Howdy Doody

The Geppetto Project

Chapters 33-34

Chapter Thirty Three

The last shadows of the suns rays were quickly drifting up the sides of the mountain as the Camp staff sat on the front porch of Beachview cabin while something close to three dozen boys (and naturally Carla and Jeannie) finished up their bedtime showers. From the ever diminishing sound that a large bunch of pre-adolescent children can make in the showers, the staff knew from experience that things were winding down upstairs in the bedroom loft, but none were foolish enough to mount the stairs unless they intended to find them selves in the middle of a romp that could have made the Citizen's of Greece and Rome green with envy. Evening showers at Camp Green Tree was the beginning of the end of the children's day which would conclude when they fell fast asleep; usually in each others arms, always in each other's beds.

Of all the cabins in camp, some of the more rambunctious of the campers made up the brood known as the "Mafia." as both staff and campers alike called them. In the three Cabins of Bay Watch, Beachview and Coquina, the three dozen campers and their six staff members lived in a camp within a camp, and for almost two years since Adam first arrived, it had become "The" group to become a part of. As the Senior Counselor of Beachview as well as the Director of the Intermediate Camp (Those aged eight to 13), Adam sat with his fellow staff members as they talked and drank, this was the time of day to "Wind down" from a hectic days schedule of activities.

With a slam of the screen door against the cabins side as it was flung open, Carla and Jeannie appeared on the porch with Christopher in one hand and a hair brush in the other.

"He keeps jumping on the beds to watch us Uncle Bert. Ya don't want him doin that do you?" Carla said as the two 11 year olds presented the boy to the Camp Director. Bert leaned forward and picked the boy up by his armpits and put him in his lap as Etienne threw a towel to him from a pile sitting on a table.

"Thank you for bringing him to me girls, I would prefer he not be included in on the romping" Bert told the two girls.

"That's OK Uncle Bert, nobody fucked him." Jeannie replied.

Adam shook his head as Carla now approached with her brush in her hand to complete the hair brushing ritual that went on between her and Adam several times a day.

"Whattsa matter Uncle Adam?" she asked as she uncrossed Adam's leg and plunked herself down in his lap in the rocking chair.

"Besides the fact that you're both still soaking wet, we could consider using some words we've learned besides fuck." He reminded the girl. Carla now leaned forward and looked at all the adults sitting on the porch.

"It's OK Uncle Adam, there ain't no strangers here." Carla said as she sat back.

"You tell him tiger!" Sid now said as he took a sip of his beer.

"Figure's you'd encourage her!" Helen said as she got up to retrieve Christopher and take him back to his own Cabin. Once the chuckling died down and Adam and Sid dried both girls hair, the girls sat back as the brushing commenced. With hair that now fell to almost their waist's, the two girls laid almost flat with golden tans from the their head to their toe's and with clothing adorning their bodies only rarely except for meals and school, the tans went on uninterrupted.

Drying off Christopher, Helen stuffed the boy into a pair of underpants which was no easy task. To accommodate the boys ass, it would have taken a size 14 boys which meant that the front of the underpants and the crotch would hang loose on him. To accommodate and support his front, he took a size eight boys. Chronologically 12, the boy had the body of a six to eight year old, except probably for his stomach and his ass. He had the body of a toddler. In addition to being mute, Christopher was tested out at between 35 to 68 on the I.Q. Scale, something that Bert in particular gave little, if any, credence to.

Now, with a great deal of stretching, he stood with his arms holding onto Helen's shoulders as she got the last of his ass to cooperate as the waist band snapped around his waist.

"Maybe we need to consider putting him in Jockey's?" Helen asked Bert. Bert shook his head.

"Tell you what, you walk around in jockey shorts for a week and tell me if it's something you'd like on," Bert told the woman. With the staff now chuckling, Helen threw the towel at Bert.

"I don't see what the big deal is, these kids run around all the time in nothing but shorts or bare assed naked, what's the difference?" She asked.

"The difference is security, when you see a boy walking around with his hands in his pants, they ain't down there to keep himself warm!" Bert replied.

"Boys like to keep things up close and personal, not flopping around all loose and insecure," Bert concluded.

"Then why would they run around naked half the time?" Helen asked.

"That's different. When you're naked, it's fine to let the boys get some fresh air. But when you gotta get some clothes on, they ain't happy unless they're tucked away nice and secure like!" Sid told the woman.

"You're both fucking crazy!" Helen said as she held Christopher's bib overalls while the boy climbed into them. Carla instantly whipped her head around as Adam cupped his hand over the girls mouth before she got a chance to speak. "Yes, sweetheart, I know what Aunt Helen just said," he told the girl as the staff's laughter drifted up to the bedroom loft.

Gathering up her Senior girls who watched over Christopher during the day, Helen was now fully prepared to leave as she passed in front of Jeannie. Stopping for a second, the woman looked at Jeannie sitting on Sid's lap getting her hair brushed out and then looked towards Carla. Prior to joining the mafia, both 11 year olds were members of her Cabin, and her protectiveness towards the two hadn't diminished, much to Carla and Jeannie's chagrin.

"I'm hoping I'm looking at a rash on the both of you. Either from a sandy bathing suit, or maybe some poison ivy?" Helen asked as she looked at Carla.

"We don't wear no bathing suits Aunt Helen, and we don't got no poison ivy." Carla replied with a small smile and two charming dimples. Helen nodded her head.

"So the red vaginas are from what?" She asked. Carla now sat up and bent over to look at her vagina. It wasn't exactly red, but it was a decided pink in color as opposed to her bare groin and abdomin which was a golden brown.

"From playing I guess. But we're still virgins, ain't we Jeannie?" The girl asked her friend.

"Yup, wanna check Aunt Helen?" Jeannie asked as she lifted her legs and dropped her knees into a perfect split.

Helen shook her head and lifted up Christopher and put the boy on her hip.

"Trot your little hiney's down to the Infirmary tomorrow for Sick Call before breakfast and have Aunt Sarah or Aunt Martha check to make sure you're intact," she told the girls.

"Forgive them Doctor Lester, they've been hanging around their Uncle Sid for too long," she told the visiting Psychiatrist.

With another burst of laughter, Helen gave Bert a kiss and then leaned Christopher over as the boy gave the Director one.

"Don't stay near these guys too long, you'll start to think they're all sane," she told her boy friend as she put Christopher down on the front seat of the cart and he immediately went for the steering wheel.

The very familiar sound of stomping from inside the cabin told the staff that the hoard was coming down the stairs from the bedroom loft and ready to descend upon them as the slamming of the refrigerator and cupboard doors picked up in intensity. With full tumblers of milk, lemonade, ice tea or bug juice, the boys began assembling on and around the porch either on an empty lap or whatever space they could find.

In honor of Doctor Lester, most of the boys now sported their Sunday best underwear, covered in either various colors or one cartoon character or another. The twin's arrived with Gavin in a borrowed pair of pants with Kermit the Frog adorning his while Benji modeled Gonzo for the Doctor. Dr. Lester had no choice but to smile as both boys raised their hands over their heads and twirled around for his inspection.

"They got lots of cool underpants Poppy. They even gots Spongebob, but they don't know who he is!" Benji declared excitedly.

"Spongebob? Sorry guys, but I don't know who he is either." Dr. Lester replied.

"You boys are familiar with Sponge Bob because he's an animated character on tv. You need to keep in mind that here in Green Tree we're much too busy having fun and doing things instead of sitting in front of a tv all day, so the boys have never seen that cartoon," Bert explained to the twins.

"No tv ever?" Gavin asked.

"Maybe if it's pouring rain outside and there's nothing better to do the tv will come on, but even then, Sponge Bob is on cable, and we don't receive cable here in the mountains," Adam now replied.

"It wasn't always like that. Before Uncle Adam come, we use to get to watch a lot more tv. But now that he's the boss, all we can watch is movies on the VCR," Sammy now said as the boy ate the stuffing out of his 5th Oreo cookie.

"Mean old son of a bitch! Maybe we should ride him out of camp on a rail?" Sid now remarked. Along with Sammy, the boys giggled as Adam gave his friend a mock glare.

By design, this time of the day was always set aside as a calm, relaxing period for the campers when no discussion that might cause stress or anxiety was preferred. Quiet music, quiet talk, some preening or even a story was in order. Now with Bert, Sid and Adam sitting there together on the porch, it was also an opportune time to watch their Uncle's joke with each other, and usually, Sid was the foil. None of the three men rehearsed the scene; it usually began spontaneously and without warning, but the boys all knew it was coming as they now listened to every word the staff said as they drank.

"Tomorrow after lunch, Doctor Lester and Uncle Barry will be returning to Boston," Bert began as Spencer sat in his lap.

"Spencer and Anthony will be flying up with them in addition to Aunt Jeanette and Kenny," he said as he kissed the top of Spencer's head.

"Except for Doctor Lester and Uncle Barry, they'll all be back here probably next week when Uncle Thomas and David leave for Boston," Bert told the children.

"Uncle Sid is going with me too!" Spencer now said as he looked over to Sid. Bert nodded his head.

"Yes, your Uncle Sid will be going too, but there's a slight glitch there. As you boys know, Uncle Sid has flown on that plane before. The plane's crew say's they won't let him fly in the plane unless we can get the horse stink off him, so Aunt Patty is going to try to get him into the lake and scrub it all off. We think she might be able to do that in three or four hours of using a wire brush," Bert told the group.

"I think what we need is a Lake Dip tomorrow morning at flagpole." 36 pairs of eyeballs now focused on Sid as the giggling began.

"A Lake Dip! Who's dumb, stupid, hair brained idea was that?" Sid protested loudly as all heads now turned back to Bert. Shaking his head, Bert looked around.

"Not sure Sid, was it you Dan?" Bert asked the Waterfront Director.

"Not me boss, I don't want him polluting my lake!" Dan replied as the giggling increased.

"Was it you Kevin?" Bert asked. Kevin shook his head vigorously knowing the consequences.

"It wasn't me, I was giving music lesson's. I think I heard Adam say something about a Lake Dip, but I'm not really sure," Kevin replied as he avoided Adam's glare.

"Oh yeah! I remember now, Uncle Adam suggested it to the Team," Bert said as he sat back in his chair.

The stage was now set and Adam was well aware he would be taking a swim first thing in the morning.

"Good old Uncle Adam huh?" Sid said with mock sarcasm as he returned to brushing out Jeannie's hair.

"That silly old rule about having to swim with a Buddy ain't still in effect is it Dan?" Sid now asked him.

"Oh yeah, everybody has to have a Buddy if they're swimming in deep water!" Dan replied.

"But if they're just sitting in the shallow water trying to get all the horse flies and the horse shit off their stinking rotten bodies, that's not really swimming is it?" Adam asked trying to wiggle out of the inevitable.

"Not if they're not in deep water," Dan replied as little heads followed the action from one staff member to the other.

"How's about when I have to rinse off and get all that yucky soap off me?" Sid asked Dan. Dan now smiled as Adam shook his head.

"Well you'd need a Buddy for that, that's for sure!" Dan said as Adam now looked at Dan. Sid said nothing for a few seconds as he continued to brush out Jeannie's hair.

"OK, so I needs myself a good Buddy for this humiliating bath I gotta take to get to Boston," Sid said as he looked around at the boys.

"You guys got any suggestions?" Sid asked the mafia.

With the blowing of "Tattoo", the boys from Bay Watch and Coquina left for their cabins with their staff in high anticipation of watching both Sid and Adam get thrown in the lake first thing the next morning. Once Adam scooted his group into the cabin for teeth brushing, the porch once again contained only senior staff.

"Seems to me, Kevin hasn't taken an early morning swim in quite some time now," Adam said as he sipped his beer.

"Helen neither!" Sid replied as he peeled the label off the bottle.

"Oh wait a minute you guys, if you intend on sending Helen in for a Lake Dip, don't get me involved!" Bert quickly added.

"Oh shit no Boss, we wouldn't do that!" Sid said as he smiled at Adam.

Once Sid and Bert left to drop in on other cabins just before lights out, Adam climbed the stairs to the loft. Walking into the bathroom, there were only about three kid's left to finish brushing including Carla and Jeannie.

"Do we really gotta go to the Infirmary tomorrow morning Uncle Adam?" Carla asked.

"Would that present a problem for you two?" Adam asked.

"What does that mean?" Jeannie asked.

"It means are you afraid that you're no longer virgins," Adam replied.

"Oh no, we're still virgin's, our cherries ain't busted." Carla replied with a dimpled smile.

"Aunt Helen didn't sound like she was kidding girls, so it's probably best if you go and have Aunt Sarah confirm it for her, and then that's the end of that," Adam suggested.

"How come she just don't believe us?" Jeannie asked.

"You believe us don't you?" "Yes, but it's difficult for your Aunt knowing you live in a cabin full of boys and you then walk around with red pussy's in front of her. You might have been wiser to put on a pair of panties," Adam replied. Both girls giggled as did Matty. Taking a tube of Desitan out of the medicine chest, Adam motioned for both girls to sit down as he coated their vagina's with the cream.

"You girls keep this and put it on if you get chafed, but you might want to consider not playing around down there for a day or two," Adam advised the girls.

"Thanks Uncle Adam, maybe." Carla said as she went skipping out of the bathroom with Jeannie. Putting his tooth brush in the rack and rinsing, Matty now wiped his face and gave Adam a goodnight kiss as he trotted out of the bathroom. Judging by the boys erection, Adam didn't really believe the girls medicine would remain on for all that long.

Doctor Lester's final evening was spent with the twin's again in Coquina Cabin. The center of the mafia's universe was Beachview Cabin, but for some rest and relaxation, it was always good now and then for the boys to return to the calm and quiet of their own cabin. Having already showered at Beachview, the 12 Coquina boys very quickly settled down as the first notes of "Taps" drifted across the lake and signaled for lights out.

The twins were now a part of Green Tree for roughly two weeks and had yet to wear all of their new clothing that was both sent with them from their old school, and the clothing that was given to them at Green Tree. Being new, they wanted to try it on at least once, and the summer pajama's were no different. With short sleeved tops, and short legged bottoms, the cartoon character pajama's were held in as high a regard as their underpants were, and something that were proudly modeled whenever a staff member appeared and hadn't seen them before. Now turning around and around for the Doctor as he sat on his bed, the boys showed off their new clothing, Doctor Lester remarked approvingly as both boys smiled with glee.

"You're going to be here in the morning, aren't you Poppy?" Benji asked the Doctor as both boys now climbed on the bed and wrapped their arms around the man.

"Well of course I will. The plane doesn't leave until after lunch, so we'll have all morning long to see each other," he replied as he gave each boy a kiss on the neck as he hugged them.

"You are coming back, right?" Gavin now asked.

"I hope to come back as often as I can." The Doctor replied.

"Like next week?" Benji asked. Doctor Lester smiled.

"I've been here at Green Tree now for almost a week boys. It's going to take me some time to catch up on all the work that I've been missing since I've been here. I will promise you that I will work as fast as I can to catch up on all my homework, and before the end of the summer, I'll be able to stop in and see you for a day or two," he replied.

"In the meantime, you can ask Uncle Bert anytime you want to call me, and I know he'll make sure we get to talk to one another." He told the boys "But we don't got your phone number!" Gavin said.

"Uncle Bert knows what it is, and you can ask him for it, he'll be happy to make the call for you." Doctor Lester replied with a smile.

After slipping both boys down and pulling up the covers, the Doctor kissed both boys on the forehead and shut out the light.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, you boys go to sleep. When you wake up, I'll be right here sleeping in my bed." The Doctor told both boys as he pointed.

Now except for the occasional banging of a bathroom door in a nearby cabin, the campus around the lake was quiet. A random light shown from a cabin now and then, but except for the headlights of a stray golf cart, or a flashlight held by a staff member or senior camper, the only activity was on the lake itself as either a rowboat or canoe drifted by now and then. Doctor Lester and Kevin were now alone on the front porch as the bull frogs began their nightly courtship ritual.

"You've been here now for almost two years Kevin; do you ever get tired of the place?" The Doctor asked as he sipped on a Margarita that Kevin had concocted in the blender. Kevin smiled deeply thinking about his first days at Green Tree when he was fully ready to get on a bus and follow his old school's Administrator's.

"I don't think that I could get tired of it if I wanted to. You can't really get tired of something that's in constant flux. Every time I think I've seen it all, done it all and heard it all, something happens, good or bad, and I realize that I'm surrounded by some of the most loving and caring people I've ever hoped of meeting in my life. My only regret is not knowing them 25 years sooner," Kevin replied.

"I don't know what life is like at the other Geppetto Schools, but I do know what life was like at my old School. The difference is like night and day, and I could never go back to that. I know that the boys I brought with me from The Albemarle School feel the same way," he told the Doctor who now nodded.

"I followed the transition of your old school; it's difficult to believe that boys like Bruce are the same one's I read about two years ago," he replied.

Kevin again smiled.

"Bruce and the others on a "Must Special" were watched 24 hours a day around the clock by at least one person, if not two or three. When I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I'd find a few of them in the living room until his bracelet came off." He remembered.

"At Albemarle, he would have been put into a bare room and stripped naked for a week if he had suicidal ideologies; In fact, he was on a few occasions," Kevin told the Psychiatrist.

"No, I don't think I'm going to get tired of Green Tree anytime soon!" Kevin said as he finished his drink. Doctor Lester nodded his head sadly.

"I hope you realize that nobody up in Boston knew anything about what was going on at Albemarle. We only learned of it after the school closed and we started getting reports from the schools that took in the boys once Albemarle shut down. We were devastated to learn what was going on under our noses." Doctor Lester replied.

"If there was anything good that came out of the place, it was bringing the situation out into the open. We immediately began sending inspector's to every Geppetto School in the Country to see for ourselves what was going on," he said.

"You sent out inspectors to Green Tree?" Kevin asked.

"No, there were three schools we didn't need to inspect, New Hampshire, Alabama and here." The Doctor replied.

"Why?" Kevin asked. The Doctor now smiled.

"We already knew how New Hampshire was being run because we were there on a regular basis because of it's proximity to The Institute. As far as Alabama and Green Tree were concerned, both the Director at Alabama and Bert here at Green Tree were ready to lynch Albemarle's Administrator's from the nearest tree. The mistake we made at Albemarle was not putting Geppetto boys in charge. It will never happen again, The Director and Assistant Director of all Geppetto school's must be Geppetto boys themselves or have a child who is." The Doctor said.

Doctor Lester returned to the bedroom a few minutes later. Expecting to see the twins fast asleep in their bed, he had to smile, as both boys now slept peacefully, but in his bed.

Neither a Geppetto boy himself nor a man who had ever slept with any child except for his own when they were very young children, he contemplated taking their now empty bed for himself, but in the end, opted to slip into the bed knowing the boys were "Safe" with him, not that either one of them would have objected in the slightest. Since both boys were "Stomach babies", he bent over them and gently kissed each one on the temple as he had done so many times before decades earlier with his own children. Laying down,

he fell quickly to sleep no longer the boys objective Psychiatrist, but their self appointed protector and friend.

Bert's night ended after visiting several Cabins of boys. At least once a week, Bert along with Sid made it a practice to stop in at every cabin to say goodnight, give them a hug and kiss, and tuck them in. Staying in close contact with all the campers as well as the staff was important to both men, since Green Tree is as much of a family as it is a camp and school. Year's earlier, keeping in close personal touch with the entire campus was relatively easy but now with a population of roughly 600, much of the task was being shared by Green Trees upper staff, people like Gloria, Jeanette, Adam and Dave. Notes delivered to Bert at meals told of Birthdays, the need for the tooth fairy to show up, a special kiss of congratulations for a job well done, a special hug for a scrapped knee or elbow.

Now walking up the steps of his Cabin, he sat down next to Helen who sat on the porch sewing a strap back on a pair of Christopher's bib overalls by moonlight.

"Want a nightcap?" She asked. Bert shook his head.

"I just had one at Boys 6. I'm fine," Bert said as he gave his girlfriend a kiss.

"Doesn't the laundry do that?" Bert asked as he looked at her sewing. "They would, but these are a pair from the winter box that I had put away. He won't be wearing them for a few months, but I figured I'd take an inventory now and be ready for the Fall. Besides, the Laundry has asked for volunteers to do the sewing, they're up to their necks just doing the washing and drying," she said. Bert nodded.

"If John gets his Program, we might be losing 150 or so by January, that should ease their load somewhat," Bert said.

"Speaking of loads, Gloria has made a request; she thinks you should send Jesse to Boston tomorrow." Helen said.

"Jesse? Why?" Bert asked.

"She doesn't think it's a good idea to send Sid alone," she replied.

"He's not going to be alone; he's got Jeanette, Barry and even Doctor Lester with him," Bert told the woman.

"Jeanette might be knee deep with Spencer if he needs her. If things don't go well, Sid's got to deal with Anthony on top of dealing with going back to Block Island and reburying his two boyhood friend's with Barry. On Block Island, he's going to be basically alone except for Barry and if the two of them get into some heavy drinking, he's going to have to have someone there who can put the brakes on him." Helen replied.

"Jesse's a 13 year old boy, how's he going to stop Sid from drinking if he's determined to?" Bert asked.

"Gloria says his mere presence will keep the lid on Sid." Helen replied.

"I agree with her. Sid's not going to do anything that could put Jesse in danger, and him getting bombed and thinking stupid thoughts would do precisely that," she said.

"If you won't send Jesse, she wants Johanna to go, and that's what she'll recommend at a Team Meeting in the morning," Bert shook his head.

"There was once a day when the three of them were nothing but sweet little naïve teenagers. When did they grow up to become conniving little witches?" Bert asked nobody in particular.

"Why is that?" Helen asked.

"Gloria knows that a request by Johanna to go with Sid is veto proof. Sid is her Primary Uncle, if she requests to be with him, the request can't be denied," Bert said. Helen smiled as she finished her sewing.

"I wondered why she brought up Johanna," she said.

"Blackmail!" Bert replied as he stood up.

Morning for Bert broke earlier than usual at 5:00. With the stars still shining, he stood on the porch and shaved as the smell of baking bread and coffee drifted past his nose while the distant sound of several roosters up by the stables on top of the hill reverberated from the trees. Returning inside the cabin to his office, paperwork filled his time for the next hour as he waited for the inevitable sounds of Christopher's padded feet coming thumping down the stairs.

With a built in alarm clock, the boy always awoke right around 6:00 and headed straight for Bert's office every morning. With his ever present large dimpled smile, this morning was no different as he climbed up onto Bert's lap and wrapped his arms around the mans neck in something just short of a strangle hold. Standing the boy up in his chair, Bert reached around and unzipped the Dr. Denton's the boy wore to bed. Once Christopher's arms were out of the suit, the weight of the soaked pajama's took them to the chair around his feet as the boy now stepped out of them.

"Babee?" Christopher asked as his fingers now touched the pull-ups he was wearing. Bert smiled and leaned forward and kissed the boy.

"Is Christopher a baby?" He asked as he pulled the pull ups down and they dropped to the chair in a squishy thud. Christopher giggled as he vigorously shook his head no.

"That's true, Christopher is not a baby, but he does wear pull-ups at night. You don't want to get the girls all wet do you?" Bert asked as he took out some diaper wipes and washed the boys groin area.

"Hey!" Christopher replied as he now put a choke hold on his penis.

"You do?" Bert asked again as he looked sideways at the boy. Christopher again giggled as he leaned forward and allowed Bert to get up off the chair with him in his arms. Bert was much too smart to mention the p word, it would signal the immediate start of a morning flood from the boy.

Walking out onto the front porch, Bert stood Christopher up on the top rail and held the boy there by his waist.

"Pee pee Christopher," Bert said as the stream now arched out about two feet [60 cm] and fell to the ground.

"Aw gone." Christopher said as he pushed out the final drops.

"Good job Christopher, let's go see Uncle John," Bert said as he kissed Christopher on the side of the neck and put the boy down on the porch floor.

"Rink" the boy said as he signed for a drink.

"Want to get a drink at Uncle John's?" Bert asked hopefully. Ignoring Bert, the boy now walked over to the front door screen and pointed inside.

"Rink" he said again. Bert nodded as he opened the door.

Some boy's gratification could be delayed; Christopher was not one of those boys.

Entering the Mess Hall with a sippy cup in his hands, the first Mess Boy to spot him now cupped his hands to his mouth.

"Christopher on Deck!" the boy yelled out to alert the other boys as well as the kitchen. In what was now almost a daily occurrence, the Mess Boys hustled any available cups, plates or bowls out of harms way as Christopher strolled gleefully towards the back of the Dining Hall to the Kitchen. Handing Bert his sippy cup, the boy took a bowl full of fresh fruit and melon from a Mess Boy "Hang coo." Christopher said as he reached both hands up towards the boy. Knowing a Thank you kiss was now unavoidable, the 15 year old looked at several friends who now quietly giggled as he bent down to receive what he knew was going to be a slobbering kiss, the only kind Christopher ever gave.

"You're welcome Christopher," the boy said as he wiped his mouth on his apron.

"Head's up! A cook said as Christopher now walked into the kitchen through the swinging doors. At the sight of the boy, the cook staff very quickly put all knives, food and platters anywhere near the boys possible reach into a place of safety. At the stoves, fryers, mixers and ovens, a cook stood by each one to make sure the boy didn't get within striking distance. The last place they wanted the boy was in the bakery which was now locked shut. Now "Christopher proofed", the kitchen would be on "Hold" until after the boy left.

Bringing a fresh pot of coffee over to a small table in one corner, a mess boy put the tray down as he presented Christopher with a Chef's cap and put it on Christopher's head.

"How's my little walking disaster area this morning?" Chef John said as he picked Christopher up and gave the boy a kiss.

"Hey!" Christopher replied with a smile and a mouth full of honey dew melon.

"Glad to hear it." John said as he wiped his mouth and sat down.

"He's got the French kissing down pat, when are you planning on teaching him to kiss with his mouth closed?" John asked as he chewed the piece of melon and swallowed it. Bert smiled and chuckled.

"I have no special orders from the Infirmary for him, is he back on a regular diet?" John now asked the Director.

"Unless Thomas or Martha decides otherwise, I imagine so," Bert replied as Christopher now reached for his sippy cup of pineapple juice.

"More?" Christopher said with a smile as he held the cup out to John. The Chef shook his head and smiled at the boy as he reached out and tickled him on the tummy.

Even with four Chief Assistant's, the man was responsible for providing more than 1,800 meals per day along with countless snacks. Working 16 hour days, seven days a week in kitchens that could easily reach 120 degrees in the heat of summer, Chef John didn't do a hell of a lot of smiling, especially if something went wrong or a cook or kitchen man didn't follow orders. He didn't have the time or the temperament to coddle his crew, and the older you were, the harder the taskmaster he was. Both Bert and Sid had to council more than a few of his men who couldn't wait to graduate and run their own kitchen. As far as Bert was concerned, he would have done things differently, but there was no argument concerning the abilities of the men who graduated from John's kitchen, they were good, and they were in demand chiefly in the world of the Merchant Fleet which hired as many of the men John could produce for them. Now, the Chef wanted to turn out even more cooks, bakers and chef's, and he wanted the old campus in Florida to use as a training school.

After getting a kitchen boy to retrieve some orange juice for Christopher, John sat back and watched the boy drink.

"The Doctor is still on his way to Boston today?" John asked Bert as they sipped their coffee. "Yes, they'll be leaving after lunch," Bert replied.

"When do you think we can get an answer from the Institute?" John asked.

"Probably within a week or so," Bert replied. John nodded.

"If they say no, then let's get Dave to build me some cabins. One way or the other, we need to get this thing on line, there's close to 200 boys that will be in the pipeline within the next 24 months, I can't handle that figure here, they'll be standing on top of each other." John said as Bert nodded.

"We know we've got a motivated Grandfather, if we can get his Grandson into the Program without him running back home screaming in terror, I think we've got a good shot at getting the program we want approved," Bert replied.

"You're telling me I have to wet nurse this kid for the next four years?" John asked his Director.

"He doesn't need to be wet nursed unless you really feel compelled to do it, but it would probably be wise if you didn't threaten to cut his dick off," Bert replied.

"Let's keep in mind that he might even decide that he doesn't want to become a chef. Doctor Lester doesn't really care what career his Grandson chooses, he may well end up with Dave, or even teaching," Bert said.

"That, I'll find out in the first three months." John replied.

"Just remember John, up to now, you've been training boys that have grown up around you. They know somewhere very deep down you're a pushover pussy cat. If you get your program, you're going to be dealing with boys who've never seen the softer side of Chef John, and you don't want them thinking you're a bastard 24 hours a day," Bert told his Chef. John again smiled and nodded his head.

"Christopher, do you think I'm a bastard too?" he asked the boy.

"Hey." Christopher replied with another dimpled smile. "See that, he doesn't think I'm a bastard." John told Bert.

"When Christopher says "Hey" he means "Yes" Bert replied.

"Says you! I say he's saying "No". Is Uncle Bert an idiot Christopher?" John asked the boy.

"Hey" replied Christopher as John smiled broadly at Bert.

With dawn now fully illuminating the lake and a quiet stillness hanging over the Intermediate campus, Bert walked out of the Mess Hall to the great relief of the mess hall boys waving goodbye to Christopher as he blew them kisses from Bert's shoulders. It was Bert's intention to return to the cabin and allow Christopher to take a shower while he finished some paperwork. After saying goodbye to the mess boys, Christopher's attention was now drawn to the lake, and more importantly, to a rowboat pulled up on the beach. Only by holding on tightly to the boys ankles did Bert manage to keep the boy from wiggling his way down off Bert's shoulders as he squirmed and pointed to the boat excitedly. As reveille blew about 15 minutes later, Bert was in the middle of the lake rowing and praying Christopher didn't decide to go diving with the fish.

Mornings rarely vary at Green Tree unless it's raining, very cold out, or has snowed in the middle of the night. During summertime, Camp Kenny is awake and signs of life can be heard and sometimes even seen outside prior to reveille, but on the Intermediate campus, it's as quiet as a mouse until that bugle blows and then, all hell breaks loose!

In the cove, four major occurrences that day would have the boys popping out of bed as though it was Christmas morning. First, Sid and Adam were due for a Lake Dip.

Second, Spencer would be flying to Boston with Anthony along with several staff.

Third, after morning classes, the boys would begin working with Dave on the new Commissary, And fourth, the entire mafia was going on an overnight hike with their staff. This was no regular morning despite the fact that it was a school day which normally had the campers dragging their feet until after lunch.

Doctor Lester's morning began as reveille blew and the twin's began awakening to their usual practice of "Rocking" as they and the rest of the boys termed the practice. Some less adventurous folks might call it masturbation, but since the practice usually begins in infancy and has little to do with sex or sexual fantasy on a child's part, the staff considered it in the same regard as thumb sucking or hair twirling.

As the Psychiatrist arose from the bed, his first realization was of the distinct feeling of moisture. He had worn his underpants to bed, and these were now fairly well stained and soaked as were the twins' pajamas. Grabbing a fresh pair from his travel bag, the Doctor walked to the bathroom as the twins rocked from side to side still basically asleep. They would fully awaken only when they were finished, and that would take several more minutes.

With the Doctor now in the shower washing his hair, the man had to keep looking up wondering if the ceiling was going to stay intact as he watched it flexing under the strain of almost a dozen boys upstairs who were either having a war or showering themselves, he wasn't quite sure which. Now shirtless, both twins entered the bathroom as they peeked around the door.

"Do you want us to go shower upstairs Poppy, or can we shower with you?" Gavin asked sheepishly.

"Which would you prefer?" the man asked.

"With you!" both boys instantly replied as they tugged at their pajama bottoms and underpants.

Offering very little resistants, the clothing hit the floor with a dull thud as both boys scampered into the oversized shower. With no fanfare, both boys now stood over the shower drain and pushed on their bladders as the Doctor shook his head. One would have thought after looking at the stain on the bed that the boys were as dry as the Sahara Desert, but that was not the case as a continuous stream flowed under pressure as the boys playfully had a sword fight of fresh urine.

"Uncle Adam and Uncle Sid are gonna be dunked in the lake today Poppy. Are you gonna come with us?" Benji asked as the eight year old handed the Doctor a bottle of shampoo and sat down at his feet.

"Absolutely! I wouldn't miss it!" The Doctor said as he squirted a glob of shampoo on the boys head and began washing. Gavin now sat down and poured some soap on his brother's back and began washing him while he waited for his turn to have his hair shampooed.

"We don't got school today, right Poppy?" Gavin asked.

"No, from what I understand, your schooling will start on Monday. Today, you have swimming lesson's in the pool. According to Uncle Dan, he says the both of you will be deep water swimmers by this weekend. That's pretty impressive that you both learned to swim in just one week," he told both boys. Both boys now beamed at each other.

"When we're deep water swimmers, we can take out the boats by ourselves." Benji declared as he now began washing Gavin's back.

"Not only that, you can be taught how to water ski and even go on the high trapeze." Doctor Lester said as he began washing Gavin's hair.

As both boys now stood to finish being washed, Doctor Lester kneeled down to wash their bodies. As with most Geppetto boys, the Doctor was not surprised to see each one go into erection once their genitals became involved.

"Did ya ever wish you was a Geppetto boy Poppy?" Benji asked the man as he pulled back his foreskin for washing.

The Psychiatrist's honest answer was "No", but how do you say that to boys who were? "When I was a little boy, there were no Geppetto boys that we knew about, so I never really thought about it." he answered.

"If you was, you could be our Uncle. But since you ain't, you could be our Outside Uncle just like Uncle Adam is to Sammy or Uncle Bert is to Christopher. They ain't Geppetto boys just like you ain't!" Gavin said as Benji nodded.

Doctor Lester was quite happy he was in the shower, since he was certain the suggestion by the boys had him tearing up which would have been very difficult to explain to the boys. Sitting down, he now wrapped his arms around both boys as he kissed each one on the cheek.

"I would be very proud to be your Uncle Poppy, I'm very, very proud of the both of you and love you both very much," he told the boys. To be sure, the man's objectiveness when it came to the twin's psychological evaluations was now compromised, but as he had done with his Grandson, he would note that he was emotionally attached to the boys in their file when he returned home, and his determinations would no longer be the final word in their care. In over 40 year's of practice, this would be the first time the Pediatric and Adolescent Psychiatrist had ever had to make such a disclosure. For whatever reason, these two boys were not merely patient's to the man any longer, it had become personal.

Helen stood on the porch and watched Bert and Christopher as the two walked back up to the cabin from the lake.

"I guess we don't need to bother giving him a bath," she said as the boy bounded up the steps and took a leap into her arms as he wrapped his arms around her neck in the usual strangle hold.

"He saw a sunny just before we got to shore and leaped out of the boat before I could grab a leg," Bert replied shaking his head.

"Fish!" Christopher said as he backed his face off Helen's shoulder and signed with his hand. Helen smiled and nodded as she gave the boy a kiss.

"Good morning Christopher. Have you been out fishing with Uncle Bert?" she asked "Hey!" Christopher replied as two dimple's reappeared on his cheeks and his hair blocked his sparkling eyes.

"Let's get you in the shower," she said as she turned around.

"Rink!" the boy said as he signed for a drink.

"Naturally!" Helen replied.

"I'm going to take a quick trip up on the hill. If I'm not back by Assembly, I'll meet you in the Mess Hall," Bert told Helen.

"Gloria?" she asked as she handed Christopher over to Jill and Claire and instructed the girls to get him some juice.

"Yeah. I've got to get to her before she gets to Johanna. If this bullshit keeps up, I'm going to need a mother fucking 747 to get everybody to Boston," Bert replied.

"Your Uncle apologizes girls; he's been hanging around much too much with your Uncle Sid." Helen said as she looked towards all four of her senior girls who were now giggling.

The five minute ride up the hill to Pine Ridge, the Senior girls campus, was always like running the gauntlet for the camp Director, he had to stop and say hello to every child he passed along the way. Merely speaking wasn't enough, obligatory hugs and kisses, stories of bruised knee's or a frog that was found had to be listened to with great interest or sympathy on Bert's part, and the five minute ride took 15 when the timing was wrong.

Once through the Camp Kenny campus, the pace was quicker, a hello and a wave usually got him past the girls on the cabin porches who were drying their hair or getting it brushed out. For amusement, Bert could always count on a few of the girls to go scurrying back into their cabins due to lack of some basic clothing. Even from afar, Bert could tell the ages of the girls; the 12 to 14 year olds always stood their ground, with or without a piece of fabric on. The 15 to 18 year olds however made a hasty retreat as the Director hid his eyes appropriately.

Pulling up to the front of Gloria's cabin, Bert honked his antique Duisenberg horn which gave his cart the name "Mr. Magoo" by the campers.

"Hi Uncle Bert! Aunt Gloria is in the shower." 15 year old Judy said as she came out of the cabin holding four year old Timmy. Popping out onto the porch right after Judy, 14 year old Caroline joined them.

"Good morning girls, how's Timmy this morning?" He asked as Judy handed the boy over.

"Not so happy about getting his ears washed, but he's in a pretty good mood." Judy replied as she gave the man a kiss.

"Really? Well I can understand that; I'm not too happy when Aunt Helen washes my ears either," Bert said as he kissed Timmy on his nose while the boy giggled. Both girls looked at each other as Bert gave Caroline a kiss.

"Coffee on?" Bert now asked as he went inside.

Once he received a cup of coffee, he gave Timmy back to Judy.

"I need to talk to Aunt Gloria for a minute. Be right back girls," Bert said as he walked into the woman's bedroom.

"Ya decent?" Bert asked as he walked into the bathroom and sat down on the toilet cover.

"Of course, I always wear my clothing when I'm taking a shower." Gloria replied as both girls giggled and left to get Timmy dressed.

"I received your message concerning Sid. I think you're right, it is going to be a stressful time for him, but I think he'll be able to keep his equilibrium," Bert said.

"I was 15 when Uncle Karl died Uncle Bert. I was 17 when Uncle Kenny died. If all they were doing was going up there to sign over the house on Block Island, I would agree with you. But they both plan to have Uncle Karl and Uncle Jimmy re-buried on the Island. Uncle Sid hasn't been back to the Island since they buried Uncle Kenny there. That's three funerals and two Irishmen who drink like Irishmen. Do you remember how Uncle Sid took Uncle Kenny's and Uncle Karl's death?" Gloria asked.

"It's burned into my memory!" she said. Bert nodded in agreement.

"You know he's going to drink, and if it gets out of hand, Uncle Barry isn't going to be the one who's there to stop him. We could end up with the both of them deciding to pull the plug," she said.

"There are five adults here and probably a dozen boys who could stop it; at least one of them has to go with him."

"But Jeanette's going and so is Kenny. He'd never pull the plug with either one of them around," Bert said.

"True, but if Spencer goes off, she's got her hands full and Uncle Sid's load with Anthony will only increase the stress. Uncle Sid needs to have someone there just for him, not for anybody else," she replied adamantly.

"We're asking a hell of a lot from a 13 year old boy," Bert said.

"He's a Geppetto boy Uncle Bert; he knows what it takes to keep the people he loves alive," she said.

"Have you spoken to anybody else regarding this?" Bert asked Gloria as she got out of the shower and began drying off.

"No. I wanted to speak to you first. If I had to, I would have spoken to Johanna." Gloria replied. Bert shook his head.

"Yeah I heard about that little piece of blackmail," Bert said. Gloria smiled a little.

"If that's what it takes to keep Uncle Sid alive, you'd do the same thing!" She said. Bert now smiled himself.

"Probably so!" he said as he stood up.

"I'll speak to Jesse this morning. I'm also going to have to speak to Sid. You know damned well he's going to know why Jesse is being attached to him," Bert told the girl as she wrapped her hair in the towel.

"I'm sure he will. Blame me." Gloria said as she kissed the man good morning.

"What ever happened to that cute, happy, obedient little girl who came to Green Tree in pig tails and braces?" Bert asked as they moved into the bedroom.

"She was raised by two grumpy old men who needed babysitters!" Gloria replied as her girls giggled.

Once Bert departed, Gloria's attention turned to Timmy who was now in socks and a polo shirt lying on her bed playing with a ball. Taking a fresh pair in Max pants out of his underwear drawer, she put them on the bed and took out an inducer and a tube of KY jelly. Judy had already been taught how to insert the inducer into the boy, and it was now Caroline's turn.

"It's the same as a thermometer, except that it doesn't stick out of his rectum when it's in place." Gloria said as she unwrapped the sterile instrument. Handing it to Caroline, the girl coated the tip and lifted Timmy's leg.

"It only needs to be a half inch [12 mm] or so inside his rectum, and keep it pressed against his prostate." Gloria instructed the girl.

"You've given him a suppository before, it's inserted the same exact way." Gloria said.

"What happens if he poops?" she asked.

"Timmy poops in the afternoon. It won't come out unless Timmy forces it out. You won't do that will you Timmy?" Gloria asked the boy.

"No, Momma." Timmy said with a smile.

Once implanted, the girl reached for the special pants that contained the batteries sewn into the side seams. Putting them on the boy she now attached the two wires from the inducer and pulled the pants up to his waist. Timmy looked down at the pants with the Roadrunner on the front of them and smiled as a pair of shorts were now put on him and pulled up. The girl already knew that the boys code word for turning off the inducer was "Happy" and as the boy was lowered onto a rocking horse, he gleefully rocked from front to back on the springs as the inducer did its work. As a Scale One Geppetto boy, Max would do its job probably 15 or so times before Dinner and the tool was removed until the following morning.

Like the rest of the Intermediate campus, Beachview Cabin was awake with the first notes of reveille ringing in Adam's ears. His impending Lake Dip with Sid at Flagpole had all 12 of his campers electrified with excitement at this old camp tradition; watching their counselor's being un ceremoniously tossed into the lake. Better yet, these two were the Assistant Director of the entire camp, and the Intermediate Boys Camp Director.

As Adam's eyes opened, he took the usual morning inventory of who had made the journey during the middle of the night to join him in bed. Sammy, Carla and Jeannie were almost always now waking up with the man as he searched for a dry patch of the bed, and on this morning, he had been the fortunate recipient of Joey and Trevor's contribution of nightly moisture. Except for Spencer who was downstairs with Anthony, the six remaining members now joined the five campers who were already sprawled out on Adam's bed. To add a little insult, the Cabin's two cocker spaniels now jumped on the bed with Puddles heading directly for Adam's face. Pushing the dog away as several boys giggled their approval, Adam reached over for Sammy who had yet to begin his morning stretch.

Pulling Sammy on top of himself, Adam propped his head up on several pillows as he massaged Sammy's back and shoulders.

"Ya goin for a Lake Dip today!" Matty told his counselor with a large dimpled, devilish grin. Adam nodded his head.

"Yes, because a cabin full of traitors volunteered me!" Adam replied in mock sarcasm. As the giggling died down, Sammy began coming to life as his toes stretched downward and he tightened his cheek muscles. Adam felt the boys penis flex on his stomach as Sammy's arms now straightened and went alongside Adam's face. With a deep yawn, Sammy wiped his mouth and nose on Adam's chest as his head went back and forth.

"Let's get this show on the road guys, we have some showers to take, a skinny inspection, and some cabin cleaning to do before I have to get humiliated," Adam said.

With most of the boys now headed for the showers, Adam now looked over towards Carla and Jeannie who had not yet moved.

"I wonder if Uncle Bert canceled school for this morning?" Adam said. Carla's head now shot off her pillow.

"Ya think so?" she asked. Adam smiled and laughed a bit.

"You never know, we'll have to wait for Flagpole to find out," Adam told the girl as he rubbed her bottom warm.

"He's just foolin with us Carla. Uncle Bert would have called him and told him if school was canceled." Jeannie said as she now yawned and flipped herself around. Adam smiled at the girl who was now lying on her back.

"Which reminds me girls, you both have an appointment with Aunt Sarah this morning," he said. Jeannie now brought her hand down to her groin and found a comfortable and satisfying place just inside her vagina.

"That's stupid! We still got our cherries, don't we Carla." Jeannie said.

"Yup! Want to see it Uncle Adam?" Carla asked. Adam shook his head. The offer had been made before, but the answer was always the same.

"I'll take a rain check on that girls, I'm not an expert on the inner workings of little girls, but your Aunt Sarah is," he told the both of them. As it always did, it brought about more giggles.

Do we gots panty liners Uncle Adam?" Jeannie now asked.

"Yes, we have them in all the bathrooms under the sinks. Why?" Adam asked.

"Cus my tummy is puffy and so is my pussy. I'm gonna start bleedin soon." The girl replied matter of factly. Sammy now lifted his head and felt the girls stomach area.

"It don't feel any different," Sammy said.

"It's comin, my tits are even a little sore," she replied.

"Take a nice warm shower. I'll make sure we have plenty of liners on hand. I don't understand, how do you two go through so many in such a short time?" Adam asked.

"It ain't just us; the boys use them for band-aids and stuff." Carla replied.

"Band-aids?" Adam asked Sammy.

"Sure Uncle Adam, they stick swell!" he told Adam with a smile.

As Carla and Jeannie waddled off to the showers with two very impressive looking little asses that even Adam had to admit were going to be a tempting piece of jail bait, he had to smile to himself at the two 11 year olds spunk and openness. If they had a modest bone in their body, they left it outside the door to Green Tree.

In some respect's, the girls reminded Adam of his two sisters who he deeply loved, but had to keep his love for them a deep dark secret lest his Mother take his innocent brotherly love for any other kind of love. He dared not to kiss them, hold their hand, be in the same bathroom, hug them or show any kind of affection for them no matter how innocent fearing his Mother's certain wrath like that he was shown when he was barely seven and found with a bladder erection in their presence while playing in the living room 20 years earlier. The beating he took then was still fresh in his mind; it had been for 20 years.

Now, he was living with Carla and Jeannie, and like his Sisters, saw their beauty, but not in a sexual light. Their openness, their innocence, even their wildly liberal behavior with their fellow campers made them extremely special to Adam. They were, like the boys were, free spirits who had no adults around them ready to beat and abuse them for being nothing more than human beings.

If the girls were affected by Geppetto as the boys were, he would most probably take them to his bed as well, but they were not. What the girls did with their peers was their business, and not to be interfered with as would any other child, male or female. His attitude between boys and girls was impossible to explain, even to himself. His only fear was that somehow his mother was still controlling his behavior even as an adult and that pissed him off, royally.

Now alone with Sammy as Jeannie closed the door behind her, Adam would allow Sammy to decide how his day was to begin as the boy did almost every morning with Adam for the past two years. What anybody in the world thought about the next 15 or so minutes that Adam had with Sammy meant nothing to Adam so long as Sammy was happy. Now laying on top of Adam, Sammy knew he was in control as he slid both legs alongside Adam's. The boy needed no spoken words between himself and his counselor; they knew each other much too well as he lifted his leg up alongside Adam. Adam now had access to play in a spot that always had the 10 year old feeling like he had his head in the clouds and he could almost fly as the sound coming from the bathroom showers drifted off somewhere leaving him with Adam all alone in the world. Sammy could play all day long with his friends, but only Adam could make him feel as special as he did right now.

On a normal school day morning, Carla and Jeannie would have dragged their feet in the shower and stayed there to play with the boys for as long possible. The time after showers were usually spent stripping the beds and getting the laundry out on the front porch and then straightening out the cabin until Assembly blew and everyone went to the Flagpole to raise the Camp Flag and receive the days schedule of activities. Now however, the girls had to report to the Infirmary for what they knew would be a successful inspection of their intact Maidenheads. Quickly showering and dressing, the girls now bounded down the stairs of the cabin for the short jog to the Camp Infirmary.

"Hi Aunt Sarah. Aunt Helen wants you to check to see if we're still virgins." Carla said as both girls gave the woman a good morning kiss.

"Is Aunt Helen going to be disappointed?" Sarah asked as both girls dropped their shorts and underpants on the floor and sat on the end of an examining table. Both girls giggled as they laid down flat and bent their legs at the knees.

"No. We still got our cherries, but she wants us to prove it." Jeannie replied.

"Why isn't she taking your word for it?" Sarah asked as she dilated Carla's vaginal canal and shined a flashlight inside. We was playing with the boys and they got our pussy's all red from rubbing them." Jeannie said with a giggle. Sarah shook her head at the two girls complete lack of modesty.

"You two could avoid this unpleasantness by keeping your pants on around the boys. Just because you can sexually engage with them doesn't mean you have to give them access to your entire body. Most little girls your ages don't allow boys to grope their entire body until they're a little older," she advised the girls.

"But we like it when they play with our pussies. Don't you like it?" Carla asked.

"I think we can agree that I'm a little older than you two." Sarah replied as she moved to examine Jeannie.

"You didn't fuck boys when you was a little girl?" Carla asked.

"No, so far as I know, none of your Aunt's had intercourse until we were at least 15 or 16." Sarah replied trying to put the brakes on their behavior just a little bit.

"Boy you guys sure are old fashioned!" Jeannie said as Sarah examined her.

"Uncle Bert says he wants us to stay virgins until we become Senior girls. We think that's kinda old!" Carla told the nurse.

"That's only two years away." Sarah replied as she finished her exam.

"That's forever!" Both girls said simultaneously. Sarah again shook her head as she stifled a smile.

"I will notify your Aunt Helen you are still intact.

You also seem to be on the verge of menstruating," she told Jeannie.

"I know, I already gots a panty liner on." The girl replied as she pointed to her underpants on the floor.

"If I gave you two a little advice, will you promise me that you will think about it?" Sarah now asked the girls as she took out a hair brush and began brushing out Carla's hair as the two girls slipped back into their shorts.

"Sure Aunt Sarah." Carla replied with a smile.

"I'm not suggesting you stop having fun with the boys; I know you have no restrictions on you other than giving up your virginity too early, but you need to keep in mind that we girls have a secret weapon when it comes to keeping boys interested in us, and that secret is called curiosity," she told both girls as she brushed.

"Boys have an inner flaw, and it's called curiosity. If a bunch of girls are walking down the beach, and only one of them has a bathing suit or a pair of underpants on, guess which one the boys will watch more?" She asked. Both Carla and Jeannie looked at each other.

"None of them! The boys in the mafia don't care about looking at girls." Jeannie replied with Carla nodding. Sarah now had to laugh despite her desire to teach the girls a little something about the male of the species.

"Forget the boys in the mafia; I'm talking about senior boys, or even your Uncle's," she replied.

"Do you know why women spend billions of dollars a year on lingerie?" She asked.

"A little piece of fabric in the right location makes the boys curios. A fully naked girl has no secret's, she has no mystique. There's nothing there to peak a boys curiosity," she said.

"The boys in the mafia don't care about mystique, they just want to fuck!" Carla replied.

"If we started wearing clothes to bed, they would just think we were nuts or we were having our periods." Sarah shook her head as she tied a ribbon around Carla's hair and began working on Jeannie's hair.

"I know that you play with all the boys in the mafia, but isn't there one of them that is really special to you?" She asked.

"Maybe he isn't even in the mafia?" "You mean like going steady?" Jeannie asked.

"Yes, or maybe just a boy that you really like and want to be around more than the others." Sarah replied.

"We're too young to go steady, that's for senior girls. Besides, if we went steady, we could only fuck with one boy. It's a lot better when we can fuck with everybody!" Carla said with another dimpled smile. Resigning herself to utter failure, Sarah now opted to abandon her attempt at instilling a little more decorum in the girls social life. She would have a sit-down discussion with Gloria, Jeanette and Johanna to get some pointers on corralling the two little gadfly's.

"Just think about what we talked about and try it for yourself. Think of having a dozen presents under the Christmas tree and only one of them is wrapped up. Which one of the presents is going to get the most attention?" She counseled.

The blowing of Assembly now brought a stampede of campers out of their cabins. There was no "Official" declaration of the Lake Dip that was about to take place, the word was passed through the "Grapevine" by the campers themselves and had reached every corner of the camp between Reveille and the Call to Flagpole.

As tradition decreed, those going for the Dip showed up for the Ceremony dressed ready to be thrown into the lake. Wearing a large bathrobe and carrying a beach towel, Adam arrived in his cart a few minutes before Sid. Sid's arrival came with a great deal of fanfare since the campers knew that the last time Sid was tossed into the Lake, he was wearing a sponge diving suit complete with helmet. As his cart now appeared at the lake front, the curtains on the cart were all down and Sid wasn't visible which was the way he had showed up in the diving suit. The crowd knew he was up to something, but he wasn't showing his hand until after the flag raising took place. For the twin's, this all a brand new experience, but the reaction and sense of anticipation on their fellow campers told both boys they were in the midst of something special that was about to happen as they watched the goings on intently.

Christopher had been to half a dozen Lake Dips since he first arrived at Green Tree, but it was doubtful he was aware of what was about to transpire. Nevertheless, he was giddy with excitement. As he did every morning and every afternoon, he was the "Helper" who assisted in raising and lowering the Camp Flag and immediately below it, the Honor Cabins Flag who had won the Weekly Inspection Award. Being Friday, it was the last day of the week that Boys six would have the honor and as all twelve boys unfolded and attached the flags to the line, Christopher took up his place at the very end of Boys six Cabins flag as the bugle blew To the Colors. While most of the boys' attention was on Sid's golf cart that was shrouded in mystery, Christopher shook with excitement as the flags made their way up the 30 foot [9 m] pole. As the last camper now holding onto the flag, the trick was now to get him to willingly let the flag go so that it could be raised to the top. On more than a few occasions, he had been almost lifted off the ground while refusing to give up his hold on them. What usually worked was a bribe, and it usually had to be food or a toy.

"Want the ball Christopher?" An 11 year old from Boys six asked him as the boy wisely twirled the multi colored ball in his hand inches away from Christopher's grasp.

"Get the ball Christopher!" some of the other boys said trying to distract the boy from the flags. The lure of the ball won out as Christopher released the flag and it was hurriedly raised beyond his grasp as the ball was handed to him. Now grasping the ball in both hands, Christopher watched as the flags reached the top of the pole.

After morning announcements were made, the tension now rose as it was time for the Lake Dip to proceed.

"For reason's most of us can smell, Uncle Bert needs to take a bath before his trip today to Boston. He will be back with us in a few days, but first, we need enough soap and water to get him really clean, so he's been ordered to take a Lake Dip," Bert told the assembled as the giggling and laughter rippled through the crowd of campers and staff that now gathered at the lake front.

"Since he's going swimming, Uncle Dan wants him to have a Buddy, and Uncle Adam has agreed to join his good friend in the water to make sure he's safe," Bert said as he pointed to Adam.

Adam shook his head as the torrent of cheers and laughter arose around him. Handing Sammy his towel, Adam now took off his bathrobe. Dressed in one of his three piece suits complete with tie, the laughter increased as he was carried out to the end of a boat ramp and thrown into the water as the crowd counted 3. It was now Sid's turn to appear.

None of the boys ever knew what Sid would wear, and as the curtain opened on the cart, Sid stepped out in a replica of a suit of armor that once stood in front of a very nice restaurant in Georgetown when Sid was a Junior in College there. With flippers, a snorkel and a mask on, the suit of armor walked into the water as the campers laughed and cheered him on. When it comes to raising camp or school spirit, Sid has few peers.

For a school day, breakfast was unusually noisy that Friday morning and the entire staff knew that there wasn't going to be a hell of a lot of learning going on. The campers were wired and it was useless to try to make them sit still. Bert spent the majority of his breakfast quietly telling his teachers to conduct "Area's of study" classes, which largely meant outdoors. It presented no problem for the staff. In Adam's situation as a math teacher, he would hold his classes at the building site for the new Commissary and demonstrate the need for a full knowledge of math and algebra even when doing something as simple as planning out a staircase or the number of square's necessary to cover a roof. As Adam ate, he was already planning out the days lessons.

"Nice choice of swimwear good buddy, I hope it was wash n wear," Sid said as he sat down. Adam smiled at Sid who was now dressed in a pair of red boxer shorts with yellow polka dots.

"Don't you remember that suit? It was last worn on the day I arrived," Adam told his friend.

"Never seen it before. The day you arrived, I was up on the hill at the stables. I knew you were here, but I didn't see you until the next day remember?" Adam now smiled deeply.

"When I came to the stable to go riding with Sammy, Jesse and David," Adam recalled. Sid nodded his head.

"Where the hell did you come up with that suit of armor?" Adam now asked. Sid laughed.

"A group of us went out to dinner while we were in College. This restaurant had that suit of armor on the front lawn of the place. The food was bad and the waitress was a total bitch because she figured we were going to stiff her for her tip. We took the suit as a going away present," Sid replied chuckling.

"So did you stiff her?" Adam asked. Sid shook his head.

"We gave her 15 percent, but we usually tipped 25 percent," Sid said with a smile.

Feeling a body now crawling up onto the bench between himself and Adam, Sid looked down to see Christopher. Grabbing the boy by the waist, Sid hoisted the boy up onto the bench.

"I-ee?" Christopher asked in his usual way of attempting to communicate. Trying to figure out what Christopher wanted to convey was always a matter of watching to see where the boy went next, or what he did to make his wants or needs apparent. As usual, Sid always led the boy on.

"Well I'm real happy to see you too good buddy, are you here to have breakfast with us?" Sid said with a smile.

"I-eee?" the boy repeated.

"Well I don't think we have any scrambled eggs, how about some waffle's?" Sid asked as the boys around the table now giggled.

"Hey!" Christopher declared as he now wrapped his arms around Sid's neck and gave the man the usual slobbering kiss.

"How did you know what he wanted?" Trevor asked Sid.

"Didn't you hear him ask for scrambled eggs?" Sid said.

With more giggles coming from the boys, Christopher now turned around and headed for Adam.

"Swallow Christopher," Adam said just as the boy reached the man.

"Hey!" Christopher replied after he gave the man a kiss.

"Did it work?" Sid asked as Adam wiped his mouth off.

"Sure, he swallowed right after he kissed me," he told his friend as the boys continued to giggle.

"Good morning Uncle Sid. That was really neat this morning." Jill said as she gave the man a kiss on his cheek. Sid smiled at the girl.

"Good morning pal, did you come to take our little friend back?" Sid said. The girl smiled as she looked at Christopher.

"He's already eaten, but he wiggled away from us. Aunt Helen just wants us to keep an eye on him," she reported.

"Good! Have a seat. Want some coffee? Or maybe a Margarita?" Sid asked the girl.

"A what?" Bert asked as the Director now approached the table.

"I was asking her if she saw Margaret this morning boss," Sid said as the boys giggled all the harder. Bert smiled slightly and nodded his head as he put his hands on Sid's shoulders.

"That's what I thought. Mind if Christopher joins you for a few minutes Adam?" Bert asked.

"No problem, we can always use the company," Adam replied.

"Talk Time," Bert now said as he squeezed Sid's shoulders slightly.

"Be right back. If anybody steals my jelly doughnut, they'll be no horseback riding for a year," Sid said as he stood up.

"You all packed?" Bert asked as the two men now rode down the path in Bert's cart.

"Pretty much, Patty's got a few more things for me to lug around, but I'll be ready by lunchtime," Sid replied.

"Good," Bert replied.

"What's up? You didn't drag me out here because you want a date," Sid now said to his friend. Bert smiled and nodded.

"No, but I did want you alone so that when the fur starts flying, you're out of hearing distance from the kids," Bert replied as he stopped along the lake under a weeping willow tree. Sid looked at his old friend.

"What don't I want to hear?" Sid asked.

"You don't want to hear that the girls have gotten together and are very concerned about this trip. They're concerned enough that they want someone to go with you that will be there for you," Bert said.

"We're talking about the three musketeers?" Sid replied.

"Among others," Bert replied.

"Someone is going; last time I heard, Jeanette is traveling with us, she can spy all she wants and report back to the coven," Sid replied. Bert smiled and hoped Sid's humor stayed with him for awhile.

"Gloria and Johanna know that. They also know that Spencer might go off, and if he does, Jeanette will have her hands full with him, and you'll have your hands full with Anthony," he said.

"So Johanna has decided this would be a nice time to take a vacation in Boston?" Sid asked.

"If necessary, she will do that. You know she has the right to request it," Bert replied. Sid shook his head.

"How is it that every time we're forced into doing something we don't want to do, these three end up on top dictating the outcome?" Sid asked.

"We made the rules up, and they've learned how to play the game," Bert said.

It was now time for Sid to shake his head.

"You said "If necessary." What the fuck does that mean?" Sid now asked.

"Johanna will invoke her option to go with you if necessary, but it will create problems for Beth and the baby's. She'll go if she has to, but would rather have Jesse invoke his rights and stay by your side," Bert told Sid.

"Jesse is in a position to do that!" the Director reminded Sid.

Sid now got out of the cart shaking his head. Looking at the lake, Sid thought for several very long seconds.

"At 50 fucking years old, they've now decided I need to be babysat by a 13 year old?" Sid finally asked.

"Has everybody around here forgotten I went away to College for eight years and never once got lost?" he asked a little sarcastically.

"If I had to go back to Brockton Sid to re-bury Alicia and Robby, would you make sure someone was with me, or even end up going with me yourself?" Bert asked.

"Would you be there as my babysitter, or my friend?" he asked.

After another long pause, Sid turned back around to look at his friend.

"I was with Jesse all morning long. He never said a word about any of this bullshit," Bert nodded his head.

"Jesse hasn't been hiding anything; nobody has approached Jesse about it. Unless you agree, he will be told nothing," Bert replied. Sid nodded.

"They know how to spin a tight little web, don't they?" Sid asked.

"We taught them well Sid, with or without our permission, they're going to protect each other, and that includes you," Bert said. Sid reluctantly nodded his head.

"Let Thomas invite Jesse to keep David company. I'm not planning on taking a high dive off the Block Island cliffs and I don't want him watching my every move for the next week figuring I'm about to slice my throat!" Sid said as he sat back down in the cart.

"But Thomas and David aren't scheduled to go until next week," Bert now said. Sid shook his head.

"If it's not presented to Jesse in the right way, he's going to know he's being sent on a Must Special basis. I don't lay that kind of responsibility on a 13 year olds head," Bert now thought long and hard.

"That leaves me short three top Administrator's.

It cuts things mighty close," Bert replied.

"You can find replacements for Jesse, David and Kenny on a temporary basis, the rest of us will hardly be missed," Sid joked.

"Let's get back to the Mess Hall before they eat my jelly doughnut. And in the meantime, I'll figure out a way to repay Gloria for this humiliation," he told Bert.

"Gloria? Why do you say Gloria?" Bert asked.

"It has her fingerprints all over it. She was always playing the Mother hen, even when she was still in diapers!" Sid replied.

As Sid had known all along, his jelly doughnut was long gone. With the boys returning to giggles as Sid approached, he looked around the table.

"You wouldn't happen to know the name of the skunk who stole my jelly doughnut would you pardna?" He asked Christopher as he wiped his finger on the boys cheek and licked the jelly off.

"Hey!" Christopher replied with a smile and a mouth full of jellied teeth.

"No, I didn't think you would!" Sid said as he drank the last of his orange juice.

The activity at the lake before breakfast pushed the schedule back a good 15 minutes which eliminated a good chunk of time after breakfast for the usual cabin cleanup. Adam had given up any hope of winning top honors for Beachview as the cleanest cabin on the Intermediate boys campus, partly due to his responsibilities as the Intermediate Boys Camp Director which had him away from the cabin most of the day, and partly due to the fact that Beachview was "Ground Zero" as far as the mafia was concerned. While most staff had a dozen or so boys to clean up after, Adam had better than three dozen campers traipsing in and out of the cabin on a routine basis. Beachview was the mafia's club house, and winning inspection awards was out the window. The last time Adam saw the cabins flag on the flagpole was over 20 months ago.

As he watched the Housecleaning staff pull up with piles of sheets, blankets, clothing and supplies, he weakly smiled to the senior boy in charge.

"Looks like a bomb hit the cabin Uncle Adam," the boy said as he filled out the Inspection Report.

"Look on the bright side Darren; we're going on an overnight tonight, so at least we'll get good grades tomorrow," Adam said with a hopeful smile.

"One out of seven ain't bad," the boy quickly replied.

"Hey Uncle Adam, we ain't got no more panty liners. Did ya get some?" Carla now screamed from the bedroom loft. Adam turned to look at the senior boy.

"Yes, we brought three boxes. What are they doing with them Uncle Adam? You guys use more than any of the girls cabins do!" The senior boy said. Adam shook his head.

"Don't ask!" he replied as he tossed a box up to Carla.

A few minutes before the bugle would blow announcing First Period, most of Kevin's cabin began assembling at Adam's; a sure sign that the campus would soon be on the move. Doctor Lester and the twins were now ready for their day, and talk of the day's classes being held outside for the most part had both boys' very curios. They had swimming lesson's scheduled for most of the morning, but were now more interested in seeing how this new type of schooling worked.

"Talk to Uncle Dan. If he feels you've made very good progress in learning to swim, he might cut the lessons short," Adam suggested.

"Can we go see him now?" Gavin asked.

"As soon as the bugle blows. Uncle Dan is already up at the pool checking the chemical levels and setting today's Water Front schedules," Adam advised both boys.

"Are you coming to the pool?" Benji now asked.

"No, I have three classes of math and I'll be with Uncle Dave at the building site all morning," Adam replied.

"The boys also have another question for you Uncle Adam," Kevin now said. After a short and hushed huddle between the twins, Gavin stepped forward. "Uncle Kevin says we gotta stay in Coquina for a month, and then we can ask to go to a different cabin; is that right Uncle Adam?" The boy asked. Adam now looked at Kevin.

"Yes, according to school rules, a new boy has to wait four weeks before he can ask to be moved unless the Team decides otherwise," Adam replied.

"You don't like it in Uncle Kevin's cabin?" he asked both boys.

"Oh no, we like it swell. It's just that we want to move into Beachview." Benji now said.

"Tell Uncle Adam why you would prefer to move into Beachview," Kevin said to the boys.

"Cus' that's where Carla and Jeannie live!" Gavin said with a broad smile. Trying like hell not to smile, Adam looked at Doctor Lester and Kevin.

"I'm honored that you want to join Beachview boys, and once we get closer to the end of your first month, we can all sit down and discuss your living arrangements," Adam told the boys.

"What does that mean?" Benji asked.

"It means let's wait and see," Adam replied.

"But Carla said we get to choose which cabin we live in, and if we don't get permission from you, we can ask Uncle Bert for it." Gavin replied. From the loft area, some scurrying was now heard, but the girls were nowhere to be seen as the bugle blew Recall which signaled First Period class.

"Carla is correct, any decision made by any staff member can be appealed to Uncle Bert, but there is still a waiting period of a month before a boy can be moved, unless the Team decides otherwise. I'm not saying that Uncle Kevin or I will not allow you to move if that's what you want to do, but we want you to get to know the entire camp before you decide where you want to go," Adam told the boys.

"But if we still want to move, you'll let us?" Benji asked.

"Unless Uncle Kevin or I have a very good reason not to allow it, you will be moved if that's what you still want to do," Adam said.

"We will!" both boys now said as they scurried up the staircase to the loft.

Watching the boys disappear upstairs, Adam shook his head.

"It's a little unusual for eight year old boys to want to have anything to do with 11 year old girls isn't it?" Adam asked Doctor Lester. The Doctor nodded.

"Normally, yes. But we have two boys that have been closely involved with both girls and women for much of their lives. I would be very surprised if they would willingly have anything to do with an adult female, but according to the files, their involvement with minor females was largely positive from their points of view," Adam nodded.

"We did a lot of shuffling around in the mafia just before their arrival. It looks like they're about to undo it all," he said.

"I haven't heard of one single member of the mafia that they haven't played with. For that matter, they are very few members of the entire Intermediate campus that hasn't been engaged with them and that's only because they've only been here for two weeks By next week, they'll be out of virgins," Kevin told his Director. Adam smiled and shook his head as a stampede of boys now made their way down the staircase.

Christopher would spend his usual day being chaperoned by at least two of the four senior girls he lived with and who were permanently assigned to him. As was his usual custom, he spent the first period swimming in the Kiddie Pool with the Camp Kenny campers and senior girls. His 2nd and 3rd periods would be spent being mainstreamed with the Camp Kenny campers who went to arts and crafts, or recreation areas.

In the very beginning when Christopher first arrived, it took some hefty bribes on Helen and Bert's part for the girls to agree to take care of the boy who at the very least was an exhausting critter to follow around. To label him hyperactive would have been an understatement. Christopher was a magnet for mayhem and confusion. He required constant attention and vigilance to keep himself and others around him safe and secure. Yet, after eight months, none of the four original girls would trade places with their peers and give up caring for him. For reasons nobody could explain, Christopher's utter defenselessness drew people to himself that protected him from harm.

Walking into the pool area, Christopher un strapped his bib overalls as he walked out of them almost without missing a step. Pointing to one of the many children's potty's that were lined up along the wall, Claire told the boy to go pee as she sat down on a lounge chair alongside the pool.

Beth smiled as she watched Christopher walk from potty to potty as an unbroken stream of urine contributed a little to each one.

"Now you know why we girls always have to wipe the seat before sitting down," she said to Claire as she shifted her baby to her other breast. Claire giggled a little.

"We have a lock on our bathroom door to keep him out, but you can hear Uncle Bert or Aunt Helen screaming every now and then," she told the woman. Beth nodded.

"Babee?" Christopher said as he approached Beth and put his finger on the babys arm.

"The babys name is Joshua, Christopher. Can you say "Joshua"? she asked Christopher as the boy intently watched the baby suckle.

"Gee" Christopher replied.

"Babee rink?" he now asked.

"Yes, he is drinking my milk." Beth told him.

"Christopher is a very smart boy." Claire now said.

"Christopher sign baby drink," she told the boy. The boy now withdrew his arm and signed baby and then signed drink as he spoke the words. As Claire and Jill praised him and clapped, a large smile complete with dimples appeared on his face as he signed swim. Picking up his swim vest, the boy gleefully put the vest on as Claire then buckled the clasp's that held it on.

"Have Fun!" Claire now said as Christopher turned for the pool.

Now reaching into a knap sack, the girl wrote down the boys new word for Joshua. In the days to come, Christopher would be taught to sign the letter J to identify the baby.

"He might be able to refine the name a little; he can say jelly and Jello, so he might be able to pronounce Josh or more probably Gosh. He has a strong tendency to turn his Js into Gs. He calls me Gil." The girl told Beth. "I don't think he'll ever be able to say Joshua, it has too many syllables." Claire now told Beth. The girl nodded as she listened to both senior girls. She had known both girls back in their old school for many years when they were children. Now 15 and 16 years old, they were both well on their way to become Aunts at Green Tree. Beth was extremely impressed with both girls' ability to teach Christopher. The "Children" were quickly becoming her peers.

"What does he call you" Beth asked Claire.

"He can't pronounce the CL sound he calls me Laire." The girl said with a giggle.

As Joshua drifted off for a nap, Beth handed the baby to Jill who looked lovingly at the 9 month old as his left cheek pulled up with a muscle twitch and for a brief moment, his lips made an involuntary smile.

"Is he dreaming?" The girl asked.

"He might be, but more likely it's a gas bubble or just a muscle contraction. From his vantage point, there's a lot for him to be happy about." Beth said.

"When we get older Aunt Helen says that we can have babies as long as we don't use our eggs. Do you think that's a good idea?" Claire asked as she looked down on the baby's sleeping face.

"That is one way to become a Mother. You can also consider adopting a baby like I did." Beth replied.

"If we stay in Green Tree, we plan to adopt. But if we leave, we think we want a real baby." Jill now said. Beth smiled.

"A real baby? Does Sidney Bertram or Joshua appear unreal to you?" Beth asked.

"We mean a baby who's not a Geppetto baby. If we marry a non Geppetto boy, the baby will be normal." Claire explained.

"That's true." Beth replied with a small smile as she dismissed the term "Normal" for the time being.

Chapter Thirty Four

Doctor Lester's departure for Boston was now roughly four hours away as the man sat in the golf cart while the eight year old twins Gavin and Benji took turns driving to the upper campus Kiddie Pool. The boys had been receiving swimming lessons now for a solid week to get them safely into deep water since they lived, literally, at the waters edge. Dan, the camps Water Safety Instructor and Waterfront Director, had almost 600 people in the camp/school, and all but four of them, three adults and Christopher, were deep water swimmers except for the newly arrived twins.

The Doctor had seen many children being taught to swim, including his own three children. Up to this point in time, he thought he knew the basic procedures, teaching them to float, to breathe, to practice swimming underwater and the proper technique of the different swimming strokes. Dan and his team of well over two dozen Senior Lifeguards and W.S.I.s had long since abandoned those crude methods that took months to get a child into deep water. Instead of Instructor's, Dan used a vest he had designed with pockets containing foam pads in it. On day one, the vest contained 12 pads, and it was impossible for the boys to drown unless they were knocked unconscious. Now, a week later, and without their knowledge, the staff had been removing a pad or two a day and the vests that they wore now contained only four pads and they were basically doing all the swimming on their own.

For a week, the boys were put into the vests when they swam either in the pool, or on the lake. With no lifeguard next to them, they then paddled around and played in the water for hours. Both boys wondered when the lessons were going to begin.

"Hi Uncle Dan, you gonna swim with us today?" Gavin asked as one of Dan's assistants buckled the boy into his vest.

"I thought that today, we could have a race. Matty and Chris, against you and Benji. Since you guys have those vests on, we'll have a doggy paddle race. OK?" Dan asked.

"Sure!" both boys said eagerly.

Doctor Lester now sat down in a chair alongside Beth and Johanna.

"It looks like today is D-Day." Johanna said as she stroked the back of her sleeping baby.

"D-Day?" Doctor Lester asked the girl. Johanna nodded.

"Dan let's them swim around in the vest for a week and takes a pad out of them every day. By the time they get to six pads, they're basically swimming on their own but don't know it. They still think the vest is holding them up," she told the Doctor.

"Today they find out differently!" Beth said with a smile.

At 10 years of age, both Matty and Chris could swim circles around the twins, especially since the boys were in swim vests. Prompted ahead of time by Dan to win the race, but not by a huge margin, all four boys jumped into the water as the twins scurried to the other side of the pool as Matty and Chris leisurely did a breast stroke to keep up with them.

Just before reaching the other side, both boys thrust forward as they grabbed the side of the pool first.

"That was really, really close!" Dan said as he blew his whistle when Chris's hand touched the poolside first. Both twins beamed with pride.

"I would bet that if Matty and Chris wore the vests, it would make the difference, and you could win!" Dan said to the twins.

"You got two more vests Uncle Dan?" Benji asked.

"I have two more in the storeroom, but you don't need the vests on, you'll be swimming in shallow water," Dan told the twins.

"OK" Gavin said cheerfully as Dan now lifted him out of the water. Once all four boys were out of the water, the twins unbuckled the vests and Matty and Chris now put them on. four wet and bare little asses now stood poised to jump into the water once Dan blew his whistle as Doctor Lester watched. Without hesitation, the twins jumped into the water with Matty and Chris alongside them.

Even with the vests on, the stronger 10 year olds still won the race, and besides, Dan knew he couldn't get the boys to lose on purpose. He did however arrange for the twins to "Almost" beat their rivals. Dan now took the twins out of the water as Matty and Chris took off the vests and put them on the pool deck.

"Did ya see that Uncle Poppy, we almost beat them!" Benji said excitedly as he jumped into the man's lap.

"Not only did you almost beat them, you swam in deep water and you didn't need your vests to do it" Dan now told the twins.

"Deep water?" Gavin now asked. Dan nodded his head.

"You can stand right alongside the edge of the pool, but in the middle, its way over your heads! You are now both deep water swimmers," Dan told the boys as he gave each one a swimmers patch.

Gavin and Benji stared at the patch for several seconds before looking out at the pool where they had just exited.

"Now that you've earned this patch, you can swim without the vest on and you can take out a boat once you've been taught how to operate it safely and receive your boating patch," Dan told the boys.

"If you want to test your swimming skills, go over to that end of the pool, and paddle from one end to the other without touching your feet on the bottom," Dan instructed both boys.

"Congratulations! I'm very proud of the both of you." Doctor Lester said as he gave the boys a kiss on the cheek.

Beth and Johanna smiled as both twins looked a little like they were in shock and not sure what to believe.

"Would you like to go swimming with us and show us how well you can swim? Johanna now asked.

"We can swim?" Gavin asked Dan more than a little bewildered.

"Yes, you've been swimming on your own now for the past two days, you just didn't know it," Dan told both boys.

"You don't need the vests any longer, but if you'd like to keep wearing them, you're welcome to, but you won't be able to get your boating patch until you're ready to give them up," Dan said. Taking the boys by the hand, both Beth and Johanna walked into the pool with them as the boys swam around. It would still take a day for the boys to fully realize they were now swimmers, but without fear, they would be out boating within days all by themselves.

Doctor Lester watched with Dan as the twins swam with the girls.

"You can spend 100 hours with a Senior Life Guard teaching them to swim," Dan said as he removed two more pads from the vests.

"But one week with these vests and all fear is gone. Once that occurs, they'll swim every time," he told the Doctor with a knowing smile.

"Both Sidney Bertram and Joshua here were underwater three weeks after birth. At two months, they both swam at the surface unattended because they never learned to fear the water," Dan told the Doctor.

"Why can't Christopher get over his fear of the water and learn to swim?" The Doctor now asked.

Dan now shook his head.

"Christopher's main problem is that he fears nothing.

He doesn't understand that he can't breathe underwater. He would stay under water until he drowned because he doesn't understand that swimming to the surface allows him to breathe," Dan told the Doctor.

"So he'll never learn?" The Doctor asked.

"I wouldn't say never, but I would hate to see him in water that was 15 or 20 feet [4½ - 6 m] deep with a very bright and shiny object on the bottom that Christopher was interested in. He'd never make it back to the surface," Dan said.

"For the foreseeable future, when Christopher goes into the water, he wears that collar or he stays dry."

Doctor Lester studied Christopher playing in the water. It really didn't matter what he was doing, whether it was playing in the sand box with a group of three to four year olds, or riding around on a trike because he lacked the balance to ride a two wheeler, Christopher enjoyed himself to the max. His face was forever smiling, and he was interested in anything and everything around himself. He didn't know what boredom was, if he was awake, he was active. Only when he slept did he sit still, and when he slept, you could have a party in his bed and not awaken him. Doctor Lester shook his head.

"Last Fall, we were hoping that Christopher would merely be tolerated here at Green Tree when we planned to send him down here. We had no idea it would turn out so magnificently for him." The Doctor said to Dan.

"He's changed the staff and he's also changed the children," Dan replied.

"How so?" Doctor Lester asked.

"There's an innocence and purity about him that just makes those around him want to protect him, even if it's protecting him from himself. Physically he's not a "Pretty" boy, and yet he has the ability to draw people to himself like a cute little puppy dog or a moth to a flame," Dan said.

"We're not seeing pity or condescending attitudes, the boys accept Christopher for who he is, and somehow that works," Dan concluded.

"He's certainly come a long way in communicating." Doctor Lester now said.

"A great deal of it is in interpreting and anticipating his needs and wants but he usually makes himself understood fairly well," Dan said now smiling.

"I think a lot of it has to do with his distractibility, but there are times when he's adamant about something he wants and then you see a great deal of frustration on his face," Dan told the Doctor.

"And how do you deal with that?" Doctor Lester asked.

"Our first goal is to get him to communicate though speech and signing, but if that doesn't work, "Show me." is always a pretty good fall-back," Dan said.

"Even though he can't verbalize all that well, his receptive abilities seem pretty much in order. He knows what's being said to him most of the time."

Doctor Lester listened with great interest to Dan. He knew the man prior to arriving at Green Tree only as a file back in Boston along with all the other Green Tree Staff and Children. Now, for the past week, they were real people with real personalities rather than just a bunch of facts written down on paper. What struck him most about Green Tree Staff was their dedication and commitment to the children they were raising, as well as their professionalism. While Bert and Sid were trained and skilled at Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the rest of the staff from the Chef to the Senior Boys and Girls who had Primary Child Care responsibilities were highly skilled in Early Childhood Education, either formally, or through association as in the case of the Seniors. For the Senior girls, 15 or 16 seemed to be the mean average age while for the Senior boys, by age 18 they were ready to take on Counselor duties competently. There were exceptions for the boys and Charlie and Greg were two of them. By age 14, both boys already had counselor responsibilities.

Doctor Lester now smiled to himself.

"It was always a bit of a mystery to us back in Boston as to why Green Tree alone, of all the Geppetto Schools, was never requesting Senior Staff or Teachers to assist them even when the population doubled and then tripled in size. It's not very difficult to see that you are growing your own," he said as he watched Jill and Claire interact with Christopher in the water. Dan again smiled.

"I guess if they had all come at one single time, we would have been in pretty big trouble. But getting Albemarle's staff turned around, and then the Pine Ridge girls Staff acclimated to the boys and our way of doing things with a break of almost a year in between did the trick. By the time the girls came, all of Albemarle was indistinguishable from Green Tree and all we had to do was to get the girls to accept being in close proximity to the boys. That process is still going on by the way," Dan told the Doctor who now smiled and nodded.

"The tricky ages are between 14 and 16. They're the last of the holdouts when it comes to being comfortable with our boys, but they're learning," Dan said.

"So I saw on our horseback ride past the girls camp!" Doctor Lester replied.

"That's a good example, but so is their penchant for walking around naked outside their cabins to hang up a bathing suit or get a quick tan. Naturally, if a male of any age comes through their campus, they'll go scurrying back inside, but not until they're dead positive the "Intruder" saw a bunch of flesh "Accidentally" of course!" Dan said with a knowing smile.

"Even here at the Kiddie Pool which just had to be built so the girls could swim without the boys "Gawking" at their bodies when they swam; in the beginning, we'd only see flesh on a camper under 10 or a Staff member. Now, bottoms to bathing suits are rare, but they do still exist on some girls," he said.

"We predict that by Christmas or so, the only time you'll see a suit around the pool or lake is when a girl is menstruating," Dan said.

The Doctor sat back in his lounge chair taking in the scene that lay out before him. Despite the fact that the pool walls reverberated with the sounds of children from three and up who were jumping, splashing, squealing and even screeching all around him, the babies lying in lounge chairs on both sides of him were fast asleep as they napped on like they were sleeping in a Library. Each baby had two girls attending them who now sat dripping wet after being called from the pool by Johanna and Beth. Wearing nothing more than a smile, the four girls chatted back and forth as they glanced towards the sleeping babies now and then. Doctor Lester had seen these same four girls with the babies before, and knew them to be their permanent caretakers who lived in the cabins with both Joshua and Sidney Bertram. All four girls were between 12 and 14, yet their dedication and commitment to each of their charges was so exceptional, it was noteworthy of the Chief Psychiatrists professional curiosity; what was it that made the people who lived at Green Tree so responsible and compassionate towards each other?

In a rare appearance at the Kiddie Pool, Gloria entered with four year old Timmy in tow as well as the boys two caretakers, Judy and Caroline. At 17, Judy was the senior girl among all 12 of the girls who were responsible for looking after Timmy, Kenny, Sidney Bertram and Christopher, the youngest children at Green Tree with the exception of Christopher. Now as Judy prepared Timmy for a morning swim, it was quite obvious to the Doctor that this girl among all others was not only the leader, but the other girls role model as she worked. All conversation between the four girls sitting next to him had stopped as they watched Judy like a boy in Yankee Stadium would watch Mickey Mantle at bat. This was who the other girls wanted to be, wet nursing and all.

"How's it going Doctor?" Gloria asked as she pulled a chair over and sat down.

"You missed all the fun, the twins found out they were deep water swimmers today." The Doctor replied as he pointed to the boys. Gloria looked at the boys and smiled.

"I'm sorry I missed it, but I had to take Timmy to the Infirmary for a shot," she said.

"How is he doing with Max?" The Doctor now asked. Gloria shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess its fairly routine for him now, he really doesn't react to it unless you happen to be there when he climaxes. There's a pause and usually he closes his eyes for a few seconds, but then he goes right back to his routine. He's got no complaints, so I guess its doing its job the way its supposed to," she concluded. Doctor Lester nodded.

"I understand he wears it all day. Is that what he requested?" The Doctor asked.

"I gave him the option, and he didn't object. I want him to be able to separate between his morning and evening sexual feelings and his daytime needs. He may never be mainstreamed into the outside world, but he's certainly going to be out in it periodically. I want him to be able to differentiate between urges he has to express and feelings of love and wanting another persons participation," she said.

"How does he verbally differentiate those feelings?" Doctor Lester asked.

"He's being taught the difference between "Needing" to go and "Wanting" to go. When he needs to go, it's regarded the same as urinating. His penis is involved, but it's not something sexual. When he wants to go, then there's nothing mechanical involved and he's interacting with a person. One is like pissing, the other is making love," she said.

"It's not something new; it's how we teach all the boys to deal with their urges. The only difference is that our boys in the past have simply masturbated their needs away. Rarely will you find a full blown romp going on during the day, but the nighttime and morning hours are a completely different story!" she said with a small smile.

Looking at Timmy playing in the water with a gaggle of toddlers his own approximate age, but for the special underpants he wore, he was indistinguishable from the pack. As the children lined up to be picked up and thrown back into the water by anybody they could find, the Doctor smiled at the scene as Joshua now began to come back to life.

"Rachael, ask Beth if he needs to be nursed. I'll do it if she wants." Gloria told the girl.

"That's OK Aunt Gloria, Aunt Beth nursed him before he took a nap and he won't want any more milk until after he swims." The girl said as she picked up the baby and laid him down flat on her lounge chair to change him.

"Hi pookey, did you have a nice nappy?" the girl said to the baby as she learned over and gave him a kiss. As skilled as any Mother should be, the girl pulled down a pair of diaper pants as the baby smiled and cooed while 12 year old Amy distracted the boy with a small rubber ball.

"I don't think I've seen real diapers on a baby in years!" The Doctor said as Rachael now took out two diaper pins and stuck them into the lounge cushion.

"Aunt Beth and Aunt Johanna don't use pampers on them, they get rashes from the chemicals they put in them." Rachael said as she lifted the diaper for a quick peek.

"Oh big yuckee's!" she said as the 9 month old now smiled and giggled at his accomplishment. With the deftness and confidence of a Mother who had raised a dozen children, the 15 year old simultaneous wiped the boy and folded the diaper in one smooth move which left the boy all but clean with Amy now holding the boys feet over his stomach while the baby played with her dangling hair.

Placing a diaper wipe on his tummy first, Rachael then wiped the boys groin area and bottom. With a pat on the ass, Amy let the boys legs go as she then picked him up.

"Want to go pee pee before swimmy's?" She asked as she held a small potty under the baby's penis. With plenty of gurgles and screeching but no tinkle's, the potty was put down as the girl now stood up and placed the boy on her hip.

"That's a very healthy and happy baby." The Doctor said as Amy and Joshua headed for the pool. Gloria now giggled a bit.

"Be careful about the word "Healthy" around Beth and Johanna. Around here, it's used as a buzz word for "Fat" and the last thing you want to do is to tell either woman her baby is fat!" Gloria advised the Doctor. The good Doctor nodded.

"Those aren't the first two I've been warned about," he replied. Gloria looked at Doctor Lester.

"Don't tell me that you've been listening to Bert talking about Timmy and Kenny! Have you seen Christopher's stomach lately?" She asked as all the remaining girls giggled and Sidney Bertram was springing back to life. The Doctor now laughed as he held his arms up in surrender.

"Don't get me in the middle of this war!" he exclaimed.

Once Kenny was awake and changed, the remaining girls all joined him in the pool.

"They all seem so competent in what they're doing, yet we find adults all the time who aren't capable of even giving their own child a simple hug or a little praise." The Doctor said as he watched the girls interact with the children.

"Judy and Caroline are indispensable to me and I know that Jeanette, Johanna and Beth feel the exact same way about their girls. Except for Christopher, all our girls consider themselves "Little Mothers" to the boys. I can leave Timmy with my girls for hours without seeing him and not have to worry if he's being properly cared for; I know he is and so do the rest of the girls," she told the Doctor.

"And for Christopher?" he asked.

"Christopher is too big to baby, Helen's four girls regard him more like a little Brother." Doctor Lester nodded.

"What makes Judy so special with the rest of the girls? They seem to regard her as their leader." he now asked. Gloria smiled as she now looked at the topic of conversation who involved in a "Chicken Fight" with several other girls.

"The girls regard both Judy and Andrea who takes care of Kenny as their leaders. We've discussed the girl's choices as a team, and our consensus is that the girls look up to both girls because of Judy and Andrea's choice to breast feed the boys. As far as the girls are concerned, that's the closest thing to Motherhood they will see," she said. "That's no longer true. The girls cannot conceive using their own eggs, but they can carry a baby to term using a donor egg." Doctor Lester said.

"We know that and we're making sure that the girls are aware of all their options, but it's not exactly the same. It's 95 percent of the way, but they don't want The Institute to quit trying to find a cure," she told the Doctor. Doctor Lester shook his head.

"Rest assured; the last thing we intend to do is to stop searching," he told Gloria as he patted her hand.

If there was a perfect place to raise children freely and openly, Geppetto or not, this was it Doctor Lester concluded. He wanted his Grandson raised and educated to his highest capabilities, and Green Tree was going to be the School the Doctor would enroll him in.

The mafia arrived at the building site for the new Camp Commissary fully ready to jump on a crane, bulldozer, bucket loader or especially one of those cool looking Bobcats! To discover that while all the real fun was going on while they sat at table's and learned how to read the building plans was to say the least, somewhat distracting.

As the heavy machinery lifted the base logs for the new cabin into place, Sammy and the rest of the mafia watched intently as a senior boy brought buckets full of lumber, nails and hammers.

"While the senior boys lay down the base logs for the building, we'll make Pre-fabricated interior walls." Dave told the assembled boys.

"When do we get to run the Bobcat's and stuff?" Sammy now wanted to know. Dave smiled as he looked at Adam.

"You'll all get your turn to ride shotgun on the machinery during the afternoon sessions, but morning sessions are restricted to the senior boys who have to move the material very fast."

"No fair Uncle Dave!" Trevor replied. Dave shook his head as the other boys pretty much universally agreed with Trevor.

"I vote we strangle the person who first taught them that phrase!" Dave said as Adam smiled. The disappointment disappeared once each boy took a hammer into his hands.

"Today's job is for you to look at the plans and figure out how many sections of interior walls you need. Your teachers will show you how to figure that out, and once you do, we move on to learning how to drive a nail." Dave said.

"That's stupid Uncle Dave, everybody knows how to hammer a nail!" Matty said. Dave nodded his head.

"Yes, most of you do know how to drive nails, but now you're going to learn how to do it without hitting your fingers, or worse, somebody else's!" he replied.

With grumbles galore, the building of the new commissary was now begun with the Intermediate's involvement. Because this building was the first of an eventual six that would be built within the next 9 months, and the fact that it was a teaching construction site, the build would take the next four months and be completed just before Thanksgiving.

On this very warm July morning however, groups of boys and girls from age eight to 13 hovered over the plans as Adam showed his group what the different symbols and marks on the plans were. When this build was finally complete, these children could be handed a set of plans and know precisely what they were looking at.

The twins arrived at the site about 15 minutes after the Second Period bugle blew, and were ecstatic at their new found swimming abilities as they showed anyone within 15 feet [4½ m] of them their new Swimming Patch.

"Where are we gonna put it Uncle Adam? We don't wear no swimming suit!" Gavin asked as he showed Adam the Patch." All the boys at Green Tree keep their Patches and awards in a scrap book. When we get back to the cabin, we'll start a scrapbook for you too," Adam replied.

"You mean we're gonna get more?" Benji now asked. Adam nodded his head.

"Most of the boys who have been at Green Tree for years have dozens of Patches. A list of all the Patches you can earn is listed in the Rec. Hall," Adam told the boys.

"There's even a Patch for English, but not very many members of the mafia happen to have one of those!" Adam said.

"I got's one!" Trevor exclaimed proudly. Adam shook his head as Doctor Lester chuckled.

"That's a bloody miracle!" Adam told the boy as he ruffled his hair.

With Adam's class now going back to study the plans, Doctor Lester took a seat on a large pile of lumber and took in the scene going on around him. While groups of children learned the basics of construction on the periphery of the 60X40 concrete slab that had been poured two weeks earlier, Dave and his crew of adults and senior boys were laying the first logs into place that would form the base. When finished, the 4,800 square foot [450 m²] building would be two stories with the top story used as a storage and supply area while the first floor would contain "The Canteen", a combination commissary and Sweet Shoppe. Understandably, there was a great deal of motivation to get the building up and operating as soon as possible.

Driving up in his cart, Kevin now sat down next to the Doctor and handed him several CDs.

"I promised you that I'd let you hear Spencer sing, but we ran out of time. I burned these CDs for you, you may keep them," Kevin said solemnly. Doctor Lester was aware of the cracking of Spencer's voice, and he was also very well aware of the severe depression it had put Spencer's music teacher and voice coach into. Bert did not put bracelets on the man, but he was watched like a hawk for the first two weeks after the loss, and was never left totally alone.

"Thank you, I'll listen to them once I get back to Cambridge, I understand he has an exceptional singing voice." Doctor Lester said as he carefully chose his words.

"He can't hold the high Cs as a soprano anymore, but there's no reason he can't move on to become a well trained tenor. I understand that as a small boy, Pavarotti could sing a pretty impressive Ava Maria," he said.

"I hadn't heard that," Kevin replied as he looked at the Doctor.

"Yes, I read that in his Autobiography. I had the great fortune of hearing him sing at the Winter Olympics this past February in Turin. Who knows, maybe in 10 or 20 years, we'll be going to listen to Spencer," he said with a smile. Kevin smiled and shook his head.

"Spencer has great plans to become a baseball player, who knows, maybe he will!" he replied.

"But he's still singing isn't he?" Doctor Lester asked.

"No, I want him to leave his singing voice at rest until it matures. He sings camp songs, but I don't want him straining his vocal cords beyond their range," he said.

"That could take some time, probably years." Doctor Lester said. Kevin nodded but made no comment.

Doctor Lester didn't want to push the issue with Kevin and now decided it was time to change the subject.

"It looks like sheer bedlam out there. I'm surprised Bert isn't here chewing his nails off," he said. Kevin smiled deeply and laughed at the thought.

"I wasn't there, but you can bet your last dollar that Dave has a stack of instructions five inches [12½ cm] thick concerning safety rules and procedures. Even the color of the hard hats have significant meanings," he replied.

"How so?" the Doctor asked.

"The white hats signify that the wearer can drive machinery. The blue hard hats signify an experienced worker who has access to all area's. The red hard hats signify a person who can only be in certain area's at certain times and is very carefully watched. If you'll notice, all the Intermediate children are in Fire Engine Red hard hats. They don't know there's a color code," Kevin said with a smile.

"But knowing them, it's not going to take very long before they all figure it out."

The rest of the morning was spent watching logs being put into place by the cranes, while the senior boys then went about bolting them down to the concrete slab and drilling the holes necessary for electric and plumbing lines. The Doctor watched as the building was being put together like a Lincoln Log Set he had played with as a child. In fact, an exact scale model of the building was being made as the logs were put into place.

"Return to Quarters" blew, and for one of the very few times that it blew during a school day morning, the boys were disappointed. If they had their "Druthers", they would have skipped lunch and kept working.

"Let's get back to the cabins and get cleaned up for lunch. You'll be back here right after rest period," Adam said to a familiar chorus of "No fair!" Adam got into his cart as eight to 10 boys mobbed him for the five minute drive back to the Cove. With a slide into his lap and a kiss, Carla took possession of the steering wheel as Sammy hung along the side like a Fireman headed for a fire.

Allowing someone else to take the wheel with Adam was no small feat for the 1st year that Sammy and Adam lived together, the boy was extremely possessive of his counselor and teacher. Now, a good two years later, Sammy had no problem in "Sharing" Adam with his peers, just so long as they understood who was in charge! The only surprise that Sid, Bert, and now Doctor Lester experienced was how comfortable Sammy was with allowing Carla and Jeannie to get so close to Adam.

"It's not really surprising at all. The girls are no threat to Sammy from a sexual standpoint. He knows Adam won't interact with the girls on that level, so they're "Safe" so to speak." Gloria told Sid and Bert many months previous.

Pulling up in front of Beachview Cabin, Adam waited for the usual mad dash off the cart to clear before he got out. Two carts from Housekeeping were there to pick up the luggage that was going to be used by Anthony and Spencer for the trip to Boston, and with Carla firmly attached to his hip, Adam mounted the stairs.

"All set to go?" Adam asked Spencer who stood on the front porch.

"Yes. Aunt Jeanette just left to go get Kenny for lunch and she's all packed," the boy replied.

"Did you know that Jesse is going with us Uncle Adam?" Spencer asked.

"Yes, I heard about it late last night," Adam replied.

"It means you'll not only have Jeanette and Anthony with you, but Jesse too!" he said. Spencer smiled somewhat.

"Have you ever had plastic surgery Uncle Adam?" the boy now asked.

"No, but I'm told that Uncle Thomas's Brother's and colleagues are some of the very best in the business, so I'm sure everything will be fine if you decide to have it done," Adam replied.

"But I don't have to if I don't want too, right?" he asked. Adam nodded his head.

"If Spencer decides that all he wants to do is to fly on a jet plane and see the sights of Boston, that's all that's going to happen," Adam said.

"Your Uncle Sid,

Uncle Thomas and Aunt Jeanette will be there with you to make sure that happens, and both Uncle Bert and I will be here to make sure it does!" Adam told the very nervous 13 year old. Spencer smiled a bit, but Adam knew from instinct the boy was second guessing his decision.

"Let me get washed up and see if we can't get Little Miss Pigpen here a little cleaner while we're at it, and we'll go for lunch. OK?" Adam asked the boy.

"Hey, Uncle Adam!" Carla said as Spencer giggled a bit.

The decision to send Jesse along on the trip was a welcome surprise to the 13 year old, right up until he learned the true nature of his inclusion.

"Uncle Sid is always drinking his beer Uncle Bert, what am I supposed to do about it?" the boy asked.

"There isn't enough beer made by Budweiser to get your Uncle Sid too drunk Jesse. It's only if he switches his drinks to hard liquor that he could get himself into trouble and if that happens beyond a simple cocktail or something, we need to know about it if he won't stop drinking when you ask him to," Bert replied.

"Uncle Sid ain't gonna like it if he knows I'm spying on him!" Jesse told the Director.

"Besides, how am I gonna tell anybody?" he asked.

"This is a phone Jesse. When you press the button, it will ring and Aunt Jeanette will have the other phone on her wherever she is. If she can't respond, Uncle Thomas will, and they'll deal with Uncle Sid, you don't have to. You're not being asked to spy on Uncle Sid Jesse, you're with him to make sure he stay's safe. That's what he does for you every single day. He's not spying on you is he?" Bert asked the boy.

"Is he gonna know I'm keeping him safe?" Jesse asked with a look of deep concern on his face. Both Bert and Jeanette smiled.

"He's going to know that you love him and you won't allow anything bad to happen to him. He may joke around with you about it, but sometimes that's the way your Uncle deals with people around him who try to tell him what to do. Your Uncle is a very wise and wonderful person, but sometimes he needs someone watching his back," Bert replied.

"What about Uncle Barry? Ain't he gonna be with Uncle Sid?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, but the both of them are going to be involved in something like a funeral, and the both of them are going to be pretty upset. Uncle Sid needs one of us watching over him, not someone who just might be drinking as much as he is," Jeanette replied.

Jesse nodded his head.

"Uncle Barry can drink as much as Uncle Sid can," he said.

"Maybe even more!" Jeanette replied.

"Nobody can drink as much beer as Uncle Sid can!" the boy told the two.

A normal lunchtime meal on a school day came right around noon since the majority of the students came from their classrooms and waited in front of the Mess Hall until the bugle blew. On this particular Friday, because the greater majority of the children were at the building site, lunch ran a good 15 minutes late which did very little to cheer up the kitchen who had some hot food to serve. When this normally occurred, John the Chef would be searching for Bert or Sid to chew their asses off for "Ruining" his schedule.

Today however, since the Doctor was still in Camp, John maintained his cool, not wanting the man to return to Boston knowing his ability to throw a substantial temper tantrum unique to most Chefs around the world. Walking into the Mess Hall with John standing at the front door gritting his teeth but wearing a smile, Bert quietly apologized to the man as John glared at him.

Lunch itself was a noisier affair than normal; the boys were headed back to the construction site after Rest Period. That coupled with the departure of Doctor Lester and the people leaving for Boston as well as the mafia's impending overnight sleepover had the Mess Hall buzzing louder than usual. Not unexpectedly, very little of lunch was eaten by the Doctor and those who would be leaving with him as a never ending stream of well wishers made their way to the head table where all 10 of the group sat for lunch.

On To Boston

Close to an hour behind schedule, the group boarded the helicopter after more than a few tearful goodbye's, especially from the twins. As Bert, the twin's and Gloria returned to the campus, the aircraft swung out and to the East from the FEMA Depot headed for the airport, and Boston. Since it was the first ever ride for most of the passengers, especially the boys, it was a fairly quiet ride for the 15 minute flight. Both Jesse and Spencer had their noses pinned to the windows, as did David, but David had seen these sights many times before and was now something of the "Veteran" when it came to flying.

A lot quicker than they wanted it to, the giant National Guard helicopter landed less than 300 feet [90 m] from the Gulfstream 550 as David pointed the jet out to both Spencer and Jesse who were completely mesmerized. Once airborne, the jet swung to the East as all three boys watched first Greensboro and then Raleigh-Durham disappear under them as the plane climbed to 35,000 feet [10 km] and leveled off.

"Hello David. You're flying with us again to Boston?" The Chief Stewardess said as she placed a food tray in front of him. David blushed a little as both Spencer and Jesse looked at their friend.

"Yes, on vacation," David said as the woman set down a tray for Spencer and Jesse and smiled.

"She knows you?" Spencer asked as the woman now returned to the galley. David shrugged.

"I guess so. I've been on this plane a few times before," he told his friends.

As the boys now ate their lunch, Sid settled back into his seat with a Bloody Mary.

"This don't count as a drink, it's my breakfast!" he said to Jeanette with a smile.

"Just behave yourself." The girl said as she laid Kenny down on the floor for a nap. With the rest of the group snickering, Thomas took out his notebook.

"I've set up a meeting tomorrow morning at the hotel for Spencer. We'll meet for breakfast with my brother's and it should be over by about noon. You and Barry have a meeting tomorrow afternoon at the Institute with the Legal Team Sid. Are we all staying at the hotel tonight?" Thomas asked.

"I'll be returning home tonight. If you need me for Spencer tomorrow morning, I can come back." Doctor Lester replied.

"I will be at the Institute tomorrow morning and plan to be there at Sid's meeting tomorrow afternoon unless you want to meet with them alone.?" The Doctor asked Sid and Barry.

"What's our meeting about?" Sid asked the Doctor.

"There are going to be lawyers from the Institute there to protect your legal rights, and some lawyers there from Alexandria to protect theirs. Before you speak to the Attorney from Providence, you all have to agree what you want and what can be divulged to him." Doctor Lester said.

What about the internment?" Barry now asked.

"Both of your brother's have been removed from the Cemetery at Keene and are waiting to be taken by truck to the ferry whenever you're ready to accompany them to Block Island." Doctor Lester reported.

"What about the locals?" Sid asked.

"Unless there's somebody still there you want to invite, the locals won't be involved and won't know they're being re-buried," he said.

"Who's going to Block Island?" Sid now asked.

"It depends upon the timetable and your wishes. If Spencer is finished and returns to school, any of us can join you. Right now, it's scheduled for you and Jesse and Barry and anybody he might want to join him," Thomas replied.

"If there's any problems, we can be out on the Island within an hour," Jeanette added. Sid smiled and took a sip of his drink.

"Yes Mother," he said to the girl.

Once the boys were finished with their lunch, a bump of rough air brought them all back to the windows. Looking straight down, they could see the outline of the shoreline and a long bridge below them.

"Where's that Uncle Thomas?" David asked. Looking down, Thomas pointed out the Naval Shipyard of Norfolk and the Chesapeake Bay-Tunnel Bridge.

"How does Uncle Thomas know that's what's down there?" Spencer now wanted to know.

"When he was a boy, he use to take his Uncle's boat to Florida all the time. He's been there before!" David said with a proud smile.

"The Captain has asked if you and your friends would like to come forward David?" The Stewardess now asked.

For the balance of the trip, the boys took turns sitting in the copilot's seat as the Captain pointed out the various cities they flew past as the aircraft flew North along the Atlantic Coastline. The flight was much too short as far as all three boys were now concerned.

Because of it's central location, four adjoining suite's were reserved for the groups use at The Charles Hotel in Cambridge and as the jet touched down at Login and taxied to the private section of the airport, the boys all had their noses pinned to the windows as a line of four black SUVs waited for their passengers.

"Uncle Thomas! I see Uncle Paulie!" David said excitedly. Thomas looked towards the SUVs and at the figures standing beside them.

"I expected my Brother Stuart, but he didn't say anything about bringing anybody else with him." Thomas now said.

"He's got Karl, Richard and Jeremy with him too!" David replied.

Both Spencer and Jesse looked at the group. There were two men, and four boys altogether along with four men who were obviously drivers of the SUVs.

"Which one's Uncle Paulie?" Spencer now asked.

"The one in the yellow shirt and white pants." David replied. Both Jesse and Spencer looked.

"He ain't much older than we are! How can he be an Uncle?" Jesse asked.

"He's Uncle Thomas's Brother. That makes him an Uncle too!" David replied.

"But none of those kids is Geppetto, right Uncle Thomas?" Jesse now asked.

"That's correct. They know nothing about Geppetto, and that will stay that way," Thomas replied.

"Are they gonna stay with us?" Spencer now asked.

"I don't know what arrangements my Brother has made, but if they do end up staying with us, or if you end up staying with them, there will be no discussions about Geppetto. Understand?" Thomas asked.

"David slept with them right?" Spencer asked as he looked back out the window.

"Yes, and they play around just like every other boy in the world does. David can explain it all to you once we get to the Hotel," he said. Jesse and Spencer both looked at David.

"They're cool. You'll like them!" David said with a knowing smile.

Once the greetings were out of the way and the luggage was loaded into the vehicles, it was time to decide who was riding with whom. Spencer and Jesse watched the greeting between David and the six members of this new group of strangers with extreme interest. The introductions between these new boys and Jesse and Spencer was cordial, but quite reserved. The greeting between David and these new boys was anything but. Nevertheless, both boys opted to remain on firm and familiar ground as Spencer stayed sandwiched in between Anthony and Jeanette as Jesse shadowed Sid.

Little was said except for "Nice" talk due to the presence of the chauffeurs in the vehicles on the way to the Charles Hotel, but once the group reached their rooms and Spencer, Anthony and Jesse got over the culture shock of seeing a five Star Hotel up close for the first time in their lives, discussion was underway concerning future plans.

"The adults in Thomas's family are aware of the purpose of the Institute, but the children are not with the exception of Paulie." Doctor Lester advised Sid, Jeanette, Barry and Anthony as Jesse and Spencer joined David with the new boys in an adjoining suite to raid the mini fridge."Why Paulie?" Jeanette asked.

"Paulie is a Brother to Thomas and his family. As such, he's considered an adult and excluding him in conversation would be impossible. I've interviewed the boy personally and he's no more a threat to security than any one of us." Doctor Lester explained.

OK, so what's the game plan?" Sid asked as he sat down with a beer.

"Stuart?" Thomas asked his Oldest Brother.

"Tomorrow morning, we meet with Spencer to talk to him and explain what any proposed surgery is all about. I will be there, but Charles here, and my other Brother Phillip will be doing the actual surgery if that's what Spencer opts to do. Once we get a look at the work, we'll know the timetable for completion," he said.

"From the pictures, we think it can all be done in two sessions, and maybe some follow-up after he heals." Charles said.

"Alexandria has put the Sikorsky at our disposal, but they prefer that it doesn't fly to the Vineyard unless it's an emergency. My boat is sitting at the Marina to transport Thomas and David there, and of course anybody else who might want to join them. We rented our neighbors house for the season, you're welcome to stay there," he said.

"What's a Sikorsky?" Jeanette asked.

"Remember that blue and white helicopter we saw at the airport that we parked next to?" Thomas asked the girl.

"That's a Sikorsky!" he said as Jeanette's and Anthony's eyebrows raised.

"As far as Block Island is concerned, it's a hop, skip and a jump away from the Vineyard. If you'd like a lift out there or back, my boat is at your disposal." Stuart told Sid and Barry.

"The boys would like David to stay with them tonight, and they've asked to stay on the boat at the marina until we know what decision Spencer makes tomorrow. There's also a house full of people on the Vineyard who are patiently waiting to see you including Dora!" Charles now said to Thomas.

"Dora told me to tell you that if you aren't at the house by tomorrow night, she's coming here!" 15 year old Paulie said as the boy now walked into the Suite followed by the rest of the boys.

The greeting between Thomas and the boy at the airport was fairly reserved due to the fact that it was in public. This was no longer the case as Thomas scooped up the boy in his arms and gave him a kiss and a hug that had even Jesse and Spencer looking at each other.

"You have to stop growing or you have to start picking me up!" Thomas said as the boys feet returned to the ground.

"I weigh 150 pounds [68 kg] now. Dora can't pick me up anymore!" Paulie said as Stuart's son Richard now took his place in Thomas's arms.

"Don't bet on it!" Thomas replied as he kissed the 9 year old repeatedly.

"Did ya ask them Daddy?" Richard now asked his Father.

"No decisions have been made yet, but you boys might want to consider staying here for the night. You have plenty of opportunity to sleep on the boat, but not that many staying here!" Stuart told the boys. Thomas's Nephews had slept in many hotels, but few had a mini fridge that could compare with this one. The decision was unanimous.

Doctor Lester left to return to his home in Maine just before dinner. After calling his Captain, Stuart had the man pack some staples for the boys and sent them to the hotel via cab. The four suites held more than enough room to hold everybody else as the Nephew's, along with David and Paulie elected to sleep altogether in one suite so long as they could get the mini fridge restocked.

Sid was especially amused by both Jesse and Spencer. Neither boy ventured very far from Sid, Jeanette or Anthony. For the most part, they busied themselves amusing three year old Kenny who was very grateful for the attention from these two very big boys as the boys themselves kept one eye on Kenny and one on these new kind of boys.

"They don't bite. I'm sure David wouldn't be as close to them as he is if they were all that different than anybody else at school," Sid told both boys as they showered for dinner.

"But they ain't Geppetto boys Uncle Sid." Spencer replied.

"No, they are not. But still, David is well aware of that too," Sid replied.

"The both of you will most probably live outside of Green Tree one day. Even I went to College and lived with non Geppetto boys. They're not all that different from us," Sid counseled the boys.

"Suppose they think we're freaks?" Jesse asked.

"Do you think they think David is a freak?" Jeanette asked as she brushed Kenny's hair.

"I don't know," Jesse replied.

"Maybe you need to ask David, but it didn't look that way to me," Jeanette replied.

"You also need to remember; these boys know absolutely nothing about Geppetto, so there's no reason they would look at you as freaks!" she said.

"What do you make of it?" Sid asked Barry once the two men returned to their room to get dressed.

"Just because they're Geppetto boys doesn't mean they don't have all the same feelings. I think they're just a little shy. Admittedly it's a little difficult to imagine about Geppetto boys, but as I remember it, we weren't exactly four social gadflies when we first stepped outside on Block Island!" he told his lifelong friend. Sid smiled at the memories.

"We did kind of cling to each other for awhile, didn't we?" Sid asked.

"One skinny-dip together and it's all over but the shouting." Barry replied.

Dinner was delayed until 7:00 once an extremely helpful Steward reminded the group that in order to eat in the Rialto, jackets and ties would be mandatory for every male except Kenny.

"There are several very nice Men's store's close by, but the Hotel also has its own haberdashery if you'd like" The Room Steward said with a smile as he loaded the mini fridge back up in the boys Suite.

"What's a haberdasher Uncle Sid?" Spencer asked as the Steward left to notify the tailor.

"It's a man who devours credit cards," Sid replied as the adults giggled.

Decked out in new jackets and ties which the Nephew's were use to but the Green Tree boys were obviously not, the group sat down to dinner. For a better view of the river, the boys chose seats that faced the river as what would end up being a 90 minute Dinner commenced. At camp, Jesse, David or Spencer would have no problem whatsoever with leaning across half a table to reach for a roll or some butter. Now however, Jeanette watched in pride as all three boys put on manners as well as their appetites. She would also have to compliment Chef John when she returned to Camp; not once did any one of them ask: "What's that?" as they read the menu.

While the older boys cooperated, the same could not be said of Kenny who by the main course was an hour past his normal bedtime not to mention he hadn't had a drink in almost two hours. After a great deal of squirming and pulling on his part, Jeanette was ready to retreat to the Suite.

"He's thirsty. How liberal are these people Stuart?" Thomas asked his brother.

"We dine here a great deal. As long as it's kept discreet, you won't have any problems from the Hotel." He advised Thomas. Sending David and Paulie back to the Suite's, the boys returned with a shawl for Jeanette as Kenny immediately disappeared from public view. Both Jesse and Spencer watched for a reaction from any one of the Nephews regarding Kenny's nursing. The River Charles received more attention.

The adults opted to have coffee upstairs in the Suite, while the boys all followed Paulie and David into their new digs to engage in a brand new computer game that would shortly find its way to North Carolina. When it came to computers, television and things generally considered "Normal' as far as the nephews were concerned were almost completely foreign to Green Tree boys. They knew little to nothing about who was winning in baseball, what or who the latest hit song or artist was, or, what a Wii, ipod or blackberry was.

"David and his friends are at Summer Camp right now, and they don't have access to TVs and Radio's like you do." Stuart told his son as the boy questioned the new boys apparent lack of "Sophistication". While the Nephews taught David, Spencer and Jesse how to play the Wii, the adults gathered in the Parlor of Jeanette's Suite as the girl changed the sleeping boy into a fresh diaper and laid him down in her bed.

"If things go smoothly tomorrow morning, we were thinking about bringing the boys to a Baseball Game. Are your boys interested in baseball?" Stuart asked. Sid chuckled as he poured a glass of beer.

"All three boys live and breathe baseball, probably Spencer more than the other two," he said as Thomas heartily agreed.

"I don't think any one of them has been to a major league game, it's going to start a mini riot once they return home!" Sid said.

"As far as Spencer's meeting tomorrow morning, we'd like to keep it as informal as possible. Charles and Phillip have studied the pictures that Thomas faxed up to us, but they'd like to see the scarring if Spencer will cooperate." Stuart now said.

"He doesn't hide the scars, but he's always had a tendency to get very defensive if he thinks somebody is studying them," Jeanette now said.

"I don't think we'll have any problems because he knows that the purpose of the trip is to discuss surgery to eliminate them. The quicker any examination can be the better." The girl told the two Doctor's.

"Spencer wants to have Jeanette and me with him." Anthony now told the men.

"No problem, you people know the boy and can advise us if you think he's getting upset." Charles now said.

"We will have the meeting here. Phillip will be bringing some pictures of past surgeries on children. Most of them are of burn victims, but the process is pretty much the same." Charles said.

"Is it painful?" Anthony asked.

"There's some brief discomfort, but he'll have a medication regimen that will keep it under control. Most patients complain of nothing more than an itching sensation that can't be scratched to relieve it." Charles replied.

"Would you categorize him as tender?" Stuart asked. Sid again chuckled.

"There's a few adjectives you could ascribe to Spencer but "Tender" isn't one of them. He's sensitive about the scars, but he's one tough little cookie!" Sid said.

By 10:00, Sid called a halt to the boy's activities. Despite David's best efforts to convince both Spencer and Jesse otherwise, the two politely excused themselves as Jesse headed for Sid's Suite while Spencer and Anthony stayed with Jeanette in her Suite. Thomas slept in with Stuart and Charles in their Suite and by 10:30, all was quiet except for an occasional giggle coming from the boy's Suite which was ignored by the adults sleeping next door.

Rest Hour or not, Christopher rarely slowed down during his time awake. Once Bert dropped off the twin's at Coquina, he headed straight back to his cabin. Banging on the front screen door which had been fortified days after his arrival, Christopher watched excitedly as Bert climbed the stairs.

"I-eee!" Christopher squealed as Bert released the latch that was installed out of the boys reach. As Christopher now jumped into the Director's arms and immediately put his usual choke hold around Bert's neck, Bert patted the boys bottom.

"All set for swimming Buddy?" Bert asked as he kissed the side of Christopher's neck.

"Hey!" Christopher replied in his usual way of saying "Yes". Jill and Claire now greeted the Director as Bert made his way into his office.

"He's not going swimming after rest period Uncle Bert. Christopher, tell Uncle Bert where you're going after the bugle blows." Claire said. The boy now backed away from Bert and gave Bert the horseback riding sign with both hands as he grinned from ear to ear with his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Christopher's going to ride the big horsey's?" Bert asked.

Bert almost dropped the boy as Christopher straightened his body.

"Hey!" Christopher exclaimed as both hands now went to his face and covered his mouth. Bert deeply smiled as he looked at the boys eye's which were practically dancing with excitement.

"You're taking him riding bare assed?" Bert asked the girls as he again patted Christopher's bottom and kissed the boy on his forehead.

"He's going to ride Maria Uncle Bert. He doesn't need to wear pants and he won't sit still long enough to let us put them on him." Jill replied as she pointed to a pair of his bib overalls.

"No pants?" Bert asked the boy. Christopher shook his head.

"We're going swimming after we go riding so it doesn't really matter Uncle Bert." Claire said as she took a washcloth and wiped the boys face.

"Where's Aunt Helen?" Bert now asked as he lowered Christopher to the floor.

"She went to Aunt Johanna's cabin to see the babies." Clare replied.

As the bugler now blew Recall which signaled the end of Rest Period, Christopher once more bolted for the front screen door. Hand in hand with his two chaperones, Christopher went waddling down the stairs as Bert watched from the porch.

"If I can, I'll meet you guys at the pool later on," Bert told the girls as they drove off in the golf cart with Christopher at the wheel.

The twins' return to Coquina came as an intense game of hide and seek was underway.

Rest period meant that nobody could go outside, but there were no rules about actually resting. The fireplace that sat in the middle of the living room was now "Home Base" and as the twins walked in, they were immediately involved in the game by the rest of the boys in the cabin. Now waiting for their turn to be "It", the twins sat down next to Kevin as the counselor poured through lists of shows and musicals to come up with one to put on for the Christmas play. Having already gone through Peter Pan, Oliver and Oklahoma, Kevin was now looking for something that would catch the eyes and ears of the student body, but he wanted this years presentation to be geared specifically towards the Camp Kenny children, those aged three to seven years old.

"Watcha doin Uncle Kevin?" Gavin asked as he looked at the book Kevin was pouring through. Kevin smiled as he explained the situation to the boy. Since the twins were brand new to Green Tree, they had not been there for any of the previous plays and at eight years of age, had little understanding of the teachers quest. Both boys now looked at Kevin.

"It ain't Christmas time yet Uncle Kevin. Look, it's still hot outside!" Benji said as he pointed to the front door. Kevin smiled as he tossed the boys hair.

"It's not dinnertime yet either, but the kitchen is already cooking dinner aren't they?" he asked. Both boys looked at each other and shrugged.

"We don't know Uncle Kevin, Chef John don't let us go into the kitchen!" Benji replied. Kevin nodded his head and gave up the fight.

"Want some ice tea?" he asked. As both boys took off for the refrigerator, Kevin went back to his search.

As the bugle blew Recall, the game of hide and seek was instantly abandoned as a mad scramble now ensued to gather up the boys hard hats and tool belts for the construction build.

"Uncle Dave wants sneakers on everybody!" Kevin said as he put away the book of plays and musicals for the time being. With his cart and Greg's cart now brimming with his boys, Kevin joined a long line of carts that began flowing towards the new building site. two minutes earlier, the campus was relatively quiet. Now, the sounds of horns, bells and whistles of every description could be heard despite the fact that all traffic was headed in the same direction.

"Did you have a nice, peaceful rest period?" Adam asked Kevin as the two men now sat down on a picnic table as the boys literally surrounded the build site and waited for instructions from Dave.

"As peaceful as you did. It sounded like your kids were having a war!" Kevin replied. Adam smiled as he nodded.

"Water Balloon fight," he said.

"Hide and Seek!" Kevin replied.

"They seem to be a little spunkier than usual," Kevin now said. Adam nodded as he watched Dave work with the children all gathered around him." "No doubt. The build coupled with tonight's overnight hike has them loaded for bear!" he said. Kevin now shook his head.

"Gee, I almost forgot about that!" he said as he shook his head.

"I've begun the process of looking for a suitable play for this Christmas. Wouldn't it be better if I stayed behind and worked on that project?" he asked his Camp Director.

"How's about we send you for a weekend at the Waldorf?" Adam replied. Kevin chuckled a bit.

"No, huh?" he asked.

"You're going to love it Kevin, a nice refreshing hike in the woods with a 25 pound [11 kg] knapsack on your back and you get to sleep on the ground to boot!" Adam replied.

"You do remember that I'm 44 years old?" Kevin asked.

"No problem, the age limit on overnight sleepovers is 65," Adam replied with a smile.

As it would be for the next few months, the boys afternoon was spent at the build site for the new Canteen. Dave, as the Camps Chief Engineer, was responsible for not only the build, but for the safety and well-being of those involved in the construction, whether it was his crew of four dozen Senior boys and men or the almost 200 boys and girls that made up the Intermediate Camp of eight to 13 year olds.

At 30 years of age, Dave could probably pass any test regarding construction or engineering, yet he had never attended College, and had never left a Geppetto School since the age of 3. There was nothing mechanical he could not fix, and if presented with a problem he didn't understand, would study it until he did. Despite that fact that he can probably build a bridge, he qualified to flip burgers as far as the outside world was concerned. Needless to say, Dave, like so many others at Green Tree, had no interest in "Society".

It was Sid's idea in the first place to involve the younger boys in the build, and with Bert's approval, Dave had embarked on his goal of developing a program that would see the building constructed with the Intermediate Campus's maximum involvement.

As usual, it was a Team project, and Adam had become an integral part of the build, be it somewhat unwittingly. During a meeting, he disclosed that he had been involved as a teenager in the building of a playground in Connecticut. The playground was built entirely of volunteers, and overseen by a company from New York who sent one of their architects to supervise the build. This now became the model Dave would use. For Adam, what had begun as a simple disclosure exploded into an almost all consuming new career.

"Uncle Dave wants a two inch [5 cm] fosner bite Uncle Adam!" Sammy now exclaimed as the boy ran over to his counselor with Joey and Carla not far behind.

"Do you mean a Forstner bit?" Adam asked. Sammy shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess so," he replied.

"Tell your Uncle Dave that from now on, he needs to write down any requests for tools. Does he want the drill too?" Adam asked.

"I'll go ask him!" Carla said as she immediately took off running.

"What's a Forstner bit?" Kevin asked.

"It's a special bit that can drill very large holes into logs and poles, but it needs a special sized drill to do it," Adam replied.

"Yeah Uncle Adam!" Carla yelled as she ran back to the table. Adam shook his head.

"Did he give you a note?" Adam asked the girl.

"No, I didn't ask him." Carla replied as she took a drink from her canteen.

"Tell Dave that we need written requests for tools from now on. I'm not handing these kids a drill auger that can rip their arms off without knowing who's going to use it," Adam told Kevin.

Filling an empty five gallon [20 l] plastic bucket, Adam watched as Sammy and Joey trotted off carrying the bucket with the equipment as Carla followed behind. Day One had begun with Adam as the Tools Coordinator. Before the build was over, he would be having nightmares about passing out drills, sanders, wrenches and hammers to very small delicate young hands. If one of these kids ended up with less than 10 fingers or toes, he was going to have to listen to Bert for a long, long time!

Each afternoon build session was scheduled for two hours between two and 4, and close to 3:00 Bert arrived in his cart which instantly put all the adults into panic mode.

"How's everything going?' Bert asked Adam.

"No problems," Adam replied as Trevor now came over to the Tool Trailer. Trevor handed Adam a note and after reading it, Adam shook his head.

"You're going to hand a 10 year old kid a chain saw!" Bert exclaimed as Adam put the saw on the counter.

"Yes Bert. If you recall, all the power tools need a key to operate them and only the Senior Crew has keys," Adam replied as he looked at Kevin who was trying not to smile.

"But he can still trip when he's carrying it," Bert replied.

"And he can slip on a bar of soap in the shower too," Adam reminded his boss as he handed over the chain saw.

"I send Sid 800 miles [1,300 km] away and think I'm going to get some rest, and here I am being patronized anyway!" Bert said. Adam smiled as he sat back down.

"Every safety measure anyone could imagine is in place Bert, we've done all we can, it's time to loosen up," Adam replied as he took a sip of his ice tea.

Kevin smiled and looked at Adam as Bert eventually rode away headed for the hill and the Kiddie Pool where Christopher would shortly make his entrance.

"He seems to be loosening up a bit on his obsession with safety!" Kevin told his Group Leader. Adam shook his head.

"I suggested the same thing to Sid a few months back. He told me to follow Bert around campus for an hour or so and you'll find out just how laid back Bert has become about safety. He's constantly looking for an accident waiting to happen. I'll bet you $10.00 if you follow him right now, he'll stop all along the cart path to prune back dead branches and twigs sticking out from bushes that are eye level to a four to 12 year old.!" Adam replied. Kevin nodded his head.

"As a matter of fact, I've seen him do it!" Kevin replied.

Christopher arrived at the stable's after Rest Period with his two chaperone's as the boy sat in Jill's lap steering the cart while the girl operated the power and brake pedal. Both girls were absolutely convinced that Christopher's idea of "Driving" was to run into or over everything within range. Bushes, flowers, fences, people and other carts traveling along the path were of particular interest to the boy, and avoided only by a much stronger hand on the wheel turning it to avoid any collisions.

"No pants?" Patty asked as Jill stood Christopher up on the cart seat and pointed him in a safe direction.

"We bought a pair for him, but he didn't want any on him yet." Jill told the stable mistress as she patted Christopher on his bottom.

"Go pee pee Christopher," she said as she steadied the boy. With an arc of probably close to three feet [90 cm], Christopher zeroed in on a small clump of Buttercups that were growing next to a fencepost as his stomach and hips were projected out as a small group of girls riding Dressage walked their horses past.

"Hi Christopher!" a chorus of voices called out.

"Hey!" Christopher replied as he let go of his penis with one hand and waved to the girls with his usual smile.

"Aim Christopher, aim!" Clare now told the boy as the carts seat took a bath and the Dressage girls giggled.

After one more unsuccessful attempt to get either a pair of underpants or his bib overalls on him, Jill lifted the boy up and moved him to her hip. With the larger bulk of his weight now resting on her hip bone and the boy using his legs in a scissor lock, carrying the 12 year old for the girl was now much more manageable. Walking over to the massive Belgian Mare that would be carrying the two girls and Christopher for the next hour or so on a Trail Ride, Patty took the boy by the waist and lifted him up onto the horse as the boy shivered with excitement and anticipation. After being handed the reigns to the horses bitless halter, the boy now shook the leather straps and nudged the animal forward which the horse completely ignored as she stood there like a statue.

After helping both Jill and Claire mount up, she handed the girls their knapsack which contained snacks, drinks and some treats for the horses.

"Uncle Bert knows that both you girls are excellent riders, but he wants a Senior boy to be available to you in case you have a problem with Christopher." Patty told the two girls as 16 year old Chip, a Senior boy who worked regularly at the stable's now came alongside the Mare.

"You three know each other don't you?" Patty asked. Both 15 year old girls looked at the boy who now sat alongside them. Like them, the boy was riding his horse bare back with a lambs wool Blanket. Unlike the girls, he was shirtless, clothed only in a pair of riding jeans.

In teen girl terms, Chip was a hunk, and neither girl would have considered throwing him out of her bed if the opportunity ever came their way. They knew the boy to be exceedingly popular on the Senior Girls Campus, and more than a few would have been happy to lose their cherries for a romp with him. Probably adding to this particular boys popularity was the fact that he didn't seek out any of the Senior girls, if anything, he was very reserved and even withdrawn from them. That made him an even bigger prize for any of the girls to be able to "Catch".

He was very shy and withdrawn when around girls and constantly smelled of baby powder and cocoa butter. Looking like he belonged on a surf board complete with shoulder length hair with sun bleached streaks of blond off- setting his light brown silky smooth hair. At 16, Chip was already the pick of the litter and still growing. This one was in the top ten of over 175 senior boys to choose from.

"Hi" Chip said as he smiled at the girls. Patty smiled as she took the reigns from Christopher's hands and handed them to Jill who sat directly in back of the boy. With two very pink faces, the girls returned the greeting as Jill wrapped her arms around Christopher with the leather straps serving to hold the boy on the Mare if need be.

Now whistling, Patty called for The Mare's colt to come over from the other side of the corral.

"Make sure you stop a few times so Baron can get some of Maria's milk," the woman told the girls as she patted the Belgian on the rear. With the Mare now walking out of the corral, Christopher sat atop the horse as he posted up and down as if the horse were in a fast trot. As before, Maria ignored the boys encouragement as she would all afternoon.

With 12,000 [5,000 ha] North Carolina acres of deep woods and miles and miles of Bridle Trails to explore, it was going to be a warm, sunny afternoon of horseback riding and casual conversation between Chip and the two girls as Christopher and Baron had a frolic through the woods completely unaware and unconcerned of the fairly raging teenage hormones that swirled around the boy and the pony.

As it always did, Bert's arrival at the Kiddie Pool caused a huge stir among his youngest fans, those aged four to 7. As did most of Green Tree children, they did not have biological fathers in their lives, and the only males figures were the Green Tree staff to which the older boys and girls attached themselves. For the younger children, the Camp Kenny children, female staff was their primary support and the one's they sought out for comfort, safety or emotional support. For them, the males were more like protectors or guardians. When it came to either Sid or Bert however, that relationship changed in their minds, those two were more like Father figures or Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Great Pumpkin or maybe even Superman. To them, Bert and Sid were Gods.

Afternoon swim was in full session and now that Bert had arrived, it was time for the greater majority of the 80 or so Camp Kenny children to get picked up, given a kiss hello and get tossed into the pool by Bert. Even the arrival of afternoon ice pops didn't deter the throng as one naked little cherub after another hit the water squealing with delight at the personal attention he or she had just received. Quick little comments like "I lost a tooth" or "My bed was dry" didn't go un commented about, and Bert had a photographic memory when it came to who made a comment and what it was about so he could act on it later on with a special treat or action.

"No Christopher yet?" Bert asked Johanna and Beth as soon as he got the opportunity to sit down while three toddlers scrambled to join him and sit in his lap.

"No sign of him yet, maybe he's still at Arts and Crafts." Johanna replied as she handed Bert a glass of ice tea.

Bert took a sip of his tea before a pair of little hands reached up and the man handed it over.

"He went horse back riding after Rest period. He was supposed to be gone for an hour," Bert said as he watched his drink disappear among the three lap sitters.

"It's probably 3:30 or so." Beth said. Bert nodded his head as he took out his radio to call the stables.

"He's on the Green Trail with Jill and Claire," Bert reported once he got off the phone with Patty.

"If they stick to it, that's a two hour trail." Johanna said.

"They probably will. Apparently, Patty sent Chip with the girls to keep an eye on them," Bert now said. Johanna nodded as she smiled.

"You can bank on it. If they've got Chip with them, they're going to want to stay out as long as they can," she told her boss.

"It's debatable who's eying whom."

Knowing full well that Johanna was correct, Bert extricated himself from the Kiddie Pool once he agreed to throw a few dozen more campers into the pool beginning with his lap sitters. The one camper who would not be satisfied to remain at the pool while Bert went up to the stables was Timmy who had lost his best pal Kenny when Jeanette took him to Boston with her. Max pants and all, Bert picked up the boy and instructed Johanna to let Gloria know where the boy was if she came looking for him. Now steering the cart over to the stables, Timmy was in his glory and gleefully smiling as Bert wrapped his arms around the boys waist and hugged him tightly as he kissed him on his neck.

"That tickles Uncle Bert!" The boy screeched as they came to a stop at the stables.

Coming over to Bert's cart, Patty reached out to the boy.

"Want to go for a horsey ride?" she asked. Squirming loose from Bert's grasp, Patty lifted the boy up to a Senior Girl riding Dressage and asked the girl to walk around the corral with him. With Timmy now grinning from ear to ear, Patty returned to Bert's cart.

"Still no sign of them, but Chip called in about 15 minutes ago; they're on their way back," she reported.

"From where?" Bert asked.

"Lookout Point." Patty replied.

"Great! Is Chip aware that Helen checks those girls for their virginity on a regular basis?" Bert asked. Patty smiled as she sat on the top rail of the fence.

"Sid told me long ago that if I wanted to keep a girl's hymen in one piece, send Chip out with her. He'll screw any senior boy in camp, but he's too shy to approach a girl. If Chip takes a virgin, she's served herself up on a silver platter." Patty said.

"So far that's been the case, but once Chip takes the big dip and gets a taste, those old rules will change and we just might not know exactly when some cute little filly takes him out for a canoe ride and flashes the beaver," Bert replied. Patty giggled.

"Sid put it a little more colorfully, but basically said the same thing. Chip's a late bloomer, but one of these days, there's going to be a new stud in town and every girl on the hill will know about it. We'll know about any Grand Opening only through the grapevine on the girl's campus." Patty replied. Bert now shook his head.

"Devious little devil's ain't they?" He remarked.

A full two hours after they first left, Baron's arrival back at the stables signaled that his Mother wasn't very far behind. Once the almost five month old colt got a sniff of the stables, the colt bolted from his Mothers side knowing he could mooch a treat from more than a few people. Now nicknamed "Moochie" by the campers, the colt easily slipped himself under the rope gate that prevented the adult horses from entering or leaving the corral area as he traveled from rider to rider practicing Dressage looking for a handout as he sniffed their pockets. Once presented with a piece of carrot, apple, or if he got real lucky, a handful of feed mix before he moved on to his next victim in line. By the week the colt who had been sired by a very long line of Belgian Champions on both sides of his Family Tree was growing larger and stronger. In another month or so, the rope he had slid under since birth would no longer allow him free access to the entire campus, but for now, there was no place the pony couldn't go at will.

Maria's emergence from the woods along with their escort came minutes later as both Bert and Patty watched the slow moving group. Bert smiled deeply as Christopher recognized his caretaker and Jill now had her hands full trying to restrain the boy from jumping straight off the huge Belgian mare.

"We stopped a few times to let him go to the bathroom, but he still pee'd on the blanket." Jill reported to Patty as the stable mistress reached up and Jill allowed the boy to slide down to her.

"No problem, the blankets are washed after every ride anyway." Patty reported as she handed Christopher over to Bert.

"Have fun tiger?" Bert asked the boy as Christopher wrapped his arms around Bert's neck.

"Hey!" Christopher replied in his usual way.

"Rink?" Christopher now asked.

"In the cooler," Bert said as he gave the boy a kiss on his ear. No longer interested in hugs, Christopher slid over the front seat of the cart to get to the cooler that was full of water, juice and bug juice. Finding a bottle of grape bug juice, it took Christopher seconds to get the cap off with his teeth as he sat down in the back of the cart and began working on the drink.

"I thought we were going to spend 5th period here," Bert now asked the girls.

"Christopher really wanted to keep riding, so we took the Green Trail Uncle Bert." Claire told the Director.

"Well, so long as everyone had fun, it really doesn't matter," Bert replied as both girls looked at each other and smiled slightly. Nothing happened that afternoon on the trail ride between Chip and the two girls, but Chip was aware that these two girls were very easy to talk to and felt very comfortable to be around. Maybe they would be together again.

The bugle blew Recall and it was time for general swim. Some Intermediate boys chose to swim in the pool, but most preferred the lake. Adam had a full cart of some 10 or so boys as they approached the lake and finding some boats along the shoreline, Sammy had Adam stop the cart as he and most of the others got out.

"We'll take the boats over to the cove Uncle Adam," Sammy said as he stripped naked almost as fast as the rest of the boys.

Except for Jeannie who was now full into her period and wearing underpants, the group began to row or paddle across the lake as Sammy and Carla stepped the mast to the Sailfish and locked the rudder into place. Adam watched as the two worked feverishly to catch up with their friends, and with two robust little asses shining in the sun, they turned the craft around and hoped in with Carla handling the rudder while Sammy lowered the centerboard and began to hoist the sail.

By the time Adam arrived back at his cabin, a dozen or so boys were already diving off Turtle Rock in the middle of the cove and more were arriving by boat and cart by the minute.

"Are you going swimming Uncle Adam?" Greg asked.

"No, I've got to get all our gear together for the overnight hike. Are you all ready to go?" Adam asked the Junior Counselor.

"Uncle Kevin and I did that this morning," the boy replied. Adam smiled and shook his head.

"It must be nice having all that extra time during the day. Maybe one of these days, I'll have a minute or two to spare," Adam replied as Greg giggled a bit and drove down the path to his cabin.

Like all staff, Adam wore no watch, rarely knew the exact time unless a bugle blew, wasn't always sure what day of the week it was and very rarely knew the specific date.

At Camp or School the only newspapers on the property where in Bert's office and they were not allowed out of the building. 10 newspapers arrived daily from around the world and those were rarely read. Most cabins contained televisions, but they were rarely tuned to a broadcast channel, and never to a news program. The campers used the TVs primarily for video games and video tapes. The music they heard was provided by the Commissary and was chiefly censored by Sid whose taste's in music completely excluded any hint of disco, hip hop, pop, most country, all rap and gangster, "soul" and modern jazz. The campers know nothing of natural disasters, war, famine, genocide, the World Trade Center and the only bush they know about are small scrubs dotted around campus.

To Adam, the place was heaven and as he walked into the cabin, if it were not for the two cocker spaniels hiding under a couch in the living room and the roll of shredded toilet paper that was now all over the nice clean cabin, it was a perfect place to be.

NEXT PART