Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 19:13:34 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 7, chapters 41 - 42

The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 7 - by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 41 -- Searching and Hoping.

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

On Sunday, Jake and I set out on our trips, but we didn't go alone.  The
boys thought we needed company during the long drive and help doing our
jobs, so some of them volunteered to go with us.  Dion and Trey decided to
go with Jake, while Sammy, Andrew and Little Ricky planned to ride with me.

Even though Graham had wanted to come with us too, he finally decided to
stay home with Cole and Peter.  They offered to take care of things and
answer any phone calls that came in while we were gone.  I'm glad they'd
made up their minds to do this, just in case someone tried to contact us
with a lead or Vinnie finally decided to get in touch.  The boys would then
call our cell phones and fill us in on any information they thought we
should know.  Depending on the situation, they might even tell us we needed
to come back early.

Even though our outing did take a great deal of time and we didn't return
home until late Sunday evening, everything actually went quite smoothly.
While we were gone, the boys, Jake and I had hung hundreds of 'Missing'
posters and asked numerous people if they had seen Vinnie, while we kept
our eyes peeled for any signs of him.  It was a slow and tedious process,
but it was something we felt we had to do.

By the time we got back, we were exhausted, yet optimistic that our long
day and hard work would bear fruit.  Even though we had discovered nothing
substantial during our trip, we still felt hopeful.  We had talked to many
people and put Vinnie's picture up in so many places, we felt someone would
remember something, sooner or later.

Graham, Cole and Peter told us things had been quiet at home and they had
only received calls from Uncle Steve and Kevin.  Both of them wanted to
know if anything new had turned up, and when they told them nothing had,
they were disappointed.  Neither stayed on the line for very long, in case
someone else was trying to get through, especially Vinnie.  As soon as I
learned this, I contacted each one, to let them know we were back, but I
also filled them in on what we did.  Each one told me he was glad I called.

Since we still had no word on Vinnie, I remained focused on finding him.
As I concentrated on this situation, a new thought popped into my mind.  I
quickly sought out Graham and asked if he had seen any haze around Vinnie
before he left on his trip or if he had received any messages from Brent or
Cody since Vinnie had disappeared.  Surely, they would have warned Graham
of any problems or alerted him if something was terribly wrong.  Graham
quickly stated that neither of those things had occurred and this gave me a
great deal of comfort.  I was immediately reassured that Vinnie wasn't hurt
or in danger, just merely missing.  It also indicated this was most likely
a conscious choice on Vinnie's part.

I know some of you probably think I need to be committed for believing the
dead can communicate with us, but Graham has sufficiently proven he has
this ability and his predictions are always on the money.  That's why I now
felt his lack of a prediction or warning was an equally good sign.  I was
willing to bank on it and use that thought to keep my hopes up.

Although much of my time was occupied with Vinnie's disappearance, there
were other things coming up on our calendar.  Nick's birthday was at the
end of February, so I thought I should get in touch with him and wish him a
Happy Birthday before he left on his trip.  He'll be out of contact for a
couple of weeks, while he tours different areas of Brazil, and I don't want
to miss passing along my birthday wishes to him.  With that in mind, I
called Nick on Monday, while I was on my lunch break.  He seemed excited
when he discovered I was on the phone.

"Hi, Pop.  I didn't expect to hear from you," he told me, with a bit of
bounce in his voice.  "Is everything okay?" he asked next, as if he thought
possibly another disastrous event had happened to one of us.

"The reason I called was so I could wish you 'happy birthday' before you
left on your trip," I explained.  "I thought I'd better do this now, since
I wasn't sure when I'd be able to reach you again.  I felt it best to do
this early, instead of taking the chance of missing your special day.
However, you'll have to wait until you return to get your gifts," I added,
teasingly.

"Oh, okay.  Thanks," he giggled into the phone.

"Things aren't perfect here," I added, "but we're holding up.  Vinnie and
Kevin had a falling out and Vinnie didn't come home, but I'm sure he'll
turn up again soon.  I'm not really worried about him, since he is old
enough to take care of himself."  I told Nick this little white lie,
because I didn't want him to cancel his trip and return home early.  I also
didn't want to dampen his mood and keep him from having a good time.

"Are you sure?" Nick asked, with a tinge of disbelief in his voice.

"Yes, I'm sure," I agreed.  "Do you have everything you need for your
trip?"

"Yep.  I'm all packed and I leave in a few hours," he told me.

"Do you have enough money and things to take with you?" I followed.

"Sure do," he confirmed.  "I have money my parents gave me while they were
down here and I've still got most of the stuff you sent me at Christmas.
It should be enough to last me until I get home."

"I hope so," I advised him, "but if not, please don't take any chances."

"Okay, and I only did that a couple of times, when you didn't get the stuff
to me in time," he admitted.

"That's not good and I'm not pleased to hear you took risks," I told him.
"We will get you checked out when you get back, to make sure there are no
problems."

"Pop, that's not necessary.  I'm fine," he tried to assure me.  "Nothing's
wrong with me."

"Still, you know I'd rather be safe than sorry," I reasoned.

"Yeah, yeah.  Always the worrier," he half joked.

"You know I'm not that bad," I corrected him.  "I give you boys a lot of
freedom and don't ask for much in return."

"I know." he reluctantly agreed.  "I'm not sure my parents would have been
so willing to do the things you do for me, at least not without a bunch of
lectures and maybe a few fights over it."

"Then you'll agree to be tested when you get back, without any arguments?"
I asked.

"Can we talk about this after I get home?" he wanted to know, as his way of
trying to put me off.

"I think you can answer me now," I warned, since I didn't want to let him
off the hook.

"Okay, okay.  I'll do it then," he agreed.  "I guess I owe you that much,
for all you've done for me."

"I'm glad you see it that way," I responded.  "I'll set up the appointment,
so there won't be a delay upon your return.

"Do I HAVE to do it right away?" he moaned.  "Can't I get settled back in
before I have to go through that?"

"I don't think so," I responded, truthfully.  "I know you and your sexual
appetite, and I don't want you having sex with anyone in the house until
you've been given a clean bill of health.  I'd ask you to abstain from sex,
if I thought you'd agree, but seeing we'd both probably realize that is
unlikely to happen, I want you to take those tests as soon as possible."

"Man, you can really be a pain in the butt sometimes," he added, only half
jokingly, "but you're probably right in thinking I couldn't go without sex
for very long.  All right, you win.  I'll take your silly tests whenever
you want."

Happy with his concession, we said good-bye, but not before I told him to
have fun and be careful.  He said he would and then hung up.

Over the next three days, there were no new developments concerning Vinnie,
so Wednesday night I called Kevin and made arrangements for him to come
home.  His last class ended before noon on Friday, so I thought it would
save time and hassle if he took the bus again.  I called the bus company
and paid for his ticket, which he could pick up at the local bus station.
The bus would take him to York, where we'd meet him.  I felt the layover
he'd have to put up with once he reached York would be far too long, if he
tried to catch a bus all the way home.  Besides, I didn't want to leave him
stranded or take the chance of having another son come up missing.

Kevin seemed happy with the arrangements, so we finalized our plans.  Even
if Vinnie turned up now, Kevin would still make the trip, so he could spend
time with Vinnie and hopefully work things out.

I decided I would be the one to drive to York to pick Kevin up, because I
thought he might need to talk along the way.  Thursday I announced my plans
to the rest of the family, but the boys weren't happy when they discovered
I had decided to go by myself.  They argued with me for about fifteen
minutes, while trying to coax me to change my mind and let some of them go
with me.  When they realized I wasn't about to budge, they gave up
attempting to convince me otherwise.  Actually, I was grateful when they
finally left me alone.

On Friday, Kevin got to York before I did.  I had planned to be there
before his bus arrived, but just as I was getting ready to leave, something
needing my immediate attention came up at work.  I took time to take care
of this matter before I left, which ended up delaying me about forty to
forty-five minutes.  This meant the half hour leeway I had left in my
traveling schedule had now disappeared.

Kevin wasn't upset, but he was holding his belongings and looking for me
when I drove up.  He raced toward the car and was opening the passenger
door even before I came to a complete stop.  I mildly chided him for his
behavior and then he apologized for his breech of decorum.  After that, he
threw his gear in the back, before he hopped in the front seat and buckled
up.

On the ride home, we discussed what we'd done to find Vinnie and then we
attempted to think of what we might do next.  Kevin then went into detail
about how the evening with the other boy had come about and that it didn't
have any meaning, other than they both wanted to get off.  Although I told
him I could see how something like that could happen, I suggested he would
have been better off taking matters into his own hand.  He rolled his eyes
at the pun, but got the point, and then I explained he could no longer have
sexual encounters with others, since he was in a committed relationship.  I
think he got that message too.

Kevin then went on to describe what he was going to do to make things right
with Vinnie, once Vinnie was back in the fold.  After he told me what he'd
planned, Kevin asked if there was anything I thought he should consider, to
set things right.  I told him it seemed he had covered all the bases, but
until Vinnie was safely back in my arms, I wasn't going to speculate on
such matters.  As soon as I said this, I noticed Kevin's reaction and
realized I had just made a major blunder.

"You don't think we're going to find him or that he'll come back home, do
you?" he blurted out, in a trembling, frightened tone.  "Do you think
something awful has happened to him then?"

"No, Kevin, I don't," I told him in a calm, even voice, hoping that would
help to reassure him.  "It's just that I don't want to get ahead of myself.
First, I want to find him and learn why he disappeared, and THEN I'll worry
about how to patch things up between the two of you, if you still need my
help."

"So, you don't think he's, well... hurt or dead or anything?" he asked,
with tear filled eyes.

"I'm confident he's not dead," I told him, "although I am mildly troubled
that you might think that.  However, there's no way to know if he's hurt or
under someone else's control."

"Dad, I hope he's not dead," Kevin confessed, "but if you'd seen how he
flew out of there and wouldn't stop, even after I saw him look back at me,
well... I was kind of worried he might... you know, hurt himself or
something.  He was very upset.  Later, after I realized how much trouble he
went through to make special plans for us, and how I went and ruined them,
well... I was afraid he might do something stupid."

"No matter how hurt he may have been, I don't see Vinnie as being
suicidal," I offered.  "He's too full of life and has had to fight too hard
just to survive and lead a normal life, so I don't think he'd throw it all
away quite that easily.  Yes, he was most likely very, very hurt, angry and
even disappointed in you, but I don't think taking his own life would ever
be an option he'd consider.

"It might have prompted him to run away," I added, trying to offer another
viable explanation, "but nothing more devious than that."  Kevin sat in
silence for the next several minutes, as he thought about what I had said.
Finally, he responded.

"I guess you're right and I'm glad you pointed that out," he agreed.
"That's why I've been so worried, cuz I thought I made him do something
awful.  I've been blaming myself since he left and that's why I wanted to
come home.  Hearing you say this does make me feel a little better, but I
still know this is all my fault, so if something does happen to him, I'll
still feel responsible."

"I understand, but let's not think the worst," I suggested, before I
reached over and took his hand in mine.  I hoped my touch would let him
know I still loved him and wasn't going to forever condemn him for what
he'd done.  Hopefully, I'd also infuse a little of my optimism into him.

It did take a little time, but eventually he seemed to respond as I'd hoped
and looked over at me and smiled.

"Thanks, Dad.  That does make me feel a little better," he croaked, since
his voice was still choked with emotion.

The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, although we did talk about a few
other things, including how he was doing with his classes.  He assured me
he had been keeping up with his workload and his grades had not slipped,
even though he did admit to missing a few classes.  He said he was so
distraught at times that he just couldn't get himself to go anywhere, not
even to eat.  That bothered me, but I elected not to harp on it now.

Instead, I told him I'd forgive him those minor lapses, as long as his
grades remained where they should be and he made sure he didn't miss any
more meals.  After agreeing he'd keep his GPA up and wouldn't go without
eating again, he thanked me for being so understanding about everything.

Over the course of the evening, each of the boys let Kevin know they didn't
hate him for what had happened and expressed their belief that Vinnie would
be back with us before long.  This seemed to relieve even more of Kevin's
anxiety.

A short time later, Kevin approached me and explained he had been worried
his brothers would turn on him because of what he'd done.  However, he now
realized this wasn't going to happen, but the boys weren't above letting
him know what he had done was dumb.  Even though they understood how it
might have occurred, they still made it clear they weren't going to give
Kevin total absolution for his error in judgment.

Friday night also marked an anniversary of sorts, as it was the end of the
second week since Vinnie had disappeared.  Realizing this began to darken
the mood around the house, even though everyone tried to remain upbeat that
Vinnie would be back with us soon.  The only problem was, even though I was
trying to keep the boys optimistic, I was becoming less convinced about my
own stance.  I could find nothing to explain why Vinnie would have gone
this long without contacting us, if it were in his power to do so.  In
fact, that night my dreams belied my public stance and beliefs.

During the first of these visions, I remember I was sitting in the family
room when I saw a State Police cruiser pull into our driveway.  Thinking
they might have Vinnie with them, or at least some news about him, I rushed
out to greet them.  That's when they sprung the awful news on me.

"Mr. Currie," the first trooper began, "we are sorry to inform you that the
body of a young man using crutches and fitting the description of your
missing ward has been discovered.  We will need you to come with us, to
identify the body."

Hearing this immediately brought flashbacks of the day I was informed about
Brent's death, after he had been killed in an auto accident.  This caused
my knees to buckle and I started to fall.  Although the troopers tried to
grab my arms and keep me from going down, they reacted too slowly and I
landed, face first, in the driveway.

I was still reeling from that dream, because it had been so vivid and
seemed so real, that I hardly realized I was drifting into another
scenario.  This time I saw Vinnie as a prisoner, held in a dungeon-like
setting, where he was repeatedly tortured and sexually abused by some
sadistic bastard.  Even though Vinnie was gay, he did not deserve nor enjoy
the type of attention that was being paid to him by his cruel jailer.  The
pain and humiliation Vinnie was forced to endure was evident and my stomach
turned, as I watched the various abhorrent deeds he was made to go through.
Just as I was about to jump in and try to rescue him, my nightmare ended,
but my torment did not.

My final disquieting dream showed Vinnie being kidnapped and used as a
parts store for wealthy patients.  As the doctor did tests to determine
compatibility with prospective paying recipients, Vinnie was prepared so
they could harvest whichever organs were deemed compatible.  His kidnappers
only concern was to maximize the profits they would receive from this
bizarre deed.

By the time I awoke from this last ghoulish scene, it was already sunrise,
so I just got up.  I was being deprived of a restful slumber anyway, so I
concluded I'd rather not endure more of these graphic nightmares.  I knew I
would probably be tired no matter what I did, but felt if I didn't have to
see these gruesome possibilities, then I'd be better off.

Jake noticed I was distressed, as soon as he looked at me, and wanted to
know why it appeared as if I hadn't slept.  At first I was going to lie, to
keep him from worrying too, but then I remembered we'd promised to keep no
secrets from each other.  Therefore, I spilled my guts as to what I had
gone through after we went to bed.

Jake admitted he had felt me tossing and turning, but didn't realize what I
was going through.  If he had, he would have awakened me, to spare me from
enduring the horrific scenes I witnessed during those nightmares.  I told
him it probably wouldn't have changed much, except neither of us would have
slept very well.  I assured him it was probably best he hadn't done that,
since he had been able to get some rest, even if I hadn't.



The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 7 - by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 42 -- Many Distractions.

After having a couple of cups of coffee and a little breakfast, I logged on
to my computer, so I could check my emails.  After deleting the
never-ending supply of junk mail, which offered credit cards, better
mortgage rates, access to porn sites, various drugs at cheaper prices and
ways to enhance my male organ, I ran across an email from Nick.  Although I
hadn't expected to hear from him until he returned to his host family, I
was pleased to see his communiqué.


Hey Pop,

I'm in Rio and Carnival is a blast.  It's even a bigger party than I
thought and there are tons of gorgeous boys.  I introduced myself to
several of them and got to know them better.  I'm really glad I came here
for this.

There are all kinds of parades, with people dressed in all sorts of wild
costumes, and most of the things they wear don't cover very much.  If I was
into girls, I'd be having a blast, but there are still a bunch of cute
guys.  I'm doing okay and there's plenty of good stuff to look at.

I don't know if I told you, but I'm taking a trip down the Amazon next, so
that should be interesting too.  I've already been warned not to go
swimming in the river though, because there are schools of piranha that
sometimes attack humans, but don't worry.  I don't want to be attacked and
have the piranha eat something I'd rather feed to some handsome boy.
hehehe

I hope Vinnie's home now and everything is back to normal.  I'll call you
before I leave on my next trip.  Tell everyone I said hi, especially
Shannon.  I want to talk to him when I call, so please let him know that.

Btw, if you were wondering how I did this, I stopped in a cyber-café to
send this email.  I'm smarter than I look.  :-P

Love you all, Nick


He did it again, I thought, as I finished reading his message.  He hints
that he's been fooling around with a bunch of other guys, but then makes
sure he sends a special greeting to Shannon and even requests that I make
sure Shannon is there to talk to him when he calls.  I wonder if he even
realizes the irony or incongruity in those two opposing concepts of free
love and faithfulness.

When the boys began to wake up and stumble downstairs, Jake and I began to
whip them up some breakfast.  Most had finished before Kevin joined us and
had returned to their rooms.  I guess he had been more tired than he
thought.  While Kevin was eating, he made a suggestion.

"Dad, can't we go out and look for Vinnie today?  Just you and me," he
stated, hopefully.

"Kevin, I don't know where else we could go," I pointed out.  "We've
traveled the interstates and stopped at all the rest areas and exits.
We've also put posters up in all those locations, so I can't think of
anything else we might do."

"You can't have done everything!" Kevin challenged, before suddenly running
off.  I realized he was probably just upset we hadn't found Vinnie yet and
frustrated because we'd already done all we could.  I concluded it would be
best to give him a few minutes alone, before I went to speak with him.
However, before I made my move, he came back carrying an atlas.

"What interstates did you go on?" he asked.  He had the atlas open to the
page with the map of Pennsylvania.

"Jake, I and your brothers traveled over both I-76 and I-70," I advised
him.  Kevin studied the map for a few more minutes and then looked up at
me.

"How about I-99, heading toward Penn State, or I-79, outside of
Pittsburgh?"  He looked between Jake and I now, hoping he had come up with
more possibilities.  I walked over and looked at the atlas with him.

"No, we didn't do those routes," I told him, "but I'm not sure they're
appropriate.  Those highways both run north-south, and Vinnie was reported
heading west."

"But they might have changed direction," he suggested.

"Yes, it is possible," I conceded, "although not very likely."

"Just in case, can't we do those areas today?" he followed.  "You said it
is possible Vinnie might have gone that way too."  Kevin's expression
changed now, from being confused and uncertain, to pleading with us to do
this for him.

"Yes, I said it was possible, but not probable," I reiterated, although
this still didn't discourage Kevin.

"Please?  I thought we were going to do everything we could to find him,"
he pointed out, "not just the obvious things.  Please?  Can't we just do
this?"

"Okay, we'll give it a try," I relented.  "I'll go print out some more
fliers and Jake can take I-79 and I'll take the small part of I-70 south
first, which we didn't cover the last time, and then go on I-99 north.  Is
that okay with you?" I asked, hoping this would appease Kevin.

"Yes, but I want to go with you," he stated, emphatically.

"Us too," some of the others began to chime in.

This surprised me, because I didn't even know they were listening in to our
discussion.  I quickly learned they had run into Kevin when he went looking
for the atlas, so he told them what he was up to.  They followed him back,
but stayed out of sight, while listening to our conversation.  Now, they
wanted to be included too.

"Okay, but I'd like someone to stay here," I offered, as a compromise, "in
case we get any calls or Vinnie shows up."

"We'll do that, Dad," Trey volunteered.  He then went on to say that he and
Dion would take the duty this time.

"That will work," I responded.  "So, who wants to join Kevin and me," I
asked next.

"How about us?" Graham asked, indicating Cole, Peter and himself.

"Sure.  So that means Little Ricky, Sammy and Andrew will go with Jake," I
pointed out.  "Anyone have a problems with that?"  No one did, so we all
got prepared to leave.

In the back of my mind, I understood there was more to Kevin's request than
just trying to locate Vinnie.  Kevin also felt he hadn't personally done
anything to rectify his transgression, which he saw as causing this problem
in the first place.  He would have found it very frustrating to just sit
around the house waiting for someone to phone us.  He felt it was important
to actually get out and do something to mitigate his indiscretion.

Since I hadn't considered the north-south routes, because we had focused
all of our attention on the east-west highways, I was actually glad Kevin
had suggested it.  Even though Vinnie had been spotted beyond where I-70
headed south and I-99 headed north, it didn't mean they might not have
backtracked or changed direction.  I had to agree it was worth a try and
better than sitting around and doing nothing.

These trips went almost identical to our previous outings and we stopped at
the various rest areas and exits.  We hung our posters in many different
places Vinnie might have visited, and at each of these locations we also
asked the employees working there if they recognized Vinnie's picture.
Doing this took all day to accomplish, but by the time we returned home and
hooked up with Jake and the others again, we were a little more hopeful.
Although neither group had discovered anything substantial during their
efforts, we still felt better knowing we had done something more that might
help us locate our wayward son/brother.

Once we got back, I went with Little Ricky to the Spences, so he could
visit with his mother.  Even though it was later than we usually went, I
didn't want him to miss an opportunity to spend time with her.  The Spences
were very understanding when we showed up and invited us in.  Margaret went
to get Arlene and I heard Margaret tell her she had company.

"Mommy, is it one of my friends from school?" I heard Arlene reply, and
then I saw Little Ricky cringe.  This was obviously not one of his mother's
better days.

When Arlene entered the room, she raced over to Little Ricky.  "Billy, I
didn't except you to come see me today," she told him.  "And you brought
your daddy too.  I'm so glad you came."

Little Ricky didn't know what to do or say, so I jumped in, to take him off
the hook.  "Hello, Arlene.  We just thought we'd come over to see how you
were doing."

"Why, I haven't been sick and I saw Billy in school today," she replied.
"He knew I was fine."  Little Ricky winced again.

"I guess what I meant," I responded, "is that we came over to see if you
wanted company.  We thought you might like to visit with us for a while."

"Oh, yes, that would be very nice," Arlene agreed.  "Billy, would you like
me to get a game from my room or would you like to play hide-and-seek."
Little Ricky sat speechless for a few seconds, before he responded.

"I guess we could play hide-and-seek," he told her.  "Why don't you go hide
and then I'll try to find you."

"Okay.  You count to one hundred and no peeking," she warned him, before
racing off to find a good hiding place.

Little Ricky turned his head and began to count aloud, but I could see the
tears streaming down his cheeks as he did so.  I reached over and brushed
away the moisture and then pulled him toward me, but he never stopped
counting.  He eventually reached one hundred, even though I was cuddling
him in my arms, and then turned to face me.

"I didn't know what else to do," he admitted.  "I figured she'd go off when
I started counting and then I wouldn't go look for her for a while.  She'd
think she was just a good hider, but it would give me time to think what I
was going to do next.  I can't stand seeing her like this any more."  After
saying this, he broke down and sobbed.

"Oh, you poor dear," Margaret told him.  "If you'd have called first, I'd
have warned you she wasn't herself today.  Well, she is herself, just a
younger version."

"Margaret, that's excellent advice," I agreed.  "From now on we'll call
first, to see how Arlene is doing.  Maybe that way, we can keep Little
Ricky from having to deal with her worst delusional states."

John and Margaret both agreed, and then John spoke.  "If you wish, you can
return home and we'll just tell Arlene you couldn't find her and gave up."

"No, I can't do that to her," Little Ricky replied.  "I'll wait a little
longer and then go look, but then I'll tell her we have to go home.  If she
wants to know why I don't want to take my turn, I'll just tell her I can't,
because it took too long for me to find her."

"I think that's a wonderful plan," I advised him.  "That way you won't have
to stay and watch her in this condition, yet you won't hurt her feelings
either."

Little Ricky nodded weakly, but waited a few more minutes before he went
off.  He found his mother easily and then told her we had to leave, but he
also told her why.  She seemed to accept his explanation and we prepared to
go home.

After returning to the house, we spent a little time with the rest of the
boys, relaxing and unwinding, but I held Little Ricky on my lap as we did
this.  I knew he needed a lot of love and understanding, but it would also
be best if he were in the company of others.  I felt he'd respond more
quickly if the boys were able to distract him from his emotional turmoil.

They did interact with Little Ricky and kept him busy talking about a bunch
of different things.  However, no one mentioned Little Ricky's mother and I
was glad they didn't broach that topic.  It might have made matters worse,
but the boys diverted Little Ricky's attention sufficiently to allow him to
put those recent uncomfortable memories to rest, at least for a while.

After an hour or so, I told everyone to head to bed and get some rest.
We'd all be going to church in the morning and I suggested we could say an
extra prayer, both tonight and tomorrow during the service.  I told them to
ask God to protect Vinnie and have him get in touch with us again, so we
could be reunited.  Even though most of the boys were tired and ready to
sleep, they still agreed to my proposal.  They would all say a prayer
before they turned in.

There was one exception to their going along with my request.  Kevin wasn't
about to give in and go to bed without a protest.

"Dad, can't we do something else first?" he pleaded.

"Like what, Kevin?" I shot back.  "We've spent all day on the road and put
up many more fliers, so what else do you think we should do?"

"I don't know," he countered, "but I just feel we have to do something
more."  He looked sad and despondent.

"We will.  We'll pray," I advised him, hoping this would satisfy his need
to do more.  After a minute or so of thought, he merely nodded and started
to walk away.

"Are you going to be all right?" I asked, since I could see from his body
posture that something else was bothering him.

"I don't know," he replied, honestly.  "I feel so damn awful and guilty
about all of this.  I just wanted to do something more."

"Why don't you spend some time with one of your brothers then," I
suggested.  "That might make you feel a little better."

"No, from now on I'm not sharing a bed with any other boys, not even my
brothers."  He was adamant about that.

"I didn't mean you had to have sex, but I don't think you should be alone
tonight," I advised him.  Kevin didn't respond right away, so I continued.

"I'm pretty sure Jake won't mind if you spend the night in with us, so what
would you say to that instead.  I don't think we'd count as boys and I'll
even sleep in the middle," I chuckled, as I silently admitted I hated that
position on the bed.  It was definitely not my most desired spot.

After thinking about my proposal briefly, and looking to Jake to get his
nod of approval, Kevin finally agreed.  I was glad, because I really didn't
think it would be good for him to be alone.  Even at college, his roommate
was only on the other side of his dorm room, even if he was still in his
own bed.  That meant Kevin hadn't been alone even then, even if he may have
felt he was at the time.  This caused me to consider something else.  I
wondered what he had told his roommate about why he had been so miserable
and depressed.  I'll leave that alone for now, but I will question him
about it at a later date.

After the three of us said a group prayer, we all snuggled together in bed.
I was glad I had opted for the king-size bed for my room all those years
ago, because now it was proving to be very fortuitous.  I was in the
middle, lying on my back.  I had one arm under and around Jake, while my
other arm was holding Kevin tightly against my side.  A few seconds later I
felt Jake's arm slide across my chest, but I soon learned it wasn't merely
for my benefit.  Instead, he located Kevin's hand and held it, to signal
that he cared about him too.

I'm not sure how long we stayed like that, but I didn't suffer from the
progression of dreams I had endured the previous evening.  I'm not sure if
it was due to the fact that we had made those additional runs and put up
more fliers or because I was sandwiched between Jake and Kevin all night.
It might have been that I was just overly tired, but whatever the reason, I
felt better when I awoke the next morning.

We got up, along with everyone else, and prepared for church.  I made sure
we arrived early, so we could say a couple of extra prayers as we waited
for things to begin.  It was a typical service, but I was surprised to
discover the sermon happened to be about the prodigal son.  I thought that
was ironic.

Once the service was over, we all went out for our normal Sunday brunch,
but we hurried through it and finished quicker than we normally would have.
I believe everyone was anxious to get back home, in case the phone rang.
Once we arrived, we changed and got comfortable.  We spent some time
relaxing and watching television, as I figured this would keep everyone
calm.  During one of the commercials, I told Kevin we'd leave around 2:00,
so I could take him back to his campus.

Even though I could tell he wasn't happy about leaving so early, he
realized it was a long round trip for me to make.  It was also imperative I
get back early enough to get some rest, because I still had to work
tomorrow.  After calming down a bit, Kevin came over and sat on my lap, so
he could talk to me.

"Can I come home next weekend too?" he wanted to know.

"May I," I corrected him.

"Will you stop being a educator and answer my question?" Kevin shot back,
mildly annoyed.

"That's like asking me to stop breathing," I teased back, " but I suppose
it would be all right if you came home next weekend too.  I just need your
assurance your studies aren't suffering because of this."

"They aren't," he confirmed.  "I promise."

"Okay.  Then you may take the bus again," I agreed, "but this time I'll
give you the money so you can buy the ticket yourself.  Get a round-trip
ticket, to and from York, so neither Jake nor I will have to spend very
much time on the road, driving you back and forth.  Okay?"  He nodded.

Once I felt Kevin was fine with what we had discussed, I excused myself and
summoned Little Ricky.  I asked him to call the Spences, to see how his
mother was doing, which he did.  When Margaret informed him his mother was
about the same as yesterday, Little Ricky advised her we wouldn't be coming
down today.  He couldn't take another day of seeing her that way.  Margaret
agreed, and since I'd heard the gist of his conversation, I called Little
Ricky to sit with me.

He was on my lap and I was trying to console him when the phone rang.
Kevin jumped up and started for it, but I advised him I wanted to answer
it.  I didn't want Kevin taking the call, just in case it was bad news.
After asking Little Ricky to excuse me, I went over and picked the receiver
up somewhere between the fifth and sixth rings.

"Hello," I greeted.

"Hi, Pop," the voice responded.  "It's me -- Vinnie."


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