Date: Sat, 2 Oct 2004 00:17:30 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel-book 8, chapter 14

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 8-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2004 by billwstories
Chapter 14 - Some Easter surprises.               March 2004

I'd been left another boy, but this wasn't some ordinary child.  This kid
had emotional and psychological problems, stemming from the trauma of
watching his father murdered and added to by his stepfather's abuse.  I
wasn't sure if I was up to such a tremendous challenge.  However, I had to
do something now, so I reached my hand out toward the boy, hoping he'd take
it, so I could pull him to his feet.

"Jesse, I'm Josh and it looks like your mother wants you to stay here for
now, so let me help you up.  We'll go inside and I'll introduce you to all
the other boys.  He held out his arm toward me, but didn't grasp my hand,
so I wrapped my fingers around his and pulled him to his feet.  Next, I
picked up his suitcase, put my arm around his shoulder and started to guide
him off the porch and toward our front door.  When we were in sight of the
vehicles, I gave my head a sharp nod, to let the others know they could
come up and join us.  Immediately, they started piling out of both vehicles
and heading in my direction.  Everyone began to barrage us with questions,
but they were basically asking the same thing, only using slightly
different phrasing to get their point across.  Primarily, they all wanted
to know who the boy was and what he was doing here.

"Guys, this is Jesse.  It looks like he'll be staying with us for a while,"
I informed them, getting an assortment of reactions, mostly non-verbal, in
reply.  While Jake raised his eyebrows at me, and many of the boys gave a
surprised or confused look, Andrew stepped forward and walked right up to
Jesse.

"Hi, I'm Andrew," he stated boldly.  "You can hang out with me if you want,
cuz I'm closer to your age than they are," he added, pointing toward the
others.  "How old are you, anyway?"

"Uh, boys," I interrupted, trying to draw their attention away from Jesse,
"he won't be answering any questions for now and I want to spend some time
with him alone, if you don't mind.  Our company will be coming soon, and I
want to do this before they get here, because I need to find out more about
him."  Most of the boys seemed to understand this and began to walk away,
but Andrew wasn't about to give up so easily.

"Can I come too?" he asked, his expression pleading with me.  "I think
having someone closer to his own age would make Jesse feel better.
Wouldn't it Jesse?" he asked the boy directly, getting a nod in response.
Worried that Andrew's presence might make the questioning process more
difficult, but not wishing to put Jesse ill at-ease, I gave in.

"Okay, you can come in with us, but only if you promise to keep quiet and
just listen."  Andrew rapidly agreed, so I told him to lead Jesse to the
living room and I followed closely behind them.  The boys sat on the sofa
and I sat on the other side of Jesse, so he'd still be close to Andrew.  I
felt it might make him a little more relaxed that way.

"Jesse," I began, "I know the letter said you don't talk, so I will try to
ask you questions that you can answer by nodding your head yes or shaking
it no.  Would that be all right with you?"  He looked at me and nodded.

"Why can't he talk?" Andrew asked, and I flashed him one of my icy-cold
stares.

"Andrew, you promised you wouldn't interrupt," I reminded him.  "If you
can't do that, then I'll have to ask you to leave us alone."  This comment
caused Jesse to shake his head and grab on to Andrew's arm in response.

"I think Jesse wants you to stay," I advised him, "so if you will hold to
your promise, you may remain."  Andrew nodded and Jesse relaxed.

"Jesse, did your mother talk this over with you, before she brought you
here?" I asked him.  Hesitantly, he nodded.

"Did she also tell you why she thought this was best?"  Slowly, he nodded
again.

"Do you feel bad because she left you here?"  This time he took a little
longer to respond, but finally he shook his head.

"Did she leave you here because you and your stepfather don't get along?"
This time there was no delay in his answer and his head bobbed up and down,
quite energetically.

"Do you want to be here?" I wanted to know, but once again there was a
delay in his response.  Before he answered me, he turned and looked at
Andrew first, and then he turned back toward me.  I could understand his
reluctance to respond to that particular question, so I thought I'd let him
off the hook.

"That's all right," I told him.  "If you don't want to answer that
question, then we can go on to something else."  This caused Jesse to wave
his hand back and forth in front of his body, while shaking his head
vigorously at the same time.

"Do you want to answer that question?" I asked confused, getting a nod in
response.  "Okay then, do you want to be here with us then?"  This time he
nodded.

"Okay, that's good," I told him.  "Does your family live around here?"  He
shook his head.

"Do they live close by?"  He continued to shake his head.

"All right, then you're not from around here.  I guess I have enough
information for now, but we'll have to find you a room," I informed him.
"Would you like Andrew to share it with you for now, until you get used to
being with us?"  He nodded his head eagerly this time.

"Okay, we'll arrange for that to happen, if it's okay with Andrew," I
added.  Andrew just beamed.

"Of course it is, daddy," he confirmed, reverting back to his little boy
persona.  Noting his response, I realized this would probably be good for
both of them.

"You two can use the guest bedroom downstairs for now," I told Andrew, "and
then we'll figure out a more permanent arrangement later."  Both boys
seemed pleased by that, but I continued.  "Jesse, we're going to be having
family over for Easter dinner, so you'll need to get cleaned up and
changed.  Let's take a look at what you have in your suitcase, to see if we
can find something suitable."  He just looked at me, but didn't respond, so
I opened his suitcase.  I was disappointed in what I found there.

"Andrew, do you think you could dig through your closet and locate some of
the things you've outgrown?  Maybe you could find something that would fit
Jesse and would be appropriate for today."  Andrew just glowed, because I
was willing to assign him this responsibility.

"Yes, I could do that, daddy."  He confirmed, looking very proud.

"Jesse, would you like Andrew or me to help you clean up then?" I asked
him, and he immediately pointed at Andrew.  This caused Andrew to radiate
even more.

"Do you think you could help Jesse take a bath or shower?" I asked Andrew,
causing him to nod energetically.  "Jesse can have the choice of what he
wants to do, but I suggest you find the clothes for him first.  If you
can't find any underwear his size, then he can use what he has in his
suitcase, but they aren't in very good of condition.  Tomorrow, we can take
him shopping and get him the things he needs."

Jesse mouth dropped open when he heard me say that and I could tell by what
he brought with him that no one had spent much money on him recently.  In
fact, because all of his clothes were extremely small for him, I concluded
that possibly nothing new had been purchased for him since his mother
married his stepfather.  To answer his unspoken question, I addressed him.

"Jesse, it's not a big deal.  You need some decent clothes for school and
other times, so we'll take you shopping tomorrow.  It's a good thing
tomorrow is a teachers' workday and none of you have school.  That way we
won't have to hurry.  I'll also look over your school records tonight, to
see what we might have to set up for you, and then we'll register you on
Tuesday."  I hesitated after telling him that, because I knew I had to ask
him a sensitive question now, but I wasn't sure how to do it tacctfully.
Realizing there was probably no easy way to do proceed, I just blundered
ahead.

"Jesse, I'm not trying to imply anything here, but can you read and write?"
He nodded his head, letting me know he could.  "Great," I told him.  "If
you need anything and we don't understand what you want, you can always
write us a note.  That way, there won't be any chance we'll misunderstand.
Is that okay with you?"  He nodded again.

"Great!  Now that's settled, Andrew, why don't you two head to your room
and then the bathroom, so he can get cleaned up and changed.  That way,
he'll be ready by the time everyone gets here."

"Okay, Daddy," Andrew replied, before taking Jesse's hand and dragging him
from the room.  After the boys left, I went out to fill Jake in about our
new arrival.

I began by handing him the letter and letting him read it for himself.
Once he finished going over that, I told him the other things I'd learned
about Jesse, when I questioned the boy.  After Jake was brought up to
speed, I began to share my doubts with him.  "Jake, I'm not sure we can
handle this kid.  He has some serious problems and will need a great deal
of specialized help.  Besides, he's so young, and that means many more
years of commitment just to get him through school, and I'm not sure I'm
ready for that.  What do you think?"

"Josh, you opened up your house to help young boys, and I agreed to help
you continue doing that when I moved in with you.  This boy definitely
could use our help, but this will have to be your decision."

"Why not OUR decision?" I asked him, which made him think about what he had
said.

"Josh, I didn't mean it to sound like I didn't want to help here, only that
I'd support whatever you decided to do.  Jesse is young, so we would have
to take care of him for several years, if you decided to keep him, but he
does need someone to look after him."

"What about the farm?" I asked.  "Don't you think he could do just as well
if we put him in the group home at the farm?"

"Josh, I think this boy needs personal attention.  I'm not sure he'd do as
well lumped into a large group setting," Jake advised me.

"But wouldn't it be almost the same if he stayed here?"  Jake gave me a
strange look.

"Do you really think that's all you do?" he asked me.  "Do you think you're
in the same class as the foster parents at the group homes?  Josh, you give
these boys so much more than that.  Each and every one of them has bonded
with you, and not all in the same way.  That not only goes for these boys,
but guys like Mark, Duck and Ted too.  I really think this would be a
better option for Jesse, but I won't pressure you into keeping him.  If he
stays, it will have to be your choice, but I would support whatever you
decide to do."

"We'll need to spend more time discussing this," I informed him, "but we
have other things to attend to first, so let's get ready for our company."
He agreed and we went back to work preparing the meal.  We were having a
traditional Easter ham, covered with pineapple rings and cherries, candied
yams, mashed potatoes (for those who don't like yams), a broccoli and
cheese casserole, baked beans, a green salad and a Jell-o salad.  We also
had a choice of several desserts, to make sure everyone would be able to
find something they liked.

While we were working on the food, Andrew and Jesse showed up again, and
what a transformation.  Now that he was cleaned up, Jesse looked adorable,
and Andrew's old clothes fit him fairly well and he looked good in them.
Jesse had a big smile on his face and I knew he felt good about himself
too.

"Wow, looking good," I told him, eliciting a cute grin.  "Do you feel
better now?" I asked, which caused his head to bob up and down
enthusiastically in reply.

"I take it you and Andrew hit it off then?" I followed up, again getting
another energetic nod of agreement.  I just smiled at them and sent them
off to have some fun, until they were called for dinner.

When our guests began to arrive, I tried to discretely inform them about
Jesse, so they wouldn't be surprised.  I also wanted to apprise them of his
condition, so they wouldn't embarrass themselves by expecting him to answer
their queries.  They all confirmed they understood the situation, but I
spent more time with Sally, giving her the details about what I knew, up to
this point.  She was very interested and wanted to look everything over,
including the paperwork.  After doing this, she said the documents appeared
to be legal and binding, so I was now officially Jesse's guardian.
Therefore, it was up to me how we would proceed with him from this point
on.  'Fine,' I thought, 'now I'll be the only ogre, if I don't keep him
here.'

Steve and Mary Shay weren't with us today, because they were visiting other
family members, but John and Margaret Spence were here.  They had brought
Arlene with them, seeing they were taking care of her, and Mark's mother,
Susan, was also present.  I introduced them to Duck, and most of them knew
about his role in rescuing Vinnie, so they all warmed up to him quite
quickly.  Arlene was having a fairly good day, and she recognized her son
immediately.

"Richard, come over here and give your mother a kiss and a hug," she told
him, which caused him to smile.  He always felt better when his mother was
in one of her more lucid states.  After they finished embracing, she
quickly dimmed his high hopes for the day with her next statement.
"Richard, who are all these other people?" she asked him, letting him know
it wasn't going to be a perfect afternoon.  He rolled his eyes and then
hugged her again, before answering her question.

"They are all good friends, mom, and they're going to make sure we have a
nice Easter together."  She seemed to accept that at face value and didn't
go into it further, which sent a wave of relief through Little Ricky.

We had a lovely dinner together, but I kept my eye on Jesse, while he ate
at the other table.  I could see Andrew correcting his table manners from
time to time, before someone else could say something to Jesse about his
crude eating habits.  Andrew was trying to protect him from any unwanted
attention and help him do things correctly, and he was doing an admirable
job of it too.  I assumed Jesse either wasn't allowed to eat with his
family when he had lived at home or they had no rules regarding table
etiquette, but either way, he was way behind in some of his basic dining
skills.

We all made it through the dinner, which included some interesting
conversation, and Duck got to meet a few more of the other important people
in our lives.  All in all, it was a huge success.  After dinner, we all
decided to go out for a walk, as it was a lovely afternoon.  We just
strolled around our property, checking out some of the damage the winter
had done and observing how the early spring weather was causing the flowers
to bloom and the leaves to bud on the trees.  It also gave us a chance to
show Duck and Jesse around the rest of our property, so they had a better
idea about where we lived, other than just knowing what the inside of our
home looked like.  Andrew even pointed out the tree house to Jesse, telling
him they'd go there some other time and check it out.  By the time we got
back to the house, John and Margaret Spence informed us they had to be
heading home, as Arlene was starting to slip into one of her cantankerous
periods.  After Little Ricky kissed and hugged his mother, the rest of us
said good-bye to all three of our guests and then watched them leave.
However, once they had departed, that's when some of the others decided it
was time to call it a day as well.

Over the next half hour, we said so long to Sally and Susan, before Duck
announced he was leaving too.  "Man, I really hate to go," he told us.
"I've had such a great time here, but I do have to get back home, because I
have laundry and other stuff to do.  I just hope you'll invite me to come
here again sometime, because I really enjoyed my stay."

"Duck, you're a part of this family now," I advised him, "so you can come
back any time you wish, and you don't need to wait to be invited.  As far
as we're concerned," I announced, motioning toward the rest of the family,
"you're part of this nutty group and condemned to spend as much time with
us as you can stand."  This brought another smile to his face, and the boys
added their own two-cents worth on the topic, but I could tell Duck
understood the full impact of our message.

"Great!" he responded.  "I'll keep in touch then and I'll let you know when
I can come again."  This seemed to suffice for all of us, and we walked him
out to his vehicle, to say a final good-bye to him.  We all stood and
waved, as he drove down the street.

Once we were back inside, we cleaned up the house and put it back in order,
before we went to the family room to spend the rest of the night.  After an
hour or so, I could see Jesse was beginning to get tired, but he was
fighting to stay awake.  "Jesse, why don't you and Andrew turn in now?" I
suggested.  "Tomorrow I'll take you shopping, but I think you'll need a
good night's sleep before we do that."  Reluctantly, he agreed and the two
of them made their way to the guest bedroom.

About a half hour later, Andrew returned, but Jesse wasn't with him.  I was
curious as to what was up, but I figured I'd find out soon enough, and I
was right.  "Daddy, you're going to let Jesse live here with us, aren't
you?" he said in his little whiney, pleading voice.

"I still have to do some more thinking on that subject, Andrew.  I haven't
made any definite decision yet," I advised him.

"But you've got to," he begged.  "He's my friend now and I want him to be
my brother too."

"That's sweet," I told him, "but there's a lot of things you don't know."

"I know he can't talk and needs our help," he said innocently, and now some
of the others were edging closer, to listen in on what was being said.

"Yeah, Dad," Danny interjected, "you've never turned down helping anyone
before."

"I didn't say I wouldn't help him," I countered.  "I'm just not sure if
that would be best accomplished by his staying here."

"What could be better than here?" Kevin wondered, though I wasn't quite
sure if he did this tongue-in-cheek.

"Guys, he's a lot younger than all of you, nearly four years younger than
Andrew, and with all his problems, I'm not sure we could do him justice."

"He'd do better here, than anywhere else," Vinnie interjected.

"He sure would," Little Ricky seconded.  "I wasn't sure how I'd make out,
after my dad died and with my mom's problem and all, but this place has
been great.  He couldn't do better than this."  The other boys chimed in
their agreement.

"Guys, I appreciate your vote of confidence, but Jesse is quite young, and
I'm no spring chicken any more.  I'm also worried about not being around
for him the whole time."  I didn't mean to put it so dramatically, but they
had to know my main consideration.

"Pop," Brandon chimed in, "nothing's going to happen to you, but if it
does, Danny and I will help out.  We planned on coming back here after we
graduated anyway, to help you take care of even more boys, so we'll just
start by helping you with Jesse."  Brandon looked over at Danny and got his
nod of agreement, and I knew they were serious about their offer.

"That's super," I conceded, "but you both have several years of school
ahead of you first."

"We know that," Danny agreed, "but we'll be home to help for vacations and
summers, in the meantime."

"And I can take care of him too, Daddy," Andrew chirped.  "I did it today,
didn't I?"

"Yes, you did, and I thank you for that," I advised him, "but there is much
more involved than just getting him bathed, dressed and fed," I added.

"But the rest of us will help too," Dustin offered.  "Hell, we owe you that
much, and not just you, Dad.  We also owe it to any other kids who could
use the same type of love and support we've gotten from you over the
years."  I was touched by his comment and Jake put his arm around me at
that point, to let me know he agreed with that statement and to also show
me I had his support as well.

"And I will help too, Pop," Mark added, which really surprised me.  "I
would feel honored to be a big brother to someone like Jesse.  I think it
would be awesome to have a little brother like him and be able to help take
care of him."

"Thanks, Mark, and I thank all of you for your offers of support," I told
them.  "I was going to talk to Sally about getting him a place at the farm,
but if you all feel that strongly about it, then I'll think about it some
more, before I make my final decision.  I think I'd still like to take him
out to the farm and let him look around, to see if he'd like that better.
Besides, I wanted to check on their progress anyway and I know Little Ricky
wants to see what's happened to his old home, as well."  I looked up and
saw Little Ricky nodding his head.

"Dad," Ricky piped in, "it wouldn't be the same on the farm.  The boys out
there wouldn't love him and protect him like we would here and I think he's
really going to need that.  Sure, I might pull some jokes on you guys from
time to time, but I only do that because I love all of you."

"Can I be taken off that list then?"  Pat joked back, which caused Ricky to
feign a hurt, sad expression on his face.

"Guys, I get your point and you've given me a lot more to consider before I
make this decision, but I will need more time to think it over.  After what
you've mentioned, I'm leaning more toward his staying here than I was
before, but it's still not definite.  I'll let you know when I make up my
mind for sure."

"Don't worry, guys," Jake added.  "I know your dad and I'd be willing to
bet Jesse will end up here, with us."

Hearing this, I shot Jake a dirty look, because I felt he was putting me on
the spot and committing me to something before I was ready.  He was
probably right, but I just wanted to think it over a little more.  However,
this news sent Andrew rocketing off the couch, like a missile shooting
skyward, and then he began doing a little dance, which made his brothers
laugh and tease him.  I still wasn't sure if I wanted to accept that much
more responsibility, but with their offers of support, I was beginning to
think, 'how can I say no?'  I guess maybe our family had just grown by one.

Jake and I spent some time alone after that, making a shopping list of the
things Jesse would need.  I had Andrew go back to the bedroom and record
the sizes on the clothes Jesse wore earlier, so I'd have a starting point
to work from.  I also advised Andrew that Jesse wasn't going to be involved
in anything sexual until he was at least thirteen.

"He isn't really that small down there," Andrew let me know, "but you're
right," he agreed.  "I had to wait until I was older and he should too," he
added, confirming my suggestion.

"Then you boys didn't do anything earlier?" I asked, just to be certain.

"No, I just turned the shower on for him, but he washed himself.  I sat on
the toilet and waited for him, until he was done."  I was glad to hear
that.

"Okay.  He seems to have formed a special attachment to you," I informed
Andrew, drawing a grin, "so I'm going to rely on you the most, to start.
This probably won't be easy, with him not talking and all, and I'll make
sure the school psychologist evaluates him immediately, to see if there are
any other types of programs or treatments he might benefit from."

That seemed to end the discussion for tonight, but it didn't end my doubts
as to whether I was doing the right thing.  Yes, I agreed with the boys
that we could help him, and maybe even more than anyplace else, so with
their help, I think I had just committed us to do that.  However, I also
wondered how much longer I could keep this up and be able to be there for
all of my boys.  If Jake wasn't here too, I probably wouldn't have agreed
to do this, but his support had been essential and eased some of my
concerns.

The next day, Jake and I took Jesse to pick up a whole new wardrobe, a few
school supplies and other essentials.  I had decided, that for now, he
could use some of his old clothes for play, so we wouldn't need to buy him
those items too.  We also let Andrew join us, to make this a little easier
on Jesse.  When we first arrived at the department store, Jesse had a tough
time getting involved in the process.  He seemed scared to offer opinions
and tell us what he liked, but he also seemed extremely concerned about how
much everything cost.  After several attempts to convince him this was all
right, I let Andrew take him aside and talk to him.

"Dad has done this for each of us, when we first came to live with him,"
Andrew told him, "and he really wants to do this for you too.  It's okay
and you don't have to be scared."  Jesse didn't seem totally convinced and
Andrew was momentarily confused.  After thinking about this some more,
Andrew thought he might know why.  "Don't worry, Dad doesn't expect
anything in return," he told him, which brought a look of relief to Jesse's
face.  Maybe that was the problem between Jesse and his stepfather, I
thought later, after Andrew explained to me what had been said.  Maybe his
stepfather expected favors in return, which Jesse wouldn't agree too.  It
was possible that I was reading this wrong, but then again, maybe I wasn't.

Once this had been settled, the boys had a great time picking out the
various items for Jesse, and it appeared the poor kid had never been
allowed to help in choosing his own things before.  He was like a kid in a
candy store; with so many choices he didn't know what to do or where to go
next.  Andrew pretty much took care of that for him, leading him from item
to item, and it was cute watching Jesse try on so many different outfits.
When it came to selecting underwear, we asked Jesse what type he'd prefer.
Jesse motioned to Andrew that he wanted to know what Andrew wore and liked
best.  It didn't take long for Andrew to let Jesse know that he usually
wore briefs.  That was what Jesse had arrived with in his suitcase, so
getting Andrew's confirmation that those were okay; he decided to stick
with them.

Once we finished selecting his clothing, we moved to the shoe department,
where we picked out a pair of athletic shoes and a pair of loafers, for
dress.  Jesse was amazed at this too, as I guess the ratty old pair he'd
been wearing had been something he'd owned for a couple of years as well.
After finishing with the shoes, we went to get him a comb, a brush and a
toothbrush, before we picked up a bottle of vitamins for him.  I also made
a mental note to set appointments for him to receive a physical and have
eye and dental exams.  Damn, I forgot there was so much to do for a new
kid.

Once we arrived back home, Andrew made sure Jesse modeled all his new
outfits for Jake, me, and any of the boys who happened to be around.  At
first, Jesse was a little uncomfortable showing off like this, but with a
little coaching and coaxing from his young mentor, he was soon posing and
spinning around, to give us the full effect.  It was very cute, and it was
nice to see him loosen up, and he seemed to be getting a kick out of being
the center of attention.  I wasn't sure he'd have done this without
Andrew's help and encouragement, but whatever it took, I was glad to see it
happen.

I left the older boys to do things with Jesse for the rest of the day,
feeling he might begin to relax even more, once he got to know them all
better, but Andrew's transformation was even more amazing.  Out of all of
the offers to help with Jesse, Andrew was taking it the most seriously, and
he was being a little father to our newest family member.  He'd tell the
other boys if they were being too rough with Jesse, or Andrew would let
them know if he thought Jesse wasn't ready to do something yet.  Here was
the boy who'd been complaining he was a baby, and now he was taking charge
of a difficult situation.  That development tossed another variable into my
decision-making equation, as to whether or not I'd keep Jesse with us.  Not
only might this be better for Jesse, but it might also help Andrew.  He
would no longer be the baby of our brood, and he'd have a new role, as
big-brother/father-figure.  That alone might possibly keep him from
dwelling on all that other nonsense, about his delayed puberty.

Yes, Jesse's sudden appearance at our home might have been a blessing from
God.  Not only could we help him, but he might be able to help us too.  He
helped Andrew feel more grown up and he made Danny and Brandon make their
commitment to come back and help take in more boys, once they'd graduated
from college.  He also made the other boys aware of what they could do to
help and he even gave Mark a chance to become more involved with the
family.  Yes, God does work in strange and mysterious ways, so maybe this
is one of them.

                 *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

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/

You can also locate my stories by clicking on the Nifty author link and
scrolling down to "BW".  This will give you the links for everything I have
posted there.

I also love to hear from my readers and get their reaction to my stories.
If you don't mind, please share whatever information you feel comfortable
with, because it helps knowing my readers better when I decide what to
write or how to gear it.  Please email me at bwstories8@aol.com and let me
know what you thought, so I can do even better in the future.  Thanks,
Bill.