The Castaway Hotel - 6 - 19. Chapter 19 - Making Room At Our 'Inn'

December is always a very busy time for us, but it was even more so, now that I was also serving as acting-superintendent. Not only are the winter sports programs in full swing, but there is also a wide array of special programs and concerts being held to celebrate the holidays. As superintendent, I am expected to support and attend as many of these activities as possible, which only adds to the bustle and confusion.

When you place these demands on my time on top of my seasonal family obligations, such as Christmas shopping, attending various parties and social functions, decorating the house and planning our own Christmas celebration, it was nearly overwhelming.

If that wasn’t enough, this year I also had Cody’s medical problem to deal with and his treatments had started at the beginning of the month. The first thing the doctor did was to collect some good blood cells and bone marrow from Cody. Once these cells were harvested, they would be frozen until needed, and that wouldn’t be until Cody’s chemotherapy treatments were completed. The cells would then be reintroduced into his system, to encourage his body to replicate the good cells and create more. Eventually, it was hoped they would then replace the damaged cells destroyed by the chemotherapy.

I’m not sure exactly what I thought chemotherapy meant, but I guess I suspected Cody would be taking a very large amount of pills, which would contain strong drugs that would kill the diseased cells. However, this wasn’t exactly the case. Instead of taking pills, the drugs were administered intravenously. A needle injected the drugs directly into the space around the spinal column, where it would do the most good.

I’m sure this was as painful as it looked, even though Cody endured the entire process like a trooper. To my amazement, he only flinched slightly and made a low whimpering sound when the needle was first introduced, but beyond that, you’d never know he was enduring an excruciating procedure. His courage astounded me more and more every day.

At first, Cody showed no signs of side effects from the treatments, but that soon changed. Although it was hardly noticeable in the beginning, Cody did tire very easily, even when he hadn’t done much. What I didn’t know was that he was often nauseous and frequently vomited, something he never informed me about. I only discovered this by accident one evening, when I walked by one of the bathrooms and heard someone puking. When I went in to see whom it was and offer my assistance, I discovered Cody slumped over the bowl, while he retched the contents of his stomach into the porcelain depository.

“Cody, are you all right?” I asked. I guess he hadn’t heard me enter, because he jumped a little when I spoke. Then he rolled his head slightly to one side, so he could look at me from over the edge of the bowl.

“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry,” he stated, less than convincingly.

“But that’s part of my job as a father, to worry about his children,” I replied. “Is this the first time this has happened?”

“Not really,” he confirmed. “It’s happened before.” He was looking into the toilet as he answered me, but I wasn’t sure if it was because he felt another wave of nausea coming on or he just didn’t want to face me and answer my questions.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me about this?” I demanded, softly.

“There was nothing you could do to stop it, so I didn’t want to worry you,” he explained. Although I appreciated his logic, I had to let him know I didn’t find this acceptable.

“Like I said, that’s part of my job and I want… no, I need to know what’s happening with you, especially now. So will you fill me in on what’s been going on?” I may have said this more harshly than I anticipated, because it elicited a very shocked expression from him.

“Okay, but it isn’t that bad and doesn’t happen that often,” he insisted. “I’ve been throwing up once in a while, but not very much. It’s just my stomach gets all upset and I know I’m going to barf, but I didn’t want anyone else to know. I’m sorry, if it wasn’t the right thing to do.”

“It’s okay, Cody, but please let me know everything that happens to you in the future,” I urged. “I need to be aware of these things, no matter how small or insignificant they seem to you. Okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll tell you everything from now on,” he agreed.

After getting that settled, the two of us went to the family room to watch some TV and talk some more. As soon as I sat down in my chair, Cody crawled onto my lap and cuddled up against my chest.

“Are you comfy?” I asked him.

He just tilted his head upward and smiled. “I am now,” he told me.

Seeing how relaxed and happy he was, I was determined to give him as much of my attention as I could while he was going through this. Maybe it would help him endure his treatments and the ensuing bouts of nausea better. He certainly seemed content sitting with me like this and maybe it’s exactly what he needed. He’s been lacking a father-figure all of his young life, so this might put him in a better psychological frame of mind and help get him over the hurdles he’ll be facing along the way.

Over the next few days, Cody also filled me in about some of the other things that had changed. He admitted he felt tired much of the time, even more now than before. I told him it was probably due to a combination of things, including the chemotherapy and his body adjusting to the elimination of the diseased cells. I informed him this should improve over time, but we’d call the doctor and mention it to him, just to be sure. Reluctantly, he gave in to my judgment concerning this matter and agreed to let me make the call.

When I got in touch with the oncologist, he told me not to worry about either the vomiting or tiredness, as those were normal reactions to the chemotherapy. He then went on to advise me that he would inject Cody’s healthy cells back into his body shortly after the first of the year, probably near the end of January. I thanked him for his help and the additional information, before I passed the news along to Cody.

Cody seemed pleased to learn he might get though this fairly quickly and it could be over by the end of January. I think he believed it would take much longer than that, but I didn’t want to disillusion him by telling him it still might.

I also informed him he should be able to enjoy the holidays before that phase of his treatment began, so maybe he wouldn’t be so tired or nauseous during this joyous time of the year. He thought about what I’d said for a few minutes, before he let the issue drop completely, but now he knew a little more about what he’d be facing and when.

Cody and I spent a great deal of time together throughout December and he accompanied me to see each of the school concerts and holiday plays. He thoroughly enjoyed them, especially when some of the other boys were in them too. Besides those events, we also went to watch a few basketball games, a couple of wrestling matches and the girls’ volleyball team compete. Cody seemed to enjoy everything we did and thought they were fun, but he was always pressed very tightly against my side the whole time – his choice, of course.

Although it was a very busy time, we did manage to squeeze everything in. It seemed the entire family was very fond of the concerts, since there is nothing better than watching and listening to a bunch of little kids perform. However, when they’re belting out Christmas songs, it only magnifies the joy.

Some of these concerts even turned into community sing-alongs, where everyone was encouraged to join in on a few of the holiday selections with the other participants. This was usually done at the end of the concert, in lieu of an encore. This was particularly enjoyable, especially when you were able to do it with your family. It made the spirit of the holiday season more personal and enjoyable, as you belted out the lyrics of some of your favorite carols and holiday songs.

I get such a special thrill out of doing this each and every Christmas season that I hope this memory dominates my thoughts when it comes time for me to take my final breath on earth. For me, there would be no better way to go meet my maker than while reliving the memory of these marvelous times.

My only problem with the holiday season is that every year it gets more difficult to figure out what to get the boys. Even though I try to be practical about their presents, since I don’t want to spoil them by providing everything they desire, this year was especially challenging. I was at a loss as to what to get them as a special gift, even after asking for suggestions from the boys themselves.

Hoping to come up with an idea I liked and they’d appreciate, I talked the problem over with Jake. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with anything either. As it got closer to Christmas with each passing day, the realization that I still didn’t have a clue gnawed at me more and more. I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the year they just got clothes and a few small items from me, rather than what I usually did. If that happened, it would be a very disappointing holiday, indeed.

When I awoke on December 23rd, I still had no idea what to get them. Even knowing I had only two shopping days left didn’t spur me on. I still couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do for them.

That night, after many of the boys had gone to bed, I sat down with Jake to discuss this once more. We were kicking around ideas and weighing our limited options, when I heard the fire whistle go off. I was hoping the emergency was only something small, like a kitchen blaze or small brush fire, but when a second alarm went off a few minutes later, I knew this wasn’t the case.

Instinctively, I raced to my bedroom, where I had a scanner and turned it on. Although I seldom used it, sometimes it came in handy to learn what was going on and what I heard shocked me. It was a house fire and the home was fully engulfed. I gleaned what bits of info I could about this tragedy by listening to the bits of conversations between the dispatcher and those at the scene. That’s when I heard the local fire company was asking for support from two nearby communities.

Hearing this, I felt I had to go and see if there was anything I could do, so I asked Jake to join me. We got into the van and headed toward the address I’d heard mentioned earlier, but I had no idea what I assistance I could offer that the fire department couldn’t.

When we arrived, the house was already beyond saving and all the firemen were doing was to merely contain the fire and keep it from spreading to a shed and small barn that stood nearby. I learned later that the barn housed a few animals and the shed was used to store some of the owner’s tools. As I looked around, I noticed a group of people huddled together, off to one side, and I immediately recognized them. They were three of my former students and their parents.

I went over to them, to see if there was anything I could do to help, but they were too distraught to speak. I certainly could understand why, since they had just watched nearly everything they owned go up in flames. It would be bad enough to just have this happen, but at this time of year it was far worse. When they were able to talk about it, I learned all their unopened Christmas presents had also been destroyed by the quick-moving blaze.

“I’m so sorry,” I told them, “and I hope you will allow my family to try to help make your situation better.” They all turned toward me as I spoke, but their father was the only one who was able to respond.

“Mr. Currie, thank you so much for your offer, but I don’t know how you’re going to be able to help after this,” he reasoned. “We just lost our home, almost everything we owned and even a couple of our pets in that fire. I’m just thankful the dog alerted us to the situation with his barking, so I was able to get my family out safely.”

“I’m very thankful for that too,” I agreed, “but do you have a place to stay tonight?”

“I’ve heard some people talking about putting us up in a motel tonight,” he replied, “but nothing is definite at this point. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Then you and your family will stay with us,” I offered. “We have a very large house and the boys will double up, to make room for you. Your daughters can share one room, your son will be put up in another and you and your wife will use my room.”

“Oh, no, Mr. Currie. We could never do that,” he objected.

“You will. I insist,” I responded. “It is not that big of a deal and my family will be happy to do what we can for you. Tomorrow we’ll check around and see if we can find you something more permanent, at least until you can figure out what you’re going to do. Was the house insured?”

“Yes, but I doubt it will be enough,” he told me, while grimacing. “I’ve been a little negligent and haven’t updated the amount of coverage in many years. Basically, it’s still insured for what it was appraised at fifteen years ago.”

“That’s not surprising,” I commiserated. “I’m sure this has happened to many people. It’s easy to forget to increase your coverage, but at least you will get something out of this. Don’t worry though. We’ll help you find a way to cover the rest. You know I have many contacts and I’ll use them all, if I have to.”

“Thank you, Mr. Currie,” he told me, while shaking my hand. “You’ve always been really nice to my family and I know my kids think the world of you.”

“As I do of them,” I replied. “They were always very good students and a pleasure to have around. Now, I want everyone to hop into my van and Jake and I will take you to our place. If there’s anything you want to bring with you, grab it now and we’ll be on our way. I’ll let the fire chief know you’re going with me.”

“Thank you, but there’s nothing left to take” he explained. “All we have is what we’re wearing. Even these blankets aren’t ours. The firemen gave to us to keep warm.”

“Okay, then I want you to get into my van and Jake will start it up and turn on the heat. I’ll let those in charge know you’re going with us and I’ll return their blankets in a few days.”

While Jake was helping the family into the van, where they could warm up, I searched out the fire chief and one of the police officers on the scene. I let them know I was taking the family to spend the night with us and they quickly agreed they had all they needed from them and it would be fine. They also thanked me for doing this, but I merely responded it was Christmas and I was just making sure there was room at our ‘inn’ for this family. They smiled in acknowledgment and I went to join the others.

When we got home, I ushered the family into the family room, while Jake and I shuffled people around. Jake hurriedly moved a bunch of our things, so we wouldn’t have to bother the couple later. He moved my things in with Cody and Graham, since I asked if I could spend the night with them. That way, I could also keep an eye on Cody. Jake moved in with Shannon and Nick and I was sure that pair would be more upset with the intrusion than the two I’d be staying with. The thing was, Shannon was Jake’s son and I knew he wouldn’t tell his father ‘no.’

It worked out that we didn’t have to move very many boys, but we did ask some of them to double up. Cole agreed to stay with Sammy and Andrew, which opened up a room for the two girls, and Dustin agreed to stay with Pat, so their son would have a place of his own. Once the parents were settled in to the master bedroom, it turned out to be a very peaceful night.

I had anticipated spending the evening on one side of the bed, while Cody and Graham snuggled together on the other, but that’s not quite what happened. I had only been in bed for a few minutes, when I felt Cody move over and snuggle up against my side. As soon as his body was next to mine, he draped his arm across my chest and Graham cuddled up behind him, with his arm slung across Cody and his hand touching my chest too.

When I looked down at Cody, to see what he was up to, I noticed he was smiling at me. Even in the faint glow of the moonlight that filtered into the room, I could see Graham was also grinning. I wondered if they’d had enough time to discuss this, after I asked if I could stay with them for the night, and concluded they must have. Neither seemed bothered by my intrusion, so I figured it was nothing to worry about.

I really didn’t sleep much that night. Instead, I spent most of my time watching this pair, to see how they were interacting and holding up. Relying solely on my limited observations, it was evident they were no longer merely individuals and more than just friends. These two were committed, inseparable and more concerned about the other person’s comfort and well-being than their own. I was truly impressed by the depth of their relationship. They now formed a couple, although I wasn’t sure how deep their bonds went, but I was glad Cody wasn’t going to have to go through his ordeal alone.

At various times, I would notice one or the other wake up, and since they didn’t realize I was also awake, they would start fussing over their partner. They would do all sorts of things, such as using their fingers to brush the hair out of their partner’s eyes or off their forehead, or they might kiss the other sweetly on the cheek or forehead. Once they had done that, they would then cuddle back against the other and soon drift off to sleep again. They spent most of the night wrapped up in each other’s arms, although Cody had shifted some of his affection to me too. Since there was no way I wanted to interfere with what they felt for each other, I decided I’d have to find somewhere else to sleep for the next few nights, until the family left.

The next morning, I sat down with the parents, while their kids were still asleep. They told me how they had done all their Christmas shopping and everything was in the house when it went up in flames, so their biggest worry was about how this would ruin the holidays for their children. I told them not to worry about it, because I had a solution figured out and I’d be happy to explain everything to them, as soon as we’d eaten our breakfast.

As soon as they were seated at the dining room table and consuming their first meal of the day, I took Jake aside and asked him if he’d be willing to take care of some things for me. He agreed he would, so I quickly filled him in on my plan. After I’d done that, we returned to the dining room and sat down to eat too.

Once all of us had finished our breakfast, Jake told the parents to get ready and he’d take them shopping. They quickly informed him they had no money to buy more presents, but he advised them we were going to pay for everything. They began to object, but we cut them off and insisted we weren’t about to take no for an answer. We wanted to make sure their children had something nice to cling to during this time of loss and disaster. There was no way we were going to allow them to only have bad memories about this blessed time of year.

Although they finally gave in, they explained they would pay us back, as soon as they could. I wasn’t going to spend more time arguing with them about this, so I merely ignored their offer and sent them on their way with Jake. Once they were gone, I also left the house for a short time to check on a few things I had thought of while I lay awake the previous night.

When I returned home a short time later, I quickly rounded up our three young guests, so I could take them shopping too. I wanted to have them buy something nice for their mom and dad, because I didn’t want the adults to only have negative reminders of this holiday season either. We left before Jake and their parents returned and I told my sons to tell the grown-ups that their children were just helping me run some errands.

I had told Jake to let the parents spend between a thousand and fifteen hundred dollars, but I suggested he also guide them in making their selections. I wanted them to buy the kids an assortment of new clothes, but I also wanted them to get games and other things to entertain them. I felt it was important for the children to have some toys and other fun things to enjoy. I asked Jake to impress upon the parents that we weren’t just trying to help them have the basics, but we wanted them to regain a bit of normalcy to their lives too. Since they needed almost everything at this point, their choices were limitless.

I basically told the kids the same thing and urged them to pick out some clothes for their parents, including nice winter jackets. I told them we could guesstimate their sizes, and if we were wrong, they could always return the items later and get something in their own size. Once we’d finished making those selections, I had the children buy them a few other items, like jewelry for their mother, an electric razor for their father and a television they all would get some use out of later. The children thanked me several times, although they did ask why I was doing so much for them. I merely responded, ‘Merry Christmas.’

When we got back home, we left everything in the van and went inside. Both groups looked happy and I knew they were pleased about what they had been able to do for each other. Even though they might have been a little dismayed about having to rely on our generosity to accomplish this, I was sure they’d get over it as soon as they saw each other open those gifts.

Now, I got all of our guests together again, loaded them into the van and drove out to a place I happened to know about. I had called the owner earlier, and then went over to pick up the key, so I could see if it was something the family might be interested in. I knew this place had been vacant and for rent for some time, but I thought it just might meet their needs. Even though it wasn’t in the same general location as the house that had burned, it was a roomy four-bedroom home. It was older and not the most modern or fancy, but it wouldn’t be very different from their old home. I hoped they might find it suitable, at least until they could get their insurance money, and then they’d be able to make their own arrangements.

As I walked them through the house, they talked amongst themselves, saying who could have which room or what they might do to spruce it up. Hearing their comments, I had the feeling this place was going to suffice. When they were done looking around, they thanked me for showing it to them and then the father wanted to talk to me about how they’d afford to pay for it. I quickly told him not to worry about the finances, as I was going to have the Castaway Foundation pay the first six months rent for them.

I informed him the foundation would also pay for them to get some furniture, to make the house livable. Everything had already been arranged and they were to go to a local furniture store to pick out beds, living room and dining room sets and a few other, smaller pieces. We were also going to take them to a local retail store to pick out everyday dishes, silverware, bath linens, bed linens, some cookware and a few basic appliances. That would give them enough to be on their own once more.

They all continued to thank us, repeatedly, as we went from place to place, and the only problem we encountered was that the furniture couldn’t be delivered for two days, until the day after Christmas. I told them they would stay with us until then and celebrate Christmas with our family, when they began to balk. They said they didn’t want to ruin our Christmas by imposing on us for so long, but I told them their arguments were useless. We wouldn’t have it any other way.