Bill W

Castaway Hotel IV

Chapters 28-36

Chapter 28
Many Missions to Complete

The rest of the week remained hot and the boys continued to use the pool to make themselves more comfortable. They were thankful they had this one small luxury for their benefit and I ended up thinking it might have been one of the wisest investments I had made.

I finally received a call informing me an HVAC specialist would be out to take a look at our central air conditioning unit the next day. I was amazed at how busy all the local firms were and how booked up they had been, but I could understand. It was only recently that it had become hot enough to require its use and people were just becoming aware of any problems they might have. In our case, we needed it to keep the house bearable, especially for those who had bedrooms on the second floor and in the attic.

When the man came to fix our A/C, Dustin stayed by his side the entire time, while letting the guy know he was also interested in pursuing a career in that field. I think the technician was impressed by Dustin's eagerness and sincerity, so he treated him almost like an apprentice and explained everything he was doing and why it needed to be done. Dustin enjoyed himself thoroughly and the repairman didn't seem to mind having an assistant, but the best part was that we got our air conditioning back. Now, we were ready for whatever conditions this summer might bring.

On Wednesday afternoon, Shannon showed up at the house quite unexpectedly, so I became curious to discover which boy he was here to see. I was surprised when he announced he wanted to talk to me, but quickly informed him I'd be happy to chat with him, without missing a beat. The two of us went outside and moved to the front porch for privacy, while I wondered what he had on his mind. "What's up, Shannon?" I asked, trying to get this conversation started.

"Well, I really came here to let you know how much fun my dad and I had at your house when we came for the parties, especially my dad," Shannon explained. "He told me he felt really comfortable here and had a lot of fun playing football too."

"I'm glad both of you enjoyed yourselves and you're welcome to visit us and spend as much time here as you wish," I replied. I felt he hoped by telling me this it would get them invited over more frequently, so I felt I needed to put him at ease. "You certainly don't need an invitation to come see us and your father and you are always welcome here anytime. I mean, you're part of the family now. Right?" Shannon looked at me quizzically, so I felt I should explain. "Well, I am your Uncle Josh and your dad is Uncle Jake to my boys, correct?"

Shannon smiled, when he realized what I meant. "Yeah, Uncle Josh, we are all family." Nothing more was said for a minute, but then Shannon continued. "You know, Uncle Josh, my dad doesn't have a lot of friends around here and none of his friends know he's really gay, except for you. I was hoping that maybe sometime you would ask him to go to a ballgame or out for a drink or something. He doesn't do much, except with me, and I'm pretty sure he'd like that."

Suddenly, my mind was flooded with many other questions, although I wasn't sure I wanted to ask them directly. Was he asking me to invite his father out on a date? Did he think the two of us might hook up after spending some time together? I'm not saying Jake doesn't appeal to me, because he is handsome and pleasant to talk to. He also seems to have a pretty decent body, at least from what I saw of it when he took his shirt off while playing football the other day, but Jake is only in his mid-thirties and I am in my early fifties, and overweight at that. I wasn't so sure he would be pleased by his son's matchmaking attempts.

"Shannon, maybe we could all go to a game or something sometime," I suggested, as an alternative. "I do have a few connections at Penn State, so maybe I can rustle up some tickets to a Nittany Lions football game next fall."

"That would be great," Shannon beamed, "but maybe you guys could go out by yourselves sometime too. I think my dad needs some time doing guy things that don't involve hanging out with a bunch of kids or just me. Maybe you could set up a poker game or something? Better yet, maybe you two could go to Pittsburgh or Philadelphia for the weekend and check out the sights. I could stay here while you were gone and help take care of the younger boys." Even after listening to these new proposals, I still wasn't sure if Shannon was trying to fix me up with his dad or attempting to find a way to spend the weekend with one of my boys, without any adult supervision?

"Well, I'd have to talk to your dad about this first, before I would agree to do anything like that," I warned him. "He might not even be interested."

"Oh, he will be! I know he will!" Shannon gushed, excitedly. "You just ask him and I'm sure he'll say yes." His enthusiasm for this was evident, but I was still unsure whom he was doing this plotting for, his dad or himself. I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes open form now on and look for clues. I hadn't really noticed him spending any extra time with any particular boy or eyeing any of them when no one was looking, so maybe it really was his father he was trying to fix up. Only time would give me the answer to this riddle.

Shannon stayed for a while longer and did things with the boys, but he seemed to float from group to group during his stay. Over the course of the afternoon, he spent time with Danny and Brandon, Nick, Brent and Trey and Dion, but he never seemed to give any obvious signs that he was stalking any of them. He did thank me when he left and seemed in a very chipper mood, but I still had no better idea about what he was up to, than I did when he first brought the topic up.

I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it over the next couple of days, as there were other things I needed to focus on too. For instance, on Thursday I would have to take Pat back for his first follow-up examination and there were still plenty of things I needed to get ready before we could make this trip. I wasn't sure if we'd be staying overnight again, but felt it was best to be prepared, so I packed a few things for each of us and loaded the suitcase into the Grand Am.

When Thursday came, Pat and I took off early and alone. I didn't allow any of the others to join us on this trip, in case there was any bad news. This way, I could concentrate solely on Pat and be there for him totally.

Pat and I used the travel time to talk about many different things, including his feelings about regaining some of his vision. As we switched from topic to topic, I thought back upon all the time we had spent together since his accident first happened and realized how it had strengthened the ties between us. I also concluded these additional trips to see his doctor were merely the icing on the cake and we'd always remain close because of all we'd been through together. I often wished I could spend this much time alone with each of the boys, but with the numbers involved I knew it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. I'd just have to do the best I could and try to make sure no one got slighted.

After a lengthy drive, we finally arrived at the office. By the time Dr. Bailey joined us in the examination room, we had about exhausted topics to discuss, so we concentrated on what the doctor was about to do and thinking about what he might tell us. Dr. Bailey seemed very happy to see us again and we talked briefly before he began his exam. He asked Pat many questions about different topics, including whether he had experienced any pain or discomfort since the operation, or if there had been any problems he'd noticed other than discomfort. However, he seemed most interested in learning how Pat's vision had been after he went home.

Pat told him there had been no problems of any kind and he had experienced only very slight discomfort following the operation. Then Pat told his benefactor that he felt his vision was getting better every day and couldn't wait to wake every morning, so he could learn how much more improvement there had been since the previous day. The doctor seemed pleased to hear this and told Pat so, before he began examining Pat's eyes thoroughly.

First he inspected the eye using his small flashlight, so he could check the stitches and scrutinize the surface to see if there were any signs of a problem. Once he had finished that, he tested the irises response to light and then studied the extent of Pat's visual acumen, by using a machine with changeable lenses. When he finished up, he told us the news.

"Everything seems to be fine," he began. "There doesn't seem to be any lasting problems from the operation and his vision is remarkably good for this early in the process. It doesn't look like we'll have to change our approach or do anything more to help you. I will want to see you again in another couple of weeks, just to be on the safe side, but until then you are fine to go with just the limitations and care you have already been following."

We were both glad to hear his news and thanked the doctor enthusiastically, before going out to make Pat's next appointment with the receptionist. As we were leaving the office, Pat did tell me that before we went in he was kind of worried that his recovery had all gone too well and something bad was going to pop up, but was now relieved it was just his imagination running wild with him.

I tried to make him feel better by explaining it's normal to think that way, especially when it concerns something you value. "Pat, it's easy to convince yourself things are progressing too much in your favor and believe the other shoe is about to drop," I informed him. "There aren't many people who are truly convinced a roll of good luck will last forever. However, forever can mean different things to different people, and that meaning can vary at different times. Your eyesight probably WILL fail you again some day, but not until you reached old age."

"Like you?" he challenged, sporting a huge grin.

"Yes, like me," I whimpered, playfully. "I think you've noticed I can't read much without my reading glasses and that happens to nearly everyone when they reach mid-life."

After that, I also told him I believed if this was the window that God had opened for him, then he wouldn't have to worry about it lasting more than just a short period of time. He seemed to feel much better after our little discussion and we drove home listening to the CD player and observing the scenery.

It was getting late by the time we arrived home, so we didn't do very much before we went to bed. We were exhausted from the trip and drained by the tension we each felt prior to the examination. Pat stayed with me on the sofa bed that evening, I think mainly as a walk down memory lane and a look back at the nights he had lain there and worried he would never see again. It was a very relaxing slumber and we both awoke quite refreshed.

The next morning, after breakfast, I asked the boys to help me start getting the house ready for Richard's birthday party, as I wanted to make this a very special day for him. I also ordered the cake, picked up his present (which I had arranged for earlier), made sure we had everything else we would need and then worked with the boys decorating the family room. After we finished making the place look festive, I went out to the kitchen and began preparing some of the food in advance. By the time the evening rolled around, almost everything was ready and we felt good about what we were going to do.

The Beckers showed up bright and early Saturday morning, as was their custom, bearing all kinds of goodies for our breakfast again. Right away Mrs. Becker set to work preparing bacon, ham, home fries, eggs and toast. She was only willing to accept a limited amount of help from me, and that was only to help her locate the items she needed to cook with. Richard was her key assistant this time around and he happily helped her prepare the meal. In fact, I was amazed watching him and thought he was doing a very good job of it. He seemed especially pleased to be helping to do something special for us and eagerly told us to all sit down at the table, while he and his father served us. It was a wonderful meal, with plenty to eat, as well as having great company and good conversation. We all enjoyed it immensely.

After breakfast, the boys dragged Richard off to show him the family room, so he could see how it was decorated. He beamed brightly when he saw it, so much so that he almost outshone the early morning sun on this nearly cloudless day. He was so excited and overjoyed that he ran out to get his parents, so they could also see what we'd done for him. He was so excited about our preparation that I was worried he might wet his pants before he calmed down, but fortunately for him, that didn't happen. After everyone had seen and commented on our creative accomplishments, we all relaxed and talked some more, this time letting Richard tell us what the last couple of weeks had been like for him.

Richard was eager to do this and relayed every detail of what he had done on the farm, while using what seemed to be one humongous, unbroken sentence to do so. He only hesitated when he needed to take another breath before continuing, and it was extremely obvious he enjoyed his new life and new family. He even invited us all out to visit them, so he could show us around. When I told him he should check this out with his parents first, he told me he already had and they agreed we were welcome to come to the farm too. After discussing various dates to do this, we finally settled on going out there two weeks from today.

Around noon our other guests began to show up and the older boys and I started cooking the meat on the grill. By now, Mark, Sally, Steve, Mary and the Spences had joined the party, and Richard was busy telling them about his new life on the farm. He was very animated in relaying his story and just as excited about everything as he had been when he told us, just a short time before. While some of my boys manned the grill, I sat and watched Richard's angelic expressions, as he went on and on about the things he had done during the past couple of weeks. I was enjoying all his youthful exuberance, which just seemed to ooze from every pore, as he kept his audience spellbound. He was the consummate entertainer, even acting out some of the events in a slapstick fashion, and he soon had the room in stitches. Richard seemed to relish this newfound attention from adults, which made him ham it up even more, and it was almost as if this opportunity was erasing at least part the years of neglect he had been forced to endure when he was younger.

When the meat was finished cooking on the grill, the boys summoned everyone out to eat and we spent the next hour chowing down. After that, we decided to let Richard open his presents, as we didn't want him running around or begging to go swimming so soon after eating.

I think he was temporary awestruck by the number of presents there were for him to open, but once he got over the initial shock, he proceeded to rip off the wrapping paper with sheer delight. He received some lovely gifts, including clothing, electronic games and a few other age appropriate gifts, but there were still a couple of special presents we hadn't let him open yet. The first of these was something special from Ricky.

Ricky had purchased this gift with his own money, because he wanted it to be just from him, and he even picked out his own card and wrapped the present without any assistance. Although I knew what he had bought, the rest of what happened next came as a complete surprise. First Richard opened the card and read it out loud, so the rest of us knew what it said. His voice cracked a little as he spoke the words. "To Little Ricky from your very special friend and big brother, Ricky." He didn't even open the present right away, but instead looked up at Ricky and spoke. "My name's not Ricky, it's Richard, but my mother used to call me Richie."

"Well, my real name is Richard too, but everyone has called me Ricky for as long as I can remember. I just thought it would be very special if I called you Little Ricky, so we would have something more in common. No one else will have to call you that, if you don't want, but I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I did."

Richard thought about it for a minute and then a grin began to spread across his face, almost splitting the bottom third away from the upper portion. "I like that idea a lot and I want everybody to start calling me that, but I'll call you Big Ricky." Ricky agreed and Little Ricky came over and gave him a big hug, then kissed his idol on the cheek. It was quite a touching scene.

Once that was over, Little Ricky went back and opened his present, a new pair of athletic shoes – the very kind every kid seemed to be wearing nowadays. His mouth dropped open and he looked up at Ricky again. "How did you know that I wanted these?" he demanded.

"Remember when you stayed here and we went out shopping?" Ricky asked him. "I saw you looking at them in the store window and knew that you really wanted them."

"I do, and I love them, but they cost too much money," Little Ricky protested.

"Nothing's too good or too expensive for my little bro," Ricky responded. After tearing up a bit after hearing that response, Little Ricky went over and hugged Ricky again. I waited patiently for him to decide when he had thanked Ricky enough, so I could give him his final gift, this one from our entire family.

Once he broke his energetic embrace of his idol, I reached across and handed him a single, large envelope. He thanked me, opened it and pulled out the contents, to examine what was inside. He looked at me somewhat confused, so I thought I'd better explain what it was he had received. "Ricky, those are roundtrip airlines tickets to Orlando, Florida, passes to Disney World and the Epcot Center, and your hotel reservation confirmation for a week, for you and your parents. Happy Birthday from the Curries."

Ricky looked at his new mom and dad, and then at all of us, before leaping into the air. For the next several minutes, he continued to jump around, while whooping and hollering about going to Disney World – a whirling dervish of excitement, if I'd ever seen one. During his celebration, the Beckers looked at me and began to speak, but I anticipated their reaction and held up my hand to stop them.

"I know what your objections are, but I've already anticipated them," I informed them. "First, you're going to object about the expense, but it's what we wanted to do and we won't take no for an answer. Secondly, this has been planned for the first full week after the Fourth of July and I've already made arrangements, with the help of your neighbors, to have the farm looked after during your absence. I am paying all the expenses for that and everything has been completely taken care of."

They now looked at each other, nodded back and forth, and it was then that I knew they had given in and accepted my offer. A minute or two later, Mr. Becker stood up and spoke. "You and your family have done so much for us that we will always be indebted to you. From the bottom of my heart, and for my whole family, I wish to thank you once more." He came over to me, shook my hand and then wrapped me up in a bear hug to end all bear hugs. I was very touched by this, although he nearly crushed and suffocated me at the same time. After he finally released me, I caught my breath and told them my entire family wanted them all to have a wonderful time.

Once things settled down from that surprise, we lit the candles on Ricky's cake, sang 'Happy Birthday' to him and let him make his wish and blow the candles out, before we passed out the cake and ice cream. In between the time we had the cake and the boys were allowed to go swimming and play in the pool, I noticed Ricky and Little Ricky had disappeared. I guessed they had some things to talk over about this new relationship of theirs, as hero and devotee. I don't think anyone else noticed they were gone and they were both smiling and joking with each other when they returned later. I guess they had established their roles and were both happy with this new bond.

A short time later, one of the other boys suggested it was time to take a dip, so all of the boys raced inside to don their swimsuits, before charging out toward the pool. This included Richard, I mean Little Ricky, since we had suggested he bring his attire with him when they came. Happily, he followed the others, eager to have fun and cool off. I was somewhat surprised to see that Mark was also joining them.

While the boys were splashing about and making a great deal of noise, the rest of us decided to go inside to talk, since no one was ready to jump into the pool with a bunch of hyperactive young men. The Beckers now told us their version of the past couple of weeks and explained how much they've enjoyed their new son and how he had caused them to look at everything through young eyes again. They informed us how much they had already grown to love each other and felt not only comfortable together, but also euphoric from this new relationship. They told us how Little Ricky was adapting to the life on the farm, how he helped with the various chores and how he brought so much joy into their lives.

They did express one regret, but that was that Little Ricky had no one his age to hang around with. The neighboring farms were also owned by older couples, who either never had children or whose children had grown up and moved out on their own, so there was no one close by for him to connect with. They mentioned again how they wished they were in a position to adopt a second child, someone Little Ricky could have for company, and then they said it might be possible they could do that next year.

I think that comment caused an immediate reaction by nearly everyone else in the room, and each of their minds was suddenly thrust into gear. We all wanted to come up with a suggestion the Beckers could accept, so they could adopt that second child and not look at it as if they were receiving a handout. As I scanned the faces of the others sitting with us, I could see the far-off stares, meaning they were lost in their own thoughts at that point and not really paying attention to anything else. I made a mental note to pull Sally aside later or call her tomorrow, to see if we could put our heads together and come up with a plan to help the Beckers do just that, without making them think we were forcing the issue. We all realized they were a very proud couple, unwilling to accept things they couldn't provide for themselves, with a few exceptions, so tact was going to be the key in being successful with this venture.

After the boys finished in the pool and played a couple of games in the yard, I told everyone to clean up and I'd take them out to dinner. It had been a while since we had eaten Little Ricky's birthday luncheon and I was fairly certain everyone was getting hungry again. After some mild protests from the other adults that I didn't need to do this, I finally talked them into meeting us at the restaurant in an hour. I called ahead to reserve our 'special room', since that's how we began to think of it, and everything was set.

When we got to the restaurant, Mr. Spence stood outside and held the door open for all of us to enter, coming in last and then disappearing for a few minutes. He told us later that he had needed to use the little boy's room and joked that we'd learn more about those types of needs, as we grew older. Now that we were all together, we sat down to a lovely dinner, with wonderful company and great conversation.

As I looked around the table, I noticed Little Ricky was sitting beside his mother, but he had somehow also made sure his idol was sitting on his other side. This was truly a cute case of hero worship. Eventually I asked for the check, only to be told it had already been taken care of. When I asked by whom, I got no response, so I went looking for the manager to find out what was up. He seemed rather embarrassed that I hadn't known about this in advance and then informed me that an older gentleman had already put the check on his credit card, including the tip. At that moment, I realized that Mr. Spence hadn't disappeared to go to the little boy's room, as he told us, but he had sneaked off to locate the manager and take care of the tab. I'd have to have a little chat with him about this later.

When we got back home, the boys moved the table and chairs out of the dining room, brought down a boom box from upstairs and started playing some CD's, specifically the ones I had used to entertain them on Valentine's Day. Before long, they had the adults dancing on our makeshift dance floor, after pulling the more reluctant ones into the action. In short order, the Spences, the Beckers, the Shays, and Sally and I were swaying to the music, our minds wandering back to memories of when we'd first heard each of these wonderful songs.

We were all really enjoying this thoughtful gesture, when we noticed some of the boys taking the floor with us. At first it was just Danny and Brandon, but then Trey and Dion joined in, before Kevin and Brent joined in, seemingly unconcerned that anyone would object or utter a disparaging remark about their doing so. About that same time, I also noticed Ricky and Little Ricky attempting to dance as a couple, and then became aware that Graham and Cole were also seeing what it was like to dance with each other.

Now that those boys had joined us, Sammy and Andrew quickly followed them out, after deciding they didn't want to be left out of the fun either. I kind of smiled as the older boys tried to teach their younger siblings how to dance and was impressed by their patience. I think the other adults thought this was cute too, but I could also tell the straight boys were a bit jealous that their girlfriends weren't here for them to dance with. It was then that I almost burst out laughing, because Frankie grabbed Nick by the hand and led him out to the floor, having chosen him as his partner. As they began to dance, their actions motivated the final pair, and Dustin and Pat released their inhibitions and joined the fun too. As we all swayed to the beat, I wondered what any passersby would have thought, if they had looked in our windows, only to notice all the young men who were dancing with each other.

After moving our bodies around the room to numerous songs, our guests began to announce it was time for them to leave. Slowly they got their things and headed for the door, but not before I cornered Mr. Spence. He just laughed and told me I was just upset because the old fox had outfoxed him. He laughed at the fact that he had pulled it off so easily and was giddy he had won this little game.

When I finally conceded my protestations were doing no good, I dropped the issue and just told myself that next time I'd have to be more observant about what he was up to. It wasn't long after that before the Spences, the Shays, and Sally all said their final good-byes and left for their homes. The rest of us followed them out to their cars and waved as they drove off, but the Spences were already about halfway to their place as the last of the others finally pulled away. I stayed out and watched them walk the rest of the way, just to make sure they got there safely, before I joined the boys inside.

The Beckers were the only ones who were staying with us tonight, so I gave them my bedroom for the evening and reminded them where everything was. Even though they had tried to decline the use of my room again, I explained I would sleep on the sofa bed, as I was quite used to it and it was more than comfortable. They finally acceded to this arrangement, but it came as no shock to any of us when Little Ricky announced to his parents he was going to sleep with Big Ricky tonight. We each told him that would be fine.

The night passed by quickly and I awoke the next morning to the aroma of breakfast being prepared. Without even going out to check who was responsible, it was easy to speculate that Mrs. Becker was already up and at it again. I got dressed and walked out of the family room, but was surprised to discover most of my boys were already in the dining room eating. They soon told me the smells had awakened them and made them hungry; so they gave in to their bellies and came down to eat.

After a wonderful meal, we thanked Mrs. Becker and her helpers, and then we all got ready to go to church. It was a nice service and went very quickly, as the pastor seemed to be taking it easy on us this Sunday. As we left the church, the Beckers announced they thought it best to start home from there, as they were sure there was still much they would have to do before dark. Before they left, though, they thanked us again for the special weekend and Little Ricky's birthday party. As they were preparing to get into in their truck, they stopped and gave us one final thank you for all of the gifts their son had received, especially the trip to Disney World which each of them would enjoy.

As his parents were opening the doors to their vehicle, Little Ricky asked me to bend down. I thought he wanted to whisper something in my ear, but when I bent over he gave me a very special hug and kiss, as his way of saying thank you. I knew then that I was sure going to miss this little bugger, although I did suspect we'd be seeing both him and his new parents from time to time. I didn't know how the little guy did it so easily, but he had wormed his way into many hearts around here, including mine.

We all waved at the Beckers as they drove off and I thought I saw a tear making its way down my Ricky's cheek as their truck moved out of sight. This touched me deeply and not only indicated how close Ricky felt to Little Ricky, but it also made me wonder what they might have been up to when they sneaked off by themselves and slept together. I wasn't really worried about what they might have done, because I knew Ricky would never do anything with a younger boy unless the boy had initiated it or thoroughly agreed to what they were going to do, but I was just curious as to how deep their new ties went. Maybe I'd get the nerve up to ask him one of these days, but until then I'd just let sleeping dogs lie.

Chapter 29
Exploring Relationships

The weekend after Little Ricky's birthday party, we had another party planned – a family cookout to celebrate Pat's regaining his vision. It was going to be a very different type of get together for us, but I think that we were all looking forward to it. Unbeknownst to me, however, there was a conspiracy brewing that involved me, however I didn't know about it at the time.

It began Friday evening, when Danny borrowed the car to run an errand. He took Brandon and Pat with him and explained it all by saying Pat wanted to personally invite Shannon and Uncle Jake to this party. What they didn't tell me was they had more than that on their minds. I told them it would be fine, so off they went, to complete their mission.

It was obvious that Shannon had been expecting them, as he met them at the door as soon as they pulled in, and my boys went inside to say hello to Uncle Jake. He seemed very glad to see them and asked what brought them there. That's when Pat took over.

"I came to invite both of you to a picnic we're having tomorrow, at our house. Dad wants to have it to celebrate my getting my eyesight back. You don't need to bring anything, but yourselves, and there will be plenty to eat and lots of things to do. It's just for family, but you're part of our family now."

"That's very kind of you to make this invitation and include us as part of the family," Jake responded, "and we'll be glad to attend. What time does this shindig begin?"

Pat gave them all the details about the party and filled them in on what to expect. When they finished discussing what would be going on, Danny broached the next topic.

"Uncle Jake, you know, you should get in touch with Dad sometime and go out for a few drinks or something. He seems to spend all of his time with us and doesn't get to do anything just for himself. We think he should go out and have some fun once in a while too."

"So Shannon's been telling me," Jake responded, quizzically. "I take it you boys have talked about this amongst yourselves?" The boys nodded their heads. "Did you ever suggest this to your dad?"

"Yeah, I guess we have talked this over with him too, but he thinks it's more important to be there for us. We appreciate it and all, but we'd also like to see him have some fun of his own, not just provide fun times for us. He hasn't even been on a date since he started adopting us. I don't think it's good for him to neglect his own needs. I think it's about time he enjoyed himself too."

"Yes, I can see your point and agree with what you've said," Jake replied. "Josh should get out once in awhile to do things that make him happy too. Maybe I could ask him to meet me after work some Friday, for a few drinks or something."

"Or maybe you guys could have dinner together," Brandon added. "Just the two of you." Jake was surprised at this comment and began to get even more suspicious than he already had been. He eyed the boys, while trying to see if he could figure out what cards they held up their sleeves. Finally, he decided on what he was going to say next.

"You mean like a date?" he asked, while raising his eyebrows and eying them intently.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Pat answered, shyly, and all three boys turn red, realizing they hadn't been as sly about this as they'd hoped. They began looking at each other, wondering if they had been too direct in broaching this topic and weren't sure how to proceed from here, but Jake solved that little problem for them.

"Uh, wasn't your dad married for a number of years?" Jake asked, but no one answered right away, so they could take their time to come up with an appropriate answer. However, Jake continued before they did. "You know, he might not agree with your trying to fix him up with me. I really don't think he'd be interested, being straight and all."

"But he's not," Danny blurted out, before realizing what he'd said and then turning red. Now, he tried to correct his sudden outburst. "What I mean is that Dad's really bi and he's often mentioned how he's regretted not exploring the other side of himself. I think he'd be interested in spending time with you too, but I just think he's too shy to ask. I believe that's why he spends so much time with us, so he can be close to other males without having to worry about going further."

"That's interesting," Jake told them, while looking as if he were thinking about something else. "I didn't know that about Josh. He's really told you guys that he's sorry he didn't go out with other guys?"

"Yes!" Pat shot back, quickly. "He said that's why he wanted to become a foster parent, so he could help gay and bi boys accept who they were and not make the same mistakes he did."

"He really said that?" Jake commented, incredulously.

"Yes, he did," Danny came back. "That's why things are so open and accepting at home. He doesn't want us to have any excuses for not being who we are. It's really great, because we've all had a chance to select whom we wanted to be with, without having someone else trying to dictate that to us. Dustin started out with Kevin, but decided later he was more attracted to girls, so now he's going out with a cheerleader. He's bi, but he's decided he'd rather have a girlfriend as his main squeeze."

"Hmmm," Jake responded, "there's more to this family than meets the eye. I didn't realize some of this."

"Well, we don't announce it to just anybody," Brandon told him, "but you're part of the family now, so we thought you should know."

"Well, thank you, and I'm honored to be included in your inner circle," Jake responded, while winking in their direction. Now that the cards were on the table, they all smiled at each other, but you could see the wheels still grinding, as each of them contemplated how to proceed from this point.

"What kinds of things is your dad interested in?" Jake asked next.

"Well, he likes sports," Pat told him, "especially college sports. I guess he used to play some himself, when he was younger, but he hasn't been that active since he took us all in. I guess we've taken up most of his time."

"Does he golf?" Jake followed.

"You know, I think he does," Danny responded. "There's a set of golf clubs down in the basement and I'm pretty sure they're his. I know there used to be a bunch of plaques hanging on the wall in his office and at least one of them was for golf, but he boxed them up when he turned the office into his new master bedroom."

"Well, maybe I could invite him to go golfing with me some weekend," Jake mused. "I could team up with him and we could play against a couple of other guys I work with."

"That would be great!" Pat enthusiastically shouted. "I really think he'd like that too."

"Well, I could hint around about it when I'm at your party," Jake offered. "I could say something about golfing with my friends and then see how he reacts to it. If he seems interested, I could tell him we could use fresh blood in our foursome and then take it from there."

"Yeah, that's perfect," Danny added. "If it works out, maybe you guys could join a league next year. I really think Dad should have a chance to do something like that."

"Well, I can understand why he spends so much time with you boys, though," Jake informed them. "I try to do the same with Shannon, and he's nearly my entire life right now. I can tell you boys are just as important to him as Shannon is to me, but I must admit I am impressed. It's nice to see you're as concerned about your dad's happiness, as he is about yours."

"We are, and we really want him to be happy too," Pat replied. "He's done so much for us and it's time we helped do something for him. We think this would be just the thing."

Jake and the boys spent a little more time together, chatting about different activities that Josh and Jake might do, but the die was cast and their plan officially set into motion. They would start the ball rolling tomorrow, after Jake and Shannon arrived for Pat's party. Satisfied that their scheming would bear fruit, the boys returned home, filled their brothers in on their accomplishments and started preparing for the picnic.

The boys met up in the attic, in Pat's room, to discuss what types of things they were going to do at the party and how they were going to try to get Jake and I together. Although I knew of Shannon's intentions, I was completely oblivious to the fact that my sons had the same objectives, but that soon would become very apparent. I guess I'm pretty lucky to have them and know they are so concerned about me.

After everyone arrived at the house the next day, Pat suggested we start out with a game of touch football on the side yard. Even though he couldn't participate in such an energetic competition, he explained that he knew the other boys still wanted to do this and didn't want to stand in their way of having a good time. I told him I thought it was very considerate of him to suggest such an event and I could see many of the boys were eager to take advantage of his generous offer.

Once again, Jake and I were paired on the same team, while Steve, Howie (Jay's father) and Mark evened out the other side. Pat ran the clock and kept score from the sidelines. The game was very competitive and we continued to swap touchdowns most of the way, but the other team managed to pull out the victory, just before our timekeeper blew the final whistle.

We were all pretty exhausted by the time the game ended, but I was also quite certain everyone was getting hungry. Reluctantly, I forced my weary butt off of the ground and headed in to the house, so I could start getting the food ready. As I rose up and started walking off, Jake asked me where I was going. When I told him, he offered to help and I gratefully accepted his offer. He helped me carry things out back, cranked up the gas grills and offered to give me a hand preparing things.

While we were placing the various items on the grill, Jake started talking about golf and asked me if I played. I told him I did at one time and had enjoyed it, but hadn't swung a club in several years. I had given it up when my wife became ill and died, and had been too busy with the boys to think about taking it up again. Jake quickly quipped back that it was like riding a bicycle – you never forget how to do it, once you've learned. He then asked me if I'd possibly consider taking it up again, but I was confused as to why he was so interested. However, after thinking it over for a few minutes, I told him I thought it might be fun to give it a try again and Jake almost immediately invited me to hit some balls with him the following weekend.

After considering his proposal for a few seconds, I agreed and we set a time to meet. I thought it would be nice to get out and be a little more active again. I had always enjoyed golfing; especially the part of getting out in the fresh air and strolling along those lovely fairways, and this was definitely an opportunity to get back to doing just that. I think the boys overheard our conversation, and soon word was passing between them that Jake and I had a 'date'. I didn't know they were considering our planned outing in quite that manner, or I would have corrected them – to let them know it was just a social outing with a friend.

Before long the food was ready, so we sat down to eat. Everyone was starving, as was evident from the sparks that flew when the silverware hit the plates. Once everyone was sated, we sat and chatted for a while longer, to give our food a chance to digest, before we did something more energetic. It was during this time that Sally filled us in on several new developments with the charity, but she also wanted to let us know how helpful the Spences had been with the various tasks they had volunteered to do. I think she was quite pleased and the rest of us were mildly surprised by how much they had accomplished.

Following a reasonable wait, we all loaded into several different vehicles and headed down to the miniature golf course. This was something Pat could do with the rest of us, as well as something the ladies would be able to participate in, so I thought the boys had made a great suggestion. It never dawned on me at the time how this also tied in with my being invited to the driving range the following weekend and a possible chance to resume my golfing activities, but if I had, I might have suspected something was up. Maybe this was some sort of conspiracy and there was more to it than first met the eye.

Anyway, we all had a great time, although no one actually paid any attention to the scores. Most of our guests went straight home from there, as they had driven their own vehicles to avoid having to return to our house afterward. The boys and I went back to our place and spent the rest of the night doing our own thing.

Pat did come up to me later and thanked me for the great party, but I thought it a bit odd that he asked if I'd had fun too. Studying his expression and body posture, I thought it was a sincere question and felt it was possible he was trying to look out for me, as his way of repaying me for what I'd done for him when he was sightless. I never suspected he was just trying to get a feel for how Jake and I got along. I did start to wonder about his intentions, however, after I noticed all of his questions came back to Jake and how we were getting along. Suddenly, I began to wonder if it was just a fluke these things happened at the same time or if this was part of a greater conspiracy. Even though I was curious, I didn't choose to pursue those thoughts further, at least not at this time.

Sunday, at church, I got another surprise. After the service I noticed Dion chatting with a girl, something I don't remember having happened before. This appeared more than just a 'how are you doing' sort of conversation, so I wondered what was up. Unfortunately, I was not privy to the fact that Dion had decided it was time to explore the other side of his sexuality, but after seeing me watching Dion, Cole readily informed me that Dion had told Trey he wanted to see what it was like being with a girl.

All kinds of alarm bells suddenly went off in my head and I envisioned another Kevin-Dustin break-up, with me spending a great deal of my time trying to console the son who'd been left out in the cold – in this case, Trey. I did watch Trey as he stared at Dion, while the later was joking around with this girl, and I could feel the unmistakable signs of tension in the air. I just hoped this wasn't the start to another disaster, but decided I might be able to defuse this situation a smidgeon by having a chat with Trey before it got to that point. Once there was a lull in our Sunday afternoon activities, I asked Trey if I could speak with him alone. He quickly agreed and followed me away from the others.

"I noticed you watching Dion, as he spent time with that young lady. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?" I asked him, as my way of letting him know I was concerned.

"I don't know, Dad," he responded, but I could tell he was doing all he could to keep control of his emotions. "I know he feels that he has to find out what it's like to date a girl and he'll probably even want to see what it's like having sex with her too. Even though I don't like that it's probably going to happen, I know it is something he thinks he has to do."

"And it doesn't bother you?" I pressed.

"Of course it bothers me," he confessed. "I hate the whole idea, but I know he's got to do it or he'll never be happy with just me. I only hope this doesn't turn out like it did for Dustin and Kevin."

"Well, there are no guarantees, so you'll just have to wait and see what happens," I advised him.

"I know, Dad, but I don't know what I'll do if he decides he likes girls more than me," he choked out, as his emotions began to overwhelm him. "I love him, I really do, and I thought we were going to spend our whole lives together. I don't know how I'll survive if he decides to leave me now."

"Well, let's not put the cart before the horse here," I cautioned. "He just wants to find out what it's like and it doesn't appear he's made any decisions about the future yet."

"I know, it's just that I worry about it, after what happened with Dustin and Kevin," he confessed. "I don't know if I could go on, if something like that happened to me. I don't know how Kevin did it. He must be a lot stronger than I am."

"Kevin isn't stronger than you, and you'll survive too, if it should come to that," I added, to encouraged him. "Kevin thought he wouldn't be able to survive either, but then he and Nick hit it off and then he had someone new. He even survived when he and Nick broke up, and now he seems to be happy with Brent. Even if that relationship doesn't work out, although I'm not saying it will fail, he'll find somebody else and make the most of it and so will you. We all go through situations like this at some point in our lives. It's just part of growing up."

"Yeah, I know, but he's so important to me," Trey shot back, quickly. "It's like our souls had once been one, but got separated, and then we found each other again. I don't know what I'd do without him. We hold onto each other all night long and I don't want to think that will end."

"It may not,' I offered, trying to soothe his apprehensions. "I understand how you feel and I'm sure Dion enjoys your time together as much as you do, but he just has to discover things for himself. Give him some time and some space, because if you do, you'll leave the possibility you may still end up together. If you try to limit his actions and make him think you're trying to control him, then you might push him away forever."

"I know, Dad, and that's what I'm trying to do," he explained. "It's just not easy. I really hope Dion decides what we have is more important and more special than what he can get from some girl."

"I think I know how you feel about him, but only time will tell," I cautioned. "Just try not to push him into a decision or put any undue pressure on him, because I'm afraid that wouldn't work out as you want."

"Thanks, Dad, and I'll try not to do that," he agreed.

I tried to watch what was going on during the rest of the day, and I even took notice of Kevin and Brent, now that they had also been mentioned. I thought maybe I should see how that combination was doing as well. However, Dion and Trey still received most of my attention.

It was obvious that Dion wasn't making an attempt to ignore Trey. In fact, he was very friendly toward him and acting as if nothing was amiss. I took that as a good sign, but I would still closely monitor what was going on.

Chapter 30
Growing Bonds

Watching Kevin and Brent, however, was quite a different matter. They were growing closer every day and it seemed as if they couldn't keep their hands off of each other. It wasn't anything overt or obscene, just that they constantly seemed to be reaching out to touch the other's hand, arm, face, knee or other exposed part, but not in a sexual way. When they sat together, it was done so their legs were touching or their arms were brushing each other, and it seemed as if they just needed to make contact to be sure the other one hadn't left without them knowing it.

I was glad to see Kevin happy again and it was nice to see that Brent had found some happiness too. In talking with some of the other boys, I discovered that Brent and Kevin had been spending a great deal of time sleeping in each other's rooms, so I figured it wouldn't be long before they would probably be moving in together. A little later I pulled Kevin aside, to ask him how things were going.

"I notice you and Brent seem to be getting close," I offered.

Kevin's face lit up, before he responded. "Yeah, I guess we are," he agreed. "We really get along great and he was kind of lonely too, just like me."

"Well, I'm glad you found each other and hit it off," I told him, sincerely. "Is there anything more going on?"

Kevin looked a little sheepish, but did answer me. "I think I know what you're asking, and we have done some things together, but not a lot. Mostly just getting to know each other better."

"Hmmm. What exactly does that mean?" I pressed. Kevin didn't respond right away, so I asked another question. "Kevin, you know I don't mind if you do things like that, as long as you both agree to it."

"I know, and I know the other boys talk to you about things like this," he replied, "but I just feel kind of funny telling you about Brent and me. I hope you're not mad."

"No, Kevin, I'm not mad. I was just curious," I told him.

Kevin looked at me for a few seconds, saying nothing at all during that period of time, and then he let out a big sigh and spoke. "I don't know why I worry about it. I know I can tell you anything, so I will. Brent and I have done some things together, but only with our hands and mouths. He said he wasn't ready yet to try anything more."

"Kevin, I thank you for trusting me with that information," I responded, "and you know I won't say anything, as long as you were both willing participants."

"Oh, we were," he enthused.

"I'm sure of that," I confirmed. "It's just nice to know who's doing what and how much you boys are into. It helps me make decisions later, when other things come up."

"I know and I'm sorry I didn't answer you right away," he confirmed, while looking a bit sheepish about his hesitance. "You've always been there for me, it's just I guess I still worry about people reacting like my father did when he found out about us."

"I can certainly understand why that would concern you," I assured him, "but I promise you not everyone is as narrow-minded as your father."

"Especially not you," Kevin gushed. "I know that, but sometimes I can't get past the other stuff."

"You don't have to explain or apologize," I told him. "I'm asking you for personal information and I realize sometimes there are things you might not wish to discuss. I would never force you to divulge those things you aren't comfortable with telling me."

"That's okay, Dad. You didn't force me," he confirmed. "I just finally realized you wouldn't get mad if I told you and I understand you don't know that much about Brent and are just trying to find out. I don't mind if you know and I don't think he would either."

"I'm glad to hear that," I said with a smile. "Now, why don't you run along and join the others."

"Thanks, Dad, I will." Kevin made his way toward the door, but then stopped and turned to face me again. "You know, Brent's going to stay with me tonight," he added.

"I didn't, but it doesn't surprise me," I conceded.

Kevin smiled at that statement. "He also said he might be ready to try something new tonight, if you know what I mean."

"Well, from what you just told me, I think I have a good idea about what you're referring to," I stated. "You know where everything you'll need is kept, don't you?"

"Yes, Dad, I do, and we'll be sure to use it, if we do anything," Kevin agreed. "I'm so glad I live here and you're my dad now," he added, before jogging the few steps back to me, so he could give me a hug. I kissed him on the forehead and squeezed him back.

"Well, I'm very glad about that too," I told him. "You're a fine young man and I'm proud you're my son. I trust you, and I'm reasonably sure you wouldn't do anything you shouldn't. I just want to warn you to be gentle with Brent, since he's pretty new to all of this. I have a pretty good idea how he feels about you, since I've noticed the adoring looks he flashes in your direction whenever he sees you, so please don't hurt him. I know you would never do it on purpose, so just go slow and follow his lead."

"I understand and I'd never hurt him, Dad," he confirmed. "I know what that's like, remember?"

"Yes, Kevin, I do, and you deserve to be happy this time, so go enjoy yourself," I encouraged, before kissing him on the forehead again. As he turned around to run off to find Brent, I gave him a playful smack on his bottom, to send him on his way. It was nearly time for them to take their showers anyway, and I soon saw them heading up the stairs together. Kevin gave me the account of what happened next, a couple of days later.

Kevin and Brent went up to the second floor bathroom, stripped down and jumped into the shower together. This wasn't the first time they had done this, but this time was a little different and special for them. As soon as they were both under the showerhead, Kevin kissed Brent passionately, before he started to wash Brent's body. He ran the soap over and around his chest, neck and arms, lathering him up well and scrubbing him thoroughly, before rinsing him off under the warm spray. He made Brent turn around, so he could wash his back using the same procedure, carefully making sure he was thoroughly clean. When Kevin got down to Brent's butt, he rubbed soap all over both cheeks, ran his soapy fingers down the crack, swirled them around the tender opening to his love tunnel and then carefully slipped a finger inside, to clean it out as well.

Brent jumped at first, as the finger moved inside and began to probe him, and his sphincter muscle instinctively clamped down on Kevin's intruding digit. Once Brent became accustomed to what was happening, he began to relax and let Kevin continue his actions without interference. As Brent began to enjoy the sensations and revel in the feeling of places being touched that had never been touched before, Kevin withdrew his finger and quickly replaced it with two fingers, before starting his ministrations over.

Brent suddenly began to thrust his butt backward, in an effort to urge Kevin on and give him better access to the unexplored region. He was thoroughly enjoying Kevin's stimulation of his inner sanctuary and would never have believed it could feel so good. Getting lost in the new sensations coursing through his young frame, he threw his head back and let these feelings consume his mind and body, while he began to pant and his heart beat quickened.

He literally jumped when Kevin's fingers hit his prostate and caused tingling sensations to pulse from the leathery button and shoot throughout his entire body. It almost felt as if an electrical current had just zapped his frame, but it was Kevin's actions that had sent the sparks flying. Brent moaned slightly and his body trembled, as Kevin began to massage the sensitive area even more, and Brent grew even hotter as the action continued. He was also rock hard, and Kevin hadn't even touched his penis yet, when suddenly his cock erupted, spewing out thin streams of nearly clear cum, just from the stimulation on his love button. He almost collapsed at this point, as his knees buckled from the powerful and unexpected release, since he had never had an orgasm before without his or someone else's hand or mouth touching his dick.

"How did you do that?" he gasped out, as he began to regain his composure.

"Dad calls what I touched in there the prostate," Kevin told him. "He says it's one of the most sensitive sex organs a guy has, but I guess you just found that out." Kevin then chuckled briefly, before continuing. "You shot your load and I never got to even touch your cock."

"You still can, if you want," Brent teased, "but that was pretty awesome. I didn't know anything like that could even happen."

"Well, you do now, and sometimes something like that can happen when someone has their dick up your ass too," Kevin informed him. "If he is able to get the right angle as he pumps in and out, his penis will rub against your prostate and can cause you to shoot your load without touching your dick too."

"Really? That sounds great," Brent told him, while looking dreamily in Kevin's direction. "Maybe we should try that tonight."

"If you really want to, I'd love to do that with you," Kevin agreed, "and you could do it to me too, but that's all up to you. We'll do whatever you decide, but first we have to finish cleaning up," Kevin reminded him.

Having said that, Kevin bent down and finished washing Brent's legs and then he turned him around, so he could wash the front of him too. Carefully, Kevin worked his way up to Brent's genitals, which he washed thoroughly and took great pleasure playing with his penis in the process. Once Kevin had finished washing Brent, Brent was eager to return the favor.

Brent was overly excited and tended to hurry through washing the chest and back, so he could work his way down to Kevin's firm, small butt. Brent immediately worked his fingers into and along Kevin's crack, since he was eager to get to his anus, and quickly worked a finger up and inside his partner. Brent asked how to find the prostate and Kevin tried to explain how it was done. Brent was having a difficult time at first and was becoming frustrated, but finally he found it and began to stroke the leathery nub, which caused Kevin to moan and writhe in delight.

Even though he didn't cause Kevin to ejaculate from his efforts, Brent still brought Kevin plenty of joy. After tiring of that activity, Brent asked Kevin to turn around, so he could wash Kevin's front, moving from his chest, then the legs and finally to his groin. Once he had Kevin fully aroused, Brent rinsed him off completely, before grabbing Kevin's stiff rod and sucking it into his mouth. He began to bob on it and gradually brought Kevin quickly toward the brink, but Kevin made him back off before he finished and explained he thought they should save the rest to do in their room. Reluctantly, Brent agreed, and the boys finished their showers, dried and padded down the hallway toward the bedroom they had been temporarily sharing.

Once inside, the boys got on the bed and Kevin asked Brent if he was sure he still wanted to try this. Brent told him he was, so Kevin got a condom and the KY out, greased up his fingers and began to work them into Brent again. Brent seemed to be enjoying this even more than he had in the shower, as Kevin gently probed him with first one and then two fingers. When he thought Brent was ready, he put on the condom, covered it with lubricant, laid Brent on his side and lifted his upper leg. Then, he moved forward, lined his torpedo up with Brent's launch tube and used enough pressure to push it past the resilient guardian.

Brent's body tightened slightly, as it instinctively tried to resist the intruder, but then he relaxed and the head of Kevin's weapon slipped inside. Kevin stopped once he reached that point, so he could check with Brent and make certain he was all right and wanted him to continue. Brent quickly assured him he was fine, so Kevin began to slide the rest of his weapon into Brent's sheath. Once he was fully seated inside him, Kevin waited again, to allow Brent time to become accustomed to the new sensation. However, it wasn't long before Brent was urging him on again.

Slowly, Kevin began to withdraw from that warm, moist cavern only to ram his rod back in, and then repeated the process over and over again. Kevin kept adjusting his angle, trying to get it right, until he could tell from Brent's response that he was hitting Brent's prostate. Once he was positive his target had been located, he continued to bump and rub against Brent's love button, until Brent was groaning in pure ecstasy.

As Brent began to get the hang of what was happening, he started thrusting his backside into Kevin, as Kevin thrust forward, making the experience even more pleasurable for both of them. After a couple of minutes of this action, Kevin began to feel his seed coming to boil in his groin, as it prepared to make its escape up his tube. Sensing the culmination of their coupling speeding toward him, Kevin began to assault Brent's rectum harder and faster, as he sought his release, while still bringing Brent pleasure. Within moments, he was at the point of no return and rammed his penis deep into Brent's passage and left it there, as several volleys of hot cum exploded from his tiny slit and filled the reservoir at the end of the rubber.

Kevin stayed buried inside of Brent for several minutes more, since he didn't want to vacate that warm haven of pleasure any sooner than he had to. Although he didn't know it at the time, Brent didn't want him to pull out either, as he had totally enjoyed what they had just done and loved the feel of Kevin inside him. Before long, Kevin began to slowly lose his erection and his penis slid out of Brent's chute, until it finally pulled free of its own accord. Brent suddenly felt empty and experienced a sense of loss, now that this newfound pleasure had ended.

The boys lay on the bed together for many minutes afterward, stroking each other's bodies, kissing and thanking each other for the wonderful feelings they had just enjoyed. Kevin spun Brent around, so they were facing each other, and then hugged him tightly, while also smothering him in kisses. He was doing this to let Brent know how much he had enjoyed what they had just done, while showing him how much love he could feel from this very special act, but Brent already realized how wonderful and exciting it had been.

After they had fully recovered, Kevin asked Brent if he wanted to try being the pitcher, instead of the catcher. Brent chuckled at the play on words, since he'd never thought of this as a sporting event, but rapidly agreed that he'd like to try it too.

Kevin immediately began to explain to Brent what he should do, as he wanted to make this experience good for each of them too. First, he had Brent grease him up and work the KY inside of him, and then he unrolled a condom over Brent's stiffy and added lube to the exterior of it once it was on. Seeing Brent was already lying on his back on the bed, Kevin just straddled his hips, lined Brent's throbbing rod up with his hole, and then sat back on it, allowing it to slide completely inside of him. Once he felt his butt cheeks hit Brent's pubes, he bent forward and kissed him, before asking him if he was ready to begin.

Brent never hesitated and exclaimed he was, since he was looking as eager to do this, as a puppy might be to begin chewing on a new bone. Having received his confirmation, Kevin began to repeatedly raise and lower himself on Brent's crotch, willingly impaling himself over and over again on Brent's rigid tool. As Kevin worked at maintaining a steady rhythm, he also watched Brent's face. He instantly noticed Brent's eyes were glazed over, his mouth was hanging open and his chest rose and fell dramatically due to his labored breathing.

As Kevin began to notice the signs of Brent's impending climax approaching, he sped up his pace, clamping his ass muscles around Brent's cock each time he lowered his body, to intensify the stimulation to Brent's throbbing prick. As Brent began to moan and tell Kevin he was about to cum, Kevin lowered his body onto Brent's tool, completely swallowing it with his rear end, and felt the pulsing sensations as Brent's semen erupted and filled the tip of rubber. Without withdrawing, Kevin bent forward and kissed and hugged Brent, before thanking him for letting him be the first to experience this simple joy with him.

After they recovered from this effort, they went and cleaned up a bit, before returning to their bed and cuddling together for the rest of the night. They stayed wrapped in each other's arms until morning, using that bond to remind themselves of the wonderful feelings they had just shared. I could tell when they came down to breakfast the next morning that they had indeed done what Kevin had suggested they might do, just from looking at the fulfilled and satisfied expressions on their faces. I was glad that I had some knowledge this might happen in advance, because now I could better understand how they were reacting to each other and how it had been for them, now that it was over.

Other than that experience, nothing much of interest happened to any of us until Dion had his first actual date with his new girlfriend the following Tuesday. The two of them spent most of the afternoon wandering around the mall, talking and getting to know each other better, before taking in a movie. I heard later that they did engage in some kissing at the movie and Dion seemed to have a good time, but it was primarily just your fairly typical first date. The other boys were trying their best to keep much of this information from filtering down to Trey, as they were worried he might get depressed from the news, but I knew it would be difficult to keep him from finding out about what was going on for very long. Sooner or later he would hear something from the girl's friends or others they knew, but I also felt Trey had already prepared himself to deal with whatever happened.

I later learned that Dion had made another date with this girl for the following Monday and they were planning on doing a repeat of their previous date, plus maybe stopping to get something to eat together. I hoped Trey would be able to keep the same positive attitude about Dion's attempt to find himself as he displayed when we talked the other day, but I knew the longer this went on, the harder it would be for Trey to keep his emotions under control.

I spent a good deal of my time that week with Frankie and Kevin, giving them extra driving lessons and trying to get them ready for their fall road test. Frankie was doing an excellent job behind the wheel, proving to be a very capable driver, and Kevin was also doing very well, but he was not as comfortable with this task as Frankie was. Neither boy should have any trouble passing his test when he took it in September, thus giving me two more drivers to split the taxi duties with. I did tell them they could do most of the driving when we went places as a family, providing I was with them at the time, and this would give them plenty of practical experience before their test. They seemed pleased with that announcement and my other drivers understood why I was going to let the beginners have this time to drive instead of them, since they still remembered how they wanted the extra experience before they took their road tests too.

I also had to change the time I was planning on going to the driving range with Jake, from Saturday morning to Thursday afternoon, after he got out of work. I had forgotten this was the weekend we were scheduled to go visit the Beckers' farm and didn't want to disappoint Little Ricky. He was very excited about our going there and had even called me Wednesday morning to see what time we'd be arriving. At first, I told him early Saturday morning, but he suggested we come Friday night instead, as he wanted the boys to be there so he could show them more about the farm. I finally agreed and told him we'd arrive on Friday and leave Sunday afternoon, and that seemed to satisfy him. I had originally planned to leave after church, but I figured I'd take everyone out to dinner first, to show them our appreciation for their hospitality, and Little Ricky was even happier to hear we wouldn't be leaving until mid-afternoon. It was obvious he had all kinds of plans for us.

Thursday afternoon I met Jake at the driving range and we each hit a couple of buckets of balls. Jake gave me some pointers, to polish up my swing and get rid of the bad habits I had acquired after such a lengthy time away from the sport, and I got progressively better the longer I practiced. By the end of the session, I was hitting my drives straight, although not as long as I would have liked, and I was also doing fairly well with my irons. He complimented me several times on how quickly I was regaining my form, and then we decided to stop and have a couple of beers on the way home.

Jake was easy to talk to and I enjoyed his company. He even asked me if I'd like to fill out his foursome a week from Saturday, since they were currently one short. He explained that if I agreed, he and I would team up against two of his co-worker friends, since their usual fourth partner had other plans that day. I told him hitting a few balls was one thing, but I didn't know if I was quite ready to actually play a round of golf again. Jake suggested that next Wednesday we'd hit the putting green and Thursday we could hit a couple more buckets of balls, and then I'd be ready for Saturday morning. I told him as long as he and his friends didn't mind my rustiness, I'd be happy to join them, so the outing was confirmed.

The boys had dinner ready by the time I got home, and they peppered me continuously during the meal with questions about how I had done. For some strange reason they seemed pleased that Jake and I had stopped for a drink after we finished at the driving range, and they seemed even more thrilled to hear about our plans for the following week.

At this point I still didn't know that some of them had suggested this idea to Jake in the first place, since I thought only Shannon had been involved in trying to set this up between his dad and I. However, I was to discover later that Jake had no idea his son had made similar suggestions to me, but that's when we started to figure this whole little conspiracy out, but Jake and I will get into that in more detail later.

That evening, the boys even offered to clean my clubs and polish my old golf shoes for me by next Friday, so I'd at least look good when I went out Saturday morning, even if I didn't play very well. I thanked them for their generous offer and graciously accepted, thinking their hearts were in the right place. Little did I know how instrumental they had been in arranging all of this in the first place!

Chapter 31
Old Man Becker Had a Farm

Friday afternoon, we loaded the van with the things we would need to take with us, as we prepared to go out to the farm. I had each boy take a sleeping bag with them, as we knew the Beckers wouldn't have beds for all of us. The boys didn't mind the idea of camping out on the floor, since they often slept on the floor in sleeping bags when we had sleepover parties, but I do think some of the younger ones were excited by the idea of doing this somewhere other than our home.

We had asked Mark to join us on this outing too, but he quickly informed me he already had a date for this weekend. I guess he had hooked up with one of the female tellers at the bank where he was working with his mentor, and they planned to go out to dinner and a movie. He had asked me if he could use the Grand Am while we were gone and I agreed. He had been using it off and on since he'd arrived and I wasn't worried about him doing so again, but he was very considerate about this and always asked first. Not only that, but when he was done with it, he always filled the gas tank up before he returned it, even if it had not been full when he borrowed it.

Although I wanted to spend more time with him while he was here and thought this would be a good opportunity to do so, I was glad he had made a new friend. Anyway, he would be joining us when we went on a couple of our weekend trips, which were planned primarily for his benefit. These outings were designed to allow him to see some of the great sights this part of the country had to offer, since we weren't sure when he might come back this way again.

As far as the rest of the boys were concerned, I was surprised at how excited they all seemed to be about going out to the farm, since I didn't think such an activity would be as alluring to those not raised on one. Possibly, this was due to the fact that some of the boys had friends who'd lived on farms and had heard stories about them, but then again their enthusiasm may have been for reasons I was unfamiliar with. Regardless, I was glad they weren't balking at spending the weekend in the boondocks.

Once we'd started out, the boys thought we would get there in a matter of minutes and were surprised by how long the drive was. That may have been partially due to the fact that much of the trip had to be made over narrow, country roads where you had to drive much slower than on the highways. Fortunately, the boys didn't make a big fuss about it and kept themselves occupied by checking out the scenery and commenting about places and things we passed along the way.

We arrived at the Beckers' homestead just before mid-afternoon and Little Ricky came charging out to greet us. Once he had welcomed each of us individually and given us hugs, he offered to show the boys where to put their things. He also informed them that he planned to take them out to the barn and show them around, just as soon as they were ready. He wanted them to see how he helped to milk their cows, something they did twice a day by hand, and my sons seemed excited about witnessing it.

Enthusiastically, the boys followed him out to the barn, like a string of ducklings waddling behind their mother. After they got there and Little Ricky demonstrated what he did, he then offered to let any of them brave enough to try it for themselves. When some of the boys volunteered to give it a shot, Little Ricky carefully instructed them how to clean the udder first, then grab a hold of the teat and gently pull and squeeze it at the same time. This action caused the milk to spurt out of the cow's udder and into the bucket, until it had all been collected.

After everyone who wanted to try had a turn, Little Ricky explained that some of the neighbors' farms used milking machines to do this job and suggested he might be able to take them to one of those places tomorrow, so they could see the difference. The boys agreed it was a good idea and encouraged him to see if he could set something up.

After they finished milking the cows, the boys brought the milk into the house, where Mrs. Becker ran it through their small pasteurizing machine, in order to kill the bacteria. Since they only produced enough milk for their own use, they didn't have to worry about strictly following FDA regulations. While that was going on, Little Ricky asked if he could take the boys for a walk and show them around the farm and the Beckers and I agreed it would be fine. However, Mrs. Becker did remind them they only had about two hours before dinner and informed them she didn't want them to be late, if they expected to eat. Remembering what a good cook she was, they all agreed they'd be back on time, before they set off.

Little Ricky took them out through the fields, but not before telling them they should watch where they stepped, as these were the pastures where the cows grazed during the day. The boys quickly understood what he meant by this, after noticing and smelling some of the cow-patties that were scattered about. Carefully, they made their way across the pasture, while trying to notice everything as they went and without stepping in any fertilizer in the process.

When they got to the other end of the huge expanse, they climbed through the barbed-wire fence to get to the open area beyond. They helped each other by grasping the wire between the barbs and pulling it far enough apart so everyone could get through and no one would get cut. Once they were safely on the other side, Little Ricky led them again and seemed to have a particular destination in mind. When they reached the crest of a small hill, Little Ricky pointed out a cluster of trees and informed them there was a small pond in the middle of that wooded area. He told them he happened to discover it one day while he was out exploring, before quickly adding that he often went swimming there. Excited by the prospect, they surged forward, so they could check the area out. My boys were quite impressed with how clean and refreshing the water looked, but their inspection was interrupted, when Little Ricky spoke to them.

"Would you guys like to go for a swim?" he asked, while looking hopeful. My boys looked at each other, not knowing how Little Ricky might respond to their casual way of dealing with their current predicament, until my Ricky took matters into his own hands.

"We don't have our swimming trunks," he told his little friend, "so what did you have in mind?" A twinkle appeared in Little Ricky's eye. He figured they were going to ask him this, so he had his response prepared for them.

"I usually just take all my clothes off and go in," he admitted, nonchalantly. "You guys can too, unless you're too chicken to do it." My boys just looked at each other and started laughing, which caused Little Ricky to wonder what was so humorous.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, while suspecting they might be making fun of him.

"We go skinny-dipping in our pool all the time," Sammy told him, "and we go around the house naked a lot too. We're not afraid to take our clothes off in front of other people."

"Yeah," Ricky added, "we just weren't sure how you'd react to it, that's all. We didn't want you to be uncomfortable if we suggested it or be shy about being naked in front of us."

"I don't mind. I got used to it at the group home," he replied. "We had to go naked in the showers with each other all the time. I don't care if you see me without my clothes on. We're all boys, aren't we? We've all got the same things, so it's no big deal."

"I don't know about that," Nicky added with a laugh, "since some of these guys have pretty big deals." After making his comment, he pointed toward Dion and Danny, and all the other boys knew what he was referring to. My boys were nodding and chuckling about this, but Little Ricky looked very puzzled.

Eventually Big Ricky explained, "You'll see what he means after we're all undressed."

"I can't wait then," Little Ricky added, in between giggles.

The boys quickly stripped out of their clothes and then jumped into the water, but not before Little Ricky had checked each of them out and got an eyeful of what they had to offer. Little Ricky pulled Big Ricky aside after that, to ask him a question.

"Why do some of the boys' things look so funny? I mean, I've seen other boys who had peters that looked like that, but I never knew why. I just thought it was like they were born with a deformed arm or a club-foot or something." Ricky didn't immediately catch on to what his friend meant at first, until Little Ricky pointed out the boys he was referring to. At that point, Big Ricky suddenly understood.

"It's just that they weren't circumcised like we were," he informed him, "but that's what yours looked like when you were born. Your parents had the doctor cut the extra skin off when you were a baby, so it would look like it does now."

"Ouch! That must have hurt," Little Ricky shot back, while both of his hands instinctively shot in front of his crotch, as if he was trying to protect his genitals from harm.

"It probably did a little, but you wouldn't remember that now," Big Ricky explained.

"I think it looks better with the extra skin cut off though," Little Ricky told him. "Don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I do, but they're really not that different," Big Ricky continued. "The boys who weren't cut can pull the skin back to expose the head, and then their dicks look pretty much the same as ours."

"Really? I want to see that," Little Ricky squealed, excited by the prospect of witnessing it for himself.

Ricky thought for a minute and then called Graham to join them. Slowly, Graham walked over to where the other two stood and Ricky explained what he wanted Graham to do. "Graham, Little Ricky's never seen an uncut dick before and he'd like to see how it looks when you pull the skin back. Would you mind showing him?" Graham shrugged, reached down and slid his foreskin back, exposing his shiny glans. Little Ricky's mouth dropped open and he squealed again, but this time in surprise.

"That's neat," he gushed. "Will you do it again?" Graham smiled at him, before sliding the skin back to its natural place and then withdrew it again. Little Ricky was enthralled by the change. "It's almost like magic, isn't it?" he shrieked.

"Not quite, but it does change how his dick looks," his idol told him.

Seeing how intrigued Little Ricky was by this, Graham decided to do something for him. "You can try it with me too, if you want?" Graham informed him. "I don't mind."

"You mean you'd let me touch your peter?" Little Ricky asked, surprised that Graham would make him such an offer.

"If you want, I don't care," Graham confirmed. "Some of the other boys have done the same thing at different times, to see how it works."

"Really?" He looked over at Ricky as he said this. "Have you ever done that?"

"Yeah, I've played with Graham's dick before. He really doesn't mind," Big Ricky informed him. "You can do it too, if you want. I think the rest of us have done it at least once with one of the uncut boys."

"If you're both sure it's okay," he told them, excited about the prospect, yet scared about getting in trouble for doing it. "Don't you think we should go someplace where the other boys can't see what we're doing?"

"Nah, they won't care either," Ricky told him. "We do a lot of things with each other, as long as everyone doing it agrees it's okay."

"You mean like we did?" Little Ricky asked quickly, but then he began to blush when he realized he had exposed their secret in front of someone else. Big Ricky looked at him in a reassuring manner and smiled.

"Yeah, like we did," he agreed. "We all kind of help each other out like that from time to time."

"When did you guys do something together?" Graham wanted to know, having picked up on the slip-of-the-tongue. Little Ricky blushed again, knowing he had let the cat out of the bag, but after hearing what Ricky had said, it didn't bother him as much as it would have before he learned what the boys do together.

"When you had my birthday party at your house," he told Graham. "We went up to Ricky's bedroom for a while and did some things together."

"Well, you can play with mine too. It's really okay," Graham told him again, so Little Ricky reached out and starting drawing Graham's foreskin back and forth, getting a thrill as he watched the bulbous head pop in and out of sight. Unfortunately for him, this activity caused Graham to get hard and made it difficult for him to keep sliding the foreskin back and forth so easily, which made Little Ricky stop what he was doing. When this happened, Graham encouraged him to continue, since it felt so good. "Don't stop now," Graham urged him, "keep going until I shoot."

Little Ricky knew what this meant, as he remembered his encounter with Big Ricky, so he moved off to the side and continued to pump on Graham's erection. Graham was breathing heavier now, enjoying the feel of Little Ricky's tiny hand wrapped around his shaft, and slowly he felt his body begin to tingle. He started to thrust his hips to meet Little Ricky's hand movements, and soon his penis erupted, spewing his thin strands of cum all over the ground. When this began to happen, the boys in the pond began to applaud, which caused Little Ricky to become instantly embarrassed.

"They saw what we were doing," he told Ricky, like it was going to be a problem.

"So, it's no big deal," Big Ricky assured him.

"But they'll tell Mom and Dad, and then I'll be in big trouble," he announced.

"No, they won't," his idol told him. "They were just teasing you by clapping. They really don't care. We've all done things like that with each other before."

"Really, and Uncle Pop doesn't mind?" Little Ricky asked, dumbfounded.

"Nah, not as long as both guys agree to it," he was told. "He doesn't want anyone forced into doing sex things, but he doesn't mind if they want to do it."

"Well, Graham said I could do it," Little Ricky offered in his own defense.

"I know and no one will know about this except for those of us here," Big Ricky confirmed. "Don't worry about it. Nothing will be said about it, once we leave here."

This seemed to placate Little Ricky and soon the three of them joined the others in the pond. Dion quickly swam over to them and spoke to Little Ricky. "You know, you can do that for me too, if you want."

Little Ricky looked confused. "Do what?" he asked him.

"What you did for Graham," Dion explained. "You can play with mine too, and you might have fun with it, seeing it's so much bigger." Little Ricky blushed, and then tried to look through the water to see Dion's monster again.

"Well, I guess I could, if you wanted me to," he replied, shyly.

"Yeah, it sounds like fun," Dion responded, and the two boys swam over to the far end of the pond and sprawled out along the edge of the bank. With a little encouragement from Dion, Little Ricky reached over and began to fondle his cock. He looked on in awe as it began to stir to life, having never seen one that long before.

"Wow, it's huge," Little Ricky squealed, as Dion's penis began to stiffen and expand to its full dimensions. Dion just leaned back and grinned, reveling in the small compliment.

Once it was fully inflated, Little Ricky placed his small hand around Dion's firm pole and began to stroke it up and down, so Dion leaned back and closed his eyes, focusing on the pleasurable sensations he was receiving from his little friend. Little Ricky didn't realize he could do this slowly and jerked on Dion's meat like a man on a mission. His hasty actions soon brought his well-endowed partner to the brink and it wasn't very long before Dion began to moan and his body began to stiffen. Little Ricky felt the penis get even harder in his palm and then Dion arched his back, groaned and ribbons of cum spewed from the tiny slit at the end.

The first stream shot to Dion's left shoulder and trailed back toward his navel, and the second strand hit him mid-chest and tapered back to about the same place as the first. Then there were smaller spurts, which pooled between his navel and his pubes, forming a small puddle of jizz there. Little Ricky just kept on pumping, even after the last of the semen had oozed from Dion's dick, so Dion was forced to reach out and stop his young friend's efforts, before the skin on his penis became completely raw. Little Ricky just smiled at him, as Dion grasped his wrist.

"That was fun. I've never touched one that big before," he gushed. "Did I do okay?"

"You did great, and you can do it again, anytime you want," Dion agreed.

"Really, you'd let me do it to you again?" Little Ricky asked, not believing his ears.

"Sure, you were great, and I think you could probably do it with any of my brothers too," Dion informed him. "We all like to get off, especially when the person doing it is as good at it as you are."

Little Ricky just beamed, due to the compliment, but then suggested they had better start back for dinner. Dion said he wanted to clean off in the pond first, so the two of them jumped in and swam back to where the others were still horsing around. After they informed the other boys about the need to head back soon, everyone got out of the pond, grabbed their clothing and went through the trees to the field beyond, where they could lay in the sunshine and let the warm rays of the sun help dry them off. When most of the water had either rolled off of their bodies or evaporated from the heat, they dressed and headed back to the house.

They were a bit late when they got there, but no one was particularly upset; so they quickly sat down to eat. As the boys gobbled down the delicious meal Mrs. Becker had prepared for them, the Beckers asked what they thought of the farm so far. The boys told them what a good time they were having here and looked forward to what they'd be able to do tomorrow. The Beckers seemed pleased by their response, so we continued eating.

The meal was fantastic! Mrs. Becker had prepared a huge pot roast with tons of potatoes and carrots, and we each had a small salad and some homemade bread to go with it. All the vegetables came from their garden and Mrs. Becker had made the bread from scratch. She was a truly remarkable lady and a first-rate cook.

After dinner Little Ricky took the boys out to the barn, where they climbed up into the loft and jumped into a loose pile of hay that Mr. Becker had put there primarily for Little Ricky to use to amuse himself when he was alone. The Beckers were just getting ready to do their first cut of hay for the summer, so there wasn't much in the mow besides the pile of loose hay that had been left there intentionally. Even the older boys were getting a thrill diving into the prickly grasses, as it was almost the same rush you get in a free fall or a bungee jump, just not as far.

The boys continued this and a few other activities until dark, and then they came into the house where the adults were. The Beckers didn't let them stay there for very long, however, as they had other experiences in store for them to try. Mr. Becker asked the boys to join him outdoors, which they did quite readily, and then he had them help stack wood for a bonfire in the wide part of the driveway, where he usually turned the tractors and other equipment around. Once there was a sufficient quantity of wood for a good blaze, Mr. Becker got the fire started. Soon, there was a decent size bonfire, which lit up the immediate area, and Mrs. Becker came out of the house lugging a couple of bags full of supplies.

Over the next hour or so, we roasted marshmallows and made Smores, as Mr. Becker told them what it was like to live on the farm. As they devoured their snacks, he explained that tomorrow they were going to get a chance to experience more of the types of things Little Ricky did on the farm, because he wanted them to get a good idea what it was like for them. They boys seemed fairly excited about the prospect, although they also understood it meant work, but they wanted to give it a try and see what a farmer's life was really like.

We had a wonderful time that first day, but their biggest shock was yet to come. Brent asked what time they'd be getting up in the morning, and this caused all the Beckers to stifle chuckles. Eventually, Mrs. Becker then informed him they'd all get up when the alarm clock went off, but the boys didn't understand why they thought that was so funny, since most of us got up with an alarm clock at home. However, I guessed we'd all find out later why they felt this idea was so humorous.

We sat around and talked about things for a while longer, and then the Beckers advised us it was time to get some sleep. They apologized for not having the same accommodations for us that we had had for them, but no one was fazed by this fact. The boys told them they had brought their sleeping bags and had planned to use them before they even got there, so it was no big deal. Eventually, it was decided they would spread them out in their living room to sleep, including Little Ricky, and I was given the use of Little Ricky's bed for the evening. After we all said good night, we went to our sleeping areas to turn in. I knew the boys would probably talk for a while, as this was very early for them, especially during the summer, but I nodded off almost immediately. I guess the fresh country air had that kind of effect on me.

Chapter 32
Rock-O and Hard Work

A little before six o'clock the next morning, we discovered what the Beckers had found so funny when they told us we'd get up when the alarm clock went off. Rock-O, their rooster, started crowing as the sun began to creep over the horizon and light up the countryside, and he continued for about the next twenty or thirty minutes. Most of the boys didn't want to get up right away, but found it impossible to sleep through his energetic sunrise serenade.

As they began moving about and getting dressed, Frankie made a comment that "if that bird were his, it would have been an ingredient in a pot of chicken fricassee by now." The other boys chimed in their agreement, before Little Ricky dragged them out the front door.

"Aren't we going to at least eat first?" Dustin inquired, as he became aware of the emptiness in his belly.

"No, we do the chores first and then we come in to eat," Little Ricky informed him.

The boys all groaned in response, but did as instructed and followed Little Ricky outside. He led them to the chicken coop first, where he directed them over to a barrel and lifted the cover. "We have to feed the chickens first, to keep them busy so we can do the rest of our job here," he announced. "Everyone grab a handful of chicken feed and come outside with me, and I'll show you what to do."

The boys did what he told them and followed him out to the penned in portion of the chicken yard, which was in back of the chicken coop, where he demonstrated what to do next. "Toss their food around like this, so it's spread out over the ground. Don't drop it all in one spot, because then not all of the chickens will be able to eat at the same time. Besides, it's better if they have to look a round to find it, because it gives us more time to do our next job."

Even though the boys didn't understand what he meant by that remark, they watched as he scattered his handful of chicken feed about, to keep the chickens busy. Once they had each done the same, Little Ricky went back into the coop, picked up a basket and showed the boys how to find the eggs. Soon every boy was checking through the hay on the various ledges looking for eggs and putting whatever they found in the basket Little Ricky was holding.

"This is a funny looking egg," Andrew announced, while holding up a shiny egg-shaped object. "That's one of the ceramic eggs," Little Ricky told him. "Dad keeps them there so the chickens understand where they are supposed to lay their eggs. Plus, they don't get as upset if they still see a couple of those laying around after we collect the real ones."

The boys took Little Ricky's explanation at face value and then followed him back to the house, where they presented the items to Mrs. Becker. She took the basket from her son, before handing him a bucket of scraps, which had been collected after the previous day's meals. Little Ricky took that bucket and hurried back outside, telling my boys to follow him. He led them out to the pigpen, where he dumped the bucket of scraps into the troth for the hogs. He did add some regular hog food to it, plus some fruit and vegetables that had started to go bad, since what Mrs. Becker gave them wasn't enough to satisfy the number of animals they had to feed.

Once they finished that chore, they helped to bring the four cows in from the pasture and milk them again, before turning them back out to graze until later. When they had finished that task, they brought the milk into the house and were told to clean up before they took a seat at the table, as breakfast was almost ready. The boys were certainly happy to hear this news, but didn't have enough energy left to race off and perform this simple task, so it was quite a few minutes later before the last of them returned to the dining area to eat.

We had another huge country breakfast prepared for us, which was meant to sustain each of us through the hard work ahead. Once everyone had finished his meal, Little Ricky led the entire crew out to the barn, where he got the boys started on the next set of chores.

First they had to clean out the stalls and other parts of the barn, which meant they had to shovel out the manure, sweep off the cement floor, wipe down the stanchions and clean out the storage areas. When they finished all of that, Little Ricky went out and brought in their horses, which they would have to brush down and feed next. When they were done with the horses, they went to find Mr. Becker, who was just about ready to set off to one of their fields, where he would mow the hay.

He told the boys we would all go out together and then showed me how to operate one of his tractors, so I could follow him out to where we'd be working next. I felt a bit out of place behind the wheel of this large hunk of machinery, but followed behind Mr. Becker as he drove another tractor, with which he pulled a rather large wagon, where the boys rode. He prepared it for them by putting some loose hay on it first, to make it more comfortable and let the boys get a feel for what a hayride might be like. They seemed intrigued by this simple pleasure and seemed to enjoy it.

After we finally reached the field we'd be working in, Mr. Becker took over the tractor I was driving, as it had the mower attachment hooked to it. After explaining what he was going to do and demonstrating how it should be done, he let each of the boys drive that tractor and cut some of the hay. He let my drivers do it with him standing beside them, on the side opposite the mower, while he had the little ones seated on his lap, when it was their turn to try. The boys all thought driving the tractor was pretty neat, especially the younger boys, who hadn't driven anything before.

Once we finished mowing the field, we drove back to the barn and Mr. Becker announced to the boys they could do whatever they wanted for the rest of the afternoon, while he and I ran in to the feed store to pick up a few items. The boys looked excited when he told them this and I found out later why. They had decided to go back out to the pond again, so they could go skinny-dipping once more.

This time, however, no sexual activity took place while they were out there, but the boys did play a little grab-ass in the pond, took the opportunity to dunk or submarine each other from below, which was sort of like getting pulled under during a shark attack. They had between three and four hours to do this today, so they eagerly raised hell for most of that time and really enjoyed the freedom of swimming nude in a secluded, cool pond.

As it neared time to head back in again, they got out of the water, went out to the field and lounged around, drying in the sun. When most of the water had disappeared from their bodies, they put their clothes on and walked back to the house, so they could do the remaining chores before dinner. When they came back into the house, Mr. Becker told them he had a surprise for them and then I had them all load into the van. He gave me directions to get to another farm and there the boys got to see about sixty cows being milked with milking machines. They were even shown how to use the equipment and allowed to hook one of the cows up to this mechanical device, before they were given a brief tour of this considerably larger facility. They were really impressed by the differences, and how much more there was to do there, but they were happy to head back to the Beckers' place before long.

When we got back, they helped Ricky milk his cows for the final time that day, and then they went into the house to clean up for dinner. I had already spent much of the day trying to convince Mrs. Becker to let me take everyone out to dinner tonight, but she wouldn't hear of it. She did allow me to give her a hand in the kitchen though, and I helped her prepare the fried chicken, homemade biscuits, oven fried potatoes and fresh peas we were going to have later. I helped her do nearly everything, including shelling the peas before she steamed them, but I did save a few to show the boys when they came back in, so they'd know what I'd had to do.

I was surprised to learn that not all of my boys realized peas had to be removed from pods before they were eaten, at least for most people, and they just thought they came that way in cans or in the bags from the frozen section of the grocery store. Therefore, this was an educational experience as well.

With our dinner, we all drank glasses of fresh, cold milk, from last night's and this morning's milking, and the boys discovered this was quite different tasting from the skim milk we were all used to drinking. Of course the food was fantastic as well, and there was plenty of it, and when everything else had been devoured, Mrs. Becker brought out homemade apple and cherry pies for dessert. We were all stuffed when we walked away from the table, each guessing we'd probably gained 30 to 40 pounds [15-18 kg] in the process. If we lived here, as Ricky did, we'd probably all be fat slobs in no time, except I'm certain we'd also work some of those calories off during the course of the day. One thing we all agreed on was that Mrs. Becker was one fantastic cook.

After we sat around for a while, to give our food a chance to digest, Mr. Becker announced he had something else planned for us to do. Wondering what it might be, we watched intently as he went out back and then carried in a tall wooden cylinder, with a metal container inside of it. It was an old hand-cranked ice cream maker, not one of the newer versions with an electric motor, but the older variety – where you supplied the power. It was almost identical to the one I had used when staying with my grandparents when I was a boy. After Mr. Becker explained to us how it had been passed down through three generations of Beckers, he instructed the boys as to how it worked and explained they would have to do the cranking, if they wanted to share the treat that came from it.

Mrs. Becker had whipped up the ice cream mix earlier in the day and kept it in the refrigerator, so now she poured some of it into the metal container to start the first batch. Once it was in the tube, Mr. Becker sealed the container up, packed the area around it with ice, and then sprinkled the ice with salt, to help make it colder. After he got the cranking started, he gave each boy an opportunity to turn the handle for a while, in order to mix the contents and transform it into the final product we would consume.

The boys were amazed at how hard it was to crank that contraption and how their arm muscles burned after just a couple of minutes or less of work. However, no one was willing to give up until his turn was completed, because none of them wanted anyone making fun of them for not having been able to do as much as their brothers. The smaller boys were only required do it for about two-thirds of the time the other boys did, but that was more than enough to satisfy their curiosity.

After we finished this endeavor, the boys all agreed it was well worth the effort, once they got to sample what they had helped to produce. The ice cream they now ate was unlike any other ice cream they had ever eaten. It had a vanilla flavor, but somehow it was sweeter and had a slightly different texture than they were accustomed to. It was a marvelous and unique experience for all of them and they were glad to pack away as much of it as they were allowed. We ended up making several batches, to make certain everyone had enough to satisfy themselves, but we only got a small portion each time, so no one would be left out during any of the batches. Finally, everyone agreed they'd had enough, both in ice cream and cranking the ice cream maker, so we helped clean everything up and put it away.

Once we'd finished that activity, we sat and watched television with the Beckers for a short time and enjoyed a movie. The Beckers had a satellite dish they used to get programs they wouldn't otherwise be able to see, and had selected this particular movie for us from one of their premium channels. When the feature ended, Mr. Becker suggested it was time for us all to get some sleep, since we had another full day ahead of us tomorrow. We didn't have to force anyone to go to bed tonight, because they were all pretty tired from the day's activities.

Before we went to bed, however, we discussed how we were going to all get ready to attend church with the Beckers, once we finished the morning chores. We certainly didn't want anyone smelling like they just came from the barn as we sat in the service, but because the Beckers had a limited hot water supply; we each would have only a few minutes to clean up. I urged the boys to double up and take fairly quick showers, to conserve hot water as much as possible, but Little Ricky came up with a much better alternative plan. He suggested he and the boys could go out to the pond and clean up, as all they would need were a couple of bars of ivory soap (because it floats) and towels to dry off and wrap around themselves when they came back in. We thought that was an excellent idea and told them that would work fine, but the boys also decided to take a couple of plastic garbage bags with them, so they could toss their clothes into them after they'd undressed.

I was a little surprised the Beckers were so agreeable to their son's suggestion, as they understood the boys would all be naked and bathing together in the pond. However, after thinking about it and realizing things like this must have also occurred in their past on various farms, they figured they were all boys and possessed the same type of equipment, so there would be no harm in such an innocent activity.

Once the boys went to bed, the house quickly quieted down. I checked in on them later, when I got up to use the toilet, and discovered they were all sound asleep. I did notice Little Ricky was cuddled up between Graham and Andrew, which surprised me; since I thought he'd have been hunkered down next to his idol and namesake. My guess was he had come to enjoy the company of boys closer to his own age and chose to pursue that over his hero worship.

Rock-O began his acknowledgment of dawn just before six again and carried on for a good twenty minutes before he stopped. The boys were less derogatory about his effort this morning, and even commented it wasn't a bad way to get awakened. Now that they were up, I sent them out to help with the chores, so they followed Little Ricky outside and assisted him feeding the chickens, collecting the eggs, slopping the hogs and milking the cows. After that, they quickly cleaned out the barn and then happily raced off toward the pond, to take a morning dip and clean up.

After throwing their smelly clothes into the trash bags, until they could be taken out and washed at home, the boys made their way to the pond's edge. Even though the water was still a little cooler than they'd have normally liked, they washed up and enjoyed a brief swim in the process. After they finished, they dried off and put their footwear back on, before walking toward the farmhouse with the towels draped over their shoulders. Each of them walked naked most of the way back and only wrapped the towels around their waists once they were in sight of the farmhouse.

After coming inside, they dressed and then joined the Beckers and I for another big country breakfast. After we finished eating, we quickly cleaned up the kitchen and then followed the Beckers to their church, as they rode in their truck and led the way. The church was a very small country church and we increased their attendance by about twenty percent or more once my family entered and was seated. It was a very basic church building, with maybe ten wooden pews on each side of the aisle, a small altar area with a pulpit, and three stained windows on each side. It was very quaint, but served its purpose.

We sat through a fairly enjoyable service and the minister acknowledged our presence to the congregation, which made us feel very comfortable there. I made sure to put in a very generous contribution in the offering, which probably doubled their normal take, so I figured we'd be welcomed there again, whenever we came out to visit the Beckers.

After the service, the Beckers introduced us to much of the congregation, beginning with the pastor and then their friends and neighbors, some of whom I had spoken to on the phone. We were primarily known as the family that helped the Beckers adopt Little Ricky, but we didn't mind playing that role. These were very honest and hard-working folks, friendly and very direct, and we got along very well with them, while making some new friends along the way. Who knows, we might have just encouraged another couple to adopt some other poor unfortunate child, which would provide Little Ricky a playmate nearby.

After making our way around the crowd, if you could call it that, the Beckers joined us in the van, so they could give us a guided tour of the area. They pointed out various farms and explained which of the people we had just met belonged to which homestead. After that, they directed me to a fairly large park, which contained hiking trails and a small lake. We spent the next couple of hours just wandering around the park, enjoying the lovely day and all that nature had to offer. When we got back to the van, I asked them to direct me to a good restaurant close by, which they did, but only after some intense discussion. They didn't really want me to pay for this, but finally gave in to my friendly persuasion.

It wasn't a very large establishment and far from the route we would use to drive home, but it did serve very good meals and we all enjoyed our time together. Once the meal was over, we took the Beckers back to their church, so they could pick up their truck. That is why they drove that far on their own, in order to save us from having to drive back to their farm before heading home. It just so happened the church was part way between their farm and the road leading back to our place, so it worked out well.

After saying farewell to each of them and thanking them for the valuable experience, the boys and I made sure to let them know they were invited to our Fourth of July cookout. This year it fell on a Wednesday and was a few days before they were scheduled to leave for Disney World. After confirming that they would love to join us, they explained they sadly had to refuse. They wouldn't have anyone to cover the chores and certain things needed to get done, even on weekends and holidays.

I suggested they could leave after the morning chores were finished and I'd be happy to pay a hired man to do the rest for them. That way, they could spend the day with us, and then still be able to return in time to do the evening milking, so the hired man wouldn't have to do it all. After considering my offer and talking it over privately with each other, they finally agreed to my plan. That would leave them a few hours to spend with us, eat and participate in what other activities we might decide to do. In addition to the Fourth, we were also going to see them the following Friday, when we picked them up to take them to Philadelphia to catch their plane to Orlando.

The drive back went fairly quickly and the boys were glad to be back home. Although they did admit they had enjoyed their weekend visit to the farm, they also confessed how shocked they were by the amount of work a farmer has to do, going almost nonstop from dawn until dusk. Now, they understood why Mr. Becker was so hesitant about leaving his farm for very long, because the work would pile up very quickly and cows don't do well if they're not milked regularly.

For some of the boys, this was their first experience with country life, as they had grown up in a city or smaller community setting, be it a village or town center, so it had been an eye-opener to a whole new way of life. This also made them appreciate what their ancestors would have had to go through, although it would have been much harder for them, since nearly everything would have had to been done by hand. I think the boys were thankful they didn't live on a farm and weren't required those jobs every day, because they thought it would become old really fast, but it wasn't bad for a short period of time.

All in all, it was worth the drive and the effort, but it was also nice to see how Little Ricky was doing and that he seemed to really like that sort of life. I would never have guessed he would have been so suited to living on a farm and eager for its rigors, but he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely while we were there. I'm sure some of his current happiness and contentment stemmed from the fact he was the center of attention in that household and deeply loved, and I was fairly certain that wouldn't change in the future, even if the Beckers did decide to adopt another child.

Chapter 33
For All of the Special People in My Life

Wednesday, I met Jake at the putting green and we practiced for nearly two hours. He reminded me of all the little nuances of that fine art that I'd forgotten, like how to read the greens, judge the speed of the putting surfaces and use the proper stroke and alignment. By the end of our time there, I had improved greatly from my earliest attempts. I wasn't necessarily at pro-tour ability, but I could two-putt from nearly anywhere now and that in itself was a big accomplishment, at least in my opinion. On the way home, we stopped and had a couple of beers, while we discussed my progress and debated about what we would try to accomplish at the driving range the next day.

The boys had a great many questions for me when I got home, as they seemed to want to know everything we did, including where we went afterward. I thought it was a bit strange that my sons were so interested in what I was up to, but I was a bit flattered by their attention too. I thought it was quite nice they cared enough to not only inquire, but also seemed excited by what I told them. It actually made me feel terrific.

Later, they told me they had also talked to Shannon and he had told them Jake was really enjoying these outings together too and seemed to be in a better mood because of it. What I didn't know was that Shannon was giving his father much the same information about me, supposedly facts he had acquired from my sons. The boys seemed to be taking their matchmaking roles quite seriously, and Jake and I were totally in the dark about what they were really up to.

Thursday afternoon, Jake and I met at the driving range again and each hit a couple of buckets of balls. I hit one bucket using my woods (the one, three and five woods), working on my distance and trying to hit my shots straight down the middle. The other bucket I used to practice my irons, working on distance with the lower irons (the one, three and five) and accuracy and distance with the upper irons (the seven and nine irons, as well as my wedges). Once again, I wasn't performing at competition caliber, but I had improved enough to feel comfortable about going out and playing eighteen holes with Jake and his co-workers on Saturday.

This time, when we stopped for a couple of beers on the way home, Jake used the opportunity to tell me about the guys we'd be playing against. He filled me in about some of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as telling me what they'd do to get into my head if the round was close. It seemed as if this pair was very competitive and didn't like to lose, so they often did things to distract their opponents and give themselves the advantage. I thanked Jake for the information and told him I'd been worked over by tougher guys than that when I was really into the sport, and this caused him to laugh and assure me I'd do just fine then.

Once again, the boys quizzed me when I got home, repeating many of the same type of questions as before, and I told them much the same information as I had then. Later, they relayed more information from Shannon, about his dad's take on the day, but once again I didn't quite catch on to their intentions for this grilling and insider information. I guess it just never dawned on me that they were actually trying to fix me up with Jake. Why should it? I mean, how many children actually try to set their fathers up on dates? Well, I guess not many of them have to, but I was just naïve where this was concerned. Besides, how many try to fix their dads up with another guy?

Saturday morning, I was out of the house by six, anxious about our 7:00 a.m. tee time. I used the extra time to practice my putting and to loosen up before we began. The other three were there early as well. I guess they all take this pretty seriously. We teed-off right on time, and I was pleased with my first drive – straight down the middle of the fairway and not a bad distance either. The other two guys started ribbing Jake about bringing in a ringer, and he played right along with their accusation. I did have my moments of glory on the front nine, but there were other instances that I would have preferred to forget about completely, and we were down three strokes when we went into the clubhouse for a quick break. We used the restrooms and had a drink, before we went out to begin the back nine.

I played much better on this side, having worked out some of the kinks from my earlier game, and we started our comeback. We were doing really well until the seventeenth hole, when Jake sliced his tee shot into the woods and had to take a penalty stroke for it, while I ended up three-putting the green. We wound up losing the round by one stroke, with each of us trying to accept responsibility for blowing it, but it was fun and our opponents invited me to join them again the following weekend. Unfortunately, I had to explain I already had other plans for the following two weekends, and they told me we could set something up for another time then. I was pleased they wanted me back, because I didn't think I had played very well, but I did have a great time.

We went into the clubhouse and had a couple of drinks together, rehashing some of the highlights of the round, and then I headed home. As I pulled into the driveway, a couple of the boys came out to meet me and wanted to know why I was home so early. I thought this odd, but explained to them that we had played our eighteen holes and had a couple of drinks before we left. They told me I should have stayed longer and maybe even played another nine. When I told them eighteen was plenty for my first time out and I was a bit sore and tired from the exercise, they gave in and left it at that. I went inside and soaked in a hot bath for a while, in an effort to alleviate some of the soreness, stiffness and cramps out of my old muscles.

I wasn't able to stay in there long, however, as our local community was having its annual field days activities, and I had promised to take the younger boys to this traveling carnival after lunch. The festivities were complete with rides, games and other activities, which usually meant a fun time for all. We stayed there until dinnertime, which gave the boys plenty of time to ride the rides, play the games and eat their share of junk food before we left.

By the time we arrived home, the older boys were just about ready to go out on their dates. While we were gone, they had spent much of their day just kicking about the house, before preparing to go out. I only talked briefly with them before they hopped in the Suburban and took off. Seeing they were all going to the same place, Dustin had agreed to drive everyone around to pick up each of their dates, before heading to the field days. Everyone seemed satisfied, and the gay boys were also going with their partners, so everyone was happy.

Mark had a date too and asked if he could borrow the Grand Am again, which I told him would be fine. Even though he didn't say where he was headed, I suspected he probably wasn't planning on going to the same place as the others. He seemed to be getting quite attached to this young girl whom he worked with at the bank and I hoped neither of them would get hurt when it was time for him to go back to college in Arizona.

When the boys got to the carnival, they basically went their own way. Some had decided to do the rides first, enjoying the thrills of having their dinners mixed repeatedly from the spinning, whirling and up and down actions of the various rides, which would occasionally bring them to the point where they could almost experience the tastes of their meals once again.

Others decided to try their hands at the games first, to see if they could win some desired prize for their current significant other, which might help them get a step closer to reaching the next base in the mating game. Over the course of their time there, they shot baskets (but the hoops were much smaller than normal), knocked over bottles, shot at targets, pitched items in or around other objects or gambled on games of chance. Some were successful, while others failed miserably, but they all seemed to have a good time trying.

The final group took their partners for a treat first and enjoyed one of the many delicacies that could be obtained from one of the numerous carnival vendors. Some of them purchased candy or caramel apples, cotton candy or a snow cone, trying to win their loved ones' favors with something sweet. All in all, they each had their own ideas about how to get what they were after – and you can apply that toward whatever you're thinking about at this time.

As the evening wore on, Dion and his date disappeared for a while, finding their way to some dark and isolated location of the fringe of this gathering. There they started to make out and Dion began some major exploration of his own. He managed to get his hand up under her shirt, feeling up her breasts and playing with her erect little nipples, before he was able to work his way under her waistband and started fingering her hot hole. After several minutes of this activity, he had her all hot and agreeing to let him go further, and she helped him undo his pants and lower them, exposing his erect pole. That's when she suddenly got cold feet. Seeing Dion's monster standing tall and proud in front of her, she changed her mind, after concluding something that big couldn't go inside of her without causing a great deal of pain. I suppose something like that could cause a virgin or inexperienced person to fear it, but Dion tried his best to convince her he'd be careful, go slowly and be very gentle. His pleas fell on deaf ears, though, and his chance at glory had now ended.

After having this lengthy and heated discussion, they finally made themselves presentable again and went back to the lighted areas of the carnival. Dion was left feeling very horny, frustrated and confused, and his date was a bit more aloof for the rest of their time together. His disappointment was visibly showing by the time he got home, but he wouldn't discuss anything with any of the rest of us. It was Trey who finally made him feel better and got him to open up about what had happened there.

When they got back to their room, Trey began to show him some attention, stroking him and kissing various parts of his body, until Dion began to respond. Once Dion became horny again, he asked Trey if he could make love to him. Trey rapidly agreed, so Dion slipped on a condom, lubed up and drove his throbbing penis home, all in one smooth thrust. Being accustomed to having Dion inside of him, Trey felt no discomfort – in fact, quite the opposite. Knowing the young man he loved was firmly implanted in him sent Trey into overdrive and he used his ass muscles and extensive experience with his boyfriend to give him a pleasurable time. After Dion climaxed and had recovered, he kissed Trey passionately, before discussing what they had just done.

"How come you can take my rod so easily," Dion began, "but she got scared by it?"

"Maybe it's because I love you so much, am used to it and want it inside me," Trey responded. This caused Dion to grin and kiss him some more.

"I know you do and I love you too," he confirmed, "but I just need to find out what it's like with a girl," he cautioned. "I know you don't like that idea and will still be here for me regardless, but I have to learn for myself if it's better, worse or there's no difference."

"I know and I didn't just do this to make you want me again," Trey assured him. "I did it because I saw how you were hurting and knew how much you needed the release. I just wanted to make you feel better. That's all."

"I know and I appreciate it," Dion confirmed. "I'm sorry if I'm causing you any pain, but this is just something I still have to do."

Trey understood and had no regrets about what he had just done, but his kindness had also eliminated most of the frustration that had built up in Dion earlier. Now that the air was cleared, Dion confided in Trey about the details of what had happened on his date. Although he was secretly thrilled about Dion's rejection by the girl, Trey continued to play the understanding brother role and tried to console Dion by convincing him he'd do better with the next one. By this time, Dion had pulled out of his funk, while being thankful he had Trey there beside him. It was a masterful strategy, executed perfectly by Trey, and it helped to pull them a little closer to each other and give them a different type of bond than they'd had before.

Nothing much happened after that until the following Wednesday, which was the Fourth of July. We held our annual cookout and get together, but due to the fact of how the date fell this year, my older children didn't attend. However, everyone local did and the house was filled with people, including the Shays, Spences, Beckers, Curtises, Sally, Jake and Shannon. In addition to those guests, the boys, including Mark, had also invited their dates, while some of the younger boys had asked a few of their friends from school to join us.

Dion had invited a new girl to this outing, after the other girl had grown a bit distant and cold after their last encounter, and Dion's new love interest didn't do much for Trey's partying mood. He was a brave trooper though and put up a good front, not letting anyone else see how much he was actually hurting inside. I did question him a couple of times during the day, trying to see how he was doing, and he unequivocally let me know how he was still bothered by all of this, but would do his best to get through it. I felt deeply for him, but was proud about how he was handling it, and I tried to reassure him as much as I could. He thanked me and went out to hang around with some of the others, but I could tell he was watching Dion out of the corner of his eye the entire time and was extremely jealous that he was not the one with him.

Besides all the food and drinks we provided for this gathering, we also set up some activities to help entertain our guests. We held our own games, complete with prizes for the winners, and had a variety of activities geared to both the young and old. We had a sack race, a three-legged race and a wheelbarrow race, which were geared toward the younger crowd, but we also had a birdseed relay, an egg-toss and a pie-eating contest, which the older participants would also enjoy competing in. The birdseed relay was done in teams, with each group having a tablespoon and a container of birdseed at one end, and an empty cup at the other. The idea was to scoop up a spoonful of bird seed, hurry to the other end without spilling it all, and then dump it into the empty cup before returning to hand the spoon off to the next person in line. This wasn't so much about speed as it was about patience and steadiness, and we used birdseed so we could throw it around after we were done, in order to do something constructive with it and not litter the yard. It seemed to be quite a big hit with everyone.

After all of these activities were concluded, we ate and then sat down to play Bingo outdoors, which was a new experience for some of our younger guests. I take it that people tend to ignore these older and simpler games nowadays, seeing they have so many electronic and computer activities to keep them occupied, but it was nice to see everyone enjoying something from another, maybe gentler time.

After playing several games of Bingo with us, the Beckers excused themselves, telling us how they had to get home and take care of things on the farm, so we bid them farewell and thanked them for joining us. Shortly after they left, we started cooking again, because it was nearing dinnertime and everyone had worked up another healthy appetite. After eating for the second time, we did things individually or in small groups until dark, and then loaded up in several vehicles, to head for the nearby park. Our community had scheduled to set off both a ground and aerial fireworks show there and we were all anxious to see what they had in store for us.

It was quite a show, with many different types of displays to watch, combined with the noises and the shockwaves from the explosions. It got me reminiscing about my youth and reminded me of some of the Independence Day celebrations I had been part of as a boy. I guess, without planning it that way, we had enjoyed an old-fashioned Independence Day observance, one that could have taken place thirty, forty or even fifty years earlier.

As we were leaving, many of our older guests made comments that they'd also experienced feelings similar to mine, before telling me how much they had enjoyed the day and how it had caused them to relive so many memories of long forgotten times. Overall, I think it was a very wonderful day and something none of us would soon forget.

Before they left, I also made sure Jake and Shannon were going to join us the following weekend, when we took the Beckers to Philadelphia to catch their flight to Orlando. I told Josh and Shannon the rest of us were planning on spending the weekend sightseeing in Philadelphia, mostly for Mark's benefit. They readily accepted my offer, but Jake questioned how all of us could go in one vehicle. After discussing this further, we agreed that I'd drive the van and Jake would follow in the Suburban, splitting the passengers up between the two vehicles, so everyone would be more comfortable. It sounded like a great plan and everyone looked forward to it.

I don't know whether the boys were happier that Shannon was going or that Jake and I would be together again, but either way they seemed thrilled. We spent the rest of the week getting our things together and planning what we would do while we were there. It was also Ricky's birthday-weekend, so we'd have to make some special plans for that, as well.

Jake took Friday off from work, so we could leave earlier in the day, and he and Shannon also spent Thursday night at our place. That way, we were ready to leave as early as possible in the morning and pulled out from our place just after dawn. We were going to pick up the Beckers on the way and they would join us for our Friday and Saturday activities, and then we'd all stay at a motel near the airport, so we could see them off on their flight Sunday morning.

The Beckers were all excited and a bundle of nerves when we arrived, as they hadn't been on a vacation in ages and none of them had ever flown before. While they were fidgeting with last minute instructions to the workers who would be looking after their farm in their absence, the boys, Jake and I loaded their luggage in the rear of the Suburban and under the seats. Once they were ready, we got everyone situated and headed out for the big city.

We arrived in Philadelphia just after mid-morning and picked up Carlos, seeing he was going to be joining us. His mother had declined our invitation, since she had to work, but agreed to let Carlos stay with us until we returned home. Even though they lived in Philadelphia, they didn't have the money or opportunity to do the things I had planned, so I felt it would do him good to learn about the city he lived in as well.

After picking him up, we decided to stop for brunch, so we could start our sightseeing without having to worry about finding a place to eat again. We were all kind of anxious to see some of the historic places in the area and I had everything we were going to do planned out in my mind. The boys often tell me I'm very anal about such details, and they might be right. I'm not fond of flying by the seat of my pants, since that usually means we would waste valuable time debating what we were going to do, when we could actually be visiting some place.

Even though the boys and I had flown out of the Philadelphia airport a few times in the past, we had never taken the time to go into the city to see what was there. It was strange, but we had seen more of other locations around the country, than we had of those closest to where we actually lived.

We began our first day with a visit to the US mint. Even though they had tours seven days a week at this time of year, we wouldn't be able to see the actual production process on the weekend, so I determined Friday was the best day for us to come here. It was really a very interesting tour and Little Ricky was intrigued with seeing how money was made. He was at the front of the group for every stop we made along the way and always ready to ask questions whenever he didn't understand something. It was an audio-guided tour, so I was left to try to fill in the gaps for him, with substantial assistance from the other adults.

Our tour began with an explanation of how the original designs for coins were made, including the special state quarters that are currently coming into use. It all began with an artist's drawing of what the coin would look like and then the design was made into a clay sculpture, before it was turned into a plaster cast. After that, a rubber cast was made, followed by a hard epoxy cast. Once the epoxy cast was examined and approved, it was taken to a transfer-engraving machine to make a small metal copy or die, which would be used to make the individual coins. The process of making the die would take three days, but once the die was completed, it would be thoroughly examined for any flaws, before it was used to make the new coins. We even got to see several examples of these various early steps, including seeing various types of casts used for many of the different coins.

"Man, that's big money!" Little Ricky exclaimed, when examining the casts, which caused some of the older boys to chuckle.

"Think how big the vending machines would have to be to take those coins," Big Ricky joked back.

"Or your pockets," Carlos added, catching everyone else by surprised. He was usually the quiet one and didn't get involved in these types of conversations, but it was good to see him coming out of his shell.

Now, it was time to learn how the coins actually were made. This began with large metal rolls, with each one being the length of five football fields when unrolled. They were fed into one side of a machine that would punch out blank metal disks, using a similar principle as a cookie cutter. These blank disks were then heated and cooled, before they were given a bath and dried. Once they were all clean and shiny, they were run through a machine called the 'riddler', which separated the good disks from the bad ones, and the good ones then were forwarded to the next station.

"What do they do with the bad disks?" Little Ricky wanted to know, which caused me to surmise he was hoping to get one as a souvenir at this point. Unfortunately for him, I had to inform him the ones that didn't pass inspection were sent back and melted down, so they could be used to make a new metal roll. He was visibly disappointed, but accepted the explanation and we moved on.

The good blanks were then sent to an 'upsetting mill', which raises a rim on both sides of the blank. Then the disks are sent through a press, which contained the die that was made earlier, and the blanks are then pressed into actual coins. After that process, the coins are checked for quality, counted and put into bags. These bags of coins were stacked on a dolly, loaded into armored cars and finally taken to Federal Reserve Banks, which would then circulate them on to the various banks in their area. Overall, the tour took just under an hour, but it was very interesting and worth the time.

As I said, Little Ricky was constantly asking questions about the various procedures and commenting on what we'd seen. He was as excited and animated as I had ever seen him. Seeing him like this now, I could hardly imagine what he would be like when they reached Disney World and started that whole experience, so I hoped his parents were well rested and ready to keep up with this little dynamo once they get there.

After we left the mint, we stopped to get ice cream and drinks, to cool us off, and then we went to take the 'American Trolley Tour'. This tour took us to see three of the most popular sites in 'old' Philadelphia. First we went to see the Liberty Bell, which is kept in the Liberty Bell Pavilion.

"Hey, I thought the Liberty Bell cracked because it was rung so long and hard after the Declaration of Independence was signed!" Brandon bellowed, after reading something in the brochure he'd picked up.

"So did I," I agreed. "At least that's what my grandfather always told me."

"Well, that's not what happened," Brandon advised me. "It says here the Liberty Bell was cracked during its initial testing process. The crack was resealed in 1753, but reappeared later, and is now kept wedged open now for people to see. It also says the bell was taken to Allentown in 1777, when the British occupied the city, to prevent them from melting it down and using it to make ammunition."

I, along with some of the others, was now in shock. We had just learned something completely contrary to what we had always believed about it. Not only that, but I was completely floored after hearing 'the rest of the story', as Paul Harvey loved to say, but was happy to now have the accurate information at my disposal. These little trips really are educational.

After that stop, we went to see Betsy Ross' house, because she was the one who supposedly sewed the first American flag. This stop took all of five minutes – well, maybe it did take longer than that, but it was a very quick tour. The house was neat to visit and all, as it was completely furnished according to the period, but there wasn't really all that much to see in it.

"That was kind of a gyp," Sammy announced as we left the building. "They should have had a model of her sewing the flag or something."

"I agree," I told him. "The sewing room even lacked the feel I expected from it. I had kind of hoped they might have had a woman there pretending to be Betsy Ross and hand sewing another colonial flag." Although the others nodded in agreement, unfortunately, that wasn't the way it was set up.

From there we went to Franklin Court, which had once contained the home of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was one of those true Renaissance persons, as was Thomas Jefferson, and benefited the fledgling country serving many different roles and make an impact in many different fields.

"Okay, what do you guys know about Benjamin Franklin?" I asked, to get the ball rolling.

"He was the guy who flew the kite and discovered electricity," Andrew quickly shouted out.

"I'm not sure I'd say he discovered electricity," I countered, "but he made many theories about it and invented the lightning rod, to prevent buildings from getting struck by it."

"And he made some funny glass and a stove to heat home," Little Ricky quickly chimed in.

"Yes, he was both a scientist and an inventor," I agreed. "Anything else?"

"He printed an almanac and put all kinds of famous sayings in it," Brent chimed in.

"Yes, he was also a printer and a philosopher," I confirmed. "Do you know any of the sayings he was famous for?"

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise," Pat quickly answered.

"Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today," Dustin chimed in.

"There never was a good war nor a bad peace," Danny added.

"How about this one, I used to hear all the time in the other foster homes I lived in," Pat began, and then continued in a mocking tone. "Eat to live, and not live to eat." I could tell there were some bad memories about that one, but didn't have time to ponder it as Dion spoke up.

"A penny saved is a penny earned," he quoted, but then quickly added, "so a penny must have been worth a lot more then." That caused everyone to titter, until Mark added one of his own.

"I think he also said, 'in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,' so I guess not a whole lot has changed since then." I could see Jake and the Beckers nodding in agreement, after Mark finished.

"And then there's my personal favorite," I added. "He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals." I did have to explain that a bit to the younger boys, but the older ones caught on to its meaning immediately.

"Okay, so do you know anything else about Mr. Franklin?" I asked, before we moved on.

"Didn't he help Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence?" Nick asked.

"He was part of the 'Committee of Five' responsible for drafting it and made several small changes to the draft, but Jefferson wrote most of it. However, when it was signed, Franklin urged those representing the various colonies that, 'We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.' In other words, they had to see this through or they would all be hanged as traitors if they failed." I think the boys were impressed by that.

"He was a diplomat, statesman and loved the women," Mark volunteered after a brief pause and then winked in my direction. I guess the straight boys would admire Franklin for that tidbit.

"While looking at colleges I might want to go to," Kevin chirped in, "I learned he helped to found the University of Pennsylvania."

"And he suggested using the wild turkey as our National bird," Frankie offered, "since it lived in the original thirteen colonies, unlike the bald eagle."

"Very true, but he was overruled on this point," I countered, "but it makes me wonder what Thanksgiving might have been like if his idea had been accepted. What would we be eating instead of turkey?" That comment caused everyone to chuckle and make various retorts about eating Eagle or other things, including venison, but I think we'd had fun with it and learned a bit in the process, as well.

When the tour was completed, we went to check into our hotel rooms, so we could get cleaned up and changed for dinner. Tonight we were going to go to a pretty famous jazz club, called 'Warmdaddy's', for dinner and to listen to the live entertainment. It was my understanding that they served great southern home-style cooking and the music was fantastic. I had told the staff it was Ricky's birthday when I made the reservation and ordered a large, special cake for after dinner. I discovered upon our arrival that the manager had also arranged for the musicians to play a jazzed up version of 'Happy Birthday' in his honor.

After a wonderful and filling meal, the cake was brought out and the band did their thing. It was truly a remarkable rendition and the other guests also seemed to get a special kick out of this and many offered Ricky their own birthday wishes. We took our time there and ate our dessert slowly, while sitting back to enjoy the atmosphere and music. During that time, Little Ricky came over and apologized to my Ricky for not having a present for him, but quickly offered to bring something special back for him from Disney World. Ricky told him that wouldn't be necessary, but Little Ricky insisted, seeing how Ricky had bought him something special for his own birthday. After that, we went back to our rooms and watched a little television before turning in.

Chapter 34
The City of Brotherly Love

Saturday morning we went out for breakfast together. We sat and read our placemats while we waited for our food to arrive, and they were loaded with information about the city. From reading them, we learned that William Penn had founded Philadelphia in 1682, and by the time of the American Revolution it was the second largest English-speaking city in the world, right after London.

"Hey, it says that some of the old city streets are still paved in cobblestones, to give it the original feel," Cole noted. "Will we get to see any of them?"

"I think we just might," I answered.

"Neat," was Cole's only comment in response.

"Hey, I didn't know Philadelphia was the capital of the United States!" Graham added, after reading another section.

"It was, from 1790 until 1800, when the capital was moved to Washington, D.C.," I agreed, after glancing over the same area on the place mat.

After we finished eating, we made our way over to Independence Hall, our first stop for the day. This building was very important in the annals or early American history, as it was here that the Second Continental Congress had been convened, in May 1775, and it was where the US constitution was drafted in 1787. Just being in that building, you gained a sense of that period of our history and I think we came away with a better feel for what it was like for our founding fathers.

"So that's where they decided on how the country should be set up and run?" Brent asked.

"Exactly," I confirmed. "Many important things originated from there including the famous preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights."

"What's the preamble thing?" Little Ricky asked.

"It the first lines of the U. S. Constitution," I informed him. "Do any of you know it?"

None of them could come up with more than 'We the people,' until Mr. Becker spoke up.

"Maybe I can help with that. 'We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.' It was something we had to memorize when I went to school," he added, after impressing the boys with his impressive and dramatic recitation.

From there, we made our way over to Congress Hall, which housed the first congressional sessions. The House of Representatives originally met on the first floor of this building, while the Senate held their meetings on the second floor. The structure has been restored to that time period, to give visitors an indication of what the early days of government had been like, and you could almost imagine those early legislators standing up to argue the various issues that were presented to them.

"In addition to this building housing Congress," I told the boys," George Washington was inaugurated for his second term here in 1793, and then four years later, he passed the power of the executive branch over to John Adams in this very same place." I hoped this would give them a better picture of the significance of the place, but once again for me, it was like taking a step into our historical past and I was touched by the role this building had played during our country's early years.

After leaving Congress Hall, we decided to stop and have lunch and it didn't take us long to find a suitable place to eat. As we ate, we talked about some of the things we had seen thus far and then Mark made a comment. "You know, until this trip, I have never felt such a sense of history before. Living on the west coast, the history there is limited to a later period of time, except where Native American history is concerned. I've never really felt much of a connection to either colonial or Civil War era history before, but now I find it exciting to see all of these places from those earlier periods. It changes everything for me."

After saying that, he thanked me for arranging this excursion and including him on it, and then he thanked the boys for inviting him to join us to see the Grand Canyon, when we were on vacation last year. He explained to them that their invitation was one of the best things that had ever happened to him, as he not only made new friends, but also became part of another family at the same time.

Before things got too mushy, I told them it was time to take off for our next stop, and we took off for the Old City Hall. In addition to providing the function for which it was named, this building also had housed the US Supreme Court during the early years of our nation. The high court had been held in the first floor courtroom, which it shared with the Mayor's Court, and some of the first decisions concerning how the country should operate had been made in that very place. After the federal government moved, the building was just used for city business, but during the 1890's Philadelphia became a major immigration location, so many new citizens also attended their naturalization ceremonies here.

At this point, I tried to have the boys think back to what they remembered of their family histories, to see how many had heard tales about their ancestors immigrating to this land. Then I told them that some of their relatives might have come through this very place or Ellis Island, which we would visit when we went to New York City. This simple suggestion seemed to have a great impact on the boys, as most of them had been told that someone in their past had come here from another country. Now, they could see their relatives proceeding through this place, having their papers checked and getting physicals to make sure they were healthy, before they were allowed to stay.

"Except for the Native Americans and those who arrived before the country was formed, entered illegally or were brought here as slaves," I informed them, "the rest of our families would have had to come through a location such as this before they were allowed to become American citizens."

This gave the boys a great deal to consider. First, they thought about how those immigrants had left nearly everything and everyone behind for a chance to have a better life and realized it took a great deal of guts and determination on their part to do that. Many of my sons acknowledged they had people like them to thank for the benefits they enjoyed today, and we did take some time to reflect on that as well.

On the other hand, we also considered those who were dragged to this country unwillingly, ripped from their families and forced to endure unbearable hardships, as they were thrust into the service of human masters. Even the boys who had already endured much pain, loss and deprivation during their young lives still couldn't comprehend the anguish those slaves must have had to bear. I looked over and noticed the expression on Dion's face and guess he was probably wondering if any of his ancestors had been included as part of that bleak legacy.

Once we left the Old City Hall, I took everyone over to the 76 Carriage Company and arranged for us to take horse-drawn carriage rides around the old city. I had planned to put an adult in each carriage, but the boys had different ideas. They wanted the Beckers to stay together and they insisted that Jake and I go in the same coach, so the older boys and Mark split up in the other carriages, to help watch over the younger boys.

It was a lovely ride, slow and very relaxing. This was partially due to the gentle rocking of the carriage, as we weren't going that fast, and we listened to the melodic clippity-clop of the horse's hooves striking the pavement as it stayed the course. If this had been later in the evening, like after dark, and the boys hadn't been there, this might have had romantic possibilities… well at least for the Beckers. I don't know, maybe I was beginning to have some feelings for Jake too, and the boys seemed to be making sure we were placed together as much and as often as they possibly could. The thing was I couldn't be sure if he felt the same way about me.

When the ride ended, we went back to the hotel to clean up again, and then we left to go eat in the hotel's restaurant. Once dinner was concluded, I planned to take the boys to the Chestnut Cabaret, where they featured a variety of famous and semi-famous rock groups. I felt the boys would enjoy even more than the previous night's visit to Warmdaddy's, although I had the feeling they had enjoyed the jazz too, or were very good at disguising their feelings if they hadn't enjoyed it, but I was fairly confident tonight's selections would be even more to their liking. I had told Mr. and Mrs. Becker about my plans and they decided to sit this one out, preferring to spend a quiet evening in their room instead. I respected the Beckers' wishes and Jake and I took everyone else out for a good time.

It was all live entertainment and I wasn't familiar with any of the performers, but the boys seemed to really get into what they were playing and enjoying it immensely. Out of our group, Jake and I were the most out of our element, but we still had a good time watching the boys get into the music and smile broadly. We also enjoyed watching them sing along with the lyrics to the songs they knew and, overall, I guess I would say it was an enjoyable evening – more so for some than for others.

Sunday morning we got up early and ate a substantial breakfast, before we took the Beckers to catch their flight. Little Ricky was bouncing around the place like the little silver ball in a pinball machine, because he was so excited about this trip. He continually found it difficult to stay in one spot for very long and was dancing around like he had a colony of ants crawling around in his underwear. It was very cute to watch.

We happened upon a small church near the hotel we had been staying at, so we decided to attend the early service, since neither the Beckers nor I wished to pass up our weekly devotion. When the service ended, we went back to our rooms, gathered up our belongings, loaded them into the vehicles and set off for the airport.

The drive wasn't very long, although the traffic made it seem farther and take longer than the same trip would have taken back home, but we still arrived with plenty of time to spare. We were a bit chagrinned to see the various ways the airports have had to tighten up security, due to the threats of terrorism, because it prevented us from taking Little Ricky up on an observation deck, so he could watch the other planes take off and land before their departure was announced. That's one small thrill his generation may never be able to enjoy, as extremists have slowly managed to change our habits for years to come.

While the Beckers checked in for their flight and learned which gate they'd be leaving from, we made sure their luggage was adequately tagged and sent off ahead of them. Once that had been accomplished, we all sat down and talked, until it was time for them to go to their boarding gate. The boys spent their time trying to prepare Little Ricky for what his first takeoff and landing would be like, so he wouldn't be so scared. However, from the glowing look on his face, I say he was secretly looking forward to the new experience. I mentally pictured him sitting in his seat and staring out the window, while desperately attempting to see and enjoy every detail of what was going on. I think his parents were more likely the ones who might be in need of a tranquilizer or stiff drink before they left, as they seemed a bit more anxious than their younger counterpart.

As I was studying them, an announcement was made to inform everyone that the flight to Orlando would be temporarily delayed. Confused about the reason for this, Mr. Becker went to the ticket counter and asked what the problem was. That's when he was told that a minor mechanical malfunction had been discovered and would need to be repaired before the flight could takeoff. After he pressed for more information and sought to learn how long the delay would be, the airline representative told him the flight would most likely be delayed until at least 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. That was because they needed to have a part brought in and it would take at least that long to make the necessary repairs, especially on a weekend.

Once he relayed the news to me, I had him inquire about switching to another flight, but he was told that all flights to or connecting with Orlando were already overbooked, so the only option would be to wait out the delay. After checking with the service counter again and talking it over amongst ourselves, we decided to have the Beckers join us for our afternoon activity and then we'd bring them back later to catch their flight. I took a few minutes to make some phone calls, to make sure I could include them in our plans. After a little finagling and some negotiations, the arrangements were made.

No one, except I, knew what our next activity was going to be, although many of the boys were teasing me to tell them. Somehow, I managed to get them all back and into the vehicles again without having to do so, and then we set off for Veterans Stadium. I had made arrangements for us to watch the Philadelphia Phillies play a game against the Montreal Expos. When we got to the stadium, I made my way over to the ticket office and collected the tickets I had ordered in advance and recently changed, as well as the extras I had purchased when I phoned in from the airport. Once I had everything, I led everyone to the place where we'd begin a walking tour around the stadium.

Mark seemed to be the most excited about this and I soon discovered it was because he had never attended any sort of professional sporting event before or been in such a large stadium. He was quite thrilled by the prospect and asked my boys numerous questions about other games they had seen in other stadiums. After we walked around and toured all the public areas of the facility, we made our way to our seats. They were located on the lower level, just about even with first base.

Our original seats had been even closer to home plate, but when I called to request three more seats, I had to do a little juggling and pay a premium to swap seats with others a little further down the first baseline, so we could all stay together. In the end, I felt it was worth it, so we wouldn't be separated.

While the Beckers, Jake and I went over to sit down, the boys went to see if they could talk to any of the players or get them to autograph their programs. Yes, I had also shelled out a bundle to get everyone their own program, but I was more than paid back when I saw the looks on the boys' faces when they showed me the autographs they had been able to get from players on both teams. Even Mark carried on like a child half his age when it came to that, and he made sure to point out to me every player who had been kind enough to accommodate him.

Jake and I talked a great deal while the boys were doing their thing, although I was keeping a close watch on the younger ones the whole time. The older boys were looking after their younger brothers too, as I certainly didn't want a repeat of what happened in Houston – or worse. All of the boys had all been advised to use the toilets in groups of no less than four, just for safety sake. I didn't want any of them to be overpowered or taken by surprise, while being in a strange location.

While Jake and I chatted, I found out that Jake was a big sports fan, which meant he watched nearly any sport, and he had lettered in three sports in high school. Even though we had talked about other things before, every time we chatted I learned we had even more in common. I invited Shannon and him to join us again the following weekend, when we picked up the Beckers after they returned. I explained we were going to go to New York City first, since we wouldn't have to pick the Beckers up at the Philly airport until late Sunday afternoon, which would give us Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday morning to do some sightseeing on our own. Jake said it sounded like a great idea to him and he'd take next Thursday and Friday off too, so we could have even more time to get around. I thought that a fantastic suggestion and decided I'd contact Mark's boss, who was also my friend, on Monday, to see if I could get him off work for both days as well. Jake and I finished ironing out the details about what we might want to do in NYC and I had a pretty extensive itinerary planned, by the time the first pitch was thrown.

While we were sitting and discussing these things, Little Ricky was asking Big Ricky if something was going on between Jake and I. He had seen us sitting together the whole time and suspected we were more than just friends, so he pestered Ricky for the details and asked him if Jake was my boyfriend. Ricky told him he and the rest of the boys hoped so, but they didn't know yet. That's when the little devil thought he might be able to speed the process along and came up with his own plan. Pretty soon he was standing in front of us going, "Uncle Pop's got a boyfriend, Uncle Pop's got a boyfriend," in his sing-song voice. The other boys heard him and began to chuckle, not knowing that Little Ricky had asked Ricky about the situation. They just thought it was funny that Little Ricky had caught on when Jake and I hadn't, well, not exactly. I made like I was going to grab him, and he squealed and ran off, now standing two rows farther away, starting a new little chorus.

"Uncle Pop and Jake, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Uncle Pop with a…" He stopped there, realizing the lyrics weren't quite fitting the situation the way he thought it should. It didn't take him long before he started anew, however this time he adapted the childhood rhyme to fit his purposes.

"Uncle Pop and Jake, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes love, then a kind of marriage, then Uncle Pop puts Ricky in a baby carriage."

He turned around to find Ricky, so he could point at him and laugh. The other boys were getting a big kick out of all this, and their laughter was only encouraging our little comedian even more. Ricky feigned shock and anger over being included, distracting Little Ricky long enough for Jake and I to work our way over the seats until we were in reach to grab him. His eyes bugged out of his head as we gripped his arms and lifted him in the air, and then Jake let me take a hold of both of his arms, while he grabbed both legs, and we started tugging on him like it was a taffy pull. He was squealing in delight, and even some of the ballplayers were getting a kick out of our antics, and after a bit of this torture, we put him down and started tickling him.

"That will teach you to pick on us, you little rascal. Is it still funny?" I asked him.

"Yep," he blurted out, between giggles. Then he started reciting that verse again, but we tickled him harder, until he was forced to stop. Finally we called a truce, giving us all a chance to catch our breath, when some of the boys started trying to get Little Ricky's attention. The ones who wanted him were still standing down by the field, so Little Ricky went down there to see what they wanted.

Our little devil quickly discovered that one of the Phillies' players had asked the boys to call him down, because her wanted to give Little Ricky one of their practice balls as a gift. He did this to thank him for the little diversion and entertainment he had provided with his shenanigans. Little Ricky was all smiles at that point, as some of the other fans also congratulated him and my boys made a big fuss over his souvenir. After the attention began to die down, Little Ricky took the ball over to his dad and asked him to hold on to it for him, because he didn't have any place to keep it. His father agreed, and Little Ricky happily went off with some of my boys again.

Once batting practice ended, the boys made their way back up to their seats and told us all about what happened with the players, like we hadn't seen it or anything, and then they sat down and stayed with us for the rest of the time. As soon as the game began, everyone became interested in the action on the field and the other antics came to a halt. A couple of the boys were Phillies fans and took a keen interest in the game. Although the remainder of my sons liked the Pirates, Mets, Yankees or Orioles better, they were enjoying the experience of being in a major league park, or at least a different one than they had been in before.

Since nearly all of the boys' favorite teams were somewhat close to where we lived, we were able to see many of their games on TV and able to keep track of how they were doing. It also made it easier for the boys to maintain an affinity to the players on those particular squads and build an animosity toward the teams that gave them the most trouble in their division.

Anyway, the boys were all having fun and everyone seemed to have something different they were focusing on during the game. Some of them were keeping score in their programs, while others sat on the edge of their seats, ready to chase after any foul ball that came in our direction. Other boys focused primarily on a specific player or players, while others concentrated on how a certain position was being played. Frankie was having a good time watching the umpires, studying how they took control of the game and kept things moving, while still managing to joke around with some of the players and fans. Personally, I was interested in the different managers' strategy and challenged Jake to see which of us could predict what either of them would do in various situations, such as call for a hit-and-run, a pitchout, a bunt, bring in a pinch-hitter or call in a reliever. As the game went on, neither of us was doing very well, although we still thought we were calling a better game than either of the bozos in the dugouts. Too bad we didn't get paid their enormous salary for doing a better job from the stands.

During the game, Danny did manage to come up with a foul ball, even though it got a bit scuffed up bouncing off the upper level, before ricocheting back in our direction. Wisely, he handed it to me and asked if Jake and I would hang on to it for him until after the game. It seems he didn't want to worry about someone else trying to wrestle it away from him later, while he was focusing on the game. We agreed and he went back to join the others.

Besides my sitting next to Jake, Mark had talk the other boys into letting him sit in the seat on the other side of me. I could tell Mark was having a great time, just from listening to the comments he was making about the game. He even got involved in Jake's and my competition and would ask why we thought one team or the other should do whatever we predicted during that particular situation. Before long, the three of us were in a very deep discussion about the finer points of the game and arguing strategy. We happily amused ourselves this way, while we watched the players carry out their part of the chess match on the field.

After getting up for the seventh inning stretch and singing 'Take Me Out To the Ballgame,' Andrew came over and crawled onto my lap. He was getting bored, since he wasn't really into sports, and also a little tired. He spent the rest of the game cuddled up against my chest, just barely able to stay awake. Every now and then the crowd would cheer about something that happened on the field and Andrew's eyes would pop open for a second, only to slowly close again.

Overall, it was a pretty good game and fairly exciting, as the Phillies won 8 – 5. We had all been filling up on junk food during the contest, so no one was particularly hungry at the moment and we decided to take a nice leisurely drive to take the Beckers back to the airport. We would then wait with them until their plane took off, just in case the flight was further delayed or cancelled.

Once we arrived at the terminal, we were chagrined to notice their flight number still had the word 'delayed' listed beside it. When we went to the ticket counter to make another inquiry as to how much longer it would be, the listing changed and a departure time was suddenly posted. It now said the flight would be taking off in less than an hour.

Knowing their flight had been held up due to a mechanical malfunction, the Beckers seemed slightly more nervous about flying. However, by the time they were ready to board, they had calmed down considerably. This might have been partially due to the fact that we had done our utmost to distract them, so they couldn't dwell upon the problem for very long, but it also might have had something to do with the fact they were all growing quite weary after the long day we had spent in the hot sun.

When their boarding announcement was made, we gave them hugs and wished them a safe trip, before watching them pass through the metal detectors, while their carry-on luggage went through the x-ray machine. Once they were on the other side, we bid them a final farewell and told them to keep in touch. They promised they'd let us know if any changes were made concerning their return trip, and then we watched them until they disappeared from sight.

As soon as they were gone, I led everyone else out to our vehicles and then Jake and I drove to a spot where we could watch a few of the planes take off. We weren't sure if any of them was the Beckers' flight, but liked to assume the last one was. Satisfied, we started off for home, only stopping for potty breaks and a quick meal after that.

It had been dark for a few hours before we arrived home and everyone was pretty exhausted. After dropping the boys off at our place, so they could shower and get ready for bed, I took Jake and Shannon back to their place, because Jake had to work the next day. When I returned home, Mark was waiting to thank me again for what he called 'a fantastic weekend', but I felt there was something more on his mind. Knowing he might not blurt it out on his own, I invited him to join me in the living room, where we could sit and talk for a while. Eagerly, he followed me there and then opened up in a way I never expected.

"You know, when I was little, I always dreamed of doing things like this with my father," he began. "I always thought someday he'd show up and take me to a ball game or on a vacation, but nothing like that ever happened until today. Sure, my mom did everything she could for me and we went places together, but it was never the same as in my dreams. Since Mom wasn't into sports, I never pestered her to take me to any ballgames, so I hope you can understand how special this weekend was and always will be to me."

Mark paused for a brief second after saying this and looked me squarely in the eyes. I could tell how emotional this moment was for him, as I could see the moisture building in his eyes, but he wasn't finished yet. "Today it was like you were my dad and I was finally able to do some of those things I was beginning to think I'd never get the opportunity to do. I owe you so much, and not just for the time in Arizona, or for my job, or for bringing me here to stay with your family, but for also filling the hole in my heart that I had begun to believe could never be mended. After spending this time with you, I no longer feel a bottomless void in my soul or envy other people for what they had that I didn't. Nor do I feel like I've missed out on anything any longer. You and your sons have made me feel like I'm actually part of your family. Thank you so much for all you've done, and I really mean that, from the bottom of my heart."

At that point, I was not only fairly speechless, but also had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Seeing I couldn't find my tongue, I just leaned over and gave Mark a hug and hoped he could find my answer in that embrace. Before I knew what was happening, he was hugging me as hard as I was hugging him and I could feel a definite connection to him. When he finally broke our emotional embrace, he merely stood in front of me, for a few seconds longer, staring into my eyes. Tears were now flowing freely for both of us and it took a few seconds more before either of us could get our mouths to work, but Mark regained his composure first and spoke to me once more.

"Thank you," he reiterated, while looking squarely into my eyes. "You don't know how much your hug means to me or how it makes me feel. You just seem to know what I need, even when I'm not sure of what I want myself."

"Hey, it's just an instinct I've gained from having so many sons," I teased. "Even though too many fathers and older adults don't believe in it, sometimes a boy just needs a hug from his dad or special male friend, to let him know he is important and worth the affection."

Mark just nodded at me for a few seconds, while once again choking back his emotions. When he finally regained his composure, he spoke to me yet again. "You know, I've wanted to hug you like that before, especially after I'd seen you do it with the other boys, but I wasn't sure how you'd react. I am quite a bit older than they are, and I wasn't sure if you'd be offended if I did it to you."

"Never!" I chided him, but enthusiastically enough to let him know I meant what I said. "Remember, you're one of my sons too, even though it's not official. You have my permission to do anything the other boys do when you're with us, so don't even think twice about it."

"Does that mean everything you let them do?" he asked, still a little shocked about what I'd just told him.

"Of course it does," I agreed. "As long as you're with us, you can do whatever any of the other boys are allowed to do. You are part of our family, so you're no different than anyone else here. If you have any questions about what things that might include, just ask one of the other boys or me. They can pretty much give you the answers too."

"Okay, thanks, and I will," he assured me. "I'm glad I've still got another month to go then."

"Me too," I added, and then hesitated. It took a few seconds before I spoke again, as I considered the implications of his last sentence. "Aren't you going home to see your mother before you go back to college then?"

"Of course I am," he replied. "I'm going back to spend my last week with her before I return to classes. But that still leaves me a month and three or four days here, and I plan to make the most of it."

"So do I, starting with next weekend," I announced, shocking him yet again.

"Why? What's next weekend?" he wondered.

"Next weekend we pick up the Beckers on Sunday and bring them back home," I informed him, "but the rest of us are going to spend a few days in New York City first, so you can see the sights there too."

"That sounds wonderful," he gushed, "but aren't you spending a lot of money on all of this?"

"Money's no object when it comes to one of my son's happiness," I quickly replied, while locking eyes with him. Mark just smiled after I said that and reached out to give me another hug. Now I realized I would have to make some small changes in next weekend's plans, to make it even more special for him. I'll make those calls tomorrow and get things set up, because I really want next weekend to be extra memorable for everyone, but especially for Mark.

Chapter 35
A Bite of the Big Apple

The next week, I went out with Jake a couple more times, once to the driving range and then another time to the putting green. Jake was continually giving me reminders about some fundamentals I either didn't know or had forgotten since I'd stopped playing, so I found him to be a big help. I was growing more confident in my skills and was slowly approaching my old form.

The boys seemed excited every time we went on one of these outings, although I wasn't quite sure why. They always asked me a ton of questions when I got home and were sometimes very persistent to find out what I'd done and if I'd enjoyed myself. I guess I was more than a little naïve about their intent, but I still thought their interest had more to do with Shannon than with Jake or me, except that by getting Jake and I to spend time together, it usually meant Shannon would stay at our place until we got back. Surrounded by my shell of denial about what my sons' intentions were, I remained oblivious to their diabolical scheme and was gradually falling into their trap.

The boys were also excited the McCarthys would be joining us on our outing this coming weekend, but once more I believed it was because they enjoyed having Shannon along and never considered it had anything to do with either Jake or myself. Personally, I not only enjoyed Jake and Shannon's company, but having Jake volunteer as a second driver really got me out of a jam. It was obvious we weren't all going to fit into one vehicle and I didn't believe any of my drivers were ready to tackle big city traffic, especially New York City traffic. Since my sons could be impatient at times, I didn't think any of them could handle the frustrations and unexpected behaviors drivers are often confronted with when navigating in large urban areas. Getting from place to place is quite different there, from what the boys are used to dealing with where we live, so it was not only nice, but reassuring to have another experienced driver handling the Suburban.

Not only that, but during my investigations I learned the driving age in NYC is eighteen, which meant Mark would be the only other one eligible to drive there, and I wasn't that sure of his driving skills. Sure, he had his license and I let him use the car while he was with us, but that is in a rural setting with limited traffic. I wasn't positive he had experience driving in congested areas or dealing with aggressive drivers, so having Jake along was a Godsend.

Over the first few days of the following week, I would occasionally wonder how the Beckers were enjoying their trip, but my curiosity was sated when Wednesday's mail was delivered. After walking down to our mailbox, I happily discovered we had received a letter from Little Ricky. He had jotted down a brief description of the things they had done up to that point and sounded very excited about everything, including their flight. Not only that, but he also thanked me for the special treats I had waiting for them when they got there. Being someone who loved to plan surprises, I had made arrangements with the hotel to have certain items placed in their suite, so Little Ricky and his parents would discover them immediately upon entering their room. From what Little Ricky told me in his letter, it appeared the hotel must have also included a bonus of its own.

Here is what I'd done. First, I had informed the Beckers they would take the hotel's shuttle bus from the airport to their lodgings. I felt that after being cramped up for the flight to Orlando, not to mention the time it took to drive us to the airport, I didn't think Mr. Becker would be up to trying to find his way from the airport to their lodgings, since he had no familiarity with the location. Therefore, I advised them they would take the hotel shuttle from the airport to where they would be spending the next few days. However, I didn't apprise them I had also arranged a rental car for them to use during their stay, in case they wanted to get out and see some of the surrounding areas as well. The car rental was handled for me by the hotel manager, using the credit card information I had supplied him for both the room and the ride, and he'd left the paperwork and keys for the vehicle, as well as directions telling them where the car was parked.

In addition to that little bonus, I'd also had the manager purchase a gift card for them to use in the hotel's souvenir shop, which he assured me was stocked with all sorts of Disney World paraphernalia, including a very special set of mouse ears I wanted to get for Little Ricky. I thought the Beckers would also enjoy something to remind them of this trip – their first vacation with their new son.

To my surprise, however, I learned they had also been given coupons for their first and last night's dinner in the resorts first-class restaurant. They thought that had also come from me as well, but I would let them know as soon as I could that it must have been something the hotel manager added on his own. I thought it was a nice touch and wanted the Beckers to know this before they left, so they could thank him in person.

Just from reading Little Ricky's descriptions of what they had seen and done, I could tell he was as pleased with everything and knew this was something he would never forget. I couldn't wait until we picked them up on Sunday, so I could hear all of his stories firsthand. Not only that, but I also looked forward to watching his antics as he told us what he'd done, because he could be very animated and quite a showman when doing things of this nature, as we had discovered when he told us about the farm.

Wednesday evening, Jake and Shannon stayed overnight with us, so we could leave early the following morning. We got up before dawn, ate a big breakfast and were on the road shortly after the sun began to illuminate the countryside. Jake and I had wireless radios to communicate between the two vehicles with, so we could discuss such things as when we needed to stop for gas or inform the other if an unexpected problem arose. It was just a small precaution I felt we should take, so we wouldn't get separated.

The boys were still kind of groggy and slept for most of this first leg of the trip, but began to stir to life about three hours later, when we made our first stop. It was merely so each of them could get something to drink, use the restrooms and stretch and walk around a bit in order to loosen up their stiff muscles before we continued. After we resumed our journey, we drove until we got closer to the city and then discussed stopping to eat, as it was nearly lunchtime by then.

The boys saw a sign indicating there was a Burger King ahead and wanted to stop there to eat. Although Jake and I would have preferred a diner or 'real' restaurant, we gave in to their request and pulled into the BK parking lot. Seeing the type of establishment it was, it didn't take long before we were on our way again. As expected, the food had been delivered almost instantly after they took our orders and the boys gobbled it down in no time at all. As we resumed our trip, some of the boys chose to listen to their portable CD players, while others competed on the hand held games or looked out the windows at the scenery.

When we reached New York City, the boys were eagerly staring out the windows and trying to take in all the sights. Jake and I drove directly to our hotel, parked the vehicles in the hotel's underground garage and then took the elevator to the lobby, where we checked in. After taking our luggage to our rooms and getting settled, I let the boys roam around in groups for a short time, so they could become familiar with what the hotel had to offer. We would be using it as our base of operation, but would move from location to location by either walking or utilizing public transportation. This was because neither Jake nor I looked forward to trying to find our way around the maze of streets or competing with the bumper to bumper traffic, let alone thinking about trying to find parking spaces after we got where we were going. We thought that would be more of a hassle than either of us wanted, so we opted to use the city's buses and trains instead. In fact, I had selected this particular hotel because it was pretty centrally located to everyplace we were planning to go and within walking distance of Grand Central Station.

Once we were settled, I got the boys together and guided them to our first stop, the Empire State Building. This famous structure had held the title of the tallest building in the world for many years, from its completion in 1931 and until the World Trade Center's North Tower was opened in 1972. The Empire State Building had 102 floors, which rose 1,224 feet [373 m] above street level, and took the distinction away from the neighboring Chrysler Building, which had only held the title of tallest building in the world for a few months.

From the lobby, we used the high-speed elevators to get to the observation deck on the 86th floor, which was 1,050 feet [320 m] up. I was convinced none of the boys would want to try to walk up the more than 1550 step to get to the 86th floor on their own and I certainly wasn't feeling up to that much exercise. When we got there, we immediately discovered it had a glass-enclosed observation area for inclement days, but there were also outdoor promenades, which were located on all four sides of the building.

"Let's go outside," Graham teased. "I want to see what it looks like out in the open." I agreed and we walked out onto one of the walkways. These could be used when the weather was nice and let you hear, as well as see, the city.

"Why had they got this fence all around it?" Andrew asked, after noticing the protective device.

"It's to keep people from falling or jumping from here," I replied. "People would actually try that?" Graham asked, somewhat bewildered.

"Unfortunately, they do," I answered. "It was added in 1947 to prevent suicide attempts, after many attempts, but now it also prevents daredevils from base jumping from here."

"What's that?" Sammy wanted to know.

"It's where you jump off of a building, antenna, bridge or cliff, to experience free fall, before activating a parachute so you can land safely."

"Why don't they just go skydiving then?" Brent followed, looking slightly confused.

"That's a good question," I responded, "but I think it probably has to do with expense and availability. Besides, it's probably more fun to explain that you jumped off of the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower, the CN Tower in Toronto or the edge of the Grand Canyon than to say you jumped out of an airplane." That seemed to answers everyone's questions and no more were asked.

Along the promenades there were coin operated, high-powered binoculars the public could use to get a better glimpse of areas they might be interested in viewing close up. From this location, we were able to see into four other states (New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts), plus many of the city's wondrous and famous landmarks, as well as anything else in the immediate area.

The Empire State Building took just over a year to complete and cost slightly less than $41 million. The price of the actual cost of constructing the building had been cut in half with the onset of the depression, but it also provided much-needed jobs during that very trying time. It almost instantly became the focal point of the city and was featured in one of the most thrilling scenes in the original movie version of 'King Kong.'

This structure has also been the scene of several tragedies as well, such as a fatality that happened at the end of World War II. In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25 twin-engine bomber was flying in a dense fog and crashed into the 79th floor of the building. Fourteen people were killed in that accident and the building suffered $1 million worth of damage, but its structural integrity was unaffected. There have also been more than thirty suicides from the top floors of the building, and not only from the observation areas.

In addition to those more gruesome events, the Empire State Building is also the first place many visitors to the area wish to tour, including some very famous people throughout its early years. During that time span, it has hosted royalty (Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles & the King of Siam), heads-of-state (President Herbert Hoover, Winston Churchill, Fidel Castro & Nikita Krushchev), religious leaders (Pope Pius XII, among others) and thousands of celebrities (including Lassie and Albert Einstein).

Before we left the 86th floor, we stopped at the souvenir stand, so each of the boys could pick up a little keepsake to remind them of their visit. They selected a variety of different items, as each of them had very distinct ideas about what he wanted, but I didn't care what they chose, as long as they were happy with what they purchased and it would remind them of this stop for years to come. Personally, I picked up a miniature of the building, which I would proudly display in our home.

Once we finished there, I took everyone over to the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, so they could compare the two and see the building that replaced the Empire State Building as the tallest in the world, at least for a few years. The twin towers were 110 stories high, or approximately 1,350 feet [411 m] above the city. There was a closed observation deck on the top floor, but they also had a rooftop promenade. The outdoor promenade is only open under perfect conditions, and even though it was a fairly nice day when we were there, the conditions were not favorable to open that area to the public.

"Man, why can't we go out there?" Brent asked, disappointed. "We went on the outdoor areas at the Empire State Building."

"It might be due to the fact that we are higher up here," I suggested, "or possibly the winds have increased since we were at the Empire State Building."

"The winds were quite gusty as we walked over here," Jake offered, "so the conditions may have changed enough so they no longer feel it's safe to let people out there." Although many of the boys were still a bit dismayed over this lack of opportunity, they did quit complaining. I knew they would also get over their disappointment fairly quickly, as we tried to see as much as we could, from the areas we were allowed to use.

Speaking from an aesthetic perspective, there was nothing architecturally striking about the Twin Towers' appearance, other than their height, as there was with the Empire State Building. They were basically just two large rectangular structures that rose high above the city's skyline, but the view from the top floor was inspiring. I was shocked when the boys said they didn't notice much of a difference in what they could see from here or and the Empire State Building, but I thought the view of the harbor and Statue of Liberty was breathtaking.

It was now approaching late afternoon, so we made our way back to the hotel to wash up and change for dinner. I had another little surprise lined up for the boys, but tried not to let them know in advance what we'd be doing. I preferred to see their reactions firsthand, as they learned what was in store for them.

The boys had given me plenty of suggestions of what they might like to do, after I told them about this trip in this first place, so I tried to incorporate as many of those ideas into our plans, as was possible. However, I also added a few of my own ideas, even though I knew the boys didn't always agree with this approach. Fortunately, they had learned to trust my judgment, at least for the most part, and didn't usually give me a tough time over our itinerary. Although they weren't totally thrilled by some of the things we did, they knew I would probably arrange something else that they would find more interesting later, and that's exactly what I was trying to do now. We were going to start off the evening having dinner at the Hard Rock Café, and then I would take them to see a Broadway musical.

As we approached the Hard Rock café, the boys noticed the rear end of an old Cadillac sticking out from the building. However, it was not due to an accident, but designed that way to give the place a distinctive air. The Caddy was probably a '59 or '60 judging by the fins, and was sticking out of the building a few feet above street level. Each of them seemed to be excited about being there and tried to see everything they could, once we were inside.

Every one of them was busy exploring the place visually, while we waited to be seated. Once we were taken to our tables, we quickly checked out the menus and ordered, and then the boys continued their visual inspection of the place while we waited for our food. The boys excitedly pointed out many different items to each other, while also commenting on them and learning more about this fascinating place. We concluded there were many stories being told within those four walls, which included the history behind the multitude of collectibles on display.

The menu was more varied than I had anticipated, and although the food was more than satisfactory, it was the atmosphere and music that held the boys attention. They spent much of their time commenting on the songs being played and pointing out various memorabilia that had something to do with people they knew of and admired. They also asked questions about the items they didn't recognize, which got them talking excitedly in small groups, when they tried to learn if anyone else had the answer they were looking for. These groups were constantly changing, as someone new joined in or others moved on to another group, but everyone was full of enthusiasm and very talkative. However, if they couldn't get their answers that way, they would ask either Jake or myself, to see if we knew.

By the time we finished our meal and had dessert, the boys wanted to go to the memorabilia shop, so they could buy things to remember this visit by. They had each brought some of their own money, so they went to pick out exactly what they wanted, but most of them came back with Hard Rock Café tee shirts and baseball caps, among other things. We put them all in a tote bag that one of the older boys had purchased and then moved on to our next stop. As we exited the building, I announced where we were going next.

I don't think many of the boys were familiar with the musical I had selected, but I felt it might offer the most relevance to their own lives. I also concluded they would probably enjoy this show more than some of the others that were currently running and settled on the musical 'Rent.' Almost immediately, the boys began peppering me with questions as to what it was about, so I gave them a little background information. I merely told them it was about a group of young people and the focus was on how they dealt with some of the choices they had to make in life and the consequences that resulted because of their decisions.

After we took our seats in the theater, the boys began looking through the programs, to see if they could glean more about this production than what I had told them. However, I would be more interested to hear how they interpreted what they were about to see after the show was over. Once the theater darkened and the curtains opened, the boys became wrapped up in the storyline and were intrigued by how it explored such issues as homosexuality, drug abuse, AIDS and homelessness. The title of the production came about because of what a couple of the characters were asked to do in order to cover the rent for their apartment. The whole production was very well done and the songs were terrific. The older boys understood the meaning behind some of the topics broached, while the younger ones just enjoyed the performances entertaining qualities. I thought this outing was fairly well received by everyone.

When we got back to our hotel rooms, some of the boys wanted to come to my room and talk more about what we had seen. I thought that was a terrific idea, so nearly everyone piled into my room, which I was also sharing with Jake. As the discussion began, I could tell Mark was a bit uncomfortable and it appeared that something was bothering him, so finally I decided to confront him about it.

"Mark, I can tell you are troubled by something you've seen or heard tonight," I began, startling him. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Mark was stunned that I had singled him out in front of the others, but after a few seconds, which may have dragged out to a couple of minutes, he cleared his throat and responded. "Look, I know some of your boys are gay and all," he stammered, "and that doesn't really bother me, but aren't you scared they'll get AIDS and die?"

Suddenly, I understood his concerns. Some of the characters in Rent were HIV positive and had to deal with the realities of the living with the disease, and Mark had transferred this over to my sons. I understood where he was coming from and was actually quite pleased he cared enough about the boys to worry like this, but Danny answered him before I could.

"Mark, most of us don't mess around all that much," he told him, "and Dad has made sure we know what the disease is, how it's spread and ways for us to guard against getting it. We are concerned about it too, but we can't change who we are, so we'll just be careful and do as much as we can to protect ourselves."

"I just don't know how I'd feel if one of you had that disease and were dying," he replied. His voice began to choke up on him as he continued. "I mean, you'd get really sick first and then die, and I don't think I could deal with that. I've only had my mother and myself to worry about in the past and I haven't known you guys for very long, but you're like my brothers now and I wouldn't be able to stand losing any of you."

I could see all the moisture building up in his eyes and his voice was trembling as he finished. The other boys were deeply touched by his concern about them and for not passing judgment about their sexual orientation. Needless to say, we were all deeply moved by his pronouncement.

I think it was Danny and Brandon who first reacted, once Mark finished, and they walked over and wrapped their arms around him. While doing this, they also tried to reassure him that each of them would avoid taking unnecessary risks and would do all they could to keep from being exposed. As this was going on, some of the other boys also made their way over to Mark and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbed his back or merely touched his arm. These simple gestures were offered to show him they understood his concerns and thanked him for caring. We did discuss this topic in greater length before we retired and broached all of the relevant issues this topic evoked. I think we all felt a little better, once everything was out in the open.

Once we finished talking about HIV and AIDS, we went on to discuss the issues of drug use and homelessness. That latter topic reminded Nick about the family in Arizona, so he eagerly shared a little about their situation with Mark. Once he finished bringing Mark up to date about them, Nick asked if there wasn't something we could do when it came to families with children who were homeless. I told him we could study the topic in greater depth once we were home, and the boys suggested the charity might be able to focus on that segment, so we could help more of those people out.

As they continued to explore this topic, Jake and I kind of withdrew from being active participants in the discussion and opted to sit back and listen to what the boys had to say. We only responded when we were asked questions directly, but I was often amazed by how the boys could think of things other adults or I had never considered. Therefore, I wanted to see what types of ideas their brainstorming session might produce without my interference.

I did go off on a brief mental tangent, however, when I thought back to the moment when I'd first considered buying tickets to a Broadway show. My original concern was that the boys would enjoy what they saw, but I never imagined the extent of the insights they might gain from it, the level of impact it had on them or the profound concern they showed over the multiple topics the performance addressed.

After we had exhausted ourselves by delving into the various issues, I hustled everyone off to bed, while reminding them we had another busy day ahead of us tomorrow. I learned later that Mark had spent the night with Danny and Brandon and they all actually slept in one bed. This was due to the fact they had continued their discussion when they went to the room and kept talking about everything until they nodded off, totally spent. Although the bonds between these boys weren't sexual or romantic, they still ran deep. It was obvious, at least to me, how close they had become since that first chance meeting. Not only were they close friends, but their concern for each other also went much deeper than that. It was an initial physical attraction that had grown into something more profound and personal, as the boys had bonded in a way that most people would never understand.

Mark had become family and this family was bound together much more tightly than by just bonds of blood. We were an eclectic group, of mostly unrelated souls, who loved each other and would sacrifice much to guarantee each other's continued well-being.

Chapter 36
The City That Never Sleeps

Friday morning we got up and went to breakfast, before heading to our first stop of the day. It was another historic building, but strikingly different from the two we had visited yesterday. We began our tour of the United Nations building by going into the General Assembly Hall, which was one of the main features of the building. It is the largest room there, with seating capacity for over 1800 people, so it can easily handle the delegations from all of the 188 member-nations. That room is the only one with the U.N. emblem on its wall, which is a map of world (as seen from the north pole), flanked by two olive wreaths, which are symbols of peace.

Standing in that room you might begin to feel totally insignificant, not only because of its enormous size, but also because once you realized the scope of the issues that are dealt with there, your concerns seemed trivial in comparison. It was really quite a humbling experience. The boys did want to see if they could sit in the various chairs and pretend to be delegates from different places, but for multiple reasons, including our time constraints, it was not possible.

From there, we went to the Security Council Chamber next, which housed the real power of the U.N. This group comprises both permanent and rotating members and can veto any decrees, proclamations or other measures that come from the General Assembly. This room, which hosts the Security Council meetings, was a gift from Norway and the central feature is a mural painted by a Norwegian artist, Per Krough.

"What's that supposed to be?" Brent asked, while pointing toward the painting.

"It's a phoenix rising from its ashes," I told him. "The phoenix is a bird from Greek mythology that supposedly has beautiful gold and red plumage and lives for hundreds of years. When it is time for it to die, the bird builds a nest of cinnamon twigs and then bursts into flames, only to be reborn again, out of its own ashes. This depiction was meant to signify the world would be rebuilt and thrive again after the devastation of World War II."

My explanation seemed to suffice for the time being, so we moved on. I didn't think the boys would be interested in seeing the remaining chambers, so I took them to investigate other items they might find interesting instead. The first was the Chagall stained glass window, which is located on the eastern side of the public lobby. It was designed by the French artist, Marc Chagall, and presented to the U.N. in 1964. It contains several symbols of peace within its design, and its predominantly blue hue gives a tranquil feeling to the lobby area.

Some of the boys commented about how many of the things we had seen seemed to refer to world peace, so I took the opportunity to describe what these people faced at the end of the Second World War. I began by trying to let them know the extent of the destructiveness that engulfed the world during and after the war, how many lives had been lost and how the survivors needed to view the future with hope, not despair. All of the items that were incorporated into the building when it was constructed, including many things we had not yet seen, were intended to show the United Nations was established to prevent another major war like that from ever happening again. They agreed it was a good reason and hoped they never lived to witness a conflict of that caliber, and silently I said a prayer they never would either.

After that, I took them to see the Norman Rockwell Mosaic, which was presented by the U.S. in 1985. It was based on a famous Rockwell painting called 'The Golden Rule,' which depicts people of various nationalities, ethnic backgrounds and religious persuasions. In it, Rockwell incorporates the 'do unto others' theme, in an attempt to show that each of us is more than just a single entity or small group, but instead are all part of a larger, global family. Maybe someday the dream of global peace and acceptance will be realized and we'll all stop hating one another for our differences or selfishly putting our own needs ahead of those of others, no matter whether those differences are physical, political or religious. When that day comes, maybe the Earth will finally be engulfed in lasting peace.

Once we left that display, we viewed the Chinese Ivory Carving, which depicts the Chengtu-Kunming railway. This gift was received from China in 1974, and shows a train, complete with tiny passengers inside. The railway opened to traffic in 1970 and is an important asset of China. This beautiful piece of artwork was carved from eight elephant tusks and has so many tiny and delicate details that you could spend many hours studying it. Even after taking that much time with it, you probably still wouldn't notice everything that was included in it. It was quite impressive and very beautiful.

From there, we moved on to see the Japanese Peace Bell, which was presented to the U.N. in 1954, and is housed in a small Shinto-shrine structure made of Cypress wood. The bell is symbolically rung twice a year, on the first day of spring and at the opening of the General Assembly, which takes place in September. The hope is that the ringing of the bell will promote peace and ensure that the destruction and bloodshed wrought by war will not take place again.

"Hey, look what it says here," Shannon pointed out. "It says this bell was cast from coins collected by children from 60 different nations. Can you believe that? They collected the coins and had them melted down, just to make this bell."

"I guess that means that living in peace meant a lot to them," Jake responded, while looking appreciatively at his son. "If only those coins they donated could insure there would never be another war."

Everyone agreed with his statement and we stood there a few moments more contemplating that possibility, before moving out to the garden. We were going there to see a very famous sculpture named 'Let Us Beat Swords Into Plowshares,' which depicts a blacksmith using his hammer to pound a sword into a plowshare. This idea is based on a biblical reference and once again symbolizes the desire to put an end to war. Due to its biblical theme, it seemed ironic that this piece of art was a gift from the former Soviet Union in 1959. Adding to this irony was the fact that it was in the General Assembly Hall where the Premier of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, pounded his shoe on the podium and told the non-communist nations, 'We will bury you.' This seemed to indicate they were not giving up on their aggressive spread of communism, as they wanted to eventually envelop the whole world under that one philosophy. History has proved his boast was unjustified, since his nation failed that mission and no longer exists.

As we were leaving the U.N., I wanted the boys to see one more thing, so I took them for a stroll along Fifth Avenue, where they could view the row of delegate member flags. The flags were displayed in alphabetical order, beginning with the Afghanistan flag and ending with the flag of Zimbabwe, and the boys were able to recognize a few of them, while admitting others totally unfamiliar. It was an impressive show, however, as it signified how so many diverse groups were willing to work toward the goal of peace by joining together in this global organization.

It was now approaching late morning and I decided it might be a good time to stop and eat, before moving on to our next stop. As usual, I tried not to let anyone know in advance what that would be; since I preferred to have most things come as a surprise to them. I know the boys didn't always agree with my method, but they had come to trust my judgment and didn't normally give me a tough time about it. Although they weren't overly thrilled by most of the U.N. tour, no one complained, because they suspected I would probably arrange something else they would be more interested in later, and that's exactly what I was trying to do.

As we enjoyed a very early lunch, Jake and Mark sat on either side of me, so we could easily discuss what we had seen this morning. Jake and I recalled stories told to us by our grandparents and parents about the depression and World War II, and we thought about how those experiences helped to mold how those generations approached life and how they helped to change the world in the process. Mark was more interested in this discussion than I would have first imagined, but I soon discovered the reason for that. Mark informed me that his grandparents had also told him many of those kinds of stories when he was growing up and they had always interested him. He then went on to tell us he was very impressed with the things we had seen and done today, mainly because it helped him to better appreciate some of the tales his grandparents had shared with him.

It wasn't long before Danny and Brandon joined in the discussion too, since they were seated next to Mark, and then Shannon and Nick chimed in, giving us their take on things. I was quite impressed that the boys were so willing to discuss what the world had been like during the 1920's and through to the 50's, and they were very astute at drawing parallels between what happened then and some of the things that were happening in the world during the past decade or so. I complimented them on their insights, as did Jake, and I found it hard to dismiss the younger generation, as so many others were inclined to do.

Too many times people want to hold up the fringe elements of such a group, meaning the minority of individuals who go to extremes in what they do, including getting into trouble, and thus garner most of the attention. Then others try to label the entire class by the actions of those few. This was not only unfair to the group, but it was also highly inaccurate, so I hoped others would begin to realize there were also numerous young people in our midst who are bright, caring and concerned, and aren't accurately represented by the fringe elements of their peer group. I pray society will stop selling entire generations short and quit making generalizations and lumping them together in a single package. I think, as a society, we would have learned this lesson by now, after how our own generations had been depicted and how much of that had also been inaccurate and unfair.

After lunch we made our way over to Battery Park, which is on the tip of Manhattan, to a circular fortress called Castle Clinton. This edifice was built in 1811, to defend against British attacks, but is now a ticket and information center for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry rides. I purchased the tickets and we loaded onto the ferry, soon making our way to Liberty Island. The ferry had three decks, and because it was such a lovely day, we made our way to the top deck so we could enjoy the view. Soon, we were disembarking and making our way toward the base of the statue.

"The island was originally known as Bedloe's Island," I told the boys, as we walking toward it, "but the name was changed after the Statue was erected here. Lady Liberty was a gift from the people of France in 1886 and was the creation of Master Sculptor Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, while Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel designed the iron skeleton that supports the outer skin of Miss Liberty."

"Hey, isn't that the same guy who they named the Eiffel Tower for?" Brent asked.

"Indeed it is," I confirmed. "He was the very same person who designed that structure for the Paris World's Fair. It was also my understanding that intricate metal framework he incorporated in the Statue of Liberty may be seen if you climb the stairs to the crown, which some visitors decide to do."

"Are we going to do that?" Nick wanted to know.

"I think we'll use the elevators," I explained, "rather than wait in line to take the circular stairway up the interior. I'm worried some of us might find it difficult to navigate the small triangular stairs to the top, not to mention that we'd all be tired out before we got there."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nick countered. "So maybe we can walk down them instead," he added hopefully, but I decided to take a wait and see approach on that suggestion.

I went on to explain that the statue was begun as a centennial gift, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the book that Lady Liberty is holding in her arm is simply inscribed with the date 1776, written in Roman numerals. The statue was originally titled, 'Liberty Enlightening the World', which referred to the torch she held aloft in her right hand. The artist saw the beacon emanating from it to be guiding and welcoming immigrants to these shores.

The gift did cause some problems when it first arrived in the States, however, as funds were needed in order to prepare the area and erect a pedestal on which it would stand. The government turned to the public for help and the poet Emma Lazarus wrote a verse she called 'The New Colossus,' to help the fund-raising efforts. The last few lines of that poem are now on a plaque that adorns the base and reads as follows:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

For millions of immigrants who approached the United States by sea, this was the first vision they had of their new homeland, and this memory was forever burned into their minds.

From here, we made our way to see the displays that showed the various designs that had been suggested for the base. There were also pictures of the Statue taken at various times, showing how the area had changed and evolved over the years.

At this point I urged the boys to get moving, as we had a tight schedule to keep for the remainder of the day. We took the elevator to the top, and after disembarking we went and looked out the openings in Liberty's crown. For the next several minutes, we stood breathless and enjoyed the awe-inspiring view.

"Can we go up the torch now?" Ricky asked, his eyes glowing, while the others nodded their agreement.

"I'm afraid not," I began, which drew immediate negative responses from everyone. "I'm sorry, but it's no longer opened to the public, because of various risks involved. There's nothing I can do that will change that."

They seemed greatly disappointed by this news, but accepted my explanation and enjoyed what we were able to do. After looking around and seeing what we could from this vantage point, we made our way back down to the ground level, only to stare up at it once more. Before we left, we took numerous pictures, with various combinations of boys and adults huddled together, with the statue looming up behind us. Once we had taken those pictures, we loaded back onto the ferry and traveled over to Ellis Island.

Ellis Island was once a privately held island and was named in honor of one of its previous owners. The Immigration Service began to use the island on January 1, 1892, to screen those wishing to be admitted into the country. In 1898 and again in 1905, two other islands were built by using the earth and rock taken from the subway tunnels being cut from under the city and from the earth removed from the excavation of Grand Central Station. The various buildings were constructed or improved (including dormitories, hospital, kitchens, baggage station, electrical plant, restaurant, laundry and bath house) and the various personnel were hired to run the facility. All of this was done for a cost of approximately $1,500,000.

By 1947, 20 million people had entered the country through this location, but it was closed in 1954, with the immigration activities being moved into Manhattan. The site was reopened on September 10, 1990, as a unit of the Department of the Interior's National Park service, and it is now a very popular tourist attraction. As the boys, Jake and I roamed through this location we let our minds run wild, pretending we had just landed here in hopes of becoming citizens of the United States.

The main building is a large French Renaissance-style structure, which replaced an earlier wooden structure after it was destroyed by fire. Upon entering, the men, women and children who had just landed here would be placed in long lines, where they would wait between metal railings until their papers were checked and then they would be taken to another area for a medical examination. Approximately 5,000 – 8,000 people could be processed like this each day, and the facility was open 5 to 7 days a week, depending upon the number of arrivals wishing to enter the U.S. Those found to be afflicted by certain diseases were refused admittance and sent back to the country from which they came, so as not to spread these diseases to the general population.

The screening process was made even more difficult because of the numerous languages spoken by the new arrivals, as well as the many dialects each of those languages might include. Sometimes even the interpreters who spoke the particular language couldn't communicate with the new arrivals because of their thick regional dialects. Many of these new arrivals were therefore forced to endure many additional examinations, which caused lengthy delays, solely due to this language problem. Some unfortunate immigrants were even sent back because of various misunderstandings created by these language barriers, so it was not an easy or perfect system.

Many of the new arrivals often had vital information changed or incorrectly recorded, because of these communication problems or due to clerical errors, including the spelling of their names or even their birth dates. These errors would then become part of their new identity and what they would have to go by from that point on. This would not only upset the person involved, but it also made it more difficult for relatives to locate them or for future generations to trace their roots.

As we stood in this hallowed hall, we tried to imagine how a group of tired and frightened people, who had finally reached this location after so many days at sea, would have to go through this scary and confusing process. Not only were they greeted by people who didn't speak the same language as they did, but they were also examined and interrogated by these strangers, as well as sometimes being cheated or abused by those who were supposed to be helping them. I think we all gained a better understanding of what it might have been like and how much courage it took for people to leave their homelands and go through this process, just for the chance of having a better life.

Even though the buildings had fallen into severe disrepair after the location was abandoned in 1954, many have since been restored to nearly original condition. There are also numerous pictures taken of the various immigrants who had passed through here, which gave us a little better feel for those who entered via this location and the process they were force to endure to attain their goal. We tried to take in as many of these items as we could and were greatly moved by overlapping the looks of hope, sadness and confusion that were etched on their faces. We were really enjoying all of this, but eventually it was time to head back for our final activity of the day.

Once again, this was a surprise for the boys and something I thought would be a bit different and interesting for them as well. I had arranged for us to take a dinner-cruise up the East River. Once we arrived at the dock and boarded the vessel, we selected a group of tables located near each other, so we wouldn't get separated. Once we got underway, the boys went off to get drinks, before going to get their food, which was being served buffet-style. I stayed on deck and protected our cluster of tables from outside invaders, like a watchdog protecting a home, until some of the boys returned with their meals. At that point, I left them in charge and went to get my dinner. Soon, we all were eating and chatting, as the ship gently rocked back and forth as we made our way up the river. There was also a small band onboard, playing music so people could dance after they finished eating, but we merely just sat and listened to them, while enjoying the scenery along the way.

We passed by many interesting sites as we made our way up the river, which included the shorelines of some of the New York City boroughs, but primarily Manhattan. Along the way we were able to recognize the U.N. Building, the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and we could even see Castle Clinton. The biggest thrill of all came when the ship made its way toward the Statue of Liberty and made a slow U-turn in front of it, as the Captain prepared the vessel to make the return trip.

At the ship did its pirouette in front of Miss Liberty, we all stood up and walked over to the railing and held our breath, as we beheld this awesome and inspiring sight. Now, we could truly appreciate what those immigrants had seen and felt when they approached these shores and got their first glimpse of that magnificent lady standing in the harbor.

This experience helped to inspire another discussion, but this time it was about what those people must have been thinking and feeling at that point. I believe the younger boys were just as interested in this as the rest of us, since they asked many questions and wanted to know what the children would have done during their lengthy confinement on the ship and while waiting to be processed on Ellis Island. I explained, as best I could, about the types of things the children might have had with them or done during those periods.

"The girls might have had rag dolls that they could hold and play with, while the boys might have soldiers or animals carved out of wood or even marbles, although it would have been difficult to play marbles on a swaying ship," I offered. "The family might have even owned a tiddlywinks boxed game, which the adults may have even played with them. The set consists of a bunch of winks (which might be circular, rings, square or horseshoe-shaped and constructed from ivory, bone, celluloid, wood, plastic or even metal) and a shooter (which is larger than the winks and can be either circular, square or triangular). Over the years the shooter has also been referred to as a tiddledy or a squidger. The idea of the game was to press downward on a wink with the shooter and this would cause it to flip into the air, with the intent of landing it inside a targeted cup, or have the wink potted, as it was called. The idea was to get more of your winks into the cup than your opponent."

The boys seemed satisfied with what little I could offer, but Jake and Mark also added some of their own ideas and mentioned stories they had heard older relatives relay or information they had learned in history classes.

"I've also heard that on Ellis Island they also had rooftop playgrounds," Jake told them, "with wagons the children might pull each other around in, rocking horses or hoops which the children might roll about using sticks to guide them."

"Not only that," Mark added, "I've heard they also had swings and see-saws, which might also be called teeter-totters, set up in various places for the children to use." This helped the boys even more and I was thankful for Jake and Mark's support and input.

We continued to enjoy the ride and even noticed several things we had missed earlier, such as Rikers Island, which in New York City's largest jail facility, as we made our way back to the dock. To our immense chagrin, the cruise soon ended, but it left us with the wonderful memories and impressions it had inspired.

Once we were back at the hotel, we all were eager to clean up and get ready for bed. It was still fairly early, at least earlier than we were accustomed to, but we were all pretty tired. Before we separated, though, I did let each of them know tomorrow would not be as hectic as today had been, since I had arranged for a more laid-back schedule of activities. The boys wanted to know what we were going to do, but I told them I was going to keep that a surprise, which wasn't what they wanted to hear. Immediately, they began to pester me and tried to get me to slip or give them hints about what we were going to be doing. However, I remained firm and stood my ground.

The only one I had told about these plans was Jake, but I knew he would also help keep my secret. I was nearly positive these activities would be well received by everyone, once they discovered what we were, but felt it would have more impact if they didn't learn about any of them until the last moment. I could hardly wait to reveal these surprises.

NEXT PART