Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:00:51 -0500 (EST)
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Next Generation, chapter 20

The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - by BW
Copyright 2011 by billwstories
Chapter 20 -- Something To Be Thankful For.

Jake and I had prepared some of the food the night before,
after the boys went upstairs, and then we got up at 4:00
and put the turkeys in the ovens -- one in the oven in the
stove and the other in the built-in wall oven.  We had two
huge birds and hoped it would be enough to feed the mob
we were expecting.

Shortly after noon, the first of our extended family began
to arrive.  We wouldn't be eating until 2:00, but some of
them came early, to see if they could help out.  Jake and I
were happy to accept any offer of assistance we received
and everyone brought a dish to add to our feast.

I'm certain Elliot's head was spinning as Danny and
Brandon took him around and introduced him to
everyone.  He had seen many of them at his father's
funeral, but at the time nothing much was sinking in.
Now, Danny and Brandon spent a few minutes talking to
each individual, so Elliot could learn a little about them
before moving on to the next person.  Many of the
extended family took this opportunity to once again offer
their condolences about his father and express their
sympathies over what he'd been through, before
welcoming him to the family.  It was quite a lengthy
process and kept the three of them rather busy for quite
some time.

While Danny and his little family made their rounds, I
enlisted many of the other boys to put up the extra tables,
so there would be enough space to accommodate everyone
who had agreed to attend.  Once Elliot saw how many
places were set, he began to worry that we wouldn't have
enough food to feed everyone.  We all assured him there
would be plenty and we wouldn't run out of anything, but
he still looked dubious.  I guess that's to be expected,
especially for a first timer to one of our gatherings.

About a half hour before we were to sit down to eat, some
of the boys gathered back in the rec room.  I was too busy
with the meal to keep track of what was going on, so I
didn't learn about this until much later.  Let's just say
that Elliot was already beginning to become acquainted
with some of his uncles.

"Elliot, I've got something for you," Ricky told him.  "It's
part of a family tradition."

Elliot looked curious, as he went to see what was
contained in the bag Ricky was holding.  Cautiously, he
watched as Ricky brought out an object and held it in
front of him.

"This is our Pilgrim's Collar," Ricky announced, while
holding up a black leather dog collar with silver studs.
"All new family members have to wear it the first time
they celebrate Thanksgiving with us."

"You're kidding.  Right?" Elliot responded, after listening
to his uncle.

"No, this is a family tradition.  Isn't that right, guys?" he
asked, as he drew some of the others into his plan.

Unconvincingly, Cole, Graham, Little Ricky, Andrew and
Jesse each nodded his head.  Elliot still wasn't sure about
this, but he didn't have much time to think about it before
Ricky fastened the collar around his neck.  He didn't want
to get on anyone's bad side, especially since this was the
first time he'd met most of them.  Therefore, he went
along with it for now.

"There's one other part to this tradition," Ricky
continued, once the collar was fastened.  After we've said
grace and you've filled your dinner plate with what you
want to eat, you have to get up from the table, set your
plate on the floor and then eat your dinner on your hands
and knees, like a dog."

"I'm not doing that.  Now, I know you're joking," Elliot
objected, while looking toward the others for
confirmation.

"No, it's part of the tradition," Ricky insisted.

"Why would anyone have to do anything like that?" Elliot
protested.

"It's to teach you humility and give you something to be
thankful for when you celebrate Thanksgiving with us in
the future," Ricky explained.

"I don't buy it!" Elliot exclaimed.

"Jesse, tell him you had to do it too," Ricky stated, while
pulling Jesse deeper into his scheme.

"Um... yeah, I had to uh... do that too ah... the first
Thanksgiving I was um...  here," Jesse stammered.

Elliot still looked unconvinced.

"If you don't want to do it, that's fine," Ricky informed
him, "but then everyone will treat you differently and you
will never be a true member of our family."

After saying this, Ricky turned to leave, with the others
following his lead, but they didn't get very far.

"You're really serious about this then?" Elliot asked, as he
gradually began to believe what he was being told.

"Absolutely," Ricky confirmed.  "We've all had to do it,
but if you don't want to, that's up to you."

They all started to leave again, when Elliot stopped them a
second time.

"Okay.  I think it's stupid, but I'll do it," he agreed.  "I
really don't want to offend anyone, especially on
Thanksgiving."

Having received his acceptance, the boys all congratulated
Elliot for being such a good sport and told him he was
doing the right thing.  A few minutes later, they all came
out and took their places at the table, because they'd been
summoned for dinner.

As was typical on this day, we took turns telling what we
were thankful for this year.  Everyone had their own list of
things they wanted to mention, but Danny, Brandon, Jake
and I all added a statement saying that although we were
saddened that Elliot had endured so many horrible things,
we were thankful he had come to live with us.  We were
also grateful that he had decided to stay, even though he
had discovered he had relatives who wanted him to come
live with them.

As we made our way around the various tables, I noticed
something and thought it a bit odd.  Once the person who
was speaking finished his comments, I interrupted, before
the next person began to speak.

"Elliot, what is that you're wearing around your neck?" I
inquired.

"It's the Pilgrim's collar," he answered, looking a bit
apprehensive.

Since I had no idea what any of this meant, I decided to
pursue it further.

"Is this some sort of family tradition you are bringing with
you?" I followed.

After all, he had given it a seasonal sounding name.

"Um... I was told this was uh... one of your family tradition
and I um... had to wear it today," Elliot responded.

Suddenly, we all began to hear a few snickers filling the
air.

"Elliot, I think you've been had," I told him.

"Excuse me?" he said next.

"You've been fooled," I clarified.  "Someone is playing a
trick on you and I know precisely who that is.  Ricky,
would you explain this please."

"Hey!  Why do I always get accused of everything that
happens?" Ricky whined.

"Probably because you're usually involved," I replied.
"Elliot, who told you to do this?" I asked, to clarify the
situation.

"Um... he did," Elliot said, while pointing at Ricky.

I merely glared at my blond prankster.

"Hey, I didn't say I didn't do it," he pleaded.  "I just
wanted to know why I always get blamed."

"I think that's obvious." I answered.  "You get blamed,
because 99% of the time you are to blame."

"Oh, okay," he stated.  "I just wanted to see what you'd
say."

Everyone began to giggle.

"So I don't have to set my plate on the floor and eat my
food like a dog?" Elliot asked next.

Mrs. O'Hara bristled when she heard this, but fortunately
Brandon and her husband were seated on either side of her
and kept her from making a scene.  They knew I would
handle it.

"No, Elliot.  You do not have to do that," I informed him.
"but I think I might have Ricky do it instead."

Everyone's turned and looked at Ricky and began to
snicker.

"Elliot, I apologize for this," I continued.  "It seems you've
been hazed and initiated into the family by your wacky
uncle.  I guess we should have warned you to watch out for
the pranks, although I thought they might give you an
adjustment period before they started in on you."

Danny and Brandon got up and walked down to reassure
Elliot that this had been done in fun and he should take it
that way.  However, they each smacked Ricky in the back
of the head as they passed by.

'Hey!  Watch it!" Ricky complained.

I don't think anyone was feeling any sympathy for him
though.

Once Danny and Brandon had a chance to speak with
Elliot, he began to grin and even laugh.

"I thought it was a joke, but when the others agreed that I
should do it, I finally gave in," he said grinning.  "You can
make me look stupid all you want.  I'm just glad I came
here to live and you've all been so nice to me -- well,
everyone except Ricky," he said, good-naturedly.

After he made that comment, he stuck his tongue out at
his devilish uncle.  Now that this had been settled, we
finished going around to the rest of the tables and allowed
the others to say what they were thankful for.  Then I
announced it was time to get down to business.

The ladies were very helpful in assisting me with bringing
the food out and placing it on the tables, while Jake and
Steve carved up the two birds and stacked the meat on
platters.  The platters were then brought out and placed
on the tables too.  Then we said grace and began to pass
around the food.

There was more than enough to go around and no one
went hungry, as Elliot had feared.  Once we finished
eating, I pulled Elliot aside for a private chat, while some
of the others were helping to clear off the tables.  Once
Elliot agreed to my proposal, I made an announcement.

"Would everyone please go to the family room for a few
minutes," I urged.  "I know it's going to be a little
crowded, but there's something I'd like to share with you
in there."

They did as I asked and I took Elliot with me.  We stood by
the piano and waited for the others to settle down.

"Since this is the first time most of you have met Elliot," I
began, "I have talked him into sharing one of his talents
with you.  I believe you'll all be pleasantly surprised by it."

Having said that, I encouraged Elliot to sit down at the
keyboard and begin playing.  He played a classical piece
first, and then selected a Christmas carol, in order to set
the mood for our next big holiday.

Once he'd finished playing the Christmas carol, he began
another song.  A few chords into it, Dion asked him to
stop and start over.  When he did, Dion joined Elliot at the
piano and sang the lyrics for us.


Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee
All through the night
Guardian angels God will send thee
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping
I my loving vigil keeping
All through the night

While the moon her watch is keeping
All through the night
Will the weary world is sleeping
All through the night
O'er thy spirit gently stealing
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling
All through the night

Though I roam a minstrel lonely
All through the night
My true harp shall praise sing only
All through the night
Love's young dreams, alas, is over
Yet my strains of love shall hover
Near the presence of my lover
All through the night

Hark a solemn bell is ringing
Clear through the night
Thou, my love, art heavenward winging
Home through the night
Earthly dust from off thee shaken
Soul immortal shalt thou awaken
With they last dim journey taken
Home through the night.


I think they made a great team and I'm certain the others
agreed with that assessment, judging by the delightful
expressions on everyone's face.  Once he finished playing,
Elliot was congratulated by nearly all of the others and I
could tell that he now felt as though he was accepted as
an equal member of this wonderful group.

Slowly, the others began to make their way out of the
room and they then went off in several different
directions.  Before Elliot disappeared though, I had one
more thing to say to him.

"Elliot, if you're going out there, watch out for those guys
and don't let them pull any other tricks on you," I advised
him.

Elliot merely smiled and nodded his head, before
disappearing with Jesse.

Some of the older crowd stayed in the family room, where
we sat and talked.  Just after I finished speaking to one of
our guests, Kevin came up to me and asked if we could go
somewhere to talk.  I was surprised by this request and
couldn't imagine what he wanted, but I agreed.  We ended
up going to my bedroom, which was one of the few places
currently unoccupied.

"What's up?" I asked him, once we were alone.

"Dad, I know you aren't going to be happy when you hear
this and it's why I waited until after we had finished
dinner."

I looked at Kevin confused.

"Vinnie and I have found a first floor apartment and we
can start moving in December 1st," he explained.  "It's
nearly halfway between where Vinnie and I work, but I will
have a slightly longer drive than he does.  That's fine and
doesn't bother me, since I was worried about Vinnie
making the drive every day, especially in the winter."

"Well, I knew this day was coming," I confessed.
"Although I'm sorry we'll be losing you, I'm not upset.  A
parent raises his children knowing that one day they'll be
moving out on their own.  Have you told your Uncle Steve
and Aunt Mary yet?"

"Vinnie's pulling them aside and telling them about our
plans, while I'm in here telling you," he explained.  I guess
that made perfect sense.

Since Kevin had shared this information with me, and I
had reacted better than he'd first assumed, he wasn't as
surprised by my next statement.  I offered to assist them
when they moved.  He thanked me for the offer and
admitted they could use the help, since Vinnie wouldn't be
able to do much, except for packing and unpacking.  I was
glad we had been able to work this out and get the matter
settled.

While I had been with Kevin, some of the other boys had
gone back to the rec room, where they were listening to
music and chatting with each other.  The rest of the boys
had either gone up to their rooms to take a nap or were
sitting down to play games at the tables where we'd just
enjoyed our meal.

Elliot and Jesse were among the crowd in the rec room, so
Elliot thought he'd get something cleared up while they
were in there.

"You should have told me he was pulling a joke on me,"
Elliot said, matter-of-factly.

"I couldn't," Jesse replied.  "Ricky said that if anyone
messed it up, he'd do something far worse to us."

Elliot looked dismayed.

"Could he do that?" Elliot wondered.

"Oh, yeah," Jesse confirmed.  "Ricky has lots of pranks he
can pull on you.  Some of them are funny, but others
aren't.  I didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of
his pranks that isn't so funny."

"Interesting," Elliot remarked, contemplatively.

Since Jesse had told him he'd only gone along with this so
something worse didn't happen to him, Elliot forgave him.
However, Elliot knew he would have to be much more
careful in the future and figured from now on if it sounded
like a joke then it probably was.

About an hour and a half later, I had everyone gather back
in the dining room, to have coffee and dessert.  Well most
of the boys didn't have coffee, but they did have dessert
and a drink.  We sat at the tables a while longer, as we
chatted with others who hadn't been in the same room
with us prior to returning to the dining room.  Finally, I
invited everyone to come back the following afternoon for
leftovers, combined with a few new dishes.

When we grew tired of sitting there any longer, we got up
and moved to more comfortable locations.  Many of the
extended family began to leave over the next couple of
hours and return home.  They all promised they'd be back
the following day, as we said farewell to them.  It had been
a truly enjoyable and interesting day.

Elliot thought about asking Jesse to do something again,
but he was just too tired.  Even though he wanted to, he
knew there would be plenty of other opportunities, so he
just hopped into bed.  He fell asleep nearly as soon as his
head hit the pillow.

On Friday, the boys decided to go out and play their
annual 'Currie Family Holiday Touch Football Game.'
They also made sure to ask Elliot to play and included him
in on the fun.  Unfortunately, Frankie and his girlfriend
had to leave and couldn't join them, but we understood he
had to return home, because he was scheduled to work.
Despite his loss, the game went on without him.

At first, Elliot seemed reticent to participate.  He said he
wasn't much use when it came to team sports, like
football.  However, the other boys wouldn't hear of him
sitting out and said everyone had to participate.  Elliot
thought this might be another joke they were trying to
play on him, so he asked me.  I told him this was a family
rule, so he relented and joined in the fun.  Hey, it was only
a little white lie.  Seeing Mike Lawrence, Pat O'Hara, Uncle
Steve, Jake and I got roped in to playing too, I wasn't
about to give him a free pass.

It wasn't great football, but it was a wonderful experience
and Elliot seemed to loosen up and have fun too, once he
realized he wasn't the only one who lacked talent for the
game.  I actually thought he did fairly well playing end.
He was fast and able to free himself up with some quick
moves, except he dropped the first couple of passes
thrown to him.  Once the other boys gave him some tips
on how to be more successful at catching the football, he
made a few grabs that helped his team get out of a bind.  I
think he actually enjoyed himself and was even slightly
proud of what he'd accomplished.

When the game ended and we came inside, everyone was
laughing and joking around.  They were teasing some of
the others about their less than graceful plays, while also
attempting to belittle some of the more extraordinary
efforts some of them had managed to pull off.  Once Elliot
began to see how they interacted with each other, he
started to relax and join in the fun.  By this time, he was
also feeling better about the little prank they had tried to
pull on him the previous day.

This also gave the O'Haras a chance to sit down and chat
with Elliot for a while, so they could learn a little more
about him.  Brandon had shared some information with
his parents concerning Elliot's background, but this
allowed them an opportunity to discover a little about his
personal likes and dislikes too.  The time they spent
together went well and the O'Haras told Elliot more about
themselves as well, so each side came away with a better
understanding of the other.

A little later, some of the others began to return for
leftovers.  Actually, there weren't that many leftovers to
go around, so Jake and I went to check on the items we
had started to prepare before we went outside for the
game.  Since there wasn't much turkey left, we had
prepared a couple of turkey rolls, which didn't take as long
to cook.  We then sliced them up and added the meat to
the platter, so there was plenty for those who wanted to
make a turkey sandwich or to just add a little turkey to
their plate.

We sat down at the tables and began chatting while we
were filling our plates.  The subject of this morning's
football game came up and Aunt Mary asked who won.
This began a succession of stories about the game, since
there was some disagreement over the final score.  Before
long, many members of our extended family were laughing
hysterically at the conflicting and humorous stories they
were being told.

After we finished eating, some of the boys went in to
watch a college football game in the family room.  It
actually became quite crowded in there and bodies were
strewn all over the place.  If that weren't bad enough, the
place erupted each time a big play occurred, as those
rooting for the team making the play celebrated and those
cheering for the other team grumbled.

Those who weren't interested in the game moved into the
living room instead, so they could continue chatting.
Jake and I were conversing with Susan and Alice, Mark
and Jesse's mothers respectively, when Elliot approached
us.

"I just thought I should say thank you, since you two fixed
most of the food the last two days," he began, as he
glanced between Jake and myself.

Then, he turned his attention solely to me.

"And thank you for yesterday, with Uncle Ricky.  I didn't
mind it that much, but it is nice to know that you are
willing to stick up for me."

"Danny and Brandon might be your fathers, but we're your
grandfathers," I told him, referring to Jake and myself,
"and we won't let anyone do anything to hurt you."

"Thank you and that's nice to know," Elliot responded.

He then gave Jake and me a hug.  I thought that was a
very nice gesture on his part.

After the football game, which the boys were watching on
television had ended, the extended family began to leave
and return to their homes.  When this happened, many of
the boys headed upstairs to go to bed.  Jake and I stayed
behind, so we could speak with Mike and Julie Lawrence
for a while longer, and then we all turned in too.

Once Jesse and Elliot got to their bedroom, Elliot quickly
talked Jesse into repeating what they had done two nights
before.  They hadn't engaged in anything Thanksgiving
evening, because the activities during the day and the big
meal had completely tired them out.

This had been especially true for Elliot, because he had
been through a lot for one day and had many other things
on his mind, which kept him from thinking about any
physical pleasure.  His thoughts had been consumed by
the prank Ricky had pulled on him and reminiscing about
the comments he received after showing off his skills on
the piano.  His head was also still spinning from meeting
all of the others, so this collection of thoughts had totally
occupied his mind.  Therefore, the idea of doing
something sexual hadn't entered his thoughts, even
though he had totally enjoyed his first experience.

Tonight, however, the boys quickly stripped out of their
clothing and Jesse suggested he should do Elliot first
again.  Elliot eagerly agreed and settled in to enjoy what
was about to happen to him.  This time he was able to
concentrate on each move Jesse made and every feeling
he received from it.  He reveled in how different it felt to
have someone else do this for him, than when he did it for
himself.  When he thought about it, this made him enjoy
what was happening even more.

Since Elliot was no longer a novice at this activity, he
lasted a little longer this time, which allowed him to revel
in the enjoyable feelings he was receiving from it.  When
he did explode, it was very similar to his previous
experience, but he remembered more about it than he had
on his previous encounter.

When he returned the favor, Elliot discovered that his arm
still got sore and ached slightly, but he didn't think it
happened as quickly or felt as badly as it had the first
time he had done this.  Maybe Jesse was right and he'd
eventually become used to it, so his muscles wouldn't
throb at all, but it really didn't matter.  Elliot felt he could
put up with a little discomfort, so he could relish the
pleasure he got in return, from doing this with Jesse.  He
enjoyed it too much to allow a little discomfort to ruin his
fun.

Once each of them had enjoyed an orgasm, they cleaned
up and got ready to go to sleep.  Since they were both so
relaxed now, they fell asleep rather quickly.  Sometime
later, Jesse unconsciously rolled over, facing Elliot, and
draped an arm over his friend.

When Elliot awoke the next morning, he noticed Jesse was
cuddling with him, but it didn't really bother him.  He
realized he not only enjoyed it, but he'd also had the best
night's sleep he could remember since coming here to live.
This made him conclude that he not only liked what had
happened, but he also wanted to try even more stuff with
Jesse and hoped Jesse would be willing to participate.