Bill W

Castaway Hotel VII

Chapters 19-27

Chapter 19
The Star Witness

When court resumed after lunch, the prosecution called its next witness. It was one of the others that had attended the party David Hubbard was at. In fact, the next several witnesses had all attended that get together and merely testified about the party and how everyone had a good time. The only thing they established was that everyone who attended was in a good mood, there were no fights or arguments prior to the assault and no one had shown any hostility toward the victim. I think this was done to shift suspicion away from those who were there, by showing everyone was getting along.

Their testimony was so innocuous that our lawyer barely asked them any questions; since he concluded nothing they said did any damage to his defense strategy. However, when the prosecution called another of these people to the stand, Mr. Gouldin voiced his objection.

"Your Honor, we have heard several witness repeat the same story," he stated, "so unless one of them has something new to add, I think we get the picture. I ask you stop the prosecution from calling others to repeat the information already on the record and move on to something new."

"I agree," the judge concurred, "so Mr. Osgood, I recommend you call a witness that possesses different information."

"Your Honor," since I felt we had several more witnesses to call first, I did not tell him to be here today."

"Then I suggest you have him here first thing in the morning," the judge announced, "and we'll call a recess until then." Mr. Osgood nodded and the judge slammed down his gavel, ending the day's proceedings.

The boys had calmed down after hearing Hubbard's testimony, because those that followed merely talked about the party and their comments were fairly inane. I took the accused home in the van and Jake took the others in the Suburban. Once we started to drive away from the Courthouse, they began to make their feelings known.

"David Hubbard is the same lying shack of shit he was when our problems with him first started!" Danny exclaimed.

"Did he really think he would get away with saying I came on to him, or one of his friends, again?" Shannon followed. "Is he dumb enough to believe we couldn't prove he was lying, after we proved it never happened in the first place?"

"I swear if someone hadn't already beaten the crap out of him," Pat followed, "I would have done it myself. I think he's even more despicable and pathetic now, than he was back then."

"I hope he only looks pathetic and not sympathetic," Brandon observed. "I think before he started spitting out his hatred against gays, some of the jurors might have believed him and were even feeling sorry for him."

"Good point," I announced. "You can learn a lesson from him. If you get called to testify, it is important to keep your cool and not lose your temper. I think you saw what outbursts can do to make you less believable."

"Yeah, we know what you mean," Danny replied. "Hubbard was actually doing good, until he started ranting against gays."

"Hell, seeing him in that wheelchair," Pat added, "I almost began to feel sorry for him too, until he began to speak."

"How does anyone like him make friends?" Brandon wondered. "A few of the people who were there to testify about the party aren't like him. In fact, I even get along with some of them."

"I can see him and Tim Wood being buddies," Shannon concluded, "and a few of the others too, but some of those people are generally nice. So why in the hell would the hang around Hubbard and Wood?"

No one had an answer to that question, so no one responded, and it wasn't long before I parked in front of the house. We got out, went inside and the boys were immediately barraged by their brothers. They not only wanted to show their support and make comments about what they heard, but they also offered suggestions about parts of the testimony they thought could be challenged. Once we went over their ideas, I jotted them down and told the boys I'd give them to Mr. Gouldin, to see if he thought he could use any of it.

The rest of the night was pretty quiet and the boys facing charges were very lethargic. I think they were already fearing the worst and imagining what their life would be like in prison. I tried to break them out of their funk and get them thinking more optimistically, but they were too afraid of what was to come. Tim Wood would be up next and his testimony could prove to be the most damning of all.

I'm not sure if any of them got any sleep that night, but I know I only dozed from time to time. I think Jake endured a very restless night too, because I heard him get up several times and leave our room. I certainly hope the trial doesn't drag on for very long or we'll all be zombies by the time a verdict is rendered.

The next morning we choked down a small breakfast and drove to court. Once we were seated inside, the judge entered and the trial resumed, with Mr. Osgood calling his big gun witness to the stand. This was the person who claimed to have seen the boys in the area just prior to the attack, so it was important for Mr. Gouldin to shake his testimony.

"The state calls Timothy Wood," the acting D.A. announced. The doors at the back of the courtroom opened and he came striding forward. He looked confident, and almost cocky, as he stepped up to the witness stand to be sworn in. Once that was completed, the prosecutor began.

"State your name in full," he was directed.

"Timothy Evan Wood," he responded.

Mr. Osgood began by questioning Wood about his association with Hubbard. He asked how they knew each other, how long they had known each other, what their relationship was like and other such questions, before moving on.

"Mr. Wood, could you tell us what you did on Thursday, July tenth of this year?" Mr. Osgood asked.

"Yeah, I went to kind of a party with my friend, David Hubbard," Wood announced, while pointing back at Hubbard, who was seated in his wheelchair, at the rear of the courtroom.

"Will you please tell us what happened that day?" the D.A. continued.

"Yeah, we had a really good time, until I found David later," Wood explained.

"So there were no problems at any time during this party?" the D.A. asked, hoping to totally eliminate the possibility that someone had a problem at the party and it was that person who later beat Hubbard.

"Nope. None," Wood stated, with a sneer.

Mr. Osgood then took a considerable amount of time to question Wood about events before the party, since he and Hubbard were together then too, even though they drove separately. Once that had been covered, the D.A. also questioned him about what happened at the party and what he did after he left the party, to further establish nothing had happened that would implicate anyone else. Most of this had little impact, except for eliminating the possibility that someone at the party might have done this, so Mr. Osgood pressed on.

"I understand you were the one who found Mr. Hubbard later, after the attack." Mr. Osgood continued.

"Objection, your Honor," Mr. Gouldin interrupted. "The prosecution is leading the witness and not asking a question."

"Objection sustained," the judge quickly ruled.

"Excuse me, your Honor, and let me rephrase," the D.A. apologized. "Who discovered Mr. Hubbard's battered body later?"

I could tell Mr. Gouldin wanted to object to Mr. Osgood's use of words, but since it had already been established that Hubbard was badly beaten, he knew he would be overruled. He didn't want to let the prosecution use it to emphasize Hubbard's condition any more than it was.

"That was me," Wood boasted.

"Can you tell us how you happened to locate him?" Mr. Osgood asked next.

"Sure. It was just after ten or so when David's father called and wanted to know if David was with me," Wood stated. "When I told him he wasn't, David's father told me he never came home, so I told his dad he might have had car problems and I'd go look for him. He thanked me and I told my parents what I was going to do and left. When I went back to where we held our party, I found him lying on the ground. He'd been beaten and was unconscious."

"What did you do then?" Mr. Osgood asked.

"I grabbed my cell phone out of the car and dialed 911," Wood explained. "The person on the other end told me not to move him and said she'd send a squad car and ambulance immediately, after I told her where we were."

"Did you see anyone else around that evening?" the D.A. continued, directing him toward the questionable portion of his testimony.

"Not then, but earlier, when I was leaving the party and heading home," Wood answered. "That's when I saw those four on the highway, less than a half mile from where the party was." He pointed at the four boys at the defense table as he said this, which added emphasis to his words.

"And you are positive it was them?" Mr. Osgood asked, while raising his eyebrows for effect.

"Absolutely," Wood assured the lawyer. "Danny was driving, with Brandon sitting in the front passenger seat, and I saw Shannon in the seat behind Danny, with Pat on the other side of him."

"So there's no doubt in your mind it was the defendants?" the D.A. persisted, to make his testimony even stronger.

"None whatsoever," Wood stated, confidently.

"Thank you, Mr. Wood," Mr. Osgood told him. "I have no further questions for this witness, your honor."

As Mr. Osgood was sitting down, Mr. Gouldin rose, buttoned his suit coat and moved forward to question the witness. He was scrutinizing him closely, as he approached.

"So, Mr. Wood, you claim to have seen the defendants that same evening, in the vicinity of the party?" our lawyer began.
"I don't claim it, I did see them," Wood challenged.

"So you say," Mr. Gouldin repeated, showing his skepticism. "And where were you when you saw them?"

"In my car," Wood responded.

"And was your car parked at the time or were you driving?" Mr. Gouldin followed.

"I was driving at the time," Wood replied.

"And was their car parked or were they moving at the time?" our attorney continued.

"Danny was driving in the other direction," Wood answered.

"Oh, and how fast were you traveling?" Mr. Gouldin wanted to know.

"I dunno, probably the speed limit," Wood informed him.

"And what would that have been?" our lawyer asked.

"About fifty-five," Wood responded.

"Okay, and how fast do you think the defendants were traveling?" Mr. Gouldin wanted to know.

"Probably about the same," Wood told him.

"Oh, so I see," Mr. Gouldin stated, in a tone that emphasized his surprise and doubt. "So, tell me, how long did it take for you to pass by them?"

"I dunno. Maybe a couple of seconds," Wood guessed.

"Ah, so at fifty-five miles-per-hour, and for a couple of seconds, you were able to see and recognize all four boys in their vehicle?" our lawyer asked, while raising his left eyebrow. He did this to indicate he didn't believe that was possible.

"Yes, I told you I did," Wood reiterated. My lawyer now flashed a look of disbelief, as he planned how he would push this idea further.

"And was there anything else that made you believe it was them?" Mr. Gouldin persisted.

"Yes, it was their car," Wood stated, feeling smug.

"Well, I know they have several vehicles, so which vehicle would that have been?" Mr. Gouldin asked.

"Their Grand Am," Wood announced, without hesitation.

"And you're absolutely positive it was their Grand Am, with them in it, and it couldn't have been someone else?" our attorney challenged.

"I'm positive it was them and not someone else," Wood replied, confidently.

"And what time of day was this?" Mr. Gouldin asked next.

"Somewhere around 9:00," Wood stated.

"And what was the visibility at that time?" Mr. Gouldin continued. "Was the sun bright or was it cloudy?"

"It was getting dark," Wood replied, but this time looking a little less confident.

"Did you have your headlights on at the time?" our lawyer asked.

"Yeah," Wood answered, succinctly.

"So it was dark enough to turn your headlights on?" Mr. Gouldin challenged.

"Yeah, I guess so," Wood answered.

"And did they also have their headlights on?" our lawyer wanted to know.
"I think they did," Wood replied, a little less certain.

"So it was dark enough for headlights to be used, you were both traveling at approximately fifty-five miles per hour and passed each other in a second or two, yet you have no doubts it was these four boys?" Mr. Gouldin continued, raising his eyebrows again.

"That's what I said," Wood answered, defiantly, while our lawyer gave him another questioning stare. Mr. Gouldin hesitated a few seconds before he continued.

"You have been friends with Mr. Hubbard for quiet some time, correct?" he asked.

"Yep, we have," Wood responded, boastfully.

Mr. Gouldin now asked Wood if he knew of any other fights Hubbard had been in, if Hubbard had any other enemies or if Hubbard was involved in anything that might have led to him getting beat so badly. Wood wasn't happy with this question and the D.A. objected to it. However, he was overruled, but Wood didn't say anything that would lead to another suspect.

"Please refresh my memory," Mr. Gouldin continued. "Were you part of the group that was involved in the fight with these boys a few years ago and weren't you also one of the boys suspended for those actions? Is this correct?"

"Yeah, I guess it is," Wood responded.

"And you share the same basic feeling about the alleged sexual orientation of these boys?" Mr. Gouldin challenged, as a way of discrediting his testimony.

"I guess so," Wood confirmed, hesitantly.

"You guess, so?" Mr. Gouldin pressed.

"Okay, I don't like queers either," Wood finally admitted.

"And you were in the fight with the defendants to protect your friend, Mr. Hubbard?" our lawyer asked next.

"Hell, yeah. He's my best bud," Wood stated, with added emphasis. "I'd protect him no matter what."

"And you'd lie to protect or help him too, is that also correct?" Mr. Gouldin challenged, having lured him into his trap.

" Objection, your honor…" shouted the D.A.

"Never mind, your honor," Mr. Gouldin replied, before Mr. Osgood could finish his objection or the judge had time to render his decision. "I withdraw my question.

Mr. Gouldin walked confidently back to his seat, while the witness was excused. Then the judge ordered an hour recess for lunch.
Once we were out in the hallway, the boys came up to me, rambling excitedly. They were eager to point out something they had picked up on in Tim Wood's testimony – something that would mean his statement couldn't possibly be true. I quickly listened to what they had to say and considered their argument, before I realized they were correct. After reaching this conclusion, I excused myself and left the courthouse. There were a few things I would need to do before the trial resumed. I asked Jake to take the O'Haras and the boys out to eat, while I ran my errands, which he readily agreed to.

I arrived back at court just before the trial was scheduled to restart and filled Mr. Gouldin in about what we had learned and what I had done. I was convinced he could use it. Now, we all took our places and waited for court to be called back into session.

Soon the judge entered the courtroom and took his place. Once he was seated, he addressed the prosecutor again.

"Mr. Osgood, will you please call your next witness," he told him.

The acting D.A. chatted quickly with his assistant before he rose from his seat and looked toward the judge.

"The prosecution rests, your honor," he stated meekly, which startled us and caused a series of audible gasps from the other spectators in the courtroom.

This actually surprised us too, because we felt the prosecutor would explore and draw out the testimony of those who knew about the animosity between my boys and Hubbard. He might possibly even elicit more testimony about how we had pushed to get the boys suspended. We were confident he'd also question why we went after the Boy Scouts next and want to know if it was because Mr. Hubbard was a scoutmaster and both David and Tim were members of his scout troop. However, I guess Mr. Osgood either felt he'd presented enough of that information or Hubbard's outburst had made him decide not to press the gay issue further. Either way, he ended on what he thought was his strongest witness to tie my boys to the crime.

"Mr. Gouldin," the judge continued, after realizing the prosecution was done, "would you please call your first witness to the stand."

"Yes, your Honor," our lawyer replied. "The defense calls Mark Williams to the stand."

Even though I had just picked Mark up from work, it was only so he could explain to Mr. Gouldin what I had told him earlier. There was never any definite plan to call him as a witness today. Even though everyone in the house had been included on the witness list, since we didn't know who might remember something important before it came time to testify, we still weren't certain anyone would be called. It was our good fortune we had done this, because now Mark's testimony was needed.

Looking shy, Mark walked from the waiting area outside the courtroom and stepped forward. He was sworn in and then Mr. Gouldin began to ask his questions.

"Please state your name in full," he told Mark.

"Mark Edward Williams," he replied.

"And how do you know the Currie family," Mr. Gouldin asked next.

"They are very good friends," Mark stated, "and I've lived with them for a while. I also work for the foundation the Curries started and handle some of Mr. Currie's investments."

"Very good," Mr. Gouldin responded. "Would you please tell us what you were doing the week of the July tenth incident."

"Yes, sir," Mark agreed. "I was attending a conference for work, in the Catskills."

"How did you get to this conference?" Mr. Gouldin followed.

"I drove," Mark replied.

"And did you drive your own vehicle?" Mr. Gouldin continued.

"No, sir," Mark answered. "I had to borrow one of the Currie's cars, because mine wouldn't start the morning I was to leave."

"I see," Mr. Gouldin stated. "So, which of their vehicles did you borrow?"

"Mr. Currie let me take the Grand Am," Mark replied.

Mr. Gouldin let a smile spread across his lips, and then he turned to look at the jury, before he turned to look at the prosecutor's table. It was plain to see that Mr. Osgood was not pleased about this surprise.

"And when did you leave and return?" Mr. Gouldin followed, looking very smug and confident at this point.

"I left on Sunday, July sixth, and returned on Friday, July eleventh," Mark stated, confidently. Mr. Gouldin nodded and grinned again.

"And do you have any way to prove that information is correct?" Mr. Gouldin continued.

"Yes, I have the parking receipt from the resort," Mark announced.

"Do you have it with you?" Mr. Gouldin countered.

"Yes, sir. I do," Mark assured him, as he pulled some paperwork out of his shirt pocket and began to unfold it. We had gone home to retrieve those receipts, as he had kept the originals and turned in copies of them for reimbursement from work.

"Would you please show those documents to the court and read the information on it." Mark held the papers out for the judge to see, and then he flashed them out toward the D.A, before finally holding them out for the jury. He then began to read the information.

"These papers give my name, the room number I stayed in at the hotel," Mark stated, "the year and description of the Grand Am and the license plate number."

"Does it have any other information, such as dates?" Mr. Gouldin followed

"Yes, sir," Mark readily agreed. "It says it's a parking receipt for July 6 – 11 of this year."

"Your honor, I'd now like to put this receipt into evidence," Mr. Gouldin stated, as he took the piece of paper from Mark and handed it to the judge. The judge looked it over briefly, before he responded.

"So ordered," he announced. "This will be entered as defense exhibit A." Now, Mr. Gouldin turned back to Mark to ask him one further question.

"So, seeing you had the car during this period of time," Mr. Gouldin continued, "would you agree there would have been no way Mr. Wood could have seen the Grand Am with the defendants in it on July tenth?"

"That would have been impossible, sir," Mark replied. "The car was with me, hundreds of miles away from here."

"Thank you, Mr. Williams. I have no further questions for you." Mr. Gouldin glanced at the prosecutor, before he turned and winked at us.

I had been watching the prosecutor during the testimony and could tell he was very flustered by this surprise. It made his star witness look like an unmitigated liar. Now, he scrambled to save his case.

"So, Mr. Williams," Mr. Osgood began, "would you please tell us again why you had the Currie's vehicle?"

"Yes, sir. When I went to leave on Sunday, my car wouldn't start," Mark explained, "so Mr. Currie let me borrow the Grand Am, so I wouldn't miss going. I left my car with him and he had it repaired while I was gone."

Thinking he might have found an opening, Mr. Osgood followed up with his next question. "What type of vehicle do you normally drive?"

"I have an older Saturn, sir," Mark explained and Mr. Osgood looked crestfallen, after hearing his response. I think he was hoping Mark also drove a Grand Am.

"And you are certain of the dates you were gone?" Mr. Osgood asked, hopefully.

"Absolutely," Mark stated. "Besides, they are written on the receipt that was just entered into evidence."

"So they were," the D.A. conceded, not knowing where else to go with his questioning. "I have no further questions for this witness, your honor."

As Mark left the witness chair, Mr. Gouldin turned and motioned me to come forward.

Chapter 20
The Verdicts

As I moved toward Mr. Gouldin, the judge addressed him. "Mr. Gouldin, would you please call your next witness."

"May I please have a moment, your honor?" he asked.

"Make it brief," the judge responded and Mr. Gouldin turned back to speak to me.

"I think we should rest here," he explained. "We've just destroyed their connection between the boys and where the incident took place, and even though we can prove where some of the boys were during the nine to ten time span, it still puts them out of the house at the time. I think it would be best if we just rested now. I believe this new evidence will give the jury enough to think about and supply them with sufficient doubt to find your sons not guilty."

"Are you sure about that?" I wanted to know. Even though I though Mark had destroyed Wood's testimony, we hadn't done very much to defend the boys.
"It's a close call, but I want this information fresh in the jury's mind when they deliberate," Mr. Gouldin explained. "No other witness we call will be unable to add more damaging testimony than Mark did, so I think it would be to our advantage to rest now."

I looked at the boys, who were listening in on our discussion, and could tell by the expressions on their faces that they were concerned about this suggestion. I wish I could take a few minutes to talk this over with Brandon's parents and Jake, but at that moment the judge interrupted our deliberations.

"Mr. Gouldin, are you about ready to proceed," he asked.

Hearing the judge, I finally gave Mr. Gouldin my answer. "If you think that's best," I advised him, "then do it. You know much more about criminal defense than any of us and that's why we hired you in the first place."

"Then I say we end this now," he confirmed. I merely nodded and he turned to face the judge.

"Your honor, the defense rests," he announced.

There was an audible and collective gasp from the others in the courtroom. The prosecutor merely looked over at the defense table and stared, as if he were trying to size them up. However, there was nothing for him to see.

"In that case," the judge responded, "we shall take another recess, so you can prepare your closing arguments and I can prepare my charge to the jury. Court will reconvene in one hour."

With that said, the judge slammed down his gavel, stood up and went back to his chambers. However, most of the people in the courtroom stayed where they were, except for the jurors. They were led back to the jury room, where they would wait until the judge returned.

We sat and talked among ourselves. We attempted to weigh the information as it had been presented and then speculated about whether there was sufficient for the jury to find the boys guilty. While we were talking, Mr. Gouldin and the District Attorney left the courtroom, to prepare their closing remarks.

After the judge and the lawyers left, the courtroom finally began to clear, so we decided to take a walk. We felt it would be best if we got away from there, even if it were only for a few minutes. Of course, the fact that the Hubbards and Tim Wood were glaring at us from the rear of the chamber helped to motivate our decision.

We wandered around the Courthouse Park for about a half hour, just enjoying the temperate day. It did help us relax more than if we'd stayed put, but thinking the hour was almost up, we wandered back to take our seats. We were still talking about how we thought the jury would decide when the judge reentered. Quickly, the chamber grew quiet again.

Once the jury had returned as well, the judge spoke. "Mr. Osgood, would you please make your closing remarks."

"Yes, your honor," he began, while standing up. Then, he strode over and stood in front of the jury box.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," he began. "This case is fairly simple. It has been shown there was a past history of animosity between these boys, because of an incident at school, and when the four defendants finally got their opportunity for revenge, they took it. They were seen in the area just before the attack occurred, have no alibis for that time period and have plenty of motive for wanting to hurt the victim. If you agree with these facts, you have to return a verdict of guilty."

Having finished his brief remarks, the D.A. returned to his table and took his seat. I thought his closing was more than a little weak, probably because his star witness had been discredited and his victim showed he was a liar and a bigot, but now we all watched Mr. Gouldin, as he made his address to the jurors.

"For one of the few times during this trial," he stated, while holding his body very erect and looking very professional, "I agree with the District Attorney. This case is very simple. The biggest piece of evidence the prosecutor had to tie my clients to this crime was an eyewitness, who claimed he passed their car after dark, while both vehicles were doing approximately 55 m.p.h. However, after he testified, we discovered he could not have seen what he claimed, since the vehicle he said he saw wasn't even in town at the time. If that's not reasonable doubt, then I don't know what is. You have no choice but to come back and return a verdict of not guilty."

Mr. Gouldin gave the jury one final scan, to read their expressions, and then moved back to his seat. There was a brief lull in the proceedings, while the murmuring in the courtroom died down, and then the judge turned to face the jury, so he could give them his charge.

"Members of the jury, there are two charges involved with this crime," he began, "however before we delve into those, I must remind you that you must find the evidence sufficient to place the defendants at the scene of the crime when it was committed. You must also find, beyond a reasonable doubt, they in fact perpetrated this crime.

"Now, concerning the specific charges," he went on. "If you find beyond a reasonable doubt the defendants attempted to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause injury to David Hubbard, or that they negligently caused bodily injury to David Hubbard with a deadly weapon, then you must find them guilty of simple assault.

"If you find beyond a reasonable doubt the defendants attempted to cause serious bodily injury to David Hubbard," the judge continued, "or caused such injury intentionally, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, then you must find them guilty of aggravated assault. Do any of you have questions concerning my directions?" None of the jury members responded, so the judge continued.

"Bailiff, will you please take the members of the jury to the jury room and sequester them, until they reach a verdict," he ordered.

The bailiff did as he was directed and led the jury out. As they were leaving, I turned to look at my accused sons and still noted some very concerned looks on their faces. They were aware their continued freedom and a possible criminal record rested solely with the twelve men and women who just left and that was not a reassuring thought for them.

Once the jury was gone, we met with Mr. Gouldin. He told us we did what we had to do to exonerate the boys and felt confident the verdicts should come back not guilty. I told him I hoped he was right, as we prepared to exit out of the back of the courtroom. We planned to wait in the hallway until the verdicts were announced, but before we left, Mr. Gouldin told us he believed it wouldn't take the jury long to reach a decision. This was due to the fact the trial turned out to be much shorter trial than anticipated and very little evidence was presented that the jury would have to wade through. Therefore, we took up our vigil in the wide corridor outside the courtroom.

As I looked around, I could see Mr. Hubbard, his son, David, and Tim Wood sitting at the opposite end of the corridor. They looked just as worried about what the jury would decide as we were. Every few minutes, they would turn in our direction and give us their patented glare, so it was obvious their animosity toward us only grew with time.

I became involved with one of these eye-to-eye stare downs with David and his father and was determined to outlast them. However, our little contest ended prematurely, when the bailiff came into the hall and announced the jury was back. We reentered the courtroom curious about what they had decided.

Even though Mr. Gouldin had told us the verdict would be probably be reached quickly, we thought it might take a little longer than this. I even glanced at my watch, to calculate how long it had taken, and was shocked to discover the jury had only been out for twenty minutes or less. This made me wonder if it weighed in our favor or against us.

On the way back in, I asked Mr. Gouldin what he thought. Although he said he felt confident the jury had seen through the lies and would find them guilty, I think he still feared it could go either way. We walked in, took our seats and nervously awaited the outcome. Shortly thereafter, the judge entered and took his place, so we had to stand again. Once he called the court back into session, the jury was led into the jury box, and I noticed they didn't look at either the prosecution or defense tables on the way in. Instead, the members of the jury seemed to prefer to look toward the floor or study their hands, for the most part. Once they were seated, the judge addressed them.

"Madam foreperson, has the jury reached its verdicts?" he asked.

"Yes, your honor," the matronly looking woman replied. "We have."

"For the defendant Daniel Currie, on the most serious charge of aggravated assault, how do you find?" I think we all held our breath at this point.

"Not guilty," came the reply. We were somewhat relieved, but dared not cheer just yet.

"For the same defendant, on the lesser charge of simple assault, how do you find?" the judge asked.

"Not guilty, your honor." I think some of the weight began to lift and I glanced quickly at the rear of the courtroom, where I saw David, his father and Tim Wood all looking as if they had just swallowed a whole lemon. It was quite obvious they were not happy with the verdicts and didn't consider the matter closed, at least not yet.

We sat in controlled silence, while the same verdicts were read for Pat, Brandon and Shannon, and then the judge thanked the jury and told the boys they were free to leave.

I kept everyone with me in the courtroom for a few more minutes, since I wished to give the Hubbards and their friends time to leave first. I wanted to avoid any possible confrontations in the hallway or parking lot, which could lead to more charges. The boys were eager to get away from there, but I made them wait about fifteen minutes before we left, and I also made sure to warn them to stay together until we reached home.

As I suspected, the Hubbards and their supporters were still in the parking lot when we got there. I think they might have been planning to do something to our vehicles, but had to wait until everyone else cleared out first. Once they felt they had their opportunity, we showed up and ruined things, before they had the chance to carry out their plan. When they saw us, and how many there were, they all turned, got into their own vehicles and left.

Once they were gone, we did the same and drove home. Once we were away from the courthouse, a series of excited comments and cheers began to break the silence, as my relieved crew felt they could finally begin to celebrate their vindication.

When we got to the house, the euphoria continued, however the discussion now changed. Instead of talking excitedly about how everything worked out to clear them, they began to wonder what would have happened if Mark's car hadn't refused to start on the Sunday before he left for his conference. In fact, I think we all found that a very scary thought.

"You know," Danny stated simply, "I can't wait to thank Mark when he gets home from work, for helping us out of that mess, but maybe we should be thanking his car for breaking down instead." There were a few scattered chuckles from some of the younger boys, because they didn't immediately get his implication. Once this brief moment of giggles ended, the room became somber again.

"I really hate to think what might have happened if his car hadn't broken down," Brandon agreed. "We could have been convicted just because of what Wood said. I'm sure glad Mark had those receipts to prove he had the Grand Am at the conference during that week."

"I wouldn't go that far," Jake countered. "I'm sure we would have come up with other things to clear you."

"Possibly, but we can't really say that for sure," I added, not quite as confident. "I'm really glad someone caught on to the fact about the car, because it hadn't registered with me at all."

"Yeah, even we didn't catch it," Pat added. "We were focusing on how Wood said he had seen us and didn't catch his mistake about the car."

"By the way, who DID catch that?" Shannon asked.

"It was Cole," Dion boasted, while patting Cole on the back.

"How did you pick up on that?" Ricky asked, while looking more than a bit impressed at his brother. Cole, for the most part, had always just seemed to blend into the background, but now he stood out.

"Yeah, what made you think of that?" Sammy asked Cole.

"Well, it's because I always like to take the Grand Am when I need to go somewhere," Cole began, "and that week I couldn't do it. I guess it just made me remember it had been gone all week." He looked slightly embarrassed by all the attention, but you could tell he was pleased he had been the one to help the most.

"Cole," Brandon began, "I think I can speak for the others too, when I say thank you for catching Wood's mistake about the car." This time, Cole was blushing.

"We all owe you big time," Brandon continued, "so if you ever need anything – anything at all, just ask. And I mean that."

Cole was still blushing and it took him a few seconds before he was able to respond, but it wasn't until the other three had concurred with Brandon's statement.

"If I hadn't picked up on it, someone else would have figured it out eventually," Cole suggested, although I wasn't sure anyone else agreed with him. "Maybe not then, but once we got home and started talking about it, someone would have remembered."

"Possibly, someone else might have figured it out" Jake told him, "but it might have been too late for it to be used in court. By catching it so quickly, the lawyer was able to make it his whole defense and I really believe that's what made the difference here."

"He's right," I added, supporting Jake's position. "If you hadn't caught it when you did, the lawyer would have called a bunch of you to the stand to testify as to what you were doing before we left for vacation. By the time one of us had caught the mistake about the car, the jury may have been too confused, having to wade through all the other information, so they wouldn't see that fact as clearly. Whether you are willing to admit it or not, Cole, it was your observation that helped the others to be found not guilty.

"And Brandon's right," Pat added. "We owe you big time. Whatever you want or need, just ask. I don't think any of us could refuse you anything, since you kept us from going to prison."

"No, you guys don't owe me a thing," Cole insisted. "I just did it to help my brothers. Besides, you've always been there for me too. You and Dad, that is."

The boys told him they still wanted to repay him in some way, but for now settled on giving him a hug, slap on the back or some other gesture to show him how they felt. Each of the four boys who had been accused of the crime also made sure to thank Cole personally for his astuteness, although Cole still seemed embarrassed by the attention.

No matter how he acted, I think Cole was proud of himself too, and this was a feeling he seldom got to enjoy. Due to his early life, learning difficulties and problems in school, Cole had seldom enjoyed opportunities to feel good about himself. That was one of the reasons I gave in to him about the old car he wanted to fix up, hoping he could take some pride in the fact he was refurbishing it entirely by himself, both the body and the engine. Now, I just sat back reveling in the realization that his current recognition for was for something other than his automotive prowess.

During the rest of the evening, things began to quiet down and get back to normal, and by morning, the boys were beginning to talk about other things, besides the trial. We let the four college boys stay home for the rest of the week however, just to unwind and put what they'd been through behind them. I did this for their mental well-being, but it wasn't a vacation. I also insisted they keep up with their studies while they were here, and although they mildly objected to my demand, they did as I asked.

Brandon's parents stayed until Saturday, when they caught their flight home. There was a tearful parting between them and their son, yet it was also filled with relief. There was no doubt we were all happy this was behind us. The O'Haras promised they would come back to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with us too, which pleased Brandon immensely. It meant he wouldn't have to fly there for either of those holidays, but would still celebrate both occasions with his parents. It wasn't because he didn't want to go to Texas to see them, but he didn't want to miss being with the other boys either. This way, he could be with everyone at the same time.

After we saw the O'Haras off, Jake and I took the college boys back to their campuses, to resume their normal life, as students. I think by that point they were all eager to return to school and we parted with hardly any emotional displays when we dropped them off. Jake and I arrived home late Sunday afternoon and talked about how we had managed to dodge a bullet. We also wondered how many other scary incidents like this we might still have to face.

Chapter 21
Moving On

Now that our legal woes were behind us and the college boys had returned to their campuses, those who were still at home put all their energy into planning our Halloween haunted house. They wanted to outdo themselves this year and I decided to let them do it, thinking it would be good for them to direct their energies elsewhere and forget about what the family had just gone through. Over the next few days, they told me their suggestions and then I would do one of three things – okay their idea, help modify it or reject the suggestion outright, since some of their proposals were outrageous. After a few heated discussions, we finally agreed on a plan and the boys set about putting it into action.

While they were working on their ideas for Halloween, I had something else to concern myself with, Cole's next birthday. He would be turning eighteen this year and I wanted to make a big deal of it for him, since I thought he could use a boost.

There was another reason I felt this way. Trey and Vinnie had been talking excitedly about their college plans, but Cole and I both knew he wouldn't be going on. Cole didn't especially care for school, due to his learning difficulties, so I needed to give him something else to focus on and make him feel good. He hadn't said anything, but I could sense his uneasiness, whenever he heard the other two go on about their plans. I thought he also felt he was a disappointment, although I tried to assure him he wasn't. By the way he was moping around the house, I could tell his self-esteem was slipping another notch every time the other two innocently went on about their future plans.

I tried to distract him on a couple of different occasions, by asking him how work was going on the car he was fixing up. That would temporarily bring him out of his funk and get him animatedly talking about what he was up to. I could see how passionate he was about doing this and felt it might be the key to his future.

Just like we had for Andrew, I planned a small, family gathering for his birthday, but I also had a little surprise in mind, hoping it would make the day memorable for Cole. With this in mind, I made some inquires and did everything I could to pull this off. I was actually a little excited as Cole's big day approached.

After everyone had gathered at the house, they wished Cole a happy birthday and gave him his gifts, which he would open later. Once that had been completed, we sat down to eat. I had allowed Cole to choose the menu, which he had very diligently done, and when the meal was over, we sat around socializing for a while, before we had cake and ice cream and let Cole open his gifts.

I saved my present for last. After he finished unwrapping everything else and thanking whomever gave it to him, I handed him mine. It was a large manila envelope, and this in itself made Cole curious. Carefully, he opened it and pulled out the paperwork inside. I had prepared everything on my computer. Slowly, he read it over, before he shot across the room and threw his arms around my neck. "Dad, this is fantastic!" he exclaimed.

Of course, this got everyone wondering what I had given him, because I hadn't divulged this information to anyone beforehand, not even Jake. "Well, what is it?" Mrs. Spence finally inquired.

"Dad got me a job at the car dealership on weekends, but that's not all. It's also a guarantee from the owner that I will be hired full-time after I graduate, if I do a good job. It also says the owner will send me to various automotive classes when I do work for him full-time, for more advanced training. It's just what I was hoping for. I love working on cars and I can't imagine anything I'd like to do more. Thanks, Dad, I love you." He was kind of doing a little dance, he was so excited, but suddenly he stopped and turned toward me again, and spoke.

"I was really feeling bad, cuz I'm not smart enough to go to college, but this is far better. I don't mind going to school to learn about fixing cars. You do that by working on them and I can learn that way. I just don't do well learning from people talking or by reading books."

This was his way of justifying things for everyone else. He knew I understood what he was feeling, since we'd discussed it many times. I was thrilled he felt so strongly about doing this and it was nice to see my assumption vindicated.

Once Cole finished, everyone began asking both of us questions. They wanted to know more about what Cole had been doing, how this would tie in with those activities and what this meant for him, in the long run. Cole was happy to fill in those who had been unaware of his activities. He told them he was taking automotive classes at school and about his efforts to fix up the old car I'd allowed him to purchase.

Everyone listened intently to his story and even asked questions and made comments along the way. Each of them seemed sincerely interested in what this meant to him and I think this not only gave Cole something to look forward to, but it also eased his conscience about not attending college. I was euphoric it had all worked out so well – even better than I had hoped.

The rest of the day went very smoothly and everyone seemed to have a good time. Some of our extended family went out of their way to stop and congratulate me on my creative solution to Cole's problem. Even Jake told me he hadn't seen that coming, but thought it was an excellent idea, before teasing me about how many other secrets I had kept hidden from him. Playing along, I told him at least a trunk full, which surprised him even more. I don't believe he expected me to respond in that fashion, but instead assumed I would try to reassure him it was the only one. Leaving him to wonder, I jokingly punched him in the arm and then walked away, choosing not to pursue this any further.

Once our guests had left and things quieted down, I went over to Jake and explained that I would never keep anything of importance from him, just to ease his doubts. After that, I answered a few more of his questions, to relieve his suspicions completely, and then we headed off for some quiet time alone, something I think both of us desperately needed. By the next day, all of his doubts were behind us.

The boys went into high gear now, as there was only a little over a week to go before it would be Halloween and they needed to finish their preparations. They had worked hard on what they had planned for this year, since what they intended to do was even more elaborate than their previous attempts. When the big day arrived, I was pleased to discover their plans had come together nicely.

Since Halloween isn't celebrated in Australia, this would be Peter's first brush with Trick-or-Treaters. The night before Halloween, the boys decided to take Peter through alone, so they could practice for the following night. Although he wasn't prepared for some of the scares he would receive, he seemed to enjoy himself.

"That was jolly good fun," Peter stated, once he'd gone through. Afterward, he admitted his comment sounded as if his grandfather had made it, rather than him, since he didn't usually say things like that. However, we got his point.

"I can't wait to see how others react to those ghouls," Peter continued, before eagerly asking if he could follow the first group in.

I told him not only could he follow the first group in, he could also serve as guide for some of the later groups too, so he could also see how they reacted. Peter loved the idea and eagerly agreed to do what I'd suggested.

The boys were excited when they awoke on Halloween morning and it made me wonder if I would be able to get them through the day at school. I knew they probably wouldn't be able to concentrate on their class work, but I wasn't about to let them take the day off. I made sure they all went to school, but by the time they arrived home afterward, they were all so hyper they literally flew about the house to get ready for the big night.

As always, we had someone out front who kept all the trick-or-treaters gathered in one place, until he directed them to go around to the back of the house. If you remember, last year I was dressed up as a scarecrow and sat in a rocking chair on the front porch, but this year I let one of the boys do it. They were in costume, but not as inconspicuous as I had been.

The Trick-or-Treaters would enter through our rear door and move into the rec room first, before they were directed to the other areas. On their way to our backdoor, they passed by the familiar tombstones, which included the names of some of the most famous murderers in history, such as Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacey, Son of Sam, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Vlad the Impaler and Osama Bin Laden, but this year they had added one more, Saddam Hussein. His tombstone was placed closest to the door, so people would notice it, but there was a more sinister reason for doing this too.

As the first set of costumed youngsters made their way to our door, we soon heard a series of screams, which meant the first surprise of the night had been sprung. The boys had dug a shallow hole in front of Saddam's tombstone, big enough for one of them to lie down in, and Dion eagerly volunteered for this job. Over top of the hole, I had made a hatch, with a small trap door in it and fastened an artificial grass rug to it, before Dion took his place.

As the first group made its way to our door, Dion reached through the small opening and grasped one of the Halloweener's legs. This startled the person and caused the first scream, which in turn scared some of the others into doing the same thing. Not giving them a chance to investigate what happened further, I opened the door and invited them inside.

The children looked relieved to come indoors, but that was short-lived. As they entered, the room was filled with various spooky sounds, provided by a commercially prepared CD being played on a portable player. Our guests immediately focused on the casket, where in the past we had another boy hidden, dressed as Dracula. This diversion helped to set up the next surprise, which came from the other side of the room. Graham, Sammy and Andrew, all dressed as some creepy alien life forms, slid noiselessly across the carpet and grabbed one of the unsuspecting visitors. This set off another series of screams and I could only imagine what the group waiting out front was thinking at this point.

From there, the children were led down to the basement, through a series of strings that dangled in their path, each with a different grotesque plastic creature attached to it. Once they got to the bottom, the boys had set up large aquariums, which they had filled with various creepy delights. One of the tanks held spiders, the next a variety of bugs, another was filled with worms, snails and slugs, and the final tank held a collection of various reptiles inside.

The boys had also hooked up spotlights above and behind each tank, which they would turn on, one at a time, as the children approached. This highlighted what was contained within, and seeing this series of revolting animals elicited a few more cries and screams, which was quickly followed by some gleeful cackling from my sons.

After getting away from that area, the children were led past a table containing an array of body parts, most of which seemed to be able to move on its own. First there was a bloody arm, which would reach out and attempt to grab passers by. Then there was a pair of eyes, which appeared to be suspended in a frame dangling in midair, and the eyes would appear and disappear with varying frequency.

Trey was the one that had volunteered to do this. He had a black, cloth mask over his face, so only his eyes showed, but the boys had also put black makeup over his eyelids and around his eyes, so when his eyes were closed, the entire box looked empty. We also had a black light illuminating the area, so when he opened his eyes it would not only give an eerie effect, but also make the eyes appear as if they were attached to nothing.

Finally, there was a severed head, which sat on a platter and would open its eyes and speak as the children walked by. In reality, the head belonged to Vinnie, who was made up to look like a very haggard Saddam Hussein, complete with the infamous beret. This area turned out to be very popular, but we had to keep the children moving, so those waiting outside could have a turn too. Once our visitors collected their treats, they were led back upstairs, so they could exit out our front door. By this time the next group would be entering the rear of the house, as the cycle continued.

By the time the evening had ended, we were all extremely exhausted, but had also enjoyed ourselves immensely. The trick-or-treaters gave us many favorable comments about their time here and genuinely appeared thrilled with our efforts. That, alone, more than made up for all the work we had done and the long day we had just put in. In fact, the boys were already talking about what they wanted to do for Halloween next year. It was nice to see them so excited about doing something like this again.

October now gave way to November and Jake and I began to prepare for our Thanksgiving holiday, which would be the first without my older children. I was fairly certain three of them wouldn't be coming and the fourth had already told me he had too much going on to be able to get away. We called the members of our extended family to let them know they were invited again and then we began to plan the menu. I tried to keep my spirits up, even though inwardly I was depressed because I wouldn't be seeing my older children and grandchildren this year. Jake immediately picked up on this fact and wanted to do something to help me get through it.

"We could just make it a quiet gathering this year," he suggested, while giving my shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Maybe that would make it a little easier on you."

"NO!" I was emphatic. "I will not change the way we do things, because that would be unfair to the rest of the family. I'll be damned if I'll let those brats ruin our holiday. They may wish to stay away, but I'm not going to pine about it and bring everyone down with me. We will do things the same as we always do and I don't want to discuss this again."

I was only trying to emphasize my intent, but when I looked into Jake's eyes, I realized I had hurt his feelings with my outburst. Here he was trying to help me, because he was concerned about how I was feeling, and I had more or less exploded in his face. Without meaning to, I had once again managed to hurt someone who only had my best interests at heart. After apologizing profusely for my tirade, we sat and talked about the situation in depth.

"Jake, I didn't mean to go off on you like that and I DO appreciate your concern, but I can't let my older children's decision effect the way we do things. We must keep everything as normal as possible, if only for the boys' sake. I want things go on as usual and I'll deal with this situation on my own, and in my own way, so I won't drag the rest of you down with me."

"I thought we were partners?" Jake stated succinctly, but in a questioning manner.

"We are," I agreed, in an effort to reassure him, but I wondered where he was going with this.

"Well, if we're partners, shouldn't we discuss this, or anything else which affects us jointly or affects the family? If I'm a part of this, I want to be included in the decisions too." I immediately agreed with his logic and let him know so.

"Okay, you're right and I apologize for the way I acted," I offered. "I will talk things over with you from now on, but I hope you can see why I feel as I do about this."

"Oh, yes, I do, and I'm willing to go along with you on it," he confirmed. "I was just trying to offer another option, but if you think this is the best way to go, then I'll support you one hundred percent."

I again thanked Jake for his understanding and we began talking about this situation in greater detail. Soon, things were pretty much back to normal between us and we continued to plan for Thanksgiving. We also talked about ways to ensure I didn't get overly depressed or dwell upon these problems during the holiday season.

Jake suggested one way to do this would be to concentrate on Dion's birthday, which happened to fall on Thanksgiving Day this year. Dion would be turning sixteen, and by focusing on his birthday and Thanksgiving dinner, Jake figured it would give me plenty to occupy my time. I knew he was right about the distraction, and by concentrating on both events; it would give me less time to feel sorry for myself or think about what I might be missing.

Planning for these events did keep me going and took up most of the time I wasn't spending at work. It also caused me to actually become a little excited as the twenty-seventh approached. We had decided to have Thanksgiving dinner around 2:00 and then celebrate Dion's birthday later that evening, probably around 6:00 or so. I had previously discussed this with Dion and gave him the choice of having his party then or waiting for the weekend to do it, but he seemed to think it would be less of an inconvenience to do it all at the same time. However, he did suggest that maybe we could do something special on Saturday too, just not a party. I agreed with his recommendation, so everything was set.

Wednesday night, before Thanksgiving, Jake and I spent most of the night preparing various dishes for the next day. The boys helped with the other preparations, by getting the dining room ready and setting up the extra tables we would need to accommodate our guests.

Mark and Frankie were already doing their share as well. They had left Tuesday night to pick up the college boys, which freed Jake and I up to focus on the cooking responsibilities. As the two of us were preparing the pies and other deserts, the vehicles began to roll in with our college crew. Soon, the house was full of the chaotic sounds and innocent horseplay I had grown to love. On their own, the boys had managed to find the best distraction of all for me.

The funny thing was, some of the roles were now reversed and my normal prankster, Ricky, had become the brunt of the practical jokes, instead of the instigator. Actually, we were all puzzled as to who pulled this off, since no one took credit for what happened, but it was a riot as it went down.

The college boys had all gone to their rooms to drop off their belongings, but most came back downstairs almost immediately. However, no one noticed our missing boy, until we heard a loud crash, followed by frantic banging coming from the second floor. I was going past the staircase just as it happened, so I ran up the steps to see what was going on. When I reached the top of the stairs, I discovered it was Ricky who had been making all the noise and was now banging on the inside of his bedroom door.

"Ricky, what in the hell are you doing in there?" I screamed, thinking he was either losing it or desperate for attention.

"Some bastard fixed my bed so it would collapse when I sat on it and then put oil or something all over my doorknob, so I can't get out. He also did something else, cuz I got a shock when I touched the doorknob too. I'm going to find out who did this and beat the crap out of him. Will you open the door from out there?" he pleaded.

Suddenly, the lights began to go on in my mind. Someone was getting revenge. I disconnected a battery that had hooked to the outside of the doorknob and opened the door for him, which allowed Ricky to come shooting out into the hall.

"I'm gonna get even," he warned me, bolting from his room, but I grabbed and restrained him, hoping he'd calm down. As I held him, he was looking urgently about, to see if he could find the prankster laughing at him from the background, but no one was there. Next, he turned toward me. His nostrils were flaring and he had a crazed look in his eyes.

"You know who did this, don't you?" he challenged, thinking I knew more than I did.

"No, Ricky, I don't," I admitted honestly, although he failed to believe what I said. He glared at me now, as if he thought I was in on it too.

"Honestly, I don't know anything about this," I stated, tying to convince him, but he was unmoved.

"You know just about everything that goes on in this house," he argued, "so why don't you know who did this?"
"Ricky, I only know what I see, hear or am told," I replied, "but this time, none of that has happened."

I tried to look as serious as I could, so he wouldn't doubt me further. He studied my face carefully, to see if he could detect a cover up or a hint of insincerity. Detecting nothing, he began to back down from his stance.

"Well, I expect you to tell me, if you do find out who did this. They're going to be sorry," he threatened.

"Oh, when you do it that's okay," I challenged, "but not when it's done to you?" He shot me a look that told me he wasn't amused by my observation.

"Hey, they always try to get even with me too," he reasoned, "so why shouldn't I get even with them?"

"Possibly they do," I admitted, "but who started all this in the first place?" Again, he was not amused.

"Damn! Am I always going to be in the wrong just because I did those types of things first?" he pouted.

"No, not in the wrong, but don't expect me to protect you from others doing the same thing. Remember, I never protected them from you." I grinned at him and he rolled his eyes.

"You're no help," he stated, dryly.

Leaving me behind, he went downstairs to see if he could solve the mystery of who did this, but by bedtime he was no closer to finding the culprit. Everyone teased him about it, but no one took credit, and this just seemed to irritate him even more. Frustrated, he eventually gave up and went to bed, but not before putting his bed back together and taking an old rag to clean the oil off his doorknob.

Jake and I also talked about it and tried to determine who had the guts to challenge our numero uno jokester, but we couldn't come up with anyone in particular. Yes, they all were likely candidates, even Peter, but none more than the others. We were just as baffled as Ricky was. I was just as intrigued by this as anyone and couldn't wait to discover who had taken Ricky on.

Chapter 22
Family Ties

The next morning, Jake got up early to begin preparing the turkey. I started to get up too, but Jake insisted I sleep in and he would take care of everything. Rather than argue, I did as he suggested, since I figured I could use the extra time in the sack. However, good intentions oft go astray and it wasn't long before something roused me from my bed.

Without warning, loud music began blaring from several locations upstairs and I jumped out of bed and raced into the hallway, but Jake nosed me out from reaching the stairs first. Without hesitating, we both bolted up the steps, as some of the music began to die down, but everyone was already up by then – and it was only 6:30.

The boys were all staggering out into the hall looking for Ricky. I discovered they thought he had set this up, as his way of seeking revenge. It seems Ricky, or someone else, had set all of their alarms for 6:30 and arranged it so the radio would play, instead of the regular buzzer, and then adjusted the volumes to maximum. Therefore, when the alarms went off, it had the greatest amount of shock value for the previously comatose victims.

Soon the blame shifted away from Ricky, once the boys discovered the same thing had happened to him. Not only that, but he had an extra, added surprise waiting for him. As Ricky got out of bed, he stepped on a collection of eggshells, which had been carefully arranged so he wouldn't be able to avoid them. They didn't hurt him or do any damage, but they did make a mess and caused him sit back on his bed quickly, to get off of them. When the boys went to accuse him, Ricky was still trying to wipe the pieces of eggshell from the soles of his feet.

Jake and I soon discovered the shells came from all the eggs we had used to make the desserts and other dishes we had prepared for Thanksgiving dinner. The culprit had obviously come down after we all went to bed, sneaked into Ricky's room after he had fallen asleep and then gone back to his own room without being discovered. I had no idea who would go to all this trouble or who would be focusing on Ricky after he'd been away for so long. It wasn't that the others didn't have sufficient reason to want to do these types of things to him, but it left us all baffled. That is, everyone except for the guilty party and he obviously wasn't going to own up to what he had done.

"Does this happen all the time?" Peter asked. I assured him it didn't, but he looked skeptical.

At this point, some of the boys began to laugh, which quickly got everyone else laughing too. Before long, we were all giggling like a bunch of giddy schoolgirls. It was difficult to miss the ingenuity and humor in this prank, yet none of us had the slightest inkling about who might have done such a thing. It seemed all the boys had been targeted, so it left no obvious perpetrator to point the finger at.

It didn't take long for everyone to forget about being so rudely awakened. Instead, they continued to enjoy the joke and the amount of planning it must have taken to pull it off. Even though they didn't know who had done it, they silently tipped their hats to this mystery person.

After everyone else returned to his bed, Jake and I went downstairs, but I decided to stay up and do what I could to help. As we worked, we talked about what had happened and tried to solve the mystery of who was doing these things. First, the prankster got Ricky in particular, before zapping everyone, in general. More than half of the boys were likely suspects, which didn't help much, so we finally gave up thinking about whom the mastermind was and, instead, began to focus on the day ahead.

The time seemed to fly as the appointed hour for dinner drew near. Jake and I took turns cleaning up and getting dressed, in preparation for our guests' arrival, and then we went back to putting the finishing touches on the meal.

It was about 1:30 when the phone rang and I was paged to take it. "Hello, this is Josh Currie," I said, after accepting it from one of my sons.

"Josh, it's Albert," the voice on the other end informed me. "I'm afraid we're going to be late, if we make it at all today."

"Albert, is something wrong?" I asked, deeply concerned. I knew Arlene, Little Ricky and Albert would not normally miss this for the world, so I wondered what was up. They seldom got away from the farm and had no relatives in the area, but they did like to be around others, which was difficult for them, because they lived so far out. Other than their neighbors, we were about the only other friends they were familiar enough with to visit.

"There was a problem, but it's okay now," he advised me. "It's just slowed us up a bit and I'm not sure what we'll do next."

Albert sounded as if he was contradicting himself by telling me there was no longer a problem, but then explaining he didn't know what they were going to do next. Sensing this incongruity, I decided to question him about this matter further.

"Albert, what happened? Is it Arlene?" There was an uneasy silence, before he replied.
"I'm afraid so. She wandered out of the house earlier and it took us a while to locate her," he admitted. "She was nearly a mile away before we found her."

"Is she okay now?" I was concerned and worried that maybe something more had happened.

"Yes, she seems to be fine… physically," he added, to let me know her mental and emotional state was obviously deteriorating further. "Even though she hasn't done anything like this before, I guess it means we're going to have to start keeping a closer eye on her."

"Did you find out why she left?" I followed, to see if he had questioned her about it.

"Not exactly. She was sputtering all kinds of gibberish about having to get to town and she was mad about something we'd done to her," Albert admitted, "but I can't remember any of those things happening over the past couple of days, except maybe in her mind. I'm afraid she's remembering multiple past events, confusing them together and then reacting to her warped recollections. If that's what's happening, there's no way we can predict what she might do next."

"Albert, I'm truly sorry to hear this, but we'll hold dinner for you," I told him. "We want all of you to be here with us on this special day and I'm sure Little Ricky… I mean Richard, would benefit by being with the boys again too."

"Josh, thanks, but I'm not sure that would be a good idea today," Albert told me, in a hushed and slightly choked tone.

"Why do you say that, Albert?" I asked, confused by his comment.

"Richard is deeply troubled by what is happening," Albert admitted, "so I'm not sure he'll want to be around anyone else. I'm afraid he might not be very good company today and I'm afraid of what he might do, if someone mentions his mother's condition."

"Albert, I'll pass your concerns along, so the boys don't pressure him," I offered, "but what about Arlene. Being with us today might jog her memory to more favorable times and that may be all that's needed to bring her back to you and Richard, at least for a while." There was a fairly lengthy silence at the other end of the line, so I assumed he was considering my proposal.

"I'm not sure there's anything that can bring her back to us, Josh, but I guess it's worth a try," he finally answered. "I don't see where it can do her any harm, but it might be very hard on the rest of you – seeing her this way." It almost sounded as if he were beginning to weep.

"Albert, we aren't just friends, you're family, and not only during the good times," I began in response. "You and Arlene have been with us throughout our problems and the rough times in our lives too. I'm not saying it won't be difficult for any of us, but as family, we're willing to take the bad with the good. Get here as soon as you can and we'll hold dinner until you arrive. I'll explain it to the others and I'm sure they'll have no problem with that."

"Thank you, Josh," Albert replied. "This is very kind of you and we appreciate your friendship and consider you family too. We'll get there as soon as we can, but there's no need to hold dinner for us. We'll just eat when we get there."

"Nonsense! This is Thanksgiving and we'll eat as a family," I informed him. "I don't think there are any of us who will have a problem waiting a little longer, and if there are, we'll give them a snack to tide them over. We'll see you shortly."

We ended the phone call and I told Jake and the boys about what had happened. We were all concerned about what they were going through and I could see the boys trying to come up with some way to distract Richard when he got here. I know they thought that might make him momentarily forget about his worries, but I wasn't sure there was much they could do that would permanently help him, at this point. I did express Albert's concerns about Richard and told them not to put any pressure on him. I urged them to leave him alone, if that's what he wanted. They agreed, so I felt it shouldn't be an issue now.

If Richard wasn't opposed to the boys trying to help, they might be successful in making him forget about his problems for a brief time. However, even if that happened, Richard still had to deal with the reality of what is happening to his mother on a daily basis. For that reason alone, I highly doubted my boys would make much of a difference. I did silently applaud their concern and efforts on Richard's behalf and hoped they would be effective. Even if they were only successful in alleviating Richard's fears and burden to a limited degree, it would still be a major accomplishment.

We all continued our final preparations for this get together, as we waited for our guests to arrive. Although I was looking forward to having everyone together again, this wasn't going to be an entirely easy or pleasant time. I felt confident the others would all agree with what I was doing, but it wouldn't lessen their shock and deep concern, once they saw how much Arlene had deteriorated.

To me, none of that mattered. I believe family bonds are the strongest bonds of all, and if the phrase 'until death do us part' ever applied to anything, it is to the ties between family members. Albert had already proved his devotion to his wife and I felt we could do no less. As I've always told the boys, friends may come and go, but family is forever. Thinking about this brought me to another issue, so now I wondered if my older children remembered me telling them this too.

Today was already altered by the fact that my older children and grandchildren weren't going to be here, so I didn't want to have anyone else sit this one out too. I had been trying not to think about it, but after hearing about what Albert was dealing with just brought it to the forefront again.

Once Steve and Mary Shay, Sally, John and Margaret Spence, Mark's mother, Susan, the O'Hara's and the Curtises, showed up, we explained to them about my phone call from Albert. They were all deeply moved and understanding about their situation, and each of them expressed their concern and support for them. Even though Susan, the O'Hara's and Curtises didn't know the Beckers as well as the rest of it, they still wanted to help. It was obvious this was truly a family, even though we weren't blood related.

Jake and I put some appetizers out for our guests to nibble on and gave each of them a drink, hoping it would hold them over until the Beckers arrived. We didn't really have to wait long, however, as Albert's car pulled in the driveway slightly before 3:00, which made dinner less than an hour late. They must have flown through their preparations to get here and I'm sure Albert pushed the speed limit a bit along the way too, probably because he was concerned about holding the rest of us up. I hoped he and Richard would be able to relax and enjoy themselves, now that they were here and we'd be able to help them entertain and keep an eye on Arlene. I went over to greet them, as they entered.

"We're all glad you could make it," I told them, as they entered. "Come in, sit down, and make yourselves comfortable. Would any of you like a drink?" Albert was just about to speak and accept my offer, when his wife spoke first.

"Albert, who are all these people and where are we?" There was a deep look of concern on both Albert and Richard's faces, as they studied Arlene. Although she didn't know us, at least she had called her husband by name. That, in itself, seemed to be an improvement.

"Arlene, this is Josh Currie and we're in his home," Albert explained, while looking slightly embarrassed.

"I don't know anyone by that name," she stated, which caused a pained expression to show on Richard's face. I could tell he was also embarrassed by his mother's comment, but he needn't be. We all understood what they were going through.

"Sure you do," Albert assured her. "He and his boys are very good friends of ours. Surely you must remember how they helped us find and adopt Richard?"

Arlene didn't respond and Albert gave up on trying to convince her she knew us. After asking Richard to watch over his mother, Albert walked away and I knew he was inwardly dealing with the pain of seeing his wife like this.

I followed him, to see if there was anything I could do to help, but I didn't want to be too pushy about it. He didn't notice me behind him when he stopped, so I walked up and put my hand on his shoulder, which caused him to turn and look at me.

"Josh," he confided, "I don't know what I'm going to do. We can't possibly leave her alone any more, because she might wander off or do something inappropriate. She's so out of it that she's become a danger to not only herself, but to Richard and me too. Did I tell you she almost set the house on fire on several different occasions?"

"Yes, you did," I conceded, "and I can see she's getting worse. When making your decision, you'll have to not only consider her welfare, but your own and Richard's too. No decision will be easy, but you have to do what you think is best for all of you."

I added that to let him know he couldn't just worry about his wife, but must also consider how it will affect the two of them as well. Albert's health was not the best and I'm sure this was taking its toll on his physical condition. Not only that, but I could see it was also emotionally draining on Richard as well. I was just trying to make sure they didn't all go down hill together.

"I know it's difficult for you to make such an impossible choice," I admitted, "but we both realize you're running out of options." After listening to what I had to say and thinking about it for a few moments, Albert finally looked up at me and spoke.

"Josh, I hate to do it, but I'm going to have to put her in a home," he informed me, before breaking down. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he said this and I could tell he felt as if he was betraying his wedding vows, but what else could he do?

"She needs to be supervised constantly," he added, "and we just can't do that for her on the farm. As it stands now, I hardly dare to fall asleep at night, because I fear she'll get up and do something. It's just wearing me out."

Albert hung his head after saying this and I wasn't sure if this was due to his regret, embarrassment or because he was just so totally exhausted. I was tempted to hug him at this point, but wasn't sure how he'd respond to something of that nature, so I held off on the urge. Instead, I only put my arm across his shoulders.

"I know, Albert, but from what you've told me, it has to be done," I suggested. "Otherwise, she's liable to do something that might harm you and your son. She could start a fire or forget who you are and think you're intruders trying to hurt her or something. She might even attack you with a weapon, thinking she was defending herself. What else can you do, besides try to get her in a safe, caring and supervised environment?"

"I realize that," he agreed, "but you don't understand how much it hurts me to even consider this option. Richard and I have talked about this possibility several times, but neither of us wants to have to do such a thing. No matter how much it bothers me to have to do this, it's going to scar Richard worst of all. He's already told me he feels like he's already lost another mother, just seeing her the way she is now. Making a move such as sending her away to a nursing home will force him to accept it's a done deal and she's pretty much gone for good."

"Do you think it might help if I spoke to him, Albert?" I asked, trying to help. Mr. Becker thought about this for a minute, before he responded, and then he only nodded slightly.

"It might," he conceded, "but I'm not sure how much. Thing is, I don't think it can do any harm."

I acknowledged his observation and told him I'd do what I could, but it would have to wait until after we ate. I explained that I'd try to get some time alone with his son, so we could talk honestly and openly about the situation, without feeling the pressure of others being around.

Albert thanked me for my offer, but then stated we couldn't make the others wait for dinner any longer. It was shortly after that when I had the boys get everyone moving to the tables, so we could sit down and begin our Thanksgiving tradition.

Chapter 23
May We All Be Truly Thankful

Once everyone was seated, but before we brought the food out of the kitchen, we did our traditional Thanksgiving observance, with each person telling why he was giving thanks this year. As we went around the table, we heard many different reasons, from being thankful for family and friends, giving thanks for all we had and being thankful for our health. However, this year there were a few new twists to our typical list.

Many of us, including the O'Hara's, gave thanks for the boys' vindication in court. Mark's mother gave thanks for her son and his urging her to move here to be closer to him. I gave thanks for having Cody for the time we did and for being able to love and enjoy him while he was here, but there were a couple of other surprises I wasn't expecting.

Peter was the first, when he agreed to speak. "I'm thankful for my own family and I do miss them very much," he began, "but I'm also thankful for such a wonderful family as the Curries. They've been positively aces and have done so much for me. I feel I have two new dads, many new brothers and a home I can visit whenever I want. I've told my parents I feel blessed to be here and they agree. I guess one of the luckiest things that ever happened to me was when Ricky came to live with us, even though he can be a bit bonkers at times."

The other boys laughed at his zing to Ricky and Ricky tried to hold out his fist menacingly, as if he was threatening Peter, but we knew it was only for show. He loved having Peter here too, as did the rest of the family, so we could only concur with Peter's sentiments.

When it came Richard's turn to give his reasons, he hesitated at first, but then swallowed hard and began. "I'm most thankful for my mom and dad, because they have been wonderful to me and have given me so much love and a wonderful home. I'm also thankful for the times when my mother is herself," he said looking at her and smiling, "although I know that seems to be happening less and less every day."

Richard paused again, as his emotions choked him up and a couple of tears sneaked their way down his cheeks. He quickly regained his composure and continued.

"I am also thankful for all of you," he added, "because you rescued me from the loneliness I had been living with, helped me meet my parents and find love and acceptance. I am also thankful just knowing you are here, to help us whenever we seem to need help most. I don't think Dad and I could have kept the farm going without all of you coming out and helping with the work. There's no way we can ever repay you for all you've done, so I hope my offering our thanks will be enough. I know it's not much, but right now it's all I have to offer… that and telling you I love everyone here."

We all sat in stunned silence for a few moments after he finished. We were all deeply moved by what he had said and too overcome to reply. Finally, before I was able to pull myself together, Frankie spoke up first, showing a level of maturity I wouldn't have expected from him a couple of years ago.

"Little Ricky, you don't have to thank family," he told Richard. "Dad has pointed that fact out to me many times," he added, while glancing over at me. "He brought me here and gave me a second chance, even after I screwed up badly, but Dad says we do whatever we have to so we can keep the family together and help it survive. You guys are family, so we just did what we had to. We don't need or expect repayment or thanks, even though we're glad you appreciate what we've done to try to help. We'll always be there for you, no matter what happens in the future, and that's something you can always count on."

After a few more seconds of silence, as everyone digested Frankie's words, I finally found my tongue. "Frank, that was well said," I acknowledged, "but I think I need to add something more." I looked around the table, before I continued.

"You've all heard me say that friends come and go, but family is forever, and that's why those of you who are not blood or legally related are still considered family, and not just friends. You will never come and go from our lives, you too are forever family, and as Frank said, we do whatever it takes to keep the family going and staying together. That's why I have reconsidered something I was discussing with a family member earlier."

At this point, I turned and faced Albert. "I hope you will forgive me for being presumptive, but I am going to do something along that same vein right now. Tomorrow I will call and make arrangements for Arlene to get around the clock care at home, so the three of you won't have to be separated and you won't need to worry about her wandering off or doing something inappropriate."

Albert began to object, saying it would cost too much and things of that nature, but I cut him off. "I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but Frank's words hit me like a bolt of lightening, and I suddenly realized what I needed to do. We keep the family together, at all costs, so I'll not hear another word. I will take care of the arrangements first thing tomorrow." Before anyone else had a chance to say anything, Arlene spoke up.

"What is all this fuss about?" she wanted to know. "And why does Josh think I need help?" Obviously, she was now in one of her more lucid states, so Albert and Richard tried to reassure her and address her concerns, while Jake and I went to fetch the food. Soon, the various dishes were being passed around the tables and everyone was helping themselves to the treats we had prepared. Once our plates were filled, we said grace and then began to eat.

The meal went smoothly and everyone was soon stuffed. We all excused ourselves from the table, so we could go and relax a bit and allow the food to digest, before everyone started to go in their own direction. Jake and I rebuffed some of the offers to help clean up, so the two of us, assisted by a few of the boys, cleared the tables and put the leftovers away.

Some of the boys then went to the rec room, to watch football games on TV, while others went to play games or just lounge about. The adults moved into the family room, where the chairs and couches were much more comfortable, and we planned to just sit and visit. As I followed the others there, Albert and Richard stopped me and pulled me aside.

"Josh, we just can't let you do this," Albert insisted.

"Yeah, Uncle Pop," Richard chimed in, "it's way too expensive. We know, cuz we checked out how much it would cost ourselves. We thought of doing that too, but it's just too much money."

"Don't worry about that," I advised them, "and money is never an issue around here. Somehow, we always seem to get what we need and we DO take care of our own. You three are as much a part of this family as anyone else, so end of discussion. Now, let's go enjoy ourselves and we'll work out the details as we go along."

Neither of them looked convinced, but they didn't continue to try to dissuade me. Albert did comment that he never expected anything like this to happen when were talking earlier, but knowing me, he should have expected the unexpected. Once we were alone, he also admitted it would definitely take care of Richard's concerns about losing his mother, at least for now.

Albert also insisted I allow him to contribute to the caregivers' bills, which I reluctantly agreed to. It wasn't because I needed the money, but I knew it would give him the satisfaction that he was helping to care for his wife too, something his pride demanded. That way we'd only be assisting them on this endeavor, instead of providing it all. This would also give his son and him the emotional reassurance they needed, so they wouldn't feel they had abandoned Arlene completely.

We spent a couple of hours unwinding and relaxing, but by then everyone was ready for dessert, so that's when we had Dion's sixteenth birthday party. It had been his choice to have his party today, rather than on the weekend, and he made this decision because he felt it would be easier on our guests, so they wouldn't have to come here twice. Although I explained to him that no one would mind coming back on the weekend as well, he was adamant about having the party today.

"Besides," he told me, "I'm not a little kid any more, so I don't need a big party and I don't need to invite anyone other than family."

I didn't argue with his logic and agreed with his request, so we planned to have his party when we were ready for dessert. Of course, Dion received many presents, but I had something special planned for him too. Once he had opened all his other gifts, I handed him a very flat package, no bigger than a large manila envelope, which he carefully unwrapped. After pulling out what was inside, it took him a few minutes to read the certificate and have its meaning register. However, once it did, he lit up, as that special smile of his spread across his face.

"Thanks, Dad. This is great," he told me, simply.

"What is it? What did you get?" one of the other boys wanted to know.

"It's the driver's manual, so I can study for the written test, and the other paper tells me the date and time when I can actually take it."

I had set this all up in advance for him, so he could get his permit as quickly as he wanted. That way he could take his driver's test six months later. He had confided in me a while back that he felt awkward because Trey had to drive every time they went somewhere alone. He said he didn't have a problem with Trey being older, but it made him feel more like a little brother than a lover, because he always had to be the passenger.

Knowing how he felt, I decided the most appropriate gift I could give him would be to help correct this situation as soon as possible. This way, they could share the driving responsibilities and Dion could begin to think of himself as an equal partner in the relationship. Of course, that wasn't the only present I gave him, but I think it was the most appreciated of the lot.

Once all the gifts had been opened, we were ready for the sweets. Not only did we offer the traditional cake and ice cream for Dion's birthday, but we also had an assortment of pies, apple crisp and some pudding-based treats as well. I think everyone sampled a small portion of at least three different goodies and I believe the boys all had a little of everything there was. I am still amazed by how much these young men can devour.

Everyone stayed for at least another hour after the party ended, and during that time Richard sought me out. I was alone in the living room at the time and he walked in and sat down on my lap.

"Hey, Little Ricky… I mean Richard," I greeted him, correcting my error.

"Nah, I don't mind if you call me Little Ricky," he advised me. "I only went to Richard at home, to let mom and dad know I was getting older and could do more of the work. They tended to think of me as a little kid most of the time, so by changing what they called me, it made them realize I was growing up. I did it more for Dad, so he'd let me do more of mom's work and not try to do it all himself, and I think calling me Richard made him look at me differently."

"Ah, I wondered about the change, but now I understand," I told him. "That was very clever of you to even think of that." He grinned.

"Thanks, but it wasn't that big of a deal." He studied my face for a second, before he said anything else. "I hope you don't mind me just coming over and sitting on your lap like this," he added. "I mean, I know I am getting bigger and heavier."

"Heck, no! I love it when you boys do this," I told him, pulling him tightly against my chest. This brought another smile to his face.

"I'm not too heavy and breaking your legs or anything, am I?" he wanted to know. I made a grimace, as if I were in pain, but then quickly made like I was trying to hide my suffering, before I answered him.

"Nope," I answered, in kind of a subtle grunt, which caused him to giggle again.

"And you don't think it makes me look like a child?" he wondered.

"Absolutely not! Even my college boys come over and sit on my lap from time to time," I confessed. "It's just something they've always done and a special bond we have between us. However, when they do it, I actually think they do it so they can feel like they're my little boys again." He giggled even more.

"I do too," he admitted. "And I love you as much as I love my mom and dad." That was totally unexpected and caused me to blush.

"Well, thank you," I offered, deeply moved by his comment, "and I love you as much as I do any of the other boys. You're always welcome here, no matter what." This time his face just seemed to glow, but then a serious look began to replace it.

"You know, I was really worried we were going to have to put mom in a nursing home, especially after this morning," he confessed.

"Do you mean because she wandered off?" I asked, to clarify his comment.

"Yeah, that was like the breaking point for Dad," he informed me. "He was afraid she'd get lost, hit by a car or maybe something worse."

"He told me that," I admitted. Richard looked at me thoughtfully again.

"We don't have to do that now," he acknowledged, while looking me straight in the eye. "With you making sure someone is there to watch her all the time, we can keep her at home and not have to worry about what she might do next."

"I know and that's why I suggested it," I explained.

"You always seem to think of everything," he told me, with a look of true admiration on his face. I knew this was a sincere compliment, but I felt I had to set the record straight.

"Actually, I didn't think of it, as I mentioned earlier," I offered, "at least not until Frankie said what he did at the table. I had already discussed this with your father, before Frankie gave his little speech, and we had agreed it would be best to put your mother in a home, for her own safety. I was going to pull you aside and talk to you about this after dinner, but Frankie's comments gave me a different perspective. So, if you want to thank anyone, go thank him."

"I'll do that a little later," he informed me, and then he hugged me and leaned his body back against mine.

Little Ricky and I sat like this for quite a while. Sometimes we were just enjoying each other's company, but at other times we talked about different subjects. We discussed the farm in general, his mom and dad in particular, plus what he saw in his future. It was informative for me, cathartic for him and enjoyable for both of us. I saw Albert look in on us and smile on several occasions, as he knew his son needed this type of release and a chance to discuss things with someone other than his father. It was also good for me, as I enjoyed the special bond I had with Little Ricky, and it always made me feel good when I could help someone out, especially when that person is part of our family.

After giving his son all the time he thought he needed, Albert came over and told us they should probably leave. He felt they had to get home, so he and Richard could do the rest of their chores, but they both thanked me for the great day. I reminded them I'd call about the around-the-clock help tomorrow and then I'd let them know when I had the specific information about when someone would be able to be there. They thanked me again, made their rounds to say good-bye to everyone else and then were on their way.

Their departure got the others thinking about returning to their own homes as well, so slowly, but surely, they all bid us farewell. Before they left, they offered their support, both emotionally and in the form of financial commitments to help cover the costs of Arlene's care. I thanked them for their offers, told them I'd let them know if it was needed and then they left as well. Once the others had gone, the rest of us began to clean up the house, before we zoned out for the rest of the night. However, before that happened, Frank asked to speak to me in private. We went to my room, but I wasn't sure what he might have on his mind.

"What's up, son?" I asked.

"I need to talk to you about something," he began, looking a little uncertain as to how he wanted to proceed. "You know I haven't had much luck finding a job in law enforcement," he continued.

"Yes, I know, but it will happen soon enough," I tried to encourage him.

"Maybe and maybe not, but I have another idea," he admitted, making me more than a little curious. Was he thinking about giving up on his dream?

"And what might that be?" I asked him.

"I'm thinking about enlisting in the service," he announced, while studying my face carefully, to gauge my reaction.

"I see. So you don't want to be a police officer any longer?" I followed.

"Oh, I do," he concurred, "but I thought this would be one way to do just that." I wasn't sure what he meant by this, and the expression on my face must have told him so, without me having to utter a word.

"I want to enlist in the military police," he added.

"Oh," I muttered, still unsure about what he had in mind.

"It will give me the experience I need," he continued, "plus I hear veterans are given preference when applying for those types of positions."

"And where did you hear that?" I wanted to know.

"From some of the cops I've met. That's how some of them started too," he explained. "You don't need experience to enlist, but it helps to get a job in the field after you get out."

"It sounds as if you've thought this out and know what you want to do," I said, "so I will support any decision you make."

"Thanks, Dad. I knew you would, but I still needed to talk it over with you first," he confessed. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" he asked, showing he still needed my support and approval.

"If what you've told me is accurate, it seems that enlisting will allow you to get where you want to go," I agreed. "Are you sure this is what YOU want to do."

"Yeah, it is," he replied. "I've been thinking this over for a month."

"Well, in that case, all I want to know is when you're going to go," I told him and he looked at me and grinned.

"I think I'm going to wait until after the New Year, because I'd like to be home for Christmas," he admitted. "Then I can leave after that. Maybe I'll be lucky and they'll send me somewhere warmer for training," he added, while grinning again.

"Do you have an idea of which branch you want to enlist in?" I followed, curious as to if he had given this any consideration.

"I haven't got that far yet," he admitted, "I was hoping maybe you would help me choose."

"Okay, how about tomorrow, after I arrange for Mrs. Becker's care," I suggested. "Then you and I can go talk to some of the recruiters, to see what they have to offer.

"That sounds fine to me, Dad." Frankie started to turn to go, but then stopped after a couple of steps. "Hey, thanks for always being here for me," he added, before coming back to give me a hug.

Frankie has not always been one to show a lot of physical affection, so this had tremendous meaning for me. I eagerly hugged him back, to let him know I appreciated him as well. Once we broke our embrace, we both went about our business, but now we were more assured about the other's affection.

The next day, I made a multitude of phone calls, in an attempt to set up care for Arlene, but I immediately discovered this was not going to be an easy task. They needed a great deal of information, some of which I'd have to get from Albert, and they were going to check to see how much Albert and Arlene's insurance would cover, before they would quote me a price. They said all of this would take between seven to ten days to complete, and then it would be a couple more days to insert her into the care schedule.

The woman on the other end also told me they might be able to have the coverage set up to begin two weeks from Monday, which wasn't too bad. I called Albert one more time, to get the additional information from him and tell him the time frame we were shooting for. He responded that Richard and he would be able to cope until then, and after thanking me once more, I assured him I'd do the best I could. After I called the agency back and gave them the information they needed, that part of my day's work was over.

Now, I turned my attention to Frankie, and he and I drove down to talk to some recruiters. I was quickly overwhelmed by all the information presented to us, but Frankie seemed to be absorbing every detail. Seeing he had a two-year criminal justice degree, he understood much more than I did, so I just sat back and left everything up to him. After talking to representatives from the four major branches of the service, we were ready to head home, but Frankie began quizzing me the moment we got back in the van.

"What did you think, Dad? Which one would you suggest I choose?" He was looking intently at me, as if he were watching a commercial on television.

"I don't know, Frankie. A lot of that was more than I really understood," I confessed. "They all sound as if they have decent programs, but you know more about what you're looking to gain from it than I do." I felt as if I were almost letting him down now.

"Yeah, I was afraid of that, especially when I started asking each of the recruiters about the details of the training," Frankie admitted. "Actually, only the Army recruiter was familiar with those parts of the MP training." He seemed to be looking at me for a response.

"I'm glad you said that, because I wasn't sure if it was them or I who was out of the loop," I joked, "but maybe we should go home and see if we can find more information online."

"Hey, I never thought of that," he commented, while giving me a look that told me he was impressed by this simple suggestion. "I didn't even think about them having a website. Those sites might even have better information than the recruiters did. Now, I can't wait to check it out."

As soon as we reached the house, Frankie raced inside and jumped on one of the computers and immediately began doing a search on 'military police.' He was gone for a couple of hours, before he came back to talk to me about what he'd found. It must have been good, because he was grinning ear-to-ear.

"Dad, can you come look at this?" he asked, excitedly. "I really want to know what you think."

"Sure, Frankie. I just hope I can be helpful," I answered, honestly.

Frankie took me in and showed me the website for the Army's military police school. Together, we checked out the various phases of both the Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training for that branch. Frankie not only seemed impressed by the training descriptions, but he was also excited about some of the advanced specialized training he might be able to get into later. After discussing this with him for many minutes, he seemed to make up his mind. Monday he was going back to see the Army recruiter and enlist.

The only thing that didn't thrill him about this was the fact that he'd probably be going to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for his initial training. I believe he thought it might be a bit chilly there this time of year, seeing it was located in the Ozarks, and I think he was hoping to go either to a warmer climate or closer to home. Seeing neither of those options was in the cards, I told him he would either have to cope with it or wait until spring.

Chapter 24
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

We were now officially in the Christmas season and things always get very hectic for me at this time of year. Not only are there the typical family commitments and church events, but there are also an increased number of school functions and parties, which put an additional strain on my schedule. Even though sometimes it seems as if I wouldn't be able to survive all these demands on my time, this has always been my favorite holiday, so I wasn't disappointed the season had arrived.

The first thing we did was to put up our Christmas tree and decorate the house. The boys always love to help with this, so we usually make a big deal of it and begin the weekend after Thanksgiving. We put up an artificial tree, so we wouldn't have to worry about it drying out or catching fire, and the boys helped put it together. Once that was done, we added the lights next and then the bulbs and other decorations.

This year I let Andrew put the angel on top of the tree and helped him climb our stepstool so he could reach it. It didn't seem to bother him that he had to use the stepstool, since the rest of us always used it when we put the angel up too, even though we didn't have to climb up as many of its steps to accomplish the task. However, Andrew was thrilled he got the job this year, as I usually assigned the task to one of the older or taller boys.

Once we were finished, the tree looked fantastic and everyone was pleased with how it turned out. Now, we could focus our attention to the outside of the house. We would put up the outdoor lights next, followed by the additional items, such as a lighted nativity, a huge Santa and a large snowman.

The outdoor lights took time, but putting them up actually went quite smoothly. We ran strings of outdoor bulbs along the roofline, and then around the porch, several windows and the door. After that had been completed, we put up our lawn decorations and stuck a large red bow on our mailbox. Once everything was in place, we looked it over, to see if we were satisfied, but there was an added benefit to doing it this way too. Decorating helped put us in the Christmas spirit and everyone was in a joyous mood by the time we finished and saw the results.

Nick's parents called that same weekend and explained they were going to fly to Brazil for two weeks over the holidays, so they could spend some time with their son. They would be leaving a few days before Christmas and would be gone until just after the New Year, and they thought I should know. They told me they were also going to do some traveling with Nick, so they could all see more of the country together, and they'd let me know how things went, once they got back.

I asked if I could send a package for them to take to Nick and they said they'd be happy to deliver it for me. Hurriedly, I got a few things together, which included a couple of small Christmas gifts for Nick. I'd heard stories about how employees in foreign postal locations go through the mail, especially packages, and take whatever they want. This is especially true over the holidays, so I felt this was the safest way to make sure he got what I sent him. I shipped the package to Lawrence's home, so it would arrive in plenty of time before they left, knowing Nick would appreciate the items I included in the package.

The following Monday, Frankie also heard back from the recruiter, who let him know he'd be leaving for Basic Training at the end of March. Frankie thought that wasn't bad, as winter would technically be over by then, so maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he first expected. Seeing he'd be training there for four months, he'd be in Missouri until late July, so the weather should be fine most of the time. He was told he would only be allowed to bring two sets of civilian clothes with him, not counting what he'd wear when he left, and they suggested he make sure one of those sets was for cooler weather.

Frankie seemed really excited knowing everything was set. He was getting into the field he wanted and would be able to gain some experience, which would make it easier for him to find a job in civilian life, once he got out. He even brought one of his friends home with him, to show him what he'd learned. This guy had also been applying for some of the same jobs Frankie had been submitting resumes to, so Frankie showed him the information online and explained everything to him.

As Frankie described his reasons why he had decided to join the service, his friend seemed quite impressed. He was intrigued by the opportunity, but also amazed with the amount of research Frankie had done before making his decision. Prior to leaving, the young man told Frankie he was going to go talk to the recruiter the next day, to see what his chances were for doing the same thing.

If it worked out, he told Frankie they might be doing this together, which made Frankie even more excited. He liked the idea of one of his friends joining him, so he'd have a partner in crime…well, crime investigation, so Frankie began to encourage his friend to do just that. In fact, he told the young man he'd go to the recruiter's office with him, so he could make sure they'd be going at exactly the same time. Once that had been agreed upon, his friend went home, almost as excited as Frankie.

A few days later, something else came up. It all began with a phone call from a Ted Beckham, but I wasn't home at the time. I didn't recognize the name when I read the message and wondered what it might be about. The boy who answered the phone said the caller sounded like he might be a teen or possibly in his twenties, but that information didn't help me either. I still had no idea who he might be, but I called the number he left, to see what he wanted.

"Hello," the person on the other end answered.

"Hello, may I speak with Ted Beckham, please?" I asked.

"You are," he replied, rather crudely. "Who's this?"

"Josh Currie," I answered. "You called earlier and left a message for me to get in touch with you."

"Oh, hi, Mr. Currie," he replied, more enthusiastically. "My aunt told me to call you." This information didn't help me either.
"I'm sorry, young man, but I think you'll have to explain this a little better for me to understand," I informed him. "Who is your aunt and where do I know her from?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, I'm not sure if you'd remember her name, but she was a nurse who took care of your son, Cody," he replied. "I'm really sorry about what happened to him."

It all began to make sense now. He was the gay nephew of the nurse who had been so kind to Cody and Graham. I told her to have him contact me if there was anything the boys or I could do to help, so now he was taking me up on my offer.

"Certainly, Ted, and I'm sorry I didn't realize who you were sooner," I apologized.

"How could you?" he wondered, sounding like I was nuts for even suggesting otherwise. "We've never met and I don't think my aunt told you my name, at least she said she didn't think she did."

"Thank you for being so understanding." I added. "So, what may I do for you?" There was a slight hesitation on the other end of the line, before he cleared his throat and spoke again.

"My aunt told me you have some sons who… well, who aren't… you know, straight, and that maybe they could help me, cuz I'm kinda… not straight either."

He seemed uncomfortable using the precise terms for what he was or for describing my boys sexual orientation, so I could see this wasn't going to be easy. I felt the first thing to do was to clearly define what we were talking about.

"Yes, some of my boys are gay and some of the others are bi-sexual, but I do have some sons who are heterosexual as well," I began. "We're all very open and accepting, and we do use correct terminology for such things, so what would you like us to do to help?"

Again, there was no immediate response from the other end of the phone, but I knew he was most likely wrestling with what he should say next. After many uncomfortable moments of silence, he finally spoke again.

"Ah, well, I'm not sure," he admitted. "My mom and dad don't like what I am and they're really on my case. Dad says I'm doing this just to piss him off, but I'm not. I'm not sure I want to like boys either, but I just do. I can't help it." He almost sounded as if he were ready to cry at this point.

"I certainly understand that," I told him. "Would you like me to call your father and talk to him about this."

"No!" he screamed. "He'd be furious if you called and let him know I told you what was going on. He doesn't want anyone else to know that his son is… you know, one of those."

Again, he wasn't willing to use the term, and I took it that was because his father would say things without being able to articulate exactly what he meant either, so I just let it go.

"I won't if you don't want me to," I assured him, "but what WOULD you like for me to do?"

"My aunt said you told her that maybe I could come meet some of your sons sometime," he suggested. "I've really never met anyone like me before and thought I should. I've seen a few on TV and such, but I've never met any in person, and I thought it might help if I did."

"Sure, that would be fine, and I know the boys wouldn't mind," I told him. "How old are you?"

"I just turned seventeen last month," he stated.

"I have boys from thirteen to twenty, so you'll fit right in," I explained. "When would you like to do this?"

"My aunt suggested maybe after Christmas, while I'm on vacation," he said, hopefully. "She said she'd arrange the trip and get my parents okay to do it. She told me it would be part of my Christmas present from her and she'd work out the details and transportation, if that time would be good for you."

"Yes, that would be fine," I confirmed. "All the boys will be home then and things at work will be slow, so that would be perfect. Would you like me to talk to your aunt and work out the details?"

"Let me talk to her first, so she can talk to my mom and dad and get it okayed first," he replied. "I'll call you when I'm sure I can come, if I can. I'm not so sure my dad will let me visit, especially if he knows I'll be with boys who are, well, light in the loafers, as my father calls them."

I found that term interesting and hadn't heard it used in years. However, now I was beginning to understand why this boy was having such a difficult time telling me his situation.

"Okay, you let me know as soon as you can," I added. "I hope we all get to meet you in person real soon."

"Thanks, Mr. Currie," he responded. "You sound really nice, just like my aunt said you were."

"Thank you, Ted," I answered, "and I hope the two of you can work everything out, so you can come visit."

After we hung up, I told the boys about the phone call and right away Sammy and Graham wanted to know what the boy looked like. I explained I had never seen him or asked for that information, so I had no way of knowing how he appeared, but this didn't seem to discourage their interest. I had a feeling those two might end up fighting over his attention during his visit, if his parents let him come stay with us for a while.

Over the next few days, we began rushing around to various Christmas concerts, Christmas parties and trying to get in a little Christmas shopping. This was an extremely hectic period for us.

I heard from Albert too and he told me Arlene's care was to begin the following Monday, which seemed to please him. He told me it would take a big load off his mind, just knowing someone would be there to watch over his wife. Even though they weren't exactly medical professionals, they would be able to do things for her, make sure she didn't do anything she wasn't supposed to do and would also relieve Albert's concerns that she might wander off again. That was all they needed for now and it would give Albert and Richard some peace of mind knowing Arlene was being taken care of.

It wasn't long before I received another phone call, which also proved quite interesting. "Hello, Mr. Currie?"

"Yes, this is he."

"Hi, it's Ted Beckham again."

"Oh, hi, Ted," I replied, pleased to hear his voice once more. "I apologize that I didn't know who it was, after I heard your speak."

"Nah, that's okay," he told me. "I wouldn't expect you to recognize it yet."

"Thanks for being so understanding," I replied. "What may I do for you, Ted?"

"Well, my Aunt Jane talked my parents into letting me come visit, if that's still all right with you?" Although this was positive information, he still sounded nervous and concerned I might have changed my mind.

"Absolutely," I reassured him. "When would you like to come?" I heard a rush of air hit the receiver and realized he had just breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dad said I could leave the day after Christmas," he informed me, "and when I come back will be up to you. Dad said I can come back as late as the Saturday after New Year's, but it's your choice as to how long you will allow me to stay."

"As far as I'm concerned, the Saturday after New Year's will be more than all right with me," I confirmed, "and I'm sure the boys will be glad to hear that too."

"They know I'm coming?" He sounded excited.

"Of course they do and two of the boys seem especially interested in your visit," I added, thinking that might please him. "Would you like to speak with them, so you can get to know them better?"

"Yeah, that would be cool!" he bubbled.

I called Sammy and Graham to the phone and handed it to the first one that arrived. I also warned them to share the time and not to fight, and after glaring at each other, they finally agreed. I left them alone, because I wanted to give them time to get to know their new friend better, and I didn't think they could do that with me listening in. I hoped that by giving them this opportunity before he arrived would make Ted feel more comfortable while he was with us.

The boys talked to Ted for a long time and I could tell both of mine were developing a connection with him, possibly even a crush. Seeing what was happening, I began to realize this might be the beginning of a love triangle. However, I doubted it would go that far, seeing Ted didn't live locally and they'd only be together for a very limited amount of time. However, with them hitting it off so quickly and so well, I knew it would make Ted feel more at home during his stay.

Christmas was almost here now, and we still had a few more concerts and plays to attend, as well as some last minute shopping to take care of. The shopping was mostly at the boys' behest, because they needed to pick up a few last minute items. I had all my gifts purchased by the middle of the month, so I didn't need to go with them, but Jake and I did have some grocery shopping to complete. We still needed to pick up various foods for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals.

Jake and I had decided we were going to have both of these meals at home this year, rather than going to a restaurant on Christmas Eve. Part of our reasoning was due to the fact that we were worried about how Arlene would respond out in public. If she was having a good day, everything would be fine, but if she wasn't, then we were concerned how she would react and what might happen. By having both meals at home, we'd have more control over the situation and wouldn't have to worry about Albert and Richard dealing with one of her outbursts in front of a bunch of strangers, who might not understand her actions were due to an illness.

As Christmas Eve arrived, we finished our final dinner preparations, so all we had to do was wait for our guests to arrive. Once they started coming in, things really began to get festive, as everyone began to dip into the Christmas cheer. We were having drinks, mostly eggnog, and chatting, while we waited for the final few guests to arrive. Once everyone was here, we planned on sitting down to eat.

Albert, Arlene and Richard were the last to arrive and the first thing I noticed was that Arlene seemed to be doing well tonight. As they entered, she said hello to several of us and seemed to know where she was and it was for a Christmas celebration. However, Albert looked tired and worn out, which concerned me greatly. Immediately, I had to find out what was wrong.

"Albert, you look as if you haven't sleep for days," I told him. "What's the matter?"

He looked at me for a few moments before he acknowledged my comment, but all he did was hang his head and not speak. Richard did that for him, though I don't think Albert was happy with what he told me.

"Dad HASN'T slept much," Richard said defiantly, glaring at his father. "He spends most nights awake, keeping an eye on mom."

Albert gave his son a very stern look, almost as if he was threatening Richard against giving away family secrets, but Arlene broke his concentration.

"He doesn't have to watch over me, dear," she told Richard, confused as to why he had said that. "Why in the world would you think he was staying up watching me?" She seemed confused, and Richard seemed embarrassed he had said it in front of her, especially when she was coherent. However, once he dealt with his embarrassment, he turned back to me.

"He fired the overnight person," Richard continued, almost in a whisper, "because he said we didn't need her, but now he's up almost all night long, worrying about what might happen."

Albert was really glaring at his son now. It was obvious he was upset that Richard didn't respond to his previous nonverbal warning, but Richard wasn't about to be intimidated at this point.

"Is that true, Albert?" I asked.

"We didn't need someone to sit up while we were sleeping," he said, adamantly. "We don't need to waste money for a person to stay downstairs trying to entertain themselves all night long."

"Obviously, we do," I corrected him, "or otherwise you wouldn't be awake all night, doing the job they were hired to do."

"But I don't stay awake all night," he protested.

"Then why do you look so haggard and worn out?" I challenged.

"Well, I might not allow myself to sleep as deeply now, as I used to," he admitted, "but I do sleep. I don't just sit up all evening."

"Albert, there was no need to get rid of the overnight person just to save money," I said firmly, but in a helpful tone. "That was all taken care of and wasn't an issue. I'm going to call and see how soon I can get that shift reestablished." I saw he was about to protest, but I stopped him short.

"No arguments on this," I stated, as forcefully as I dared without hurting his feelings. "Richard needs you and you're not going to be any good to him if you're as worn out as you look now. What will you do when spring and summer comes, and your workload on the farm increases? You won't be able to do all that hard work, looking like you do now."

Albert was going to argue the point, but then stopped. I wasn't sure if it was because he finally agreed with me or just didn't want to start an argument on Christmas Eve. Regardless of his reasoning, I took it one step further.

"Albert, just consider it our Christmas gift to your family. We want to do this for you, to give you peace of mind and allow you to survive, without having to sacrifice your sleep or health. Will you please accept our gift this time?" I had backed him into a corner now, by making it a Christmas present, so he meekly looked up and gave a slight nod.

"Okay, you win," he told me, "and I really appreciate this. I guess I didn't realize how tough it would be on me, once I got rid of that person. I wanted to save you the money, but you're right, it is becoming more than I can handle. I will pay you back someday though," he promised. I knew it was his pride speaking for him again, because he didn't like to accept anything he couldn't pay for himself.

"Whatever, my friend," I assured him, "but let me do what I can to help, at least until things get a little better for you." Albert reached out, grasped my hand and shook it firmly, to acknowledge the sincerity of his appreciation.

"I'm not sure how long it will take to get someone back in your home," I advised him, "so if you want, the boys and I will help out until that happens."

"No, Josh. It's my fault, so I'll cover until you can get the aide back with us," he replied. "Just know that I do appreciate your offer."

"Come on, Albert. Will you quit being so stubborn?" I pressed. "Just let us do this for you. It shouldn't be for very long. It's just that I won't even be able to get a hold of anyone until the day after Christmas."

"Josh, we'll be fine. I can last until they come back," he insisted.

I didn't believe this, but I didn't want to continue arguing with him on this festive day. Instead, I decided I would approach him about it again, before he went home or tomorrow. For now, we'd just enjoy the day.

The rest of the evening went well and we had a very enjoyable dinner. The discussion that accompanied the meal was just as wonderful and the time passed quickly. The only negative thing that happened throughout the entire evening was Arlene's occasional lapses with reality, but they didn't seem to last long, so no one was greatly affected by it. Before we knew it, it was getting late and everyone realized it was time to be going home and getting to bed.

Normally, we would have exchanged gifts with the extended family before they went home, but because everyone was returning for Christmas dinner tomorrow, we decided to wait and open our gifts then. Therefore, we all said our farewells and everyone headed home, ready to rest up for the big day.

Chapter 25
Who Needs Mistletoe

After everyone left on Christmas Eve, the boys helped clean up before they headed to their rooms. Some of them were disappointed they hadn't been able to open any presents tonight, even though I knew some of them would be exchanging their personal gifts before they went to sleep, especially my committed partners. Realizing this, I knew they wouldn't all be going to bed unhappy. In fact, from what I learned later, it was more than just my couples that had fun, because some of the other boys were quite agreeable to spreading a little good will and good feelings to their fellow man.

Although Danny and Brandon, Trey and Dion, and Kevin and Vinnie stayed with their own boyfriends and enjoyed a night of unbridled passion, I also heard that Andrew and Graham got together, as did Cole and Sammy. However, my biggest surprises came when I learned that Ricky and Pat had hooked up for some fun as well. That was due to the fact that, as of late, both of them had shown more of an attraction to females than anyone else. I guess it is possible they merely wanted to give their brother a little special attention and enjoyment for the holiday or they might have just felt bad after seeing everyone else pairing up for the night. It could also be they had just gotten horny enough that it didn't matter, since they were desperate to get their rocks off and didn't care who helped them. Whatever the reason, they all had a little extra fun.

I was also astounded to learn Shannon had asked Peter to spend the night with him. I knew Shannon had been missing Nick, but I think he had also learned Nick wasn't being faithful while he was away. I'm not sure if this was for his own pleasure or a means of getting back at Nick, but Peter accepted his offer and went off with him. Once they reached Shannon's room, things got really interesting.

"What would you like to do?" Peter asked, once they were alone.

"I don't know," Shannon responded. "If Nick were here, we'd have made love to each other tonight." Shannon stopped after saying this and Peter didn't press him for more, since he could tell Shannon was missing his partner. Eventually, Shannon broke the silence and spoke.

"I guess since Nick isn't here to do it," Shannon began, "I'll let you make love to me tonight instead." Peter's eyes nearly popped out of his head and his mouth dropped open.

"You mean you're going to let me shag you?" he asked, to clarify what Shannon had said.

"I don't understand," Shannon replied, confused. "What does that mean?"

"You know…" Peter began and then he made an 'O' with one hand and then poked his index finger in and out of it, to show what he meant.

"Oh, I get it," Shannon replied. "Yes, that's what I mean."

"Oh, well, uh…" Peter stammered, before he found his tongue. "I've never done that before… especially with a bloke."

"You'll do fine and I'll tell you what you need to know," Shannon informed him. "Unless you don't want to do it."

"Oh, no, I do," Peter insisted. "It's just that I've never done it before."

"You'll be fine and your instincts will take over after a few seconds," Shannon explained. "I know that's what happened my first time."

Peter nodded and smiled, and then both boys tore off their clothes. Once they were naked, Shannon fondled Peter until he got an erection and then he slipped a condom over it. Once it was in place, Shannon smeared some lube on it, before he reached behind himself and did the same to his rectum. Now that he was ready, Shannon turned to Peter and spoke.

"Do you want to do this doggy-style, with me on all fours, or do you want us to be facing each other, with me on my back."

"What do you think?" Peter counted. "You've done it more than me."

"Well, if you don't mind," Shannon told him, "I'd rather see your face and you could even kiss me, if you wanted. You don't have to, but you could and I wouldn't mind."

Peter looked as if he was thinking it over, as Shannon got into position. Seeing Shannon laying their with his legs pulled up to his chest, Peter got the idea of what he was to do next. He moved up until his rod was near the correct opening and Shannon grasped it and guided him in. Slowly, Peter entered a love canal for the first time.

"It's so tight and warm," Peter moaned. "I didn't know it would feel like this. What do I do now?"

"Just like you did with your finger in your other hand," Shannon told him. "Just go in and out, but not too fast."

Peter did as he was told and slowly began to slide back and forth in Shannon. Peter was grunting and groaning as he did it, so those in the adjoining room were probably able to hear this. Seeing it was his very first time, he could feel he was building to his crescendo quite rapidly and doubled his pace. Before long, he was spewing his creamy reward into the tip of the condom. After releasing several forceful volleys, he collapsed, while still embedded in Shannon's hole. As he began to recover, he looked into Shannon's eyes and reacted. He began kissing Shannon passionately, much to Shannon's surprise. Once their tongues stopped dueling and their lips pulled apart, Peter spoke.

"That was absolutely fantastic," he gushed. "I didn't know shagging a bloke could be so wonderful. I can't wait to try it with a girl, to see if it's this good with them too."

Peter bent forward and kissed Shannon again, as his penis lost it's firmness and slipped out of its sheath. A few seconds later, Peter was lying on his back, with his knees drawn up to his chin, looking at Shannon.

"It's your turn now," he stated.

"You don't have to," Shannon informed him. "I've heard you say you're not gay and I know you've never done it. Hell, you've probably never even thought about it before, so it's okay."

"I might not have done it," Peter replied, "but Andrew used his larger dildo on me after his birthday party. It wasn't bad, so I'm willing to try. Just stop if I tell you to, all right?"

"Sure, if that's what you want," Shannon stated, and Peter merely nodded.

Just thinking about what he'd been offered got Shannon hard, so he slipped the condom on, lubed it up and then went over to prepare Peter. Shannon worked the lube along Peter's crack, before using one and then two fingers to work it inside. Once he felt he'd done sufficient preparation, he looked at Peter and spoke.

"Are you still sure about this?" Shannon asked.

"Yes, what you did even felt good," Peter confessed, "so go ahead."

Without needing more encouragement, Shannon moved into position. "Just push out a little…"

"I know," Peter replied, cutting him off. "Andrew told me the same thing when he used the dildo on me."

Hearing this, Shannon pushed his dick against the resilient ring and entered. Peter let out a little grunt when this happened, so Shannon froze.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Peter confirmed. "Just a bit of a shock. It feels bigger than it looked."

Both boys chuckled after that was said and it seems that Shannon took the comment as a compliment about his size. He basked in the good feelings momentarily, before he started to slide slowly forward. Once he was completely inside, he stopped and gave Peter time to adjust.

"Let me know when you're ready for me to continue," Shannon informed him.

"Go ahead," Peter replied. "I'm fine. I just feel full."

Shannon now began gliding in and out of Peter's love channel, as he slowly made love. He even bent down to kiss Peter, as Peter had done to him. Peter didn't object and responded in kind, and both boys seemed to be enjoying this new connection (pardon the pun.)

After several minutes of this action, Shannon began to speed up, until he eventually arched his back, drove his penis as far forward as it would go and released several bursts of his warm boy cream into the condom's reservoir. Once he finally recovered and withdrew, Shannon looked down at Peter, to see how he was doing. Peter was merely lying there, with his eyes closed, but there seemed to be a slight smile etched on his lips.

"Are you okay?" Shannon asked.

"Yes, quite," Peter replied. "You made something inside me tingle and that felt quite alright."

"I'll bet it was your prostate," Shannon suggested. "Some boys are more sensitive there and I guess you might be one of them. So you didn't have a problem with it."

"No problem," Peter confirmed. "I'm not sure I'll ever do this again after I leave here, but it wasn't bad at all. In fact, it actually felt good."

Seeing Peter was okay with what they'd done, he merely leaned over, kissed him again and they both cleaned up. After that, they went to sleep in the same bed. They didn't cuddle, but they did sleep fairly close to each other.

I was also happy to hear that Andrew had gotten in on the action too. His recent problems concerning his delayed puberty had created other problems for him and made me worry about him. Sometimes he even refused to do things with the others, but that might possibly have just been to prove to himself he was still a baby. It might have also been due to the fact that seeing the others naked bothered him because he wasn't as developed as they were. Regardless of his reasoning, tonight he ended that drought and got together with Graham. I heard things went very well.

Even though Graham is sixteen and Andrew is only thirteen, they were still close and had been for quite some time. In fact, Graham had been Andrew's first sexual partner. Graham and Andrew were also both uncut, which gave them another bond, and they'd always enjoyed each other's company. It also didn't bother Graham that Andrew hadn't reached puberty yet and still had a boy-sized penis. Since Andrew realized this, it helped him feel more comfortable when they were together. So, tonight the pair shared Andrew's room, while Sammy went to Cole's room for the evening.

Once Graham and Andrew were alone, they just sat and talked for a while.

"You know, I was hurt when you got close to Cody, instead of me," Andrew told Graham. This caused Graham's mouth to fall open, because he hadn't suspected it. He didn't realize Andrew felt that strongly about him.

"Really? I didn't mean to hurt you. I really didn't," Graham apologized. "I'm very sorry about that."

"Thanks and I know better now," Andrew explained, "but then I thought it was because you didn't think I was old enough for you. I thought it was because I had such a little dick and no hair or anything."

"That's ridiculous. It was just that Cody and I got close, and well… when he got sick I just had to be with him all the time," Graham explained. "There was nothing wrong with you, but I did love Cody and thought I could help him deal with what he was going through."

"It's okay. I understand now," Andrew replied. "I don't feel bad any more."

To make sure things were better now; Graham gave Andrew a huge hug and kissed him aggressively. This brought a rather large smile to Andrew's face, as they moved apart, and now he realized he might have overreacted before.

After that, Andrew went on to explain how he felt about not being as physically developed as everyone else. In response, Graham felt it important that he assuage Andrew's concerns, not just by telling him, but also by showing him. He began by pushing Andrew back and slowly undressing him, as he took charge of the situation. Andrew wasn't sure what to expect, but soon Graham had him lying naked on the bed. Graham began to lovingly stroke his body and tell him how wonderful it was. Andrew thought he was just being nice, but quickly acknowledged that Graham was having as much fun at this as he was, so he just leaned back and enjoyed what his partner was doing.

Graham bent lower now and began to kiss and lick all the various parts of Andrew's body, but took special care when he reached his genitals. It didn't take long before Andrew's little boy mast was standing tall and proud. He didn't seem to care it was so small just then, because his pleasure was intense. Graham continued to run his tongue all around it, pulled the foreskin back and forth, and sent Andrew squirming around on the bed. Andrew's slender hips were bouncing up and down off the mattress, as Graham took his penis between his lips and began to let it slide in and out of his mouth. Andrew was in overdrive now, seeking the pleasure that only sexual release could give him. Soon his body began to tremble, as his dry orgasm overwhelmed him.

Once he recovered, he thanked Graham for what he had done and let him know he wanted to return the favor, but not in the same way. "Graham, I want you to stick yours inside me tonight," he announced, which caused a little panic to register on Graham's face.

"Are you sure?" he asked, concerned it wasn't time yet.

"Yes, I'm not a baby any more," he assured him. "Dad said so."

"But you've never done it," Graham pointed out.

"I know," Andrew conceded, "but I've been practicing with the dildos you guys gave me for my birthday." Graham still looked concerned, but replied.

"Okay, but let me go get some things then, to make sure you're ready." Andrew thought that Graham was merely going to get a condom and some lube, but instead he ran downstairs to make sure this was okay with me. He knew I was protective of Andrew, so he wouldn't do this without my expressed approval. After knocking on my door and getting my attention, he told me what bothered him.

"Dad, Andrew wants to try anal tonight and he wants me to do it to him." I thought this over for a few seconds and realized a refusal would probably send Andrew into another bout of depression over his lagging level of physical maturity. I had a decision to make, and quickly, so I looked at Graham and discussed it with him.

"Look, this will have to be your choice, but let me tell you what I'd do, if I were in your shoes," I offered, to assuage his concerns. "I'm not sure Andrew would take rejection well, so why don't you grab some of the dildos out of the bathroom, the smaller ones and up to one you think is about the same size as you. If he can handle those all right, then I guess it would be okay. If not, maybe he'll change his mind and take you off the hook."

"Are you sure this is okay with you?" Graham persisted, still looking concerned.

"It's not me who has to be okay with this," I told him, "but you and Andrew, and he seems more than willing, from what you've said."

"Okay, I'll try that then," Graham agreed.

"Are you okay with this," I asked him, in an effort to be certain he wasn't having any doubts about his role in the matter.

"Oh, I'm fine with it. I've wanted to do this with Andrew for ages," he confessed, "but I thought he wasn't ready for it yet. I'm still not sure, because he is pretty small."

"Yes, but using the dildos should determine if he can handle it," I told him. "If you're okay with it and he takes the dildos all right, then I don't see any reason he can't have what he wants, as long as you don't object."

"No, I don't," Graham assured me.

"Okay, then," I agreed. "By the way, where does he think you are right now?"

"I told him I needed to go get a few things," Graham admitted.

"Then go get them and get back to the room," I warned him, "before he comes looking for you. I don't think he'd appreciate finding you here talking to me about this."

Graham nodded, took off and returned to Andrew's room, but not before picking up the needed items along the way. Andrew did ask him what took him so long, so Graham made up some excuse about one of the others having one of the dildos he wanted, so he had to go around, from room to room, until he located the items. Satisfied with that response, Andrew waited as Graham got him ready.

Graham began by lubing up his finger and putting extra lube around Andrew rectum, so he could spread it inside his anal cavity. Andrew took his finger easily, so Graham moved on to two fingers, and again Andrew had no problem accepting them. Now, Graham took the smallest dildo, lubed it up, and slowly inserted it into Andrew's love canal.

"I've done this to myself," Andrew announced, answering Graham's unasked question about why this seemed to be going so smoothly. "I've used all the ones you have now, trying to get ready for doing this with you."

Graham smiled at the thought his little friend must have been planning this moment for quite some time. It also made Graham want to please him even more. After pushing the dildo in and pulling it out several times, he switched to the next larger one, but soon he moved on to the one that was approximately the same size as him, the final step before the real thing. Seeing Andrew had little difficulty in taking this, Graham decided it was all he could do to prepare him for what he actually wanted. He looked at Andrew, to see if he was still intent on losing his virginity, and could read the eagerness on his young partner's face. Hurriedly, he got undressed.

"Okay, let's do this then," Graham suggested. "I'll lay back on the bed and you can squat over me and lower yourself onto my dick, so you can take it as slowly as you want or even stop, if it hurts."

Andrew grinned and pushed Graham backward, since he didn't want to give him time to back out. Immediately, he began to suck on Graham's dick, to make sure it was fully hard. When Graham pulled him off, for fear he'd shoot just from the oral stimulation, he put on a condom and added some lube, ready to do the deed.

Once this was accomplished, Andrew quickly positioned himself above Graham's waist and began to lower himself downward. Eagerly, he guided Graham's penis toward his opening and then sat down on it faster than Graham thought he should. Seeing Andrew didn't seem to have any trouble doing this, Graham suspected Andrew had been using even larger dildos for practice, for now the boy was sitting on his pubic region.

"Are you okay?" Graham asked, concerned.

Graham was still worried Andrew had done too much too quickly, but Andrew merely nodded and grinned. To him, this was just another verification he was no longer a baby. Forcefully, he began to bounce up and down on Graham's cock.

The tight, warm fit soon sent Graham reeling, as he enjoyed the lustful pleasure this action sent through his body. Andrew seemed to be enjoying it just as much, even if it was probably more a psychological thrill he got from doing what he considered an adult activity, rather than from the physical pleasure he might be receiving from this coupling.

The quick pace Andrew was using, in combination with his tight opening, soon had Graham moaning and reaching his climax. Even though he wished it would have lasted a bit longer and he tried to prolong his orgasm as long as he could, there was only so much he could do or how much he could take. Soon, Andrew brought him to the point of no return and Graham arched his back, grabbed Andrew by the hips and held him steady, as he slammed his penis into him one final time.

At this point, his juices exploded out of his dick and filled the tip of the condom with his semen. It also made Graham see stars. Realizing what happened, Andrew was totally ecstatic, thinking he was now one step closer to being a man. With Graham's penis still inside him, he leaned forward and began kissing his partner, before he stopped and thanked him for what they had just done.

"Thank you for doing this with me, Graham," he gushed. "Did I do it okay?" He obviously needed a little reassurance that he performed satisfactorily.

"Oh, yes," Graham gasped out. "You did super."

This made Andrew beam even more and he wiggled on Graham's cock, trying to bring it back to life. Even though that wasn't going to happen soon, he wanted to keep it inside of him for as long as he could and Graham wasn't about to complain. However, the physiology wasn't cooperating, and Graham's penis continued to wilt, until it plopped out of Andrew's anus.

Since this signified his first time was officially over, Andrew snuggled up beside Graham, after Graham disposed of the condom and cleaned up a bit. Andrew hugged and kissed Graham, in appreciation for what they had just done, and then he let his body meld into the older boy's torso. Before they fell asleep, Andrew had one more surprise.

"Can we do this again, tomorrow night?" Andrew asked.

Slightly surprised by this request, Graham quickly found his tongue and spoke. "Hey, if that's what you want, I won't say no. I really enjoyed it."

Pleased with the response, especially the part about Graham enjoying it, Andrew's wrapped his arm and leg over Graham's body and they both fell asleep. Truly, this was the Christmas present Andrew wanted, and maybe now we could get past all the nonsense about his still being a little boy.

Chapter 26
A Currie Yuletide

Christmas Day started off wonderfully for me, because all the boys slept in. No one woke us when the first rays of sunlight broke through the windows, as usually happened, but this may have been due to the fact my grandchildren weren't here. It may also be the result of the boys growing older or possibly their extracurricular activities the night before had just worn them out. Regardless of the reason, it was appreciated.

When we did finally gather downstairs, we passed out the gifts and began to thank each other for the presents we received. I think everyone was satisfied with what they got, although the boys weren't generally lacking for anything in the first place. All in all, we had a good time and felt satisfied with what we'd received.

There was one special gift that had been given out and it was one Kevin gave to Vinnie. Vinnie had been a little uneasy with Kevin being away at college, fearing he'd meet someone else and leave him, so this gift was meant to ease Vinnie's doubts. When he opened the small package, he found a lovely silver chain, but it had a rather large key attached to it.

"What's this supposed to be," he asked Kevin.

"It's a key to my dorm room, so you can come visit me anytime you wish," Kevin explained. "If you have your own key, then you know I have no secrets or nothing to hide from you. I hope this is enough to convince you that I love only you."

Kevin hugged Vinnie now, to let him know he truly meant what he said, and I could see a few tears streaking down Vinnie's cheek as they embraced. I could tell he was truly moved by the gift and loved it, so I hoped this would stop him questioning Kevin's commitment now.

Once we cleaned up the wrapping paper and put things away, the boys went to shower and put on some of their new clothes. After that, they took time to try out some of the other presents they had received, as well. Our company still wouldn't arrive for a couple more hours, so the boys still had plenty of time for those kinds of pursuits.

After we'd finished getting presentable, Jake and I began to focus on Christmas dinner. Hurriedly, we set about doing the things we had left until the last minute. Once everything was finished, the guests began to show up.

I had to admit I missed my biological children and grandchildren more now than at any other time. Although I tried to deny my sorrow the previous evening, today it was harder to put out of my mind and I began to struggle with a minor bout of depression. Jake sensed something was wrong almost immediately and pulled me aside to discuss it.

"Josh, what's up? You seem like you're on another planet right now," he suggested.

I didn't know if I should confide in him about how I was feeling and ruin his day too, but I had promised him we'd work through things together. Finally, I admitted what was bothering me.

"I'm sorry, but this thing with my older children is starting to get to me today," I confessed. "I've tried to put it out of my mind, but this is the first Christmas ever that none of them are here. Even though not all of them were here every year, two or three of them would always be around, so their absence this year is very noticeable."

Even though I had told Jake it didn't bother me and I had made up my mind that if they didn't want anything to do with me, I didn't want anything to do with them either, it still hurt. The problem was, I couldn't let this spoil everyone else's holiday, so I tried to put it behind me. Having talked this over with Jake helped a little, so I told him I'd get through this, but I also suspected he was going to watch me like a hawk for the rest of the day.

Before long, everyone was with us again, but Arlene seemed to be slipping in and out of lucidity today – more out than in. She didn't realize where she was or who we were most of the day and I could see the strain this was putting on Albert and Richard. I tried to distract them, talking about other things, while the Spences kept an eye on Arlene.

Believe it or not, Margaret Spence was one of the few people that Arlene consistently recognized, although many of us had known her much longer. We concluded they must have formed some special bond, which now seemed to bridge her occasional lapses in reality. She occasionally forgot who Margaret was too, from time to time, but those instances didn't occur frequently. There were even times when she'd forget who Albert and Richard were too, but like with Margaret, those lapses were much less frequent than with the rest of us. For that reason, Margaret volunteered to help out.

A little later, we moved everyone to the tables to eat. Dinner went very well and then we headed into the family room to exchange gifts. Of course, we didn't have everyone buy for all of our boys, so what we did was draw names for gifts. My clan's names had been in one bowl at Thanksgiving and everyone else's names in another bowl. Each person was then allowed to select a name from the appropriate bowl, until everyone's name had been chosen. There was one problem with this, however, as there were more of my family than there were in our extended family. To correct this situation, some of our loved ones had volunteered to select two or three names each, to make up for the difference.

Sally, Steve and Mary Shay and Margaret and John Spence all fell into this category, as they claimed they were financially better able to afford this, so we accepted their decision and exchanged the appropriate gifts. This way we could buy the person a nice gift, by not having to split our money between several individuals. Besides, none of us really needed that many gifts.

We did manage to slip some of the others a little extra as well, like Mark and his mother, along with Albert, Arlene and Richard. They weren't as well off as the rest of us and could use whatever they were given.

Peter had also received more than the rest and wasn't oblivious to this fact. Excitedly, he ran up to me after we'd opened the last of our gifts and spoke.

"Blimey, I've never received this many presents before," he told me. "I thought one would be more than enough, but you did much more than that. I got a bunch of different things from my new brothers and then I got even more from you and Papa Jake. When I thought I got all I was going to get, then I got another, when the others arrived. Thank you so much, Pop. I've never had such a Happy Christmas.

"You're welcome, Peter, and it was our pleasure too," I reiterated. "You're part of this family and different groups of boys wanted to buy you their own special gift. You've done some wonderful things for them too, so they wanted to show you how much you're appreciated. We are all very happy to have you here." Peter seemed pleased by my response and hugged me, before moving on to other things.

Richard also got several gifts, as he received a special present from various groups of boys. Even though he complained about the special treatment, I could see he was appreciative of what they had done for him. However, I could see Albert was a little uncomfortable with this, so I pulled him aside to explain.

"Albert, I know this is more than what we promised to do, but the boys really wanted to do something for Richard on their own. They all feel close to him and used their own money, so how could I tell them no. They would have been deeply hurt if I hadn't allowed them to do this."

Albert looked at me and scanned around the room at the boys. Coincidentally, they happened to be gathered around Richard and talking about what he got. Albert saw this and gave a resigned nod and then slapped me on the back.

"Your boys have had a good role model and you should be proud of them," he told me, simply, and I thanked him for his compliment from all of us.

In fact, it was nice to see Albert and Richard relax and enjoy themselves a bit more than usual. Margaret's bond with Arlene allowed them to concentrate on more than her for the afternoon. They actually let their hair down a bit and got involved in many other things. Albert took part in various discussions, while Richard went off to spend time with the boys. If anything, that was probably the greatest Christmas present of all.

A couple of hours later, we sat down and ate our dessert, which was the final planned activity of the day. Once dessert was finished, we sat around and talked some more, before the others began to say their good-byes and head home. Once the house was empty again, well at least as empty as it was going to get until the college boys returned to school, everyone set about doing their own thing. Jake took me aside again, to check on how I was doing, and when I told him I hadn't had time to think about who wasn't there, it seemed to relieve his concerns. However, now he tried to occupy my time, so I still wouldn't have the opportunity to linger on what troubled me.

While Jake was occupying my attention, the boys started heading upstairs to their rooms, but one of them soon returned, to have a private conversation with me. It was Sammy.

"Dad, did you know Graham fucked Andrew last night?" he asked, visibly upset by this revelation.

"Yes, Sammy, I did," I admitted. "Graham cleared it with me and I told him what to do to make sure Andrew was ready. Don't worry, everything went well and Andrew is more than fine with it."

"I know, but don't you think he's still too small to be doing that?" he argued.

"Well, how old were you the first time you did it?" He thought for a moment before he responded.

"Thirteen, I guess," he admitted.

"Yes, and that's how old Andrew is now," I pointed out. "It was HIS choice and he was the one who asked Graham, but Graham did come down to check with me first, before he did it."

"But Andrew's so much smaller than I was when I did it," Sammy whined.

"Yes, and that's what makes him feel like a baby," I explained. "If I hadn't allowed it to happen, Andrew would have been very depressed today and convinced we still thought of him as a little boy. Instead, he's happy, enjoying himself and feeling like a young man."

Sammy thought about this for a few minutes, before he responded. "You're sure he wasn't hurt then?" he wanted to know, just to make sure.

"No, he wasn't and Graham made sure he enjoyed it," I answered. "Couldn't you tell how much happier he seemed today?"

"Yes, but I thought it was just because of Christmas," Sammy replied, "until we went upstairs and he told me what he did."

"I hope you didn't make him feel bad about it, by telling him he was too young or anything like that," I challenged, deeply concerned.

"No, I waited a couple of minutes after he told me, before I came down," Sammy confirmed. "He's in with Graham again, so he doesn't know I'm down here."

"Good, let's leave it that way then," I suggested. "I'd hate for him to think you, or anyone else, has a problem with what he did."

"I do, or at least I did," Sammy admitted, "but now I see your point."

"Are you okay with this then?" I pressed. "Really okay with it?" He thought for a moment before he nodded.

"Yeah. I guess it had to happen sooner or later," he stated, "and I'm glad it didn't hurt him."

"From what I heard," I added, "Graham suspects Andrew has been practicing with the dildos, to get ready for it to happen for real." Sammy looked surprised to hear this news, before he thought about it some more.

"I should have guessed that was what he was up to," he finally admitted, "seeing he'd been asking me so many questions about my first time. He wanted to know what it felt like, if it hurt and if I really enjoyed it. A few times I went to our room and found the door locked, so I wondered what he'd been up to." Now he looked at me carefully, before he spoke again.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to lose it like I did the first time he was with Graham," Sammy assured me. "I know he feels less pressure asking Graham to do things with him, rather than me, and I'm fine with that. As long as you said it was okay and Andrew wasn't hurt, I'm fine with that too."

"I'm glad, and that's a very mature attitude," I concurred.

"Well, I guess it's about time I stopped acting like he was my private property," Sammy admitted. "I know he's growing up, even though I still think of him as my LITTLE brother." 0 "All the boys do, Sammy, but we all have to let go some time," I informed him. "I'm glad you are willing to accept it this time."

Sammy thanked me for talking this over with him and for watching out for Andrew, and then he went back to his room. He spent the evening with Cole again, but he would spend the following night with Andrew – just the two of them.

The day after Christmas started off normally enough. The first thing I did was to call to reestablish Arlene's overnight care, which didn't go as well as I'd hoped. I was told that many people had been allowed to take time off during the holidays, once it had been determined coverage could be maintained for the open cases they had during that period. Therefore, there was not enough staff to take on additional work, so we'd now have to wait until after the holidays were over and they were back at full staff. I thanked them for their help and then called to tell Albert what I discovered.

After explaining the situation, I reiterated my offer to have my boys, Jake and I cover the overnight care. As stubborn as always, Albert refused, even though I protested vehemently and tried to get him to reconsider. It didn't move his position any, so I eventually discontinued my effort, even though I knew it was going to be a rough period for him.

Although I almost forgot about the upcoming visit, our other company arrived around mid-morning. Sammy and Graham ran to the windows to peer out at them, as their car pulled in the driveway. They gawked as Ted and his Aunt Jane made their way to our door, obviously impressed with what they saw. I won't say Ted was gorgeous, but he was handsome in his own way, enough so that my two voyeurs hadn't lost any interest in him. He was also on the small side for his age, which gave the impression that he might also be a little immature, but I knew he was going to be hard to resist. Soon, my hopeful duo was sprinting toward the entrance to greet him, although I slowed them down and opened the door myself.

"Welcome to the loony bin," I told our guests, and this elicited a grin from each of them.

"Oh, it can't be that bad," Jane told me, thinking I was joking, as Graham ran up to give her a big hug.

"Oh, there's my little sweetie," she said, hugging him back. This also gave the rest of the boys a sense of how strongly these two had bonded at the hospital, while we were there with Cody.

"Tell me you still feel that way after you've been here a while and seen how things go," I teased. "Then, I might believe you." This drew a questioning look from her, as she looked at the crowd now forming behind me.

"Come in," I continued, "and I'll introduce you to the inmates. There will be a quiz on it later." Ted gave me a questioning look, before his aunt informed him I was joking and he began to laugh.

"Josh, this is so wonderful of you," Jane began, "to let my nephew come spend time with you and your boys."

"Nonsense," I told her. "This does more for us than it will for him. By the time he leaves here, he may wish he never heard of the Currie family."

"No way!" Ted exclaimed, while eyeing some of the boys. I watched who he was lingering on and hoped he wasn't becoming attracted to the boys who were already partnered up.

"I think I'm going to really like it here," he added, with a big smile.

After making the introductions, during which I pointed out which boys had serious boyfriends, we sat around talking and getting to know each other better. Graham and I started off by thanking Jane for everything she had done for Cody and us at the hospital. We also explained we had told the other boys how wonderful she had been.

We went on to discuss how she had made it easier for Cody and us to endure those final few days, although we had been too grief-stricken to tell her that before we left. She then told us she understood and was glad she was able to do what she did for us. She also admitted that Cody's death had affected her nearly as much as it had us and Ted confirmed this, by telling us how she had acted and things she had told him and his parents during that time. He even told us she was so sad he could almost feel her pain.

Once again, I thanked her for her concern and all she had done, and confessed that Cody had begun to look upon her as the mother he never knew. This brought a few tears to her eyes, so she excused herself to use our bathroom and freshen up. While she was gone, we got to know Ted a little better.

During this time, the boys explained a little about how they had come to be with me, a little about their past life and sexual orientation, and then they told Ted he should never be ashamed of who or what he was. I knew it would take time to convince him of this, since he'd been hammered at home with how wrong and evil gays were. I think I saw him relax a bit, as the boys gave him an idea about who they were, and by the time Jane returned, the topic switched again. This time they talked about more mundane things, such as school, since they weren't sure how much Ted wanted his aunt to know or hear.

About an hour later, Jane excused herself and said she had to be leaving. I told her we'd be happy to put her up for the night and then she could leave in the morning, but she declined. She explained she had some things to do at home first, which couldn't wait, and then she had to go in to work at Sloan-Kettering early tomorrow. We all thanked her for what she had done for Cody and for bringing Ted, and then we wished her a safe journey home.

I did get her to agree to spend the night here when she came to pick Ted up, after she told us she happened to have that weekend off. We walked her to her car and watched her drive away, and then Graham and Sammy eagerly grabbed Ted's arms and drug him off, for what reason I could only guess.

Chapter 27
Ted Beckham

A couple hours later those boys reappeared and asked if the three of them could speak with me in private. I was a little concerned about this at first, but once I found out what they wanted, I began to calm down.

"Dad," Graham began, "you have to explain to Ted that there's nothing wrong with being gay or bi. His father has told him all the wrong things and you need to tell him that he's not evil or going to hell."

I looked at Ted and saw him swallowing hard. This let me know he wasn't sure if he wanted this to happen quite this way, but I understood what I needed to do.

"Ted, first of all, I think you should know that it's my opinion you were born the way you are and you didn't have any choice in the matter," I explained. "Although there is no scientific proof to support my belief, over the years I have talked to many bisexuals and gays, and every one of them has told me they knew at an early age what they were. To me, that indicates they didn't have a choice in the matter.

"It seems being gay is a trait they were born with," I continued, "such as their eye color, skin color, being tall or short, a gene making them susceptible to or giving them a certain disease, a predilection toward alcoholism or even the quality of their eyesight. Only bisexuals have any choice about whom they can actually choose to be with, although others have tried and failed. I think it's a bigger sin to try to be what you're not and end up hurting someone else in the process, by pretending you love him or her, when you really don't.

"As far as going to hell is concerned," I added, "I believe in the New Testament and the loving God, not the vindictive God of the Old Testament. What few verses I've seen in the Bible against same sex relationships are far outweighed by his doctrine of love, acceptance and not judging others. In fact, this occurs so often that I think those who condemn and persecute others in God's name will have far more to answer for than anyone else. Although I'm not your father and I have no say in how you are raised, I can only tell you not to be ashamed of who or what you are. If you do, I believe you will only come to regret it as you grow older."

We discussed this for many more minutes, with the other boys asking me their own questions. Graham and Sammy tried to voice some of the concerns Ted had told them when they were alone earlier. Overall, I think he felt a little better once we were done, but he did ask to speak to me alone, before we were finished. This startled, and possibly even bothered, the other pair. I wasn't sure what it was Ted wanted to discuss with me, but it seemed important to him, so I offered to listen.

"Mr. Currie," he began, but I stopped him.

"Why don't you just call me Josh? That's fine with me." He looked confused by my request.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "My father would NEVER let me call an adult by his first name," he told me.

"And I tell my boys the same thing, unless the adult has advised them to do otherwise, as I have done," I explained. "Besides, your father isn't here and it would make me feel better if you were less formal. Okay?"

He smiled and nodded. "Okay and thank you," he continued.

"Now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked.

"Well, I feel really strange having to ask you this, but I can't ask your sons," he began. "I'd be too embarrassed just yet. Anyway, I think you'd be less likely to laugh at me or make fun of what I say, but I just have to know." He stopped for an uncomfortable duration of time after saying this.

"What is it you need to know?" I prompted, hoping to get him started again.

"If I'm normal," he finally stammered.

"Normal in what way?" I countered, since I didn't understand what he was asking.

"Well, I hear guys talking in school about how big they are and they say like seven, eight or even ten inches," he explained, "and I'm not nearly that big. Is there something wrong with me?" He looked really concerned about this.

"No, not at all," I assured him. "Although some of those boys MIGHT be that big, I think most of them are probably exaggerating their physical assets. If you actually saw them in person, it would most likely be a bit shorter than they claimed. According to studies, the average male is between five and six inches in length."

"Really?" He looked relieved. "Cuz mine's only about five inches, maybe a little more."

"Yes, really. Then you're average." I smiled at him, but waited to see if he had another question. It took him a few more seconds to get up the courage to ask it though, but he finally did.

"I'm also pretty hairy… not my chest, but the rest of me is," he confessed. "My legs almost look like I'm wearing fur pants." He looked down at the floor after saying this, almost as if he was embarrassed about that too.

"Heck, lots of guys are hairy, but that's not such a big thing," I advised him.

"It is for me and I hate to even wear shorts, but I'm forced to wear them for gym class. That's when everyone makes wisecracks about my legs. And my privates and butt are almost as bad," he added.

"Well, I'm sure it's worse in your own mind and you think about it a lot more," I suggested.

"No, I'm telling you it's awful," he advised me, and then he quickly dropped his pants, so I could see for myself. It was obvious his legs WERE hairier than any of my boys and most men I had ever seen, but I felt I had to offer him words of encouragement, not confirmation.

"Well, there are ways to solve that problem, if you want to go that route," I advised him. "You can either shave your legs or there are other ways to get rid of the hair, if it bothers you that much." Even though he appeared encouraged by my comments, it still looked as if he still had some issues to deal with. Finally, he got to those too.

"Will that work on this too?" he asked, now dropping his boxers and showing me a dense tangle of hair on his pubis and scrotum, before turning around to show me his butt. I also noticed he had a rather diminutive flaccid penis, although it was cut and nice looking. I wasn't sure how much bigger it got when erect.

"Yes, some of those ways will work there too," I said soothingly. "In fact, some of the boys might be more than happy to help you with your personal grooming." I grinned and winked at him, to let him know I thought the others might even like the idea of doing it for him.

"You really think so?" he asked, amazed.

"I'm almost positive, at least about the two who've been trailing you all around and were just in here with you. In fact, I bet if I do this," I began, swinging the door open, "they might even be listening in." And there they were, looking sheepish at first, but then they openly gawked, when they saw Ted standing there with his boxers and pants around his ankles.

"I don't think Ted would mind if you came in," I urged, as Ted scrambled to pull his clothes back up. "Don't worry, Ted, and don't be embarrassed," I said shutting the door behind them. "I'm sure you'll all be seeing each other's goodies before long anyway." He still looked a little humiliated about the boys having seen him like that, so they quickly scrambled to rectify the situation.

"Hey, you don't have to be uncomfortable about us seeing you that way," Sammy told him. "We often run around the house nude. Here, we'll do the same thing, so you can see what we look like too." Now that pair dropped their trousers and exposed themselves to our guest, as if that now made them all even. However, Ted just gawked at the pair, his mouth slightly open.

"Damn, is there something else wrong with my dick?" he finally blurted out, looking at the uncircumcised penises before him.

"No, Ted," I began, "it's just that these two boys are uncircumcised or uncut, which means they didn't have their foreskins removed when they were younger."

"Yeah, watch," Graham told him, "we can make ours look just like yours," and then the boys both retracted their foreskin.

"Wow, neat," Ted kind of cooed. "Are all the other boys like that too?"

"No, it's about half and half here, half cut and half uncut. I'm sure before you leave you might see a few of them parading about the house without clothes on. None of them are very modest." After this comment, I thought Ted's eyes were going to nearly pop out of their sockets.

"You're kidding me," he gasped.

"Nope, he's not," Graham chimed in. "We've even gone to nudist camps and spent weeks without our clothes on," he laughed.

"In front of other people?" Ted asked, completely amazed.

"Yep," Sammy told him. "Old and young, guys and girls. We all ran around with nothing on."

"Dang," Ted responded, "my father would kill me, if I did anything like that."

"Well, as I said earlier," I reasoned, "he's not here and you can do anything your comfortable with in our house."

"And that includes sex," Graham added, with a bit of hope in his voice. This last comment just caused Ted to stare at me, so I thought I should explain.

"I allow the boys to do things with each other," I told Ted, "as long as they both agree to it and no one is forced or hurt. I do make them use protection, so if you decide to join in, the boys will show you what you need and how to use it. If you have any questions you may ask them or me, and we'll answer you as honestly as we can."

"But I've never done anything before," Ted blurted out. He almost looked as is he wished he could take those words back, almost as soon as they were out of his mouth.

"We all have to have a first time," I conceded, "it's just that some got a chance to start earlier than others."

"But you don't think there's something wrong with me, because I've never done anything," he asked his two new friends and admirers.

"Nope," Sammy said, bluntly.

"We'll be gentle and take good care of you," Graham added, "so don't worry, if you want to try anything." Hearing this brought another smile to Ted's face.

"You sure you wouldn't mind, Mr. Currie?" Ted asked me, which caused me to frown at him. "You would, wouldn't you?"

"No, that's not why I gave you that look," I responded. "What did I just tell you to call me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Then you sure you won't mind, Josh?" he repeated, looking hopeful.

"Not as long as you all agree to what you do and no one is forced or hurt," I reiterated, which gained me a huge smile in response.

"My aunt was right about you," he added, "especially when she told me you could help me feel better about being gay."

That was the first time I'd heard him use that word without stammering or trying to dance around it, so I concluded half the battle was already won. The other boys took this chance to pull up their own pants, so they could go on their way, and I was sure Ted was about to get his first sexual experience. Of course, I was correct in my assumption, as the three of them headed upstairs to Graham's room. This is what I found out about it later.

Once they were alone, the three boys all agreed to take off all their clothes, so they wouldn't be hindered. Once this happened, Sammy and Graham told Ted he could touch their bodies or do whatever he wanted, until he got comfortable with them. Hesitantly, he reached a hand out and touched both their penises, fingering them gently. This was the first time he'd ever done anything of this nature and acted as if he were afraid they might break.

After a little encouragement, he began to slide their foreskin back and forth, to see how it worked. Of course, this activity caused both boys to get hard, which made Ted beam, and then he asked my pair what he should do next. They told him it was up to him, but when they saw the indecision on his face, they suggested maybe they could do some things to him first, to show him how it was done. Not knowing what else to do, Ted agreed, and the boys had him lay on the bed, with one on either side of him.

Once they were in that position, they began to double-team him, as they mimicked each other's movements on their side of his body. They started on his nipples, to teach him those weren't only meant to pleasure the female body. Next, they licked their way down his chest, before taking turns on his navel. By the time they reached his waist, he was already rock hard, so they licked both sides of his shaft, which caused him to make a few little throaty noises and begin breathe really hard. At this point, the boys communicated wordlessly, so Graham crawled between Ted's legs and began to lick and play with Ted's balls, while Sammy took Ted's cock in his mouth and began to perform fellatio on him.

With Sammy bobbing up and down on his knob and Graham playfully toying with his nuts, Ted was soon riding a high he'd never experienced before. All of these new sensations soon swept him to the precarious point between enjoyment and release, and then his body began to tremble and quake as the juices rose up his shaft and painted Sammy's throat with that marvelous nectar. These sensations not only caused him untold enjoyment, but the release also relaxed him so much that he actually fell asleep afterward.

Sammy and Graham, not knowing what else to do, just cuddled up beside him and waited for him to wake up. It took about twenty minutes before Ted opened his eyes again, and then he began to apologize profusely. He suspected he had just committed a major faux pas, but the boys reassured him what he did wasn't so unusual. This helped to make him feel a little better, but then he wanted to do something for them. They both suggested he just jerk them off this time, which he did, one after the other. Once they both had their release, my pair went and got the electric hair trimmer and my electric razor, to take care of Ted's unwanted hair.

Once Sammy and Graham had finished grooming Ted, one of them came and got me. Sammy eagerly dragged me up to Graham's room, and as I went inside, there stood Ted, stark naked and with the biggest grin on his face I'd ever seen.

"So what do you think," he wanted to know. "Does it look better?"

"It's not what I think," I told him, "but are you happy with this 'new' you? What do you think of it?"

"I love it, but my dad will freak, if he sees me like this," Ted confessed. "I'm not worried though, cuz he never sees me naked. I guess he thinks it would make him gay or something." After telling me that, he let out a nervous little laugh.

"Well, I think it looks awesome," I told him, admiring his handsome, youthful body. I also began to wish I were his age again, so I could join in the fun.

I was mildly shocked he was so open and unabashed about showing off his body to me, both downstairs and now, but I think part of it was his overcompensating for his father's attitude. I think he saw me as someone he could come to, as if I were his father or a father substitute, so he was eager to do the things he might have done with him, had he been more open-minded.

Since Ted realized it didn't bother me that he was showing off his body to me, he spun around and even posed a little, to give me a better look. He also told me what the three of them had done, sexually, like I was just one of the boys. I guess this meant he accepted me on several levels, not just as a father substitute, which pleased me even more. I knew I had another boy now, even if he didn't live with us, and his Aunt Jane would make sure we stayed close, even after he returned home.

The rest of Ted's stay was a whirlwind of activity, both in and out of bed. He seemed to enjoy having all the boys around with whom he could talk, play games or do all kinds of other things with. This made even more sense after he explained he didn't have a lot of friends at home. The boys were sympathetic to this and went out of their way to make him feel comfortable with us. I also think Ted was more than pleased by the abundant amount of flesh he got to see parading around and even started to do the same himself. Eagerly, he pranced around to show off his shaved physique, but he also began to feel comfortable doing many other things.

His new boldness got him noticed by some of the others too, so Ted had more than his share of sexual encounters. He performed mutual masturbation with some, including Andrew, who wasn't about to be left out. Even though Ted came to me and questioned whether he dared do this with my youngest, as he felt a little ill at ease with Andrew's lack of physical maturity, I told him Andrew had done much more than just masturbate with his brothers and was eager for additional experiences. Hearing this, Ted gave in and treated Andrew just like he did the others, which also helped to remove more of Andrew's insecurities.

Ted also got to try giving oral sex and Sammy and Graham let him take them anally, although no one pressured him to do the same. In fact, they even told him to wait a bit and practice with other objects first, when he suggested maybe he wanted to do it too. When he agreed they might be right, the boys took some of the smaller dildos and used them on him, which was about all he could handle at this point. Seeing that, they told him to continue practicing on his own and then on his next visit they'd try with the dildos again and maybe he'd be ready to do it for real. This seemed to satisfy Ted, or maybe it was the dildos that made him realize he wasn't quite ready yet, but he didn't push the issue further.

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