Bill W

Castaway Hotel IX

Chapters 17-23

Chapter 17
Proving My Love

After I proposed to Jake, everything came to a standstill for a few minutes, as everyone surrounded us. Each of them wanted to congratulate us personally and offer their own good wishes. I don't think there was a single person that failed to come up to us during this time and every one of them looked sincerely pleased about what I had just done. Most of the boys told me 'it's about time' or 'I can't wait to tell our brothers at college.' I do know for certain that Jake and I were thoroughly elated.

Once the commotion died down, we finished up our marvelous evening with a few more songs, before things began to wind down. Duck and his girlfriend were staying in one of the college boy's room, and Mark's girlfriend was staying over with him too. The only ones leaving were Susan and Shelly, since Jane was using our guestroom.

After saying good night to Shelly and thanking her for joining us, I allowed Dion to drive her home. Jake and I then thanked and kissed each of the women for her help and accepted another congratulation from them, before Susan left and the rest of us went to our rooms.

I was certain most of the boys wouldn't go right to sleep, well except maybe Dion, since he was alone, but I was positive Jake and I would be staying up a little longer too.

"Damn, I never suspected you were going to do anything like that," he confessed, once we were alone.

"Well, I hope you didn't say yes just because you were stunned," I teased.

"No, of course not," he confirmed, "but why now?"

"I'm not sure if I can give you an exact reason," I confessed, "but I can enlighten you as to my thought process." Jake nodded, to let me know this would be fine with him.

"Well, since there aren't as many boys at home now, I've had more time to think about us," I admitted. "Then, when we discovered you had prostate cancer and I feared I might lose you, I felt like an idiot for not doing this sooner. I may not think about us enough, with everything else going on, but I want you to know I do love you and want to be with you always."

Jake didn't say a word in response. Instead, he just wrapped me up in his arms and brought his lips against mine. At first, he kissed me very softly, but as it continued, it became obvious there was a growing passion and urgency behind it. We ended up spending a great deal of time after that expressing our feelings for each other, before making mad, passionate love. I think each of us felt fulfilled and giddy over the notion of formally becoming life partners. Oh, Jake won't change his name or anything like that, but in reality that's kind of what we'll be doing, although the State of Pennsylvania won't officially recognize it. We can and will get married in Canada, even though it won't be recognized here, but it will serve to finalize the commitment we will be making at Easter, as well as give us memories to share about actually tying the knot.

The following morning, we all slept later than usual, but after we woke up, we were still awash in the warm feeling carried over from the previous night. No, not just from the sex, but from the wonderful, romantic evening we had shared together.

Jane was already awake and in the dining room, by the time we came out of our bedroom, and she asked if she could fix us some breakfast. I told her we'd just have coffee now and then I'd take us all out to eat, once the boys came to life. I told her she could grab something to tide her over in the meantime, if she wished, but she said she was fine. The boys began filtering down shortly thereafter, and I was glad they all remembered to slip on some clothes before they did so. Once everyone was awake and dressed, including Duck, Mark and their girlfriends, we loaded everyone into the Yukon and went out for breakfast.

It seemed that everyone was ravenous this morning, so I suspected it was the sex that had made each of them so hungry. We had an enjoyable and relaxing meal, during which everyone shared his or her thoughts about our Valentine's Day bash. Mark and Duck's girlfriends assured us they had a great time – even better than they usually had on Valentine's Day, which made Duck and Mark flash hurt expressions at them. However, the girls continued unfazed and said they loved it and would like to join us again the following year, if we decided to do this again. They also said they thought it was wonderful and very romantic the way I proposed to Jake, which caused us both to blush.

Once we returned to our place, everyone began going his or her own way. Duck and his girlfriend left first and then Mark took his girlfriend home, before Ted and Jane said good-bye too.

"Josh, that was absolutely wonderful," Jane gushed. "Even I had a great time and I didn't even have a date."

"Maybe we can correct that next time," I replied, which caused her to blush and turn her head.

"Yeah, Aunt Jane, you should bring a date too," Ted added.

"Oh, Teddy, dear. I don't know if I could," she shot back. "Would it mean I would have to get all hot and sweaty having sex afterward, like you and Sammy?" This definitely shut Ted up and caused both Sammy and him to turn a bright crimson.

After Ted and Jane left, the rest of us went inside. Yes, we had missed church this morning, but I think God will excuse us this faux pax, as long as we don't abuse it. The rest of the day we merely chilled out and enjoyed the warm memories that lingered from the previous evening.

By this point, Jesse's mother had also completely settled in to her new place. She admitted she loved her job at the school, because Jesse said hello and waved at her every day when he went through the line. She also stated that with him doing that, it helped make the job even more special, although the pay did leave a little to be desired. She did take my friend up on his offer to waitress part time as well and worked for him three nights a week, to earn a little extra money. Overall, she seemed very happy about the move.

When Jesse and Andrew went bike riding, they would often swing by to see her at her apartment or at her job at the restaurant, although they didn't stay for very long when she was working. If she were at home, they'd visit for a while longer, but always gave me a call first, to let me know why they were going to get back a little later. I have to admit it was working out nicely and much better than I had anticipated.

As March rolled around, so did Jakes scheduled sixth-month checkup. We were both a little concerned that something else might show up, but Jake was dreading the entire process, not just the results. Sometimes, he had to get in some pretty degrading positions for the tests to be run and he wasn't fond of being exposed under less than favorable conditions. As his appointment date grew closer, I figured I'd better see how he was doing.

"Jake how are you holding up?" I asked.

"Okay, I guess," he said, unconvincingly. "I'm just so worried the doctor's going to find more."

"If he does, then maybe he'll just remove the entire prostate this time," I offered, soothingly, "but I'd be willing to bet he won't discover a thing wrong with you."

"I hope you're right, but I just have this feeling," Jake answered. "I can't get what happened to my uncle out of my mind and keep thinking it's going to be my fate as well."

"You've got to stop having those negative thoughts and start thinking positively," I suggested. "Remember that old song, 'High Hopes,' by Frank Sinatra?" I started to sing it to him.

Next time your found, with your chin on the ground
There a lot to be learned, so look around

Just what makes that little old ant
Think he'll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can't
Move a rubber tree plant

But he's got high hopes, he's got high hopes
He's got high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your gettin' low
'stead of lettin' go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant

When troubles call, and your back's to the wall
There a lot to be learned, that wall could fall

Once there was a silly old ram
Thought he'd punch a hole in a dam
No one could make that ram, scram
He kept buttin' that dam

'cause he had high hopes, he had high hopes
He had high apple pie, in the sky hopes

So any time your feelin' bad
'stead of feelin' sad
Just remember that ram
Oops there goes a billion kilowatt dam

All problems just a toy balloon
They'll be bursted soon
They're just bound to go pop
Oops there goes another problem kerplop

"Okay, Okay. I get the point," he assured me.

"Do you really get the point, or are you just trying to get me to stop singing?" I teased. He gave me a funny look before he answered.

"Well, maybe both," he joked back, "but I get the point. You know, that song is just so dang silly that it made me chuckle and I temporarily forgot about my problems."

"Then maybe you can use that to your advantage," I suggested.

"But how?" Jake wondered.

"I don't know. Maybe you could think of it whenever you're starting to feel depressed," I offered.

"I know!" Jake suddenly exclaimed "From now on, whenever I start thinking about my uncle, I'll either start humming or whistling that tune. I think it will work as a distraction and remind me to keep positive."

"Good!" I replied. "I count on it taking care of your negativism then. Just don't hum or whistle it too loudly. We wouldn't want the guys in the little white coats throwing a net over your head and dragging you off." Jake merely gave me a disgusted look, but I do believe he's going to try to use that little trick from now on.

The rest of the time leading up to his appointment went quite smoothly, or at least I thought so. When the big day came, I went with him to provide moral support. I didn't go in with him while he was being examined or tested, but I was there for him just in case something was discovered during this process. However, when he came out, he had a huge smile on his face.

"The doctor said he didn't notice anything during the ultrasound or DRE, but he did the blood work again and will send it off for testing. We should hear back in a few days, but it looks as if I'm clean."

We were both elated as we left, but got a mild shock as we exited the doctor's office. When we causally glanced down the hallway, to make certain we didn't step out in front of someone else, we saw Dion and Shelly going in to another office. Dion hadn't mentioned anything about helping her today, but maybe he just forgot. They didn't happen to notice us before they disappeared from sight, but I was interested to see what type of an office it was. As we passed by, Jake and I read the sign and discovered it was a gynecologist's office and that raised even more questions.

What was Dion doing here with her? Did he just give her a ride or did he come along for moral support? We had no way of knowing, but then again, the reason might be something altogether different. I figured I'd ask him about it later, when he got home, but right now I was anxious to take Jake out to celebrate. Although we don't do this often, we stopped at a fairly nice bar, went in and each had a couple of drinks, along with some appetizers.

While we indulged ourselves, Jake couldn't stop talking about how foolish he'd been to think the worst and observed that I must consider him a whiney baby for carrying on about it as he had. I assured him that was not the case and anyone that had gone through what he had, especially if they had a similar family history, might have reacted the same way or even worse. I explained I thought no less of him for it, because I had similar dark thoughts after my heart attack. He thanked me for my understanding and we went home to share the good news with the boys.

Dion didn't get home until shortly before dinner, so I didn't have a chance to chat with him then. I did ask him where he'd been and he told me he was running an errand with a friend, which seemed to fit in with what Jake and I had seen. Therefore, I didn't press the issue at this time.

After dinner, Jake called Shannon to share the good news, so while he was doing that, I went to look for Dion. When I located him, he looked up and spoke first.

"Dad, I was just coming to find you," he began. "There's something I really need to talk to you about."

"Oh," I replied, somewhat startled. "Is it serious?"

"You might say that," Dion answered, so now I was really curious.

"Would you like to go to your room, my room, outside or somewhere else to chat?" I offered and he thought about it briefly.

"Could you drive us down to the park?" Dion asked. "We can talk about it there, because I'm not sure I want anyone else to know just yet."

"Yes, that would be fine," I agreed, before I grabbed the keys to the Grand Am and we took off.

When we got to the park, there was hardly anyone there. It was still very cool, although there was no snow on the ground, but there was also a biting wind. "Would you like to sit on the swings, at a picnic table under the pavilion or would you prefer to stay in the car?
"Let's stay in the car and you can keep the heater running," he suggested, so that's what we did. Dion then sat quietly and didn't say anything else for over a minute, so I thought I'd better push him in the right direction.

"Okay, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked, but then was immediately taken aback by his reaction. He looked up at me, through big, sad deep brown eyes, and tears were streaming down his cheeks. I had no idea what was going on, but I certainly hoped he was going to enlighten me soon.

"I was an idiot," he began, after a considerable delay. "I did something really foolish – a humongous mistake, and now I don't know what to do about it." He was sobbing by the time he finished telling me this.

"I'm sure it looks worse than it really is," I responded soothingly, while hoping to take away some of his overwhelming guilt and pain.

"You aren't going to say that when I tell you what's wrong," he replied. "I did something you always warn us about and you were right. It's all blown up in my face now."

"Dion, I have no idea what you're talking about, so why don't you back up and start at the beginning for me?" I suggested. "Just take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong."

"Okay, I'll try," he agreed. "It all started when Trey went off to college. You remember how lonely I was and you told me to find something to distract me from thinking about him, so I did. I used my music to keep me from missing him so damn much."

"Yes, I remember and by concentrating on your music, you've also been able to showcase your talent, like at the Christmas concert," I acknowledged.

"Yeah, well that's what made it worse," he came back.

"Wait! How did doing such a fine job at the Christmas concert make it worse?" I wanted to know.

"Okay, I'll explain," he confirmed. "In order to do so well, Shelly and I had to spend a whole lot of time practicing."

"Yes, I remember," I conceded.

"And Shelly and I grew really close," he pointed out, "because we were practicing together so much. I felt I could hang around her and not feel as if I was cheating on Trey, and it was really working. Shelly and I were growing close, having a great time and doing super with our singing, at least that's what our music teacher kept telling us."

"Yes, and that's all true," I agreed, "but as of yet I don't see a problem."

"Well, do you remember that Shelly and I went to that after concert party?"

"I do," I confessed.

"We had a great time and everyone congratulated us on what a fantastic job we'd done," Dion continued. "I think we were getting swelled heads and then someone gave us a drink, to toast our success. I didn't think you'd mind and we only had a couple of drinks, so I wasn't really drunk."

"Okay, go on," I told him, to show him I wasn't upset about what he'd just told me.

"Well, when I was taking Shelly home, she wanted to stop somewhere and talk a little," Dion confessed, "so I brought her here. We parked just over there," he added, while pointing at a parking spot a little farther away, "and we started talking."

Dion paused here, but I didn't say a word. I wanted him to continue at his own pace and didn't want to break his train of thought.

"She told me how she really liked singing with me and how we were perfect together," Dion continued. "She told me I had a great voice, I was handsome and she'd heard I had other great qualities as well. She then leaned toward me and placed her lips on mine and we began to kiss. Before I knew it, I had my hands on her breasts and she had her hand on my dick, and well, one thing led to another and we got out climbed in the back and started undressing each other. We ended up having sex, but the bad part was, I did it without a condom. I didn't have one on me, but I guess I was so wound up and maybe the drinks helped to keep me from thinking straight, so we had unprotected sex." I now suspected where this was going.

"Dad, Shelly asked me to take her to the gynecologists office today," he admitted, "and he told her she's three months pregnant." Dion began sobbing now. "What am I going to do? What am I go to tell Trey? How am I going to get you to trust me again?"

I pulled him against my chest and let him cry himself out for a few minutes, before I responded. Once he began to calm down a little, I lifted his head, looked into his eyes and spoke.

"Dion, we all make mistakes and too often they also happen when we're wearing beer goggles," I began. "That's why I've always tried to warn you boys about those things, because I hoped I could prevent you from falling into those traps. However, since you did, I'm not going to harp about it and get all upset. It's too late for that. What we have to do now is analyze the situation and see how we wish to proceed from here."

"You mean that?" Dion countered. "You really don't hate me for making such a dumb mistake?"

"Dion, I could never hate you for getting snared by human emotions," I assured him. "It's not to say that I'm not a little disappointed in your actions, both in drinking to the point where it clouded your judgment and by breaking one of our strictest rules about not having unprotected sex. However, we all make mistakes, so let's just try to make the best of this and see what we can do to reach a suitable solution to the problem." Dion flash a weak smile, in relief.

"Thanks, Dad," he said, almost in a whisper. "I'm sure glad you're my dad and not someone else."

"Me too, but let's get back to the problem," I urged. "What did Shelly say and what is she thinking about doing?"

Dion swallowed hard, looked up at me and began to speak.

Chapter 18
A Major Decision

"She freaked out when the doctor told her," Dion informed me, "although she had a feeling she might be pregnant, since she missed her last two periods."

"That would do it," I agreed.

"Well, she thinks her parents are going to go ballistic, because this could ruin her plans about going to college," he continued. "Shelly mentioned the possibility of having an abortion, but said her parents would never allow it, because they're big right to life people."

"That does present a conundrum," I agreed. "So what if she has the baby?"

"Shelly says she can't keep it, so if she does give birth, she'll have to give it up for adoption," Dion explained.

"And how do you feel about that?" I pressed.

"Awful," he replied. "Trey and I have talked about having kids some day and now I'll be letting one of my own be given away to total strangers."

"Have you thought about keeping the baby and raising him with Trey then?" I asked.

"How can we do that? We'll both be in college," Dion pointed out. "That's why Shelly can't keep the baby either, because then she'd have to forget about getting her degree."

"Let's slow down here a minute," I suggested. "First, are you planning on telling Trey about this?"

"I don't know," Dion admitted. "I don't want him thinking I cheated on him and then not want to have anything more to do with me, like happened with Kevin and Vinnie."

"But they worked their problems out," I pointed out. "I'm certain you two can do the same, if you discuss this with him."

"You really think so?" Dion pressed.

"Yes, I do. I think Trey loves you enough not to let this bother him to the point where he'll want to break up," I confirmed. "And if you two have talked about having children, then he might prefer to raise your child, rather than someone else's."

"But how would that be possible, when we'll be away at school?" Dion asked. "Even worse, we'll probably be attending different colleges too, unless I don't go to college and just stay home with the baby."

"First, let's see what Trey has to say about this," I informed him, "and then we'll try to work out the details and arrangements, if he's agreeable."

"So you think I should tell him?" Dion challenged.

"Dion, it would be better if he heard if from you, rather than someone else," I explained. "This is a small community and word is sure to get out, so I think it would be better if you told him what happened, instead of letting someone else spring it on him."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Dion agreed. "Do you think I should do it now?"
"Why don't you wait until Friday, after he's finished his classes for the week," I suggested. "That way he'll have the weekend to think about it and regain his composure, before returning to his studies."

"Good thinking," Dion retorted. "Then he won't be able to blame me if he gets bad grades from getting upset about it." I didn't think that would happen, but obviously Dion saw it as a possibility.

Once I drove back home, I went to share this information with Jake. I thought he should also be aware of the predicament Dion was involved in. We chatted for nearly an hour about the pros and cons of what I'd suggested and then we put it on a backburner, until Dion spoke with Trey.

It seemed as if Friday would never arrive, but when it did, things began to happen. This started after dinner, when Dion called Trey on his cell phone.

"Hi, my love," Trey responded, when he discovered who was on the other end.

"You may not feel that way about me when you hear what I have to say," Dion countered, and then proceeded to tell Trey the same story he had shared with me. When he finished, he waited, breathlessly, to see how Trey was going to respond.

"Do you know if it's going to be a boy or girl?" Trey asked, which totally surprised Dion.

"You mean this doesn't bother you?" Dion asked.

"Well, it does bother me that you had sex with a girl," Trey confessed, "but if it means you're going to be a father and have a baby, then I want us to be his or her parents." I think Dion was flabbergasted. He didn't expect Trey to react in this manner.

"Are you sure?" Dion asked. "I mean, the baby will always remind you about what I did."

"If it means we can have a child that's part yours, then I'd let you fuck every girl you meet," Trey teased. "Yes, I'm positive. Let's start a family!"

"But how, since we're both going to be in college? Do you think I shouldn't go now?" Dion wondered.

"No, I don't think that, but talk to Dad and I'm certain he'll help us figure something out," Trey offered. "I think this might work out perfectly for us."

They ended the phone call a short time later and then Dion came to find me. He explained what Trey had told him and I just smiled. I had a good hunch it was how Trey might react.

"Okay, then the next thing for us to do will be to sit down and talk to Shelly," I suggested. "Do you think you could arrange it?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I can," Dion offered. "I'll go call her and then let you know what she says."

I figured it was the most we could do for now, so I waited for Dion to set things up. While I was waiting, I picked up some papers I brought home from work, so I could go through them. One was a flier for the gay-straight alliance that announced their March event, which was going to be held the following week. They were having two speakers for a special assembly; the first was going to speak about, "Being Gay in the Twenty-First Century," while the other was going to address the topic of, "The Risks Involved With Being Sexual Active as a Teen." I found that very ironic, seeing Dion was the president of the club and had been involved with setting up this program.

Dion called Shelly and she agreed to meet with us the next afternoon. I asked where they were planning to do this and Dion said Shelly had suggested getting together at her house, since her parents were going to be away. They would be attending a wedding for a friend's child, so we'd be completely alone. I agreed that would be fine, so Dion called her back to confirm a time for this to take place. It was sort of tense around the house the rest of the evening and the next morning, as we waited for our meeting to take place.

Saturday afternoon, Dion and I drove to Shelly's house at the appointed time, to see what we could work out. She greeted us at the door, took us to the living room and offered us a drink. We both accepted, because I felt this topic might tend to leave us with parched throats, due to the tension surrounding the topic. Shortly after she returned, we got started.

"Okay, Dion's told me that you know I'm pregnant and want to see what you can do to help," Shelly began.

"That's correct," I assured her. "Have you any thought about what you might want to do about this?"

"Yes, it's all I've thought about," she fired back.

"And what have you decided?" I followed.

"There's no way I can have an abortion," she began. "My parents wouldn't give their approval and none of us believe in doing that anyway."

"Are you going to keep the baby then?" I asked next.

"Probably not," she said. "I want to go to college, so I can study music, and I wouldn't be able to do that with a kid."

"What would you think of the idea of Dion raising the child then?" I asked.

"Isn't he going to college too?" she wondered. "That would put him in the same predicament as it would me."

"Not exactly, because here's what we've talked about," I began. "I'm going to make a suggestion and I hope you will be willing to hear me out." She nodded her agreement, so I continued.

"If you're willing to have the baby and then sign over full custody to Dion," I went on, "then I'm willing to pay for all of your medical expenses, if you don't have insurance, and also give you $10,000 to cover the pain and suffering of childbirth. You may then use the money to pay for college or whatever else you might deem appropriate." I gave her a few seconds to think about this, before I continued.

"Do you think you might be interested in agreeing to something like this?" I pressed, when she failed to respond.
"I was leaning toward giving the baby up for adoption anyway," she answered, "so that part wouldn't be a problem. The thing is, you still haven't explained how Dion will be able to raise the baby." She then looked at him and continued. "Dion, don't you want to go to college too?"
"Yes, Shelly, I do," he replied, "but Dad has an answer for that too." She suddenly turned back and faced me again.

"Shelly, if you'll do this for us, I'm going to retire and stay home to take care of the baby, until Dion and Trey finish their academic pursuits," I explained. "Once one or both of them have graduated, I will allow them to raise the child, from that point on. Does that answer you're question and meet with your approval?" Shelly thought about this momentarily, before giving her response.

"Yes, I guess that would be as good as any other option I have," she agreed. She seemed to be lost in thought for a minute, and then said something else.

"Dion would you also allow me to see our child from time to time?" She looked hopefully at Dion, as she awaited his reply.

"Of course! Whenever you want," Dion agreed, once it dawned on him what she was asking. "Our baby will always know you are his mother and Trey and I will be his two dads. I would never cut you out, if you want to spend time with our child, and I'm positive Trey will feel the same way." Shelly slowly broke into a smile.

"The only problem I see now is that the baby is going to be born in September, which will interfere with me starting college," she pointed out.

"Only for a semester," I responded. "You would be able to start your coursework during the second semester, after the holidays. I'll do everything I can to get the university or college that accepts you to allow you to delay your entry into their program until that time."

"If you'll do that for me too, then I don't see a problem with it and I don't think my parents would have a problem with it either," she confessed. "They've always liked you and thought very highly about what you've done by taking in all of these boys. They even love Dion, but they just don't like the mess we caused." She released a nervous little titter, after admitting this.

"As long as you think your parents will agree to this too, do you want to say yes now or wait and discuss this with them first?" I continued, just to see where this was going to go next.

"I'm sure this will work out nicely, but I want to talk it over with my parents first. Is that okay?" she asked.

"Of course," I stated. "And if they want to talk it over with Dion and me, we'd be happy to come back and explain this to them as well."

"I think this will solve all of our problems," she confessed, "but there might be a little problem." I looked at her, wondering what she was referring to. I hoped it wasn't something that was going to send us back to square one.

"It's just that I won't feel right about taking money from you, when you're doing this to help us out," she admitted.

"Don't think that way," I urged. "Just look at it as if I'm reimbursing you for the work you're doing for us by having the baby. In the long run, you're doing us a huge favor, so I just want to give you a little compensation for your time and trouble."

"Seeing you put it that way, I guess it would be all right," she confirmed, so I think that issue was now behind us.

When we returned home, I sat down with Jake and began making some plans. I would have to announce my retirement effective this summer, or as soon as the district could find a replacement. I would stay on as a consultant, if they wanted my help until the new guy adapted, especially since the district had been so very good to me and allowed me time with the family. I wasn't about to just up and leave them high and dry now, but I would write my letter of resignation immediately. By doing this, I'll be giving them plenty of notice and time to search for a replacement. I'll also do all I can to assist them afterward and help them get a new superintendent in place.

Jake and I had already agreed we would be fine financially. I would be getting a decent retirement package, so we wouldn't have to struggle, especially since nearly all of the boys had accounts set up in their names and most of them would be away at school. This would not only allow me to raise the baby, but I'd be able to spend more time with Jake, Sammy, Little Ricky, Andrew and Jesse too. It will be Sammy and Little Ricky's last year home, since they will be seniors in the fall, so I feel this will work out fine.

A couple of days later, Shelly's parents asked to meet with us, so I invited them to our place. I wasn't worried about this get together and felt they were just making sure it was in the best interests of their daughter. When they showed up, Dion and I led the three of them to the family room, where we could shut the door and speak privately. Shortly after they arrived, Jake brought in some refreshments and we got comfortable, then I felt it was time to get the ball rolling.

"I imagine you've come to discuss the arrangements I've talked to your daughter about?" I began.

"Yes, Shelly told us what you've offered to do, so we just want to make certain she understood you correctly," her father stated.

"A wise precaution," I agreed, before I explained everything I had told her.

"That's very generous of you," her mother stated, "and of Dion too. I was somewhat surprised that he agreed to let Shelly see the baby as it grows up and all."

"I want the baby to know his mother," Dion confirmed, to her delight.

"And his other grandparents," she added, with a grin.

"I'm just worried about her going to college," he father interjected.

"As I told Shelly, it should only delay her by a semester," I reiterated. "I have also told her I'd be willing to contact the university or college personally, to make certain they would be agreeable to the delay. Shelly, where are you applying?"

"To the University of Pittsburgh, in their music department," she replied. "I figured since I was already working on my vocal skills there, I might as well continue."

"Me too," Dion agreed, so I looked at her parents again.

"Well, since the faculty members there are already working with her and know about her amazing talent," I began, "and Dion is planning to go there as well, I don't foresee the University will have any problems with this."

That seemed to be all they wanted to hear, so they thanked us. Before they left, however, Shelly's father did tease Dion about wearing a 'raincoat' in the future. However, overall it was a fairly amicable meeting.

Shortly after I turned in my resignation, I received a call from the board president. "Josh, you're not really doing this to us again, are you?" he began.

"Yes, this time I see no other option," I told him.

"Josh, we've worked with you in the past and we'll continue to work with you in the future, so you'll have all the time you need with your family," he agreed. "We just don't want to lose you. I've spoken to the other board members and they all feel the same as I do about this."

"I really appreciate that," I replied, "but this time the situation is different."

"How so?" he wondered.

"There will be a baby to take care of now," I explained.

"Josh, you're not taking in a baby, are you?" he asked, mildly shocked. "Why in the world do you want to deal with an infant? Have you forgotten about the messy diapers, constant interruptions to your sleep, the endless crying and constant supervision?"

"I haven't and that's why I need to retire," I emphasized. "I'm not taking this responsibility lightly and it's not just any baby. One of my boys made a foolish mistake and got a girl pregnant, but he doesn't want to give the baby up. The girl has agreed to sign custody over to him and then I'm going to raise the baby, so he can attend college. I know this isn't setting a very good precedent in the community, with one of my sons fathering a child at such a young age, so I'm hoping this will lessen any impact it might have on the district. If I step down and move out of the limelight, so to speak, maybe the repercussions to the district won't be as large."

"Josh, this is going to come as a total shock to one particular former board member," he joked. "He's been claiming all of your sons are gay, so this will make him look like an ass again." We chuckled briefly, as we considered the irony.

"I wish I could convince you to stay on, but I see you've given this plenty of serious thought," the board president reluctantly agreed. "I guess all that's left to do is wish you good luck with this endeavor and ask when you'll be done for good."

"I'll stay on and help out as long as you think I'm needed, unless I think you're stalling or taking advantage of the situation," I answered. "I owe you at least that much, for all you've done for me."

"And we appreciate that, Josh," he agreed.

The board president then told me they'd get a search organized and asked if I'd help with that task, so I assured him I would. Our conversation ended shortly thereafter, but I knew word would spread throughout the district quicker than a brushfire in a Santa Anna wind.

That evening, while my mind was on the baby, Jake got a call from his doctor's office, telling him his blood work results were in. Jake set up an appointment for the following afternoon, since he didn't want to put this off and worry about it any longer, so I agreed to meet him there.

I had plenty to do the next day and was almost late getting to the doctor's office. When I walked in, Jake had already checked in, so we sat and waited. When he was called, we were led to a small room and waited for the doctor to arrive. A short time later, the doctor walked in, greeted us and smiled.

"The news is all good," he stated, relieving the anxiety immediately, "Nothing showed up in your blood work either, so it looks as if you have a clean bill of health for another six months."

Jake was overjoyed and thanked the doctor profusely. Once he settled down, we went out and set up an appointment for his next six-month check-up, before going home. It was indeed a joyous night and one that Jake and I celebrated privately later, in our room.

At the end of the week, I received a call from the High School principal. "Josh, did I hear correctly?" he began.

"If you're referring to the fact that I'm retiring," I replied, "then you have."

"I never saw this coming," he continued.

"Well, neither did I, but circumstances cropped up that indicated this would be my best course of action," I told him.

"Why? What are you going to do?" he pressed.

"Spend more time with my family and take care of a baby," I answered. "I won't go into details, but there's a small child that will need my care and I can only do that if I'm not working. He will require my full attention, so there wasn't much of an option."

"You've always been a great family man and an excellent father," he responded, "besides being a wonderful boss. I can't see me working for anyone else now."

"Unless you're retiring too, I'm afraid you'll have to," I pointed out.

"There is another possibility," he implied. "Josh, would you support me, if I threw my hat into the ring for your job?" I didn't even have to take time to think about it.

"I'm not sure why I didn't think about that before," I began, "but I think you would do a great job in the position. You have the required credentials and quite a bit of experience, since you've covered for me at various times. If you want to apply, you will have my full support."

"Thanks, Josh," he replied. "I was hoping you'd say that."

And I meant it sincerely. He has done a marvelous job at the high school and has been my backup and covered for me whenever I was unavailable. Beside that, he also knows the people in the district and has their respect, so he should be a shoe-in for the job. The only way he wouldn't get the job is if some ringer applies from outside the district, but I don't see that happening. It was hard finding a good candidate before, so I don't see anything different happening this time around or anyone applying that would be better qualified than he is.

It seemed as if everything was falling together quite nicely for us. Jake got a clean bill of health after his checkup, Dion and Trey agreed to raise Dion's little accident, Shelly and her parents have agreed to our offer, my retirement will work out well and it looks as if I'll have an excellent replacement. I don't think I could have asked for more.

Oh, yes, I nearly forgot to mention that in the midst of all of this, we made another trip to Chicago to participate in the St. Patrick's Day parade again. It was a much shorter visit this time and Jesse made an adorable Leprechaun. We arrived on Friday, which gave Andrew and Jesse time to spend time with Barry again. We all had a great time over the weekend, even though Duck and Mark didn't join us this year. The Flannerys were perfect hosts, as they had been the previous year, and we had another marvelous stay in Chicago.

By the beginning of the third week in March, I had another wonderful treat in store. Jesse's adoption was about to become legal. We still had to meet at the courthouse for the formal ceremony, but with Steve as my lawyer and Jesse's mother in full agreement, I didn't foresee any problems.

When the big day came, things went so smoothly that we were in and out quite quickly. The same Judge that had presided over our last adoption ceremony was in charge of this one too, so he had few questions or concerns. Steve gave him the background information he needed, before he spoke with Jesse and his mother. Since they were both agreeable to doing this, it went through quite easily.

Jesse also chose to change his last name, so he would now officially be known as Jesse Albert Currie. Afterward, I took him, and everyone else, out for a little celebration. I think Jesse was more excited that Andrew was really his brother now, rather than the fact that I was his father, so I guess I see where I ranked in the progression of things.

Easter also fell in March this year, on the last weekend of the month. It doesn't happen very often, but it's how it worked out this year, so I began making plans. The boys were all coming home, with the exception of Frankie and Nick, but Duck would be joining us as well. It would be a very busy weekend and there would be a lot going on during the holiday, so I had a lot to plan. I didn't want there to be any glitches.

The boys would be returning home on Good Friday and we'd attend services at church later. The next day, Saturday, I planned to hold Jake's and my commitment ceremony and, amazingly, my pastor had offered to help us with it. He agreed to let us use the church for the event, although he made it clear the church wouldn't be sanctioning this event, just him. I agreed we were more than happy with this arrangement and couldn't ask for more, so it seems we had cleared the last hurdle.

Once that was behind us, we would celebrate Easter Sunday and the entire family would be joining us for dinner. I was euphoric that they were going to be there to share in our happiness on Saturday and then we'd also get to celebrate Easter together. The weekend would be crammed full of activity and I wanted it all to be as close to perfect as possible.

Chapter 19
Easter Blessings

The boys surprised me, as some of them began showing up late Thursday night, but all of them were home before noon on Friday. They had no classes scheduled on Friday or the following Monday, so we would have a nice long weekend together. It would also provide me a chance to catch them up on everything that had been going on, but more importantly, they would be here for Jake's and my commitment ceremony. I guess, in a way, it was like having your family attend your wedding.

I'm not positive, but I think the boys may have been even more excited about it than Jake and I. Maybe it's because we have been together for three years now and the boys felt it was time we moved on and made this arrangement official or appear more permanent. Whatever their reasons, they kept asking what they could do to help.

We did take time to attend Good Friday services at the church that evening, and on our way out afterward, the pastor stopped me for a chat. "Are you all ready for tomorrow?" he asked, since he had agreed to help us with the ceremony.

"You bet we are," I acknowledged, "and we're both very grateful that you're willing to do this for us."

"I am," the minister confirmed, "although I do believe a small portion of the congregation isn't quite as thrilled about it. I've had a couple of complaints about allowing the church to be used for such an occasion, but it's been nothing serious. Both parties said they didn't have a problem with what you were doing; it's just that they felt by performing the ceremony here, it made it appear as if the church was sanctioning it. I explained the larger church was not, but I was, so they quit trying to persuade me otherwise."

"I'm sorry you've had to take some flack over this," I apologized, "but we do appreciate all you've done and are planning to do."

"Sometimes one has to take a little heat to do what he believes is right and to get people moving in the right direction," our minister responded. "Look at what our Lord had to endure, just to get us to this point. The minor problems I've had to deal with are nothing compared to what he faced and I'm happy to do my part in promoting his command that we love one another."

"Thank you and I know the Lord will bestow his blessings upon you," I added, as we parted company.

The rest of the night was filled with activity, as we got ready for the big day. Jake and I had decided to invite everyone to the house afterward, so we could continue the celebration and have something to eat. When we started to prepare some of the food for this, the boys stopped us and said it was all being taken care of. I wasn't sure if this meant that they were doing it, if they'd hired someone else to do it or if something else was going on, but we reluctantly gave in. Seeing we had nothing else to do, Jake and I went to work on what we were planning to say to each other.

I'm not sure if Jake got much sleep that night, but I know I certainly didn't. I was too excited and wound up to doze off. Oh, I did nod off from time to time, but I always woke up a little while later, because my thoughts were consumed with our upcoming nuptials, so to speak.

The next morning, Jake fixed everyone a huge breakfast, before we began getting ready. The boys got dressed up in suits and ties, and even found a suit one of them had outgrown that fit Jesse. I must admit everyone of them looked very handsome all spiffed up.

Once we arrived at the church, Jake and I were told we had to wait in separate rooms – something about you're not supposed to see the bride beforehand or some such nonsense – so we did what the boys wanted. Before long, Danny came in and placed a red carnation in my lapel, kissed me and wished me good luck. A short time later, he returned and led me out to a position in front of the altar. I stood there, with Danny by my side, and glanced around, to see who else was there.

My boys filled the majority of the front pews, and then I noticed most of our extended family sitting behind them. I saw Steve and Mary, Sally, the Spences and Arlene, Susan, Mark and Duck, as well as a few of my friends from work. This included my secretary and the high school principal. However, I had another unexpected surprise when I noticed Robert, Michael, Andrea, Marie, Adriano and my grandchildren there as well, before I discovered Jesse's mother was in attendance too. I guess the boys had decided to invite them, since they didn't know if I had or not. The fact was, I wasn't sure how any of them would react or if they'd attend, so I didn't say anything about this. I'm glad the boys are smarter about things like this than I am.

Anyway, as I turned back, I saw Jake approaching from the opposite side, accompanied by Shannon. He also had a red carnation in his lapel, and soon he was standing beside me, with Danny and Shannon on either side. Once we were in position, the pastor spoke.

"Dear Friends," he began. "We are gathered here today so these two wonderful and loving people can cement their relationship and commit to loving and caring for each other, until the bonds of death separate them. Although this isn't an official wedding ceremony, I have agreed to join with them in making this commitment and will treat it as seriously, and as sacredly, as I would the traditional service.

"During a formal wedding, I usually begin by asking who is giving away the bride, but in this case I will ask who stands with these men?" He paused, and Shannon spoke first.

"I, Shannon McCarthy, present my father, Jacob McCarthy, to be joined with his true love," he stated, in his clear tenor voice.

"And I, Daniel Currie, am here to join my father, Joshua Currie, with his longtime friend and true love," he offered, in his rich baritone voice.

"Does anyone here object to this joining? Speak now or forever remain silent," the pastor offered, although I wished he had not. I was afraid my friend, the former board member, or someone else was going to rush in or jump up and spoil the moment, but that didn't happen. Therefore, the minister continued.

"Since we have no formal sayings to bind these two together, they have agreed to share their own words of commitment," the pastor explained. "Mr. McCarthy has asked to go first."

I looked over at Jake and could see he was as nervous as I was. He looked up at me, swallowed hard, licked his lips and then opened his mouth.

"Although our first meeting was under less than favorable circumstances and it took our sons to bring us together," Jake began, "it proved to be the best day of my life. Since that day, I have come to know, respect and love you in every imaginable way and cannot imagine a time when we are no longer together. You have been there for me in good times and in bad. You have nursed me through illness and brought great joy to my life when I was well. You have shown me what true love really is, not just by loving me, but by demonstrating your love for your family and teaching me those bonds are deep-rooted and unbreakable.

"Over the past three years we have been together, we have shared some extreme highs and been there for each other through some devastating lows, but our love for each other has never faltered. I will love you as long as I live and that love will never fade. I want you to be my partner for life, if you will accept."

I was deeply touched by his words and was suddenly afraid my own statement would fall short of the emotion and meaning he had put into his. However, it was all I had, so I took a deep breath and began speaking.

"Jake, although I had known love before, I believed I would never find it again. My wife and I had a wonderful marriage and raised four marvelous children, but when she died, I accepted the fact that my fate would be to live alone, without a companion, until I too joined her in the great beyond. However, that all changed one glorious day, when I was introduced to you.

"You moved in to my home and helped me through a near-death experience, after a very tragic and traumatic event in my life. Although you didn't have to, you gave of yourself and asked for nothing in return, and I could feel the tenderness and love in everything you did to get me well. You saved my life then and I have come to depend on your caring touch and deep concern, more than you will ever know.

"On the first day we met, I immediately recognized there was something special about you, but after the first time we were alone, I knew we were destined to be together. Every day we have grown closer and relied more and more on each other for support and guidance, but especially for love. You have filled my deepest needs and erased the loneliness that had engulfed me before you arrived. Even though sometimes I forget to let you know how very special you are and how much I need you, I do want to be your partner for life and hope you will accept my offer to do the same. I promise to love you until the end of our days and will never let the fires of romance and devotion fade or be extinguished. I, Joshua Currie, take thee, Jacob McCarthy, to be my partner for the rest of my life."

The minister paused a few seconds after I finished and then looked up and spoke. "After hearing your unprompted and touching words of love for each other, I see no reason why you shouldn't now consider yourselves life's partners in the eyes of God. You have my blessing and best wishes for a long and loving relationship."

As we stood there holding hands and looking into each other's eyes, we began to notice the others were clapping. We hadn't expected any sort of acknowledgment, at least until we greeted them outside in a very short reception line, but they were clapping. As I looked around the church, I noticed that my biological family was clapping just as enthusiastically as everyone else, and it was then that I began to cry. I couldn't believe it. They were finally accepting Jake and I as a couple… as their parents. I was profoundly touched.

As soon as we were outside, everyone greeted and congratulated us, but some did more than that. "Is it Mr. and Mr. Currie or Mr. and Mr. McCarthy now?" Steve teased.

"I'm surprised neither of you wore white," Sally jested.

"In my day, this would have been looked down upon," Mrs. Spence began, "but I think it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies I've ever attended." We both thanked her for her comment.

Michael, Marie and Robert said we'd talk about this later, once we were alone and had less pressure to move on to other things. Since they were all smiling, I didn't feel it would be anything bad, so I told them I looked forward to it.

Once we had chatted briefly with all of our guests, I started to gather up the boys and direct them over to the Yukon, but Graham stopped me, "Dad, I need to speak with you, please," he told me. I nodded and stepped away from the others with him.

"What's up, sport?" I asked, since I was unsure what this might be about.

"I've got a message for you," he stated, but I was still puzzled. "Your wife, Brent and Cody are all standing at the top of the steps, by the church door, and they are all smiling and giving you the thumbs up sign again. I think all three of them are happy you and Jake finally did this." I was slightly stunned.

"Really?" I asked, not totally convinced. "Even my wife."

"I think especially her," Graham responded. "And I think she was also saying she was glad her children came to support you too. I mean, she pointed at each of them, and then at you and then smiled and gave another thumbs up."

"Wow. I guess that clears up one question I had," I told him, before thanking him for the information.

I then walked Graham over to the Yukon, since Jake already had the others seated inside. Jake was in the passenger's seat, so I got in to drive, and Dustin followed behind us in the Suburban, with everyone else. The others that had attended were going to meet us at the house for food and drinks, so I wanted to hurry and not keep them waiting. As I drove, everyone behind us kept honking. I then noticed there was something covering half of the back window, but I wasn't sure what it was. I was extremely curious to find out, so once we arrived home, I hoped out and raced to the rear of the vehicle to see what it was.

It was a sign that obviously one the boys had specially made, and I began laughing hysterically when I saw it. When I calmed down enough to do so, I called Jake back to see it too, since I knew he'd enjoy it as much as I had. He quickly came back to see what I wanted and I pointed to the sign. He took a look at it and then burst out laughing too. It read:

'Just married and it's about time! We figured since we have 22 children and 4 grandchildren we should do the honorable thing.'

"All right, whose idea was this?" I asked, while trying to suppress the humor I was feeling inside. "Ricky, it was you, wasn't it?"
"Hey, why do I always get blamed for all the jokes?" he asked, looking hurt. "NO! This time it wasn't me," he added with a grin, "but it was a great idea."

"Andrew?" I asked next, seeing he was my other prankster.

"Nope. I didn't do it daddy," he replied.

"Then who did?" I wanted to know, and suddenly everyone was pointing at Michael.

"Ratted out by my own family," he quipped. "Hey, after all the grief I caused you, just consider it my way of making up for it. I had a friend of mine make it for me. He owns a sign shop."

"Yes, I had noticed it was very professionally done and wondered how any of the boys could have pulled it off," I agreed. "Thank you. It was a nice touch and one we both appreciate."

"Absolutely," Jake added, and then we each gave Michael a hug, before we turned toward the house. That's when I noticed the second little surprise. There was another sign, but you could tell this sign had been made by amateurs. It read: 'Congratulations, Dad and Pop!'

"Yes, we made this one," Danny admitted, when he saw me looking at it, "but I think I should also explain. It's not just us congratulating one of you, because some of us call you Dad and others call you Pop. All that has changed now." I merely stared at him, confused about his meaning.

"From now on, you're Dad to all of us, including Trey, Nick, Vinnie, Richard and Brandon," he explained, while pointing at me, after he rattled off the names of the boys that call me Pop. "You, on the other hand," he said turning toward Jake, "are now Pop. We felt this would eliminate some of the confusion and make it clear whom we were talking to or about from now on."

"Danny, I don't want to create a problem for you," I started to point out, "but some of the boys call me Pop for a reason."

"Yes, because we didn't want our own father's memory to be diminished or forgotten," Trey spoke up, "or because they still have their fathers, like Nick and Brandon. The thing is, we've all agreed our Dads would or will understand and approve of us calling you Dad too, so that's no longer an issue. You're Dad and he's Pop, so just get used to it." He sounded so commanding and forceful in his last statement, especially considering it was my timid Trey that had said it, I merely snapped to attention.

"Yes, Sir," I announced. "We will follow your orders to the letter." Then I relaxed and grinned at him, so he raced forward and hugged me.

"You can be really silly sometimes," Trey stated, "but that's just another reason we all love you so much." When we broke the embrace, I started herding everyone inside when I heard another timid voice pipe up.

"Can Andrew and me still call you Daddy?" Jesse wanted to know. As much as I wanted to correct him and say, 'MAY Andrew and I…' I bit my tongue.

"You most certainly may," I said, while scooping him up in my arm. Then I bent down and did the same with Andrew.

"I would feel badly if you didn't," I continued, and then kissed each of them on his forehead.

Once we got inside, I received my next surprise. All the food was set out and there were people there to serve us. "What's all this?" I wondered.

"Seeing you do so much for all of us," Sally piped up, "we all chipped in and did this for the two of you."

"And Sally means all of us," Steve added, "including all of your children and grandchildren." Hearing this, I turned to face Marie and Michael.

"Nicky and Jordan donated their allowance to help pay for it too," Marie explained, "and Michael and I threw a little something in to cover Megan and Kylie's share, as well as our own." I was totally floored.

"What can I say, but thank you to everyone for this wonderful treat," I stated, once I returned to my senses. "I love you all so very much."

With that said, I tried to get everyone moving into line to eat. I wanted to get them taken care of first, but they insisted that Jake and I go first, so we did. It was wonderful meal and it was so nice being surrounded by so many people who cared about us. It gave Jake and I a truly warm feeling and a deep sense of being loved.

We had a wonderful time and after several hours of partying, things began to wind down. After nearly all of our extended family and friends had left, all that remained was the immediate family and Duck, and he might as well be considerate immediate family now, along with Mark. Seeing things had calmed down, my biological children asked if they could speak with Jake and I in the family room. We agreed and excused ourselves for a short time, after asking the older boys to keep an eye on the grandchildren for a few minutes. We went in, shut the door and made ourselves comfortable, and then Michael began to speak.

"I'm going to do this, because I was the biggest ass about it," he stated. "I know I was shocked and upset in the beginning and I apologize for that and for getting everyone else worked up about it too. However, after hearing the commitments you made to each other today and witnessing, firsthand, how you truly feel about each other, I've realized what an egregious error I'd made. This isn't some middle-aged fling or a romp with experimentation, but it's also not a childish whim or desperate response to fulfill your carnal desires. I can finally say that I now see you two really do love one another. I won't say that I understand that part, but I will recognize it for what it is, so we all want to give you our blessings."

"Yes, and I want to apologize for my actions too," Andrea added. "I didn't realize how badly we'd acted or what a poor example we were setting, until our son and his cousin found a way to point it out to us. I think Jake hit the nail on the head during the ceremony when he said you've demonstrated your love for the family and taught him those bonds are deep-rooted and unbreakable. I guess we'd forgotten that and we're very sorry for our huge blunder."

"And I'm sorry too, Dad," Adrian concurred. "Fortunately, Nicky is smarter than his old man and taught me the error of my ways," he added, and then each of them approached Jake and I, so they could either give us a kiss and/or a hug. Yes, even Michael and Adrian hugged us, rather than shake our hands. I think that meant as much to us as their words.

"Oh, and we were in on the 'Dad and Pop' discussion too and have decided we will keep to that same protocol," Michael added. "Dad, even though Robert and I have always called you Pop, from now on we'll call you Dad and Pop will be reserved for Jake. Is that alright with both of you?"

"Is it all right?" I asked, rhetorically and tongue-in-cheek. "It's supercalifragilisticexpialidocous." I was drawing upon one of their childhood memories by using a song we used to sing to each other when we were very pleased about something. They all laughed.

"Damn, I'd nearly forgotten about that," Robert said, with the others nodding in agreement. Jake looked confused, so I took a moment to fill him in about our little family joke.

"Oh, and Dad," Marie added, once I'd finished. "I know you're probably feeling bad because Elizabeth and Tim aren't here with us too, but you shouldn't, because they really wanted to come. Unfortunately, Elizabeth is still recovering from an ectopic pregnancy and is confined to bed rest for a while and Tim felt he should stay with her. She asked me to give you her best and tell you she supports this one hundred percent and Tim agreed. She also said she'll call you and come to visit, as soon as she's able." Suddenly, it seemed as if everything was perfect. Damn, how could it possibly get any better?

We all enjoyed the rest of the evening together, but once the grandchildren were in bed, I called everyone together again.

"What's up, Dad," Robert wondered.

"This time I have some other news I wish to share with you," I told them. "It's something you all should know." They looked at me skeptically.

"It's probably going to embarrass one of you, but he told me it was okay to share this with you, since it was his dumb mistake that created the situation in the first place. Those were his words, not mine." Now, they looked even more confused.

"At the end of this school year, I am going to retire," I announced, and received a mixture of responses in return. Some of the faces looked please, while other's still had that confused stare about them, so I continued.

"I'm doing this so I can raise a very special baby, which will also be one of my grandchildren." Now, everyone but the guilty party and his lover looked confused, so I went on to explain.

"As silly as this might sound, one of the boys got a girl pregnant just before Christmas. She will be giving birth in September, but has agreed to sign over custody of the baby to him. In return, I will pay her medical bills and give her a little extra for her trouble."

The others continued to sit, dumbfounded, as they looked around the room to see if they could spot the guilty party. That is, everyone except for the few of us who knew about it. Suddenly, Ricky spoke up.

"Did Frankie get some girl pregnant?" he asked.

"No Ricky, it wasn't Frankie," I replied.

"Then who was it?" Dustin followed, since he thought all the straight boys had been accounted for. I looked over at Dion and he nodded his head, so I continued.

"It was Dion," I stated.

"You mean Dion really knocked up some girl?" Danny asked, amazed.

"That's a colorful way of putting it," I agreed, "but that's basically what happened. Dion got his singing partner pregnant, after getting carried away at an after concert party."

"Wow, Mr. Big Dong went and did it," Ricky blurted out, which caused Dion to blush and Marie and Andrea to giggle.

"Guess they were more than singing partners," Pat teased, and got a glare from Trey in return.

"Dion, didn't Dad teach you about condoms?" Michael asked next.

"He did, but I got excited and wasn't thinking," Dion confessed.

"Using the little head instead of the big one," Michael added, with a chuckle.

"And all this time we thought you were gay," Adrian acknowledged.

"Bi," Dion corrected, although I'm not sure Adrian wanted to know that. "Trey and I want to raise the baby, but Dad is going to take care of him or her, until we get done with college."

I think that filled in the rest of the gaps, but I was expecting there might be a few negative comments in the mix. Therefore, I looked around expectantly, waiting for it to happen, until Michael spoke up.

"That's a really nice thing for you to do for them, Pop. Damn, I mean Dad," he corrected. "Sorry, but it's going to take some time for me to break that habit," he confessed.

"It's okay and neither Jake nor I will mind being called by the other's name for a while," I assured him. He thanked me and then our little meeting began to break up. I guess we had managed to leap another hurdle, but this time we didn't have to even break a sweat.

I did notice that Graham held back and asked Little Ricky to stay with him. I wasn't sure what was up, but I figured they needed some privacy to chat too.

"What colleges are you going to apply to?" Graham asked, and Little Ricky told him.

"Do you have any priorities for which one you'd rather attend?" Graham continued, and Little Ricky answered that question too.

"Since I'm going to be going to college in the fall, I'd kind of like it if you went to the same college I do," Graham urged.

"Are you sure?" Little Ricky asked, puzzled.

"Yes, I just told you so, didn't I?" Graham replied.

"But I'm confused," Little Ricky stated. "In the past, it seemed like every time we got close and things were going well, you'd pull away from me. Why the change?"

"I guess because my conscience is clear now," Graham answered.

"Uh, what's that supposed to mean," Little Ricky pressed.

"You knew Cody and I were boyfriends before, didn't you?" Graham asked, and Little Ricky nodded.

"Well, when he died I didn't know if I could ever love another guy like that again," Graham admitted. "Up until then, I really thought I was straight, but he changed how I looked at myself. After being with him, I knew I was bi, but I still thought I'd end up with a girl. Anyway, when you and I began to get close, I felt bad – almost like I was cheating on Cody or something. I don't know if I can explain it better than that, but that's why I never pushed for anything more with you."

"So what's different now?" Little Ricky wondered.

"Well, at the church Mrs. Currie, Brent and Cody appeared and let me know they were happy Dad and Pop finally did this," Graham began.

"Did you tell Dad?" Little Ricky blurted out.

"Yes, I did," Graham responded, "but there's more. Cody also let me know he was okay with you and me. He also let me know he thought you were cute."

"How could he do that?" Little Ricky questioned.

"Well, he pointed at you and then me and gave me the okay sign," Graham explained, "but he also pointed at you and raised his eyebrows and winked. It was something he always did when he saw a boy he thought was cute." Little Ricky blushed.

"So because he's okay with this, you are okay with it too now?" he pressed.

"Yes, I've come to grips with the fact that he's gone and I really want to see if anything happens with us," Graham replied. "I figured that's more likely if we're in the same place."

"But we're both bi, so what if we decide we like girls better/" Little Ricky wondered.

"If that happens, it's fine," Graham stated, "but at least this way, I'll have given it a try, so I'll know for sure."

"Okay, I'll do it then," Little Ricky agreed. "I was kind of leaning toward going there anyway, but this just makes me positive." Having said that, Little Ricky not only hugged Graham, but he gave him a very affectionate kiss too. Graham responded favorably to it and I noticed they remained very close from that moment on.

The next day we returned to church and celebrated Easter as a family. Once the service concluded, we returned home for our big Easter dinner. As I sat at the head of the table, I realized I had sooooo many blessings to rejoice about this year that I wasn't sure where to begin.

We had a wonderful meal, accompanied by splendid conversations, so it was truly and enjoyable and rewarding experience. I think we were all sad when it came to an end, but it had been a truly wonderful weekend. It also ended magnificently, when everyone promised they would return for Christmas this year.

Chapter 20
Sum', Sum', Summertime

April seemed to fly by, but before it ended the gay-straight alliance held their election of officers for the following year. Neither Sammy nor Little Ricky were interested in running for president, but fortunately one of the straight girls volunteered to do it instead. However, they had trouble finding a candidate willing to run for vice-president, so Little Ricky agreed to do it. He didn't want Sammy to be put in such a visible position, especially after what had happened the previous year. Little Ricky felt he'd be better able to fend off any negative criticism or attacks, so he volunteered for the duty instead.

Once they found others to run for the final two spots, the slate of officers was elected unanimously at the final meeting, which took place at the end of the month. Both Little Ricky and Sammy would be very active and help out wherever they were needed, but it's just that they didn't want anyone in our family to be out in the forefront and heading the club this time around.

We were now also rapidly approaching the end of the academic year for both groups of boys. My college sons would finish up first and then the high school group, which meant we had more celebrating to do this year.

Dustin will be graduating with a B.S. in Business and then the following week, Dion and Graham will graduate from high school. I'm pleased to see the boys doing so well, yet I'm saddened by the thought that they're all growing up and will be moving on soon. Yes, I will still have a few at home, plus I'll be raising my newest grandchild, but all of that would end in a few more years as well.

I was also involved with helping the district select a new superintendent, but as of yet, I have not seen anyone that had better credentials than the high school principal. By early May, I spoke with the members of the school board and convinced them to promote the high school principal to the superintendent's position and then start a search for a new high school principal. After agreeing, we sent out the postings, but hoped this search would go better and more quickly, since it is a less demanding position to fill.

I also received a phone call from Nick, because he wanted to make a special request. "Pop, I mean Dad, would you do me a huge favor?" he asked.

"It depends on what it is," I confirmed, since I was unwilling to commit myself before I knew exactly what he wanted.

"Would you allow my host brothers from Brazil to come visit in June?" he asked. "It will be their winter recess and they'll have a little over a month off, so will you let them come there for three or four weeks? Their parents will pay for their plane tickets and my mom and dad are going to get me a ticket to come there to be with all of you. Pleeeeeze?" he begged.

"I don't see a problem with it, since our vacation isn't scheduled until July," I replied, at which time Nick nearly broke my eardrum with his screams of thank you. Those were then followed by more screams, but this time they were just pure joy.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," he said. "This means so much to me and I really want to see them again."

"I'm surprised you aren't having them come to Oklahoma instead," I mentioned.

"They want to meet all of you, since I told them so much about everyone," he informed me. "Besides, they've already met my parents, when they came to Brazil, but my mom and dad said they will come to Pennsylvania for a long weekend, so they can see them again, if that's all right?" he asked, belatedly.

"Of course it is," I confirmed, "but it sounds as if you had this all planned out before you called," I teased.

"Well, I kind of did," Nick admitted, "because I knew you probably wouldn't tell me no. That's why I love you so much. You're so good to me – to all of us – and all of us love you for it." I guess that was a compliment and not just his way of telling me I was a patsy and everyone had me wrapped around his little finger.

"Okay, just give me the dates and their flight information, so I can start making plans," I told him. "By the way, did they catch anything while you were down there?"

"Nope, they didn't. Aren't they lucky?" he joked. "I guess I must have picked up most of that stuff on my trips. Damn, I can be so thick sometimes."

"If you're waiting for me to disagree – DON'T," I replied. "Just don't be foolish enough to repeat those mistakes."

"I won't and thanks again, P… Dad," he corrected, before hanging up.

Oh, well. It looks as if I need to prepare for more houseguests. That means preparing the boys, as well as the house, because I intend to emphasize the rule, "NO SEX WITHOUT A CONDOM," just in case.

When Dustin's big day arrived, I drove Jake and the boys from home to attend, but the other college boys couldn't be there to join us. They were either still involved in finals or packing up and getting ready to move back home, so they wouldn't be able to attend. I felt bad that we all wouldn't be there, but Dustin said it was all right and he understood.

When we got to his campus, we picked Dustin up and drove over to the field house, where the commencement would take place. Jesse and Andrew were all over him, from the minute he first strode into view and it was obvious these two had formed as strong a bond with him, as they had with Frankie.

Once Dustin left to join the other graduates, we went and found seats. We weren't very close to the front this time, so one of us would have to walk forward to snap any pictures, but we would do what was needed to remember Dustin's special day. I was so proud of him when I took my seat. He was getting his 4-year degree, even though he never originally intended to. When I realized it was almost time for him to receive his degree, I moved up until I was almost kneeling in front of the raised platform that was serving as a stage. I snapped a picture of him approaching the podium, one of him being handed his degree by the president of the college and another as he walked away and waved to his brothers. I thought they were great shots.

Once the ceremony had concluded, we met up with him again outside, where I took more pictures of him with all of the boys, one of just him with Andrew and Jesse, one with him Dion and Sammy, another with him, Graham and Little Ricky, and then one with Jake. Jake then took one with Dustin and me, and then Dion offered to take one of Dustin, Jake and me, and then we asked one of Dustin's friends to take a couple of shots of all of us together.

Once we finished the photo op, we took him out to a restaurant to celebrate, and then I asked him when he wanted his graduation party. He told me he'd just have it at the same time the high school boys were having theirs, but I didn't feel that was right. After attempting to convince him he should have his own party, I asked him if he was sure he wouldn't change his mind, since he'd more than earned it. He answered by telling me that most of his college friends wouldn't be able to come to it, because none of them lived very close to us. Besides, the people he wanted to see would be at the other party too, so this would be easier for everyone. I told him if he was sure, then that's what we'd do, and he said it was.

We didn't bring him home, because he had one of the SUV's and would be picking up some of his brothers. He was going to be taking his time, since most of them didn't get out until near the end of the upcoming week. He would stay in his dorm room for as long as he was allowed and then stay with the next brother he was to pick up. He said he was fine with that and we told him to drive safely and we'd see him soon, before we left.

By the time the rest of us reached the house, the boys were hungry again, so rather than having to fix a meal, Jake and I took them out to eat again. We were just too tired to think about preparing anything at this point. That night we just crashed after we ate, because it had been a long day and there was still much to do to get ready for the following weekend. We would attend church tomorrow and then do our own thing afterward, since most of the boys had to study for finals and such. The upcoming week was going to be hectic.

The week seemed to shoot by us in a flash, so before we knew it, the boys had attended the last of their classes and finished taking their exams. By Friday, they were ready for their final performance – walking across the stage and getting their diplomas. At the same time, the last of the college boys had arrived home and we were all together again, except for Frankie and Nick. It was a joyous time for me, since the house was full of boys and laughter again.

Saturday, we all drove to the high school for the big event. This would be the last time I would be able to present any of my sons their diplomas, and next year Sammy and Little Ricky would be given their diplomas by their current high school principal. I felt bad about that, but there were other, more pressing factors coming into play. Sammy and Little Ricky each assured me it was all right, as long as I would still be there to see them when they graduated.

Neither of the current graduates had received any big honors this year, except Dion for his singing, but each had been accepted to attend college. Dion was going to pursue music at the University of Pittsburgh and Graham was going to major in education, concentrating on children with learning disabilities. Graham did this so he could help others overcome the same types of problems Cole and he had faced. I guess your background does help to mold your interests and who you turn out to be.

I was still very proud to present them with their diplomas and got a huge grin of appreciation from each one. When I had finish giving out the last of the diplomas, the ceremony ended and we left for home. I let the graduates stick around for a while longer, so they could say their final good-byes. The rest of us had to get back home, so we could get ready for the party. I had it catered again, so Jake and I could enjoy ourselves and not spend all of our time working. I also made sure we had two cakes, one specifically for Dustin and one for the high school boys.

As we always did for these gatherings, we had a large crowd and all the boys seemed to be enjoying themselves. I did allow them the luxury of a beer or two each, if they wanted, but the only others to get any alcohol were those of legal age and only to the point that they didn't become inebriated. We also made certain someone else was going to drive them home.

There was plenty of food, snacks, drinks, music, good conversation and general fun for all. A few minor pranks were also pulled, such as when Trey addressed his congratulatory card to 'Daddy Dion' and the boys gave Dion a gag gift of a package of newborn diapers and a box of condoms. Graham didn't go unscathed either. One of Graham's cards told him he had been given a lifetime position on the 'psychic hotline' and was given a gag gift of a faux crystal ball.

Dustin wasn't immune to the pranks either, since his brothers gave him a Chinese adding machine – an abacus – to keep track of his earnings. They also gave him his first job in HVAC, when one of them asked him to fix a portable heater. Dustin took it well, fixed the small device quickly and then proceeded to write out and hand its owner a bill.

Everyone took the ribbing well and even gave back a few digs of their own, but it was all in fun and I know they each enjoyed the attention. The high school graduates did take off for a short time, to attend a few of their classmates' parties, but Dion drove and I made certain he wasn't impaired before I gave him the keys. I also warned him to stay that way, if he didn't want me to pull his license when he returned.

The party didn't wind down until around one in the morning, but the caterer had cleaned up and cleared out long before then. We took what we needed to put away in the house afterward, but left most of the cleanup for the next day. We would all pitch in after we got home from church and brunch, before moving on to other things.

Sunday wasn't as laid back and low-key as I'd hoped, because we had birthdays to celebrate. Pat had agreed to the idea of having a combined party with Danny, since Danny had been busy with writing papers, completing projects and studying for finals when his birthday rolled around. Therefore, we were having everyone back again today for a cookout to celebrate these two special events. Jake and I would also put out the leftovers from the graduation party, since we were sure the boys would devour those as well, and we still had some beer and soda left we would utilize as well.

It was our standard cookout party, but I think everyone was less rowdy today, since we'd been having so much going on. During the festivities, I pulled Pat aside and explained that since he was turning twenty-one, I was going to do the same thing for him that I had done for Dustin and Danny. I had my lawyer set it up so Pat now had complete control over the account I'd set up for him. It was now his to do with as he wished, but I also told him I knew he'd be responsible enough to not spend it foolishly.

During the party, I could tell Dion was more than a little bit antsy. I suspected it had something to do with the fact that he was planning to take Shelly for her doctor's appointment the following day and this time she would be having a sonogram. He was hoping everything was okay with the baby and there were no problems, but he was still very nervous and jittery. Damn, expectant father's worry about every little thing, don't they?

Dion did manage to make it through the rest of the day, and by the time he arrived home Monday afternoon, after the appointment, I could tell he was feeling much better. As he strode into the family room, where Jake and I were spending a little time with the others, he was sporting a huge grin.

"It's going to be a boy!" Dion announced, with great deal of pride. The others looked at him a bit skeptically.

"They can tell that already? It's only what, four months old?" Brandon asked, unconvinced.

"Yep," Dion answered simply.

"Then the kid must have a huge schlong, just like his father," Ricky teased, "or the doctor was looking at the umbilical cord, instead of the penis."

"No, the doctor pointed that out to us too and I have the negative here, if you'd like to see it," Dion added, while holding up the aforementioned item. The boys quickly ran over to check it out.

"Shit, I think the baby is going to have a BIGGER dick than his father," Pat observed.

"Look at the size of that thing," Kevin observed, "and he's not even fully developed yet."

"Damn, Dion," Cole tossed in, "I hope you got paid a stud fee for creating something as enormous as that." Dion merely grinned, from ear to ear, in response.

All I could think of is, 'I'm going to be embarrassed changing this kid's diaper, if he's hung better than I am!'

The commotion died down after that, but Dion strutted around for a couple of days, as he showed off the negatives from the ultrasound to anyone that would take time to look at it. The boys weren't joking when they talked about the baby. If that was actually the kid's penis, it was enormous, compared to the rest of him.

During that same time period, I'd also received a few more emails from Frankie. However, it was the last one the nearly floored me.

Hey, Dad,

What's going on there? I hope things are going well and everyone is fine. I sure do miss you, but it's going to be a while longer before I see you all again. I know I promised I'd be home for Christmas this year, but it's not going to happen. I'm staying at Guantanamo for another year.

Remember how I told you about the new guy from the C.I.A. and how we were really getting along? Well, it's been fantastic since he's been here. He's an older guy, almost your age, but he really knows what he's doing and gets what he wants from the prisoners by treating them respectfully. I can't even begin to tell you how much I've learned from him, so when they asked if anyone was interested in extending his tour of duty, I agreed.

I'll be here until the end of next July, but then I'll be getting a two-month furlough so I can spend it at home, before going to my new assignment. I'm not sure where that will be, but I'm supposed to get out the following March, unless I re-up, so it will only be for another six-month tour, wherever they send me.

Hope that news didn't shock you too badly, but this is working out so great that I don't want to risk getting posted somewhere where things are as bad as they were here for awhile. This guy is truly fantastic and what I'm learning from him will help me when I get out. I'm sure I'll be able to get a job in law enforcement now, so this is going to work out much better than I first thought.

I hope you're not upset and I miss and love you all. I'll try to call soon.

Love, Frank

After I read what he had to say, I wrote back and assured him I was not upset. I kept my response to him light and positive, and also told him I was glad that things had taken a positive turn and he seemed more upbeat. I told him we would miss him during the holidays, but I looked forward to seeing him the following summer. I also filled him in about what was going on at home, including Dion's situation and that I was retiring. I hoped my email wouldn't shock him now.

June was rapidly approaching, so I began to prepare for the boys from Brazil. I have to chuckle when I think of them in those terms, because it reminds me of the old Gregory Peck movie with the same name. That film was about his character being involved with cloning new Hitlers. What an awful thought that is. Anyway, Nick's former host brothers would be joining us soon and flying in to New York. I planned on doing the whole NYC scene after we picked them up and then take we'd them to Philly or D.C. one other weekend, just to show them around a bit. I was looking forward to seeing and meeting them, so this wasn't something I was dreading at all.

I had begun planning for these trips as soon as Nick called and confirmed the dates and times. I also ordered tickets and such for some special activities I had planned, because I didn't want to get there and miss out. One of these events was quite new and unique, but something I was fairly positive all of the boys would enjoy.

Since everyone wanted to go on this trip, I charted a bus to take us to NYC for the weekend. We left extremely early on Saturday morning, meaning 2:00, but the boys were able to sleep throughout most of the trip. Jake and I caught a little more shuteye too, since we hadn't slept that long the night before either. We would be going to the airport first, so we could pick up Nick, Wil and Marcos, and then I'd have the driver take us around to some the sights I was planning on hitting.

We arrived at the airport well ahead of Nick's scheduled 6:45 a.m. arrival time, but his host brothers wouldn't be landing until just before 7:30. We made our way as close to Nick's arrival gate and we could get, and then waited for him to show up. He appeared about forty minutes later.

The minute he spotted us, Nick came racing in our direction, but what he did next surprised me. Instead of bolting straight for Shannon, as we all expected he would do, he came running up to Jake and me. He hugged each of us and then stepped back a short distance, before he spoke.

"Congratulations, Dad and Pop," he announced with a huge grin. "I wish I could have been there for the ceremony, but I'm so glad you finally did this. I think it's really great and I know everyone else thinks so too."

We thanked him for this very enthusiastic display of support and then he sought out Shannon, so he could give him a very warm greeting too. After allowing them a few minutes together, I guided everyone to our next location, which was a spot near the gate Nick's host brothers would be arriving at. Once we got there, we found a place to sit down and then I asked Nick to fill us in about his year at college and his time with his parents, once school ended. He happily did so, and by the time he had finished, it was nearly time for his host brothers' plane to land.

Nick constantly scanned the throng of people bustling about, as he searched for the faces of his two host brothers. It took almost thirty minutes before he spotted them, but once he did, he jumped up and raced off to greet them. When he came back, he had two good-looking young men walking beside him. They were both about the same height as Nick, approximately five feet- ten inches tall, but their complexion gave them a nice tanned look, although it was currently winter in Brazil. I'd say their coloring was very close to Dion's, so I might best compare it to a cup of coffee with extra cream.

They were both sporting the most beautiful smiles as they walked over to greet us, so I could absolutely see why Nick had been so smitten by them. They each began to extend his hand as they drew closer to me, so I reciprocated and shook one at a time, as I greeted them.

"Welcome to the United States and we look forward to your stay with our family," I began. "I'll let Nick take care of the introductions, however, since he may need to translate some of it into Portuguese."

"No, my brother and I both speak American, we think very well," Wil responded, but his Brazilian accent was very apparent in the way he pronounced certain words. "We can do everything in your language." I smiled.

"Although we live in America, we speak English," I corrected him, which caused Wil to look a bit confused.

"But English is so different than American, is it not?" he asked. "We've also met people from Great Britain, but they speak much differently than Nick or other Americans we've met."

"That may be true," I agreed, "but the people of both countries speak English. Think of it this way, there may be subtle differences between the way you speak Portuguese in Brazil and how it is spoken in Portugal, just as French is spoken a little differently in Quebec, Canada than in France."

"Ah, yes, I think I see now," Wil confirmed. "I am aware of such differences and can see what you are telling me. Thank you, very much, for pointing that out to us."

Once Nick had finished introducing everyone, I asked the boys if they had eaten. Since they hadn't, we loaded their things onto the bus and I directed the driver to take us some place where we could have breakfast. He said he'd be glad to, seeing he was hungry as well, so we took off, in search of a location to chow down.

"Where are all the other people?" Marcos asked, while glancing around the bus.

"Oh, this is not a regular bus, one that other passengers constantly get on and off of," I explained. "I have hired this bus and driver for the weekend, because our family is too large to fit in most other vehicles comfortably."

"I see," he said, "but doesn't that cost you a lot of money?"

"It isn't cheap, but it's not that much more expensive than driving two vehicles here, with all the tolls and parking fees," I explained. "Besides, the driver knows how to get around better than we would, and it saves us the headache of driving in city traffic."

That explanation seemed to suffice, so we began talking about other things, until the driver pulled in to one of those chain restaurants that specialize in breakfast. We had a nice time and Nick, Wil and Marcos sat with Jake and myself as we ate. Our guests were amazed about a lot of things, starting with what we ate for breakfast. They were also surprised at the difference in the coffee and juices, but they seemed to enjoy their meal. While we ate, we also got to know them better, but the rest of the family will have plenty of time to get acquainted with them on the bus.

Once we finished up there, I asked the driver to take us on a driving tour of the city, so we could point out some things to our visitors. He readily agreed, so we settled in to explain the various sites. Wil and Marcos were amazed by all of the skyscrapers. They said that even though they lived near a large city and had visited others, most were just large and spread out, but most of the buildings were less than half the size as here. Wil pointed at some of the older structures that weren't as tall and said they were closer to the size of the buildings in the cities they'd visited.

During our tour, we pointed out the Empire State Building, the site of the World Trade Center, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. These were also some of the places I was planning to take them to visit later, so they could see them up close and personal. I knew my family had visited these locations before, with the exception of Jesse, so that was why I wasn't certain how many would want to see the sights again and who might wish to do something else. In the end, they all wanted to join us and I wanted our visitors to see the most famous sights while they were here. After all, these locations are all American landmarks and tourist attractions, so it would be a shame not to let our visitors make at least a quick stop at each of these places.

First, I had the driver drop us off at the Empire State Building. Since these boys hadn't seen buildings this tall before, I wanted to make sure they got up to the observation deck, so they could look around. They were absolutely amazed when they first glanced outside, and possibly a bit overwhelmed. I saw Marcos, the younger one, kind of jump back a bit after first gazing out, but eventually he calmed down and looked about, as I pointed out some of the various other locations.

I then did the same with Jesse, although Dustin and Andrew had pointed many of these things out to him already. While I was doing this, Nick and some of the others entertained our guests and mentioned other things to them. After we'd spent a little time here and the boys had plenty of opportunity to look around, we rode the elevators back to the ground level and boarded the bus again.

I decided to take them to the see the Statue of Liberty next, since we had enough time to squeeze it in before doing something else I had planned. Everyone went with us again, which did surprise me somewhat, since I thought the older boys might want to try doing something on their own. I was fine with their decision though and we set off.

As we rode across the harbor on the tourist boat, Nick was busy explaining different things about what they were seeing and only stopped if he needed to ask me a question. He would do this whenever he wasn't quite sure about something and I was happy to fill in the blanks for him. I also noticed the three of them would occasionally slip into Portuguese, but I think this was so they could insert private comments into their dialogue or make observations about other tourists in the immediate vicinity. Either way, I saw no harm in it, so I didn't say anything to them about it.

Once all of them had a chance to see the view from the crown, we climbed back down and made our way to the bus again. We did take time to stop for a quick bite to eat afterward, since it was already past noon, but there was still enough time to squeeze this in before doing what I had planned next.

By the time we finished our meal, it was approaching the time for the next surprise I had lined up, so I directed the bus driver as to where we were going next. I was taking everyone to see a Broadway show. It was a musical that was fairly new, but I'd heard great things about it. This particular show didn't move to Broadway until June 2003, so it had only been running for about a year, which is still quite new in theatrical terms. From what I had read and been told about it, this was supposedly a raucous sexual parody, with gay overtones, and it was done using both actors and puppets. Since the theme was sexual, I felt the boys would like it, even if puppets were involved. I was taking everyone to see the matinee performance of 'Avenue Q.'

Chapter 21
Wil and Marcos

We went into the theater, took our seats and then waited for the performance to begin. While we sat there, the boys eagerly looked through the programs, so they could get a feel for what this show was about. Wil and Marcos quickly explained they had never been to a musical before and were looking forward to the experience.

When the show finally began, I think some of the boys were confused and wondering if we were in the right place, since many of the characters were puppets, controlled by people on stage. This was highly reminiscent of the 'Sesame Street' shows on TV and the setting was a rundown street, somewhere in NYC. As we later discovered, short animated clips were also used to highlight portions of the storyline and the live characters and puppets interacted with each other and sang throughout the performance. From the start, it was also apparent the characters were in their twenties and thirties and facing adult problems. This was demonstrated by the use of profanity and themes such as racism, pornography and homosexuality, so everyone quickly settled down and began to enjoy the show.

I soon became obvious that the boys were really getting a kick out of some of the songs, such as it 'It Sucks to Be Me,' 'The Internet is for Porn' and 'Everyone's a Little Bit Racist.' Then later, when the show displayed puppet nudity and puppet sex, the boys were totally enthralled, but there was much more to the show than that. There were times during the performance when the boys were also deeply touched and moved by the scenes. One of these happened when Nicky reassured Rod he wouldn't have a problem accepting his sexuality in the song, 'If You Were Gay,' even though Rod got defensive and denied he was gay. I think that struck a chord deep within many of them.

Overall, it was a wonderful performance and we all got quite a few good belly laughs out of it. I had no doubt that each of them was glad we had attended, since I saw so many happy and smiling faces as we exited the theater. I was also barraged by a chorus of 'thank you for taking us to see it,' so I had no doubt the stop had been a complete success. The boys were still talking about it and trying to remember the lyrics to some of the tunes as we got on the bus and the driver seemed amused by the way they were carrying on. Wil and Marco sat behind Jake and me, because they wanted to chat with us some more.

The duo then proceeded to tell us, in glowing terms, how much they had enjoyed the performance and joked that their parents would have been horrified if they had witnessed the same show. After saying this and noting my expression, the brothers assured me their parents would never know they had seen it while they were here, so I needn't worry. They thanked me several times for the experience and then went on to tell us a little bit more about themselves and their view of Nick's time with them.

"Nick was always quite sexy and taught us much," Wil noted. "I didn't believe him at first, when he told us that you allowed him, and the rest of your sons, to do things like that. Nick said you didn't mind, as long as everyone was willing and they took precautions, but we had our doubts, until he showed us one of your emails. You are an unusual, but wonderful, parent. At least my brother and I think so."

"Thank you for the compliment," I told them, "and I do give the boys some leeway with such things. However, you should also know that Nick's not the same young man he was when he stayed with you in Brazil. He has changed since his return; especially after he learned he'd been careless and picked up a couple of diseases.

"Yes, we know," Marcos agreed. "We've read his emails and spoken with him many times and he has told us about that. It is hard for us to believe Nick isn't that way any longer, but he did give us a scare when he first called and told us we needed to be tested. Our parents were quite upset, even though we told them we'd all been with the same girl, because my parents do not believe in sex before marriage."

"I can see where that would create a problem," I concurred, "so I hope you didn't get into too much trouble."

"A little, but Wil and I know how to handle our parents," Marcos confessed. "It works most of the time and did this time as well, except it took two days or more before they began to calm down."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," I confirmed. "I'd hate to think Nick or I had caused problems between you and your parents." They assured me, once again, that wasn't the case, so we began talking about other things, until we reached our next stop, a short time later.

Our next destination was Ellis Island and I quickly explained to Wil and Marcos how this was the first stop for many of the immigrants that came to the United States. They seemed quite intrigued by that fact and were looking forward to seeing more. Surprisingly, all the boys wanted to go with us again, so we took the short boat ride to get there.

Both boys asked a myriad of questions as we wandered around and looked at the various photos. I think they were wondering what it might have been like if their family had also decided to move to the U.S. during this same time frame and considered what their lives might have been like now, if they had. Due to our time constraints, it was a whirlwind tour, but I think they got to see as much as they wanted. When we finished there and took the short trip back on the boat, we hopped back on the bus and set off for home.

During the remainder of the journey, Wil and Marcos sat with the other boys and got to know them better. They all shared stories about their lives and past, and no one seemed inhibited about relaying even some of the seemingly embarrassing tidbits. This might have been because Nick had told Wil and Marcos so much about us when he was down there, and then filled our family in about them after he returned. Regardless of the reason, they all seemed to be getting along gloriously, while getting to know each other better.

Once Wil and Marcos had moved back to join the others, Jesse and Andrew made their way forward to sit with Jake and me. Jesse squeezed past Jake and climbed on to my lap, while Andrew wiggled his way onto Jake's.

"Daddy, that show was funny," Jesse told me. "Rod and Nicky were like Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street and Trekkie Monster was like Cookie Monster. I'm not sure, but I think Kate Monster was supposed to be like Elmo, but they all said bad words and did nasty things."

"Yes, they did, Jesse, so I hope you don't start doing that too," I offered, which drew a horrified look in return.

"I'd never say those words, Daddy," he assured me, "so you don't have to worry. Andrew and I do some things like they did though, but you said it was okay. Right?"

"Yes, honey, as long as you only do them with Andrew," I confirmed.

After that, both boys went on and on about the show, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Jesse apparently had a blast, and this became quite evident from listening to his rambling dialogue and watching the way he carried on now. He was fun to listen to, comical to watch and it was a pleasure to know he had enjoyed himself so much. Andrew and Jesse also informed me they had stayed with Dustin most of the time and he explained things to them, so I knew I'd have to thank Dustin later for doing that. This pair really looked up to Dustin and he seemed to like the responsibility of taking care of them too. It was nice to see they had bonded in this fashion and it took a load off my shoulders, since I was trying to entertain and inform our guests about the places we'd visited.

The bus made one brief stop on the way back, so we could grab dinner, and then the driver went non-stop until we reached the bus terminal. After moving Wil and Marcos things from the bus to our vehicles, Jake and I drove the rest of the way home.

We were in store for another mild surprise when we arrived at the house, when the boys informed us about the sleeping arrangements. Wil asked if it would be all right if he spent the night with Danny and Brandon, while Marcos asked if I'd mind if he stayed with Little Ricky. I had been prepared to put them up in the guest room, but obviously their hormones and the conversation on the ride back had produced better options for them. I had no problem with this, so I gave their arrangements my blessing, after reminding my sons about the rule – condoms were a must.

We were also amused when the pair strolled downstairs after their showers and paraded around in the buff. I guess when Nick was there he had told him the boys did this nearly every night, so after the other boys had confirmed Nick's story, Wil and Marcos must have felt it would be alright to join in the fun. Each of the pair was quite well hung and uncut. Being uncut didn't come as a surprise to me, since they came from Brazil, but Nick had forgotten to mention that other asset. Wil and Marcos even spent some time chatting with Jake and me in the family room. Neither boy seemed to be bothered in the least that they were naked and we weren't, but eventually they bid us good night and went upstairs.

Marcos and Little Ricky didn't waste any time getting started, once the door to their room closed. It was apparent the boys had talked this out on the bus and agreed as to what they were going to do, so they got right to it. After an initial exploration of each other's body, they swung around into the sixty-nine position and were soon nodding up and down on each other's engorged member.

Little Ricky took great delight in skinning back Marcos foreskin and teasing his sensitive head with his tongue. Marcos also seemed to be enjoying the attention, as he was moaning quite loudly, whenever he wasn't making little throaty gurgles and coos. Little Ricky had done this often enough by now that he was getting quite good at it and had enough experience with uncircumcised cocks to know what he needed to do to please the owner. He playfully gnawed at the excess foreskin, as he kept rolling it back and forth in his mouth, and when he finally swallowed Marcos shaft, he continued to thrill Marcos with his constant swallowing. Whenever he did this, it sent little waves of pleasure radiating through Marcos penis, before causing shivers to run up and down his spine.

Little Ricky continued the swallowing as he ran his tongue around the firm mast and soon had Marcos on the brink of orgasm. Little Ricky noticed the signs and backed off briefly, since he didn't want Marcos to cum before Marcos had brought him to the same point. During the interim, Little Ricky slid down and began to nibble on Marcos' scrotum, before bathing it with his tongue and pulling his watery orbs into his mouth, so he could suck on them gently. By the time Little Ricky had re-swallowed his rod, Marcos was thoroughly prepared to erupt and it was going to happen soon.

When Little Ricky felt Marcos' penis begin to stiffen even more, he knew Marcos was ready to cum, so he shoved a finger into Marco's rectum and quickly massaged his prostate. This caused Marcos to explode in a powerful climax and flood Little Ricky's mouth with his boy cream. Little Ricky had been prepared for this to happen and swallowed the juices eagerly, since he was never offended when offered this sweet nectar as a reward for his efforts.

When Little Ricky had first taken Marcos into his mouth, Marcos did the same to him. Even though Nick had possessed the first circumcised penis Marcos had ever seen, he was no longer preoccupied with exploring the differences and merely went to work on his partner. After licking Little Ricky's marvelous pole and nut-sack with his tongue, Marcos swallowed Little Ricky's dick and began bobbing up and down on it. While he did so, he also massaged Little Ricky's balls, which Little Ricky appreciated. Marcos was doing an admirable, although not quite excellent, job of orally stimulating Little Ricky and it would elicit the desired results.

Marcos did his best to apply pressure with his lips and as much suction as he could generate, as he worked on Little Ricky's boyhood. He was going at quite a quick pace and his efforts were working well on Little Ricky. His concentration was broken only once, when he gave in to the body shaking orgasm he enjoyed due to Little Ricky's efforts, and then he returned to concentrate on what he was doing, until he brought Little Ricky off as well. Little Ricky's orgasm wasn't quite as explosive as the one Marcos had experienced, but it was nonetheless enjoyable and both boys were more than satisfied when it was over.

In the room down the hall, Danny was the one to break the ice, once they were inside. "Okay, it's your choice," he informed Wil. "What would you like to do?"

"What if I get in the middle and one of you can get behind me and the other in front," he suggested. "Then tomorrow night you two can switch places and we can do the same thing."

"Ah, a little monkey in the middle," Danny observed, but this confused Wil, so Danny had to explain to him what he meant by that statement. Once this had been accomplished, Wil got on all fours, with Danny behind him and Brandon in front.

Expertly and slowly, Danny slipped his sheathed shaft into Wil, until Wil's rectum was completely stuffed. After giving him a short time to adapt to it, Danny began gradually rocking backward, as he slowly slipped in and out of Wil's warm, moist tunnel. Over the next couple of minutes gradually worked into a nice, steady rhythm, and once he was satisfied with how he was doing, Danny looked over at Brandon, to see what was going on at the other end.

Danny quickly noted that Brandon had knelt down in front of Wil, so Wil could begin working on his dangling penis, an appendage Danny knew very well. Tenderly, Wil had licked the sleeping beast until it awoke and sprang to life. Once he had its full attention, he let it slowly enter his warm oral cavern, until he swallowed it down to the root. Then, as Danny thrust and withdrew from behind, Wil matched Danny's rhythm and pace, as he slid up and down Brandon's firm and glorious member.

Together, the trio worked its way through a slow ascent, like a rocket blasting off and slowly lifting to reach the heavens, until Danny ignited the afterburners and propelled them into a mighty and wondrous explosion of sexual delight. Danny and Brandon each saw stars, as they climbed higher and higher, until the lights blurred and faded, as they came down from their sexual release.

Once both boys had sufficiently recovered from this delightful journey, the noticed that Wil remained as wooden as ever, since he had not enjoyed a similar release. In order to correct the situation, Brandon slipped a condom over Wil's leaking spigot, got on his back and pulled his legs tightly against his chest, so Wil could take him. As Wil was gracefully sliding into position and tenderly pushing against Brandon's resilient, but yielding ring, Danny slid beside his lover and began to kiss him and explore his upper body.

Together, the pair worked Brandon into another exquisite high, as Wil slowly catapulted to his own explosive climax. After Wil launched his creamy projectiles and sent them shattering against the walls of the prophylactic, it was obvious the fortress had been successfully breached and his mission accomplished, Wil then withdrew and left Brandon panting, satisfied and fulfilled. Brandon happily told Wil he had been totally pleased with his effort and the three boys agreed they were also looking forward to repeating this performance the following evening.

Completely satisfied, the trio settled in for some rest. Wil wanted an outside position, so Brandon agreed to sleep between his lover and the young man that had just given him so much satisfaction and pure bliss. They slept well until the following morning, when they sauntered downstairs to replenish their empty fuel tanks.

Once the boys had finished eating, I asked Wil and Marcos if they wanted to join us for church, since I knew they were Roman Catholic. Without hesitation, they said they would love to, so we all got ready and drove down to our local house of worship. The college boys were all greeted back warmly by the other parishioners and then we introduced Wil and Marcos to everyone that came over to see us.

When we took our seats for the service, we managed to take up two whole pews in the process. Marcos and Wil kept kneeling and crossing themselves, to our amusement, although they tried valiantly to break themselves of those habits. It was difficult for either young man to end years of ingrained habit, but no one said anything to either and we all listened carefully to the sermon.

After the final benediction, I took everyone out to brunch, as usual, and by the time we got home, the boys took Wil and Marcos around to see the rest of our small community. A little later, the boys returned and ask Jake and I to join them for what they wanted to do next. They intended to go down to the high school soccer field and play a pickup game, so Jake and I agreed to go and be the goalies. This meant the score would be very high, since neither Jake nor I had the reflexes to compare with their ability, but the boys loved the idea that we were going to play too.

We placed Wil and Marcos on opposite teams and then divided up the others, according to their ability level. As soon as the game started, it quickly became clear that Wil and Marcos were quite good, at least as far as we were concerned. They later told us they were only average, or slightly above, when compared to others their age in Brazil, but it didn't really matter. All of the boys were continually racing up and down the field dribbling, passing and shooting, and the final score ended up seven to six, with Marcos team winning. Regardless of the score, we all had a great time.

Before I went to bed that night, I check my email and discovered I had received something new from Frankie. I opened it immediately.

Dad,

Wow, I am still learning a lot from the new guy and things are really so much better now. I'm glad you're okay with me staying here longer, because I'm really learning a lot from him. He really thinks more like I do and I know I'm going to learn even more from him, as long as we're working together.

How's everything at home? I can't believe Dion got a girl pregnant, but I'm glad you're going to help them keep the baby. How is Uncle Jake? I hope he's feeling better now and I'm glad the doctors could help him take care of his problem. I miss all of you so very much and can't wait to see you again. Please write and let me know what's going on there, because I know you're all probably staying very busy.

Anyway, I don't have much else to say this time, so I'll end this here. Just wanted to let you know things were so much better here, because I know my earlier emails had you concerned about what was going on. Don't worry about me, because things are fine now.

Take care and I love you all, Frank

That was truly a more upbeat email and I wrote him back immediately and filled him in about everything that had gone on since I had last written. Hopefully, he'll get a kick out of some of it.

Over the course of the next week, the boys entertained the brothers and took them around various places in the local area, including a couple of state parks. Everyone was getting along really well and spending nearly all of their time as one large pack. Sometime, Nick and Wil would take turns playing Nick's guitar and the rest of the boys would sing along with the tune they were playing. That was unless Wil was playing a Brazilian song, and then only Nick, Marcos and he would sing, because it would be in Portuguese. The songs were still quite catchy and those three tried to teach the others some of the lyrics, with varying success. Even Andrew and Jesse seemed to enjoy hanging around the older boys and no one said anything about them joining in on any of the fun. I think they were also turning into a couple of tough little shits during this period, because of the playful abuse their brothers would dish out to them.

I had asked Wil and Marcos where they'd like for us to go on our next outing, while we were traveling home from NY City. I gave them the choice between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. and both boys agreed they'd prefer to go to D.C. Therefore, I made all the appropriate arrangements and we planned to go there this coming weekend. Nick's parents were flying in to join us, so they could see Nick's host brothers again. They had met Wil and Marcos on their trip to Brazil, and would land in Pittsburgh on Thursday night to join us. They would then rent a car and drive to our place and stay in our guest room, since it was unused at this time. Wil and Marcos were staying upstairs with the boys, occasionally moving from one room to another, as the spirit and the sexual urges moved them.

I think everyone was getting excited about this trip and I was once again surprised that all the boys were excited about going with us. Most of them had visited D.C. on previous trips, and some of them had even been there twice, but it didn't seem to dampen their desire or enthusiasm about going again. Jesse was the only one of my family that had never been there before, and possibly Little Ricky. I'm not sure if he went on that second trip with us either. I think the fact that the others wanted to do this had just as much to do with whom they'd be going with, as where they'd be going.

Nick was excited that his parents would be joining us too and both of his host brothers were eager to see Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence again. In fact, all of my family was looking forward to seeing Mike and Julie as well and I was eager to introduce them to Jesse. I'm sure they're going to get a kick out of watching him too, since everything we do is a new adventure for him. He was so damn enthusiastic and excitable when we went to NYC and a total joy to watch. Seeing him like that certainly brought back many memories of the other boys and how they had also reacted, each time we went someplace new.

Mike and Julie Lawrence arrived at our house around dinnertime Thursday night, which worked out perfectly. I had made reservations at our favorite restaurant again and we drove everyone down there to eat. It was a lovely gathering filled with great conversation. The Lawrence sat across from Jake and I, with Nick on one side of them and the Brazilian brothers on the other. Jake and I were sandwiched between our two young bookends, Andrew and Jesse, again, but it worked out quite well.

After the meal, we went back to the house and I explained to the Lawrences what we had planned. We'd be leaving very early Saturday morning for the nation's capital, so they would have the entire next day to rest up and spend time with Nick, Wil and Marcos. The Lawrences seemed pleased with our plans and admitted they had never been to Washington before, but had always wanted to see it in person. I told them that would work out fine and we'd take them to all the major attractions, which excited them.

The rest of the night was very calm and we spent a great deal of time listening to Nick and Wil play the guitar, while the rest of us sang along. It seemed to be a favorite pastime for the boys right now and we were happy to join in the fun.

We let the Lawrences spend most of Friday with Nick and his host brothers, although we did do some things together from time to time. Overall, though, it was their time to spend with the boys, without any interruptions or interference. I know they appreciated it, since Mike and Julie each went out of their way to tell us so later in the evening. I merely explained they went out of their way to get here, so it was the least we could do. After all, the rest of us would have many other days to spend with them.

As Friday drew to a close, I warned everyone that we'd be leaving the house by 4:00 the next morning, so we could get to the terminal and board our bus. Even though they'd still be able to sleep on the bus, I suggested they might want to get as much sleep as they could tonight as well, so they wouldn't be tired out as we walked around all the various monuments. I think nearly everyone heeded my advice, because the house grew very quiet over the next twenty or thirty minutes and I didn't hear many sounds, until my alarm went off at 3:30.

Chapter 22
Saying Good-bye

We boarded the bus a little after four and I could tell most of the boys were tired. I told them to find seats and get comfortable and then they could go back to sleep for most of the three plus hours it would take us to get there. They seemed happy with that suggestion, so the ride to Washington was very quiet.

The Lawrences, Jake and I dozed off too, but one of us stayed awake at all times to keep the driver company. We stopped for breakfast before we reached D.C., and it seemed their mood improved in direct proportion to their tummies filling up. As we drew nearer to our final destination, the excitement level began to increase, especially for the Brazilian brothers, the Lawrences and Jesse.

Our first stop was the White House, but I won't go into detail about what we saw and did there, because I'm certain I must have told you about that on one of our previous visits. It was basically the same, except I let the boys fill Wil, Marcos and the Lawrences in about different trivia concerning what we were seeing. I was quite impressed by how much they remembered from our previous trips and was delighted to listen to them share this knowledge with the others. Oh, I did jump in to insert a few trivial details from time to time, but the boys did most of the work as tour guides.

After we left the White House, we took everyone to see the Capitol Building, and then followed that up with lunch. After we finished this brief rest and refueling stop, we took them to the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, before we went inside the Washington Monument. The view from the top was spectacular and breathtaking, but once we came down, we went to look at the Viet Nam Memorial and then the World War II Memorial. I think everyone was impressed and enjoyed the sights, although we seemed to be rushing them around from one location to another.

After we had a lovely dinner, we went back to see the various Memorials again. The Lawrences had said they'd heard all of these places looked much different at night, so we made sure to give them the chance to check that out for themselves. When they did, they were even more impressed than they had been during the day, as the numerous spotlights gave everything a totally different appearance and aura. All in all, it was a very enjoyable day.

The next morning, we got up, had breakfast and made some quick trips. After a brief stop at Arlington National Cemetery, where we visited the graves of President and Mrs. Kennedy and saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, we got back on the bus. Our next stop was to Mount Vernon, to see the home of George Washington, and then we went to Monticello, to see Thomas Jefferson's estate. I think the Lawrences appreciated all those stops as well, because I knew Wil, Marcos and Jesse certainly did.

Once we'd had a chance to see those places and grabbed a quick bite to eat, we began the long ride home. I would have tried to do more, but the Lawrences still had to drive to Pittsburgh and catch their flight home. Since I didn't want to put them in a position where they would have to rush or risk missing their flight, I made sure we would get back early enough, so they could take it easy on the way to the airport.

Once we collected our things at the bus terminal and drove home, we bid the Lawrences good-bye. While we were doing that, Nick had transferred their belongings from our vehicles to their rental car and then he went up to say good-bye to his parents. Mike and Julie thanked us over and over for the wonderful time and then took, off, leaving Nick behind. He was going to stay with us for a while longer, so he could spend more time with his host brothers and then join us on our summer vacation, after Wil and Marcos had returned home.

During the last week of their stay with us, I allowed the boys to take Wil and Marcos wherever they wanted, so they showed our guests a little more of the area. Dustin and Danny drove all of the boys to Hershey Park one day, which has a nice amusement park. It was a pretty long drive, but I trusted them as drivers, and all of the boys said they'd stick together in fairly large groups and promised to watch out for my two youngest.

From what I understand, they all had a great time and Wil and Marcos loved going on the rides. I think both boys were also starting to become a little sad that they would be returning home in a couple more days, since their school would be restarting after a lengthy winter break. Since we could see how this was affecting them, Jake and I spent some time with them too, hoping we could make them feel a little better. We assured them they were welcome to come back whenever they wanted and told them we might even come to Brazil one year, for our vacation. That seemed to perk them up a little, especially since the boys were also doing all they could to make the Brazilian boys' final days with us memorable.

I had also planned ahead for their return trip and was going to take them to see another musical before they left. Their flight wasn't until late Saturday night, so I scheduled us to attend another matinee. I never mentioned this to anyone, but they suddenly got the idea when the bus pulled up in front of one of the theaters. This time, I was taking them to see the 'Lion King.'

Once again, I think most of the boys wondered if this was going to be age appropriate for them, because I saw many of them flash questioning looks to one of the others as we entered the theater. However, once the production began, I think all of their doubts vanished. It was a masterful production, with the actors either wearing headpieces to represent their character or by donning very colorful and exquisite costumes. Some even carried a representation of their character with them, but some of the more elaborate costumes included a pair of very tall giraffes and an extremely large elephant that strolled down the center aisle of the theater and then up a ramp, before going on to the stage. The music was fantastic (the same Sir Elton John score as for the movie) and was well delivered. The actors and actresses were energetic and passionate about their roles and the overall performance was absolutely magnificent.

I didn't hear anything but raves afterward from my group and they all continued talking about the production throughout dinner. Wil and Marcos each thanked Jake and I several times for making their stay so wonderful, and I was almost to the point where I wanted to keep these two wonderful young men here with us for a while longer. Unfortunately, I realized that couldn't happen, so after the meal, we took the boys to the airport to catch their return flight.

After all Wil and Marcos had done to let us know how much they had enjoyed their stay and their time with us, it was very difficult for us to say good-bye. When it came time to catch their flight out, there were more than a few tears shed, so I reiterated my promise that they could come back whenever they wished and we would try to go to Brazil for one of our vacations. I think that eased their apprehensions a bit and made having to leave a little more bearable, since they felt they would see us all again some day. Once they had cleared security and disappeared from sight, I led everyone else back to the bus and settled inside for the long ride home.

While the boys dozed off, Jake and I tried to stay awake, so we could keep the driver company. We certainly didn't want him falling asleep during the long, and sometimes monotonous, drive back and I think he appreciated us doing that for him. It also made the trip a little easier and more enjoyable for him as well, because he didn't have to endure it in monotonous silence. I think we were all happy and relieved when he finally pulled in to the bus terminal, and after transferring everyone to our vehicles yet again, I let Dustin and Danny drive the rest of the way. They had been able to sleep during the ride back, while Jake and I had not, so we thought they were in better shape to do this than we were.

Once we got in the door, the boys immediately went to their rooms. Even though they had slept a little on the bus, they were still tired and eager to get to bed. That was fine with me, since Jake and I were going to do the same, but now we had only a couple of weeks left until we went on vacation. Damn, it seems like things never slow down for us.

Over the next couple of weeks, I was very busy helping to interview the candidates for the high school principal position, and then we finally hired someone. I was also involved in hiring several new teachers, before I officially retired from the district. The new superintendent, my secretary, the other principals and the teachers and staff, along with the board of education, threw me a party on my last day. It developed into a very emotional parting, although I'd hoped I could do this quietly and without so much fanfare. I was only leaving them as a working colleague, but would still see them around from time to time, so I didn't really see the need for all of this drama. However, I did appreciate what they did and made sure to let them know that as well. During the gathering, they also presented me with a plaque, for my many years of service to the school district, and gave me a few personal presents as well. I also agreed to be available as a consultant, should they ever need me, and then I left my office for the final time.

I don't think it actually sank in that I would no longer be going back there, until I got home. Yes, I knew well in advance I was doing this and had made a conscious choice to see it through, but the reality, and finality, didn't set in until that final hour. Once I removed the remaining personal items from my desk and counter tops and carried them home, it suddenly struck me that I no longer had to get up and go in to work every day. My getting up mornings and rushing off to the job were no longer required and I had just closed the final chapter on a long career with the school system. I had started out as a teacher, moved up to become principal and then eventually became superintendent. It was not going to be easy to put all of that behind me, without some sense of regret, no matter my reason for doing so.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't wish I'd made a different decision and I was still looking forward to having more time to spend with Jake and the boys at home. I was also thrilled and excited about taking care of a baby again, especially since it would be the youngest of my grandchildren, but no matter how great it was going to be, there were still the drawbacks. I'd once again have to put up with the crying, the smelly diapers and getting up at all hours of the night for feedings, even though none of that had ever bothered me when I did it with my own children. Then came the realization that I'd also miss my job, because I loved what I did and the people I worked with. Now, I'd also have to cope with withdrawal from no longer seeing them on a daily basis and my days would no longer be consumed with school matters.

I'm trying to stay focused on the positive aspects of this change, such as cuddling with a helpless newborn and having him fall asleep on my chest, with his head over my heart. I will try to relish every smile I'll receive from the baby when I read him a story or sing a song, as well as cherish his joyous laughter when I play peek-a-boo or some other silly game with him. Yes, I was definitely looking forward to doing those things with him, since it would also stir up many pleasant memories from when I did those same things with my biological children and grandchildren too.

In addition to that, I would also be able to be there for Jesse and Andrew through the difficult adolescent years they still had ahead of them, and I'd be able to help guide Sammy and Little Ricky through their final year of high school. I think by concentrating on these things, it will more than make up for what I am losing by retiring.

The rest of the family also sensed my uneasy truce with the idea of being retired, because they tried their best to distract me in a number of different ways. Jake would ask me to go on walks with him or get playful and drag me off to our room earlier than normal. The older boys would ask for my help or advice, while at other times they'd try to drag me outside or to the athletic fields to participate in one of their activities with them. Jesse and Andrew were constantly asking me to go on bike rides and I must admit all of those things did help, at least until the baby arrived to take up my additional free time. I was extremely appreciative everyone cared so much and went out of his way to help make this easier for me, so I happily drifted along on the currents of their love.

Fortunately, getting ready for vacation also helped keep me busy and took my mind off of my other concerns. As I had promised Peter, we were going to Australia this year, to visit him and his family. Peter and Ricky had been spending a lot of time on the webcam together planning some of the activities we'd be doing once we arrived. Peter had also arranged for some of his mates, whom Ricky had hung out with as well, to be there to meet us at one point, and this included Kylie. Damn, that's why that name sounded so familiar when Marie told me about the baby. I knew I liked the name and had heard it before, but I never put the two things together. I wonder if Marie got the idea from hearing Ricky talking about her, although I can't think of any specific time when that might have happened. Still, it was possible or was it merely a coincidence that she just happened to pick it out at random. Either way, I'm surprised Ricky never pointed this glaring coincidence out to me.

I did corner Ricky the following afternoon and mentioned the irony of the situation. He just smiled at me, before he spoke.

"You know, I thought about that when you told me what Marie was naming the baby and all," he began, "but I thought you had already put the two things together. That's why I didn't say anything about it."

"Well, did you ever mention your Kylie to Marie?" I followed, wishing to ease my curiosity.

"I might have said something about Kylie in the emails I sent her too," he confessed, "but I just don't remember. It was a long time ago, but it is a very pretty name. I actually think of the Kylie in Australia, every time someone talks about the baby, and then I remember some of the great times we had together while I was there."

"Have you kept in contact with her?" I pressed, since I wasn't certain if they had remained in touch.

"Nah, she was mad when I left and I didn't want to fight with her about it any more, so I just kind of let it go," he admitted. "I was hoping she might write or email me one day, but so far she hasn't. I was kind of surprised when Peter told me she wanted him to let her know if we came over, because she'd like to see me again. I'm not sure if it's so she can smack me with a boomerang, feed me to the crocs or if she really wants to spend time with me. I guess I'll find out when we get there."

That ended my curiosity about the subject, at least for the time being. I still want to ask Marie how she came up with Kylie's name, and I'll do it the next time I see her, especially since neither Ricky nor I are sure if Ricky ever mentioned the other Kylie to her. I know it sounds petty and dumb, but I'd just like to know. I'm not sure why, other than to fulfill some morbid curiosity I have about it, but I'd like to settle this issue once and for all.

The first week of June, Jake and I took a long weekend, so we could fly up to Canada and get married. I made sure everyone understood Dustin was in charge while we were gone and then we left Thursday night, after Jake got off of work, and flew to Toronto. After we landed, I rented a car and we drove to our hotel. It was near downtown and after cleaning up, we went out to eat. It was a nice restaurant, located in a renovated warehouse, along with three or four other restaurants, but each had their own theme. We had selected the Italian restaurant tonight.

After we finished our meal and a bottle of wine, we went back to our hotel and turned in for the evening. We would be getting up early to take care of everything we needed to do, so we could have the ceremony performed. It was just a simple civil ceremony, but we did get a marriage license as a result, so we could now say we were married. I was just sorry the entire family hadn't been here with us, but they had been to our commitment ceremony and that, to us, was more important.

Once we had been pronounced man and husband, we went out to celebrate. It was still early afternoon, so we stopped for a late lunch and I ordered a bottle of champagne. After we'd toasted each other several times and finished our meal, we returned to our hotel, where we made love. The only difference this time was that we could call this our honeymoon, and maybe we did feel a little closer connection because of it, but we always loved one another and always would.

After cleaning up and taking a short nap, we went out for a late dinner, and I took Jake to the revolving restaurant and the top of the CN Tower. At night, with the city and the airport lit up, it was very dazzling in deed. We were seated at a table next to one of the huge windows and had a great view of the scenery as we revolved around.

Jake and I discussed many things while we ate and drank, but it was mostly about the family. We each expressed our feelings about what we thought should happen, if anything happened to either one of us, and how best to take care of the boys, at least until they could take care of themselves. Since most of them already could do that, it only left a few for us to worry about, but we did reach an agreement on how things should be handled, if that unfortunate scenario came to pass. I think Jake and I both considered we had beaten death once, so this idea was not an unlikely scenario, but rather a grim reality that we might be called upon one day to endure.

Once we had reached an agreement on those items, we went barhopping for a bit, just to get a different flavor of this beautiful city and celebrate our new status a little more. We didn't turn in until after 3:00, and by that time we were both exhausted. We did have enough reserve strength left to make love one more time before we went to sleep, but we collapsed after that and didn't wake up until nearly noon.

Even though we got a late start, we spent Saturday getting to see more of the sights this magnificent place had to offer, but I'm not sure I can recount what we saw. I was too focused on Jake and the fact that we were now married, at least here in Canada, but we'd have to face the reality that it was not valid in the US, once we returned home. However, another thing we had discussed was how that piece of paper was nice, but it didn't really change our true relationship or affect the way we felt about each other. No matter what either country or our state said, we were still a committed partnership and the head of a loving and close-knit family. No one could ever take that away from us.

We did continue to party most of Saturday night and then after making love one more time we went to sleep, knowing we'd be leaving for home in the morning. It was a blissful slumber, which we spent in each other's loving and reassuring embrace.

Sunday, we returned to the airport, turned in the rental car and boarded our flight home. When we got back, we picked up our own vehicle and drove home. The boys had put up the same sign they had used after our commitment ceremony at Easter to congratulate us, but each of them did so personally as well. It was definitely nice to feel the love they had to offer and they seemed as sincerely happy about our nuptials as Jake and I were. However, now it was time to turn our attention to other matters.

Chapter 23
Down Under

I was busy making sure everyone had what he needed for our trip to Australia, as well as pairing the boys up on the luggage, in case of a mishap. I wanted each of them to put half of his clothes in two different suitcases, in case one of the suitcases came up missing. At least if one did go M.I.A., that person would have half of his clothes to wear until the missing item showed up again.

I also had to make certain everyone's passport was in order and in my possession before we left to see Peter. Since we took our passports with us on the cruise, we should be fine, although some of the boys still had not given these items back. I had to have each of the slackers locate his passport and return it to me, so I could keep it safe and be sure we had them before we left for the airport. After that, I took time to go through everything they had packed, to see if they'd forgotten anything. By the time we were ready to leave and catch our flight, I was not only exhausted, but I'd had absolutely no time to think about my situation as a 'golden oldie retiree.'

During this time, I had also been in touch with Peter's parents, because they were trying to help me find a place for us to stay. It was no easy task to locate something that would be reasonably priced and yet able to accommodate so many, but they finally came up with a possibility. They then contacted me, to see what I thought of the idea.

"There's a place not far from here that has a group of cabins, which the owners lease out during the summer," Peter's father began. "However, since it's winter at the moment, they don't have much business and the cabins are vacant. Each cabin has heat and my wife and I think we could make a bloody good deal for you to lease them, if you're interested."

Peter's father and I then discussed what the cabins were like in more detail and he even forwarded me some pictures they took with a digital camera so I'd have a better idea when making my decision. Once I saw them, I decided how many cabins we'd require and Peter's father and I discussed finances. He told me what the rate was during the summer and then we'd decided on what price we thought would be fair now, seeing they were vacant and we'd be requiring several of them. I also confirmed this would be a package deal for our two weeks there, but reminded him we'd only be using it as our base and spending only a small portion of our time actually using them. We'd be spending the majority of our time seeing as many of the local sites as we could, as well as making a few short trips. He said he understood and would contact me if he could make a deal.

When he called back, some time later, he had worked out an even better deal for us than I had told him I would agree to. It was an excellent price and the accommodations would be more than adequate. Each cabin had two bedrooms, with a large bed in each one, and each cabin also had a private toilet and shower, as well as a small kitchen and private deck. Putting four people to a cabin, we could get away with using five cabins in total, but I doubted we'd use any of the kitchen facilities very often.

Now that our main housing concerns had been taken care of, I double-checked our flight arrangements, to make certain everything was in order. I'd had a minor choice in which flight we took, since I wanted to limit the options to flights with only one additional stop. Many of the flights made two stops before they left the states, so my choices were narrowed down to flying from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles or Pittsburgh to San Francisco. We'd then catch our connecting flight at one of those locations, so I chose San Francisco, since I'd heard horror stories about LAX.

The flight would take approximately twenty-four hours, but with the time differences, it would appear as if it took thirty-eight hours to complete. This is due to the fact that Australia is fourteen hours ahead of our time zone, so when we arrive it will seem as if as if more than a day and a half has passed since we left home. This will weigh heavily on our bodily systems, but we have coped with such things before.

The return trip, however, will seem to take less time. Even though we'd still be in the air for twenty-four hours, after you subtracted the fourteen-hour time difference, it will seem as if only ten hours have elapsed since we left Australia. It's strange how this ends up working out.

Fortunately, we were also in a new year at work now, so Jake had plenty of days to take off. Therefore, our travel arrangements would look like this. We were going to leave from Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon and arrive in Sydney on what would seem to us to be Saturday morning. Then, for the return trip, we'll fly out of Sydney late Friday afternoon and reach then land in Pittsburgh Saturday morning. I know it sounds confusing, but that's how it works. It will also give Jake two days to rest up and readjust to the local time zone afterward, since he had taken off the following Monday as well.

I had chartered a bus to take us to the Pittsburgh airport and then pick us up again when we returned. Actually, it would be cheaper for us than driving two vehicles and paying for the long-term parking while we were gone. It also meant I wouldn't have to worry about the cars getting broken into or stolen while we were away, so I thought it was definitely our best option.

Once we arrived at the airport, it took a while to get everything checked in, so we could proceed to our gate. We had allowed plenty of time to do this, so we had a great many minutes to spare. Once it was announced that our flight was boarding, we all trudged onto the plane and took our seats. I didn't allow the boys to bring any of their hand-held games or personal CD players on this trip, because I knew they wouldn't be able to recharge the batteries in Australia, because of the different electrical systems, and I didn't want to lug a bunch of batteries around with me. Instead, I informed the boys they could spend their time listening to music that the airlines provided. The carrier offered multiple channels, each featuring a different type of music, and it could be listened to over a set of headphones, so it wouldn't bother those on either side. The boys could either do this or watch the in-flight movies, since I think they were offering two, because it was such a long flight. If neither of those options appealed to them, they can elect to sleep.

They all seemed fine with those options, after I advised them about their choices, so we settled in and prepared to take off. Since all of my family had flown before, no one was very nervous about the flight, although Jesse did tease to be allowed a window seat again. That would be fine and satisfy him until we reached San Francisco and changed planes, because from that point on we'd be flying strictly over the ocean and there wouldn't be a great deal for him to see. He accepted that information rather easily, so we settled in for the long trip.

The flight to San Francisco went smoothly and we got off and changed planes a few hours later. Once we were in the air again, I made sure everyone was doing all right and then Jake and I settled in for the long flight ahead.

The trip went very smoothly and our plane arrived nearly on schedule. I got the boys to hurry and find their luggage, so we could get to the spot where Mr. and Mrs. Dennis and Peter would be waiting for us. I didn't know how long they might have already been here, so I certainly didn't want to make them hang around any longer than was necessary.

As we passed into the area in which the public is allowed to gather, Ricky spotted his former host parents almost immediately. As Ricky was jogging off, I saw Peter bolt from the crowd and rush toward us.

"Pop, you made it," he gushed, as he threw his arms about my chest. "It's so nice to see you again, in person I mean, and I've missed you so much."

"Well, I'm very happy to see you again, Peter," I replied. "Why don't you formally introduce Jake and I to your parents now, so we can get going."

Peter quickly apologized for not doing that sooner and then took Jake and I over to introduce us to his mum and dad. After we shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, I explained to Mr. Dennis that I had reserved a 23-seat Toyota mini-bus for our stay here, but asked if one of them would be kind enough to show me how to get to the rental counter so I could finalize the arrangements. Mr. Dennis said he'd be happy to, so I followed him to the appropriate counter, while the others stayed and became better acquainted.

As we walked, I explained I had reserved it for our entire stay and it was large enough so Peter, his wife and he could join us for some or all of our outings. I told him Ricky and Peter had decided much of what we'd do while we were here and I had approved what they suggested and then added a bit of my own. He said he and his wife would be happy to join us whenever they could, but he would be at his job most of the time, but I could utilize Peter as our guide as much as we needed. I thanked him for that, just as we reached the rental counter and I quickly finalized the deal.

I didn't get the keys just then, because the agent said he'd have someone drive it to an area where we could load up our belongings and be on our way. I thanked him for his help and then went with Mr. Dennis to collect our families. We then walked to the place where the mini-bus was supposed to be waiting for us.

Since the mini-bus was in the proper spot, Mr. Dennis went to fetch his car, while we loaded our belongings onto the bus. Then we'd follow him to somewhere we could grab a bite to eat, since the boys were famished by this time. The airline food just didn't cut it for them.

Although the Australians drive on the left side of the road and take their roundabouts (traffic circles) in a clockwise manner, I didn't see this as a problem. I had driven in England before and only had a couple of problems, which I learned from quickly. Therefore, I felt confident following Mr. Dennis to the restaurant.

During a very lovely and relaxing dinner, I informed our hosts about the details of our travel itinerary and Mr. Dennis offered a couple of alternate suggestions. After discussing these in some detail, I changed our plans slightly. It was nothing major, but we did accommodate them by allowing for some other ideas and penciling in the date when Peter had invited some of his mates over to meet us. This date had changed slightly from our initial planning, because quite a few of them had other engagements on the day we had first chosen, so this would work out fine now.

After we finished eating, the Dennises said that as long as we were in Sydney they thought it would be best to show us around the city first. I agreed and talked them into leaving their car somewhere and then riding with us. This way, Mr. Dennis could direct us where he wanted to go and we could chat as we traveled. They agreed and soon we were touring the surrounding area.

We started off at the Queen Victoria Building, or QVB, which is a massive Romanesque style building in the center of the city. It was built in 1898 and was home to the George Street Markets. It provided a business environment for various tradesmen, such as tailors, hairdressers, florists and mercers, who dealt in textiles and fabrics. It also housed a concert hall, which was later turned into a municipal library.

Today, the QVB features four shopping floors, with the upper three having a huge void in the center. You might say they are like three large tracks running around the building at different levels and is similar to the design used in some of the current malls, although this one was built much earlier. Two large clocks are also featured in this open area and hang from the ceiling. The Royal Clock is the largest hanging animated turret clock in the world and the top half was made to resemble a castle in Scotland. Every hour on the hour (from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.) loud trumpeting announces when mechanical figures in its four dioramas come to life. It show scenes from English history and include King John signing the Magna Carta (1215), King Henry VIII surrounded by his wives (1509 – 1547), Queen Elizabeth I knighting Sir Francis Drake on the deck of the Golden Hind (1588), and then the final scene.

Mr. Dennis had made certain we were on the upper level on the hour, so we could witness this for ourselves. The process was announced by the sounds of trumpets and we watched the clock spring into life. It was fascinating and truly remarkable, so we stood transfixed as it moved through its entire sequence.

"Oh, my God!" Sammy shrieked, as he watched the final scene play out. "They just chopped off his head."

"Yes," Mr. Dennis confirmed. "The was the execution of Charles I. He was beheaded in 1649, for treason."

"They killed the king?" Little Ricky followed.

"Yes, they did," Mr. Dennis confessed. "Although other members of the royal family have met the same fate, Charles I is the only monarch to have endured such an end."

I think all the boys were quite impressed by the clock, as well as Mr. Dennis' explanation, so we moved on to see the other massive clock. The Great Australian Clock contains thirty-three scenes from Australian history, as seen by both the Aboriginal and European perspectives. This clock weighs 4 tons (or tonnes if you're an Aussie) and is 10 meters (or metres as they spell it) tall. Both clocks were quite impressive and we walked all the floors, so we could view them from various angles.

"What's that thing moving around the top," Jesse wondered, after seeing a figure circling the upper portion of the clock.

"That is an aboriginal hunter," Mr. Dennis explained. "It continually circles the clock and is there to represent the never-ending passage of time."

"So he'll do that forever?" Jesse followed.

"Or until the clock is no longer functional," Mr. Dennis confirmed.

While we were there, we also saw two other impressive displays, the first featured a life-size figure of Queen Victoria, dressed in historical costume on her coronation day and surrounded by replicas of the British crown jewels of that era.

"Those aren't real, are they?" Graham wondered.

"No, they are merely replicas," Mr. Dennis explained.

"But she looks so young there," Andrew acknowledged. "That's the same lady as in the statue outside. Right?' Mr. Dennis nodded. "But outside she looks so old."

"Yes, Queen Victoria had a very long and glorious reign," Mr. Dennis clarified. "Here, you see her when she first took the throne, when she was eighteen, but she ruled for nearly sixty-four years. The statue you saw out front was made during her later years."

The other display was of a bridal carriage of a Chinese emperor. It is made entirely out of Jade and weighs over two tons. It is also the only such carriage to be found outside of China.

"That certainly doesn't look very practical," Danny observed.

"No, being made of Jade, I'm certain it was only ceremonial," Mr. Dennis agreed.

From the QVB, we went across the street to the Sydney Town Hall Building. It is a sandstone structure, with a large focal tower, and is the oldest building in Australia that is still used for its original purpose. It was built in the 1880's, in the Grand Victorian Second Empire style, and is still home to the Sydney City Council.

Adjacent to it is St. Andrew's Cathedral, which is an Anglican Church and the seat for the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. The Gothic Revival structure was built in 1868, in the traditional cruciform shape, and is also constructed of sandstone. It is also the oldest Cathedral in Australia.

From there, Mr. Dennis took us to see the Sydney Observatory. It sits atop a hill, on which once stood a windmill. It was built in 1874 and served as a nineteenth century astronomical observatory, but is now a working museum. However, the 1874 zoom refractor telescope is still being utilized.

From the observatory, you also get a great view of Sydney Harbor and the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

"Ricky, is that the bridge you climbed," Cole asked.

"That's it and I want all of you to do it too," Ricky announced.

"I don't think we want to try it today, because it's kind of blustery," I responded. "Let's wait until we come back to Sydney later, when it's a nicer day." Ricky was disappointed, but did agree to the suggestion, after I promised we would definitely do it.

From there, the Dennis family took us for a tour of the Sydney Opera House. Construction on it was begun in 1959, but it wasn't completed until 1973. It was designed by a Danish architect and meant to appear as a giant sailing ship, and from certain angels it actually does. Although you can't tell it from a distance, the sails are covered by over a million individual ceramic tiles, which were attached when the covering was still on the ground. The unusual exterior design of this building is often featured in movies and publications about the area, because it is so easily recognizable.

As Ricky discovered when he was an exchange student, it houses not only an Opera Hall and concert hall, but we soon discovered there is much, much more to this amazing structure. The Concert Hall, which seats 2,678, is home to the Sydney Symphony and contains the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ. This organ has over 10,000 pipes and is the largest mechanical tracker organ in the world. The Opera Theatre seats 1,507 and is home to both the Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet.

When we were there, some of the boys tried to get Dion to do something for them. "Come on, Dion," Little Ricky urged, "get up on the stage and sing. I want to see how it sounds in here."

"No, way!" Dion refused. "They'd probably lock me up if I did that."

"Oh, don't be a chicken," Ricky concurred, as his way of supporting his younger, sometimes mirror image of himself.

"Aw, come on babe," Trey chimed in. "You could sing 'Ave Maria' so I can hear you this time."

"Forget it," Dion repeated. "They probably don't allow anyone but professionals up there."

"That's not exactly true, young man," a voice piped up behind us. "I work here and manage what goes on, and I'm willing to let you give it a try, if you're interested." Dion looked doubtful, but the others kept urging him on.

"Come on, babe," Trey repeated. "I'd love to hear you sing that."

"So would we," Danny confirmed. "We were all at college when you did it, so we'd like to hear you too."

"I probably wouldn't do it very well acappella," Dion insisted, "so maybe it would be better if we wait."

"I do play piano and provide the accompaniment for many of the rehearsals," the guy offered. "What song is it? I'll see if I know it."

"It's the 'Ave Maria,'" Trey yelled out, before Dion could say anything.

"Oh, yes. I certainly do know that one, if you want to give it a go," he replied. The boys all started to tease Dion to do it, so hesitantly he strode up on the stage and waited as the man pushed out a grand piano. Once he sat down and began playing, Dion started to relax and belt out the song in his sweet tenor voice.

As Dion was singing, I began to notice heads popping out from various places, as they listened to him. His voice was just as true, crisp and clear as it had been when he sang it at the Christmas concert, and when he finished, everyone began clapping, not just my family.

"Hey, Clive. Is that one of your new soloist," someone shouted.

"I should be so lucky," he replied. "He's just here on a walkabout, but he's really aces." After saying that, he turned back to Dion. "How old are you?"

"I'm seventeen, sir," Dion answered.

"And where have you studied or who have you trained with?" the man named Clive pressed on.

"Uh, just my high school music teacher and I've taken some lessons at the University of Pittsburgh," Dion told him.

"Well, son, don't waste that talent," Clive continued. "God doesn't give gifts like that away very often and there aren't many that could do what you just did. I hope you intend to pursue a career in music and don't squander such a precious talent. You could probably do well singing opera, if you're not opposed to that idea."

"My music teacher told me the same thing," Dion admitted, "but I not sure about that. I am going to study music at college, so maybe I will try opera too. I just don't know yet. I know Dad listens to Luciano Pavarotti a lot, so I've heard it and all, and it is really pretty." Clive turned to face me.

"So you're this young bloke's father?" he asked, and I nodded. "Well, it would take some work, but I think he has a chance to come pretty close to matching Pavarotti. Even if he doesn't, I believe he could have as fine of a career as Jose Carreras or Placido Domingo." I recognized those names as being the other two tenors Pavarotti often performed with and realized what esteemed company this gentleman was placing Dion in.

"We both appreciate the compliment," I acknowledged, "and I will do all I can to encourage his pursuits." Clive nodded, then shook Dion's hand and gave him a few more parting words of encouragement, before he left us. As soon as he was gone, Dion's brothers barraged him with comments.

"That was beautiful! You made me cry," Trey informed him.

"Dion, I wouldn't say this to just anyone," Dustin began, "but that was truly awesome. You sent shivers up and down my spine."

"Dion, that Clive guy was right," Danny added. "You can already sing as well as most guys that are earning a living doing this, so once you get some training, you'll be absolutely unstoppable." Dion was looking a bit embarrassed, because of all of this attention.

"Hey, I know I pull everyone's chain now and again," Ricky interjected, "but there's no way I can make fun of what you just did. I mean you must have seen all of those people coming out here just to hear you sing, and even they were impressed. I'm sure that's not easy to do, since they get to listen to professionals all the time. Dang, Dion, you've got some real talent there."

I think hearing Ricky tell him this helped to convince Dion of their sincerity, even if the others had not. He knew Ricky would have been the first one to tease him, had he not truly felt this way, so he thanked everyone for what they'd said and promised he'd do the best he could with his singing.

Once we left the Opera Theatre, we also learned there are some smaller theaters in this building as well, beginning with the Drama Theatre, which has 544 seats and is used by the Sydney Theatre Company and other groups. There is also the Playhouse, with its 398 seats, the Studio, a flexible area seating up to 400, the Utzon Room, which is a multi-purpose area seating up to 210, and the Forecourt, a flexible open-air venue. The complex also had a recording studio, restaurants, souvenir shops and a few offices. It is a truly amazing place.

Our next stop was to the Sydney Tower, or AMP Tower – as it is also known. It is the tallest freestanding structure in Sydney and the second tallest in Australia. It looms to a height over just over 1,000 feet (305 m). The observation deck is located at 879 feet (268 m) and we got to see some magnificent views from there. Mr. Dennis pointed out many different areas of interest to me, including the Blue Mountains.

"You've definitely got to spend some time in the Blue Mountains," Mr. Dennis urged.

"Yes, it's simply lovely there, even at this time of year," his wife agreed.

"I guess you don't remember my telling you this earlier," I replied, "but we do have some activities scheduled in that area." They both seemed satisfied with my response.

By the time we finished there, the boys were becoming hungry, so I decided we'd eat at one of the revolving restaurants that were also open to the public. We went to the buffet restaurant, because I knew that would better meet the needs of my hungry young men, plus we got to enjoy the spectacular view a little longer as we dined.

"Wow, this is wonderful!" Pat exclaimed, while glancing out the window. "You can see everything from up here, but maybe I appreciate it more than the others, because I remember what it was like when I couldn't see anything." I believe we all reflected back upon the time when Pat had lost his vision, due to an accident, and we suddenly became more appreciative of the view ourselves.

After we returned to ground level, I hustled everyone off to our final activity of the day, which was a sunset/evening cruise of Sydney Harbor. Yes, I know we've spent a lot of time on ships in the past, especially during last summer's vacation, but I was told it was a lovely way to get a different perspective of the city, so I decided to take advantage of it. The city looked beautiful as the sunlight began to fade, but it was even more spectacular once the area lit up after dark. It was a truly unique view of this fascinating place and one that will probably stay with us for a while to come.

As soon as we finished the cruise, we took Mr. Dennis back to pick up his car and then I followed their lead to the cabins we would be staying at. After listening to Peter beg and plead for a while, and after receiving my assurance that it would be fine, the Dennises agreed to allow him to stay with us. Mrs. Dennis said they'd drop off some things for him the next day, so he'd have something else to wear, even though we were planning on using Sunday to rest up and become a little more acclimated to the time change. Despite the fact that we had slept more than a little on the flight over, we were all quite tired by this point, even though it was still quite early in Australia.

The cabins were actually quite nice and spacious, and since we had already decided who was going to share each of the cabins, the boys took their things and went off to clean up and rest, while Jake and I thanked Mr. and Mrs. Dennis for their help.

"It was our pleasure, old chap, and the missus and I would like to thank you for allowing us to show you around Sydney earlier," he countered. "I feel badly that you insisted on paying for everything though. I would say you spent a bloody fortune taking us around to all of those places and it's only your first day in Australia."

I assured him the rest of the trip wouldn't be as costly, but told him it was our pleasure to do it and have them serve as our guides. I thanked them again, and then went into our cabins, after they left for home.

As it turned out, Ricky and Peter were staying with Jake and I, so they could discuss any last minute changes to our schedule and be able to find out what we thought of what they had planned for the day we had just spent together.

"What did you think of Sydney, Pop?" Peter asked me, once we were alone.

"I thought it was absolutely marvelous and you boys did a great job planning our activities," I told him. "It was a little rushed, but not too badly, but I think everyone enjoyed the things we did."

"Yes, but when we go back to Sydney, you've got to climb the bridge with us. You promised! Remember?" Ricky reminded me.

"I do," I confirmed, "and we even changed some things around and did them today instead, so we'd have time to do the bridge climb before we went home. I promise we will do it before we leave." Ricky and Peter both seemed satisfied with my promise, so we began cleaning up and getting ready for bed.

Although Peter wasn't as tired as we were, he still went to bed at the same time, because he wanted to stay on our schedule. I thought that was sweet of him and told him so, and then he replied.

"I should be able to do some things for you too, since you've done so much for me," he explained. "You went and spent a whole lot of money on my parents and me again today, by taking us all those places with you, so I guess I can go to sleep a bit early without griping."

I just smiled at his comment and wished Ricky and him sweet dreams. As they headed off to their room, Jake and I did the same. We had another full day ahead of us tomorrow.

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