The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - 29. Getting Back to Normal

Now that the trial and sentencing were behind us, things began to settle down. It felt good not having that albatross still tied around our necks.

A couple days after Elliot returned to school, his new friend, Hayden, talked him into accompanying him to the swim team practice, so he could introduce Elliot to the coach and some of his other teammates. Once Elliot got permission from his fathers, he told Hayden he’d love to do it.

I heard Elliot acted shyly when he was first introduced to the coach, but his shyness didn’t last very long. Once the coach began asking him questions about his former team and what types of things Elliot had done, Elliot began to loosen up and eagerly answered him.

“I’m pretty much just a diver,” Elliot told him. “I’m not a racer, but I do like to swim and do it often. My school team was pretty good, but we weren’t state champs or anything like that.”

“Well, we could use another diver,” the coach explained, “but there are just a couple more meets this season. What grade are you in?”

“I’m a freshman, sir,” Elliot replied, “but since I just got a cast off my right wrist just before Christmas, my dad doesn’t think I should start competitive diving yet. He thinks it needs a little more time to heal, before I do any difficult dives.”

“I can understand his caution,” the coach responded, “but at least you’ll still be able to dive for us for three years. By the way, do I know your father?”

“You probably know both of them and my grandfather too,” Elliot confirmed. “Danny Currie and Brandon O’Hara are my foster-fathers now, and Josh Currie is my foster-grandfather.”

“Oh, yes. I know them all very well,” the coach responded. “I’m looking forward to you trying out for the team next fall.”

“I brought my swimsuit with me and my dad said I could do a few simple dives for you, if you wanted,” Elliot offered.

“Sure. That would be great,” the coach confirmed.

Elliot went into the locker room with Hayden, so he could change. When he came out, he did four dives for the coach and they were the same ones he’d done for the family when they were at the high school pool over Christmas vacation.

Elliot started with an inward dive pike, followed by a back dive pike, a forward 1.5 somersault pike and then a reverse dive pike. After getting out of the pool, he walked over to the coach, to see if he had any comments about what he’d just done.

“Not bad,” the coach began. “You did a really good job on those easier voluntary dives, so now I’m interested to see what you’ll be able to do on the others, as well as the optional dives. I hope that wrist is totally healed by next season.”

“Oh, it will be and thanks coach,” Elliot responded. “I can’t wait to be able to start diving for real again.”

Elliot did stay with Hayden for a while longer. He even swam in the pool for a bit, although he made sure he didn’t get in the way. Elliot also got to meet some of his future teammates and they all seemed pretty nice, so Elliot was looking forward to joining the team even more than he previously had been.

When he returned home, Elliot told us how the meeting had gone. We were pleased to know the coach seemed impressed with his diving ability and was looking forward to having Elliot on the team. It was also nice to hear that he might have made another friend or two, besides Hayden.

Diving wasn’t the only thing Elliot had been looking forward to. Now that his wrist had its full range of motion again, he was eager to get back into kung fu. Jesse was the first to find out about this when he woke one morning and discovered that Elliot wasn’t next to him. When he looked over at the clock, he noticed it was only a little after six in the morning and wondered where Elliot had gone.

Jesse checked to see if he’d gone to the bathroom first and then looked in Elliot’s room. When he didn’t find him in either of those places, he made his way downstairs. Eventually, he found Elliot in the rec room. Jesse had been about to announce himself when he saw Elliot do some breathing exercises and then perform some kind of elaborate dance. The motions started out slow and deliberate, but became faster and more intense. Jesse watched with interest and kept quiet until Elliot stopped.

“When did you sign up for ballet?” Jesse giggled.

Elliot turned abruptly, somewhat startled.

“How long have you been standing there?” he asked.

“Long enough. What was all that about?” Jesse inquired.

“Well, it’s certainly not ballet!” Elliot announced, annoyed. “Those were kung fu forms.”

“You’re really into that stuff aren’t you?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah, I’ve been doing it since I was about six or seven,” Elliot replied.

“So all you have to do is memorize those steps you were doing and that’s it?” Jesse wanted to know.

“Not exactly. It’s a lot like playing the piano,” Elliot answered.

As he was saying this, Elliot noticed the questioning look on Jesse’s face, so he felt he should explain.

“Okay. When you study the piano, you learn and drill scales to build up rhythm, coordination and the ability to play and improvise music,” he explained. “The more you practice your scales, the better you get at improvising and sight-reading compositions. You get so used to the notes A-B-C-D-E-F and G that you can change them up and add sharps and minors without even having to think. That’s basically how you play songs. Are you with me so far?”

“Yeah, that makes sense, but what’s that have to do with kung fu?” Jesse wanted to know.

“Well, forms are like scales,” Elliot explained. “Kicks, punches, grabs and locks are your notes, and practicing them in combinations teaches you flow. You learn how to improvise the combinations so you can react to an attack without thinking about it.”

“Okay, that’s pretty cool, but can you do all that stuff you see on tv?” Elliot wondered. “You know, like the monkey and crane, or is that just bullshit to entertain people?”

“No, it’s real. It’s called animal style and there’s the monkey, crane, dragon, tiger, mantis and a few others,” Elliot informed him. “Supposedly, the Shaolin Monks would observe the movements of animals and then develop the style from there. I know some of the forms for it, but it’s not very practical.”

“How come?” Jesse countered.

“They’re too elaborate and detailed. They would take up too much time, if you had to fight someone. It’s really amazing to see what some of the masters can do. They call it deadly beauty,” Elliot replied, continuing the lesson.

“So what style do you practice then?” Jesse followed.

“It’s kind of a combination of Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do,” Elliot answered.

“Yeah, like I know what that means,” Jesse replied, sarcastically, while rolling his eyes.

“Right! Well, Wing Chun is a style focused more on combat and less on show,” Elliot explained. “It cuts out a lot of the formality that some of the other styles have. Jeet Kune Do was developed by Bruce Lee and basically just takes things a little further. You focus on absorbing or neutralizing an attack, rather than retaliating with deadly force.”

Jesse’s eyes bugged out a little, as he asked his next question.

“So the point is to kill your opponent?”

“Well, obviously I’ve never killed anyone,” Elliot chuckled. “I was taught that you should only fight as a last resort, but once you’re engaged in combat you don’t want your opponent getting back up and coming at you again. Deadly force in this day and age just means neutralizing your opponent and ending the fight to your advantage.”

“So I guess I don’t have to be as careful about pissing you off as I thought, huh,” Jesse said, with a smirk.

“Just because I’ve never had to do it, doesn’t mean I couldn’t rip your Adam’s Apple out and show it to you.” Elliot replied, with a grin.

“You’re just joking. Right?” Jesse wondered.

He seemed anxious to know the answer to this question.

“We’ll never know. Will we?” Elliot laughed.

“How did you get into this stuff?” Jesse asked next.

“Well, when I was little, this jerk in my class used to pick on everyone and one day it was my turn,” Elliot answered. “The little bastard punched me and I came home crying. I told my dad all about it, thinking he would fix it. Instead, he took me to my first lesson that Saturday. He said I needed to learn to take care of myself, because he wouldn’t always be around to fight my battles for me.”

“Did that kid ever mess with you again?” Jesse asked, so Elliot would continue the story.

“Yeah, about a month later,” Elliot confessed. “I’d been taking lessons a couple times a week by then, so this time he was the one who went crying to the teacher with a busted lip.”

“This is awesome!” Jesse acknowledged. “I could have used some of that stuff against my former step-dad.”

“I could show you some great self-defense moves sometime, if you wanted,” Elliot offered.

“That would be great! Just don’t tell my friends,” Jesse responded. “I don’t want the whole school knowing my freshman nephew could kick my ass.”

“If anyone gives you a hard time, just let me know and we’ll test out that Adam’s Apple trick,” Elliot joked.

The boys had a good laugh over Elliot’s comment, before wandering into the kitchen to grab some breakfast.

The rest of January had the possibility of becoming quite boring for me, but Joshie found a way to keep that from happening. Since he was so interested in sports, not only did he come in to watch college basketball games on the tube with Jake and me, but he also wanted us to take him to see the high school team play. We were drafted for this duty because Joshie’s Daddy and Poppy aren’t interested in sports and Joshie wanted to go to the high school basketball games, since we had taken him to the high school football games in the fall.

Since Joshie was so interested, I agreed to do this, but would limit it to attending the home games that are played on either Friday or Saturday. I wouldn’t be taking him to the away games or the home games played during the week, since they ended after Joshie’s bedtime. I certainly didn’t want to deprive him of his sleep and then have him be tired in class the next day.

Jesse and Elliot often went to the games with us as well, but I’m pretty sure they weren’t going because they were interested in basketball. They were going so they could hang out with their friends. They would go in and sit with us for a brief time, but then they would disappear and Joshie and I wouldn’t see them again until the game was nearly over. The older boys did as I asked though and returned before the game ended. I had warned them if they weren’t back by the time we were ready to leave, then they’d have to walk home and could never go with us again. It seems my threat worked, because they always found us again before the final buzzer.

Since the weather pretty much prohibited Joshie from practicing basketball outdoors, I saw to it that he had a Fisher Price Grow-to-Pro Basketball set that he kept in the rec room. By having this, Joshie could have some fun practicing and yet be indoors where he could play without having to dress in his winter coat and hat. I’m still amazed that Joshie has such a passion for sports, since his fathers couldn’t care less about anything of that nature.

While we were watching the high school games, or the college games on TV, I would try to explain the basics to Joshie. He was very interested in learning the rules and absorbed the information quickly, and then I would work with him as he practiced his skills at home. As we did this, I also tried to make certain he used both hands to dribble and shoot lay-ups. I never tried to change or mess with his preferred hand for jump shots and free throws though, because that was his personal preference. The way I figure it, by the time he reaches fourth grade, when the school has its first organized teams, it is very possible that Joshie will be one hell of a player.

Near the end of January, Elliot came up to his fathers and asked if he could spend a night at his friend Hayden’s house. After asking the usual questions, such as if this was for a party, if Hayden’s parents were going to be there and who else was going to be present, Danny and Brandon had a couple of other questions for Elliot.

“Okay, so it’s just going to be Hayden and you, but his parents are going to be home too,” Danny repeated. “Now, I just want to ask if you have an interest in Hayden, other than just being friends.”

“I might, but Hayden doesn’t,” Elliot admitted. “Don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen between us, other than being friends who like most of the same things, except Hayden definitely likes girls.”

“Brandon and I just thought it was important to ask, seeing you’ve done things with Jesse and some of the others,” Danny stated. “So you don’t have any plans like that with Hayden?”

“Not at all,” Elliot confirmed. “Hayden has made more than enough comments to let me know he’s not interested in anything but girls.”

“That may not have been because of anything you did though,” Brandon informed him. “It may just have come out because our family has kind of a reputation, since several of us are gay. I think that makes a lot of people try to clear the air about their preference right away, so there’s no confusion.”

“That’s too bad,” Elliot confessed, “because Hayden is pretty cute.”

“But his being cute isn’t the only reason you’re friends, is it?” Brandon pressed.

“No, it helps, but he was the one who came up to me first and introduced himself,” Elliot explained. “Since then, we’ve just discovered we like a lot of the same things, like swimming and tennis, and we pretty much like the same music and movies and we both love to read. He likes Shakespeare too and we have both read all the Harry Potter books, plus a lot of other stuff. I have no expectations that we’ll be anything other than friends.”

Since that was cleared up, they gave Elliot permission to stay over. Elliot then went with Joshie, Jake and me to the basketball game, but he left there with Hayden and his parents. Jesse had opted not to go with us tonight, which he usually does, so I think I’ll talk to him about this later, when Elliot’s at Hayden’s place.

The rest of us had a great time at the game and our school won. Joshie was cheering just as loudly as most of the others there, plus he was doing his own coaching, by yelling at the players to either ‘pass’ or ‘shoot.’ I think the people sitting around us were getting a big kick out of Joshie’s antics.

After we returned home, I pulled Jesse aside, once Dion and Trey had taken Joshie to get ready for bed. I led Jesse into the family room, where we could be alone – well Jake was in there with us too.

“Jesse, are you certain you’re not upset about Elliot staying over with Hayden?” I asked.

“No, not at all,” he answered, rather quickly.

“I know you two have been fairly close since he moved in here, so I just wanted to be sure,” I followed.

“I know. Elliot and I are friends and we have messed around, but that’s it,” he responded. “I’m bi, but I don’t think I’m romantically attracted to Elliot. He’s great to get off with, but I’m not in love with him, if that’s what you mean.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” I stated, since I was now fairly certain he was being honest about his feelings. “It was just when you didn’t go with us to the game – and since you usually do, I was just curious.”

“I didn’t go because I didn’t want Elliot to spend his night trying to split his attention between Hayden and me,” Jesse explained. “I thought that would be rude of him, since Hayden was just going to the game to meet Elliot.”

“Do you think Hayden might be expecting more than just being friends?” I pressed.

“Not from what I can tell,” Jesse confirmed. “Elliot hasn’t told me anything that would make me think he’s interested in Hayden that way or that Hayden was interested in him like that.”

“Okay, I just wanted to be certain,” I told him, before I let him take off.

I think that night was the first time Jesse had slept alone in weeks and he didn’t look very well rested when he came down for breakfast the next morning. Maybe there wasn’t a romantic attachment, but I definitely think Jesse had grown accustomed to having a bunkmate.

Jesse also moped around the house for most of the day, since he didn’t have Elliot around to do things with. I guess I hadn’t realized before how lonely the last of the boys at home would be, after all the others were gone. I guess having Elliot around only helped to highlight this situation, because I soon caught Jesse out in the rec room with Joshie. Jesse was on his knees playing basketball against his nephew and Joshie was whipping his butt. It was fun to watch and both boys seemed to be having a good time, although Joshie was having more fun than Jesse.

Elliot didn’t call for a ride home until nearly dinnertime, and then his fathers drove down and picked him up. Elliot was eager to tell us about his time with Hayden and it seems they enjoyed being together. Elliot even said they went out running that morning, which was something he wanted to get back in the habit of doing, and Jesse quickly volunteered to do it with him, if he wanted company. Elliot agreed he would like that, so both boys seemed happy with this new arrangement.

“So what did you do at Hayden’s house?” I asked Elliot later, when Jesse and he were in the family room with me.

“Damn, everyone is sure interested in what Hayden and I did,” he joked. “First, I had to tell my dads, then I told Jesse and now I’m telling you. I swear we didn’t do anything.”

“Funny, but that’s not what I meant. You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to,” I advised him. “I was just curious and wanted you to know that I was interested in what you did. That’s all. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

“Nah. It’s okay. I really don’t mind, so here’s the short version,” Elliot answered. “Last night we just watched a movie and talked after we got to his place. Today, we went out running and then played video games on his Wii. He has the Wii tennis too, so we played that for a long time.”

“Sounds as if you had fun,” I told him.

“I did,” he replied.

“Does Hayden have any siblings?” I wondered.

“No, he’s an only child,” Elliot replied.

“Do they have a nice house?” I followed.

“It’s nice, but kind of small, especially compared to this place.” Elliot replied, with a laugh. “They didn’t have a spare bedroom and Hayden only has a single bed, so I slept on the floor. He had an air mattress and gave me a sleeping bag to use on it, so it wasn’t too bad.”

Well, it sounds as if Elliot had a good time, so now we’ll just wait and see where this friendship goes from here.

Jesse and Elliot spent the night together again and I could see Jesse was in a much better mood the next morning, now that his buddy was back home. I was wondering how they would be with one another today, but I needn’t have worried. They were just like they had been before and no one’s feelings had been bruised.

“I’m really glad you have another friend,” Jesse told him. “I only have one more year of school after this and then I plan to go to college. Now, I won’t have to worry that I’ll be leaving you all alone.”

“Joshie will still be here, even if I hadn’t met Hayden,” Elliot responded.

“Yes, but I think Joshie’s a little young for you to consider him your friend, even if he is more grown up than most kids his age,” Jesse explained.

“True. He is a neat kid, but you’re right,” Elliot agreed. “I’m glad I have Hayden as a friend now, but I want you to get to know him better too.”

“Look, I don’t want to interfere or get in the way,” Jesse told him.

“You won’t,” Elliot confirmed. “I’ve already told Hayden about you and that I wanted you to meet. He’s cool with it, so I hope you are too.”

“Yeah, if he’s willing,” Jesse agreed.

“He is,” Elliot answered. “After all, you introduced me to a bunch of your friends back at Halloween, so I want you to know my friends too.”

I guess that was enough to end the discussion, with perfect understanding.

Since it was Sunday, we also went to church and brunch together, and then we came home and did our own things until dinnertime. After we ate, I confronted the others before they left the table.

“Okay, it’s almost February, so I want to get something cleared up,” I began. “I want to know if there’s any interest in having a Valentine’s Day party at the house or not.”

There was an immediate silence, as the boys looked at their partners and then at the others. After a minute or so, someone finally spoke up.

“I think Brand and I are thinking of doing something on our own this year,” Danny answered first.

“Yes, and I think Dion and I are going to do the same thing,” Trey offered. “Joshie’s mother said she’d like to have him for Valentine’s Day, or even the weekend before, so Dion agreed he would take Joshie down to her parent’s place whenever she wanted.”

“Okay, what about you guys?” I asked Jesse and Elliot.

“Neither of us has a partner, so I don’t think we’re interested either,” Jesse informed me. “I’m sorry, if that’s not what you wanted to hear.”

“No, that’s fine,” I told him. “I just wanted to know what everyone else thought. This way, Jake and I can make some plans too. Do you think we can trust leaving you two home alone for a few hours, while the rest of us go out?”

Jesse looked at Elliot and they both grinned.

“Sure, we won’t tear the house down or anything,” he agreed.

“Yes, Papa,” Elliot chimed in. “I think my dads, Uncle Dion, Uncle Trey, Papa Jake and you should go out and have some fun. You can trust us to be good while you’re gone.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure I fix your dinner before we leave,” I advised them. “Just no parties or people over while we’re not here, unless you have our permission first.”

“Not a problem,” Jesse confirmed.

Now that this minor detail had been cleared up, everyone took off.

A couple of days later, Elliot went up to his fathers, to ask them a favor.

“Would it be all right if I invited Hayden to stay over here on Friday night?” he wanted to know.

“Sure, if it’s okay with Hayden’s parents,” Brandon told him, after getting a nod from Danny.

“Great! I want him to meet all of you too, since I know his parents,” Elliot told us. “I also want him to get to know Jesse better, because I think we can all be friends.”

That sounded interesting and I think we all wondered how that was going to work out. I think we were all looking forward to meeting Hayden and getting to know him better.

The rest of the week went by quickly and on Friday night, Hayden came home with Elliot after school. Hayden was carrying a small duffle and Elliot brought him in to introduce him to me, shortly after they arrived.

“Hayden this is my grandfather,” Elliot stated, “and Papa this is my friend, Hayden. He already knows Uncle Dion and Uncle Trey.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Hayden,” I told him.

“Thank you, Mr. Currie, and it’s nice to meet you too,” Hayden replied. “I knew who you were, since you were the Superintendent when I was younger, but I’m glad to meet you now.”

“Thank you, that is very nice of you to say,” I added.

Hayden was slightly taller than Elliot, with brown hair and brown eyes. Elliot later described Hayden’s hair as the color of melted milk chocolate and admitted Hayden’s large eyes reminded him of those on Disney’s Bambi. Obviously, Elliot thought he was quite handsome and I think we all agreed on that point. He also seemed like a sweet boy, so I was glad Elliot had befriended someone like him.

Once the introduction had been completed, the boys went into the kitchen and grabbed themselves a snack, and then Hayden and Elliot took off with Jesse and disappeared for a while. Since Danny and Brandon weren’t home yet, I figured Elliot would introduce Hayden to them once they arrived.

Brandon arrived home about 5:30, but Danny didn’t show up until an hour after that. Elliot introduced Hayden to both of his Dad’s and we sat down to eat, shortly after Danny arrived. Of course, we gave Danny a chance to clean up and change first.

Normally, Danny and Brandon would ask Elliot about his day over dinner. However, tonight they were asking Hayden most of the questions.

“Hayden, I know you must think it’s a little strange that Elliot has two dads,” Danny began, as he broached the topic he was worried about with Hayden.

“It’s different, but Elliot seems to like it here and I’m sure glad you brought him to live with you,” Hayden answered.

I thought he had skillfully answered the question and sidestepped the issue.

“So it doesn’t bother you then,” Brandon pressed.

“I’m not sure if I could live without my mom, but it’s cool,” he replied. “Just so you guys know, I’m into girls. I know you’re not all gay, but I just thought you might want to know.”

I did detect that Hayden seemed to be experiencing some slight discomfort concerning this topic. However, I thought I’d try to clarify something, before we changed topics.

“I hope you don’t have a problem staying here then,” I mentioned.

Hayden just looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

“Nah, I’m not worried about anyone hitting on me,” he said.

I think it was his effort to joke the topic away.

“Besides, Elliot stayed with me last weekend and wanted me to stay over here tonight, and I didn’t have a problem with that,” he continued.

I hope he truly doesn’t, otherwise this could turn out to be a sticky situation. I don’t want any allegations to crop up later, just because he thought something happened when it hadn’t.

After we finished eating, the boys asked Danny, Brandon, Jake and I to watch a movie with them in the family room. After we agreed, we allowed them to choose what we would watch and were mildly surprised when they selected the original Saw DVD. After some of the things I’d observed with Elliot, I didn’t expect him to select a movie from this genre.

“Hayden said he’s never seen this, so I thought it would be a perfect time to correct that situation,” Elliot announced.

Maybe his comment meant this was Hayden’s idea then, not his. Whichever the case, we all settled in to watch the movie, even though it wasn’t exactly the type of movie I was hoping they’d choose. The boys decided to sit or lay on the floor, so they could spread out and we had no problem with this. We merely focused on the flick.

It didn’t take long before I noticed that Hayden was kind of squeamish and jumpy when it came to some of the action. When one of the scarier or gorier scenes came on, he would frequently turn away, close his eyes or even jump slightly. It was no wonder he hadn’t seen this movie before. It seems he’s not really into horror films either.

We were all very good and didn’t say anything about how Hayden was reacting – well most of us were good. Elliot, however, would reach over and grab or tap Hayden during some of the more graphic scenes, in an effort to elicit a worse reaction. Then, when Hayden reacted, Elliot would either elbow or punch him in the shoulder for acting like such a baby.

I guess Elliot must have not only dealt with his own squeamishness, but was already aware of how Hayden was going to react as well. This might have been Elliot’s attempt to set him up in front of the rest of us. I was glad to see this didn’t embarrass Hayden though, but I did overhear him say he would get even with Elliot later.

Once the movie ended, the boys challenged each other on the Wii, so Danny, Brandon, Jake and I left the room. We knew they’d need plenty of space to move around and we didn’t want to get in their way, or worse yet, have them challenge us. Therefore, we felt it would be best to let them have a good time on their own.

Later, when the boys tired of playing the Wii, they decided to go upstairs. They went up to Elliot’s room, so they could listen to some music, as they talked about the movie. Now that there were no adults around, Elliot let Hayden have it.

“What a chicken you are,” Elliot told him. “Bwaak, bwaak, bwaak, bwaak, bwaaaak.”

“Hey, my ’rents don’t like me to watch stuff like that, so I’m just not used to it. That’s all,” Hayden explained.

“I know. It’s no big deal,” Elliot agreed. “It’s just that I couldn’t let it go without saying something.”

This time Hayden punched Elliot in the arm.

“Okay, we’re even,” Elliot conceded.

“Not by a long-shot,” Hayden countered.

The three boys listened to music for a while and Jesse was getting a chance to know Hayden a little better too. After about an hour though, the boys started to get tired and decided it was time to sleep. Once Jesse left to go to his room, Elliot asked Hayden a question.

“We’ve got lots of empty bedrooms, so I can make up one of those beds or you can sleep in here,” he told him.

“You’ve got a big bed, so I’ll just sleep in here with you,” Hayden answered.

“You want to sleep in my bed with me?” Elliot asked, just to be sure he understood correctly.

“Yeah, it’ll be cool. Just don’t try any funny stuff,” Hayden joked, as he released a nervous little laugh.

“Do you want some pajamas or did you bring some?” Elliot wanted to know.

“I usually just sleep in my underwear, like we did last weekend,” Hayden answered. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I just wanted to be sure you wanted to do that, seeing this time we’ll be sharing a bed,” Elliot confirmed.

Both boys then went to the toilet and brushed their teeth, before they came back into Elliot’s room. Once the door was shut, they stripped down to their underwear and hopped into bed together. It didn’t take long before they drifted off to sleep.

When I heard about their sleeping arrangement later, I was hoping that Hayden had decided to stay in with Elliot merely because they were friends or he didn’t want to have him make up another bed. I was praying it wasn’t because he was worried about sleeping alone in a room in our house, for fear that something else might happen.

The next morning, Danny and Brandon asked us to join them, because they were going to take the boys to I.H.O.P. for breakfast. Since it sounded good to us, Jake and I agreed. Dion and Trey had turned down their offer, but I offered to take Joshie with me. I knew he liked the kiddie breakfast there and this would give Dion and Trey some quality time alone, while we were gone. They thanked me for taking Joshie, as we headed out the door.

Hayden ordered the ‘all you can eat pancake special’ and I think we were all a little surprised by how much he packed away. Elliot had ordered the same thing, but didn’t eat nearly as much as Hayden. Jesse also ordered what they had and ended up beating them both. I’m not sure if this was meant to be a competition or not, but if it was then Jesse won.

The rest of us were a little more reserved and leisurely ate our breakfasts. Joshie not only had his own meal, but he also sampled what Jake and I had ordered too. I guess he thought this was the custom, since the last time we came here Lucas and he split two different kiddie breakfasts.

When we got home, Hayden talked to Danny and Brandon for a while, so he could ask them more about what they do for a living and where they went to college. He seemed really interested and it didn’t appear that he had an ulterior motive. We also felt he seemed fairly impressed by what they’d told him. Afterward, Hayden admitted that he wanted to be an engineer, like his father, and said he liked math and was pretty good at it. Danny and Brandon told him that was a great goal and they hoped he was able to follow through on it.

Once their discussion ended, the boys spent some time playing games. When Hayden asked to use our phone later, because he thought it was time for him to go home, Danny offered to drive him instead. Hayden told him he didn’t need to do that and he’d just call his parents, but Danny told him it was fine. Therefore, Elliot and Hayden rode with Danny to Hayden’s house and returned him safely to his parents. Overall, I think his visit went very well.