again.  By the time the partygoers were able to
explain to me that this was something different and happening at the back
window, instead of the front, our 'soldiers' had disappeared.  However,
that didn't stop me from pretending to look for our uninvited visitors
appearing at the rear of the house and listening to the boys' rambling
barely coherent tales about what they had seen.  After another futile
search, I eventually talked my reluctant guests into helping me look out
into the darkness to locate these apparitions, so I'd know what they had
seen.  Although most were very reticent to do this, a few of the braver
ones eventually stepped forward and offered to give me a hand, but none of
us saw anything at this point in time.

Although my boys who had been in with this group, Cole, Graham and Andrew,
all had their suspicions about what was happening, they were good and
didn't spill the beans.  Brent, however, was also new to my pranks and was
just as stunned as Sammy's friends by what he had seen.  By the time he
went out to tell the rest of my sons what had happened, about twenty
minutes later, my actors had used the time between to clean up and change
into their normal clothing.  As Brent and the other boys filled them in
about what they had witnessed, the older boys acted shocked by their
stories.  They even offered to go outside to see if they could find any
signs that anyone had been out there.  Sammy's friends started raising a
fuss about this suggestion, since they were convinced my boys would be
placing themselves in danger if they were to leave the house, so my sons
humored them and stayed inside.  The younger ones did ask the older boys if
they'd mind sleeping in the family room with them for the night, as
additional protection -- you know, safety in numbers -- and good-humoredly
the boys said they would.

After things quieted down, I got everyone into their sleeping bags and the
boys turned in for the evening.  Although I don't think many of them fell
asleep right away, we still enjoyed a fairly quiet remainder of the
evening.  About half of the boys were hesitant to even go to the toilet
during the night without an escort, so throughout the evening I lay in bed
and watched boys pass by my room, accompanied by at least one other person,
as they made their way to the guest bathroom.

Recognizing their uneasiness, I eventually got up and put a nightlight in
the bathroom to ease their concerns, and I also added one in the foyer, to
make it easier for them to find their way back and forth.  I think they
were all grateful for this small gesture.

Judging from their appearance the next morning, I concluded most of them
had not slept much before the sun began to penetrate the gloom, so I shut
the door to the family room and let them sleep for as long as they wished,
now that they felt safer with the emergence of daybreak.  It was about
three hours later before the first of them emerged and informed me he was
hungry.

Sammy's friends spent most of Saturday at our house too and everyone stayed
through lunch.  About an hour later, a couple of his guests had to leave,
but the remainder stayed through dinner as well.  In between, the boys did
many things, including exploring around the house and the neighborhood, as
well as looking for signs of our previous night's visitors.  I know my
actors were finding it hard to control their laughter as all of this took
place, but we had agreed, in advance, they wouldn't tell anyone else what
they had done, so we'd be able to pull similar stunts in the future.  All
in all, I think Sammy was very satisfied with his party and his friends
were both impressed and frightened by their experience with us.

After Sammy's friends left, the Spences returned.  They had decided to go
out after Sammy's party the previous evening and then spend the night at a
hotel, as they weren't sure they were ready for the shenanigans I warned
them we had planned for the evening.  As they approached the house, they
noticed me sitting on a lawn chair on the porch, as I was enjoying the
cooler summer evening, and came over to join me.  As we were sitting there
chatting and enjoying what was left of the day, we began to hear some
banging coming from my neighbor's yard.  Although he lived nearly a half
mile away, the noise was still quite obvious, as he pounded a sign into his
front lawn.  As he stepped away and headed back toward his house, I decided
to walk down and see what it was about.  I was shocked when I saw the sign
read, 'For Sale By Owner,' with his phone number listed below.

Since he was still outside, I hollered out to him and asked what was up.
He quickly told me he and his wife had decided to move to Florida, as the
cold winters were becoming increasingly harder on his wife's arthritic
condition.  I had not seen this coming, but quickly told him I might have
someone interested in buying his two-bedroom ranch home.  When he asked me
whom, I told him I'd bring them right down, since they were currently
staying at my place.  He agreed with my proposal, so I went up and sprang
the news on the Spences.

Who would have believed that with John and Margaret already looking for a
place, my neighbor would suddenly decide to leave the area and had exactly
what the Spences were looking for.  It made me wonder if a greater power
might have had a hand in arranging this.

As soon as I told the Spences what I had discovered, they became very
excited and wanted to go see the house immediately.  I agreed and Margaret
suggested it was a lovely evening to take a walk.  We strolled down to the
adjoining property and my neighbor gave them a tour of his home.  It was
almost immediately apparent that John and Margaret liked this well kept
residence and bonded with the older couple that owned it, so John got right
to the point and asked him what he wanted for the place.  After he got his
answer, John wanted to know if he was taking everything in the house with
him, and my neighbor told him he wasn't.  He quickly added he was planning
to have a garage sale before they moved and was putting nearly everything
up for sale, except for their personal belongings.

After hearing this news, John asked if Margaret and he could take another
walk through their home, which was agreed to, and once they finished going
through all of the rooms again, John made him an offer, which included all
of the furnishings they were going to leave behind.  He explained that
Margaret and he liked the way the home was decorated and the furniture was
in good condition, so it would save them from having to buy things and have
them moved in.  Everyone seemed thrilled, so the deal was struck and both
gentlemen would get in touch with their lawyers and set a closing date.

The following Tuesday, I was scheduled to appear in Family Court, along
with Frankie and Brent, to make the various adoptions legal.  All of the
boys wanted to go with us and we arrived early, so we'd have a chance to
chat with Richard and his new family before the proceedings began.  They
arrived shortly after we did and we chatted with them in the hallway.  We
congratulated them on soon becoming a family and they thanked us for what
we had done to make this moment possible.

>From our interviews at the group home, I also knew Richard's birthday was
a little more than a week away, so I told them I'd like to throw a special
birthday party for him at our house, a week from Saturday.  I also informed
them they would all be welcome to stay over that night, go to church with
us on Sunday and then they could return home Sunday afternoon.  Mr. Becker
was a little uneasy about leaving his farm for that period of time, but I
added that I'd pay whomever he had to hire to cover for him, so he wouldn't
have anything to worry about and couldn't use that as an excuse.  After
seeing how excited his new son was over the prospect of a big party, he
relented and we made it official.

After waiting in the hallway while all of the other cases were taken care
of, we were eventually summoned into the court chamber.  I could see Judge
Rhinehart sitting on the bench, but also notice Steve, Mary, Sally and the
Spences sitting in the gallery, bursting with happiness for all of us.

The Beckers went first and Judge Rhinehart even included a mention about
the role the Castaway Foundation had played in making this happen, in the
official court transcript.  Then he complimented the Beckers and Richard on
finding each other and overcoming the various obstacles that are normally
encountered when adopting an older or hard-to- place youth.  Once all of
that had been discussed, Richard Aaron Calloway officially became Richard
Aaron Becker.

Richard and the Beckers were glowing as they walked back to take their
seats, once Richard had collected his official documents from the clerk.
We could all tell they were bursting with pride, and before they took their
seats, they also exchanged hugs and/or kisses with each other.

Frankie, Brent and I were called up next.  Thankfully, Judge Rhinehart gave
the short version of our last appearance before him and concluded by saying
he was proud to be part of adding two more members to our unique clan.  A
few moments later, he announced Frankie would now be officially known as
Franklin Albert Currie and Brent was to become Brent Alexander Currie, as
he chose to use his former surname as his new middle name.  Brent had told
me in private that he had always hated his old middle name, Ivan, but had
been stuck with it to honor a distant relative.  When he realized this
might be his chance to get rid of that dreaded moniker, he came to me to
discuss it.  That's when I suggested he might prefer to use his former
surname in its place, which he happily agreed with.

After we had finished at the courthouse, I talked the entire crew into
letting me take them out to lunch, to conclude our grand celebration.  Not
only did I invite my family and the Beckers, but I also included Sally,
Mary, Steve and the Spences too, and we enjoyed a truly amazing time.
Fortunately, I'd thought ahead and also had a cake waiting for us after we
ate, with the three new names prominently written across it in icing, so
the new family members could see their names in writing for the very first
time, other than just on their legal documents.  The boys involved were
quite pleased and impressed by that simple recognition, and everyone else
told them how good their names sounded.

After we left the restaurant, I just took my boys and went home.  After
giving Frankie and Brent one more hug and telling them how happy I was they
were now officially my sons, I busied myself with things I'd been
neglecting and were long overdue.  As I walked around the house performing
these various tasks, I noticed there was a message on our answering
machine.  I hit the play button and listened to the recording.

"Mr. Currie, this is Dr. Bailey's office calling," the recording began.
"The doctor wanted to let you know he has located a cornea for Pat's
operation and would like to schedule it for 10 a.m. Friday.  Please call us
back at 555-783-0655 and confirm, if this time meets with your approval."

I was slightly stunned by the message, as I didn't think anything would be
happening so quickly.  I knew the doctor was looking for a cornea and
wanted to do the operation as soon as was possible, but I didn't think
either Pat or I expected it would happen this fast.  Eager to share the
news, I went and retrieved Pat, so I could play the message for him.  I was
surprised he didn't show much of a reaction, once he heard what was said.

"Pat, are you okay with this?" I asked, trying to find out what he was
thinking.

"Yeah, I guess Friday will be fine," he replied, in a very subdued manner.
"I do want to see again," he added, after a brief pause.

"Yes, I know you want to see again," I confirmed, "so I thought you'd be
happier and show more emotion when I played this message for you.  What's
up?"

Pat was very nervous and didn't answer right away.  I could tell he was
conflicted about something and I couldn't figure out what was bothering
him.  I gave him some time to gather the courage he felt he needed to tell
me whatever was on his mind and, finally, he spoke.  "It's just that I'm
kind of scared too," he informed me.  "I know I need to have these
operations done, if I hope to ever see again, but I also know things can
also go wrong while they're working on me and it's possible I might die."

I could see Pat was visibly shaken by this notion and thought it a very
real possibility.  In order to comfort him, I hugged him to my chest and
waited until I felt him begin to relax a little, before I responded.
Finally, I felt it was time to address his concerns.

"Pat, that's always a possibility whenever you have surgery, but in this
case I'd say it was an extremely small one.  I won't try to tell you the
risk isn't there, but it's highly unlikely to happen.  Even the doctor will
tell you anytime you're under an anesthetic there is always a slight risk
something like that could result, but I think it's more important for you
to focus on the gains you'll make by having this done.  This operation is
vital to giving you at least part of your vision back, even if you decide
against further procedures after this operation.  The plastic surgery isn't
really necessary and is purely cosmetic, so you won't have to do that, if
you don't want to.  Sure, it most likely will reduce some of the obvious
scarring around your eyes, but it doesn't look bad as it is.  You're still
a very handsome young man."

"If I decide to have the operation on my eye," Pat quickly informed me,
"then I'm going to do it all.  I don't want to see again, only to discover
I'm ugly and a scar-face."

"Believe me, you're far from ugly," I replied, "but you have to make up
your mind for yourself.  You know I'll support you, no matter what you
finally decide to do."

"I know and that's very important to me too," he agreed.  "I'm not sure if
I'd have been able to handle this without you here to help me get through
it."

"Well, I'll always be here for you, as long as I still have breath in me,"
I confirmed, "so don't worry about that.  Just think about what's best for
Pat, for now."

"Thanks, Dad, and I think I'm ready to do that," he replied.  "Call the
doctor back and have him set up the operation for Friday, as long you'll be
with me the whole time."

"Well, I can't go into the operating room with you," I acknowledged, "but I
will stay by your side the rest of the time.  Your brothers should be fine
with Mark and the Spences here, but I'll also ask Aunt Sally to look in on
them from time to time while we're gone, just to be safe."

"Thanks, Dad," Pat offered in response.  "I just can't tell you how much it
means to me to know you'll be there and won't leave me," he nearly choked
out, as he was beginning to get emotional about this topic.

"Well, I think I do, because it means just as much to me," I agreed.  "I
wouldn't let you go through something like this without being by your side
for as long as I'm able.  I would go nuts if I weren't there for you, and I
still might go nuts anyway," I teased.

"You won't go nuts from this," Pat stated dryly.  "If we haven't driven you
crazy already, then you're safe, especially after what you've put up with
from the three stooges."  We both chuckled, knowing exactly what he was
hinting at, even if it wasn't very subtle.

For the rest of the week, we spent much of our time getting things together
and preparing for the big day.  Before we left, I also gave instructions to
the other boys and tried to tie up all the loose ends before we took off.
Even though Frankie joked it was a good thing I hadn't gone away and left
them alone when he first lived with us, they all promised me they'd behave
and all I had to do was take care of their brother.  I thanked them from
the depths of my heart and then relayed their comments to Pat.

Pat ended up staying in my room both Tuesday and Wednesday nights, since he
was in need of a little extra TLC from the old man to help calm his nerves.
Thursday night, the two of us spent the evening in a hotel room in Philly,
while mentally preparing ourselves for what still lay ahead.  We both woke
up on our own before 5:00 Friday morning, but neither of us could eat
anything -- Pat because he was told not to have any food before the
operation and I didn't want to eat in front of him.  Besides, I don't think
I could have kept anything down, even if I wanted to, because I was worried
about him.

Once we were dressed, we half-heatedly listened to music until it was time
to leave, and then I drove to the hospital.  We got him checked in and then
an orderly wheeled him off to the waiting/preparation area.  I was able to
stay with him while he changed into a hospital gown and then helped him
onto the gurney.  I was holding his hand when he got the shot to put him
under and kissed his forehead before he was wheeled into the O.R.


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