The Castaway Hotel - 4 - 17. Chapter 17 - A Time For Hope

Saturday morning Richard woke me very early, since he was nervous about the possibilities that awaited him. Seeing he probably wasn’t about to go back to sleep, I got up with him and we both dressed, before I stripped the old sheets off of the bed and remade it for our anticipated guests. Once that had been completed, I took Richard to the kitchen and fixed him some breakfast. As he sat eating, we chatted some more and waited for the others to stir to life and join us. We were still alone in the dining room talking about what was on his mind when the doorbell rang. I quickly looked at my watch and discovered it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, as I went over to open the door. I was immediately greeted by Richard’s prospective parents and quickly realized these farm people really DO get up with the chickens.

They introduced themselves as the Beckers and we shook hands. I called Richard over and introduced him to them, and both adults commented on how glad they were to meet him and what an adorable little chap he was. I don’t think this was quite the politically correct thing to say to a young man who was nearly a teenager, but Richard seemed to take it in stride. After the introductions had been made, I suggested the three of them could go into the family room, where they could talk in peace and get to know each other a little better. I wasn’t planning on joining them, as I assumed some of my boys might have been awakened by the door chimes and would soon be heading downstairs to see who was here, and I didn’t want to disturb their visit with multiple interruptions. Therefore, I excused myself and started to leave.

Richard reacted immediately, letting me know he didn’t want me to go and asked me to stay with him, but I explained I’d just be in the other room and everything would be fine. I emphasized they all needed this time to get to know each other better and that could be best accomplished if no one else was there to distract them. Richard still seemed unconvinced by my argument, but after a little more cajoling, he finally relented.

Richard’s concerns were probably due, in part, to the fact that Mr. Becker cast a pretty imposing shadow, especially to someone as small as Richard was. No matter how the man looked, I could tell he had a warm heart just by the way he looked at that little boy when they first met. It was as if Mr. Becker had just awakened on Christmas morning and discovered the one present he wanted more than anything else in the world, in this case an adorable son. I learned later that this man was of Dutch descent, but it was his physical size that was so imposing. He stood about 6’ 2” and weighed somewhere around 250 pounds, but it was all solid muscle. Even the casual onlooker would be impressed by the muscles rippling in his arms and under his colored tee shirt as he moved about, and the sight of him would probably have given a lot of street-wise punks second thoughts before they attacked the likes of him.

Another fact that added to his imposing presence was that he was completely bald, obviously shaved clean for some unknown reason, and had a moustache that he had allowed to grow around the corners of his mouth and stretched down to his chin. When he spoke, he spoke with authority and I recognized almost immediately he was probably very trustworthy and a man of his word. I also got the feeling he was a very gentle giant, after observing how his wife looked at him in such an adoring way, and would have wagered that his bark was much worse than his bite.

His wife was much shorter than him, maybe 5’ 7”, and what the old-timers would have referred to as a buxom beauty. Even though she was physically attractive, I could tell from her calloused hands and firm handshake that she was a hard worker and probably as valuable as any man on the farm. She had a vibrant and outgoing personality, a musical giggle and a smile that could melt an iceberg. When I peeked in to check on them later, Richard was sitting on the sofa between the couple and everyone was all smiles and talking excitedly.

I gave them another hour before I went back in to speak with them, but primarily to let the adults know they were going to be in my room for the evening and could use it any time they wanted to freshen up or change. I did this to save them the money they would have spent on a motel room and allow them to spend more time with each other. They eventually accepted my offer, but only after some give and take, and only after I agreed to let Mrs. Becker fix tonight’s dinner for all of us. This was solely her idea. I think it was part of her upbringing and an attempt to make sure they paid their own way. I finally agreed to her demands, but only if she would allow me to assist her. She consented and was satisfied with the arrangement, but I think she more relieved she’d be able to come up with a way to repay their debt of spending the evening in our home.

I got up to leave again, but everyone urged me to stay, and Richard quickly filled me in on everything he had learned about the Beckers thus far. He told me they were renting a farm, on which they grew various crops, but primarily corn, and he lit up when he told me they also had some pigs, chickens, cows and horses. I could see from the twinkle in his eyes that he liked the idea of having animals around and I could see from the way they interacted with each other that they were already taking a distinct liking to each other.

We chatted a while longer and then Richard asked if he could show them around the house and introduce them to the other boys. I told him to go ahead, but not to get lost, which was my little joke about how large this place could seem to outsiders. Richard looked at me funny at first and then he started to laugh, saying ‘that was a good joke, Mr. Currie’.

After introducing them to my sons, who were up and slowly moving about, Richard led them away. They were probably gone more than an hour and I was beginning to wonder what had happened to them, when they came back into the family room to join me. They quickly filled me in on what they had been up to and commented about what they had seen. Richard had given them a tour of the whole house, including the attic bedrooms, and the couple was very impressed by the size of the house, the number of boys I had, and how well behaved and basically neat they were. They had said ‘basically neat’ because I did have a couple of boys who tended to be slobs at times and I wondered about how their rooms must have looked on this occasion. However, I suspected the Beckers were trying to be polite and diplomatic by downplaying what they saw.

Over the next several minutes, we talked about many different things and quickly changed from one topic to another. Even though there was hardly ever a lull in our conversation, I could tell they wanted to ask me a question, but apparently didn’t want to do it in front of Richard. Picking up on this, I suggested to Richard that he should go hang out with the other boys for a while, so we adults could spend some time together too. He didn’t give it a second thought and raced off to find my sons, although I would be willing to bet that I’d find him with Ricky later, when I went to look for him.

As soon as Richard left the room, Mr. Becker turned to me and spoke. “Thank you, but how did you know we wished to speak to you in private?”

“When you have as many children as I do, you learn to pick up on the non-verbal signals too,” I advised him.

He looked at his wife and grinned. “I guess we’re going to have to learn to do that too,” he told her, before turning toward me and continuing our conversation. “When we first came here, we were a little worried that we might be biting off more than we could chew, by taking on a teenager. We had really wanted a younger child to begin with, but after seeing you and all of your boys, we’re more at ease now. In fact, now we’re even considering telling Mrs. Swarthout we might be willing to take on a second boy, so Richard won’t be alone and would have someone to help keep him company. We do live pretty far out and there aren’t many neighbors.”

“That’s terrific,” I responded. “I bet Richard would probably enjoy having someone else close to his own age and Sally will be thrilled at the prospect of having a home for another boy, but I think you should take some time to get to know each other first, before you make that decision. If you do adopt Richard, you’ll need to spend some time adjusting to living together and learning each other’s idiosyncrasies. After you’ve had a chance to bond, then you might ask him what he would think of that idea and take it from there.”

“You’re probably right,” Mr. Becker replied. “I guess seeing all these boys and watching how well they got along with each other just caused us to go a little overboard.”

“Oh, I’m not saying you’re going overboard, I am just advising to go slowly and not rush into anything,” I encouraged. “I think you’d all do well with taking on a second child, but I think you’ll need to get comfortable with each other first. Things happened kind of quickly for us, and I sometimes regret that, as I didn’t have time to get to know each of my sons as well as I’d have liked, before the next boy joined us. It was just that Sally had boys who needed a home then and there, so I didn’t have the luxury of waiting. I’m very blessed things have worked as well as they have and we’ve only had to suffer through a few problems, but I think it would have been even better if I’d had time to get to know them all a little better first. That’s why I wouldn’t advise anyone to move as quickly as I did. I guess my biggest advantage was that I worked with children all day long and had a pretty good understanding of what I was getting into.” We all smiled at each other at this point, and I saw them relax considerably.

“He is an adorable child, and so small for his age,” Mrs. Becker stated. “I think my husband and I are already looking forward to taking him in, if that’s what he wants.”

“Oh, I think he’s taken a shine to you too,” I confided, using lingo they would identify with. “I could see it on his face and in his eyes when you were in here by yourselves. I peeked in a couple of times, to see how things were going, and it truly looked as if you were all enjoying yourselves. I think after a few more visits, the three of you will have a pretty good idea of what you’re going to do.”

“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Mr. Becker said, “when they told me they had a boy who was nearly thirteen. I guess I was thinking he’d be nearly growed and maybe a tad bit of trouble to boot. I didn’t expect to meet this somewhat small, sweet-faced boy who is eager to please.”

“Yes,” I responded, “he really is a special young man. I’ve only met him twice before myself, and I’m pretty taken by him too. He certainly can worm his way into your heart in a very short time.”

His wife giggled and looked at me. “That’s almost exactly the same words I whispered to my husband when we were alone for a second upstairs. I think I’ve fallen in love with the little devil already.”

“I could tell that by just looking at the three of you together,” I confirmed. “I think I’ve seen an almost instant bonding here, but you’ve got the rest of this weekend and the next to make certain of it.”

“And we’re both looking forward to it,” Mrs. Becker added.

“Just out of curiosity, is someone taking care of your farm while you’re away?” I wanted to know.

“Yes, our hired man and the hired man from the farm next to ours are taking care of everything for us. We offered them extra money if they’d do this favor for us.”

“Well, the charity will cover that cost for you and I’m also going to contact the landowner to renegotiate your rent for you. Sally explained to me that it wasn’t easy for you to get by and I think I might be able to use some leverage I have to get you a little better deal. It just so happens that I know your landlord and had his children in school a few years ago. In fact, he still owes me a favor or two, for some things we were able to do for them at the time.

“I’m not sure if you know this or not, but he’s lived in this area most of his life and only bought that property on a hunch about thirty years ago. He was under the impression the state was going to construct a new highway across that land and concluded the farm would be a good spot to locate an exit that would give access to the nearby communities. He thought he could make a killing selling some of the land back to the state and the rest of it to businesses that would want to set up shop there. However, the plans for the highway fell through when the state went through some budget problems, so he decided to recoup some of his investment by renting out the various properties. I think he owns several of the farms around you.”

“Yes. You are correct about that,” Mr. Becker acknowledged. “My neighbors and I all rent the land and buildings from him. It’s the only way most of us could have afforded to get into farming in this day and age, since it can be quite an expensive investment to purchase a working farm. The funny thing is that he bought that particular farm from my wife’s family, before we were married. A few years later, after they had passed away, we used her inheritance from them to buy the farm machinery we would need to make a go of it. We hoped some day we might be able to buy the place back from him and then leave it to our children. Unfortunately, the good Lord has not seen fit to let my wife get pregnant, so that’s why we’re adopting.”

“Although it may seem harsh or even cruel that you could not have your own children, this may be God’s way of letting you have a family after all. Like our minister told one of my sons after his accident, ‘when God closes a door, he often opens a window.’ This may be your window, so make the best of it.” They nodded in agreement and I knew they understood my message.

The afternoon was now nearly behind us, so Mrs. Becker suggested it was time for her to start fixing dinner. I told her I’d show her around, while I also gave her a hand, and then quickly informed her about what meats I had in the freezer. She quickly decided to use the chicken and make chicken and biscuits, so I thawed the meat in the sink, while she told me what items she would need to put this together. As the chicken thawed, I rounded up the items she needed and gave them to her when she asked for them. She did everything from scratch – no shortcuts or mixes for her. She seemed puzzled concerning my intimate knowledge of the kitchen and the ease I showed while helping her. She gave me a curious little glance, as if she didn’t think a man should be that proficient, so I asked her, “Who do you think cooks for my family?”

“I guess I just figured you had a cook working for you or you ordered out,” she responded. “Do you mean you prepare all of the meals yourself?”

“Not entirely,” I confessed. “The boys have been helping me and are getting quite good at preparing a wide variety of dishes.” This announcement caused her to display a look of shock, before she regained her composure.

“I’m impressed,” she stated, simply. “The men I’ve known would all have starved to death without a woman to fix their food for them, even with a pantry full of supplies and a smokehouse full of meat.”

“I often helped my wife fix the meals when our children were growing up, although it wasn’t as enjoyable to do it just for myself, after she died,” I admitted. “It’s just too hard cooking for one, so I ate most of my meals out during that time. After I got my first boy, I started preparing the meals again and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

“Good for you,” she responded, emphatically. “I wish there were more men who didn’t consider the kitchen a woman’s world and think it demeaning to do anything there.”

“Well, I don’t think any of my boys will feel that way,” I assured her, which seemed to also please her. I think she could now see herself teaching Richard how to fix meals too and considered he might not be spending all of his time with her husband.

Soon the house began to fill with the aromatic smells of a good homemade meal and the boys began racing into the kitchen area to find out what we were going to have to eat and when. I asked a couple of them to set the table, which they did with more enthusiasm than I’d seen in some time, and soon we were sitting down to partake of one of the most incredible meals we’ve had in a very long time.

Mrs. Becker could work miracles with an oven, a few bowls and some raw ingredients – she was a culinary genius. Each of the boys raved about her cooking, in between cramming their mouths full with her savory delights, and this praise seemed to make her glow. The boys happily pointed out that her biscuits were golden, flaky, and very tasty, and the chicken was moist and just melted in their mouths. I think everyone had at least seconds, and some even came back for thirds, and I told her I was impressed with her ability to feed so many.

At that point she burst into laughter and informed me she was one of ten children and had learned to cook feeding her siblings, her parents and several hired hands, most of whom could pack away more than my boys. She said her biggest adjustment was in learning to cook for only her husband, their hired man and herself. We all laughed at that, but I knew she had scored some more points with Richard because of her down-home cooking. Food is not only the way to a man’s heart, but a growing boy’s too.

After dinner, I took everyone to the movies, knowing this would be a rare treat for the Beckers. I let Richard and the Beckers pick out what they wanted to see, and they debated over it for quite some time before settling on something. They ended up choosing the film ‘Gladiator,’ which was full of action and suspense. Each of us had a great time, although the realism could sometimes be a bit much for some of the boys to handle. Richard sat between the Beckers, but sometimes I saw him sitting on the lap of one or the other, whenever the storyline became a bit intense. By the end of the movie, Richard was cuddled up against Mr. Becker’s chest, which helped to calm his fears from the more graphic parts of the film and offered him a bit of security. As I observed them, I noted each seemed to be enjoying this special moment. It was a very touching scene and just another example of how close they were already becoming.

That night, the Beckers shared my room, while Pat and I slept on the sofa-bed in the family room. Richard decided to spend the night with my monster Ricky and sharing Pat’s room in the attic. Nothing went on between them, but they did get to know each other a little better, and in Richard’s case, the hero worship was beginning to dig its claws even deeper.

Sunday morning, we enjoyed a big old farm breakfast, with Mrs. Becker assisting me in the kitchen. The boys were stuffed by the time they needed to start getting ready for church, and I asked the Backers if they’d care to join us. They jumped at the chance and quickly advised us they were a deeply religious family. I told them we were too, which they said they had noticed, and happily got ready and followed us down to the church. We all sat together during the service, with Richard tucked cozily between the couple on the pew.

Today’s sermon just happened to be entitled ‘Living as God’s People,’ and the minister talked about living a life filled with Christian virtues, such as loving, caring, sharing and faith. As I listened to the pastor preach from his heart, I realized the people who best exemplified this concept were spending the weekend with us. If there was a couple ‘living as God’s people’, it had to be the Beckers. After coming to this conclusion, I began to wonder if God had suggested this topic to our minister during one of his prayer sessions or if it just happened to be another miraculous ‘coincidence.’ I guess I’ll never know.

When the service ended, we all went back to our place to change, before heading out to spend the day at the park. The boys were in charge of the activities and organized many different things to do, but they always found a way to include us adults in on each event. Over the course of the day, the Beckers got a chance to play kickball, for the first time since they were also children, go for a boat ride, as we rowed rented boats over the large pond/small lake that was at the heart of the park, and then participated in a game of ‘capture the flag’ with the rest of us. This wasn’t just a little game, as you might have expected. Instead, the boys put the flags (which were two of the boys shirts tied to a branch and driven into the ground) on either side of the small, forested area. They chose to do it this way so they could use the cover of the trees to sneak up and take the flag from their opponents.

The game lasted for over an hour; with each team setting up many diversions and taking many prisoners, until finally one team captured the other team’s flag and made it back safely to their own area again. Most of us were quite tired by the time it was over, so we dragged our weary carcasses back to our vehicles, eager for the chance to catch our breath and return to the house. When we arrived at our place, I immediately urged everyone to clean up and change again, but this time so I could take us all out to eat. I wanted to do this before the Beckers had to return to their farm, so they could enjoy it with us. Once everyone was ready, we went to our favorite restaurant and had a wonderful meal.

When it was over and we were back at the house, the Beckers collected their things and said good-bye to each of us, so they could reach their home before it got too late. Before they departed, we gave them a chance to say their good-byes with Richard in private, but we all knew we’d see each other again the following weekend.

After they left and things began to settle back into our normal routine, Richard came to find me, so we could sit and talk for a while. He asked me if he could sleep with me again tonight and I told him he could, and then he started to tell me how he felt the weekend had gone. He explained that he liked the Beckers a lot and thanked me for helping him to find them and showing them such a wonderful time. Once he had done that, he made a small request.

“Mr. Currie, I really like you a lot and told Ricky that last night,” he informed me. “I told Ricky I felt like I was almost part of your family too, but wished there was a way I could show it. Ricky said I might feel closer to everyone if I called you Uncle Josh, but I wasn’t sure what you’d think about that.” He hesitated briefly, before he continued. “Would you mind if I called you that?”

“Not at all,” I assured him. “In fact, I’d love to have you do that.” This caused Richard to smile and I knew we now had new additions to our extended family.

When we went to sleep that evening, Richard slept with me, and Pat slept with Dustin on the sofa-bed again. Tonight, however, Dustin wasn’t just there to help Pat get around. “Pat, how long has it been since you’ve got your rocks off?” Dustin asked him.

“Other than whacking it a few times in the bathroom when I was finally by myself, hardly at all,” he admitted.

“Well, even though neither of us is really gay, I thought maybe you might enjoy a little help tonight,” Dustin offered. “I’m game, if you are.”

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Pat agreed. “It’s been a while since I’ve really enjoyed doing anything and I think it might be nice.” Pat hesitated for a few seconds, before he continued. “I’m just kind of surprised you’re the one to offer.”

It wasn’t clear if Dustin was hurt by that comment, but he managed to slough it off if he was. After all, he did realize where that was coming from. “Pat, I know we haven’t always been close and we had our differences,” he said sincerely, “but I’m sorry about what happened and feel really dumb I’d ever let it get that far. After all, we’re brothers and she wasn’t even that nice, as we both found out later.”

“Yeah, I think she liked having us fight over her,” Pat agreed.

“I think she might have also had a part in making it happened,” Dustin offered, after which each of them thought about things she told them which seemed to aggravate the situation.

“You also know I used to be really close with Kevin and didn’t mind doing stuff with him,” Dustin went on, “but I couldn’t see us being together forever either. I don’t mind getting off with other guys, because it still feels good, and I don’t mind returning the favor. So, if you want, I’m willing to help you tonight too.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Pat agreed, “but who goes first?”

“I’ll do you first,” Dustin offered, “and then you can do me, but only if you really want to.”

“Of course,” Pat agreed. “I wouldn’t leave you with blue balls after you were nice enough to help me out.” Dustin chuckled over that comment.

“Thanks. I appreciate that,” he confirmed.

Now that they had reached an agreement, Dustin bent over and began stroking, and then sucking, on Pat’s somewhat neglected member. It immediately sprang to life and seemed anxious to play, so it wasn’t long before Dustin noticed the telltale signs of his impending orgasm. Since Dustin wasn’t overly found of swallowing a load, he pulled off when he felt Pat was about to squirt and then stroked him to completion. Pat was panting and covered in his own juices, since it had been a while since he’d emptied his nuts, so Dustin went to get a towel to wipe him off, while Pat recuperated.

When Dustin came back, he started wiping up the mess and then Pat spoke. “Thanks, that felt great and made me realize I can still do things like this with you guys. I guess I figured I should sit these things out for now, which seems silly now. If you’re ready, I’ll return the favor.”

Dustin said he was, so Pat began to grope around until he located Dustin’s penis and began to pleasure him. Slowly, he stroked Dustin to hardness and then bent forward and guided it into his mouth. He couldn’t understand why he thought he’d be unable to do things like this before and enjoyed learning that he could still have sexual contact with the others and it wouldn’t be very different than before. It’s just that he would have to feel his way around more, but he was certain none of the others would mind that.

While he’d been thinking about such things, Pat hadn’t been aware of how quickly he was bringing Dustin off too, until he began to feel Dustin thrusting his hips at him, as he neared the brink. Although Pat wasn’t overly fond of swallowing loads either, he took Dustin’s ejaculation into his mouth, but spit it into the towel later, after Dustin’s nuts had been completely drained.

After Dustin thanked Pat for returning the favor, the two boys settled in and went to sleep. Unlike some of the others, they didn’t cuddle after they finished, but rolled over and went to sleep instead. They were only willing to help each other find relief and didn’t see any need for any after-play or making out.

Unaware of what was going on in the living room, Richard and I hopped into bed. We hadn’t been there very long before I felt him inching his way over, almost as if he didn’t think I’d notice what he was up to, if he did it slowly enough. It wasn’t long before he was cuddled up beside me again. I heard him giggle a few times, but he didn’t make any comments about my body hair tickling him this time. It wasn’t long after I heard his last giggle that I could discern the gentle and even sounds of his breathing, so I knew he had fallen asleep. He was obviously worn out from a weekend full of activity and discoveries.

Monday morning Sally showed up while we were eating breakfast, so she could take Richard back. While she was there, Sally inquired about how things had gone and was pleased by what she heard. After Richard finished chowing down, Sally loaded him and his belongings into her car. She would leave him at his school and then take his belongings over to the group home and drop them off, before she returned to work. I think we were all looking forward to his return visit the following weekend.