The Castaway Hotel - 5 - 9. Chapter 9 - A Busy October

As we moved into October, I began making preparations for the next couple of events on our calendar. First, I was eager for the opportunity to meet my new granddaughter and, therefore, began to make plans to do so as soon as I could. In addition to that, there was also the matter of Cole’s birthday, which fell on the 22nd. He would be turning sixteen this year, which is a very significant step for most young males, since in many states this is the age at which they become legal to do some of the things they had been denied before this time. Due to this fact, we were going to make this a very special party.

By reaching this milestone, Cole would now be old enough to be included in the next group of new drivers, after I got the current bunch through their road tests. I would probably wait until next spring before I began their lessons, since this group would most likely also include Trey and Nick and they wouldn’t be turning sixteen until February. I understood Cole might be a little disappointed about the additional wait, but after seeing some of the other boys have to wait even longer before they were allowed to drive, I was fairly certain he wouldn’t give me a rough time about it. I also think watching Kevin learn the hard lessons about his own impatience had also made an impact on the others, so Cole wanted to avoid repeating any of Kevin’s mistakes.

In preparing for his party, I checked with Cole first, to see if there was anything special he wanted for his party, either along the lines of activities or whom he wanted to invite. The only request Cole made was for this to be a co-ed event, since he was one of my straight boys and wanted to invite a few of the girls he had become friends with. Although he had decided he was straight, it didn’t stop him from occasionally having some fun with the others, since most horny teenagers would take any help they could get. However, he was certain he was more interested in and infatuated with girls, so these occasions were becoming less and less frequent as time went by. After he explained his request, I told him that would be fine, so he should make up his party list and give it to me as early as possible, which he did with plenty of time to spare.

Before Cole’s birthday party took place, I also had a little trip to plan and take. You see, I’d decided to use the long Columbus Day weekend to be able to visit my son, daughter-in-law and Jordan, but most importantly so I could also be formally introduced to Megan. The pictures they’d sent me of the baby were adorable, with some of them being of her alone, while others were with one of them holding her, and seeing these just made me long even more to meet her in person. Once I told the others of my plans, Jake, Danny and Brandon all agreed to split the necessary driving, since Dustin and Frankie would still be away at college and none of them wanted me to be burdened with that chore. Even though I was being relegated to the role of a passenger, I was still so excited that I could hardly wait for our departure date to arrive.

Jake had also managed to take a half-day off on that Friday afternoon, so he came home at lunchtime and took a short nap after we ate. I woke him just before the boys arrived home from school and we left a short time later, after loading our luggage. The trio had agreed that Danny would take the first shift behind the wheel, and after we stopped for dinner, Brandon would take over the driving chores. However, once it got dark, Jake would move into the driver’s seat, to complete the journey. After several more hours of travel, we finally arrived near their home in the early hours of the morning and quickly checked into our motel. We grabbed a few hours of sleep first, and then drive to their house after breakfast, in order to give Michael and Andrea time to get Jordan and the baby fed and dressed before we arrived.

By the time we pulled into their driveway, the anticipation of meeting my granddaughter for the first time was killing me. I immediately bolted from my seat and was standing at the front door when Michael opened it. After giving me a hug and telling me how good it was to see me again, we all went inside. I had no sooner moved through the doorway before being attacked by Jordan, who continued going crazy as he greeted each one of the others as they entered his home. As Jordan’s excitement began to fade slightly, we followed them into their living room, where we sat down, got comfortable and continued our conversation, while waiting for my daughter-in-law and the baby to enter.

A minute or so later, Andrea came walking into the room carrying Megan. Andrea immediately strode over to where I was sitting and held the baby out for me to take, which I did without hesitation. I have never been one of those fathers or grandfathers who was uncomfortable about handling infants, so I eagerly took Megan into my arms and cradled her against my body. She was wide-awake and looked up at me and smiled, as soon as I held her securely against my chest. After seeing her adorable grin, I immediately fell in love with this precious creature and knew she was dear to me as any of my other children or grandchildren.

The boys were also eager to see and hold her, so over the next few hours Megan was passed around from one eager pair of arms to another, only being returned to her parents whenever she needed to be changed or fed. It was easy to see how this little lady had suddenly become the most important thing in any of our lives.

After an enjoyable couple of days spending time with them, we reluctantly returned home. Although we wished we could have stayed longer, Jake had to return to work and the boys had classes to attend. It was a bittersweet time for each of us as we left their home, but life has a way of presenting these moments of conflicting emotions. As we drove away, we each took comfort in the fact that we’d be seeing them again for Thanksgiving and then again at Christmas, but it wasn’t easy to be separated from that precious little darling for even that brief of a time.

After another uneventful ride, with my three drivers again splitting the piloting chores, we arrived at our house and did what was necessary to prepare to return to our normal lives. Although it had been a rewarding and enjoyable time away, the harsh reality of what we needed to do made us focus on the upcoming week, instead of the newest addition to our family.

That week and the next passed by quickly as well, and almost before we knew it, the day of Cole’s party had arrived. One of the biggest differences between this and our normal gatherings was the number of females in attendance. Although this wasn’t typical for these types of functions, no one had any problems with their inclusion, but it still seemed more than a little strange to me. It wasn’t that I was bothered by it, it was just that I wasn’t used to seeing so many young ladies strolling around our yard and through the house.

In addition to the girls, Cole had also invited a couple of his male friends from school, but the majority of his invitations went to females. He felt there would be enough guys there already, meaning his brothers, and enough of them were straight or bi so they would also be mingling with his female friends too. The party actually went off quite well and everyone was having a good time, so the festivities continued on into the evening. I did have to send some of the older boys to the store on a couple of occasions, to pick up additional items to replace those things we were running out of, but everyone was having so much fun that I couldn’t bring myself to end it.

Cole was correct in thinking that some of his brothers would be out there getting to know some of the girls better too, and no one was disappointed with their effort. Ricky, Jay, Pat and Dion moved about and talked to nearly everyone, and soon I began to notice some of the boys pairing off with a particular young lady and heading in various directions, as they sought some privacy. I was a bit surprised that Dion was one of the boys doing this, but I did notice him taking off, as he took one quite attractive girl out for a walk.

It was also hard to miss the pained expression on Trey’s face when he noticed this as well, but he did somehow manage to keep his emotions under control. I knew this wasn’t going to be a serious tryst for Dion, since he had continued to let Trey know he planned on them being together for a very long time. It was just a case that he still had some wild oats to sow, at least where females were concerned, and he wanted to see if the grass was really greener on the other side of the fence. Although he’d tried this before and decided it wasn’t, I think he wanted to be positive it wasn’t merely due to the individual he’d been with at the time. I was pretty sure this foray wouldn’t escalate into anything romantic, but was more about a guy doing a little flirting with an attractive member of the opposite sex.

As Dion walked along with this girl, the conversation quickly turned to his ‘uniqueness’. “I’ve heard from some of the other girls, that you’ve got some special qualities,” she informed him.

Dion grinned, thinking she meant his personality or his charm, and didn’t immediately catch on to the true meaning of what she was alluding to. “Well, I don’t think I’m so special,” he told her, “and I’m not any different than any of my brothers.”

“That’s not what I heard,” she replied, giving him an evil grin. Seeing the way she was leering at him and glancing down at his crotch, Dion suddenly began to understand the intended meaning of her innuendos. However, he still thought he’d better make sure, so he didn’t make any unwanted moves or create a scene.

“What do you mean? I’m not so special,” he insisted.

“Well, I hear there are parts of you that are, shall I say, bigger than normal,” she clarified, which caused Dion to blush slightly, even though no one, but he, was able to tell. As he was trying to decide what to say or do next, he merely stopped in his tracks and stood motionless for a few moments, with his mouth hanging slightly open. Since he was more than a year younger than Cole, he was surprised the girls that Cole knew would know about him.

“Do you think I could see it?” she continued.

At this point, Dion wasn’t sure how to respond. Although he was fairly certain she was referring to his penis, he didn’t want to jump to conclusions and be wrong. “Ah, what exactly is it you want to see?” he asked.

“You know, that love muscle of yours. I hear it’s pretty big and that you’re pretty good with it,” she clarified.

“Well, I guess it might be a little bigger than normal,” he stuttered out, although he was quite proud to learn that some of the girls seemed to have found his uniqueness an interesting topic of conversation.

“Well, are you going to show it to me, or do I have to rip your clothes off to get a peek?” she asked again, while flashing him with a seductive look and pose.

“Well, we can’t do it here,” Dion responded, worrying that they might be seen. “Follow me and I’ll take you someplace where we can be alone.” Pleased by his response, she tagged along beside him willingly, as he led her toward the old tree fort where he’d had some success in the past. Once they reached it, he talked her into climbing up into it with him, so they could have some privacy. As they stood facing each other, he slowly unzipped his pants, undid the snap and gave her a good look at what she wanted to see.

“Oh, my God. It’s bigger than I thought it would be, and it’s not even hard yet,” she squealed out, although Dion wasn’t quite sure if she was excited by it or afraid. It wasn’t long before that question was answered for him.

“Do you mind if I touch it?” she asked, with a great deal of sincerity and excitement.

“I don’t mind, as long as I can touch you too,” he said, with a sly grin.

She looked back at him and responded. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As she reached out and grasped his organ, she began to slowly stroke it and bring it to life. While she was doing that, Dion busied himself by fondling her breasts, and had soon removed her shirt and bra. By now she had pushed his pants down around his ankles, so he undid her snap and slid her pants down as well. It was then that she told him what she was really after. “I want to see what that feels like inside of me. Do you mind?” she pressed.

All Dion could do was flash her a big toothy grin, and get out a feeble, “Unt uh,” which let her know she had struck gold. Excitedly, Dion pulled a condom out of his wallet, which he had put there just before the party began, just in case something like this happened, and then he eagerly gave her what she wanted.

He had to take it slowly with her, and she had some difficulty in handling everything he had, even though Dion could tell she wasn’t a virgin. I heard they both seemed to enjoy what took place in that lofty perch, as Dion showed her what he could do with that monster. Everyone pretty much knew that Dion had scored when he returned to the house, as he couldn’t cover up the huge Cheshire cat grin that covered his face or hide the fact that her hair was pretty mussed up too.

Noticing those clues as well, Trey left the party quickly and headed for the solitude of his room. However, Dion had anticipated his reaction and watched him leave, so he quickly followed him. Once he had caught up with Trey, Dion explained what had happened and assured Trey it wasn’t anything more than just a sexual fling. He then wrapped Trey up in his arms and kissed him passionately, to let him know that he was still the most important person in his life. After a bit more of this type of apologizing, Trey finally forgave him, but only after making Dion promise that he’d make it up to him later that night. Dion quickly agreed, so the incident ended up being catalogued as one of those ‘no harm, no foul’ types of infractions.

The following week and a half was also quite hectic, as the soccer season came to a close and we began our preparations for Halloween. The colder winds of autumn made attending those outdoor events more than a little uncomfortable, but that was more than compensated for as the boys completed another fantastic season. In fact, it was the best soccer season they had been part of, up to this point, as my three seniors helped to lead their team to victory on many different occasions. Not only did they end up as league champions this year, but their team also finished as runner-up in their division at the state level. It was quite a nice way to end their high school soccer careers, since the only game they had lost was the state championship game for their division. Although that had been a heartbreaker, we were still pleased by the team’s overall success.

As the end of October arrived, it brought with it another special event to our home – Halloween. This year the boys decided they wanted to make a haunted house in part of our home, so they could attract more kids to come where I could see them. They knew I always loved to see the little ones in their costumes, which I usually did at school, so they concluded this would be the best way to make sure I didn’t miss out on it this year. They asked me if I minded if they used the recreation room and basement for this purpose, and I told them that would be fine, as long as they were willing to do all the work and clean up afterward. They quickly agreed and then started working on their plans to make it memorable. They did recruit Jake and me to assist them with things they weren’t able to do on their own, but none of those requests were very rigorous, nor did they take a great deal of time to accomplish. They also made sure to publicize what they were doing by placing fliers in the schools and various businesses, so everyone in the community would know and then plan to stop by.

Their first suggestion was to come up with a way to get the trick-or-treaters to come around to the back door first, where they would then be led into the rec room. To accomplish this, the boys planned on marking the path by setting up tombstones, which would lead our visitors from the front walk to the rear door. To make it easier for them, they planned on lighting the way by using a series of individual solar lamps. The sun would supply enough power to them during the day so they would shine all evening, without needing any type of electrical cords that the children might trip over.

To make it even more interesting, each tombstone was then emblazoned with the name of one of the world’s most famous mass murderers, a brief description of what he’d done and a photograph or drawing of the ‘deceased.’ The boys thought this would make it more fun and heighten the effect as the children wandered around to the backdoor. So, as the trick-or-treaters made their way around to collect their goodies, they passed by the markers for Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, the Son of Sam, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, Saddam Hussein, Vlad the Impaler, and the world’s current favorite villain, Osama Bin Laden.

Once the visitors reached the end of this ‘walk of shame,’ they would then enter the rec room, which was bathed in black light and filled with the sounds of moans, groans and other weird noises, which were playing via a continuous loop on a cassette player. As soon as they entered our home they would see the old- fashion pine coffin, which we had set up just inside the door, where those entering would be certain to notice it. After a few seconds, one of the boys would pull a cord and make the lid of the coffin rise, thus exposing one of the others lying inside, made up to appear as Dracula. Once the coffin lid was up, Dracula would suddenly sit up, which would generally elicit a few screams from the younger children and some laughs from the older ones.

Once the commotion died down and our guests were ready to move on, they would be paraded past a very authentic looking human skeleton, which was actually made from synthetic materials, and a very believable headless corpse, which was lying on the floor and outlined with what was meant to appear as the crime scene outline of the body. Once our costumed treat-seekers made it past this area, they were then led down a short hallway, which would take them to the door leading into basement.

As they moved along this corridor, they had to walk by the downstairs toilet and the door to my bedroom, which had both been temporarily fitted with fake prison bars. As our visitors glanced at these areas, an assortment of hands would suddenly shoot out of the dark and grope at their clothing, scaring the bejeebers out of them and trapping them in that narrow passageway. The boys who had volunteered for these roles also wore very horrid looking masks and their hideous features only added to our guests’ discomfort and elicited a few more screams from their victims. In order to avoid being grabbed, our visitors would press their bodies tightly against each other, but the hallways wasn’t wide enough to avoid being snagged. Realizing this, they would race forward as quickly as possible, to get past this hazard. Once they reached the doorway that descended into our basement, they were directed to take the stairs down, because that is where their treats awaited them.

As that group began to descend the stairway into the next area of tricks and treats, they would be advised to watch their step, as the only lighting available was directed toward the steps themselves, so they could see their way down. This was also geared so they wouldn’t immediately notice the spider webs they were going to encounter as they made their way down the stairs. These webs were made of fine threads and fishing line, to feel somewhat realistic, yet be more durable than the real thing, but they were also decorated with bizarre looking foam and plastic spiders, which had been placed strategically about and highlighted by flashing lights, which would blink on and off near them. Once our Halloweeners finally reached the bottom of the stairs, they were ready to discover the next set of surprises that awaited them.

First, they were lead near a table where a spotlight would suddenly flash on, in order to draw their attention to the bloody stump of a hand. After a brief hesitation, this disembodied hand would seem to move about on its own accord, while it tried to snag the various passersby. Once everyone had made it safely past that area, the first spotlight would go off and another one would burst on, just as they were passing by the severed head of Osama Bin Laden, which was grotesquely displayed on a platter. As our trick-or-treaters would look down at this spectacle, Osama’s eyes would suddenly pop open and he would emit a hideous laugh. This occurrence almost always punctuated by a few more screams or gasps from our startled visitors, before they were able to laugh in relief.

From there they would be led toward the far corner of the basement and the entire area would then be lit up, so they could see and collect their treats. At this point, they were allowed to choose from an assortment of items the boys had either made themselves or purchased specifically for this occasion. The children were now permitted to select any five items from an offering that included white chocolate eyeballs, gummy worms, thumb lollipops, bones made from pretzels and covered in white chocolate, and chewy candy tongues. Most of our visitors opted to take one of each, but some of them went against the trend and chose multiples of some items, while totally ignoring others.

After collecting their treats, the children were led back upstairs, where they would exit via our front door. As they entered the foyer leading out, they would immediately notice the scarecrow we had decorated and was sitting on a bench next to the door. As they approached, I would lift my head and raise my arms, while shouting boo, as I was the one dressed in the scarecrow costume. This way, I got to see and chat with each of the children who visited our home, once they had their treats and were ready to depart. I would also ask them what they thought of our little fantasy world and most were eager to offer their response.

It didn’t take long for me to discover that the majority of our guests seemed to really enjoy their visit through our make-believe shop of horrors and eagerly asked if we would do something like this again next year, since they had enjoyed it so much. After thinking about this briefly, I explained we most likely would, since nearly everyone seemed to be looking forward to it and had such a great time doing it, especially my sons.

Word concerning our little Halloween surprise spread quickly throughout the community that evening, which helped to guarantee our haunted house being a huge success. I think nearly every child in town passed through there at one point or another, and even though we had scared more than our share of them, no one seemed any the worse for wear. Besides, it also accomplished what the boys had hoped for, as I got to see all of the children dressed up on this very special night of the year. This instantly became one of the most memorable Halloweens I could ever remember and one I wouldn’t forget for years to come.