Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:27:56 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 5, chapters 3 - 4

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 3 -- Changes.

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

I'd been home about a week before the boys allowed anyone outside of the
family to visit.  It was quite obvious to everyone that my sons were being
very protective of me and their primary objective was to make sure I didn't
get overexcited or exert myself in any way.  It was nice to know they cared
so much, but at times their restrictions would frustrate me and cause me to
become bored.  Their endeavor to keep me from having a relapse also
prevented me from do nearly anything I wanted to do, like helping to fix
the meals, pay the bills or other little tasks I felt wouldn't do me any
harm.  However, they seemed to feel such activities might add to my stress
level or cause me to move about too much, so they did their best to keep me
from getting involved in those activities.  To tell you the truth, I was
becoming more stressed by not being allowed to do anything.

After expressing my displeasure about my total isolation and lack of
stimulation, the boys finally let me take a call from my superintendent.
After inquiring as to how I was feeling, he asked if I'd mind if he came
over to see me, so I told him to come ahead.  I was ecstatic that I was
finally going to have someone new to talk to and I assumed he wanted to see
for himself how I was healing and find out when I'd be coming back to work.
When he arrived we exchanged pleasantries, talked about my condition and
prognosis, but then he caught me completely off guard with his next
comment.

"Josh, I hope you don't think me presumptuous or mind what I'm about to
say, but I've been doing some leg work on your behalf.  I've talked to both
the school board and the retirement system to get them to authorize a full
early retirement plan for you, based on your medical history.  Everything
is set and all you'll have to do is sign some paperwork."

I sat silent for a few moments, somewhat shocked by what I had just heard.
I was trying to choose the words for my response carefully, because I
didn't want to insult my boss, as I knew he thought he was doing me a
favor.

"I appreciate the thought," I responded, after finally regaining my
composure, "but I don't want to retire.  I have absolutely no desire to sit
around the house, trying to find mundane tasks to entertain myself and just
grow older without any meaning left in my existence.  Regardless of what
just happened to me, I still plan on working at least a few more years.
When most of my boys are out of school and on their own, I my rethink my
decision, but until then, I'm not ready for the rocking chair."

"Why, Josh?  You certainly don't need the money or the aggravation," the
superintendent persisted, "so why wouldn't you be thankful for such an
opportunity?  You have to put the best interests of your boys first, not
that you haven't been doing that all along, but you need to consider that
now, even more so.  They are the ones who really need you and the ones I
did this for.  What would happen to them if you weren't around?  I'm just
trying to make sure that doesn't happen and you will be here to take care
of them while they still depend on you.  Besides, knowing you like I do, I
have a feeling you'll be taking in even more boys as the older ones leave,
so you'd end up continuing to work until you were in your 80's or 90's, if
that were allowed and you lived that long."  He watched my reaction after
he made his comment, because he knew he'd made a valid point and I'd be
forced to admit it too.

"Well, I do appreciate what you're trying to do for me," I added, "but I
think I'd feel useless if I were to retire and just sit around home all day
long, especially while the boys are in class.  I think it would better for
all of us if I continued working for at least a while longer."

"Useless?" the superintendent shot back.  "How in the world would you ever
find the time to feel useless, when you have so many sons depending on you?
Look, Josh, you're a bright and compassionate person, but it's time for you
to focus on what's most important to you, and that should be your family.
I'm not saying you wouldn't be missed if you retired, or that the students
at your school won't lose a little something without you being there, but
I'd rather see them temporarily deprived, rather than have your boys lose
you permanently."

I was beginning to consider his words and I think he noticed that as well,
so he tried to exert even more pressure to push me in that direction.
"Josh, after being shot and now having also had a heart attack, I seriously
think you'd be wise to take the early out.  If you won't do it for your own
sake, then do it for the sake of your sons.  I won't ask you to make a
final decision now, but I suggest you talk it over with the boys and
whomever else you feel might be able to help you make the right choice.
Don't drag this out and get back to me sometime in the next few days.
Josh, I'm only pushing this for your benefit, not for mine.  Selfishly I'd
like to keep you around forever, but I'm not sure what would happen to
those wonderful sons of yours, if something more devastating were to happen
to you."

I thanked him for coming over, but also wondered about his sincerity.  I
knew there was a small, but vocal, group in the community that hadn't been
exactly pleased with some of the decisions he had made recently and were
talking about forcing him out.  I think he was also aware I have a great
deal of support from parents whose children had attended my school, so he
might have been worried that I might be the most real threat to his
survival.

Even with those doubts, I spent the next few hours considering his
arguments, before I called Sally Swathout.  I knew she had a very level
head and could see all sides of most issues, so I wanted to get her opinion
before I made a decision.  Besides, she was one person I also trusted to be
honest with me and think in terms of my best interests, as well as those of
my sons.

After spending over an hour discussing this with her, I called Steve Shay,
to also get his take on this situation.  He was another trusted friend and
I valued his judgment as well.  I spoke with Steve for over an hour as
well, and thanked him for his input, but I still wasn't convinced if this
would be the right decision for me.  Still uncertain about what to do, I
decided to call a family meeting, so I could talk this over with the boys
and Jake.  I felt they had the greatest stake in any decision I made on
this matter, so I wanted their input.

Jake and I had already talked this over privately for a few minutes, before
the boys got home, so I had a fair idea about how he felt.  However, I
still needed to hear from my sons.  At first, they were just curious about
why I had called them together like this, and then after I filled them in
about the superintendent's offer, it looked as if they were as confused as
I was about to what to think of his suggestion.  We discussed the various
arguments, both pro and con, but eventually they explained they felt it
might be best if I quit working and spent the time taking care of myself
and getting better.

Although everyone had something to say on this matter, I think it was
Andrew's comments that eventually persuaded me to make the most of this
opportunity.  "Daddy, I turn eleven in two more weeks, but I still need you
to be here with me.  I already lost one mommy and daddy, and I don't want
to lose you too.  If quitting your job will keep you with us longer, then I
think you should stop being a principal and just stay home with us."

After seeing the concentration on his face and hearing his heartfelt
argument, I immediately reached my arms out to him, so he would come over
to me.  As soon as he made his way across the room, I hugged him as hard as
I dared.  "Andrew, that's the best reason I've heard so far.  If you want
me to retire and stay home with you, then that's exactly what I'll do."

As soon as I finished telling him that, Andrew squeezed me again, quickly
followed by the rest of my sons.  Before our little meeting broke up, I
promised them I'd call the superintendent in the morning and tell him about
my decision.

I spent much of the night considering how I was going to occupy my time if
I quit working and even talked it over in more depth with Jake, before we
went to bed.  In fact, he was the one who gave me a great suggestion about
how I could fill in the gap.  First, he proposed I could take a slightly
more active role in the Castaway Fund while the boys were in school, but
that I'd also have more time to spend with them on an individual basis when
they were home.  If I didn't feel that was enough to occupy me, he also
hinted I might consider doing some volunteer work or maybe some type of
counseling, possibly family counseling, to help couples cope with the
troubles they were facing with each other or with their children.  I agreed
with him that those were both excellent ideas and I would explore them
further in I needed to, but for now I'd just roll with the punches and see
how things went.

I had my first opportunity to explore how to use some of this new free time
while planning for Andrew's birthday party.  I was able to sit down with
him and discuss exactly what he wanted in more depth this year.  I was able
to learn precisely whom he wished to invite, what types of things he wanted
to do and what presents he wanted.  What really shocked me was one other
thing he brought up at the time.

"Daddy, you know I'm growing up now and I'm not a little boy any more," he
told me.  I wasn't exactly surprised by his comment, because it happened
sooner or later with all of the kids.

"I know, Andrew.  You're becoming quite a young man now," I agreed

"Does that mean you think I'm old enough to start doing things with the
other boys now?" he asked, totally blindsiding me.  I wasn't even aware
that he knew what the other boys had been up to.

Although I was a bit startled by his comment, I had a feeling I knew where
this discussion was heading, but decided to play it dumb for the time
being, just to see what he had to say.  "I'm not sure what you mean,
Andrew.  You do all kinds of things with your brothers already."

"But I don't mean those kinds of things," he responded, slightly
frustrated.  "You know, I mean the other stuff, the grown-up things they do
with each other."

"Hmmm, Andrew.  I still don't think I know what you mean," I replied, but I
wasn't sure he was buying my 'blond' routine.

"Daaaaad," he whined, after becoming somewhat frustrated with my game.
"You know, the sex stuff!  I'm not a baby anymore and I know what the other
boys do sometimes.  I've heard some of my friends talking about things like
that at school and, well, I've even heard my brothers talking about doing
things like that with each other.  I'm old enough now to do it too.  Okay?
Pleeeeeeease?"  If you could have seen the pleading expression on his face
and the hopeful glint in his eyes, you would have understood how hard it
was going to be to keep him a child any longer.

"I know you're growing up, Andrew," I assured him, "and now I also know
what you're getting at, but are you sure you're really ready for something
like that?  I mean, do you remember what happened to you in Texas?"

"Yes, Daddy, I remember," he answered, with a touch of boyish sarcasm in
his tone, "but this is different.  I won't be made to do it with some old
guy and this time it would be my idea, not his.  I wouldn't mind trying
something with Graham or Nick, or even Sammy, if you'll let me.  I've asked
Sammy to do things with me before, but he said he couldn't, unless you told
him it was all right.  Is that true?"

"Yes, I have had kind of an agreement with all of the boys that they'd
check with me first, before they brought anyone new into doing those types
of activities," I confessed, "but I only did it so that none of you would
get hurt by being forced into doing something too soon.  Are you really
sure you're ready to try this now?  You know, I made Sammy wait until he
was thirteen before I allowed him to get started in those types of
activities."

"I know, he told me that too," Andrew concurred, "and he told me you'd
probably make me wait until I'm that old too, like you did him."

"Well, I think I'd feel better about it if you did," I threw out, hoping
that he would accept that suggestion and let the topic drop for now.
"Would you have a problem doing that?"

"Yes!" he nearly shouted.  "I don't want to wait any more.  I want to start
doing things now."

"Well, it's obvious you've given this some thought before you came to see
me," I acknowledged, "but you're still just turning eleven, not thirteen."

"I know, but I've thought about this a lot lately," he explained, "and I'd
really like to try something with someone else.  I've thought about asking
some of my school friends to do it with me, but I think I'd rather try it
with someone here first -- somebody who knows what they're doing."

"Well, you would learn better that way and you wouldn't get so much
misinformation," I agreed.  "Do you think your body has developed enough to
really enjoy the types of things you'd be doing with them?"  Andrew looked
pensive for a few seconds, but then answered my question.

"Yes, I do," he confirmed.  "I rub my wiener all the time when I'm alone
and it really feels good, but I've heard my friends say it feels even
better when someone else does it for you."

"And they are experienced with such things?" I pressed, finding it
difficult to believe that a bunch of immature sixth graders would be so
worldly.

"Well, not so much themselves," Andrew admitted, "but they've heard their
older brothers and their brothers' friends say things like that.  I know
it's not quite the same, because they meant that it felt better when a girl
did it for them."

"And what do you think about girls now?" I asked, hoping this might
distract him.

"I like some of them, but not a lot," he told me, "but I don't think I'd
ever let a girl touch my thing like that."  His comment brought a smile to
my face, as I realized Andrew was trying to grow up, but he was still a
little boy in many ways.

"So you don't think you need to try it with a girl then?" I continued,
hoping the mention of girls might end his persistence.

"Not at all," he nearly spat out, "but I'm sure it would work pretty much
the same with another boy.  So can I try it with Sammy or one of the
others?  Pleeeeeese?"

"Well, what if I let you try something with one of the boys for your
birthday," I suggested, "and then we can talk about it afterward, to see
where we go from there?"

"You mean you're really going to let me do it then?" he asked, making me
think that he had been ready to accept my turning him down and might have
given in too easily.

"Well, at least once, so you can see if it's something you might want to do
again," I confirmed.  "It doesn't mean that you'll be able to do it all of
the time, unless I agree to it after we discuss what you thought of your
first time.  Does that meet with your approval?"

"Oh, yeah!" he squealed in delight.  "It sure does.  Thanks, Daddy."  He
immediately wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a hug of
appreciation.

"You're welcome, although I'm still not convinced I'm doing the right thing
by letting you get involved in such things," I told him, before moving on
to the next point.  "So, have you decided whom you want to be your first
partner?"  I expected him to hesitate and maybe think it over first, but he
hardly paused at all.  Before I was ready, Andrew had screamed out a name,
and it wasn't that of his biological brother.

"Graham.  I want Graham to do something with me," he blurted out, eagerly.

"And why did you choose him?" I asked, trying to gain a better insight into
the workings of his mind.

"Because he's not that much older than me, but he's like me too," he
confirmed, meaning Graham was also uncircumcised.

"But don't you think this will cause a problem with Sammy, if you do
something with someone other than him for your first time?" I asked.

"Maybe a little," he agreed, "but I've done most other things with Sammy
first, so this time I want to try it with someone different."

"It's all right with me, but I hope you know what you're doing," I urged.
"Sammy might get very hurt by this."

"Nah, I'll do it with him afterward," Andrew suggested.  "He'll be okay, as
long as we do something too."

"Okay, if you're sure I'll talk it over with Graham, to see if he's
interested," I told him, "and then I'll let you know.  Is that okay with
you?"

"Oh, yes, Daddy.  I'm glad you're going to ask him," he squealed, "because
I wouldn't know how to do it or what to say to him."

"You want to do this, but you wouldn't know how to ask someone to help?" I
rephrased, trying to get him to think about it a bit more.  Maybe he wasn't
as ready to try this as he thought.

"Well, I don't think you just go up to someone and say, 'Do you want to
play with my wiener?' do you?" he asked, while grinning broadly.  We both
had a little chuckle over his observation and I agreed with him that
particular approach would be kind of blunt and would possibly put the other
boy in an awkward position.

Before I left, though, Andrew made me promise I'd ask Graham as soon as I
could and then let him know if Graham was willing to help him, so I gave
him my word that I would.  My response seemed to make him very happy and he
kissed me on the cheek to show his gratitude.

What Andrew didn't know was this -- the reason I had suggested asking
Graham for him, was so I could speak to Graham and tell him what I thought
should or should not be attempted, if he agreed to do this for Andrew.
After dinner I called Graham aside, so I could explain the situation to
him.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 4 -- Life Goes On.

"Graham, I have a favor to ask of you," I began, which immediately confused
him.  "Earlier this afternoon I had a young man make a request of me, but
what he wants also concerns you."

"Me?  How does it concern me?" Graham wondered, while looking startled.

"Well, your brother Andrew wants something special for his birthday, and he
wants you to help with it," I explained.

"Cool.  With what?" Graham shot back.  "A bike?  A television?  A
PlayStation?  What?"  Graham was getting excited as he pressed to find out
what this was about.

"Nothing quite like that," I told him.  "Andrew wants to have his first
sexual experience and he would like you to be his first partner."

"Me?  Oh, wow!" Graham gushed.  "That's awesome, but won't Sammy be jealous
if he's not Andrew's first?"

"He might be, but this is what Andrew wants," I explained.  "If Sammy's
nose does get bent out of shape because of this, then I'll just have to sit
down with him and let him know this is what Andrew wanted."  I hesitated a
moment before continuing.  "So, are you interested in doing this then?"

"Oh, yeah," Graham replied, almost before I'd finished my question.
"Andrew is really neat and I hoped some day he'd want to do something with
me, but I never thought I'd be his first."

"Well, he mentioned you a couple of times when he spoke to me about this,
so he's obviously thought this out," I added, and hearing this additional
information made Graham's chest swell out with pride.  I don't think he
realized Andrew thought so highly of him.

"Wow, he really does want me to be his first, huh?" Graham asked,
rhetorically.  "Neat.  So when are we going to do this?"

"Well, I figured you two could get together the night before his birthday,
if that would be good for both of you," I suggested.  "I thought I'd ask
Ricky or Cole to ask Sammy to spend the night with them, so you could have
the time alone with Andrew and Sammy wouldn't get suspicious.  Would that
be all right with you?"

"Yeah, that would be super," Graham gushed.

"Great.  I don't want you to try too much with him, though," I warned.
"Maybe just a hand-job or maybe even a blow-job, but nothing more.  Okay?"

"Yeah, sure, Dad.  I understand," Graham assured me.  "He's still a little
guy and we don't want to do too much too fast."

"Exactly," I confirmed.  "Well, I guess I can trust your judgment then.
Right?"  Graham flashed me a big grin and nodded his response.  He knew
this was quite an honor, especially since I was totally placing my trust in
him to not get carried away with what he did with Andrew.  It was a
responsibility he seemed happy -- maybe even anxious to accept, and he more
than capable of fulfilling Andrew's wish.  I told Graham I'd let Andrew
know that he had agreed to do this for him and I'd take care of setting
everything up.

While we were waiting for Andrew's birthday to arrive, I had many other
things to occupy my time with as well.  First, and probably the most time
important task for me, was that I was still trying to help Kevin cope with
losing Brent.  He had been doing fairly well, especially since Graham
passed on that message from Brent, but he was still hurting a little, so I
was trying to figure out different ways to help him work through his grief.
Fortunately, I had some help in doing that, and Kevin actually initiated
one of those opportunities on his own.

It came about shortly after I returned home from the hospital and while my
loved ones were visiting.  John Spence had gone out of his way to seek
Kevin out too, hoping to help to console him, and he learned a great deal
about Kevin during that time.  Kevin had made a brief, but what John felt
was an important comment during their talk, when Kevin mentioned that he
wished there was a way he could keep everyone from forgetting about Brent.
Although Mr. Spence tried to assure him that wouldn't happen, he took
Kevin's concern and came up with a plan he thought might accomplish that
goal.  Once he had the details worked out in his mind, he met with Kevin
again, so he could suggest establishing the 'Brent Currie Scholarship
Fund.'  John said he'd set it up and put a substantial sum in the account
to start it off and then he'd speak with me about having the contributions,
made to the Castaway Fund in Brent's honor, moved to the scholarship fund.
Kevin lit up when he heard John's idea and thought it was a terrific way to
honor Brent.  Kevin was all for it, so Mr. Spence did the rest of the work
setting the entire framework up on his own.

Right after we had discovered Brent had died, many people had come to us to
let us know they wanted to do something special in remembrance of him.
However, we were still so devastated by his loss that none of us could come
up with anything that would be appropriate.  Of course, Steve had suggested
that In lieu of flowers we have people make donations in Brent's name to
the Castaway Fund, which was a good start, but it just didn't honor Brent
directly, at least not in a way that was easily recognizable.

Our first thought was that we use it to support one particular young man
and help him find a good home, while letting him know later that it was
done in Brent's honor.  That was the best we had come up with, until
Mr. Spence suggested his idea, which would honor Brent for a longer period
of time and have his name included in the recognition.  Kevin really liked
the idea of the scholarship, as it would help out multiple recipients and
would be given away in Brent's name for several years to come.  In fact, we
found this suggestion quite exciting.

In order to make certain it was ready to be awarded next spring, just
before this academic year ended, John asked Kevin to help him establish the
guidelines under which these scholarships would be awarded.  They would
need to determine if it would only be awarded to only seniors who had
already accepted to college, if there would be any academic requirements,
like specific grade point averages, or if there might be extra- curricular
criteria established, like having to belong to a certain organization(s) or
merely being active in various outside groups.  Kevin jumped into this
wholeheartedly, so it took away much of the time he had to feel depressed
about losing his lover.

Originally I thought Kevin might come to me for ideas or suggestions about
what qualifications should be established, but he surprised me and did it
completely on his own, without any outside help.  He finished the vast
majority of the work by himself, and John Spence merely made suggestions to
modify or enhance his ideas.  When Kevin finally did come to me, to get my
approval concerning what he had in mind, I discovered his ideas were well
thought out and organized.

He did this late one evening, after he'd spent some more time going over
his ideas and felt he was prepared enough to explain them to me.  The first
thing he told was that he felt since Brent had come from a situation where
he'd had very little material advantages, he wanted the scholarships to go
to someone who wouldn't be able to attend college otherwise.  I agreed this
was a very appropriate suggestion and concurred with setting a financial
criterion, which John and I would help him explore in more depth.  He also
suggested the scholarship should be offered to someone whose grades might
have only been mediocre, mainly because the student had to hold down a job
or may have suffered from not having access to a computer or other similar
resources, but who had the potential to achieve at higher levels.

Kevin had made this suggestion because he remembered Brent had told us he
hadn't been a very good student before he came to live with us, but his
grades steadily improved with our encouragement and the advantages he had
living with us.  I told Kevin that was a wonderful suggestion, but it would
be very difficult to set up a workable evaluation process to assess that
specific attribute, and that's when Kevin came up with a way he thought it
would work.

In order to prevent everyone and their brother from applying for this money
and to make sure that only the right students were considered, Kevin
suggested that only teachers from the local and surrounding counties would
be able to recommend students for this scholarship.  He felt that they'd be
in the best position to judge if a student possessed a greater potential
than he had shown and had been substantially hindered by circumstances
beyond his control.  I told him if that was how he thought it should work,
then I would support his decision, but he should discuss this with
'Grandpa' Spence before he finalized his requirements.  Kevin said he
would, but I could see how excited he was just to know that he'd be helping
to keep Brent's memory alive.

The weekend before Andrew's birthday was parents' weekend at Dustin's
college.  At first I wasn't sure if my doctors would allow me to attend,
but after several conversations with them, they told me I could attend if I
took it easy and didn't do any of the driving.  I readily agreed to their
suggestion and began considering how I was going to make that happen.
After discussing the situation over with Dustin and Jake, we decided it
might be best if the whole family didn't attend this event with us.

There were many reasons for doing this.  First, some of the functions had
limited seating, but more importantly, we figured most of the boys would
find it kind of boring.  In addition to those factors, I think Dustin and
Jake both thought the most important point was that it would take some of
the stress off me, by not having to worry about so many people all of the
time.  Therefore, we decided those going would be limited to just two or
three of the older boys, which meant we would only include the boys who
would be going off to college next.  We felt that having them see what
college life was like might help to get them excited about their own future
and give them a small taste of what awaited them.  Since Kevin, Danny and
Brandon were all seniors and had already applied to various institutions
and were set to go off the following fall, we asked them if they'd like to
join us, and they all did.  Fortunately, parents weekend at Dustin's
college happened to be held on a weekend when they boys' soccer team wasn't
scheduled to play any games and they were also able to talk their coach
into also letting them have off from practice.

Jake volunteered to stay home with the other boys, but that would create a
slight problem.  The doctors didn't want me to drive, and although I
thought the three accompanying me might be able to handle the drive there,
I didn't think they were ready to deal with the traffic they'd face once we
got there.  Therefore, I talked Jake into going with us and explained we
could leave Ricky, Pat and Shannon in charge, seeing as they were the next
eldest.  I'd also make certain those left behind had the phone numbers for
Aunt Sally, Uncle Steve and the Spences, just in case of an emergency
arose, but I felt they could handle a weekend on their own without too much
trouble.  After talking about it some more, Jake agreed that Shannon would
enjoy helping to look after the younger boys, and he, meaning Jake,
wouldn't mind being our chauffeur on this outing, so that's how it was
going to be.

By the time I called around to various motels to make our reservations, I
discovered we were already a bit late in that regard, so the two rooms I
was able to reserve were in an establishment that was about twenty-five
minutes drive from the campus.  However, none of us let that get us down,
and Jake assured me the extra drive wouldn't be that bad.  We would put the
three boys in one room, and Dustin could share with them, if he wanted to
stay with us, and then Jake and I would share the other room.  The boys
flashed us evil grins and knowing winks when I announced this arrangement,
and I concluded they thought Jake and I would be getting it on while we
were away.

The drive went fairly quickly, and the three boys helped read the maps and
direct us there.  As soon as we arrived, we went to the motel to check-in,
since we didn't want to take the chance of losing our rooms by not
registering on time, and then we drove to the college to meet up with
Dustin.  He really looked like he was enjoying college life and being on
his own, but he also appeared quite happy to see us again.  He told us
college was so different from high school, because no one was watching over
your shoulder all the time and you had to be responsible for yourself, such
as getting to classes, that he did have some adjustment problems.  He
admitted he overslept and missed a couple of his 8:00 a.m. classes, but
since that time he had improved on remembering to set his alarm and manage
to get to his classes on time.

Dustin also told us about his roommate, whom he said he liked a great deal,
so he wanted us to all meet him.  I was pleased he had been paired up with
someone he got along with, since a roommate you don't like can make the
adjustment to being away at school even harder.  Dustin also joked that, at
first, his roommate wouldn't believe him about how many brothers he had,
but after one of his phone calls home, when he spoke to nearly all of us,
the guy was convinced he was on the level.  However, he told Dustin he had
to meet his dad, when I came to visit, because he didn't think he'd ever
met anyone nutty enough to volunteer to raise that many boys.  I wasn't
certain whether I should be amused or hurt by his comment, but chose the
former.

After we finished chatting, Dustin showed us a few areas of interest around
the campus, before he led us to the place where he'd promised to meet up
with his roommate.  As we approached, both boys were grinning broadly and
it was obvious they really did get along very well.  After Dustin
introduced us, his roommate introduced us to his parents, who were also
with him.  "Mom, Dad, this is Dustin's father.  I don't know if I've told
you this before, but this guy not only adopted Dustin, but he adopted
fourteen other boys as well.  He also had four other children before he did
that."  His parents just gawked at me in amazement, after hearing what
their son had to say.

"That information isn't quite correct," I began, trying to make us sound a
bit saner.  "Two of the boys are merely staying with us, with their parents
approval of course, and one of my other sons is away at another college."

"Still," Dustin roommate's mother began, "that an awful lot of young men
and a great deal of responsibility.  My husband and I often found it
difficult just controlling this rascal," she said, pointing at her son,
"and his younger brother.  How in the world did you do all of that on your
own?"

"The boys help out a great deal and I have some very good friends who
assist us from time to time," I explained, although I'm not sure it eased
her doubts.

I then introduced Jake to them, and the father gave us a very puzzled look,
so I explained that Jake and his son were very close family friends and
Jake and Shannon had come to live with us after Brent's death and my heart
attack, so we didn't have to worry about the family getting split up while
I was in the hospital.  I told them that Jake stayed on, even after I
returned home, to help take some of the workload from me and because his
son liked being around so many others.  Both parents then smiled and told
Jake he must be one hell of a friend to take on such a challenge, but Jake
quickly told them the boys did much of the work and he was merely there to
help out and make sure things didn't get out of control.  From that point
on, neither of them seemed to be uncomfortable with Jake being with us.

Anyway, after chatting with the pair for a few more minutes, we all went
off together to attend the college football team's game.  Even though it
was a small time, Division III school, the contest was quite exciting.  I
also enjoyed talking to some of the other parents seated around us during
the game, as some of them led very interesting lives, but most of them
seemed to be far more interested in our situation, once they were apprised
of it.  A few of them also mentioned that their son or daughter had told
them about our family, once Dustin had explained our situation to a few of
his new friends in the dorm, but they wanted to know more about how we had
come together.

After I explained some of the circumstances about how the boys came to me,
some of the adults wanted to know what it was like at home, with so many
living there, and how the boys got along with each other.  They told us
they were curious, because a few of them had wanted a large family when
they first got married, but for one reason or another it was not to be.
For some, their family size was eventually determined by biology, meaning
possible fertility problems or the wife's difficulty in carrying a fetus to
term, while for others it was the result of various other factors.  This
included limited finances during the early years of their marriage, having
too small of a home to accommodate more people or the fact that it was
necessary for both parents to work and they didn't want their offspring
being raised by strangers.  Some now regretted not having more children,
yet most of them were happy with the way their lives had eventually turned
out.

After diverting our attention back to the football game, it ended with the
home team winning the contest in the final quarter.  They had recovered the
other teams fumble, after a badly executed play, and then drove the
remaining twenty-two yards for the touchdown, with only 1:37 left on the
clock.  They then managed to hold the other team and bat down a hail-Mary
pass on the final play, so the hometown crowd was very happy.

As we made our way out of the small stadium, I invited Dustin's roommate
and his parents to join us for lunch and they eagerly accepted my offer.
During the meal we discussed many topics and the boys also had an
opportunity to talk with each adult, as well as with each other.  Once our
meal was over, our sons suggested taking us on a grand tour of the campus,
which we eagerly agreed to.

Kevin, Danny and Brandon were quite impressed with everything they saw,
especially once we got to tour the dorms and they got to see the type of
place they would be living in, in another year.  I think they were more
impressed with all the good-looking male flesh that was roaming up and down
the hallways, more than with dorm life itself, but isn't socialization an
important part of the college scene too?

Once we saw everything of importance on campus, the boys wanted to show us
around the town.  We agreed that might be fun too, so we all loaded into
the Suburban and took off on a combination driving/walking tour of the
local sites of interest, at least from a college freshman's viewpoint.  I
did notice that there appeared to be a large number of bars and other
businesses that seemed to cater primarily to the college crowd, but there
were also a number of family oriented establishments intermixed with them.
All-in-all, it reminded me of a couple of other college towns I had been
in, back when I was younger.

Once we finished that tour, we dropped Dustin's roommate and his folks off
at his dorm, but not before agreeing to meet up with them again for dinner
and the evening's social function.  Once Dustin had gone up to retrieve
some items from his room, Jake and I took all of the boys back to our motel
room, including Dustin, so they could clean up and change for the night's
festivities.

Of course, Danny and Brandon immediately laid claim to one of the double
beds in their room, which meant Kevin and Dustin would be sharing the
other.  I wondered if that might cause a problem or bring back any memories
for them, about when they were a couple, but nothing like that seemed to
happen.  Kevin didn't seem to be bothered by the idea of them sharing a
bed, and neither did Dustin, so Jake and I went to our room to also get
ready.

Once we had all finished cleaning up, the boys wanted to talk about college
life and how exciting it all seemed to them.  All three boys were expecting
to get their acceptance letters back before Christmas, from the colleges
they'd applied to, so this was just a catalyst to get them even more hyped
about moving on to the next level of their academic lives.  I was pleased
to see them so eager about moving on in the fall, but I still took a few
moments to discuss what they hoped to accomplish, once they got their
degrees.  Even though we had held these discussions before, I merely wanted
to make sure that they hadn't wavered from those plans or changed their
minds about what they hope to do.  In the end, I discovered they hadn't
done either.

Danny still wanted to become a pediatrician, since he loved kids and wanted
to be able to help them, while Brandon hoped to be a dentist and Kevin
planned on becoming a pharmacist.  They were all very capable students and
extremely good in both science and mathematics, so they shouldn't have any
trouble in reaching their goals.  In addition to being reliable
professions, the trio would also be able to make a decent living from those
jobs, so I didn't have any major concerns about this group.

Danny and Brandon had already told me they planned on staying together as a
couple and hoped they might also be able to attend the same college as
well, but there were several factors they would still have to deal with.
First, doing that would depend on which schools they were accepted to and
what programs those schools offered.  I suggested they'd also have to
consider how each institution was regarded for those majors and how their
graduates in that field fared, one they got their degrees.  I explained
that the better the school's reputation, the better their chances of doing
well afterward.  They agreed and said we could talk about this in greater
depth, once they got the letters of acceptance in the mail.

In addition to that, Danny and Brandon indicated they also planned on
coming back to live with me once they finished their schooling, so they
could help keep the Castaway Hotel in operation.  I was honored they would
even consider such a thing, but knowing how young men often change their
minds, I wasn't going to make them sign a binding contract to that effect.
I kind of liked the idea that they would be there to help future
generations, as it would give me something to look forward to even as I
grew older and grayer (or even bald, as the case seemed to be).  When it
got to the point where I couldn't handle things on my own, they'd be there
to take over, but I'd have to wait to see if they still felt this way when
they were through with their schooling and able to strike out on their own.

After picking up the others and going out for an enjoyable dinner, we
returned to the campus for the evening's social function.  At this event,
the college had arranged for various mixed drinks to be provided for the
adults and non-alcoholic beverages for the younger crowd.  The planning
committee had also provided a band, which played tunes aimed mostly toward
the students interests.  Dustin's roommate's parents definitely weren't
into this scene, so they excused themselves after an hour and went back to
their hotel room.  I, on the other hand, decided to stick around, primarily
so Danny, Brandon and Kevin could have some fun and mix with the college
group.  The boys seemed to hit it off well with the freshmen crowd and
enjoyed the fact they were often mistaken as being one of the freshmen
themselves.  I merely sat in the wings and watched them have fun with this
charade, but I was grateful when the evening came to an end.  I knew at
that point I was getting old, because the band had seemed extremely loud to
me and my ears were ringing from being assaulted by the cacophony emanating
from their oversized speaker system.

That evening in the motel, Kevin informed me that he had hoped he and Brent
would have been able to attend the same college and been roommates one day,
but now that would never be.  He also told me he had finally come to grips
with Brent no longer being around, but that didn't mean he'd never see
Brent again.  Kevin explained that after Graham told him about his vision,
Kevin knew Brent would be waiting for him when his life also ended, and
then they'd be together forever.  I praised him for his mature attitude and
having worked his way through his grief, but that's when he told me he
would always grieve a little over losing Brent, but in the meantime he
would settle with the knowledge he would one day meet up with Brent again.


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