The Castaway Hotel - 9 - 7. Chapter 7 - Getting Into The Swing Of Things

The next day, after work, I hopped on my computer to check my mail. I was pleased to note that in addition to the normal junk, I also received an email from Frankie. I quickly opened it to see what he had to say.

Dad,

I’ve been working at Guantanamo for a while now, and I’m sort of shocked by the prisoners they’ve got here. I can’t say much, because you know how the army is about giving away information. Right now I’m just observing and assisting the more experienced guys, but all I can say is it isn’t quite what I was expecting. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to use much of what they’re doing here, once I get back to civilian life.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I was okay and keeping the country safe from these terrorists, but looking around, I’m not positive that’s quite what I’m doing. Say hello to everyone for me, especially Jake. I hope you told him I missed seeing him at my graduation, but I understand why he couldn’t make it. I hope he and the rest of you are well and I’ll contact you again, when I get another chance.

My Love to All,
Frank

After reading his message, I was convinced it was the most cryptic email I’ve ever received from Frankie. What the hell was he insinuating when he said he wouldn’t be able to use the techniques he was learning there? Weren’t investigative and interrogation techniques fairly standard and universal? And what did he mean when he said he wasn’t sure if he was keeping the country safe from terrorists? Isn’t that how we got into this mess in the first place?

I know he probably wasn’t able to come right out and say things, because of the military censors, but this email was really out there. I thought back to the old World War II expression that ‘loose lips sink ships,’ which meant when people talk, the information can reach the enemy and cause losses, but I didn’t see anything in his message that would do such a thing. Could it be possible that the censors had deleted some things and that’s why Frankie’s message seemed so obtuse? I guess it’s possible, but I really would like to know what’s going on. Maybe he’ll be able to say more in his next correspondence.

Since I hadn’t been able to tell him about Jake’s bout with cancer before this, I thought I would do so in the return email. I would also tell him about everything else that had happened, including the fact that Marie was pregnant, although I’ve yet to hear what she had.

Back on the home front, tomorrow night was the first home football game and the boys were busy double-checking to see if they had ordered or picked up what they needed to pull this off. They were also contacting the other students that had signed up to work, to make certain they were going to be there. By the end of the evening they were pretty calm and felt all the bases had been covered, until someone mentioned about not having a cash box or getting change for it. They quickly jotted down what coins they would need, along with a sufficient quantity of ones and a few fives, so they could break larger bills, if necessary.

“Dad,” Dion began, when he came up to me, “I know students aren’t supposed to leave campus during the day, but I was wondering if you would write me a note so I could.”

“Why do you have to leave during school hours?” I wondered.

“To get change for the concession stand,” he stated. “I’m afraid we’ll get busy with taking the items down to the stand after school and the bank closes early. It’s kind of an emergency, so I really need to do this.”

“Do you know what you need and do you have the money for it?” I followed.

“Yes, here’s the list and here’s the cash,” he responded, while holding both out where I could see them.

“Why don’t you give them to me and I’ll get everything for you on my lunch hour,” I suggested. “I don’t want to set a precedent for this or have others believe that my sons can get permission to flaunt school policies.”

Dion thought having me do it would be fine, as long as they had what they needed, so he handed me the list and money. “Thanks, Dad,” he told me, before leaving. “I think that takes care of the only thing we’d forgotten to do.”

Friday afternoon, I did run out on my lunch hour and went to the bank. I got everything Dion had requested and took it back to my office. I put it in one of the cash boxes we kept on hand for various school activities and planned on giving it to him after school. He was going to stop by and pick it up, so they could get everything ready for the game.

I attended the game too, to show my school spirit and support, and went to the concession stand at halftime, to see how things were going. Everything appeared to be running smoothly, even though the lines were quite long, as everyone tried to grab a little something before the second half began. I was also pleased to note the crowd seemed favorable to what they were offering and about how long they had to wait in line before being served.

After I got what I wanted, along with something for Jake, Andrew and Jesse, I went back to my seat. Andrew and Jesse were the only ones sitting with us this evening, since the others were all helping out at the concession stand. I guess I might as well get used to the fact that nearly all the boys are at college and three more would soon be following suit, with Sammy going off the year after that. It certainly is different, as the house continues to grow more and more quiet, but I knew that’s what had to be. I just wasn’t sure I could handle taking on any more responsibility and any new boys.

After the game, when everyone had returned home, the boys told me they were pleased with how things went and didn’t foresee any problems for the other games either. They also told me how much profit they made, which wasn’t bad for just one night. They also informed me many of those same people were going to be in charge of running the concession stand for the next game, so they could concentrate on the dance. The dance was going to be held following the next home game and the boys were excited that it was going to be open to everyone and their partners. Although I wasn’t sure if any of them would be dancing with another boy, they merely seemed thrilled that the stigma might finally be lifted, so others could feel free to enjoy themselves in public. Maybe, just maybe, we might have come a long way, baby – but I’ll reserve my final decision about that until after the dance has been held.

Saturday was a pretty laid back and relaxing day for us. We didn’t have anything special planned and I think we were all enjoying this break from the hectic schedule we had been adhering to. Just after lunch, my cell phone rang and I noticed it was my son, Robert, calling. I couldn’t imagine what he wanted, since I had spoken with him just a few days prior. Nonetheless, I answered, to see what was up.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I began.

“I take it you knew it was me?” he teased.

“Yes, I saw your name on my caller I.D.,” I replied. “So what’s up? I didn’t expect to hear from you again so soon.”

“You should have,” he responded. “I told you I’d call if I learned anything about Marie and the baby.” How the hell did I forget that?

“So she called you?” I asked.

“No, I called there and Adrian told me she had a little girl on August 19, the day after your birthday.” I was thrilled, but my joy was somewhat tempered. After all, Marie and Adrian hadn’t decided to share this information with me and I was convinced I might never get to hold this granddaughter.

“Do you know anything else?” I asked, after a slight hesitation.

“Yes, the baby weighed in at 6 pounds 9 ounces and they named her Kylie Marie,” Robert answered.

I was somewhat stunned he had so much information, but maybe I shouldn’t have been. After all, they were upset with me, not him, and Robert was Kylie’s uncle.

“Pop, are you still there?” Robert wondered, aloud. I had been lost in my thoughts and hadn’t responded, so he thought we might have lost the connection.

“Yes, I’m here,” I confirmed. “I was just thinking about the baby and wondering if I’d ever get to meet her.”

“I’m sure you will,” Robert assured me. “Marie even asked if I was going to call and tell you. When I didn’t immediately tell her, she whispered that she hoped I would, so I think she’s pushing Adrian in that direction.” My heart leapt when I heard this.

“Really, she wanted you to tell me?” I questioned.

“Yes, she did,” he stated. “I think she wanted to call you herself, but Adrian might have been against it. Just give them time and I’m sure she’ll work something out.” I wasn’t as optimistic as he was, but I agreed to be patient. What else could I do?

Robert and I talked for quite a while longer, about world events and life in general, but nothing really specific or earthshaking. Before we hung up, I thanked him for calling and sharing the information about Kylie with me and told him it was the best news I could have received and would only have been better if I could get to see the baby too. He laughed and said I’d be able to do that in time, so we ended the call on that very positive note.

After I relayed this information to Jake and the boys, the boys wanted us to take them out, so they could buy congratulatory cards to send to Adrian and Marie. I thought it was an excellent idea, so I picked one up too. I thought by extending this peace offering, of sorts, it might be enough to push Adrian a little further in my direction. After all, I didn’t think it would hurt to congratulate them on the birth of their child. I wouldn’t put in a request to see them or the baby, but I wouldn’t stop the boys from doing it. After all, it was their niece too.

When we got back to the house, we dropped the boys off and told them Jake and I had a couple more errands to run. They wanted to go with us, but I explained this was something we needed to do on our own, without explaining why. They only protested slightly, before Jake and I drove away. I didn’t want them with me, because Jake and I had to pick up a few things we had previously bought for Jesse, but hadn’t picked up yet. We were also going to purchase a few other smaller gifts, to complete what we were going to give him. This was going to be Jesse’s first birthday party as a member of the family and I wanted him to remember it. He wouldn’t be turning eleven until Thursday, but I elected to hold his party before then. Since some of the extended family already had plans for today, so I’d set the party up for tomorrow. I knew it would come as a big surprise to Jesse, since it was a few days early. I just didn’t feel it would have the same impact if we waited until next weekend, after his birthday had actually taken place.

Since the members of our extended family had shared with me what they were going to get for him as well, I now knew what else I should pick up, to fill in the gaps. With that in mind, Jake and I went shopping and picked up several new items, in addition to everything else, which we stuffed into the Yukon. On the way back, we also stopped at the grocery store and picked up his cake, as well as the ice cream and a few other things we needed. When we returned home, we’d make it look as if at least part of our trip was to do some grocery shopping, hoping that would keep them from trying to pry into what we had been up to. We left the cake and presents in the car and would smuggle them into the house later, when the boys were busy doing other things.

In the meantime, we brought the groceries in and put them away and Jake snuck the ice cream into the rec room and put it in the large freezer there. Later, he also snuck in the cake and put it in the spare refrigerator in the rec room, because the boys hardly ever went to get anything out of it. It was mainly for the extra supplies that need to be refrigerated and we couldn’t fit in the refrigerator in the kitchen.

I hadn’t told the boys what I had planned either, since I felt they might give the surprise away. Therefore, Jake and I did all the preparations for the party, which we would hold after we got home from church. When the boys went out for their bike ride and Andrew was in his room, Jake and I brought all of Jesse’s presents inside, and stored them in our room. It was kind of hard to keep them all out of sight, especially the one gift, but we managed and felt it would only have to work for a single day.

For the rest of the day, Jake and I stayed away from our room and tried to make sure the boys were occupied with other things. I started a conversation with them about what they were planning for the dance and then discussed what activities they had planned after that. I was hopeful there wouldn’t be any problems at any of these events, but I couldn’t shake my concerns that there might be a few students that might try to disrupt the dance. We were going to have quite a few adults there to guard against such an occurrence, but even the best plans can still fail.

Later, when we turned in for the evening, Jake and I were relieved we had made it through the day without things being discovered. We would get up early and go to church, and then we’d have the party once we returned home. Sally and Steve both have spare keys, which they use to check on the house whenever we are away, and I told them to let themselves and the others in before we got back. I told them they could hide in the family room and I’d send Jesse in, once we got back.

I even told Steve to have everyone meet at his place first and then he could drive them all up in one of our vehicles. Mary could drive Steve up before then, so he could pick up the Suburban to use for that purpose. I told him where I’d leave the key and then he could drive everyone to our place in it, so there wouldn’t be a bunch of other cars parked in front. I know this was getting quite elaborate, but we were all excited to see how Jesse would react, once he became aware of what we were doing.

The next morning, after we got the boys up, we told them to come down for some breakfast, before we went to church. They all looked at me oddly, because this wasn’t our normal routine, and one of them finally spoke up.

“Why? Aren’t we going out to brunch afterward?” Sammy inquired.

“No, we’re going to have a cookout after the service,” I explained. “I heard it was supposed to be a nice day, so I thought it would be a good idea to do that instead, before the weather starts to turn colder. I also know the food always seems to taste better when it’s cooked on the grill and we eat it outside, so I thought it would be nice to do this one more time.” No one disagreed and happily did what I’d asked.

The service seemed to drag on today, possibly because I was so anxious to get back and spring our little surprise. Once the pastor gave the final benediction, I took my time leaving and stopped to chat with him, and several others, on the way out. The boys were getting antsy and wondering why I was dallying today, since I usually hustled everyone outside and into the Yukon, so we could go to brunch before the rest of the crowd got there. They couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t doing this now, since we still had to get everything ready for the cookout, but I was trying to give our guests time to get there and hide, before we showed up. I certainly didn’t want to get there before they did or arrive before they were ready, because that would totally spoil the surprise for Jesse.

Finally, we loaded up the Yukon and were off, but I drove a little slower on the way back. Graham commented about this, saying I was ‘driving like some 80-year old on his once a week trip away from the house.’ I thanked him for pointing that out to me, while responding as if I were an old geezer and didn’t have any teeth. The other boys laughed at my impression, but Little Ricky had his own observation.

“So that’s how you’re going to sound next year, when you’re eighty?” he teased.

“You better believe it, you young whippersnapper,” I replied, “and you’re definitely sleeping in the doghouse tonight.”

“But we don’t have a doghouse,” he shot back.

“Too bad for you then,” I countered. “I guess you’d better start building one pronto, unless you just want to sleep in the yard, under the stars.” Now the other boys were laughing at him and calling him ‘Fido’ and ‘Rover.’ They also warned him it was going to get pretty cold outside, when winter arrived again.

It was at that moment I pulled into our driveway, but the boys continued ribbing Little Ricky. “There’s a nice spot under that tree,” Andrew offered. “The ground’s not too hard there and it might keep you drier when it rains.”

“He’d be better off under the front porch,” Dion countered, “and that would keep the snow off of him in the winter too.”

“Yeah, if all the snow doesn’t pile up outside and trap him under there,” Sammy pointed out.

The boys were all laughing as we got out of the vehicle and headed toward the front door. I had my arm around Jesse as we made our way there and Jake unlocked the door for us. I guided Jesse toward the family room and he didn’t seem curious as to why, until I opened the door and everyone yelled, “Surprise!” I think Jesse first thought that this was for me, until our guests began wishing him a happy birthday.

“Today’s not my birf-day,” Jesse informed me.

“I know. It’s on Thursday,” I agreed, “but we always have parties for the boys on the weekend, usually the one before their birthday.” Suddenly, Jesse started crying.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned. “Isn’t Thursday your birthday either?” After a few seconds, Jesse looked up at me and answered.

“It is,” he confessed, “but I haven’t had a pah-ty since I was seven. John said I’d have to ask, if I wanted one, but he knew I couldn’t.” Jesse started crying again, after telling me this, so I tried to comfort him.

“Well, you don’t have to ask while you’re here,” I began, “although you could, since your speech has improved so much. Don’t think about John any more and just have a good time. Today is just for you.”

Andrew had already come over and put his arm around Jesse’s shoulder, as he wished him a happy birthday too. The other boys followed, as well as our guests, and Jesse was now the center of attention. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier kid in my entire life.

Jake went out and fired up the grills, while the boys, as well as a few of our guests, helped us carry everything else out. Andrew was busy explaining to Jesse that we would never have considered NOT having a party for him, although he confessed I had kept this a secret even from him. Jesse just smiled and hugged him, and then they went around to spend time with everyone else.

After we finished eating, I called Jesse over so he could begin opening his presents. There was quite a stack of them and his eyes bulged out from his head.

“Those are all for me?” he wondered.

“I don’t know anyone else that’s having a birthday today,” I quipped back.

“That is more than I ever got for Chriss-mas,” he told us, while pointing at the pile.

“Well, you may not get this much every year,” I explained, “but we want to make your first year as part of the family special.” Jesse merely smiled and thanked us.

Jesse received several packages containing new clothes, which he desperately needed. He had grown a little since he’d been with us, but he was also filling out and putting on some weight. For those reasons, he was quickly outgrowing the things he currently had. He also got a nice backpack, which he could use for school, and a few things to play with, but his final gift was what he loved the most. After he had opened everything else, Jake emerged from the house with Jesse’s last present, which we had hidden under the bed, at least most of it.

“A new bike?” Jesse asked, as his eyes shot open as wide as they could get. “Is that for me?”

“It is,” I confirmed, “and the doctor says Andrew should be well enough to go riding with you again by next weekend. He may not be able to ride as far and might have to stay where it is fairly flat for a while, at least until his leg gets stronger. When you do go out together, you’ll now have a new, and slightly larger, bike to use.”

Jesse hugged me, then Jake and finally Andrew, when he realized what this meant. His best birthday present of all was that he was getting his best buddy back, so they could do everything together again.