Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 06:28:12 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 5, chapters 35 - 36

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 35 -- New Opportunities.

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

By the time the Tuesday after Memorial Day arrived (May 28th), my next
group of drivers was ready to take their road tests.  Ricky was the first
of that bunch to drive the course, followed by Cole, Jay and then Pat.
Each young driver did fairly well and passed the test on one try, although
Jay came closest to not getting his license.  He had a minor problem
parking and took one corner a little tight, but it wasn't enough to keep
him from passing his test.  Afterward the trooper, who had tested all of
them, came over to speak to me.

"Are these all your sons?" he asked, looking quite confused.

"Well, all except for the red-head," I answered honestly, but with a touch
of levity in my tone, seeing Jay had had the most trouble during his exam.
"He's just a very close friend of the family."

"So three of them are your sons?" he attempted to clarify.  "And haven't I
tested some other Curries in the past as well?"

"It could be," I agreed.  "I do have five others who have their driver's
licenses."

"Five others!" he exclaimed, with a horrified look on his face.  "Damn, how
many kids do you have?"  Although he looked shocked by my response, he also
seemed to be curiously fascinated.

"Well, I have fourteen sons at home, as well as two others who live with me
and Jay, the redhead, who is a very good friend and constant guest in our
home."

"Are they all really yours?"  He didn't ask this is a mean or derogatory
manner, but sincerely interested if they were my offspring.

"They're adopted," I explained.  "They aren't my biological children, but I
love them just the same."

"Wow, and I thought I had my hands full with just three sons," he quipped,
while bursting out in laughter.  "Well, you've done a good job teaching
them manners and how to drive.  I found each of them to be very respectful
young men and pretty good drivers too.  A couple of them have had some
minor problems, but overall they do very well and know the rules of the
road."

I thanked him for his kind words of praise concerning the boys and then we
chatted a bit longer about parenting skills, as he must have thought I had
some secret inside information about how to work with kids.  Once I
explained to him my basic approach, he thanked me and said he'd try a
couple of the things I mentioned.  I told him they weren't magic or a
secret code passed down through the ages, but they might work for him, and
then again maybe not.  It would depend a lot on his sons' disposition and
the chemistry between himself and them.  He merely chuckled again and then
thanked me anyway, saying he was always open to suggestions.

At that point, I rounded up the four boys and took them out to celebrate
their success.  As they gobbled down their reward, I listened to them tell
about their experiences and heard tales about the jitters each had suffered
through.  In their own inimitable way, they also told me about the aspects
of the test they thought they did well on, before critiquing their overall
effort behind the wheel.

After they finished, they began to comment on each other's efforts, while
joking about mistakes the others had made during our lessons or about
specific skills they knew a particular driver always seemed to have
problems with.  It was very comical watching and listening to the various
boys telling these wild stories, so we all managed to have a good laugh
while we ate.  After paying the bill, I dropped Jay off at his place and
then took the rest of them home, as they were eager to tell their brothers
about their success and take their place as the newly empowered drivers.

It was also approaching the time for Ricky to leave for Australia, which
would happen on Thursday.  On Wednesday, I could tell he was excited about
going, yet he was sad to be leaving us.  This was actually the first time
he would be apart from me for any extended length of time, or away from his
brothers, since he came to live here -- and that was nearly five years ago.
I knew he was starting to feel some separation anxiety, even though he
would probably be the last to admit it.  I hoped he'd be able to cope with
what he was going through and not let it get to him, because I didn't want
to think this might ruin the experience for him.

I did try to spend extra time with Ricky that afternoon and took him out to
lunch, so we could talk alone.  He wasn't saying much, so I finally decided
to bring the issue to him.  "Are you getting a little nervous about
leaving?" I asked him.  He looked up and gave me a weak grin.

"Well, maybe," he admitted.  "I'm not sure what I'm feeling.  It's just
different."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.  I wanted to make certain he
hadn't changed his mind.

"Oh, yes, I do," he responded, with more enthusiasm than I expected.  "It's
a great chance and one I might never get again."

"So you do want to go?" I reiterated.

"Yes!  It sounds like a neat place," he confirmed, "and I'll probably get
to do some cool things there."

"I think you're right about that," I agreed, "but you still seem a bit
nervous, maybe even a little hesitant, about going."

"Not really about going," he replied, "it's... well, it's just... you
aren't going to have another heart attack or anything like that while I'm
gone, are you?" he blurted out.  When I looked at him now, his facial
expression seemed to be a cross between anxiety and sadness.

"Well, I'll try not to," I quipped, while adding a little chuckle to
relieve some of the tension, but it didn't seem to work.  For that reason,
I took a different approach.  "Look, Ricky, I can't promise anything like
that, but the doctor has given me a clean bill of health and we don't
foresee any problems.  Even though I can't guarantee I'll be fine, I don't
want the possibility of something happening to stop you from going and
enjoying yourself."

"But I don't want to go if you won't be here when I get back," he whined.

"Well, let's not think about that," I offered, "because it probably won't
happen anyway."

"I hope not," he concurred, while giving me a weak grin, "and I'll try not
to worry, if you're sure."

"I'm fairly sure," I replied, since it was the most positive answer I felt
comfortable giving.

"And you won't forget about me either, will you?" he asked, looking
slightly worried.  This question nearly brought me to tears.

"Forget about YOU?  How could I?" I asked, rhetorically.  "You were my
first son in the new family, and you are more special to me than you could
ever know.  I couldn't forget about you any more than I could forget my own
name.  I love you, Ricky.  I always have and I always will."  By this time
we both had tears streaming down our cheeks, and I was glad we had selected
an isolated corner to sit in.

"Thanks, Dad.  I love you too," he admitted, "and I know I'm going to miss
you a lot, even if I do have a good time while I'm there.  To tell you the
truth, that's the thing I'll be saddest about -- that you and my brothers
won't be there to share everything with me."

"I understand, and I'm going to miss you too," assured him.  "In fact, I'm
positive we're ALL going to miss you."

"Thanks again, Dad.  That does make me feel a little better about this," he
confirmed, "but do everything you have to, so I'll be able to see you again
when I get back."

"And I want to see you too, and chances are, that's exactly what will
happen," I told him, trying to remain as positive sounding as I could.
Once I told him that, we ended our conversation and left for home.

When we got back, I helped him pack the last of his things, so he and I
could spend even more time together.  Just before we were done, he did ask
me to run to the store for him and pick up a few last minute items.  He
said he wanted to keep packing, so I got in the car and went alone to get
the items he requested.  When I got back to the house, I took the things up
to his room, watched him pack them away and then helped him carry his
luggage downstairs.  We set it off to one side of the foyer and left it
there, so it wouldn't take long to load it up when we were ready to leave.

Ricky spent the rest of the evening saying good-bye to his brothers and
enjoying some final quality time with them, so I left them alone and Jake
and I headed to bed.  We were back together in my bedroom again, seeing the
other problems were now behind us and we weren't so worried about the
allegations made about us.  We pulled back the covers, sat on our own sides
of the bed, swung our feet up and under the sheet, but our legs didn't seem
to go anywhere.  We both looked at each other, and then pushed with our
legs some more, but still nothing gave.  This caused us to looked at each
other again and we spoke almost in unison.  "Ricky!"

I hadn't had my bed short-sheeted like this since high school, so I threw
my legs back off the bed, slipped my feet into my slippers, and...damn, he
must have put shaving cream in my slippers too.  What the hell, my feet
were already covered, so I just pushed them the rest of the way in, having
shaving cream forced back out the opening, and then I went to the door to
go look for Ricky.  As I reached for the door, my hand slipped off of the
doorknob as I tried to get out, so I gripped it again, but it slipped off
once more.  It suddenly registered that he put Vaseline on that too, to
make it more difficult for me to get out of the room.  By now I could hear
chuckling on the other side of the door, so I grabbed a dirty article of
clothing off the floor and used it to wipe the greasy substance off the
doorknob, and then hastily exited my room.  There was Ricky and a few of
the other boys standing there, with big grins covering their faces.

"Having problems, Dad?" Ricky asked me, once I opened the door.

"And I suppose you were the one who set this up?" I asked, although I
wasn't sure if he would respond honestly.

"Who, me?" he asked, with that mock innocent expression plastered across
his face.  I didn't answer, but merely glared in his direction.  "Well, I
wanted to make sure you'd remember me while I was gone."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," I told him, a bit sarcastically.
"In fact, I have the 'room for rent' sign all ready to put out."  Startled
by my comment, he shot me his patented 'feigned hurt' look.

"You really think you can replace me?" he teased.

"Not replace, but maybe improve upon," I told him, trying to sound and act
serious.  At this point neither one of us could keep a straight face any
longer, so we both started laughing, and then I grabbed him and gave him
the biggest, hardest bear hug I could.  "Ricky, there is absolutely no way
I could ever replace or improve upon you.  Damn, I'm going to miss you.
Just give your host parents a break while you're there and remember it's
their house and they can throw you out."

"Oh, Dad.  What do you think I am?" he pleaded.  "A total idiot?"

"Well, maybe not total," I answered, quickly, and then he punched me in the
arm.

"And all this time I thought you loved me," he mocked, again flashing that
famous Ricky 'I've been deeply hurt' expression.

"I do, so count your lucky stars, or the response would have had more of a
punch to it," I taunted.

"Dad, you're awful," he told me, as he leaned his head against my arm.  "I
hope my host dad isn't so mean."  This time I could see him sneak a look at
my face, to see if he'd gotten even with me by making that comment.

"If you're lucky," I said, simply, and then I wrapped my arms around him
and hugged him again.  As I did this, something else came to mind.  "Did
you really need those things you sent me to get from the store, or was that
just an excuse to get rid of me, so you could pull your prank?"

"No, I really needed that stuff," he said innocently, "it's just that I
waited until then to ask you to get it, so I'd have time to pull my last
gag before I left.  I had the other boys distract Uncle Jake for me too, so
he wouldn't catch on either."  After making that admission, he flashed me
another infamous Ricky grin, which let me know it was all done out of love,
so how could I be upset with him?  After that, we all went to our rooms to
get some sleep, but not until after Jake and I had fixed the sheets on our
bed.

That night did not pass by very quickly for me.  All I could do is think
about Ricky and his going on this trip.  I was worried about how he'd do on
the long flight he had ahead of him, and then what I'd do if something
happened to him during the eight months he was gone -- while he was
thousands of miles away.

It's not easy for parents to let their children grow up and flex their
independence, and this was one of those times.  My instincts told me to
keep him home as long as I could, but my heart told me I had to let him
grow up and become his own man.  What I told him earlier wasn't a lie.  He
is very special to me.  All my boys are special to me, each in his own way,
but Ricky was my first foster-son and the start of my new family.  Because
of that, he would always hold a special place in my heart.  I think I'm
going to find this harder to cope with than I first believed.

The next morning, after we showered, ate and loaded the car, I had Ricky
say his final good-byes to his brothers before we left.  Earlier, we had
agreed that just Jake and I would take him to the airport.  Since Jake
offered to do the driving, I thought this would give Ricky and me some
final time alone, without the hassle of worrying about the others.
Although it was a long ride to Pittsburgh, we managed to talk the whole
way, with me giving him words of warning and Ricky telling me he knew all
of that already.  Once I stopped my 'worried mother routine,' Ricky told me
what he hoped to see and do while he was there.

Upon arriving at the terminal, Jake and I walked him to the counter and
helped check him in, along with tagging his luggage, and then we escorted
him to the departure checkpoint, where we had to part.  Ricky hugged Jake
first, telling him to help take care of everyone while he was gone, and
then he hugged me.  I kissed him on the forehead, before I let him go, and
then he turned and walked down the final corridor and out of sight.  The
last thing I heard him say as he walked away was, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll
write and stay in touch."

After we watched his jet take off, I let Jake drive us back home too, since
my eyes were a little cloudy from all the moisture that had collected in
them.  I felt bad about having to put all of this on Jake again, but I was
so consumed with thoughts about other things that I knew I wouldn't be able
to focus upon my driving.  I just wasn't sure I could do both successfully
at the same time, so I thought it prudent to impose on my lover one more
time.

These thoughts were primarily about Ricky and his trip, and my mind was
frantically racing over scenarios of hijackings, plane crashes and other
such catastrophes.  Although none of these were likely to happen, I just
couldn't help myself for dwelling on such morbid thoughts.  I just didn't
know how I'd handle it if something like that DID happen to him.

Even if nothing like that occurred, I knew I was still going to be hurting
from missing him so much.  Damn, why does loving someone have to hurt so
badly?

Oh, I know, it's not as if I was suffering from severe or totally
unbearable physical pain, but knowing we were going to be separated by so
many miles and for that many months, it just left an emptiness in my soul
and an ache in my heart that would remain until he returned.

This wasn't going to be the first time I'd ever experienced anything like
this, nor would it likely be the last, but that didn't mean it was going to
be any easier to get through.  I guess that loving someone so deeply just
brings certain responsibilities with it, which offsets all of the pleasure
you get from the love you both give and receive.

Over the years, I've become convinced that the most important of those
responsibilities is to make sure your love isn't a stifling variety -- one
that smothers the other person completely and prevents them from really
being able to fully live and enjoy life.  You have to make sure your love
is sincere and complete -- one that will allow the other person the
opportunity to grow and flourish as an individual along the way.  That's
the type of love I hoped I had provided Ricky and my other boys with, and
thinking about that now offered me a modicum of comfort, which eased the
sense of loss that had been building, up until that moment.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 36 -- Changes.

The remaining hours seemed to drag along, as I waited to hear from Ricky,
to make sure he had arrived at his destination safely.  I even spent an
inordinate amount of time watching the 24-hour news channels, to be certain
there were no hijackings or plane crashes during that time period.  I did
manage to take short breaks, when I would say a prayer of protection for
him, and I knew he would dominate my thoughts until I was assured he had
arrived unharmed.  When the telephone finally rang, I was greeted by his
angelic, yet devilish, voice on the other end.

"I got here okay, Dad," he announced, with a bit of a snicker.  "I knew you
probably wouldn't go to sleep until I called and let you know."

"That's great, and you're probably right," I concurred.  "I've been a bit
on edge since you left and I'm so glad you remembered to call.  I don't
know what I'd have done if you hadn't."

"Well, you only told me a thousand times or more to let you know when I got
here and you even reminding me I had a 1000 minute calling card in my
wallet, which I was to use to make the call with."  I could hear him laugh
after he said that.  "Do you want to use all 1000 minutes now, or do you
want me to save some for later?"  He was laughing even harder now, still my
little clown.

"We can use some now, but I don't think I can stay on the phone for that
long."  I teased, which made him laugh a little harder.  "So how was your
flight?"

"Long, but not bad," he confirmed.  "I watched a couple of movies and
listened to some tunes before I got here.  I even slept a little too."

"Well, I'm glad you got there in one piece," I told him.  "Was your family
there to meet you?"

"Oh, yeah.  They were waiting for me and holding a sign with my name on
it," he replied.  "They're really nice, and I think their son and I will
get along well.  It's really different here, but I'm going to try to see
and do as much as I can while I'm here."

"You do that, and keep in touch," I reminded him.  "Do they have a
computer?"

"Yes, they do, so I'll be able to send you all emails," he announced.  "I
have all your email addresses, so don't worry."  There was a slight
hesitation after he said this, so I figured he was getting a bit emotional,
and possibly a little choked up.

"Dad, I want you to take care of all my brothers for me and take care of
yourself and Uncle Jake too," he urged.  "I want both of you to behave
while I'm gone, and that means no new little brothers before I get back."
He laughed after saying that, most likely because of its weird
implications, but I enjoyed his unique sense of humor coming through again.

"I'll talk to you again when I can.  Love you," he snuck in, as a prelude
to ending the call.

"I love you too, Ricky," I concurred.  "Have fun, but be careful."

"I will, Dad.  Bye," he added, before hanging up.

"Bye, Ricky," I managed to get in, before I heard a click and the line went
dead.

Now that I knew he was safely in his temporary home, I figured I could
start to relax a little and focus on other things too.  I was most
definitely thrilled to hear from him and passed word along to everyone else
that he had arrived safely and everything was going well.  The others
didn't look as relieved as I expected, so I concluded they didn't consider
making a trip like that to be such a big deal.  Although their outward
appearance looked calm, I believed some of them, most likely his two
cohorts in crime, Cole and Graham, had been a bit uptight about his safety
too.  Now that I had eased their fears as well, we could now go back to
things as normal.

A few days later, I opened the local paper and saw something that caught me
totally off- guard.  The Superintendent of our local school district had
resigned and was leaving to take over a larger school district, some miles
away, in another state.  I couldn't believe what I was reading.  I
generally heard the scuttlebutt about things like this before they had a
chance to be publicized, since I still had many connections within the
school district, but no one had forewarned me about this.  After calling
around and checking with my usual contacts, all of them told me that NO ONE
had seen this coming.

The Superintendent had told everyone who heard about his interview that he
only went to it for the experience, but never seriously considered having a
chance to land the job.  When he was notified that the other district
wanted him, and at a considerable increase in salary, he was somewhat in
shock, but did manage to accept the offer.  He withheld telling any of his
usual confidants about his good fortune, as he wanted to time the
announcement of his departure.  He contacted each of the schools and had
them announce a hastily called staff meeting in the high school auditorium
for that afternoon, where he explained what happened and confirmed he would
be leaving as soon as the academic year ended, which was only a couple of
weeks away.

My friends apologized for failing to think of calling me and letting me
know about this little surprise, but I told them it was no big deal.
However, I knew the district would be in a bind to get someone to replace
him at this late date, since replacing such a position usually took months
to complete.  The problem was, the district had a renovation project
planned during the summer, which would require someone being in charge and
able to make those last minute decisions, as well as being able to prepare
the district for the next school year.

Later that day, I received a visit from the President of the Board of
Education, but I couldn't understand why he'd be coming to me about
anything.  After all, I was retired now and had nothing to do with the
district, other than as the parent of a larger than normal percentage of
their student body.  However, he soon answered this question for me, and
quite unexpectedly.  "Josh, the board met last night in an emergency
session to handle this situation with the Superintendent.  I take it you've
heard that he's leaving by now?"

"Yes, I have," I confirmed.  "I read about it in today's paper."

"I assumed you would have learned about it, one way or another," he
responded.  "Well, the reason I'm here is this: the majority of the members
of the school board have authorized me to offer you the job of
Superintendent, if you're interested?"

"But I've never even applied for that position," I replied, slightly
dumbfounded.  "Why not offer it to one of the other administrators in the
district?"

"Because we don't feel they are as qualified as you are," he announced,
quite succinctly.  "You know the issues confronting the school district and
have shown you are willing to do what's best for everyone involved at all
times, so we really feel that you are the best man for the position."

"Well, I'm honored, but I'm also retired," I countered, partially in jest.

"We'd make it worth your while, financially that is," he urged.

"That sounds nice, but I've really enjoyed being here for the boys when
they needed me," I explained.  "I'd really hate to give that up and miss
out on large portions of their lives."

"We're also willing to be flexible, if you need extra time off or want to
juggle your work hours for the summer," he offered.  "This shouldn't be a
problem during the school year either, since your boys will be in classes
as well.  You are our first choice and we really hope you'll take the job."

"I don't know, this is all so sudden," I informed him.  "I'd have to talk
it over with the family first.  I couldn't possibly accept it without
seeing how the boys would feel about it."

"Fair enough," he replied, more quickly than I expected.  "Do you think
you'll be able to let us know, say within 48 hours?"

"I suppose I could do that," I agreed.

"Great!" he responded.  "Josh, the entire board truly hopes you will accept
our offer, so please think this over carefully."

"I will," I confirmed, before he departed.

I was still somewhat in shock after he left, as I tried to consider what
this might mean.  I went over all of the ramifications I could think of, as
I waited to talk this over with Jake and the boys.  I wasn't sure how I was
going to do this, but I felt I needed their input in order to make such a
rather important decision.

I also considered if I should talk this over with just Jake first, before I
let anyone else know, but decided this should be done in a family meeting
and all at once, so I wouldn't have to go over everything more than once.
I waited until we were all gathered around the dinner table, before I
brought it to their attention.  "I had a visit from the President of the
School Board today," I began.  "He came because the current Superintendent
has announced he's leaving the job and the board is offering me the
position."

"Wow, that's really great, Dad," Danny told me, looking both please and
impressed.

"Yeah, that's great, Pop," Nick added.  "Then you'd be the big boss."

"Can you do that, without us having to worry about you having another heart
attack?"  Kevin wanted to know.  He looked very concerned as he asked this
question.

"Yes, I believe I can," I confirmed.  "The doctor has given me a physical
and told me I can do almost anything I want, as long as it's done in
moderation.  I'd just have to make sure I keep my stress level down, so as
not to provoke another episode.  Does anyone prefer I NOT take this job?"
I asked, while looking around to see if anyone was responding to this
question.

"Well, I'd rather you didn't," Jake told me, bluntly.  "I know the stress
level of that job is very high and you really don't need the money.  I
think the boys and I need you more than you need this position," he added,
while showing a little extra emotion on his face.

"What if I just took it on an interim basis, just until they had time to
post the job and go through the interview and hiring process?" I asked, as
an alternative.  "They are really in a bind here and need someone who is
familiar with the district and what's going on, post haste."

"I guess that would be all right," Jake told me, "if it was only going to
be for a couple of months."

"Yes, it would probably be something like that," I agreed.

"Well, it is summertime, so not so many stressful things should be
happening for a while," Jake added, showing that he didn't understand how
stressful a renovation project could be or how tough it was to replace old
staff and hire new, while preparing to get the next school year underway.
"I guess we could live with that, right boys?"

"Only if it means he'll be here with us through July and August, when Nigel
and his boys come over," Pat added.  "I thought we planned on doing a whole
bunch of things with them."

"You're right, and I almost forgot about that," I admitted.  "Since we've
planned most of the activities to take place over long weekends and such, I
don't see it as a problem.  The Board President has assured me they'll be
flexible and allow me time off, so I'm sure it won't be a problem.  Other
than that, do any of you have anything else for me to consider?"  No one
responded, so I concluded everything was fine with my accepting the
position on a temporary basis.  The next day I called the School Board
President back, to discuss the matter with him further.

"Josh, thanks for getting back to me so quickly," he began.  "Have you made
a decision?"

"Well, you probably won't be totally happy with it, but you won't be
completely upset by it either," I informed him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he wondered, aloud.  "Should I start to
worry now?"

"Well, that's up to you," I teased, "but after talking it over with the
family, they've convinced me to only accept the job on an interim basis, to
give you the time to post the position and look for someone to fill it
permanently."

"You're right, it's not what I wanted to hear," he confirmed, "but it is
definitely better than your just saying no to us.  Are you sure there's
nothing I can do to get you to take this job outright?"

"No, I don't think so," I admitted.  "The boys are worried about how the
stress will affect me, since they're concerned I might have another heart
attack, but they've also reminded me we don't need the money that badly,
especially if it would pose a risk to my health."

"All right, I guess I can understand that," he conceded.  "If that's the
case, would you also be willing to serve on the selection committee to help
choose your replacement?  We could really use your expertise and your
knowledge of the district to pick a successor."

"Yes, I suppose I could do that as well." I agreed.

"Great, even though I would have preferred to have you just accept the job
in the first place," he acknowledged.  "I guess this will have to do."

Once I hung up, I told everyone else what I had agreed to, and they seemed
fine with it.  I wasn't sure if I was thrilled about going back to work,
but I have missed some of the diversion that work provided me at various
times.  Although I love being with my boys and being there for them, I
sometimes get bored when they're all at school or busy with other things.
Besides, it's nice to be around adults at times too.  Many of the teachers
I knew were more than just colleagues, they were friends as well, and now
maybe I'll get to see some of them on a more regular basis.  As
superintendent, I'll be making scheduled visits to all of the schools, so I
might run into them while I'm there, plus I'll get to see them at district
meetings and other functions, besides running into them at the other school
related activities I will be attending with the boys.  Yes, I think this
might be a good move for me.

It was less than a week later and I was still adjusting to going back to
work.  Although I never had a problem getting up early, since I always got
up to prepare breakfast for my boys, even after I retired, the issue-filled
day did tire me out more than I first expected.  After coming home from one
of these exhausting day, I opened my email and discovered I'd received
something from Ricky.


Hi, Dad.

Have u forgotten me yet?  J/k.  It's pretty nice here.  My host brother is
pretty neat.  His name is Peter and he's 15.  We've talked some and he
thinks he might be bi too.  We even fooled around a little, just for fun.
He's like Jay, natural, and he says most of the boys r here, so he kind of
likes that I'm not.  He introduced me to this cute girl too, so I might go
out with her sometime.  I'll have to ask Peter where I should take her
though.

My host parents are pretty neat too, it's just that I'm not used to having
a mother fussing over me like this.  That can be a real pain sometimes,
plus I have to watch that I'm dressed properly whenever she's in the house.
I'm not used to that either.  lol I almost goofed yesterday.  I started to
walk from my room to the bathroom with nothing on, but I heard her singing
as she worked in there cleaning the tub, so I ran back and grabbed my
pants.  I don't know what I'd have done if I'd walked in on her or she had
walked out just then, cuz I'd have had some tough explaining to do about
why I was walking around naked.  hehehe

So how is everything at home?  I kinda miss all of you.  I didn't think I
would so much, but I guess I didn't realize how much I talked to my
brothers and you when I need help or feel down.  It's just not the same
here, but Peter helps some.  I hope u r takin it easy.  Remember what we
talked about.

Sorry about those things I did to you and Uncle Jake before I left, but I
thought you'd remember me better that way.  Btw, I did that to Peter the
first night too.  Guess nobody's done that to him before.  He couldn't
figure out what was wrong. It was kind of funny.  He went out and asked his
mom what she had done to his bed, so she went in and checked it and then
started laughing.  I played dumb, like I didn't know what was going on.
You know I'm good at that.  hehehe Now I'm just waiting for the weekend, so
I can run into his room, jump on his bed, and wake him up like I used to do
to you guys.  He doesn't know what he's in for.

Love you all, and please write back.  I want to hear from each of you.

Love ya, Your bestest son, Ricky


Well, that email was definitely typical Ricky and now I pitied his host
family, especially his host brother.  I think they might all be happy to
see him go when his time is up.  Then again, his little pranks and stunts
might just endear him to them.  I know it did to us.  He's just such a fun
kid to be around.  I was glad to hear from him too, and to learn that he
was adjusting there, although I knew he would.  He's such an adaptable
young man.

Well, now that I don't have to worry about him, I can move on to other
things.  I guess maybe tomorrow I'll talk to Nick, Trey and Vinnie, to see
if they're ready to start their driving lessons.  They're all old enough,
and I'm sure anxious enough, so maybe I'll start them on their lessons this
weekend, if they're interested.


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