The Castaway Hotel - 1 - 4. Chapter 4 - And Then There Were Three

I called Sally at home, right away. “Hello,” I heard her say.

“Hello, Sally. This is Josh Currie,” I greeted her. “I’m returning your call. So, what’s this favor you need me to do for you?”

“Oh, Josh. I’m so glad you got back to me so quickly. Would you hold on a minute, so I can take this in the other room? I think we’ll need some privacy.” She sounded a bit harried and I wondered what she needed privacy from, since I knew she lived alone.

“Sure,” I agreed, and then I heard Sally place the phone down, before picking up another phone a few seconds later. After she did that, I heard her go back to hang up the first phone. She was slightly winded by the time she returned.

“Josh, I’m sorry to contact you at home, but I have another boy for you.” This caught me completely off-guard. I wasn’t ready for that particular announcement. I had concluded her request had something to do with Ricky, not with another boy. Being stunned, it took me a few seconds to respond.

“Josh, are you still there?” Sally asked, breaking me out of my trance.

“Oh, yes. Sorry, Sally,” I apologized, “but I just wasn’t expecting that. Ricky and I are still becoming comfortable with each other and I’m not sure he’s ready to share my attention yet. Maybe you should try to find someone else for this other boy.”

“Josh, I would if I could, but there are no spots available,” she informed me, “at least none that are suitable for him. I really hate to do this to you, but I need you to listen to what I have to say.” I thought it over and felt I owed her that much for giving me Ricky.

“Very well. Tell me what’s on your mind.” I’m sure she was very relieved, once she heard me respond positively to her request, and she sounded much calmer when she spoke again.

“Josh, this boy is thirteen, nearly fourteen. His father threw him out of their house and a sheriff’s patrol car discovered him wandering in the park after curfew. The only information he would give the officers was that he had been told to leave home and had no place to go. The deputies took him to the station house, to fill out some paperwork, and after spending some time talking to the boy and getting him to trust them, he finally told them his name and address. When the sheriff called his house and spoke to his father, the man confirmed the fact the boy was no longer welcome in his residence. He wouldn’t elaborate, other than to tell the deputies they could do with the boy as they wished. That’s when they called and got me involved. They asked if I had someone who could come and take custody of him. Due to the late hour, instead of bothering one of my caseworkers, I did it myself. When I got there, they turned the boy over to me and gave me the name, address and phone number of his parents.” She paused and I wasn’t sure whether she was catching her breath or thinking about what she wanted to say next, but the interruption didn’t last long.

“When I called the boy’s home the next morning, I explained who I was,” she continued, “and began to ask them about what had happened. After some very chilly, and even hostile exchanges, the father eventually told me he had kicked his son out because he had discovered the boy was ‘a homo.’ His exact words were, “I’m not going to have no damn queer living in my house.” I was very dismayed to hear him say that, but I knew there was little chance I was going to get him to change his mind.” I could sense the sadness in her voice as she continued.

“I asked him if I could drop by and pick up his son’s clothes and other things, at which point the father grew even more irate. He told me, “I’m not giving that faggot one damn thing.” I wasn’t sure what I was going to do at that point, but I ending up calling a judge I knew, to get a court order to allow me to go pick up the boy’s belongings. With that legal document in hand, I drove to the sheriff’s office next, to ask for their assistance. After talking to the father on the phone, I knew he wasn’t going to accept this intrusion calmly. In, fact, I was terrified about possibly having to go there alone.

“After hearing my story, the desk sergeant had two of his deputies escort me to the boy’s house. As I expected, his father was not a happy camper, but he wasn’t ready or willing to defy a court order. He did, however, let us know what he thought about what we were doing. ‘You have no right taking things I’ve purchased with my hard earned money,’ he screamed. ‘You’re no better than common thieves.’ The two officers had to physically restrain him at this point, to keep him from interfering with me. I was able to get his wife to help gather up their son’s things, and then she actually left when we did. She told us she was going to go visit a friend, because she was afraid her husband would take his anger out on her for assisting us. It was all very scary and quite pathetic.” I silently agreed with her assessment.

“Once we got outside, the two deputies asked to speak with me. They planned to go back inside and charge the father with child neglect, child abandonment and endangering the welfare of a minor. I don’t think the wife really had to worry about him for a while, because he’ll probably be spending some time in jail.” Sally paused to catch her breath. “Anyway, Josh,” she continued, “this kid is just what you’re looking for. He’s a gay teen desperately in need of some love and guidance. What do you say?” I was beginning to feel the pressure she was inadvertently putting on me, and even though I agreed with her reasoning, it wasn’t that simple. I had more than just myself to consider now. I had Ricky to think about too.

“Sally, I’d love to be able to help you, but I’m not sure if I can right now,” I told her, almost apologetically. There was a momentary silence on the other end of the line, but I gave her all the time she needed to accept my refusal of help. I didn’t want to seem rude too, on top of being uncooperative.

“I wouldn’t ask this of you, if I had a decent home for him to go to,” she explained, after having remained silent for a minute or two. “I let him spend the past couple of nights with me, while I tried to figure out what to do with him. It was either that, the shelter Ricky stayed at or juvenile hall. After seeing how much Ricky disliked the shelter, I couldn’t do that to another boy. He certainly doesn’t belong in juvy and I can tell he’s uncomfortable staying here with me. It’s not easy for a teenage boy to be around an older, unmarried woman all by himself. The problem is, I don’t have any other options right now. If I did, I wouldn’t be bothering you this soon after placing Ricky with you.”

The pressure was increasing, so I ran everything she had told me over in my head. Maybe Ricky wouldn’t mind having another boy here. Maybe he’d like to have a brother. I wouldn’t know unless I asked him, would I? After thinking this through, I finally decided to give Sally a break. “If those are your only choices, I’ll take him, at least for now. I just need to ask a favor of you.”

“Anything,” she said, and I could tell she was relieved and overjoyed with my decision.

“Would you please give me a couple of hours to talk things over with Ricky, before you bring the boy here? I don’t want to spring this on him, without being able to discuss it with him first.”

“Of course, Josh. I understand completely and that would be fine,” she replied, quite readily. “If you need more time than that, I’m willing to keep him for another night.”

“No, I don’t think it will take that long,” I told her. “I’ll give you a buzz as soon as Ricky and I have had a chance to hash things out. By the way, do I know this boy?” I was wondering if this was another one of my students or former students.

“No, I don’t believe you have ever met him,” she explained. “He lives in another town, but still within our county. From what I know, he went to a different school district than the one you work for.” I guess I was a little relieved to hear that. I thought it might be best that we had no previous connection this time.

“Okay. I’ll call you when we’re ready,” I confirmed.

“Thanks, Josh. I really appreciate this.” I knew she did, because I could sense the change in the tone of her voice as we had continued to speak.

When I hung up the phone, I immediately went to look for Ricky. He was still in his room, changing out of his new clothes and fussing over everything before he put them away. I knocked lightly on his door and he quickly turned toward me. “Ricky, may I speak to you for a few minutes?” I asked him.

He looked up at me, puzzled. “Sure, Dad. What’s up?”

“Ricky, I just got a call from Mrs. Swarthout…” I began, but he cut me off.

“I didn’t hear the phone ring.”

“Actually, there was a message from her on the answering machine when we got back from church and I returned her call,” I corrected. “It seems she has another young boy in need of a place to live. She wants me to take him in to live with us. How would you feel about that?”

He studied my face, but didn’t say a word. I gave him several minutes to think about how he wanted to respond and didn’t rush him to give me his answer. His face contorted several times as he thought this over. “Would we still be able to do all of the things we do now?” he asked, somewhat concerned.

“Absolutely,” I assured him. “We can do everything we do now, once he gets settled in. I won’t change the way I act toward you or do anything different, but I will have to share my time between the two of you. However, I’ll try to find as many things as I can that we can ALL do together, so neither of you will feel left out.” I waited for his response, to see if he accepted my answer. I could tell he was thinking this over very carefully.

“Okay,” he eventually told me, “I think we should do it. I know what it’s like when you don’t have a nice home to go to, so we should help him.” I thought that was not only generous on his part, but cute as well. By saying ‘we’ should help this new boy, not once, but twice, it showed me that Ricky saw us as a definite family unit.

“That’s a very mature attitude,” I praised him. “The only thing I would ask of you is that you allow me some extra time to be alone with this new boy over the next couple of days, so I can get to know him too. I don’t mean all of the time, just some of it. He doesn’t go to our school and I’ve never met him before, so that means we’ll have to get acquainted too. I’ll need that extra time to allow him to learn he can trust me and for me to find out more about him, so I can help him better. It was easier for us, because we’d been together at school and knew each other first.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Ricky admitted, not flinching over the additional stipulation, “and that’s okay with me.”

“You’ll have to get to know each other as well,” I added, letting him know he’d have a part to play in this too. “I imagine he probably could use a good friend as well, but I promise I’ll make as much time for you as I can. I won’t ignore you, just because I need to get to know him better. Is that all right with you?”

He thought about this for a few more seconds before answering. “I was kinda hoping it would be just you and me for a while, but I know you’ve got enough love in you for both of us. It’s okay, Dad, I understand. I really do.” I was so impressed by the maturity he was showing in dealing with this situation. I understood he probably would have preferred it was just the two of us for at least a few months, but having suffered through what he’d had to endure at home gave him a greater sympathy for this other boy.

“Thanks for being such a great son.” I told him, as I gave him a big hug and a ‘fatherly’ kiss on the cheek. He looked strangely at me when I did that, because it was the first time I hadn’t just kissed him on the forehead. “Ricky, we’ll also need to talk about a few other things before he gets here.” He gave me another strange look, wondering what more I had to spring on him.

Over the next several minutes, I told Ricky the rough details about the boy’s situation. I did not tell him everything I knew, because I felt the new boy would need a certain amount of privacy. If he wanted to tell Ricky more about himself later, once they got to know each other better, then that would be entirely up to him. For now, however, information about him would be doled out strictly on a need-to-know basis. After telling Ricky what I felt he needed to know, he asked the boy’s name. Somewhat embarrassed, I had to admit I forgot to ask, so I didn’t know what it was. He smiled after hearing my response.

“I bet you even took in stray animals when you were a kid,” he teased, grinning broadly at me. “I’m glad you’re like that or I wouldn’t be here with you now. Besides, I think it might be fun to have a brother, especially if he isn’t just the bratty son of the family I’m living with. I want me and this new kid to become close. Do you know how old he is?”

“Yes, I do know that. He’s thirteen, nearly fourteen,” I advised him, but then I thought I’d better offer him a warning too. “Ricky, please be careful you don’t try to push him too quickly. He’s just been through a really rough time and it’s been very hard on him. It may take him a while before he warms up and trusts us enough to let us get close to him.”

“I know,” he admitted, his smile never dimming. “I’ll just be real nice to him, like you were to me.” I thought that was a sweet response and Ricky looked even more excited now than he did when he first came to live with me or even while we were shopping yesterday.

“A big brother,” he continued. “That sounds kinda nice, don’t it?”

“Yes, it does,” I agreed, while appreciating my new son even more. “Ricky? Have I told you lately that I love you?”

He looked at me and grinned. “Only a few times so far today,” he teased. “And I love you, too.”

“I know,” I commented, “and that’s what makes our relationship so special. Hopefully, this new boy will fit in just as quickly and as well as you have. Do you want to eat now or wait to see if he’s eaten?”

“Let’s wait,” he replied, without a moment’s hesitation. “That way, we can all eat together - as a family. Besides, I’m still kinda full from breakfast.”

“That’s very nice of you to think about the new boy like that,” I told him, truly impressed by his kind heart. “You’re a super kid, Ricky, and I hope the two of you hit it off.” He seemed embarrassed by my praise, but handled that well too. I called Sally and told her she could bring the boy over any time, and then Ricky and I waited for them to arrive.

While we waited, Ricky went to play on the computer, while I sat down and paid some bills, getting them ready to be mailed. Before very long, the doorbell rang. Seeing I was closest to it, I went to open it and Ricky raced out to stand beside me. As I slowly pulled the door inward, there stood Sally and the new kid, both holding a collection of paper bags, filled with his belongings. Carefully, I pushed the screen door open, so they could enter. “Hi, Sally,” I greeted her, while stepping out of the way. “Why don’t you two come in and you can introduce us.” They stepped into the foyer. “Just put those things down there and then we can go into the living room to chat.”

As they were lining up his things against the wall, I checked out the new boy. He stood about 5’4” tall, with dark brown hair, parted down the middle in such a way that it cascaded over his forehead and formed a heart shape each time he bent forward. I also noticed he had dark brown eyes and a nice athletic build. I couldn’t tell what his smile looked like though, because he had a very sad expression on his face. And who could blame him, after what he’d been through?

“Danny, this is Mr. Currie and that is Ricky,” Sally told him. “Fellows, this is Danny.”

Instinctively, I reached out to shake his hand. Slowly, he lifted his own arm and gripped my palm. “Hi, Danny. Welcome to your new home,” I greeted him.

He eyed Ricky and me suspiciously, before he spoke. “Is he your son?” he asked, and I wondered if he had the same concerns as Ricky had about the children from his first foster home.

“Yes,” Ricky blurted out, before I could answer.

“Well, technically he’s my foster son, like you,” I explained, “but we’ve grown very close since he’s been here.” Danny continued to study both of us.

“How long have you lived here?” Danny asked Ricky.

“A couple of weeks,” Ricky answered quickly.

“And you feel like you’re his son already?” Danny asked incredulously, while watching Ricky’s head bob up and down in response.

“He’s also the principal at my school,” Ricky shot back, as if that would clarify things further.

“You’re a principal?” Danny wanted to know. He was now eyeing me as if he expected horns to sprout from my head and my mouth to begin spewing fire.

“Yes. I’m the principal at the middle school,” I answered, trying to make it sounds as harmless as possible. “If you’re in the fifth through eighth grades, you’ll be in my school.”

“Yeah, I’m in eighth,” he moaned. He didn’t sound too enthused about sharing that information or discovering he was saddled with me, other than just at home. “Do I have to have you as my principal AND foster dad?” he groaned.

“Only for a few more months,” I tried to reassure him. “Once this school year is over, you’ll be attending the high school. That’s down the street from where I work. I think we should be able to handle a few months with me playing a dual role. Don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he muttered, although he didn’t look as if he were totally convinced that was true.

“How would you like to go upstairs and pick out your new bedroom?” I asked him, hoping that might help to break the ice.

“Pick it out?” he wondered aloud, while looking at me skeptically.

“Yes. I have my room and Ricky has his,” I informed him, “but there are four other bedrooms upstairs for you to choose from. Come on. We’ll all go up there and take a peek at them, so you can figure out which one you want.” I reached over and grasped his hand, so I could lead him to the staircase. Cautiously, he began to follow me, with Ricky and Sally just behind him. Once we got to the second floor, I opened the doors to all four rooms and let him look around. “If it’s not exactly the way you’d like it, we can always paint or repaper any of them,” I informed him.

He eyed me suspiciously and then walked back and forth between the rooms, until he made his choice. “I kind of like this room,” he said, pointing to the one across from the top of the stairs. “You don’t think it’s too childish, do you?”

He was indicating the room my children had affectionately called the ‘jungle room,’ because the wallpaper looked as if it had come from the African plains. It was covered with tropical vegetation and images of various animals indigenous to that continent, such as lions, tigers, elephants, zebras and antelope. There is also a green, shag rug on the floor, which added to the effect. The closet is on the right side of the room, as you enter, and the bed is off to the left, centered on the near wall. There is a built-in desk and a chest of drawers along the left wall, and all the furniture in the room is made of maple.

“No, not at all,” I offered, enthusiastically. “I think three of my four children occupied this room, at one time or another, and it always seemed to be a favorite of their friends too.” I saw him smile for the first time.

“Then I’ll move in here,” he announced, with more conviction than I’d heard from him since he had arrived.

“I’ll help you,” Ricky quickly volunteered, which caused our newest arrival to smile again.

“Thanks, I’d like that,” Danny countered, before the two of them rushed down the stairs, at warp speed.

“Slow down,” I yelled from behind. “There’s no hurry to get things done and I don’t want either of you breaking your necks or anything else.” Ricky giggled at my comment, before I overheard him talking to our new arrival.

“Don’t worry,” Ricky told Danny, “he’s like that sometimes, but it’s only because he really cares about us.” Hearing him say that actually gave me a warm glow inside. I knew Sally heard his comment too, because she had this strange expression on her face when she looked at me, as if she were thinking, ‘Josh, I didn’t know you were such an old softie.’

When the boys returned with Danny’s belongings, we all helped him settle in to his new room. I got clean bed linens, so Danny could make up the bed. Then I went downstairs to get a dust cloth and the vacuum, so I could spruce the room up even more. It’s not that it was dirty, because I clean all the rooms at least once a month, even though they are empty. However, this room was in need of a little touchup since my last time in there. It didn’t take long to get it into shape, and by then, the other three had put away everything Danny had brought with him.

“Have you had any lunch yet?” I inquired, which caused both boys to stop and look up at me.

“Not yet,” Danny informed me. “I had a late breakfast with Mrs. Swarthout.”

“Would you like something now?” I prodded, knowing boys his age didn’t usually go very long in between meals. Besides, I was positive Ricky was ready to eat again.

“Yeah, I guess I am a little hungry,” Danny admitted.

“Fine, let’s head downstairs then,” I urged, directing the boys toward the stairway, “and I’ll fix us all something. Mrs. Swarthout, would you care to join us?”

“No, thank you, Josh,” she answered. “I have some things I need to do at my place, so I think I’ll leave you men alone. You seem to have everything under control here and it will give you time to get to know each other better. I’ll call you tomorrow, if that’s okay?” she added, and I nodded my consent. “Danny, I’ll see you too, when I stop by to visit from time to time. Good-bye, Ricky. I’m really glad to see you like it here.” This comment caused Ricky to beam, as he nodded his head vigorously.

“Good-bye, Mrs. Swarthout,” both boys responded, almost in unison, but Danny added, “and thanks for your help.”

“It was my pleasure, sweetheart,” she replied. “You guys have a good time and I’ll be in touch.”

We all waved at her as she left. I was standing in the doorway, with a ‘son’ tucked under each arm, as we all bid her farewell. After we closed the door, I gave Danny the rundown on his lunch hour choices and let him select what we would eat. He wanted hamburgers, so I took some frozen patties out of the freezer and grabbed a frying pan. It wasn’t long before we began to hear them sizzle. After flipping them over, I took three plates out of the cupboard and threw some chips and pickles on each of them, while directing both boys to get what they wanted to drink from the fridge. I asked if anyone wanted cheese on their hamburgers and both boys said ‘yes.’ Once their cheeseburgers were done, I let them fix them the way they wanted, and then I had them carry their plates and drinks into the dining room. I wanted us to sit down and eat as a family. I also wished to use this time to allow us to get to know each other better.

During lunch, we discovered Danny’s last name was Roma and that he had lived about thirty miles from here. He filled us in about his life, school and family life, before the rift, and we discovered that he was also a pretty fair athlete. He admitted he liked to play almost any sport there was and wanted to know what sports teams we had at school. I quickly rattled off everything the school offered and he seemed pleased with the information. After that, I let Ricky tell Danny about himself.

I didn’t push Danny to tell us how his father found out he was gay, mainly because Ricky didn’t know about that yet, so I wasn’t about to bring it up. I would leave that decision entirely up to Danny. After we finished eating, both boys took care of their own dishes; with Ricky showing his ‘brother’ what he was expected to do. It didn’t take them long to finish up.

“Ricky, how would you like to give Danny the grand tour of the place, both inside and out?” I suggested, thinking that might give them an opportunity to bond even closer.

“Yeah, I could do that,” he eagerly agreed. “Thanks, Dad. Come on, Danny. I’ll show you everything.” The two boys took off, with Ricky talking a mile a minute. I was happy to see they were obviously getting along and this would give them a chance to find out more about each other, before I singled Danny out for a more private conversation.