The Castaway Hotel - 9 - 20. Chapter 20 - Sum’, Sum’, Summertime

April seemed to fly by, but before it ended the gay-straight alliance held their election of officers for the following year. Neither Sammy nor Little Ricky were interested in running for president, but fortunately one of the straight girls volunteered to do it instead. However, they had trouble finding a candidate willing to run for vice-president, so Little Ricky agreed to do it. He didn’t want Sammy to be put in such a visible position, especially after what had happened the previous year. Little Ricky felt he’d be better able to fend off any negative criticism or attacks, so he volunteered for the duty instead.

Once they found others to run for the final two spots, the slate of officers was elected unanimously at the final meeting, which took place at the end of the month. Both Little Ricky and Sammy would be very active and help out wherever they were needed, but it’s just that they didn’t want anyone in our family to be out in the forefront and heading the club this time around.

We were now also rapidly approaching the end of the academic year for both groups of boys. My college sons would finish up first and then the high school group, which meant we had more celebrating to do this year.

Dustin will be graduating with a B.S. in Business and then the following week, Dion and Graham will graduate from high school. I’m pleased to see the boys doing so well, yet I’m saddened by the thought that they’re all growing up and will be moving on soon. Yes, I will still have a few at home, plus I’ll be raising my newest grandchild, but all of that would end in a few more years as well.

I was also involved with helping the district select a new superintendent, but as of yet, I have not seen anyone that had better credentials than the high school principal. By early May, I spoke with the members of the school board and convinced them to promote the high school principal to the superintendent’s position and then start a search for a new high school principal. After agreeing, we sent out the postings, but hoped this search would go better and more quickly, since it is a less demanding position to fill.

I also received a phone call from Nick, because he wanted to make a special request. “Pop, I mean Dad, would you do me a huge favor?” he asked.

“It depends on what it is,” I confirmed, since I was unwilling to commit myself before I knew exactly what he wanted.

“Would you allow my host brothers from Brazil to come visit in June?” he asked. “It will be their winter recess and they’ll have a little over a month off, so will you let them come there for three or four weeks? Their parents will pay for their plane tickets and my mom and dad are going to get me a ticket to come there to be with all of you. Pleeeeeze?” he begged.

“I don’t see a problem with it, since our vacation isn’t scheduled until July,” I replied, at which time Nick nearly broke my eardrum with his screams of thank you. Those were then followed by more screams, but this time they were just pure joy.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” he said. “This means so much to me and I really want to see them again.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t having them come to Oklahoma instead,” I mentioned.

“They want to meet all of you, since I told them so much about everyone,” he informed me. “Besides, they’ve already met my parents, when they came to Brazil, but my mom and dad said they will come to Pennsylvania for a long weekend, so they can see them again, if that’s all right?” he asked, belatedly.

“Of course it is,” I confirmed, “but it sounds as if you had this all planned out before you called,” I teased.

“Well, I kind of did,” Nick admitted, “because I knew you probably wouldn’t tell me no. That’s why I love you so much. You’re so good to me – to all of us – and all of us love you for it.” I guess that was a compliment and not just his way of telling me I was a patsy and everyone had me wrapped around his little finger.

“Okay, just give me the dates and their flight information, so I can start making plans,” I told him. “By the way, did they catch anything while you were down there?”

“Nope, they didn’t. Aren’t they lucky?” he joked. “I guess I must have picked up most of that stuff on my trips. Damn, I can be so thick sometimes.”

“If you’re waiting for me to disagree – DON’T,” I replied. “Just don’t be foolish enough to repeat those mistakes.”

“I won’t and thanks again, P… Dad,” he corrected, before hanging up.

Oh, well. It looks as if I need to prepare for more houseguests. That means preparing the boys, as well as the house, because I intend to emphasize the rule, “NO SEX WITHOUT A CONDOM,” just in case.

When Dustin’s big day arrived, I drove Jake and the boys from home to attend, but the other college boys couldn’t be there to join us. They were either still involved in finals or packing up and getting ready to move back home, so they wouldn’t be able to attend. I felt bad that we all wouldn’t be there, but Dustin said it was all right and he understood.

When we got to his campus, we picked Dustin up and drove over to the field house, where the commencement would take place. Jesse and Andrew were all over him, from the minute he first strode into view and it was obvious these two had formed as strong a bond with him, as they had with Frankie.

Once Dustin left to join the other graduates, we went and found seats. We weren’t very close to the front this time, so one of us would have to walk forward to snap any pictures, but we would do what was needed to remember Dustin’s special day. I was so proud of him when I took my seat. He was getting his 4-year degree, even though he never originally intended to. When I realized it was almost time for him to receive his degree, I moved up until I was almost kneeling in front of the raised platform that was serving as a stage. I snapped a picture of him approaching the podium, one of him being handed his degree by the president of the college and another as he walked away and waved to his brothers. I thought they were great shots.

Once the ceremony had concluded, we met up with him again outside, where I took more pictures of him with all of the boys, one of just him with Andrew and Jesse, one with him Dion and Sammy, another with him, Graham and Little Ricky, and then one with Jake. Jake then took one with Dustin and me, and then Dion offered to take one of Dustin, Jake and me, and then we asked one of Dustin’s friends to take a couple of shots of all of us together.

Once we finished the photo op, we took him out to a restaurant to celebrate, and then I asked him when he wanted his graduation party. He told me he’d just have it at the same time the high school boys were having theirs, but I didn’t feel that was right. After attempting to convince him he should have his own party, I asked him if he was sure he wouldn’t change his mind, since he’d more than earned it. He answered by telling me that most of his college friends wouldn’t be able to come to it, because none of them lived very close to us. Besides, the people he wanted to see would be at the other party too, so this would be easier for everyone. I told him if he was sure, then that’s what we’d do, and he said it was.

We didn’t bring him home, because he had one of the SUV’s and would be picking up some of his brothers. He was going to be taking his time, since most of them didn’t get out until near the end of the upcoming week. He would stay in his dorm room for as long as he was allowed and then stay with the next brother he was to pick up. He said he was fine with that and we told him to drive safely and we’d see him soon, before we left.

By the time the rest of us reached the house, the boys were hungry again, so rather than having to fix a meal, Jake and I took them out to eat again. We were just too tired to think about preparing anything at this point. That night we just crashed after we ate, because it had been a long day and there was still much to do to get ready for the following weekend. We would attend church tomorrow and then do our own thing afterward, since most of the boys had to study for finals and such. The upcoming week was going to be hectic.

The week seemed to shoot by us in a flash, so before we knew it, the boys had attended the last of their classes and finished taking their exams. By Friday, they were ready for their final performance – walking across the stage and getting their diplomas. At the same time, the last of the college boys had arrived home and we were all together again, except for Frankie and Nick. It was a joyous time for me, since the house was full of boys and laughter again.

Saturday, we all drove to the high school for the big event. This would be the last time I would be able to present any of my sons their diplomas, and next year Sammy and Little Ricky would be given their diplomas by their current high school principal. I felt bad about that, but there were other, more pressing factors coming into play. Sammy and Little Ricky each assured me it was all right, as long as I would still be there to see them when they graduated.

Neither of the current graduates had received any big honors this year, except Dion for his singing, but each had been accepted to attend college. Dion was going to pursue music at the University of Pittsburgh and Graham was going to major in education, concentrating on children with learning disabilities. Graham did this so he could help others overcome the same types of problems Cole and he had faced. I guess your background does help to mold your interests and who you turn out to be.

I was still very proud to present them with their diplomas and got a huge grin of appreciation from each one. When I had finish giving out the last of the diplomas, the ceremony ended and we left for home. I let the graduates stick around for a while longer, so they could say their final good-byes. The rest of us had to get back home, so we could get ready for the party. I had it catered again, so Jake and I could enjoy ourselves and not spend all of our time working. I also made sure we had two cakes, one specifically for Dustin and one for the high school boys.

As we always did for these gatherings, we had a large crowd and all the boys seemed to be enjoying themselves. I did allow them the luxury of a beer or two each, if they wanted, but the only others to get any alcohol were those of legal age and only to the point that they didn’t become inebriated. We also made certain someone else was going to drive them home.

There was plenty of food, snacks, drinks, music, good conversation and general fun for all. A few minor pranks were also pulled, such as when Trey addressed his congratulatory card to ‘Daddy Dion’ and the boys gave Dion a gag gift of a package of newborn diapers and a box of condoms. Graham didn’t go unscathed either. One of Graham’s cards told him he had been given a lifetime position on the ‘psychic hotline’ and was given a gag gift of a faux crystal ball.

Dustin wasn’t immune to the pranks either, since his brothers gave him a Chinese adding machine – an abacus – to keep track of his earnings. They also gave him his first job in HVAC, when one of them asked him to fix a portable heater. Dustin took it well, fixed the small device quickly and then proceeded to write out and hand its owner a bill.

Everyone took the ribbing well and even gave back a few digs of their own, but it was all in fun and I know they each enjoyed the attention. The high school graduates did take off for a short time, to attend a few of their classmates’ parties, but Dion drove and I made certain he wasn’t impaired before I gave him the keys. I also warned him to stay that way, if he didn’t want me to pull his license when he returned.

The party didn’t wind down until around one in the morning, but the caterer had cleaned up and cleared out long before then. We took what we needed to put away in the house afterward, but left most of the cleanup for the next day. We would all pitch in after we got home from church and brunch, before moving on to other things.

Sunday wasn’t as laid back and low-key as I’d hoped, because we had birthdays to celebrate. Pat had agreed to the idea of having a combined party with Danny, since Danny had been busy with writing papers, completing projects and studying for finals when his birthday rolled around. Therefore, we were having everyone back again today for a cookout to celebrate these two special events. Jake and I would also put out the leftovers from the graduation party, since we were sure the boys would devour those as well, and we still had some beer and soda left we would utilize as well.

It was our standard cookout party, but I think everyone was less rowdy today, since we’d been having so much going on. During the festivities, I pulled Pat aside and explained that since he was turning twenty-one, I was going to do the same thing for him that I had done for Dustin and Danny. I had my lawyer set it up so Pat now had complete control over the account I’d set up for him. It was now his to do with as he wished, but I also told him I knew he’d be responsible enough to not spend it foolishly.

During the party, I could tell Dion was more than a little bit antsy. I suspected it had something to do with the fact that he was planning to take Shelly for her doctor’s appointment the following day and this time she would be having a sonogram. He was hoping everything was okay with the baby and there were no problems, but he was still very nervous and jittery. Damn, expectant father’s worry about every little thing, don’t they?

Dion did manage to make it through the rest of the day, and by the time he arrived home Monday afternoon, after the appointment, I could tell he was feeling much better. As he strode into the family room, where Jake and I were spending a little time with the others, he was sporting a huge grin.

“It’s going to be a boy!” Dion announced, with great deal of pride. The others looked at him a bit skeptically.

“They can tell that already? It’s only what, four months old?” Brandon asked, unconvinced.

“Yep,” Dion answered simply.

“Then the kid must have a huge schlong, just like his father,” Ricky teased, “or the doctor was looking at the umbilical cord, instead of the penis.”

“No, the doctor pointed that out to us too and I have the negative here, if you’d like to see it,” Dion added, while holding up the aforementioned item. The boys quickly ran over to check it out.

“Shit, I think the baby is going to have a BIGGER dick than his father,” Pat observed.

“Look at the size of that thing,” Kevin observed, “and he’s not even fully developed yet.”

“Damn, Dion,” Cole tossed in, “I hope you got paid a stud fee for creating something as enormous as that.” Dion merely grinned, from ear to ear, in response.

All I could think of is, ‘I’m going to be embarrassed changing this kid’s diaper, if he’s hung better than I am!’

The commotion died down after that, but Dion strutted around for a couple of days, as he showed off the negatives from the ultrasound to anyone that would take time to look at it. The boys weren’t joking when they talked about the baby. If that was actually the kid’s penis, it was enormous, compared to the rest of him.

During that same time period, I’d also received a few more emails from Frankie. However, it was the last one the nearly floored me.

Hey, Dad,

What’s going on there? I hope things are going well and everyone is fine. I sure do miss you, but it’s going to be a while longer before I see you all again. I know I promised I’d be home for Christmas this year, but it’s not going to happen. I’m staying at Guantanamo for another year.

Remember how I told you about the new guy from the C.I.A. and how we were really getting along? Well, it’s been fantastic since he’s been here. He’s an older guy, almost your age, but he really knows what he’s doing and gets what he wants from the prisoners by treating them respectfully. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve learned from him, so when they asked if anyone was interested in extending his tour of duty, I agreed.

I’ll be here until the end of next July, but then I’ll be getting a two-month furlough so I can spend it at home, before going to my new assignment. I’m not sure where that will be, but I’m supposed to get out the following March, unless I re-up, so it will only be for another six-month tour, wherever they send me.

Hope that news didn’t shock you too badly, but this is working out so great that I don’t want to risk getting posted somewhere where things are as bad as they were here for awhile. This guy is truly fantastic and what I’m learning from him will help me when I get out. I’m sure I’ll be able to get a job in law enforcement now, so this is going to work out much better than I first thought.

I hope you’re not upset and I miss and love you all. I’ll try to call soon.

Love,
Frank

After I read what he had to say, I wrote back and assured him I was not upset. I kept my response to him light and positive, and also told him I was glad that things had taken a positive turn and he seemed more upbeat. I told him we would miss him during the holidays, but I looked forward to seeing him the following summer. I also filled him in about what was going on at home, including Dion’s situation and that I was retiring. I hoped my email wouldn’t shock him now.

June was rapidly approaching, so I began to prepare for the boys from Brazil. I have to chuckle when I think of them in those terms, because it reminds me of the old Gregory Peck movie with the same name. That film was about his character being involved with cloning new Hitlers. What an awful thought that is. Anyway, Nick’s former host brothers would be joining us soon and flying in to New York. I planned on doing the whole NYC scene after we picked them up and then take we’d them to Philly or D.C. one other weekend, just to show them around a bit. I was looking forward to seeing and meeting them, so this wasn’t something I was dreading at all.

I had begun planning for these trips as soon as Nick called and confirmed the dates and times. I also ordered tickets and such for some special activities I had planned, because I didn’t want to get there and miss out. One of these events was quite new and unique, but something I was fairly positive all of the boys would enjoy.

Since everyone wanted to go on this trip, I charted a bus to take us to NYC for the weekend. We left extremely early on Saturday morning, meaning 2:00, but the boys were able to sleep throughout most of the trip. Jake and I caught a little more shuteye too, since we hadn’t slept that long the night before either. We would be going to the airport first, so we could pick up Nick, Wil and Marcos, and then I’d have the driver take us around to some the sights I was planning on hitting.

We arrived at the airport well ahead of Nick’s scheduled 6:45 a.m. arrival time, but his host brothers wouldn’t be landing until just before 7:30. We made our way as close to Nick’s arrival gate and we could get, and then waited for him to show up. He appeared about forty minutes later.

The minute he spotted us, Nick came racing in our direction, but what he did next surprised me. Instead of bolting straight for Shannon, as we all expected he would do, he came running up to Jake and me. He hugged each of us and then stepped back a short distance, before he spoke.

“Congratulations, Dad and Pop,” he announced with a huge grin. “I wish I could have been there for the ceremony, but I’m so glad you finally did this. I think it’s really great and I know everyone else thinks so too.”

We thanked him for this very enthusiastic display of support and then he sought out Shannon, so he could give him a very warm greeting too. After allowing them a few minutes together, I guided everyone to our next location, which was a spot near the gate Nick’s host brothers would be arriving at. Once we got there, we found a place to sit down and then I asked Nick to fill us in about his year at college and his time with his parents, once school ended. He happily did so, and by the time he had finished, it was nearly time for his host brothers’ plane to land.

Nick constantly scanned the throng of people bustling about, as he searched for the faces of his two host brothers. It took almost thirty minutes before he spotted them, but once he did, he jumped up and raced off to greet them. When he came back, he had two good-looking young men walking beside him. They were both about the same height as Nick, approximately five feet- ten inches tall, but their complexion gave them a nice tanned look, although it was currently winter in Brazil. I’d say their coloring was very close to Dion’s, so I might best compare it to a cup of coffee with extra cream.

They were both sporting the most beautiful smiles as they walked over to greet us, so I could absolutely see why Nick had been so smitten by them. They each began to extend his hand as they drew closer to me, so I reciprocated and shook one at a time, as I greeted them.

“Welcome to the United States and we look forward to your stay with our family,” I began. “I’ll let Nick take care of the introductions, however, since he may need to translate some of it into Portuguese.”

“No, my brother and I both speak American, we think very well,” Wil responded, but his Brazilian accent was very apparent in the way he pronounced certain words. “We can do everything in your language.” I smiled.

“Although we live in America, we speak English,” I corrected him, which caused Wil to look a bit confused.

“But English is so different than American, is it not?” he asked. “We’ve also met people from Great Britain, but they speak much differently than Nick or other Americans we’ve met.”

“That may be true,” I agreed, “but the people of both countries speak English. Think of it this way, there may be subtle differences between the way you speak Portuguese in Brazil and how it is spoken in Portugal, just as French is spoken a little differently in Quebec, Canada than in France.”

“Ah, yes, I think I see now,” Wil confirmed. “I am aware of such differences and can see what you are telling me. Thank you, very much, for pointing that out to us.”

Once Nick had finished introducing everyone, I asked the boys if they had eaten. Since they hadn’t, we loaded their things onto the bus and I directed the driver to take us some place where we could have breakfast. He said he’d be glad to, seeing he was hungry as well, so we took off, in search of a location to chow down.

“Where are all the other people?” Marcos asked, while glancing around the bus.

“Oh, this is not a regular bus, one that other passengers constantly get on and off of,” I explained. “I have hired this bus and driver for the weekend, because our family is too large to fit in most other vehicles comfortably.”

“I see,” he said, “but doesn’t that cost you a lot of money?”

“It isn’t cheap, but it’s not that much more expensive than driving two vehicles here, with all the tolls and parking fees,” I explained. “Besides, the driver knows how to get around better than we would, and it saves us the headache of driving in city traffic.”

That explanation seemed to suffice, so we began talking about other things, until the driver pulled in to one of those chain restaurants that specialize in breakfast. We had a nice time and Nick, Wil and Marcos sat with Jake and myself as we ate. Our guests were amazed about a lot of things, starting with what we ate for breakfast. They were also surprised at the difference in the coffee and juices, but they seemed to enjoy their meal. While we ate, we also got to know them better, but the rest of the family will have plenty of time to get acquainted with them on the bus.

Once we finished up there, I asked the driver to take us on a driving tour of the city, so we could point out some things to our visitors. He readily agreed, so we settled in to explain the various sites. Wil and Marcos were amazed by all of the skyscrapers. They said that even though they lived near a large city and had visited others, most were just large and spread out, but most of the buildings were less than half the size as here. Wil pointed at some of the older structures that weren’t as tall and said they were closer to the size of the buildings in the cities they’d visited.

During our tour, we pointed out the Empire State Building, the site of the World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. These were also some of the places I was planning to take them to visit later, so they could see them up close and personal. I knew my family had visited these locations before, with the exception of Jesse, so that was why I wasn’t certain how many would want to see the sights again and who might wish to do something else. In the end, they all wanted to join us and I wanted our visitors to see the most famous sights while they were here. After all, these locations are all American landmarks and tourist attractions, so it would be a shame not to let our visitors make at least a quick stop at each of these places.

First, I had the driver drop us off at the Empire State Building. Since these boys hadn’t seen buildings this tall before, I wanted to make sure they got up to the observation deck, so they could look around. They were absolutely amazed when they first glanced outside, and possibly a bit overwhelmed. I saw Marcos, the younger one, kind of jump back a bit after first gazing out, but eventually he calmed down and looked about, as I pointed out some of the various other locations.

I then did the same with Jesse, although Dustin and Andrew had pointed many of these things out to him already. While I was doing this, Nick and some of the others entertained our guests and mentioned other things to them. After we’d spent a little time here and the boys had plenty of opportunity to look around, we rode the elevators back to the ground level and boarded the bus again.

I decided to take them to the see the Statue of Liberty next, since we had enough time to squeeze it in before doing something else I had planned. Everyone went with us again, which did surprise me somewhat, since I thought the older boys might want to try doing something on their own. I was fine with their decision though and we set off.

As we rode across the harbor on the tourist boat, Nick was busy explaining different things about what they were seeing and only stopped if he needed to ask me a question. He would do this whenever he wasn’t quite sure about something and I was happy to fill in the blanks for him. I also noticed the three of them would occasionally slip into Portuguese, but I think this was so they could insert private comments into their dialogue or make observations about other tourists in the immediate vicinity. Either way, I saw no harm in it, so I didn’t say anything to them about it.

Once all of them had a chance to see the view from the crown, we climbed back down and made our way to the bus again. We did take time to stop for a quick bite to eat afterward, since it was already past noon, but there was still enough time to squeeze this in before doing what I had planned next.

By the time we finished our meal, it was approaching the time for the next surprise I had lined up, so I directed the bus driver as to where we were going next. I was taking everyone to see a Broadway show. It was a musical that was fairly new, but I’d heard great things about it. This particular show didn’t move to Broadway until June 2003, so it had only been running for about a year, which is still quite new in theatrical terms. From what I had read and been told about it, this was supposedly a raucous sexual parody, with gay overtones, and it was done using both actors and puppets. Since the theme was sexual, I felt the boys would like it, even if puppets were involved. I was taking everyone to see the matinee performance of ‘Avenue Q.’