The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation - 25. Saying Farewell To a Difficult Year

Monday night, I got a phone call from Ricky. I was kind of surprised by this, since he’d just been here for a couple of days. I was hoping nothing was wrong.

“Dad, I’m sorry for being such a jerk before I left,” Ricky admitted. “The truth is, it wasn’t the pranks that upset me. I’d sort of been in a bad mood for most of the time I was there. To be honest, whoever pulled those pranks was pretty clever. I know I never thought up shit as good as that.” He laughed.

“Yes, they were well planned and carried out,” I agreed. “Now tell me why you were in such a foul mood.”

“It had to do with work,” Ricky confessed. “Just before I left to drive home, I learned a big deal I had worked on had fallen through, but that wasn’t the worst of it. Since it didn’t go through I missed qualifying for my bonus, and I was sort of counting on it. I had it in the bag until that deal flopped.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I commiserated.

“Yeah, but I kind of mislead you too,” he continued. “I told you I’d been out partying the night before, but that wasn’t true. I went out with another guy from my office that wasn’t getting his bonus either and we tried to drown our disappointment. There was no party or fun involved.”

“Ricky, I’m sorry to hear that,” I responded, “but I thought you knew that booze doesn’t solve problems.”

“I know, but it made me numb, so it didn’t hurt so badly,” he confessed. “Don’t worry, I’m okay now, but I really would like to know who pulled those pranks on me. I don’t want to wail on him or retaliate, but I would like to apologize for the things I’d said and congratulate him for his ingenuity. You know, one prankster to another.” He laughed again.

“I see and I’m sure he’d appreciate it,” I confirmed.

“So you know who did those things?” Ricky pressed.

“I do now, but I didn’t find out who it was until after you’d left,” I confessed.

“So tell me who it was,” Ricky urged.

“You know I can’t do that,” I explained. “I never told on you or Andrew when either of you pulled your stunts, and I won’t do that now.”

“So it was Andrew?” Ricky surmised, incorrectly.

“I didn’t say that and it wasn’t,” I admitted. “Although I suspected him at first, he wasn’t the one.”

“Damn, then I have no idea who it could have been,” Ricky admitted, perplexed. I knew this would bug him until he figured it out.

I was glad he’d called and now I understood why he had reacted so strongly. It was out of character for him, but up until now I had no clue as to why he was so upset. Now, I finally understood it was not the pranks, but the loss of his bonus that made him so grumpy. I’ll have to explain that to Elliot, so he won’t think so badly of Ricky either.

When I took Elliot aside later and explained the situation to him, I also told him Ricky had basically called to apologize. Elliot’s primary reaction was to ask if I’d told Ricky he was the culprit, and I assured him I hadn’t. I explained to him that I hadn’t done it when the others pulled pranks either and Elliot thanked me. He also told me he’d have to find a way to talk this over with Ricky, which made me begin to wonder what he might have in mind. I hoped this didn’t mean another round of pranks was just around the corner.

That same day, I took Elliot down to meet Danny at work. Danny had arranged for the orthopedist to examine Elliot, to see if the cast could be removed. After an x-ray was taken, the orthopedist announced that the wrist had completely healed and appeared to be fine, so he cut the cast off Elliot’s wrist. He also examined the wrist after the cast had been removed, and then sent Elliot on his way.

As soon as the cast came off, Elliot flexed his fingers and then scratched his arm, like a jackrabbit using it’s rear foot to scratch its ear. He scratched so hard I was worried he’d rip his arm open, but he stopped and sighed in relief.

“Ah, I’ve been waiting to do that for weeks!” he exclaimed.

Elliot was thrilled about finally being free of the restrictive device. It meant he could now do many of the things he had been kept from doing since he first came to live with us. Most importantly, it meant he could eventually start swimming and resume diving again. He was excited about these prospects and eager to return to school, so he could get back into those activities.

The rest of the week between Christmas and New Year’s was very interesting. This wasn’t merely because I’d noticed how closed Jesse, Elliot, Jordan and Nicky had become, but also because Elliot was getting to know a few of his uncles a little better. Elliot had been spending quite a bit of time with Andrew, Sammy, Graham, Dion, Trey and Vinnie too, since they were all home on vacation. Although Vinnie was no longer living here, he drove back to visit a few times, seeing Kevin worked during the day. However, Elliot also got to know Kevin better as well, because Vinnie and he came to visit us on the weekend.

During this time, the older boys not only volunteered to take the younger ones wherever they wanted to go, but they also tried to involve them in other activities, which they thought they might enjoy. This helped them all to get to know one another better and allowed my older grandsons to form new and stronger bonds with their uncles.

One of my favorite times during these sessions was when someone would talk Elliot into playing the piano, so Dion could sing along. They were both extremely talented and complimented each other very well, and the other boys enjoyed listening to them just as much as I did. After a couple of numbers, they’d get everyone else to sing along too, and all I could think of was that they were having an old fashioned hootenanny. It’s funny, but I hadn’t thought about anything like that for years.

The boys also talked me into going with them to the high school pool, so they could swim. I had a strong suspicion they were doing this because they knew Elliot was chomping at the bit to get back in the water. Even though they realized the high school pool would be locked up, they also knew the high school principal would loan me his key and let me serve as lifeguard for my clan. That was something else we could all enjoy doing together and would give Elliot another chance to shine.

At first I only let Elliot swim and play chicken, as he and some of the others rode on the older boys’ shoulders. During this time, he also kept bugging me to let him show the others how well he could dive. Since they knew Elliot dove on his old swim team, the rest of the boys were eager to have him demonstrate what he could do for them. I wasn’t sure he should be involved in anything like that, so I called Danny and talked it over with him.

“Dad, when I took Elliot to the orthopedist,” Danny advised me, “he said Elliot’s wrist had not only healed, but the muscles hadn’t atrophied too badly either. He attributed this fact to Elliot’s playing the piano and said it helped to keep the muscles in the right arm toned. Since these muscles are stronger than we’d anticipated, I think it will be all right for you to let him do a few very simple dives, but nothing too difficult or elaborate.”

Since Danny had given me the okay, I relayed the new restrictions to Elliot and let him go. Eagerly, he raced over to the diving board and did a few dives for the others. He was very graceful and his entry into the water was very smooth. Needless to say that the others were quite impressed by what he had done. He tried to talk me into letting him dive from the high platform, but I reminded him about the rules and he went back to join the others without complaint. It now seemed the time we spent at the pool was turning out to be beneficial on a couple of different levels and possibly Elliot could get back to diving sooner than we first thought.

During the time between the two holidays, we also took in a couple of matinees and the boys had one huge snowball fight. No! I’ll correct that. They had a huge snowball war. They divided up in two teams and pelted each other with snowballs until someone called ‘uncle.’ That wasn’t any specific uncle, only that someone signaled it was time to call a halt to hostilities. They were all a little sore and bruised when it was over, but each of them was eager to claim he’d had a great time and his team had been victorious.

When the high school boys came in, they decided to strip out of their wet pants and sweaters, so they could toss them in the dryer. They then made their way to the family room, in just their tee shirts and underpants, and camped out in front of the fire to watch a movie. A few hours later, I went to call them to dinner and found them sound asleep on the family room floor, amidst a tangle of pillows and blankets.

Jesse lay in the middle of this heap, with Jordan snuggled under one arm and Elliot under the other. Nicky was spooned up next to Elliot, with Elliot holding him in his arms and resting his head on Nicky’s shoulder. They reminded me of a litter of newborn puppies, and after looking at their angelic faces I decided this scene was so cute that it should be preserved for posterity. I raced off and grabbed my camera and snapped a few frames, before I woke them up.

They looked a little sheepish at having been discovered like this, but once they overcame this initial embarrassment, they quickly ran off to put warm clothes on. They joined us at the table a few minutes later, once they heard dinner was ready.

Although everything else was going fine, I was still having a difficult time trying to think of ideas for our New Year’s celebration. Mildly frustrated, I sat down with the boys one evening and asked for their help. At first, someone suggested we should go out to eat and then possibly find someplace that had music and dancing afterward, but then someone else suggested we could probably have more fun at home, with just the family and extended family.

Even though not all of the family would be returning for this particular holiday, coupled with our extended family we would still have a fairly large group. After taking into consideration who would be here, the boys started working out some rough plans. Once we had an idea about what we might do, we contacted those who would be joining us, to get their input on what we’d come up with. After tweaking some of our ideas slightly, they seemed satisfied with what we’d decided and said they looked forward to seeing us on New Year’s Eve.

Since we had a lot to do to prepare for the big night, the boys helped me get things ready. First, we cleaned up the house and moved some of the furniture and other items around, so there would be plenty of room to do the things they had suggested. This involved a lot of hard work, which included cleaning up Kevin and Vinnie’s old room. We were doing this so we could use it to store many of the items that were currently in the rec room, to free up some floor space. We would need this area to accommodate one of our ideas, but that wasn’t all. Kevin and Vinnie’s old room also had its own bathroom, which would give us a second facility that could be used by those in attendance. Therefore, we left a pathway leading to it, even though the rest of the room looked slightly cluttered.

After working with me for most of the day to get things ready, the boys were more than anxious to spend their evening with each other. Elliot, Jesse, Jordan and Nicky were making the most of being together and being able to experiment with boy-boy sex. They had been sticking to blowjobs and jacking each other off, which I didn’t have any problems with. I was just glad to see they weren’t getting too carried away with things.

Although Jordan and Nicky still considered themselves bi, I was beginning to have my doubts about Elliot. From the things I’d been told, he was totally into the male anatomy and hadn’t expressed any interest in the female form. Unlike Jordan and Nicky, who enjoyed getting into their fathers’ Playboys and Hustler magazines, as well as finding pics of nude females online, Elliot seemed totally disinterested in doing anything of this nature. I think we were all beginning to suspect which way he was going to go.

On Thursday evening, after the boys had enjoyed a little fun and showered, they were planning to come back downstairs and join the rest of us. Except, this time Jordan and Nicky were planning to come down naked. It seems that this pair hadn’t yet been advised that Elliot wasn’t comfortable doing this, but they quickly discovered this fact.

“So you don’t want to go downstairs without your clothes on, like the rest of us?” Nicky asked Elliot.

“Hell, no!” Elliot exclaimed. “I’m not going to run around naked in front of everyone else.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Jordan stated. “It’s only guys here and we’re all family.”

“That may be, but it’s not something I’m comfortable doing,” Elliot snarled. “Besides, it’s not exactly hot enough to be running around like that either.”

“But Papa keeps the house pretty warm,” Nicky told him. “It’s not that bad.”

“So you guys really do this?” Elliot wondered aloud. “You run around here naked whenever you come here?”

“We didn’t at first, but Jordan and I do now,” Nicky confessed. “The first time we did it was to show Papa that he was right in agreeing that we were mature enough to experiment with Jesse and Andrew.”

“Wait! Papa knows what you’ve done with Jesse?” Elliot asked, totally flabbergasted.

”Of course he does,” Jordan replied. “The older guys always ask him first, before they do anything with us younger guys.”

“What?” Elliot shouted. “Why on earth would they do that?”

“So Papa can make sure that no one is getting forced to do anything they don’t want to do,” Jordan answered. “He does it to keep everyone safe.”

“So you think Papa knows about me too?” Elliot wondered.

“I’m pretty sure he does,” Nicky replied. “I don’t think Jesse would have done anything with you otherwise. He wouldn’t do anything with us either, until Papa told him it was all right.”

Elliot didn’t say a word. He was in total disbelief and raced off to ask Jesse if this was true. Since Jesse had gone to talk to Andrew for a while, Elliot ran to the room Andrew was using. After knocking on the door, he asked to speak with Jesse alone and the two went into an empty room and shut the door, so they could speak privately. Once they were by themselves, Elliot asked his question, because he wanted to know for sure.

“Jordan and Nicky told me something and I need to know if it’s true,” Elliot began. “Did you ask Papa, before we messed around together? Jordan and Nicky told me you probably did, since you did it before you did anything with them too.”

“Yeah, I asked him first,” Jesse answered, “but he told me I’d needed to ask Danny and Brandon instead, since they’re the ones responsible for you.”

“Wait! So Papa AND my dads know what we’ve been doing!” Elliot exclaimed. He was totally shocked and embarrassed by this revelation.

“Of course they do and they gave me their approval, as long as it was your idea to do it,” Jesse confirmed.

“How could you do that Jesse?” Elliot asked, with a hurt expression on his face.

“What’s the big deal?” Jesse countered. “I heard Danny and Brandon used to mess around with the other guys when they were younger too. It’s just that now they choose to stay with each other. They weren’t upset or anything.”

“That’s not the point! If I had known you were going to out me to the whole house I wouldn’t have asked about experimenting with you! I trusted you, Jesse, and you told everyone about my biggest secret. That was private. I wasn’t ready for that,” Elliot yelled, before storming out of the room.

Jesse was very upset. He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong. This is just how things had always been done in our family, but once he thought about it, he began to feel terrible. He’d never told Elliot he’d talked to me or his dads to get permission to fool around with him. By what Elliot had said about ‘outing’ him, Jesse assumed that Elliot must be gay and believed he had told us that too.

Elliot’s head was spinning. Here he thought he’d been careful about what he’d been doing, but it hadn’t mattered at all. Everyone else already knew what he was up to. He went back to his room, where Jordan and Nicky were still waiting.

“Are you all right?’ Nicky asked, as Elliot walked through the door.

“I don’t know,” Elliot admitted. “I’m not sure how I feel about Papa and my dads knowing what I’ve been doing. Do you think Papa Jake knows too?”

“Probably,” Jordan replied. “Papa tells Papa Jake almost everything, so he’s prepared in case something happens. It’s just to keep everyone safe.”

Elliot didn’t respond at first and merely hung his head. After he few seconds, he finally spoke.

“Damn, I’m not sure how I feel about all of this,” Elliot announced.

“It’s not a big deal,” Jordan told him. “They’re cool about it, the same way they are with us. They’re also cool when they see us walking around the house naked or when we go skinny-dipping. It’s actually pretty neat that they are willing to treat us like adults.”

“I guess,” Elliot mumbled, “but it’s not what I’m used to. I guess it will take a while before I’m comfortable with any of this. Just give me some time.”

Since Elliot wasn’t ready to come downstairs in the buff, the boys got dressed and then brought Elliot downstairs. Once they’d joined us, it was hard not to notice that Elliot wasn’t willing to look any of the rest of us in the eye and that he wasn’t sitting next to Jesse, which was pretty unusual. Jesse had a sad expression on his face and noticing this led me to suspect they might have had a fight. I didn’t push for an answer right away, because I felt I’d find out soon enough if they couldn’t resolve this issue on their own.

I also noticed that Elliot was dressed kind of funny. I normally keep the house fairly warm, so he normally wears a pair of gym shorts and a tee shirt after he’s had his shower. Tonight, however, he was dressed more like Nanook of the North. He had on two tee shirts, a hooded sweatshirt, his pajama bottoms and a pair of socks. Something strange was definitely going on.

After the others went to bed, Jordan and Nicky came back downstairs, so they could speak with me alone. They wanted to tell me about Elliot’s reaction to finding out that his fathers and I knew he had been sexually experimenting with Jesse and them. They also wanted to tell me about how Elliot had reacted when they were preparing to come downstairs without their clothes on, but they didn’t know something else had happened between Jesse and him.

“He was really upset,” Nicky confided.

“Yeah, he looked like he was going to puke, before we came down here,” Jordan added.

After listening to what they had to say, I thanked them for bringing this to my attention. I also told them I, or one of his fathers, would discuss this with Elliot further and, hopefully, be able to resolve this issue.

Once they went back to their room, I went to find Danny and Brandon, so I could explain this to them. When I finished, I had a final question.

“Do you want to handle this with Elliot or do you want me to?” I asked.

Danny and Brandon looked at each other, before they answered.

“I think we can handle this one,” Danny stated, “but can we come get you if things start to go wrong?”

I agreed that would be fine, so the pair felt they’d pull Elliot aside tomorrow. They would do it some time after they got home from work and before we started our New Year’s Eve celebration.

The next day, I saw Elliot continually glancing at me out of the corner of his eye as I was working on the things we’d need for that evening. I was preparing snacks and desserts that everyone could munch on, once we got back from the restaurant. It would be a long night, and I was sure the boys would eventually get hungry again, even though we were eating out first. Therefore, I wanted to make sure I had enough to keep them satisfied, so I wouldn’t have to hear them complain about being hungry and needing something to eat. I also loaded up the refrigerator in the rec room with sodas and bottled water for the boys, so there would be plenty for them to drink too.

When Danny and Brandon arrived home from work later, they still had quite a bit of time before we’d be leaving for the restaurant, so they went to find Elliot. When they located him, they asked if they could speak with him privately and then took him to their bedroom, once he agreed.

“What’s wrong?” Elliot asked, once they were alone.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Danny began, “but we felt we needed to clear the air about something. We’ve noticed you’ve been looking uncomfortable and discovered it was because you’ve learned that we know you’ve been messing around with Jesse, Jordan and Nicky.”

Elliot’s eyes bulged out of their sockets.

“Damn, do these guys tell you everything?” he wondered, while looking totally upset.

“Yeah, they pretty much do,” Brandon answered, “because they know that being honest and getting permission first is the best way to keep from getting into trouble.”

Elliot didn’t look convinced.

“But no parent knows everything their kids are doing,” Elliot protested, “especially when it comes to their sex life. This is more than a little weird.”

“You may think so, but we also allow you boys to do more than most parents would too,” Danny answered. “It is something we did when we were younger and something we hope you’ll be willing to do, because it helps us know that you’re safe and we can trust you. A lot of those other parents have problems with their kids later on, because they don’t have the same sense of trust. We want you to know you can always come to us with anything.”

“So you both told Papa everything you were doing when you had sex with each other?” Elliot wondered.

“Not every detail, but he knew the types of things we were doing,” Brandon confirmed. “In fact, it was your Papa who instructed both Danny and I how to keep from hurting each other, the first time we made love.”

“No way!” Elliot shouted. “You even let Papa know that you were fucking each other?”

Elliot immediately regretted his choice of words. He hadn’t meant to demean his dad’s relationship like that. Fortunately, they didn’t say anything about his language. Instead, they merely continued their conversation.

“Yes, we did,” Danny agreed. “He taught us how to do it slowly and safely. He even provided us with the things we’d need, like lube and condoms.”

“Oh, wow,” Elliot huffed. “I can’t believe you let him know what you were going to do, but I also can’t believe that he helped you.”

“He taught all of us, and we were all better for it,” Danny assured him.

“You mean Papa actually touched you… you know…. sexually?” Elliot wondered, incredulously.

“Oh, no. He taught us by telling us and demonstrating using other things,” Brandon replied, “but he didn’t have sex with us. Sometimes it was just that he made sure we were with another boy he felt could help us.”

Elliot breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

“We’re willing to do the same for you, if you want us to,” Danny confirmed, “but we’re also willing to let you learn with others who already know these things – like Jesse. We were willing to allow you to do things with him, since he said you were the one who brought it up first, because we knew he wouldn’t hurt you and would stick to our limitations.”

“Limitations? What do you mean?” Elliot pressed.

“In your case, it means that we’ve told him we didn’t think you were ready for anything anal yet,” Brandon explained. “Jesse agreed he wouldn’t get into that and we knew he’d stick to the agreement.”

“So you don’t mind that we do the other stuff?” Elliot asked next.

“No, we are pretty sure all guys fool around and experiment,” Danny told him, “so we’re just happy knowing that you’re doing it in a safe environment and with people who won’t hurt you.”

Suddenly, Elliot began to calm down.

“I guess that makes sense,” he admitted. “I was just totally shocked that you and Papa knew what I was doing.”

“Are you okay with that now?” Brandon followed.

“I guess, but I think this is still going to take some time for me to get used to,” Elliot agreed. “I’m still mad that Jesse just told you I wanted to have sex with him.”

“He didn’t tell us that,” Brandon offered.

“What?” Elliot snapped, in reply.

“He didn’t tell us you wanted to have sex with him,” Brandon clarified. “He merely asked if it would be okay if he did anything sexual with you.”

“Oh, no,” Elliot sighed.

His shoulders drooped and he hid his face in his hands.

“What’s the matter?” Danny inquired.

Suddenly, Elliot’s head shot up.

“I’m such an asshole!” he exclaimed.

“Why would you ever say that?” Brandon asked.

“I sort of got the wrong idea about how Jesse approached you guy about this,” he admitted. “I said some really mean and hurtful things to him, so now I feel terrible about doing that.”

“So go talk to him,” Brandon suggested. “I’ve never known Jesse to be one to hold a grudge. I’m sure if you apologize, he’ll forgive you.”

“I hope so,” Elliot stated. “I really regret what I said. Can I go now?”

“In a moment,” Danny replied. “Is that everything or is there something else bothering you?”

Elliot thought for a second.

“Yeah, I guess there is,” he confessed. “Do you guys really go around the house naked?”

Danny and Brandon smiled and even began to chuckle.

“We do, along with all of our brothers,” Danny confirmed. “We’ve all done that since we were really young and have even gone to what you’d call nudist camps.”

“You mean you went naked in front of strangers?” Elliot responded. “Both guys and girls?”

Danny and Brandon each nodded his head.

“I’m pretty sure I could never do that,” Elliot confessed. “I can’t even do it in the house with the rest of you. I’m not comfortable with having Papa or you guys seeing me naked.”

Danny and Brandon giggled after hearing Elliot admit this.

“I guess you really don’t remember your first weeks here, do you?” Brandon pondered.

“Why? What do you mean?” Elliot wondered.

“When you first came here, you weren’t exactly able to do much for yourself,” Brandon answered. “That meant we ended up giving you baths and had to make sure that you went to the toilet, so we’ve all seen everything you have.”

They tried to give him a reassuring smile after telling him this bit of news.

“Oh, crap. No, I don’t remember that,” Elliot confessed. “Still, just because everyone’s seen it doesn’t mean they need to memorize it.”

Danny and Brandon both got a laugh out of Elliot’s comment.

“Then I guess skinny dipping is out of the question too,” Danny joked.

Elliot just gave him a strange look.

“Yeah, I’m not ready for that either,” he told them.

“Maybe when it gets warmer,” Brandon teased.

However, Elliot began shaking his head.

“Don’t count on it,” he responded.

“Look, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want,” Danny assured him, “I just hope you won’t stop the others from doing it, if that’s what they want.”

“I don’t want to be the odd man out, but I won’t make everyone else adjust just for me,” Elliot whined.

“If it makes thing easier for you, then Danny and I will keep our clothes on too, no matter how uncomfortable it gets,” Brandon assured him.

“Yeah, that makes me feel a whole lot better,” Elliot stated, sarcastically, showing his exasperation. “I’ll feel great, knowing I’m helping to make you miserable.”

“We won’t be miserable, just not as comfortable as we might feel otherwise,” Brandon explained. “However, Danny and I are both willing to do that for our son, if it makes you feel better.”

Brandon’s last comment elicited a grin from Elliot, once he heard that his fathers were willing to make sacrifices, as long as it would help him. Now that this had been settled, Danny and Brandon told him it was time to get ready, because they were going out to eat with the rest of the family.

Elliot knew everyone would be waiting for him to get dressed, but he felt he had to clear the air with Jesse before they’d be able to enjoy the evening. He went upstairs and knocked on Jesse’s door, and then went in.

“Oh, hey,” Jesse mumbled, when he raised his head and saw Elliot. “Look, I’m sorry I…”

“Stop!” Elliot interrupted. “I need you to listen to me for a moment!”

He said this much more forcefully than he’d intended and Jesse didn’t say a word. He just looked down at his feet.

“Jesse, I’m so sorry for the things I said to you last night,” Elliot offered. “I was upset and got the wrong idea about what you had done. I should have let you explain.”

“I’m probably gay, but it’s hard for me to admit that to myself,” Elliot continued, pouring his heart out. “I know there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s still hard knowing there’s something not quite right about me. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I haven’t thought about a girl at all since I’ve been here with you and the guys. When you told me you’d talked to Papa and my dads, I thought you’d given away my secret, but from what they told me, it didn’t exactly go down like that.”

“I love you Jesse. I’m not IN love with you or anything like that, but since the day I came here, you’ve been my friend,” Elliot confessed. “You helped me when my dad died and you’ve taught me more about sex than I would have ever found out on my own. You’ve been like the big brother I’ve never had and always wanted, so I’m grateful to have you. I should have let you explain the situation and not acted like such a douche bag. Can you ever forgive me?” Elliot was actually pleading for forgiveness.

Jesse didn’t answer him. Instead, he walked over to Elliot and wrapped his arms around him in a tremendous bear hug.

“Of course I forgive you,” Jesse confirmed, “and it’s partially my fault too. I should have told you I was going to ask before doing anything with you. I love you too and I love having you here. If you do decide you’re gay, you can tell me and it won’t make any difference. I promise I won’t tell a soul.”

“Friends again?” Elliot asked.

“You know it!” Jesse grinned.

He then gave Elliot another energetic squeeze, but their embrace was interrupted when I called upstairs for them.

“Hey, slowpokes. We’re ready to go,” I shouted. “Do you think you might get a move on?”

The boys dressed for dinner and I was pleased to see big, bright smiles on both of their faces as they raced down the stairs. I guess they’d patched things up and looked to be as thick as thieves again.

When I noticed Elliot slipping into his coat, I couldn’t help but make a comment.

“Is the expedition canceled to Antarctica, Admiral?” I asked, jokingly.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, bewildered.

“Last night when you came downstairs, you were bundled up like you were going to explore the Arctic. Now, you’re only wearing a light coat,” I explained.

I just had to give Elliot a hard time about his peculiar wardrobe from the night before.

“Oh, yeah. Last night. Um, I think I hear my dads calling,” he said, as he ducked out the door.

I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself, as I locked the front door.