Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2002 14:43:05 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel - book 5, chapter 20

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 5-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2002 by billwstories
Chapter 20 - Wrapping things up.                  March 2002

Mark was also with us for the summer now, working at the bank with his
mentor and the girl he had a fling with last summer.  From what he had told
me, he and that girl had kept in contact after he left, getting even closer
than they were while he was here.  Even though he was living at the house
with us, we weren't seeing all that much of him, as he was at work a lot
and then with this girl at other times.  He did take me up on the offer I
had made him over the phone, and took advantage of the opportunity soon
after he arrived.  One Saturday morning I saw him and some of the older
boys heading out to the pool, to swim in the buff.  I thought Danny and
Brandon might pass out from the excitement, even before they got in the
water.  Mark was older and a bit hairier than most of my boys, but no one
seemed to mind that fact.  He was still a very handsome guy, with a great
body and some nice assets, even if he was totally straight.

Shortly after Mark had arrived, I saw my friend, his mentor, one day, and
he told me that Mark was doing extremely well with his responsibilities and
he was catching on to things much more quickly than his mentor assumed he
would.  My friend told me that the foundation's funds and my personal
accounts were in good hands with Mark taking care of them.  He also tried
to fill me in a little about Mark's girlfriend, telling me she was a sweet,
intelligent girl, who came from a good home, and he thought they made a
nice couple.  I thanked him for his interest and input, and then I thanked
him for working with Mark.  I told him I was sure that he had had a great
deal to do with Mark's growth and success, and that all of his help, both
for the foundation and for Mark personally, was greatly appreciated.

He then spoke to me about the superintendent's position and asked how the
search was coming.  I explained the situation to him, and that's when he
suggested that he thought I should just accept the position full-time.  He
told me that he has spoken with others from the community, who felt the
same way, and they all hoped that eventually I'd reconsider and just take
the job.  I told him I appreciated his support, and that of the others, but
that my family had to come first.  That's when he said that he hadn't seen
that as a problem in the past, so he didn't see why that should influence
the future either.  He said he saw no reason why I couldn't still be
effective at both, just as I had in the past.  I thanked him again, told
him I'd consider that, and then I went on my way.

It was only a few days more before we received another email from Ricky,
with more tales of what he had been up to.


Hey Dad,

Thinks are really going great over here.  School has been interesting, it's
kind of different from what I'm used to, so it's really kind of neat, and I
love listening to everyone's accent.  The way they talk is just soooo cool,
and I could listen to them for hours.  Well, I guess I do.  hehehe Peter
has been really great and he's introduced me to most of his friends and he
includes me in on everything, even if I don't know what I'm doing.  We've
played a little soccer here, and yes they do call it soccer, but Peter is
trying to teach me about footy right now, that's Australian Football, or
what we call rugby.  It's kind of strange, at least to me, but he's working
hard to making me understand and like it.  His favorite team is something
called the Parramatta Eels, and he said they got their name cuz the players
are as slippery as eels and can't be tackled.  I don't think that's it
though, as I was thinking it might have something to do with the eels they
hid in their shorts.  hehehe

Peter's parents took us on another short trip this past weekend, and we had
a really great time.  I tried to pay for as much as I could, but they
wouldn't really let me.  That made me feel kind of bad, cuz I know they
don't have that much money either, so if we go again, I'm going to tell
them that I'll only go with them if they will let me pay for things this
time.  I think that's only fair.

Well, they took me to Sydney Saturday, because they said they had some
things to do there.  I think it was just so I could see some of the city.
It was really neat, especially when they let Peter and me do the bridge
climb.  I bet you didn't know that they actually let people climb the
Sydney Harbor Bridge here.  It was so kewl.  Peter's parents didn't go with
us, cuz they said they had done it when they were younger and they were too
old to do it again.  I think it was just because it cost so much.  I paid
for both Peter and me, so they could go if they wanted to, but they still
didn't do it.

Well, Peter and I had to take a breath test before we could climb, kinda
like the blood-alcohol tests the police give people back home, but it is
just to see if we had the lung strength for the climb.  Then we had to do a
practice climb on the Climb Simulator, just to make sure we could do it
okay.  Once that was done, they had a guy tell us what we were going to do
and show us a video, to make sure we still wanted to do this.  After that
they gave us fleece jackets, hats, and gloves to wear, cuz it's winter
here, and then they gave us these special clothes to put over what we were
wearing.  We also got things to communicate with and safety harnesses, so
we couldn't fall off.

Well, we started by crossing this catwalk to the archway, and then we
climbed up to the top of the Eastern Arch.  From there we climbed up the
outside of the bridge, to the very top.  It was really awesome up there.
You could see all around, in every direction.  It was a clear day and you
could see way far.  It was amazing.  After that we had to cross to the
other side of the bridge and then we climbed back down to the Western Arch.
Man, that was way kewl.

After that they took me on a tour of the Sydney Opera House.  It's a
interesting looking building from the outside, and it's the one they show
on TV every time they bring up Australia, other than showing the outback or
kangaroos.  The outside almost looks like the a replica of a 50's space
alien costume from the movies, but it does seem to fit in better than I
thought it would.  Well, we took a tour of the inside too, and there is a
concert hall AND an opera hall there.  I didn't know that until then.

Well, we had a good time and then we went out to eat.  They've been really
great to me and I appreciate all of it, but I want to be able to do more
for them too.  Let me know if you have any suggestions about that.

Say hi to everyone for me, and I'll send each of them a short email too.  I
love you all.

Ricky


I sent Ricky an email back, asking him to call me, so I could get his bank
account numbers from over there.  Once I had those, I'd wire transfer him
some more money, so he could do more for his host family.  Ricky has never
asked for much, and this was a special time for him, so it wouldn't hurt to
give him a bit more right now.  I told him that I wanted him to enjoy his
time there and to do nice things for his host family, seeing they were
going out of their way to take good care of him.  I knew I didn't have to
tell him that, but it was my way of letting him know that I agreed with
what he wanted to do.

Oh, yes.  Jake and I made some joint decisions during this time too.  First
of all, it had to do with our wills.  We had talked about amending them to
make each other guardian of our son(s), should anything happen to us.  We
also made a commitment to stay together as partners, of sort.  We weren't
going to go as far as getting married, or anything like that, but we both
knew that we enjoyed each other's company, shared many interests together,
and we enjoyed our time alone too.  We did call the boys together one
afternoon, to discuss this fully with them, before making any kind of
announcement, and it was quite an interesting meeting.

"Boys, we wanted you here so we can discuss something that will affect all
of you.  Uncle Jake and I have talked this over and we are going to make
each other legal guardian for you, should something happen to the other
one."

"Nothing is wrong with either of you, is there?" Kevin asked.

"No, there's is nothing wrong, we are just taking precautions."

"You wouldn't be trying to protect us, by not telling us if there were,
would you?" Danny followed.

"No, you older boys are old enough now not to have to be protected from the
truth.  If there was something you should know, we would tell you."

"I think you called us here for more than that, didn't you?" Pat wanted to
know.

"Well, yes, there were other things."

"Like what?" Sammy interrupted, not giving me enough time to continue.

"Well, I think Uncle Jake and I are going to be staying together, for more
than just now, if you know what I mean."

"Great!" shouted Shannon, as he leaped up from his chair.  "I knew it was
going to happen."

"You knew what was going to happen?" his father asked him.  Shannon
blushed, but answered.

"That you two would fall in love and stay together," he said with a grin.

"Are you going to get married?" Andrew asked us.

"No, Andrew, we're not getting married, but we will stay together.  We did
discuss it, but neither of us thought that people are quite ready for that
yet, though I hope they will be by the time any of you decide to make a
commitment of that nature.  We were afraid that if we did that, someone
might question our fitness as parents, and it is more important to be here
for you right now, than for each other."

"Well, I hope you do it some day," Brandon added.  "You both deserve to be
happy."

"Thank you, that was very sweet of you," Jake told him, "but the reason we
waanted to bring this up was to see if any of you had any objections to
this."

"I don't see any problems with it," Trey announced.

"Yeah, as long as we don't have to start calling one of you Mom," Frankie
announced, with a grin.

"Well, I think we can avoid that," I told him.  There was some murmuring in
the room, as the boys talked this over, and then Dustin spoke up.

"Then I think I can safely speak for all my brothers and say, GO FOR IT!"
Some of the boys began to repeat this phrase, while the others just let us
know we had their approval.  I did this while Mark was at work, as I wasn't
exactly sure how he'd feel about all of this, but I was sure he'd hear
eventually.  Then I'd let him make up his own mind about our situation, but
I wouldn't force the issue.

Time has flown by quickly.  Here we are, now at the end of June, and the
family is involved in many things.  First of all, we are all anxiously
awaiting the arrival of Nigel and his boys in two weeks, and we've been
busy firming up all the arrangements for our mini-trips with them, plus our
special little surprise.  The only things Nigel's boys have been told is
that they will be coming here, staying with us, and we will take them on
several short trips while they're here.  Of course, they know that they
will be spending a great deal of time around my boys too, and after our
trip to England, I think most of them suspect that might include some
sexual escapades.  Even though they know that Nigel and I will be keeping
it to a minimum and making sure it's protected, I'm sure they are looking
forward to whatever might be allowed.

On the personal front, I was very involved with the selection of the new
superintendent and running the school district in the meantime.  The search
committee and I have continued to be slightly disappointed with the quality
of the applicants to this juncture, but we are hoping that more qualified
candidates would emerge now, seeing we had extended our original deadline.
I will continue to run the district and prepare for the reopening of school
in the fall, because I doubt very much that we'll have anyone in place in
time to perform those functions.  With some luck, we'll have selected a
candidate and have him onboard early in the school year, and then I can go
back to focusing on my boys.

Speaking of the boys, Nick and Brandon would be leaving to spend some time
with their parents, but they have both talked their parents into letting
them come back by the very beginning of August, so they'll be able to spend
at least two weeks with Nigel's group.  Everyone is so anxious about their
coming that the pair had convinced their parents into letting them return a
little earlier than originally planned.  I'm sure their parents weren't
thrilled by these requests, but they did give in, knowing that the boys
wouldn't be much fun to have around during that extra two weeks, if they
thought they were missing out on something fun.

Then there is Ricky, who is now an exchange student in Australia.  He seems
to be enjoying himself and doing well there, and it even sounds like he
might have met a girl that he might be interested in.  I'll take a wait and
see approach about that, however, as this was only the end of first month
of his eight-month stay there.  I know he will do well, but his being so
far away still gives me some concern about his welfare.  I'm sure he'll be
fine, but I won't be able to rest again until he is safely home with us.
We did send out a package with the things he requested, plus a couple of
surprises for his birthday, and we all look forward to hearing from him
soon.

Trey also has some interesting times ahead of him too.  His English teacher
has submitted his play and video to two different competitions, one for
writing and the other for novice filmmakers.  I don't think Trey has any
hopes for the competitions, but I think he was pleased when his teacher
asked his permission to submit them.  I think that was honor enough for
him.  But that is not all Trey is involved with, as he is also part of the
new driving group, with Nick and Vinnie.  I think they are hoping to have
their licenses by fall, so they can take their turns as drivers in our
daily caravan to school, even though I've told them that I probably won't
let them take their road tests until next spring.  I think they're hoping
to sweet talk me into moving this up, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to
stick to my guns on this one.  I want to do that so they can practice their
winter weather driving skills, before they actually have their licenses and
begin to think they already know it all.

We are also getting ready to send three more boys off to college at the end
of the summer, as Danny, Brandon, and Kevin will be leaving for their
freshman year.  I know Frankie and Dustin will give them a few words of
advice about this over the summer, and that all three are more than ready
to go, but it will leave another hole in my heart, as three more of them
depart.  I guess the fall might prove to be a quiet time, with six of them
away at various places, but I'm sure that the others will more that make up
for their being gone.  It sure isn't easy watching your kids grow up.

Speaking of kids, I have Vinnie, who has been here for a while now, and I
guess it's getting near the time when I should probably sit down and have a
talk with him, about whether he wants to be adopted or not.  I mean, I know
he loves living here and all, but I'm not sure if he'd see the adoption as
a betrayal to his parents.  Besides, I also wasn't sure he would want to
use the Currie name or if he would prefer to use his own, even if he did
want to be adopted.  Well, I'll have to have this chat sometime soon, just
to see what his thoughts are concerning all of this.  I wouldn't even think
of initiating the adoption process without his input and approval.

And finally there is Nick's new ambition, about becoming an exchange
student himself.  I'm sure we'll be spending time together to prepare for
this, as long as he doesn't change his mind in between, but I have the
feeling that he won't.  I don't think I've seen Nick this serious about
anything before, so I'm sure he has thought this through, and I think this
is a very positive sign about his increasing maturity.  We'll see if this
continues, once school begins.

No matter how much has happened over the past year and how much our lives
have changed or improved, I still have to cope with doubts that I am doing
the right things for the boys.  I guess I've always dealt with these
doubts, from the day I first took Ricky in, but I guess my brush with
mortality has made me take these doubts more seriously now.  I think about
how my actions affect the boys, directly or indirectly, and what might
happen to them once I'm gone.  Sure I know that Jake has promised to be
there for them and they won't have to worry about financial woes, but am I
really doing what's best for them?  How will I ever know the answer to that
question?

Well, that's the point where Graham came to my rescue.  I have been
worrying about all of this since my heart attack, and after losing Brent
the way we did.  Suddenly I began to doubt all I was doing, wondering
whether I might be doing more harm than good, no matter how well
intentioned I was.  Then the other night Graham came to me, telling me he
had a message to deliver.

"A message?  From whom?"

"The other side.  Brent is bringing a lot of people through."

"Really, and who would that be?"

"Well, it's a lot of different people, but mostly ones we have heard from
before."

"Like whom?"

"Well, I see Vinnie's, Trey's, and Sammy and Andrew's parents there, and
Dion's grandmother, and a woman that I don't recognize, but she's standing
in front of our house."

I had my suspicions, but I wanted to confirm them, before I jumped to
conclusions.  "What does she look like?"

After he told me, I was sure I knew who that was.  "I think that's my wife,
Graham.  I've been wondering if I was ever going to hear from her again."

"She's a very nice looking lady," Graham told me, "and she has a bouquet of
pink roses, so I think they are for you."  Now I could feel a tear break
loose, from the inside corner of my left eye, and that was followed closely
by one escaping from the other eye.

"You said they had a message for me," I questioned him, trying to get to
the point of all this.

"Well, Brent did let me know this was for you and only you."

"Okay, but what's the message?"

"I'm not sure, but they're all standing in front of our house, and they are
smiling and giving you a thumbs-up sign."  I didn't think I had to enquire
as to what this was all about, but I did have one more question for him.

"Even my wife?"

"Well, she's doing something a little different from the others," he began,
and I was worried that she didn't approve of what I had been doing with
these boys or my relationship with Jake.  That's when Graham continued.
"She's giving a double thumbs-up sign."

Now the tears started to really flow down my cheeks, after hearing this.  I
guess if I had any doubts about what I had been doing, they were now laid
to rest, as the other side came through to let me know that they approved
of what I had been up to.  I guess now I can put my worries behind me and
focus on taking care of business as usual.


THE END OF BOOK 5.

             *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: First of all, I'd like to thank all of you who took the time
to write, telling me you were interested in having this series continue.
Because it takes so much time to write each chapter, I just wanted to make
sure there was enough of a following to justify the effort, and I do see
the support is still there.  I will write a book 6, but it may be a while
before the first chapter appears here, as it has been very difficult to
find the time to write.  It will be posted, however, just be patient and I
will try to make it worth the wait.  Sincerely, Bill

             *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

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.