Date: Thu, 29 Jun 2000 14:08:13 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: The Castaway Hotel-2 chapter 16 Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality. Don't read this story if: **You're not 18 or over, **If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live, **Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex. The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against violators. I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this chapter. If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://www.teenboyauthors.org/thewolf, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com. * * * * * * * * The Castaway Hotel -Book 2 - by BW (Young-Friends). Copyright 2000 by bwstories44 Chapter 16 - Walk a mile in his shoes. June 2000 Things had been going very well with the new boys and my attorney was working hard to clear up all of the loose ends for the adoptions to take place. I hoped that we could have the adoption ceremony in April or May, and Judge Shay told me that he'd be thrilled to preside over it for us. Steve and I had gotten to know each other better since I had taken in Frankie and we were almost as close as brother now. The only small problem that I noticed was with Pat. It might be my imagination, but it seems that Patrick is acting differently toward Sammy and Andrew when we were out in public. There is no change in how they get along at home, and the two boys adore him, but I just have this feeling that something has changed for Pat when we are around others. I would try to rule out any paranoia on my part, but I will definitely be watching Pat more closely now, for signs of trouble or problems. The next thing on our social calendar was Trey's birthday, on February 16th. That was still three weeks away and it would be his first birthday since he came to live with us, so I wanted to make it special. I started making plans with Danny, Dustin, Ricky, and Kevin, but I made them promise that they would keep this secret from everyone else. I would need their help in pulling this party off, but I was afraid that the other boys might let something slip if they were privy to our plans. The boys rapidly agreed to my terms, and we began to brainstorm about what type of party we should have and what we should get Trey for his birthday. Within an hour we had a rough idea of what we wanted to do but this idea would need much refinement before it would be acceptable. On Friday, February 1st, I got an early phone call from Sally. I had just walked into my office when the telephone rang. "Hello." "Hello, Josh. It's Sally. I've been reading your emails about Sammy and Andrew and I can't wait to meet them. What would you say to a visit after school?" "I'd say that sounds great. It's been too long since we've be able to spend time together." "Great. Would you mind if I brought along a guest?" "No, certainly not. Would it be anyone I know?" "No, but it's someone I'd like you to meet." "On a social or professional level?" "Maybe a combination of both." Sally sounded a little nervous as she said this. "Why do I get the feeling that there's more to this than just a social call?" Sally hesitated before she answered. "Probably because there is. I have another young man that I'd like you to meet. I just wanted to introduce him to you in person, rather than discuss his situation over the phone with you." "Why are you handling this one differently, Sally? We've always discussed the boys over the phone." "I realize that, but I thought this time it might be better if we did it in person." "That would be fine, but I'm still curious about your reasons." "What if I explain those to you when I arrive? I have a meeting in just a couple of minutes and I must be going." "You win. I'll see you at the house later." I hung up but I was very curious about this. Was there something wrong with this boy that she thought I might overlook once I'd met him. Could he possibly be physically or mentally handicapped? Maybe he has a disease, possibly terminal? I was going to be thinking about this all day wondering why Sally wouldn't tell me more about this boy. The day seemed to drag on forever, but eventually even this day came to an end. I picked up all of the boys and headed home, telling the boys that Sally was coming for a visit. The other boys had to explain to Sammy and Andrew about our special relationship to Sally. Andrew concluded that she was our Mrs. Getz, which was a very appropriate description. I started dinner and was getting everything together when the doorbell rang. Kevin answered it. I went over to greet our guests and welcome them to our home. Sally came in and a young boy followed close behind her. Now I understood Sally's reasoning, I was just dismayed by her attitude. The boy was black. Not a dark black but more like deep toffee color skin. His black hair was cut very short, he was about 5' 2", and he was looking at his feet so I couldn't really see his face. "Josh, this is Dion Jackson. Dion, this is Mr. Currie and his boys." We shook hands and I led them into the living room to sit and talk. "It's nice to meet you, Dion. Are you from around here?" "Kind of," was the only answer I got in return. "Boys, why don't you show Dion around? Start outside and then you can show him the house." The boys took off and that gave Sally and me time to talk in private. "Sally, I'm surprised at you. I thought you knew me better than that." "Josh, what are you talking about?" "I can't believe that you wouldn't tell me about him because he Afro-American." "That's not why I didn't tell you about him. I wanted to talk to you in person because his grandmother was a close personal friend of mine and this boy is very special to me and my responsibility." "Sally, I'm so sorry to have misjudged your intentions. Is it a half-dozen or dozen?" "Josh, what are you talking about?" "The egg on my face. Is it a half-dozen or a full dozen?" "Don't be silly. I can see how you might have seen it that way. I guess I could have given you more information about him when we spoke earlier, but I really wanted to let you know how important this was to me that Dion got the best home possible. His grandmother worked in the same office that I did when I first went to work for the county. She took me under her wing at work and we became very close, both inside and outside of the workplace." Sally looked at me with this very pained expression, like her emotional dam was about to burst. "She was my mentor and she helped me work my way up into my present position. We even kept in contact after she retired." Sally reached up and brushed a tear from her eye. "Mabel must have been in her mid to late fifties when her fifteen year old son, Cal, got his fourteen year old girlfriend pregnant. Cal was her second child and had been born very late in her life. Her first child had died at seventeen from Cystic Fibrosis and Cal wasn't born until four or five years after her other child had died. I think his birth was an accident, but she welcomed his arrival joyously after her other tragedy. Well, anyway, the girlfriend had her baby and Mabel was given guardianship over the infant. She was planning to raise the child until the parents got older and could assume their parental responsibilities. As it turned out, that day never happened. "The mother disappeared within a year or so. Rumor has it that she met another guy and ran off to marry him. Cal graduated from high school and took a job as a fireman in Harrisburg. He would come home and spend his weekends with his mother and help to raise his son. That was until he was killed in a warehouse fire. He was on the roof when it collapsed and the rescuers couldn't get to him in time. Dion was three or four when that happened so he never really knew his father. The only person he could remember ever being in his life was his grandmother. She died last week and she had named me temporary guardian for him." Sally stopped and reached in her purse for a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. "Josh, I'm all alone, I live in a small apartment, and I spend about seventy hours a week at my job. I would not be the right person to raise that poor child. I had only agreed to it because Mabel was such a good friend and I never expected anything to happen to her before he was old enough to be on his own. He's twelve, a real good kid but kind of a loner. I mean, there was only his grandmother and him, and they lived out in the country with very few neighbors. I realize you don't know him, because they lived in the next county, but I was hoping that you might be willing to take him in, as a special favor to me. This place would be so much better for him than my place." "Sally, I'd be happy to take him in with us, if he's willing." What would you say about letting me talk to him alone when he comes back with the boys?" "That would be wonderful, Josh. Oh, thank you. I can't tell you how much this means to me." "I think I have a rough idea and I'd be glad to help, if I'm able." We continued to talk until the boys returned. I stood up and asked Dion to follow me. We went into the family room and I shut the door. He was looking nervous, like he thought he had done something wrong, so I thought it was best to get right to the point. "Dion, Mrs. Swarthout has told me a little bit about your situation. She thought that you might prefer to come live here with my sons and me, instead of having to be stuck with just her. We're willing to have you join us, if you'd like to?" "How can those boys all be your sons? They're all so different and hardly any of them look alike." "Well, they're adopted or I'm in the process of adopting them. They had come from some bad situations too, where they had no place else to live, so they came to live with me. Would you like to do the same?" "Would that mean that I'd be your son?" "Only if you want to be. If that's what you want, then I'd be happy to have you for my son." "Even though I'm.well, I'm.black." "That makes no difference to me. I may not be able to help you understand all there is to know about the black culture or what it's like to be black, but I will help you find information in the library, the Internet, or I'll help you meet other black people who can help you, if you want to learn more about your heritage. All I can offer you here is a good home, a lot of love, and a bunch of crazy brothers who will probably drive you nuts. If you decide you'd like to live here, you just need to tell me if there is anything that you're missing from your old life that you'd like us to do. I don't care if it's certain foods that you like to eat, activities that you like to do, or maybe holidays that we don't observe. Did you celebrate Kwanza or Christmas?" "I celebrated Christmas with my grandma." "Well, that's just what we do but it wouldn't have made a difference either way. What do you say? Would you like to give it a try here?" "I think it would be fun to have other kids around. There was only my grandma at home and it got pretty boring sometimes. There were no kids close by for me to play with, either. I guess it would be kind of neat to be able to have other boys around my age to do things with." "So, you'll give us a try?" "Yeah, I guess I will. I like Aunt Sally and she and my grandma were good friends. She used to visit us a lot, but I really didn't want to live with just her. She's nice and all, but I didn't want to live alone with another woman. They don't always understand about boys." "Yes, I know what you mean. I don't think that will be a problem here. Let's go out and tell Mrs. Swarthout and the boys the news." He flashed me a shy grin and he walked back into the living room with me. "Sally, Dion has agreed to give us a try." "Oh, that's wonderful. Dion, you'll like these guys. They're the greatest family I know. Why don't I run back to my apartment and get your things, so you can try it out for the weekend? What do you say?" "Yeah, I could use some of my things here." Dion turned and looked at me. "Do you want me to sleep on the sofa in the other room?" "Heck, no." I told him. "There's a bedroom upstairs with your name on it. It's been empty and waiting for you to arrive." An amazed expression came over his face. "You have an empty bedroom with all of these boys? How big is this place?" I forgot that they had only been walking around outside and he hadn't seen the house yet. "Come with me and I'll show you." I took him upstairs and showed him the small bedroom next to the old master bedroom. He walked in and he stood there speechless. "You mean this would be my bedroom, now?" "Yes, sir. This will be your bedroom." "This is neat. I've never had my own room. My grandmother had a very small, one bedroom house in the country. I always slept on the sofa in the living room. This place is huge." "You're right there. This is a very large house. I'll show you around and point out the other boys' rooms to you. Some of them share a bedroom, by their own choice of course." We walked across the hall and I showed him the old master bedroom and explained to him that Dustin, Kevin, and Trey shared that room. "That bed is the biggest one I've ever seen. No wonder they don't mind sharing a room. And they even have their own bathroom in it." The expression on his face was priceless. The boy was truly amazed by some of the things he was seeing. Next, I led him to the jungle room and told him that Ricky, Cole, and Graham shared that room. He couldn't believe how great it looked with the animals on the wallpaper and the thick shag carpet. After that, I showed him Pat's room, then Danny's room, and finally I showed him the room that Sammy and Andrew shared. Before we went back downstairs, I showed him the small office, with the computer in it, and I told him that he'd be able to use that at times. His face lit up. "I've never had a computer to use before. I used one at school, a couple of times, but there is never much time to get on it." "You'll have more time here and the boys or I will teach you what you need to know." I pointed out the upstairs bathroom, as we got to the top of the stairs, and then I took him downstairs and showed him my bedroom. He couldn't believe the size of my king-size bed. He thought the queen-size bed in the old master bedroom was large, until he saw my bed. Then I pointed out the bathroom that opened off my bedroom. I also pointed out the second computer, which sat on my desk, and I told him that the boys were also allowed to use that when I was not on it. As we left my bedroom, I pointed out the other downstairs bathroom, just so he'd know where everything was. "This place is like a motel," he said in total disbelief. "You have so many bedrooms and nearly as many bathrooms." "We need them with all of these boys. Otherwise, we'd probably have a lot of accidents when the bathroom was in use by someone else. Besides, I'd never be able to get them all ready for school in the morning without them." Dion merely nodded his head in agreement. He followed me into the kitchen, as I went back in to check on dinner. Danny had been keeping an eye on it for me. I had a small ham in the oven. I had coated the ham with brown sugar and pineapple and we had planned on having yams, peas, and a salad to go with it. It was just about ready when Sally pulled back into the driveway. I sent Dustin and Trey out to see if she could use a hand. Dion went with them. They came back in lugging Dion's belongings and I told them to take them directly to his room. Dion dragged Sally up the stairs to show her his first room. He was so proud that he was going to have a room of his own. He was just bubbling over with excitement, as he was telling her about it on the way up. Eventually they came down and I told them all to take a seat at the dining room table, as dinner was now ready. I told Sally that there was a place set for her and that I expected her to stay and join us. She did and she was immediately involved with the family conversation. I watched the boys as they asked Dion questions about himself, like what he liked to do, did he play any sports, and what grade he was in at school. Andrew was the one to inform him that I was the principal of the building where he would be going to school. Dion looked up at me after this pronouncement, his eyes bulging and his jaw hanging slack. "You're really the principal?" "Yes, sir. Guilty as charged." "I guess that I've never thought that teachers and principals did things away from school. I never knew any of them, except at school, and I guess I never thought about them having homes and families." "You're not the only one. Every time I'm in the grocery store and I run into one of the students from my school, they always look at me funny, like they're wondering why I'm there. I take it they don't think that I have to eat or anything. Most of them know I have a family, because they know some of my sons, but it still seems to amaze many of them when they see me out, away from the school." Sally was asking Dion about what he thought of the place and I used that time to look around the table. Everyone seemed in a good mood, except for Pat. He had a nasty looking scowl on his face. I'm not sure what was up but I made a mental note to check this out later. Maybe he was beginning to feel slighted, as I seemed to be adding more bodies to our burgeoning brood. I heard Dion tell Sally that he thought this was a neat place and he liked having the other boys around to talk to and do things with. When we finished dinner, Sally excused herself and headed home. She told Dion she would come back Sunday to see how he was doing. He thanked her for bringing him to our place and he gave her a hug. She hugged him back and kissed him on the forehead. She told him to behave and he told her he would. A group of us waved at her, as she backed out and drove away. We went back into the house and the boys went into the family room to watch their favorite Friday night sit-coms. I went to my office to check my email. I was just reading one of my messages when Pat walked in and closed the door behind him. "Why are you doing this?" he asked me. "Doing what?" I looked at him, totally confused by his question. "Taking their kind in. First, you bring home a couple of chinks and now you welcome a nigger. They don't belong in our family." I was completely shocked by Pat's statement. I had never seen any indication that he was a bigot, well, maybe that first night he was with us when he called all of the boys 'fags'. But that was based on a hurtful experience with one of his mother's boyfriends. I had no idea what brought this on. "Pat, why don't you think they belong here with us?" "Are you kidding? They're not white. They're not like us and they don't belong here." "Patrick, I don't know what you've been told or what brought this on, but they're just boys like the rest of you. They may be a different color and they may look a little different, but they're still boys who need a home and plenty of love." "But they need to be with their own kind." "They are with their own kind," I said defiantly. "They're human and we're human." "You know what I mean." You could almost see the venom in his words. "I do but I wish that I didn't. I thought that you boys knew how I felt about things like this. I don't turn boys down because they're gay, I don't turn boys down because they have a different religion than mine, and I don't and won't turn down a boy because of his eye color, hair color, or skin color." He glared at me and I knew that he wasn't buying what I was telling him. I stood up, put my arm over his shoulder and guided him over to the bed. I forced him to sit down next to me. "Patrick, do you remember the first day you came here?" He shook his head up and down. "I didn't ask you if you were Hispanic, Mediterranean, or Native American, did I?" He shook his head from side to side. "I didn't ask you if you were Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish either, did I?" Again, he shook his head from side to side. "And I didn't ask you if you'd been raped by an older man, did I?" "But that's not the same and I couldn't help that. I didn't want to do it with him." "And Sammy and Andrew can't help that they're part oriental and Dion can't help it if he's black. They shouldn't be penalized because of an accident of birth. Those things shouldn't play any part in our decision to help them." "But some of the boys at school have been giving me grief because they say I have chink brothers." "Then they have a problem, not us. Let me make something else clear. I will not accept derogatory comments about the boys or racial slurs to be used in my house or in my presence. I don't want to hear you refer to Sammy and Andrew as chinks and I don't want to hear you call Dion a nigger. Is that clear?" "But they are," Pat began to protest. "No, Sammy and Andrew are Japanese or oriental and Dion is black or Afro-American and that is the only acceptable way for you to refer to them, other than by their names. Now, do you understand?" This time he meekly nodded his head up and down. "Good." "Pat, I know there are people in this world that feel the same way you indicated, but I hope that by now they are in the minority of the population. Whatever they might say or do is a reflection on their upbringing. I often find that people who feel that way are either responding to a lack of contact with other groups, a bad experience with a member of that group that they've blown out of proportion and used to label the entire group. It could also have been caused by their being brainwashed by others or merely from a lack of intelligence on their part. I hope that you don't fall into one of those groups. I have learned over time that there are good and bad people in all races, religious groups, and nationalities, and you can't label the whole group because of a few. What would you think if people labeled all white people as rapists because of what your mother's old boyfriend had done to you?" "That wouldn't be fair. He was only one person." "Exactly, and you can't label whole groups as bad or want to stay away from them because of what a few of their group have done or because of what others say about them. You are nearly a man now, and you need to learn to think for yourself and not let your friends make up your mind for you. They are reacting only to how the boys look. I'm asking you to get to know them and judge them on who they are. You seem to like Sammy and Andrew well enough when you're home. It's only in public when I see you acting differently. You do like the boys, don't you?" "Yes, they're nice and I don't mind playing with them when we're home. It's just." I interrupted him again. I knew what he was going to say next and I didn't want to give him the chance to spit it out. "Would you promise me to give them a chance and judge them on their own merits?" "I'll try but it will be hard. What I am going to say to those other guys when they find out I also have a nig. a black for a brother?" "You can tell them what I told you. You could also tell them that they are your brothers and that you don't want them to speak that way about them, or you can just stop hanging around people who are that narrow- minded. If you take that choice, I would still hope that you would let them know first why you no longer wish to be their friend." "Okay, I'll try to do this for you. I've come to learn that you are usually right when you say things, so I'll give it a try. It's not going to be easy but I'll try to do what you ask." "But do this for yourself, not for me, and I know that you'll make me proud of you, as you have in the past. Just keep an open mind. I think that you'll find that those three boys may look a little different from the rest of us but, down deep, we're all pretty much the same. Maybe you should join the others and see if you could get to know who Dion really is." He nodded his head and left my room. I knew that this was only the beginning in our fight against bigotry, but I hope the rest of the battles will take place away from home and not include my sons. * * * * * * * * If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://www.teenboyauthors.org/thewolf, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.