The Castaway Hotel - 9 - 33. Chapter 33 - Making Our Way To Spring

Now that we had entered into the New Year, it was time to start looking forward. Although the college boys were still at home, the four younger boys were attending classes again. Since they were back in school, it also meant it was time to plan ahead and make a decision.

The next big event on our calendar would be Valentine’s Day, but I wasn’t sure how the boys wanted to handle it this year. Since each of them tends to consider himself as bi, and since they can now go to the school dances with a partner of either sex, I thought I’d better ask what they wanted to do on this special day. I wasn’t convinced we still needed to hold a private party any longer, so I’d leave it up to them and go with their decision.

When I broached the subject with them, I received only half-hearted responses. Little Ricky had partnered with Graham in the past, and Sammy had teamed up with Ted, but this year Graham and Ted were in college and wouldn’t be able to attend. Andrew and Jesse were close and best friends, but they didn’t see themselves as boyfriends. Even though they had paired up for this event last year, they weren’t really interested in repeating that arrangement. Since no one seemed interested in doing this again, I scrapped any thoughts of holding a party this year and would let each of them do his own thing.

Although we’d had a little snow back in late November, December had been fairly mild and January was starting out the same way. I wasn’t sure if this trend would continue, but I hoped it would stay like this until after the college boys drove back to their campuses. I guess I was even more concerned about it this year, because Shelly was about to start college too and would be riding with the boys going west. Even though I hoped no accidents happened, I certainly didn’t want anything to occur during Shelly’s first trip with my sons. She will be attending the University of Pittsburgh, along with Dion, so I knew this would be an ongoing arrangement, unless she got her own vehicle.

In the interim, the college boys were taking full advantage of their extra time off and being lazy, but that ended a few days before they had to leave. This happened because they had to start packing up their belongings, so they’d be ready to head back for their second semester. It was tough for me to say good-bye to them again, but it also extremely rough on Dion and Trey. They had spent their entire holiday with Joshie, playing and taking care of him, so they were more than a little bummed out at the prospect of having to leave him for four months.

During the final two days before their departure, the pair hardly ever put Joshie down, because they knew they’d be leaving soon. Although I spend a great deal of my time with Joshie when we are alone, I hoped he didn’t expect this same level of attention from me, once his fathers left. Joshie obviously enjoyed having both his daddy and poppy taking turns holding him, but after they left, there would only be me for most of the day. Oh, whom am I trying to fool. I don’t have a lot to do, so I’ll probably be giving him all of my attention too.

This was also the time when Frankie had to return to Guantanamo. It had been nice having him home with us as well and his brothers enjoyed hearing what he’d been up to. Not only that, but I finally got the scoop on what his early emails had been about. It seems that some of the interrogators he had been observing were using questionable tactics and methods Frankie considered to be torture. Frankie said something about ‘water-boarding’ prisoners, which he explained was a way to make the prisoner feel as if he was drowning, in order to get information from him. He also informed me he was shown documents from the Attorney General’s Office that said these practices were not torture and could be used, so he didn’t have any recourse, regardless of his own feelings about it.

Frankie also said he was having trouble participating when these techniques were being used, even though there was written documentation stating the procedures were legal and therefore allowed. That’s the reason he became so attached to the guy he was working with now. This man was a product of the old school and believed in using tried and true methods to retrieve the information needed. He believed these other types of practices only produced misinformation and resulted in false confessions, so he stuck to methods he felt comfortable with and had success with in the past. Frankie then confirmed he’d learned a great deal from this guy and would be able to use these types of methods when he got out.

“Dad, you know what’s best about him?” Frankie asked.

“I’m afraid I have no idea,” I replied, honestly.

“The best thing is, he’s a lot like you,” Frankie responded. “He believes if you treat people like human beings, and not like animals, you stand a better chance of getting what you want. He does use some methods that may seem a little harsh under the circumstances, but he only does this when the situation dictates it’s necessary. I believe he has gathered much better intelligence, which in turn has led him to retrieve further information that he might not have attained otherwise. The other interrogators, who used these other techniques, certainly didn’t do as well. Most of the leads they got usually proved to be false or only partially true, so I think that proves prisoners will say anything to avoid what was being done to them. It certainly didn’t produce the types of success that was hoped for.”

“I’m glad you didn’t have to turn your back on your principals and beliefs, before you found some one to teach you how to do the job without bending,” I replied.

“Me too. Now, I’ve got a good teacher at work and at home,” Frankie added, and then he gave me a hug.

Shortly after Frankie left for Guantanamo, we suffered through a fairly substantial winter storm. This time there was more snow than ice and the snow was light and fluffy, so it wasn’t as hazardous as some of the past storms were. The snow did accumulate and caused school to be shut down for one day, but no one lost power and the roads were, for the most part, clear twenty-four hours later.

As Valentine’s Day approached, I began to wonder what I was going to do this year, since we weren’t having a party. After some careful consideration, I decided to take Jake out to dinner and treat this as a very special night for just the two of us, without any children. With that goal in mind, I asked Shelly’s mother if she’d mind watching Joshie for the night. She was delighted and agreed, since she said she and her husband really didn’t do much for Valentine’s Day any longer.

Even though it fell on a Tuesday, I decided to take Jake out of town, to a family owned restaurant I was familiar with in Harrisburg. I knew it would take a while to drive there, and since I figured we’d be having a few drinks too, I decided we’d also spend the night there. I made the reservations and then waited for the big day.

I told Jake about my plans in advance, so he’d come directly home after work and have time to shower and change before we left. I also had him pack a small travel case, so he’d have everything he’d need for the big day.

On Tuesday, I took Joshie down to his grandmother’s house shortly after lunch, and then I got ready and waited for Jake to arrive. When he did, Jake hurried and got ready too, so we could be on our way.

The restaurant was small, but it had a lovely, romantic atmosphere. Jake and I had a wonderful meal and washed it down with a marvelous bottle of wine. After this, we indulged in devouring a couple of very fattening desserts and then I gave Jake his card. It read, ‘To My Husband on Valentine’s Day.’ It took me a long time to find a card that would fit my needs and not seem as if it were from a woman, but I finally discovered the right one. I was somewhat amazed when Jake handed me a card too and we opened them together. It turned out to be the exact same card I had given him and we each started giggling, once we recognized this fact. I’m sure everyone around us thought we were nuts, since we couldn’t seem to stop laughing.

After we left the restaurant, we weren’t ready to go to the hotel quite yet, so we decided to see a movie first. We weren’t that thrilled with the selection offered at the local cinema complex, because none of the choices were appealing. After much debate, we finally decided to try a movie called ‘Firewall.’ We basically selected it because Harrison Ford had the starring role and we both admired him as an actor, in addition to his rugged good looks.

It turned out to be a decent movie, with a fairly interesting plot, but neither of us thought it would win any major awards. The premise was that Harrison Ford’s character was the V.P. of security at a bank and faced a dilemma. His family had been taken hostage and wouldn’t be released until he transferred $10,000 from each of the banks 10,000 largest depositors. This meant he would have to transfer a grand total of $100 million to the kidnappers account. This soon became a game of cat and mouse, where first the kidnappers and then the V.P. gained the upper hand, but in the end Harrison Ford rescued his family and killed the bad guy. What else can I say?

Once we left the theater, I drove to the hotel, checked in and then we spent a lovely evening alone. There was no baby’s crying to interrupt our lovemaking and sleep, but we did have to set the alarm for early the next morning, so Jake could get to work on time. I did the driving, so he could sleep a little longer during the trip, and then he got into his vehicle and drove to work.

I waited until after lunch before I went down to pick up Joshie, since I didn’t want to cut his time with his grandmother short. Mrs. Novak seemed thrilled that she had been able to spend an entire day with him, so it all worked out quite well.

As February drew to an end and we entered March, two other events loomed before us. First, there was Jake’s next six-month checkup, which we were only mildly concerned about, and Farrell was trying to get us to come to Chicago again, to take part in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. I had tried to opt out of this by telling the boys I had the baby to take care of this year, but both Andrew and Jesse keep teasing and insisting they wanted to go. I think it was mostly that they wanted to see Barry again, but I knew they also enjoyed being in the parade.

As a way of getting around my problem, I called Mrs. Novak. Since she had made it clear that she enjoyed spending time with Joshie, I asked if she would mind taking care of him for a few days, while we went out of town. I explained that that we had done this in the past, but could skip it this year if we had too, and she replied that wouldn’t be necessary. She added that she would love to have her grandson for the weekend and quickly agreed to the dates. Seeing Joshie was taken care of, I finally gave in and told Jesse and Andrew I’d take them to Chicago. I also talked to Sammy and Little Ricky about whether or not they wanted to go. I told them they could stay home if they wanted, since Mark, Dustin and Cole would also be around, but they said they wanted to go too. Go figure. I thought they’d feel they were too old for this.

Anyway, St. Patrick’s Day was on a Friday this year, and so was the parade. Fortunately, the school district had scheduled a teacher’s workday on Friday, so the boys would only miss one day of school. We’d leave Wednesday night and drive there, so Jake decided to take a few days off from work and go too. Then we’d leave to return home early Sunday, so we’d be back sometime that evening.

It was nice seeing the Flannerys again, and Farrell, Katelyn, Alannah and Barry all seemed happy to see us too. Barry, Jesse and Andrew took off for Barry’s room almost as soon as we got there, claiming they were going to play video games. After they left, Alannah seemed to form an interest in Little Ricky. In fact, the attraction seemed mutual.

We spent the evening with our hosts and went out to dinner with them, before going to our hotel. Farrell had offered to have us stay there, but I felt the boys would have plans, so I explained we’d just get rooms. Barry teased until Farrell agreed to let him stay with us for the night, so the boys all took their leprechaun outfits with them when we left. Jesse and Andrew were staying in with Jake and me, but I had gotten a separate room for Sammy and Little Ricky. Yes, I could have put the boys all in one room, but since I knew what the little ones would probably be doing with Barry, I put them in with us. That way, Jake and I could go down to the hotel bar for a while and give them their privacy, but I doubted that would have happened in the other room.

By this time, my fifteen –year old Andrew had sprouted a full pubic bush, his penis had reached adult stature and was producing semen, just like Barry. Twelve-year old Jesse had a scattering of pubic hairs coming in and could produce a small amount of clear fluid, so there would be no more dry orgasms for that trio.

Once they were alone, Barry spent his time trying to convince the others to have anal sex. Since Andrew had prepared me for this possibility, because Barry had mentioned the idea a few times online, I in turn sat down with Jesse and discussed the idea with him beforehand. Jesse said he wouldn’t mind doing it with Andrew and Barry, but he just didn’t like when John did it to him. I told him I understood, and then went over a few things with both Andrew and him. I listed a few precautions I wanted them to take and then set down some other guidelines, before I gave them my approval, if that’s what they decided to do. After I told him this, Andrew packed some condoms and lube in his suitcase, so he’d be prepared.

After some negotiating with Barry, Andrew agreed to let Barry do it to him first, if Barry would allow Jesse to try it with him next. Then Andrew would be the one to have sex with Jesse, so he could make certain Jesse didn’t freak out. All the boys agreed to this arrangement, so they got started.

No one had to help Barry get hard. Just the thought of what they were going to do already had him there, so Andrew just guided him with putting on the condom and lubing it up, before he got himself ready. After explaining to Barry what he should do and warning him to go slow, Andrew got on his hands and knees on the bed. Barry did have a little difficulty entering Andrew, until Andrew told him to use his hand on his penis when trying to push it in. After that, Barry slipped into Andrew’s chute fairly easily.

Since this was Barry’s first time, he got lost in the pleasurable feelings and performed at the speed of light. This meant he reached the climactic brink and was falling into the orgasmic abyss within a very short time. This, in turn, meant that over the short span of a couple of minutes, Barry unloaded into the condom and ended his first encounter with anal sex.

Once Barry had recuperated, Andrew helped him get ready for Jesse’s attempt. As Andrew attempted to loosen him up, Barry kept tightening his rectal muscles, but eventually he overcame the instinct and learned to push out a little, to accommodate the intruder. Even though Jesse had always been big for his age, his penis isn’t so formidable that Barry wasn’t able to accept it. After a few missed attempts, Jesse finally slid in to him and began to hump away. He didn’t go as quickly as Barry had, so it took several minutes before he began to feel the sensations that preceded his climax. For this reason, he had a much more memorable experience than Barry had.

Finally, it was Andrew’s turn. He was worried about injuring Jesse, since he knew John had hurt him before, but Jesse kept assuring Andrew it would be all right. After making certain Jesse was prepared and feeling no pain, Andrew finally entered him. He was slow and loving with Jesse, and Jesse appreciated it, but he also knew Andrew was making him feel things John never had. In fact, Jesse was beginning to really enjoy the feelings he was experiencing and moved to match Andrew’s actions. In the end, both boys were more than satisfied with this coupling and hugged each other affectionately, once it ended.

Barry made sure they agreed they’d do this again the next night, since he planned on talking his parents into letting him stay with us again. By the time Jake and I arrived back at the room, all three young men were still naked on their bed, but because they were also all smiling, I knew things had worked out well.

The parade went pretty much like the previous two, except this time more local children were taking part. Farrell had Barry recruit some others from his grade and younger, so there were about twenty leprechauns in all. When the parade ended, I took the boys back to change and then we spent the rest of the day with our hosts.

Except for when we went out to eat, we spent most of our time at the Flannerys’ house and everyone got along really well. Little Ricky and Alannah would disappear from time to time, much to Farrell’s dismay, but they’d always return a short time later. I think Sammy was beginning to feel a little left out, because the other three boys stayed mostly to themselves too.

When it came time for us to leave, Barry teased to go with us again, but his father was reluctant to let him join us. Farrell felt we might not want to go out of our way to bring him back, since it would delay our departure time, but I assured him that wouldn’t be a problem. I did this in private and not in front of the boys, just in case Farrell had another reason he wasn’t divulging. However, after he received my assurance I didn’t have a problem with it, he allowed Barry to go with us once again.

This time, when Jake and I left the boys alone in the room, we went next door to speak with Sammy and Little Ricky first. I wanted to get some idea about what Little Ricky and Alannah had been doing when they disappeared.

“Dad, we didn’t have sex, if that’s what you’re asking,” Little Ricky told me.

“I just wanted to be sure,” I replied, “in case Farrell called and said something later.”

“Yeah, I know,” Little Ricky agreed. “We did kiss and we felt each other up, but that was it. She started to take my dick out at one time, but then she heard someone coming and stopped.”

“I take it you were both agreeable to this then?” I pressed.

“Yeah, we were, but they live too far away for anything to come from it,” he admitted. “I doubt anything more will ever happen between us, since I don’t know when I’ll see her again.” His comments put my concerns to rest, so Jake and I left and went down to the bar for a while.

In our room, Andrew did Barry first this time, and then Jesse did it to Andrew, before Barry got the chance to have his fun with Jesse. To Andrew’s amazement, Jesse was really getting into it and Barry managed to last quite a bit longer this time. Andrew figured Barry might have jerked off first, when he went to the bathroom at home earlier. However he did it, Barry lasted between ten and fifteen minutes and Jesse seemed to enjoy it as much as he did. I was glad things had worked out so well.

We took Barry home the following morning, said good-bye to the Flannerys and then made the long trip home. It was early evening by the time we arrived at the house, so I took the others home and then went down to pick up Joshie. Mrs. Novak said he had been very good the entire time and she and her husband had enjoyed having him around. I thanked her for watching Joshie and then took him home.

The week after we got back, Jake had to go in for his checkup. He said it went smoothly this time, probably because he was getting used to the procedure and not dwelling as much on how exposed he was to the others there. I was glad, because it had been very difficult for him in the past and seemed to bother him for several days after the examination had actually taken place.

About a week later, we had to go down to learn the results. Once again, it was all good news and the doctor suggested Jake might be out of the woods, as far as the prostate cancer returning. He still wanted to keep Jake on a six-month examination schedule, just to be safe, and we had no problem agreeing to do it. I think after this, Jake was finally able to let go of the feeling that he was going to suffer the same fate his uncle had.

We were now officially into spring and the weather was going to start warming up soon. In a couple of weeks, the boys would be returning home for Easter and I looked forward to their being home, even if it was only for a long weekend.