Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 10:06:54 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel - book 7, chapter 12

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 Emoe57 for his editorial assistance with
this chapter, and Art, the real Vinnie and John for their additional input
on each chapter.

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 7-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2004 by billwstories
Chapter 12 - Moving on.                           January 2004

Now that our legal woes were behind us and the college boys had returned to
their campuses, those who were still at home put all their energy into
planning our Halloween haunted house.  They wanted to outdo themselves this
year, and I decided to let them, thinking it would be good for them to
direct their energies elsewhere and forget about what we had just gone
through.  Over the next few days, they told me their suggestions and I
would okay them, help modify them, or reject them outright, as some of
their proposals were outrageous.  After a few heated discussions, we
finally agreed on a plan and the boys set about putting it into action.

While the boys were putting together their plans for Halloween, I had
something else to concern myself with, Cole's next birthday.  He would be
turning eighteen this year, and I wanted to make a big deal of this for
him, as I thought he might need a boost.  Trey and Vinnie were talking
excitedly about their college plans, and I knew Cole wouldn't be going on,
due to his learning difficulties, so I needed to give him something else to
focus on and make him feel good.  He hadn't said anything, but I could
sense his reactions, whenever he heard the other two go on about their
plans, and I knew he felt as if he were a disappointment and his
self-esteem slipped another notch every time this happened.  I had tried to
engage him a couple of times, about how work was going on the car he was
fixing up, and that would temporarily bring him out of his funk and get him
animatedly talking about what he was up to.  I could see how passionate he
was about this and I felt that might be the key to his future.

Just like we had for Andrew, I planned a small, family gathering for his
birthday, but I also hoped to make this special for him.  In between, I
made some inquires and did some secretive planning of my own, and I was
actually a little excited when the big day approached.  After everyone had
gathered at the house, wished Cole a happy birthday, and gave him his
gifts, which he would open later, we sat down to eat.  I had allowed Cole
to choose the menu, which he had very diligently done, and when the meal
was over, we sat around socializing for a while, before we would have cake
and ice cream and let Cole open his gifts.

I saved my present to him for last, and after he finished unwrapping
everything else and thanking whomever gave it to him, I handed him mine.
It was a large manila envelope, and this in itself made Cole curious.
Carefully, he opened it and pulled out the paperwork inside.  I had
prepared everything on my computer.  Slowly, he read it over, before he
shot across the room and threw his arms about my neck.  "Dad, this is
fantastic!" he exclaimed.

Of course, this got everyone curious as to what I had given him, as I had
divulged that information to no one beforehand, not even Jake.  "Well, what
is it?" Mrs. Spence finally inquired.

"Dad got me a job at the car dealership on the weekends, but it's also a
guarantee from the owner that I will be hired full-time after I graduate,
if I do a good job.  It also says they'll send me to various automotive
classes afterward, for more advanced training.  It's just what I was hoping
for.  I love working on cars and I can't imagine anything I'd like to do
more.  Thanks, Dad, I love you."  He was kind of doing a little dance, he
was so excited, but suddenly he stopped and turned toward me again, and
spoke.

"I was really feeling bad, cuz I'm not smart enough to go to college, but
this is far better.  I don't mind going to school to learn about fixing
cars.  You do that by working on them and being shown, and I can learn that
way.  I just don't do well learning from people talking or by reading
books."  It was sort of his way of justifying things for everyone else,
because he knew I understood that, as we'd discussed it many times, but I
was glad he felt so strongly about doing this.  I suspected he would, but
it was nice to see my viewpoint vindicated.

At that point, everyone began to ask questions of both of us, wanting to
know more about what Cole had been doing and what this meant.  Cole filled
those in who had been unaware of his activities, about taking automotive
classes at school and about his efforts to fixing up that old car.  They
all listened intently to his story, asking questions and making comments
along the way, and they all seemed extremely interested in what this meant
to him.  I think this not only gave Cole something to look forward to, but
it also eased his conscience about not attending college, and I was happy
this had all worked out so well - even better than I had planned.

The rest of the day went very smoothly, and everyone seemed to have a good
time, and some of the others took the opportunity to stop and congratulate
me on my creative solution to Cole's problem.  Even Jake told me he hadn't
seen that coming, but thought it was an excellent idea, before he teasingly
asked me how many other secrets I had kept hidden from him.  Playing along,
I told him at least a trunk full, which surprised him even more.  I don't
believe he had expected for me to respond in that fashion, but had assumed
I would try to reassure him instead.  Leaving him to wonder, I jokingly
punched him in the arm and then walked away, choosing not to pursue this
any further.

Once the guests had left and things quieted down, I went over to Jake and
explained that I would never keep anything of importance from him, just to
ease his doubts.  After that, I answered a few more of his questions, to
relieve his suspicions completely, and then we headed off for some quiet
time alone, something I think both of us desperately needed.  By the next
day, all of his doubts were behind us.

The boys went into high gear now, as there was only a little over a week to
go before it would be Halloween, and they needed to finish their
preparations.  They had worked hard on what they had planned for this year,
as what they intended to do was even more elaborate than their previous
attempts, and when the big day arrived, we discovered everything had come
together nicely.  All of the boys were so excited when they awoke on
Halloween morning that it made me wonder if I would be able to get them to
school for the day.  I knew they probably wouldn't be able to concentrate
on their class work while they were there, but I wasn't about to let them
take the day off.  I drove them all to school, dropped them off, and by the
time they arrived back home, once school was out, they were all so hyper
that they flew about the house, getting ready for the big night.

As always, we had a guide out front who kept all the trick-or-treaters
gathered in once place, until he directed them to go around to the back of
the house.  They would enter through our rear door, moving into the rec
room first, before they were directed to the other areas.  On their way to
our backdoor, they passed by the familiar tombstones, which included the
names of some of the most famous murderers in history, such as Jack the
Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacey, Son of Sam, Adolf Hitler, Joseph
Stalin, Vlad the Impaler, and Osama Bin Laden, but this year we added one
more, Saddam Hussein.  His tombstone was placed closest to the door, so
people would notice it, but there was a more sinister reason for doing this
too.

As the first set of costumed youngsters made their way to our door, we soon
heard a series of screams, which meant the first surprise of the night had
been sprung.  What the boys had done was this - they had dug a shallow hole
in front of Saddam's tombstone, big enough for one of the boys to lie down
in, and Dion eagerly volunteered for this job.  Over top of the hole, I had
made a hatch, with a small trap door in it, and we covered it with an
artificial grass rug, once he was in position.  As the first group made
their way to our door, he reached through the small opening and grasped one
of the startled Halloweener's leg, causing the first scream, and that
scream scared some of the others into doing the same.  Not giving them a
chance to investigate what happened further, I opened the door and invited
them inside.

The children looked relieved to come indoors, but that was short-lived.  As
they entered, the room was filled with various spooky sounds, provided by a
commercially prepared CD being played in a portable player.  Our guests
immediately focused on the casket, where in the past we had another boy
hidden, dressed as Dracula.  This diversion helped to set up the next
surprise, which came from the other side of the room, as Graham, Sammy and
Andrew, all dressed as some creepy alien life form, slid noiselessly across
the carpet and grabbed one of the unsuspecting visitors.  This set off
another series of screams, and I could only imagine what the group waiting
out front was thinking at this point.

>From there, the children were led down to the basement, through a series
of strings that dangled down in their path, each with a different grotesque
plastic creature attached to it.  Once they got to the bottom, the boys had
set up large aquariums, which they had filled with various creepy delights,
as one tank held spiders, the next a variety of bugs, another with worms,
snails, and slugs, and a final tank with various reptiles inside.  The boys
had also hooked up spotlights behind each tank, which they would turn on,
one at a time, as the children approach, highlighting what was contained
within.  Seeing this series of revolting animals also elicited a few more
cries and screams, which was quickly followed by some gleeful cackling from
my sons.

After getting away from that area, the children were led past a table
containing an array of body parts, most of which seemed to be able move on
their own.  First there was an arm, which would reach out and attempt to
grab passers by.  Then there was a pair of eyes, which appeared to be
suspended in a frame dangling in midair, and the eyes would appear and
disappear with varying frequency.  This was actually Trey, with a black,
cloth mask over his face, so only his eyes would show.  We had also put
black makeup over his eyelids, so when his eyes were closed, the entire box
looked empty.  We also had a black light illuminating that area, so when he
opened his eyes it would not only give an eerie effect, but also make the
eyes appear as if they were attached to nothing.  Finally, there was a
severed head, which sat on a platter and would open its eyes and speak as
the children walked by.  In reality, the head belonged to Vinnie, who was
made up to look like a very haggard Saddam Hussein, complete with the
infamous beret.  This area turned out to be very popular, but we had to
keep the children moving, so those waiting outside could have their turn
too.  Once the children collected their treats, they'd be led back
upstairs, and then exit out our front door.  By this time the next group
would be entering the rear of the house, and the cycle continued.

By the time the evening had ended, we were all extremely exhausted, but we
had also enjoyed ourselves immensely.  The trick-or-treaters given us many
favorable comments about their time there and they genuinely appeared
thrilled with our efforts.  That, alone, more than made up for all the work
we had done and the long day we had just put in.  In fact, the boys were
already talking about what they wanted to do for Halloween next year, and
it was nice to see them so excited about something like this again.

October now gave way to November, and Jake and I began to plan our
Thanksgiving holiday.  This would be the first Thanksgiving without my
older children, as I was sure three of them wouldn't be coming and the
fourth had already told me he had too much going on to be able to get away.
We called each member of the extended family, to make sure they knew they
were invited again, and then we began to plan the menu.  I tried to keep my
spirits up, even though inwardly I was depressed because I wouldn't be
seeing my older children and grandchildren again, and Jake immediately
picked up on this fact.

"We could just make this a quiet gathering this year," he suggested, while
giving my shoulders a gentle squeeze.  "Maybe that would make it a little
easier on you."

"NO!"  I was emphatic.  "I will not change the way we do things, as that
would be unfair to the rest of the family, and I'll be damned if I'll let
those brats ruin our holiday like that.  They may wish to stay away, but
I'm not going to pine about it and bring everyone down with me.  We will do
things as we always do and I don't want to discuss this again."  I was only
trying to emphasize my intent, but when I looked into Jake's eyes, I
realized I had hurt his feelings with my outburst.  Here he was trying to
help me, concerned about how I was feeling, and I had more or less exploded
in his face.  Without meaning to, I had once again managed to hurt someone
who only had my best interests at heart.  After apologizing profusely for
my actions, we sat and talked about this situation in depth.

"Jake, I didn't mean to go off on you like that, and I DO appreciate your
concern, but I can't let my older children's decision effect the way we do
things.  We must keep everything as normal as possible, if only for the
boys' sake, so things will go on as usual.  I will deal with things on my
own, and in my own way, so I won't drag the rest of you down with me."

"I thought we were partners?" Jake stated succinctly, but in a questioning
manner.

"We are," I agreed, trying to reassure him, but I wondered where he was
going with this now.

"Well, if we're partners, shouldn't we discuss this, or anything else which
affects us jointly or affects the family?  If I'm a part of this, I want to
be included in the decisions too."  I immediately agreed with his logic and
let him know that.

"Okay, you're right, and I apologize for the way I acted.  I will talk
things over with you from now on, but I hope you can see why I feel as I do
about this," I told him.

"Oh, yes, I do, and I'm willing to go along with you on it.  I was just
trying to offer another option, but if you think this is the best way to
go, then I'll support you one hundred percent."

I again thanked Jake for his understanding and we began talking about this
situation in greater detail.  Soon, things were pretty much back to normal
between us.  We continued to plan for Thanksgiving, but we also talked
about ways to make sure I didn't get overly depressed or dwell upon these
problems throughout the holiday season.  Jake suggested one way to do that
would be to concentrate on Dion's birthday, which happened to fall on
Thanksgiving Day this year.  Dion was turning sixteen this year, and by
focusing on his birthday and Thanksgiving dinner, we figured it would give
me plenty to occupy my time.  I knew Jake was right about the distraction,
and that by concentrating on both events, it would give me less time to
feel sorry for myself or to think about what I might be missing.

Planning for these events did keep me going and took up most of the time I
wasn't spending at work, but it also caused me to actually become a little
excited as the twenty-seventh approached.  We had decided to have
Thanksgiving dinner around 2:00, and then we'd celebrate Dion's birthday
later that evening, probably around 6:00 or so.  I had already discussed
this with Dion, giving him the choice of having his party then or waiting
for the weekend to do it, but he seemed to think it would be less of an
inconvenience to do it all at the same time.  However, he did suggest that
maybe we could do something special on Saturday too, just not a party.  I
agreed with his recommendation, so everything was set.

Wednesday night, before Thanksgiving, Jake and I spent most of the night
preparing various dishes for the next day.  The boys helped with the other
preparations, by getting the dining room ready and setting up the extra
tables we would need because of the guests.  Mark and Frankie were already
doing their share as well, as they had left Tuesday night to go pick up the
college boys, which freed Jake and me up for our cooking responsibilities.
As the two of us were preparing the pies and other deserts, the vehicles
began to roll in with our college crew, and soon the house was full of the
chaotic sounds and the innocent horseplay I had grown to love.  On their
own, the boys had managed to find the best distraction of all.

The funny thing was, some of the roles were now reversed, and my normal
prankster, Ricky, had become the brunt of the practical jokes this time
around, instead of the instigator.  Actually, we were all puzzled as to who
pulled this off, as no one took credit for what happened, but it was a riot
as it went down.  The college boys had all gone to their rooms to drop off
their belongings, but most came back downstairs almost immediately.
However, no one noticed our missing boy, until we heard a loud crash,
followed by frantic banging, coming from upstairs.  I was going past the
staircase just as it happened, so I ran up the steps to see what was going
on.  When I reached the top of the stairs, I discovered it was Ricky who
had been making all the noise, as he was now banging on the inside of his
bedroom door.

"Ricky, what in the hell are you doing in there?" I screamed at him,
thinking he was losing it.

"Some bastard fixed my bed so it would collapse when I sat on it, and then
they put oil or something all over my doorknob, so I can't get out.  They
also did something else, cuz I got a shock when I touched the doorknob too.
I'm going to find out who did this and beat the crap out of them.  Will you
open the door from out there?" he pleaded.  Suddenly, the lights began to
go on in my mind.  Someone was getting revenge.  I disconnected a battery
they had hooked to the outside of the doorknob and opened the door for him,
which allowed him to come shooting out into the hall.

"I'm gonna get even," he warned me, bolting from his room, but I grabbed
him so I could restrain him until he cooled down.  As I held him, he was
looking urgently about, to see if he could find the prankster laughing at
him from the background, but no one was there.  Next, he turned toward me,
his nostrils flaring and that crazed look in his eyes.  "You know who did
this, don't you?"

"No, Ricky, I don't," I admitted honestly, though he failed to believe me.
He glared at me, as if he thought I was in on this too.  "Honestly, I
don't," I tried to convince him, but he was unmoved.

"You know just about everything that goes on in this house," he argued, "so
why don't you know who did this?"

"Ricky, I only know what I see, hear, or am told, but this time, none of
that has happened."  I tried to look as serious as I could, so he'd not
doubt me further.  He studied me carefully, to see if he could detect a
cover up or a hint of insincerity.  Detecting nothing, he began to back
down from his stance.

"Well, I expect you to tell me, if you do find out who did this.  They're
going to be sorry," he threatened.

"Oh, when you do it that's okay," I challenged him, "but not when it's done
to you?"  He shot me a look that told me he wasn't amused by my
observation.

"Hey, they always try to get even with me too," he reasoned.

"Possibly," I admitted, "but who started all this in the first place?"
Again, he was not amused.

"Damn!  Am I always going to be in the wrong just because I did those types
of things first?"

"No, not in the wrong, but don't expect me to protect you from others doing
the same thing.  Remember, I never protected them from you."  I grinned at
him, and he rolled his eyes.

"You're no help," he challenged.  Leaving me behind, he went downstairs to
see if he could solve the mystery of who did this by himself, but by
bedtime he was no closer to finding the culprit.  Everyone teased him about
it, but no one took credit, and this just seemed to irritate him even more.
Frustrated, he eventually gave up and went to bed, but not before putting
his bed back together and taking an old rag to clean the oil off his
doorknob.

Jake and I also talked about it, trying to determine who had the guts to
challenge our numero uno jokester, but we couldn't come up with anyone in
particular.  Yes, they all were likely candidates, but none more than the
others.  We were just as baffled as Ricky was.

The next morning, Jake got up early to begin preparing the turkey, but he
told me to sleep in and he would take care of everything.  Rather than
argue with him, I did as he suggested, figuring I could use the extra time
in the sack.  However, good intentions oft go astray, and it wasn't long
before something roused me from my bed.  Without warning, loud music began
to blare from several places upstairs, and I jumped out of bed, raced into
the hallway, just barely nosed out at the stairs by Jake.  We both bolted
up the steps, as some of the music began to die down, but everyone was
already up by then - and it was only 6:30.  The boys were all coming out in
the hall looking for Ricky, as I discovered they thought he had set this
up, seeking revenge.  It seems someone had set all of their alarms for
6:30, but set it so the radio alarm would play, and that same person had
also adjusted the volumes to maximum.  Therefore, when the alarms went off,
it had the greatest shock value to the previously comatose targets.

Soon the blame shifted away from Ricky, however, when the boys discovered
the same thing had happened to him, but only he had an extra, added
surprise.  As Ricky got out of bed, he stepped on a collection of
eggshells, which had been carefully arranged so he wouldn't be able to
avoid them.  They didn't hurt or do any damage to him, but they did make
him sit back on his bed quickly, to get off of them.  When the boys went to
accuse him, he was trying to wipe the pieces of eggshell from the soles of
his feet.  Jake and I soon discovered the shells came from all the eggs we
had used in making the desserts and other dishes we had prepared for
Thanksgiving dinner, so the culprit had to come down after we all went to
bed, sneaked into Ricky's room after he had fallen asleep, and then gone
back to his own room without being discovered.  I had no idea who would go
to all the trouble or who would be focusing on Ricky after he'd been away
so much, but it wasn't like the others didn't have any reason to want to do
these types of things to him.  However, it left us all baffled, except for
the guilty party, who obviously wasn't going to own up to what he had done.

At this point, some of the boys began to laugh, which quickly got everyone
else laughing, and soon we were all giggling like a bunch of giddy
schoolgirls.  It didn't take long for them to forget about being upset for
being rudely awakened and they began to enjoy the joke and the amount of
planning it must have taken to pull it off.  Even though they didn't know
who had done it, they silently tipped their hats to this mystery person.

After everyone went back to bed, Jake and I went downstairs, and I decided
to stay up and do what I could to help.  We talked about what had happened
as we worked, trying to solve the mystery of who was doing all these
things, but more than half of the boys were likely suspects.  Finally, we
gave up thinking about who the mastermind was and, instead, began to focus
on the day ahead.  The time seemed to fly as the appointed time drew near,
and Jake and I took turns cleaning up and getting dressed, in preparation
for our guests' arrival.

It was about 1:30 when the phone rang, and soon I was being paged to take
it.  "Hello, this is Josh Currie."

"Josh, it's Albert.  I'm afraid we're going to be late, if we make it at
all today," he told me.

"Albert, is something wrong?"  I was deeply concerned, because I knew
Arlene, Little Ricky, and he would not normally miss this for the world.
They seldom got away from the farm, had no other relatives in the area, and
liked to have company, which they hardly ever had, other than us.

"There was, but it's okay now," he advised me.  "It's just slowed us up and
I'm not sure what we'll do next."  He sounded as if he were contradicting
himself, telling me there was no longer a problem, but then explaining he
didn't know what they were going to do next, so I decided to question him
about this.

"Albert, what happened?  Is it Arlene?"  There was an uneasy silence,
before he replied.

"I'm afraid so.  She wandered out of the house earlier and it took us a
while to locate her.  She was nearly a mile away before we found her."

"Is she okay now?"  I was concerned and worried that maybe something more
had happened.

"Yes, she seems to be fine...physically," he added, letting me know her
mental and emotional state was obviously deteriorating further.  "She
hasn't done anything like this before, but I guess that means we're going
to have to start keeping a closer eye on her."

"Did you find out why she left?"

"Not exactly.  She was sputtering all kinds of gibberish about having to
get to town and that she was mad about something we'd done to her, but
nothing like that ever happened, except maybe in her mind.  I'm afraid
she's remembering multiple past events and confusing them together, and
then reacting to those warped recollections."

"Albert, I'm truly sorry to hear this, but we'll hold dinner for you.  We
want all of you to be here with us on this special day, and I'm sure Little
Ricky...I mean Richard, would benefit by being with the boys again too."

"Josh, thanks, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea today."

"Albert, being with us might jog her memory to more favorable times," I
argued, "and that may be all it takes to bring her back to you and
Richard."  There was a fairly lengthy silence at the other end of the line,
and I assumed he was considering my proposal.

"I'm not sure there's anything that can bring her back to us, Josh, but I
guess it's worth a try.  I don't see where it can do her any harm, but it
might be very hard on the rest of you - seeing her this way."  It almost
sounded as if he were beginning to weep.

"Albert, we aren't friends only in the good times, and you and Arlene have
been with us throughout our problems and the rough times in our lives too.
I'm not saying it won't be difficult for any of us, but as family, we're
willing to take the bad with the good.  Get here as soon as you can and
we'll hold dinner until you arrive.  I'll explain it to the others and I'm
sure they'll have no problem with that."

"Thank you, Josh.  This is very kind of you and we all appreciate your
friendship.  We'll get there as soon as we can, but there's no need to hold
dinner for us.  We'll just eat when we get there."

"Nonsense!  This is Thanksgiving and we'll eat as a family.  I don't think
there are any of us who will have a problem waiting a little longer, and if
there are, we'll give them a snack to tide them over.  We'll see you
shortly."

We ended the phone call and I told Jake and the boys about what had
happened.  We were all concerned about what they were going through, and I
could see the boys trying to come up with some way to distract Richard when
he got here.  I know they thought that might make his momentarily forget
about his worries, but I wasn't sure there was much they could do that
would permanently help him, at this point.  They might be able to make him
forget for a short time, but he has to live with the realization of what is
happening to his mother on a daily basis, so I highly doubted my boys would
make much of a difference.  However, I applauded their efforts and I hoped
they would be effective, to any degree, in alleviating Richard's fears and
concerns.

We all went about our final preparations, as we waited for our guests to
arrive, and although I was looking forward to having everyone together,
this wasn't going to be entirely easy or pleasant.  To me that didn't
matter, however, as I believe family bonds are the strongest bonds of all,
and if the phrase 'until death do us part' ever applied to anything, it is
to the ties between family members.  As I've always told the boys, friends
may come and go, but a family is forever.  Thinking about this brought me
to another issue, and now I wondered if my older children remembered me
telling them that too.

               *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me
at 'BW's Rainbow Youth Connection,' at http://bwsryc.gayauthors.org/

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Bill.