Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:28:20 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 8, chapters 25 - 26 The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 8 - by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 25 -- Sprinting Toward the Finish Line. Thursday afternoon I picked up the Yukon and drove it over to get Jesse, however, he didn't recognize me when I drove in. As I got out of the Yukon and walked toward him, he grinned and then looked at the SUV. I could immediately tell he approved. He was very excited as he climbed in beside me and then spent the whole trip between the elementary and middle schools checking it out. Andrew had a similar problem of not noticing us drive in, so I sent Jesse to get him. I watched as a grinning Jesse walked up to Andrew and momentarily startled him. Andrew obviously wasn't looking for Jesse, because he hadn't seen the van pull in. I saw Jesse point toward the Yukon, to advise Andrew as to how he arrived, and then they made their way toward me. Andrew had a lot of questions to ask about the Yukon and where I got it, before he spent the rest of his time looking it over. He and Jesse sat in the middle seat, where they could investigate more easily, so I didn't interfere with their visual exploration. The only noise that could be heard on the way home was the hum of the engine, but there was a great deal of movement, as Jesse and Andrew pointed out various features to each other. Of course, once the high school boys arrived home and saw the Yukon in the driveway, they wanted to know what was up. After explaining to them that I had traded in the van for it, they raced back outside to check it out for themselves. However, I wouldn't let any of them take it out for a test drive, even though several of them were pestering me to do so. They weren't happy about my decision and even asked if they could use the Yukon to go to school the next day, by suggesting I could drop Andrew and Jesse using one of the other vehicles. I declined their offer, which displeased them even more, but I would let each of them have his turn driving it in time. Friday seemed to fly by and that night I made sure everyone got his things together, so we could go visit Dustin the following day. In the middle of all this preparation, I received a phone call. "Hello," I answered, after picking up the receiver. "Hi, Dad," the voice on the other end responded. "Frankie, it's so great to hear from you," I told him. "To what do I owe this honor?" I heard him try to stifle a little laugh. "You make it sound like I never call you," he protested, "but I do when I can. I even had to get special permission to call home this time, because it was kind of an emergency. We found out a couple of weeks ago that our graduation ceremony from basic training will be on Friday, May 14th, but I forgot to tell you. I really meant to the last time I called, but I had so much else to discuss with you that it just kind of slipped my mind. I really do feel bad about not letting you know this sooner, so if you can't come, I'll understand," he added, as his effort to take me off of the hook. "Not come?" I shot back. "I'd never hear of doing such a thing. I will be there, but I'm not sure whom else I might allow to join me. What time will the ceremony be held and where?" "It will be held in one of the theaters on base at 10 a.m.," Frankie informed me. "Are you sure you're really going to be able to come? I mean... you don't really have much time to make plans." "Frankie, I'll work things out, so don't worry about it," I assured him. "I'll call tomorrow and start making arrangements and I'll see you on your graduation day. Do you think you'll be able to spend any time with us that afternoon or over the weekend?" "Oh, yeah," Frankie answered. "We won't be starting A.I.T. (advanced individual training) until Monday, so we'll be free immediately after the ceremony. We're not moving into our new barracks until sometime Sunday afternoon, so I'll be free until then, unless they have a bed check each night." "Well, I'm glad to hear we'll get to spend some time together, even if there might be some limits to it," I replied. "However, we'll have to leave around noon on Sunday, so we'll be able to get back here in time for school on Monday. That's one of the reasons I'm not sure which boys, if any, will be coming with me. We'll have to leave after school on Thursday, to get there on time and not risk missing the ceremony, so they'd have to be absent from school on Friday." "I understand, and none of you have to feel you've got to come," Frankie told me. "I know, but I wouldn't miss this for the world. I'm sure some of your brothers, if not all, would like to be there for you too, so we'll see what happens. The only thing stopping me from bringing all of them is that your graduation is very close to their finals, and I'm not sure they can afford to miss any time now. There will be research papers and projects that will be coming due and they'll be in the middle of their review classes. "To be absolutely honest with you," I continued, "I'm not sure who wouldn't suffer by taking the extra time away, even if it's only a single day. You have to remember, Cole, Trey, Nick and Vinnie are all seniors and can't afford to slip now, and Dion and Graham are juniors, and the grades they get for these classes will affect which colleges might be willing to accept them. I'm not saying they can't come, but I'll have to think this through. I promise that I, and possibly some others, will be there." "I know you will, Dad, and thanks," Frankie added. That basically ended our phone call, but now I had some more planning to do. Saturday morning I got everyone up early, so we could set off to spend time with Dustin. The trip took just under three hours, so we arrived before noon. It was kind of unusual that we could all fit into one vehicle, but it was kind of nice too. Jake rode in front beside me, while Cole, Graham, Trey, Dion, Vinnie, Nick, Sammy, Andrew, and Jesse all rode in the back two seats. It was a little cramped, but the boys didn't seem to mind, because they all wanted to ride in our newest vehicle. They said we could always use the Suburban too, once we got to Dustin's campus, if we need more space. It might work to our advantage that I'd let him take it back to school with him the last time he was home. When we got there, we stopped at Dustin's dorm to pick him up and then took him out to lunch with us. Dustin fell in love with the Yukon too and claimed it was much nicer than the Suburban. I suspected at least part of the reason he felt this way was because the Suburban was a few years older and each of the boys seem to think newer is better. Everyone squeezed in the back, and Dustin held Jesse on his lap, in an attempt to get to know his newest brother better. Jesse thought the attention was pretty special and ate it up, while he also earned a deeper appreciation for this older brother. After lunch, we headed to the mall, to let Dustin pick out a couple of things for his birthday. We told him he'd get his big gifts when we held his party, after he came home for the summer. He was more than satisfied with that and picked out an assortment of name-brand clothes, so he'd have something new to wear for the final month of his academic year. Once we completed our jaunt through the mall, we dropped Dustin off at his dorm, so he could change for dinner. I then took the others to find a place where we'd spend the night. I figured we'd get our rooms now, since we also needed to clean up and change, because we had dressed quite casually for the trip. Once we'd all had a chance to wash up and put on something more appropriate, we picked Dustin up again and set off for the restaurant. It was a nice place, although nothing too fancy. Dustin said it was a favorite place for students to bring their parents when they came to visit and several of his friends had recommended it to him. They told him it was very nice and the food was excellent, which we soon verified, and we all enjoyed a very special fare. During the evening, Dustin chatted with all of the boys, but he spent a greater share of his time with Jesse. When he asked Jesse what he liked to do best, Jesse pantomimed riding a bicycle. Dustin understood his meaning and tried to find out more, so Andrew took over and explained about their almost daily adventures on the bikes. Jesse was glowing as he listened to Andrew fill Dustin in about their activities and it was obvious how much these outings meant to him. The cutest thing happened when Dustin asked Jesse whom he liked best, because we all assumed he'd point toward Andrew. However, after looking around the entire table, he moved his arm around, until he had pointed toward each of us, one at a time, including Dustin. This made us all crack a smile, before Dustin wrapped his arms around Jesse and gave him a big hug of approval. I think we all appreciated knowing Jesse loved and felt a special connection to each of us. After things settled down, we left the restaurant and I took everyone out to see a movie. Prior to going, we all agreed to let Dustin select what we would see and he seemed pleased by this simple gesture. Going to a movie was never an easy process for us and it was a rare occurrence that a single boy had total say in the matter, so Dustin enjoyed this treat. When the movie ended, we went out for some ice cream, before I told them it was time to head back to our rooms for the evening. Dustin asked if I'd take him by his dorm so he could pick up a few things, because he wanted to spend the night with us. I told him it would be pretty crowded, which prompted him to ask which of us were sharing rooms together. I advised him that Dion, Trey, Nick and Vinnie had asked to be in one room, while Cole, Graham, Little Ricky and Sammy requested another. I then went on to tell him that Jesse, Andrew, Jake and I were in the last room. After hearing this, Dustin explained he was willing to ask permission from the guys in the room in which he wanted to stay, if it was all right with me. When I agreed to his request, he whispered to Jesse and Andrew. "Do you mind if I share a bed with you?" Both boys seemed excited by this idea and quickly agreed to let him do this. Once he had their approval, Dustin turned to Jake and I. "How about it? Do you mind if I share your room and bunk in with the boys?" he asked. Of course, we had no problem with this, so we took Dustin to pick up a few items, before we returned to our rooms. The five of us did stay up a little longer, so we could talk and watch some television before turning in, but I got the biggest kick out of watching Dustin with the two boys. When we decided to watch television, Dustin sat on their bed, with his back propped up against the headboard. Before long, he had a boy tucked under each arm and cuddled up tightly against him. Jake and I did the same on our bed, but we spent more time watching them, than what was on the tube, because it was more entertaining. It was a picture of pure contentment. When we did finally decide to go to sleep, the boys informed Dustin that he had to sleep in the middle, so they could both be close to him. This didn't bother Dustin in the least. In fact, I think he had hoped it would turn out that way. The boys were happy, Dustin was satisfied and Jake and I were pleased to see them getting so close. Of course, Andrew and Dustin had some contact before, but never quite on this level. I know Andrew always admired Dustin and Dustin thought the world of Andrew, but I think Dustin felt Andrew had Sammy, Graham and Cole to rely on, so he didn't push to get close to him when Andrew was younger. I do remember Dustin was there for Andrew after the incident in Houston, where Andrew was nearly molested, and he went out of his way to make sure Andrew didn't have any ill effects from that traumatic event. However, after Andrew had dealt with the lingering effects of that day, they had drifted apart, but now he was back. I think Dustin was a bit remorseful about not having spent more time with Andrew and this probably affected how he was dealing with Jesse. After hearing about Jesse's past, I'm sure Dustin just wanted to make certain Jesse felt loved, rather than abandoned. He made it his personal goal to show Jesse that he had many family members who would always be there when needed, especially him. This just made me even prouder of this special son. The next morning we got up, dressed and went to church, after which we all went out for brunch. The boys ate well, and then we went back to collect our things and check out, before taking Dustin back to his dorm. Jesse and Andrew gave him a special good-bye, as each hugged and kissed him affectionately on the cheek, before everyone else made sure to bid him a fond farewell too. After Jake and I said good- bye to Dustin, we loaded up the Yukon and set off for home. The trip went by quickly and we were home well before dinnertime. After unloading our things, the high school boys announced they had posters to finish, so they went off to work on them. These posters were to announce the date and time for the organizational meeting of the gay-straight alliance and they wanted to finish them, so they could hang them around school tomorrow. They hoped to get the alliance started before the school year came to an end, which would happen in about a month. They thought it would be best to have the officers elected and everything ready to go when school started again in the fall. I told them their intentions were admirable and looked forward to seeing what they had planned. After they left to do their thing, I set about getting some of my own chores done. A few minutes later, Andrew and Jesse came up to me and asked if they could go for a bike ride, but this time they insisted I go with them. I told them I had to prepare dinner first, but Jake jumped into the discussion at that point and quickly took away my excuse, by volunteering to fix dinner for me. His offer put me on the spot and left me with no reason to deny their request. I knew it would look bad if I tried to think of another excuse for why I couldn't go with them, so I agreed to join them this time, which thrilled both. We all had to change first, to get into something more comfortable for this type of activity, and then we went out to get the bikes. I'm not sure whose bicycle I used, but the seat seemed awfully small and hard. I felt as if I were sitting on top of a picket fence. Unless my memory is playing tricks on me again, I think the bikes I used to ride had more comfortable seats than this. Anyway, the boys took me along one of the routes they liked to follow and I must admit it was a very beautiful ride. As we journeyed out even farther into the country, we passed scores of trees, hundreds of wild flowers, multiple pastures and fields and at one point we even pedaled along the upper bank of a ravine. Although there was a considerable drop off, it wasn't really dangerous, because there were guardrails along the roadway. That barrier was installed to prevent someone from hurtling down the embankment and into the creek at the bottom. Although the incline was fairly steep, possibly around a sixty or seventy degree angle, it was not a sheer drop to the bottom. I did warn the boys to be careful along this stretch, when they took this route in the future and they agreed they would. Eventually, we went as far as the boys planned to go, so we did a u-turn and came back along the opposite side of the roadway, until we reached home. The boys were elated I had gone out with them and each one hugged and kissed me in appreciation, after we put away our bikes. Right away, Jesse began indicating he wanted me to go with them again sometime and I readily agreed. The fact was, I found the ride lovely and stimulating, even though my butt was disagreeing. I was also sure the exercise was good for me too. I only had one small change to suggest before we did this again. Next time, I wanted to make sure Jake went with us. Not only did I want to include him in on this bonding experience, but I also thought he could benefit from the exercise too. The rest of the night we just took it easy. The older boys wanted to show me the posters they had made for the gay-straight alliance and I was excited to see what they'd done. Upon first glance, I found their work to be very creative. They had utilized a wide range of pictures of guys and girls they had cut out of magazines, to attract as many of their fellow students as they could. I was impressed with what I saw, so I was certain their organizational meeting would go well and they'd have the alliance up and running by fall. The following morning, those four high school boys were extremely excited about getting to school, so they could put their posters up. This eagerness was out of character for them, since very few of my boys were morning people or had this much energy after waking up. Most mornings I would have to keep pushing and prodding to keep them going, so they wouldn't be late for school. In contrast, this was a nice change of pace and I wished they would have something like this to excite them more often. When they finally arrived at school, each one set off in a different direction. They had already agreed where to put their posters and would hang them in areas they deemed as key locations. These were places where the traffic flow was the greatest or areas were students spent the largest percentage of their free time. They had identified these locations beforehand, during one of their many planning sessions, and had designed each poster specifically for the types of students whom would normally be found there. Although each poster announced when the initial organizational meeting would be held, they did so in a way that would most likely attract the types of students who would be seeing that particular poster. By hanging them up now, it would also give everyone enough time in between to be able to make plans to attend the meeting. Even though the boys had a very narrow focus on what they had to accomplish, since they were only worried about organizing the alliance, this was just the beginning of three very maddening weeks for me. First of all, besides conducting the normal, and hectic, end of the year activities, I also had to make plans to leave Thursday afternoon, to attend Frankie's graduation from basic training. The following week would be just as crazy for me with other school related issues, but on top of that, the college boys would be returning home as well. In addition to those things, I was also supposed to go out to the farms that weekend to see how things were going there. If that weren't enough, it was the same weekend I had planned to hold Dustin and Danny's birthday party. The extended family was going to come by on Sunday, since Dustin had agreed it would be best to hold one party for both of them. Since Danny was turning twenty-one this year, I was going to do the same thing for him as I'd done for Dustin. I was having my lawyer set it up so Danny would have complete control over the account I had established for him. I knew Danny wanted to become a pediatrician, so I expected he would use the money to help pay for his medical degree, but now it would be his choice as to how it was used. He was a very responsible young man, so I had no concerns about him squandering it, but I felt this would help him feel like the adult he had become. The weekend after that would be the high school graduation, so not only did I have to perform my duties as Superintendent of Schools, I also had to fulfill my role as father of several members of the graduating class. If that weren't mind-boggling enough, interspersed throughout the times in between, there would be additional meetings, awards dinners and other activities I would be involved in and required to attend, as well as my usual responsibilities at home. It would truly be a very trying time. To alleviate some of my burden for the month, I asked the high school boys to pick up Andrew and Jesse from school each day, because I wouldn't be able to leave work at the usual time. I would be staying later than normal and didn't want the younger boys to have to hang around their schools waiting for me. My drivers agreed to do as I requested, but only after I threatened to take away their driving privileges unless they did. They opposed this at first, because they thought it meant they would be stuck watching their brothers until I got home, but I assured them that would not be the case. . Once we had that settled, I told Andrew and Jesse that I was going to trust them to be on their own, so the older boys wouldn't have to watch them. This way, their brothers could still do the things they had planned. Immediately, Andrew wanted to know if he and Jesse could continue going out on their daily bike rides after they got home, which prompted me to address a few concerns with them. After we discussed in detail what would and wouldn't be allowed, both boys agreed to my demands. They promised to be very careful and be home by dinnertime, so I gave them my permission to continue their outings. The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 8 - by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 26 -- You're in the Army Now. The previous week had been so busy it seemed to fly by, so before I knew it, Thursday had arrived. I would be leaving for Missouri later in the day and was actually excited about seeing Frankie again. One of the things I was looking forward to was discovering what he would look like in his uniform. Maybe it is childish on my part, but I find it's true that there is something fascinating about guys in uniform. Not that I had a crush on Frankie or anything like that, but there was something sensual and alluring about seeing a military man in his dress uniform. Jake wasn't going to be able to go with me, because he couldn't get the time off from work, and the older boys were also staying home, because this was the crunch time of year for them. I thought it best they concentrate on their schoolwork and finals. I had agreed to let Andrew and Jesse go with me, because I didn't want to tie the others down with keeping an eye on them. This meant Jake would have to keep the high school boys under control, so they didn't try to take advantage of my being away. After lunch, I picked both boys up from their respective schools and we were on our way to the airport. I had driven the Grand Am today for a couple of reasons. First, we didn't need a big vehicle to make this trip and, second, I thought it best to leave the larger vehicles at home for family use. We had packed everything in the trunk the night before, so we didn't have to return home before we left. The trip to the airport was smooth and uneventful and we arrived in plenty of time for our flight. I wanted the boys to grab a quick bite to eat while we were waiting, because I doubted we'd be offered anything on the plane. With that in mind, I took them to a restaurant at the airport and we all managed to down a burger, fries and soda before we boarded. I felt that should hold us until we landed. This was Jesse's first flight and he was very excited about it. Andrew was an old pro on jets, so he spent a larger portion of his time explaining to Jesse what flying would be like and what he should expect. Jesse signaled me that he wanted to sit by the window, so he could see what was going on outside the plane. Neither Andrew nor I had any problems with this and Jesse was thrilled when I told him we would honor his request. When we were allowed to board the jet, I kept an eye on Jesse, mostly to catch his reactions. As we passed through the cabin door, his eyes bulged from their sockets when he saw how large the interior of the plane actually was. After containing his awe, I directed Jesse to the window seat and we were all anxious to get underway. Our seats were slightly behind the left wing, so once we were in the air, he would have a fairly decent view of the ground below. When the plane started to move, Jesse pressed his nose against the small portal and watched the ground go by. When the plane began to rise into the air, he momentarily looked away from the window and over at me, and I wasn't surprised to notice his eyes nearly popping from their proper place. He pointed at the window and I merely nodded in response, to let him know I understood his fascination, so he went back to peering through that transparent covering again. Jesse became even more intrigued as we climbed higher and continued to get either Andrew's or my attention, so he could share his moments of wonder. He spent much of the flight focused on the world below and once we leveled off, he signaled Andrew and I about the size of the various things we were passing over. He would hold his finger and thumb barely apart to show us how small everything looked. When he wanted to explain how the mighty rivers appeared to him, he removed one of his shoelaces and carefully arranged it on the flight tray. The trip lasted a couple of hours and then we touched down in St. Louis. After making our way to the baggage carousels, we collected our luggage and went to pick up the rental vehicle I had reserved. I would now have to drive from St. Louis to Fort Leonard Wood, which would take a couple of hours. I was driving along I-44 and about halfway to our destination, I stopped so we could eat. It was getting late and it had been a while since we last had anything, so the boys and I were all getting hungry again. After filling our tummies and making sure we relieved ourselves, we began the final leg of our journey. It was quite late by the time we got to our motel, so we went directly to the front desk to check in. Once I was given directions to our room, we retrieved our luggage and went to settle in. We turned on the television briefly, while we got comfortable, but I knew we wouldn't be staying up much later. After a half-hour or so of channel surfing, I turned the television off and tucked the boys into bed. I kissed them good night on their foreheads, and then went to the bathroom to clean up. I hopped into bed a short time later, as exhaustion began to overcome me as well. The next morning, I was up early and finished dressing before I woke the boys. After getting them bathed and clothed, we went out for breakfast, before heading to the base. After checking in at the gate, I asked permission to drive around, so we could see some more of the area. The M.P. retrieved a map and used a highlighter to trace the battalion location and other spots we would be allowed to visit. I knew better than to ignore his instructions, since he warned me access would be limited due to terrorist activities, so we kept to the designated areas. The base was obviously quite large, but it was also very nicely kept. The barracks for basic training almost resembled college dorms, at least on the exterior, and there were several movie theaters spread across the base. There were also other places for the trainees to hang out, which included the PX. That is short for Post Exchange. Actually, it's just a large store that sells nearly everything. As it approached the time for the ceremony to begin, we drove over to Baker Theatre and parked the car. After entering the auditorium, we found multiple military personnel who were there to direct us to our seats. All the visitor's seats were located in the sections on either side of the theater, so we got comfortable and waited patiently for the ceremony to begin. It was another twenty minutes before things actually got underway and it began with a small military band playing some very rousing renditions of Souza marches and other patriotic favorites. While the music was being played, the graduates marched in, looking splendid in their dress uniforms. They maneuvered down the rows of the center section, until they were in front of their designated seat, and then they faced forward and continued to stand at attention. They stayed that way through the playing of the National Anthem and invocation, and then the Senior Drill Instructor gave them the command to sit down. It was impressive as we watched them all lower themselves downward in unison. Once the trainees were in position and the noise from the spectators had died down, the Battalion Commander gave a brief greeting to everyone in attendance. After he finished his comments, he introduced the keynote speaker, the Post Commander. He was a one-star general and a very dignified looking man. Carefully, he placed his notes on the podium in front of him. It was a fairly typical address, about duty, honor and what lay ahead for these new soldiers, and thankfully it was also quite brief. After the general's comments were concluded, the awards were given out. An N.C.O. (non-commissioned officer) read off the name and rank of each trainee, followed by any award or awards he had earned. That person then walked across the stage, accepted his 'diploma,' followed by a handshake. After that, he was given any medals, ribbons or plaques he was due. I was more than pleased when Frankie's name was called, because it was announced that he was receiving multiple honors. Not only had he earned the highest score on the end of cycle PT (physical training) test, but he also qualified for his marksman's badge, which is the highest qualification for weapons, and had the third best individual score in his company doing this. He also earned a promotion, going from PVT Currie (private E-1, with no stripe) to PVT Currie (private E-2, with a single stripe), which was temporarily pinned on his sleeve. I was very proud of him, because only a handful of the graduating class had done as well, or better than Frankie, which earned them their promotions. Once all the graduation awards had been handed out, various cadre members were presented citations for achievement as well, before one final award was presented. It was announced that Bravo Company, Frankie's basic training unit, won a trophy for setting some kind of record for their end of cycle training. The company commander accepted the trophy on behalf of everyone and held it in the air, which elicited some sort of practiced cheer from those under him. The rhythmic chant must have lasted for thirty or forty seconds, but it was quite entertaining -- and loud. Once the ceremony was over, the graduates marched out of the auditorium, as they responded to an echoing cadence call offered by one of their drill sergeants, who stood just in front of the stage. Row by row they exited the building, only to reform again outside. They stood in formation until all of their friends and relatives were able to form in a horseshoe in front of them. At that point, they did another cadence chant, but this one was done to the tune, 'We Will Rock You' by Queen. They'd changed the lyrics to reflect the uniqueness of Bravo Company and it was quite amusing and well done. At that point, the Senior Drill Instructor made another announcement. "You men are free until twenty-one hundred hours, at which time you are to report back to your barracks." After saying this, he turned around to address the crowd. "For you civilians that is nine, zero, zero p.m." Those of us who had been in the military just chuckled at his comment, but I'm sure some of the others appreciated the clarification. Having shared this information, the company was dismissed and after Frankie wound his way through the mass of bodies, he came up to us. I reached out my hand to congratulate him, because I felt that wouldn't ruin his macho image, but he ignored my hand and wrapped me up in a mighty hug. "Hi, Dad," he greeted me. "I'm so glad you made it," he added, with a huge grin, which split his face from ear-to-ear. Once he broke his hold on me, he looked down at Andrew and scooped him up, so he could give his little brother an equally energetic embrace. While he was holding Andrew, he glanced down and noticed Jesse, and a confused expression crossed his face. "Is this Jesse?" he asked, since he'd never seen our newest addition. I had only told him about Jesse in a letter and during our brief conversations on the phone, so I was eager to introduce them. "Yes, it is. Jesse, this is another of your older brothers, Frankie or Frank." Without hesitating, Frankie scooped Jesse up in his other arm, and stood holding both his little bothers. They looked so cute that I just had to ask them to hold that pose while I snapped a couple of pictures. Before long, Jesse had Frankie's dress cap on, which covered his head to below his nose. It was hysterical to see that small boy in such a large hat, and obviously others thought so too. I saw several flashes, as the people around us snapped his picture, while he was still held in Frankie's muscular arms. Before everyone went their own way, Frankie introduced me to a few of the young men he'd made friends with during his training and Frankie's friend from back home was there too. They all seemed to be really nice guys and Frankie took great pride in introducing his little brothers to them as well. Of course, this got some strange looks, once they saw the age and ethnic differences between the boys. Some of Frankie's friends also looked at me, as if they were wondering if I wasn't too old to have such young children, but that didn't bother me. Instead, Frankie had a good time telling the others how large our family was and how we came together. I'm not sure if the looks on their faces were from disbelief, horror, admiration or a mixture of all three. I also wasn't sure if they thought me a hero, dupe, glutton for punishment or merely concluded I was insane. It took them a while before they found their tongues and began asking questions. I actually felt kind of uncomfortable during the interim, since I didn't know for sure how they were going to react or if this might affect Frankie's relationship with them. I needn't have worried, however, as they all seemed to accept us into their tight-knit little group. Before we left to go out for lunch, I advised Frankie to explain to everyone about Jesse's inability to speak. He said he would, so I excused myself and took the boys back inside to use the restroom. It was merely an excuse to prevent the younger ones from overhearing what was being discussed, because I didn't want Jesse to be embarrassed or feel out of place. I was also afraid Andrew would take it wrong and jump to Jesse's defense, thus possibly making enemies of Frankie's new friends. By the time we rejoined the others, everyone had been brought up to speed and was aware of the situation. Two of Frankie's friends, which included his friend from back home, had no one come to the ceremony on their behalf. One of the other guy's girlfriend had attended and the last guy's parents had shown up. They all agreed we should go out to eat together, so it would give us time to chat and get to know each other better. I wasn't sure my two little ones would like this idea, seeing they'd be the only ones under 18 in the group, however, I miscalculated. They soon became the center of attention and were doted upon by all of Frankie's comrades, so the boys were truly in their glory. I don't think Jesse had ever had so much attention paid to him before, so he was eating it up and even began to clown around for the older boys. He used hand gestures and made faces to get his point across, but everyone seemed to understand his meaning. After lunch, our new soldiers wanted to take us over to their dayroom and show us around. Once we got there, they played ping-pong and shot pool with Andrew and Jesse, while I chatted with the other parents. We also spent some of our time listening to one of the other recruits play the piano. He was really quite talented and played everything from Billy Joel to Beethoven, with a few show tunes, jazz pieces, swing music and rock numbers in between. It was very enjoyable listening to him play and sometimes the other guys would take breaks from their games to come over and listen too. Not only did his awesome talent fascinate all of us, but he also drew a lot of attention from others who were wandering in and out of the building. My personal favorite was when he played Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata,' as it is one of my all-time favorite piano pieces, but I also really enjoyed his rendition of 'Piano Man' by Billy Joel too. After we decided to leave the day room, Frankie wanted to show us around a little more, so we started to say our good-byes to the others. They didn't want us to leave, so they made us promise we'd meet back at this location at 6:00, so we could go out to dinner together. It seemed everyone was enjoying the time we'd been spending together and didn't want it to end just yet, so they thought this would be the best way to keep the good times going. The guy with the girlfriend said they'd make reservations for us and we were happy to let him have that task. We then made a graceful exit and went off on our own. Frankie not only wanted to show us around his company area, but he also wanted us to see a bit more of the post. He even showed us where he'd be during AIT (Advanced Individual Training), starting on Monday. He was excited about it and we could tell that by everything he said or did. I think Jesse was beginning to develop a case of hero worship with his older brother and I couldn't blame him. Frankie did look impressive in his uniform and had a distinctive air of leadership about him. I think that's why the other guys were drawn to him as well, because of the quiet, take charge attitude he had developed after he came back to live with us. You see, shortly after Frankie was sent away, when he first came to stay with us, it became quite obvious this unscheduled and traumatic separation bothered us both greatly. Therefore, when he came back, Frankie took it upon himself to become the chief protector and defender of all his brothers. I guess it was his way of making up for his misbehavior during the first go around. He always felt bad about what he'd done, even though Trey told him many times he was forgiven, but I'm not sure Frankie had ever forgiven himself. It was during this process that Frankie became the strong and silent leader of the group and all the boys went to him, whenever the going got tough. This was the quiet, yet magnetic, characteristic that caused everyone to admire him so greatly. Going to dinner turned out to be another very enjoyable experience and it began with a little surprise. A couple of Frankie's friends had returned with some army clothes for Andrew and Jesse to wear, and the pair was thrilled with these gifts. The guys must have run over to the PX and bought these things for them, which was very thoughtful, but I'd quietly see about reimbursing them later. Andrew and Jesse wanted to wear them immediately, so I took the to the men's room, so they could change. When they came back out, they strutted their stuff and paraded around as if they were part of the graduating class. It was very comical to watch. Their new uniforms also got them special recognition from the hostess, once we got to the restaurant. She playfully 'thanked them for protecting our country,' and the boys just giggled, snapped to attention and saluted her. After she led us to our table, she brought the boys a soda in a wine glass, with a little American flag stuck through the cherry she had placed in it. Both boys thought that was really awesome, especially when they learned their drinks were 'on the house,' not that they were paying for anything anyway. We had another nice meal and the conversation was quite stimulating. Frankie and his friends told us stories about their time here, which included some rather comical incidents that happened during their training. The first such occurrence occurred on the rifle range. It seemed one of the other trainees, who apparently lacked basic coordination and focus at times, accidentally fell into a foxhole and broke his leg. No one was laughing over the fact he had gotten hurt, but the boys said his accident was understandable, since the foxholes were camouflaged. Once they explained this meant they were painted a bright yellow, it sent the rest of us howling, as we pictured that young man walking into one of those pits. We could all mentally see it happen, but that also made us wonder if he might be a danger to himself or others, if he were ever put in a combat situation. Another funny story they told us was about an incident that concerned one of their drill sergeants. They said they were out doing their mile run one morning and the drill instructor was running beside them. At one point, he suddenly turned around and started running backward, so he could see if there were any laggards at the rear of the formation. He had only taken three or four steps in reverse when he stumbled over a rough patch of ground. Realizing he was going down, he tried desperately to catch his balance, but failed miserably and landed on his back. The jolt he got from hitting the ground caused his hat to come off and it flew in the air, before it landed in a ditch filled with muddy water. No one dared to laugh, as he picked himself off the ground. He then retrieved his soggy headgear and placed it back on his head, but everyone knew he would be in a foul mood for the rest of the day, or at least most of it. They said he also took a ribbing from the other drill instructors when he got back, which didn't improve his disposition, but eventually he began to see the humor in the incident too. Slowly, he started to release his anger and embarrassment and joked about his mishap with the others. After dinner was over, we walked around for a brief time before our troops had to report back to their barracks. Frankie asked me if we wanted to go to church in the morning and I told him that would be nice. I knew he would also expect such an outing to include a meal, especially since he'd do almost anything to avoid army chow, but I explained we'd have to eat before the service this time. I told him we had to do this, because Andrew, Jesse and I would have to rush to catch our flight, so there wouldn't be time to eat afterward. He said that would be fine and suggested we could all go to the post chapel, if we didn't mind. I said that would be agreeable and then informed him what time we'd pick him up. After driving back to our motel room, I had the boys take their showers and I was surprised to see Jesse emerge from the bathroom without his towel this time. I wasn't sure if he was becoming more comfortable about his body or whether he did it because there were only the three of us this time. There was also a chance he was so caught up in the excitement of the weekend that he merely forgot what he was doing. Whatever the case, he was cute to watch. After getting a good night's sleep, we drove to the barracks and picked Frankie up. After downing a quick breakfast, we attended the church Frankie had been going to for the past eight weeks. It was a standard service, but we enjoyed being there together. Once it was over, we took Frankie back to his barracks and said our good- byes. After a few hugs, especially between Frankie and his little brothers, we were off. We'd all really enjoyed ourselves, but now I was anxious to get home and resume my routine.