Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 13:05:05 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening chapters 29-30 Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 29 -- The Stork Makes Another Delivery. **Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read this. I played the message on the answering machine, just to see how urgent it was. "Josh, it's Sally Swarthout. I hope you get back soon, because I have another boy who needs your help. Please call me as soon as you return. Thanks." The message was from last Tuesday. Although I wasn't sure if I could help her out this time, I gave Sally a quick call at home. "Hello." "Sally, it's Josh. We just got in and I played your message. What's the story?" "Oh, Josh. Thank God you're back. I've got a 15 year-old boy staying here with me. I can't speak too loudly, because he's in the other room right now. He got thrown out of his foster home because his foster dad caught him and his own son in the middle of a homosexual act. I let him stay with me while you were gone, because I didn't have much of a choice. Actually, there was no place for him to go, but he desperately needs your help. Would you mind if I bring him over?" I hesitated before I replied, as I tried to determine what this might mean to all of us. I wasn't sure if the boys were ready to share me with one more person, and I wasn't sure if I might be biting off more than I could chew. I was still weighing these doubts over in my mind, when Sally spoke again. "Josh, are you still there?" she asked, her fears that I was going to turn her down clearly evident in her tone. "I'm sorry, Sally, I was just thinking this over. Could you just give me some time to consider this first? I'm just not sure this is a good time to be thinking about taking in another boy. We just got back from vacation, things are kind of unsettled and school is just about to start, which is a very difficult and busy time for me." "Josh, I understand all of this and I wouldn't ask if I didn't think I needed to," she assured me. "I think you already know this county had a scarcity of good foster homes, especially one that would take in a boy who got thrown out of his last home for the reason he did, so right now you're my best hope." "I can sympathize with you on that point Sally," I agreed, "but this is just not a real good time for us to consider such a move. I have to think of Ricky and Danny first and foremost." "I know you do," she concurred, "but why don't you ask them what they think," she urged me. "If they don't think this is a good idea, then I'll try to find somewhere else for this boy, although I must say I don't know where that might be." I thought about her proposal, and even though I felt I was being pressured into this, I thought I owed her that much. "Okay, I'll talk to the boys and then give you our answer. Does that meet with your approval?" I could hear her sigh as I agreed to this. "Yes, Josh, it does," she replied, sounding a bit relieved, although not totally. "Okay, then. I promise I'll call you back, just as soon as I make up my mind." "That would be fine, Josh, but I really do hope you can do this for all of us. I'm pretty much out of options here," she added, emphasizing her desperate situation and putting a little more pressure on me. "Okay. I'll get back with you shortly," I stated, as I concluded the phone call. I stepped out of the office and summoned the troops. "Boys, would you all come down to the living room, so we can have a discussion." They all came filtering in, looking confused about why they were being summoned. "I want each of you in on this discussion, because one way or another this will impact all of you." Now they looked even more confused. "Mrs. Swarthout left a message on our answering machine while we were gone. I just spoke with her and she told me she has another boy who needs our help. I don't have a great deal of information about him, but she wants to know if we'd take him in. I didn't want to give her an answer, until I knew how you boys felt about this." "How can we say no, if he needs our help?" Ricky began, making me eager to learn why he felt that way. "Why do you say that?" I asked, trying to get him to elaborate. "I look at it this way," he began. "What if that boy lived here with you already and it was me or Danny who needed a place to live. I would sure hope the two of you would be willing to take us in, so I think we need to do the same for him." I was impressed, and persuaded by his line of thinking. "Yeah," Danny chimed in. "Where would Ricky or I be now, if you hadn't offered to help us? I agree with Ricky. We have to do it." "Brandon and Jay, what do you two think about this?" I asked, trying to get their input as well. "Even though I'm not here all of the time, I don't see any problem with this," Brandon told me. "Me neither," Jay added. "Dad, I think as far as any of us are concerned," Danny added, "we'll help anybody who needs it." The others were all nodding their heads in agreement. "Like I said, I don't know much about this boy and you boys may have to be more careful about what you do together, until we learn more about him. I'm not sure if you might have to stop your intimate times together, but you'll at least need to be more careful and lock your doors when you can't hold off." "We know, Pop," Jay added. "We'll be careful, but who knows, he may fit in just fine." "That is a possibility, but I want you to allow him to make the first move, if there is one, and please don't pressure him into anything.' "You know we wouldn't do that, Pop," Brandon answered. "You've taught us all well and we'll let him decide what he wants to do, if anything." "Thanks, boys, I guess I just needed to hear how you felt about this," I told them. "I was pretty sure I knew how you were going to respond, but I just needed to be certain. I would also like for all of you to be here when he arrives. It might make him feel more at ease if you introduce yourselves, explain who you are, why you're here and let him know that he's welcomed. Then I'll let him choose from the three remaining rooms and you can help us clean it up and move him in. Is everyone all right with that?" They all nodded yes and then went back to what they were doing. I went back to my office and immediately called Sally. "Sally, it's Josh again," I announced, after she answered her phone. "You can bring him over any time." "Oh, thank you, Josh," she gushed. "I knew I could count on you." "You'll have to thank all four boys this time," I added, "because they were the ones who convinced me to take him in. I wouldn't do this without their support and approval." "Did I hear you correctly?" she asked, slightly befuddled. "Did you say FOUR boys?" "I did and I'm sorry if I confused you," I explained. "I was including the boys' friends, Jay and Brandon. They've become like part of this family now too, so I included them on this decision as well." "Oh, I remember them from the parties," she responded. "They're both really sweet young men." "They most certainly are," I agreed. "Thank you, Josh, and we'll see you in a few. Thank the boys for me too," she added, before hanging up. It was less than a half hour later before we heard a car pull into the driveway, and shortly after that, the doorbell rang. The boys came flying from all directions, as I opened the door to greet our visitors. "Hi, Sally. Won't you please come in and join us?" They entered the house and we moved to the living room. The new boy eyed the four boys, looking confused about who they were. Sally must have told him I had two foster sons and he probably was wondering how they had multiplied. "Josh, boys, this is Dustin Kowalski. Dustin, this is Mr. Currie, Danny, Ricky and two of their friends." "Hi, Dustin," I greeted him. "Welcome to our home. By the way, the blond is Brandon and the redhead is Jay. They're part of the family too and they'll be around a lot." The boys all said hello to Dustin, shaking his hand and welcoming him to our home. "How old are you?" Danny asked. "Fifteen," Dustin answered curtly. "Well, Brandon and I are fourteen and Ricky and Jay are thirteen. I think we'll all get along great." "Do you play any sports, Dustin?" Danny wanted to know. "Yeah, I do," Dustin answered, simply. "Which ones?" Danny pressed. "I wrestled and played soccer and baseball at my old school," Dustin informed him. "Great. We all play baseball and Brandon and I also play soccer. Ricky and Jay are going to tryout for the modified team this year, as well. The rest of us play basketball during the winter, though. What position do you play on the soccer team?" "I was the sweeper." "Brandon and I play midfield and Ricky and Jay want to be strikers." "I guess we could almost form our own team," Brandon added. "Yeah, I guess we could," Dustin shot back, unenthused. I let the boys get to know each other for a few minutes, but Dustin never really said much. The others seemed to be doing most of the talking, so I felt maybe I should bail them out. "Dustin," I interrupted, "how would you like to go upstairs and pick out your bedroom. We have three empty rooms and you can select any one." "Yeah, okay," he muttered. It was obvious he wasn't much of a talker, but we got him to follow us as we climbed the stairs to the second floor. Dustin was about 5' 8" tall, had brown hair, hazel eyes and was quite sturdily built. In fact, he was quite solid and I didn't see any fat on him, just muscles, so I thought he must work out to be in that kind of shape. I was just hoping this powerful young man wasn't the aggressive type or didn't have a bad temper. The boys were eager to show him the three vacant rooms. After looking them all over, I could tell he was most interest in the largest of the rooms, and one that had belonged to one of my daughters when she was still at home. The thing was, I think he was disturbed by it's feminine appearance. Although the walls were painted white, it had a pink border, just under the ceiling, with pink curtains and there were two pictures on opposite walls. One was of a mermaid sitting on a rock, surrounded by water, and the other was of a unicorn, standing under a rainbow. After I got over my initial shock that he might be interested in this particular room, I thought I'd make his choice a bit easier. "Dustin, no matter which room you select, we can paint or paper it, however you desire. We'll also get new curtains for the window and you can select your own pictures to decorate with." That seemed to do the trick and he began to brighten up. "In that case, do you mind if I take this one?" he asked, timidly. "Not at all. I think this will work out just fine," I advised him. I went on to tell him we could talk about how he wanted to fix it up and then go out and shop for the appropriate supplies during the week. That's when he truly began to release his apprehension about the room's current appearance. He seemed both relieved and satisfied by my offer, as we went back downstairs. "We just came back from a three-week vacation," Ricky told him, as they walked down the stairs. "Dad took all four of us and we had a really great time." "Yeah, I know. Mrs. Swartout said that was why I had to stay with her this past week. We had to wait for you to get back home. I guess my timing wasn't very good. A couple of weeks earlier and I could have gone on vacation with you." That was the most I'd heard him say at one time, so far, so maybe selecting his room was helping him to loosen up a little. "Don't worry about it, Dustin," Ricky responded. "We're going to be going on more trips. Dad's already told us he'll be taking us on another vacation next summer." "I hope I'm still here then," Dustin muttered, before adding, "but I doubt it." "Why?" Danny asked. "You'd have to screw up pretty bad to get thrown out of here. Dad will forgive you for a lot of mistakes and you'll probably have to get arrested and be confined to jail or juvy hall to not be here next summer." "We'll see," Dustin countered, dryly, "but I haven't had much luck like that." "You will here," Ricky added. "Just don't screw up." "I'll try not to then," Dustin remarked, with a slight touch of humor. While the boys continued their conversation, Sally and I stepped into the living room, where we could talk privately. "Josh, I will probably get criticized for giving you so many boys so quickly, if the state audits my department," she began, "but this isn't an average home." "Oh, I'd agree with you on that. We're far from average," I teased. "I look at it this way," she explained. "I have homes with two or three of their own children, who have also taken in one or two foster children, so I don't think this is so unusual, except that you're not biologically related to any of the boys." I did see her point along those lines. "Besides," she continued, "I've seen what remarkable progress you've made and I have no problems with bending the state guidelines in your situation. I can do that, seeing I'm the one who makes these local decisions and I'll deal with the state bureaucrats when the time comes." "Sally, I hate to argue with you," I countered, "but it hasn't been my progress. I've thought about this a lot and concluded it wouldn't have worked out so well if Ricky hadn't been my first foster son. Seeing he knew me from school and felt a strong connection to me, probably from being sent to my office so much, he worked out fine. And then I think I have him to thank for making sure Danny fit in so well. I think whatever he shared with Danny about me helped him adjust more readily." "And now you have two of them to help you with the next one," she added, hoping I wasn't about to back out now. I wasn't, but I was willing to make her squirm for a while thinking about it, before I took her off the hook. In the other room, the boys were continuing to get to know each other a little better. "You guys seem pretty nice," Dustin told them. "Thanks for making me feel better. It's not always easy to fit into someplace new." "Don't worry about that here," Ricky let him know. "Dad's really a great guy and you'll like him. We'll all get along, too." "You call Mr. Currie Dad?" Dustin asked, with a look of shock, maybe even horror, upon his face. "Yeah. We asked him if we could and he told us it was okay," Ricky assured him. "You can call him that too, if you want, or you can call him Pop, like Brandon and Jay do. That's only because they have their own dads too." "That's really cool," Dustin told them, suddenly showing a small spark of life. "I've had to call my old foster parents Mr. & Mrs. So and So or some would let me call them by their first names, but I never really felt like I belonged in any of their homes." "Pop's a great guy," Jay added. "Sometimes I wish I lived here too." "Well, I hope this works out then, but I don't expect I'll be around here for very long?" "Why?" Jay asked, confused. "Cuz that's the way things seem to work for me," Dustin replied simply, since he didn't want to tell him why he really said that. "So where's his wife?" he asked, trying to change topics. "She died a few years ago, but Dad has four grown children, from his marriage. He said we're going to see them over the holidays this year, some at Thanksgiving and some at Christmas. He's told them about us and I'm sure he'll let them know you're here now, too." "So they don't live close by?" he followed. "Nah, Dad says they all live quite far away and have their own lives and families now," Ricky responded. "I see," was all Dustin could comment. "Come on, let's go outside and play some ball," Danny suggested. "I got a new soccer ball for my last birthday." The boys popped their heads in the living room and informed me they were going out to kick the soccer ball around, just before they all tore out the door. I could see them passing the ball around on the side yard, and they seemed to be having fun. While the boys were out playing, Sally filled me in on the important facts of Dustin's life in foster care. During this time, I discovered that Dustin had a rough existence over the past few years and there were indications to believe he might be gay or bi. If he is able to get past his bitterness over his past life, he could fit in well with the others. "Josh, I hate to drop off another boy and run," Sally apologized, "but I have other things I need to take care of. Before I leave, though, I feel I need to tell you once more what a terrific job you're doing here and thank you for everything you've done for the boys, and for me." "Sally, like I've said before, I haven't really done that much," I reiterated. "Josh Currie, you stubborn old coot," she teased. "One of these days I'm going to get you to finally admit how much progress you've made here. You're modesty is cute, but a bit tedious at time." "It's not modesty," I informed her, "when it's the truth." Realizing that was the best she was going to be able to do, Sally thanked me once more, said good-bye to the boys and then left. We all waved at her, until she drove out of sight. Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 30 -- The Transition Period. After Sally left, the boys came back inside with me, so they could give Dustin the complete tour of the house. Before they started, Danny informed him that soccer physicals were going to be on Wednesday, if he wanted to play. "Yeah, I do," Dustin told them, and then they were off. By the time they finished, it was getting late, so I took all of the boys out to eat, one final time. It was not only a nice way to end our three weeks together, but it was also a great way to welcome Dustin into the family. I took them to one of my favorite places, which I had frequented regularly when I was alone, but hadn't been to for a while. "Josh, it's nice to see you again," the owner greeted me as we walked in. "Are you bringing some of your students on a pre-school outing?" "No, Tony, I'm not," I informed him, grinning. "These three are my sons and the other two are their good friends and also like sons to me." "Oh, I'm sorry," Tony apologized. "I thought your children had all grown up and moved away." "No need to feel bad about it Tony," I assured him, "all my biological children are living on their own quite a ways from here, but these are my foster sons." "That's fantastic," he offered, as a way of making amends. "I hope these young men realize how fortunate they are." "We do," they all responded, with the exception of Dustin. I think he was still trying to see how things were going to go. After we finished eating, we drove Brandon and Jay back home to their families. When we arrived at each one, that set of parents would rush out to greet their son, and there were plenty of hugs and kisses to go around. Both boys got a little misty eyed when it came time to part, acting more like one of us was moving across country. After having their parents thank me numerous times, we drove back home to settle in for the evening. Danny and Ricky helped Dustin clean up his room, make his bed and get comfortable. Once they finished, I told them to take their showers and then they could come down to watch some television with me. I informed Dustin that he could use my shower tonight, but we'd have to work out a bathroom schedule once school started. Ricky quickly claimed the bathroom he and Danny shared, so Danny went down and showered in the bathroom on the ground floor. He didn't want to arouse Dustin's suspicion, if he and Ricky showered together. When the boys came to join me, Ricky was the last one to arrive and he was immediately dismayed to discover Danny and Dustin sitting on either side of me. Not to be outdone, he came over and plopped down in my lap. Dustin stared at him for a minute and then started laughing. "It's sure is nice to see they feel comfortable enough to use you as a chair," he teased. "I would have never dared to do that in any of my old foster homes." "You certainly don't have to feel that way here," I told him. "I won't treat any of you any differently than I would have, had you been born into my family." "Thanks," Dustin added, with a grin, "I like that." Impressed that he was finally starting to allow himself the opportunity to fit in, so I thought I'd speed up the process a bit. Without him noticing what I was up to, I put my arm around his shoulder, so I could pull him against me. I wanted him to know that he wasn't too big or too old for me to show him a little affection, either. Once he felt the pressure from my arm, he took the hint and slid a little closer and we stayed that way until the final program ended. As the other two were getting ready to head upstairs to bed, Dustin asked me if he could stay behind for a few minutes, so we could talk. I told Dustin that would be fine and then gave Danny and Ricky a kiss good night on their foreheads, before sending them off to bed. Dustin observed our behavior, but didn't say anything about it, which I thought was a good sign. "Did Mrs. Swartout tell you about why I got kicked out of my last foster home?" he asked, slightly nervous, as soon as he heard Danny and Ricky head up the steps. "Not everything," I replied, "but she did fill me in about a little of what she knew about your life in foster care." "So she told you why I got kicked out of my last place?" he pressed, trying to gauge my reaction. "She did say you and your foster brother were caught in a somewhat compromising position," I responded, without reacting or making it sound too bad. "And it doesn't bother you, I mean about what we were doing?" he followed, somewhat shocked and relieved. "She never gave me details, but I assumed it was something sexual," I lied, trying to make it appear that Sally tried to keep his secret as best she could. "Yeah, it was something like that," he concurred, without looking me in the eye. "We were kind of naked and, oh shit this is embarrassing," he blurted out. "You don't have to give me the details, if you don't want," I told him. "I think I get the picture." "You probably do," he agreed, "but I'm not gay," he quickly added. "No one said you were," I informed him. "Just because you do things with another male doesn't mean you're gay. I think a majority of the guys who have ever lived have tried something with another male at one time or another, and the ones who didn't were most likely extremely timid, overly paranoid, lacked a sense of adventure or any combination of those things." "Gee, I didn't know that," he admitted. "So it doesn't bother you?" "Nothing I heard would make me change my mind about having you live with us," I quickly advised him. I made sure I answered him without hesitation, to show him I didn't have to think about my answer first. "It won't matter to the other boys either, although the only way they'll ever know about any of that is if you tell them. The boys are very open and very understanding about almost everything. You're not going to having any problem about things like that here." "Thanks," he told me. "I feel better now." With that, I also gave him a hug and kissed him on the forehead, to convince him he wouldn't be treated any differently than the others. However, he did blush a bit when I did that. "Now, off to bed with you," I suggested. "Do you remember how to get to your room?" "Yeah, I can find my way," he assured me. "Good night." When he reached the top landing, Danny and Ricky were waiting for him. "Is everything okay?" Ricky asked, concerned that there might be a problem. "Yeah, everything's good. I think I've finally landed in a pretty cool place," Dustin observed. "I guess this might be the best break I've have gotten yet!" "You didn't sound that happy earlier," Ricky observed. "It sounded almost like you weren't planning to stick around." "It wasn't that," Dustin informed him. "It was just that I wasn't sure if Mr. Currie was going to want me around, if he heard about why I didn't have a place to live any more." "I'm sure that whatever happened there wasn't that bad," Danny told him, "but even if it was, Dad will more than likely forgive you, if you talk it out with him." "That's what happened," Dustin admitted. "He was actually pretty cool about it. You know, I think I'm going to like it here." "You'll probably believe that even more after you've been here for a while," Danny emphasized. "Ricky got tossed around a bit like you, before he came here, but we wouldn't trade Dad and this place for anything." Dustin was starting to smile again. "Thanks guys, you've all made me feel really good since I've been here, especially after everything that's happened to me this past week." "Look, we're all brothers now," Danny added, "even Jay and Brandon. We take care of each other and help each other out. You're part of our family now, so you're just like the rest of us." "This is going to be better than I thought," Dustin admitted. "I've never had any 'real' brothers before, just kids who were children of my foster parents or other foster kids. In fact, I can't ever remember being part of a real family. I've been in foster homes since I can remember." "We're sorry to hear that," Ricky added, from his heart, "but you're part of a family now." "Thanks. I felt really bad when I got kicked out of my old home" he admitted, "but I'm beginning to think my old foster-dad did me a huge favor -- even if he didn't mean to. This place is much better than there. Mrs. Swarthout kept telling me I'd really like this place, but I still wasn't sure. Now I know she was telling the truth, just from seeing how well you get guys get along with Mr. Currie and how much you care about each other." "Why do you keep calling him Mr. Currie?" Ricky asked. "You don't have to." "I know, but it is his name and I don't feel right calling him anything else," Dustin explained. "Maybe someday I can call him Dad, like you both do, but not just yet." "Don't worry. Dad probably won't say anything about it," Danny informed him, "but it's going to seem odd if he's telling everyone you're his son too and you keep calling him Mr. Currie." Dustin was surprised by Danny's comment and thought about it for a second. He might just have a point, but he still couldn't think about doing anything else just yet -- especially not after so many years of using the Mr. and Mrs. moniker engrained in him. He could probably call him Josh, because he'd called some of his other foster parents by their first names, but this place was different and he thought that would be too informal, maybe even disrespectful. He'd stick with Mr. Currie for now, until he found something everybody could live with. Now that he felt assured he wasn't going to get kicked out of here too, he went to his room and turned in for the night. He never told me, and I never heard about how well he slept that night, but he must have done all right. He looked plenty refreshed when he came down to have breakfast the following morning. After he finished eating, I talked to Dustin about his ideas for fixing up his room. Before he decided, I had him take a look at both Danny and Ricky's rooms first, to get some ideas. After moving back and forth between the two, and taking a few peeks into my room, he finally made up his mind. "Mr. Currie, I think I've decided that I'd like to do my room kind of like Ricky's, with wood on the lower half and wallpaper above it." "That will be fine," I replied, "so we'll drive to the home improvement store after lunch, so you can pick out the type of wood and determine how dark you want it, before you select which wallpaper pattern you'd like to go with it." "You're going to let me pick all that stuff out?" he asked, amazed. "Well, it's going to be your room and you're going to have to be happy with it, so why not?" I responded. "But it's your house," he countered. "Correction. It's OUR house," I informed him, getting a smile in return. Slowly, he was beginning to realize this was his home too. For the rest of the morning, the boys went out to kick the soccer ball around again, trying to get ready for their season to start. Dustin asked them a whole bunch of questions about the school system, teachers and what the classes were like, and he seemed surprised to learn I was the middle school principal. "No way!" he shot back. "He's too nice to be a principal. They're supposed to be mean, to keep everyone in line." "Dad keeps everyone in line," Ricky added, "but he does it in a nice way. I was lucky he was my principal or I would have been in BIG trouble." After that comment, the boys went on to fill Dustin in about what it was like for them to attend my school, especially as my sons. He listened to their every word and questioned them about certain things, but I think he came away with a better understanding about the relationship we'd established. After they came in to eat, we made our little trip to the store, so Dustin could pick out everything he wanted. Once he made his final selections, we drove home and I called my contractor, to arrange for him to come over and measure. I told him this needed to be done as quickly as he could, so he could call the store and let them know the exact amounts of material that would be needed. He promised he'd come over the next afternoon to do the preliminaries and would start the work at the end of the week, if the store could get the supplies to him in time. It seems everyone was happy and the plans were officially set in motion. We had a quiet dinner at home that evening and then I checked out Dustin's clothing situation, so I could determine what and how much he would need by the time school started. His clothing wasn't in that bad of condition, but you could tell it was inexpensive stuff, bought from a lower range retail store. I didn't want him having to wear those things to school, because I suspected he would draw some ridicule from wearing them, especially being the new kid. With that in mind, I announced I was going to take him shopping that evening, with Ricky and Danny quickly volunteered to serve as his fashion consultants. "This is really nice of you, Mr. Currie," Dustin told me, "but I don't need much." "Why don't you let me be the judge of that," I assured him, "because I know what the other kids will be like too. You must know starting in a new school is never easy, and I don't want to make it even harder on you, because you're standing out in the crowd, due to what you're wearing." He thanked me again and then listened as Danny and Ricky explained that I'd done the same thing for them, and then we drove to my favorite department store again. The boys helped Dustin select a variety of garments, some suitable for the fall and some for the winter months, and then they headed to the underwear section. "Me and Danny both wear this type," Ricky informed him, while holding up a package of bikini briefs. "Do you want some too?" Dustin raised his eyebrows and looked at both of them oddly, before replying. "You're joking, right?" he asked. Both boys shook their heads in response. "Sorry, but that's not my style," Dustin informed them. "I'm a boxer type." After saying that, he selected several pairs of boxers and a package of boxer briefs, just to give them a try. After that, we picked out a pair of hiking boots for him, for our trips out in the woods, and then headed to the checkouts. After paying for everything, we drove home. "Thanks, Mr. Currie," Dustin told me in the car. "That was really nice of you to do that for me." "No problem, Dustin," I replied. "If I think you need something, then I'll get it for you. No big deal." I could see him smiling, through my rearview mirror, as he took another look through his packages. The following day, Wednesday, I took all of the boys for their soccer physicals. While they were doing that, I ran over to my school and got a little work done. I knew they were also going to be having meetings with their coaches, to get their tryout schedules and go over some other basic information, so it gave me time to get many of my things organized at work. The boys were all excited when I picked them up. Not only because of what happened with soccer that morning, but because Dustin thought he might be able to make friends with some of the other guys trying out for soccer. It must have gone well. Not only that, but the boys had also given Dustin a brief tour of the entire school, so he'd get off to a better start on the first day of classes. "So what do you think of it?" I asked him. "It's kind of old, but it's in pretty good shape," he began. "Actually, it's cleaner and nicer than the school I went to last year. I think this will be okay." I was glad he thought so. Once we got home, we all started planning for school to begin the following Monday. So far, everything was going fairly well and the boys were getting along fine, which took away another of my previous concerns. I was glad about that, as I had enough on my plate, just with mentally and physically preparing myself to head back to work. That night, I also added Dustin to the computer and gave him his own sign-on and email address. He thanked me for that and informed me that he was never allowed to use the computer at his last foster home. That was just for the family. Now I understood just how left out he must have felt. Nothing had been happening between the boys, sexually that is, as they were all sort of waiting to see what the other was up to. No one wanted to make the first move and they were all kind of feeling each other out. They'd make little comments here and there, to see how the others were going to react, but it all kind of passed without much ado. All of that changed Thursday night. Based on what I had previously told him about the other two, Dustin decided to take a chance and tell Danny and Ricky about why he was kicked out of his old foster home. "So anyway, my old foster dad came into the bedroom I shared with his son and caught his boy giving me a hummer." "I guess he didn't appreciate that, huh?" Danny asked, rhetorically. "Not much," Dustin responded, unnecessarily. "That won't be a problem here," Ricky told him. "Dad doesn't care if we do things like that, as long as we don't force anyone into it." "Really? Mr. Currie knows what you guys do?" he asked, totally blown away. "Heck, he's taught us about sex, whenever we've asked him questions, and we usually go around the house naked at night, after our showers," Ricky informed him. "We just haven't done it since you've been here, because we didn't want to make you uncomfortable." "Really? You go naked in front of him?" Dustin still thought they might be pulling his leg. "Yeah, we did it almost all vacation," Danny concurred. "Even Jay and Brandon." "No way! They even went naked in front of Mr. Currie too?" Dustin was almost convinced this was all some sort of a joke. "Yeah, they are just like his sons too and they don't care," Ricky added. "We'll even prove it to you tonight. You'll see, and he won't even care." "If you say so," Dustin responded, still not convinced. "So you're gay Danny?" Dustin asked him, changing the topic. Danny nodded. "How about you Ricky?" "I'm not sure, but I don't mind fooling around for fun," Ricky admitted, drawing a giggle from Dustin in response. "Actually, I think I might be bi," Ricky continued. "That's when you like both guys and girls." "I know what bi means," Dustin assured him, while chuckling that Ricky thought he had to explain it to him. "What about you?" Ricky asked him. "I really think I'm straight," Dustin informed them. "Even though I did some things with my old foster brother, and I think we both kind of enjoyed it, but I think if I found a girl I was serious about, I might not do that any more." He studied the boys' reactions to what he said, and when he saw they were fine with it, he added a little more. "You know, it sure feels good when you don't have to keep secrets from the people you're around the most," he admitted. "We know," Danny agreed. "It's been the same for us. That's only one of the advantages about living here, though. It just keeps getting better all the time." "Are you and Ricky going to tell Brandon and Jay?" Dustin asked them. "That's not our decision. That's up to you," Danny responded. "If you want them to know, you'll have to tell them yourself and, if they want you to know their preference, they'll have to tell you. We don't tell anything about the others unless they tell us to." "You sounded just like someone else when you said that," Dustin teased. "I guess you mean Dad," Danny responded, getting a nod in return. "Then I thank you," Danny quipped back, "and I'll take it as a compliment." "It was meant as one," Dustin confirmed, "and you can tell Brandon and Jay about me, if you want, or I'll tell them next time they're here." "Well, that will be this weekend," Ricky informed him. "I think they're both staying over Friday night and most of Saturday. They really had to beg their parents this time, since they'd been gone with us for three weeks. It took some work, but they finally got them to give in by telling them they'd spend Saturday night and all day Sunday at home. Now, you can tell them whenever we're not playing ball, of one kind or another." Dustin smiled and thanked his brothers, and then they went out to practice their soccer skills. That evening, I sat keeping an eye on the boys, as they spent most of their time after dinner on the computer. Needless to say, I was fairly impressed with how this transition period had been going. As the hours passed, I sent the boys off to take their showers. Dustin came back first, clad only in his boxers, but then Danny and Ricky joined us, without a stitch of clothing on. I raised my eyebrows and just looked at them. They broke out in hysterics at my reaction. "I guess you boys must have discussed this earlier?" I asked, getting nods from both boys. "Damn, they were right!" Dustin agreed. "I didn't believe them when they told me they went around naked after their showers and you didn't care." "What's to care about?" I asked him. "We're alone, no one is forced to do it and the scenery ain't bad either," I added, giving him a little wink. "Yeah, they are both kind of handsome... for guys," he added, as an afterthought. "And you're no slouch either, in the looks department," I informed him, "and it appears that you must work out, to keep in that kind of shape." He smiled at my acknowledgment of that point. "Yeah, I exercise whenever I can and try to lift some weights when they're available," he confessed. "They have a weight room at the school, which all the teams get to use," I informed him, "so I guess you'll probably be spending some of your time there." "Probably," he told me. Even though he watched Danny and Ricky parade around naked the rest of the evening, Dustin kept his boxers on. I was even a little surprised that he felt comfortable enough to even do that, since he'd only been here a short time, but I wasn't convinced he'd ever be ready to do more than that. I hope the other boys wouldn't be too disappointed, if he didn't follow their lead. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.