The Castaway Hotel - 6 - 35. Chapter 35 - More Graduations

Even though Mark receiving his Bachelor of Science degree might have been more prestigious than Frankie and Dustin earning their two-year degrees, I knew it would probably be Frankie and Dustin’s only degrees. For that reason, I wanted to make a big deal out of their success too.

Another reason why I decided to hold one big party for the three of them was because Mark didn’t know that many people in our area, at least not people he’d want to invite to something like this. Besides, it would also allow the family to come for just two, instead of three parties. I think it was actually for the best, even though some people would only be able to make it for one of the celebrations, but they would still congratulate everyone at that time.

Fortunately, it turned out that Frankie and Dustin’s graduations were not on the same day, even though they were being held on the same weekend. Frankie’s graduation would be held on Friday night, while Dustin’s would take place on Saturday.

When it came time for Frankie’s ceremony, we all went to it, as it was close to home and would only last a couple of hours. Although Frankie wouldn’t be graduating with honors, it was still quite an accomplishment for him. School had never been one of his favorite things in life, so I had felt just getting him to graduate from high school was something to be proud of. Frankie had always had to work hard to get through his classes, but he managed to do well, although not outstanding. I was mildly surprised when he first told me about continuing his education, but glad he followed through on this idea.

Knowing his personality and how he applied himself, I realized he would do well in his chosen field, as he was a worker and didn’t give up easily. I’m not exactly sure what he is planning to do, now that he had his degree, but I know it will be something to do with law enforcement. I have offered suggestions, trying to help him identify what would be best for him, but I’m sure he’ll bring a certain amount of compassion with him to any job, as well as his tenacity.

His ceremony didn’t begin until 8:00 Friday evening, so we all went out to dinner together first. I realized many other families might be going there to celebrate as well, so I placed our reservations early, to make sure we didn’t get left out. When I reserved our usual room, I also advised the restaurant what the occasion was, so I was only mildly surprised by what they’d done when we arrived. The staff had decorated the dining rooms with the college’s colors and placed mortarboard silhouettes and scrolls on the walls. This would honor all the graduates who came there to eat, but there was something more they had done, something specifically for us. When we entered the private dining room, we noticed they had hung a special sign that read, ‘ A special congratulations to graduate Frank Currie.’

I’m glad the restaurant used Frank, and not Frankie, as he’s trying to change his image, now that he’s getting older. In fact, the members of the family are the only ones still allowed to call him Frankie, unless the person who uses it doesn’t mind a bloody nose or a black eye.

Frankie blushed a bit when his brothers pointed the banner out to him, and of course that was only part of the reason he was blushing. His brothers could be unmerciful at times, especially when they thought they could embarrass one of the others, and this sign was one of those opportunities. Although they were proud of his achievement, they would never pass up a chance to make sport of him.

“Should that be graduate Frank Currie or Officer Frank Currie?” Pat teased.

“It probably should read ‘brownnoser’ Frank Currie,” Ricky responded. “I’m sure that’s the only way he could get through some of those classes.”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Sammy shot back, coming to Frankie’s defense. “Frankie isn’t dumb. He probably just threatened his professors, telling them he’d beat them up if they didn’t pass him.”

Frankie knew better than to respond to any of these comments, as that would just encourage his brothers to keep going. Instead, he just smiled, and either nodded or made a slight face at their barbs, to let them know he could take whatever they had to dish out. This seemed to work, since the boys stopped needling him a few minutes later. They were unhappy they couldn’t get more of a rise out of him from their witty retorts and didn’t want to make it worse by continuing this fruitless effort. Instead, we just sat down and prepared to order.

The dinner went smoothly and everyone enjoyed himself. I was just preparing to ask for the bill when the staff brought out a cake, in Frankie’s honor. I looked at Jake, and he shrugged and looked at me, which told me he hadn’t ordered this little surprise either. Confused, I signaled the manager and he quickly came over and informed me this was just a little something from the restaurant, to thank us for our continued patronage. I thanked him for their thoughtfulness, and had Frankie thank him too, before we were all served a piece of cake. After we each had a slice, I told the manager to give a piece to the each of the other graduates dining there, from what remained of the cake. He smiled, thanked us and I paid the bill. I also left the staff a nice tip for their efforts.

The ceremony was the typical graduation variety, except Frankie probably had the largest cheering section of anyone there. As he strode up to receive his degree, all his brothers stood up and whistled, cheered and clapped. I thought this might embarrass him again, but this time he merely looked in our direction, raised both arms above his head, with his degree clutched securely in one fist, smiled and let out a sort of war whoop. I think this stunned the college president, who had just made the presentation, but he smiled too, as Frankie pointed to all of us and held his degree proudly in front of himself. He had certainly earned the right to celebrate a little.

We got back late, but were still exuberant. However, on the way back, Mark made a little comment to me. “Geez, I’m glad they didn’t all come to my graduation,” he quipped. “If they shouted and whistled for me, like they did for Frankie, I’m not sure how I would have reacted. I might have even fallen off the stage or tripped down the stairs.” He smiled, before continuing.

“Actually, I liked just having my mom and dad there for me.” After saying this, he gave me a wink, but I was already deeply touched that he kept thinking of me in this manner.

Dustin’s graduation was the next afternoon, so I took them out for brunch first. Although Dustin had always done fairly well in school, but wasn’t the type of guy who could work at a desk all day or be confined to an office. That’s why he found HVAC so interesting. He would get around to various places, face many challenges and, if he started his own business, he could dictate his own schedule. That’s why he went for a degree in business administration, so he could someday run his own HVAC company.

The program for Dustin’s graduation was very similar to Frankie’s. When his name was called and he approached to receive his degree, his brothers stood and whooped it up for him too, but Dustin had a surprise of his own. With his degree in one hand and his mortarboard in the other, Dustin did a back flip on stage, before walking off, which elicited shouts from the other graduates, as they enjoyed his enthusiasm and antics. I’m not so sure the college president was equally amused, as he made a face after witnessing the stunt and then turned back to award the next degree.

We had decided to hold their party Saturday evening and let it run late into the night. It wasn’t going to be a fancy sort of get together, but would be more like one of our cookouts instead. I had cleared this with Dustin first, by giving him the chance to go out to dinner tonight instead, like we had done for Frankie. I told him we could hold the party on Sunday, if he chose that option, but he preferred the party be held on Saturday night. I told him that was fine and we’d go out to dinner Sunday night to celebrate his accomplishment, but he assured me that wasn’t necessary. Nonetheless, I insisted on it, since I didn’t want to do less for him than I had done for Mark or Frankie.

Jake had offered to man the grill for us, so I could go around and greet the guests. There would be extended family members, friends of all three graduates and a few of our neighbors, so Jake felt it would be more appropriate if I were there to welcome and chat with them.

While I was doing that, he’d tend the burgers, hot dogs, sausages and chicken, but we would also have a table set up with other selections on it. There would be large pans of potato and macaroni salads, another of coleslaw and one with baked beans, but that wouldn’t be all. There would also be bags of chips and pretzels, pickles, olives, hot peppers, other condiments and three large cakes, one for Mark, one for Frankie and the last for Dustin. There would also be plenty of soda and a keg of beer, for those old enough to drink, although I planned to allow Frankie and Dustin to celebrate with a couple of glasses of beer, if they wanted, as long as they weren’t going anywhere afterward. Of course, Mark was old enough to have as much as he wanted.

When the guests began to arrive, all three boys went out with me to greet them. They were all very proud of their achievement and enthusiastically accepted the congratulations of those who showed up. Throughout the evening, they made their way through the throng, to speak with each and every one there and joke around with their friends and brothers. As the party continued, everyone seemed to be having a really good time and our guests found a variety of ways to entertain themselves and each other.

The party went on until after midnight, as no one seemed overly anxious to see it come to an end. I did notice that Cody turned in before the party wound down completely, and he did look quite tired, but I knew we’d all had a pretty exhaustive day, so I wasn’t overly concerned. Who could blame him for tiring out after such a long day?

After the party broke up and our guests had departed, we picked up the area quickly, but planned to finish cleaning up the rest of the mess the next day. Jake and I went around the house to check on things before we turned in and make sure everyone was all right. When I went in to check on Cody, he seemed fine. He and Graham were cuddled up together and he was sleeping peacefully, maybe just a little warm, but that could have been just because of the body heat the two of them were generating together. As there didn’t seem to be any problems, Jake and I turned in as well, looking forward to a little rest of our own.

On Sunday, after we went to church and I took everyone out to brunch, we began making plans for the following weekend’s graduation party. This one would be for the three high school graduates, Pat, Ricky and Jay. All of them had already been accepted into college, but their majors were as varied as their personalities. As you know, Ricky planned to go into marketing, as we joked it was either that or becoming a con-artist, but Pat planned on majoring in electrical engineering, while Jay wanted to be an architect.

That night, we took Dustin out to dinner, and once again the restaurant staff went out of their way to accommodate us. The decorations were still up, but the room we used was now festooned with the colors of Dustin’s college. Once we finished eating, the waiter brought out another cake, this one in Dustin’s honor, and once again I thanked the manager for his thoughtfulness. After paying the bill and leaving another big tip, we returned home and I was happy the college graduations were behind us.

The intervening week actually passed pretty quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to honor the next group. This ceremony took place Saturday afternoon, on the football field, and we all piled into the bleachers to watch them come out. As the graduates marched to their seats, I recognized something immediately and knew Ricky was responsible for it. As soon as they sat down, I could read the message on their caps – that is the caps Pat, Ricky and Jay were wearing. They were all sitting next to each other and each cap contained one word, which when put together made a statement. In order, from left to right they read, ‘We’re,’ ‘Outta,’ ‘Here.’ It wasn’t grammatically correct, but we understood what they meant and there was no doubt in my mind that Ricky was the instigator behind this farewell message.

I had been asked to hand out the diplomas, as Superintendent, but I bowed out, explaining I would rather be with my family at this time. The school board asked the high school principal to do the honors instead, which pleased him. He eagerly accepted the responsibility and asked the vice-principal to assist him, so it freed me up to be just another parent in the crowd.

The ceremony proceeded quite quickly, for a high school graduation, including the keynote speech, which was given by a local state senator. After the speech concluded, the diplomas were presented and Pat was the first of the trio to receive one. He was very happy to accept his diploma, as was indicated by the huge grin on his face, and his actions were very dignified. He didn’t let his brothers’ cheers distract him and did everything, as he should, before striding off the stage and back to his seat.

Ricky was next, but of course he did a little showboating after he received his sheepskin. After shaking the principal’s hand, he turned and waved at us, but that wasn’t all. Before he left the platform, he tossed his cap and diploma a short ways ahead of him, did a handstand and walked on his hands the short distance to retrieve them, before returning to his feet. This little action also let us see he had obviously shed the pants he was wearing when we arrived. He now had on a pair of shorts, but you couldn’t tell beforehand that he had been wearing them under his gown. His little shenanigans drew a few chuckles from the audience and a look of disgust from the principal. I’m glad I hadn’t been the one handing out the diplomas at that point, because I’m not sure how I would have reacted.

Jay came up after Ricky, to receive his diploma, but he wasn’t as demonstrative as my blond-haired whirlwind. After he was handed his diploma, Jay merely did a little celebratory dance across the stage. It was even somewhat coordinated and he didn’t trip or stumble. Obviously, Jay had been spurred on by Ricky’s little stunt. Before he got to the stairs, Jay also lifted the bottom of his gown, to show he was also wearing shorts, but the sight of Jay’s knobby knees and skinny legs elicited more than a few chuckles from the audience.

Jay’s parents were sitting in front of us and were mildly surprised by Jay’s little performance. They weren’t upset by any means, since we all knew our boys were clowns. This was just another example of the type of things our free-spirited mischief-makers enjoyed pulling on the unsuspecting, in this case, those in attendance. Of course I knew my ‘Puck’ was most likely the instigator and Jay would follow him willingly, and knowingly, down all the winding roads he led him over.

Once the ceremony concluded, Jake and I left as quickly as we could, so we could get things ready for the party. We took some of the younger boys with us, but left the Suburban with the older boys. They would wait around and drive Pat and Ricky home, once they got through clowning around with their friends.

Jay’s parents were coming to the party too, since it was a joint party for all three, but they’d be bringing Jay with them. They were going to run home first, to pick up the things they were providing for the party, as well as the gifts for the graduates. We’d concluded it would be wise to hold this party jointly, as our two sons would want to be together. They were almost like twins and we knew they’d enjoy it more if they didn’t have to worry about going to the other’s party. Besides, that would leave more of us to help keep things from getting out of control, not that we were really worried about anything like that happening.

Actually the gathering went very smoothly. Some of their friends came early and left quickly, but told the boys they’d be back later. They had to make their rounds to other celebrations, and some had arranged it so they would come back to our place last, so they could spend even more time. Our three boys actually left for a couple of hours too, during the middle of the party, so they could check out some of the other bashes going on. We explained this to anyone who asked where the boys were, while letting them know the grads would return eventually, and they all understood. Everyone knew the boys would want to visit their friends’ parties too, if just for a short time.

The party at our house continued well into the evening. We had already seen many of the boys’ friends and their parents, and we’d seen many of their teachers too. We talked to all of the other graduates when they arrived and inquired about what plans they had for their future, now they were out of high school. We were somewhat surprised by the variety of responses we got. Of course many of them were going on to college, but some were looking for jobs, while still others planned on joining various branches of the armed forces. A couple of the more adventurous grads planned on taking some time off from studying, so they could do some traveling in the interim. They said they’d reconsider their other options, once they were tired of seeing other parts of the country.

Our extended family also had a good time being together again and quizzed the boys about their plans as well. The trio was more than happy to fill them in about what they were going to do and informed each person where they planned to go to college. Then, they told them what they planned to study, and if the questioner seemed really interested, they even explained why they chose that field in the first place. These three could be quite well spoken when they wanted to be, at least when they didn’t see an opportunity to torture, embarrass or get even with someone else as a more appealing option.

Although the party continued, Cody came up and said good night to me some time between 9:00 and 10:00. I asked if everything was all right and he told me he was just a little tired, so he was going to go to bed. Graham was saying good night too, as he was going to go with him, so I kissed both boys on the forehead and wished them sweet dreams. I made a mental note to check on him later, even though I wasn’t really that concerned. I knew we’d all had another long and hectic day, so I wasn’t really worried.

Many of my former pupils were among the graduates and most came over to speak to me personally at some point. Many shared little anecdotes about their time in my school, which proved quite enjoyable and brought back many memories. There was only one student whom I didn’t have totally fond memories of, but he seemed to have changed. Surprisingly, he and I also had a pleasant conversation and I was thrilled to learn he planned to go on to college, as academics was never his strong suit when he attended my school.

I was mildly amused when he thanked me for not letting him get away with some of the things he had done and for standing by him when some of the teachers wanted him suspended or expelled. He confessed if that had happened, he might have turned out differently and given in to the other side of his personality. He then admitted he might even be in jail by now, if I hadn’t had some faith in him and tried to show him he could do better.

I was touched by his remark and told him I was glad to see he had matured since that time. I also expressed that if I had any part in that process, I was glad and pleased I was able to help. We talked a while longer and discussed his future plans, but I wasn’t really expecting what he did next. He actually hugged me before he left. I guess there are a few rewards educators can still receive that can help to make up for the lack of monetary gains.

Our party didn’t break up until after midnight again, since everyone seemed to be enjoying himself. The Curtises, Jake and I decided to let it continue until the guests determined they’d had enough or we were too tired to continue on. The topics we discussed and the things we did with our guests were varied, but we were enjoying them so much that we were all surprised when we discovered how late it was.

When the party finally did end, the boys, Jake and I picked up only the things that had to be dealt with in a timely fashion, such as the food. We let everything else go until the following day, when we’d have more time and the strength to do it.

Before I turned in, however, I did go in to check on Cody. He and Graham seemed to be sleeping peacefully, wrapped up in each other’s arms again, so I placed my hand on his forehead, just to see if he had a fever. His temperature felt normal to me, so I didn’t wake him, and he looked peaceful enough, so I let them both sleep. I’d check on him again in the morning, but everything appeared to be fine.