The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - 45. Noah

When Danny’s car pulled in the driveway the following evening, the rest of the family hurried into the foyer. We knew he was bringing Noah with him, so we wanted to be in place to greet them and enthusiastically welcome Noah into our family. Even though the mention of Noah’s name conjures up specific images, he didn’t come in an ark, nor were there any floodwaters. Instead, Noah and Danny merely came inside carrying a suitcase each.

Noah is about four and a half feet tall and has an average build, which means he isn’t skinny, nor is he fat. If I had to guess, I’d say he probably weighs around ninety pounds. He has medium brown hair, with long bangs that fall haphazardly across his brow, a button nose and steely gray eyes, although those eyes don’t seem to have any sparkle in them. This might be due to the fact that he’s already seen a great deal of sadness in his short life, so the sparkle has either temporarily gone out or never had a chance to develop.

Danny and Brandon were correct when they’d informed us that Noah is really cute. As I studied his features, I felt it was a shame that his current expression made him appear so pathetically sad. It led me to conclude that there probably wasn’t any way we were going to get him to smile, at least not any time soon. This bothered me deeply, because no child should be this unhappy or have his innocence taken from him at such a tender age. I hope we can turn this around for him, as happened with both Jesse and Elliot.

“Welcome home, Noah,” Brandon greeted him, as soon as he set down his suitcase. “This is your new grandfather, but all of his grandkids call him Papa, and this is your other grandfather, whom the boys call Papa Jake. The boy with the black hair is your new brother, Elliot, and over there is your Uncle Dion, Uncle Trey and their son, Joshie. This guy here is Jesse. He’s another one of your uncles, even though he is a lot closer to you in age and only a little older than Elliot.”

“They all live here?” Noah asked, surprised.

“Yep, we told you we have a very large family,” Danny confirmed. “These are just the ones who still live at home with us.”

“You mean there’s more?” Noah asked. He seemed to be shocked by this revelation.

“Yes, there are a lot more,” Danny advised him, “but don’t worry about them right now. You’ll meet the others eventually, but for the time being, these are the guys you’ll be seeing every day.”

Noah just nodded his head slightly in response, as he studied everyone’s faces.

“Noah, do you want us to give you a tour of the house?” Elliot asked, now that there was a lull in the conversation. “If you do, Jesse and I would be happy to show you around the place.”

Before he responded, Noah glanced up at Danny and Brandon first. After receiving their nod of approval, he looked at Elliot again and spoke.

“Okay,” he answered, simply.

The three boys headed out to the rec room first, with Joshie trailing right behind them. I was convinced he wanted to be involved with this tour too and would stick with the older boys as they showed Noah the rest of the house. A few seconds later, I heard someone playing air hockey, but it lasted only a couple of minutes before they came back out.

On their way by, the boys pointed out my bedroom to Noah and then they took him into the kitchen, through the dining room and crossed through the living room, before reentering the foyer. Once they were there, they took a quick right, went past the front door and headed into the family room. A few minutes later, I heard Elliot playing the Peanuts Theme on the piano, so I figured Joshie had either requested it or Elliot was just showing off. Who knows? Maybe it was a little bit of both.

After they came back into the foyer, the boys headed up the stairs, so they could show Noah the bedrooms. While they were doing that, Danny, Brandon, Jake and I sat down to chat, and a few minutes later Dion and Trey came in to join us.

“I’ve told Noah that he’s going to be living here with us from now on and Brandon and I are his new parents,” Danny began. “I’ve also told him he now has a brother, two grandfathers and a bunch of uncles. I didn’t bring up the gay issue though, because I wasn’t sure if he was old enough to understand what I was talking about. Brandon and I are ready to address that issue with him however, if he starts asking questions.”

“I’m glad you cleared that up for us,” I replied. “So how did he take the news that he was coming here to live?”

“When we first mentioned the idea, after Danny and I had talked to his mother and then met him, he wanted to know if he was coming to live with us because no one else wanted him,” Brandon explained. “Hearing him say this made us feel badly and nearly broke our hearts that he had phrased it that way. After thinking about it very quickly, I told him he was coming to live with us because it’s what we wanted. I then modified a line I’d heard before and told him that he’d lived with his parents first because he’d been born their son, but he was coming to live with us because we’d chosen him to be our son. I think hearing me say this made him feel a little better. I think it also reassured him that he was coming to live with us because we wanted to be his family.”

“That was good thinking,” I agreed.

“Yes, that was quite ingenious,” Jake concurred. “I don’t care whether you’d heard it somewhere before or not. It was still very smart of you to use it to comfort him.”

“Thank you,” Brandon replied, “but I didn’t have much time to put a lot of thought into it. I was just feeling so badly for him. I felt I had to do something to put his mind at ease and that just came to me.”

“Well, I’m sure it did the trick,” I agreed. “Whether you thought it through first or not, it was a good choice as a response.”

“I agree,” Dion added. “I’m going to have to try to come up with something like that when Wyatt is old enough to be told why we adopted him.”

“If you’d like, there’s another one I’ve heard before that would be more appropriate for a younger child,” Brandon responded. “You can tell him he was born in his mommy’s tummy, but he was born in your hearts.”

“Wow! I really like that,” Dion told him. “I’ll be sure to write it down, so I don’t forget.”

“I like it too,” Trey agreed. “I just wish I’d been smart enough to come up with it first.”

“I think it took a mother to come up with that one,” Brandon told him, with a wink.

The six of us continued talking for a while longer, before the boys came back downstairs. The others were all smiling, but Noah still looked as sad as he did when he took off with the rest of the boys earlier.

“What did you think of our house?” I asked, when they came in to the living room.

“It’s big,” was Noah’s answer.

“That it is,” Danny agreed, “and now that you’ve seen everything, it’s time for you to choose which bedroom you want.”

“You aren’t going to just put me in one?” he wondered, somewhat surprised.

“Nope, it’s your choice,” Danny confirmed. “I’m sure the boys must have pointed out which rooms are being used, but other than those, you can select any of the open bedrooms for yourself. Did you like any of the rooms you saw?”

“I liked two of them,” Noah answered, shyly.

Since he didn’t elaborate, Danny had to prod him a little.

“Okay. Which ones did you like?” Danny prompted.

“The ones with the animals and the one with old cars,” Noah confessed.

“Good choices,” Brandon agreed. “Which one did you like more?”

“I don’t know,” he answered.

“Didn’t you like one more than the other?” Brandon followed.

“I like them both,” Noah replied.

“Well, one is bigger than the other, so why don’t we go up and look at them again,” Danny suggested. “Then you can decide which one you want for your room. Is that all right with you?”

“Yeah, okay,” Noah answered, simply.

Noah then followed Danny and Brandon upstairs, with the other boys tagging along behind them. I think they were all interested to see which room he was going to choose, so they watched him curiously, as he deliberated over his choice.

Watching Noah as he made up his mind was somewhat amusing. He was extremely serious as he inspected each room very carefully. In fact, it almost appeared as if he was in the process of making a life-changing decision, such as where he was going to college, what his major would be, where he was going to live or whom he was going to marry. It just seemed that he was making this much more involved than simply choosing a bedroom.

As it turned out, Noah felt the jungle room was geared more toward someone younger, so he opted to take the other. The room he chose only had a single bed in it, but it was plenty big enough for him. The bedroom was located in the rear corner of the house and across the hall from Elliot’s bedroom. While Brandon was getting the sheets and pillowcases, so he could make Noah’s bed, Danny came down to retrieve Noah’s suitcases. After taking them upstairs, both fathers helped him put his things away.

Once they got Noah settled in, everyone came back down to the family room and we all watched television for a while. Danny and Brandon had Noah sit between them, so they would be in physical contact with him and hopefully begin the bonding process. They felt that doing this would also help to make him feel more comfortable in his new home.

When bedtime rolled around a couple of hours later, they had a few more questions for him before they sent him upstairs.

“Noah, do you normally take a bath or shower?” Brandon asked.

“Mostly I shower,” he answered.

“Do you need help with setting the water temp or can you do that yourself?” Brandon followed.

“Do it myself,’ he replied.

“Okay, that’s fine, because it’s time for you boys to head up to bed,” Brandon told him. “Elliot will show you which bathroom you can use and where we keep the towels and other items. He’ll also grab a toothbrush for you out of our supply.”

“I brought my own,” Noah responded.

“Then I guess you’re all set,” Brandon replied. “Elliot will show you where we keep the toothpaste then.”

The boys went upstairs and pretty soon we heard the shower going. I guess it confirmed that Noah was able to take care of everything after all. At least we didn’t hear him scream because he’d scalded himself.

“I’m not sure, but I have a feeling he going to be a tough nut to crack,” Danny suggested. “He certainly doesn’t seem to want to tell us very much.”

“Maybe not,” I countered, “but that might change. Once he gets over the fact that both of his parents are gone and we’re now his family, he may start to loosen up a bit and begin talking more.”

“I hope that’s what happens, because it certainly doesn’t appear it will be the case as of now,” Danny responded. “It’s difficult to learn very much about him, because his responses to our questions are extremely limited. I don’t remember him ever answering us with more than a single sentence and none of those have consisted of much more than a half-dozen words.”

“It might be that he’s just overwhelmed. Have you forgotten how long it took Elliot to overcome the trauma resulting from his father’s death and begin to fit in?” I asked. “Noah may not have witnessed his parents being murdered, but he did watch both of them suffer in excruciating pain and for an extended period of time before they died. I’m convinced that seeing this happen was just as devastating as either Elliot or Jesse’s experience, so it might take a while before he comes to terms with losing his mom and dad.”

“You’re probably right about that,” Danny agreed, “and it’s precisely the reason Brandon and I are glad you’re here to advise us and help with the boys. I think Noah will really benefit from your experience and compassion.”

“As well as Brandon and yours,” I offered.

A short time later, Danny and Brandon went upstairs. They wanted to see how Noah was doing and find out if he needed anything, before they tucked him in. After all, it was his first night in a strange place. As they walked into his room, they quickly discovered he was dressed only in a pair of underpants.

“Hey, sport. Is that what you normally sleep in?” Danny asked.

“Yeah, is it okay?” Noah wondered.

“Sure it is,” Brandon assured him. “Most of the boys sleep in their underwear during the warmer months, but they generally wear pajamas when it starts to get colder.”

“Yeah, me too,” Noah confirmed.

“Are you all set then?” Danny asked.

“I guess so,” Noah answered.

“Would you like a nightlight?” Brandon asked. “We have some that Papa’s younger grandchildren use when they come to visit. I’m not saying you need one, but I thought that since you’re unfamiliar with the house you might want one. It will make it easier for you to recognize where you are, if you wake up in the middle of the night, and it will also help you see where you’re going, if you get up to use the toilet. We don’t want you bumping into things or stubbing a toe.”

“You don’t mind then?” Noah wondered.

“Heck, no,” Brandon assured him. “Just a second and I’ll get one for you. It’s not very bright, but it will let you see the room well enough to find your way around.”

“Thanks, that will help,” Noah confirmed.

After Brandon plugged the nightlight in, he asked if it was okay. When Noah agreed it was fine, Danny and Brandon each bent down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

“Sweet dreams,” Brandon told him, before they left. “Just yell if you need anything. One of us is bound to hear you. Elliot’s room is just across the hall and we’re only at the other end, in the opposite corner from you.”

“Okay and thank you again,” Noah told them.

Brandon turned off the room light and shut the door as they left. They stood in the hallway for a minute or so, in order to be certain he didn’t have a problem. When they felt he’d had time to get adjusted, they came downstairs and rejoined us in the family room.

As soon as they sat down, they quickly filled Jake and me in about what had taken place upstairs. They did this so we’d be aware of how Noah was doing, but I also felt they might be looking for some feedback. I believe they just wanted a little reassurance that they had handled the situation correctly, so I immediately confirmed they had.

About an hour later, Elliot was in his room puttering around a bit before he went to sleep. When he turned off his music, he thought he heard something. Curious, he opened his door, stuck his head into the hallway and listened. He was right. He had heard something.

Now, he tried to determine exactly where the sound was coming from and what was making it. It only took him a moment before he realized the disturbance was emanating from Noah’s room. Cautiously, he walked over to Noah’s door and listened. A few moments later, he concluded that Noah was crying.

Instinctively, Elliot knocked on the door once, opened it and stuck his head inside. Since Noah didn’t say anything, Elliot walked over and sat on the bed next to his new brother.

“Are you okay?” he asked, in a very concerned tone.

“I just miss my mom,” Noah admitted.

“I’m sure you do,” Elliot agreed. “I still miss my parents too.”

“What happened to them?” Noah wondered, so Elliot gave him the brief version of his story.

“I’m sorry,” Noah offered, after hearing Elliot’s tale.

“Thank you,” Elliot replied.

Noah merely looked at Elliot for the next minute or so, as if he was studying him. Finally, he broke the silence again.

“Do you think we’ll ever see them again?” he wondered.

Elliot understood where this question was coming from, so he thought his response through very carefully.

“I’m not sure, but I certainly hope so,” he confessed. “Many people believe we’ll see our families again when we die. Even the show ‘The Ghost Whisper’ says so. Every time she helps a ghost crossover, the ghost usually tells her it sees its spouse, parents or other loved ones waiting for it. I hope that really does happen, because I’d love to see my mom and dad again.”

“Yeah, me too,” Noah agreed.

“Then just keep believing that and it will happen,” Elliot suggested.

“But why did they have to die?” Noah asked next.

“We’re all going to die one day,” Elliot began, “but I don’t know why they had to die so soon. None of them were very old, so they should have lived a lot longer, but it doesn’t always work that way. I know my father died because some scumbags shot him, but I don’t know why my mother or your parents ended up dying before they had a chance to get old.”

“I hope it doesn’t mean we’ll die young too,” Noah confessed.

“I’m sure it doesn’t work that way,” Elliot assured him. “I’m positive you’re going to be around for a very long time and you’re also going to love living here. I know I’m glad I came here to live after my dad was murdered.”

“It’s nice, but it’s also really different being in this big house,” Noah announced. “There’s just so much more going on.”

“Yeah, I know how you feel,” Elliot confessed. “I had the same problem when I first came here too. It seems like you can always hear someone moving around, and that was kind of spooky for me. Before I came here to live, it was just my dad and me, so I was used to it being quiet.”

“Yeah, it was just my mom and me too,” Noah agreed.

“Tell you what. Would it make you feel better if I stayed in here with you tonight?” Elliot asked, in order to give Noah a way out of his problem.

“You won’t think I’m a baby if I say yes?” Noah wondered. Elliot could tell Noah was worried he might.

“No way,” Elliot responded. “Dad Danny and Dad Brandon stayed with me a few nights when I first got here too. I really think it helped me get used to living here.”

“Okay, if you want to,” Noah answered, without confirming that he might be a little scared.

“Move over then and I’ll spend the night here with you,” Elliot agreed.

Noah scooted to the other side of the bed and Elliot got in behind him. They were both lying on their sides, facing the wall, and before long Elliot draped his arm over Noah’s side. Almost as soon as he’d done that, Noah began to relax and then slowly drifted off to sleep. It appears he just needed to be reassured that he wasn’t alone.