The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 3 - 26. A Strange Request

Nothing out of the ordinary happened for the next week and a half, but then one morning my receptionist brought something to my attention. “A woman called almost as soon as we opened this morning and requested an appointment to speak with you and Dr. O’Hara at the same time. She told me her children are both of your patients, so I told her I’d call back to set up something, because I had to speak with you first.”

“Did she say what it was about?”

“No, she said she would only discuss the matter with the two of you.”

“Interesting,” I replied since this news had sparked my curiosity. “Did she give you her name?”

“Yes, she said it was Julie Thornton, so I looked at your patient records and discovered you’ve seen her twin sons, Hayden and Hunter.”

“Oh, yes. I remember them. Ok, let me speak with Brandon at lunch and then I’ll let you know what we decide.”

“That will be fine.”

In between seeing my next few patients, I couldn’t help but wonder what Mrs. Thornton wanted. Could she have complaints about how Brandon and I have treated her sons? Could an unexpected problem have cropped up with them, although I couldn’t think of anything that would affect both Brandon and me? The situation didn’t become any clearer when I mentioned it to Brandon at lunch.

“So you don’t have any idea what she wants to speak with us about?”

“No, none at all. My receptionist said she would only talk to us about the situation.”

“Do you think we did something wrong?”

“Even if we had, how could it affect both of us? We’ve never seen her children at the same time.”

“True, then what could it be about?”

“I guess we’ll have to schedule an appointment with her to find out.”

“Ok, so when do you want to do this?”

“What if we have her come in at 12:15 on Saturday? That way we’ll have plenty of time to talk to her and it won’t interfere with our office hours.”

“That works for me.”

“Then I’ll have my receptionist call her back and set it up.”

When I returned to the office I told the receptionist what we’d decided, and she agreed to call the woman back and inform her. She later confirmed that Mrs. Thornton had agreed that Saturday at 12:15 would be fine.

When we got home that evening, we informed Dad, Pop, Dion, and Trey that we’d be home from work later than usual on Saturday because we had an additional appointment. They began asking questions about it, but we told them we didn’t know anything yet and we’d fill them in about what happened on Saturday afternoon. They said that would be fine and agreed to keep an eye on the boys until we got home, including Revin, seeing it was his weekend to stay with us again.

Brandon and I tried to put this unusual request out of our minds, but we couldn’t stop thinking about what Mrs. Thornton might want that would concern both of us. This couldn’t be an issue of professional malfeasance, unless each of us had done something that affected her children at different times. Was it about the fact that we were gay and she was going to let us know that she no longer wanted us to treat her sons? I guess that was a possibility, but she could have just stopped making appointments. Whatever it was, we’d find out on Saturday.

When that day finally arrived, I think the question of what she wanted remained at the back of both of our minds as we treated our patients. We closed the offices at noon, as we usually did, and Brandon arrived at my office at 12:05, and then we waited for Mrs. Thornton to show up. We were a little surprised when she came through the door, because she was in a wheelchair being pushed by another woman, so we went over to hold the door open as we greeted her.

“Mrs. Thornton, I don’t remember you being in a wheelchair the last time I saw you,” I stated as we ushered her into the waiting area.

“I wasn’t,” she confirmed. “I have ALS… and it’s… getting worse. Do you know… what that is?” Her speech was halting and her voice barely audible as she struggled to answer my question.

“Yes, I’m very aware of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” I answered. “Brandon, I think you’d know it better by the term most commonly used for it, Lou Gehrig’s disease.”

“Yes, and that’s what Stephen Hawking had too.”

“Precisely,” I agreed before turning back to Mrs. Thornton. “So how my we help you?”

“This is my… home health aide… Mrs. Rivera… and she’ll tell… you about my… condition first… because it’s… so difficult… for me to… do it.”

Mrs. Rivera then took over for Mrs. Thornton. “She first learned she had ALS two years ago. I’m not sure how long she’d been dealing with it before then, but she ignored many of the early warning signs. She didn’t think much about it when she started experiencing muscle cramps and twitching and just wrote it off as having done too much. She also ignored the multiple trips and falls that she experienced and decided it was simply clumsiness on her part. However, when she started to noticed a weakness in her legs and hands, combined with slurred speech, she finally consulted a doctor. Her case has been progressing rapidly, which means she’s finding it difficult to do many things around the house, as well as taking care of her family. She’s been advised that she’ll need to move into a residential care facility or a nursing home in the very near future.”

Brandon and I looked at each other, and then at her. After a brief pause, I finally spoke. “I’m very sorry to hear about this, but it also makes me even more curious as to why you’re here.”

“Mrs. Rivera… will you please… wait outside,” she said. It was obvious that she didn’t want her home health aide to hear what she had to say next.

“Mrs. Rivera, you may wait in the health center’s lobby, because there are a few chairs out there so you can be comfortable while you wait.”

“Thank you, because I need to stay close by so I can drive her home when she’s done here.”

“We understand and thank you for being so patient,” Brandon added.

After Mrs. Rivera left, Mrs. Thornton started speaking again. “I want to… ask if you’d… be willing to… let my children… live with you?”

Brandon and I were stunned by this and looked at each other before I responded to her request. “Don’t you have family or friends who could do it instead?”

“No, not that… would keep my… children together… and I can… no longer take… care of them.”

“Well I know your two sons, and they’re adorable, so I can’t understand why someone wouldn’t take both of them.”

“Not just them… my daughter too.” I looked at Brandon again because I didn’t know anything about a daughter.

“I didn’t realize you had a daughter,” I replied hoping she would explain.

“She used to… come here too… Holly Reynolds.”

“She has a different last name?”

“Yes… I was married… twice and had… her with my… first husband.”

“I see, and that name does ring a bell now.”

“Yes, I’m sure I’ve seen her too,” Brandon added, “but if I remember correctly, isn’t she a lot older than the boys?”

“Yes… ten years.”

“Did you divorce her father?”

“No, he died. After 9/11… he enlisted… and was killed… in Iraq.”

“I see, and how about your second husband?”

“He was a… firefighter… and died… when the roof… of a warehouse… collapsed under him… during a fire.”

“I’m sorry to hear that too,” I commiserated, “and it sounds as if you have had to deal with a number of tragedies and hardships.”

“And now this. Will you please… let my children… live with you?” Brandon and I looked at each other again before I responded.

“Your daughter presents a problem for us.” I saw her wince when I said this, or was it merely a facial tick due to her illness. “Presently, there are only males living at our house and I’m worried that her being there might lead to other problems. I’m afraid she and the older boys might be tempted to socialize in inappropriate ways.”

“Aren’t they… all gay?”

“No, not all of them.”

“She’ll be going… to college… in the fall… but I want… them to stay… together… until then.”

“I see, but we’ll have to talk about this before we can give you a definite answer. We need to discuss this with our family first, and I also want to speak with your children.”

“We can… do that.”

“Then we’ll call you back and let you know what we decide. We won’t be able to make a firm commitment until we talk with the others living at the house, and then I’ll call and let you know what we decide.”

“Do you have… my number?”

“Yes, my receptionist does, so I’ll get it from her.”

“Ok. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and let us help wheel you out to Mrs. Rivera.”

Her home health aide was waiting patiently in the lobby, and she stood up as we approach. “We apologize for taking so long, but we had a lot to discuss,” I offered.

“I understand and it wasn’t a problem. I know it’s not easy for her to communicate, so it takes longer than it normally would.” As soon as she took over, we held the door to the health center open so she could wheel Mrs. Thornton out to her vehicle, and then we went back to my office so I could lock up.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting that?” Brandon said once we were inside.

“I know and it puts us in an awkward position.”

“You mean because of her daughter?”

“That and the fact that we seem to be her very last option of keeping the children together. If we don’t do this, then the kids will most likely go into foster care, and you obviously realize the chance of someone taking all of them is very slim.”

“I didn’t think about that. Then let’s talk this over with the others today.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea.”

As soon as we walked through the door, Dad spoke to us. “Is something wrong?” He must have noticed the looks of concern on our faces.

“Yes, but we’ll tell you about it later. We’ll need to include Pop, Dion, and Trey as well.”

“Ok, I understand. We’ve already eaten, but I’ve saved some of what I fixed for you two, so go into the dining room and sit down.”

“Give us a minute so we can say hello to the boys first.”

“Alright, and that will give me time to heat it up.”

The younger boys were in the family room, so we said hello to them first, and then we went upstairs to say hi to Noah and Ryan next. Ryan was listening to music in his room and Noah was working on an assignment for school. As soon as we finished checking in with them, we went downstairs to eat.

“Is it a serious problem?” Dad asked after setting down a plate of food in front of each of us.

“I don’t think we’d call it serious,” Brandon answered, “but it will affect all of us.”

“Well you have definitely piqued my curiosity.”

He sat down at the table with us, but we talked about other things. As soon as we finished our lunch, we went upstairs to change, and then Brandon and I started doing our chores. We remained busy until dinnertime, and then we sat down at the table with the family.

“We’re sorry that we haven’t spent much time with you boys today, but we’ve had a lot to do,” I stated while I was eating.

“That’s ok, we’ve been playin’ games,” Tristan answered.

“Yeah, and Benny and Joshie have been playing them with us,” Revin added.

“And I’ve spent the whole day working on a project for school,” Noah added, although he didn’t sound happy about it.

“I just spent the time listening to music and talking to my friends,” Ryan chimed in next.

“I’m glad you’ve all had plenty to do, and we’ll try to make it up to you later,” Brandon told them, effectively ending the discussion.

After we finished the meal, we found a chance to let Pop, Dion, and Trey know that we wanted to talk to them after the boys went to bed. They agreed to meet with us, although they wanted to know what it was about. We merely told them that we’d explain later.

Since we hadn’t spent any time with the boys earlier, we asked if they wanted to play games with us. Everyone except for Ryan and Noah agreed, so we did that with them until we sent them upstairs to get ready for bed. As soon as they’d finished and were in their rooms, we went up to say goodnight, and then we hurried downstairs again so we could chat with the others.

“Ok, what did you want to talk to us about?” Pop began, because he and Dad were already seated at the table.

“I want to tell you all at once,” I answered, and then we waited for Dion and Trey to join us before I filled them in. “The reason we got home late from work today was because we had a meeting with a parent whose children are both our patients. During our discussion, she made a highly unusual request.”

“Why? What did she want?” Trey asked.

“She has ALS, but you may know it better as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Anyway, it’s gotten to the point where she is no longer able to take care for herself or her children, so she asked if we would allow them to live with us.”

There was total silence for a few seconds, and then Dad spoke up. “How many children are we talking about?”

“Three. She has seven-year-old twin sons and a seventeen-year-old daughter.”

“Whoa, that’s a pretty big age difference,” Pop commented.

“Yes, and it’s because they’re from two different marriages. The children also have different last names.”

“And I take it you have a problem with this and it’s the reason you wanted to meet with us?” Dad followed.

“Precisely. It’s the oldest child and that concerns us. Ryan is bi and Noah’s straight, and even though she’s a senior in high school like Noah, her age places her between Noah and Ryan chronologically.”

“So you’re worried they might be attracted to her and want to have sex?” Pop wondered.

“Exactly. That’s a pretty big temptation for two horny teenage boys.”

“You can tell them she’s off limits, except for being friendly and treating her like part of the family,” Trey offered.

“It would seem hypocritical, since we’ve allowed the boys to have sex with each other and we’d be preventing this girl from doing the same thing,” Brandon explained.

“Boys don’t get pregnant,” Dion pointed out, “and you know how it turned out for me when I had sex with a girl.”

“Yes, it gave you a wonderful son,” Brandon replied.

“Only because her parents wouldn’t agree to let her deal with a baby and she was willing to let me have sole custody. If that happened with this girl, her mother might already be dead and we have no way of knowing how she might deal with a pregnancy.”

“Are we getting ahead of ourselves here?” Dad asked. “We’re not even sure the boys would be attracted to her, and if they are we could make sure they were practicing safe sex.”

“I suppose, but accidents do happen. Besides, if they were upstairs alone at some point, who’s to say they wouldn’t mess up and do it without protection.”

“Then give her Vinnie’s old room, because that way she’d be down here while Ryan and Noah are on the third floor. I’m sure we’d notice if she started going upstairs, and I doubt they would do anything like that in her bedroom, because we would probably be able to hear what was going on.”

“Yes, I suppose that would eliminate some of our concerns.”

“And the twins are closer to Wyatt’s age than the other boys, so that would give him someone else to be close to,” Trey suggested.

“Possibly,” Brandon stated, “but twins often have an unusually close connection to one another, so I’m not sure how they would react to including someone else. I’d hope they wouldn’t feel like Wyatt was butting in on their special relationship, but it’s a possibility.”

“We could keep an eye on them and make sure that doesn’t happen,” Dion offered.

“So do all of you think we should do this?”

“I don’t see why not,” Dad replied.

“And I’d like to see a couple of younger boys in the family for Wyatt’s sake,” Trey added.

“Ok, but I want to talk to her children first, so I can see how they feel about this.”

“That’s probably a wise precaution,” Pop concurred.

“Danny and I would like them to feel that they have a choice in the matter,” Brandon explained, “otherwise they might become rebellious later, since they didn’t have a say in what was happening to them.”

“It’s very smart of you to have realized that,” Dad stated as he beamed first at Brandon and then at me.

“Ok, I’ll call her on Monday and set up a time when we can meet with her family. I just hope we’re not biting off more than we can chew.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll help with this too,” Dion offered.

“Yes,” Trey concurred, “since it will be good for our youngest son as well.”

“We appreciate your advice and support,” Brandon told them, and then the meeting broke up.

As soon as we were alone, I turned to Brandon and spoke. “If you haven’t realized this already, we’re starting to accrue a family that is nearly as large as the one Dad had.”

“Yes, I suppose we are, but they all need us. Besides, isn’t that the reason we chose to do this in the first place?”

“Of course, and doing this also has a hidden positive benefit. You’re mother will be thrilled to learn she finally has a granddaughter.”

“I think she was hoping for one a little younger.”

“She probably was, but I’m sure she’ll consider this better than having no granddaughter at all.”

My mind was spinning as I went to bed that evening, because multiple scenarios were running through my mind. Would Julie’s children even be interested in doing this? Would they get along with our boys? How would her daughter feel about being the only girl in the house? How would any of them feel about having gay parents and living in a predominantly gay household? I guess we’d have to iron out those issues when we met with them.

The next morning we got up and went to church together, as we normally did, and during the church service I said a little prayer asking for God’s guidance on this matter. I guess I was hoping for heavenly intervention that would either confirm that we should do this or offer a justifiable excuse to turn Julie down.

After the service ended, we went out for brunch, and while we were eating two of the other customers came over to speak with us. “I just wanted to say that we think you are wonderful parents,” the woman began as she made eye contact with each of the adults. “We come here nearly every Sunday too, and we enjoy watching you with your boys. They are so well behaved, very polite and respectful, and they never cause any problems. That directly reflects on their having a good upbringing.”

“Thank you and it was very nice of you to come over to tell us this,” Brandon responded.

“My husband and I have been debating as to whether or not we should come over and speak with you, because we didn’t want to interrupt what you were doing. You always seem to be having such a great time while you’re here and we didn’t want to spoil it for you.”

“We all enjoy this weekly treat and there’s usually a lot to talk about, but you definitely aren’t interrupting anything.”

“I’m glad to hear that and we just wanted you to know we approved of what you’re doing,” her husband added. He had been standing next to his wife, but he’d remained silent until now.

We thanked them again, and then as they were walking away from the table I began to wonder about something. Since they said they were here nearly every week, what made them decide to speak to us today? Was this the answer to my prayer? Did God somehow get them to finally speak up after remaining quiet for so long. Was this a sign to tell us that we were the best possibility Julie had to raise her soon to be orphaned children? This made me wonder if this incident was related to the old saying, ‘God works in mysterious ways.’

Whatever the reason, it helped to boost my confidence that we were doing the right thing, so now I just hoped her children would feel the same way. Brandon was correct in saying that it might be risky to accept the responsibility if the kids didn’t agree with it, even if they didn’t have another viable option, other than a foster home. Too often kids react without thinking through the situation first and then end up worse off by rejecting a better opportunity. However, on the other hand, they could make our lives a living hell before they realized that living with us was the best possible outcome for them.

As I thought about this some more, I truly hoped the couple had been a sign from God. If that were the case, then it would mean we didn’t have to worry about this becoming a disaster for our family, because God approved of what we were doing and would make sure it went smoothly. I just hope that’s what happens.