The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 3 - 21. Sorting Things Out

The week was going by peacefully, but that all changed when we got home from work on Thursday night. Brandon and I had gone up to our bedroom to change when Dion knocked on the door. After telling him to come in, we could tell that something was wrong by the look on his face.

“What’s the matter?” Brandon asked.

“I decided to walk the perimeter of the property earlier to see if Hubbard had been up to more mischief when I found three dead cats.”

“What makes you think he was responsible for that? Couldn’t the cats have just died naturally?” I asked.

“No, their heads were bashed in.”

“Cats are skittish, so how could Hubbard have been able to do that?” Brandon wondered.

“Either the cats couldn’t see or sense him coming, since he is a ghost, or he killed them by throwing rocks at them.”

“Throwing rocks at them wouldn’t crush their skulls,” Brandon countered skeptically.

“No, but he could have stunned them first by hitting them with a rock he threw and then bashed their heads in afterward.”

“Dad said Graham will be here on Saturday, so we only have to wait a couple of days before we get our answer,” I stated hoping it would calm him down. “If Graham spots Hubbard then it would be a good indicator that he’s responsible for everything that’s been happening.”

We encouraged Dion not to tell anyone else about this, not even Dad or Pop, because we were afraid that one or more of the boys might overhear the conversation. In the interim, Brandon agreed to keep the boys occupied after dinner so Dion and I could go out and bury the evidence. We didn’t want the boys to learn about the latest incident.

We were able to keep things fairly normal for the rest of the night and still accomplish our mission, and then the following evening Revin came home with the others so he could spend the weekend again. The boys were playing video games in the family room when Brandon and I got there, so we popped in to say ‘hello’. We waited until the boys had finished the game they were currently playing before we spoke.

“Did you boys have a good day?” I asked after we’d greeted them.

“Yeah, and my mom’s excited about going to church with us on Sunday and then coming here to celebrate Easter,” Revin told us.

“I’m very glad to hear that, and I hope you’re happy to be here as well.”

“Yeah, I always like coming here cuz I get to be with Tristan and Wyatt and there’s so much to do.”

“So you don’t come here to see the rest of us?” Brandon teased.

“Yeah, I like being with you guys too, but the weekend goes faster when I’m here cuz I’m doin’ somethin’ all the time.”

“Ah, ok,” Brandon replied. “And we enjoy it when you’re here as well.”

Brandon and I then went upstairs to change and we didn’t see the boys again until we sat down to eat later. We were about halfway through the meal when Revin asked a question.

“How come they call this GOOD Friday if it’s the day Jesus was killed?”

“Damn, he’s doing it again,” Noah groaned.

“Ignore him, and that’s a very good question,” Dad stated while glaring at Noah. “There are three possible explanations that I know of. The first is that it turned out to be very good for everyone in the world because Jesus gave up his life to save the rest of us from our sins, thus making it a Good Friday. The second is that it was first called Holy Friday, and the word good was used as a synonym for holy, thus making it Good Friday. The last is that the day was also referred to as God’s Friday, and then later a written or verbal version of that term was misinterpreted as Good Friday.”

“Ok, I see now,” Revin responded, looking satisfied.

“And I’m glad to see that you’re a curious young man who isn’t afraid to ask questions,” Dad added, taking an indirect shot at Noah.

“Yeah, but the rest of us have to listen to it too,” Noah countered.

“And it doesn’t hurt you to learn these things either, because I doubt you knew that information beforehand.”

“I knew the first part, but not the other two,” Noah followed.

“And now you know those as well,” Dad added smugly.

The rest of the evening wasn’t quite as eventful or combative, and eventually we went up to tuck the boys in after they got ready for bed. When we entered the room, Tristan looked up and asked a question.

“What are we gonna do tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “Grandpa Josh might need some help getting ready for Sunday, and some of us will be cleaning the house and preparing the bedrooms for company. I doubt we’ll be doing anything special, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Nah, I just wanted to know what was happenin’,” he responded cheerfully, although he appeared slightly disappointed.

We finished tucking them in and kissed each one on the forehead before saying goodnight. Brandon and I then went downstairs and told the others about Tristan’s question.

“Oh, I have something special for them to do,” Dad announced with a hint of excitement in his voice. “I’m going to have them help me boil eggs and color them for Easter.”

“Do you have everything you need to do that?” Brandon wanted to know.

“Yes, I purchased a couple of kits while I was doing the shopping and I also bought plenty of eggs, so we’re all set.”

“While you’re doing that with them tomorrow, it would be the perfect time for us to run out and pick up the remaining items that we need for their Easter baskets,” Trey pointed out.

“You’re right, and I’ll go with you,” Brandon agreed.

“So I guess that leaves Dion and me to do the housework,” I stated sarcastically.

“You were going to do some of it anyway,” Brandon replied, “and we won’t be gone very long. We’ll help out when we get back.”

“Don’t forget that Graham, Sammy, and Andrew will be arriving sometime after lunch,” Dad reminded us.

“Yes, and I can’t wait to hear what Graham has to say,” I confirmed.

Now that Saturday was planned out, we turned our attention to other things. Elliot’s commencement at Yale will take place at the end of May and Noah’s high school graduation ceremony will happen at the beginning of June. There was a great deal to do to prepare for those milestones as well, and we only have a couple of months before they occur.

When our discussion about those topics ended, we all agreed to call it a night and headed to bed. Tomorrow would be a busy day and we all needed to make sure we were well rested.

The younger boys woke up early, so we had breakfast with them, as well as with Dad, Pop, Dion, and Trey. The four older boys didn’t wake up until later, so Dad fixed breakfast for them when they finally stumbled downstairs.

The rest of us started working on our chores once we finished breakfast, and then Dion and I recruited Ryan and Noah to give us a hand after they finished their breakfast too. They weren’t exactly pleased that we had singled them out, so we explained that Grandpa Josh had something he needed the younger boys help with, which didn’t exactly placate them.

“Why do we have to get all these other rooms ready?” Ryan grumbled.

“Graham, Sammy, and Andrew are coming for Easter, and we aren’t sure who else might show up, so we’re getting them ready just in case.”

“Can’t we just wait and do it if more people show up later?”

“We could, but I know you boys and you’ll try to find a way out of helping then as well, so we might as well do it now.”

“Awww, come on. We aren’t that bad.”

“Not bad, but you can be a little lazy sometimes.”

“We help out a lot.”

“And you can prove it by helping us get this done now.”

He seemed momentarily lost for words, so he quit arguing and did as I asked. While we were doing that, Dad was busy explaining to the other boys what he had planned for them.

“Since Easter is tomorrow, I’m going to have you help me prepare a couple dozen Easter eggs. We have to boil the eggs first, and I’m going to have Benny and Joshie help me with that because they’re older. As soon as the hard boiled eggs have cooled down, we’ll begin coloring and decorating them. Benny and Joshie can help with that as well, if you want to, but I’ll leave that decision up to them.”

“Is it like we did other years when we wrote on the eggs with that special crayon or put stickers on them before dipping them in the different colors?” Joshie wanted to know.

“Yes, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

“Yeah, that was kinda fun so I’ll do it with you,” Joshie agreed.

“And I’ll do it too,” Benny agreed.

“I’ve never done it before. Is it hard?” Revin followed.

“You mean you’ve never decorated Easter eggs before?” Dad asked mildly surprised.

“We had Easter eggs, but I never did anything like you’re talkin’ about. I just had to find where the Easter Bunny hid the Easter eggs so I could put them in my Easter basket.”

“I see, so your mom must have decorated them while you were either sleeping or doing something else.”

“I didn’t know that. I thought the Easter Bunny brought them.”

“The Easter Bunny only brings the Easter baskets,” Tristan explained.

“Ok, then if I do this with you guys, maybe my mom will let me do it with her from now on.”

“Yes, she just might,” Dad agreed.

“But we never helped you boil the eggs before,” Benny challenged.

“No, I had Ryan and Noah helping me with that task, because you were too young at the time. When they no longer wanted to help me with it then I just did it myself.”

“Oh, ok,” Benny relented.

Dad then had both Benny and Joshie place a half dozen eggs in the bottom of a pan and cover them with water. Once they’d done that, he had them adjust the burner on the stove to medium-high, and then he had them place the pan on the burner until the water came to a boil. As soon as that occurred, he had them turn off the burner and place a lid on the pan, and then they set it aside until the water had cooled. Eventually, he helped them drain the water and set the eggs to the side, and then they repeated the process with another half-dozen eggs each. By the time they were finished with the second dozen they took a break, because it was time for lunch. Dad told them they’d finish up and color the eggs after they ate.

While Dad, Trey, and Brandon were getting the meal ready, the rest of us washed up, and then we set the table. When Dad announced lunch was ready, we all sat down to enjoy what they’d prepared.

“How come you had us stay and watch Benny and Joshie boil the eggs?” Tristan asked while we were chowing down.

“It’s because either next year or the year after that Benny and Joshie won’t want to do this any longer and I’ll need new helpers. By watching what they did, you’ll know how it’s done so you’ll be able to take over that job from them.”

“So me and Revin will be doin’ that next year?”

“Possibly, if Benny and Joshie don’t want to do it again. It will also depend on whether Revin is still coming here and if he wants to do that with you. Remember, it may not be next year and you might have to wait until the year after that.”

“Will I do it too?” Wyatt chimed in.

“You’ll need to be a little older before I let you do that.”

Dad’s answer seemed to depress Wyatt a little, and when Tristan saw how he was reacting, Tristan said something to him. “When we start doin’ that job then you will be nearly as old as we are now. Grandpa Josh wouldn’t let us do it this year either, so you’ll have to wait like we did.”

After thinking about it briefly, Wyatt seemed to perk up a bit. “Yeah, we just have to wait until we’re as old as Benny and Joshie are now.”

“That’s right,” Dad agreed. “You need to be that old to do the job safely, because I don’t want any of you to get burned, either on the burner or with the boiling water.”

“K,” Wyatt replied simply.

After Dad had determined the hard-boiled eggs had cooled down, he called the boys together to decorate them. He watched as they did as he instructed and they were doing quite nicely when the front door opened. It was Graham, Sammy, and Andrew.

“Hi, guys,” Dad greeted them. “We were wondering when you were going to get here,”

“The drive wasn’t bad and the weather’s nice so we made good time,” Sammy answered. “We just got a late start.”

“And how was the scenery?” Dad followed. It was his way of asking if Graham had spotted Hubbard without saying so directly.

“It was interesting, but I’ll tell you about it later,” Graham replied. He obviously didn’t want to say anything in front of the boys.

“I can’t wait to hear about it,” Dad responded. “Are you hungry?”

“No, we ate before we left this time,” Andrew confirmed.

After Dad excused himself to check on the boys again and was convinced they would be able to continue without his help, he sat down with the rest of us as we chatted with the recent arrivals. We discussed how things had been going and what they’d been up to, and that continued until another car pulled in the driveway a couple of hours later.

“Who is it?” Pop asked, since he couldn’t see out the window from where he was sitting.

“It’s Pat and Tori,” Trey announced. “I didn’t know they were coming.”

“Neither did I,” Dad confessed, “but Pat knows he and Tori are always welcome to join us.”

After they came inside and we had a chance to greet them, Dad asked a question. “Why didn’t you call and let us know you were on the way?”

“We wanted to surprise you,” Pat answered. “Tori enjoyed herself the last time we were here, so we decided to come back and join you again.”

“And we’re happy you’re here,” Dad confirmed as the rest of us nodded in agreement.

As Dion and I were helping our guests get settled into one of the open bedrooms, Dad, Pop, Brandon, and Trey were busy in the kitchen preparing our next meal. When everything was ready, they called us to the table to eat.

“This is like being at a banquet,” Tori observed as she looked around the table. “I don’t usually eat with this many people, except when I eat in the cafeteria at work.”

“Then wait until tomorrow, because there will be even more joining us for Easter dinner,” Dad answered and then chuckled.

“Even though Easter is a little earlier than normal this year,” Pat stated next, “at least this time it matches up with the events as they happened in the Bible.”

“What do you mean?” Sammy wanted to know.

“Passover began at sundown on Good Friday this year, just like it did when Jesus was crucified. It doesn’t always match up that way.”

“You’re right and I never thought about that before,” Sammy agreed.

“Why isn’t it the same every year?” Revin asked, which caused Noah to groan.

“It’s because the two holidays are celebrated by different religions and the dates for each is based on a different criteria,” Dad stated. “It is slightly confusing, but Easter happens on the first Sunday after the first full moon after spring begins, and Good Friday falls on the Friday before Easter. Passover, however, is determined on a different basis and begins on the 15^th day of Nisan, which is a month in the Jewish calendar.”

“So they don’t use the same calendar as us?” Revin followed.

“They do in their daily lives, but their religious ceremonies are based on the traditional Jewish calendar.”

“I didn’t know that,” Tori blurted out in surprise.

“They’ve maintained the traditional Hebrew calendar throughout the years, and even though it’s the year 2018 for us, their calendar says it’s the year 5779.”

“How do you know all of this?” Tori challenged.

“I’ll admit I cheated,” Dad confessed. “I did a little research online during the week just in case someone asked about it this weekend.”

“Lucky us,” Noah mumbled.

“You should be happy that he explained it for us,” Tori said, directing her comment at Noah. “I thought it was very interesting.”

Noah didn’t respond, since he felt everyone was taking Dad’s side, and we finished the meal without further comment. Afterward, the boys and a few of the others went to the family room to watch the movie Ben Hur, and the rest of us headed into the living room to see what Graham had discovered.

“So did you see Hubbard?” Trey asked to start things off.

“I did. In fact, I spotted him as we drove here earlier. I’m not sure if he knows I can see him or if he was just reacting out of habit, but he gave us the finger as we were pulling in the driveway.”

“So he’s still hanging around,” Trey sighed.

“Yes, he is,” Graham concurred. “I’ve also been looking out various windows on that side of the house to see what he’s up to and he seems to be constantly patrolling that section of the property line.”

“It’s the same location where everything has been happening,” I confirmed. “That’s where the SUV got hit with a rock and Dion’s car nearly did, and it’s where the branches and glass was found in the street.”

“And it’s where I found three dead cats,” Dion interjected. “That wasn’t near the street, though, and was farther up the same boundary.”

“I think he’s been trying to find a way to penetrate the barrier you established,” Graham announced, “and I don’t think he’s going to be satisfied until he gets in the house again.”

“Even if he gets past that barrier, there’s another one inside the house, so he’ll just be frustrated again,” Dad pointed out.

“Maybe, but he’d be closer to all of you when he does the various things to harass you. Even though he might not be able to get inside the house, he could still do things to the cars or even you guys when you’re outside.”

“Damn, I never thought about that,” Dion added showing his exasperation. “We’ve got to stop him from getting past the barrier then.”

“Did you see Abernathy too?” Brandon chimed in.

“No, just Hubbard. Abernathy might have decided to move on without Hubbard.”

“Hopefully he was smart enough to move into the light as the medium directed him,” Dad stated. “I’m not going to do it tonight or tomorrow, but on Monday I’ll call the medium who helped us before and see if he has any suggestions about how we can get rid of Hubbard for good.”

“That works for me, but just let me know if you need me to come here again,” Graham offered.

“I will, and thank you for doing this.”

“It’s not a problem and it got us to spend Easter together too.”

We all had a lot to think about now, including what we were going to do if the medium couldn’t help, but at least we knew what we were facing.