Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 23:05:13 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 5, chapters 15 - 16

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 15 -- Ending the Holiday Season.

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

In a room down the hall, Shannon was also getting into areas new to him.
Although he and Nick had been together before, they had never done anything
anally, but that was about to change.  Nick had already decided he was
going to try to convince Shannon to move to the next level, so after the
boys had undressed each other, he coached Shannon on how to prepare him for
the deed.  He figured if he let Shannon do it to him first, it might prove
to be the quickest way to lower Shannon's inhibitions and motivate him to
return the favor.

Although Shannon wasn't quite sure he was ready to move to this level, he
did as Nick instructed, although a bit reluctantly.  Shannon carefully
loosened Nick's channel by using his fingers, as Nick suggested, and lubed
Nick's chute with plenty of oil, before he allowed Nick to place a condom
over his penis and lube that as well.  Once he felt he was ready, Nick lay
on the bed and pulled his legs nearly onto his chest, to expose his hole.
He figured from there, Shannon would know what to do next.

After seeing Nick in that position, the reality of what he was about to do
finally sank in and caused Shannon's penis to fill with even more blood, so
he was now harder than he could ever remember.  Although he had idea about
what he was supposed to do and how to accomplish it, it still took him a
few, awkward seconds to figure out how to position himself, in order to
make the penetration as comfortable as possible for each of them.  Once he
had that figured out, he put the tip of his penis against Nick's opening,
but then remembered Nick's words of caution about entering slowly.  This
caused him to temporarily freeze in place and hold his breath, as fought to
contain both his nerves and excitement.  He still couldn't believe he was
actually going to fuck someone.

Once he'd regained his focus, Shannon started to slowly push his way in,
but he wasn't quite ready for how stubborn the sphincter could be, even
when doing this with someone who had done it before.  However, Nick
encouraged him to press a little harder, while he also pushed out, and
within seconds the head of Shannon's penis had popped past the guardian.
Upon breaking through the resilient ring of muscle, Shannon stopped
abruptly, because he was worried he had done something wrong, but Nick
quickly assured him he was doing fine and urged him to keep going.  Feeling
a sense of relief, Shannon continued to push deeper, although he moved VERY
slowly, until the tops of his thighs were brushing up against Nick's butt
cheeks and his penis was completely encased by Nick's velvety lining.
After a little coaxing from an impatient Nick, Shannon began to rock his
hips back and forth, sliding his dick in and out of the warm moist tunnel,
while his mind was reeling from all of the intense sensations coursing
throughout his body.

At first, Shannon was nearly lost in a sense of carnal bliss, while
reveling in how great it felt to be buried inside of his partner's love
channel.  However, once he began to focus on the wonderful sensations
emanating from the middle of his body, as he began sliding in and out of
Nick's love canal, Shannon found he couldn't contain himself any longer and
eagerly made his dash toward the finish line.  Since this was his first
attempt at anal sex, it didn't take him long to reach the point of no
return.  Upon sensing that familiar feeling of impending release, Shannon
made his final thrust and seated his manhood as deeply inside of Nick as it
would go, before spewing his molten cream into the tip of the latex sheath.

Drained of his juices, Shannon collapsed on top of Nick, totally exhausted
by the culmination of the powerful explosive orgasm and the emotional
letdown brought about from the conclusion of his initial experience with
making love.  Shannon remain unable to move and stayed like that until Nick
gently rolled him off his body and kissed him passionately, to show his
appreciation.

Nick was very tender and patient with Shannon.  He not only gave him all
the time he needed to recover, but he continued to stroke and kiss him as
well, while waiting for Shannon to come down from his the lasting effects
of his intense orgasm.  As he did this, Nick also wondered if Shannon would
be ready and willing to take his turn as catcher.  He wasn't sure Shannon
would be, but still hoped he might.

After spending several more minutes like this, Shannon finally looked up
and thanked Nick for the wonderful experience.  After Nick told him he was
welcome and agreed that he'd enjoyed it too, Shannon surprised him by
announcing he was ready for Nick to do the same thing to him.  Although he
was excited by the prospect and eager to take advantage of the situation,
Nick thought he recognized a hint of trepidation in Shannon's eyes.  Since
he didn't want Shannon to be scared his first time, he tried to reassure
him he'd do nothing to hurt him, which brought a slight smile to Shannon's
lips.

After a little coaching about what to expect, Nick greased up his fingers
and began to loosen Shannon up.  As he did so, Nick worked as gently and
carefully as a parent tending to an injured child.  Shannon hardly felt the
first finger as it entered him, but he did react slightly when Nick added
another.  However, since Shannon didn't complain or raise a fuss about it,
Nick continued his effort and eventually added a third digit.  As he did
this, Nick noticed Shannon wince a bit, so he stopped all movement and
asked how he was doing.  Shannon quickly told him it had hurt momentarily,
but he was fine now, so Nick continued slowly and watched for other signs
signifying Shannon might be having difficulty.  Even though Nick was
excited about doing another virgin, he still didn't want to make this a bad
experience for Shannon.  Nick actually hoped he might get other chances to
repeat this activity with him in the months to come.

Finally, after a brief delay, Shannon announced he thought he was ready, so
Nick rolled him over onto his belly and placed a pillow under his hips.
This lifted Shannon's butt into a position that would allow easiest entry
for complete penetration.  Slowly, he moved in between Shannon legs, slid
on a rubber and slicked it up.  When he had completed his preparations, he
lined up with his target, but continue to talk to Shannon the whole time,
in order to make sure the first-timer didn't panic and understood what was
going to happen next, before he began his entry.

Once he was convinced Shannon was ready for what was about to happen, Nick
carefully prodded at Shannon's opening, while advising him to relax and
push out, which would make it easier for both of them.  Nick added a little
more pressure until he felt the head of his penis pop inside the muscular
guardian, which had been resisting his efforts at first.  Now that he was
in that far, he paused and gave Shannon time to adjust, before he continued
going deeper.  Once he had Shannon's assurance he was okay and ready to
continue, but pushed a little deeper, only to be stopped by Shannon's
slight protest.

"Nick, get off of me, I feel like I have to take a dump," Shannon told him,
while looking over his shoulder, concerned.

"No, you just feel that way because my dick is inside you," Nick told him.
"Your body just feels as if a big turd is in there and wants to get rid of
it.  It doesn't understand the difference yet."

"Are you sure?  I really feel like I have to go," Shannon advised him, "and
I wouldn't want that mess all over us."

"No, it's alright and we'll be fine," Nick assured him.  "It's only my dick
in there that makes it feel like you have to shit.  You'll get used to it
and realize I'm right."

"Wait, I'm just not sure," Shannon whined.  "Get off of me and let me go to
the toilet to make sure.  Please?"

Hesitantly, Nick slid out of Shannon's chute and Shannon immediately raced
off to the toilet, only to discover that Nick had been right all along.  As
Nick had explained, Shannon really didn't have to go at all, it just felt
as if he did.  As he made his way back to Nick's room, Shannon apologized
and announced that Nick had been correct, before getting back into
position.  This time when Nick's penis entered his body, it felt the same
as it had before, but Shannon accepted it as being part of the activity and
not a call of nature.  Relieved, Nick continued his penetration until he
was completely embedded inside of Shannon's tight channel.  Once he
bottomed out, Nick paused briefly, to give Shannon a chance to get used to
their new connection.

Once Nick had been assured that Shannon was ready to continue, he began to
slide his love muscle in and out of Shannon's virgin hole, gradually
building a rhythm, as he gave Shannon his first ride.  After a few moments
of feeling awkward about what he was doing, Shannon began to enjoy the
sensations building within his body, especially when Nick's penis hit a
certain spot inside of him.  Whenever that happened, it felt as if little
jolts of electrical current were released to travel along his nerve
synapses and Shannon's entire body would begin to tingle.

Nick was obviously enjoying the activity too and slowly began to increase
his pace, as he felt his own release building.  This was brought on even
more rapidly than usual, due to the tightness of Shannon's rear entrance.
Even though he had done this many times before, and with other
first-timers, Nick never tired of the overwhelming feelings and the
enjoyment he received from this activity, so he eagerly plunged on.

By this point, both boys were panting and moaning, thoroughly getting into
the action.  Nick kept pounding away at Shannon's butt, sending them both
into a sexual frenzy.  Although he never expected it to happen, Shannon's
body suddenly stiffened, as a result of Nick's erection constantly brushing
against his prostate, and he ejaculated, without either of them having
touched his cock.

When Shannon climaxed onto the bedding, his rectum tightened around Nick's
penis, and this added pressure sent Nick over the edge, forcing his hot
juices to erupt and accumulate inside the prophylactic.  Nick thrust weakly
a couple of more times after that happened, until he drained the last of
his seed from his dick, and then he collapsed on top of Shannon, causing
both bodies to drop onto the mattress.

Even though the physical act had been completed, they remained coupled
together a while longer, lingering in the sexual afterglow this experience
had produced.  They also enjoyed the feel of each other's body, as they
remained connected in such an intimate way, and their continued physical
contact seemed to magnify all of the pleasure that had just consumed them.
After remaining like this for several minutes more, they finally separated,
but only so Nick could rid himself of the condom, and then they lay
side-by- side and held each other in their arms.  Since neither of them
wanted this feeling to end, they remained secure and warm in each other's
embrace until morning.

Kevin, Vinnie, Nick and Shannon weren't the only ones to spend their
evening making love.  Danny and Brandon and Dion and Trey also went to
their rooms with plans of pleasing their partners, while little Andrew
spent the evening sandwiched between Sammy, Graham and Cole.  The four of
them spent the night moving from one to the other and giving each other
pleasure, and it was nice to see the two sets of biological brothers so
close to each other.  Of course, I think Cole would have preferred spending
time with his girlfriend, but since she had gone away with her parents, it
wasn't an option, so he made the best of his situation and still had a good
time.

Jake had become a little anxious when he saw Shannon going off with Nick,
so we discussed the situation in some detail.  Sensing Jake's doubts, I
assured him that Nick had many fine qualities, such as being a very
patient, sensitive and experienced lover, so Shannon was in very capable
hands and had nothing to fear.  Other than Nick's promiscuous nature, he
was a wonderful young man and I hoped he would someday outgrow his need for
multiple partners and be able to settle down and find true love.

After we finished our conversation and Jake's concerns had been addressed,
he started feeling a little frisky himself and began to attack me, in hopes
of sating his own desires.  I won't go into great detail about what we did
that night, since I don't feel anyone except us needs to know all of that
information, but I will admit we were reaching a level of bonding that few
couples ever achieve.  Maybe I should take a moment to explain what I mean
by my comment.

Jake and I had learned over time that we had a great deal in common, which
included the types of activities we enjoyed, what we liked to eat and even
the different ways we sought to please each other.  Over time, we had also
grown to love each other deeply and were committed to our family, which had
a far greater meaning than just biological relationships, but equally
important was our time alone.  Our lovemaking was also bonding us in such a
way and so tightly that I highly doubted anything could ever separate us.
I must admit it is truly a wonderful feeling to know your relationship is
sincere, deep and boundless, not to mention passionate, and the
satisfaction you receive from just being together seems to never end.  I
was truly a very fortunate man and I sincerely hoped that Jake felt the
same way about our partnership.

After our lovemaking, I found it difficult to fall asleep, as my mind was
awash in all of these wonderful thoughts and feelings.  As I lay there
considering the current state of affairs, I heard the rest of the boys
arrive home sometime after three.  After Frankie had ended his date, he
drove over and picked his brothers up from their party, dropped their dates
back off at their own homes and then returned my brood to their own beds.
Although these young men would be sleeping alone this evening, I think they
had more than enjoyed themselves earlier and the thought of not having
anyone to share their bed at that moment didn't ruin the night.

I didn't hear Mark come in until almost eight, so I wasn't certain if he
had just finished partying with his date and was returning home, or if he
had slept at her place and just recently slipped out to rejoin us.  He was
old enough that I didn't have to question what he was up to, but he did
tell me later that they had only partied until around two and then he spent
the night sharing her bed.  I guess they were getting pretty serious about
each other.

New Year's Day was a jumble of activity.  Ricky and Jay were actually the
first to stumble downstairs, so I offered to fix them some breakfast, but
not merely for humanitarian reasons.  I figured it would also give me the
opportunity to press a bit and see if I could learn anything about what
they had been up to the previous evening.

"So, how was your party?" I asked them, after they told me what they wanted
to eat.

"It was okay," Jay replied, deadpan.

"Not really," Ricky corrected him.  "If we didn't have our dates with us
the party would have really sucked," he continued.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I told him.  "Why was it so bad?"

"To begin with, the music blew big time, because they had some freak
picking the tunes."  As I looked at him, Ricky face seemed to contort a
bit, as he thought back upon the previous evening.  "They had hardly
anything to eat and what there was tasted worse than dog food, so I went
off with my date and we made our own party?"

"Oh!  And what does that mean?" I prodded, raising my eyebrows and giving
him a questioning look.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Ricky replied, as his way of blowing off my
question.

"The party wasn't that bad," Jay corrected.  "The pizza was cold..."

"And was like eating cardboard!" Ricky interrupted.

"Oh, Mister High Standards," Jay mocked.  "You didn't seem that fussy when
you were eating pussy..." Jay stopped abruptly and began turning crimson,
now that he realized he'd probably said more than he should have.  Ricky
just glared at him for a second, before he tried to slip out of the
embarrassing situation gracefully.

"I wish," he joked back, but his voice lacked the sincerity to make me
believe otherwise.  "But you've got to admit the music sounded like a cat
fight," he added, trying to change the subject.  Jay didn't bite this time
and started filling his mouth instead, so he didn't have to speak again.
Ricky soon did the same, so I left them alone and walked out of the room.
Once they thought I was out of earshot, I overheard Ricky chastising his
best friend.

"You dumb ass," Ricky snapped.  "That was a great thing to say in front of
my dad."

"Come on," Jay whined, "he knows what you do and doesn't mind, as long as
you're careful and don't force anyone.  Just think of the shit I'd be in,
if something like that was said in front of my 'rents."

"You don't have to worry about that," Ricky teased.  "You girl doesn't like
oral, either giving or receiving."

"Shut up!  She does it sometimes," Jay challenged, but only half-heartedly.
"Besides, she does enough, or I wouldn't still be with her."  Ricky merely
laughed and I moved on, although I was still debating if I wanted to hang
around to hear what they might discuss next.

Jake was already in the family room, so I went in to join him and we spent
the remainder of the morning watching the various parades being shown on
television.  Once the rest of the boys had risen from the dead and filled
their grumbling tummies, some of them even came in to join us.  Although it
wasn't their favorite activity, they did like seeing some of the floats and
it gave them time to thoroughly wake up and come to their senses before we
got to the meatier part of the day.  I think the biggest reason they were
willing to sit and watch the parades was so they could check out the
eye-candy on the tube.  Although it was still pretty cold at some of the
parade locations, which meant many of the spectators and participants were
bundled up so you couldn't see much more than their faces, the boys didn't
seemed deterred.  Even though it wasn't perfect, everyone enjoyed pointing
out various persons of interest, and yes, different family members happily
pointed out both guys and gals and no one drooled so much that I had to
make him wear a bib.

Over the course of the day, I overheard more tidbits about what had
happened when I wasn't around, both at our house and at the party.  I
actually gleaned sufficient information from the various participants to be
able to piece together enough to let me know that no one had done anything
too drastic and given me a fair idea about what had transpired.  I also
learned that most of my straight and bi boys were quite attached to their
current girlfriends and wanted to be with them for more reasons than just
the possibility of having sex, which impressed me and spoke volumes about
their level of maturity.

Mark and Frankie happily admitted they'd had a much better time than the
others, although they weren't together at any point.  Mark and his
girlfriend had gone out to dinner and then to a club to dance, while
Frankie took his date out to dine at a different establishment, before
stopping in to check out a few parties they'd been told about.  Although,
they didn't stay at any one place for the remainder of the evening, Frankie
claimed both he and his date had enjoyed themselves and they would be
seeing more of each other in the future.

As far as the boys who had spent the evening at home, I heard them
discussing enough with their brothers to discover most of what happened, so
I could relay their stories to you earlier.  Seeing it was just family
involved, and they knew I had few restrictions when it came to their
activities with each other, they didn't have to try to sneak around to
share this information with each other.  They pretty much chatted openly
about these things and didn't seem to care if Jake or I heard what had gone
on -- well, except for Shannon.  He didn't seem to mind if I heard about
what he'd been up to, but he seemed to get embarrassed if anything was said
in front of his father.  Personally, I found it quite ironic that he didn't
mind my knowing, but preferred his father not be aware of what he had done.

Even if they hadn't said anything, I think I would have figured most of
what had happened just from just watching how the various pairs interacted
and looked at each other over the course of the day.  It seemed to me that
someone was always flashing a coy smile or giving a seductive wink to their
other half, and the other person might possibly even blush a little when he
thought back upon why his partner was doing it or what he might be hinting
at.  It was very cute watching them play these little games and I felt
confident that everyone had enjoyed himself and was happy with the way he
had brought in the New Year.

At lunchtime, I let everyone fend for himself, because I felt I deserved a
chance to relax too.  Some of the boys were obviously unhappy about my
announcement, but I didn't think I had to worry about any of them starving.
However, I was impressed when some of the boys offered to fix something for
their brothers, as well as themselves, and this solved their dilemma.  I
was also pleased that Danny and Brandon not only made grilled ham and
cheese sandwiches for each other and a few of their brothers, but they also
brought some in for Jake and myself as well.  Pleased by their
thoughtfulness, we each thanked them, although the boys sloughed it off as
not being a big deal.  Once we'd finished our meal, we eagerly settled in
for the start of the first of the bowl games.

Since I knew not everyone would be into this activity, I wasn't surprised
to hear some of the boys talking about going into the living room to watch
some DVDs.  We certainly had a large enough collection that they should be
able to find something to entertain themselves, but later I heard that
while they were debating what to view, one of the other boys discovered
that one of the channels was running a Queer As Folk marathon.  Happily,
they agreed to watch that instead and spent the next few hours hunkered
down with the QAF cast.  I wasn't sure if they grew tired of it or if it
had ended, but when I went past there on my way to the toilet, they were
watching a movie.

For the most part, we spent the rest of the day either watching football or
movies, except for Dion and Trey, who spent their time with their noses
buried in books.  They were happy doing this and I was pleased to see they
were enjoying what was a lost art to many, and their brothers were smart
enough to not bother them after they had gone off on their own.

Mark had opted to join Jake and I as we watched the football games and sat
leaning up against me on one side, as Jake cuddled against the other.  I
must say it was a very nice way to spend the day and our closeness was only
interrupted by toilet breaks and quick dashes to grab snacks or drinks.  At
halftime of the third game, Jake and I began to feel guilty about ignoring
the boys' needs, so we went out to prepare dinner for everyone.  We
certainly didn't want anyone complaining to their friends or other members
of our extended family that we had tried to starve them.  However, we did
go back in and rejoin Mark while it was cooking, and once that game ended,
I summoned everyone into the dining room, so we could enjoy a family meal.

As I sat there looking at my boys, my mind began to race over everything
that had happened to us over the past year.  In doing so, I discovered I
could now empathize with Queen Elizabeth II, when she declared 1992 as her
'annus horibilus,' or horrible year.  I could totally empathize with how
devastated she must have felt after having lived through the rash of
terrible events that had encompassed her family during the twelve months
preceding her comment.  The past year had been like that for us, as well.
We had endured much together, such as losing Brent, my heart attack and the
terrible events of 9/11, but if you looked back at it honestly, there were
some positive moments scattering throughout the year too.  During that same
time span, we had reveled in the birth of a granddaughter/niece and the
announcement that another baby was on the way, besides gaining another
son/brother.  However, no matter how special those things were, I was
forced to admit that for the first time since I had begun this adventure of
assembling a second family, the negatives in our lives had far outweighed
the positives.  I silently prayed we wouldn't have to go through anything
like this again, at least not in the very near future.

As I broke away from these not so pleasant thoughts, I went back to
thinking about my family again, which included my older children,
grandchildren, new sons, almost sons and my lover.  This was enough to
suddenly lift my spirits and make me forget about everything else, as I
acknowledged how lucky I really was.

After everyone finished their meal, we happily went back to resuming the
activities we had been involved in earlier, and that remained unchanged
until bedtime.



Author's note: This next chapter is dedicated to a special young man who
got involved with something he wasn't ready to handle, if anyone ever is
with this activity.  Justin, if using what happened to you can help save
even one young life, then somehow your loss might not have been for naught
and maybe we can give some sense of purpose to this tragedy.  For those of
you reading this, if you're messing around with AEA or thinking about it,
please read this chapter carefully.  Maybe it will help you reconsider your
decision.

		*    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 16 -- Dealing With Our Losses.

The high school and younger boys had already returned to classes after the
holidays, although the college boys had a couple more weeks to enjoy at
home before their courses resumed.  That allowed Dustin and Frankie to see
the addition to the house completed, before it was time to take them back
to their respective campuses and Vinnie was delighted he could move into
his new room.  He was very happy with everything that had been done,
including his direct access to the Jacuzzi, and he immediately began to
invite groups of two or three of the others to join him for a little time
in the water.  They all seemed to enjoy themselves doing this and it gave
them some additional time to bond with their newest brother.  All and all,
I'd say it was well worth the effort and expense and was turning out to be
a great thing.

Unfortunately, the fact that Vinnie now had his own room was both a source
of pride and annoyance for him, but I figured that wouldn't last for long.
I concluded Kevin would most likely be spending much of his time in
Vinnie's room from this point on, and eventually Kevin might even decide to
move in with him.

Although nothing of importance would be happening for any of us for a
while, I knew the following weekend was Carlos' birthday and I wanted to
make it special for him.  Therefore, I called his mother and advised her
that we'd like to drive out and help him celebrate turning 16.  Even though
Carlos and his mother live on their own in Philadelphia, we still
considered them part of our family.  Over time they have also become close
to others where they lived, so they aren't as dependent on us now, as they
once were.  Even so, we all still wanted to help Carlos celebrate this big
event in his life.

When we arrived there, Carlos seemed excited to see us and raced about to
greet everyone individually.  Once he had finished his rounds, Carlos asked
if he could take the boys out for a tour of his neighborhood, because he
wanted to show them around and possibly introduce them to a few of his
friends, if they were also out and about.  I agreed, so while they did
that, Jake and I stayed and talked to Carlos' mother and quickly caught up
on everything that had happened to them since our last visit.

Once she had brought us up to date on their lives, we talked briefly about
Brent's death and my heart attack, before she began telling us about some
of the new people in their lives.  That's when we discovered she had a
gentleman friend, whom she'd been seeing on a fairly regular basis, and
explained that Carlos had also grown close to this guy, which I was glad to
hear.  I even began to get the impression that we might be called upon to
attend a wedding in the near future.

After this discussion, I asked the boys who hadn't gone off with Carlos to
go out to the van and carry in the belated Christmas presents we brought
for them from our family, as well as a few additional gifts for Carlos' big
day.  I then had the boys stack Carlos' Christmas and birthday presents off
to one side, so they'd all be in one place when he returned.  His mother
told us she hadn't planned a very big or fancy party, but she had allowed
Carlos to invite a few of his friends from school and the neighborhood over
to help him celebrate and to meet us.  I told her that was fine and I
looked forward to meeting some of these other people in their lives.  She
seemed pleased by my response, although I think she knew us well enough to
realize whatever she had planned probably wouldn't bother us, but she still
appeared relieved to know it for certain.

I'm sure she'd known of other instances, possibly within her own family or
she'd seen it happen with others, when the family who had traveled from out
of town was somewhat annoyed once they'd discovered they weren't the center
of attention during their visit.  Therefore, I went out of my way to
reassure her this was Carlos' special time and we were just there to
support him and share in his joy.  She gave me a hug in response and then
we waited for the boys to return.

A short time later Carlos and the others arrived back at the apartment,
including the friends he had invited to the party.  They came tagging along
behind him and he quickly introduced us.  It was kind of neat when he told
them we were 'his other family' and then referred to me as his dad.  I
think it was important for him to have a father figure in his life, but it
also gave me a warm glow to know he felt that way about me.  It wasn't so
much what he said, but the way in which he told them that convinced us all
of his sincerity.

Carlos' mother and I allowed the boys to entertain themselves for a while,
to give the two groups time to get to know each other better, but
eventually I suggested taking everyone out to eat.  At first Carlos' mother
balked at the idea, because she didn't want me spending any more money on
them, especially after seeing everything we'd brought with us, but I wasn't
about to take 'no' for an answer.  After several minutes of explaining my
reasons to her, she finally relented and we took them and their other
guests to a restaurant.  Carlos' other friends weren't used to frequenting
establishments as nice as the one we picked out, and were possibly a bit
underdressed for the occasion, but the employees were extremely
understanding and treated us all very well.  We had a great time there and
I enjoyed watching the other kids pack the food away.

On our way back to the apartment, Carlos' friends shyly explained how this
had been a major treat and thanked us for including them on the outing.
This only improved Carlos's stature among his peers and he took full
advantage of this opportunity by reveling in his role as host and being the
center of attention.

When we arrived back at their place, we had cake and ice cream while
watching Carlos open his gifts.  I think his friends were impressed when
they saw what he got, as they might have also liked to have some of those
items themselves, but couldn't afford them.  Once Carlos finished opening
his presents, I talked them into letting me take everyone to the movies, as
one more special treat.  Again I received some protestations from Carlos'
mother, but she quickly understood she was fighting a losing battle,
especially after seeing the boys' initial reaction to the idea, so she gave
in.  I had the boys look in the newspaper and select a movie all of them
would enjoy, and once they'd agreed on something, we rode to the theater,
took our seats and waited for the film to begin.

Although it was a bit juvenile at times, the feature was still humorous and
made us laugh.  This was due to the fact that some of the circumstances
portrayed could be interpreted differently, depending upon your maturity
level, so everyone ended up having a good time.  When the movie let out, we
dropped Carlos' friends off at their own homes, before taking his mother
and him back to their place.  When we arrived, we said our good-byes,
exchanged hugs and listened to many thank yous before we made the long trip
home, still feeling good about the day and ourselves.

Once we were back, the boys began to resume their normal activities.  The
only exception to this was Frankie and Dustin, who were enjoying their
final week at home before returning to college.  When it came time to drive
them back to their campuses, I asked Jake to take Dustin, since the two
colleges weren't very close together.  This would allow me to not only
drive Frankie back, but it would also provide me with the opportunity to
stay for a while, so he and I could spend time talking to Tom about his
recent hi-jinks.

Frankie and I arrived shortly after noon on Sunday, but Tom hadn't arrived
as of yet.  While we waited for him to show up, I helped Frankie take his
things to his room, and then we wandered around the campus for a while,
before we went back to his dorm.  We were surprised to discover that Tom
still wasn't there and wondered why he was delayed.  We waited in the room
a little longer, still thinking he would walk through the door at any
moment, but he still didn't turn up.  By this time we were getting quite
hungry, so we decided to go out to eat, figuring he'd be there when we got
back from dinner.

After a nice, but quick time away, we returned to Frankie's room, but Tom
still wasn't there.  I was becoming concerned about his tardiness when I
was distracted by a knock on the door.  Frankie opened it, only to be
greeted by the Dean of Students.

"Mr. Currie?" he asked, making sure he had the right room and person.

"Well, my dad is Mr. Currie," Frankie told him, "but I'm a Currie too."
The man didn't seem to see any humor in Frankie's comment.

"I'm sorry that I have to be the one to inform you about this sad news," he
continued, "but your roommate will not be returning to school."

"Why not?" Frankie asked him, quite shocked by this disclosure.  After
seeing the man's expressions, Frankie began to panic.  "What happened?" he
demanded.

The gentleman looked at me before he responded.  "It seems he passed away
from some sort of accident over the holidays," he informed us, quite dryly.
It was almost as if he was telling us Tom was sick with a cold or something
minor like that.  I jumped up at this point and walked over to Frankie, who
was beginning to react somewhat negatively to this news and the method it
had been presented to us.  After I calmed him down, I questioned the man
further.

"Can you tell me what happened to him and when?" I inquired.  The man's
eyes immediately dropped slightly downward, as he intentionally avoided
looking directly at either of us, and I saw him swallow with some
difficulty, before he lifted his head up again. This time he looked toward
me, although he still avoided my eyes, and began to share what information
he had.

"We were first led to believe it was a suicide," he admitted, "but then we
were informed it was an accidental hanging," he stated, again in a very
unemotional, matter-of-fact manner.  "I'm under the impression it happened
either on New Year's Eve or early New Year's Day.  I'm sorry I had to be
the one to inform you of this and I'd like to offer you my sincerest
condolences."

Needless to say, I was still quite stunned by this news, but I had to have
more information.  "Excuse me, but do you know if they've had the services
for him yet?"

"I believe they have," he responded.  "I was led to understand that the
viewing and services were held a few days later."

"Why didn't they call us at home and tell us this information, so we could
have attended the funeral?" I followed, somewhat perturbed.  "My son was
quite close to this boy and he had been to our home over the Thanksgiving
break."

"I'm afraid we were only notified about all of this a few days ago
ourselves," he confided.  "In fact, it basically started off as a call to
inform us that the young man wouldn't be returning to classes.  We only
learned of his death when the secretary questioned the caller about the
reason he was dropping out.  I believe it was a friend or neighbor who
phoned us, and they weren't very forthcoming with any details until we
pursued the issue."

"That seems to fit in with what I know about the family," I added, dryly,
"because Tom informed us that he didn't think his parents were very
concerned about him.  He indicated to us that he longed for their love and
attention, but they were too wrapped up in their own lives to care.  I
think that's why Tom got involved in such a dangerous activity."

"You knew about this unusual proclivity?" the man asked, astonished.

"We knew a little about it, since Frankie had discovered him unconscious in
his dorm bed one day," I replied.  "When Frankie told me about this, I had
him talk to Tom about the seriousness of continuing this activity and
that's the reason I came here with Frankie today.  We were planning to
confront Tom about this together, hoping we could convince him this wasn't
something he should be messing around with."

"But why didn't you inform the administration about any of this?" he asked
us pointedly.

"Primarily because all of this came to our attention just before the
Christmas break and we thought Frankie's discussion with Tom would be
enough until they returned for classes.  There was another student who got
him involved in this in the first place, or so we understand."

"Do you know this student's name?" the gentleman pressed.

I looked at Frankie and nodded at him to signify he should divulge this
information.  Frankie was still reticent to do as we requested, so I made
my next comments aloud.  "Frankie, tell the Dean this other boy's name,
before anything like this happens to him.  This is dangerous stuff they're
messing with and it's bad enough we lost Tom before we could convince him
to give up this activity.  Let's not make the same mistake twice."

This seemed to convince Frankie to do as I asked and he told the Dean the
boy's identity.  Once Frankie had shared this information, I made my next
request to the administrator.  "Would you mind if I take Frankie with me
for a few of days, to help him get through this?  I'm sure he won't be able
to focus on his studies right away."

"Under the circumstances, that might be best," he agreed.  "I'll clear
everything with his professors, but he'll have to make up all missed work,
once he returns."

"And do you think you might be able to share Tom's home address with us," I
asked the Dean, "as we'd like to visit his parents and offer our sympathy."

"That would be highly irregular, but under the circumstances I don't see
the harm," he stated, rather dryly.  "Just remember that the school never
gave you this information, so Tom must have given it to your son before any
of this happened."

I assured him we would protect the school and not divulge our source, and
then followed him to his office to get the information, while Frankie
gathered up whatever else he felt he might need to bring with him this
time.  I also called home from the Dean's office to tell the boys I'd be
away for a couple of extra days and why, and then I went back to meet up
with Frankie, so we could visit Tom's home.

By the time we arrived where they lived, it was already quite late -- much
too late to call on them, so we took a room at a local motel and waited
until morning to give them a buzz.  Hopefully, they would allow us to visit
after we spoke to them, and I promised myself I would try my hardest not to
prejudge or make assumptions about how they would react to our contacting
them.

We didn't get up very early the next morning, primarily due to the fact
that neither of us had been able to fall asleep very easily.  This was
because we were both feeling a little guilty that we had not acted sooner
or more forcefully to prevent the tragedy that followed.  By the time we
did drift off, it was really quite late, so we also ended up sleeping in
later than normal.  After having a late breakfast, I dialed Tom's parents'
phone number and Tom's mother answered the phone.  It didn't take me long
to realize that she didn't sound as if she was holding up too well.  After
explaining who I was, I asked if she would mind if Frankie and I stopped
by.  After a slight hesitation, she agreed and then gave me directions to
get to their house.  It was a short ride, so we were there in a matter of
minutes, and the door opened shortly after I rang the bell.

Tom's mother was also the one to let us in, but she was a bit of a mess.
It appeared as though she hadn't been sleeping very well and had obviously
hurried to try to make herself presentable for our visit.  She quickly
invited us inside and asked if we'd like something to drink.  She said
she'd just made a fresh pot of coffee, so Frankie and I agreed to join her
in the kitchen for a cup.  After we settled in, she apologized that Tom's
father wasn't around and explained he had already left for work before we
called.

"He went back to work, not only because he's already used up his vacation
time," she explained, "but also because he feels it helps keep him from
dwelling upon our son's death.  He has been harboring a great deal of guilt
about not knowing what Tom was up to or being around when he needed us
most.  He's taken this even harder than I have."

Although Tom's mother was very gracious host, you could tell our visit was
dredging up memories she might not have wanted to deal with.  I also began
to feel we were interrupting her solitude and attempts to come to grips
with what had befallen her family.  This certainly didn't agree with the
impression Tom had given us about her and her husband.  Possibly, as had
happened with some of my boys and their biological families, Tom had read
more into his situation than was actually there.  Either that or his
parents hadn't come to realize how much he meant to them until after he was
gone.  Either way, it seems they were both struggling to get through this
horrible time and apparently had cared more about Tom than he had suspected
or been willing to admit.

As we chatted, Tom's mother admitted that she knew who we were even before
we'd called, because Tom had mentioned us, and the rest of our family, to
her during both the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.  She then thanked us
for letting him visit our home at Thanksgiving, which we weren't certain
she had even known about, and explained that his time with us had meant a
great deal to him.  In return, we told her we had been fond of Tom as well
and were saddened to learn of his death.  Once that was behind us, she
began to open up even more.

"I realize now that my husband and I were never very good at being his
parents," she sobbed.  "We had become so involved with our own lives and
careers that Tom must have thought we'd forgotten about him.  We made
excuses for our actions by telling ourselves he was old enough to not need
us any longer, but I now suspect that was more for our own peace of mind,
rather than being the truth.  It appears he still needed us, but we let him
down.  That's why I haven't been able to go back to work since it happened.
I can't shake the feeling I might have been able to prevent what happened
to him, if I'd only given him a little bit more of my time."

"You can't beat yourself up over this," I advised her.  "Even if you talked
to him on a regular basis, you might not have been able to keep him from
doing such things.  Tom was a great kid, so you must have had some positive
influence on him while he was growing up."

"Maybe when he was younger, but I'm afraid not since he reached his teens,"
she confessed.  "Looking back now, I think he had pretty much taken care of
himself, from that point on."

"I wish we could have been here for his funeral," I told her.  "I think all
my boys would have wanted to attend and say their good-byes to him."

"We were too upset to think straight after it happened," she explained,
"and we were busy blaming ourselves for his death.  I'm sure there were
many people we forgot to notify."

"Well, there's nothing we can do to change that now," I agreed, "so I hope
you will accept our heart-felt sympathy and our offer to be here for you,
should you need anything in the future."

"You're so very kind to offer," she replied, while looking at us through
very moist eyes, "and I'm glad Tom had you in his life, if only for a short
time."

 "Well, my son and I have been talking, and there's something we'd like to
do in Tom's memory," I suggested.  "Maybe we can use his accident to alert
others of the dangers of the activity that took him from us and keep
someone else from making a similar mistake."

"Then you know how he died?"  She looked puzzled now.

"Not exactly, but we have our suspicions," I reluctantly informed her.
"It's something that seems to be gaining popularity at schools and college
campuses right now."

"Really?  I'd never even heard about it before," she stated, while looking
confused.

She went on to explain that she and her husband had gone out on New Year's
Eve, while Tom remained at home, alone.  They thought he had told them he
was going to go out with some friends later, after they left for dinner,
and possibly even stay over with one of them.  That's why they were
surprised to see the light on in his room and hear the music playing when
they arrived home around 3:00 a.m.  His father went to his room, thinking
Tom had merely forgotten to turn off those things when he left, but he
quickly discovered the door seemed to be blocked.  He tried to push it
open, but something appeared to be wedged behind it.  After struggling with
it for several minutes, Tom's father was able to get it open far enough to
squeeze through the space he had made, and once he was on the other side,
he discovered Tom's naked, discolored body.  There was a rope tied around
the doorknob and then around his neck, so at first his father suspected he
had committed suicide.  She began to sob quite loudly at this point and
Frankie and I both tried to comfort and help calm her down.  When she
regained her composure again, she continued.

She told us the medical examiner informed them of the real cause of death,
after he completed an autopsy.  He said Tom had ejaculated shortly before
he died and that's what helped him put the pieces of the puzzle together.
They were shocked to learn that such an unusual gratification technique
existed and they were even more surprised that Tom had been practicing it.
I used that opportunity to tell her about our idea to honor Tom, which
Frankie and I had discussed as we drove here and as we sat in our motel
room the previous evening.  We wanted to form a foundation of sorts, to
warn young people about the dangers of AEA (auto-erotic asphyxiation).

I advised her we wanted to name the foundation in Tom's memory, with her
and her husband's permission of course, and we'd do all we could to make
sure no other young person died in the same manner as her son.  She thanked
us and gave us her blessing, before inviting us to return for dinner, so we
could meet her husband and explain this to him as well.  We accepted her
offer, especially since it seemed so important to her, and then we excused
ourselves for now, so we could run some errands.  One of these was to call
home, so we could tell the family we were going to arrive home even later
than we had first told them and make certain they understood everything was
fine.

Frankie and I arrived back at Tom's parents' home around six and were
greeted by both of them, even before we reached their door.  That's because
they had been watching for us and stepped outside to welcome us as soon as
they saw us pull in their driveway.  After escorting us into their home,
where we exchanged the usual pleasantries, they each thanked us for taking
the time to return to their house again.  Once we finished the small talk,
they led us to their dining room, where we sat down to eat.

Tom's mother must have really hustled to prepare such a wonderful meal on
such short notice, and we all enjoyed her efforts.  After the meal was
completed, we moved to their living room, where we sat down to talk.  There
were a few awkward moments, during which they fought to control their
emotions as they told us stories about Tom, in particular his pre-teen
years.  Once they felt we understood both Tom and them better, Tom's father
questioned us about our plans for the foundation and what we hoped to
accomplish.

After explaining our ideas to him, they both gave us their blessing to use
their son's name, and then handed me a copy of his 'Memorial' and showed us
his obituary clippings.  After talking a bit longer, we offered our
condolences once again and explained we had to leave and return home, in
order to take care of our own family.  We parted, but only after making
assurances that we would get together again soon and confirming this was
not just some expression tossed about lightly, but a sincere promise we
intended to keep.

On the ride home, Frankie and I discussed our ideas for the foundation in
even greater detail, including tossing around suggestions about how we
would fund it, what strategies we would use to educate teens about the
dangers of AEA and how far we were prepared to go to ensure its success.
By the time we arrived home, we were both satisfied we had covered all of
the bases, so I jotted down a few notes about our session, to make certain
I wouldn't forget what we had agreed upon.

The boys greeted us when we came in and immediately asked Frankie if he was
all right.  Once they were assured that he was, they each added their own
personal touches to let him know how much they cared and how badly they
felt for him.  I think these simple gestures helped to deepen Frankie's
appreciation not only for his brothers, but also about having such a
close-knit family.


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