The Castaway Hotel - 4 - 2. Chapter 2 - A Time To Give Thanks

It was now November, which was marked by two important events: Thanksgiving, when we would be having several visitors joining us for our special dinner, and Dion’s thirteenth birthday. Seeing the two events were so close together, it was decided that we would celebrate Dion’s birthday the Saturday after Thanksgiving and he could invite some of his friends from school to sleep over too.

The house was abuzz during the week before the holiday, as we spent a great deal of time cleaning and preparing for our guests. All of the boys were going to sleep on the carpet in the living room during that time, giving their beds up to our visitors. In addition to their oldest brothers and sisters, there would be Nick’s parents, Brandon’s parents, Jay and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Spence (the grandparents the boys had sort of picked up during our vacation), Carlos and his mother (although I was sure Carlos would sleep with the boys), and Nicky and Jordan. Aunt Sally, Aunt Mary and Uncle Steve would be joining us for dinner, but they would not be spending the night. It was going to be quite a massive get-together.

In order to avoid wearing ourselves out fixing the meal and becoming so tired that we wouldn’t enjoy the feast, we prepared some of the items the day before. It was mostly the cold dishes, which included various salads and some desserts, but it would take away much of the work the day of the big event. During that time, we would be busy preparing two huge turkeys and a full ham for the main course, in addition some other side dishes. The women, which included my daughters and daughter-in-law and the other females in attendance, all tried to volunteer to help prepare the meal for us, but we shooed them away, letting them know (politely) that we could fend for ourselves.

The boys were very pleased and quite proud when they served the meal. Everyone was seated at one of two large tables, which were not segregated by age. To determine the seating, we had everyone pull a number out of a hat and then they took the seat with the corresponding number. That way, we got to sit beside someone we might not have otherwise dined next to. Everyone seemed happy with this procedure and I thought we would all enjoy our time being near different individuals and might even form some stronger bonds with them.

For this large gathering, we were utilizing both our normal dining room table, with both leaves inserted into it, and a very large banquet table. I had borrowed the banquet table from school and set up in the room adjoining the dining room, so we would all be able to see and hear each other during the meal. Each of the various items was then dished into four identical containers and placed at either end of each table, as well as utilizing four platters containing the two turkeys and two more filled with ham. I recruited Steve Shay, Mike Lawrence, Patrick O’Hara, Howard Curtis and John Spence to carve the meat and each was more than eager to help out and assume that responsibility.

Before we began to eat, however, I suggested we take a few seconds to recount all of the things we had to be thankful for. I started and mentioned I was thankful for each of my children, grandchildren and my many good friends, and then I turned it over to anyone else to do the same. Mr. Spence quickly indicated he wanted to say something, so I sat down and he stood up to speak.

“My wife and I have been very fortunate over the years, except when it came to having a family. Being included here today and being accepted as a part of this fantastic group has made us the happiest and most thankful we have been in many years. My wife and I have spent a great deal of time preparing to come here, and we also have a little surprise for you, something to leave you so you’ll always remember our love for you. Seeing we have no family of our own, we were thrilled you, shall we say, adopted us,” he paused here, as many of the boys were giggling, because of the similarity with their own situation. “Therefore, we have decided to donate half of our estate to you now, and the other half will be left to you in our will when we are gone. We love you all and this is just one way we want to use to show you how much.”

As Mr. Spence sat back down, you could have heard a pin drop in those two rooms. We were totally shocked and left speechless by his announcement. Although we didn’t know exactly how much they were worth, they had hinted previously that they had more money than most people could ever think of using in a lifetime. We even suspected they might even be multi-millionaires. After many awkward and silent moments, I thanked them and explained that I didn’t know what to say about this display of generosity. After I thought about it for a minute or two longer, I informed them that, if they didn’t mind, I wanted to use some or most of that money to establish a charitable fund to help other children and families, especially families that wanted to adopt needy or hard-to-place children.

After much discussion, the Spences agreed to my suggestion and it was decided it would be called the “Castaway Foundation”, which had been Aunt Mary’s suggestion. I immediately asked Sally to chair our new foundation and requested that she also establish the criteria for what types of assistance would be provided and at what levels. After giving it some consideration and trying to determine how much time this would require, she finally agreed and the boys all went over to give her a hug of thanks.

At that point, Steve volunteered his services as legal advisor to the group, and the boys suggested that I should contact Matt (our former waiter and future financial advisor) to assist us with investing the money wisely, in the meantime. I offered to hire Sally and pay her more than she was making now, if she was willing to run this for us, but she said she’d do it for free and still work her regular job. She explained that way she would keep her contacts and be able to find families on her own and while working for the county. If she only ran the charity, she would soon become isolated from many of the people in need. I told her she would be paid for her services even if she kept her other job, and she finally gave in, saying that would be fine, as long as she could donate it back to the Castaway Fund and take the tax write-off. We all laughed at her suggestion.

After we all thanked the Spences again, we began to eat. Unfortunately the food was now a little cold, because that little surprise and ensuing discussion took longer than I figured we’d be giving thanks. Some of us decided to take our plates out and nuke the food in the microwave for a minute or two, to get it warm again, but the boys didn’t let it bother them and just wolfed it down. Regardless of that minor inconvenience, everyone appeared to enjoy the meal and complimented the boys on their hard work and delicious dishes.

Once the meal had concluded, the women wouldn’t take no for an answer and shared the clean-up duties. They quickly put away the leftovers and did the dishes, so it wasn’t long before everything was taken care of. We decided to hold off for an hour or so before we tried to tackle the desserts, as everyone was quite stuffed from the main event.

While we waited in the living room, we talked about a variety of other subjects, before the boys started coming in and asking the various adults to join them for some fun. Soon they were leading the grown-ups off in different directions, to join them for a board game, a computer game (mostly solitaire or black-jack), or a game of cards (hearts, rummy or double-solitaire). It was quite an enjoyable time, especially for the Spences, and everyone had fun interacting with each other. After that we had our desserts, before we collaborated on renting a couple of movies to enjoy on the large-screen TV together. By the time things started to break up, everyone was tired, yet fulfilled.

Friday started off with the boys fixing breakfast for everyone. They conducted it more like a diner, taking orders from each individual as they came down to eat, rather than fixing one large family breakfast. The boys started off by making a large batch of pancake mix, figuring that a lot of us would want pancakes because they always seem to hit the spot during the cooler weather, but they also made eggs to order, regular and Canadian bacon, toast, cereal, bagels, English muffins, and bagel or muffin sandwiches, all upon request. Everyone got what they wanted, ate their fill and my older children and houseguests were all pleasantly surprised, not only by the boys’ initiative, but also with the quality of the items they had prepared. All in all, it went over well.

Later that afternoon, Steve called me to discuss some things we would need to decide before establishing the Foundation. I felt some of the items he brought up should be discussed in depth, so I talked the Spences into staying for the entire following week, so they could be a part of setting everything up, especially since it was their money that was funding it. They were excited about being included in this process and I told them they could stay in my room, (which they were already using) and I’d remain in one of the other rooms. After some give and take on that point, they finally agreed.

Friday evening the adults spent time together, while the boys entertained themselves. Nick’s parents had spent a great deal of time talking to everyone and were almost speechless by the time they got to me.

“This is quite a family you have here, Josh,” Mrs. Lawrence told me. “And the Spences’ announcement really was a blessing, wasn’t it?”

“A blessing and a surprise,” I responded. “Even though we don’t really need all of that money, I’m glad we’ll be able to put it to good use and help others. Isn’t it strange how a chance meeting with them, on our way to Arizona, has led to all of this?”

“No stranger than another chance meeting benefited our family,” Mr. Lawrence mused. “I think your finding Nick was the best thing that happened for our family too and I can’t believe how much he’s matured since that time.”

“He has come a long way,” I agreed, “but I think it’s ironic that he’s been looking for another family to help, like the one in Arizona, and now we have all this money to do it with. He felt so good about helping the other family that he wanted to do it again. He is a very caring and giving young man.”

“I’m not sure we would have ever seen that side of him,” his mother commented, “if it weren’t for you and your boys.”

“I’m sure it would have emerged eventually, but that side of him was nothing we can be credited for. It’s just that once he’d seen how much good he could do, it was like a catalyst to make him want to do more. I’m sure we’ll find a way for him to be a part of the foundation, so he can enjoy the good feelings that come as a result of helping others. I believe he’ll enjoy it more than any of the others.”

“Josh, my hat’s off to you,” Nick’s father said, “and I’m glad you talked us into allowing him to come here to continue his education. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get better grades, at least not since first or second grade.”

“Well, he did that on his own too,” I confessed. “He came here a very determined young man, intent on proving to you exactly what he could accomplish.”

“I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,” Mike Lawrence wondered aloud. “I guess it’s good that he’s determined, but it saddens me to think that my attitude toward him made him feel that he needed to prove himself to me. I have always loved him, but I guess I just wasn’t very good at showing it.”

“He knows that now, but don’t put all the blame on yourself,” I suggested. “From what he has told me, he was a bit hardheaded too, not wanting to see your side either. Like I’ve said, I think it would have resolved itself in time.”

“Luckily,” his mother added, “your intervention speeded up the process. We owe you a great deal, so we’re also going to contribute to your charity. We’re even going to encourage our friends and Mike’s business associates to do the same. It’s the least we can do to repay you.”

“That’s very generous, but unnecessary,” I offered. “I didn’t do it to be repaid.”

“Think of it as though we’re repaying other parents and children in need,” she said, “hoping they’ll be as lucky as we are.”

“In that case, I gratefully accept your offer.” After some more talking and interaction with the kids, we all called it a night and went to our rooms. I think it was the quietest I’d heard the house in ages.

Dion’s birthday on Saturday turned out to be the largest of these types of get-togethers we’ve held thus far. Not only was everyone from Thanksgiving still here, but Jay joined us too, along with some of Dion’s school friends, who were also going to spend the night. Dion got a ton of gifts and had a blast at his party. The boys played around outdoors for a large part of the day, but did not play any team sports, since Dion wasn’t overly fond of them. Instead, they played tag, had some races and even had an egg toss contest, which consisted of lobbing a raw egg between the various partners until only one egg remained unbroken. The idea was to toss the uncooked egg back and forth, with the distance increasing by one step following each successful attempt, until all but one set of partners were eliminated. It didn’t matter whether it broke in one of the partners’ hands or on the ground, but once it happened that pair was finished. It did get a bit messy before we crowned the winning pair, but the kids all had a good time doing it.

Dion and his friends spent much of the evening in the family room, while the other boys hung out in the living room. His brothers were all willing to give Dion his privacy with his friends, although Dion had invited Trey, Graham and Cole to join them.

On Sunday, my older children and grandchildren left first. Once they were gone, Nick’s parents said their good-byes and then drove back to the airport in their rental car. Once they had also departed, I announced I would be making the round-trip to take Carlos and his mom back to their place. John and Margaret Spence volunteered to stay with the boys, relishing their new role as grandparents, but they seemed quite bushed by the time I got back. I guess they’d either forgotten or never knew how energetic a group of boys could be.

Margaret also had dinner prepared while I was away, although she had agreed to let a couple of the boys assist her, mostly to show her where I kept things. It was a great meal and my sons all made sure they told her so. She beamed like a new bride who had just received praise from her husband after preparing her first full meal for him. Needless to say, the Spences went to bed early that evening, while I sent the boys upstairs to shower and get ready for bed.

Later that evening, Trey got Dion alone, so he could give him his belated birthday gift. After they showered and went back to their room, he set his plan into motion. “I’m sure glad we’ve got our room back,” Trey announced.

“Sleeping with the others was okay, but I’m sure glad to be back in my own bed,” Dion agreed.

“And you’ll be even happier after I give you your birthday present,” Trey announced, while shooting a wicked little grin toward Dion. It took Dion a second to catch on to Trey’s meaning, but then he started grinning ear-to-ear.

“Tonight, you get to make love to me as a teenager,” Trey told him, with the cat-that-ate-the-canary smirk on his face. After allowing a second or two for Dion to savor the thought, Trey walked over and kissed Dion passionately, while ripping away the towel from around Dion’s hips. He eased Dion back to the bed, gently guided him on to it and then proceeded to work on his body. Trey kissed Dion’s neck, nibbled on his ears, and worked his way down to Dion’s nipples. He bathed those two delightful circular patches of flesh with his tongue, nipped at the rigid little nubs and then sucked on them like a starving kitten. Once he felt he had paid sufficient attention to those sensitive areas, Trey worked his way lower, running his tongue the length and breadth of Dion’s firm abdomen, before allowing his tongue to delve in and out of his navel. Now that he had Dion squirming, Trey moved lower, but bypassed Dion penis, before aiming for Dion’s scrotum and inner thighs.

Dion was bouncing around on the mattress like a hyperactive super-ball, as Trey played with his testes, lathed his sensitive inner thigh and the area between the scrotum and the anus. Finally, Trey reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a couple of items. He quickly ripped open a condom packet and prepared to place it over Dion’s bone.

“Do we really need to use that?” Dion wondered.

“Yes, we promised Dad that we would from now on, especially since you’re also fooling around a little with girls too,” Trey advised him. “You know he’s right about that.”

“But it’s just the two of us and I haven’t done that much with any of the girls…” Dion’s voice trailed off, showing how disappointed he was.

“But you have done some things and we also still mess around the others from time to time, including some of the other guys with girlfriends,” Trey countered. “That’s why we have to do this.”

“What if we never do those things any more?” Dion asked, hopefully.

“We will, and you know it,” Trey announced. “But if you are really willing to give up on the idea of trying it with a girl and would promise to only be with me, I’d say okay, but I don’t think either of us believes that will really happen. It’s mainly because you like to do some of the other things once in a while too, things I don’t especially care for.”

Dion knew what Trey meant by this. He had accepted that Trey liked receiving better than giving and wasn’t very fond of rimming Dion either. That’s why Dion gave in and Trey slid the rubber over his lengthy organ, slicking it up with KY afterward. Once he had been prepared, Trey straddled Dion’s waist, reached back and grabbed Dion’s teen shaft and guided the head against his pucker. Slowly he sat back, feeling the ring pop open and the helmet slide in, and then he waited momentarily before adding more pressure and sliding down its entire length. Even though Dion had just turned thirteen, he’s had a bigger penis than most of the boys in the house, and that had been the case almost since the day he moved in.

Now that he was fully engulfed by Trey’s silky interior, Dion was in absolute bliss. He not only loved the feeling of being in Trey’s warm, tight hole, but Trey had also developed very good muscle control and could actually massage Dion’s shaft even before he began his humping. Dion was very appreciative of that skill and quite vocal about it. Needing no further encouragement, Trey slowly lifted up and then slid back down Dion’s ample shaft, as he began to establish a nice, steady rhythm.

Dion was really moaning now. His eyes were only partially open and his eyeballs rolled back into his head. He was totally oblivious to everything in the room, but the tremendous pleasure emanating from his groin. Even though his sausage was encased in the thin prophylactic membrane, it still felt as if a thousand tiny fingers were stimulating his love muscle. It was so overpowering that he could hardly bear the pleasure and soon felt the rising tide of his orgasm.

As the tingling sensation continued to build in his testicles, he felt his scrotum start to withdraw against his body and could sense the additional blood flowing to his penis, causing it to swell even more. At that moment, he felt the pressure building, as his seed began to be forced up his shaft. He tried to hold it back and prolong the sensation, but that proved impossible. Giving in to the inevitable, his semen exploded into the rubber, threatening to blow the tip of the condom off.

Trey kept riding him, milking him for all he was worth, and only stopped once Dion became so soft that it was impossible to continue. When that happened he bent forward, kissed Dion lovingly and then leaned over even further and off to the side, so he could whisper into his ear.

“Happy Birthday, lover,” he gushed, but Dion didn’t have enough strength left to respond.