The Castaway Hotel - 7 - 33. Chapter 33 - Hope Amid The Grief

Ricky was thrilled that Little Ricky wanted to spend the night with him, but all the boys were happy to give Little Ricky some special attention and treated him with kid gloves. No matter how wild and rowdy the boys can sometimes get with each other, they are always the first ones there when one of them needs help or support. How could I not love the lot of them when they do things like this?

Even Peter went out of his way to accommodate Little Ricky, by letting him spend all his time with Ricky. He also offered Little Ricky his sincerest condolences. Little Ricky thanked him and I knew they would also eventually become close.

Nothing sexual went on between Ricky and Little Ricky that evening. All Ricky did was hold and comfort Little Ricky the entire night, to let Little Ricky know he was loved and accepted here. I did go in to check on our newest member several times, to make sure he was coping okay. He seemed to be doing just fine, snuggled up against his idol, and this eased my concerns tremendously. Seeing him like this just reassured me things would work out fine for him, now that he’d be staying with us.

The next day we had some details to take care of, beginning with Jake and I calling into work and taking a few days off. The boys were still sleeping or just beginning to stir to life, as Jake and I sat around discussing how we might handle the situation with the farm.

“I think Little Ricky wants to keep it,” I told Jake, “so I don’t think selling it would be an option.”

“Josh, how could he possibly manage to run the farm alone?” Jake wondered. “It took all Albert and he had, even with our help, to keep it going.”

“I’m not sure, but I will consider all viable options,” I replied.

“Like finding someone else to run it for you?” Jake asked, thinking that might be the best way to go.

“Yes, we could get someone else to operate it for Little Ricky,” I agreed. “Maybe one of the neighbors would be willing, but I’m not sure if they’d have the time to assume that much responsibility.” We both sat there contemplating how we might get this to work.

“You said Little Ricky just wants to keep the farm, right?” Jake wondered. “By the way, is it okay for me to call him that too?”

“Yes. Little Ricky said it would be better if you and I called him that, but not the boys,” I confirmed. “As far as the farm goes, he says it has too many memories to let it go to someone else and he still wants to go out and work there once in a while. He enjoyed his life on the farm, no matter how hard it seemed.”

“I have an idea then,” Jake offered, while appearing as if he was almost hesitant to volunteer his suggestion, “but I’m not sure what you or Little Ricky might think of it.”

“Well, go ahead an spill it,” I told him. “I think we’re both open to nearly any suggestion that would allow the farm to operate and stay in the family.”

“Okay, then. Here it goes,” Jake said, as he took a deep breath. “What if you have the Castaway Foundation buy the farm and then hire a couple to operate it. They could run a home for children who need a safe place and would enjoy living and working on the farm. That way, Little Ricky can still go out and work there when he wants to and it wouldn’t be turned over to strangers, since we’d still indirectly control its operation. It would also help other needy children and put them in a safe environment, like it did for Little Ricky.” I thought about his suggestions for a few seconds, before I responded.

“Jake, I think that’s an absolutely brilliant idea,” I explained. “A group farm-home that would meet all the requirements we’d set and provide a multitude of benefits. I think that is positively inspired. I’ll talk it over with Little Ricky, but I think you’ve just found the answer to his problem.”

Jake seemed pleased that I was so upbeat and accepting of his proposal, but I was truly impressed by the simple genius of his suggestion. I wasn’t merely being nice or stroking his ego, and I sincerely meant what I told him. This put us both in a better mood and now I could talk this suggestion over with Little Ricky, before the calling hours began.

Little Ricky was equally impressed with the suggestion and told me to go ahead and do it. I informed him I’d have the farm appraised and the Foundation would purchase it at a fair price and then I’d put the money in a trust for him, like I had done for all the other boys. He asked if he could help hire the couple that would run the farm and I told him he could. Suddenly, he wasn’t worried about losing everything and was beginning to feel a little better about the tragedy that had befallen him. However, I was afraid the harsh realities of his father’s death would come crashing down upon him again, when we attended the calling hours in another hour.

We all got dressed and were ready to go to the funeral home, but we weren’t all going together. I was taking Little Ricky with me, and we were going to stop and pick up Arlene on the way. I wanted them to have a few minutes alone with Albert, before everyone else began to show up. Jake and Frankie would drive the rest of the family down in a half hour or so, when they would join up with us.

Arlene wanted to know where we were going, so I told her we were going to see Albert. This seemed to confuse her and was the first indication this wasn’t going to be one of her better days.

“Where is he?” she demanded.

“Arlene, don’t you remember what I told you about Albert yesterday?” I asked, hoping this might trigger a recollection. Arlene looked befuddled and didn’t respond, so I broke the news to her again.

“Arlene, Albert had a heart attack and passed away yesterday,” I stated, succinctly and as mildly as I could, “so we’re going to the funeral parlor to see him.”

She still didn’t respond or acknowledge my comments, and I noticed Little Ricky rolling his eyes. He was well aware that none of this was getting through to her, but even though she didn’t comprehend the situation, she still went with us. I think she was merely looking forward to getting out of the house and going for a ride.

When we arrived at the funeral home, Little Ricky and I stood on opposite sides and guided her inside. Eventually, we worked our way in, until we were standing in front of the casket.

“What’s Albert doing sleeping in the middle of the day?” she asked, to no one in particular. “Albert, get up,” she told his corpse, thinking he was merely taking a nap.

“Arlene, he’s not going to get up,” I told her. “He’s not with us any longer. That’s just his body.”

“Nonsense,” she told me. “Albert, get up and get in your work clothes. I’m sure you have chores that still need to be done.”

I looked over at Little Ricky to see how he was handling this and realized her outburst was tearing him up inside. He had a pained expression on his face and was nearly ready to break down and start crying again, so I moved over and stepped between Arlene and him. As I did, I put my arm around Little Ricky’s shoulders and pulled him against my body. I was also holding firmly onto Arlene’s arm as I did this, so she wouldn’t move forward and try to force Albert out of the casket.

“Are you okay?” I asked. He nodded, but I didn’t believe his response.

“I knew this was going to be hard enough, even if your mother understood what was going on,” I confessed, “but I can see how difficult this is making it for you. As soon as the others arrive, I’ll have someone else watch your mother, so I can stay with you. Please, Little Ricky, just let it out of your system now, while we’re alone. It will make it a little easier on you later.”

I guess my words did the trick and Little Ricky began to let himself express the grief he had been holding inside. He sobbed into my chest, which caused Arlene to look at him.

“What’s wrong with Richard?” she asked.

“He’s just sad because his father died,” I whispered to her softly.

“Poor dear,” she stated. “When did that happen and how? Did I know his father?”

I knew I didn’t have time to go into this with her, because Little Ricky was the one who needed my assistance at the moment.

“Yes, you met him,” I explained, “but I guess you have forgotten.” That seemed to suffice and she left the subject alone again.

Ricky continued to cry and let his pain go. Once his tears began to subside, he walked closer to the casket, so he could reach out and touched his father’s hands. He stood maintaining contact with Albert, while he gazed at his father’s face. He was silently saying good-bye.

After a few minutes of doing this, he bent forward and kissed his father on the cheek. When he began to pull away, I heard him whisper, “I love you, Dad, and I’ll miss you.”

He then turned toward me and buried his face into my chest again. He was weeping and his body was trembling. No, this was not weeping – it was gut-wrenching sobs. I just held him and encouraged him to let it all out.

Arlene stood quietly as this happened. It was almost as if she wasn’t there or even aware of anything going on around her. We had been standing like this for a few minutes when Jake entered. He asked if he could do anything to help or if he should allow the others to enter yet.

“Yes, you may let the others in,” I answered, “but after that, I’d appreciate it if you would look after Arlene, so I can spend some time with Little Ricky.” Jake nodded and then went to tell the others they could come in. Then he came back and took charge of Arlene, while I took Little Ricky to a small sitting room, which was located in another section of the funeral home.

As we went in, I sat in a chair and pulled Little Ricky onto my lap. He leaned his body against mine and settled in. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked, and he shook his head.

“Sometimes it helps to get things out in the open,” I advised him. “Talking about it can help to ease some of the pain.” He studied my face for a few seconds, before he responded.

“I know he’s gone and there’s nothing I can do to change that,” he admitted, “but I still feel sad. I’ll probably never get over missing him, but I know the hurt will start to go away a little at a time. I’m okay, Pop, especially knowing you’re here for me now and I have lots of brothers who love me too. They proved that yesterday, especially Ricky. He was so nice to me last night and that helped a lot.”

“I’m glad to hear that, my boy, and you’re right – we do love you. I know I’ll never replace your dad, but I’ll do the best I can to help you from this point on. I am as proud of you as he was and you mean as much to me as any of the others, but we’ll both have to adjust and make things work the best way we can.” I could see more tears streaming down his cheeks, so I reached up and wiped them away. This brought a little grin to his face.

“Those aren’t tears for my father this time,” he explained. “Those tears are because you made me happy again. I love you, Pop.”

After saying this, Little Ricky kissed me on the cheek and nuzzled his head against my neck, with his arms wrapped around my neck and shoulders. I’m not sure how long we sat like this, but when he was ready, he let me know.

“I think I’d like to go back in and spend some more time with dad, if you don’t mind,” he announced.

“Not at all, my boy.” I assured him. “In fact, I was about to suggest that.”

Little Ricky got off my lap and pulled me to my feet. He walked beside me as we reentered the area where the casket was on display. Many people had arrived while we were gone and the room was now quite full. Jake was still standing with Arlene, but John and Margaret Spence were with her too. They were valiantly attempting to explain the situation to her and trying to make her understand.

Several of Albert and Arlene’s neighbors greeted us as we entered and offered their condolences to Little Ricky. In their own way, each of them told him what a great man his father was. Little Ricky thanked them and explained that his father admired and respected them too. Many of the neighbors offered to help with the farm, if Little Ricky felt he needed a hand to keep it going. He thanked them for their offers and then explained he’d let them know what was happening. He informed them it was still too early for him to be sure what he was going to do, but thanked them profusely for their kind offers.

Nearly to a person, they each said they understood and they’d do what was needed to keep the farm going until he made his final decision. One of the farmers even went as far as to offer him a different outlook.

“Richard, it’s going to be hard for you to keep that farm going,” he began. “I know, because I’m about ready to give up on my own. It’s just not enough to sustain my family any longer. I’d offer to buy your farm and put it with my own, because then maybe I could keep afloat, but both our farms are just too small to be self-sustaining any longer. The thing is, I don’t have the money or the credit to be able to do that, so I guess I shouldn’t even think about it.” As we listened to what he had to say, it gave me another idea.

“Would you be willing to sell your farm?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s what I was planning to do anyways,” he responded.

“Well, in that case, I might have a proposal which might help both of you,” I told him. “Richard and I have talked about having the Foundation my family runs buy his farm. I was going to turn it into a group home for needy children and hire a couple to supervise the operation. The children would help out on the farm, along with Richard and my family, which would provide the necessary labor to keep it going. Would you allow the Foundation to buy your farm too?” His face seemed to brighten.

“Yes, I see no reason why I would refuse, if the price is right,” he told me, honestly, but I also knew he wasn’t the type to take advantage of the situation.

“That’s great, but I have another proposal for you too,” I offered. Now, he looked confused. However, I was pleased to note that he continued to listen.

“I’d need Richard’s approval before this could be finalized,” I commented, and immediately noted the puzzled look on Little Ricky’s face.

“I’d like you to think about this, so you don’t need to answer now,” I advised him. “I’m hoping you, your wife and family might be willing to stay on and run the combined farm for us and take care of the children we accept to live there?” This got the husband and wife looking at each other, as they thought about my proposal.

“And Richard, would that meet with your approval too?” I asked, to include him. Little Ricky didn’t hesitate and gave me an emphatic ‘yes,’ and this caused the farmer to turned back toward me.

“Well, I’ll have to talk this over with the boss first,” he said, looking over at his wife again. She didn’t have an opportunity to respond, because Arlene had approached and was talking to her. In fact, Arlene actually seemed to be recognizing her neighbors at the moment.

“My wife sure does love kids,” the farmer admitted, seeing she was preoccupied. “We raised six of our own, but I’d need to find out what she thinks about this before I commit to anything. Actually, I think she’ll love the idea, because we could stay on the farm and she would have more children to pamper.” He grinned at us and then went over to chat with Arlene, before talking this over with his wife.

“This is going to work out awesome,” Little Ricky told me, after his neighbor walked away. He was having difficulty hiding his excitement. “They are great people and the two farms together would end the problem we had with making the farm big enough to survive.”

“I’m glad you approve, but now we just have to wait to see what they decide,” I advised him. Little Ricky shook his head and we went back to speaking with the others.

The rest of the calling hour went quickly and I noticed the farmer and his wife talking excitedly on several occasions. Finally, he approached me, just as we were getting ready to leave.

“We’d like to know more details about this proposal and find out what your Foundation is willing to pay for our farm,” he stated. “You probably could say we’re interested in what you suggested, if we like the details you present to us.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I told him, “and we will get in touch with you, once we are past the grieving stage.” He seemed to be fine with that, so we parted company.

Little Ricky now had another reason to be hopeful the farm would be saved and he could still be a part of what happened there. He was quite antsy for the rest of that session and was clinging eagerly to me, as we got ready to leave.

We went home in between calling hours, but Arlene went with the Spences. They said they’d see how she was doing before the evening calling hours, and if she was able to comprehend what was happening, they’d bring her back. Otherwise, they’d keep her home and try again tomorrow. Little Ricky and I both thanked them for their help and then they left, but not before Little Ricky gave his mother a big hug and kiss.

We had a bite to eat before we came back for the evening calling hours, which went very much the same as the earlier session, but with different people stopping by. Everyone offered their sympathy and talked to Little Ricky about his father. They also asked about his mother, so he explained she wasn’t there this time, because she wasn’t feeling well. That seemed to suffice and no one asked for more details. This was probably because they were all well aware of the problems Arlene was having.

When the evening session was over, we went home and Little Ricky told me that Ricky had asked if he want to stay with him again. I checked to see if that’s what he wanted to do and he said it was, so I let him go off with my blond prankster/angel, knowing Ricky wouldn’t be pulling any stunts tonight. I also told Little Ricky he knew where to find me, if he needed anything. He thanked me and said he did, and then I sent them off, hoping he’d have another good night.

After they left, I brought Jake up to speed about the neighbor and his wife. Jake seemed excited things were coming together so quickly. I told him nothing was definite yet, but it was encouraging, and he said he understood. At least now we had more hope we could pull this off. I think each of us had doubted how much success we’d have making this happen when he first brought it up.