Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 12:56:27 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 6, chapters 15 - 16

Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 6 by BW                    
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 15 -- Trick-or-Treat. 

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

While we waited for the day of Cody's doctor appointment, Graham came to me
with another concern, but this one was of a more personal nature.  "Dad, I
need to talk to you again."

"Sure, Graham, why don't we go for a ride," I suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good," he told me.  I grabbed the keys to the Grand Am
and the two of us got in.  Graham started talking to me the minute the
engine started.

"Dad, Cody wants us to suck each other's dicks, but I'm a little scared,"
he blurted out.  "What if whatever he has is contagious?  Wouldn't that
mean I could catch it?"

"I guess it's a possibility, at least until we discover exactly what, if
anything, is wrong with him," I confirmed.

"You think I'm wrong about this?" he wanted to know.

"I won't know until the doctor gives Cody his physical," I told him, "but I
trust your instincts enough to check it out thoroughly."

"Okay, but I just thought I should let you know," he continued.

"I'm glad you did.  Is there anything else you'd like to discuss?" I
followed, since I wanted to make certain Graham had a chance to cover
everything that was bothering him.

"Yeah, there is something… kind of," he confirmed.  "Cody and I were
fooling around the other night and I told him I thought he would have
looked cute when he was younger, before he had hair around his dick.  Now,
he wants me to shave him there and I don't know if I should."

"I don't see any problem with that," I replied, "if it's what he wants and
you're willing to do it."

"But I don't want to use anything sharp down there.  What if I slip?" he
countered, as a look of horror was registered on his face.

"What if I got you an electric razor to use instead?" I offered.  "That
should be safe enough for you to even shave his scrotum, if you're
careful."

"Yeah, I hadn't thought of that," Graham agreed.  "That should work nicely.
Okay, Dad, you always seem to know what to do.  Thanks, I'm glad I came to
you again."

It didn't seem like a big deal to me, but it obviously was for him, so I
was glad I could help too.  If what he had told me about Cody was accurate,
his observation would have a much bigger impact than my meager assistance.
He might even be saving a life.  I hope it's not that serious, but it might
be a possibility.  I'll be sure to let him know how important his
contributions are, once we know all the facts.  I'm hoping it might even
make him feel better about his gift.

Now, I was more grateful than ever that Graham and Cody had become so
close.  If it turns out that there is anything wrong with our newest family
member, it will be important for him to have someone he can depend on and
be by his side the entire way.  Having that kind of support has helped
others in the family get through a crisis before, so I'm hoping it will
also work for him.  Since he's only been with us for a sort time, I felt
having a close attachment to one of the other boys would be a major asset
in his behalf.

Even though I was worried about Cody, I had to put the issue aside for the
time being and keep things as normal as possible.  I was afraid if things
changed too much, the boys would get suspicious and start discussing what
might be wrong amongst themselves.  If they did, I was afraid they'd come
up with even worse possibilities than what we were currently facing.  I
certainly didn't want anything to alarm Cody, even if he wasn't sure it had
anything to do with him, until we are positive about what was wrong.  If
we're lucky, it will just turn out to be a false alarm.

In order to distract and occupy the boys, I wanted to come up with
something special for Halloween this year.  I would start off by
incorporating some of the best facets of what we'd done in the past, while
attempting to come up with enough new twists to make it even more
interesting and exciting than our past efforts.  Although I still wasn't
convinced we could top what we'd done in the past, it certainly wasn't
going to stop me from trying.

The boys had enjoyed last year's Halloween so much that they pleaded to do
something very similar again this year.  I told them to think about which
parts they liked best and write them down, but I also asked them to think
of ways to improve those aspects, to make them even better.  I also
requested they think about the activities they thought were lame and try to
find ways to make them better too.

Once the boys agreed to do that for me, they went off and started making
their lists.  Before long, I had what they'd jotted down, so I compiled a
master list of the things that were mentioned most.  Using this to guide
me, I began thinking about what else I could do to exceed the boys'
expectations.

Although each of them was excited about what we were going to do, no one
wanted to tell Cody what was going to happen.  They agreed it would be best
if we allowed him to experience everything for himself.  They would try to
keep him from seeing what we were up to and then have him go through it,
just like one of the visitors to our home.  He wasn't happy about not being
included in the planning, but after I told him it was only so he could
fully appreciate what we were doing later, he finally began to take it in
stride.  In fact, he was now anxiously waiting his turn to go through our
Haunted House too.

Once again, we arranged everything so the trick-or-treaters would have to
enter through our backdoor.  We waited until the day before Halloween to
put out our tombstones from the pervious year and made our little cemetery.
Once that was completed, we set up our haunted rec room, which our visitors
would pass through next.  The rec room was lit with black lights, to give
it a surreal feeling, and filled with the moans, groans and other
pre-recorded weird noises that we hoped would amuse and unsettle our
guests.

We had placed the pine coffin so it would be in full view as everyone
entered, so they would have an unobstructed view when Dracula popped out of
it.  After that, they'd have to pass a skeleton and a headless corpse to
get to the basement stairs.  They had to go there to get their treats.

As they went down the stairs, they'd have to make their way through the
artificial spider webs we rigged up.  These webs were arranged so they
would drag across the unsuspecting guest's body as he passed by.  Once they
reached the bottom of the stairway, they would be directed toward the treat
tables, where the next surprise awaited them.

We had strategically placed one of the boys under the table again this
year, with his hand extending upward, through a small opening.  This made
it appear to be just a bloody stump lying on the surface.  As the children
reached to get the goodies, the hand would move, or grab a hold of them, as
they reached for their reward.  When this happened, the basement would echo
with the screams of the surprised victim, which would in turn cause others
to scream in response.  Those sounds would be mixed with laughter from my
sons and the other Halloweeners, which would soften the mood slightly.

In the end, the costumed visitors concluded the rewards we gave them were
worth being frightened, so they didn't think twice about what we asked them
to do.  In fact, before they left nearly everyone thanked us for being so
creative and making the experience unique.

The treats they received were the same as the previous year, and consisted
of white chocolate eyeballs, gummy worms, thumb lollipops, pretzel bones
and white chocolate and jujy tongues.  This was all designed to add to the
flavor of the night and give them something more to remind them of their
trip through our Haunted House, when they consumed these goodies later.

The boys took Cody through our haunted house first, before anyone else
arrived.  Since he hadn't seen what we were up to, he was totally surprised
by the elaborate nature of our preparations.  He was enjoying the whole
effect, including Dracula's coffin and the spider webs, but he was
unprepared for the hand that grabbed him, as he went to retrieve his
treats.  He became our first screamer of the night, but he also
instinctively fought back.  This meant he tried to break free by punching
the arm and scratching it, which allowed him to get away.

The other boys thought this was hysterical, except for the boy at the other
end of the bloody stump.  Sammy was now crying out in pain and his hand was
actually bleeding, since Cody had dug his fingernails into the back of it.
After seeing what had happened, I got a clean cloth and put pressure
against the injured areas until the bleeding stopped.  Then I held an ice
pack against it for a short time, to numb the pain, and this made Sammy
feel considerably better.

After discussing how he was feeling, Sammy decided his injury wasn't too
bad and wanted to continue on.  He suggested we leave his arm like it was
for the remainder of the night, for added effect.  He thought the redness,
scratches and dried blood would increase the visual impact it would have on
our guests.  After receiving his reassurance and since there was no more
actual bleeding, I merely sprayed it with a clear antiseptic, to keep it
from becoming infected.  Sammy wouldn't let me bandage it until later
though, because he didn't want to lessen the effect.

Once Cody realized what he had done, he apologized for his instinctive
reaction, but we all told him we'd kind of expected it might happen sooner
or later.  The problem was, he reacted so quickly and so forcefully, that
we didn't have time to stop him.  After that, we let Cody take his treats
and move on.  Once he went back upstairs, he volunteered to be one of the
guides, so he could watch the others and see if they reacted the same way
he had.

There were a couple of other differences this year, as this was the first
time we had a handicapped trick-or-treater.  The boy's mother had been told
about our haunted house the previous year, and when she learned we were
going to do it again, she contacted me.  She told me she thought her son
would really like to see it, if it was possible to accommodate for his
special needs.  After I assured her we could and would make appropriate
arrangements, I informed her how it would work.

I'd take her son up and down the basement stairs personally, but she'd have
to bring him early, before we expected the other kids to arrive.  This way,
we'd be able to give him the personal attention he would need and I was
certain he would have a good time.

They showed up while we were taking Cody through the Haunted House, so they
waited until he'd finished.  They were waiting for me at the end of the
driveway, and I was immediately intrigued when I saw his costume.  He was
dressed as a die (like in one of a pair of dice), with his head popping
through the single hole in the 'one' side of the die.  It mostly hid his
wheelchair and I thought it was a very creative costume.  Eagerly, I went
down to introduce myself.

Once the formalities were concluded, I got behind him and grabbed the
handles to his wheelchair, which were poking out the back of the die.  I
pushed him around to the back of the house and through our graveyard, while
his mother followed.  As we moved along, she spent her time enjoying her
son's reactions to everything we did.  The boy got a kick out of the
cemetery, laughed at the coffin when it opened and informed me he liked our
sound effects.

As I tipped his wheelchair back and began to take him down the basement
steps, the fake spider webs brushed against his skin and he screamed out,
"What was that?"  After I explained what he just went through, he began to
laugh and told me he hadn't expected that.

Now that we were in the basement, I told him to take whatever candy he
preferred.  As he reached for something, he saw the hand move and slammed
his body back into his wheelchair.  His eyes were wide and his questions
stuck in his throat.  I quickly explained it was just one of my boys under
the table, which caused him to begin to relax.  Once he'd regained his
composure, he told me that was the best effect of all.

After he had collected all of his treats, I pulled his wheelchair back up
the stairs and took him out to their vehicle.  As we went, his mother
thanked us, many times, for doing this for her son.  Her son made sure to
thank us too, before they got back into their van and went off to continue
trick-or-treating.

Since the others would be showing up soon, I now had to get ready to play
my part.  In addition to the other things I'd mentioned, I had added
another surprise.  Originally, this one was designed solely to ensure
everyone went around to our backdoor, instead of trying to enter through
the front.  For this purpose, I had a scarecrow costume made for me,
complete with straw sewn in at various points, to look like I was losing my
stuffing.  It also came with a white bag head, with small slits for eyes,
to conceal my identity.

In addition to the costume, I'd also had a stuffed scarecrow dummy made,
which looked identical to my costume.  I had set this on the porch, in an
old rocking chair, prior to Halloween, to get passersby used to seeing it.
This would condition them that it was part of our props and they wouldn't
suspect anything more.

After our handicapped boy and his mother left, I raced inside and put my
costume on.  Once I was appropriately attired, I snuck out the side door
and made my way to the porch, where I sat down on the lawn chair previously
occupied by the dummy.  My purpose for doing this was so I could tell those
who came to the front door to go around to the back, but I sat as
motionless as I could until I was required to speak.

As one family headed toward our front door, and just as they were about to
push the doorbell, I moved and told them, "Go around to the back, that's
where they're expecting you."

When I moved and spoke, everyone jumped and screamed, but once they got
over their initial fright they began to laugh.  As their laughter died
down, the mother told me they really believed I was just a stuffed
scarecrow propped up on the rocking chair.  Seeing it was working as well
as I'd hoped, I continued to surprise and scare a number of other visitors
who approached the wrong door first.

As the night wore on, I was just about ready to give up and go back inside
when a pack of young hoodlums approached our house.  I recognized them
immediately, as boys who were constantly in my office when I was principal.
Since I knew they were troublemakers, I watched them carefully, without
moving a muscle.  There was definitely no love lost between these boys and
me, as I had been called upon to discipline them many times before for the
stunts they had pulled at school.

As I watched them, I started to add two and two up in my mind and came up
with the answers that had eluded us concerning previous Halloweens.  Over
the past couple of years several things had been done to our house during
this holiday.  It was never anything serious or dangerous, but these
incidents were extremely annoying and we could never figure out who the
perpetrators were.  Now, it was all beginning to make sense.

The first year, they had egged our cars and house.  If you didn't realize
it, if you don't clean the egg off quickly, it will actually eat away at
the paint and take it down to the bare metal.  Last year, they put shaving
cream all over our doorknobs and on the porch, in front of the door, and
they smashed several jack-o-lanterns we had carved.  They smashed a couple
of them on the porch, a couple more on the sidewalk and then smashed the
rest of them on our cars.  I always wondered who would have the motive or
meanness to perpetrate such acts, but I never heard any rumors or
discovered any facts linking anyone to these acts.  At long last, I now
knew who had done these things.

As they got closer, I began to overhear snippets of their conversation.
"Get the bag of dog crap ready," one of them told another.  "You sure it's
soft enough to make a mess?"

"Yeah, I got some fresh stuff, but I sprinkled water on it too, to make it
nice and juicy.  I'm glad they have plastic bags we could use for this, cuz
it would have broken through a paper bag."  That comment caused the others
to laugh.

"Well, I want to smear it all over his porch and his cars," I heard their
leader say.  He just happened to be the boy I'd had the most trouble with
in school.  "I just wish somehow he'd know it was me doing this, to get
even with him for all the times he gave me detention or when he called the
cops on me."

"Hey, we're all getting even with him, not just you," another told him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I ended up going to juvy because of him, after he
called the cops on me," he emphasized.  "That didn't happen to any of you."

The boy was right, I had called the cops on him, but that was because I
discovered he had been part of a small group that had vandalized our
school.  He and one other boy were sent away for what they'd done, not
merely because they had broken into the school and destroyed things, but
because they had also started a fire.  When they were questioned later, the
other boy admitted they were actually trying to burn the school down, to
cover up their crimes and to make it so they wouldn't have to attend
classes for a while.  If there were others involved, they never squealed on
them, but I now suspected some of these boys might have been in on that
too.

Slowly, they continued to move toward the porch and the first boy carried
the bag with the dog crap in it.  Just as he was about ready to dump some
on my porch, I made my move.  I jumped up from the chair and screamed,
"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

The boys were all so startled by my sudden and unexpected move that they
jumped backward, to get away from me.  The boy with the bag of dog feces
reacted quickest and spun and leapt away from the porch before the others
did.  Unfortunately for him, he had already positioned the bag to dump its
contents before he attempted his escape, and that's exactly what happened.
The dog poop in the bag spilled on the ground in front of him, as he flew
through the air, and then he landed in a pile of it.  The remainder of the
canine feces covered a rather large patch of ground just in front of his
face.

As he struggled to get up, I noticed the bag was one of those large, heavy
duty plastic bags department stores use and there must have been one hell
of a lot of dog shit in it to cover so much ground.  Unfortunately for him,
the mess also covered his body.

As the first boy fled, the other boys quickly followed suit and jumped off
the porch too.  As they landed, they either slipped in the accumulation of
dog poop or got knocked off balance by one of the others.  Either way, it
seemed they all ended up on the ground, covered in dog feces.  One of the
boys had even knocked the first boy down again, as he tried to stand up,
and forced him into the pile of crap yet again.  It seems their plan had
backfired this year and the joke was on them, literally.  Hopefully, this
will discourage them from trying anything of a similar nature in the
future.

The hooligans had made so much noise after I startled them and while they
were trying to flee that some of my boys came running out of the house to
see what was going on.  By this time, however, the other boys had scrambled
away from the house and were fleeing down the street, so I explained what
had happened.  After hearing my story, and doing a little giggling of their
own, they wanted to chase after and catch these boys.  However, I refused
to allow them to go and told them the perpetrators had had received their
own form of punishment for what they had tried to pull.  I felt it was
sufficient retribution this time, so we let them get away.

As we reflected upon everything that had transpired, it all began to seem
funnier and funnier.  Even though they hadn't witnessed what happened, they
could picture it in their minds, so we all had a good laugh about it before
we went back inside.

Before we called it a night though, I suggested we get a few flashlights
and go out to clean up the rest of the mess.  I didn't want anyone else to
step or fall into it in the morning, but even that sounded funny to the
boys.  However, once the disgusting nature of the task I was asking them to
perform began to sink in, they began to complain.

"Why should we have to clean it up?" Pat asked.  "We should just go get the
ones who did this and make them do it."  All the others seemed to agree
with him.

"Do you really want to stand around and smell them while they're doing it?"
I asked.  "The smell of what's left behind is disgusting enough, but if you
mix that with their sweat from running away, it would be far worse."  This
elicited a few more giggles from the group, as they realized those boys
were probably pretty ripe at the moment.

"Well, they did deserve it," Dion stated, quite dryly.

"Yes, they did," I agreed, "but do you think any of their parents are going
to allow them to enter the house looking or smelling like that?"

The boys found that question hilarious and began to laugh again, while
acting out what it would have been like for those boys once they reached
home.

As far as I was concerned, I just hoped these scoundrels had learned their
lesson from this episode, but knowing their history, I felt they would
repeat their mistakes or come up with new ones.



Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 6 by BW                    
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 16 -- An Eventful Autumn.                   

November began with Vinnie's retaking his driver's test and passing it this
time.  Once that was behind him, his adoption by the Shays was also
formalized.  Judge Shay had a colleague/friend, who was also a judge,
hustle things along, so the process happened much quicker than normal.

In talking to Steve, I discovered Mary and he were quite excited about
doing this.  He told me they'd wanted to get more involved in helping me
raise my boys for quite some time, but were never able to figure out just
what they could do.  They said it looked as if I had everything under
control, but they were always happy to help out or join in whenever we
asked.

What had started out as admiration, when Steve presided over my adoption of
the first group, had grown into a friendship between the two of us.  The
relationship expanded over time, as he began to join in our festivities
more and more, until his wife and he became aunt and uncle to all my sons.
Now they were truly beginning to have feelings about the boys and wanted to
increase their roles by doing as much for their nephews as they could.  It
just worked out that Vinnie's situation gave them the perfect outlet to do
so and they weren't taking their new role lightly.

Kevin and Vinnie had talked about this adoption at great length.  At first,
Kevin didn't understand why Vinnie didn't want me to adopt him, although
Vinnie tried to explain his feelings many times.  Kevin just couldn't
understand why Vinnie had problems with having a brother as a lover, if he
didn't.

Seeing they'd reached a stalemate on this issue, I decided it was time for
me to step in and discuss the situation with Kevin, privately.  I thought I
might be able to shed some light on things, since I wasn't directly
involved.  It didn't happen quickly, but after many phone calls, I was
finally able to help Kevin understand why Vinnie was so adamant in his
view.

Now that Kevin understood this wasn't an arbitrary, unreasonable or
capricious view for Vinnie to hold, he agreed this would be a suitable
arrangement to resolve Vinnie's concerns.  I think Kevin might have stood
his ground if Vinnie wasn't still going to be living with us and I wasn't
made his permanent guardian, but that helped seal the deal for him.  Not
only that, but the boys would also be able to maintain their room together,
so it was a win-win-win situation.

Once Vinnie's issues had been resolved, I was able to concentrate solely on
Cody.  The first thing I did was to arrange for him to have a complete
physical.  I even told the doctor I wanted Cody checked for everything and
my request made the doctor ask me why.  I merely explained that Cody had
been through a lot before he came to me and I wanted to be absolutely
certain there was nothing wrong with him.  I believe the doctor thought I
was just being a paranoid parent, but he agreed to do as I requested.  Even
though he wasn't convinced it was necessary, he gave Cody a thorough
physical.

As part of the process to honor my request, the doctor ran a host of other
tests on him too, including a full blood work up.  After he examined Cody,
the doctor told me my newest son appeared to be fine, but he wouldn't be
able to give me his final determination until the results of the other
tests came back.  I thanked him for his help and then Cody and I left.  As
we drove away, I felt a little better and wondered if it was possible that
Graham was wrong this time.

Even though Cody was still foremost in my mind, the following Sunday my
attention was suddenly taken in a new direction.  It all began when I
received a phone call from Frankie.  He was quite agitated and not totally
coherent at first.  After I got him to calm down, he informed me about a
situation he had found himself involved in.

"Dad, I had to call and tell you about something that happened here, before
you heard about it on the news or saw it in the newspaper," he began.  "I'm
fine, but something bad went down here."

"Look, just get to the point and tell me about it," I insisted.  "What
happened and did any of your friends get hurt?"

"No, well I guess you might say a couple of them did," he answered me.
"Everyone's fine now, but two of my friends almost died.  They were taken
to the hospital and treated, but it was a close call.  From what I gathered
talking to others, they weren't the only ones taken to the hospital last
night.  The college president has even suspended and banned two of the
fraternities from campus for their part in this, because their houses held
the parties.  Since this was such a big deal here and the frats have had
their charters taken, I knew it was going to make the national news.
That's why I called to tell you first, so you'd know I was okay."

"Frankie, I think you should back up, slow down and explain exactly what
happened this time," I told him.  "Tell me what you know, how your friends
got involved and why they almost died."

"Oh, yeah, I guess I did forget to tell you that part," he agreed.  "I'm
not going to try to pretend I was an angel in all this, because you'd know
I was lying, so I'll tell you straight up what happened."

"I appreciate that," I informed him.

"It all started when some of my friends and I went to this party."  He
hesitated before continuing, as if he was waiting for me to say something,
but I didn't.  I think this surprised him.  "What, no comment about my
going to a party?"

"Frank, you're old enough to make your own decisions," I replied, "but I
hope you've learned enough living here to make the correct choices."

"I guess I blew it this time, then," he told me, before pausing again.

"Okay, go ahead and tell me what happened," I pressed.  "I take it there
was some drinking at this party."

"It was a college party, so what do you think?" he asked, sarcastically.
"I didn't drink much, but I did have a few beers.  I didn't do like my
buddies though.  They started chugging beers and doing shots, but I didn't
want to get into that.  Instead, I found a girl and spent my time talking
and getting to know her better.  I noticed my friends were making fools of
themselves, but I didn't think they'd appreciate me telling them that, so I
didn't."

"Well, I take it something more must have happened," I prodded.

"Yeah, well, I don't know exactly how much those guys drank," Frankie
continued, "but I heard they had a lot in a very short period of time.
When I came back to get them later, I knew they were in trouble.  They
didn't barf or anything like that, but they were both passed out and I
couldn't wake them.  Their skin looked really pale and they felt cold when
I touched them, but that wasn't what scared me.  That happened when I
noticed their skin was beginning to turn blue.  I immediately checked to
see if they were breathing and it seemed like they were, but just barely.
I got really worried then and called 911, to get paramedics to take care of
them."

"That was probably a wise thing to do," I interjected.

"That's what I thought, but it sure put an end to the party," he informed
me.  "As soon as the siren came up the street, the place cleared out and
several people have given me shit about making the call since then."

"Don't worry about what they have to say," I told him.  "You did what you
needed to do and what you thought was right.  How are your friends?"

"Well, they're both okay now," he told me, " but it was touch and go for a
while.  One of them had a blood-alcohol level of .22, but the other one's
was over .30.  The doctor said they both could have died from AOD, that's
an alcohol overdose.  My second friend had an irregular heartbeat when they
brought him in, his breathing was about half of what it should have been
and he was suffering from hypothermia.  That's why his skin was turning
blue."

"It looks as if your friends have you to thank for saving their lives
then," I told him.

"I guess."  Frankie responded, before hesitating.  "Is that all you're
going to say?  Aren't you going to chew me out or something?"

"Frank, I don't think it's necessary," I replied.  "It seems you knew
enough not to overindulge and you were the one who actually saved their
lives.  I'm just glad you were there for them and smart enough not to do
the same things they did."

"Not everyone feels that way," he responded, and I could tell this affected
him deeply.  "Some of my former friends hate me now and say I ruined their
party.  They're also telling me I'm the one responsible for getting the two
fraternities banned from campus.  It was a joint party."

"And what do you think about what they're saying?" I asked, in an effort to
get his take on the situation.

"Hey, it wasn't me who caused the problem," he reasoned.  "It was the guys
who were encouraging all the binge drinking, especially the guys who
brought the liquor, including the 151 rum."

"And did you ask them what they thought would have happened if those boys
had died instead?" I pressed.  "If you hadn't got help for them, they might
not have made it and then some of the fraternity members would have be
charged with manslaughter or maybe even murder.  That would have been much
worse than just having their fraternity banned from campus."

"No, I didn't think of that," he admitted, "but I should have.  I think the
next time someone says something, I'll ask them that instead."

"That sounds good, but are you going to be able to handle those people?" I
worried.  "The might try to retaliate, even if it isn't justified."

"Hey, they aren't going to start any shit with me, cuz I can kick most of
their asses," he boasted.  "Besides, they'll probably get over it in a few
weeks, or at least I hope so.  It's just that I probably won't get invited
to things like that any more.  Oh, well.  Guess I'll just have to make some
new friends then."

"I'm glad you're keeping a positive outlook on this," I commented.  "Frank,
I'm glad you're who you are and I'm proud to have you as a son."

"Thanks, Dad, but I had a good teacher," he added.  "Whenever I'm not sure
what I should do, I just ask myself what you would do.  I'll admit it
doesn't always work and I sometimes ignore what I think is right, like with
the drinking, but I do know better."

"Well, I'll forgive you your small indiscretions, because you've come a
long way since I first met you," I informed him.  "In fact, I once wondered
if I'd ever be able to get through to you."

"I know.  I was really bad back then," he concurred, "but I'm glad things
worked out after that.  I'd hate to think where I'd be now, if you hadn't
given me another chance."

"You earned it and have proved I was right in giving you an opportunity to
redeem yourself," I replied, "so I won't blow this out of proportion.  I'm
pretty sure it was your level head that kept those two young men alive."

"Thanks, Dad, and I'm glad I called to tell you about this," he announced.
"You've actually made me feel better about what happened and I think my two
friends will be happy I was there too."

"Thanks, Frank, and I'm glad you called to tell me about this in person," I
added.  "Please keep in touch and don't be afraid to tell me anything.
I'll try to keep everything in perspective."

"I know you will, Dad, and that's why you mean so much to all of us."
Frankie's words touched me deeply and I had trouble responding, so I merely
said good-bye and hung up.

Now that I was off the phone, and once my emotions had calmed down, I
called the rest of the boys together.  I wanted to advise them about what
Frankie had told me.  I thought it would be good for lesson them to learn,
and if they could see how dangerous this incident was, then maybe it would
prevent me from losing one of them to AOD some day.

I think the story made an impression and the boys caught my drift.  It was
a good thing too, because I didn't really want to have to preach to them.
I'd rather use real life issues as they arise, such as this, to make my
point.  I feel it has a greater and longer lasting impact than sermonizing
or screaming at them.  The boys always responded well when I did this,
since they understood the events being described actually happened.

It didn't take long for the ripples from this incident to die down, but
then another issue took prominence.  That happened around mid-month, when I
got a call from the doctor's office.  One of his staff informed me the
results from Cody's blood work were in and requested I come in after work
to learn what they'd discovered.  I immediately panicked, since this had an
ominous tone, but she told me the doctor just had a couple concerns and
wanted to discuss them with me.  She emphasized it was nothing to be
alarmed about, so I told her I'd be in as soon as I could get away.

I quickly made arrangements for my high school driver to pick up the boys I
generally took home, since I didn't know how long this might take.  I
merely informed him that an unexpected meeting had come up and I would be
delayed.  Once school was out and my secretary had cleared the rest of my
schedule for the day, I drove to the doctor's office and waited for my turn
to speak with him.  When he came out, we exchanged greetings and then he
led me back to a conference room.  Once we were inside, he got this
concerned look on his face.  I immediately sensed the situation had been
downplayed earlier and something was seriously wrong.

"Josh, I need to run some of the blood tests again, so I can better
interpret the results," he began.  "Some of the test findings were
inconclusive, so I'd like you to bring Cody back in for more testing."

"Doc, what did you find?" I asked, deeply concerned.

"Nothing definite," he replied, "it's just that I think we need to do some
further testing, to be certain he's okay."

"What do you suspect?" I pressed.  I wanted to find out how much he really
knew.

"I'd rather not say, until I'm certain," he informed me, "but if you'll
bring him by the hospital tomorrow, we'll do some more blood work and I'll
let you know more, once I have a chance to see what those results are."

"Won't you at least tell me what you're looking for?" I asked, more firmly.

"No, I'd rather not worry you until I'm certain," he insisted.  "What I've
seen may just be false positives.  It happens sometime."

"But I'd feel better knowing," I urged.

"No, you wouldn't, especially if what I suspect isn't the case," he told
me.  "Go home and spend time with your boys and I'll see you and Cody at
the hospital tomorrow."

Seeing he wasn't about to give in and tell me what he suspected, I left his
office and went home.  As I drove, I wondered what I was going to tell Cody
about why the doctor needed to run more tests.  I ran all sorts of ideas
over in my mind, but none of them sounded good.  I felt they would probably
provoke more questions than anything else, so I kept searching for another
way to break the news to him.

By the time I arrived at the house, I had decided to tell him basically
what I had been told.  I went to Cody's room and found him in there with
Graham.  Since I wished to share this information with him alone, I asked
Graham if he would allow Cody and I to speak privately.  Although he wasn't
happy about being excluded, he reluctantly left us alone.  Once the door
had shut behind him, Cody looked up at me in anticipation.

"Cody, the doctor called today, to inform me your test results were back,"
I began.  "However, some things weren't clear, so he wants to run some more
tests tomorrow."

"Why?  Is something wrong?" Cody asked, panicked.

"No, it's just that some of the test results weren't clear," I assured him,
"so the doctor wants to do a few more tests to clear up the situation.  You
know, just to be safe."

"Ah, okay, then.  That's fine," Cody agreed, while looking more relaxed.
"What time do we go?"

"We have to be there by 8:00 a.m., so we'll go directly from here."  Cody
seemed to handle the information well and never asked for more details, so
I left it like that.  I was thankful I didn't have to respond to a whole
series of questions that I didn't have answers for.

I half expected Graham to come racing down to see what I had just told
Cody, but that didn't happen.  I figured Cody had either answered Graham's
questions or Graham hadn't pried into what I'd wanted, but I didn't know
which case it was.  However, I was grateful I didn't have to deal with
trying to explain this to another person.

The next morning I took the Grand Am and drove Cody to the hospital.  Once
there, I led him to the lab where the tests would be performed.  When we
arrived, I was surprised to see the doctor there too, since he wasn't
needed for this purpose.  I know he said he'd see me, but I thought it was
just an expression he was using.  I didn't actually expect to see him here.

He talked to us while we waited for the technician to show up to draw
Cody's blood, but didn't stay long.  However, the thought that he took the
time to be there touched me deeply and I was impressed he had rearranged
his busy schedule just for us.

When Cody's name was called, I asked if he wanted me to go with him and he
said 'yes.'  I followed as he was ushered into an examination room and then
we waited briefly, before the technician was ready to begin.  While she was
setting things up, Cody and I talked about what we were going to do after
the tests were concluded, but our discussion ended when she was ready to
begin.

The technician was a cute and petite young lady, who was very sweet and
gentle with Cody.  She explained each step before she did it and I think
Cody appreciated that.  I know I did.  Over the course of the next
half-hour, Cody let her stick him with needles, so she could siphon off
some of his fluids, and then we were told we could leave.  I was mildly
surprised that Cody didn't talk about what had just happened as we made our
way to the car.  He also didn't say anything during the ride, but he did
hug me good-bye when we arrived at his school and then he went off to
report in.

I spent the better part of the next hour wondering what the tests were
going to show and worried that something was already seriously wrong with
Cody.  Graham's visions were generally very accurate and I was afraid he
was on the money once again.  Although I prayed this time he had given me
early enough warning to help fend off anything more serious, I couldn't be
sure, so I was truly concerned.

My thoughts were finally interrupted when my secretary buzzed to remind me
about a meeting I still had to attend.  I thanked her and went to the
boardroom, where the meeting was to be held, and put on my game-face for
the others in attendance.  Once I became focused on the topic being
discussed, I put Cody's problems in the back of my mind, at least
temporarily.

After my day ended, I went home and Cody was acting so normal that I found
it hard to continue to worry.  Seeing he was acting fine, I decided it
would be best if I didn't contemplate the possibilities and waited to cross
that bridge when we came to it.  Hopefully, when that time came, it
wouldn't be too long or too treacherous a journey.  As I often told my
boys, it does no good to worry about things over which we have no control,
so I thought it best to follow my own advice, even though I couldn't
totally push aside my concerns.

Looking ahead, we were already making plans for Thanksgiving, since it was
only a couple of weeks away.  We were going to have a houseful again this
year and Brandon and Nick's parents would also be joining us.  In addition
to them, Carlos and his mother, Sally, the Spences, the Shays, Little
Ricky, the Beckers and my biological children and grandchildren would also
be here.  That's why there was so much planning to do.

I was also going to borrow some tables and chairs from school, so we could
all sit down together.  This would most definitely be one of the largest
gatherings we have had, up to this point, so I needed to make certain we
had enough room for everyone to sit and eat.  I also had to make sure there
was enough food to go around and that wasn't going to be easy, with so many
bottomless pits.

Sally, the Shays and the Spences had volunteered to house some of our
guests, as my home would be filled to the rafters.  It was decided that the
Lawrences would stay with the Shays, while the O'Haras spent time with the
Spences and Sally would take in Carlos' mother.  Carlos had already made
plans to stay at our place with the boys and his mother even encouraged it.
She agreed it would be best for him, since he didn't often have an
opportunity to spend his time with other young men.

I thanked each of the volunteers for taking in our houseguests, but they
just smiled or laughed, before insisting we were all family.  Yes, I have
always referred to them as our extended family, but this just reinforced my
appreciation for what truly great people they actually were.

During the Thanksgiving holiday, all those who hadn't already done so would
also get a chance to meet Cody.  Even though I'd told them all about him, I
knew my children and extended family were eagerly looking forward to
greeting him in person.  I hoped Cody wouldn't be overwhelmed by the mob
that would be arriving, but if he were going to live here, he'd have to get
used to such gatherings.  I wasn't too worried about him handling it
though, but I still wanted to make it as easy and painless for him as I
could.

It was just a few days before the holiday, when I received another phone
call from the doctor.  Once again, he asked me to come to his office after
work.  He told me he wanted to go over the results of Cody's latest tests.
I asked him if I should bring Cody with me, but he said 'no,' so I planned
to go alone.  I thought this was strange, unless he just wanted to clarify
things before we said anything to Cody, so I was hoping it wasn't bad news.
However, the more I thought about it, the more apprehensive I became, so I
tried to distract myself with school business, until the time for the
appointment arrived.

That strategy did work somewhat, although not well enough to make me feel
better.  When the school day finally ended, I got in to the car and made my
way to the doctor's office.  I pulled into a parking space not very far
from the door, but it seemed as though the walk to get inside took forever.
A feeling of dread was beginning to overwhelm me and fear was gnawing at my
core.  This was unnerving, since I was the one who always tried to calm the
boys whenever they let their fears run away with them.  Now, I was the one
who needed someone to reassure me.  Why was my logic failing me, when I
knew it did no good to worry about things that had not yet happened?

When I walked into the office, I announced my arrival to the receptionist.
She told me to have a seat and the doctor would be with me shortly.  As I
looked around at the other parents and children, it made me wonder if any
of them were facing anything as drastic as this.  I hoped they were merely
here for some minor illness or routine check-up, as I wouldn't wish any of
them to have to deal with all the doubts and anxiety I was currently
feeling.

It was a few more minutes before I was led back to the conference room
again and then I waited a little longer until the doctor came in.  He wore
a concerned look on his face as he entered, so I prepared myself for the
worst.

"Josh," he began, "I believe Cody has A.L.L., so there are a few things we
need to discuss."


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