Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 01:34:02 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel- book 4   chapter 8

Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts.
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.

Don't read this story if:
**You're not 18 or over,
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
**Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story.  Placing this story on a
website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's
permission is a violation of that copyright.  Legal action will be taken
against violators.

I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this
chapter.

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at
http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.

             *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge
all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various
sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse.

              *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

The Castaway Hotel-Book 4-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2000 by billwstories
Chapter 8 - Doing what we could.                  March 2001

On Friday evening, Sally showed up with Richard from the group foster home.
He was going to spend the weekend with us, waiting for his prospective
parents to show up tomorrow to meet him.  I think he was a bit nervous and
apprehensive about this visit from the moment he arrived, and he was a bit
on edge since Sally and he had pulled in our driveway earlier.  After they
parked, Sally helped him carry his things to the house and then we tried to
make him feel at home.  Richard said hello to my Ricky and me, but I think
he was a bit overwhelmed by the new surroundings and all the older boys.
Timidly he came in to the house and looked around, then I led them into the
living room to sit down and talk.  Only a few of the boys came in to join
us, seeing he was a bit shy, and Richard eventually went over to sit by my
Ricky on the sofa.  A few minutes later, Sammy and Andrew went over and
joined them, soon breaking the ice.  Richard had just started to loosen up
a bit and chat with the other boys when Sally announced that she had to
leave.  This seemed to unsettle Richard again, so I got up, picked him up
in my arms, and told him that I'd make sure he would be all right.  He
looked at me a second, then a grin began to emerge on his face, and he gave
me a mighty hug about the neck.  I knew at that moment that things would be
fine.

I gave Richard the choice of helping me finish fixing our dinner or going
off to play with the other boys.  At first he didn't seem sure which he
wanted to do but, after a minute or so, he started getting some outside
influence about what he should do.  My Ricky and the other boys soon
convinced him to join them, and off they went to give him a tour of the
house and then decide on something more fun to do.  As I watched the boys
disappear down the hallway, I stepped into the kitchen to prepare our meal.
About an hour later everything was ready and I called all the boys to come
and eat.

Richard asked if he could sit between Ricky and me, so I told him that
would be fine.  He took the seat on the corner of the table, next to my
place at the head, and Pat sat on the other side of me.  Everyone else
shifted their seating accordingly, so this would work out.  Over time the
boys had all come to expect to sit at a certain place at the table,
claiming squatters' rights, so to speak.  They were willing at various
times to break this rule and change places, especially when we had company
who wanted to sit by someone in particular.  During the meal, I could feel
Richard's leg touching mine during the entire time we ate, and I could see
him frequently staring at me, even though he was talking to Ricky or some
of the other boys.  When the meal was over, a few of the boys started
cleaning up and I went into the family room to read the newspaper, while
the rest of the boys watched television.  Richard sat on the floor, next to
my chair, and I knew that something was going on in the little brain of
his.  When I finished reading paper and put it down, Richard stood up, got
right in front of me, and began to speak.

"Mr. Currie, how come you adopted all of these boys?"

"Well, that's hard to say.  You see, I adopted each one of them for a
different reason, but basically it was because they didn't have anyone else
they could live with.  They were either orphans, thrown out by their
families, or had been taken away because of various problems.  I started
out as their foster father and then things developed from there.  I just
figured that it seemed like the right thing to do."

"Wow, you sure do have a lot of sons.  There are almost as many boys here
as there are at the group foster home."

"Well, I don't think there are that many, but we do have a full house.  Are
you excited about meeting the couple who might want to adopt you?"

He looked at me, studied my face, and I think he was debating about how
honest he should be with me.  Once he had made up his mind about what he
was going to do, then he took time to search for the right words to say to
me.  "Well, I am a little excited, as I've been hoping for the past few
years that someone would adopt me, but I'm also kind of scared.  I mean,
I've never met these people before and I just hope that we all like each
other."

"Yes, I can see where this could be very scary for you.  I'm sure some of
my boys went through similar apprehensions the first day they came here to
meet me...well, maybe except for Ricky."

"Why wasn't he scared?"

"It was probably because he already knew me.  You see, I was the principal
at his school when I found out he didn't have any place to go and he came
here to live with me.  He was my first son and, for a little while, it was
just the two of us."

Richard looked over at Ricky, who was watching television and hadn't been
listening to our conversation, and he spoke to him.  "Ricky, you were
really lucky to know Mr. Currie before you came here to live.  That's why
you weren't scared, right?"

It took Ricky a short time to get the drift of what Richard was saying but,
when everything clicked into place, he devised his answer for him.  "Who
said I wasn't scared?  I was terrified," Ricky announced with an evil grin
emerging on his angelic face.  "Wouldn't you be scared if they announced
that you were going to live with a mean old principal?"

Richard looked startled by that proclamation and he knew he would need some
clarification to understand what Ricky meant.  "But he isn't mean, is he?"

Ricky's grin broadened.  "Oh, I guess you don't know about all the paddles
and whips he has in his office at school.  He uses them on the kids when
they get into trouble."  Richard turned toward me, a look of horror etched
on his face and his mouth hanging open.  Pretty soon he heard some of the
other boys giggling, so he turned to look at them.  While Richard was
trying to figure out what was going on, I thought it time to set the record
straight.

"Ok, you little monster," I addressed my Ricky.  "I think you're giving our
guest the wrong impression here.  I don't want him thinking I'm the Marquis
de Sade."

"No, I'm not!" Ricky quipped back.  "I'm just telling him about the side of
you that most people don't get to see."  He could hardly keep from
laughing, as he finished his comment.

"Well then, maybe I should give Richard a demonstration of how this works
then, using you as my target."  As I said that, I grabbed my Ricky by the
arm, pulled him toward me, and threw him over my left knee, using my right
leg to pin his legs in between.  I placed my left forearm across his back,
so he couldn't lift up, and I immediately began to smack him playfully on
the butt.  Ricky began to scream, as if he was being tortured, and he could
have been nominated for an Oscar for his realistic portrayal of a victim.
Richard's eyes almost popped out of his head when he saw me do this and I
thought his jaw was going to hit the floor, and he stayed like that until
all the other boys began laughing and cheering, urging me to give Ricky a
real licking instead.  Finally Richard realized this was all in fun and he
joined the others' chants, urging me to hit Ricky harder and make him hurt
for pulling that trick on him.  I did give Ricky one real good shot to the
butt, one that cracked audibly, and Ricky jumped up and grabbed his
backside when I released him.

"I guess I can see that I don't have any friends in this house, not even
the new kid," he announced.

"Only cuz you were trying to trick me and make me think Mr. Currie was a
meanie."

Ricky feigned a hurt expression on his face.  "Well, he is.  Didn't he just
prove it?"

"No way.  If he was mean, he'd have given you more than one hard smack and
your butt would be all red and you wouldn't be able to sit down at all."

"Well, my butt is all red.  Want to see?"  Ricky began to undo his jeans.

"I think we can do without that," I told him forcefully.  "We've already
scared the poor kid and there's no sense making him sick by showing him
your rear end."

At this point the other boys started teasing Ricky about his ugly butt and
Richard was really laughing hard as the other boys continued to rag on
Ricky.  After letting it continue for a while longer, I finally called a
truce, for Ricky's sake, and the boys reluctantly agreed.  They loved
seeing him squirm like that, especially after all the pranks he had played
on all of them, and they really didn't want to give up this golden
opportunity at revenge.  Instead, they started to fill Richard in on
Ricky's background, to explain why they had been so relentless, and Richard
began to laugh again, as the boys relayed some of the tales about the imps
of mischief.

When it came time to get ready for bed, I passed the word that clothing was
required tonight.  I wasn't sure that Richard was ready for a nudist
convention.  When I gave him his choices about where he could sleep and
then asked him his preference, I thought he might bunk in with Ricky, as I
had noticed how he idolized the older boy.  Instead, he asked me if he
could sleep with me.  This shocked me a little, as it was possibly the last
choice I would have expected, but then I assumed it was because he was in a
strange place and wanted to feel protected and safe.  I gave in to his
request, but only after making sure that this was what he really wanted to
do, and then I decided that I had better turn in when he did too.  Pat
agreed to sleep on the sofa-bed in the family room, and Dustin offered to
sleep with him and assist him with whatever he needed during the night.
Pat gratefully accepted, and Dustin seemed pleased that he would be allowed
to help.

When we first got into bed, Richard was talking a mile a minute, asking me
all kinds of questions about how each of my boys came to live with me, but
managing to slip in more questions about Ricky in between.  When he learned
all he wanted to, for the time being, he said he hoped he was as lucky at
finding a nice home and that he prayed these people were as nice as they
sounded.  He was somewhat optimistic, as Sally and the staff at the group
home had told him a great deal of information about this couple, and that's
why he thought this might work out.  He was still a little apprehensive
about the first face-to-face meeting with them, which was only normal, but
he still had his dream of finally being adopted to cling to.  I tried to
reassure him about tomorrow and let him know that things would work out for
the best, so I reached my arm out toward him, wrapped it around his
shoulder, and told him everything would be just fine.  Just as if some
electromagnetic force had been activated, he rolled on his side and cuddled
up tightly against me.  He joked a little about my body hair tickling him,
so I told him that he didn't have to lie that way if he didn't want to.  He
quickly told me that he would be fine and that he was already getting used
to it, and then he slung his little arm across my belly.  We lay that way
for a little while and then I looked down at him, ready to say something
about the morning, but I noticed that he was already drifting off to sleep.
For that reason, I decided to forgo any more conversation and just gave him
a gentle squeeze.  I spent the next ten or fifteen minutes watching him
give in to his exhaustion and fall asleep, praying that he would find great
parents and be as happy as every child had the right to be.

Saturday morning he woke me very early, being excited about the
possibilities that awaited him, and we got up, got dressed, and went to the
kitchen to fix him some breakfast.  As he sat chowing down, we waited for
the others to stir back to life and join us.  We were still alone in the
dining room when the doorbell rang.  It wasn't even eight o'clock yet!  I
went over and opened the door, not exactly sure who I'd find there, only to
be greeted Richard's prospective parents.  I guess these farm people do
really get up with the chickens.  We introduced ourselves and shook hands,
and they told me they were the Beckers.  I called Richard over and
introduced him to them, and both adults commented on how glad they were to
meet him and what an adorable little chap he was.  I don't think this was
quite the politically correctt thing to say to a young man who was nearly a
teenager, but Richard took it all in stride.  After that, I let the three
of them go into the family room, where they could talk in peace and get to
know each other a little better, knowing some of my boys were probably
awakened by the door chimes and would soon be heading downstairs.  Richard
didn't want me to go, asking me to stay with him, but I explained to him
that I'd just be in the other room and that everything would be fine.  I
told him that they all really needed the time to get to know each other,
and that they could do it better without anyone else there to distract
them, but he still seemed unconvinced.  After a little more cajoling, he
finally gave in.

Richard's concerns were probably due, in part, to the fact that the man
cast a pretty imposing shadow, especially to someone as small as him.  No
matter how the man looked, I could tell the guy had a warm heart, just by
the way that he looked at that little boy when they first met.  It was as
if he had just awakened on Christmas morning, discovering the one present
in the world that he wanted more than anything else, in this case an
adorable son.  I learned later that this man was of Dutch descent, but it
was his physical size that was imposing.  He stood about 6' 2" and weighed
somewhere around 220 pounds, but it was all solid muscle.  Even the casual
onlooker would be impressed by the muscles rippling in his arms and under
his colored tee shirt as he moved, and the sight of him would probably have
given a lot of street-wise punks second thoughts before they attacked the
likes of him.  In addition to his build, he was completely bald, obviously
shaved that way for some unknown reason, and he had a moustache that he had
allowed to grow long on each side.  Those hairs hung down toward the sides
of his chin, though he could have easily waxed them and made them into a
handlebar moustache.  When he spoke, he spoke with authority and I knew
almost instantly that he was probably a man of his word.  I also got the
feeling that he was a gentle giant, just observing how his wife looked at
and adored him, and I would have wagered that his bark was much worse than
his bite.

His wife was much shorter than him, maybe 5' 7" in heels, and what the
old-timers would have referred to as a buxom beauty.  Even though she was
physically attractive, I could tell from her calloused hand and firm
handshake that she was a hard worker and probably as valuable as any man on
the farm.  She had a vibrant and outgoing personality, a musical giggle,
and a smile that could melt an iceberg.  When I peeked in later to check on
them, Richard was sitting on the sofa between the couple and everyone was
all smiles and talking excitedly.  I gave them an hour more before I went
back in to speak with them, only to offer the adults my room for the
evening, thus saving them the money they would have had to spend on a motel
room and allowing them to spend more time with each other.  They did
accept, but only after some give and take, and only after I agreed to let
the wife fix tonight's dinner.  That was solely her idea and I think it was
her upbringing and her attempt at having them paying their own way.  I
finally agreed to her demands, but only if she would allow me to assist
her.  Now she was satisfied that she would be able to pay her debt for
spending the evening in our home.

I got up to leave again, but everyone urged me to stay, and Ricky quickly
filled me in on everything he had learned about the Beckers thus far.  He
told me they were renting a farm, on which they grew various crops, but
primarily corn, and he lit up when he told me they also had some pigs,
chickens, cows, and horses.  I could see from the twinkle in his eyes that
he liked that idea of having animals around and I could see from the way
they interacted with each other that they were already taking a distinct
liking to each other.  We chatted a while longer and then Ricky asked if he
could show them around the house and introduce them to the other boys.  I
told him to go ahead, but not to get lost, which was my little joke about
how large this place could seem to outsiders.  Richard looked at me funny
and then he started to laugh, saying 'that was a good joke, Mr. Currie'.

They were probably gone more than an hour and I was beginning to wonder
what had happened to them, when they came back in the room to join me.
They quickly filled me in on what they had been up to, commenting on what
they had seen.  Richard had given them a tour of the whole house, including
the attic bedrooms, and the couple was very impressed by the size of the
house, the number of boys I had, and how well behaved and basically neat
they were.  They had said 'basically neat' because I did have a couple of
boys who tended to be slobs now and then and I only wondered about how
their rooms must have looked.  I do believe the Beckers were just being
polite and diplomatic.  We continued talking about different things,
quickly changing from one topic to another, and I could tell that they
wanted to ask me a question, but they didn't want to do it in front of
Richard.  Picking up on this, I told him that he should go play with the
boys, so we adults could spend some time together too.  He didn't give it a
second thought and raced off to find the others, though I would be willing
to bet that I'd find him with his namesake later, if I went to look.

As soon as Richard had left the room, Mr. Becker turned to me and spoke.
"Thank you, but how did you know we wished to speak to you in private?"

"When you have as many children as I do, you learn to pick up on the
non-verbal signals too."

He looked at his wife and grinned.  "I guess we're going to have to learn
to do that too."  After saying that he turned back to me and continued our
conversation.  "When we first came here, we were a little worried that we
might be biting off more than we could chew, by taking on a teenager.  We
had really wanted a younger child to begin with but, after seeing you and
all of your boys, we're more at ease now.  In fact, now we're even
considering telling Mrs. Swarthout that me might be willing to take a
second boy, so Ricky wouldn't be alone and would have someone to help keep
him company.  We do live pretty far out and there aren't many neighbors."

"That's terrific," I responded.  "I bet Ricky would probably enjoy having
someone else close to his own age and Sally will be thrilled at the
prospect of having a home for another boy, but I think you should take some
time to get to know each other before you make that decision.  If you do
adopt Ricky, spend some time just getting to know him first.  After you
have had a chance to bond, then you might ask him what he would think of
that idea and take it from there."

"You're probably right.  I guess seeing all these boys and watching how
well they got along with each other just caused us to go a little
overboard."

"Oh, I'm not saying you're going overboard, I am just advising to go slowly
and not rush things.  I think you'd all do well with taking on a second
child, but it's just that you all need to get to know each other first.
Things happened kind of quickly for us, and I sometimes regret that, as
Sally had boys that needed a home then and there.  I was very blessed that
things worked as well as they did, and with so few problems, but I didn't
get the chance to know some of the boys as well as I wished at first.  I'm
not sure I'd advise anyone to try to do things the same way I did though.
I guess my biggest advantage was that I worked with children all day long
and had a pretty good understanding of what I was getting into."  We all
smiled at each other at this point, and I saw them relax considerably.

"He is an adorable child, and so small for his age," Mrs. Becker stated.
"I think my husband and I are already looking forward to taking him in, if
that's what he wants."

"Oh, I think he's taken a shine to you too.  I could see it on his face and
in his eyes when you were in here by yourselves.  I peeked in a couple of
times, to see how things were going, and it looked as if you were all
enjoying yourselves.  I think after a few more visits, the three of you
will have a pretty good idea of what you're going to do."

"I really didn't know what to expect," Mr. Becker said, "when they told me
they had a boy who was nearly thirteen.  I guess I was thinking that he'd
be nearly growed and maybe a tad bit of trouble to boot.  I didn't expect
to find this somewhat small, sweet-faced boy who is eager to please."

"Yes," I responded, "he really is a special young man.  I've only met him
twice before myself, and I'm pretty taken with him too.  He can certainly
worm his way into your heart in a very short time."

His wife giggled and looked at me.  "That's almost exactly the same words I
whispered to my husband when we were alone for a second upstairs.  I think
I've fallen in love with the little devil already."

"I could tell that by just looking at the three of you together.  I think
I've seen almost an instant bonding here, but you've got the rest of this
weekend and the next to make sure."

"And we're both looking forward to it," Mrs. Becker added.

"Just out of curiosity, is someone taking care of your farm while you're
away?"

"Yes, our hired man and the hired man from the farm next to ours are taking
care of everything for us.  We offered them extra money to do this favor
for us."

"Well, the charity will cover that cost for you and I'm also going to
contact the landowner to renegotiate your rent for you.  Sally told me that
you were just getting by and I think I can use some leverage to get you a
little better deal.  It just happens that I know your landlord.  I had his
children in school a few years ago, and he still owes me a favor or two,
for some things we were able to do for them at the time.  I know he bought
that property on a hunch about thirty years ago, thinking that the state
was going to construct a new highway through that area and he concluded
that area would be where the exit would be located, to give access to the
nearby communities.  He thought he could make a killing selling some of the
land to the state and the rest to businesses who would want to set up shop
there.  The highway never went through though, so he decided to recoup some
of his investment by renting out the various properties.  I think he owns
several of the farms around you."

"Yes, you're correct there.  My neighbors and I all rent the land and
buildings from him.  It's the only way most of us could have afforded to
get into farming, as it is quite an expensive investment to purchase a
working farm.  The funny thing is that he bought that farm from my wife's
family, before we were married, and we used her inheritance from her
parents to buy the farm machinery we would need to make a go of it.  We
hoped some day that maybe we could buy the place back from him and then
leave it to our children.  Unfortunately, the good Lord has not seen fit to
let us have children in the normal way.  That's why we're adopting."

"Although it may seem harsh or cruel that you could not have your own
children, this may be God's way to let you have a family after all.  Like
our minister told my one son after his accident, 'when God closes a door,
he often opens a window'.  This may be your window, so make the best of
it."  They nodded in agreement and I knew that they understood my message.

It was now getting late, so Mrs. Becker suggested that it was time for her
to start fixing dinner, and I told her that I'd show her around while I
gave her a hand.  After informing her of what meats I had in the freezer,
she decided to use the chicken and make chicken and biscuits.  I thawed the
meat in the microwave and then got her the items she needed, as she asked
for them.  She did everything from scratch, no shortcuts or mixes for her.
She seemed puzzled by my knowledge about the kitchen and the ease I showed
while helping her.  She gave me a curious little glance, as if she didn't
think a man would be that proficient, so I asked her, "Who do you think
cooks for my family?"

"I guess I just figured that you had a cook working for you or you ordered
out.  Do you mean that you prepare all the meals?"

"Not entirely.  The boys have been helping me and they are getting quite
good at preparing different dishes."

"I'm impressed.  The men that I've known would all have starved without a
woman to fix their food for them, even with a pantry full of supplies and a
smokehouse full of meat."

"I often helped my wife fix the meals when our children were growing up,
though I didn't do much of it after she died.  It's just too hard to cook
for one, so I ate most of my meals out during that time.  After I got my
first boy I started cooking again, and I've been doing it ever since."

"Good for you," she responded, emphatically.  "I wish there were more men
who didn't consider the kitchen a woman's world and think it demeaning to
do anything there."

"Well, I don't think any of my boys will feel that way."

Soon the house began to fill with the aromatic smells of a good homemade
meal, and the boys were running downstairs to find out what we were having
to eat and when.  I asked a couple of them to set the table, which they did
with enthusiasm, and soon we were sitting down to partake of one of the
most incredible meals we'd had in a very long time.  She was a genius with
an oven, a few bowls, and some raw ingredients.  Everyone continually raved
about her cooking, in between cramming his mouth full with her savory
delights.  The biscuits were golden, flaky, and very tasty, and the chicken
was moist and just melted in your mouth.  I think everyone had at least
seconds, and some even came back for thirds, and I told her I was impressed
with her ability to feed so many.  At that point she burst into laughter
and told me that she was one of ten children and that she had learned to
cook, feeding her siblings, her parents, and several hired hands, most of
whom could pack away more than my boys.  She said her biggest adjustment
was in learning to cook for only her husband, their hired man, and herself.
We all laughed at that, but I knew that she had scored some more points
with Richard with her culinary talents.  Food is not only the way to a
man's heart, but a growing boy's too.

After dinner, I took everyone to the movies, knowing this was a rare treat
for the Beckers.  I let Richard and the Beckers pick out what they wanted
to see, and they discussed this for quite some time before they settled on
one.  They chose the film 'Gladiator' and it was full of action and
suspense.  Everyone had a great time, although the realism could sometimes
be a bit much for some of the boys to handle.  Richard sat between the
pair, but sometimes I saw him sitting on one of their laps or the other.
By the end of the movie he was cuddled up against Mr. Becker's chest, both
to calm his fears from the more graphic parts of the film and for a bit of
security, and both seemed to be enjoying the contact.  It was a very
touching scene and just another example of how close they were already
becoming.

That night I gave the Backers my room, and Pat and I slept on the sofa-bed
in the family room.  Richard decided to sleep with my monster Ricky that
night, and they used Pat's room up in the attic.  Nothing went on between
the pair, but they did get to know each other a little better and, in
Richard's case, the hero worship was beginning to take even deeper.

Sunday morning we had a big old farm breakfast, with Mrs. Becker assisting
me in the kitchen, and the boys were stuffed by the time they needed to
start getting ready for church.  I asked the Backers if they'd like to join
us and they jumped at the chance, explaining that they were a deeply
religious family.  We all sat together during the service, with Richard
tucked cozily between the couple on the pew.  Today's sermon just happened
to be entitled 'Living as God's People', and the minister talked about
living a life filled with Christian virtues, such as loving, caring,
sharing, and faith.  As I listened to the pastor preach from his heart, all
I could think about was that the people who best exemplified this concept
were spending the weekend with us.  If there was a couple 'living as God's
people', it had to be them.  I wonder if God had suggested this topic to
our minister during one of his prayer sessions, or if this just happened to
be another miraculous 'coincidence"?

After the service ended, we took everyone home to change and then we went
to spend the day at the park.  The boys were in charge of the activities
and they organized many different things to do, always including the adults
in each event.  The Beckers got their first chance to play kickball since
they were children, then they got to go on a boat ride, rowing a rented
boat over the large pond/small lake that was at the heart of the park, and
then they had a go at playing 'capture the flag' with the rest of us.  This
wasn't some little game, as you might have expected.  Instead, the boys put
the flags on either side of the small, forested area, so they could use the
cover of the trees to sneak up and take the flag from their opponents.  The
game lasted for over an hour; with each team setting up many diversions and
taking many prisoners, until finally one team captured the other team's
flag and made it back safely to their own area again.  Most of us were
quite tired by the time it was over and we dragged back to the Suburban,
eager for the chance to catch our breath and looking forward to going back
to our house.  When we returned, I urged everyone to clean up and change
again, so I could take them out to eat before the Beckers went back home.
We went to our favorite restaurant, had a wonderful meal, and then the
Beckers left, before it got too late.  Before they departed, we gave them a
chance to say their good-byes with Richard in private, but they all knew
they'd be back to see each other again the following weekend.

After they had left and things began to settle back into our normal
routine, Richard came to find me, so we could sit and talk for a while.  He
asked me if he could sleep with me again tonight, and I told him he could,
then he began to tell me that he liked the Beckers and thanked me for
helping to make all of this possible.  Then he made another small request.

"Mr. Currie, I really feel that I know you well enough to call you
something else, besides Mr. Currie, but I don't know what I should call
you.  What do you think?"

"Well, some of my boys' friends call me Pop, and you could too, or you
could call me Uncle Josh or just Josh.  Whatever you decide, it's your
choice."

"Just calling you Josh would seem strange and I'm not sure that I should
call you Pop, so I think I'll call you Uncle Josh.  Okay?"

"Sure, that would be fine."

When we went to sleep that evening, Richard slept with me, and Pat slept
with Dustin on the sofa-bed again.  We hadn't been in bed very long before
I felt him inching his way over, like he didn't think I'd notice, and soon
he was cuddled up beside me again.  I heard him giggle a few times, but he
said nothing about my body hair tickling him, and it wasn't long before I
heard the gentle sounds of his breathing and knew that he had fallen
asleep, worn out from a weekend full of activity and discoveries.

Monday morning Sally showed up while we were eating breakfast.  She
inquired about how things went and then she loaded him and his belongings
into her car, ready to drop him off at his school.  She would then take his
belongings over to the group home and drop them off before she returned to
work.  I think we were all looking forward to his return visit the
following weekend.

               *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at
http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section.
E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.