Howdy Doody

The Geppetto Project

Chapters 13-14

Chapter Thirteen

David's Choice

By Sunday afternoon, things had gone back to relative normal concerning the camp. Lunch went routinely, and the rains had slowed to a slow drizzle. The air temperature was approaching 70 degrees [21°C], but the lack of sun was keeping everything wet and soggy. Normally the lake would have every available boat out, but with no wind and most boats containing tens of gallons of water, there were few takers. The pool complex and the recreation hall took the brunt of the action, as the boys and girls found ways to stay warm, if not dry.

"I think we need to have talk time with Jesse boss." Sid advised his director.

"He's getting cold feet on advancing." Bert looked up from his paperwork and put down his pen.

"You feel it's serious?" Bert asked.

"Serious enough for him to tell me he didn't want to move." Sid replied.

"What's his reasoning?" Bert asked.

"Me." Sid replied. The director nodded his head. It wasn't the first time a boy didn't want to advance to a higher camp because of involvement with a particular staff member, and Sid was an exceptionally beloved counselor and teacher. The boys of Green Tree revered two men above all others, Bert was one, Sid was the other.

"I think he's developmentally ready for advancement. Do you?" Bert asked his second in command.

"No problem developmentally, it's emotionally right now that's bugging him I believe." Sid responded.

"How do you want to handle it? If you want to hold him back for a few months, let's do it." Bert said.

"We may need to, but we have another eight weeks before we go back to Florida. How about we give him a job that puts him in closer contact with the senior boys during the day and see if it doesn't shift his interests a bit in that direction." Sid suggested. Bert sat back and thought about it.

"How about we team him up with a senior boy for laundry distribution two hours a day?" Bert suggested.

"Works for me." Sid replied. Jesse was very happy to learn that he had a job that earned him extra canteen credits. He also got the opportunity to drive golf carts with no staff supervision!

For Timmy, Sunday was a day unlike any other he had encountered up to that point in time in his two ½ years of life. Gloria took him to the pool after breakfast as she usually did, but the boy was brought to a room off the pool area that was set aside for some of the youngest campers.

"Welcome to Romper Room!" a girl with a very cheery smile said to Timmy as she stood the boy up and took off his diaper.

"If you need to go potty Timmy, there are potties all around the swim crib." she told the boy.

"Today, you can go general swim because you're a great big boy just like the other boys here." she told the boy as she patted him on the bottom and pointed to the other boys. Timmy recognized some of the other boys as being those he had played with before and headed off for the water.

Timmy's Sunday was spent largely being evaluated. There was no rocket science to the evaluation that was developed by Harvard, a staff member merely observed a boy at play with his peers. If he initiated sexual interaction, or, if he chose to play with a toy that he knew would bring him to orgasm, it would be recorded as an event and timed out. In Timmy's case, every 45 minutes to one hour Timmy would mount either Sparkles the Horse, Dumbo the Elephant or Freddie Flipper who were rigged to put a very happy smile on his face and give him 'tingles' as the staff and boys called climaxing. Lunch time for Timmy was a particularly happy one. Nap time brought the boy a peaceful sleep he hadn't known for quite awhile. After nap time, Timmy returned to Romper Room and played with his friends through the afternoon until Gloria picked him up at 5:00.

While Timmy was happy, Gloria couldn't help but feel deeply depressed way down inside.

Beth sent her evaluation of Timmy to Bert along with a note. The girl knew Gloria would not take the Scale rating with a grain of salt; none of the girls ever did. Bert chose to spend another night with Gloria, but there would be no sex, it had nothing to do with the reason for being with the girl. There were not many times when being at Green Tree was not a happy, positive experience, and this was the exception. Geppetto had changed the rules and opened a Pandora 's Box into human sexuality that should never have been opened. But it was, and Gloria knew that Timmy faced a life that was created by the same people that would deny him unless he protected them from exposure. It was absurd, but if Timmy was admitted into society, he would end up in prison for being something they made him. It wasn't possible for the girl to look down on the innocent child and not feel a keen sense of anger, rage and even loathing for the people who had not only done this, but to those that continued to deny that it even existed in the first place!

Thomas' return to Green Tree mid morning on Monday came with a phone call to Bert. The doctor was at the front gate. As Bert pulled up amid a small pile of luggage, Thomas was giving the guards his cell phone and receiving his temporary identification.

"You travel lightly!" Bert exclaimed as the two men loaded four suitcases and some garment bags into Bert's golf cart.

"Not really, the rest of my stuff is being packed and shipped back to Maine. My brother will hold it for me until I call for it. You aren't planning on building a golf course are you?" Thomas asked as the two loaded the luggage. Bert smiled and shook his head.

"I think North Carolina has more than it's share of golf courses. If you want to play, we'll get you a membership at one of the locals."

"Does anybody else play?" Thomas asked.

"Sure, but not golf!" Bert replied as he mounted the cart with a chuckle.

"How did everything turn out with the weather situation yesterday morning?" Thomas asked as the two drove back into camp.

"I'm still getting my ass handed to me by Jeanette. We've already got some runny noses and sore throats so maybe you'll be earning your salary a lot faster than we bargained for. Just remember, the colds weren't caused by the puddle jumping, it's a flu bug that's been traveling around the State!" Bert replied.

"In August?" Thomas responded. Bert again smiled.

"Well, I tried!" he said as they pulled up to Bert's cabin.

"You've got some papers to sign and I'll send them on to the powers that be. Then I'll take you back to your place." Bert told the doctor.

"All the files on everyone in camp are in my office, anytime you want to go through the records, just walk in and start reading. There are medical records on file in the infirmary for everyone. Immunizations, histories, allergies, it's all there." Bert told the man.

"This little gadget is a beeper. All it does is beep. If it goes off, get to a phone and dial 0, because someone's calling for medical help on the intercom." Bert told the doctor.

"We have three girls who currently work regularly in the infirmary. Two more are in training. I strongly advise you to take the girls advice and recommendations concerning the boys seriously, most of them have known the boys for very many years. Don't get miffed if the boys are conflicted, they've come to rely on the girls very heavily in the past, and it'll take a little time before they put you on a higher pedestal. Medically, you're in charge Thomas, but remember, to the boys these girls are not just diaper changers and you don't want to put yourself into the position of making the boys chose between you and them. That's a contest any one of us would lose. To a lot of these boys the girls have been the only mother they've ever known."

After finishing paperwork, the two men headed for cabin 3.

"Right now cabin 3 is split into two units." Bert told the doctor.

"Dave, our Buildings and Grounds Supervisor began working on the other side to turn the cabin into a single unit for you. You may hear some banging and clanging around the cabin, but for the most part, they'll do their work when you're out and about." Thomas nodded as Bert's cart overtook a boy walking up the trail along the lake.

"Where ya headed David?" Bert asked the boy who the doctor recognized as being the boy who gave Bert his evening meal two days earlier. David smiled and jumped into Bert's cart and gave the man a kiss.

"Hi Uncle Bert, I was going to the Nature Shack to feed the rabbits." he said.

"Want to do me a favor?" Bert asked the boy.

"Sure!" David replied as his eyes lit up.

"Doc Thomas is going to be staying with us from now on, how's about you help him get settled in and be his guide until he finds his way around on his own?" Bert said.

"Sure Uncle Bert!" David instantly replied.

"Thomas, this spunky little dudes name is David. He knows the camp like the back of his hand and you'll find him a big help if you have any questions or need to find something." Bert told him.

Cabin 3 was surrounded by golf carts and pick up trucks being loaded with boxes of stuff coming out of the unit next to Thomas'.

"What's Uncle Dave doing Uncle Bert?" David asked.

"Cabin 4 is no more David. Doc Thomas is going to live here and Uncle Dave is making it a single cabin."

"So he's not an outsider anymore?" David asked.

"No David." Bert replied.

"Is he a Geppetto boy?" the boy asked.

"No David, he's an outside uncle now." David turned to Thomas and intently looked at him for several seconds. Finally, he turned back to Bert.

"Good." David said. Bert smiled and ruffled the boy's hair as he prepared to get out of the cart.

The sound of lumber being ripped down and hammering greeted Thomas as the three walked into unit 3. Introducing the doctor to Dave, Bert took his leave.

"I have to go up to the upper camp, if you need me, pick up the phone." Bert told the doctor. Kissing David goodbye, Bert left.

"My crew will work around your schedule Doc. If you want peace and quiet, hang that flag sitting in the corner out on the front porch and they'll stay away until it comes back down." Dave told the doctor as he pointed to the flag.

"Here at Green Tree, a closed door means the occupant wants privacy. If you shut the front door, nobody will enter without knocking first. If the door is open, it automatically tells the visitor to come in. So if you're brushing your teeth one morning and six of my crew walk in, you'll know the front door was open!" Dave told the man. Thomas smiled.

"Then I guess I better learn fast!" he replied.

"Welcome to Green Tree Doc!" Dave said as he held out his hand and shook Thomas'. Turning, Dave now confronted David who was bringing in the last of the doctor's luggage.

"Hey squirt, you practicing to be a porter?" Dave asked the boy as he bent down and gave David a kiss.

"Uncle Bert asked me to help the Doc Uncle Dave." the boy said with a smile.

"Well, Doc, you couldn't be in better hands." Dave told the man as he went back next door.

The unpacking of Thomas took pretty much the same path that Adam had been on the year before except for the fact that Adam was unpacked by at least six boys examining his belongings as they came out of the suitcases and Thomas only had one very inquisitive little boy to deal with.

"You sure got a lot of cameras and stuff. Are you a photographer? David asked as he looked in a camera case.

"Not professionally, photography is my hobby." Thomas replied.

"Why do you need so many cameras? They all take the same pictures right?" David asked as he picked up a Hassleblad. Thomas smiled.

"No. Each camera takes a special picture. This camera takes very wide angle pictures if you're shooting mountains. This camera takes pictures if you're shooting through a telescope. This camera takes pictures underwater." Thomas explained as he showed the boy the different cameras.

"Underwater?" David asked.

"Yes, it's waterproof and can take pictures underwater of fish, or sunken boats, or even kids in a swimming pool." Thomas said. Thomas went to a trunk and opening it, took out a bunch of picture albums. Flipping through the albums, he picked one out.

"Like these pictures." he said to David who now sat down on the bed and began thumbing through the pictures.

"Neat" was the last thing Thomas heard from David for a good 15 minutes while the boy looked at album after album.

"Are you a real Indian?" David finally asked the doctor as the boy reached his final album. Thomas walked over to the bed and looked down at the album David had open.

"No, I was a very little boy when that picture was taken and I spent a lot of time in the woods playing Cowboys and Indians." Thomas replied.

"Ya don't got much clothes on." David said as he turned the pages.

"No, sometimes none if it got hot enough." the man replied.

"I saw that. Is that man your Uncle?" the boy asked.

"I guess you could say he was. He's passed away now." Thomas replied.

"He died?" David asked.

"Yes, two years ago."

"How old was he?" David continued.

"He was 67 when he died." David studied the picture of Thomas and Marty sitting on a large oak tree limb.

"He don't look that old, he still has all his hair!" David replied.

Thomas smiled. "Yes, and he could still climb trees and go bike riding and water ski right up until he passed away." Thomas replied.

"Do you miss him?" the boy asked.

"Every day." The doctor replied. David nodded his head.

"I'm not going to miss Uncle Bert and Uncle Sid because they're not going to die." David said as he closed the album.

"Want to go sailing?" David asked.

Thomas' first boat ride on the lake was spent watching David tack back and forth across the lake while he ducked the swinging boom. This was David's fifth year at camp, and few campers or staff could match his sailing skills. Bert had taught him how to use his weight and 'read' the water, trees and sail top to find the best wind, and if you could beat David across the lake, you had a motor attached to your boat.

"You certainly sail very well, who taught you?" Thomas asked the boy.

"Mostly Uncle Bert but Uncle Adam is also a pretty good sailor and he taught me a lot." David replied.

"He said that I could probably beat most of the kids who sail out of the Stamford Yacht Club." Thomas smiled.

"How could he know that?" Thomas asked.

"Uncle Adam's from Stamford. He's an outside uncle just like you." David replied. This was the second time Thomas heard the phrase 'outside uncle.'

"What's an outside uncle?" he asked.

"An outside uncle is a man who's not a Geppetto boy but loves and protects us anyway." David replied.

"We don't have very many, but Uncle Sid and a lot of the rest of our inside uncles did when they were kids just like us, and they saved our uncles' lives a lot of times." The very serious tone in David's voice told Thomas that at a minimum, the boy believed what he was saying.

"So outside uncles are special?" he asked.

"Uncle Sid says he'd be dead if it weren't for his Uncle Kenny. That makes them very, very special." the boy replied as he tacked.

"Uncle Bert can tell you all about what you are." David said with an innocence only known to children.

The lake reverberated with the bugle calling mess call and David swung the sailboat around and let the boom fully out as the boat took off with the wind on its stern. As adept as any sailor, David pulled the centerboard up, let the mainsail go and then lifted the tiller as the boat beached itself halfway up the beach.

"So David, in your spare time you're planning on putting on a coat of paint to replace the one you just took off?" Dan said to the boy. David giggled as he lowered the mainsail.

"Hello Doc. My name is Dan." The waterfront director said as they converged.

"I see you've already met Captain Fantastic." Again, David giggled as the two men shook hands.

"Uncle Dan you know the boats don't have paint." David now told the man. Dan looked at the sailboat.

"Yes, but it does have a layer of gel coat that's now a lot thinner." he replied.

"You could have released the boom a whole lot earlier than you did."

David shook his head.

"No fun Uncle Dan."

Lunch went fairly routinely right up until the end when Bert stood up on a tabletop.

As he announced the doctor's arrival as a new staff member, Thomas went just a tad shade of pink. When Sid stood up with a fake arrow stuck in his head complaining of a headache, he got a shade redder but passed the camper's test when he recommended two aspirins and some bed rest. The camp's new doctor spent the better part of the next hour meeting people outside the mess hall, shaking hands and exchanging names, most of which Thomas forgot almost immediately. One staff member he did not forget was Adam who was brought before the doctor by David along with a half dozen other boys.

"This is my Uncle Adam. I told you about him before." David said as the two men met.

"Something good I hope!" Adam said to David as he shook the doctor's hand.

"Don't be silly Adam, David never lies!" Sid responded as he shook the doctor's hand.

"Don't mind them Uncle Thomas, they never stop fooling around with each other!" David said.

"That's a lie!" Sid shouted.

"Now, now, Sid. You know David never lies!" Adam instantly retorted.

Thomas' initial contacts with Gloria, Johanna and Jeanette were fairly formal and somewhat business like. Not cool, but far from warm and friendly. As he was now re-introduced as a fellow staff member, there was a noticeable change in their demeanor.

Gone were the formality and the guarded defensive posture. As with all the female staff, they gave Thomas a kiss on both cheeks. Not the kissy kissy in the air kind of greeting at the race track, but two kisses, one on each cheek. Like the handshakes from the men, the greetings Thomas was receiving he knew to be the genuine article, not polite 'How do you do' bullshit greetings exchanged at medical conventions. Thomas prided himself at being able to evaluate people fairly effectively. If these people were putting him on, they were extremely good at it.

As much as he was impressed by the adults greeting, the children's greetings impressed him more so. Most left it at a name, a hug, and sometimes a kiss. All gave him a smile except maybe for Sidney who slept through another milestone in his life.

The bulk of Thomas' first afternoon was spent with Dave as the two men discussed the changes to the cabin for him to live in and the infirmary. As it existed, the infirmary was a cabin of 30x90 feet [10x30 m] with two bathrooms at the back of each corner, a ward of beds with curtain partitions in the middle, and a front clinic. Basically it was more than ample for the job when the camp was a little less than 300 people. Now, the census was double from the year before. Additionally, without a doctor, any serious problems were flown to Laconia for treatment. Thomas was a pediatrician, but he was also a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. For all but the most serious neurological injuries, Green Tree was now fully prepared to take care of its campers autonomously. All they needed now was the equipment.

"You're fucking kidding me! Where the hell is the room for this stuff?" Bert said as Dave handed the director the doctor's list of equipment he said he would need.

"That X-Ray machine he wants will take up half a trailer alone." Dave replied.

"Its not the working end of the machines that are so big, it's what's in the back room that nobody sees that gobbles up space." Dave said.

"What are we talking about?" Bert asked his Engineer.

"Basically, I need almost twice the 2,700 square feet [250 m²] I already have. The best solution is to bring in rolling stock with the equipment already in it, and build a new building this winter." Bert sat back in his chair.

"Where's the rolling stock? He asked.

"FEMA field hospitals have it. So does the military." Bert gave a small sigh.

"They're not going to like this." he said almost to himself.

"Yes they will, just remind them it's more secure than flying people to Laconia and back." Dave responded.

The rest of Doc's afternoon was spent visiting each campus with the help of his new guide, David. Thomas had spent years battling his attraction to boys deep inside himself. He saw them as physically beautiful while at the same time, something that was to never ever be touched in a sexual sense. Internally, he knew well the love that was experienced between a man and a boy, and even between a boy and another boy. But as a physician, that was a closed chapter in his life. As a Geppetto boy, David saw it otherwise.

David was well aware of outside uncles, most notably, Adam. To be sure, David spent many nights playing with Adam, but basically, Adam 'belonged' to Sammy. If a boy was going to play with Uncle Adam, Sammy needed to be in full agreement. With inside uncles, no such agreement was needed except for Anthony. By mid afternoon, David had decided he would make Thomas his outside uncle.

"There's a birthday party tonight at Uncle Adam's cabin Uncle Thomas. Would you like to come with me?" David asked the doctor as they travelled to the girl's camp.

"Whose birthday is it?" Thomas asked.

"It's Matty's. He's 10 now." David answered.

"Uncle Sid and Uncle Bert will be there, so will all my friends." David continued.

"Well, let's check with Uncle Bert. If he has no special plans for me I'd love to join you." Thomas replied.

Gloria gave the doctor a tour of the girl's camp which was also an eye opener for David. Little girls are very little neater than little boys when it comes to their living quarters, and David couldn't wait to get back and tell his friends. He also happened to walk in during afternoon showers on a cabin of 15 and 16 year olds who usually kept their bodies under wraps in the company of 'little twerps' like David. David was reassured that they pretty much looked like the pictures he had seen in the nudist magazines back at school, but not in 3-D of course! Gloria and Thomas smiled as the girls went screeching for the closets and David turned a slight shade of pink but never stopped looking.

Bert's afternoon was a pretty full one. He had a list of issues to deal with, not the least of which were Jesse, the infirmary, a steady stream of little boys coming in to give him a big wet kiss for some strange reason, Matty's birthday and a meeting with Beth, who would be going to New Hampshire to pick-up her new baby in mid September if she past Bert's and the staff's psychological muster.

Beth was largely an unknown to Bert; she had arrived with the girls from Montana, and immediately impressed every Green Tree staff member she came into contact with. She was 19 years old and had been at her Montana school since age 12. The girl had two brothers who were found to be Geppetto boys which effectively destroyed her parent's marriage and split her family apart. Beth knew she could never bear children of her own except through invetro fertilization, or adoption. She agreed to tubal ligation at age 14.

As with all the residents at Green Tree, Bert had complete empathy for Beth, Bert knew well the pain Beth had undergone and the suffering and sacrifice that the girl had endured in her very young life. By now stepping forward to adopt a child, Beth was looking for a return to normalcy in her life, and Bert had the responsibility to make sure the reasons behind her decision were going to be best for the baby that would soon be born. Bert could not reverse the past for Beth, but he could, as best as he knew how, ensure the babies future sense of security, love and acceptance for what Bert knew was going to be a difficult life at best.

"The files have told me a whole lot concerning Bethany Judith." Bert began as the girl sat down in his office.

"But they don't speak with your thoughts and what you want."

"I'm not spilling any beans when I tell you that Gloria regards you extremely highly. You've been here now a little over two months, and in all that time, I've never heard a comment that didn't sing your high praises." Bert told the girl who turned a slight shade of pink with a very low "Thank you." Bert sat back and smiled.

"Two months is more than enough time to realize that the staff here is fairly blunt about someone's actions. My ass has been chewed out on more than a few occasions, so when I hear nothing but good, it really does mean something, nobody's blowing smoke up your chimney." Bert assured the girl.

"And now, Gloria tells me you want to be considered to adopt the new baby. Why?" he asked the girl.

The next hour wasn't the driest hour Bert had spent with a staff member. Bert knew when and where to dig, and a lot of it was digging into her past, most specifically, where she was with her parents before and after Geppetto became known to them and what that knowledge did to the family relationship. He needed to know what relationship she had with her brothers, and how the girl thought that would affect her relationship with the baby. The baby wasn't going to be 'a fresh start' in her life; it was going to be a continuance of the old way of life. Could she deal with that? Did she understand that?

"If you do agree to adopt the baby, then you will be its mother. But as Gloria, Jeanette, Johanna and Sarah will tell you, the baby will have many fathers. By that I mean that the baby will not be raised autonomously. You are the baby's mother and Green Tree is its father." Bert told the girl.

"Green Tree is a Harvard program, and the raising of the baby will be governed by some of the best child care experts in the world. Certain aspects of its upbringing will be beyond your control. Feeding is just one example. If you're not prepared to breast feed the baby until the baby decides he's had enough, you don't want to get involved." Bert told the girl.

"What you need to gather is first hand information. I want you to go and sit down and talk to Gloria and all the rest of the girls here who are raising the boys and pick their brains. Ask them what's good. What's bad, what they like, and what they don't like. Ask every possible question you can think of and don't stop asking until you get answers." Bert said.

"We want you to be happy with your decision, but even more importantly, we want the baby to be happy with your decision. Within days, weeks at most, that baby is going to be able to distinguish between you and every other woman here at Green Tree. He will know specifically you as his primary caretaker, and if you disappear, there's no doubt whatsoever that the baby will recognize that fact and be negatively effected by your absence." Bert told her.

"Babies are a lot smarter than most folks give them credit for. Sidney knows Johanna by smell, touch, taste, sight and sound. It would be better not to commit, than to commit to the baby and have him attach himself to you and not follow through." He advised the girl.

"Babies are cute and cuddly little rascals. They're also smelly, loud, obnoxious, fidgety, cranky, nasty, sleepless, ill tempered, ungrateful and piss at all the wrong times! If all those good qualities appeal to you, the girls will begin the process for lactation."

Comfortable with Beth as the baby's new mother, Bert now turned his attention to Matty. The boy's tenth birthday was today. Matty was in Adam's cabin and was attached at the hip with his childhood buddy Christopher. If you saw one, you saw the other, and at Green Tree that wasn't unusual. Most of the boys and girls lived, played and grew up in pairs or even multiple pairs. In Matty's case, he was a member of the mafia which meant that generally, the boy ran in a circle of friends that was three cabins and a little more than two dozen strong. Bert smiled to himself when he thought about the boy; he had come to Green Tree at age four a basket case of basket cases that refused to speak because of a speech impediment. Abused to the max in foster care, the boy trusted no one and recoiled at human touch. It took the girls two years of digging and planting between ages 4 and 6, but by age 10 you couldn't shut him up, you couldn't get him out of your lap, and he never stopped smiling. Physical scars remained, but emotionally and psychologically, Matty was whole again.

"He wants to go to Disney World for his birthday and he wants a few friends with him." Adam had told Bert several weeks before. Bert shook his head. Disney World trips were a logistical and security pain in the ass.

"Maybe the institute would be better off buying a house in Orlando for us to use." Bert said when he got the news.

"Have you got any idea how much shit I gotta go through with security to put these kids up at Treasure Island?

What's he calling a few friends? He's part of the biggest rat pack in Green Tree!" Bert asked.

"Well, he gave me a list." Adam replied.

"Christopher, Sammy, Joey, Trevor, Spencer, Bruce, Andy, Larry, Mike, Michael, Kenny, Bobby and Jackie." Adam replied running out of fingers.

Bert shook his head.

"What the fuck ever happened to rockets to the moon or a horse. Wouldn't Matty rather have a horse? A horse is easy!" Bert said.

"He can have his party at Disney World if he can understand the concept of 'delayed gratification'." Bert told Matty's counselor.

"He can go to Disney World on the way back to school in October with his friends, or he needs to pick an alternative present." Bert told Adam.

"I can co-ordinate a side trip to Orlando on our way back down a hell of a lot easier than I can organize one from here." Bert told Adam. "Security will rip my balls off!" Matty picked delayed gratification, but he also knew he could have his cake and eat it too. By choosing to wait for his party, he would get two presents from the school, one on his birthday, and one when he went to Orlando.

By 5:00, David and Thomas had returned to his cabin. The crew working next door was gone for the day, and both man and boy took a look around the construction. Gone were the beds and furniture, along with most of the walls, and a new bathroom was now going in that was considerably larger than the old one. A new kitchenette was also going in and David recognized the layout as being the same as in most of the other cabins along the lake that were a single cabin configuration. The boy explained what the doctor would be seeing in the very near future. Thomas had seen the plans on paper, but David now explained them from his memory. As David spoke, Thomas studied the boy with growing interest. Thomas recognized the boy was extremely intelligent, well spoken, was self assured, and poised.

"How long have you been at Green Tree?" Thomas asked the boy.

"I came here when I was five years old." David said with a smile.

"I lived in Camp Kenny with Jesse and Aunt Jeannette."

"Where did you live before that?" Thomas asked.

"I don't remember." David said no longer smiling.

"Where did you live when you were five years old?" David asked the doctor. Thomas thought back and smiled.

"Brockton, Massachusetts I guess, but I don't remember." he told the boy.

David's smile now returned.

"See?" he asked. Thomas shook his head.

"How did David get to be so smart?" he asked.

"That's easy Uncle Thomas, Uncle Bert, Uncle Sid and Aunt Jeanette." he replied.

"And Jesse too!"

The doctor again smiled.

"So you've been at Green Tree now for something like six years. Do you like it here?" he asked.

"Sure, it's my home!" David said with a smile.

"It's time to get ready for dinner. We take showers before dinner Uncle Thomas. Do you want me to go back to my cabin for showers?" The boy asked.

"You can take your shower here or I can bring you back up on the hill, whichever you prefer." The doctor replied. David smiled once again and headed for the front door.

"I'll close the front door for you. Now no one will come in." After closing the door, David retreated for the bathroom.

"When you were a little boy did you shower with your Uncle too?" he asked as he took off his shorts and turned on the shower.

Thomas watched as the boy now stood with his back towards him facing the shower as his body immediately reacted to the sight of the now naked boy. It was a scene he was use to with his brothers Steven and Paulie, but as a doctor he was always able to keep himself under control around boys being naked either in the hospital or in the medical clinic. Then again, most of Thomas' patients were either black or Hispanic. Thomas didn't consider himself a racist, but for whatever reason, he didn't look at those boys in a sexual light. They had no appeal to him whatsoever.

"Yes, Marty and I showered together all the time." Thomas replied.

David now turned around and Thomas almost needed to sit down before he fell down. Sitting on the toilet, he began to untie his tennis shoes and tried to avoid staring at the boy. David was in full erection and he had the body of a Greek god. This was a fact that David knew well, he had been told that for the past six years by every adult he came into contact with including the girls. He was still not ejaculating, but his testicles weren't very far away from producing for him. He was still all boy with no pubic hair, but his penis had been growing fuller and longer now for almost nine months. At 4½ inches [11&frac cm], David was destined to be hung when he fully matured, but at 12, his penis still stuck straight out from his body instead of making the curve of a mature man. David smiled as he looked at Thomas untying his shoes.

"Good. When we shower, we shower sitting down. Is that how you did it too?" he asked. Thomas nodded.

"Yes, sometimes we sat down, and sometimes we stood up. It all depended upon how much time we had." he told the boy as he took off his socks and straightened back up. David was no more than two feet from Thomas, and it took all of the doctor will power to not reach out and draw the boy to him.

"When you took showers did you play like we play here?" David asked. As he pulled his shirt over his head, Thomas avoided looking at David's groin.

"Yes, I suppose we did." he replied.

"Good."

David said again as he turned around and got into the shower and sat down. Thomas was now down to his pants and underpants. The boy sat Indian style with his legs crossed and his hands now sat in his lap and held his penis. David's uncircumcised head was still under his foreskin, but there was no mistaking its size and mushroom shape. Thomas drew in a small breath and stood up. It was now or never, and his erection was hurting from being constrained by his underpants. Pulling down his shorts and putting them on the sink, David was fully aware that the doctor had taken notice of him. Bending down, Thomas slipped his thumbs in the waistband and lowered his underpants and stepped out of them. He had no more secrets. At 5½ to 6 inches [14-15 cm], Thomas wasn't the biggest man in the world, but his penis served him well and made him happy. As a boy, his friends always made a big deal out of huge penises, but Thomas didn't really think it mattered all that much, and besides, men with really big penises hurt. His brother Marty never hurt him nor did his Uncle Joel and they had penises that were about as big as Thomas' was now.

"You got the same kind of a Peter that Uncle Adam has!" David told the man as he studied the man's groin.

"His is even cut like yours was."

The boy now looked down at his own penis and pulled down his foreskin.

"I didn't get mine cut when I was a baby. Most of us didn't get cut, but most of our Uncle's did. How come Uncle Thomas?" he asked as he studied his head that now glistened with wet and occasionally throbbed.

"Probably because 20, 30 and 40 years ago circumcising boys was a routine practice for parents. Now, more and more people prefer to leave boys intact like you are." Thomas replied.

David smiled.

"Which way is better?" he asked.

Thomas now smiled himself.

"That's the five million dollar question David. It's one of those questions that all depends upon people's personal preferences." the boy now looked up and over to Thomas groin.

"Uncle Adam says we have more feeling at the tip than boys who are cut. Is that true?"

"Most probably yes. Your penis is protected by your foreskin and isn't use to touch. Ours is less sensitive because it's constantly exposed to the air and dried by our clothes." he replied. David was quiet for a few seconds deep in thought. Finally he got up on his knees and slid over to the doctor.

"Let's play Uncle Thomas." he said as he brought his body up over the man's legs and sat just above his groin. Thomas reached his hands around the boy's waist and sat down. Grasping both thighs, he lifted the boy's waist towards him as the boy's penis came within range. David closed his eyes as he studied the feelings now coursing through his body as Thomas lowered the boy's foreskin down the boy's shaft with his lips as his tongue found the back side of David's head and sent throbbing involuntary pulses all the way to the boy's inner groin. David had no question in his mind whatsoever that Thomas was going to be a formidable outside uncle and the boy wanted to make him his own just as Sammy had done with Adam.

As they walked into the mess hall for dinner, David took Thomas' hand in his. Thomas looked down on the boy and smiled, he thought it was a very nice gesture. David on the other hand knew that to the other boys, it would signal something that meant a whole lot more!

With Thomas now an official member of the staff, the question as to where he was going to sit down to eat became something of a debate. As the schools physician, he was a part of the administration. He lived in the lower camp, so he should eat with them. He was a male, so he should eat with the boys. Bert shook his head as Gloria, Jeanette, Sid and Dave argued to have the man seated in their section. Since Bert was content with playing musical chairs and rarely ate more than a fraction of any meal in one location, his option was fairly quickly dismissed.

"Ya can't have the man running around the whole mess hall with a fork in his hand stabbing at plates!" Sid told the group.

Bert looked at his second in command and frowned.

"I didn't hear any pity from you about my stabbing forks for the past 15 years!" he said.

"Boss, that's you! We can't expect a civilized man to do the same thing!" Sid responded.

Once the laughter died down, Jeanette suggested an 'Administrative table' be established. A good fifteen minutes was spent figuring out how it could never work at Green Tree. Either nobody would be sitting down to eat, or 150 people would be. Separation by position was unknown to the boys, they would never understand it. The plan that was finally adopted was that no one would get the Doc in their section, he would have his own.

'The infirmary table' would be set aside for Thomas, his staff, and those campers who were in the infirmary, but able to come to the mess hall to eat. Doc could 'travel' if he wanted to during meals, but he had a 'home base' to go back to without 'slighting' other groups of people. Bert shook his head after the agreement.

"I feel like I just had a fucking meeting at the U.N.!"

The team's decision was explained to Thomas.

"If we don't do it this way, you'll be pulled from table to table and never get a chance to eat a normal meal." Jeanette explained.

"Yeah, ya don't want to end up like Bert do you?" Sid interjected.

Bert once again looked at his second.

"Doc, don't take any lessons from this guy. I'm canning him next week!" he said as he picked up Caleb who now sported a very runny nose.

Jeanette smiled as her boss walked towards the mafia's table.

"I think by tomorrow morning Bert will be sporting a real good sore throat." she said as she sat down.

"That would be a real shame." Sid told her.

Jeanette shook her head.

"Here Kenny, give your Uncle Sid a big juicy kiss." she said as she handed Sid the boy.

"You're just as responsible as he is!" she said as she walked back to her table.

Sid looked at the boy "You wouldn't give your great Uncle Sid a nasty old cold now would you buddy?" he said to the boy. Kenny giggled a bit as he presented Sid with a mushy piece of apple he had been teething on for the past 10 minutes or so. Sid sidestepped the apple and planted a kiss on the boy's cheek instead.

There was no question that the romp in the rain was now showing itself in full bloom. By Monday night's dinnertime, fully 50 campers were attached to a box of Kleenex or a very soggy shirtsleeve. The activity level was down enough to notice it and a tractor trailer truck had dropped its load of heavy clothing off at the FEMA depot. At the end of the meal, Bert announced that First Period in the morning would be clothing distribution time. He also instructed staff to send any campers with colds to the infirmary. Bert strategically avoided looking towards the girl's tables, specifically, Gloria's and Jeanette's.

David's entrance with Doc into the mess hall brought an instant reaction from the mafia. Brian saw the two first and kicked Jesse under the table. Within a few seconds, not only the three cabins of boy's but their staff took notice of David's signal. Adam looked over to Dan and then to Kevin. Many eyebrows rose, but little was verbally said by the men. Sammy of course saw it differently.

"David's making the doctor his outside uncle!" the boy said.

"Does that mean the doctor's going to move in with us Uncle Adam?" Adam again looked at Dan and Kevin.

"I don't think so Sammy. Uncle Dave is renovating cabin 3 and 4 for Doc to live in. If he were going to move in with us, Uncle Dave wouldn't be doing that." he told the boy.

"So that means David's moving to Camp Kenny?" Christopher now asked.

"Let's not pack anybody's bags yet boys, Uncle Thomas just got here a few hours ago. This is his first day." Dan replied.

The boys around the table now looked back at David as he stood alongside the doctor. Jesse shook his head.

"David ain't holding his hand to keep it warm!" he said as he went back to eating.

The other boys around the table all nodded in agreement as they too resumed eating. To them, it was an unavoidable conclusion; David was moving out. Birthday boys got to choose their meal that was cooked just for them, and Matty ate southern fried chicken and French fries. His party was scheduled after dinner up on the hill, and he chose a carnival theme. That meant the pop corn, cotton candy and snow cone machines were set up at the cabin along with Matty's choice of a Make Your Own Pizza Party. Adam's favorite! The mafia was a little over two dozen strong, and with invited guests, party crashers and interested bystanders, Matty's party ballooned to pretty much an outdoor lawn party for the entire upper camp, half the girls, and a good supply of lower camp toddlers. It would be kind to say that Adam's cabin was trashed by bedtime.

David's entrance with Doc in tow brought an immediate response from David's friends, who swept him away in a whirlwind of activity. Thomas watched as the boy's trotted off towards second base to talk with David as the man sat down to Pepperoni Pizza and grape soda.

"How's the cabin coming?" Adam asked.

"Dave said the partition will be down tomorrow, and I should pretty much have a new place by the weekend." Thomas replied.

"Your first order of business will be to name the cabin." Dan said.

"Have you thought of any names?"

Thomas smiled.

"Yes, I'm going to name it Briarcliff. That was the name of my brother Marty's cabin in Vermont." he told the group.

The non reaction from the men around him caught the doctor a bit by surprise.

"Do they know about Marty?" Thomas asked Bert.

Bert shook his head.

"They know your name is Thomas, you're a doctor and you're 26 years old." Bert replied.

"Everything else is your personal business and it's up to you to decide what they do and do not know about you." the man now looked around the table.

"That doesn't quite seem fair. I know a great deal about some of you from David." he said. Sid now chuckled.

"That's only because David and the other boys all know they have permission to discuss us within our own circle. If he didn't know you as being a staff member, you couldn't get him to admit he even knew any of us!" Sid replied.

The laughter around the table told Thomas that these men were comfortable being discussed by the boys.

"My brother Marty essentially raised me. If he were here, you'd be calling him my Uncle." Thomas began.

"He had a ski chalet in Vermont by Killington, we called it Briarcliff." Adam and Sid both nodded.

"I've skied Killington. My favorite mountain is Okemo. Ever ski it?" Adam asked.

"Hundred's of times!" Thomas replied.

"Briarcliff, that's a nice name. I like it." Sid said as he sat back.

By the minute, the party escalated in volume and population. Adam purposely turned his back towards the cabin as the screen door slammed every 15 seconds or so. Helium balloons filled the air as cotton candy stuck to small faces. Gloria and Jeanette showed up along with half the staff from Camp Kenny and Helen along with a half dozen of her girls.

One noticeable no show was Johanna who was keeping Sidney in quarantine.

"She would have loved to have been here for Matty, but she didn't want Sidney to come down with pneumonia!" Jeanette reported as she looked at Bert.

Sid now bent towards his boss.

"I think I hear some balls being broken!" he said to Bert not quietly.

Bert nodded his head.

"Make yourself useful and go find me a Gin and Tonic."

"Anybody seen Carla and Jeannie lately? I've forgotten what they look like!" Helen now asked the assembled.

"Girl's I think! Last time a saw them they had these itty bitty little tits and…" Patty now tapped Sid across the head.

"Shut up you old fool!" Amid more laughter, Bert looked around and spotted the girls sitting on the ball field in a circle of about a dozen boys. Bert pointed.

"Looks like their having a little pow wow with David."

"Well, at least they have shorts on!" Helen said. Patty instantly covered Sid's mouth.

"Come on, let's get some drinks before you go putting your foot in your mouth again." she said as she stood up waiting for Sid to follow.

"Did David tell you anything about outside uncles?" The director now asked the doctor.

"Yes, he explained the difference." Thomas replied.

"Did he tell you how a boy chooses to be with one?" Bert asked.

"No, he just said that Sammy chose to live with Adam and moved in." Thomas replied.

"I'm sure it was a mutual decision, but basically, the boy always has any final decision." Bert said.

"Has David said anything to you about wanting you to be his outside uncle?"

"Not a word." Thomas replied.

Bert along with more than a few staff smiled.

"Many times the boys don't verbalize their intentions but have a way of making themselves crystal clear as to what they want. That little discussion over there is about you and how David intends to stay with you." Bert told the man.

Thomas looked a little dumbfounded.

"When David walked into the mess hall holding your hand, he all but stood up on a table and made the announcement." Adam told the doctor.

"Really?" Thomas asked the group.

Nods all around brought a pink hue to Thomas' face.

"We're not telling you this to embarrass you, we're telling you this so that if it's something you don't want to get involved with, we can stop it before David gets too emotionally attached to you and gets hurt by what he could only feel as a rejection." Bert told the man.

"I'll have a talk with David tonight, but if he asks to sleep over and you allow it, it would only greatly encourage him to pursue a relationship."

"Speaking of which, Helen, ever been out in a canoe?" Bert asked the woman.

Sid returned to the table convinced he was once again the butt end of a joke. Thomas laughed along with the rest of the group, but he was also very deep in thought. David had mentioned Adam as being an outside uncle, Thomas decided to get into a conversation with him before the night was out.

By dusk, the raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks and groundhogs had enough dropped and discarded food to keep them happy though half the night. Adam had twelve rolls of toilet paper at the beginning of the party, and was down to searching for rolls of paper towels by shower time. Outside, the mafia staff along with Bert, Helen, Patty and Thomas was all that remained as they talked and listened to the din coming from the showers in nearby cabins. One by one and two by two, the boys came out for 'Goodnights' with the final two being Carla and Jeanette with brushes in hand headed for Adam and Sid's laps.

"I understand that you two girls have taken overnight visits to a whole new level." Bert said as he watched both girls get their hair brushed out.

"Your Aunt Helen is beginning to forget what your names are!" he told the girls. Both girls giggled.

"I think you girls are going to be pretty lonely if you continue to spend all your time in the boy's compound. In a few weeks the boys will be returned to school. Then what are you going to do?" he asked.

"That's forever away Uncle Bert; they don't go back until October and its only still August!" Carla replied.

"Besides, Uncle Sid said if we stayed here long enough, we'd grow penises and if that happens we could move in for good!" Jeannie added.

All staff's eyes now focused on Sid.

"Hey! I'm being quoted out of context!" Sid responded defensively.

Adam chuckled.

"I told you that one was going to come back and bite you on the ass!" Bert shook his head.

"Doc, do they still do lobotomies?" he asked. With the girl's hair brushed out they both retreated to the cabin with bare asses shining in the moonlight.

"You guys ever hear about underwear?" Helen asked as she watched her girls climb the stairs and disappear inside as taps began.

"Never leave home without em!" Sid said.

"Come on Romeo; take me for a boat ride." Patty said to Sid as she stood up.

As Bert went into the cabin to take David for a little conversation, Thomas saw his chance and asked Adam to take a stroll. Much of the conversation was a repeat of what Thomas had already told Bert. Thomas was never ashamed of his involvement with Marty or Joel, but was extremely protective of them and his seven brothers as well.

After Adam learned the basics, it was his turn to recount his youth. Primarily, Thomas was interested in knowing exactly what the commitment was towards Sammy for Adam, and what commitment he would be expected to make towards David.

"I'm not inferring anything, but I'm not attracted to grown men. If my making a commitment to David now means that we'll stay together through his adulthood, I don't think I could agree to that." Thomas began.

"There's no man in the world I loved more than Marty, but even then we never had an adult sexual relationship together." he told Adam.

Adam knew exactly what was bothering Thomas, chiefly because he had identical feelings. But Adam was a math major and this conversation needed someone who was a whole lot more.

"I think the conflict you're describing parallels mine and when I first came, nobody made more sense or understood better where I was coming from than Sid." Adam told the man.

"You probably already know about Bert being from Harvard, but you may not be aware of Sid. Sid's very easy to chalk off as an oddball and a flake because that's exactly the persona he intentionally wants to portray." Adam said.

"Sid's a Geppetto boy who was raised by an outside uncle that makes the rest of us look stupid. Sid's also a graduate of Georgetown that lacks only the submission of a thesis to make him a Doctor of Psychiatry. Sid's the man you want to sit down and split a few beers with." Adam told him.

"As far as David is concerned, he's in the same boat with Sammy. Neither boy has homosexual tendencies, and David will outgrow you just as you did Marty, and that's the way the school would want it. There are a few relationships here at Green Tree that will most probably be ongoing, but it's the exception rather than the rule."

"I'm happy to see you're taking your task so seriously." Bert said to David as the two headed in Bert's cart towards the girl's campus.

"He's very nice." David replied as he tooled down the path.

"Yes, but he's only been here less than one day. Maybe you want to get to know him better before you make any plans to stay with him." Bert suggested.

"I haven't made any plans." he replied.

"You're saying you're not thinking about moving in with him?" Bert asked the boy.

"Who told you that, Jesse?" David asked as he stopped the cart. Bert shook his head.

"I haven't spoken to Jesse or anybody else concerning the doctor. I don't need to hear something that's obvious anymore than your friends needed to be told before they knew what you were planning." Bert said.

"I'd just like to know why? Is it because Sammy has Adam and you want an outside uncle too?" he asked David.

"Not really." David told the man.

"Maybe partly?" Bert pushed.

"Maybe." David said very quietly.

Bert reached over and kissed David on the forehead.

"I love to be told the truth." he told the boy.

"Wanting an outside uncle is completely understandable David, but it's a lot more than just wanting something nice. Adam and Sammy are together because there are some very special feelings between them. They love each other and I'm not talking about sex love, I'm talking about love between two people that has very little to do with having sex. Moving in with someone is making a commitment to that person, not just a more convenient way to play."

David was very deep in thought.

"You think Sammy made a commitment?" he asked.

"Sammy knew there was something very, very special about Adam to him and didn't know what it was David. The answer to your question is yes, Sammy made a commitment to Adam. Don't you believe that Sammy loves him?" Bert asked the boy.

"We all do." David replied.

"But who loves him the most?" Bert pressed.

David didn't respond, but he did nod his head.

"That's the commitment." Bert told the boy.

"If you feel you can do what Sammy did, go for it. If not, nothing's changed and you can still play whenever you want to."

David opted to sleep in his cabin that night; he wanted to speak with his friend Sammy in the morning. By 10:00 all was quiet in Adam's cabin as Sammy slipped back into bed with Adam. There were probably twelve boys still out on the back porch with the two girls as Adam got up and covered soundly sleeping bodies with quilts and blankets. Carla had Joey sleeping with his head on the girl's stomach using it as a pillow, and Matty was snuggled behind Jeannie. Adam decided he didn't want to know the extent of that engagement, and covered the both of them up shaking his head. He thought back on his own youth and figure that this scene with his mom would have gone over like a lead balloon as she kicked ass all over the house.

Towards the children lying at his feet, he felt extreme envy wishing he would have grown up in such freedom, openness and honesty. Returning to bed, Adam found a sound asleep Sammy clutching some monster figure present of Matty's in his hands like it was a piece of gold. Adam climbed into bed and pulled up a large comforter on top of the both of them. The temperature was in the mid 60s [c. 18°C] and for Florida people, that's much too damned cold. Adam adjusted the comforter so that his and Sammy's head stuck out feeling the cool breeze, but they were as snug as two bugs. Adam pulled Sammy into his body and wrapped his arm over Sammy's chest and cupped the boy's rising and falling stomach in his hand. Adam fell asleep not really thinking about outside things, he was concentrating on the smell of Sammy's hair against his nose and listening to the little boy breath with a slight rumbling sound.

By 10:00 all but the faintest of night lights could be seen shimmering across the lake, but between staff and the senior boy's, you couldn't really call the place secluded. A moonless night left little to see, but you could hear an occasional senior girl giggle and the mechanical sound of a rowboat being rowed to a small remote cove or a big rock along the shore. Bert knew damned well that lover's rock probably needed a traffic cop on it, but he did know of a really comfortable spot under a very broad willow tree that hung its branches down to the water hiding an overhang of land over the lake that was covered in thick, spongy moss. If he got lucky and nobody else was already there, it was as soft and comfortable as a bed.

Paddling the canoe through the branches, Bert was happy to see nobody. As Bert pulled up to the overhang, Helen got out and Bert handed her a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"What a great little spot!" Helen said as she sat down.

Bert smiled as he sat down.

"I can't imagine that the girls haven't told you about it before." he said as he poured the wine. Helen smiled.

"Is this lover's rock?" she asked.

"No, we passed that on the way here. The kids call this place 'Willow' for obvious reasons." Bert said as he pointed to the tree that surrounded them like a tent.

Helen looked around.

"So this is Willow!" She said as she took a sip of wine.

Bert nodded his head.

"You've been told?" he asked.

Once again Helen smiled as she put down her wine glass.

"I've been told that you're a super swimmer and you love to make love in the water, and that's something I need to find out for myself!" she told Bert as she took off her shirt.

"It's freezing out!" Bert replied.

"Not if you're from Montana and not if you're in the water." she said as she stood up and took off her shorts.

"Come on chicken." she said as she walked into the water.

To the Florida based Bert, the air was cold, but the allure of the girl's body that was more than full figured and now waiting for him outweighed his goose bumps. His only regret by just after midnight was that he didn't think to bring towels.

As Helen was promised by the other female staff, her date with Bert ended after showers the next morning as Bert brushed out her hair and showed her for probably the sixth time that night and early morning why it was so much fun to be out on a date with Bert. It had been two long years since Helen had slept with a man, and even then, it was over for him before Helen even began to enjoy herself as she watched the man slip back into his underpants and split.

Bert preferred his girls completely shaven and Helen had already been told by the girls that if Bert came back for a second date, the girl would allow herself to be shaven and keep herself that way. All Green Tree girls were shaved and Helen now joined them. Helen had had sex before, but nothing like this in her life and she knew damned well it wasn't going to be the last.

Jesse's first day of his new job working with the senior boys began with reveille blowing. The mafia in Adam's cabin was sprawled out on the back porch and didn't look much unlike a scene out of a Roman orgy. Arms and legs stuck out from underneath some comforters and blankets, but for the most part, bare asses and inter twined bodies were the rule. At school, the boy's were usually awake by daylight. Now, the sun was already up and a few inches above the tree line before they were rudely awoken. Then again, at school they went to bed at 9:00 and were usually asleep by 9:30. They had very easy days, and spent most of the day in class. Now, they were lucky to get to sleep by 10:00 and they were playing from sun-up to bedtime. Knowing he was leaving for the FEMA depot with the senior boys after early breakfast, Jesse was one of the first boys in the showers.

"Are you going to the depot Uncle Sid?" Jesse asked as he washed.

"No, your Uncle Dave will be there, so make sure you follow directions." Sid told the boy as he sat with a cup of coffee.

"How come he gets to go with the senior boys Uncle Sid?" Michael asked.

"Special orders from Uncle Bert." Sid told the boy.

"But how come?" Michael repeated.

"Well, probably because you know Uncle Bert's a little touched in the head, he probably figures it'll do some good for Jesse to earn some extra points." Sid responded. Giggles from the other boys eased Jesse's apprehension over the question, but did little to answer Michael's inquiry who now decided to press the issue.

"But we all want to earn extra points." he told the counselor.

"Yeah, well you convince Uncle Bert to issue more special orders, and maybe you'll get em!" Sid told the boy.

"Forget it Michael." Anthony now told the boy as the counselor washed Spencer.

"Uncle Bert issues special orders once in a blue moon." Michael now looked at Sid once again.

"Is that true?" he asked.

"That's what I hear." Sid replied.

"No fair!" Michael said."

"What's no fair is that I ain't got no more coffee Michael. Want to get me some?" he said as he handed the coffee mug to the boy. With Michael now on a mission, Jesse had a question.

"Why is he letting me work with the senior boys Uncle Sid?" he asked.

"You've known your Uncle Bert for a long time Jesse, you tell me!" Sid said. Jesse thought for a few seconds.

"Because he wants me to see what being with them is like?" Jesse asked.

"Bingo!" Sid replied. Jesse smiled.

"But I still won't want to move." he said.

"Fair enough. Then don't!" Sid replied.

Adam now walked into the bathroom with his coffee in one hand and Sammy draped across his shoulder in the other.

"What's fair?" Adam asked. Sammy was only barely awake, but completely bare as Sid patted him on the bottom.

"Morning little fella." Sid said as he gave Sammy a peck on the cheek. Sammy yawned and gave a half smile.

"We were discussing Jesse's new job." Sid said as he sat back down. Adam handed Sid his cup of coffee as he walked into the shower. The hot steaming water completed the wake-up of Sammy who yelped as the water hit his back. Adam sat down about two seconds before the sound of the falling water reminded Sammy that his bladder was full and the boy opened the flood gates as Adam poured shampoo on his hair and began scrubbing.

"Remind me to write my family and let them know I've become the toilet bowl." Adam said aloud speaking to nobody in particular. Carla and Jeannie now appeared in the bathroom and coaxed Sid away from the toilet long enough for them to take a pee. Both girls were holding onto their vaginas as they entered to hold back the flood and to solve the problem, Carla sat down first and Jeannie promptly got on her lap. For girls this system worked fairly well. Naturally for boys, who usually took their morning pee with a fairly substantial morning boner, it was much less effective which was probably why the boys opted to pee in the shower stall. Carla took a bit of a bath by Jeannie, but with showers now seconds away, neither girl much cared or paid any attention to it. Both Adam and Sid did take notice of the fact that none of the boys in the showers reacted in the slightest to the girls; they were now just two more members of the group albeit sans penises.

With Adam busy washing Sammy, Sid took one girl while Anthony took the other in hair washing duties. The girls weren't in love with showers per se but they did love to get their hair shampooed and brushed out by the men, especially Sid and Adam who had the time and the ability to know how to brush out a girl's hair without pulling half of it out by the roots. The process took probably 15 minutes twice a day, and both girls came to depend upon it as 'private time' with both Uncles.

"How come all the older girls shave their pussies but none of the boys do?" Carla now wanted to know as she studied Sid's genitals. Sid shook his head as he wondered when a little modesty was going to kick in concerning both girls who knew no topic to be too private to discuss in public. Since a question asked was a question to be answered at Green Tree, Sid took a deep breath and went for the honesty approach.

"Probably because it itches when boys shave their pubic hair." he replied.

"Aunt Helen says it itches too, especially under her arm pits. If girls itch too, how come boys don't shave?" Carla pressed. Sid now looked towards Anthony who didn't look like he wanted any part of the conversation.

"Mostly because shaving is something women do like wearing makeup. Girls do it, boys don't." Sid replied.

"Nadine says it's because boys don't like kissing girl's pussies if they got a bunch of hair down there." Jeannie now said.

"And does Nadine shave?" Sid now asked.

"Sure! She likes it when boys kiss her pussy just like we do. We don't gotta worry about it though, we ain't got no hair yet." Carla replied with a dimpled grin.

"Lucky you." Sid said as he gave Carla her brush back and kissed the girl on the forehead.

Morning broke in the low 70s [21°C], and with the sun now up, the front porch became the drying room for the kids as well as the spot where the girls would have their hair brushed out and put into pony tails or braids, whichever they preferred. The girls were done last, and usually sat on Adam's and Sid's lap while it was done.

"Uncle Sid! I think my penis is beginning to grow and come out." Jeannie said as Sid concentrated on parting the girl's hair.

"Look!" she exclaimed. Sid looked down at the girl's vagina that the girl was now looking at as she bent forward in his lap. Sid half smiled.

"Sweetheart, Uncle Sid was just kidding with you and Carla when I said you'd grow a penis." Jeannie shook her head.

"No Uncle Sid, I can feel the end of it and it's beginning to come out!" She replied matter of factly.

With Adam shaking his head Sid closed his eyes.

"What you're feeling is the end of your clitoris. It's been there since you were born and they don't grow into penises." Sid tried to assure the girl.

Again, the girl shook her head.

"Carla and I read a book that said that when we were babies, we had a penis that turned into our clitoris and made us girls."

"That's true." Sid responded.

"Well, if it was a penis once, it can become a penis again." Jeannie declared.

Carla now joined Jeannie's rooting section as she nodded her head. Sid shook his head and kissed the girl on the side of the neck.

"If it does, you'll be the first girls in the world who've done it!" Sid told the girls.

Neither girl responded, but they re-entered the cabin with pigtails and high hopes five minutes later.

"Who the fuck knew I was fooling around with two girls with penis envy?" Sid muttered to himself.

After showers, there was a little time for cabin clean-up and inspection before the call to colors brought all the boys to the flagpole. Of the 14 campers who slept in the cabin last night, six had sore throats, a cough or a runny nose including both girls. All six were instructed to go to the infirmary after flagpole. David wasn't one of the campers with a cold, but he opted to go too.

Thomas spent the night tossing and turning in bed waking up every 90 minutes or so. By 5:00 he said screw it and got up and made a pot of tea and took a 20 minute shower. His mind went over and over his discussion with Adam the night before and his day with David. That he was attracted to the boy was undeniable. His mental picture of himself and David almost seemed to merge in a blur which ultimately always brought him back to Vermont, the Vineyard, and Marty. The thought that he could bring to David, the joy and love that Marty had given him as a boy, couldn't be purged from his thoughts.

The elimination of the legal threat concerning David didn't help all that much either. It wasn't sufficient to stop his inter-action with Steven or Paulie, his way of life was given to him by Marty, and no amount of coercion or repression was going to convince him that Marty had led him down the wrong path. Still, David was a boy he knew absolutely nothing about, even as a physician. He had never heard of Geppetto before. Was David a boy, or just a human sex machine? Did he have a future? Where? Doing what?

Lastly, did Thomas make a huge mistake by coming here? The man had questions by the bushel full, and no answers. Adam suggested he talk to Sid. If Sid was who Adam had said he was, it seemed to be a reasonable suggestion. After breakfast, he would try to do that, but that was still two hours away. Thomas decided to walk around the lake as the very first hint of the breaking day showed in the clouds overhead. The walk with no answers took about a little more than 45 minutes, and by just before 7:00, Thomas found himself approaching another cabin, this time to the sounds of a newborn's cry. He stopped in front of Johanna's and decided to stop in since the girl obviously had to be awake by now. The doctor found Johanna on the back porch nursing the baby.

"You're an early bird!" Johanna said as the doctor knocked on the screen door.

"Want some coffee?" the girl asked.

"No thanks, I'm a tea drinker." Thomas replied as he sat down.

"Sorry, we have coffee and hot chocolate, but no tea. I'll get some for the next time." she told the man.

"How's he doing?" Thomas asked. Johanna looked down on Sidney and smiled.

"He sleeps probably 22 hours a day, goes about every five hours and eats about every four hours or so. His umbilical cord stump is gone and his balls aren't the talk of camp anymore, so I guess they're down to normal." she told the doctor as she kissed the boy on his cheek.

Thomas smiled at the report.

"He's due for his weekly check-up on Thursday, I can either come here or you can come to the infirmary if you like." he told the girl.

"What's the cold situation out there?" She asked.

"I've seen some runny noses and heard some coughing and sniffles, but this morning will tell the tale." he replied.

Johanna shook her head.

"This is a very kissy, kissy crowd Doc. If I take him out, he's going to pick something up and I'd rather avoid that if I can." she told him.

"Probably wise." Thomas replied.

Johanna's referral to 'the crowd' may have opened the door for Thomas and his questions. Still, the girl was basically still a relative unknown to the man. Would she be open and honest with him? He decided to find out.

"They do seem to be a very affectionate bunch." he said.

Johanna giggled and then giggled some more.

"Green Tree is not the place you want to be if you're looking to avoid personal touch." Johanna told the man continuing to giggle.

"How long have you been here?" Thomas asked.

"About five years. I came when I was just past fifteen." she replied.

"Do you ever intend to leave?" He asked.

"Last month, I would have said 'no'. Today, it all depends upon Sidney." she replied.

"How's that?" He asked.

"If Sidney's a scale three or four, he could manage outside with assistance. If he opted to go to school or even live outside, I'd probably stay with him at least until he was established." she replied.

"Do many boys do that?" Thomas asked.

"Unless they decide to become staff at a Geppetto school, most who can function outside leave." Johanna replied as she shifted the baby to her other breast.

"Timmy will probably never leave, Kenny probably will. It all depends upon the scale." she told the doctor.

"I'll know Sidney's scale between his second to fourth birthdays. Then I'll know how to plan." she said unemotionally.

"What's David's scale?" Thomas now asked the girl.

"David?" She asked quizzically.

"Which David?"

Thomas knew no last names other than Johanna's.

"The boy who lives in Adam's cabin. He's 11." Thomas replied.

Johanna nodded her head.

"Why?" She asked.

Thomas easiest reply could have been 'professional curiosity' but it would have been a lie. Thomas had spent years either hiding or lying, he was frankly tired of it.

"Adam and I talked last night. He tells me that David's wants to move in with me and be his outside uncle." Johanna again nodded her head.

"What else did he tell you?" Johanna now asked.

"That I should talk to Sid." Thomas replied.

Again Johanna nodded.

"Sid or Bert, either one of them is Cracker Jack expert's when it comes to the boys." she responded.

"Adam told me that too." he replied.

"Does Bert know?" the girl now asked.

"Yes, he's the one who suggested I talk to Adam."

Johanna sat back and adjusted Sidney across her lap and began patting and rubbing the baby's back.

"Do you know how serious these boys take outside uncles?" Johanna asked.

Thomas nodded his head.

"I'm not trying to pry Doc, and I know you're not a Geppetto boy, but did you ever have an outside uncle?"

Again, Thomas nodded.

"He put me through medical school." he replied.

"That will help a whole hell of a lot!" Johanna said.

"David's a three point five. He'll make it outside if that's what he chooses to do." Johanna said.

"At 11, David hasn't even begun to figure out what's going to happen in the future. These boys don't really start concentrating on that until they're around 16 or so." Johanna continued.

"If you accept David as his outside uncle, you've got about a five year wait to know where he's headed, but you also have to keep in mind that David will become totally independent by about fourteen or fifteen regardless of his choice. Senior boys rarely hold onto outside uncles past their early teens."

"You're saying he's not going to remain attached." Thomas said.

"Just like one day Sidney here will go off on his own, so will David. If you're looking for a long term relationship, David's not your best choice." she told the man.

"Uncle Bert or Uncle Sid will tell you the same exact thing."

Thomas smiled at the girl.

"And which school did you get your doctorate from?" He asked.

"The University of Uncle Bert." she replied instantly.

As the bugle blew reveille, Sidney gave up a small burp along with some milk. Thomas looked at his watch.

"I've got sick call this morning." he said.

"Well, then you got about 45 minutes before the herd shows up sneezing and wheezing." Johanna replied.

"If you catch a cold, stay away from Sidney!"

Thomas now walked back to his cabin with a very dark cloud hanging over his head completely gone. He would still have a conversation with Sid, but now he had some answers and knew the right questions. Getting into his cart, he rolled up the trail a hell of a lot happier than the last time he was on it.

Jessie left for the mess hall immediately after his shower. Early breakfast for the senior boys and kitchen staff was at 7:15 and with his hair still wet, he walked into the mess hall with most of the senior boys already eating. Jesse knew just about all the boys, and sat down at Dave's table with a plate full of waffles and syrup.

"This morning we'll be going over to the depot and empty a trailer full of clothing and bring it back here for distribution." Dave told the boys as they ate. Keep in mind that you'll most probably come into contact with people who are not a part of Green Tree. Be polite, be friendly, behave and answer no personal questions." Dave began.

"Jimmy, what's a personal question?" He asked a boy. The boy stood up.

"What's your name? How old are you? Where do you live? Who do you live with? Where did you come from? Who runs your camp? Where are your mom and dad?" The boy ticked off.

"Does anybody not understand what a personal question is?" Dave asked. With no responses, Dave continued.

"The people you'll come into contact with have been instructed not to ask any personal questions. If someone does, remember their name that is sewn onto their shirts and let me know about it immediately. OK?" he asked. With a chorus of "Yes" Dave again continued.

"If someone gives you something other than boxes of clothing, I want to know about it. If someone asks you for something to give them, I want to know about it. If you see someone taking your picture or pointing a camera or microphone towards you, I want to know about it. If you see something that seems strange or weird to you, I want to know about it. You are going to come into contact with strangers, and you will stay on stranger alert until you return to camp. Understood?" Dave asked. Another chorus of "Yes" had Dave sitting down.

"Good, have a nice day!" he said as more than a few boys giggled and went back to eating.

"Jesse, you'll be one of my assistants today, stay close to me." Dave told the boy.

"OK Uncle Dave." Jesse replied.

For Dave, this wasn't the best day to start Jesse working with the senior boys. A trip to the depot or to the outside meant a security risk. For Jesse, it was the best of both worlds.

He was familiar with Dave and he would get to drive his own golf cart without adult supervision. Not only that but the senior boys carts moved at almost twice the speed of camp carts. To Jesse, it was practically a car! The depot was at the eastern base of the mountains that made up Green Tree and a two mile trail through the woods brought the senior boys through a clearing and in front of the guard gates that protected the Homeland Security / FEMA depot. To the guards at the gate, the senior boys were a known quantity and routinely waved through to a section of the depot that was a staging/holding area for the camp. As far as the guards knew, the camp was a facility operated by the Federal Witness Protection Program. Guantanamo is more open and public than that particular group, and a soldier could kiss his service career goodbye for even mentioning its existence, let alone exactly where it was and who was there. Off this depot, this group of campers simply didn't exist in their minds.

All supplies necessary to sustain the camp came through the depot, and the system developed by Dave had the boys returning to the camp with full loads by mid morning. To most of the senior boys, it was quite simply a daily chore. To Jesse, it was an adventure. Like unloading a plane of its luggage, boxes and boxes of food, clothing and supplies of all kinds came down a ramp of wheels as Jesse picked them off the ramp and onto his trailer attached to his cart.

Back at camp, the clothing was dropped off at the laundry to be sorted and coded. Keeping a camp of 600 people in clothing without sending panties to boys 10 and jock straps to girls 11 was a formidable logistical feat. In the old days, name tags were used. Today, bar coding does the same job and an eight year old boy doesn't have to worry about learning how to wear a bra.

Jesse's day was filled going into places like the laundry building and kitchen storage area that he knew very little about previously. After lunch, distribution of the fall clothing commenced and to the 12 year old, it was almost like distributing Christmas presents. His schedule ended at 3:00 to allow him to go to general swim and on that first day, he was kind of sad when it was over and he walked back up the hill an ordinary camper again.

For Dan, each summer he chose a project to develop and this summer, that project was a Water Skiing Program. Most of the senior boys skied, but Bert had banned skiing for the intermediate boys as being an unnecessary risk. It took Dan two years of talking to, and the boys two years of badgering about, but Bert finally relented in mid July.

"10 and up!" Bert instructed Dan. With Sammy and more than a few 8s and 9s, that went over like a lead balloon. Dan asked for patience, and taught the younger boys at the far end of the lake.

As far as lakes go, Green Trees Lake is far from big. For water skiing, it's minimally acceptable. However, the boys had little interest in skiing, they wanted to jump! Dan knew that, but kept it under wraps as much as possible from Bert. The year before, the senior boys had made a ski ramp with Dave's help. It was in use for two weeks before Bert saw it one day while visiting the boat house.

"What the hell is that?" Bert asked, squinting his eyes to see the ramp out at the far end of the lake.

"It's a ski device." Dan told him evasively.

"What kind of a ski device?" Bert pressed his Water Front Director.

It took Dan a second or two, but he finally came up with an answer.

"The boys take off from it." he told his boss as Sid looked at him. Bert looked back at the structure.

"How? It's five feet above the water." He asked.

"Well, you're looking at the front of it. The back end is right at the water line." Dan said.

Sid's eyes now rolled up as he walked a short distance away. Bert climbed into his cart.

"Let's go take a look at it." he said to Dan.

"That's a mother fucking ramp!" Bert practically screamed as he drew closer to the structure.

"Actually Bert, it's a Ski Jump. Skiers use them all the time." Dan replied.

The jump was beached for a week before Bert finally relented under pressure from the senior boys to give it back to them.

Now, Bert was allowing 10 to 13 year olds to ski, and Dan was hoping Bert would forget about the jump long enough for him to get the kids up on skis before Bert saw a ten year old go flying over the jump at 30 miles [48 km] an hour and have a total shit fit. His plan was partially successful. Bert rarely saw the jump because Dan didn't use it except when he knew Bert was either on the upper camp or at the girl's camp, and he didn't see a ten year old flying off it, he saw something a little smaller and younger; Caleb. Dan had the girls make a video of Caleb from beginning to end in the learning process, and Bert had a double Vodka Tonic after the viewing and eventually, even spoke to Dan again after a few days.

When Doc arrived in the infirmary, all three of his assistants, Beth, Sarah and Martha were already there. He had met the girls before, but now, they met as a team. Of the three, Sarah was the most experienced, she was an L.P.N. who was already studying for her R.N. Degree. Beth was about to take over the responsibility for the new baby who was coming in less than a month, and Martha had been an Aide for the past four years. Health wise, Sarah had always been top dog at Green Tree and Bert had cautioned Thomas on numerous occasions to be very mindful of the girl's devotion to the boys and their reciprocating feelings towards her. Hurting Sarah's feelings, or diminishing her importance and/or contribution wasn't going to be the brightest path for the new doctor to follow if he expected acceptance by the boys or their staff.

"The best way to handle things until I get to know everybody as well as you all ready do is for things to run just as you've always done it. If there's a medical problem I can assist with, pass them on and we'll work together." Thomas told the girls as the campers began assembling outside on the benches.

As Martha went outside to record names and complaints, Thomas took a quick inventory of the stock. Basically, it was a fairly well equipped First Aid facility with a clinic, hospital ward, and examining room. The greater bulk of the complaints that morning were of colds and sniffles; two senior boys had wood ticks and one needed a bandage changed from a cut on the arm. Two girls had cramps they wouldn't discuss with Thomas, and about six cases of poison ivy, oak or sumac. As usual, the rest had chafing or rashes created by horseback riding. By mess call, the bench out front was empty and nobody was in the ward. Baring an accident, the infirmary was on standby until after lunch medications and allergy or asthma shots.

David had shown up early on and had talked his way past the girls and spent close to the next hour sitting on a stool in the clinic watching Thomas work. Now, the two rode together in Thomas' cart as David drove towards the mess hall. Both made small talk about Matty's party but little of any substance was said even though both had a great deal on their minds.

"After breakfast, Jeanette and Gloria are bringing the boys to the pool to swim and I'm going to take some underwater photographs. Would you like to see how it's done?" Thomas asked the boy.

"Sure!" David said as they pulled up to the mess hall.

Beth had already sat down at the infirmary table with her three girls, and Sarah and Martha were on their way with their ten charges. The table had room for twenty, so room wasn't an issue.

"Are you sitting with me, or do you want to have breakfast with your group?" Thomas asked David.

David thought about for a few seconds.

"Let me ask Uncle Sid." David told the man.

Thomas sat down as David went over to the mafia's table. David had showered in the other shower room and hadn't seen Sid since the night before.

"Hey buddy, where did you go so early?" Sid said as David approached him.

David kissed Sid good morning.

"I went to the infirmary this morning to help Uncle Thomas." David told the man.

"Uncle Sid, Uncle Thomas asked me to eat at his table. Can we do that?" He asked.

Sid looked at the boy. He was out of the loop as far as David's conversation with Bert, but he did know about Adam's conversation with the doctor.

"I haven't heard about any table not being allowed to have visitors. That's what you're doing right?" Sid asked the boy.

David nodded his head.

"You have any problems with that Adam?" Sid asked.

"No, if the doctor invited you, than it would be polite to join him if that's what you want to do." Adam replied.

With a "Bye" and a kiss on Sid's cheek, David was off.

"Sure would be nice to know where the hell we're at!" Sid said to Adam

"Where the hell is Bert?"

After showering, Bert returned Helen to the girl's camp to change clothes and pick up her girls for breakfast. Stopping at Gloria's, Bert was happy to see the girl rising out of her depression concerning Timmy. Gloria knew she had to deal with the hand she was dealt, and fretting over something that could not be changed solved nothing and wouldn't help Timmy one iota. As Bert walked into her cabin, she was putting Timmy into a sun suit for the trip to breakfast.

"So how was your night?" she asked the man as Bert bent over and gave Timmy a kiss on his forehead.

"Very restful, but I'm sure all you girls will be getting together this morning and go over every minute of it in the smallest detail with Helen." Bert said as he gave Gloria a kiss good morning.

Gloria smiled.

"You're damned right we will!" she told her boss.

Bert shook his head.

"Maybe I should just set up a tripod and tape the thing!" he said.

"Good idea, want to borrow my camera?" Gloria responded as she picked up Timmy off the changing table and put the boy down on the floor.

Timmy now headed for the front screen door at a gallop. The boy knew he was now going to ride in a golf cart, and he got to ring the bell. Picking up Helen, three more carts joined the line moving towards the upper boy's camp as mess call was blown in the upper camp.

Bert's arrival in the mess hall was a welcome sight to Adam and Sid. As Bert came over with Timmy, Sid motioned him over.

"We're swinging over here in the breeze boss, what the hell are we going to do about David?" Sid asked the man while Timmy headed straight for Sid's plate of food.

"I advised David to go slow and really think about his options." Bert told both men.

"What's been happening?" He asked.

Sid looked towards the infirmary table.

"Well, he slept in the cabin last night, but he was off before the sun hit the lake this morning and he's now over sitting with the Doc. If he's going slowly, it's not showing too well." Sid reported.

"Has the Doc asked to speak to you?" Bert asked.

Sid shook his head. Bert looked over towards Thomas and watched as David sat and ate sitting next to the man.

"He knows now what David's intentions are, or at least what they were yesterday. If he pursues the issue, he's made a decision. Could we have stopped Sammy from attaching to Adam?" Bert asked both men.

"I've spoken to David and Adam's spoken to Doc. The ball's in their corner." Bert said shrugging his shoulders.

Kenny now appeared at the table and began climbing on Bert's lap. The two year old spent a good deal of time on Bert's lap, but this morning, it was just a convenient way to get passed Bert and over to his friend Timmy. More importantly, to the pancakes that Timmy now had in his fists, his lap, the table, the floor, and the bench next to him. Neither boy went in much for spoons nor forks; fingers clutched food so much easier. Jeanette followed the boy to the table and proceeded to brief all three men about the conversation Johanna had with Thomas earlier. All three men now looked over to the infirmary table with a clearer understanding of where things were at.

"Last night, Thomas was deeply concerned that David would permanently attach, it appears his fears have been put aside by Johanna." Adam said.

Sid turned around and looked at his friend.

"Now you see that good buddy, hanging around with me is beginning to rub off on you!" Sid said.

"Them's the thoughts of a Psych Major, not a Math Major!"

As Adam had surmised, Thomas now had his answers. After breakfast Thomas approached him with David in tow.

"I had an interesting talk this morning with a staff member Adam, and I think I know where I'm headed." Thomas said.

"I want to thank you for all your help." Adam smiled to the man and looked at David.

"The bottom line here Thomas is that if the boys are happy, we're happy. There isn't a door in the entire campus that's not open 24 hours a day if needed." he told the man.

"Where ya headed David?" he asked the boy.

"We're going to the pool and Uncle Thomas is going to take some pictures of the Camp Kenny kids underwater Uncle Adam. Want to come?" He asked his counselor.

"Underwater?" Adam asked. David shook his head.

"Uncle Thomas has a camera that takes pictures under water!" David replied excitedly.

Adam knew the procedure, he had scuba dived in the Caribbean and Long Island Sound and took underwater pictures himself.

"That sounds like a lot of fun, I'll stop in." he told the both of them.

Adam watched as the man and boy turned and walked back towards Thomas' cart. The day earlier, David took Thomas' hand in his. This morning, it was Thomas who initiated the move. When told, Sid and Bert both agreed with Adam that the move was significant.

"You two just might be losing one camper." Bert said as he headed for his office.

Since the very beginning of camp, the pool complex was reserved for the lower camp and the girls who did not yet swim. Dan's life guards were superb swimming teachers and by mid August, what began as roughly 55 non-swimmers was down to less than two dozen including the most difficult to teach, the older girls and women. For the boys, learning to swim was mandatory from the earliest age, since not only did they live in Florida during the winter, but they lived on a small island. At two and two ½, Kenny and Timmy were swimming for months now, very shortly after they arrived. The newborn Sidney would swim before two months of age. His lessons would begin as soon as Johanna brought him to the pool. Setting up his camera this news was surprising to Thomas. Once he got into the pool, Kenny and Timmy surprised him even more. Kenny and Timmy took turns being thrown into the pool while they swam underwater to Thomas and he snapped picture after picture of the boys looking at him and then heading for the surface for air. With eyes wide open, mouth open and smiles on their faces, the little one's looked like they could breathe underwater, at least for a few seconds before digging for the surface. After four rolls, and dozens of pictures of both boys and girls diving to him, Thomas set David up as he took a roll of film.

For the other people at the pool, watching the babies swimming underwater was routine. But we're really have to look even as a physician, Thomas never knew babies would automatically hold their breath, and was looking forward to watching the girls bring Sidney to the pool for the first time.

Bert's morning began with a meeting of his team leaders. As he usually did, he had numerous details to attend to, and almost always, the meetings brought in a few more. For starters, the new infirmary equipment was on its way. Beth's induced lactation had to be started immediately, a new cabin needed to be outfitted for the new baby, the senior girls wanted to put on a talent show, the senior boys wanted to put on a water ski show, and Carla and Jeannie were no shows in the girl's camp.

"I'm lucky if I see them sleeping in the cabin once a week, and even then, they bring four boys with them for over night visits." Helen told Bert. Bert sat back and smiled a bit, but he also knew that the situation was getting out of hand. Both ten year olds were more like boys than girls.

Bert had even seen them wearing the boys' underpants.

"We lost ours Uncle Bert." Carla told the director as he questioned the new style.

"Lost it? How does somebody "lose" their underpants?" Bert asked the girls.

"We were swimming and the boys took them off. They're in the lake!" Carla replied with a dimpled grin. Bert opted not to press the issue.

"It's not all that of a big deal today, but we're going to have some mighty depressed little girls on our hands once the boys return to Florida." Gloria volunteered as Bert nodded in agreement.

The return to Florida in mid October was going to present a whole new bunch of problems, not the least of which was how to successfully separate the lower camp boys and girls who were now sleeping co-ed. Caleb was attached at the hip with Caroline in Sarah's cabin. Timmy was going to present another problem. How was he going to react when all the boys but him returned to Florida while he remained behind with Gloria? Gloria's staying behind in and of itself was a huge problem. The girl had dozens of boys who were extremely attached to her and Bert expected more than a few fireworks over her absence.

"They've obviously abused the overnight system to their advantage." Bert said to the group.

"I very distinctly told them they couldn't move in. I guess I never thought they'd turn around and just make a game of musical cabins to achieve their goal." Sid smiled.

"Smart little critters, ain't they?" he said. Bert looked at Sid and shook his head.

"The question now is what do we do about it?" Bert asked.

"Basically, the problem is going to be separation down the road." Adam said to the group.

"They've followed the rules up to this point by not allowing the boys to have vaginal intercourse with them, if we force a separation, I think the boys will just become 'forbidden fruit' to them and it'll open up a Pandora 's Box." There wasn't a way in hell Sid could resist.

"I don't know about Pandora's Box but..."

"Put a lid on it Sid!" Jeanette suggested as the group groaned and snickered.

"You're suggesting we do nothing?" Gloria asked.

"I think we need to have constant talks with the girls and remind them that October is coming and they're setting themselves up for a big fall by putting all their eggs in one basket, but, basically, yes. Do nothing unless they start lying on their backs." Adam suggested.

"You gonna let him talk like that?" Sid asked Jeanette as he leaned towards the girl.

After the giggles subsided, Bert was back in charge.

"I can see the merit in Adam's suggestion. It puts the blame for the girl's loss directly on their shoulders. Gloria and Helen have the last word on this, if you two decide they are to be curtailed, that's what we'll do. But I think Adam's way gives us a wedge that we lose if we force them away from each other."

With Carla and Jeannie's social calendar now in Gloria and Helen's hands, Bert moved on to the final business, the return trip to New Hampshire for the birth of Beth's new baby. The team's decision was to send Beth, Sid and Thomas. Bert wanted the doctor there once the baby was born.

"Sid, if I allow you to go, promise me you won't tell the flight crew that anybody on board is related to W!"

As it usually did, the meeting broke up in laughter.

The only real question that still hung out there was David. Following the picture taking session at the pool, Thomas suggested the two of them go out to the lookout point in the cart. Thomas liked the place when he first visited it with Bert, but he didn't really do very much concentrating on the scenery, he was completely involved in conversation with Bert at the time. Now, he wanted to go back there. David readily agreed since all the boys loved the point.

"We always go out there on horseback Uncle Thomas; can we ask Uncle Sid if he's got any horses?" David asked. Thomas was quite comfortable on horses having ridden extensively with Marty and Joel when he was a boy.

"Two horses just came back David." Sid replied when David asked.

"Do you want both horses?" David looked at Thomas.

"Two's fine." Thomas told the man. Sid brought back two horses a short time later and had a saddle on one.

"David and the boys usually ride bare back Doc, but I figured you might want a saddle on yours." he told the man as he handed Thomas the reigns.

"Lunch is a little over an hour away, so you won't have more than 15 minutes or so to stay at the point David." Sid told the boy as David took a hand full of the horse's mane and swung himself up on the horse like Tarzan. To say that Thomas was now impressed would have been one hell of an understatement. He himself had mastered the same trick as a boy, and not very many peers could follow him.

Sid watched as Thomas mounted his horse and readily knew the man had done this before.

"Cochise don't much like following anybody Thomas, so generally, we let him lead. You walk out first and Sampson will follow." Sid advised the pair.

"Have fun!" he said as he patted the horse on the rear. The walk to the Point took the two on the trail alongside the girl's campus. Periodically Thomas could see a cabin through the trees and easily heard the girls as they showered or dressed for lunch. Now and then a small group would come out from the cabin and hang towels or bathing suits on the outside line to dry. After almost three months at camp, nudity was no longer a thought among the girls while in their compound, and the smile on David's face as Thomas looked over to the boy told Thomas that there were probably more reasons the boys liked to go to the Point and to Indiantown than just the scenery.

"When we first came to camp, they would run screaming back inside their cabins." David explained as the girls waved.

"Now, they wait until they know a bunch of kids are coming before they hang stuff out." he told the doctor giggling. Thomas smiled deeply as David adjusted the growing bulge in his shorts.

The trip out to the Point took another five minutes or so, and as the two approached, two pair of boys approached on horseback who were returning to the stables.

"Did mess call blow yet?" One of the boys asked as the passed.

"No, in about 20 or 30 minutes." Thomas replied as he looked at his watch. With a four boy "Thanks." the boys continued on their journey as Thomas turned around.

"Now you know why we like to ride double!" David said as he watched the doctor turn back around shaking his head.

"Did you ride double with your Uncle, Uncle Thomas?" David asked.

"Actually no David, we usually rode on a neighbors land in Vermont, or at a public riding Academy on Martha's Vineyard." Thomas told the boy as he adjusted his own shorts.

"Riding naked wouldn't have been the smartest thing we could have done." he told the boy.

"Well here there ain't no strangers around, and we ride double all the time and get to play." David said quite proudly. Thomas nodded his head.

"So I've seen!" The doctor replied.

Thomas spent a good five minutes taking pictures at the Point. Handing the camera to David, he showed David how to zoom out and change lenses and filters and before either wanted to leave, they had just enough time to make it back for lunch. Packing the cameras and equipment back in the bag, David hung the bag on the saddle horn deep in thought.

"Do you know what I'd like to do Uncle Thomas?" he asked the man.

"No, what?" Thomas asked.

"I'd like to ride double back to camp with you. Does that sound like a good idea to you?" the boy asked. Thomas looked at the boy who looked a little uncomfortable asking the question.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea to me David." he told the boy as he bent down and kissed David on the forehead.

"We don't have to do it if you don't want to do it outside." David told the man. Thomas didn't respond, he smiled a little and slid off his shorts. Putting them into the camera bag he looked at the boy once again.

"Ready?" he said. David nodded his head and slipped off his shorts and tucked them under the lamb's wool blanket. Going over to Thomas' horse, David put a stirrup around the saddle horn and slapped the horse on the hind leg as the horse now trotted back to the stable.

"Now the stable won't come looking for us." David said as he walked back over to his horse with Thomas already on top. Picking David up from under his arms, Thomas lifted the boy up on top of the horse and sat David down side saddle. It was a long loving embrace before either man or boy was ready to resume the ride back to the stable. Very few words were spoken, but Thomas made it very clear to David that David had an outside uncle all to his own.

"Pack his bags." Sid said to Adam as the two sat down to lunch. They left on two horses and one came back alone."

Adam looked over to his friend.

"Maybe it's just an innocent trail ride." Adam suggested.

"You ever rode with David?" Sid asked his friend.

Adam resumed his lunch.

"I'll start at rest hour." he told his friend.

Ten minutes into lunch, the doctor and David arrived and neither Adam nor anybody else in the building needed to wonder what the two had planned. Entering hand in hand, David made it very plain that the doctor was unavailable. Halfway through lunch, Bert arrived and was brought up to speed. Ten minutes after taking David for a quick walk to the beach and back, Bert arrived at the mafia's table with Caroline in one arm and Caleb in the other.

"David's made his decision and the Doc is in agreement." Bert began the conversation.

"You've got an empty bed!"

The counselors all around the table all nodded as they continued to eat. Both Carla and Jeannie looked at each other and smiled.

"Hope you two ain't making any travel plans!" Bert said to the girls.

Both girls shook their heads and giggled.

David moved his belongings in with Jesse's help that afternoon. By dinner David was officially a resident of Thomas' cabin. David remains with Thomas today, and would like to pursue a medical career. That decision is still a good six years away, but the team likes the idea, and by 2020, who knows!

Chapter Fourteen

Joshua Comes Calling

Sidney began exploring his new world at right around two weeks of age when Johanna lifted his isolation. He was already in the water at four weeks, and Thomas had taken literally thousands of pictures of not only him, but all the campers in and around the pool and camp. As if Bert needed one, he had one more Club to fund; Photography. David jumped into the club with both feet.

The major task that took the girl's priority was preparing Beth for the new baby's birth. She would have to be induced to lactate. Not a difficult thing to do, but it did tend to make the girl being induced to begin regarding herself as some kind of a cow. Beth was not a huge girl in the breast department at age 20, but that didn't really matter. Once she began lactating, that would change as all the girls told her. They also told her she would no longer be making lumps in boys pants when she swam or fed the baby in public, she would no longer have perky little boobs standing up on their own to impress the fella's; more like two udders on a cow.

With the aid of some shots from Thomas and having her breasts mechanically pumped every few hours while awake, the hormones necessary kicked in, and Beth was supplying any Camp Kenny boy who wanted it with a top off snack a little less than a week before flight time. By birth time, her colostrum was gone and she was producing more than enough milk to keep the baby happy, all she had to get use to was having someone suck on her breasts without bringing back some old happy memories.

"Trust me; you'll get use to it and there isn't a doubt that you'll be able to differentiate between the baby and an interested man." Jeanette told the girl.

The baby was due on the 20th of September, and the group was going to leave on the 15th. Unlike Sidney Bertram, this baby was going to be vaginally delivered. Beth, Thomas and Sid were going as a team, and three days before the plane left David was having talk time with Bert. He did not like the idea of Thomas disappearing for what could be close to two weeks. He also remembered Anthony's trip to the north the year earlier. The decision by the team was to let David go since he would be housed in another Geppetto School and no security risks were involved.

As the trip loomed closer and closer, Johanna, who had never mentioned the trip and Sid's problem with becoming depressed, grew more anxious about the man.

"Why don't you go and leave Sid here. Since he already went, it would almost be like a vacation for you." Johanna said to Bert on one of his visits to see the baby.

"I'd love to, and I considered it, but there's just too much going on right now." Bert told the girl.

Outing Sid for his behavior was something that none of girls would do lightly. To Johanna, it would seem like a betrayal of the man's trust. Johanna didn't pursue the conversation with Bert, but she did take it to Jeanette.

"If one of us were going with Uncle Bert, I wouldn't feel so funny, but I don't really know Beth." Johanna told Jeanette as she explained the situation in New Hampshire with Sid.

"You heard that David is going?" Jeanette asked her friend. Johanna nodded.

"So what?" Johanna asked.

"Well, if Bert let David go, he'd probably let Jesse go too!" Jeanette speculated.

Johanna thought about the proposal.

"So you think that Jesse's being there would help?" she asked.

"At the very least, it would keep a warm body with him when and if he became melancholy. Jesse's also a damned smart boy and we could let him know what to look out for." Jeanette told her friend.

"OK, so how do we get Bert to let Jesse go too?" Johanna asked.

"I'll put a bug in Bert's ear." Jeanette replied with a smile.

"So whose idea was this, yours or Johanna's?" Bert asked Jeanette as the girl presented the proposal the next morning.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked her boss.

Bert sat back in his chair and took a long sip of his drink.

"Sid and I go back more than 15 years. No less than you and the other girls, he's not only someone I supervise, he's someone I love and trust. Sid told me about New Hampshire the day he came back." Bert said.

"Johanna doesn't think Sid should be alone if he gets depressed again." Jeanette told the director.

"She doesn't want Uncle Sid thinking she ratted him out." Bert smiled and shook his head.

"I do not think it's necessary because Sid is well aware that too much drinking threw him into a tailspin, but tell Johanna that Jesse will be going along to keep him company. I'll thank her myself later." Bert told Jeanette.

"Sorry Uncle Bert." she said.

Bert again shook his head.

"Don't be sorry, it's precisely why I love you guys so much!"

The group would now have five people in the party as Sid was told that Jesse had asked for permission from Bert to go with his Uncle.

"It'll also be good for David too; he'll have a peer with him." Bert told his second in command.

The trip up was uneventful except for David's trip to the cockpit with Jesse where he got to sit in the copilot's seat wearing the headphones and watching the clouds slide by underneath him at over 500 miles an hour.

The plane had come into Charlotte from Philadelphia, and the crew had picked up a lunch for the crew and passengers of Philly Steak sandwiches, and hot pretzels. David sat in fair amazement as Sid dipped mustard on his pretzel and the boy watched as Sid ate it and shook his head.

"That's crazy Uncle Sid, nobody puts mustard on pretzels!" David declared.

Sid tried, but David wasn't trying it for himself and neither was Jesse.

The drive from Laconia to the lake was a short one, and by 4:00 the team was being shown to their rooms. Leonard, the same senior boy who had shown Sid and Johanna their rooms six weeks earlier, was there and Sid and the boy instantly recognized one another. To the boys, it looked like old home week as the two embraced. Once again Sid's old friend Barry was on hand, and again, the boys watched a scene that told them that whoever the man was, Sid and he were very old friends.

"If the boys want, they can sleep in the boys' dorm." Barry told Sid after introductions were made.

On hearing the suggestion David moved to Thomas and took the man's hand.

"David's a little shy. He'd rather stay with his Uncle Thomas." Sid told his friend seeing David's reaction.

"No problem, if he wants to have a tour, Leonard will be happy to show him around anytime." Barry replied.

"He probably will once he gets use to the place." Thomas offered.

"How about you, Jesse?" Barry asked the boy.

"That's OK; I'd rather stay with my Uncle Sid." Jesse replied.

Dinner the first night at the Administration table with the director of the school went very much like the first Dinner Sid had experienced except probably much more attention to the group was being paid to them by the boys. It was rare for the New Hampshire students to see another boy sitting with the Administrator's and they also knew these two to be Green Tree boys. While none of the students had ever seen Green Tree, they were well aware of its existence, and openly curious about it and the boys who attended it.

"You seem to be the center of attraction." Matthew, the schools director said to them. Sid, Beth and Thomas all smiled as David turned a slight tinge of pink.

"Our boys would love to spend some time with you and pick your brain about Green Tree if you would be comfortable doing that." he suggested.

"Maybe tomorrow?" David looked at Thomas

"We've certainly got some time on our hands until we get a call, I'd like to see the school for myself too." Thomas said.

David didn't really respond, he smiled a little and resumed eating.

"I guess it's a little like being the new kid in class in the middle of the year huh buddy?" Sid volunteered.

David nodded his head, but kept focused on his plate of food.

David was extremely relieved after dinner to be back in his room with Thomas, Sid and Beth. He was about to turn 12, but David had lived almost his entire life in and around the same people all his remembered life. He was never the 'newcomer' or the 'stranger' and those feelings, up until dinner, were completely unknown to him. It was a feeling he hoped he wouldn't experience again. Once back in the room, the old David returned, even with Sid's friend Barry in his company. Sid was glad Bert had convinced him to let Jesse come along.

The boys were dressed to the nines at dinner, now, they were back down to underpants in deference to Beth's presence and sitting on the balcony over looking the lake as the adults sat down to talk. Basically, the boys became the bartender in between listening to the stories being told by Sid and Barry of their youth together. Both David and Jesse took a lot of mental notes, and would have a ton of stories to tell their friends back at school concerning Uncle Sid. As the evening progressed, so did the stories of just how spunky Uncle Sid was as a boy.

For David, his night ended sometime around 10:00 as he sat in Thomas' lap and listened to the adults chatter. Jesse sat and continued to listen as he listened for a pattern of speech coming from his uncle that Uncle Bert had explained to him would signal it was time for Uncle Sid to retire.

Unlike Green Tree, the New Hampshire school was back in its academic schedule and the boys were in class during the day. David would have much preferred to stay in his room and hang around with Jesse but the next morning all five Green Tree guests were shown the school including classrooms and rooms full of students. The boys saw it as being much more formal than Green Tree was, and liked their school's way of doing things much more. New Hampshire was also much bigger than Green Tree and sat on its own peninsula of land jutting out into Lake Winnipesauke.

"I don't understand how you can maintain security around here." Thomas quizzed Barry.

"I can see houses across the lake, aren't you afraid they could just come across the lake?" he asked. Barry shook his head.

"We have a breakwater that goes out all around the school for at least 1,500 feet. In order to get to us from the land side, you'd have to traverse a live-fire firing range. The neighbors know this place as a testing ground for newly developed land mines by the Army." Barry told the doctor.

"And just to prove it, every few weeks, the Army lobs a few mortars around just to remind the neighbors!" Sid chuckled.

Both boys now wanted to know when they could expect the next show.

By lunch, the general tour was pretty much over and Matthew had scheduled a few meetings between Thomas and Beth and the medical team for the afternoon which left the boys to pretty much fend for themselves. Barry arranged a 'student's tour' of the school for both boys with four boys from New Hampshire, all within David's and Jesse's age group. Jesse was game, but David balked a bit.

"Now you know how the boys from Albemarle first felt when they came." Sid told David as Barry left to bring in the four boys.

'Stranger anxiety' to David was basically unknown up to this point.

"The boys here want to welcome you to their school as much as the Green Tree boys wanted to welcome the Albemarle boys." Sid counseled David as the boy looked anything but happy.

"I can just stay with you Uncle Sid!" David replied.

Sid smiled and took David into his arms and kissed the boy on the forehead.

"Meeting new people is just a part of growing up David. I'm not going anywhere, and neither is Uncle Thomas. We'll be right here." he told the boy as Barry brought in the four boys.

After introductions, Sid could cut the apprehension coming from David with a knife.

"OK guys, let's figure this thing out. Jesse is 12 and he's a 3. David is just about to turn 12, and he's a 3.5. Where are you guys?" Sid asked the boys. One by one, the boys rattled off their names, ages and scale number to Sid, all with a smile on their faces. After the last boy spoke, Sid turned back to David and Jesse.

"Sounds like an exciting afternoon!" he told both boys.

Turning back to the New Hampshire boys, Sid had a question.

"At Green Tree we swim with the twins flying, how's it done here?" he asked.

Sid received no answer from the boys who were too busy giggling, as Barry answered.

"General swim they wear suits, but in dorm swim they can go au natural if they want."

"Sounds pretty much like Green Tree." Sid said to his boys.

"We don't swim in bathing suits Uncle Sid!" David immediately responded.

"Well, it might be a little embarrassing, but you'll be able to tough it out." Sid told him.

With Jesse joining the group, even David now had to laugh.

"As far as the ground rules are concerned, the rules here are pretty much the same as the rules at Green Tree. Probably the only difference is the terminology." Sid said without looking directly at David.

"What we call playing, these boys call romping. The golden rule is still the golden rule; 'No means no!" Sid told the group.

"Anything I missed?" Sid asked.

"No advertising!" a New Hampshire boy added.

Amidst a bunch of giggles, Sid nodded his head.

"Good point! Nobody waves flagpoles to attract attention in public." Sid added.

"But we can in private!" the same boy replied.

Tucked into a bathing suit under a pair of school gym sweats given to both boys by their new friends, David and Jesse took off for the afternoon with David still looking back a little apprehensive towards Sid. It didn't happen again, and neither boy was seen very much during the day by the team as the birth of the baby approached.

Until the baby was born, it was in the hands of the same obstetrician that handled the birth of Sidney Bertram. Like Thomas, he was a Harvard graduate, and had been the one who had requested a doctor be found for Sidney from his friends at Harvard. Thomas realized immediately that this man was responsible for his becoming involved with Sidney and Green Tree in the first place. This man he did not know was his tie to Green Tree and his curiosity grew.

"How did you come to choose me?" Thomas asked the man.

"I didn't make a specific request for any particular pediatrician, I just asked my people at school to come up with a recommendation. Apparently, someone in Brookline came up with your name and passed it on." The obstetrician replied.

"So you didn't know me or anything about me?" Thomas asked. The doctor shook his head.

"Are you a Geppetto boy?" The obstetrician asked Thomas.

"No, are you?" Thomas replied.

"No, my nephew is and I became involved through him." the doctor told Thomas.

"Is that how you became involved?" he asked. Thomas shook his head.

"My professor at school called me and recommended I take on Sidney as a private patient, I don't know whether he's involved in Geppetto or not." Thomas replied. The obstetrician shrugged his shoulders.

"If he is, you'll meet him again sooner or later. If not, assume he isn't." he recommended.

"If you want, I can find out for you." Thomas thought about it.

"No, what good would it do one way or the other?" he asked.

Beth spent many hours in the maternity ward in Laconia getting accustomed to newborns. What they looked like, what they sounded like, how they liked to be held and talked to, and especially how to discern their different cries.

"He's telling you he's hungry, he's telling you he's pissed, she's telling you she's wet, she's telling you she's tired, he's telling you he's in pain." Beth was told and then the maternity nurse would demonstrate the accuracy of her evaluation. To most men, a crying baby is a crying baby. Most good parents learn very quickly that the baby knows full well the difference between a wet ass and an obstructed bowel.

For Sid, the next three days were spent for the most part with his childhood friend. Several van trips to the countryside were taken with the boys in tow to see the beginnings of the fall foliage season, but for the most part, this activity was a sleeper for the Laconia boys, who would much rather be showing David and Jesse the far more adventurous activities of the lobster fleet out of Kittery or the ride down the Merrimack. For two boys who had never been further North than Galax before, waking up to the crisp air of New Hampshire in mid September underneath three down comforters was an adventure in itself. The smell of burning leaves, climbing into pear and apples trees to pick off vine ripe fruit and eat it then and there were experiences they would retell their friends back at Green Tree for some time to come. These were memories Sid had thousands of.

Barry and Sid had been together since both boys were barely five years old. Of the 20 boys they originally entered the Program with; these were the last two survivors. Their Uncle Kenny had saved their lives almost 40 years earlier and brought them to their original school in Keene, New Hampshire, and now, at close to 50, both men now escorted this group of six boys around in vastly different conditions than they themselves had experienced as children. With Sid working at Green Tree and Barry working at New Hampshire, it was rare for the two to get together and before Sidney's birth the two had not seen each other for very close to 15 years. The memories both men had growing up were very sweet, and some, extremely bitter. When together, it was impossible to separate one from the other, it was simply their history.

Jesse had been instructed well by Bert and the boy was told to pay particular attention to his Uncle towards the end of the evening, especially if Sid had been drinking more than his normal share. When Bert told Jesse that, Jesse looked a little confused.

"If you see him drinking before lunch, or you see him scratching and digging at his fingernails, you need to stay close to him." Bert instructed the boy.

"You know your Uncle Sid better than anyone Jesse. If you think he's not in a good mood, I want you to tell Uncle Matthew that you want to speak to me immediately." Bert instructed.

Sid had noticed Jesse's added attention and at first chalked it off to the combination of the boy's being 'the new kids in town' and to Jesse's increased clinging which had begun back at camp when his transfer to the senior boys compound was being verbalized. By day three, Sid figured he'd have to have a discussion with Bert when he returned to figure out how to put Jesse's feet on more solid ground. Then, in the afternoon Leonard left a message with Sid.

"Tell Jesse Mr. Matt says he can call home after dinner tonight and his Uncle will be waiting for it." The boy told him.

Sid acknowledged the message. The first opportunity Sid got to see Jesse was right after showers as Jesse and David dried off.

"I'm supposed to give you a message Jesse. You can call home after dinner tonight." Sid told the boy.

Jesse was drying his hair and had the towel over his head.

"Call home?" he asked.

"That's the message. Have you spoken to your Uncle Adam before?" he asked.

"Uncle Adam?" Jesse asked.

"I asked you first!" Sid replied.

"No Uncle Sid." Jesse said saying nothing more.

Sid now nodded.

"So who?" he asked.

Jesse took some seconds before answering as he went to his suitcase and drew up a pair of underpants.

"I wanted talk time with Uncle Bert." the boy said quietly.

Again Sid nodded. Jesse had put Sid in a box. Any boy, at any time, could request talk time with another staff member and the request could not be denied nor the reason for it probed by another boy or staff member. Jesse had shut down the conversation. Sid began reviewing events in his mind since Jesse received permission to go on the trip.

Dinner went smoothly. David had opted to eat with the four boys who were showing Jesse and him around the school for the past few days while Jesse opted to stay at the administration table. Halfway through dinner, Matthew mentioned that it was unfortunate that Bert had not been able to come.

"Oh, I don't know, I think Bert has a very definite presence here." Sid replied.

Matthew looked puzzled, but Jesse continued to eat.

"Wouldn't you agree Jesse?" Sid asked the boy.

Jesse said nothing as he stared at his plate. Without comment, he put down his fork and put his napkin on the plate and left the table.

"What's that all about?" Thomas asked as the group watched the boy leave the dining hall.

Excusing himself, Sid now left following Jesse out.

"I want to go home right now, and I want you to come with me." Jesse told Sid as the man entered the room with Jesse throwing his clothing into his suitcase.

Jesse's tone told Sid there was little room for discussion as far as Jesse was concerned.

"Has someone done or said something to you or David?" Sid asked.

"No. I just want us to go home and right now!" Jesse replied.

"And what about the baby?" Sid asked.

"Uncle Bert can come back here." Jesse responded.

"I want to go home." Jesse repeated.

Sid knows boys as well as any man on earth knows boys and he knew that this one was on the verge of loosing it.

"I will begin packing my bags just as soon as we sit down for five minutes and figure out how we got here." Sid told the boy as he sat down and summoned Jesse over to him.

"I think it's useless and senseless and stupid for me to tell you how much I love you, you already know that Jesse. I also don't need you to tell me that you love me back. I already know that." Sid began.

"I've never lied to you, and I don't think you've ever lied to me. Tell me why you want to leave and if it's a reason to go, I'll be the first one out the door." Sid told the boy as he cradled him in his arms.

"This place makes you sad Uncle Sid. You're drinking too much and it's not good for us." Jesse said.

Sid was quiet for a long pause.

"There are some sad memories I have about this place Jesse, but every one of us has some sad memories, we can't just keep running away from them can we?" he counseled the boy.

"As for drinking, if I drank less, that would make you feel safer?" he asked.

Jesse nodded his head.

"How much less?" Sid asked.

"No more than you drink at home." Jesse replied.

"That much?" Sid asked.

"It's not funny Uncle Sid!" Jesse replied.

"No Jesse it's not funny." Sid said as he kissed the boy on his neck.

"I will drink less and you will keep your bag packed. If I start drinking too much, you can pull my suitcase out and we'll go home. Deal?" Sid asked.

Jesse nodded once again. For Sid, Jesse's crisis was over. The one between Sid and Bert was just beginning.

"Why the fuck would a sane grown man involve a 12 year old child in this kind of a situation!" Sid yelled into the phone that night.

"You fucking knew his father committed suicide and you put him in charge of counting my drinks?"

The phone call was pretty much a one sided affair that lasted for well over ten minutes long. Bert allowed Sid to vent as the director made himself a Vodka Tonic and waited for a pause in the tirade. Finally, Bert got his opportunity.

"Six months after I came to Green Tree who was that staff member who told me I was drinking much too much for my own good." Bert asked his second.

"And as far as Jesse is concerned, the boy would be harmed only if the adult that he cared about blew him off and drank himself into a stupor anyway!" Bert told Sid.

"Jesse was the best option available. Who better to watch your back than another Geppetto boy?" Bert asked him.

Educationally both men were roughly par. Psychologically, both men could make Dr. Laura look like a half-baked nitwit. Sid was down to his last argument 20 minutes into the call.

"It's a matter of trust Bert. Obviously, you don't trust me!" Sid told his boss.

"Sid, there is a complete lack of trust, but it's not between you and me. It's between us and alcohol!" Bert replied.

"If you knew I was doing a bottle of Vodka a night, would there be a lot of trust?" Bert asked.

"Alcohol is a depressant. The last thing either one of us needs is to be doing downers! You knew you were drinking more than you should the last time you were up there. Nobody expects either one of us to become AA members anytime soon, but we can tell each other to shut off the spigot now and then without our relationship taking a flush!" Bert concluded.

"So why the fuck not sit down with me before I left and say just that?" Sid asked.

"For me, that would work. For the girls, they wanted something a little more tangible." Bert responded.

"What the hell do the girls have to do with it?" Sid asked.

Bert wished he hadn't opened that door, but it was.

"Sid, if you went up there alone and something happened to you, how do you think the girls would react to their having done nothing to protect you?" Bert responded.

"It kind of makes me feel a little humble having all these people look after this poor old drunk!" Sid said.

"Sid, if we exchanged shoes, would you be doing the same exact thing for me?" Bert asked his friend.

"In Macy's front window!" Sid replied.

"Good night Sid." Bert said.

Sid hung up the phone and looked over to his friend Barry.

"One of these days I'm gonna win one of these fights!" he said as he stood up.

Barry chuckled a bit as the two left Matthew's office.

"I have the same go-rounds with Matt now and then except we don't have quite as many F-bombs in our deliberations." he told his friend.

Sid returned to his room which by now was dark and quiet. Both Beth and Thomas had retired, and only David and Jesse were left awake with the boys watching TV. David had stayed with Jesse through the evening after dinner, and was present at an emotional phone call to Bert from Jesse.

"So what's up?" David asked Jesse after leaving Matthew's office.

"Uncle Bert said that if I wanted to go home again, he would make the arrangements." Jesse replied.

"Are you going to?" David asked.

"I don't know. If Uncle Sid won't stop drinking so much, I don't want to stay here. If I leave, Uncle Bert will make Uncle Sid come with me back home." Jesse replied.

Earlier, one boy was upset. Now, Jesse had company.

"If you go back home, I'm going with you. Tell Uncle Bert that." David said.

"What about Uncle Thomas?" Jesse asked.

"If you go home, I'm going with you." David repeated.

Both Thomas and Beth were fairly clueless as to what was going on, they knew Jesse blew dinner off, and that calls were being made back and forth to Green Tree, but little more. As both boys returned to the rooms, it was close to bedtime showers. With Sid off with Barry, David and Jesse showered together and then came out on the porch where Thomas and Beth sat. Jesse was in underpants, but David was still naked as both boys handed the staff members a hair brush and sat down next to them. As Beth and Thomas brushed out the boys' hair, both boys were unusually quiet.

"Would we be stepping on anybody's toes if we asked what was going on and why you two have such long faces on?" Thomas asked David as he brushed the boy's hair.

"Jesse?" David asked looking to his friend for an answer.

Jesse was quiet for a long time, but eventually formulated a question in his mind that didn't violate his uncle's privacy.

"When you drink Uncle Thomas, do you get happy or sad?" He asked.

"Happy I guess, or I wouldn't drink." Thomas replied.

Jesse nodded his head.

"Uncle Adam, and Uncle Dan, and Uncle Bert, all our Uncle's drink, and they all get happy right?" he asked again picking and choosing his words very carefully.

"How come most of the time they get happy, but sometimes, they get sad too?" the boy asked.

"Well, because alcohol is a drug that affects the brain. In some people, it affects them by making them happy, some it affects by making them sad and even angry. Some people get so angry; they should never drink it at all." Thomas replied.

"None of our uncle's gets angry." David said.

"No, I've never seen anyone of them that has no business drinking." Thomas replied.

"So how do you know if it's going to make you happy or sad?" Jesse asked.

"Unless you drink too much, if you're happy and you drink, you get happier. If you're sad and you drink, you get sadder. At least that's the way it works for me, but everybody reacts to alcohol differently Jesse. It depends upon the individual's personality and how they tolerate drinking." Thomas told the boy.

Jesse studied the doctor's words for a long time.

"Did you ever drink and become sad?" he asked.

"Yes, a few times." Thomas replied.

"Why didn't you just stop drinking then and become happy again?" he asked.

"Sometimes I did, but usually, I either fell asleep or a friend told me I had had enough and took me home." Thomas replied.

Jesse now looked at David as both boys turned to each other simultaneously. Neither boy spoke, but Jesse stood up.

"Good night Uncle Thomas, good night Aunt Beth." Jesse said as he gave each a kiss.

"I'm going to stay with Jesse until Uncle Sid comes back. Ok Uncle Thomas?" David now asked.

Thomas nodded as the boy kissed the two staff members and followed Jesse out. It was a good minute before either adult spoke.

"Did you see any problems with Sid's drinking? Thomas asked the girl.

"No, did you?" Thomas shook his head as he looked down at his drink.

Fifteen minutes earlier he thought he'd have one more and turn in. Maybe not.

As Sid now said good night to David and gave him a kiss, Jesse pulled up a bunch of comforters and turned off the TV.

"I just spoke with Uncle Bert. He thinks you might be correct and maybe I should drink a little less than I normally do." Sid said as he took off his shoes and socks.

"But of course we also both agreed that Uncle Sid ain't becoming a tea drinker anytime soon once I get back to camp right?" he asked the boy.

Jesse smiled for the first time in many hours as Sid wrapped the boy in his arms and hugged him as hard as he dared.

"Go like this." Sid said to Jesse as he lay down and held up his hand and flexed his pinky finger.

Jesse took out his arm and repeated the action on his own hand.

"Anytime I see you do that to me, you're telling me to stop drinking. If I don't, you go find Uncle Bert and he'll beat my ass with a stick with my permission and that's my promise!" Sid said.

On night four, Jesse slept more peacefully than he had since arriving.

David's return to his room with Thomas was a quiet affair as David slipped under the covers and scooted himself in front of his uncle. The heat was on and the window was cracked open a bit, and the combination made it the type of night when you didn't want a toe or arm sticking out, but pulled the down covers right up to your neck and breathed in the cool air while you were snugly under the covers. As David moved his body back into Thomas' the man pulled the boy into him and put him into an embrace.

"Everything OK?" Thomas asked.

David nodded but verbally said nothing as he contemplated having to leave with Jesse if his friend chose that route. Sleep was short lived as the phone rang in Thomas' room at 4:30 in the morning. The baby's mother's water had broken, and she was on her way to the hospital. Thomas looked at the clock. In all likelihood, the mother would be in labor from between eight to 16 hours. Thomas saw little reason to immediately leave and fell back to sleep.

Beth and Thomas left for the hospital around 10:30 or so, with Sid, David and Jesse remaining at school. There would be very little for any of them to do except for Thomas, who would take over the baby's care upon its birth.

"I doubt that the baby is going to be nursing for the first 15 or 20 hours or so, so once the baby is stabilized and you have your initial contact with him, there's going to be very little for you to do until probably tomorrow morning at the earliest." Thomas told Beth as the two scrubbed and Beth was put into a hospital gown.

"Keep in mind, the obstetrician is Geppetto, but everybody else in there is clueless. You're the adoptive mother of the baby, and that's all they know." Thomas reminded the girl.

Unlike the delivery of Sidney, this was going to be a vaginal birth, and both Thomas and Beth would be in the delivery room as the baby was born. The girl, a 16 year old, was birthing the baby and giving it up for adoption.

The baby was conceived by two children, one 15, the other 16 and neither planned nor were prepared to raise the child. The girl opted to give the baby up for adoption rather than to have it aborted, and besides, by the time she knew she was pregnant it was too late for an abortion anyway. The girl knew who the father of her child was, but she did not know that the father was a Geppetto boy, and this was his second child, and sixth girl he had made pregnant in the small Massachusetts town of Chicopee, some 9 to 11 months earlier. The baby about to be born was a half-brother to Sidney Bertram, their father was now a resident student at The New Hampshire School and was unaware of either Sidney Bertram's or this new baby's looming birth.

The Baby's head crowned by a little after 1:15 in the afternoon, and at 1:30 his birth was recorded. Beth spent the majority of her time in the delivery room avoiding looking at the girl. As far as Beth was concerned, the girl should have been at a high school football rally, cheerleading her team. She should have been at the Mall with several of her girlfriends trying on endless clothing. She should have been anywhere but on a gurney with her legs in stirrups giving birth to a baby that shouldn't have come for at least another five years. Beth was taught birth control at age ten before her parents even knew anything about Geppetto. How could parents be so fucking stupid? Beth thought to herself as she listened to the girl in labor.

Turning the baby upside down and smacking it on the ass to start its breathing and clear its lungs was completely unnecessary much to Beth's relief. The baby came out howling its balls off and was as pink and red as the colors could be. Once the baby's umbilical cord was clamped and cut and his nose was suctioned, the baby was presented to Beth who took it to the next room while the obstetrician delivered the placenta and took care of the baby's mother. It was requested by both the girl and her family that she not has further contact with the baby, and Beth doubted that the little girl even saw the baby.

Sidney Bertram was a small baby; this baby had three pounds on it at very close to ten pounds [4,5 kg]. Sidney had little lanuga, this baby looked like a gorilla. Sidney had little hair, this baby had a rug that hung down its neck in small waves. With foot prints, heal sticks, pokes and probes going on constantly around him, the baby rarely stopped exercising its tonsils as Beth held the baby against her abdomen just below her chest. Thomas watched as the nurse attached a band around the baby's ankle and another on Beth's wrist as tears began dropping down Beth's cheeks. The Charge Nurse came over to Beth with a clipboard in her hand.

"Does' your baby have a name yet?" she asked. Beth nodded her head.

"His name is Joshua David ............" Beth told the nurse.

"Do you wish to choose a religion?" she asked.

"Hebrew" Beth responded.

"Do you want him circumcised?" she now asked.

"No, he'll be circumcised by a Mohel." Beth told the Nurse.

As the nurse left, Thomas looked over to Beth as she wiped the baby.

"Finding a Mohel in Northern North Carolina is going to be a neat trick." he said to the girl.

Joshua was a robust baby, but he was involved in one hell of a fight to be born, and did not initially latch onto Beth before he was bundled up and taken away to the nursery. Beth was told to expect that with vaginally birthed baby's and was content with knowing that the first woman the baby's nose came into contact with was hers. It took a little convincing, but by 5:00 Thomas and Beth left the hospital to return to school for the night. Joshua would probably not nurse for the first 12 to 18 hours, he needed a rest.

The excitement over the baby's birth went unrestricted by all concerned right up until the subject of the Mohel was announced by Beth.

"Great! Let's all get ready for dinner." Sid very quickly announced as the boys listened in.

"We can all discuss the details after dinner and tomorrow, go and see the baby." he announced as he ushered the boys into the shower.

The bums rush escaped the boys, but it didn't escape Thomas as Sid came back into the middle room after setting the boys up.

"Does Bert know you're intending to have a Bris Milah?" Sid asked Beth as he re-entered the room.

"You're Jewish?" Beth asked.

"No, but I sure as hell know why someone calls in a Mohel!" Sid responded.

"Years back, being snipped meant nothing. Today, it's a pretty unusual occurrence for our boys. As you've noticed, David and Jesse still have what they were born with as do most of our boys. It's going to take a little explaining to them why we want to chop Joshua's head off." Sid told the girl.

"Bert must know I'm Jewish, I assumed that having the baby circumcised was a given!" Beth said.

Sid went to the fridge and took out two beers. Handing one to Thomas, he sat down.

"We never actually discussed it, but I'm sure that if Bert did believe the baby would be circumcised, it would be done in the hospital and the baby would come home with the deed done. Now, the boys are going to see his winky in one piece one day and chopped the next!" Sid explained.

"Trust me, for a boy, knowing someone took a piece of your Johnson off is not a trivial matter!" While Thomas and Barry had to giggle a bit, Beth didn't see all that much humor in the subject.

"The problem can be solved by not putting his genitals on display and by keeping the ceremony private!" she offered somewhat defensively.

Sid smiled a bit. He didn't want to insult the girl or her religion, but he didn't want her walking around in fantasy either.

"Think back Beth. What was the very first thing that happened with Sidney when he was brought home?" he asked the girl.

"The first thing everyone there is going to do is to count all the fingers, all the toes, the arms the legs and the kid's package." Sid concluded.

"As far as keeping the ceremony private, it would be like keeping his birthday private. It ain't gonna happen. They might not actually see the cutting, but they will be looking at the results." Beth's defenses grew.

"I told Bert from the very beginning I would raise the baby as a Jew." she said.

"Don't misunderstand me Beth, I don't have a problem in the world with the baby being raised Jewish. I'm just saying that telling our boys that he's going to be circumcised isn't quite the same as telling them we're going to be cutting his toenails. The boys know that most of their Uncles are circumcised. They also know that most of them aren't and they've been told that it's because when we were little boys it was routinely done and now it's rarely done."

Beth's blood pressure lowered as she sat back.

"Jewish boys are always circumcised, they can understand that." she offered.

Sid smiled and shook his head.

"Even that's not true anymore. We have nutcake female rabbis now who refuse to offer Bris Milah."

"Then they're in the wrong temple!" Beth offered.

Sid nodded his head.

"I'll call Bert tomorrow. He's going to have to bring the boys up to speed on Jewish customs."

"You're sure you don't think this is a good idea because you're against circumcision?"

Beth asked. Sid broadly smiled.

"I guess we're going to have to go swimming in the lake or pool together one of these days Beth. If I was against being snipped, I'd have to be self loathing." he replied.

"Count me in!"

"Me too!" Thomas and Barry added.

For Beth it was her first faint smile of the conversation.

Morning broke with a cool breeze blowing in off the lake bringing with it ribbons of fog from the water. David stood out by the porch wrapped in a quilt.

"It looks like the clouds when we were up in the plane Uncle Thomas." the boy said as Thomas came out with a cup of coffee in one hand and hot chocolate in the other for David. Thomas sat down in a lounger and David sat in his lap sipping the drink.

"You were very quiet last night David. Is everything all right with Jesse?" Thomas asked.

"Jesse might be going home. If he goes, I'm going to go with him." David said somberly.

"We're all going home in a few days." Thomas replied.

"No Uncle Thomas. Jesse might go home today." David replied.

"Why?" Thomas asked the boy.

David shook his head.

"Jesse has to tell you that, it's his personal business." David told the man.

Before Thomas got the chance to try to figure out exactly what was going on, Jesse came out followed by Sid and Jesse motioned for David to come back into the room with him. As both boys re-entered the bedroom, Sid and Thomas were now alone as Sid sat down and sipped his coffee.

"Is there any way I can be brought into this loop?" Thomas asked Sid.

"What loop Doc?" Sid asked.

"David just told me that Jesse may be leaving today and if he does, David's going with him. What the fuck am I missing here?" he asked somewhat miffed.

"I'm sorry Doc, I guess we were so busy talking to each other, we forgot to include everyone else." Sid said.

"I had a long talk with Jesse last night, and he's not leaving, nobody is until we're finished here."

Thomas listened to Sid, but it didn't really explain anything to him.

"A long talk about what?" he asked.

"Chiefly about me." Sid said as Beth came out on the porch with a towel wrapped around her hair as a senior boy brought out a tray of coffee and sweat buns.

Barry now joined them and as the senior boy left, David and Jesse rejoined the group.

"On my last visit, I got a little deeper into the sauce than I should have, and as the girls know, too much booze and a Geppetto boy can be like mixing gasoline and gunpowder." Sid began as Jesse sat down on his lap.

"The girls tend to be a tad over protective of me, and sent Jesse here to keep an eye on me."

Sid said as he wrapped his arms around Jesse's chest as the boy laid back.

"Jesse here is a little over protective too, but with very good reason, and yesterday the shit hit the fan."

Thomas and Beth watched as Jesse smiled a little and shook his head.

"You yelled at Uncle Bert didn't you?" he asked.

Sid kissed Jesse on the side of the neck

"We never yell at each other sport, we discuss things." Sid said to the boy.

"You said 'the girls', why would Jesse be sent to monitor you if Beth is here?" Thomas asked.

Sid again smiled.

"Some folks believe that my mother died in a car accident when I was a baby. In truth, she never died; her name is Gloria, Jeanette and Johanna. Those three don't let me take a piss without telling me to lift the fucking seat up; they might just as well be my mother!"

After the laughter died down, Sid ended the discussion.

"When one of us has a problem, or those around us THINKS that one of us has a problem we tend to draw in the wagons and circle around that person." Sid said as he pinched Jesse on the nipple.

"Sometimes we leave people out of the circle that shouldn't be. You're a part of us, it shouldn't happen again." he said.

Bert's reaction to the resolution of the situation was positive. Then he got the news about the Mohel.

"Sure I assumed the kid was going to be chopped. But I didn't think we were going to make a party of it!" he told Sid.

"Well think again swami and start figuring out how we're going to explain it to the non believers!" Sid replied somewhat gleefully.

"Are there any other surprises coming down the pike?" Bert asked.

"Does John run a kosher kitchen?" Sid responded.

There was a long silence on the other end.

"Are you busting my fucking balls?" Bert eventually asked.

"Sorry boss. Let's assume he does and in the meantime, order up a couple hundred Yarmulkes for the ceremony." Sid replied as he hung up.

The group arrived at the hospital just after 10:30 and Thomas immediately went to the ward to check on Joshua. Beth and the rest of the group was shown to a room where Jesse and David received hospital gowns to wear over their clothing while Beth took a shower and was put in a gown and bed to receive Joshua when he made his debut. Almost an hour of TV later, Thomas accompanied Joshua into the room with two hospital nurses. Wrapped in a blanket with a knit cap on his head that almost closed his eyes, Joshua was laid on Beth's chest for the second time as one of the nurses stroked the baby's cheek and Joshua started rooting. It had taken Sidney Bertram three stabs before he got the hang of it, but Joshua's lips barely touched Beth's nipple when it disappeared into the baby's mouth and Beth felt her milk being withdrawn. Joshua's eyes never opened as his fist sat clenched closed on top of her breast as David and Jesse watched the baby's throat move with his swallowing.

For the school, the first order of business was to verify that the baby was in fact a Geppetto baby. If the mother was a Geppetto girl, there was no question about it. However, since she was not, the baby might not have been conceived by a Geppetto boy. Only the baby's DNA could determine that, and it would take two days of testing to verify. After that, the baby was free to leave with medical clearance. The tests came back and Joshua and Sidney were in fact half-brothers. As with most things Geppetto, celebration was once again denied.

While Beth and Thomas were fairly tied to the hospital and Joshua, Sid, Barry, Jesse and David along with the four boys who were assigned to them as "Guides" spent the next two days leaf peeping, riding chair lifts up snowless mountain ski lifts, catching lobsters and rafting down rivers. If David and Jesse could take a few dozen friends and staff members along with them, neither would have balked at moving to Laconia on a permanent basis.

Five days after Joshua's birth, it was time to go home. Beth left with 20 pounds [9 kg] of coffee to bring back along with a nine pound [4 kg] baby. The boys had picked a few peck of pears, peaches and apples and along with gallons of maple syrup, Cabot's cheese and apple cider, a second van was needed to carry their gifts back to the airport.

The separation between Sid and Barry never got easier, and with each one, the drinks got a little stiffer, but Jesse was happy that Sid's triple screwdriver was being drunk on a plane zooming home at over 500 miles [800 km] an hour rather than being more than 1,000 miles [1,600 km] away and going nowhere. For Joshua's part, he was fine until they left 35,000 feet [10.7 km] to land and then David and Jesse got to see his tonsils again.

Once Bert received Sid's phone call, he first spoke to Helen who as the senior girl from Pine Ridge, would have known Beth and could give him some insight into her religious beliefs. While he knew the girl was Jewish, it never dawned on him to dig further, why would he?

Helen pretty much shrugged her shoulders.

"I know she's Jewish and celebrates things like Chanukah, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but she's not flat kosher. I don't know about pork because I never studied the matter, but I know she eats cheeseburgers!" Helen told Bert.

"She wants a Mohel. Isn't that a bit orthodox?" Bert asked.

"Not necessarily. If she's eating cheeseburgers she's nowhere near orthodox but you have to understand Jews and the way they think." Helen said.

"I've been invited to friends who keep a kosher house, but keep pepperoni pizza down in the basement because, according to the Torah the basement isn't the 'home' so they're not going against their religion." Helen explained.

"If I had to put a label on Beth, I'd say she was a reformed Jew. That's probably the most liberal of them all, but still, some will be happy if the babies are circumcised in the hospital and some want a Mohel to do it."

"So why don't we just find a Mohel in New Hampshire and have him perform the ceremony?" Bert asked.

"Sure. That would work. Are you going to have them all sitting there for the next five days?"

Helen asked.

"Why five days?" Bert asked.

"Because the Mohel won't perform the ceremony until the baby is eight days old according to the Talmud." Helen replied.

Bert shook his head.

"Who makes up all these crazy fucking rules?" he asked.

Both Helen and Bert agreed that a crash course on Rabbinical Law was going to be needed to keep a whole lot of the boys from becoming very insecure about the state of their apparatus in the very near future. For want of a better term, a reversal needed to teach concerning the circumcising of boys. Of the roughly 350 boys, one in four was circumcised, which was a reversal when their uncle's were children. When questioned about it, most uncles (like Sid) had told the boys that they were born with foreskins, and if Jesus wanted them off, he'd come down and do it! Bert toyed with the idea of telling the boys that the Mohel was Jesus, but the girls wouldn't go for it. Instead a Chabad Lubavitch in Atlanta sent a copy of Jeremy Steinmetz's Bris Milah and Bert was happy that close-ups of the Bris were not as important to the photographer as the honey cake and chopped chicken liver was.

Johanna supervised the renovations of the cabins both Thomas and Beth would now be living in, and Dave had all but completed the temporary installations of the new infirmary equipment trailers.

For Sammy and the boys of the mafia, camp was running at full steam 24/7, and if they were awake, they were out and about. Waiting for the group from New Hampshire to return, Bert pretty much felt he had things under control except maybe for two small problems that were now four weeks away from reality. Bert sat on his porch in front of his office as Carla and Jeannie approached in bare feet, bare chested and wearing shorts he knew he had seen on Joey and Sammy before.

"Hi Uncle Bert!" Both girl's said as they opened the man's mini fridge and took out two bottles of soda. Bert looked up from the fishing lure he was re-wrapping.

"How's it going girls?" he said as he gave each one a peck on the lips. Neither girl responded as they sat down on a glider on the porch and began swinging.

"Uncle Bert, how come only boys go to Florida?" Carla asked the director. Bert smiled somewhat to himself. These were the boldest, pushiest and most brazen ten year old girls he had ever met in his life, Bert thought to himself. Rather than answer their real question outright, Bert decided to play for awhile instead.

"That's not really true, Aunt Sarah, and Aunt Martha and Aunt Jeanette will be returning to Florida and they're girls." he told them while continuing his work.

"They're staff Uncle Bert. We mean kids like us!" Jeannie said.

"Oh. Well, Green Tree is an Academy for boys, so I guess that's why they go back." Bert replied. "Green Tree is a camp for boys and we're here!" Carla responded.

"Girls? You two are girls?" Bert said.

"You know we are Uncle Bert! You've seen our pussies before!" Jeannie said somewhat exasperated. Bert nodded his head.

"Oh yes, I remember now." he replied continuing his work.

"Well, you're right, Green Tree was a camp for boys right up until the time you girls came, and now, it's coed." he said.

"So then how come the school isn't coed too?" Carla asked. Bert put down his lure and sat back.

"The truth of the matter is that the campus in Florida isn't large enough to house everybody."

The quickest cobra among them now struck.

"So if there was room, there would be girls in Florida too?" Carla asked.

Maybe Bert had fishing on his mind.

"If there was room, yes I suppose so." he replied. Carla now looked at Jeannie and smiled.

"Aunt Gloria and Timmy are staying here with us this winter, right Uncle Bert?" she asked.

"Yes, Aunt Gloria is the director of Pine Ridge now." Bert responded.

"And a bunch of Uncle Dave's crew and Uncle John's crew are staying with us too right?" Jeanette asked.

"Yes, there are certain people you need to stay here with you and take care of things." Bert replied without connecting the dots in his mind.

"How many?" Carla asked innocently.

"I guess we've got about three dozen senior boys and men who will take care of the grounds and do the cooking." Bert replied.

"Great!" Carla said as both girls now stood up and headed down the stairs.

"Bye Uncle Bert!" Jeannie yelled as they withdrew.

Bert watched the girls as they skipped down towards the lake. Cute little kids, Bert thought to himself as he picked his lure back up.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Bert asked Gloria at dinner.

"The girl's came back to the cabin after General Swim and packed their duffle bags. Helen was told that you said that they could go to Florida with the boys because there were three dozen empty beds there!" Gloria replied as she fed Timmy.

Bert looked at Helen as the woman nodded her head.

"If we're going to get anything done around here, we're all going to have to start singing from the same sheet of music." Gloria said without looking away from Timmy.

"Son of a bitch!" Bert said as he stood up and headed for the mafia.

Gloria and Helen looked at each other and giggled.

On the way to the mafia's table, Caroline saw Bert crossing the dining room and took flight into his arms. With the four year old wrapped around his neck, he approached Carla and Jeannie, who as usual, ate with Adam's cabin. After greetings to the other staff and boys around the table, Bert's attention now drifted towards the two girls.

"Just exactly what was it I said to you this afternoon?" Bert asked both girls.

"You told them they could come to Florida with us!" Joey said with a big grin on his face.

Bert looked at Joey stone faced.

"Poppycock!" he replied.

Bert was sitting two boys down from the girls when Carla leaned towards Jeannie and whispered in her ear. Four seconds later, both girls were crying as they ran out the screen door of the dining hall amid dead silence from the rest of the room.

"Whatcha do that for Uncle Bert?" Sammy asked as he stood up and followed the girls out as Joey, Trevor, Christopher and Matty quickly followed.

Bert sat back down at Gloria's table as the dining room very, very, slowly returned to normal. Timmy was now nursing as Caroline slid off Bert's lap and looked at the man a little strangely.

"First rule of womanhood. When you can't win an argument, cry." Gloria said.

"I'd be willing to bet when she whispered in Jeannie's ear; it was to tell her to start bawling." Helen said as she ate her desert.

"Let's face it Bert, you're screwed!"

The mafia's favorite rendezvous point when they wanted to gather and chat was the Arts & Crafts outdoor pavilion where there were tables and benches under a wood roof with rafters that could be climbed. After dinner close to two dozen mafia members sat in the rafters as Bert scoured the camp; looking for the girls to talk to. Since they didn't want to be found, they weren't.

"If Uncle Bert said you could come to Florida, he'll let you." Sammy told the girls who had ample wells to draw from when necessary.

Both girls knew that Bert would be looking for them in the upper camp and waited until almost dark to return to their cabin and Helen. The tears had long since dried up, but with a little will power and some concentration on both their parts, the girls walked into the cabin with the appropriate amount of water coming down their cheeks. Helen had six girls, and the four cabin mates drew a protective circle around Carla and Jeannie as the girls headed for the bathroom and stripped for showers.

"Uncle Bert has been looking for you for hours." Helen told the girls as she shampooed each one's hair.

"We don't want to see him." Carla replied.

"Well, you will. Uncle Bert runs this camp, and there's some confusion that needs to be cleared up."

"There's no confusion. He lied!" Jeannie said.

"Your Uncle Bert told me exactly what the conversation was. There is confusion to discuss." Helen repeated.

Bert pulled up just after the girls slipped into pajama bottoms. On hearing his horn, Carla began concentrating and had a good flow going as he reached the front door. Jeannie took a few more seconds, but by the time Bert made it out on the porch where the two whipped puppies were sitting and waiting for him, they both had a pretty good line going down their bare chests and pooling towards their stomachs. A kiss to each girl's forehead wrung a few more much needed tears from the well, and Bert was completely screwed as Helen had warned.

Joshua's entrance into life at Green Tree came just after lunch five days after his birth. Sidney had entered sound asleep. Joshua was anything but asleep as he was laid down on a table and presented to the entire campus. As Sid had foretold, all fingers, toes and sundry other parts were inspected, and once again, his swollen testicles gave rise to more than a few comments and raised eyebrows on the smaller boys and girls. Sidney joined Joshua on the table, and despite the fact that Sidney was a month older, the two were fairly similar in size and weight. Joshua was obviously a newborn, but could have been almost a twin to Sidney when it came to their facial features. Same nose, same bridge of the eyes, same ears and same brow. Beth had to explain over and over that his lanugo would disappear and that he didn't need to start shaving anytime soon. It took close to an hour for the reception line to clear and both Beth and Joshua were relieved when they finally arrived at their new cabin across from Johanna's. Like Sidney, Joshua had two senior girls assigned to assist his mother, but for his part he was too tired to make new friends for the time being.

Bert's first inclination was to secure a Mohel from Raleigh or Durham. The folks from Boston didn't like that suggestion. The Mohels there were either progressive or reformed Jews.

"They've got too much time on their hands and they're too close to you. If they get curious about Green Tree, they could become a pain in the ass. We're better off bringing in an orthodox Mohel. He'll do the Bris, but he's going to consider you all unclean. Give him airfare, transportation and $500.00 [€ 320] cash and he'll go back to Atlanta wishing you well and never see you again." Brookline suggested.

"Unclean?" Bert asked.

"Don't be insulted. To a Lubavitcher, anyone not Hassidic is unclean." The Rabbinical adviser for the project told Bert. Bert called the Chabad in Atlanta. Jeremy Steinmetz's Mohel had another foreskin to cut.

John had to do a bunch of studying, but between the kitchen and the bakery, by trim time he had organized a Bris Milah table that would have made the Glen Cove Jewish Community Center very proud. A truckload of Hebrew national cold cuts, roast beef, turkey, pastrami, corned beef, chopped liver, egg salad and potato knishes adorned the dining hall as tables of honey cake, rolls, rye bread and holly filled baskets. Tea, soda, cider and wine supplied the drinks, and by reformed standards, it was an impressive kosher table that had been set and John was duly proud of himself. The Mohel wanted none of it including the wine; the glass was certainly not kept kosher. Bert kept the 'unclean' part to himself. Of the 600 people at camp, about a hundred opted for lunch at the pool. It wasn't that they were anti Semitic, they were anti snipping. Johanna would have been one of them with Sidney, but she attended out of support of Beth despite her personal disapproval of the ritual itself.

The Mohel did not keep a count, but by his recollection, he had performed the ceremony 'thousands' of times, and for Joshua, he was out and back into Beth's arms in around six minutes. He wasn't the happiest camper in the world, but he was sound asleep mid-way into his first breast. The Mohel received five one hundred dollar bills and was history. Bert concluded that Brookline was 100 percent correct.

Joshua was back in his cabin by 2:30 and would see the sun again in a little over a week. His next encounter with his religion is set for his 13th birthday except maybe for some weddings and somebody else's Bris.

During Thomas' absence, his cabin was completed as were the infirmary additions.

Cabin four was now a single unit, fully heated and winterized. An attic dormer was put in and the upstairs was a single large bedroom with a half bath, and the downstairs was all living area, with a library, living room, den/office and large kitchen. To put it mildly, it was an extensive remodel that transformed a modest camp cabin into a lakeside retreat.

During one field trip to Vermont to ride a ski lift, the group had stopped alongside a stream with open fields when Thomas and David were in New Hampshire, and they had come across a farm with cows and horses grazing in the fields. Stopping, they found themselves approached by a huge chestnut mare that was obviously pregnant. Both Thomas and Sid instantly recognized the horse as being a Belgian drought horse.

In size, a Belgian can rival a Clydesdale and David was in awe of the animal. He had never seen a larger horse. With the farmer's permission, all six boys went riding as Sid discussed the horse with the farmer. David's birthday was in October, three weeks down the road, and the day he returned from New Hampshire, the horse was waiting for him in the barn. David knew the horse was going to foal in the spring; and at a little over 19 hands [1.9 m], the horse was huge.

"Wouldn't he have been just as happy with a puppy, or a cat?" Bert asked as the horse stepped out of the trailer.

The infirmary equipment trailers came none too soon. Two days after his return from New Hampshire, Thomas received a call that had him scurrying to the infirmary, Spencer and his mini cycle met a tree.

Following the burning of Martha back in the beginning of summer, Bert had a new intercom system installed in camp that maintained a tight security screen around the camp, while at the same time, gave each building communication in case of emergencies.

Now, when an emergency came up, people knew what problem they were responding to before they got there. In this case, Spencer was riding his mini cycle on the go cart trail when his front tire hit a rock and it sent the cycle veering off into an old Maple tree. As the other boys raced back to the cart shed, Spencer lay unconscious on the ground with Mike, Jeffrey and Danny staying with their friend.

Within minutes, the infirmary staff was on their way to the infirmary and Spencer had three staff at his side as Thomas appeared in his cart. From the boys, Thomas learned that Spencer smashed into the tree head first over the handle bars.

"Has anyone tried to move him?" Thomas asked the boys. As all three shook their heads, Thomas sighed a breath of relief.

"Good." he told the boys.

"If he has any serious injuries, it could have made them worse." Thomas told the boys. As Thomas spoke, Sarah came up the trail with the First-Aid cart that contained a strapping board.

Spencer had a bloody nose, but no blood coming from his ears which made Thomas a little happier as Spencer began to regain consciousness. The doctor checked for any numbness or paralysis in Spencer's extremities. Assured that the boy had no neck or back fractures, Spencer was straightened out and Sarah laid blankets on him as Thomas checked his eyes and ears. Spencer was in obvious pain but relatively calm which was about to end. Anthony was in the storeroom when the alarm went out and heard about an accident on the hill from a senior boy.

"Somebody got hurt on the Go-Cart track." was all that Anthony heard when he bolted for a cart and climbed up the hill as pickups and cart's joined the procession.

From relative calm to near hysteria was a short hop for Spencer as Anthony made the scene. Before Anthony's arrival, Doc was getting answers and things were proceeding well towards getting the boy down to the infirmary. Now, something closer to chaos ensued and Thomas was in gridlock. Looking around Thomas called to Etienne "Get Anthony into a cart and take him to the infirmary to wait for us." the doctor instructed. Anthony balked and Etienne looked for guidance from the doctor.

"That wasn't a request!" Thomas said as he looked at the counselor. With Greg's help, Etienne pretty much pulled Anthony to a cart and took the counselor down the trail as Spencer's cooperation melted away. It took a few minutes for Spencer to be strapped to the board and Spencer stopped fighting only when Jeanette showed up to control him.

"Who can control Anthony?" Thomas asked Jeanette as Spencer was being loaded onto the cart.

"Dave, Sid, Bert." Jeanette replied.

"Good. Have one of them at the infirmary when we get there. If Anthony isn't going to be a help, keep him away from the clinic." The doctor ordered. Jeanette's first impressions of the man were very quickly melting away. She had regarded the man as very mild mannered, maybe even something of a pushover. Now, she and the rest of the people around the doctor were very quickly learning that Thomas was anything but a pushover. He was clearly in charge, and knew exactly what he wanted from those around him. Jeanette sent another staff member to the nearest phone to relay Thomas' instructions and to let them know that Spencer was on his way down off the hill as she climbed in with Spencer.

Adam, Sid and Kevin were all in a meeting on the lower campus when two trucks rushing passed the recreation hall told all concerned that something was brewing. Almost simultaneously, every staff's beeper went off with news of the accident and instructions being typed onto the message screen. Nothing was said as all three men immediately left for their golf carts. Sid and Adam headed directly to the infirmary, as Kevin took off for the hill. Adam watched the screen on the pager in frustration as he relayed the messages being sent to Sid.

"They don't say who the boy is!" Adam said.

"They probably don't know yet, but it doesn't really matter." Sid responded as he approached the infirmary that was now being surrounded by carts.

"What the hell does that mean?" Adam replied as he looked at the pager.

"It says Anthony is off and needs to be handled at the infirmary." Adam told Sid.

"That gives you a pretty good clue who is hurt." Sid replied.

"Anthony's off means he's not being very cooperative. More than likely, Spencer's been hurt and Anthony's loosing it." Sid told his friend as the two pulled up and parked.

Dave had gone to the hill, and Bert was on his way from the girl's camp when Sid met a fairly incoherent Anthony. Sid didn't need Thomas to tell him that to Spencer, Anthony was less than useless for the time being. While Sid concentrated on calming Anthony down with Etienne and Greg's help, Adam went inside to learn as much as he could.

Within a minute or two, Thomas arrived and Spencer was inside the infirmary. Spencer was strapped to the board, and still doing a fair amount of bleeding from a cut on his head as Thomas walked in alongside the boy applying pressure to the cut.

"You, you and you."

Thomas said as walked into the infirmary pointing to Sarah, Martha and Jeanette.

"Come into the back room. The rest of you, wait out here until we find out what's going on!" he ordered. As they entered the clinic, the door was shut.

The news, that it was Spencer who was down, reached Gloria and Bert on their way off the hill together. Both staff looked at each other and shook their heads. Having any boy hurt was not good, having Spencer hurt was a bit worse. Gloria was out of the cart before it came to a stop, and climbing the stairs as a staff member told her about Thomas' order.

"Right!" Gloria said as she opened the door to the clinic and walked in. Bert followed.

Thomas' examination quickly determined that Spencer was a fairly lucky boy. He had a bloody nose that presented more blood and high blood pressure rates on staff than the injury warranted, an L shaped tear on his scalp that added tons more blood to the scene, a cracked scapula and a mild concussion. He could easily have sustained a fractured skull and crushed vertebrae if he were traveling a little faster when he hit the tree.

Once Thomas was convinced that Spencer's injuries were relatively minor, he addressed the issue of Anthony.

"Tell him that Spencer's going to be fine. If he can maintain himself, and more importantly, be a comfort to Spencer, he can come in. If he goes off, and gets Spencer upset, he's out of here." Thomas instructed Bert. Bert nodded his head.

Once Bert observed Anthony as he approached Sid, the director no longer questioned in his mind why Thomas had spoken so curtly. Anthony was a basket case.

"What you reacted to was the amount of blood that you saw. Nose bleeds and head wounds present a great deal of blood Anthony, but it's not life threatening. Spencer's going to be fine and he'd like you to be with him." Bert told the senior boy.

"But I have to warn you, if Spencer gets upset, the doctor's going to separate you two." Bert told him.

Spencer had a throbbing headache, and as Anthony had promised, he kept himself and Spencer in check while the medical team cleaned the wound. It was going to take stitches to close, and first, the area was going to have to be shaved of hair. Now the girls were ready to lose it. Thomas gave Spencer the option, but told the boy that he had to shave enough hair away from the tear to both stitch it, and then bandage it afterwards.

"I can shave just enough away to do the job, but it's going to leave a very big hole in your hairdo that will look pretty silly for months before your hair grows back in. Or, you can get a haircut, and it won't look nearly as silly to you." Thomas told the boy. Spencer opted for a crew cut that had him looking like a cancer patient. Gloria and Jeanette watched as his hair fell to the floor in sadness. Spencer had flaming red silky smooth slightly curly hair, and it was all falling to the ground as both girls watched stone faced.

With Spencer being stitched up, Bert, Sid, Dave and Adam now all piled into Dave's truck and went to the accident site. As with all accidents, there were going to be repercussions from Bert and they started almost immediately. The go-cart track was closed indefinitely. As Bert and the men looked down on Spencer's mini cycle, Dave made a cursory inspection of it.

"A new front wheel and new fork will probably put it back in action." he offered without being asked. Bert looked at the gauze, and the blood, and the bloody bandages strewn about.

"I didn't hear that. I heard you say the bike is a total loss and can't be fixed." Bert said. Dave nodded.

"Anybody see a helmet?" Bert asked the group.

"He wasn't wearing one Sir." A senior boy who was assigned to the go-kart track told the director. Bert didn't look at the boy, but he knew who he was talking to.

"Why the fuck wouldn't he be wearing a helmet TJ?" Bert replied.

"It's a rule around here!"

"Uncle Avery is in town getting some supplies and we were in the shed when Spencer came in and took his bike out." the boy said.

"We didn't know he wasn't wearing a helmet until the accident." the boy told Bert knowing full well they were in deep shit.

"But you do know it was your job to know." Bert snapped back.

"Yes Sir." all three boys said.

"The track is closed until it can be operated safely. Your privileges to operate machinery are suspended until you pass the safety course again." Bert told the senior boys.

The ride back off the hill was a fairly quiet one, Bert was a fun loving, happy go lucky administrator most of the time, following accidents, that was never the case.

"New rule Sid. I want the safety committee to review every proposed gift from now on." Bert told his second in command.

"Why the fuck didn't I just tell Anthony to take that fucking bike back when he bought it?" Bert asked himself.

"Hindsight boss." Sid replied.

"Bullshit Sid, we knew it wasn't safe. Just think what would have happened if Dave hadn't slowed the fucking thing down." Bert replied. Bert was quiet for a few minutes, but Sid knew he was thinking hard.

"What about that horse. Suppose he steps on one of the kids." Bert asked his stable master.

"Bert, we both know that any one of the horses can step on anybody's feet. That Belgian is bred with a gentile temperament. She's as safe a horse as we could have." Sid told his director.

"There's a risk, but there's a risk in everything they do unless we decide to keep them in a box." Sid reminded his friend.

Spencer took ten stitches to close his tear and wasn't handed a mirror until after the bandage was on and his head was wrapped in a scarf. Two hours after arriving, he was ready to receive visitors. Anthony, along with all three girls remained with him that evening, and through dinner.

To the senior boys, being stripped of their privilege to operate machinery was a serious reprimand, but nothing compared to the riot act laid on the counselors head for not properly instructing the senior boys on safety issues. Like every other staff member, Avery knew that Bert would be on the rampage, and since it was his area of responsibility, he was going to get dumped on the worst. For all it was worth, Sid and the rest of the staff gave solace to Avery whenever possible, but still, it was weeks before Avery wanted to be within 500 feet [150 m] of Bert.

The infirmary held 15 beds and rarely were more than three or four occupied. Now, Gloria, Jeanette and Johanna all elected to stay over night which automatically included Timmy, Kenny and Sidney. If the mafia could have joined Spencer they would have, but unlike the girls, Thomas could veto their sleeping arrangements and sent them back to the hill dragging their pillows behind them. Bert and Sid said little to the doctor during the incident, but very plainly were happy with knowing that in an emergency, they had a doctor who knew how to take charge. Thomas was no longer just a nice guy around camp, he was an administrator.

With fall fast approaching and the lake temperature now cooling down, the pool became the center of activity. Joshua took his first swim a week after arriving laying on Beth's stomach as the girl laid on an air mattress. The pool temperature was kept at a constant 90 degrees [32°C] in the early morning and both Sidney and Joshua did little objecting when they laid sleeping on their caretakers stomachs or took a snack or two with the warm water washing over them while swimming lessons for the remaining eight girls of Pine Ridge who were still not yet deep water swimmers commenced beside them. With five adults in that group, Dan wasn't sure if he was ever going to get them comfortable enough in the water to teach them to swim.

By the end of September, all but the hardiest of campers ventured into the lake water willingly. The boats continued to go out, but fewer and fewer came back to the boat dock full of water. The leaves now began to turn which was something the boys had never seen before. The smell of burning leaves filled the air and at night, the porches were abandoned for bedrooms and down comforters pulled up to the neckline on all but the hardiest and driest of boys. In two weeks, busses would appear, and it was time to organize the return trip to Florida. Bert made sure he had plenty of Vodka for the making of the list of people who would stay, and those who would be sitting on the busses. He already knew that Carla and Jeannie's bags were packed!

With the Pine Ridge girls remaining behind, they would need a support staff which would not only include their female teachers and counselors, but logistical support as well. Their individual units gave them their own kitchen and laundry capabilities, but they would still need a grounds and buildings maintenance crew. The pool was winterized, as well as the infirmary, Bert's cabin, Johanna and Beth's cabin and Thomas' on the lower campus, and during the winter there were extensive permanent placements of buildings scheduled. By Dave's calculations, Pine Ridge needed a crew of four dozen senior boys and men to accomplish the job by spring.

Then there was the problem of the lower camp girls, babies and a few intermediate girls. This became known as 'Vodka Tonic Time' by staff. Whenever the subject came up at meetings, Bert made himself a drink; sometimes a double. Rarely did the girls make Bert's task easier.

"If you weren't such a chicken shit, you'd have told the girls 'No' right from the beginning." Gloria told Bert as the meeting began about taking intermediate girls back to Florida. Bert shook his head though the humiliating snickers. Once the group settled back down Helen addressed the group.

"If some of the girls are going to be going, they're going to need some staffing in case of emergencies to fall back on." she suggested.

"The older girls can pretty much fend for themselves or will seek out the Camp Kenny girls, but our younger ones will need a few familiar faces around them in time of need."

Of the 25 staff available from Pine Ridge better than half would have volunteered to go to Florida. Winters in North Carolina were nothing compared to winters in Montana, but the lure of winter in Florida presented Bert with more women than he needed.

"Let them rotate out every two months" Jeanette suggested.

Bert adopted the idea, but was less than happy when Gloria wanted Helen to be on the rotation list instead of being permanently assigned to Florida. He and Helen had struck it off during the summer and he was getting used to idea of waking up in Helen's arms. If need be, Bert could make a boy very happy, but basically, his first choice was beaver and Helen knew very well how to keep a big smile on his face.

"I can appreciate the fact that you want your sheets warm when you go to bed, but Helen is as valuable to me as Sid is to you." Gloria told her boss.

Sid looked over to Bert and then to Helen.

"He likes them toasty warm on both sides of him." Sid said with a straight face as one more meeting broke up in chaos.

One week before the busses rolled in, the arrangements were made. Dave's chief assistant would remain behind, along with a crew of 47 including Charlie and his boys, 10 adult staff and another 35 senior boys. Gloria, Johanna and Beth would remain in North Carolina with their boys along with Anthony and Spencer. The one sore thumb that stuck out was Timmy. At almost 3, he was alone in his age group, and alone in his gender. Neither Gloria nor Bert was happy with the impending arrangements. The closest boy to Timmy's age was Kenny and leaving him behind was out of the question. Jeanette would never agree, and she was needed to head Camp Kenny back in Florida.

The decision to leave Anthony and Spencer behind was another decision that the team lost a lot of sleep over. For Bert, the bottom line was that both Gloria and Johanna were staying in North Carolina, and for Spencer, these two women were his emotional rock. Anthony had shown the team that in a crisis he would be of little help to the boy. Spencer loved and trusted Bert and Sid, but emotionally, from childhood, Spencer depended upon the girls to be there if and when he needed them. Additionally, not a small part of Bert wanted Spencer to gravitate towards females as he grew older. In North Carolina, that option was easily available to him if that was the road he chose to walk down. Regarding Anthony, many a night had been spent speculating what went wrong. In the end, the team agreed that the road rage accident caused Anthony to withdraw to a safety zone within Green Tree that he was personally comfortable with, but did little good for Spencer's maturation or growth. Both would be supported to the max, but at ten years of age, Spencer's potential was far from written in concrete.

For Sammy and the boys in the mafia, meetings, decisions and impending busses were the very last things on any of their minds. Since Carla's and Jeanette's tearful exit from the mess hall, the girls had very basically moved into Adam's cabin. They had bowled over Bert with tears and there was no longer the need for pretense at sleepovers. They were a part of the cabin, period. The girls didn't really have their own bed, because nobody did. They did however have their own dressers and closet space, and dresses hung alongside dress pants and shirts, panties sat alongside whitey tights. Kotex sat in the bathroom and Adam knew that one of these days real soon he was going to be trying to figure out which end was up and which end was down! If the size of the buttons on their chests had anything to say about it, they were going to be fitted with panty liners real soon! For now, they made pretty fair Kleenex to wipe your nose.

As often as possible the mafia spent their hours on top of horses trying to find trails they'd never seen before and many days, senior boys were dispatched on carts to the far reaches of the property to return them to camp hours late for lunch. Every boy in camp knew that David was the owner of 'Maria' and the horse was an instant success. For one, she would walk for hours like an elephant plodding through the jungle. For two, she could fit four boys on her back without balking about them being too close to her hind quarters and trying to buck them off like the other horses would. In the spring she would give birth. Until then, she would lounge in the mountains of North Carolina in weather she loved more than summertime. Before the summer was out, the group had found three streams that only the senior boys making bridle trails had ever seen before. As the leaves drifted down from the trees faster and faster as the days went by, the mafia spent more and more time in 12,000 acres [49 km²] of deep woods and slow running streams that would soon be frozen.

The day before the busses arrived was packing day, and the cold drizzle fit the mood of the campers except maybe for two ten year olds who looked, played and acted more like boys except for their long hair and budding breasts. Helen opted to take the second period in Florida which would include the Christmas holidays. For her, that made packing day a bit of a wake for the woman as the girls bubbled with excitement over the impending trip to Florida which would include a side trip to Disneyworld as Bert had promised if they stopped crying.

Final Dinner was a lakeside bivouac with a great deal of happy smiling faces, and more than a few very puffy eyes in the crowd. It was close to 10:30 before the bonfire drifted down to coals and embers drifting skyward as 'Day is Done' was sung by the group and taps was blown for the last time for the season by all three buglers.

For the boys, traveling day between school and camp was always the continuation of an adventure and there was never any reason for looking back. Now things had changed. Most were leaving, but some were not, including staff these boys had never left behind them before. After breakfast and extensive Goodbyes, the busses were loaded much more quietly than when they began the summer and Bert much preferred the old way as he boarded the last bus out.

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