Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2010 04:43:56 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 8, 1 - 2

The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 8 - by BW         
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 1 -- Seeing Green.    

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

Since Vinnie returned home, he and Kevin spent most of their time making
up.  Seeing things were pretty much normal again, I felt I could leave them
alone and go with Jake to run a few errands.  When we returned home later,
Andrew rushed out to greet us.  He was all excited because he had been
talking to Barry, the boy he had met on our camping trip, and once we
entered the house, he filled me in about something he was told during their
conversation.

"Dad, Barry said his father is going to call you soon, so be ready," he
advised me.  No sooner had the words escaped his lips than the phone rang.
I answered it immediately.

"Hello."

"Hello, may I speak with Josh Currie please?" the voice on the other end
said.

"This is he," I replied.

"Josh, this is Farrell Flannery.  My family and I spent some time on an
island with you this past summer, waiting out a storm.  I hope you haven't
forgotten us already."

"No, Farrell, I haven't forgotten and vividly remember each of you.  What
might I do for you?"  There was a momentary hesitation on the other end of
the line and I wondered if it had something to do with the way I phrased my
question.  I soon realized that was probably the case, because of the way
he worded his response.

"Hopefully, it's something we might be able to do for you," he advised me.
"You know Barry and Andrew have kept in contact since the camping trip."

"Yes, I've been aware of it," I confirmed, while wondering what he was
getting at.

"Well, Barry would like your family to participate in the St. Patrick's Day
parade with him.  It will be held here, in Chicago," Farrell informed me.
"You see, the parent company I work for is headquartered in Ireland and
they always sponsor a huge float in the St. Patrick's Day parade.  I was
going to have Barry ask some of his friends from school to dress as
leprechauns and ride on the float this year, but he seems to have his mind
made up that he'd rather see if your boys would prefer to do this with him
instead."  Farrell paused after saying this, to gauge my reaction, but
since he didn't hear any negative response, he continued.

"I know this is short notice," he continued, "but I've been trying to get a
hold of you for a couple of weeks now.  Andrew said you were consumed by
other matters at the time, so what do you say?  We'll even put you up.  If
you could come early, that would be even better and give our sons a chance
to spend some time together."

"It does sound interesting," I told him, "and my sons haven't done anything
like that before.  I must admit, I do love a good St. Patrick's Day parade,
but it depends on when it's going to be held."

"It will be a week from this coming Saturday, on the thirteenth," he
informed me.  "I'll understand if you can't make it this year, because of
the short notice, but if not, I want you to promise you'll reserve next
year's date to attend."  I looked at my calendar quickly, to see if we had
anything scheduled for the thirteenth that would prevent us from attending.

"It just happens that we have a four-day weekend then," I informed him.
"The boys have Friday off because of parent conferences and Monday they
don't have classes, because it's a teacher workday."

"Will that take you away from talking to your sons' teachers?" he wanted to
know.  I guess he didn't understand my situation.

"No, it won't," I offered.  "I take it you aren't aware of my position, but
I'm superintendent for the local school district.  My job allows me to
speak with my sons' teachers any time, so that won't be a problem."  There
was a short pause before he said anything more.

"I guess that's good then," he responded, somewhat confused or possibly
overwhelmed by my revelation.  "Then you'll join us?" he added.

"That depends," I shot back quickly.  "Are there any age or size
limitations on these leprechauns?"  He chuckled.

"We have a very liberal policy concerning the leprechauns," he stated.  "I
even dressed up as one a few years ago."  He laughed again.

"Well, I do have seven boys at home, from my eighth grader, Andrew, on up
to a couple of high school seniors.  If you remember, one of them is on
crutches, so I hope that won't create a problem.  I also have an exchange
student from Australia living with us and hope it's all right to bring him
along too, if we decide to come."

"Bringing your exchange student along will be fine and the leprechauns
don't generally speak, so his accent won't arouse suspicion."  Farrell
laughed after saying this, while thinking of a leprechaun with an
Australian accent.  "I can also arrange for your son on crutches to sit on
the float, near the side, so he can still throw goodies to the crowd.

"We also have a large collection of costumes they can try on, in assorted
sizes," he assured me.  "We try to have ten to twelve leprechauns on the
float, so I'll have Barry ask a few of his friends too, to make up the
difference, unless you and the other father would like to fill in?"

"Oh, no thank you," I replied, quickly.  I dreaded the thought of Jake and
I dressed up as oversized leprechauns.  "I'll check with the boys though,
to see if they want to do this, and then I'll call you back, to give you
our answer."  I put my hand over the mouthpiece, so I could ask Andrew a
question.

"You do have Barry's phone number, right?"  He nodded that he did.

"Do you have my number?" Farrell asked, almost at the same moment.

"Yes, I do," I informed him.

"Great!" he exclaimed.  "Tell the boys they'll be throwing candy and a few
other trinkets to the children along the parade route.  I think they'll
enjoy that."

Farrell and I stayed on the line and discussed a few other items, before I
thanked him for his call and hung up.  Once I was off the phone, I sent
Andrew to round up the boys, so I could see if they were interested in
being in the parade.

When I first mentioned the idea to them and explained they'd be
leprechauns, the older ones laughed and said, "Yeah, right," or "Thanks,
but no thanks."

Undeterred, I continued and pointed out this was a major parade, at least
as far as anything we'd ever been part of.  I also told them they'd be
tossing items from the float to the children lining the street and this
tidbit seemed to interest them.  They liked the idea of tossing candy and
various items to other kids along the way and were suddenly more agreeable
to discussing this further.

"Are we going to be able to see some of the other sights if we go?" Trey
wanted to know.  "I wouldn't mind going up the Sears Tower."

"Yes, Mr. Flannery mentioned doing some sightseeing too," I replied, after
which I noticed a few more pleased expressions.

"We don't celebrate this saint's day in Australia," Peter informed me.  "So
what is it all about?"

I quickly gave him the abbreviated rundown about St. Patrick.  I explained
he was Ireland's patron saint and supposedly responsible for driving all of
the snakes out of the country.  I also advised him that many non-Irish
people also dress in green for this occasion and it often turns into quite
a party.

"What does it mean if we agree to be leprechauns?" Peter pressed.

As I started to explain the concept to him, Andrew raced out to the kitchen
and came back carrying a box of Lucky Charms.  "It means you'll dress like
this," he stated, while pointing at the picture on the box.

"No bloody way I'm dressing like that!" Peter exclaimed.  "I'd look bloody
ridiculous."

"No one's going to know us there," Dion responded, "and what would look
more ridiculous than me dressed as a leprechaun?  I don't think they have
any black leprechauns in Ireland, but I'm willing to do it.  I think it
will be fun."  Peter thought about it for a few seconds and then responded.

"Well, I don't have any mates here and won't know any other blokes, other
than all of you, so if you're going to do it, then I will too.  That is, as
long as no one nags about me having the wrong accent."

"That won't happen," I assured him, "and you won't be required to speak.
However, your accent probably comes closer to an Irish accent than any of
ours."  Peter laughed after he thought about it.

"We could practice and come up with an Irish accent, if you want us to," he
suggested.

"You boys can, if you'd like, but it isn't required," I answered.

"I'm willing to be in the parade then," Peter agreed.  "Besides, I'll get
to see more of your country, so I guess it will be worth looking like a
bloody fool."

The other boys chuckled at his statement, but I suspect they all had
similar feelings about getting dressed up this way.  I doubted they'd be
willing to do it if the parade were being held closer to home, where people
they knew might see them, but since it was in Chicago, they felt fairly
safe that there would be no repercussions.

 "Where are we going to stay?" Andrew asked.

"I'm not sure, but Barry's father did say he'd put us up, if we agreed to
come," I replied.  "I'm not sure what that means, but I'll ask for more
details when I call him back, if everyone agrees to do this."

The boys were all nodding their heads or responding in the affirmative, so
it looked as if they were going to go along with the plan.  Since I had
their approval, I told them we would leave Thursday afternoon, after
classes ended for the day.  That would, in turn, leave us more time to
check out Chicago.  Since this had now been settled, I called Farrell back
to inform him of our decision.

"Hello," I heard a female voice answer.

"Hello, this is Josh Currie," I informed her.  "How are you?"

"Oh, Josh, it's so nice to hear your voice again," she answered.  "I hope
your family is well."

"Yes, they are and eager to come see your lovely city," I responded.
"That's why I'm calling, to give Farrell the good news.  Is he available?"

"Yes, he is Josh.  Just one second please," came her reply, and then there
was a slight delay until Farrell got to the phone.

"Josh, thank you for getting back to me so promptly," he answered.  "From
my wife's reaction, I think I know what you and your boys have decided.  I
take it they're willing to do this with us."

"The boys are looking forward to being on your float," I said.  "We're
thinking of leaving on Thursday, the eleventh, once the boys get out of
school.  We'll drive partway there and get a room Thursday night, and then
we'll make the rest of the drive and meet up with you on Friday."

"That would work out nicely," he hummed in response.  "Is there anything I
can do to help out or make this easier for you?"

"Yes, there is," I informed him.  "Would you please do me the favor of
making reservations at a hotel for us for Friday and Saturday nights?
Three rooms with two queen or king-size beds in each would work nicely."

"Josh, if your boys don't mind roughing it a bit, but nothing too drastic,
you could all stay with us," he offered.

"That's very kind of you, but I'm not sure your house could survive so many
guests," I added, "especially my boys."  I didn't want him to think they
were ruffians or anything, but he had already seen them in semi-action on
the camping trip.

"But my family would be more than happy to accommodate yours," he
reiterated, trying to convince me of his sincerity.

"You'd have to have a pretty big place to do that," I responded.  "We can
fit in three double-rooms in a hotel, but we'd probably need six rooms at
your house, or a very large room where we could camp out on the floor."  I
heard a sudden intake of air on the other end.

"We'd never allow you to sleep on the floor," he stated, shocked and
apologetic, "but if you'd prefer hotel rooms, I'll have the company cover
the bill for them."

"You don't need to do that," I quickly countered.  "We can pay our own
way."

"Nonsense," was his comeback.  "I'll put it on the company's expense
account, since you're doing this for them.  I'll have them cover both
evenings and my family will take you out to dinner both nights."

"Tell you what," I told him.  "You may cover one night at the hotel and
take us out one evening to dinner, but no more than that.  I will pay for
the second night and you will allow us to take your family out to dinner
that evening, or we may have to reconsider this."  I heard him clear his
throat slightly, before responding.

"Josh, you are a tough man to deal with, but I'll go along with your
proposal, if you'll agree to let my family show you around Chicago too," he
added.  "Have you and your boys ever visited our fine city before?"

"Not that I remember," I replied, since I sometimes have difficulty
remembering what areas I've visited or whether I did it with my first or
second family.

"Great, then it's set.  You'll be able to head back on Sunday, if you
wish," Farrell pointed out.  "That way you'll have Monday to rest up,
before you return to work or school."

"That sounds like a plan, Farrell," I agreed.  "I'll tell the boys and
we'll see you Friday."

"Great, Josh, and this will make Barry very happy."  We ended our
conversation and I told Andrew our plans.  Although he had heard most of it
already, since he was standing beside me the entire time, he was thrilled
by the prospect of seeing Barry again.  It also didn't take him long to
rush off and fill his brothers in about my conversation.

Over the intervening days, we returned to our normal routines.  I think
everyone was looking forward to this new experience, but some of the boys
were more eager than the others.  Andrew was obviously one of those, but
others had different reasons for anticipating this event.

Since he returned, Vinnie had been struggling to make up all the work he
had missed while he had been gone, so he was glad to do something other
than schoolwork for a few days.  He had been moaning about all he had to
do, but I was actually enjoying watching him suffer.  I think his teachers
took my words to heart and really piled the assignments on him, maybe even
more than he'd actually missed.  However, seeing him having to work so hard
to get caught up, I knew it would be quite some time before he'd do
anything so foolish again.

Although all of the boys were looking forward to seeing Chicago, Peter and
Trey seemed to be the most enthusiastic about doing this.  Trey even did
some research and pointed out a few places he'd like to visit.  I told him
I'd see what I could do and that seemed to suffice.

During this time, I also got another email from Nick.  It seems he had just
returned from his second trip and wanted to let me know how it went.


Hi Pop,

I just got back from the tour of the Amazon and it was really wild.  It
started in Manaus and I got to see the city first, but it was a lot like my
tour of Rio, just not as nice.  The fun began the next day, when we left on
the boat.  We took off from one of the floating docks on the river.

Along the way, we passed a floating market and some really huge lumber
mills.  I guess those places cut up all the trees that get chopped down in
the rainforest.  Later, we passed a river village where the Caboclos live.
That's the name for the local people down here.  Anyway, they live in
houses built on stilts, so they don't flood or get washed away during the
rainy season.  I got to spend the night with one of the families there and
slept in a hammock.  It wasn't as easy as I thought and I fell out a few
times while getting used to it.  The family laughed at me, but I didn't
mind though and it was really wild staying with them.

The next day, we got back on the boat and I got to see a bunch of boto,
which are Amazon River dolphins.  There were also lots of giant water
lilies and I even got to go piranha fishing.  That was neat, but I had to
be really careful.  The piranha can still be dangerous, even out of the
water, at least for a short time.

That night I also got to go on an alligator-flashing trip.  That's where
you go out in a boat in the dark and the guide flashes the alligators with
his flashlight, so everyone can see them.  Don't worry, it was really safe
for us AND the alligators.  hehehe

The next day we took a walk in the jungle and it was really cool.  We saw
all kinds of monkeys, some really colorful butterflies, some macaws (those
are birds, kind of like a parrot -- you know, like on the Fruit Loop
commercials :-P), and some strange frogs and caimans, which are a type of
crocodile.  I even got to take a canoe ride up some of the creeks and
smaller rivers that empty into the Amazon.  It reminded me of the vacation
you told me you took with the rest of the family.

That afternoon we went to a market where some of the local Indians were
selling stuff they made.  I got to know one of the native men pretty well,
after I negotiated a price with him on a mounted piranha.  I bought it, so
I could bring it home to show all of you.  The man's son was working with
him, so I started to talk with him afterward.  We got to really like each
other; so later he and his father invited me to go with them to their
village for the night.  It wasn't easy talking the tour guide into letting
me do this, but he eventually did and I was glad.

It was really strange, though.  They live in these huts way out in the
jungle and no one wears much clothing.  They only do that when they go to
the market to sell the things they make, so they don't offend the people
they're trying to get to buy them.  Most of the children run around
completely naked, while the men just wear loincloths and the women wear
something like a skirt, but nothing on top, so their boobs are uncovered.

Anyway, I had fun staying with them and I ran around naked all night too.
My being cut made them ask many questions about why my penis looked
different than theirs, so I tried to explain it to them.  I actually
grabbed some of the boys' cocks and skinned them back; just to show them it
really wasn't different.  A couple of them even popped boners when I did
it, so later we got together again and jerked each other off.

The next day I went back and met up with the tour group.  When I did, we
got back on the boat and went to check out a bunch of islands that sit in
the middle of the river.  When we stopped at these islands, we all got to
wander around and were given a chance to check out the beaches and spend
some time on them.  It was soooo different from the beaches at Rio and I
almost felt like I was one of the first people to ever be there.

I'm heading back to Sao Paulo now, and I'm going to take my host brothers
on the next trip with me, to Iguacu Falls.  I'll be home in a few weeks, so
I'll see you then.  This being an exchange student has been really awesome,
so thanks for helping me get accepted.  I probably would never have thought
of doing such a thing, if it wasn't for you and Ricky.

Tell everyone I send my love, especially Shannon, and I can't wait to get
back there and show you everything from down here.

Love you all, Nick


I found his email very upbeat and was glad to see Nick was enjoying himself
so much.  It looked as if he made sure to get to do as many things as he
could, besides the traditional exchange student activities.  Not only that,
but I see he even managed to do a few things outside the scope of a
traditional tour too -- like staying in that Indian village.  I hope he
took some pictures.

I shared his email with Jake and the boys, who seemed to be as interested
in it as I was.  I want to have a discussion with Shannon the next time
he's home, just to make sure he understands that Nick operates on a moral
plain different from our own.  I've tried to get Nick to change, but he
always reverts back to his former ways, so I'm not sure he will ever
reform.  By speaking with Shannon about this, I hope it will prevent him
from getting hurt, as some of the others have been by Nick.  As long as
Shannon realizes this fact and is willing to accept it, maybe he can enjoy
the time they are together, without being devastated by Nick's dallying
ways.



The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 8 - by BW         
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 2 -- Duck.    

The rest of the week went by smoothly and on Friday Kevin took the bus and
returned home.  Frankie volunteered to pick him up, to save me from making
the trip, and I gratefully accepted his offer.  I had agreed to let Kevin
come home one additional weekend, so he could spend a little more time with
Vinnie.  I made this concession to give them a chance to relieve some of
the stress they had both been through, due to Kevin's unfaithfulness and
Vinnie's disappearance.

Before Kevin arrived, I had Vinnie call Duck and ask him if we could stop
by on Saturday.  Vinnie informed Duck I wanted to thank him and pay him
back for the money he had spent while Vinnie stayed there.  Duck said he
had no plans and we could drop by, so Vinnie told him we'd be there a
little after noon.  Duck agreed that would be fine, so we made our plans
accordingly.

Of course, Kevin wanted to come with us, but Vinnie wasn't sure how Duck
might take it.  Duck had treated Vinnie really well, but Vinnie wasn't sure
he would have, if he'd known he was gay.  Kevin was insistent about not
being left behind, so I told them we could just say Kevin was one of
Vinnie's brothers and that should suffice.  After thinking about it for a
few seconds, Vinnie decided it would probably work, so it was agreed that
Kevin would go too.

We all packed a small overnight bag, with a change of clothes and a few
other things, just in case the visit went well and we stayed longer than
just one day.  I suggested if that happened, we could get a room for the
night and both boys thought that would be fine.  Since everything was set,
we said good-bye to the others and headed out.

We got to Duck's apartment around 1:00 and I was intrigued once I met him.
He wasn't quite what I was expecting.  He was only about 5' 8" tall, had a
very slender build, brown hair with blond highlights and very attractive
green eyes.  Duck was actually quite cute and I was surprised Vinnie never
mentioned that fact or tried to hit on the guy.

Watching Kevin's reaction after he first met Duck, I think he might have
been a little jealous of the time Vinnie and Duck spent together.  Vinnie
had stayed there for a couple of weeks and never really said much about
what he did while he was there, which obviously left Kevin wondering.
Besides, I immediately got the impression Duck might be gay and wondered if
that was why he had been so helpful.  However, I then remembered Vinnie
telling me Duck had a girlfriend, so I figured I must be mistaken.

"Duck, this is my dad, Josh Currie and my brother Kevin.  Dad and Kevin,
this is Duck," Vinnie introduced us.

"Don, call me Josh, please," I told him.

"And you can call me Duck," he responded.  "All my friends do."

"Well, thank you and I'm pleased that you would consider us to be friends."
At that point, we all took turns shakings hands.

"Look, I not only came here to meet you," I announced, "but to thank you as
well.  It was extremely kind of you to help Vinnie out like you did.  I
don't know what might have happened to him if you hadn't, because he was
pretty vulnerable at that point."

"Yes, he was really down and kind of out of it," Duck replied, while
looking over at Vinnie.  After a few seconds, he continued.

"Hey, dude, did you two get things patched up?"  Vinnie blushed a bit and I
think it was because he was thinking Duck was referring to his supposed
rift with a female lover.

"Ah… yes… we did," he finally stammered.

"So you and he are okay now?" Duck followed, and Vinnie's face turned red.

"Why did you say that?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"Well, one night I came out to get a drink while you were sleeping on the
couch and you said something like 'Kevin, why did you do that to me?'  So,
I just figured that was whom you'd had the fight with.  Now, after meeting
Kevin here, it all kind of fell into place."  Duck didn't seem to be
troubled by the fact, so I was wondering if maybe my first impression about
him had been correct after all.

"Vinnie, don't worry," Duck added, "I probably could consider myself bi,
because I've messed around with guys a couple of times too, but I'm very
happy with my girlfriend now, that's all."

I think Vinnie breathed a sigh of relief after Duck told him this, although
it might have added to Kevin's tinge of jealousy.  I think he realized
Vinnie and Duck never did anything, but the revelation still unsettled him
a bit.

"That's cool," Vinnie countered, "and thanks for being so understanding."
The two actually hugged afterward.

"I guess you already realize that Kevin is more than just my brother,"
Vinnie continued.  "He and I have been boyfriends for a while, but there
was a little problem…"

"Yeah, I guessed that," Duck said, playfully.

"And thank you for taking care of him for me," Kevin told Duck.  "I felt
bad enough that I hurt him, but I don't know if I could have lived with
myself if anything bad had happened to him."

"No, problem, dude," Duck replied.  "I just understood what Vinnie was
going through."

"Duck," I interrupted.  "Another reason I insisted we come here was so I
could reimburse you the money you spent on Vinnie and reward you for
helping us find him.  I think you noticed our missing posters had a reward
amount listed on them."

"I did, but I don't want any reward money," he quickly countered.

"But I insist," I informed him, while reaching into my pocket and
withdrawing the cash.  I then handed him fifteen $100 bills.  Ducks eyes
popped out of his head as I spread them apart, so he could see how many
there were.

"Whoa, I can't accept all of this," Duck said after counting them.

"You can and you will," I insisted, while pushing the money into his hand.

"But the reward only said $1,000, and I already thought that was way too
much," he admitted.  Duck looked uncomfortable about keeping what I just
gave him.

"Yes, the reward was $1,000, but the other $500 is for the money you spent
on Vinnie for food and such, and then a little extra to pay for his room,
so to speak."

"I can't take this much," he insisted again, but I wouldn't hear otherwise.

"You will and we're taking you out to dinner tonight too," I added.  "So, I
hope you don't have any plans."

"I don't," he stated, "but you've already done way too much."

"And so did you," I challenged, "but that didn't stop you either.  So,
seeing none of us knows this area very well, we want you to help us choose
the restaurant.  The finest you have around here, so don't try to fool me
with something less.  Let's look up the number, so I can make a
reservation, and I don't want to hear any objections to the contrary."

Now that Duck realized I wasn't one to be argued with, once I'd made up my
mind, he just sighed and did as I asked.  However, we still had some time
to kill, before any of us were ready to eat.

Sitting around and talking some more, we got to know each other better.
When it got closer to our reservation time, we started cleaning up and
getting changed for dinner.  Vinnie and Kevin went down to get our bags, so
we could put on something more appropriate.  Once we were dressed and ready
to go, we went out and got into the van.  The boys let Duck take the front
passenger seat, while they crawled into the back.

Another reason they had allowed Duck to take the front seat, besides being
polite, was so he could give me directions to the restaurant.  Even though
Vinnie had stayed here for a while, he didn't get out much, so he was just
as unsure about how to get around as Kevin and I were.  Since none of us
knew our way, we needed Duck to serve as my navigator.  It didn't take long
for us to get to where he directed us, so I parked the van and we headed
for the front door.

The exterior of the restaurant was quite lovely and done in an interesting
and unique style, so I instinctively felt Duck had made a very fine
selection.  After entering, we announced our arrival and were ushered
directly to our table.  Looking around and checking out the furnishings and
clientele, it was obvious this was indeed one of the finer establishments
in the area.  Once we were shown to our table, we took our places, with
Duck sitting between Vinnie and I, while Kevin sat directly across from
him.  This meant Kevin was sitting between Vinnie and I as well

We had barely gotten comfortable in our chairs before the cocktail waitress
arrived to take our drink orders.  Duck and I ordered a mixed drink, while
Kevin and Vinnie requested sodas, and then I ordered a bottle of wine to go
with the meal.  Of course, Duck was asked for I.D., since he looked so
young, which he quickly produced.  The waitress nodded and went off to fill
our order.

I told the boys not to worry about prices and order whatever they wanted,
but Duck still looked a little uncomfortable about doing it.  After
convincing him I was serious, it didn't take us long to decide what we
wanted.  While we waited for our drinks to arrive and our orders to be
taken, I began a conversation with Duck.

"Duck, it was a really nice thing you did for Vinnie, but you were taking
an awfully big chance by allowing a total stranger to stay with you," I
informed him.  "There is no way you could have been sure what he was really
like, at least not until you'd gotten to know him.  He could have ended up
robbing you blind while you were at work or even done something worse, yet
you didn't let that stop you.  Why did you take such a big risk?"

Duck looked at me, and then at both boys, before swallowing hard and
responding.  "I did it because someone once helped me in a similar
situation," he admitted, but I could tell this discussion was making him
more than a little uncomfortable.  I decided it might be best if I ended
his discomfort quickly.

"Hey, I can see this isn't easy for you to talk about, so you don't need to
say any more," I suggested.  Duck gave me a look, as if he was studying me,
and then he looked at Kevin and Vinnie as well, to observe their
expressions.  He must have thought we all looked sincere and
non-judgmental, or possibly he just felt comfortable with us, but either
way, he disregarded my offer and continued with his story.

"It's not that, exactly," he informed us.  "It's just that only a couple of
people know about this and I didn't think I'd ever tell anyone else what
happened back then."  I could see this was going to take a lot out of him
just to share this information and I didn't want to spoil his dinner or
make him miserable.

"Duck, it's okay.  You don't need to tell us," I said soothingly, while
noticing both boys were sitting bug-eyed and staring at him.  I think he
was ready to begin at the moment, but he got another reprieve.  The
cocktail waitress returned with our drinks just then, so we all stopped and
took a sip.  Once she left, Duck looked at us and spoke.

"Okay, I guess it's time for me to do this now," he stated and then
swallowed hard.

"Duck, you really don't have to," I informed him again.

"No, I want to," he replied, quickly.  "I've kept it inside me for way too
long and think it will be good to finally get it out in the open.  I'm
tired of keeping this hidden.

"Are you sure?" I asked.  "You really don't have to do this for our
benefit."

"No, you guys are probably the only ones who might understand and not judge
me harshly because of it," he stated.  Duck was looking down at the table
when he said this, but then he lifted his head and looked directly at me.

When he did, I could read the sadness in his eyes, but also got the
impression he was hoping to shed the years of pain and anguish he had
suffered from keeping this secret.  However, I knew this could drain him
emotionally when he did so.  In an effort to make it a little easier for
him, I reached over and placed my hand over his, as it rested on the table.
My gesture caused him to give me a weak grin.

"You see," he began, feeling a little more confident now, "my dad and I
never really got along.  He was a very controlling person and saw himself
as king of his castle.  He could be very abusive, mostly mentally and
emotionally, but there were times when he could also be physically abusive.

"Most of the time he would just scream at my mother, sister and me, as he
repeatedly told us how dumb we were.  He also claimed we couldn't do
anything without him and were parasites that were sucking him dry.  We all
lived in constant fear of pissing him off and then having him unleash one
of his verbal or physical attacks against us.  Even though we did our best
to avoid that, it seemed to happen all the time, but it came to a head when
I was fifteen."

Duck began to tighten up now and his voice started to choke off the words
in his throat, so he stopped momentarily.  It was a good thing he did,
because our waiter showed up to take our orders at that moment, so we all
stopped and informed him what we wanted.  Once he left, I patted Duck's
hand, to let him know he was doing fine, and he gave me another weak smile,
before continuing his story.  He also lowered his voice, when he did so.

"Remember when I told you I'd messed around with some guys before?" he
asked, and we all nodded.  "Well, it was really only one, when I was a
freshman in high school.  You see, I was really interested in this one guy.
He was really cute and in most of my classes, so I saw him all the time.  I
really had it bad for him and one day I finally got up the nerve to invite
him over to my house, just to play some video games and things like that.
I thought by doing this I might also be able to find out if he was
interested in me.

"I only had the guts to do it because I knew my dad never got home until at
least 6:00 or later and my mom was going to be gone too.  She was going to
watch my sister's softball game out of town, so I figured this would be the
perfect opportunity.  I cornered him that morning, while we were leaving
one of the classes we had together.

"When I asked him, he seemed interested, but said he'd have to call home
and check first.  He said he'd do it at lunchtime, which meant I was
holding my breath the rest of the morning and praying he could get
permission to join me.  When lunch period finally began, he went to use the
phone before he even ate, and when he finished his call, he came back to
tell me it was cool and he could come over.  Needless to say, I was so
excited by this news that I was kind of out of it for the rest of the day.
I did manage to tell him I'd meet him out in front of the school after our
last class and then we went our separate ways."

Duck paused in telling his story, so he could wet his lips with another sip
of his drink.  He then swallowed a few extra times, in an effort to get the
lump in his throat to go down.  Eventually, he felt comfortable enough to
continue.

"Well, we went to my place and started playing video games.  We were having
a really great time and things were going really well, when I told him I
was hoping we could become really good friends.  He said he'd like that too
and then put his arm around my shoulder and gave me kind of a half hug.  I
don't know why I did it, but as he squeezed my shoulder and pulled me
toward him, I leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek.

When I did, he stopped hugging me and just sat there for a second.  He
didn't say anything, so I got really scared.  I was about to get up and run
from the room, because I figured he was going to attack me or start calling
me names or something, but he didn't.  Instead, he leaned into me and
kissed me on the lips.

It wasn't an open mouth kiss or anything like that, just a sweet little
kiss, like you might give your mother, and then he stopped and looked to
see how I was reacting.  We just sat like that for the longest time and did
nothing else."

I could tell by the change of expression on Duck's face that remembering
the moment was giving him a really good feeling.  At this point of the
story, we were interrupted when our waiter returned with our appetizers.
Once he had placed everything on the table and gone off again, Duck resumed
his tale.

"Well, after that kiss, we both started telling each other how we felt and
talked about many different things.  Then we began to think we might like
to try doing something, but we weren't sure what.  We were both new at
this, but eventually decided we'd get undressed and then masturbate each
other.

"We quickly stripped off all our clothes and were standing there, looking
at each other's bodies, admiring how beautiful they were.  We were just
about to reach out and touch the other's penis, when the door to my room
opened and my dad started saying he needed my help with something.

"I don't know why he came home early that day, but when he saw us both
standing there naked, he just went crazy.  He began screaming and swearing
at us, while we were rushing to put our clothes back on.  As I bent over to
grab my stuff, my dad backhanded me and knocked me on my butt.  Then he
began throwing things around the room and breaking all kinds of crap in the
process.

"The other boy had put some of his clothes on and then just reached out and
grabbed the rest, so he could run past my father and escape.  As the boy
raced from my room, my dad was so mad that he grabbed the side of my bed
and flipped it over.  I was totally frightened, so I rounded up the rest of
my clothes and bolted from the room too.  I don't know what he threw at me
when I went out the door, but it was hard and hit me right in the back.  It
hurt like hell.  Then, I heard him call me names, before he screamed I was
never to come back there again.  He highlighted that point by yelling I was
a total disgrace and no longer his son."

Duck was choking up again and I could see the moisture building in his
eyes.  There was not enough water to form tears yet, but enough to create a
film over his corneas.  My heart was aching for him, as I imagined the
enormous amount of pain he endured, both then and now, but there was
nothing any of us could do for him.  Finally, he realized we were waiting,
so he went back to telling his story.

"Once I was outside, I caught up to my friend and apologized for what had
happened, but he wasn't in the forgiving mood just then.  I told him I was
running away, because I couldn't take any more abuse from my old man, and
that's when he began to soften a little.  He told me I could stay with him
for the night, if I wanted, so I took him up on his offer.  My father
didn't know who he was or where he lived, so I felt it would be safe for me
to go there.

"When we got to his place, he asked his mother if I could stay for dinner
and then spend the night, and she agreed, but not eagerly.  Seeing it was a
school night, she was a little skeptical about me staying there, but I told
her my mom and dad went out of town to attend something with my sister and
they wouldn't be back until really late.

"I said I'd left them a note to let them know I might be staying at a
friend's house, so they wouldn't worry.  I also told her if she didn't want
me to stay, I would go back home, throw the note away and just stay alone
until they returned.  However, his mother didn't seem to like that idea
either, so she finally gave in and I got to spend the night."

"Well, after everyone else went to sleep later, we talked about what had
happened earlier.  My friend told me how badly it had shaken him up and
said he didn't think his parents would have reacted anywhere near that
violently.  He figured they might have sat him down to 'talk' about it, but
doubted they would have done much more than that.

"Encouraged by his response, and still wanting to do something with him, I
finally asked if he wanted to try it now.  I could tell by looking at him
that he wasn't too sure about it at first, but eventually he gave in.
After all that, we finally got a chance to jack each other off.

"It was really great and we both enjoyed it, but later I realized it was
mostly just experimentation for each of us.  I hadn't yet determined I was
bi, but I did know I wanted to date girls too.  The other boy might have
thought he was bi when we started, but I think my father scared him into
just being straight from then on.  I don't think he ever did anything with
another boy after that night.

"I went back to see him again, a few years later, after I turned eighteen.
I just wanted to thank him for being so kind to me and apologize again for
what my father had done.  That's when I found out he had a steady
girlfriend and didn't even want to talk about what we'd done, but maybe I
should just get back to the point of my story.

"Anyway, I knew I couldn't stay at his house for more than just that one
night, so the next morning, after we got ready for school, we went our
separate way.  I told him I had to run home first to pick up my schoolbooks
and he believed me, so I went off on my own.  It wasn't really what I was
going to do, but I didn't know what else to tell him.  Instead, I just
wandered around the streets for a while, until I felt certain no one would
be at my place.  Then, I went back to get my clothes and stuff, because I
knew I had to run away.  I had no other choice, but I needed to get as many
of my things as I could first.

"I was able to slip into the house and get what I needed without being
discovered, but what I found wasn't pretty.  My dad had totally trashed my
room, so it was difficult to find what I was looking for.  That's when it
began to really sink in that I was now homeless, but it still didn't make
any sense.

"Sure, that boy and I had planned to mess around a bit, but as it turned
out, I wasn't gay, as my father suspected.  Even though I was bi, I was
still more attracted to girls, yet he went crazy and thought the worst of
me.  My relationship with my father ended that day over nothing, but there
isn't anything I can do about it now."

Duck had a sad, yet thoughtful expression on his face, and I wondered if
maybe he was contemplating trying to get back in touch with his family.  I
wouldn't try to influence such a personal decision on his part, but I was
actually hoping he might consider it.  Who knows, maybe his father has
mellowed or now realizes his mistake and how much he lost by his outburst.
However, my thoughts were interrupted when Duck began to speak again.


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