The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 3 - 28. A Trial Run

During the following week, Brandon and I discussed how it might have affected the birthday party if Julie’s three kids were living with us already. After multiple conversations, we finally concluded that it would have allowed us to split the kids into even teams without recruiting Becky. However, it would have made it more difficult for them to compete against the adults, since there would have been a greater number of children, but maybe we could have done it against half of them at a time. Other than that, we determined there would have been no other drawbacks associated with what we were about to do.

During dinner on Friday, we decided to break the news to the boys about what was going to happen the next day. “Guys, we’re going to be late getting home from work tomorrow, and when we get here we are going to have three more individuals with us. We’re considering taking in three additional children, and tomorrow they’re coming here to meet everyone and have a look around.”

“But me and Wyatt won’t be here,” Tristan complained, feeling cheated.

“I’ll talk to Mrs. Kramer and see if she’ll bring you, Wyatt, and Revin back for a while. I think the other kids should meet him too, seeing he spends every other weekend here.”

“How old are they and what are they like?” Ryan quickly followed.

“There’s a girl who’s seventeen and will be graduating from high school, and her twin brothers who told us they are eight and a half.”

“Yay, we’re almost the same age,” Wyatt cheered gleefully, and this brought a huge grin to Trey’s face. He had encouraged us to take these children in, because he thought it would be good for Wyatt to have others closer to his own age, and the twins certainly filled that bill. .

“There will be a girl living here now?” Ryan followed, but I couldn’t tell if he was excited or disappointed.

“Yes. I talked it over with the others and they’ve all agreed it would be fine. She’ll be leaving for college in the fall and is going to work at the health center over the summer.”

“She seventeen and is gonna graduate?” Noah asked mildly shocked.

“Yes, but I understand she’ll be turning eighteen before she goes away to college.”

“Where’s she going?”

“She’ll be attending Pennsylvania Highlands Community College in Johnstown.”

“Which bedroom is she going to have?” Ryan asked next.

“She’ll be taking Vinnie’s old bedroom, which is off the rec room. Just keep the nudity upstairs and we should be fine.”

“This is gonna change a lot of stuff,” Benny grumbled.

“Maybe a few things, but she won’t be spending a great deal of time here. It shouldn’t be any different than when Grandpa Josh’s granddaughters are here at Christmas or when they visit during the summer.”

“What do they look like?” Ryan asked next, and I realized he wanted to know if the girl was attractive.

“You’ll meet them tomorrow and can see for yourself.”

When we finished eating, I decided to call Becky and inform her about what was happening too. After explaining the situation, I asked a question. “Would you mind bringing Tristan, Wyatt, and Revin to the house around 1:00 or 2:00 tomorrow afternoon so the new kids can meet them?”

“I’d be happy to do that.” After a slight pause she spoke again. “And would you mind if I picked Wyatt and Tristan up at 9:00 then, so they won’t feel cheated?”

“That will be fine too, and I’ll let the others know that’s what you’re going to do.”

When I got off the phone I told the other adults about what I’d just agreed to. Once I finished, Brandon and Trey went to make sure Tristan and Wyatt had packed their things and were ready to leave an hour earlier in the morning.

As soon as the boys were in bed and we’d tucked them in, Brandon and I sat down to have a private chat. “I hope everyone gets along,” I said starting off.

“The boys are pretty open and accepting of others, so I don’t think they’ll be a problem. I don’t know the other three that well, but from my observations of them at the office and after meeting them at their house, they seem like nice kids too.”

“I hope you’re right and they not only get along with the boys, but they like the house and whatever bedroom is theirs.”

“I’m sure Julie will explain the situation to them and the fact that this is the only option where they’ll all be able to stay together, so I’m fairly confident they won’t be a problem.”

“I guess I’m mostly worried about Holly. How is she going to handle being the only female in an all male household? She’s always had her mother before this, but now she’ll be the only girl.”

“She’ll only be with us a couple of months before she goes to stay with her mom’s friend while she attends college, and I assume it’s a female friend. Besides, she won’t be spending a great deal of time at the house because she’ll be working at the health center with the women who run the childcare facility.”

“I just hope that’s enough.”

We went to bed hoping things would work out during the visitation the following day, and I knew we’d do whatever it took to make it go smoothly.

When we woke up several hours later, we got ready for work and went down to have breakfast with the others. While we were eating, we reminded Dad, Pop, Dion, and Trey about when we’d be arriving with the other kids and that Becky would be picking the boys up an hour earlier than usual. They assured us that they knew all of this and were well prepared, so we finished our meal and drove to the office.

Before we opened, I mentioned to my staff about Brandon and my current plans. They were pleased that we were willing to do this for the Thornton family, since they’d dealt with all three kids and their mother in the past, and they wished us the best. I believe Brandon did the same with his staff, and then we unlocked the doors and began seeing patients.

Throughout the morning, I experienced various moments of euphoria, anticipation, doubts, and concerns about what we were about to do while also taking care of my patients. When the work day came to an end, Brandon and I drove over to the Thornton household to pick up the kids. Holly greeted us at the door and invited us in, and we chatted briefly with Julie first.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of them,” I told her to lighten the mood. “I’m sure they’ll get along with the boys and we want them to become familiar with the house as well. If you don’t mind, we’d also like to have them join us for dinner.”

“That will… be fine.”

“Then we’ll probably bring them back between 7:00 and 8:00. I hope that’s not too late.”

“No… it’s fine.”

We then led the children outside and guided them over to the SUV. “Wow, nice,” Hayden said before getting in.

“Thank you, Hayden. I’m glad you approve.”

“Hey, how did you know I’m Hayden? Most people can’t tell us apart and just call us ‘H’.”

“Growing up in such a large family, I spot little things to help me remember who’s who,” I replied. I didn’t want to admit that his mother had told us the secret about his scar, but now I’d know who was who as long as I could look them in the face.

I think he was impressed that I’d picked up on this already, because he and Hunter were whispering back and forth as they were buckling in. Holly looked impressed too and seemed happy that we were treating them as individuals, not as a group of intruders or charity cases.

When we got to the house, we led the kids inside and discovered that everyone was waiting in the foyer to greet them. Before I made the introductions, I offered the newcomers a warning. “There are a lot of us, so you probably won’t be able to remember all of our names immediately. You may recall a few, but it will most likely take time before you know all of our names.”

I introduced the others to Hayden, Hunter, and Holly first, and then I reversed the process. As I was finishing up, Wyatt made a comment.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he told Hayden and Hunter, “cuz we’re almost the same age.”

“How old are you?” Hunter followed.

“Six and a half. I’ll be seven in October.”

“What day?” Hayden asked seeming excited.

“October sixth.”

“Really? We’ll be eight on October eleventh, so we’re just a year older than you.”

“Yeah, and we can have our birthday parties together.”

“We already share a birthday with each other, so we don’t mind sharing with one more,” Hunter agreed.

It was clear that those three were going to get along and possibly become best friends, so now we only had to worry about Holly. As I looked up to see how she was doing, I noticed she was checking out Ryan and Noah, and they were busy doing the same with her. I wasn’t worried about them getting along, although I was concerned about them getting ‘too’ friendly.

“Let’s go into the family room so we can get to know one another better,” I said, as I proceeded to guide everyone in that direction. As we were getting settled in, Hayden made an observation. “Dr. O’Hara told us you had a PlayStation?”

“Yeah, and we play it a lot,” Wyatt confirmed. “Do you want to play now?”

Before Hayden or Hunter had a chance to respond, I answered for them. “Maybe later, but there are other things we need to do first. After we finish talking, I want to show them around the house so they can get a better idea about this place.”

“Can I go with you when you do that?” Wyatt followed.

“Ok, but just you. We don’t need everyone following us around while I’m doing that.” I was allowing Wyatt to go because I felt it would help Hayden and Hunter feel more comfortable, seeing the three of them already seemed to be hitting it off.

After explaining a few things to them about the house and how hectic it was sometimes, I took them on a tour. They had seen the family room and foyer already, so I had them follow me to the living room, dining room, and kitchen next, and then I took them back to the rec room.

“Oh, wow. Dr. O’Hara told us about this stuff too, but this is nicer than we thought it would be” Hunter said amazed. “We don’t have anything like this at our house.”

“With so many people living here my dad wanted to make sure there was plenty for everyone to do, and we’ve just added to it,” I explained.

Seeing we were in the rec room, I also showed them the bedroom that Dad had added on for Vinnie. “Holly, this will be your bedroom. It will give you plenty of privacy, seeing the boys’ bedrooms are all upstairs, and you will share the bathroom with Grandpa Josh and Grandpa Jake. I doubt they’ll be as likely to try to rush you when you’re in there like the others would.”

“It’s pretty nice, but it looks like a boy’s room.”

“Don’t worry. We’re willing to make any changes to it that you want. This room was added on for our brother who is disabled so he didn’t have to tackle the stairs, and we can repaint the room or do anything else that will make it more comfortable for you.”

“Thank you. Then I think this will do nicely.”

I then led everyone upstairs so they could check out the second and third floors, and while we were doing this I asked the twins a question. “Do you want to share a bedroom or have separate rooms?”

They looked at each other briefly and then they answered. “We’ve always…” they began almost in unison, and then they stopped. After non-verbally communicating, Hayden continued. “We’ve always shared a room, so I think we’ll do that.”

“Ok, then do you want to have one big bed or bunk beds?”

They looked at each other again before they spoke, and this time Hunter answered. “We’ve never had bunk beds before, so we’d like to give that a try that. We’ll even take turns sleeping in the top bunk, so we’ll both get a chance to do that.”

“Ok, that will be fine and now you just have to choose which bedroom you want. Let me show you the rooms that you have to choose from.”

“We get to pick a room?” Hayden asked amazed.

“Yes, we’ve let all of the boys choose the room they wanted, so you’ll be able to select one of the rooms that aren’t occupied.”

After I showed them their choices, they huddled together first, and then after listening to Wyatt’s suggestions, they told me which one they wanted.

“Ok, we’ll get it set up for you before you move in.”

“I can’t believe how big this place is,” Hunter added.

“Yeah, it didn’t look this big from the outside,” Hayden concurred.

“Yes, its appearance is deceptive, and it wasn’t always this big. Dad added the third floor as the family grew, along with the room Holly will be using. He also added more bathrooms and we have multiple hot water systems in the basement so you won’t have to worry about running out of hot water either.”

“I’m glad I won’t have to share a bathroom with a bunch of boys,” Holly confessed, and then she corrected herself. “I won’t have to share it with younger boys, just two men.”

“And I’m sure Grandpa Josh and Grandpa Jake will be very considerate.”

After I finished taking them on the tour, we returned to the first floor and then I let them interact with the others. As soon as I saw they were getting along, Brandon and I signaled Dad, Pop, Dion, and Trey to go with us to the dining room. We all got something to drink first, and then we sat around the table to talk.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“They seem to be fitting in quite well already,” Dad answered.

“And I noticed that Holly, Ryan, and Noah seemed to be drawn to each other,” Pop observed.

“I’m hoping it’s only because they’re the closest in age,” Brandon stated showing his concern.

“We’ll keep an eye on them once they move in,” I offered.

When I went to see what the kids were up to, I found Holly in the rec room with Ryan, Noah, Benny, and Joshie. They were taking turns playing table tennis, pool, and air hockey against her and she seemed to be enjoying the attention. In fact, they all seemed to be enjoying themselves, so I went to see what the twins were up to.

I found them in the family room playing video games against Wyatt, Tristan, and Revin. The twins were taking turns using one of the controllers, while the other three were taking turns on the other one. They seemed to be getting along really well, so I went back to rejoin the others.

“They all seem to be getting along and having a good time, so I guess there’s nothing to worry about,” I explained as I sat down again.

“I think this will work out fine,” Dad added. “Trust me; I’ve been through this before.” We all merely looked at him and smiled.

“So what are we having for dinner?” I asked, seeing the kids were going to be eating here as well.

“I’m playing it safe,” Dad answered. “We’re having baked ziti, meatballs, garlic bread, and a green salad.”

“Sounds great and they shouldn’t have problems with it,” Brandon concurred.

“Thanks, Dad. I knew you would know how to handle this,” I added.

When we all came together to eat a short time later, I decided to ask the kids a few questions while we were chowing down. “So what do you think of this place?” I asked to none of them in particular.

“I like it here,” Hunter announced first. “There’s a lot to do and I like the other boys.”

“Yeah, we’ve had a lot of fun since we’ve been here,” Hayden confirmed, “and I like having lots of other boys to do stuff with.”

“How about you, Holly?”

“I’ve had a good time too. I was a little worried at first about being the only girl, but it seems fine and I’m not so worried about it now. I’m just worried about my mom.”

“I can certainly understand that, but once you come to live with us she’ll be moving to a place that will take very good care of her. She’ll make out much better at one of those places, since there will be more people there to help her. Even though you try, you and the home health aide just can’t do all of the things she needs, so your mom will be better off once this happens.”

“Will we still be able to see her?”

“Yes, of course. We’ll take you to visit her once a week, if you want.”

“Yes, we’d like that,” she agreed after looking at her brothers.

“We could take you there every Sunday after church.”

“We gotta go to church?” Hunter asked looking concerned.

“Yes, we go to church nearly every Sunday, so you’ll be going with us.”

“It’s pretty fun,” Revin followed. “I didn’t go very often with my mom, but now I go with them and I like it.”

“And we go to a diner to eat after we get out of church too,” Tristan added, which made a noticeable impact on the twins.

“I guess it doesn’t sound too bad then,” Hayden confirmed after nudging his brother.

“It’s going to be fine,” Holly told the twins. “After we go to church and stop to eat, they’re going to take us to see Mom, so this will work out really well.”

“But we won’t be moving here until we’re out of school,” Hunter pointed out.

“And that’s only four weeks away,” Brandon countered. “The time will go by quickly.”

“Can we come back and visit again before then?” Hayden wanted to know.

“Certainly! We’d be happy to pick you up and bring you here as many times as you want between now and then.”

“I don’t think we should do it every week,” Holly objected. “I want to spend as much time as I can with Mom before we move here.”

“We can make it every other week then,” I offered, “or we can just pick the twins up, if you’d prefer to spend that time with your mother.”

“That would work too,” she confirmed.

“And if you do decide to come again, then you can tell us how you’d like us to fix up your room,” Brandon suggested.

“I’ll just show you my room when you take us home, and then you can do something like that, because I really like my room.”

“We can do that too,” he agreed.

I quickly jotted some information down on the back of one of my business cards and handed it to Holly. “Here are Brandon and my cell phone numbers so you can keep in touch and let us know what you decide. You can also call if you need anything in general, because we want you to remember that we’re here for all of you.”

“Thanks, and I’ll do that.”

I was glad that we had been able to work this out. Not only were the twins excited and interested in coming back before they moved in, Holly also gave positive indications that she was ok with this too. She just wanted to spend as much time as she could with her mom, which was very understandable.

Shortly after we’d finished eating, I told Holly and the twins it was time to take them home. “I told your mother I’d bring you back between 7:00 and 8:00, so we’ll have to get going,” I explained. “I might as well drop Revin, Tristan, and Wyatt off at Revin’s house on the way, since they’re supposed to be spending the night there, so let’s get moving.”

I let Holly sit in the passenger seat up front, and Hayden and Hunter had Wyatt sit between them in the middle row, so Revin and Tristan sat in the back. Once they were all buckled in, I put the car in gear and took off.

We dropped Revin, Tristan, and Wyatt off first, and then we continued to our next destination. The twins were talking amongst themselves, and Holly turned and spoke to me.

“Thank you for being so nice. I know my mom was worried about what was going to happen to us, but I think this will work out fine. When I leave for college I’m not going to be worried about my brothers either, because I know they’ll be fine with you. They really seemed to like it there today.”

“Yes, they did, and that’s probably because there are other boys close to their age to interact with. Wyatt’s only a year younger, and Tristan and Revin are only a couple of years older.”

“But we just dropped Revin off at his house, so he must not live with you.”

“No, he doesn’t, but he spends a lot of time at our house. He stays with us every other weekend, and Tristan and Wyatt stay at his house when he’s not with us, like tonight. I doubt Wyatt will want to continue doing that now, because I have a feeling he’ll want to stay home once your brothers move in.”

“I’m glad to see they’re getting along so well.”

“Me too.”

When we reached the house, I went inside to speak with Julie. “So how… was it?” Julie asked her children.

“It was fun,” Hayden answered happily, “and there’s lots to do.”

“Yeah, and the house is really big,” Hunter followed, “and we’re gonna have a bedroom with bunk beds.”

Julie was smiling broadly as she looked at her daughter. “Holly?”

“It was nice and they’re going to fix up a bedroom on the first floor for me. Can I show Dr. Currie my bedroom so he knows how to make that one look the same way?”

“Go ahead,” Julie agreed.

I went with Holly so she could show me her room, and she pointed out the things that were most important to her. “I know the room at your house is bigger than this room, but I’d like it if you could make it look similar.”

“Sure, I’ll do my best to make your new room look pretty much the same as this one.” I then used my phone to take a few photos of the things in her room that were most important to her. She thanked me and we returned with the others.

Julie immediately motioned for me to come nearer, so I moved beside her and she spoke. “Thank you. They seem… very happy… about going… to live… with you. I’m not… worried about… them now.”

“You’re very welcome and I promise to take very good care of them.”

“Thank you… for doing… this.”

“It’s my pleasure and I’m glad we could help.”

Now that I’d spoken with Julie and had seen Holly’s room, I said goodbye to all of them, hopped in the SUV, and returned home. We had a lot to do before they moved in.