The Castaway Hotel - 7 - 15. Chapter 15 - Changes

The next time I spoke with our lawyer, he explained that other than a few motions that might be made and some discovery issues that would have to be addressed, the boys wouldn’t be needed until sometime in October. I asked him if it was typical for these types of proceedings to drag out that long and he assured me it was. He said this would be considered being on the fast track, if the trial actually started by then. He said both sides needed to prepare for the trial, which would require time for doing more investigative work, prepping witnesses and so on, but they might not even be able to get it all done by then. I’m not sure if I was upset or relieved to hear this, because I knew the toll it was taking on those involved.

Next, I asked him if he would need to prep the boys in advance and he said he would, but he’d conduct those sessions on weekends, so the boys wouldn’t have to miss classes. I told him we appreciated his efforts and consideration, and then I advised him that I would contact each college in advance, to let them know what was happening. I wanted to get things squared away with each institution, so it wouldn’t affect anyone’s class loads or grades. He said that would be a wise precaution to take, as some colleges had a limited number of classes a student could miss or cut and still pass the course.

Now, I went back to trying to get everyone ready for the start of the college semester, as Jake and I would be driving the boys to their various campuses the following week. The other boys would be starting school the week after that, which meant I would also be going back to work. I should have returned already, but with the boys’ legal woes, I requested to have others cover for me. I felt guilty, but decided I had to put the family first.

With that in mind, I felt I should sit down with Jake and discuss the idea of resigning as Superintendent. With everything going on, the boys’ situation would require my full attention and I’m not sure I’d be able to concentrate on anything else. If I stayed working, I was certain I’d be taking extra time off, which I didn’t think would be fair to the school district. Jake and I talked about this issue at great length and tried to look at it from all the various perspectives. When we completed our evaluation, we both agreed I’d talk to the board president the following day.

That night the house was quieter and more subdued than I ever remember it and I was worried this might set the tone for days to come. I knew everyone was concerned, but I didn’t want them to spend all their energy on worrying about what might happen, so I decided to call a family meeting to discuss the case and see what we could do to relieve some of the tension and uncertainty. Once everyone was gathered in the living room, I grabbed my pen and portfolio, so I could start taking notes.

“Okay, we all know what’s been going on here, so I think it’s time we started to see what we can discover, to help protect those falsely charged. We know the Hubbard boy was beaten the Thursday before we left, so I want everyone to think back and try to remember what you were doing and when. I also want you to try to remember if you can vouch for any of those charged while you were getting ready for our trip. Now, I don’t want you to lie or make anything up, because that would eventually come back to bite us in the butt later. Being caught in a lie would make the boys appear guilty; even when we know they’re not. We have to stick to the truth and the facts as we know them, because that will be the best way to get them cleared.”

Everyone began to think back, to over a month before, which wasn’t an easy task, especially considering all we’d done in between. Finally, Vinnie spoke up.

“That day Kevin and I finished our packing, and then we got some things out for Mark,” he told me, “things we thought he might need on vacation. He wasn’t going to be back until the next day, and that would have left him very little time to pack.”

“Great, and did anyone help you do that?” I asked.

“Yeah, Danny and Brandon did some of Mark’s laundry,” Vinnie explained, “while they were doing their own.”

“And what time was that?” I pressed.

“It was before dinner,” Vinnie answered, “cuz Kev and I spent most of that night alone in our room.” I wasn’t sure, but it almost looked as if Vinnie blushed after he said that.

“Okay, that’s a start,” I told them, jotting that information down on paper. “Anything else?”

“Yes, I helped my dad fix dinner that night,” Shannon blurted out. “We knew you’d be busy checking on everyone else and making sure they had everything they’d needed, so Dad asked me to give him a hand.”

“That’s right,” Jake agreed. “I’d forgotten that.”

“Did anyone else help you?” I followed.

“Sammy and Andrew set the table and got everything ready,” Shannon replied. Sammy and Andrew nodded in agreement.

“Okay, we’re making progress here,” I stated. “Who cleaned up after dinner that night?”

“It was me and Graham,” Cole answered. “We cleared the table and did the dishes that night.”

“Okay, anything else?” Brandon looked sheepishly at me, like he had something to say, but wasn’t sure he wanted to tell me. I just looked at him and waited for him to finally open his mouth. Eventually he felt he had to tell me what was on his mind.

“Danny, Frank, and I ran to the store that night, to pick a few things up for the others,” he advised me. Instantly, I saw why he had been concerned, because that put two of them out of the house on the night in question.

“What time was that and when did you get back?” I wanted to know.

“We left just after 8:00,” Frankie announced. “I remember, because I finished watching my television program first and that ended at 8:00.”

“Where did you go, how long were you gone and when did you get back?” I asked him.

“Well, we went to CVS first,” Danny announced, “cuz we needed lube to take on the trip, and then we went to the grocery store to pick up some snacks.”

“Anything else?” I wanted to know.

“Yeah,” Brandon added, “we saw some friends as we came out of the grocery store and stopped to chat with them for a few minutes, but that would mean they could put us in town before it happened.”

“Were you three together when you meet your friends?” I asked.

“No,” Frankie responded. “They went out first, cuz I remembered something I forgot, so I went back to get it. When I came out they were all talking, so I just went over to let them know I was done.

“Great, then those friends saw you with Frankie and not Pat and Shannon?” I asked and Brandon’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, they did,” he said, smiling.

“And what time was that?” I followed.

“Sometime between 8:30 and 9:00,” Frankie told me. “I remember that too, because I wanted to call a friend, to ask him if he knew if they’d hired anyone for one of the jobs we’d both applied for. I knew I had to call him before 9:00, since he lives with his parents and they go to bed early. They get really mad if anyone calls after they go to sleep, cuz the phone in their room wakes them up.”

“Well, that’s some good information,” I informed them. “Anything else?”

We continued to talk things out for over an hour, and when we finished, I had several pages of notes to share with our lawyer. I think the boys felt a little better too, knowing there was some evidence they were in certain places at specific times and with other people than those they had been accused with. Maybe this would help put everyone in a slightly better mood now.

Monday, I drove over to where the board President worked, to make an appointment to see him as soon as I could. He happened to be in his reception area when I arrived. He spoke to me as I entered and wanted to know what was up. When I told him I needed to talk to him, in his role as board president, he asked if I could meet him for lunch at one, and I agreed. I said good-bye and told him I’d see him at the restaurant later.

Once I left his office, I went to see the lawyer, to share the notes I’d taken during our family meeting. He seemed quite pleased with what I had, and after leaving his office, I considered how I was going to tell the board president about my decision

When I arrived at the restaurant, the board president wasn’t there yet, so I waited patiently at the bar. He arrived about five minutes later, apologized for being late and then we were seated. After we ordered, he asked me what it was that I needed to speak to him about.

“I’m sure you’ve read in the paper about my boys,” I began, and he nodded. “Well, for the next few months I’m going to have to focus on helping them and I will probably need a considerable amount of time off from work. I actually think it would be unfair to the school district for me to do that, so I’ve decided to resign.” I pulled an envelope from my pocket and handed it to him. It was my letter of resignation.

“Josh, please don’t do this,” he urged. “I talked to a couple of board members yesterday, anticipating you might be facing some conflicts, and we decided we’d do whatever it took to free you up for your family. The high school principal can fill in as acting superintendent for a while, and the assistant high school principal can take over the helm at the high school, while his boss covers for you. It will take less than half the school year, and we really don’t want to lose you because of this.”

“That’s very kind of you,” I responded, “but the start of school and budget time in the spring are the two most demanding and important times of the year, as far as the superintendent’s job is concerned. I would feel grossly remiss in my duties, if I were not able to give the job my full attention during either of these times. I really think the district would be better served by accepting my resignation.”

“You may believe that, Josh, but we don’t. No one knows this district as well as you and no one is in tune with what’s happening in the community either. I, and those I’ve already spoken with, all agree we’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and give you the time you need to deal with your family problems. I think we proved that to you last year, when you were dealing with Cody’s illness.”

“I know and appreciate everything you did,” I agreed, “but with all the problems that keep arising, I don’t see how my continued employment would benefit the district in any way.”

“Josh, we think we’d be better off with you leading the district even part-time, than with an outsider or someone less competent doing it full-time. Please, accept our offer to assist you and you can make it up to us after your boys have been cleared, if you still feel you have to.”

“I’m still not comfortable with this idea, but if that’s what you want, I’ll talk it over with my family again,” I concurred. “I’ll call you back in a day or two, to let you know what we decide.”

I was grateful the district appreciated the job I had done in the past, but I still wasn’t convinced I should stay. I went home that night and talked it over with Jake and the boys, and they finally convinced me I should keep the job, as long as the district was willing to cover for me and let me have the time off I needed. In fact, it was the four boys who were charged with these crimes who were the most vociferous about me not resigning, so I bowed to their judgment. I called the board president at home and informed him that I would stay and he thanked me. He also promised I would have all the time off I needed, so I could be there for my family.

After we concluded our family meeting and settled my employment status, the rest of the week seemed to go better for us. In fact, before I realized, it was time to take the boys to their respective colleges. Frankie and Mark had agreed to watch over the house and take care of the others, while Jake and I took the boys off to their various institutions of higher learning.

I was taking four in my van, while Jake was taking three of them in the Suburban. Ricky, Pat, and Shannon were all freshmen this year, while Danny, Kevin, and Brandon were sophomores, and Dustin a junior. Even though Dustin hadn’t originally planned on going on after getting his two-year degree, others in the HVAC business had told him he should, especially if he wanted to own his own business later. That’s what convinced him. If Frank had also chosen to go on after his two-year degree, he would have been a junior as well. However, he decided his two-year degree was all he wanted, and needed, for now.

The trip went well and the older boys were looking forward to getting back to college and seeing some of their friends again. The freshmen were also excited, because they were looking forward to starting this experience and being on their own for the first time. I think out of everyone, this was going to be hardest on Jake. This would be the first time he would be apart from Shannon for any length of time since Shannon came to live with him after he and his wife had divorced. I know it seems funny hearing it’s going to be harder on the parent than the child, but that’s exactly how it will be in this situation.

As I dropped each boy off, I, and whoever else was with us at the time, helped him carry his things to his dorm room. This helped to speed the process up and help make it easier on him. After that, we would spend some time looking around the campus and helping him settle in, but we obviously spent more time with those who were going away to school for the first time.

I dropped two of the boys off the first day and then the remaining two boys and I got a motel room for the night. I delivered the other two to their campuses the next day and then returned home. Jake arrived long before I did and had dinner ready and waiting for me when I showed up. However, the minute I walked in the house, I could tell something was bothering him. I didn’t broach the subject immediately and decided it would be best to do it later, in private.

The dinner table seemed almost empty tonight, with seven boys off to college, so now there were only ten of us left at home. As I looked around at the seven remaining boys, Mark and Jake, it seemed as if something else was wrong. Suddenly, it all clicked into place when it occurred to me that we were missing Brent and Cody too. I think that’s when the old empty nest syndrome started to take hold and I began to acknowledge it wouldn’t be much longer before the house would be empty again.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I’m pretty sure Jake will still be here with me, but next fall Trey, Nick and Vinnie would all be leaving for college too, and possibly Cole, if he decides he wants to give it a try. The year after that Graham and Dion will be leaving, which means the only ones left will be Sammy and Andrew.

Seeing my older children have informed me they and my grandchildren wouldn’t be coming around any more, I was beginning to think back to what it was like before Sally talked me into taking Ricky, and then Danny, to live with me. I remembered the loneliness and sense of uselessness I felt then, before I started to build my new family, and I wasn’t sure I could deal with that again. I suppose I could take in more sons, but with my health issues and advancing age, I wasn’t sure if that would be fair to boys who needed a young, energetic father to do things with and for them.

After we finished eating, and while the boys were cleaning up and doing the dishes, I asked Jake to accompany me on a walk up the road, just the two of us. He agreed immediately, not suspecting I had an ulterior motive for my request. Slowly, we started making our way up the road.

“So what’s wrong?” I asked him, as soon as we were a hundred yards or so from the house.

“What do you mean?” he countered, playing dumb.

“Come on. I could see it in your face the minute I got home and I’ve been reading it in your body language all evening,” I informed him. “Something is bothering you and I want to know what it is.” He looked at me for a second, studied my face and then turned to look up the road. We kept walking for a few more steps, before he finally spoke.

“It’s Shannon,” he finally responded. “First of all, I’m worried about this mess he’s in, and second I miss him tremendously. We’ve never been apart for any length of time since he came to live with me and I really want to be with him as much as I can, especially while he’s dealing with these charges.”

“I know, but you have to know when to let go too,” I explained. “He’s growing up, Jake, and soon he’ll be on his own. I know the legal problems are making it more difficult to deal with this, but you’re going to have to let him stand on his own two feet. I know that’s not easy, and I still have to deal with it every time one of my boys move on, and now that I’m not going to see my older children and grandchildren too, I can really appreciate how you’re feeling. You just have to put it out of your mind and find something else to concentrate on instead.”

“Like what?” he challenged. “What do I use to replace my son?” He kind of snapped at me when he said this, but I could see from the expression on his face that he immediately regretted how he had responded.

“Don’t worry about it,” I tried to reassure him. “I won’t take offense to anything you say. I think I, more than anyone, can appreciate what you’re going through right now and I’ll only tell you what I think is best. In time, you won’t feel so bad, but for the time being, this can drive you to drink, if you let it keep eating at you.”

“I know you’re right,” he admitted, “but right now my heart is in total control, even though my brain is trying to counter my emotional side. I will attempt to do what you suggest, but I’m not so sure I can. He’s been my whole life since his mother walked out on us, well, that is until I hooked up with you, but I also feel responsible for finding a way to get him out of this legal mess too. The problem is, I don’t have a clue about what to do and I feel so powerless to help him.”

“We all feel that way,” I confessed. “All we can do is try to remain calm and objective, and try to think of ways to help, like when we held the family meeting and tried to find an alibi for each of them. I think some of the information we came up with will help our lawyer plan his defensive strategy too, so that helped all the boys. We’ll continue to try to think of other things as well, so don’t give up hope.”

“I won’t, as long as you’ll help me,” he confided. At that point I gave Jake a hug, even though we were out where anyone could see us, but as far as I know, no one did. We finished our walk, talking all the way as we made our way back home. I think he felt a little better by the time we got there, but I knew he still had a long way to go.

That weekend I also had to take a group of boys out to help the Beckers. We had been a little remiss since we got back, with only Frankie going out to give them a hand on a regular basis, seeing the rest of us had other things on our minds. However, we had promised to do this for them, and I wouldn’t let anything make us break that promise.

During the week, I asked for volunteers to go out to work that weekend and got more than I needed. From that group, I chose four boys and took them out to the farm on Friday afternoon. I didn’t stay long, although I did talk to Mr. Becker for about a half hour. He thanked me for our help, told me how his wife and son were doing, before he informed me about his plans for the harvest. As we talked, I realized this was one special guy and I was glad we could help make his life a little more bearable.

After driving home, I remembered something else, something that had slipped my mind. This weekend Mark’s mother would be arriving from Oregon. She had agreed to move here, so she could be closer to her son, after Mark finally convinced her. He had even made appointments for her to look at some apartments the following day. We had also arranged for her to stay with the Spences until she decided on a place to live and Mark was beside himself with excitement about her arrival. He was thrilled she had agreed to do this, so they could live near each other once again.

That morning, Mark went to the airport by himself to pick her up. He figured this would give him a chance to spend some time alone with her first. We were all planning to go out to dinner with them later that evening, after allowing her time to settle in to her room at the Spences. I was at the Spences with Jake when they arrived, so we could welcome her, but we only planned to stay a few minutes. It was nice to see her again, and she seemed very excited about this opportunity, but I think she was especially excited about being with her only son again.

“Hi, Susan,” I greeted her. “You look wonderful and you seem to have a special glow about you today.” She began to blush.

“Thank you, Josh, and that’s nice of you to say,” she replied. “I think the glow you refer to is from my being with my son again. Thank you so much for making this possible.”

“Susan, I didn’t do anything. It was Mark who made this happen,” I confirmed. “He wanted it as much, if not more, than you did. He’s missed having you around to help him too.”

“Yes, I know. He’s told me all about that,” she confessed. “In fact, the last thing he told me, before I agreed to this move, was that he’d like to have me here, so he could help take care of me and I could be there for him. He said that way he’d have both his mother and new father near him for support and guidance.” Now, it was my turn to blush and when I looked over at Mark, he was blushing too.

“Okay, okay. I admit it,” Mark finally announced. “Is it so wrong for a guy to want to have both his mom and dad around to make sure he doesn’t mess up too badly?”

After saying this, he walked over and gave his mother a kiss and a hug, before he strolled over and wrapped his arms around me, in an exuberant embrace. As I looked over his shoulder, everyone else in the room was glowing, as they watched Mark’s spontaneous show of affection for the two people he seemed to love the most.

Jake and I took our leave after that, to give Susan time to unpack, rest and get adjusted to the new time zone. We were somewhat experienced with how hard that can be, so we wanted to make it as easy as we could for her. Before we left, we informed her we’d meet at the restaurant at 6:30, as she would be riding with Mark and the Spences. When the dinner hour arrived, Sally and the Shays also joined us, since Mark’s work with the Foundation had made him a valued member of our extended family.

Throughout the evening, we tried to bring Susan up to speed on the area, by telling her about some of the places that would become a vital part of her new life here. After that, we answered her questions about things she wanted to know. Slowly, she began to feel more comfortable about the big move.

During this time, I became aware of the fact that Mark had made sure he sat between his mother and I tonight. This made me realize, that other than at his graduation, this was probably the first time since his youth that he felt he was sitting between his parents and having a real family meal. The rest of the boys understood how he was feeling and were happy to allow him to occupy the majority of my attention tonight. After all, they were used to sharing me, weren’t they?

After dinner, Susan went back to stay with the Spences. Mark accompanied her and stayed for a while to make sure she was comfortable. Once he felt she was okay, and after she told him she was very tired and needed to get some rest, he came back to the house and we talked for a while.

First, he thanked me for helping to make this possible, although I denied I had done very much, and then he told me his plans for the next day. After that, he thanked me for being his new dad and gave me a big hug, which I happily returned. After we broke the embrace, I told him I enjoyed being his dad as much as he did, but he told me I’d never understand how much it meant to him. Rather than argue the point, I just told him I loved him as much as any of the others, and he flashed me another smile, before giving me another hug.