Date: Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:10:53 -0500 (EST)
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Next Generation, chapter 46

The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - by BW
Copyright 2011 by billwstories
Chapter 46 -- Fitting In.

The following morning, after Elliot and Noah woke up,
they came tromping down the stairs and made their way
into the kitchen.  They were hungry and looking for
something to fill their tummies.  Since their fathers had
already left for work and Noah was unfamiliar with the
choices, I gave him a quick rundown of his options.

"We have several kinds of cold cereal, toast, bagels, eggs
or I can whip up a batch of pancake batter," I announced.
"What would you like?"

"Um, scrambled eggs and toast," he stated, somewhat
hesitantly.

"Would you like bacon or sausage links to go with your
eggs," I followed.

"Bacon sounds good," he replied.

"Okay, coming right up," I advised him.  "I'll butter your
toast, but if you want jelly then Elliot can show you what
kinds we have."

I then took Elliot's breakfast order too and set about
making their meals for them.  Before long, Jesse and
Joshie came down to join us, so I got their breakfast as
well.  Once everyone was eating, I sat down to chat with
them.

"Did you sleep okay, Noah?" I asked.

He glanced at Elliot quickly, before he answered.

"Not at first," he reluctantly admitted.

Noting Noah's discomfort and the questioning expression
on my face, Elliot decided to clarify this for me.

"I stayed with him last night, to help him get used to this
big place," Elliot offered.

"Did that help, Noah?" I followed.

"Yeah, I slept real good after that," he confirmed.

I think Elliot was glad that Noah hadn't reacted badly
when he admitted they'd spent the night together.  Elliot
wasn't originally planning to bring it up, because he didn't
want to embarrass Noah, but since Noah hadn't elaborated
on his comment, Elliot felt he should.  Once he did, he
was concerned that Noah might be worried we were going
to treat him like a baby now.  Noah did look a little leery
as he glanced at us, but when no one reacted to this news,
he immediately began to relax.   When I noticed this, I
gave Elliot a wink to let him know I approved of what he'd
done for his little brother.

After the older boys had finished their meals, Jesse and
Elliot took their dishes into the kitchen, as I went to grab
a little more orange juice for Noah.  They had done this so
they could corner me and ask a question, without Noah or
Joshie overhearing.

"Dad, would you mind if we take Noah for a walk and show
him around the property," Jesse asked.  "If you say it's
okay, we'll take Joshie with us too, if his dads give him
permission to join us.  If he goes, we'll stop by the tree
house for a while too."

"That sounds like a great idea," I concurred.

Jesse and Elliot then went off to ask Dion and Trey if
Joshie could go with them, while I went back to the dining
room to give Noah a refill of juice.  When Joshie's fathers
agreed to let their son go too, the boys came back and told
Noah and Joshie about their plans.  Before long, the four
of them were tearing out the back door and heading into
the woods.

Jesse told me later that they took Noah around the entire
perimeter of our property.  They even showed him the
ravine, but made certain that neither Noah nor Joshie got
too close to it.  Elliot also kept his distance from the edge
of the ravine as well, because he was concerned his fear of
heights might suddenly kick in.  After Noah had seen
everything else, the boys finished up at the tree house.  To
say the least, Noah was impressed when he saw it.

"Wow.  Who built this?" he asked.

"Your papa, your dads and some of your older uncles
originally built it," Jesse answered, "but I come out here
every couple of years and coat it with water seal, so it
doesn't rot."

"It's huge and goes all the way around the tree," Noah
announced.  "Can we go up there?"

"Sure we can," Jesse confirmed.  "In fact, Joshie loves to
play up there too."

Joshie was energetically nodding his head in agreement.

"How do we get up?" Noah wondered.

"We have to use the ladder," Elliot announced, as he
pointed it out to Noah.

Elliot had Joshie go up the ladder first and then he
followed behind him.  Once they reached the top, then
Jesse urged Noah to go ahead of him next.  When they
were all up in the tree house, the boys told Noah some of
the things they'd done before, such as using the fort as a
pirate ship, turning it into Tarzan's tree house and making
it into the Swiss Family Robinson fort.  Noah thought
those were all great ideas and immediately wanted to try
them too.  Since he was willing and eager to do this, the
others spent part of their time pretending to do each of
these things with him.  They wanted him to get a chance
to experience everything and have a good time.

After they'd finished their youthful play, they climbed
back down the ladder.  Once they reached the ground,
Noah quickly let them know what he'd thought about the
things they'd done.

"That was fun," he offered.  "I'm glad you brought me out
here.  Thank you."

The boys told him he was welcome and then they made
their way back to the house.  When they came in, they had
another question for me.

"Papa, would it be all right if we went swimming now?"
Elliot wanted to know.

"Let me ask Noah a couple of questions first," I replied.
"Noah, can you swim?"

"Yeah.  I don't do it often, but I can swim," he answered.

"Okay, and do you have a swimsuit?" I followed.

"Yeah.  I'm pretty sure it's up in my room," he replied.  "I
can go up and see, if you want."

"Sure, if you want to go swimming.  I'll even go out and
play lifeguard for you then, in case there are any
problems," I agreed.  "Run upstairs and change into your
trunks and I'll meet you boys back here in a couple of
minutes."

As the boys raced off to change, I thought back upon our
brief discussion.  I think Noah had just offered more
information about himself than he had at any other time.
I hoped it was due to the fact that he was beginning to feel
more comfortable with us now.

A few seconds later, the thundering herd came flying down
the stairs.  They all had their swim trunks on, so I passed
out the towels and led them out the backdoor.  Once we
were outside, they all rushed past me, in an attempt to be
the first one in the water.

>From what I could tell, they all seemed to have a good
time in the pool, but I also noticed one thing that troubled
me a little.  Noah could swim, but he wasn't a very strong
swimmer, so we might have to work with him to improve
his skills.  It's too bad the summer is just ending or we
might have been able to enroll him in a swim class.
However, school will be starting in a few days, so we
probably won't be able to do anything like that for a while.

Once I had a chance to consider this further. I began to
worry about it a lot less.  First of all, it isn't very likely
that Noah will go swimming without the other boys, and
second, Jesse and Elliot are both capable of looking after
him.  Jesse's a fairly strong swimmer and Elliot's
practically a fish, so I'm convinced they will do a good job
of taking care of the younger ones when they're with them
in the water.

Later that evening, as I was watching the news, I listened
to the announcer talk about the financial roller coaster
the markets have been on.  After the last minute deal to
avoid default, the long downward spiral in the markets,
the downgrading of the U.S. credit rating and intermittent
market upswings, I was glad Mark was handling our
finances.  Somehow he'd managed to protect us during the
2008 downturn and now he's managed to shelter us from
the recent market volatility as well.  I owe him a huge
debt for doing this and for keeping the family financially
solvent.

As I said, school is starting on Monday, so when Danny
had a day off from work before then, he took Noah down to
the middle school to enroll him.  After introducing him to
the principal and his secretary, Danny filled out all the
appropriate paperwork and signed the forms to have
Noah's records transferred from his previous school

Noah will be entering seventh grade this year, and when
Danny asked him how he did in school, Noah would only
say he did okay.  Even when pressed, he was still unwilling
to offer any more details.  This left Danny wondering if he
was a C student, or possibly better or worse than that.  I
guess we'll find out shortly, whatever the case.

Over the next few days, Noah slowly began to adjust to us,
and we to him.  I won't say he was suddenly all smiles and
much happier than he'd been when Danny first brought
him home, but he didn't seem quite as sad as he first had.
He also wasn't what I'd call gregarious either, but he would
occasionally tell us more than he had previously been
willing to divulge.  Basically though, he would speak when
spoken to, but the majority of his responses were still
minimal, at best.  He has yet to be the one to initiate a
conversation, at least with the adults, and he usually only
responds to questions or situations.  For the most part, he
does this without making any additional comments or
asking questions about other matters.

Danny, Brandon and I also went through his clothing and
decided he needed quite a few things before he started
school.  On Friday night, his fathers took him shopping
and let him pick out some new clothes.  I'm not sure he
was used to doing this, especially after they told me about
his reactions and the comments he'd made, but now he
was set for the first day of classes.

Since Elliot hadn't gone to the middle school, Jesse filled
Noah in about what it is like.  He even told him a few
anecdotes about some of the teachers he might have,
without turning them into horror stories.  He also
mentioned to Noah that he'd be seeing Uncle Dion there,
since he taught music at the middle school.  We weren't
sure if Noah thought this was a good or bad thing.  I think
he was still trying to decide if having an uncle in the
building, who might be able to keep track of what he was
doing, was something he could live with.

On the weekend, Little Ricky returned home from college.
He was finally finished with his coursework and had just
completed the last of the requirements for his M.S.W.
degree.  We were glad to have him back with us, but after
welcoming him home there was a question I needed
answered.

"Richard, have you contacted your Aunt Sally yet," I
wanted to know.  "I told you she had a possible job she
though you could fill."

"I haven't yet, but it's the first thing I'm going to do now,"
he confirmed.  "You said the job wouldn't open up until
September, so I felt I had time."

"You should have done it already and not procrastinated,"
I chastised him.  "She has to find someone to fill this
opening and if she hasn't heard from you, she might just
decide you're not interested and begin looking for other
candidates."

"Okay, I get your point," Little Ricky agreed.  "What if I
give her a quick call at home, just to let her know I'm
back?  I won't mention the job issue, since I'm calling her
outside of work, unless she asks me about it first.  I
imagine she will, but if not I'll call her at the office on
Monday to discuss it."

"That will work and I'm positive she'll bring the job
opening up, even if you are calling her at home," I agreed.
"I think she just needs to hear from you."

Once Little Ricky made his phone call, I pulled him aside.
I wanted to introduce him to Noah next, before he went off
to unpack his belongings and put everything back in his
bedroom.  He was one of the uncles Noah hadn't met yet
and another warm body that would be living in the house.
I'm not sure how long Little Ricky will be staying with us,
or even if he considers this is a temporarily or permanent
situation.  Whichever the case, I'm glad to have him back
again, no matter how long it lasts.

When the weekend arrived, the boys understood this
would be their last opportunity to enjoy themselves before
school began.  They spent their time swimming, going for
walks and playing games in the house, but they also spent
time with the rest of us.  No matter what they were doing,
you could still tell they were all a bit subdued about the
idea that they'd soon be sitting in a classroom again.  In
fact, Joshie seemed to be the only one who was excited
about school starting.  He'll be in first grade this year, so
we'll see if his attitude changes at all after his first month
in class.

During this time, we also learned that Noah was thinking
about going out for the soccer team.  He told us he played
in a soccer league where he used to live and enjoyed it a
lot.  After learning this, we all encouraged him to sign up
and try out.  Danny and Brandon even shared some stories
about when they'd played soccer on the school teams.  I
think after hearing what they had to say, Noah decided to
give it a try, especially since his fathers had played and
were being so positive about him getting involved.

The only other thing that will be happening soon is that
Elliot will be joining the swim team as a diver.  This
means we'll have his meets to attend, along with Noah's
games, so this will keep us busy.  Not only that, but I'm
convinced Joshie will want to go to the football games
with Jake and me again this year, and some of the others
might want to go with us too.  So much for my peaceful
retirement, but I guess I won't be complaining about being
bored.

School started on Monday.  Under normal circumstances,
the boys would ride in with Dion, Trey and Joshie in the
morning, but with Noah's inclusion this year there were
just too many of them for one vehicle.  Therefore, Joshie
rode with his fathers and Brandon took Noah, Elliot and
Jesse down and dropped them off, before he headed off to
his office.

It seemed very strange to be alone in the house again,
because the boys had been around and kept me company
for most of the summer.  Since I didn't want to just sit
and feel sorry for myself all day, I debated about how I
wanted to fill my newly acquired free time.  After thinking
it over for several minutes, I finally made up my mind.  I
went outside, hopped in the Suburban and took off down
the road.  I'd decided to go to Kevin's pharmacy and see
how he was doing.

As soon as I passed through the main entrance, I noticed
he was busily working behind the pharmacy counter.
Since I didn't want to bother him, I chose to walk around
and look for some things we needed at home, instead of
going over to speak with him.  Eventually, he must have
noticed me and came out to chat.

"Hey, Dad," he greeted me.  "I'm glad you stopped by.
How's Frankie doing?"

"Much better than he was," I answered.  "I was thinking I
should stay with him longer, so I could help him out, but
by the end of the week he was doing almost everything on
his own.  He's so stubborn.  He just can't stand having
others do things for him, because he says it makes him
feel like an invalid.  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't
keep him down.  Against my objections, he kept doing
more and more things for himself, so it made my staying
with him any longer unnecessary.  Then, when he went for
his next appointment, the doctor said his wounds were
healing nicely and he was coming along very well, so I
guess whatever he's doing must be working out okay.  I
just wish he'd have let me take care of him a little longer."

"Yeah, he's always been the tough guy in the family,"
Kevin agreed.  "He never liked the rest of us doing too
much to help him either, but whenever any of us had a
problem Frankie was always there to take care of it or
back us up.  I think that's why he joined the army and is a
cop now.  He likes protecting people.  Seeing how well he's
done, I guess it's not a bad trait."

"No, I would have to agree," I responded.  "I think it all
began after his little problem with Trey, when he first
came to live with us.  I think he's always felt badly about
that incident and has done everything possible to make up
for it ever since."

"Yes, that was a tough time for him, especially since you
felt you had to send him away for what he tried to do to
Trey," Kevin agreed.  "After he came back though, he was
totally different.  I think that's why he likes to feel in
charge of things now, especially when it comes to his own
life.  It's his way to make certain nothing like that ever
happens again."

"I totally understand why he does it, but it can be
frustrating at times, especially when he won't let us help
out," I replied.  "I guess we aren't going to change him
though, so we'll just have to learn to live with him being
this way.  Did I tell you Frankie is going to receive a
citation for his actions?  They're claiming he prevented a
terrorist attack when he stopped those two men."

"Brandon told me how he got injured," Kevin confessed,
"but I hadn't heard anything about Frankie stopping a
terrorist attack.  Damn, that's impressive."

"I agree," I replied.  "Frankie has done some pretty
remarkable things already, both in the army and now with
the State Police, and I'm very proud of him.  It's just that
I'm a little concerned about his safety."

"I understand, but I guess it comes with the territory,"
Kevin stated.

"So how are you doing?  Is everything going all right
here?" I wondered.

"Actually, it's going very well," Kevin confirmed.  "The
pharmacy is actually doing more business than I'd
anticipated for this soon after we'd opened.  I've even
been getting a lot of prescriptions to fill from the health
center.  I'm really glad Danny and Brandon suggested I
open a pharmacy near them."

"Hey, they were just repaying the favor, because you were
the one who first brought up the idea about the health
center to them," I countered.  "I'm just happy that all of
you seem to be happy and are doing so well."

"Thanks, Dad," Kevin replied, "and we all appreciate your
support.  I've also had some good feedback from the
customers, especially those coming over from the health
center.  They appreciate the fact that everything they
could need for their children is all in one place now and
conveniently located.  They've also mentioned that one of
the things they like about the pharmacy is the drive-
through window to get their prescriptions.  Some of them
came inside first, before they learned about it, but now
that they know it's here, they've been using it a lot."

"I'm sure they are," I agreed.  "It certainly makes it easier
for them to pick-up their prescriptions, even if they aren't
dressed appropriately to come into the store, are having a
bad hair day, in a hurry or even if they just don't feel well
enough to run inside to get their meds."

At this point, Kevin's assistant let him know he was
needed, so he went back to work and I finished walking
around and picking up the things for home.  After I paid
for the items, I went over to the health center to see how
Brandon was doing.  He was with a patient when I got
there, so I waited around and chatted with his receptionist
for a while first.  When he came out a little while later and
saw me, a worried expression came over his face.

"Is something wrong?  Did something happen?" he asked,
in rapid succession.

"No, I was just bored at home, so I went to see how Kevin
was doing and then came over to see you," I assured him.
"How are things going here?"

"Actually, pretty well," he told me, after he'd breathed a
sigh of relief.  "We've had quite a few walk-ins over the
past couple of weeks, as well as a bunch of people calling
in to make appointments.  To tell you the truth, I'm very
pleased with how well word is spreading about the
practice."

"What about your new partner?  Is he also doing as well?"
I followed.

"It's taking him a little longer to get established, but his
client base is beginning to grow too," Brandon replied.
"He knew it would take some time, but he's starting to
pick up a large group of patients who previously had to
travel long distances to have their orthodontic work done.
They seem to appreciate having someone in the area that
can do the work for them."

"That's great!" I concurred.  "I'm so happy things are
working out for you guys."

"Thanks, and Danny will be opening his office in a few
more weeks," Brandon confirmed.  "He's already hired two
nurses, who are going to start setting things up next week.
He's also hired a receptionist, but she won't start until the
Thursday before he opens.  Since my billing clerk was only
working for me part-time, she's agreed to work for both of
us.  That way she'll have a full-time job.

"We're even working with a company about setting up a
benefit plan for all the employees at the health center,"
Brandon added, "and we're trying to see if we can include
Kevin's pharmacy employees too.  We're all 'health'
related and interdependent, so I think we might be able to
do it."

"That's great and I'm so pleased this is working out for all
of you," I replied.  "It's nice to see you guys are all getting
yourselves established."

"Thanks, Dad," he offered.  "So have you heard anything
about the boys yet?"

"No.  They've only been in school for a couple of hours and
I'd only have heard something if there was a problem," I
answered.  "Calm down, Daddy.  I'm sure they're all doing
fine."

"Yeah, I guess I am just a little worried about Noah," he
confessed.  "He's barely had enough time to adjust to
living with us and now he's being thrust into a new school
setting too."

"I understand, but I'm sure he'll do well," I stated, while
trying to soothe Brandon's concerns.

"You're probably right," he agreed.

"Okay.  I'm going to let you get back to work and I'm
going to walk around and see how the remodeling is
coming, if that's all right?'

"Of course it is, Dad," Brandon replied.

"Thanks.  I'll see you tonight then," I told him.  "Try to
have a good day and don't worry so much."

Brandon merely flashed me a grin and nodded his head,
before he disappeared into the back again.

After I returned home, I puttered around the house for the
rest of the day, while I waited for school to end.  I wasn't
exactly sure how things were supposed to go tonight,
other than I knew that Elliot was going to call me when
his practice was over.  So, for now, I will just bide my time
and wait to pick the boys up from practice.