Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:28:20 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 8, chapters 25 - 26

The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 8 - by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 25 -- Sprinting Toward the Finish Line.

Thursday afternoon I picked up the Yukon and drove it over to get Jesse,
however, he didn't recognize me when I drove in.  As I got out of the Yukon
and walked toward him, he grinned and then looked at the SUV.  I could
immediately tell he approved.  He was very excited as he climbed in beside
me and then spent the whole trip between the elementary and middle schools
checking it out.

Andrew had a similar problem of not noticing us drive in, so I sent Jesse
to get him.  I watched as a grinning Jesse walked up to Andrew and
momentarily startled him.  Andrew obviously wasn't looking for Jesse,
because he hadn't seen the van pull in.  I saw Jesse point toward the
Yukon, to advise Andrew as to how he arrived, and then they made their way
toward me.

Andrew had a lot of questions to ask about the Yukon and where I got it,
before he spent the rest of his time looking it over.  He and Jesse sat in
the middle seat, where they could investigate more easily, so I didn't
interfere with their visual exploration.  The only noise that could be
heard on the way home was the hum of the engine, but there was a great deal
of movement, as Jesse and Andrew pointed out various features to each
other.

Of course, once the high school boys arrived home and saw the Yukon in the
driveway, they wanted to know what was up.  After explaining to them that I
had traded in the van for it, they raced back outside to check it out for
themselves.  However, I wouldn't let any of them take it out for a test
drive, even though several of them were pestering me to do so.  They
weren't happy about my decision and even asked if they could use the Yukon
to go to school the next day, by suggesting I could drop Andrew and Jesse
using one of the other vehicles.  I declined their offer, which displeased
them even more, but I would let each of them have his turn driving it in
time.

Friday seemed to fly by and that night I made sure everyone got his things
together, so we could go visit Dustin the following day.  In the middle of
all this preparation, I received a phone call.

"Hello," I answered, after picking up the receiver.

"Hi, Dad," the voice on the other end responded.

"Frankie, it's so great to hear from you," I told him.  "To what do I owe
this honor?"  I heard him try to stifle a little laugh.

"You make it sound like I never call you," he protested, "but I do when I
can.  I even had to get special permission to call home this time, because
it was kind of an emergency.  We found out a couple of weeks ago that our
graduation ceremony from basic training will be on Friday, May 14th, but I
forgot to tell you.  I really meant to the last time I called, but I had so
much else to discuss with you that it just kind of slipped my mind.  I
really do feel bad about not letting you know this sooner, so if you can't
come, I'll understand," he added, as his effort to take me off of the hook.

"Not come?" I shot back.  "I'd never hear of doing such a thing.  I will be
there, but I'm not sure whom else I might allow to join me.  What time will
the ceremony be held and where?"

"It will be held in one of the theaters on base at 10 a.m.," Frankie
informed me.  "Are you sure you're really going to be able to come?  I
mean... you don't really have much time to make plans."

"Frankie, I'll work things out, so don't worry about it," I assured him.
"I'll call tomorrow and start making arrangements and I'll see you on your
graduation day.  Do you think you'll be able to spend any time with us that
afternoon or over the weekend?"

"Oh, yeah," Frankie answered.  "We won't be starting A.I.T. (advanced
individual training) until Monday, so we'll be free immediately after the
ceremony.  We're not moving into our new barracks until sometime Sunday
afternoon, so I'll be free until then, unless they have a bed check each
night."

"Well, I'm glad to hear we'll get to spend some time together, even if
there might be some limits to it," I replied.  "However, we'll have to
leave around noon on Sunday, so we'll be able to get back here in time for
school on Monday.  That's one of the reasons I'm not sure which boys, if
any, will be coming with me.  We'll have to leave after school on Thursday,
to get there on time and not risk missing the ceremony, so they'd have to
be absent from school on Friday."

"I understand, and none of you have to feel you've got to come," Frankie
told me.

"I know, but I wouldn't miss this for the world.  I'm sure some of your
brothers, if not all, would like to be there for you too, so we'll see what
happens.  The only thing stopping me from bringing all of them is that your
graduation is very close to their finals, and I'm not sure they can afford
to miss any time now.  There will be research papers and projects that will
be coming due and they'll be in the middle of their review classes.

"To be absolutely honest with you," I continued, "I'm not sure who wouldn't
suffer by taking the extra time away, even if it's only a single day.  You
have to remember, Cole, Trey, Nick and Vinnie are all seniors and can't
afford to slip now, and Dion and Graham are juniors, and the grades they
get for these classes will affect which colleges might be willing to accept
them.  I'm not saying they can't come, but I'll have to think this through.
I promise that I, and possibly some others, will be there."

"I know you will, Dad, and thanks," Frankie added.  That basically ended
our phone call, but now I had some more planning to do.

Saturday morning I got everyone up early, so we could set off to spend time
with Dustin.  The trip took just under three hours, so we arrived before
noon.  It was kind of unusual that we could all fit into one vehicle, but
it was kind of nice too.  Jake rode in front beside me, while Cole, Graham,
Trey, Dion, Vinnie, Nick, Sammy, Andrew, and Jesse all rode in the back two
seats.  It was a little cramped, but the boys didn't seem to mind, because
they all wanted to ride in our newest vehicle.  They said we could always
use the Suburban too, once we got to Dustin's campus, if we need more
space.  It might work to our advantage that I'd let him take it back to
school with him the last time he was home.

When we got there, we stopped at Dustin's dorm to pick him up and then took
him out to lunch with us.  Dustin fell in love with the Yukon too and
claimed it was much nicer than the Suburban.  I suspected at least part of
the reason he felt this way was because the Suburban was a few years older
and each of the boys seem to think newer is better.  Everyone squeezed in
the back, and Dustin held Jesse on his lap, in an attempt to get to know
his newest brother better.  Jesse thought the attention was pretty special
and ate it up, while he also earned a deeper appreciation for this older
brother.

After lunch, we headed to the mall, to let Dustin pick out a couple of
things for his birthday.  We told him he'd get his big gifts when we held
his party, after he came home for the summer.  He was more than satisfied
with that and picked out an assortment of name-brand clothes, so he'd have
something new to wear for the final month of his academic year.  Once we
completed our jaunt through the mall, we dropped Dustin off at his dorm, so
he could change for dinner.

I then took the others to find a place where we'd spend the night.  I
figured we'd get our rooms now, since we also needed to clean up and
change, because we had dressed quite casually for the trip.  Once we'd all
had a chance to wash up and put on something more appropriate, we picked
Dustin up again and set off for the restaurant.

It was a nice place, although nothing too fancy.  Dustin said it was a
favorite place for students to bring their parents when they came to visit
and several of his friends had recommended it to him.  They told him it was
very nice and the food was excellent, which we soon verified, and we all
enjoyed a very special fare.

During the evening, Dustin chatted with all of the boys, but he spent a
greater share of his time with Jesse.  When he asked Jesse what he liked to
do best, Jesse pantomimed riding a bicycle.  Dustin understood his meaning
and tried to find out more, so Andrew took over and explained about their
almost daily adventures on the bikes.  Jesse was glowing as he listened to
Andrew fill Dustin in about their activities and it was obvious how much
these outings meant to him.

The cutest thing happened when Dustin asked Jesse whom he liked best,
because we all assumed he'd point toward Andrew.  However, after looking
around the entire table, he moved his arm around, until he had pointed
toward each of us, one at a time, including Dustin.  This made us all crack
a smile, before Dustin wrapped his arms around Jesse and gave him a big hug
of approval.  I think we all appreciated knowing Jesse loved and felt a
special connection to each of us.

After things settled down, we left the restaurant and I took everyone out
to see a movie.  Prior to going, we all agreed to let Dustin select what we
would see and he seemed pleased by this simple gesture.  Going to a movie
was never an easy process for us and it was a rare occurrence that a single
boy had total say in the matter, so Dustin enjoyed this treat.  When the
movie ended, we went out for some ice cream, before I told them it was time
to head back to our rooms for the evening.

Dustin asked if I'd take him by his dorm so he could pick up a few things,
because he wanted to spend the night with us.  I told him it would be
pretty crowded, which prompted him to ask which of us were sharing rooms
together.  I advised him that Dion, Trey, Nick and Vinnie had asked to be
in one room, while Cole, Graham, Little Ricky and Sammy requested another.
I then went on to tell him that Jesse, Andrew, Jake and I were in the last
room.

After hearing this, Dustin explained he was willing to ask permission from
the guys in the room in which he wanted to stay, if it was all right with
me.  When I agreed to his request, he whispered to Jesse and Andrew.

"Do you mind if I share a bed with you?"  Both boys seemed excited by this
idea and quickly agreed to let him do this.  Once he had their approval,
Dustin turned to Jake and I.

"How about it?  Do you mind if I share your room and bunk in with the
boys?" he asked.

Of course, we had no problem with this, so we took Dustin to pick up a few
items, before we returned to our rooms.  The five of us did stay up a
little longer, so we could talk and watch some television before turning
in, but I got the biggest kick out of watching Dustin with the two boys.
When we decided to watch television, Dustin sat on their bed, with his back
propped up against the headboard.  Before long, he had a boy tucked under
each arm and cuddled up tightly against him.  Jake and I did the same on
our bed, but we spent more time watching them, than what was on the tube,
because it was more entertaining.  It was a picture of pure contentment.

When we did finally decide to go to sleep, the boys informed Dustin that he
had to sleep in the middle, so they could both be close to him.  This
didn't bother Dustin in the least.  In fact, I think he had hoped it would
turn out that way.  The boys were happy, Dustin was satisfied and Jake and
I were pleased to see them getting so close.  Of course, Andrew and Dustin
had some contact before, but never quite on this level.

I know Andrew always admired Dustin and Dustin thought the world of Andrew,
but I think Dustin felt Andrew had Sammy, Graham and Cole to rely on, so he
didn't push to get close to him when Andrew was younger.  I do remember
Dustin was there for Andrew after the incident in Houston, where Andrew was
nearly molested, and he went out of his way to make sure Andrew didn't have
any ill effects from that traumatic event.  However, after Andrew had dealt
with the lingering effects of that day, they had drifted apart, but now he
was back.

I think Dustin was a bit remorseful about not having spent more time with
Andrew and this probably affected how he was dealing with Jesse.  After
hearing about Jesse's past, I'm sure Dustin just wanted to make certain
Jesse felt loved, rather than abandoned.  He made it his personal goal to
show Jesse that he had many family members who would always be there when
needed, especially him.  This just made me even prouder of this special
son.

The next morning we got up, dressed and went to church, after which we all
went out for brunch.  The boys ate well, and then we went back to collect
our things and check out, before taking Dustin back to his dorm.  Jesse and
Andrew gave him a special good-bye, as each hugged and kissed him
affectionately on the cheek, before everyone else made sure to bid him a
fond farewell too.  After Jake and I said good- bye to Dustin, we loaded up
the Yukon and set off for home.

The trip went by quickly and we were home well before dinnertime.  After
unloading our things, the high school boys announced they had posters to
finish, so they went off to work on them.  These posters were to announce
the date and time for the organizational meeting of the gay-straight
alliance and they wanted to finish them, so they could hang them around
school tomorrow.  They hoped to get the alliance started before the school
year came to an end, which would happen in about a month. They thought it
would be best to have the officers elected and everything ready to go when
school started again in the fall.  I told them their intentions were
admirable and looked forward to seeing what they had planned.  After they
left to do their thing, I set about getting some of my own chores done.

A few minutes later, Andrew and Jesse came up to me and asked if they could
go for a bike ride, but this time they insisted I go with them.  I told
them I had to prepare dinner first, but Jake jumped into the discussion at
that point and quickly took away my excuse, by volunteering to fix dinner
for me.  His offer put me on the spot and left me with no reason to deny
their request.

I knew it would look bad if I tried to think of another excuse for why I
couldn't go with them, so I agreed to join them this time, which thrilled
both.  We all had to change first, to get into something more comfortable
for this type of activity, and then we went out to get the bikes.  I'm not
sure whose bicycle I used, but the seat seemed awfully small and hard.  I
felt as if I were sitting on top of a picket fence.  Unless my memory is
playing tricks on me again, I think the bikes I used to ride had more
comfortable seats than this.

Anyway, the boys took me along one of the routes they liked to follow and I
must admit it was a very beautiful ride.  As we journeyed out even farther
into the country, we passed scores of trees, hundreds of wild flowers,
multiple pastures and fields and at one point we even pedaled along the
upper bank of a ravine.  Although there was a considerable drop off, it
wasn't really dangerous, because there were guardrails along the roadway.
That barrier was installed to prevent someone from hurtling down the
embankment and into the creek at the bottom.  Although the incline was
fairly steep, possibly around a sixty or seventy degree angle, it was not a
sheer drop to the bottom.  I did warn the boys to be careful along this
stretch, when they took this route in the future and they agreed they
would.

Eventually, we went as far as the boys planned to go, so we did a u-turn
and came back along the opposite side of the roadway, until we reached
home.  The boys were elated I had gone out with them and each one hugged
and kissed me in appreciation, after we put away our bikes.  Right away,
Jesse began indicating he wanted me to go with them again sometime and I
readily agreed.  The fact was, I found the ride lovely and stimulating,
even though my butt was disagreeing.  I was also sure the exercise was good
for me too.  I only had one small change to suggest before we did this
again.  Next time, I wanted to make sure Jake went with us.  Not only did I
want to include him in on this bonding experience, but I also thought he
could benefit from the exercise too.

The rest of the night we just took it easy.  The older boys wanted to show
me the posters they had made for the gay-straight alliance and I was
excited to see what they'd done.  Upon first glance, I found their work to
be very creative.  They had utilized a wide range of pictures of guys and
girls they had cut out of magazines, to attract as many of their fellow
students as they could.  I was impressed with what I saw, so I was certain
their organizational meeting would go well and they'd have the alliance up
and running by fall.

The following morning, those four high school boys were extremely excited
about getting to school, so they could put their posters up.  This
eagerness was out of character for them, since very few of my boys were
morning people or had this much energy after waking up.  Most mornings I
would have to keep pushing and prodding to keep them going, so they
wouldn't be late for school.  In contrast, this was a nice change of pace
and I wished they would have something like this to excite them more often.

When they finally arrived at school, each one set off in a different
direction.  They had already agreed where to put their posters and would
hang them in areas they deemed as key locations.  These were places where
the traffic flow was the greatest or areas were students spent the largest
percentage of their free time.  They had identified these locations
beforehand, during one of their many planning sessions, and had designed
each poster specifically for the types of students whom would normally be
found there.  Although each poster announced when the initial
organizational meeting would be held, they did so in a way that would most
likely attract the types of students who would be seeing that particular
poster.  By hanging them up now, it would also give everyone enough time in
between to be able to make plans to attend the meeting.

Even though the boys had a very narrow focus on what they had to
accomplish, since they were only worried about organizing the alliance,
this was just the beginning of three very maddening weeks for me.  First of
all, besides conducting the normal, and hectic, end of the year activities,
I also had to make plans to leave Thursday afternoon, to attend Frankie's
graduation from basic training.

The following week would be just as crazy for me with other school related
issues, but on top of that, the college boys would be returning home as
well.  In addition to those things, I was also supposed to go out to the
farms that weekend to see how things were going there.  If that weren't
enough, it was the same weekend I had planned to hold Dustin and Danny's
birthday party.  The extended family was going to come by on Sunday, since
Dustin had agreed it would be best to hold one party for both of them.

Since Danny was turning twenty-one this year, I was going to do the same
thing for him as I'd done for Dustin.  I was having my lawyer set it up so
Danny would have complete control over the account I had established for
him.  I knew Danny wanted to become a pediatrician, so I expected he would
use the money to help pay for his medical degree, but now it would be his
choice as to how it was used.  He was a very responsible young man, so I
had no concerns about him squandering it, but I felt this would help him
feel like the adult he had become.

The weekend after that would be the high school graduation, so not only did
I have to perform my duties as Superintendent of Schools, I also had to
fulfill my role as father of several members of the graduating class.  If
that weren't mind-boggling enough, interspersed throughout the times in
between, there would be additional meetings, awards dinners and other
activities I would be involved in and required to attend, as well as my
usual responsibilities at home.  It would truly be a very trying time.

To alleviate some of my burden for the month, I asked the high school boys
to pick up Andrew and Jesse from school each day, because I wouldn't be
able to leave work at the usual time.  I would be staying later than normal
and didn't want the younger boys to have to hang around their schools
waiting for me.  My drivers agreed to do as I requested, but only after I
threatened to take away their driving privileges unless they did.  They
opposed this at first, because they thought it meant they would be stuck
watching their brothers until I got home, but I assured them that would not
be the case.  .  Once we had that settled, I told Andrew and Jesse that I
was going to trust them to be on their own, so the older boys wouldn't have
to watch them.  This way, their brothers could still do the things they had
planned.  Immediately, Andrew wanted to know if he and Jesse could continue
going out on their daily bike rides after they got home, which prompted me
to address a few concerns with them.  After we discussed in detail what
would and wouldn't be allowed, both boys agreed to my demands.  They
promised to be very careful and be home by dinnertime, so I gave them my
permission to continue their outings.



The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 8 - by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 26 -- You're in the Army Now.

The previous week had been so busy it seemed to fly by, so before I knew
it, Thursday had arrived.  I would be leaving for Missouri later in the day
and was actually excited about seeing Frankie again.  One of the things I
was looking forward to was discovering what he would look like in his
uniform.  Maybe it is childish on my part, but I find it's true that there
is something fascinating about guys in uniform.  Not that I had a crush on
Frankie or anything like that, but there was something sensual and alluring
about seeing a military man in his dress uniform.

Jake wasn't going to be able to go with me, because he couldn't get the
time off from work, and the older boys were also staying home, because this
was the crunch time of year for them.  I thought it best they concentrate
on their schoolwork and finals.  I had agreed to let Andrew and Jesse go
with me, because I didn't want to tie the others down with keeping an eye
on them.  This meant Jake would have to keep the high school boys under
control, so they didn't try to take advantage of my being away.

After lunch, I picked both boys up from their respective schools and we
were on our way to the airport.  I had driven the Grand Am today for a
couple of reasons.  First, we didn't need a big vehicle to make this trip
and, second, I thought it best to leave the larger vehicles at home for
family use.  We had packed everything in the trunk the night before, so we
didn't have to return home before we left.  The trip to the airport was
smooth and uneventful and we arrived in plenty of time for our flight.  I
wanted the boys to grab a quick bite to eat while we were waiting, because
I doubted we'd be offered anything on the plane.  With that in mind, I took
them to a restaurant at the airport and we all managed to down a burger,
fries and soda before we boarded.  I felt that should hold us until we
landed.

This was Jesse's first flight and he was very excited about it.  Andrew was
an old pro on jets, so he spent a larger portion of his time explaining to
Jesse what flying would be like and what he should expect.  Jesse signaled
me that he wanted to sit by the window, so he could see what was going on
outside the plane.  Neither Andrew nor I had any problems with this and
Jesse was thrilled when I told him we would honor his request.

When we were allowed to board the jet, I kept an eye on Jesse, mostly to
catch his reactions.  As we passed through the cabin door, his eyes bulged
from their sockets when he saw how large the interior of the plane actually
was.  After containing his awe, I directed Jesse to the window seat and we
were all anxious to get underway.  Our seats were slightly behind the left
wing, so once we were in the air, he would have a fairly decent view of the
ground below.

When the plane started to move, Jesse pressed his nose against the small
portal and watched the ground go by.  When the plane began to rise into the
air, he momentarily looked away from the window and over at me, and I
wasn't surprised to notice his eyes nearly popping from their proper place.
He pointed at the window and I merely nodded in response, to let him know I
understood his fascination, so he went back to peering through that
transparent covering again.

Jesse became even more intrigued as we climbed higher and continued to get
either Andrew's or my attention, so he could share his moments of wonder.
He spent much of the flight focused on the world below and once we leveled
off, he signaled Andrew and I about the size of the various things we were
passing over.  He would hold his finger and thumb barely apart to show us
how small everything looked.  When he wanted to explain how the mighty
rivers appeared to him, he removed one of his shoelaces and carefully
arranged it on the flight tray.

The trip lasted a couple of hours and then we touched down in St. Louis.
After making our way to the baggage carousels, we collected our luggage and
went to pick up the rental vehicle I had reserved.  I would now have to
drive from St. Louis to Fort Leonard Wood, which would take a couple of
hours.  I was driving along I-44 and about halfway to our destination, I
stopped so we could eat.  It was getting late and it had been a while since
we last had anything, so the boys and I were all getting hungry again.
After filling our tummies and making sure we relieved ourselves, we began
the final leg of our journey.

It was quite late by the time we got to our motel, so we went directly to
the front desk to check in.  Once I was given directions to our room, we
retrieved our luggage and went to settle in.  We turned on the television
briefly, while we got comfortable, but I knew we wouldn't be staying up
much later.  After a half-hour or so of channel surfing, I turned the
television off and tucked the boys into bed.  I kissed them good night on
their foreheads, and then went to the bathroom to clean up.  I hopped into
bed a short time later, as exhaustion began to overcome me as well.

The next morning, I was up early and finished dressing before I woke the
boys.  After getting them bathed and clothed, we went out for breakfast,
before heading to the base.  After checking in at the gate, I asked
permission to drive around, so we could see some more of the area.  The
M.P. retrieved a map and used a highlighter to trace the battalion location
and other spots we would be allowed to visit.  I knew better than to ignore
his instructions, since he warned me access would be limited due to
terrorist activities, so we kept to the designated areas.

The base was obviously quite large, but it was also very nicely kept.  The
barracks for basic training almost resembled college dorms, at least on the
exterior, and there were several movie theaters spread across the base.
There were also other places for the trainees to hang out, which included
the PX.  That is short for Post Exchange.  Actually, it's just a large
store that sells nearly everything.

As it approached the time for the ceremony to begin, we drove over to Baker
Theatre and parked the car.  After entering the auditorium, we found
multiple military personnel who were there to direct us to our seats.  All
the visitor's seats were located in the sections on either side of the
theater, so we got comfortable and waited patiently for the ceremony to
begin.

It was another twenty minutes before things actually got underway and it
began with a small military band playing some very rousing renditions of
Souza marches and other patriotic favorites.  While the music was being
played, the graduates marched in, looking splendid in their dress uniforms.
They maneuvered down the rows of the center section, until they were in
front of their designated seat, and then they faced forward and continued
to stand at attention.  They stayed that way through the playing of the
National Anthem and invocation, and then the Senior Drill Instructor gave
them the command to sit down.  It was impressive as we watched them all
lower themselves downward in unison.

Once the trainees were in position and the noise from the spectators had
died down, the Battalion Commander gave a brief greeting to everyone in
attendance.  After he finished his comments, he introduced the keynote
speaker, the Post Commander.  He was a one-star general and a very
dignified looking man.  Carefully, he placed his notes on the podium in
front of him.

It was a fairly typical address, about duty, honor and what lay ahead for
these new soldiers, and thankfully it was also quite brief.  After the
general's comments were concluded, the awards were given out.  An
N.C.O. (non-commissioned officer) read off the name and rank of each
trainee, followed by any award or awards he had earned.  That person then
walked across the stage, accepted his 'diploma,' followed by a handshake.
After that, he was given any medals, ribbons or plaques he was due.

I was more than pleased when Frankie's name was called, because it was
announced that he was receiving multiple honors.  Not only had he earned
the highest score on the end of cycle PT (physical training) test, but he
also qualified for his marksman's badge, which is the highest qualification
for weapons, and had the third best individual score in his company doing
this.  He also earned a promotion, going from PVT Currie (private E-1, with
no stripe) to PVT Currie (private E-2, with a single stripe), which was
temporarily pinned on his sleeve.  I was very proud of him, because only a
handful of the graduating class had done as well, or better than Frankie,
which earned them their promotions.

Once all the graduation awards had been handed out, various cadre members
were presented citations for achievement as well, before one final award
was presented.  It was announced that Bravo Company, Frankie's basic
training unit, won a trophy for setting some kind of record for their end
of cycle training.  The company commander accepted the trophy on behalf of
everyone and held it in the air, which elicited some sort of practiced
cheer from those under him.  The rhythmic chant must have lasted for thirty
or forty seconds, but it was quite entertaining -- and loud.

Once the ceremony was over, the graduates marched out of the auditorium, as
they responded to an echoing cadence call offered by one of their drill
sergeants, who stood just in front of the stage.  Row by row they exited
the building, only to reform again outside.  They stood in formation until
all of their friends and relatives were able to form in a horseshoe in
front of them.  At that point, they did another cadence chant, but this one
was done to the tune, 'We Will Rock You' by Queen.  They'd changed the
lyrics to reflect the uniqueness of Bravo Company and it was quite amusing
and well done.

At that point, the Senior Drill Instructor made another announcement.  "You
men are free until twenty-one hundred hours, at which time you are to
report back to your barracks."

After saying this, he turned around to address the crowd.  "For you
civilians that is nine, zero, zero p.m."

Those of us who had been in the military just chuckled at his comment, but
I'm sure some of the others appreciated the clarification.  Having shared
this information, the company was dismissed and after Frankie wound his way
through the mass of bodies, he came up to us.  I reached out my hand to
congratulate him, because I felt that wouldn't ruin his macho image, but he
ignored my hand and wrapped me up in a mighty hug.

"Hi, Dad," he greeted me.  "I'm so glad you made it," he added, with a huge
grin, which split his face from ear-to-ear.  Once he broke his hold on me,
he looked down at Andrew and scooped him up, so he could give his little
brother an equally energetic embrace.  While he was holding Andrew, he
glanced down and noticed Jesse, and a confused expression crossed his face.

"Is this Jesse?" he asked, since he'd never seen our newest addition.  I
had only told him about Jesse in a letter and during our brief
conversations on the phone, so I was eager to introduce them.

"Yes, it is.  Jesse, this is another of your older brothers, Frankie or
Frank."  Without hesitating, Frankie scooped Jesse up in his other arm, and
stood holding both his little bothers.  They looked so cute that I just had
to ask them to hold that pose while I snapped a couple of pictures.  Before
long, Jesse had Frankie's dress cap on, which covered his head to below his
nose.  It was hysterical to see that small boy in such a large hat, and
obviously others thought so too.  I saw several flashes, as the people
around us snapped his picture, while he was still held in Frankie's
muscular arms.

Before everyone went their own way, Frankie introduced me to a few of the
young men he'd made friends with during his training and Frankie's friend
from back home was there too.  They all seemed to be really nice guys and
Frankie took great pride in introducing his little brothers to them as
well.  Of course, this got some strange looks, once they saw the age and
ethnic differences between the boys.

Some of Frankie's friends also looked at me, as if they were wondering if I
wasn't too old to have such young children, but that didn't bother me.
Instead, Frankie had a good time telling the others how large our family
was and how we came together.  I'm not sure if the looks on their faces
were from disbelief, horror, admiration or a mixture of all three.  I also
wasn't sure if they thought me a hero, dupe, glutton for punishment or
merely concluded I was insane.

It took them a while before they found their tongues and began asking
questions.  I actually felt kind of uncomfortable during the interim, since
I didn't know for sure how they were going to react or if this might affect
Frankie's relationship with them.  I needn't have worried, however, as they
all seemed to accept us into their tight-knit little group.

Before we left to go out for lunch, I advised Frankie to explain to
everyone about Jesse's inability to speak.  He said he would, so I excused
myself and took the boys back inside to use the restroom.  It was merely an
excuse to prevent the younger ones from overhearing what was being
discussed, because I didn't want Jesse to be embarrassed or feel out of
place.  I was also afraid Andrew would take it wrong and jump to Jesse's
defense, thus possibly making enemies of Frankie's new friends.  By the
time we rejoined the others, everyone had been brought up to speed and was
aware of the situation.

Two of Frankie's friends, which included his friend from back home, had no
one come to the ceremony on their behalf.  One of the other guy's
girlfriend had attended and the last guy's parents had shown up.  They all
agreed we should go out to eat together, so it would give us time to chat
and get to know each other better.

I wasn't sure my two little ones would like this idea, seeing they'd be the
only ones under 18 in the group, however, I miscalculated.  They soon
became the center of attention and were doted upon by all of Frankie's
comrades, so the boys were truly in their glory.  I don't think Jesse had
ever had so much attention paid to him before, so he was eating it up and
even began to clown around for the older boys.  He used hand gestures and
made faces to get his point across, but everyone seemed to understand his
meaning.

After lunch, our new soldiers wanted to take us over to their dayroom and
show us around.  Once we got there, they played ping-pong and shot pool
with Andrew and Jesse, while I chatted with the other parents.  We also
spent some of our time listening to one of the other recruits play the
piano.  He was really quite talented and played everything from Billy Joel
to Beethoven, with a few show tunes, jazz pieces, swing music and rock
numbers in between.  It was very enjoyable listening to him play and
sometimes the other guys would take breaks from their games to come over
and listen too.

Not only did his awesome talent fascinate all of us, but he also drew a lot
of attention from others who were wandering in and out of the building.  My
personal favorite was when he played Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata,' as it
is one of my all-time favorite piano pieces, but I also really enjoyed his
rendition of 'Piano Man' by Billy Joel too.

After we decided to leave the day room, Frankie wanted to show us around a
little more, so we started to say our good-byes to the others.  They didn't
want us to leave, so they made us promise we'd meet back at this location
at 6:00, so we could go out to dinner together.  It seemed everyone was
enjoying the time we'd been spending together and didn't want it to end
just yet, so they thought this would be the best way to keep the good times
going.  The guy with the girlfriend said they'd make reservations for us
and we were happy to let him have that task.  We then made a graceful exit
and went off on our own.

Frankie not only wanted to show us around his company area, but he also
wanted us to see a bit more of the post.  He even showed us where he'd be
during AIT (Advanced Individual Training), starting on Monday.  He was
excited about it and we could tell that by everything he said or did.  I
think Jesse was beginning to develop a case of hero worship with his older
brother and I couldn't blame him.  Frankie did look impressive in his
uniform and had a distinctive air of leadership about him.  I think that's
why the other guys were drawn to him as well, because of the quiet, take
charge attitude he had developed after he came back to live with us.

You see, shortly after Frankie was sent away, when he first came to stay
with us, it became quite obvious this unscheduled and traumatic separation
bothered us both greatly.  Therefore, when he came back, Frankie took it
upon himself to become the chief protector and defender of all his
brothers.  I guess it was his way of making up for his misbehavior during
the first go around.  He always felt bad about what he'd done, even though
Trey told him many times he was forgiven, but I'm not sure Frankie had ever
forgiven himself.  It was during this process that Frankie became the
strong and silent leader of the group and all the boys went to him,
whenever the going got tough.  This was the quiet, yet magnetic,
characteristic that caused everyone to admire him so greatly.

Going to dinner turned out to be another very enjoyable experience and it
began with a little surprise.  A couple of Frankie's friends had returned
with some army clothes for Andrew and Jesse to wear, and the pair was
thrilled with these gifts.  The guys must have run over to the PX and
bought these things for them, which was very thoughtful, but I'd quietly
see about reimbursing them later.  Andrew and Jesse wanted to wear them
immediately, so I took the to the men's room, so they could change.  When
they came back out, they strutted their stuff and paraded around as if they
were part of the graduating class.  It was very comical to watch.

Their new uniforms also got them special recognition from the hostess, once
we got to the restaurant.  She playfully 'thanked them for protecting our
country,' and the boys just giggled, snapped to attention and saluted her.
After she led us to our table, she brought the boys a soda in a wine glass,
with a little American flag stuck through the cherry she had placed in it.
Both boys thought that was really awesome, especially when they learned
their drinks were 'on the house,' not that they were paying for anything
anyway.

We had another nice meal and the conversation was quite stimulating.
Frankie and his friends told us stories about their time here, which
included some rather comical incidents that happened during their training.
The first such occurrence occurred on the rifle range.  It seemed one of
the other trainees, who apparently lacked basic coordination and focus at
times, accidentally fell into a foxhole and broke his leg.  No one was
laughing over the fact he had gotten hurt, but the boys said his accident
was understandable, since the foxholes were camouflaged.  Once they
explained this meant they were painted a bright yellow, it sent the rest of
us howling, as we pictured that young man walking into one of those pits.
We could all mentally see it happen, but that also made us wonder if he
might be a danger to himself or others, if he were ever put in a combat
situation.

Another funny story they told us was about an incident that concerned one
of their drill sergeants.  They said they were out doing their mile run one
morning and the drill instructor was running beside them.  At one point, he
suddenly turned around and started running backward, so he could see if
there were any laggards at the rear of the formation.  He had only taken
three or four steps in reverse when he stumbled over a rough patch of
ground.  Realizing he was going down, he tried desperately to catch his
balance, but failed miserably and landed on his back.  The jolt he got from
hitting the ground caused his hat to come off and it flew in the air,
before it landed in a ditch filled with muddy water.

No one dared to laugh, as he picked himself off the ground.  He then
retrieved his soggy headgear and placed it back on his head, but everyone
knew he would be in a foul mood for the rest of the day, or at least most
of it.  They said he also took a ribbing from the other drill instructors
when he got back, which didn't improve his disposition, but eventually he
began to see the humor in the incident too.  Slowly, he started to release
his anger and embarrassment and joked about his mishap with the others.

After dinner was over, we walked around for a brief time before our troops
had to report back to their barracks.  Frankie asked me if we wanted to go
to church in the morning and I told him that would be nice.  I knew he
would also expect such an outing to include a meal, especially since he'd
do almost anything to avoid army chow, but I explained we'd have to eat
before the service this time.  I told him we had to do this, because
Andrew, Jesse and I would have to rush to catch our flight, so there
wouldn't be time to eat afterward.  He said that would be fine and
suggested we could all go to the post chapel, if we didn't mind.  I said
that would be agreeable and then informed him what time we'd pick him up.

After driving back to our motel room, I had the boys take their showers and
I was surprised to see Jesse emerge from the bathroom without his towel
this time.  I wasn't sure if he was becoming more comfortable about his
body or whether he did it because there were only the three of us this
time.  There was also a chance he was so caught up in the excitement of the
weekend that he merely forgot what he was doing.  Whatever the case, he was
cute to watch.

After getting a good night's sleep, we drove to the barracks and picked
Frankie up.  After downing a quick breakfast, we attended the church
Frankie had been going to for the past eight weeks.  It was a standard
service, but we enjoyed being there together.  Once it was over, we took
Frankie back to his barracks and said our good- byes.  After a few hugs,
especially between Frankie and his little brothers, we were off.  We'd all
really enjoyed ourselves, but now I was anxious to get home and resume my
routine.