The Castaway Hotel - 8 - 19. Chapter 19 - A Very Unsual Easter

When our guests began to arrive, I tried to discretely inform them about Jesse, so they wouldn’t be surprised. I also wanted to apprise them of his condition, so they wouldn’t embarrass themselves by expecting him to answer their queries. They all confirmed they understood the situation, so I spent time with Sally, so I could give her the details about what I knew, up to this point. She was very interested and wanted to look everything over, including the paperwork.

After doing this, she said the documents appeared to be legal and binding, so I was now officially Jesse’s guardian. Therefore, it was entirely up to me how we would proceed with him from this point on. ‘Fine,’ I thought, ‘now I’ll be the only ogre, if I decide it would be best for Jesse if I didn’t keep him here.’

Steve and Mary Shay weren’t with us today, because they were visiting other family members, but John and Margaret Spence were here and they had brought Arlene with them. Mark’s mother, Susan, was also present and I introduced everyone to Duck. All of them already knew about his role in rescuing Vinnie, so they all warmed up to him quite quickly. Arlene was having a fairly good day and recognized her son immediately.

“Richard, come over here and give your mother a kiss and a hug,” she told him, which caused him to smile. He always felt better when his mother was in one of her more lucid states.

After they finished embracing, she quickly dimmed his high hopes for the day with her next statement. “Richard, who are all these other people?” she asked.

This let him know it wasn’t going to be a perfect afternoon and he raised his eyebrows in response. A few seconds later, he hugged her again and then answered her question.

“They are all good friends, Mom, and they’re going to make sure we have a nice Easter together.” She seemed to accept his statement at face value and didn’t go into it further, which sent a wave of relief through Little Ricky.

We had a lovely dinner together, but I kept my eye on Jesse, while he ate at the other table. I could see Andrew correcting his table manners from time to time, before someone else could say something to Jesse about his crude eating habits. Andrew was trying to protect him from any unwanted attention and was teaching him to do things correctly. I must admit Andrew was doing an admirable job of it too. I assumed Jesse either wasn’t allowed to eat with his family when he lived at home or they had no rules regarding table etiquette, but either way, he was way behind in most of his basic dining skills.

We all made it through the dinner, which included some interesting conversation, and Duck got to meet a few more of the other important people in our lives. All in all, it was a huge success.

After dinner, we all decided to go out for a walk, since it was such a lovely afternoon. We just strolled around our property and checked out some of the damage the winter storms had done, but we also observed how nice the early spring weather was. It had already caused some of the flowers to bloom and the leaves to begin budding on the trees.

This impromptu tour also provided us a chance to show Duck and Jesse around the rest of our property and gave them a better idea about where we lived. Now, they knew more than just what the inside of our house looked like. Andrew even pointed out the tree house to Jesse and told him they’d go there some other time, so he could check it out. By the time we got back to the house, John and Margaret Spence informed us they had to be heading home, since Arlene was starting to slip into one of her cantankerous periods. After Little Ricky kissed and hugged his mother good-bye, the rest of us bid all three of our guests farewell and then watched them leave. However, once they had departed, some of the others decided it was time to call it a day as well.

Over the next half hour, we said so long to Sally and Susan, before Duck announced he was leaving too.

“Man, I really hate to go,” he told us. “I’ve had such a great time, but I do have to get back home. I have laundry and other stuff to do to get ready for work tomorrow. I just hope you’ll invite me to come here again sometime, because I really enjoyed my stay.”

“Duck, you’re a part of this family now,” I advised him, “so you can come back any time you wish. You don’t need to wait to be invited. As far as we’re concerned,” I announced, while motioning toward the rest of the family, “you’re part of this nutty group and condemned to spend as much time with us as you can stand.”

This brought another smile to Duck’s face, and then the boys added their own two cents worth on the topic. I could tell Duck understood the full impact of our message, so I knew we’d be seeing him over and over again.

“Great!” he responded. “I’ll keep in touch then and will let you know when I can come again.”

“And don’t forget to call me when you get home,” I reminded him, “no matter how late that is.”

He agreed, so we walked him out to his vehicle, where we said a final good-bye. We all stood and waved, as he drove down the street.

Once we were back inside, we cleaned up the house and put it back in order, before going to the family room to spend the rest of the evening. After an hour or so, I could see Jesse was beginning to get tired, but he was also fighting to stay awake.

“Jesse, why don’t you and Andrew turn in now?” I suggested. “Tomorrow I’ll take you shopping, but I think you’ll need a good night’s sleep before we do that.” Reluctantly, he agreed and the two of them made their way to the guest bedroom.

About a half hour later, Andrew returned, but Jesse wasn’t with him. I was curious as to what was up, but I figured I’d find out soon enough and I was right. “Daddy, you’re going to let Jesse live here with us, aren’t you?” he asked, in his little whiney, pleading voice.

“I still have to do some more thinking on that subject, Andrew. I haven’t made any definite decision yet,” I advised him.

“But you’ve got to,” he begged. “He’s my friend now and I want him to be my brother too.”

“That’s sweet,” I told him, “but there are a lot of things you don’t know.”

“I know he can’t talk and needs our help,” he said innocently, and now some of the others were edging closer, to listen in on what was being said.

“Yeah, Dad,” Danny interjected, “you’ve never turned down helping anyone before.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t help him,” I countered. “I’m just not sure if helping him would be best accomplished by having him stay here.”

“What could be better than that?” Kevin wondered, although I wasn’t quite sure if he had said this tongue-in-cheek.

“Guys, he’s a lot younger than all of you, three years younger than Andrew, and with all of his problems, I’m not sure we could do him justice.”

“He’d do better here than anywhere else,” Vinnie interjected.

“He sure would,” Little Ricky seconded. “I wasn’t sure how I’d make out after my dad died, with my mom’s problem and all, but this place has been great. He couldn’t do better than this.” The other boys chimed in their agreement.

“Guys, I appreciate your vote of confidence, but Jesse is quite young, and I’m no spring chicken any longer. I’m also worried about not being around for him the whole time.” I didn’t mean to put it so dramatically, but they had to know my main consideration.

“Pop,” Brandon chimed in, “nothing’s going to happen to you, but if it does, Danny and I will help out. We planned on coming back here after we graduated anyway, to help you take care of even more boys, so we’ll just start by helping you with Jesse.” Brandon looked over at Danny and got his nod of agreement, so I knew they were serious about their offer.

“That’s super,” I conceded, “but you both have several more years of school ahead of you first.”

“We know that,” Danny agreed, “but we’ll be home to help for vacations and summers, in the meantime.”

“And I can take care of him too, Daddy,” Andrew chirped. “I did it today, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did, and I thank you for that,” I advised him, “but there is much more involved than just getting him bathed, dressed and fed,” I added.

“But the rest of us will help too,” Dustin offered. “Hell, we owe you that much, and not just you, Dad. We also owe it to any other kids who could use the same type of love and support we’ve gotten from you over the years.”

I was touched by his comment and Jake put his arm around me at that point. He did it to let me know he agreed with Dustin’s statement and to show me I had his support as well.

“And I will help too, Pop,” Mark added, which really surprised me. “I would feel honored to be a big brother to someone like Jesse. I think it would be awesome to have a little brother and be able to help take care of him.”

“Thanks, Mark, and I thank all of you for your offers of support,” I told them. “I was going to talk to Sally about getting him a place at the farm, but if you all feel that strongly about it, then I’ll consider it further, before I make my final decision. I think I’d still like to take him out to the farm and let him look around, to see if he’d like that better. Besides, I wanted to check on their progress anyway and I know Little Ricky wants to see what’s happened to his old home, as well.” I looked up and saw Little Ricky nodding his head.

“Dad,” Ricky piped in, “it wouldn’t be the same on the farm. The boys out there wouldn’t love him and protect him like we would here and I think Jesse’s really going to need that. Sure, I might pull some jokes on you guys from time to time, but I only do that because I love all of you.”

“Can I be taken off that list then?” Pat joked back, which caused Ricky to feign a hurt expression on his face.

“Guys, I get your point and you’ve given me a lot more to consider before I make this decision, but I will need more time to think it over,” I confessed. “After the things you’ve mentioned, I’m leaning more toward his staying here than I was before, but it’s still not definite. I’ll let you know when I make up my mind for sure.”

“Don’t worry, guys,” Jake added. “I know your dad and I’d be willing to bet Jesse will end up here, with us.”

Hearing this, I shot Jake a dirty look, because I felt he was putting me on the spot and committing me to something before I was ready. He was probably right, but I just wanted to think it over a little more. However, this news sent Andrew rocketing off the couch, like a missile shooting skyward. Then, he began doing a little dance, which made his brothers laugh and tease him. I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to accept this much more responsibility, but with their offers of support, I was beginning to think, ‘how can I say no?’ I guess maybe our family has just grown by one.

Jake and I spent some time alone after that and made a shopping list of the things Jesse would need. I had Andrew go back to the bedroom and record the sizes on the clothes Jesse wore earlier, the ones Andrew had loaned him, so I’d have a starting point to work from. I also advised Andrew that Jesse wasn’t going to be involved in anything sexual until he was at least thirteen.

“He isn’t really that small down there,” Andrew let me know, “but you’re right. I had to wait until I was older and he should too, but I did start before I turned thirteen.” Andrew looked hopefully in my direction, after giving me something more to think about.

“Then you boys didn’t do anything earlier?” I asked, just to be certain.

“No, I just turned the shower on for him, but he washed himself. I sat on the toilet and waited for him, until he was done.” I was glad to hear that.

“Okay, but I can also see he’s forming a special attachment to you,” I informed Andrew, which drew a grin, “so I’m going to rely on you the most, at least to start. This probably won’t be easy, with him not talking and all, but I’ll also make sure the school psychologist evaluates Jesse immediately. We need to find out if there are any types of programs or treatments he might benefit from.”

That seemed to end the discussion for tonight, but it didn’t end my doubts as to whether I was doing the right thing. Yes, I agreed with the boys that we could help Jesse, and maybe even more than anyplace else, so with their help, I think I had just committed us to do that. However, I also wondered how much longer I could keep this up and be able to be there for all of my boys. If Jake wasn’t here too, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to do this, but his support had been essential and eased some of my concerns.

The next day, Jake and I took Jesse to pick out a whole new wardrobe, as well as a few school supplies and other essentials. I had decided, for now, he could use some of his old clothes for play, so we wouldn’t need to buy him those items too. We also let Andrew join us, to make it a little easier on Jesse. When we first arrived at the department store, Jesse had a tough time getting involved in the process. He seemed scared to offer his opinion or tell us what he liked, but he also seemed extremely concerned about how much everything cost. After several attempts to convince him this was all right, I let Andrew take him aside, so he could speak with him alone.

“Dad has done this for each of us, when we first came to live with him,” Andrew told him, “and he really wants to do this for you too. It’s okay and you don’t have to be scared.”

Jesse didn’t seem totally convinced and Andrew was momentarily confused. After thinking about this some more, Andrew thought he might know why.

“Don’t worry, Dad doesn’t expect anything in return,” he added, which brought a look of relief to Jesse’s face.

Maybe that was the problem between Jesse and his stepfather, I thought later, after Andrew explained to me what had been said. Maybe his stepfather expected favors in return, which Jesse wouldn’t agree too. It was possible I was reading this wrong, but then again, maybe I wasn’t.

Once this had been settled, the boys had a great time picking out the various items for Jesse and it appeared the poor kid had never been allowed to help in choosing his own things before. He was like a kid in a candy store; with so many choices he didn’t know what to do or where to go next. Andrew pretty much took care of that for him and led him around, from item to item.

It was cute watching Jesse try on so many different outfits, but we let him decide what he liked and wanted. When it came time to select underwear, we asked Jesse what type he’d prefer and he just shrugged his shoulders. Then, Jesse motioned to Andrew, indicating he wanted to know what Andrew wore and liked best. It didn’t take long for Andrew to let Jesse know that he usually wore briefs. That was also what Jesse had arrived with in his suitcase, so after getting Andrew’s confirmation that those were okay, Jesse decided to stick with them.

Once we finished selecting his clothing, we moved to the shoe department, where we picked out a pair of athletic shoes and a pair of loafers, for dress. Jesse was amazed by this too. I guess the ratty old pair he’d been wearing when he first arrived had been something he’d owned for a couple of years as well. After finishing with the shoes, we went to get him a comb, a brush and a toothbrush, before we picked up a bottle of vitamins for him. I also made a mental note to set appointments for him to receive a physical and have eye and dental exams. Damn, I forgot there was so much to do for a new kid.

Once we arrived back home, Andrew made sure Jesse modeled all his new outfits for Jake and me, as well as for any of the other boys that happened to be around. At first, Jesse was a little uncomfortable showing off like this, but with a little coaching and coaxing from his young mentor, he was soon posing and spinning around, to give us the full effect. It was very cute, but it was also nice to see him loosening up. Jesse even seemed to be getting a kick out of being the center of attention. I wasn’t sure he’d have done this without Andrew’s help and encouragement, but whatever it took, I was glad to see it happen.

I let the older boys to do things with Jesse for the rest of the day, feeling he might begin to relax even more, once he got to know them all better. However, Andrew’s transformation was even more amazing. Out of all of the offers to help with Jesse, Andrew was taking it the most seriously and was taking over as a little father to our newest family member. Andrew would tell the other boys if they were being too rough with Jesse and would let them know if he thought Jesse wasn’t ready to do something yet. Here was the boy who’d been complaining he was a baby, yet now he was taking charge of a difficult situation.

This development tossed another variable into my decision-making equation, as to whether or not I was going to keep Jesse with us. Not only might this be better for Jesse, but it might also help Andrew. He would no longer be the baby of our brood and would have a new role, as big brother and father figure. That alone might possibly keep Andrew from dwelling on all of the other nonsense, concerning his delayed entrance into puberty.

Yes, Jesse’s sudden appearance at our home might have been a blessing from God. Not only could we help him, but he might be able to help us too. He’s already helped Andrew feel more grown up and caused Danny and Brandon to verbalize their commitment to come back and help me take in more boys, once they’d graduated from college. Jesse also made the other boys aware of what they could do to help and even gave Mark a chance to become more involved with the family. Yes, God does work in strange and mysterious ways, so maybe this is one of them.