The Castaway Hotel - 2 - 3. Chapter 3 - Time With Robert

During our second week, it was just Robert who was still with us. I think he was also walking on eggs around me and wondering how much I’d let him do with the boys now, since that little fiasco surrounding their hike. I wasn’t about to end his suffering easily either, hoping it would make him think carefully before he tried keeping anything from me again. However, I ended up giving in, so the other boys wouldn’t suffer too, since they all seemed to adore him.

During the remainder of the day, the boys remained pretty subdued, which surprised me. I did notice a lot of whispering between them all and wondered what they were up to, but felt they were conspiring to come up with something to make me feel better about them all spending time with each other. Boy, was I wrong.

Later that evening, after it started to get dark, Cole and Graham asked me to play cards with them. I felt this was because they were missing my grandsons so much, so I humored them and we played rummy. After a while, I realized I hadn’t seen the others for quite some time and figured I might have been had.

“Okay, where are your brothers and what are they up to?” I asked my youngest. Immediately, a look of surprise and fear came over their faces. “Come on, spill it,” I urged them.

“They just went swimming,” Graham admitted, “but we didn’t want to, because of the Lady in the Lake.”
At least that part of the puzzle was clear.

Without saying a word, I got up, walked out of the cottage and headed for the lake. I could now hear the boys laughing and splashing about. As I got nearer, I could see they were diving off the end of the dock, but there was something I wasn’t ready for. They were all stark naked – even Robert. I think that was my biggest shock of all, since Robert had always been my most modest child. The thought of him getting naked in front of others really threw me.

I crept up behind them, moving as noiselessly as I could. When I was as close as I thought I could get without being noticed, I spoke to them. “Well, isn’t this a fine sight.”

Robert immediately tried to cover himself, as the other boys began laughing. “Dad, you must have known we couldn’t wear clothes for the WHOLE vacation,” Ricky announced.

“That I realized, but this…” I said, while pointing at Robert, “I never expected. I know you boys love to be naked, but your older brother has always been a bit more shy about such things.” Although I couldn’t tell in the dark, I think Robert was blushing.

“Well, they’ve been trying to convince me all day,” he told me, “so I finally went along with them. I must admit, it is more fun than I would ever have guessed,” he added, while dropping his hands from in front of him and to his side.

“I have no problems with this, as long as everyone is doing it willingly,” I informed him, to which each of them eagerly agreed.

“We know the rules, Pop,” Jay chirped up, “and no one did anything he didn’t want to.” I looked at Robert and he shook his head.

“Yeah, I actually agreed to join them,” he admitted, shyly. “It’s just that we had to wait until it got dark, so no one else would see us.

Having received my explanation, I went back to the cabin, as the boys continued to enjoying their skinny dip. I must admit I was tempted to join them, but felt it might be too much for Robert to handle, so I passed up the opportunity.

Sunday, I made a run into town, to pick up more supplies, but only Cole and Graham indicated they wanted to join me. After getting Robert alone and making him promise to keep an eye on the boys and not do anything foolish, I pulled the other boys aside and made them promise to help keep Robert in line. Trusting that one or the other would do as I asked, I took the two younger ones and went shopping.

We picked up enough food for another week, including plenty of munchies for the boys to snack on between meals, and I filled both gas cans again, since they’d used up the gasoline I’d purchased previously. On the way back, just before we reached the state land, I noticed something I’d missed before. I quickly hit the brakes and pulled off the road.

“Why are we stopping here, Daddy?” Graham asked. “What’s this place?”

“I think it may turn out to be just what the doctor ordered,” I told him, as I parked the car.

“What doctor, Daddy.” Graham asked, confused.

“That was just a way of saying I think I found something that will come in handy later in the week,” I told him. “You boys stay in the car and I’ll be right back.” They did as I told them and waited while I checked out this discovery. Before long, I was back in the car and we were driving toward the cottage again.

The two who were with me pestered me all the way back about what I’d done there, but I only told them enough to keep them from pushing it further. I also made them promise not to tell any of the others about this, as I wanted to keep this as my ace in the hole.

When we got back, I asked the others to help unload the groceries and the gas cans, and once that was done, I offered to drive the faster boat for them, so they could do some more water-skiing. They immediately liked that idea, so we spent the next few hours with most of the boys enjoying the opportunity to get more proficient at this activity. I was immensely surprised to see Jay doing as well, if not better than the others. Cole tried it too, but soon gave up on it, saying it just wasn’t his thing. Graham, on the other hand, spent all of his time with me in the boat, so I let him steer it from time to time, to make him feel important and help keep him from growing bored.

Robert had spent much of his time giving the boys pointers about what to do, both before they went out and after they got back from their run, so they would continue to improve. I was very pleased to see the boys listening to his every word and working with him on this, knowing this was only strengthening the bonds that had been building between them.

We did this until dinnertime, but after dinner the boys played cards until it got dark. As time passed, I also began to notice that some of the boys were slipping off to shower together, so I figured this was to allow them a little sexual release. I noticed they would watch Robert, to make sure he didn’t observe what they were up to, but I picked up on it, mostly because of our vacation the previous year. The first pair I saw sneak off together were Danny and Brandon, and I later discovered they had used their time for a little oral relief. I could tell it must have done the trick, because they both wore huge smiles when they rejoined us.

A little while later, Ricky and Jay disappeared, and I was told that they used the little trick they had discovered the previous summer. After soaping up generously, they would place their dick between the other one’s inner thighs and then hump him like a horny dog, until they creamed the shower wall. Both boys found this very satisfying, but I think some of that was psychological, as it made them feel as if they were actually having intercourse.

By staying indoors and playing cards after dinner, I immediately began to suspect the boys were planning another late night skinny dip. When they later began to leave the cottage and head for the lake, I slipped down behind them and took off my shorts, since I wasn’t going to be left out this time. I think Robert was the only one surprised to see me do this, since I had never done anything of this nature when he was younger. However, that was probably due mostly to the fact his mother and two sisters were around most of the time too, and that would have made it a bit awkward. Not only that, but my wife was not very open-minded where public nudity was concerned.

After we tired ourselves out swimming, we went back to the cabin, dried off and went to bed. I was surprised when Graham asked if he could sleep with me again, since I’d figured he’d want to spend time with his brothers. However, he was insistent, so I gave in. Later, I realized it was probably due to the fact that he was sorely missing having little Nicky around, so I became his human pacifier.

For the next two days, our routine stayed basically the same. Although Robert and I took turns in the boat, we didn’t limit ourselves to doing just that one thing, but in reality we didn’t have a lot of options to contend with. By the time Wednesday night rolled around, the boys were all becoming a little bored with our limited agenda and let me know so.

“Dad, we’ve got to find some other things to do too,” they complained. “What we’ve been doing is all right, but it’s isn’t as much fun now. Isn’t there something else we can do too?”

“Maybe,” I said, “just let me think about it for a bit. If you’re lucky, I might be able to come up with something by tomorrow.” I think Cole and Graham were suspicious that I already had something in mind, involving our extra stop on the way back from shopping, but they were very good about it and didn’t spill the beans.

Later that evening I slipped away for a bit, to set things up, but no one knew what I was up to. It was working out perfectly.

The next morning, after the boys got up, I fixed them all a big breakfast, before they began to pester me again. “Well, did you think of something new to do?” Kevin asked me.

“We know you’ve got a lot of ideas, Pop,” Brandon added, trying to butter me up with a little flattery.

“I might have,” I told them. “All of you get dressed and hop into the van, and we’ll go out to see what else we can find.”

After their enthusiastic cheers of approval, the boys did as I asked, but we didn’t have all that far to go. When I pulled into the same place I’d stopped at with Cole and Graham, the other boys all looked at me funny, since they couldn’t figure out what I was up to.

“You boys wait here and I’ll be right back,” I told them, without giving anything away. All I was actually doing was checking to see if things were ready for us.

“Okay, follow me,” I informed them, after coming back to the van, and they trailed behind me to the back of this old, beat up looking garage building. As they rounded the corner, they all began to cheer. “Way to go, Pop,” Jay shouted, as he saw the line of four-wheelers, gassed up and ready to go.

“This place rents these to people to use on the trails in the state land,” I explained, “so I rented them for us to use for the day. Cole, you’ll ride with Robert and Graham will ride with me, until we’re sure you’re ready to solo.” I doubted Graham would be, but felt Cole might eventually be ready, although I wanted to make sure before we did that.

Over the next twenty minutes or so, the owner gave the boys instructions on how to operate the vehicles, including warnings about what they should and should not do on them. Once everything had been sufficiently explained, each of them picked out a safety helmet to use and we were ready to go. With Cole seated in front of Robert, Graham seated in front of me and the rest of the boys on their own four-wheelers, we were ready to set off.

The owner had also provided Robert and I maps of the trails and warnings about specific dangers out there.
After talking it over, I put Robert in the lead and I agreed to bring up the rear, to make sure there weren’t any problems. Robert and I had also been given 2-way radios to use, so we could communicate with each other without having to stop to do so. Cautiously, we started out, taking it easy and giving the boys a chance to get used to their vehicles. I could see Robert was letting Cole operate their bike, with his assistance, and I was doing the same with Graham. They both seemed satisfied with that and we proceeded down the edge of the roadway, until reaching the state land, and then we took the trail into that area.

This was definitely a fun and exhilarating activity. In some spots the trail was wide enough for two boys to ride side-by-side, but most of the time it was narrower than that and we had to stay in single file. Regardless of which way we traveled, everyone seemed to be having a great time. It looked as if Robert had pretty much left Cole in control of their bike, and he rode with his arm’s wrapped around Cole’s chest, but I kept control of our vehicle, even though I did let Graham do most of the steering and controlling the gas. I did have to rein him in a couple of times, so he didn’t ram into the back of the bike ahead of us, but for the most part, he did those things fairly well.

We rode until after lunchtime, when I radioed Robert to head back to the place we started from. He did as I requested and I suspected the boys were a little disappointed, thinking this activity had come to an end. However, after we arrived back at the garage, I informed them it was only so the owner could have a chance gas them all up again and give us a chance to run out and grab a bite to eat in between. Suddenly, they all began to perk up.

Seeing the boys didn’t want to waste much time eating (will wonders never cease?), we stopped at a fast food place and chowed down quickly. When we got back, everything was ready for us again, so we took off once more, but this time Cole was also operating his own four-wheeler. After Robert had assured me he was ready and capable of being left alone, I asked the owner to provide us with one more four-wheeler for the afternoon. I think this did affect Graham’s ego slightly, but after I told him it was just that I needed him to drive me around, he seemed to be more willing to accept this arrangement.

We took different trails this time and rode until it began to get dark. As soon as I could tell the light was beginning to dim, I signaled Robert that it was time to call it a day and we headed back in. No one complained this time… in fact, everyone was quite pleased by the entire day out. Somehow I managed to get lucky and find this bit of salvation on a trip to the grocery store. How fortunate.

Before we left, I asked the boys what they wanted to do the next day, Friday, since it would be our last full day here. We would be heading back home Saturday, after saying good-bye to Robert, so I left the choice of activities entirely up to them. They all said they’d like to spend the day at the lake and today had been enough to tide them over and break the monotony. Even though they’d had a great time, they just couldn’t see riding the four-wheelers two days in a row. I appreciated their candor, so I’d try to think of another variation to amuse them tomorrow.

That night Graham and the boys decided to sleep together on the floor of the living area, along with Robert. It was his last night with us and everyone wanted to be as close to him as they could that evening. That was fine with me, as I got a good night’s sleep alone, in a big bed.

The next morning, I suggested we could take the big boat out and enjoy a nice cruise of the lake, during which time I’d let each of them have a turn at piloting the craft. I hadn’t let anyone but Robert, Michael, Adrian or me drive the smaller boat, mainly because of its power and very sensitive steering. It could turn on a dime, so to speak, and I didn’t want the boys to have an accident because of that combination of factors. However, the larger boat’s steering was a lot more forgiving, plus the pick-up was not as explosive, so I figured they’d have less chance to foul up seriously. They all thought they’d like to take a turn at steering the big boat, so like Gilligan, we set off on a three-hour tour.

I felt the fairest way to take turns at the helm was to go by age, starting with the oldest, so Dustin went first. We ended up traveling around the lake several times, so each boy got a decent chance at steering the boat for more than just a few minutes. One of the best times came when it was Graham’s turn and all of the other boys egged him on.

“Come on, Graham, give us a special ride,” Danny suggested. “Make it different from the others.”

“Yeah, give it full throttle,” Ricky urged him, which didn’t surprise me in the least.

“See if you can scare up a sea monster or something,” Jay teased him, followed by his hearty laugh.

“I’m not sure Champ or Nessie live in this lake, but maybe something else does,” Kevin added, playing along with the gag.

Graham enjoyed this attention, as well as his turn at the wheel, so we ended up giving him even more time than the others had piloting the vessel, to make up for some of the other activities he’d been curtailed on. I think he felt pretty special by the time we came back in.

After lunch, the boys wanted to go swimming, and I was more than a little surprised when I looked out the door, after I finished cleaning up from our meal. They were skinny dipping again and it was still light out. Sure, there weren’t any cottages real close to the one we were using and we hadn’t seen many people out when we were cruising around the lake, but this might stir up a hornet’s nest, if anyone with other children were around. However, against my better judgment I let them continue, but I stayed in the cottage and wasn’t about to join them this time around.

Our last evening with Robert was actually kind of sad. The boys had a great time with him and appreciated how he liked being with them too, so they tried to get him to promise to come home for Thanksgiving and New Year’s, but Robert offered them a compromise.

“I’ll come home at Thanksgiving, with everyone else, but it’s really very difficult for me to come home for the winter holidays. I’ll save my second visit until your spring break from school. I’ll take some time off from work then, so we can spend the whole week together. I’ll also see if I can take more time off next summer, so we can enjoy another vacation together.”

The boys all seemed to like that idea, so it was agreed. Once again, I think it was mostly so Robert could spend much of his time alone with the boys and not have to share their attention, even though he used his work schedule as an excuse to do so. I know the holidays are a very busy time for people working in retail, but I also knew New Year’s wasn’t as big a deal as Christmas. However, I kept my mouth shut and left it as they had planned.

Saturday was a bittersweet parting. The boys had enjoyed themselves and had a great time with Robert, but now he was leaving and we were heading home. That also meant school was just around the corner. If it weren’t for the fact they were looking forward to playing soccer again, I think they might have become even more morose. Thankfully, however, I think they were also eager to see what the future might hold for them.