The Castaway Hotel - 8 - 4. Chapter 4 - The Farm-Home Takes Shape

Even though Kevin and Vinnie had said their good-byes, Vinnie still hounded me about letting him go with them. Since I knew the two boys wouldn’t be seeing each other for a few weeks, I ended up giving Vinnie permission to ride along to the bus station. I did this only after he promised all of his homework was finished and he was nearly caught up with the assignments he had fallen behind on while he was away.

After Frankie, Kevin and Vinnie left, I went to the computer, to check out my emails. Going through them, I discovered a message from Lester Foote. He and his wife, Tammy, were the couple who were going to supervise the home on the Becker’s old farm, so I concluded he was sending me this email to advise me how everything was progressing.

Josh,

I just wanted to let you know how things are going here. The renovations on the house are done and the rest of the work is nearly completed too. My wife and I moved in last weekend and your friend, Sally Swarthout, has already introduced us to several young people who want to come live on the farm with us. They seemed to understand the hard work they will be required to do and it doesn’t appear to bother them, so they started moving in on Monday. My wife and I are both excited about this and things are going well.

So far, we’ve taken in five boys and a girl, all between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. We thought it best to start with the older children, so they could learn how to do all the things that will need to be done around the farm. After they get used to living and working here, then maybe we’ll take on some younger children, and then the older ones can give us a hand instructing them about what they need to do.

We’ve got things planned out pretty well and have managed to keep both farms running in the meantime. The thing is, after talking it over with my wife, we’ve come up with another idea for you to consider. Seeing there are two farms, with two homes, we thought it might be a good idea to use one house for the boys and the other for the girls. That way, it might eliminate the temptation between the various sexes for some late night get-togethers.

Seeing our old house is a little smaller than what the Becker place is now, we thought it would work for the girls. If there weren’t enough young ladies to fill the house up, then you might want to include some younger children there as well. When the younger boys get older, they could be moved to the house my wife and I run, but I think this would be a more prudent way to proceed and eliminate potential problems.

Of course, you would need another couple to supervise the other house and we don’t want to create problems for you or your foundation, but we think this would really be for the best. Please think it over and let me know what you decide. We’ll handle everyone in the same house, if you think it’s best, but we’re just worried it would open a whole can of worms if one of the girls got pregnant or claimed she was sexually accosted by one of the boys.

Your friends,
Lester and Tammy Foote

After reading the email, I went out and discussed Lester’s ideas with Jake. “Jake, I just got an email from Lester Foote and his wife, and they suggest we should consider having separate homes for the guys and the girls. What do you think?”

“I think he may be right,” Jake told me. “I don’t want to sound hypocritical, because we allow the boys to have sex with each other here, but I think we’ve got to be careful about the guys and girls having sex at the farm-home. If that happened and word gets out, it could cause considerable problems for the foundation and might even get the place closed down.”

“The difference is,” Jake continued, “we don’t have to worry about the boys getting pregnant and having babies, but it’s a whole other ballgame with the young ladies. I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m using a double standard here, but I think we should consider Lester’s idea.”

“I know,” I agreed, “and Lester mentioned the potential problems too. It is something we have to be concerned about, because I don’t want the group home or Foundation to be engulfed in controversy or scandal. Lester thinks we can fix up his old place to house the girls and maybe some younger children.”

“Do you think the Foundation could handle the expense of fixing up his old home as well?” Jake shot back.

“I don’t think money is the issue here,” I replied. “We’ll find a way to cover the expense, so it just boils down to doing what is right and best for everyone involved.”

“Then I agree with Lester,” Jake admitted. “I think it would be safer to have the boys and girls at least spend the nights in separate facilities. They can work together during the day, but they would still need to be closely supervised, and then separated after dark. I think that would help eliminate most of the late night rendezvous and sex escapades if we add the deterrent of having to travel between the two places, since they aren’t really that close to each other. Hopefully, the kids will think it’s too far to go just to hook up.”

“Yes, you have a point,” I agreed.

“Another thing you might want to consider is splitting the workload between the two farms. You could put the hogs, beef cattle and some of the horses over on the girls’ farm and they can do the chores involved with their care.”

“Do you really think the girls will be able to handle seeing the beef cattle and hogs killed for food?” I challenged.

“The animals can be taken to the slaughter house for the hard part and then the meat could be brought back and kept in the freezer,” Jake suggested.

“But if they form an attachment to those animals, it may be hard for them if they know what’s going to happen,” I emphasized.

“That is possible, but if they’re going to live on a farm, they’ll just have to learn to cope with it,” Jake explained. “However, I’d suggest you leave the milking cows, chickens and the rest of the horses over at the Becker’s old farm, where the boys can handle the duties. The cows have to be milked twice a day and the barn has to be cleaned too. Since the Footes didn’t have any chickens on their old farm or any facilities to keep them in, it might be best if we left the chickens where they are. At least the old Becker farm is already set up to accommodate them. The boys can also be responsible for doing most of the haying, planting and cultivating the corn for feed and operating the farm equipment, but it doesn’t mean the girls can’t do that stuff too.”

“Yes, I understand,” I replied. “You’re just trying to put the more demanding tasks on the guys.”

“Yes, the way I see it, the beef cattle, hogs and horses don’t need as much care,” Jake stated, “so that will make it a little easier on the girls.”

“Yes, I can see your logic,” I told him.

“Both places can have their own gardens, so they can use the food they grow for themselves,” Jake continued. “The girls might even want to plant flowers and such, to help beautify their place too. That should also leave them time to help with the younger children too, if those house parents agree to taking on more.”

“You know,” I told him, “you’ve made some pretty good points. I’ll run them by Lester and see what he thinks of them first and then I’ll call Sally. I want to get her opinion on all of this too, seeing she’s the one who is technically responsible for the welfare of all the children.”

“Good point,” Jake stated, “and I agree you should do that as soon as possible. In fact, why don’t you call them right now?”

“I will,” I concurred and then grabbed my phone. I dialed Lester first, to tell him the ideas Jake had suggested. I did this because I wanted his input before I mentioned it to Sally and I had a few questions to ask him as well.

Lester was quite agreeable to all of Jake’s proposals, so it didn’t take long to go over everything. When that had all been agreed to, I posed my first question.

“Lester, I know you said the second house could house the girls and younger children,” I began, “but how young are you and your wife willing to go?”

“Well, I’ve talked it over with the misses and we think it would be best if they were at least in school for right now,” he answered, “until we get a better feel for things. Maybe later we might try some younger than that, but right now we’ll stick with school aged youngsters.”

“Do you mean five-years old and up?” I followed, to clarify his statement.”

“Yep, if they’re in kindergarten then they’re old enough to do some chores and help out around the farm,” he stated. “I’m not sure about the other place, but that will be up to them.”

“I think that’s a wise choice,” I concurred, “and I don’t think Sally has much trouble finding places for the younger children. Are you comfortable with the number you have now?”

“Yep, we’ve only been together for a few days, but they’re all doing pretty well and catching on fast,” he drawled. “None of them has ever lived on a farm before, but they do seem eager to help out and willing to learn. That doesn’t mean we haven’t had any problems, but we’ve handled them and things seem to be fine now.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I replied. “So you don’t feel crowded in the house?”

“Heck, no!” he snapped back. “They’ve renovated this place really good and there are plenty of rooms for everyone. My wife and I have a bedroom on the ground floor, and the girl has the bedroom next to ours, but the fellas are upstairs. Heck, we have enough room for another girl and a few more boys, but that won’t be for a while. I want the ones we’ve got to get comfortable with everything before we take on more.”

“A wise precaution,” I told him.

Shortly thereafter, we finished up our conversation and then I dialed Sally’s home number. She picked up on the second ring.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Sally. It’s me, Josh. How have you been?”

“Josh, it’s so nice to hear from you. I’m fine, but what prompts you to call me at home, and out of the blue? Is something wrong?”

“No, Sally, just the opposite, but can’t I call my best girl without there being a reason?” I teased.

“Oh, Josh, you’re such a flatterer, and if I didn’t know you were with Jake, I’d be after you in a heartbeat.” She let out a nervous little giggle after saying this. “But what may I do for you today?” she added, getting back to the point of my call.

“Well, Lester Foote sent me an email about the farm and suggested we should consider using both houses. He said we could use one for the boys and the other for the girls and some younger children. This would hopefully deter any sexual shenanigans from taking place, if the two sexes aren’t actually living together. I called Lester just a few minutes ago and discussed other things with him, but I wanted your take on those ideas too. You’re ultimately responsible for the welfare of the children, so I want your approval before we do anything.”

“Thank you for that, Josh. I’m glad you’re keeping me in the loop,” she announced. “I also think separating the sexes would be a wise precaution, but is it feasible?”

“Oh, yes. That’s not a problem,” I confessed. “We can renovate the other place and make it suitable to house more children. The only thing I need from you is to know if you thought it should be done.”

“Definitely,” she answered, and I could tell by her tone that she was intrigued by the idea. “If you did that, not only might it prevent unwanted sexual contact and harassment from happening, but by also increasing to two homes it would benefit a far greater number of needy youngsters. It would allow me to make more placements and I think I can come up with quite a few children that would benefit from this type of environment. Do you have someone in mind to supervise the second home?”

“No, Sally. I’m afraid I don’t?” I conceded.

“That’s not a problem either,” she replied. “I have an ideal couple in mind. They have taken in a nine-year old girl and wanted to help even more children, but their home just isn’t large enough.”

“That would be nice, but can they handle the farm work too?” I wondered.

“Oh, yes,” she chirped, excitedly. “They live and work on a farm now. That’s the problem. They live in the small two-bedroom, hired-man’s house. The bedroom the little girl is in is only seven by nine feet, and I couldn’t justify putting another child in that small of a space. But this will work for all of us. He’ll have a job working on a farm and they’ll be able to have the additional children they hoped for.”

“Do you think they’ll go for it?” I wondered. “I mean… we’re not just talking one or two more children here.”

“I know, but I’ll call and talk it over with them,” Sally added. “Then I’ll let you know what they say.”

“Thanks, Sally, that would be great,” I admitted, before adding a word of caution. “However, you’ll have to let the guy know Lester will be in charge of the overall operation. If he’s amenable to that, have him give me a call, so I can learn more about him too. Is that alright with you?”

“Certainly, Josh, and I was planning to do that anyway. After all, the Foundation is your baby,” she added, but I knew she meant it in a nice way.

“I appreciate that, Sally, but the Foundation really came about because of the boys, so it is more theirs than mine. Not only that, but all of this is happening because of Little Ricky and his reluctance to let the farm go to strangers.”

“I understand and hope they’re all pleased with the way this is working out, especially Little Ricky,” she confirmed. “This is going to allow us to provide a whole group of children a chance for a much better life in a wonderful environment.”

“That’s what we were all hoping for and I know it will make Little Ricky especially happy. This will not only honor his parents, but it will give other children a chance to enjoy the benefits and lifestyle he enjoyed while living there. The boys, Jake and I will still be regular visitors to the farm, so we can help out and keep an eye on things. I’ll also keep you informed how things seem to be going.

“Thanks, Josh. You still continue to amaze me with all you do and in the process somehow make my job easier,” she added, before we hung up.

I relayed our conversation about the changes to Jake and then the boys. They all thought it was a great idea too, but some quickly decided they wanted to spend their time at the boys’ house, while others were trying to figure out how they might be able to help out at the girls’ new residence. Damn, just what I needed.

About an hour later my phone rang and I answered it. I knew from the caller I.D. who was on the other end.

“Why Sally, people will start talking if we continue to spend this much time with each other,” I teased.

“Oh, Josh,” she gushed, “they’re already talking, but it’s all good. My colleagues say we make a great team.” I chuckled.

“I certainly would agree with that,” I stated, “but I wasn’t expecting you to call back so soon.”

“I know, but after we ended our conversation, I decided to phone the couple I told you about,” she advised me. “They were ecstatic about our proposal and are anxious to talk to you, so they can get more details. I could only relay the basic information to them, but they want to know more.”

Sally then gave me their phone number and told me they were awaiting my call. I didn’t want to disappoint them or dampen their enthusiasm, so I did so immediately.

“Hello, this is Josh Currie,” I stated when the wife answered the phone. “Sally Swarthout suggested I call you.”

“Oh, yes, and thank you for getting back to us so quickly,” she replied. “Let me put you on speaker phone, so my husband can be part of this conversation too.” I heard her call him and then we exchanged pleasantries.

“Sally told me you had some questions,” I said, to initiate this discussion.

“Yes, we’d like to hear more about what you’re proposing,” the husband responded. “From what little Sally told us, we are very interested and want to learn more.”

I then went on to tell them how the idea for this came about and how we acquired the two farms. I also told them about the changes we had made to the Becker’s old place and what was going on there. After that, I went over our goals for the farm-home and explained the suggestions Jake made for the two places.

“I can take you out and show you around,” I informed them, “but we haven’t begun renovations on the second home yet. In fact, if you are interested, you could get involved early and give us your input on what you’d like to see.”

“So we’d be in charge of the girl’s residence?” the wife asked.

“Yes, the girls and younger children,” I answered. “You’d be able to help decide how many and how young you are willing to take in.”

“Oh, I’d love to have a baby and maybe even a toddler too,” she cooed. “I can’t have children and this will be the answer to my prayers.”

“This isn’t going to be all fun and games,” I advised her. “Some of the children may have emotional or behavioral problems – nothing severe, but I thought I should warn you.”

“My husband and I understand that, but we are looking forward to the opportunity anyway,” she answered. “I know I have plenty of love to give them, and Sterling is the boss and can handle the discipline, so I think we will do fine.”

“Then I take it you’re agreeing to do this?” I followed.

“We’d still like to see the place and check everything out,” her husband responded, “but from what we’ve heard so far, it sounds like a ‘go’ to me.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I told them, and then we set up a time for me to give them a tour of both farms and answer more of their questions.

I called Sally back, as soon as I hung up, and we were both encouraged and hopeful this issue had been resolved.