Bill W

Castaway Hotel
Next Generation, Book 2

Chapters 8-15

Chapter 8
Family Weekend

Fortunately, Noah's injury wasn't serious and he merely had a slight sprain, along with a bad bruise on his calf. I showed him how to tape up his ankle for practices and Saturday's match, so he was satisfied. We also iced both areas and had him keep his leg elevated to reduce the swelling.

Time flew by at work the next day. When I got home, I checked Noah's ankle to make sure he hadn't done any further damage to his leg. He said I was being overprotective, and maybe I was, but I just wanted to be sure he was ok. He seemed to be a little better today and wanted to talk more about the Haunted House, so I humored him.

"After this weekend there will only be four more weekends that you'll have to get things ready, and I'm a little concerned since you and Elliot barely got it set up in time last year," I reminded him. "I suggest that if you really want to do this that you get together with your friends and talk about the different things we've done in the past and figure out which of those they liked the most. Then you should focus on those items, because there won't be enough time to create any new attractions for this year. There's just so much going on that you won't have a lot of time to get everything ready. Once you've decided on what you want to do, I suggest you go down to the basement and set aside all of the props that we've used in the past that you want to use again this year."

"If we have so much of that stuff already, then what's going to take so long?"

"First of all, you'll probably have to touch up or repair many of those items, but it will also take time to set everything up. This isn't going to happen all by itself and Grandpa Josh isn't here to help this year. That will leave more for you to do, since he used to do a lot of the work to get things ready. You'll probably only get a little done each weekend, since you'll only have Saturday afternoons and Sunday to work on this because of soccer."

"Oh, yeah. We'll probably have practices or games on each of those Saturdays."

"Yes, and that's why you and the others are going to have to work not only quickly, but really hard and smart too."

"We'll help to supervise and do what we can, seeing we've done this a few times in the past," Brandon added, showing he was willing to support Noah too.

"Do you think Grandpa Jake will help us too?"

"I don't know, so you'll have to ask him," I replied. "He's been keeping to himself since he's been back and only having dinner with us. The rest of the time he's been staying cooped up in his bedroom and logged on to Skype so he can chat with Grandpa Josh and Shannon."

"I'll see if he wants to help too, because he did some of it with Elliot and me last year. I'll also tell the others what you've said and maybe we can get together to talk over some of this stuff after our match on Saturday."

"That would be a good idea and then I'll check in with you when we get back Sunday night." Noah seemed pleased that we'd agreed on this much and walked away, but he had a lot of work ahead if he was serious about having the Haunted House again.

"Do you think he'll be able to pull it off?" Brandon asked after Noah was out of earshot.

"He definitely seems determined and really wants to do this for Benny, so I think he'll find a way to make it happen. It sounds as if a group of his soccer teammates want to help, but we should do as much as we can as well, to make sure he reaches his goal in time. There are going to be a few things he might not be able to handle on his own, so he'll need some assistance." Brandon nodded in agreement, so I guess we were formally committed.

Later on Wednesday Elliot called back and wanted to know how many tickets he should buy for the play and concert. "Pick up five tickets for each. That's one for you and four for the rest of us."

"Why? Who else is coming?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"Damn, you always do that to me. Who else is coming, since I don't think Uncle Dion and Uncle Trey will want to leave Joshie and Wyatt behind? I don't think you'd leave Noah alone at the house either, so who else will be with you?"

"As I said, you'll find out."

"Ugh. I hate it when you do this to me."

"We'll see you Saturday and we both love you."

Thursday went by quickly too, and then Brandon and I spent the evening talking to Dion and Trey. We chatted about several topics, including that Noah might want to celebrate with his team if they won on Saturday, so they could give him some of the money I was leaving behind to do that. I also informed them that Noah and his friends wanted to run the Haunted House this year and they might decide to get started on it this weekend. I told Dion and Trey that I tried to steer them away from doing it while we were gone and asked them to wait until Brandon and I were home, but we all knew how impulsive teenagers could be so they might not listen. Dion and Trey said it would be fine if that happened and they'd handle things no matter what came up. They claimed it would also be good experience for when their sons got older.

Friday morning Brandon and I got up about a half-hour earlier than normal so we'd have time to place each of the necessary items into our shaving kits after we used them to get ready for work. Then, we put the kits in our suitcase before taking them downstairs and placing them in the trunk of Brandon's car. Now, all we'd have to do was to pick up the boys and then we'd be able to leave.

As soon as we were first apprised of the date of the Yale Family weekend, Brandon and I asked our staffs to block off the final few appointments for today and all of the appointments for the following day. Not only would this allow us to leave earlier than usual that afternoon so we could pick up the boys as soon as they arrived home from school, but it meant our weekend was free so we could enjoy ourselves. Seeing we'd be leaving before dinner, we'd stop to eat along the way, but even taking time to do that, we should still reach the motel at a reasonable hour.

As soon as I was done with my last patient, the nurse told me to have a good time and drive safely. I thanked her, said goodbye to my entire staff, and then went over to meet up with Brandon. He was ready to leave too, so we headed down to get Wyatt from daycare before going home. Benny and Joshie were waiting out in front when we arrived, so we told them to hop in the backseat while we took Wyatt inside. Dion and Trey followed us when we headed outside again so they could kiss Joshie goodbye and tell him to behave. Observing that he was already buckled in, I think they realized how eager he was about going with us.

"Ok, we're off," I announced after Brandon and I were also buckled in. Then we all waved at Dion, Trey, and Wyatt as we started our journey.

"How long will it be before we get there?" Benny asked almost as soon as we'd started out.

"It would probably be best if you didn't think about that," I suggested.

"And it won't be until after we stop to eat, so try to put it out of your mind until then," Brandon added.

"Will we see Elliot tonight?" Joshie followed. I knew he really liked Elliot and had done a great deal to help Elliot adjust when he first came to live with us. Elliot wasn't communicative at the time and Joshie was able to help Elliot feel comfortable, but they were also together when Elliot first broke his silence. On top of everything else, Joshie enjoyed it when Elliot played the piano for him, especially the 'Peanuts Theme Song'.

"No, we won't be seeing him until tomorrow," I answered and I heard Joshie sigh in response.

Brandon distracted the boys from thinking about the trip by finding a station on the radio that was playing music they wanted to listen to, but he also played games with them. However, they soon started asking, "Are we almost there yet?" every fifteen minutes. They kept this up until I found a fairly nice looking diner where we stopped to eat.

We allowed the boys to select whatever they wanted from the menu, because we felt it would make them more agreeable on the second leg of the trip. We also let them have dessert, so they were both stuffed and in a good mood as we got back into the car.

Brandon took over driving at this point, since we'd agreed to split the duty, so it was my turn to entertain the boys. Luckily, I didn't have to do it for very long, because their full bellies and the hum of the tires on the road soon lulled them into oblivion. I didn't want them to sleep for very long, though, because I didn't want them staying up all night. They were still a little groggy after waking up, but it didn't stop them from asking "Are we there yet?" or "How much longer before we see Elliot?" Luckily, it was only another hour before we pulled into the motel where Brandon had made reservations for us.

It wasn't a fancy place, but it was more than sufficient for the short time we'd be staying there. As soon as we carried our suitcases to the room, the boys asked if they could watch TV for awhile, so we agreed they could. After they'd watched a couple of shows, we had them take their shower and crawl into bed, before Brandon and I did the same.

Saturday morning we all got up, dressed, and found a place to eat breakfast. Although I knew Yale was offering a continental breakfast, the boys were hungry and didn't want to wait, and Brandon and I didn't want to listen to them whine until we fed them. Therefore, I figured we'd do this now, since it would help them stay in a fairly good mood until we met up with Elliot.

After we finished our meal, we hit the road again and drove the last leg to the campus. We had to park in a lot on the outskirts of the campus and take a shuttle the rest of the way. I called Elliot after I'd parked the car to let him know we were about to board the shuttle and asked if he'd meet us when we arrived. He said he would and was smiling broadly as we stepped off the shuttle.

"I'm glad to see you two again. I've really missed you," he announced as he gave Brandon and me a hug. "Oh, and you brought Joshie too," he added, as Joshie ran up to hug Elliot around the waist.

"And a little surprise," I added. "Elliot, this is your new brother, Benny, and Benny this is your big brother, Elliot."

"So this is the surprise," Elliot stated gleefully. "Nice to meet you, Benny, and I'm glad you're part of the family." He then gave Benny a hug too. "How long has he been with you?" he asked as he looked at Brandon and me.

"About three weeks, but we'll fill you in about that later," I replied. "So how do you like being in college?"

"It's been kinda rough and I spend a lot of time studying, but I like it here. It's a really nice campus and I've met some terrific people. I also like my professors, even though the work is really hard."

"I'm glad to hear that," Brandon chipped in.

"Which part? That I like my professors and have met some nice people, or that the work is really hard?" Elliot teased.

"All of the above," Brandon responded.

"I know you had me get tickets for the play, but I'm not sure if Joshie and Benny are going to like it. They're putting on 'The Crucible', and that's some pretty heavy stuff."

"I know, but we'll explain it to them before we go there and then we'll answer their questions afterward, so I think they'll be fine."

"I hope so." He didn't sound so sure, but I knew we'd survive somehow. "Let me show you around the campus then."

Elliot had been correct when he told us the campus was spectacular. There were a wide variety of architectural styles, from stone structures that resembled medieval mansions and cathedrals, to neo-classical buildings with pillars and domes. There were also Federalist style structures, but there was a nice mixture of modern architecture as well.

As we studied the stone buildings, we noticed they contained some exquisite carvings, intriguing sculptures, and menacing gargoyles. They also featured impressive arches, elaborate gates, and beautiful stained glass windows. After we'd had a chance to enjoy the different architectural features, Elliot took us to see the statue of Nathan Hale. We took time to explain to Joshie and Benny about who he was and why there was a statue dedicated to him, although I wasn't sure they even cared.

As we were walking through another of the buildings, Joshie spotted a piano and immediately began teasing Elliot. "Play the 'Peanuts Theme Song' for me."

"Not now, Joshie. The next time I come home I'll play it as many times as you want."

"But I want Benny to hear it now, cuz I know he'll like it too."

"I don't know if I'm allowed to use the piano and I don't want to get in any trouble."

"Please. It won't hurt nothin'."

Joshie kept this up for awhile and Elliot finally gave in. "Ok, but just once."

Happily, both boys followed Elliot over to the piano and he sat down and began playing. Before long, a small crowd had formed around them and when he finished they all clapped, which caused Elliot to blush. "Are you happy now?" Elliot said as he walked away from the piano quickly, with the rest of us trailing behind.

"Thank you, Elliot," Joshie said when he caught up to him.

"Yeah, that was really good and I liked it too," Benny added, which brought a smile to Elliot's face.

"In that case, I'm glad I did it and that you liked it, even if it was kind of embarrassing."

Just before noon, Elliot led us over to where they'd be serving lunch, so we took the boys in and helped them fill up their plates since the meal was served buffet style. Then, we found a table where we could sit at together and began chowing down. While we were eating, I let Joshie and Benny know what to expect when we saw the play, since we'd be going there next.

"The play we'll be attending is about something that happened a short time after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, but well before Massachusetts became a state and part of the United States," I began.

"That was a really long time ago," Benny observed as he looked at me thoughtfully.

"Yes, it was, and this play is about the Salem Witch Trials."

"You mean they took witches to court?" Joshie followed.

"Yes, because the other people thought witches were doing the work of the devil, so they arrested those suspected of being a witch and put them on trial. These trials were seldom fair or even justified, so it was a very dark time in our history."

"So we'll see witches?" Benny asked next, looking excited.

"You'll be seeing actors who will be playing the part of people accused of being witches," Brandon clarified.

"The thing is, you can't talk during the play and you'll have to remain very quiet. After the play is over, we'll explain what you don't understand, then when we get home we'll do something special for you," I added as a bribe.

"Ok, we can do that," Benny agreed.

When it came time to go the theater, we went in and found seats. As the other parents and students sat down around us, it became obvious that Joshie and Benny would have trouble seeing over the people in front of them, so Brandon and I told the boys they could sit on our laps. When Elliot heard that, he made another suggestion.

"Let Benny sit on my lap so I can get to know him better."

We didn't have a problem with this, so we put Elliot between Brandon and me, let Benny sit on his lap, and then Joshie sat on Brandon's lap. He had a tough time deciding whose lap he was going to sit on, seeing he didn't want to hurt either of our feelings, but since Benny was kind of facing toward Brandon it helped to make up Joshie's mind.

The boys were actually very good during the play as they leaned back against Brandon and Elliot's chests and seemed to be watching what was going on. I was both pleased and proud of the way they were behaving, because I'd been worried they were going to get bored and then start acting up. When the play ended, we stayed in our seats and let the other people leave first, and that's when the boys began making comments and asking questions.

"They weren't like the witches in Harry Potter, were they?" Joshie asked.

"No, cuz if they were, they could have used magic and hurt the other people," Benny answered.

"As I said before, the people in Salem merely believed these people were witches and followed the devil. Even if they had been witches, the most they might have been able to do would have been to make some potions or cast simple spells, like curses."

"Then why was everyone so scared of them?" Benny wanted to know.

"Because they thought they were in league with the devil. They believed that if they didn't do something about the witches then it would curse them all and they'd end up in hell."

It was a deep concept, but they seemed to accept it at face value, although they still thought these witches weren't very scary.

As soon as we left the theater, Elliot took us over to the dorm and showed us his room. "It isn't very big and it's kind of crowded," Joshie pointed out.

"Well, I don't spend much time here, just to sleep and maybe to study sometimes," Elliot explained, and that seemed to suffice.

Elliot also introduced us to some of the people from his dorm and they all seemed pretty friendly. We were afraid they might say something after Elliot introduced us as his dads, but each one took it in stride. It made us feel more comfortable being around them from that point on.

Dinner was another buffet style meal, so once again we helped the boys, except this time Elliot took charge of helping Benny. It was obvious he wanted to make a good impression and get off on the right foot with his new brother, which seemed to be working out just fine.

After we finished eating, we walked around for a while, because it was a lovely evening and we had some time to kill before the concert began. Finally, Elliot led us over to where the concert was being held and we settled in and waited for it to start. Each group that performed was very talented and put on a good show, but what was even more important was that the boys seemed to enjoy it too. We heard some classical music, mixed in with a few other pieces, but Joshie was fairly used to these types of things. He'd gone with us a few times to see Dion when he sang opera or performed with a symphony orchestra, so he didn't flinch when the music started. Joshie even told Benny about watching his father perform some of this music too, which seemed to make it acceptable to Benny as well.

When the concert ended, we told Elliot we were going to head back to our motel. "How about I go with you?"

"I suppose it would be alright, if you don't mind sleeping with the younger pair," I agreed.

"I just want to spend some more time with Benny before you guys leave."

"Ok, that's fine with us," Brandon confirmed.

We walked back to Elliot's dorm so he could grab a few things to bring with him, and then he rode back with us on the shuttle and switched to the car. After we reached the motel, Elliot followed us to the room and Brandon told the younger pair they had to get ready to take their shower. As they were stripping down, Elliot asked a question.

"Can I wash them?"

"Actually, they wash each other, but one of us usually sits in to make sure they don't horse around and then fall and get hurt," Brandon answered. "That means they'll have to be extra careful here, since there are no bath mats."

"Let Elliot do that!" Joshie shouted.

"Yeah, I don't care if he sees me with nothin' on, cuz he's my brother so it doesn't matter," Benny added, which made Elliot grin.

"I can even take my shower at the same time and wash both of you, if you want," he offered.

"Yeah, let's do that," Benny agreed.

"Ok, but you'll all need to be very careful then. I don't want anyone to get hurt and ruin our visit," I agreed.

"We will," they concurred in unison.

Brandon and I just sat back and stayed out of the way as the boys got to know each other better. I was a little surprised that Elliot had offered to do this, seeing he'd always been a lot more modest than anyone else in the past. I guess he was willing to make an exception in this case, so he could get to know Benny better.

When the boys came out of the bathroom, we were expecting that Benny would be anxious to tell us about seeing Elliot naked too, but he never brought it up. I guess he must be getting used to seeing naked people, so it was no longer a big deal. They just slipped on clean underwear and got into bed, with one cuddled up against Elliot on either side. Once they were all comfortable, Brandon and I crawled under the sheets on the other bed and cuddled with each other.

The next morning we got up, dressed, and prepared to take Elliot back to the campus. We'd all agreed to take advantage of the continental breakfast this morning so we could spend a little more time together. After we finished eating, the four of us said goodbye to Elliot and got ready to head home.

"I'm glad you're my brother," Benny said as he hugged Elliot.

"And I'm glad you're my bother, too. I'll be coming home for Christmas and we can spend some more time together then, so be good and mind our dads."

"I will," Benny promised.

"Bye, Elliot, and thank you for playing the 'Peanuts Theme Song' for me again," Joshie chimed in.

"You're welcome, but I don't know why you like that song so much."

"Cuz it's our special song. It was the first one you played for me when you came to live with us and it always makes me feel good."

"I forgot it was the first song I ever played for you, so now it's special for me too."

The boys weren't quite as jumpy or anxious on the ride back, at least not until we stopped to have lunch and stretch a bit. When we got back in the car afterward, they were suddenly eager to get home.

"Are we almost there?" they asked about every fifteen minutes, and Brandon or I would respond, "Not quite yet." When we finally were able to tell them, "Soon," they started wiggling in their seats, showing they were in a hurry to get out of the car.

When we pulled into the driveway at home, both boys began to cheer. "That was a long trip and I'm glad it's over," Benny stated as he unhooked his seatbelt.

"Yes, it was a long trip and we won't be making it again until next year."

As soon as they got in the house, Joshie began telling his fathers about the trip. "We stayed at a motel, saw lots of neat buildings, and Elliot played the 'Peanuts Theme Song' for me and Benny."

"So that's all you did?" Trey asked as an evil grin crept across his lips.

"No, I gots to meet my brother and we saw a play about witches, but they weren't like Harry Potter or Voldemort," Benny quickly added. "And we got to listen to music too."

"So did you have a good time?" Dion pressed.

"Yeah, it was fun," Joshie answered.

"'Cept for the long time we were in the car," Benny followed. "That place is a long way from here."

"Yes, it is," I agreed, "but you wouldn't have met Elliot if we hadn't driven there."

"I guess it was ok then, cuz I liked meeting my brother," Benny added shyly.

"How was Noah? Were there any problems?" Brandon followed, as he eyed Trey and Dion.

"No, everything went fine and he was no trouble at all," Dion answered. "He's visiting one of his friends right now and they're talking about the thing you mentioned to us before you left."

"What thing?" Joshie asked, picking up on his father's answer.

"The thing that little boys don't need to know about," Dion told him, which caused Joshie to scowl.

"When will I be old enough for that stuff?"

"Not for a few more years," Trey responded. "I'm supposed to pick Noah up in about a half hour."

"Do you want us to do that instead?"

"I know where the house is, since I dropped him off earlier, so I'll do it. You can ride along with me, if you want."

"I will," Brandon agreed. "That way I'll know which friend and where he lives." Yep, Brandon was a stickler for details.

When Noah returned, he pulled Brandon and me aside once the other boys were off doing something else. "My friends and I have agreed on what we want to do, so later I'll show you the list we made. You might want to help me get some of those things out of the basement, because I didn't get a chance to do it yet. Oh, and we won our match Saturday, so a bunch of us went to have pizza together and then we hung out for awhile too."

"Congratulations, and I'm glad you had a good time," I stated. "We can help with the other stuff if you want, but not until next weekend."

"Thanks, but how are we going to keep it a secret from Benny and Joshie?"

"I guess either Brandon or I can take them to do something else while you're working on it, or maybe Dion and Trey will help us keep them distracted."

"Ok, because I don't want Benny to see it until we're ready to take him through it later."

"Then I guess you won't be able to set up the items outside until the last minute," I pointed out.

"Oh, and Grandpa Jake has agreed to help us string the wire for the ghosts, because we didn't think you'd want us climbing up the ladders or going onto the roof above the family room."

"You're right about that," Brandon agreed. "If Grandpa Jake hadn't offered to do it, then one of us would have."

"We won't be able to attach the ghosts to the wires or put up the other outside decorations until the last weekend," I added. "Then, once everything is ready you can take Benny and Joshie through it to see how they react."

"Ok, that works for me."

Chapter 9
Preparing For Halloween

As we entered October, we all seemed to have a great deal to do and not a lot of time to get it done. Noah let us know that he and some of his teammates wanted to get started on the Haunted House this weekend, so I talked to Brandon, Dion, and Trey. We had to find a way to keep Joshie and Bennie busy – preferably out of the house so they wouldn't see what was going on.

"I heard at school last week that the 4-H Club and a bunch of the local farmers are going to team up next weekend and put on a pumpkin carving workshop," Dion mentioned. "The farmers are bringing in truckloads of pumpkins that parents can buy for their kids to use, and the 4-H club advisors are going to demonstrate the proper way to carve a jack-o-lantern."

"That sounds like it would be fun, but do the kids have to take their own tools?" Brandon asked.

"I believe they'll be allowed to take their own, but I was told the 4-H will also have special pumpkin carving kits for sale that are kid safe. The 4-H will show the children how to hollow out the pumpkin and remove the guts before demonstrating how to carve it. They'll also have patterns the kids can use if they'd rather make a design on the pumpkin instead of just making a face."

"That sounds like it would be fun for them to do and it should take awhile for them to finish," I observed. "Do one of you want to take the boys or do you want one of us to do it?"

"We'll do it and take Wyatt to watch," Trey agreed. "I'm probably as excited about doing it as the boys are."

"As long as you don't mind," I concurred. "Just give us a call before you head home so we can clean up and put things away before you get here."

"Ok, but I was thinking we could drive around the area with the boys for a while afterward to see if anyone has any Halloween decorations up yet. I'm sure someone will."

"That would take even longer and help out even more, so that would be great," Brandon confirmed.

"Ok, that's what we'll do on Saturday and the workshop starts at 1:00. You can tell Noah that his friends can show up a little before then, because we'll probably be leaving about twenty minutes to one."

"Good, and this will work out great," I agreed. "Now all we have to do is figure out something for Sunday."

"How about we take them to the cider mill to see how they make apple cider," Dion offered. "That always takes a while, and the staff usually serves cider and donuts, plus we can buy some cider and candy apples for the boys to bring home with them."

"Do you want us to do that, since you're taking care of them the previous day?" Brandon asked, as Dion and Trey glanced at each other.

"No, we'll do that too, since it's something Wyatt will probably enjoy as well and then we'll have his party after we eat," Dion answered. "When we're done at the cider mill we'll drive around the countryside to check out the leaves as they're changing and maybe even stop to pick a few. Don't worry, we'll call before we head back."

"You guys are being tremendous about this, so thank you very much," I replied gratefully.

"Look, we know Noah talked his friends into doing this for Benny and Joshie's benefit, so it's the least we can do to help them in return," Trey confirmed. "Besides, you two took Joshie with you when you went to see Elliot, and you're going to be busy helping Noah and his friends get everything set up."

"Still, this helps out a great deal, so thank you," I reiterated.

Now that everything was settled, I went to tell Noah what we were going to do to keep Joshie and Benny busy, along with advising him about what time to tell his friends to arrive. I also mentioned that Brandon and I would be here to work with them before taking him down to the basement so we could start checking out the things we had from previous years. While we were doing that, Brandon made sure Benny and Joshie were busy playing games on the PS4.

After pulling out the various props we were going to use, we inspected them to see which ones needed to be touched up. Then, I made a list of the items we were going to need to buy in order to do this, and the list included red, white, gray, brown, and black paint, along with a variety of different size brushes and some putty to patch up a few cracks in the wood. I took Noah with me to pick up the supplies, and when we returned I went to the basement with him and supervised what he was doing, as well as fixing some of the items myself.

"Since we won't be doing anything different this year, we'll just set it up the way it was last year," Noah told me. "I'm doing this mainly for Benny and he won't know it's the same, but I don't think the other kids that show up will mind either."

"Ok, and I'll get the candy, but we won't offer quite as many choices as in the past. I feel badly about that, but we're all too busy to make the special items we'd prepared on our own in previous years."

"That's ok, because most kids are coming to see the Haunted House and are just happy to get something too."

"You're right and you're actually pretty lucky. I hope you know that."

"What do you mean?"

"Because you still have three more weekends to get everything ready and set up. Halloween won't be until the following Friday, so I'd say this worked out pretty well."

"I hope so, and we'll start spreading word around the schools that we're going to have it too, so plenty of other kids will show up." This let me know I should plan on picking up plenty of candy.

"Ok, but since you're going to advertise this in the schools, I'll mention it to Joshie, so he can come up with a way to help keep Benny from finding out."

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think about that."

"So I'll take care of it for you."

The following Saturday Dion and Trey explained to Joshie and Benny what they had planned and both boys were thrilled with the idea. That took care of the first of the issues for the day, so now we just had to wait for Noah and his buddies to show up after they got out of soccer practice.

I had pizzas delivered to the house because I knew they'd work better with full stomachs, and even though they were tired from practice, they got quite a bit done during the time we were together. I also allowed them to start setting things up in the rec room, because I said I'd cover the window on the Dutch door to keep the boys from seeing what was in there. I'd also tell Joshie and Benny that the room was off limits for awhile because I was doing some repair work in there. I didn't think they would question it, since neither of them used the room very often anyway.

When Dion and Trey called later, I asked if they'd hold off for another half hour before coming back so I'd have time to send the other boys home and close things up. They agreed and most of the boys called their parents to pick them up, and then I took those that didn't have a ride. I'd told each of them to show up around the same time the following day and they agreed.

When the others arrived home, Joshie and Benny had to show the rest of us what they'd done. "Wow, you did a great job," I stated after inspecting their pumpkins, which brought a smile to each of their faces.

"I agree. They look super!" Brandon added with a huge grin.

"I couldn't have done that good a job," Noah chimed in. "Come on and I'll help you set them up on the front porch."

I was proud of Noah, because he'd made both boys feel extra special by doing this. Before long they were asking if we had a couple of candles they could use to light inside the jack-o-lanterns when it got dark out. We found two that would work well, since they had a broad base, but we told Noah to stay close to the pumpkins until he blew the candles out, so nothing else caught on fire. I also told him I'd find some battery operated candles they could use after today.

The younger boys were totally hyper when it came time to shower, so Dion and Trey wanted them to take a bath instead. The boys objected and promised they'd be careful, so I said I'd watch them closely to make sure nothing happened. Dion and Trey weren't convinced, but relented anyway, so I made both boys promise to calm down and be very careful. They did as I asked, and it also got them to quiet down enough so they were able to fall asleep afterward as well.

Sunday morning at breakfast, Dion and Trey advised the boys what they had planned for the day. This immediately set the pair off again, so I was glad Dion and Trey were going to be dealing with them. Joshie and Benny were whooping it up and racing about like a couple of restless banshees, so I was glad I'd be working with the older group again.

Shortly after they left the house, the other boys showed up and we quickly got to work. They finished touching up the various tombstones that we'd place outside later, and I told the boys to store them in the rec room with the other things while they touched up Dracula's coffin. Noah and another boy were busy fixing the ghosts so they looked presentable, but those items would also remain inside until the final weekend.

We got a lot done before Dion and Trey returned home, and the other boys had already left prior to Trey calling to tell us they were on their way home. Dion, Trey, and our boys had been gone a lot longer than I'd anticipated, so I figured Joshie and Benny must have really enjoyed themselves. I was about to find out and hear it directly from the horses' mouths, so to speak.

"Did you know they squished a whole bunch of apples to make cider?" Benny asked, barely able to contain his excitement. "We watched as they put the apples on this piece of cloth and then squished them with a big board."

I knew he was talking about the cider press, which used a cloth as a strainer to keep everything but the liquid from getting past it and being collected. It was a very large vice that squeezed the apples to a pulp, extracting all of the liquid contained within. They obviously thought watching it was pretty amazing, since it was the first time they'd seen one in action.

"We got to drink some of the cider too and we ate a donut," Joshie added.

"And then Uncle Dion and Uncle Trey bought us apples on a stick that are covered with some red candy," Benny added.

"They're candy apples and Daddy said we could eat them after dinner, if it's alright with you," Joshie chimed in. How could I say 'no' to that?

"If you eat all of your dinner, then I don't see why you can't have a candy apple too," I agreed.

"We brought some back for Noah and you too," Benny quickly added as Dion and Trey each held up a 4-pack to prove it.

After we finished dinner it was time for Wyatt's birthday party. Trey brought in the cake and lit the candle, a number '3', while Dion was giving all of us hats and noisemakers. Once we were ready, we sang Happy Birthday to Wyatt and Trey helped him blow out the candle. Then he cut the cake while Dion dished out the ice cream. While we were eating, Dion and Trey helped Wyatt open his presents, which were mostly toys, and we sounded our noisemakers while they were doing it. We decided to save the candy apples for the following night, seeing we had cake and ice cream already.

It was late and we'd all had a really long day, so we got the boys ready for bed and tucked them in. Benny was beginning to see that birthdays around here were pretty special, but we explained that Wyatt didn't have as big of a party since he was so young. Benny seemed to accept that and said it was still nice.

We returned to school and work the next day and it was nice to get back to our normal routines again. When we arrived home later we had dinner together, and after we finished the meal, we were each given a candy apple because we're all kids at heart. Dion had to cut up the one for Wyatt so he could enjoy it too, but when we finished Joshie and Benny had red rings around their mouths, along with a smile on their faces. I took them upstairs for their shower and made sure they cleaned that part of their body as well, so they wouldn't go to school looking like clowns.

The rest of the week seemed to fly by, since we were all so busy. Trey and Brandon sat down with Joshie and Benny to help them decide what they wanted to be for Halloween before advising them they would take them shopping for costumes on Saturday afternoon. That was the cover story they were going to use to get the boys out of the house so Noah and his friends could work on the Haunted House.

It was a lot harder for Benny to decide what he wanted to be for Halloween, since he'd been so sheltered and was unfamiliar with many of the potential choices. He told us he'd never gone trick-or-treating before, so this was all new to him, but hearing this just made us want to make the experience extra special for him. Brandon and Trey said they'd give him time to look around and would tell him about the different choices, since it would give us more time to finish up what we were doing. I said that would be fine, even though I wished I could be helping Benny instead.

Before we finished up, Noah asked Brandon and Trey to look for a King Joffrey costume from 'The Game of Thrones', because he wanted to wear it when greeting the kids to the Haunted House. They agreed to do it for him, so hopefully they'd find one in Noah's size, along with helping Benny to pick out something.

By the time they took off on Saturday, Joshie had shown Benny pictures of a whole bunch of different characters he could be for Halloween and explained them to him. I could tell Joshie really wanted to be Batman and hoped Benny would be Superman, but neither of those characters appealed to Benny. Joshie tried to help him understand why they should choose those costumes, but Benny wasn't convinced. It wasn't easy to understand what they represented, since he hadn't seen the movies, TV shows, or animated programs with them in it.

Noah and his crew worked really hard again and got a lot done before the others returned home. As soon as Brandon stopped the car, Joshie and Benny jumped out and came racing inside, eager to show us their costumes. "I wanted to be Batman, but Benny saw these and really liked how they looked, so I decided we'd wear the same thing."

After announcing this, they showed us that they each had a Star Wars Stormtrooper outfit instead. That wasn't a bad choice and we had the DVDs of the movies so Benny could watch them and get a better idea of what the Stormtroopers were.

"Since they were going to be Stormtroopers, I bought a Yoda costume for Wyatt," Trey announced as he held it up. He then handed a package to Noah, and after looking inside Noah shouted with joy.

"Alright, you got it!"

He was soon pulling out a complete Joffrey outfit, with a golden crown that appeared to consist of a bunch of tiny golden antlers that had been fastened to a golden ringlet. There was also what appeared to be a red leather jacket, although this one was made out of vinyl, along with beige tights and a black vinyl item that was intended to look like a pair of riding boots. It was merely a piece of black vinyl that would wrap around his legs and fasten to the tights using Velcro strips. There was also an extension at the bottom that would fit over his shoes and be held in place by a strap that fastened around the arch and another that would secure the piece around the toes. The effect was meant to make it appear as if he was wearing a pair of riding boots, and although the overall costume left a lot to be desired, it made Noah happy, and that's all that mattered.

The boys immediately went up to their rooms to try on their costumes and see how they fit, and then they returned to show us. "You all look really great!" Dion told them, and we all agreed. The boys were pleased and eager to get a chance to wear them out in public.

They all began walking on cloud nine for the rest of the night, so we gave them plenty of space as they admired themselves and each other. I think Joshie and Benny would have worn their costumes to bed if we'd let them, but we made them take their costumes off until Halloween.

On Sunday, Dion set up the DVD so Joshie and Benny could watch the first Star Wars movie while Noah and his group were working on the last of the things they needed to finish. Those boys also decided on who would do what for the haunted house, since there were numerous roles that needed to be filled.

One of them would lay in wait as the monster that appeared near the gravestones, while another would play Dracula laying in his coffin and waiting to pop out to scare the visitors. There would also be a person who'd be chained up to appear as if he were a prisoner being tortured for information. Someone else would be required to operate the truck cab that would come racing toward the visitors after its headlights flashed on and an air horn blasted for effect. Yet another boy would be required to control the ropes attached to the ghosts so he could drag them toward each group as they were being led to the back of the house. In addition to those things, someone else would be required to cue up the ghostly recordings when the visitors first entered the rec room, while others would be required to oversee the basement.

Noah had already set himself up as the official greeter, a job that Grandpa Josh usually played. Once all of the details had been ironed out, the boys agreed to set up the outside displays the following Sunday, before taking Joshie and Benny through the Haunted House for the first time.

During the following week Brandon and I stopped on the way home to get the candy we would need for the trick-or-treaters. It was the last item on our 'to do' list, other than setting up the outdoor decorations. We had agreed to use Dad's old scarecrow outfit and stuff it with hay before placing it in a lawn chair on the porch. We knew some of the kids would think it was actually him again, since he'd scared them doing this before. They'd probably shy away from it, thinking he was going to jump up to scare them again. Now, we could spend our time concentrating on the younger group and making sure they had everything they would need for the big night.

"Are you and Brandon going to stay at the house the whole time on Halloween?" Dion wanted to know.

"Yes, we're going to have to keep an eye on things and take care of handing out the candy so everyone gets his share and no one gets more," I answered. "Why are you asking?"

"Seeing Joshie and Benny will have already gone through the Haunted House by then, Trey and I were thinking about taking them and Wyatt trick-or-treating. We felt we could drive them around to the houses of some of the people we knew, so we wouldn't have to worry about what they were getting."

"That sounds like a great idea, because it's something else Benny has never done before," I agreed. "It will give him a chance to be a kid and experience a little of what he'd missed out on until now." I was glad they'd offered to do this.

When Saturday came, Noah's soccer team had an away game, so Brandon and I took Joshie and Benny with us to watch him play. I'm not sure if the team was more motivated today or if the other team was that bad, but Noah's team won 4-0. He scored a goal and had an assist, so we were glad we had a chance to see him in action, and Joshie and Benny were all over him when he came off the pitch.

"You played great!" Joshie screamed when Noah joined us.

"You were the best one out there," Benny added, showing a little hero worship of his older brother.

"Nah, we just had a better team," Noah responded. "I couldn't have done any of that stuff without the other guys on my team. I'll agree that I had a good game today, but the other guys have all played better than me in our other matches, so we all need each other."

"Yeah, but you were still great out there," Joshie added before we headed toward the car.

Noah rode back on the bus with his team, so we picked him up at the high school before heading home. That had taken up a big chunk of the day, so I was glad we'd completed so much of the Haunted House already and hadn't fallen behind. The boys would be showing up tomorrow to finish up, and then hopefully they'd be ready to take Joshie and Benny through it for a dry run.

Since we needed time to finish up without Joshie and Benny around, Dion and Trey took them to play miniature golf, followed by lunch and a movie. As soon as they left, we went outside to get started.

"Hey, Grandpa Jake must've set up the suspension bridge while we were at our game yesterday," Noah announced when we got to the backyard. The bridge was only a few inches above the ground, but it swayed back and forth and was tricky to walk across, especially when someone else was on it at the same time.

Everything was in place and ready by the time the boys arrived home, but it wasn't dark yet, which would lessen the impact of going through it. For that reason, Noah raced out to meet the younger pair when the car pulled into the driveway and asked Joshie and Benny to go with him to the family room to play video games for awhile.

Joshie and Benny didn't appear enthusiastic about doing this, but since Noah had come outside to ask them specifically, they were willing to give in. Noah even promised to let them have four turns each before he took a turn, which helped to convince them to go along with his idea. I knew it would be about a half hour before it started to get dark, but it would probably be more effective if we waited an hour, so I hoped Noah could distract them until then.

To my surprise and delight, the boys became totally engrossed in their video games and didn't even notice the boys shuffling around outside. This would have been quite obvious if either of them had happened to gaze out the picture window overlooking the backyard, but since they were so absorbed in what they were doing they missed it completely. When it was nearly time to pull this off, I sent Dion and Trey to the family room to watch the younger boys and keep them occupied so Noah could slip out to put on his costume. When Noah was set, I went into the family room and made an announcement.

"Joshie and Benny, will you come outside with me. There's something I want to show you."

"Let me finish my turn first," Benny begged, so I waited until his turn ended. Then they followed me outside, along with Dion, Trey, and Brandon.

Noah was standing out of sight on the porch, but once we had walked outside he stepped down and greeted them. "Welcome, my subjects," he stated in a loud, forceful voice that caused both boys to jump, slightly startled.

"Why is Noah dressed up like that?" Benny immediately wanted to know.

"Yeah, it isn't Halloween yet," Joshie added.

"No, but you have wandered into my kingdom, so you must now pass through my Chamber of Horrors."

"You mean the Haunted House?" Joshie asked, mildly surprised. "Benny, you're going to like this because it's fun."

"First, I have to summon my assistant!" Noah announced. "Igor, come here!"

At that moment, Jake came charging off the porch dressed in the scarecrow costume and growling like a bear. This caused both boys to scream while trying to hide behind us, until Noah spoke to calm them down.

"Igor will not harm you unless I tell him to."

Once they understood it was merely another aspect of the Haunted House, they giggled sheepishly and finally understood the reason behind this little charade. Then, they followed Noah and Igor as they led them around to the back of the house. As soon as they got around the exterior of the family room and started walking along the rear of the house, they spotted the various tombstones that had been placed about. Noah held out the torch he carried, which he'd constructed so there was a flashlight inside that he now used as a pointer. One by one the 'torch' lit up a tombstone and Noah read out the name inscribed upon it.

As soon as Noah had read off the last name, one of the boys jumped off the ground and came charging toward us, groaning loudly. He was dressed completely in black and had been laying off to one side until now, but he was also wearing a horrible looking mask. Once again both boys jumped and screamed, only to start giggling a few seconds later.

"Now you must walk across the bridge to enter my castle," Noah told them next, as he pointed toward the short suspension bridge.

While they were busy looking down and concentrating on their footing, one of the other boys tugged on the ropes attached to the two ghosts and set them into motion. They glided down on the wires that Jake had strung from the roof of the rec room and fastened to the old apple tree on the other side of the bridge. As the apparitions came closer, they brushed against the boys' heads and caused them to jump slightly, while using one of their arms to swat away whatever had just touched their faces. They almost fell off the bridge while doing this, since it began to sway harder due to their sudden movements.

"What the heck was that?" Benny screamed, as the boy guiding the ghosts made an eerie, moaning sound as well. Since he was dressed entirely in black and had on a black ski mask, Joshie and Benny hadn't spotted him.

"Ghosts!" Joshie answered, with a giggle. The boys then looked around until they spotted the dangling sheets, but Noah was now urging them to go inside.

"Move through this portal to my chamber of horrors," he advised them as he opened the door to the rec room.

As the boys entered, the sounds of moaning, screaming, and cries for mercy filled the air. As Noah's 'torch' shown on the casket on the floor, the lid slowly began to open and Dracula sat up to greet them. "Good evening. May I bite your neck and taste your blood?"

Just beyond Dracula was the battered and bloodied form of a tortured man strung up in chains, and next to him on the floor was a collection of scattered bones, including a skull, to show what had happened to the previous victim.

As the boys were encouraged to move forward they had to brush away the spider webs in their path, along with some dangling rubber spiders, as they headed toward the door on the opposite wall. Almost as soon as they passed through it and moved into the narrow hallway on the other side, the next harrowing sight greeted them. It started when a pair of headlights flashed on, followed by the blast of an air horn that split the silence, and then what looked like a snub nose cab from an eighteen wheeler came flying toward them. Benny froze on the spot, totally terrified and unable to comprehend how we got a truck inside the house. I thought he was about to wet his pants, possibly even worse, but that didn't happen.

As the cab came to a stop in front of him and then slowly backed away again as the headlights dimmed before going completely dark, Benny began breathing again. As soon as he recovered, the boys followed Noah down the stairs to the basement. After walking through more spider webs and passing beside a collection of plastic cockroaches on the walls, the boys reached the tanks containing an assortment of snakes, spiders, mice, and bugs. As they passed each one a light came on to highlight what was inside, and this often caused Benny to jump and shy away from the tank when he saw what was inside.

Since this was merely a trial run, there was no candy to be had, but Noah stopped the boys to ask a question. "So what did you think of it, Benny?"

Benny's eyes were still open as wide as they would go as he got ready to respond. "I never saw nuttin like this before," he answered almost breathlessly.

"But how did you like it?" Noah pushed.

"Parts of it was real scary," Benny gasped, as he glanced around to see if something else was coming his way. "I don't like spiders and snakes, so they scared me too, but I thought I was gonna get run over upstairs."

"So did you enjoy it?" Noah pressed.

"It was scary, but it was fun too, cuz it wasn't real," Benny agreed with a slight grin.

"Good. I'll tell my friends we're ready for Friday night now."

"So you're gonna do this again?" Benny wanted to know.

"Yep, cuz other people will be coming here on Halloween. They will go through the Haunted House just like you did, and then we'll give them candy."

"Hey, I didn't get no candy," Benny said with a pout.

"You will on Halloween," Joshie explained, "but not yet." That seemed to appease Benny.

"So when did you do all this?" Benny wanted to know. "I never seen stuff like this before."

"We were working on it while you guys were going other places and doing other things, so you wouldn't see what we were up to."

"You mean when we carved the pumpkins and went to the cider mill?"

"Yep, and while you were playing video games, watching Star Wars movies, and when you were out yesterday."

"So that's why we did all that stuff?"

"Kind of, but I think all our dads wanted you to do it anyway, because they knew you'd enjoy it."

As they were walking away, Joshie was busy filling Benny in about going through the Haunted House in past years, as well as what Halloween was going to be like. Since Benny had never gone trick-or-treating before this was all totally new to him, but I could tell he was really getting pumped about doing it now.

Chapter 10
A Busy November

Halloween had arrived and the Haunted House was proceeding without a hitch, but even better than that, Brandon and I weren't required to stick around. That was because Pop had offered to keep an eye on things for us and hand out the candy instead of wearing the scarecrow costume, as he had during the trial run. He'd opted to stuff it with hay instead and placed it in a chair on the porch as we'd originally planned. That freed us up so we could go with Dion and Trey to take the three youngest boys trick-or-treating.

We loaded everyone into my SUV to do this, and then Dion and Trey told me the places they were planning to go. In addition to stopping at the houses of some of their friends, we also stopped by to see Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary Shay too. They were glad to see us and surprised that we had another boy. They hadn't heard about Benny yet, so after we'd explained the situation to them, Uncle Steve winked and smiled, indicating he saw another adoption appearing on his docket in the near future.

We went to visit Aunt Sally too, and she was also very happy to see us. She also seemed pleased that Benny was fitting in so well and having such a good time. "So... are you happy living in your new home?" she asked, and Benny's face immediately lit up.

"Yep, I got two brothers now and my bestest friend, Joshie. I like my dads too and I've been havin' lots of fun." Aunt Sally had a huge grin on her face after hearing his answer.

On the way home Benny mentioned something else. "I never done this before and I got a whole bunch of candy now."

"Yes, you did really well, but we have a rule you'll have to follow about the candy," Brandon informed him. "You can only eat two pieces of candy a day, because we don't want you to get sick or rot your teeth."

"And it will last longer that way too," Benny added with a toothy grin. It seemed that since he'd never had candy before he wasn't fazed by the restriction.

As we entered the house, Noah filled us in about how things had gone with the Haunted House and claimed his friends had a blast helping out. He told us they'd wanted to stick around to thank us, but we got home too late since we'd spent so much time with the Shays and Aunt Sally. He then explained that his friends said they'd see us at their next soccer match instead, and they'd also informed him that they wanted to help out again next year.

After that night, things started to calm down for awhile, even though Brandon and I knew it was time to start preparing for the next important dates on our calendar. Noah's birthday was in a few days, but we'd already talked it over with him and had asked what he wanted to do, since we weren't sure if he wanted to have a party. He said he didn't want the type of party that he'd had in the past and asked if he could do something different instead. After talking it over, Brandon and I agreed with his proposal, as well as his decision to wait until the following weekend to celebrate instead of the coming weekend. His birthday was on the 4th, which fell on a Tuesday this year, so we planned to get together with his friends on the following Saturday, November 8th. Now, we just had to figure out what he wanted to do.

Noah had a soccer match on the Wednesday before his party, which would be the last one of the season, so we promised to be there to cheer him on. After racing out of our offices after work, we drove directly to the field because Dion had agreed to take the boys and meet us there. The teams were only partway through the first half when we arrived, which surprised us, because they were usually farther along by the time we arrived. As we looked around, Dion got our attention and we joined them in the bleachers.

"The other team arrived late, so you haven't missed much," he explained. "Noah's team scored very early and I think it was because the other team was still a little stiff from the long bus ride."

"Was it Noah who scored?" Brandon inquired.

"No, it was one of his friends. Noah wasn't involved in the goal, but he's still been playing really well."

Noah's team nearly scored again just before the half, but the shot hit the crossbar and ricocheted back onto the field. Then, the other team was able to kick it away as time expired. It was exciting and very close, but they had nothing to show for the effort, although they led 1-0.

Noah spotted us as he was walking off the field with his team and waved in our direction. We waved back as he grabbed a water bottle and sat down with the team to listen to the coach make adjustments for the second half.

When they took the field again, the other team had the ball first, but a bad pass led to it to going over the touchline and out of play, giving Noah's team a throw-in. The ball was tossed to one of the midfielders and he quickly passed it to one of the other boys as he broke toward the goal. Unfortunately, one of the defenders got to the ball first, but it took a bad bounce and glanced off his leg before rolling over the goal line and out of play. The other team's bad break was now about to result in a corner kick for Noah's team.

One of Noah's teammates placed the ball inside the corner arc and prepared to put it in play. Noah lined up near the top of the penalty area, basically in line with the far goalpost, and as the ball went into the air he raced toward the spot where he thought it was going to go. The keeper tried to catch the ball in the air but was screened off by the other bodies and was now badly out of position. This left Noah as the only one with a clear shot at the ball.

He timed it perfectly and leaped into the air to complete his acrobatic header. Just as the ball came into contact with his forehead, Noah jerked his head toward the goal and directed the ball behind the keeper. None of the opposing players were able to stop the ball either and it sailed into the net for the score. Noah's teammates immediately began celebrating and jubilantly raced toward Noah to congratulate him. A loud cheer also went up from the stands, as the crowd showed its approval as well. Noah's team was now leading 2-0.

The other team scored with about two minutes left in regular time, which brought them to within a goal just before the referee signaled two minutes of added time. The other team quickly pulled their keeper forward to add a little extra offence in an attempt to score again, but the tactic backfired. One of Noah's teammates was able to clear the ball downfield and it bounced twice and then rolled into the goal before anyone from the other squad could catch up to it. The game ended with Noah's team winning, 3-1.

Needless to say, Noah's teammates began celebrating as soon as the game ended, along with the fans in the stands. However, before long several members of the team ceased congratulating each other and headed in our direction.

"Hey, we wanted to thank both of you for letting us help with the Haunted House. It was a blast and we hope you'll let us do it again next year," their spokesman stated. Then, the others chimed in their agreement, pumped their fists in the air, and then pointed at us to show they all felt the same way. Brandon and I merely nodded in acknowledgment.

As they were walking away, I thought of something else and shouted out a reply. "By the way, great game!"

"Yes, you all played really well," Brandon added, before they moved off to celebrate some more with their coach.

Noah joined up with us again a short time later, but Dion had already left to go home so he could help Trey with dinner. He had taken Wyatt with him, but Joshie and Benny stayed with us, since they wanted to wait for Noah. They were all chatting excitedly as we loaded into the SUV.

"You played great again," Joshie gushed, extremely proud of Noah.

"Yeah, you were the best one out there," Benny chirped in agreement.

"Thanks, but the team won that game, not just me," Noah replied modestly. That may have been the case, but it certainly didn't lessen either boy's admiration for how he'd played.

The next couple of days went by fairly quickly with us spending a great deal of time talking about Noah's birthday party, which was going to be held on Saturday. Noah had convinced us to take him and some of his friends to play laser tag at a place that wasn't too far away. When I mentioned that Joshie and Benny wanted to go too, Noah agreed it would be all right. He said he didn't think his friends would mind if those two went as well, as long as Joshie and Benny didn't complain if they got 'shot' and were put out of the game. We explained this to the younger pair and they confirmed that they understood, so they were busy thanking Noah while Brandon and I talked to Dion and Trey about letting Joshie join us.

We even asked Dion and Trey to come too, if they wanted, but they said they'd stay home with Wyatt and have things ready when everyone came back to the house for cake and ice cream. Noah hadn't wanted to do that at first, but after his friends told him they thought it would be neat, he finally gave in.

On Saturday, I drove our group to the place where we were going to play laser tag, while Noah's friends were dropped off by their parents. After everyone had arrived, they talked Brandon and me into playing too, so we agreed to do it with a specific purpose in mind. One of us was going to stick with Joshie and the other one with Benny so we could help protect them and keep them from getting put out of the game quite as quickly. The entire group split into two teams and got ready to play, but before we began some of the boys started trash talking and saying how they were going to get the other team out and win the game. Now, the other team was even more determined to make them eat their words.

It actually worked out quite well that Brandon and I were helping the younger pair, because we shot down some of Noah's friends before they got any of us. When the game ended, everyone said they'd had such a great time that they wanted to go again and keep the same teams, so Brandon and I agreed. During this game, it was a little harder to get people out since they had all learned from the first go around and were a little more cautious.

It took considerably longer until one of the teams was declared victorious, but the outcome created a new problem. Each team had now won a game apiece, so the boys wanted to play a third time so they could declare an overall winner. After talking it over, Brandon and I reluctantly agreed, but the game took even longer than the other two before we finally had a winner. The team that lost didn't get upset, although a few of the trash talkers were forced to eat crow and admit they'd been wrong.

A couple of the parents that drove either an SUV or a van had offered to come back when we'd finished and help transport the other boys to our house and we happily accepted their offer. We had their sons call and tell them we were ready as soon as the last game ended, and when we got to the house we hurried inside. Trey met us in the foyer and directed everyone toward the dining room.

"Cake's on the table and Dion and I will bring in the ice cream," he advised Brandon and me.

Once everyone was seated around the table, Brandon lit the '1' and '5' candles on the top of the cake and then we sang Happy Birthday to Noah. His friends were belting it out louder than the rest of us and really got into it, but I think it was just a mild dig at Noah. He merely smiled at their enthusiastic rendition and thanked them after blowing out the candles.

As soon as everyone had cake and ice cream, I handed Noah his gift from Brandon and me. He quickly unwrapped it and then looked at us, grinning sheepishly. We had given him a new Samsung waterproof cell phone because he'd had a slight accident with his old phone and it was no longer usable.

"Thanks," he said without elaborating.

As soon as he'd set his new phone down, Benny handed him another gift. "This one is from Joshie and me, cuz we wanted to get you something from just us."

Noah looked puzzled as he slowly unwrapped the present. It turned out to be two games for the PS4 that would be more to his liking, 'Destiny' and 'Star Wars'. "You can play those when we're not usin' it," Joshie told him.

Noah merely grinned before commenting. "I guess this means you don't want me playing with you any more, but that's ok, and thanks, little brothers."

"Hey, Joshie's not your brother," Benny pointed out.

"Maybe not officially, but we're all still brothers, since we're growing up together in the same house," Noah responded.

"Yeah, I like that!" Benny replied gleefully as he nudged Joshie.

Dion and Trey gave Noah some clothes that they'd seen him admiring when he was at the mall with them. He and his friends all seemed to view the gifts favorably and made several very positive comments about the choices they'd made, so I guess Dion and Trey had shopped wisely.

"Those are really neat, but how did you know that Noah wanted them?" one of Noah's friends asked.

"We saw him checking them out when he went to the mall with us once," Dion replied.

"Damn, I wish my parents were that observant," another boy grumbled. I guess his comment meant his parents didn't always select the clothing he'd been fawning over. I wasn't sure if this was due to their lack of powers of observation or if they just weren't fond of the items he liked, but either way he obviously didn't get what he wanted.

Jake, however, did something we hadn't expected. He bought Noah's gifts from the Walking Dead store. The first was 'The Walking Dead Four Survivor' t-shirt that featured the Ringleader, the Archer, the Samurai, and the Kid. He also bought him 'The Walking Dead Walkers Attack Men's Zip Hoodie' that contained the images of multiple, gruesome-looking zombies on it.

"Thanks, Grandpa Jake. These are really neat," Noah told him.

"They're from Grandpa Josh too, and we decided to get them for you because we knew how much you liked that show."

"Yep, the show is awesome."

Finally, one of Noah's friends spoke up. "We know the kind of stuff you like, but we weren't sure what you already had or might get today. We also weren't sure if you wanted something to wear, listen to, or something to do with sports, so we all chipped in and got you a Visa gift card instead. This way you can get whatever you want.

"Hey, thanks a lot, and maybe we can all go to the mall together sometime and you can help me pick out some things." His friends seemed agreeable to his suggestion, so I guess it was a perfect gift after all.

The boys then went outside to mess around with the soccer and basketballs for a while before their parents showed up to take them home. Noah thanked each of his friends for coming and told each one that he'd see him at school. Eventually, it was just the family left to clean up the mess.

You might say we all had a minor letdown after that, because things were fairly quiet over the next couple of weeks. Not only were the boys slightly depressed that Halloween and the Haunted House was now behind them, but also because the fall sport season had ended and the winter season was just getting underway. They also hadn't been bitten by the Christmas bug yet, so there wasn't a whole lot going on at the house. Brandon, Dion, Trey, and I, however, were thinking ahead to Thanksgiving.

"Damn, Dad isn't going to be here this year and I've never fixed a turkey before," Trey complained when we started talking about Thanksgiving dinner.

"Maybe Pop has," Dion offered.

"No, he doesn't like to cook and lets Dad take care of that," Trey confirmed.

"Then ask Pop about how you can reach Dad on Skype and he can tell you what to do," Brandon offered.

"What if I screw up?" Trey countered, looking worried.

"You won't, but if you do we'll just go out to eat instead," I offered, trying to let him know we'd make the day work no matter what happened.

"Ok, I guess I'll give it a try then," Trey agreed.

When Dion went to give Wyatt his bath, Trey brought up something else to Brandon and me. "Dion's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year, so that's why I was so worried. I don't want to ruin his special day for him."

"Don't worry, you won't," Brandon offered. "I'm sure Dad will be able to tell you all you'll need to know and the meal will come out great. I'll order a cake for you and one of us will pick it up the night before, but you'll have to distract Dion so we can sneak it into the house."

"No problem. I'll take care of that," Trey confirmed. "And thanks for doing this for me. I'd really like to do something different for him this year, maybe with just the two of us, but I don't have any ideas."

"I'll tell you what," Brandon offered, "we'll watch the kids for you if you want to make reservations to take Dion somewhere for the weekend. Both of our offices are closed on Friday and Saturday, so we're free to do that for you."

"Really? That would be great. Now I just have to think of where I can take him, along with making sure Thanksgiving isn't a total flop."

"Who else do you think will be coming for Thanksgiving this year?" I wondered, since it was usually a big day at the house.

"Everyone knows that Dad's in Georgia, so I doubt any of them will be coming home this year," Brandon offered.

"What about Vinnie and Kevin?" Trey followed.

"I can call them and check, but I have a feeling they'll be having dinner with Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary, seeing they're legally Vinnie's parents," I replied. "Aunt Sally even said something about being invited to have Thanksgiving with them when we saw her on Halloween. They all knew Dad wouldn't be here and we probably wouldn't be having a big shindig at the house this year, so I guess they made other plans."

"That works out then and I won't need to fix a huge bird."

"And we'll help with the meal too," Brandon stated. "We can take care of the side dishes, as long as you take care of the turkey and dressing."

"Thanks, and that will help a lot."

"And we can buy frozen pies that we can bake in the oven when we're ready for them, so they'll be fresh," I added.

"Sounds like a plan," Trey agreed.

Now that those things had been agreed to, all we had to do was get the things we would need before then, since it was only a couple of weeks away.

Fortunately, the boys were into watching football games on the weekends, college on Saturday and Pro on Sunday, so it freed us up to do other things. I was a little surprised that Benny had gotten involved in doing it too, but I guess Joshie's enthusiasm had rubbed off on him. Either that or he just liked spending time with Joshie and Noah no matter what they were doing, but either way it gave them time to bond. Sometimes I'd go in to join them, but Brandon, Dion, and Trey weren't into football, so I had all three boys to myself.

Later on Sunday, Brandon got a call from his parents. "Hi, honey, we just wanted to call and see if you'd mind if we came to visit over Thanksgiving," his mother announced. Brandon had called them shortly after Benny had moved in, so they knew about him, and it might be the reason they wanted to visit.

"So you want to come for Thanksgiving and not Christmas, or are you planning to do both?"

"No, we won't be making two trips. We just figured you wouldn't be having everyone there this year, since Josh is in Georgia, so we'd get more time to visit with you, Danny, and the boys if we came for Thanksgiving. Christmas is so hectic there, with everyone home for the holiday, so this will work out better for us. I'll even offer to fix Thanksgiving Dinner if you want, since Josh won't be there to do it this year."

"We were just talking about that and Trey was worried he'd mess dinner up, seeing he'd never fixed a turkey before. I'm sure he'd love to have your help so he can learn for the future."

"And I'd appreciate his help in the kitchen too."

"Oh, you'll have more than just him helping, since you'll technically be our guests."

"I don't mind fixing the meal, but any help will be appreciated."

"And don't worry about picking us up from the airport," his father chimed in. "I'll rent a car and drive there after the plane lands, so you won't have to make two roundtrips to the airport."

After Brandon and I finished speaking with his parents, we called the boys so they could talk to their grandparents too, while we went to tell Trey the good news.

"Whew, that takes a big load off my mind," Trey agreed. "Now I know the day will be perfect for Dion."

We all went to bed feeling really good that night and looking forward to the holiday.

Things went smoothly over the next couple of weeks, and we all went grocery shopping together to make sure we didn't forget anything for the holiday. Each couple made a list and took it with us, scratching each item off as we placed it in the cart. Trey and Dion had a couple of items on their list that we didn't have, but we had a couple they didn't have either, so it all worked out well.

On the day before Thanksgiving we had an unexpected surprise, because when we got home Elliot was there waiting for us. "We didn't know you were going to drive back for Thanksgiving," I mentioned after I'd greeted him and given him a hug.

"I wasn't going to at first, but after meeting Benny I wanted to come home so I could spend some more time with him. I also wanted to see Noah, since he hadn't come with you when you visited me. Besides, I only have two classes on Wednesday and both professors told us they were giving us the day as a special study time and there would be no class. I figured I could study just as well from here, so I left this morning to make sure I could drive the speed limit and still get here by the time you guys got home from work." I knew he'd added that last part because Brandon and I were always warning him about driving too fast.

"Well, we're glad to have you and I'm sure the boys will all be happy to have you home as well," Brandon added.

"Yeah, they all went crazy when they first saw me earlier. I was in the family room playing video games with them before you got here, but they let me take a break so I could come out to say hello."

"Well, that was nice of them," I teased, tongue-in-cheek. "I'm glad they were willing to share you. I'm sorry Grandpa Jake isn't here, but he was leaving directly from work and heading to the airport. He's flying to Atlanta to spend time with Grandpa Josh, Shannon, and Nick."

"Aw, that's too bad because I wanted to see both of my grandpas too."

"They'll both be here for Christmas and I suspect you'll be coming back then too," Brandon advised him.

"Yeah, I will. Ummm, would you mind if I asked a favor?" Elliot stated next.

"I guess that depends on what you have in mind," I answered.

"Joshie and Benny already asked if they could sleep with me tonight, so I told them I'd ask you. Would it be ok if we all slept together?"

"Your bedroom still has the double bed, so I suppose it would be alright," Brandon responded. "Do you want to shower with them again as well?"

"Yeah, I was going to ask you about that next, because they said something about it too."

"Sure, if you don't mind doing it with them, then we don't have any objections either," Brandon confirmed.

"Great. I know it will make Joshie and Benny happy."

"And I have a feeling it makes you happy too," I chimed in.

"Yeah, it makes me feel good that they want to do these things with me, especially since Benny and I just met."

"I have news for you. They all think of you as their big brother now, so set a good example for them," I added.

"Even Joshie?"

"Yes, thanks to you and Noah," Brandon replied. "He called both of them his brothers at his birthday party, and when Benny questioned it, Noah told them they were all brothers, since they were growing up together in the same house. It was kind of like you did when we came to see you for Family Weekend."

"Yeah, I'm glad Noah feels that way too, so I'm going to have to thank him and let him know I agree."

"Oh, and we'll also have a little surprise for you later," Brandon added.

"What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see," Brandon replied, and Elliot merely rolled his eyes knowing it wouldn't do any good pursuing it further.

After dinner, the boys spent the night entertaining each other while the rest of us concentrated on getting things ready for the following day. Brandon's parents showed up just before 8:00 and got to meet Benny.

"Benny, these are my parents, so this is your Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Pat," Brandon introduced them.

"Benny, I'm so pleased to meet you," Brenda said as she pulled him into a hug. She was squeezing him and his face was crushed against her breasts, so we were beginning to wonder if he could breathe. When she released him, Benny had a huge grin on his face, as Pat hugged him next.

"I hope you like being part of our family," Pat added after he'd released Benny too.

"Yeah, I love it here. It's really great and I have four brothers."

"Four brothers?" Brenda quipped before glancing at us.

"Yeah, Elliot, Noah, Joshie, and Wyatt. We all agree we're all brothers now, since we all live here together."

"It's really nice that all of you to feel that way about each other."

"It sure helps us," Brandon added. "They get along great and entertain each other, which frees us up to do what we need to do."

Once the preliminaries were over, Brenda turned to address Trey. "I understand we're going to be working together on tomorrow's dinner."

"Yes, and I can't tell you how relieved l am that you've agreed to do this. I've never prepared a turkey before and was worried that I'd mess up."

"Well, I've fixed plenty, so just watch and learn. I appreciate that you're going to help, though."

"Yeah, I don't mind helping, as long as you do the turkey."

After doing some things in advance, Brenda and Trey told us they were going to turn in early since they'd also be getting up early in the morning to start the turkey. After Brandon took his mother upstairs to show her which bedroom she and Pat would be using, I told Dion he could go upstairs with Trey too, if they wanted to have a little fun before Trey fell asleep. Wyatt was in the family room with the other boys and I told him we'd take care of his sons and get them cleaned up and tuck them in bed. He thanked me for the offer and headed upstairs to join Trey.

After Brandon returned, we sat down with his father in the family room and visited with the boys when they weren't playing video games. Wyatt was shifting between Noah and Elliot's laps as they went to take their turns, but he seemed satisfied watching the others, as long as he was being held.

Pat commented on how well the boys were behaving and getting along, so we explained that this had been working out really well. We also filled him in about Benny's background and he made us promise not to tell this to his wife. He was worried it would upset her and ruin the holiday, so he'd tell her what she needed to know after they got home. We agreed that would probably be best.

A little later I took Wyatt to give him his bath, and then I took him up to his room, helped him put his PJs on, and tucked him in bed. When I came downstairs afterward, we spent some time watching TV with the other boys before sending them to shower and go to bed too.

When Pat was ready to turn in, Brandon showed him to the bedroom he'd be using, and then he and I went to turn in as well. Before we did that, however, we decided to check on the boys first, and that's when we got our next surprise. Noah was in with them as well, with Joshie and Benny cuddled in between the older pair. I guess they were all brothers after all.

Chapter 11
Brenda and Pat

Brenda and Trey were already up and working on dinner by the time the rest of us got up Thanksgiving morning. After the boys came downstairs, Dion and Brandon went to the kitchen and urged the other two to take a break while they fixed breakfast for all of us. Brenda was hesitant about doing this at first, saying she would be happy to fix breakfast, but Brandon insisted and his mother eventually gave in.

Dion and Brandon whipped up French toast, home fries, and bacon, while I set the table. I then carried plates of food in to those seated at the table, as well as pouring glasses of orange juice to go along with their milk or coffee. When everyone else was full, the three of us took our plates into the dining room and sat down to eat too.

"I'm not used to being waited on, and I had no idea Brandon had become so handy in the kitchen," Brenda commented while we were filling our bellies.

"When you have children someone needs to fix the meals and we weren't about to let Danny do it," Brandon joked. "He has a lot of talents, but cooking isn't one of them."

"Ok, I'll admit it," I confessed. "I'm just grateful Brandon and Trey can take care of the cooking, especially since Dad's not here."

"To tell you the truth, I've been very impressed with what Trey has done so far. If he weren't a teacher, he probably could have been a fine chef." Trey blushed from the compliment.

"I learned from Dad, because I used to help him whenever I could. I'm really glad he taught me so much, or we'd have been spending a fortune on take out while he's been in Georgia."

"Yes, knowing how to cook can save you a lot of money," Brenda agreed.

The rest of us took turns helping out and doing what we could in the kitchen, but I stuck to doing dishes and cleaning counters, since my lack of culinary skills had been pointed out. Whenever we weren't helping with the meal, we took turns going into the family room to watch the Macy's Parade with the boys. They seemed happy to spend time with each of us, and by 3:00 we were ready to be called to the table for an early dinner.

We upheld Dad's tradition of going around the table and saying what we were thankful for again. As you'd expect, each of us mentioned that we were glad to have Benny with us this year, in addition to the other things we were grateful for. Now, we were anxious to see what he had to say when it became his turn.

"I'm really glad that you guys let me come here to live," he began. "I like having so many brothers and I like having so many dads and uncles too. I like my new grandparents that I just met and I'm really happy just being here. I hope I never have to go nowhere else."

"You don't have to worry about that, because it's never going to happen," I assured him. "You're our son now and that is never going to change." I don't think I'd ever seen a bigger or brighter smile in my entire life than the one that spread across Benny's face at that moment.

"Good!" he added a split second later.

Pat offered a brief rendering of what he was thankful for, but then Brenda elaborated a little more for both of them. "When we first discovered that Brandon was gay, we wondered if we'd ever become grandparents. Now, we have three handsome, bright, and thoughtful grandsons to dote on. I just want to apologize that we won't be returning for Christmas, since these trips are very hard on us, but we'll be sending your presents to you. We also hope to come back next summer and spend a week with you."

"That would be great!" Noah concurred, beaming.

"Yes, it will be nice to spend more than just a couple of days with you," Elliot added.

"And I can show you how I can swim," Benny chimed in, causing both of his grandparents to giggle.

We had a fantastic meal and the turkey came out great! We all complimented Brenda and Trey on how moist and delicious it was, and they merely smiled and thanked us in return.

"I think I learned enough so I can do it on my own, if I ever need to do this again," Trey informed us.

"I'm sure you'll be fine if you ever have to prepare a turkey," Brenda agreed. "You were a great help and a quick study."

"Just so you guys know, I spoke with Dad on Skype when I thought I was going to have to fix everything and he told me he was going to fix a turkey too. He said the doctor had unwired Shannon's jaw and told him he could eat regular food again. He just warned Shannon to take his time and chew everything carefully so he didn't choke, but he also told him not to eat anything too hard just yet either."

"That's great news and something else to be thankful for," Elliot offered before the rest of us had a chance to respond, but we all agreed wholeheartedly.

After we'd finished eating, everyone headed for the family room, and most of us loosened our belts before we sat down to watch TV. We talked during commercials or if the show wasn't very good, but the boys kept hushing us when 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' came on. We were going to watch the next one with them tomorrow night, and the final one on Saturday, since the network was showing them in order, three nights in a row. We were worried that Brenda wouldn't want to do this with us, but she was fine and sat between Elliot and Noah on the sofa, with Benny on her lap.

Brandon and I thought we'd get time to spend with the boys over the holiday, but we were happy to let them enjoy the time with their grandparents instead. Grandpa Pat was seated in the rocking chair next to Elliot and they talked about his studies and how he liked Yale during the commercials. Joshie and Wyatt were sitting on their fathers' laps, so Brandon and I cuddled with each other. It was one of the few times we'd been able to do this without being interrupted by one of the boys, but we also watched them interacting with Brandon's parents.

When the movie ended, we went out to have leftovers, and then we had cake and ice cream for Dion's birthday. We'd decided to hold off baking the pies until the following day and have them then. Now, it was time to celebrate Dion's 27th birthday on the 27th of the month, which just happened to be Thanksgiving.

After we ate, we began chatting with Brenda and Pat when Pat made an announcement. "I don't know if Brenda has mentioned this, but I just wanted to make sure that you knew we'll be leaving Saturday after lunch."

"Why so soon?" Brandon challenged.

"It's because I have to work on Monday and I need time to do some other things before that happens. This way I'll have Sunday to finish everything and then be able to rest before the work week starts."

"I wish you could have stayed another day, because I won't be leaving until Sunday," Elliot chimed in.

"I wish we could too, but this is better for me. I'm just glad we got to spend today with you, but we'll be here all day tomorrow as well."

"Maybe we could do something special then?" Noah suggested.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Benny agreed.

"I'll tell you what. Rather than shipping your presents to you for Christmas, what if we take you boys shopping tomorrow and we can pick out your gifts together."

"We'd rather just spend the time with you," Elliot countered. Pat and Brenda looked at each other as if communicating silently.

"What if we leave to do our shopping early, and then we can take you to have lunch and see a movie afterward?"

"Yeah, the new Hunger Games movie just came out," Noah suggested, looking hopeful. "I've seen the other two and have been waiting for this one to get here."

"I'm not sure that's suitable for Benny," Brenda said, as she looked in our direction. "What do you two think?"

"He's watched the Lord of the Rings with us and that's pretty violent too, so I doubt it will be any worse," Brandon replied.

"I suppose you're right, so ok, we can do that then," she agreed.

"Can Joshie go with us?" Benny immediately asked.

"Sure, if his fathers don't mind," she confirmed as she looked toward Dion and Trey.

"We don't mind if he goes, but that means you'll be taking him with you while you're shopping and eating lunch too, unless you plan on coming back in between," Dion pointed out.

"No, we won't be coming back and his being with us will work out perfectly," Brenda stated. "We planned on buying presents for him and Wyatt too, so this way he can help us do that."

"You don't have to buy them anything," Trey objected.

"I know we don't HAVE to, but we want to. Our grandsons think of your sons like brothers, so that makes them our grandsons too," she replied with a smug grin.

"Ok, but I hope you know what you're getting into," Trey relented.

When we sent the boys to take their showers, we got our next surprise. Before they headed upstairs, we were discretely told that Noah was going to shower with Joshie tonight, while Elliot showered with Benny, and then they were going to switch partners tomorrow night. We didn't have a problem with this, but suggested they keep the information to themselves when we gave them our blessing and sent them on their way. We just weren't sure how Brenda and Pat might react if they found out the younger boys were showering with the older ones.

Before they headed up to the bathrooms, they also informed us that they were all going to sleep together again, so I guess they were enjoying spending time with each other as well. This was something else we were grateful for, and I guess the big gap in ages had some hidden advantages, in that the older pair took care of the younger ones for us at times.

Before the rest of us turned in, Trey told Dion about going away for the rest of the weekend, so they hurried upstairs to pack. They'd be taking off early in the morning and leaving us with the boys, although it seemed Joshie would be spending time with Brenda and Pat and we'd only have to worry about Wyatt.

Dion and Trey left as soon as it was light out on Friday morning, so they'd have as much time alone as possible. Wyatt must have heard his fathers when they were leaving and began calling for them, so Brandon went over to get him and put him in bed with us until we were ready to get up too. After we'd explained that his fathers were going on a trip he settled down. He also seemed to enjoy being with us, seeing it was a novelty for him, so he didn't put up a fuss and gave us a few more precious moments to relax. However, his patience finally came to an abrupt end.

"Unka Danny can we get up now?"

"Sure, champ," I agreed as we got out of bed and took him downstairs.

Brandon's parents were already in the living room when we reached the foyer, so Brenda and Brandon fixed pancakes for all of us. After he'd made one for Wyatt, I buttered it, added syrup, and cut it up for him while they were busy making enough for the rest of us. After the five of us had finished eating, we took Wyatt into the family room to watch Nickelodeon, since the other boys weren't up yet. When they came down a short time later, they wandered into the family room and asked a question.

"Are you fixin' us somethin' to eat or do we have to have cereal today?" Noah asked, looking at us hopefully.

"We've made pancake batter and were just waiting for you boys to get up," Brandon answered. "Are all of you ok with pancakes this morning?"

"Yes!" was the answer he got in reply.

"I'll take care of them dear," his mother offered as she was already getting up.

"We'll do it together, because they eat a lot," Brandon replied as they headed out to the kitchen to get started. I followed to see what I could do to help out.

Brenda was flipping pancakes as fast as she could, while Brandon was frying up the sausages. As soon as the pancakes were ready, she would pile them onto a plate and Brandon would add a couple of sausage links before I carried it into the dining room. I then placed the plates, one at a time, in front of each of the boys, but then I had to make several more trips when they were ready for refills. They each had a second pancake, and Elliot and Noah had a third too, because they still weren't full. That's when the younger pair went in to join Wyatt and Grandpa Pat in the family room, while Elliot and Noah finished eating and chatted with us.

"I like it when you and Grandpa Pat come to visit," Noah told his grandmother.

"We enjoy spending time with you boys too. It will be fun spending most of the day with all of you."

"Danny and I won't be going, but Danny said Dad could use the SUV so you'll all fit into one vehicle."

"Why aren't you going with us?" his mother asked. "We want to get your presents too."

"That's not necessary, but we'll be busy taking care of Wyatt. We agreed to do that so his fathers could spend the weekend alone to celebrate Dion's birthday in private," Brandon countered, causing his mother to blush slightly.

"That was very thoughtful of you, but you can bring him along so we can do this together."

"First of all, he's too young to see the Hunger Games movie and he usually takes a nap before lunch."

"I keep forgetting how much younger he is. Yes, I guess that would make it difficult, but we wish you were joining us."

"We do too, but it's just not possible."

"Then we'll see if we can find something for you too, or we'll ship your presents as we'd originally planned."

"Just have a good time with the boys and I'll warn them all to behave before you leave." That comment got scowls from Noah and Elliot.

"You don't need to warn us," Noah stated defiantly.

"Well, remind you then," Brandon replied, not giving in.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Brenda interjected. "Your father and I are quite capable of handling anything that comes up."

"I hope you're right," Brandon added at he looked at her and grinned.

We eventually told Noah and Elliot to get Joshie and Benny and take them upstairs to change so they'd be ready to go with their grandparents. As soon as they told the younger boys, they all raced upstairs, at breakneck speed, since they didn't want to get left behind.

When they came downstairs again, they were looking sharp and ready to go. I gave Pat the keys to the SUV and they all went out and loaded into it, so Brandon and I went outside and waved at them as they drove away.

After we went back to the family room where Wyatt was watching cartoons on TV, he looked up and asked a question.

"Where Joshie n Ben-ee?" It was obvious he wasn't happy that they took off without him.

"They're busy doing something, but you'll see them again later," I replied as Brandon and I sat down to keep him company.

When he was tired of watching television, Brandon and I entertained him by playing games. First, we tossed his ball back and forth for a while, and then we played with his cars too, as well as with his stuffed animals. That distracted him until it was time to put him down for his nap.

While Wyatt was sleeping, Brandon and I set about doing our chores, since our normal schedule was all messed up by the holiday and having company. We knew the boys would want us to spend some time with them tomorrow, after Brenda and Pat left and before Elliot took off for Yale, so this was our best chance to get these things accomplished.

I had finished four loads of laundry and folded them by the time the rest of them got back, and Brandon had finished sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting the downstairs. Wyatt had awakened during that time, but he was happy watching the Disney channel while we finished working. After everyone was inside, the boys were eager to show us what their grandparents had bought them. While they were doing that, Brenda gave Wyatt a couple of new toys, which thrilled him and made him forget about his earlier disappointment.

Once the boys were finished showing us what they'd gotten, Brenda turned toward Danny and me. "I'm sorry but we didn't have time to pick up anything for you, but we'll send your gifts later."

"That's not necessary and you've done more than enough already," I replied. "From now on just buy for the boys and don't worry about us."

"I don't think we can do that," she mumbled, looking slightly upset.

That didn't last for long, because Pat made a suggestion. "We don't want anyone to have to cook today, so we're going to take you out to eat tonight. I saw an Outback Steak House during our outing and I love that place, so how about allowing us to take you all there?"

"That's not going to be cheap, Dad," Brandon immediately countered.

"I know, but it's something your mother and I want to do. Just get ready and we'll head out. I'm sure we'll also have to take two vehicles this time, so I'll drive our rental car behind you, since Elliot was my co-pilot during the earlier trip."

"If you're sure you want to do this, just give us a chance to freshen up and change. Elliot, while we're doing that, you can Google the Outback Steakhouse and put us on their 'wait list' to secure a reservation for 10 people. Make it for an hour from now to help us cope with the holiday crowd and make it easier on the younger ones."

While Brandon and I were changing and getting Wyatt ready, the rest of them went to the family room to relax and see what was on TV until we were done. We tried to hurry, but we wanted to look good too, since everyone else did, plus we had to wash Wyatt quickly and change him as well. As soon as we finished, we headed to the family room to let them know we were ready. After putting on our coats, we all went outside.

"I'm going to ride with Grandpa Pat and Grandma Brenda," Elliot announced as we were heading toward the vehicles.

"I'll ride with them too," Noah quickly added. This seemed to please their grandparents, if we were to judge by the smiles on their faces.

"Joshie and me will ride back with them then," Benny offered, suddenly feeling slighted.

"Ok, that will work," Pat replied, and then we loaded up and set out for the restaurant.

Besides ordering our meals, we also got two Blooming Onions to share. Benny and Joshie weren't sure about trying them, but once they saw all of us enjoying these appetizers, they gave them a try too. They quickly found out they liked them, so Wyatt was the only one who didn't have any. It didn't bother him, however, as he colored on his placemat instead.

Since it was a steak house, that's what we all had, but Brandon and I ordered for Benny, since he'd never had anything like this before. When his order came, Brandon cut it up for him too and told him to chew everything well, so he didn't choke.

"Hey, this is really good," Benny announced after taking his first couple of bites.

"We thought you'd enjoy it," Brandon told him.

"Thanks, Grandpa Pat and Grandma Brenda. I really like this a lot."

"You're very welcome, sweetie," his grandmother replied, smiling broadly at the same time, as the others thanked them as well.

While we were eating, the boys told us about seeing "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1." The older boys had seen the previous two movies, and we even had them on DVD at home, so I was fairly certain that Joshie and Benny would want to watch those too. It seemed like a no-brainer after listening to them carry on about the current installment.

Pat and Brenda wanted us to order desserts too, but we were all stuffed and I reminded them that we still had pies at home which we hadn't eaten on Thursday, along with the rest of Dion's cake and ice cream. That was enough to get them to agree to have dessert and coffee at home, so we thanked them for the fine meal and left to return to the house.

Joshie and Benny didn't let any of us forget that they were riding back with Pat and Brenda, even though we hadn't forgotten about it, even without their reminder.

Once we got to the house, we rested for a while first while Brandon put the pies in the oven. After they were ready and had cooled down enough to eat, we had our dessert. The adults basically opted for the pies, while the boys chose to have more cake and ice cream.

After we finished, most of us went to the family room to watch the second part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy on TV, while Brandon took Wyatt to give him a bath. Brenda kissed Wyatt before they left and wished him pleasant dreams.

When the movie ended, we sent the rest of the boys upstairs to shower and get ready for bed and we each said goodnight to them before they took off. Brenda kissed each of them too, before they headed up the stairs en masse.

"They're all such wonderful boys," Brenda gushed once they were out of earshot. "I absolutely enjoyed spending the day with them because they were all so well behaved."

"And they were very considerate too," Pat added. "When we suggested some items they might like, a couple of times they told us to pick something else, because those things were too expensive, but we insisted."

"We wondered who had suggested some of those items you bought for them, because we knew they weren't cheap," I agreed. "I'm glad they didn't con you into anything."

"No, they were perfect gentlemen," Brenda added. "And Joshie was wonderful too, so we are definitely going to treat him and Wyatt like our grandsons too, providing Dion and Trey don't mind."

"I'm sure they won't and they'll feel honored that you're doing it," Brandon confirmed, before his parents said goodnight and headed up to bed.

We followed them up a few minutes later, although Brandon and I had made an agreement first. Since they had done so much for us and the boys, including buying them gifts and taking us all out to dinner, we were going to set the alarm to get up earlier than normal. We were doing this so we could prepare a big breakfast for them before they left.

The next morning, we got up as soon as the alarm went off and headed downstairs to get things started. Brandon prepared everything to make his version of Egg McMuffins, but he also cracked a dozen eggs and mixed it with milk, for those that preferred scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast instead. After I got the link sausages and Canadian bacon out of the freezer, I cut up potatoes and a large onion so Brandon could fry up some home fries too. Then as each person came downstairs, we asked what they wanted and then prepared their breakfast for them.

Brenda and Pat came down first, so we fixed their meals and ate with them before the boys got up. "This is wonderful being pampered like this from time to time. If only I could teach your father how to do this, but I'm afraid he's like Danny when it comes to cooking."

"But I take you out for breakfast, rather than fix it myself," he offered in defense.

"Yes, you do, and I really appreciate that too. I didn't mean that you never did anything for me."

"Ok, I was just making sure," he responded with a wink.

Brandon went up to get Wyatt before they finished, and then the rest of the boys came down in a group about a half hour later, seeing they'd all slept with each other again. Once they had chowed down, we went to the living room to sit and talk with Pat, while Brenda went to the family room with the boys.

"When would be a good time for us to come visit you next summer?" Pat asked Brandon and me as soon as we were alone.

"Anytime would be good, as long as you give Brandon and me enough notice so we don't schedule appointments during that time. We'll also need to find someone to cover any emergencies while you're here."

"So is any specific time better for you?" I grabbed a calendar to check a few things.

"Any time would be fine, but Elliot's birthday is June 29th. That's a Monday, so we'll probably have his party the Saturday before, if you want to be here for that. The Fourth of July is a good time too, and that's on a Saturday, so you can come and celebrate with us if you want, or you can come for Dad's birthday party. He's turning 65 this year and his birthday is August 18th, which is a Tuesday, so we'll probably have the party the weekend before. Otherwise, you can come anytime in between."

"That gives me something to think about, so I'll talk it over with Brenda to see if she likes any of those choices better than the others. Then we'll call and let you know what we decide."

"That will work fine, but just give us time to rearrange our schedules, no matter which week works out best for you."

"We will."

We chatted about a few other things after that, before Pat went in to spend some more time with the boys. He felt badly that they had to leave so early, since they were flying out later, so he wanted to see what else he could do with them while he was here. I'm not sure he was prepared for what Benny and Joshie suggested, because they wanted Pat to play video games with them. He was a good sport and agreed to give it a try, although he wasn't having a great deal of success.

"That's alright, Grandpa Pat. I wasn't very good at first either. You'll get better if you keep playing, though," Benny informed him. Pat smiled before he replied.

"Ok, but I don't have much time to do that. We'll be leaving pretty soon."

"You can play more when you come back the next time," Benny offered, unfazed by his grandfather's comment.

Pat played at least one video game with each of the other boys before he told them his hands were beginning to cramp up and he had to quit.

"I'm not sure I would have survived if I'd been born into this generation," he complained when he sat down with the rest of us. "I'm not very good with these electronic devices and merely felt good when I conquered the computer."

"Yes, these boys develop an aptitude for these things and can make Danny and I look like beginners too," Brandon replied.

"Better you than us," his father concluded.

Just before noon, Brenda and Pat went upstairs to pack their suitcase and prepared to leave. When Pat carried it downstairs, he and Brenda went to say their final goodbyes to the boys.

"We love each of you and we'll see you again in the summer," Brenda stated after saying goodbye to each one individually and giving each of them a kiss. Pat had given each boy a hug as he said goodbye to them.

"We'll miss you and thanks for the presents and taking us out," they all managed to respond, with slight variations on how it was worded. It all meant the same thing, however.

I carried the suitcase out to the car for them, and then we all waved as they backed out of the driveway and drove off. It had been a short, but enjoyable visit, and I was certain we were all looking forward to their next visit.

Chapter 12
Fun and Games

As soon as Brenda and Pat left, Elliot came over to ask us a question. "Do you have anything special planned for the rest of today or tomorrow?"

"No, we don't have anything definite lined up, except that we'd promised Joshie and Benny that we'd watch the last of the Lord of the Rings movies tonight."

"That's cool, but what if I wanted to take everyone out to do something else today?"

"I suppose that would be alright too, as long as the others agree they'd like to do it as well."

"Ok. I was thinking I'd pay to have us all go to the trampoline place after lunch and then tomorrow I wanted to take everyone out to dinner. It will be my way of welcoming Benny to the family."

"I thought you were leaving tomorrow," I countered, looking at him with a skeptical stare.

"I was, but now I'll leave Monday morning instead. I don't have a class until 3:00, so I'll have plenty of time to drive back, as long as I don't make any stops, except to get gas. I'll even be able to drive the speed limit too." He gave me a satisfied look after adding that last remark.

"I guess it would be alright then, and it's very nice that you want to do these things in Benny's honor, so we'll make sure he knows that," Brandon responded. "However, I think you'd better wait an hour or more after they finish lunch before we go to the trampoline place, unless you don't mind if the boys barf all over everything."

"Yeah, we can wait, because that's not something I want to see," he replied with a grin.

"You can ask the boys if they want to go while we're eating lunch," I suggested. "That way they won't be hyper all morning while they're waiting to do this."

"Ok, I can do that too."

The boys pretty much entertained themselves for most of the morning, as the younger ones watched Nickelodeon and the Disney channel, while Noah caught Elliot up on everything he'd missed out on since leaving for college. This included how he was doing at the high school, since it was his first year there, as well as filling him in about his soccer season and how his friends helped with the Haunted House. We didn't see any of the boys again until we called everyone to the dining room to eat, which was merely grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. During the meal, we let Elliot tell them what he wanted to do later.

"How would you guys like to go play on some trampolines in an hour or so?" Joshie and Noah shouted 'yes' immediately, but Benny had a question.

"What's a tampalean?"

"A trampoline is something you can bounce up and down on and they're a lot of fun," Joshie answered. "If you're brave enough, you can jump really high too."

"So you think I'll like doing it?"

"Yeah, you'll love it," Noah chimed in.

"Ok, then I want to go too," Benny agreed.

"I'll drive and you can all ride with me," Elliot offered next, but I had to point something out.

"We won't all fit in your car, so if you want to do this then we'll have to take the SUV."

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think about that."

Now that everything had been agreed to, the boys chatted with each other as they planned what they were going to do once we got there since Noah and Joshie had been there before. They were so worked up and hyper when it was time to leave that I thought about tying them to the roof rack, rather than having them buckled in their seats. I resisted the urge, though, but I regretted my decision later because they were very rowdy and boisterous. They also kept bumping into the front seats with their legs while I was driving, which was annoying, and then, they all let out a loud cheer when I pulled into the parking lot.

Once Brandon and I got them inside, we started off just jumping on the regular trampolines, as Benny and Wyatt got a feel for what they were like. Brandon and I were instructing Wyatt while still letting him do it on his own, but I was also keeping an eye on Joshie and Benny to see how they were doing. They were on another trampoline with Elliot and Noah, and Joshie was doing fine because he'd done this before, while Benny was just finding his sea legs, so to speak. As he was gaining confidence, he also seemed to be getting bolder and jumping higher, so I merely yelled over and told Elliot not to let him get too carried away.

After we'd been there for a while, the four boys came over to ask a question. "Can we try the trampolines in the other area that have basketball hoops at either end?" Noah wanted to know. "We want to see if we can dunk on them."

"That might be alright for you and Elliot, but I'm not sure Joshie and Benny will be able to do that."

"Don't worry, Noah and I will help them so they'll be able to dunk too," Elliot assured us.

"Ok, but just be careful and don't get reckless."

"We won't," they agreed before taking off.

As soon as they'd disappeared, Brandon and I got on either side of Wyatt, grabbed hold of one of his hands, and then we began to jump, taking Wyatt with us as we went higher in the air. Wyatt was thrilled doing it this way, because he was able to go even higher with our help, so he didn't want to stop when Brandon and I were ready to call it quits. After taking a short break to catch our breath, we started jumping with Wyatt again, much to his delight. We did this until Wyatt agreed to stop so we could go over to the other area to see how the rest of the boys were doing.

As we peeked in, we saw Elliot and Noah each bouncing on the trampoline and dunking a basketball. Then, we watched as they jumped with Joshie and Benny while holding on to the younger boy's waist and then lifting him so he could dunk too. The younger pair were thrilled and proud of their accomplishment, and it showed on their faces. In fact, Wyatt noticed this too and began teasing to try it as well.

"Pwease, Unka Danny, can I do dat too?"

I looked over at Brandon to get his input. "You'll have to take him, because I'm afraid I'd drop him or cause him to hit his head on the rim."

"Ok, I'll do it then. Come on, Wyatt, and Uncle Danny will help you do this just like your brothers."

He didn't seem to notice my use of the plural noun and instead merely focused on the fact that I had agreed to let him try this. When the other four saw what we were up to, they stopped and cheered Wyatt on.

"You can do it," Joshie shouted.

"Put the ball in the basket," Benny added.

"Do it like a big boy," Noah said encouragingly.

"Yeah, show us you can do it just like Joshie did," Elliot urged as I jumped with Noah until we were high enough for him to toss the ball through the hoop. He was ecstatic when it went in and turned his head proudly to look at the others.

"Way to go," Joshie screamed as the ball dropped through the net.

"You did it better than me," Benny added, smiling.

After a while the boys got tired, so we quit and headed home. They were still pumped up about what they'd just done, but I knew they'd calm down quickly after we got back since they were exhausted. In fact, it worked out just like I'd expected and they went in to relax and play video games until dinnertime. We were told later that Joshie and Benny would play a couple of games against each other first, and then they'd allow Elliot and Noah to play one of Noah's new games against each other. That process seemed to be working out well, so Brandon and I were pleased that they'd found a way to enjoy the PS4 without arguing.

After we finished eating, we told the boys we wanted them to take their showers before we watched the movie, so this time Elliot showered with Joshie, while Noah did the same with Benny. Brandon gave Wyatt his bath in the downstairs bathroom at the same time, which once again made us thankful that Dad had installed multiple hot water heaters for this purpose.

After the boys were in their pajamas, Brandon and I went with them to watch the final Lord of the Rings movie, 'The Return of the King'. Joshie sat on Elliot's lap this time, while Benny sat on Noah's lap, and Wyatt moved back and forth between Brandon's lap and mine. They were all very cuddly at first, but then they really got into the movie. The three little ones were extremely impressed with the elephant like creatures in the big battle, but that wasn't enough to keep them from falling asleep before the film ended. I guess their time on the trampolines and stuffing themselves at dinner were more than enough to make them very drowsy.

As soon as I turned off the TV, Brandon carried Wyatt upstairs and Elliot did the same with Joshie, while I followed behind with Benny. Since they were already in their pajamas, we simply put them in the same bed with Noah and Elliot again, while we let Wyatt sleep with us.

Brandon, Wyatt, and I awakened the next morning before the other boys, and Brandon had gone downstairs to start breakfast and feed Wyatt while I was shaving. I was only half finished when I heard a commotion emanating from the bedroom the boys were using.

"What the heck?" I heard Benny scream. "Elliot's head just rolled off the pillow and fell on the floor!" he continued, although what he'd said made no sense at all.

I rushed into the bedroom and saw Benny on his knees beside Elliot, who was lying on his side, and Benny appeared to be in a mild state of shock. Behind him were Joshie and Noah, who looked as though they'd been awakened by the commotion.

"What's going on in here?" I demanded as I walked into the room. Benny looked at me, his eyes wide.

"I don't know h-how it happened, but I b-bumped into Elliot and I think I knocked his h-head off. It f-fell on the floor and I h-heard it bounce!" Benny stammered, while trying to make sense of what just happened. Suddenly the other pair burst out laughing.

"Elliot must have played a prank on you!" Noah announced in between giggles.

"What's a plank?" Benny countered.

"A PRANK, not a plank," Noah replied. "It's when someone plays a joke on you."

"But I heard his h-head bounce on the f-floor!" Benny insisted, as he pointed toward an area of the floor on the other side of Elliot's motionless form.

I walked over to investigate and spotted what Benny had heard. I picked it up and showed it to him. It was a very large doll's head that Elliot must have placed on his pillow so it would roll off when Benny started moving around.

"This is what you heard," I announced as I showed it to him. "I think it was Elliot's way of welcoming you into the family."

I then reached down, grabbed the blankets, and pulled them off of Elliot's body. His head was still bent against his chest so Benny would think he'd actually been decapitated, and when Benny saw Elliot his mouth dropped open.

"Hey! That was mean!" he shouted. "I thought I hurt you."

"No, it was FUNNY," Elliot corrected as he rolled over to face Benny. "I just wanted to see how you'd react."

"I don't like pranks," Benny stated defiantly. "I'll get even with you for that."

"Oh, no! You've just created another Ricky," Noah moaned.

"Who's Ricky?" Benny asked innocently.

"He's one of your uncles that you haven't met yet," I informed him. "He has a reputation for pulling pranks on people. In fact, I remember a Christmas a couple of years ago where Ricky and Elliot spent much of the holiday pulling pranks on each other."

Benny's mouth dropped open and he stared at Elliot, so Elliot felt he had to defend himself. "Hey, Ricky started it and I was only getting even."

"Then I guess you'll understand when Benny gets even with you," I added, flashing him an evil grin. "He may require a little assistance, though, since he's new to the wonderful world of pranks."

"Don't you dare. I swear I'll get even with anyone who helps him," Elliot roared.

"Then be prepared to get even with everyone in the house," I responded, "because I'm sure they'll all want to help Benny after learning about the trick you just played on him."

"It was only harmless fun. I didn't do anything mean," Elliot insisted.

"Nice try, but I don't think anyone else will agree with you," I stated. "Besides, whatever we do to you will just be harmless fun too. Just out of curiosity, though, where did that doll's head come from? I've never seen it before."

"I drove around to some garage sales with one of the guys in my dorm, because he wanted a ride to find a small table for his room. I spotted the head at one of the places we stopped at and knew I could use it for something like this, so I bought it and brought it home with me. I was going to do this yesterday morning, but Grandma Brenda thinks we're all innocent and really nice and I didn't want her to change her mind."

"So you'd planned this all along," I observed, and Elliot merely grinned in response.

Now that this discussion had come to an end, I believe Elliot was hoping we'd soon forget about what he'd done and not try to get even. That wasn't going to happen, though, because I noted the expression on Benny's face, which told me he wasn't about to forget this. And I, for one, was willing to help him get even.

"How come you got whip cream on one side of your face?" Benny asked next as he looked at me. That made me realized he'd probably never seen a man shave before.

"It's not whipped cream, it's shaving cream. I use it when I want to shave the whiskers off my face." Benny looked at me mildly confused but let the topic drop, although I planned on explaining it to him in more detail later.

I then told the boys to head downstairs for breakfast, as I went back to finish what I'd been doing. I joined them a short time later and we ate together. When the meal ended, the younger boys left to watch Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, so I was surprised when Noah agreed to go with them. He only did it after Joshie and Benny teased him for awhile, although Elliot didn't join them. I automatically assumed he'd done this to give Benny a chance to cool down and hopefully forget about what had happened earlier. Elliot merely went to his bedroom and called his boyfriend, Ian, instead. Ian hadn't come home from Stanford for the holiday, so Elliot was curious to see what Ian was up to and to find out when he'd be coming home for Christmas.

Since the boys were all doing something else, it gave Brandon and me time to wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Then, we started thinking ahead to what we were going to fix for lunch.

Before we called the boys to eat again, Elliot came down to talk to Brandon and me about something else. "I'm going to take everyone out to eat tonight, but I want us to go someplace really nice."

"Is this a bribe so we won't try to help Benny get even for this morning?" I teased.

"No, I told you I wanted to do this before that happened and it's just something I'd like to do. I'm going to pay for it too."

"I'm glad you have your own money and you're willing to spend some of it on the family, but I don't think the boys will want to get dressed up in suits just to go out to eat. They would probably be just as happy getting pizza."

"Then what if we go to the Italian restaurant instead. That way they won't have to wear suits, just something nice. They can get pizza or anything else they want, because I know they all like Italian food."

"Yes, that would work. Benny's mentioned to us before that spaghetti is his favorite meal, although he calls it 'sketti', but this will depend on whether he's willing to forgive you and sit at the same table."

"I'm sure he will, but will you go with me just in case he doesn't want to go?" I nodded and followed Elliot when he went to tell the boys about his plan.

"Are you doing this because of what you did earlier?" Benny wanted to know, thinking the same thing I had.

"No, I was going to do it anyway, and Dad Danny will back me up on that because I told him yesterday that I wanted to do this," Elliot assured him, and I nodded in agreement. "It has nothing to do with what happened earlier, but it's just something I want to do for all of you, but it's mainly to welcome Benny to the family."

"I thought that's what you did this morning," Noah joked.

"No, that was just for fun, but this time I'm serious."

The boys all said they'd like to go and thanked Elliot for his offer after I reiterated that this was entirely Elliot's idea and he was paying for everything.

"Do you have lots of money?" Benny asked Elliot next.

"Kinda. My dad left me quite a bit when he died, so I can afford to do this for all of you."

"My dad didn't leave me nothin' and I never even seed him."

"That's too bad and I'm sorry to hear you never got to know him. My dad and I were really close and I miss him a lot, but I'm glad I got to come here to live after he was killed, because now I have two great dads."

"Yeah, me too," Benny concurred, and then Elliot stayed in with the boys and they played video games after that. I also heard the piano, so I figured Joshie had talked Elliot into playing the 'Peanuts Theme Song' again.

Dion and Trey arrived home shortly after we'd finished lunch and they were both smiling broadly. All of the boys came out to welcome them back, but then they returned to the family room to continue what they'd been doing.

"I take it you two had a good time while you were away," I said after the boys left.

"Good? It was fantastic," Dion responded. "Trey reserved us a suite at the Hotel Hershey and the weekend was absolutely perfect."

"Did you two even get out of bed?" Brandon teased after seeing how happy they both were.

"Of course, but we had some good times in bed too," Dion responded with a grin. "We ate each of our meals at a different restaurant, seeing they had so many at the hotel, and we spent time at the spa as well, which was really nice and relaxing."

"How about you, Trey? I haven't heard you say anything yet," I teased the other grinning fool.

"I did it as a special present for Dion's birthday, but I had a great time too," he replied. "We not only relaxed and enjoyed some really delicious meals, but we also pampered ourselves in the spa and went outside to walk around the grounds too."

"Wasn't it kind of cold there?" Brandon asked.

"It was cool, but not cold, and some of the leaves were still on the trees, so it looked beautiful too," Trey answered.

"And we rode on the special Hershey trolley that had a singing conductor," Dion added.

"But the guy wasn't nearly as good as Dion," Trey added.

"He still had a nice voice, though," Dion countered.

"And on Saturday afternoon we were able to get tickets for the matinee performance of 'Les Miserables'. It was a traveling Broadway troupe and they were very good, so we really enjoyed going to see that too," Trey continued.

"The entire weekend was magical and I didn't want to leave," Dion finished. "How were the boys while we were gone?"

"They were very good and I think they all had a great time as well," I answered, and then I filled them in on everything we'd done while they were away.

"Wow! It sounds as if they had a really great time too," Dion observed.

"And I doubt they even missed us at all," Trey mused.

"Oh, they missed you, but we just kept them busy so they didn't have time to think about it," Brandon replied. "They were really good, though, and they both seemed to like having Elliot around, especially Joshie."

"That's good and I'm glad that Benny got to spend some more time with Elliot," Trey added.

"Most of the time they've been really close, almost like they'd been brothers forever, but there was a moment this morning when I thought Elliot might have blown it," I confessed.

"Why? What did he do?" Dion pressed.

"He pulled a prank on Benny that didn't go over too well," I confirmed, and then I explained what he'd done. "Even after that, I still think they'll be sorry to see Elliot leave, and I imagine they'll probably be looking forward to him coming home for Christmas too."

"Speaking of Christmas, are we going to start decorating the house now?" Trey followed. "I want it to look nice when Dad comes home, and I'm sure some of the others will be dropping by too."

"Oh, I'm sure of that," I concurred, "and we can start pulling the decorations out of storage during the week."

After we finished chatting, Dion and Trey went upstairs to unpack, and then they spent some time with their sons. I was surprised when I saw Trey in the kitchen getting ready to fix dinner.

"Didn't I tell you that Elliot was taking us all out to eat tonight?"

"Yes, but he shouldn't have to take our family out too," Trey countered, making a face. "I know he has money, but he should spend it on your family and himself."

"I think he'll be upset if you don't go. Let me get him so he can tell you himself." I then called Elliot out to join us, without telling him the reason why.

"Hey, what's Uncle Trey doing in the kitchen? Didn't you tell him I was taking us all out to eat?"

"I did, but he doesn't want you to have to pay for his family too."

"Don't be silly. We're all going and it's my treat!"

"Are you sure. It will be pretty expensive."

"I don't care. We're all going together, so don't argue with me."

"I think you're being silly, but ok. It's your money."

When we got to the restaurant, Elliot told everyone to order whatever they wanted, so each of us got our favorite meal. I've got to admit that it was nice getting treated for a change, instead of doing the treating. Brandon and I also took turns assisting Benny as he downed his spaghetti and meatballs, because he was having difficulty with the long strands of spaghetti.

When the meal ended, Elliot urged everyone to order desserts, but we were all petty stuffed from the meal. He insisted we get something, though, so we decided to merely share a dessert with one of the others. Joshie and Bennie split a sundae, but they let Wyatt have some of it too, while Elliot and Noah split a large slice of Bavarian chocolate cake, and Brandon and I shared a slice of cheesecake topped with cherries. Dion and Trey had the same thing as Brandon and me, and Wyatt ended up having some of their dessert as well. It was a nice ending to a wonderful meal and we all thanked Elliot again before heading home.

As soon as we got back to the house, most of us grabbed a drink before going into the family room to see what was on TV. We were still looking for something interesting when Jake arrived home, so we all hurried out to the foyer to welcome him back.

"How's Dad, Shannon, and Nick?" we all wanted to know after telling him we'd missed him.

"They're doing well, especially Shannon. The casts are off and he was able to enjoy his meals with us, including Thanksgiving dinner. Josh outdid himself for just the four of us, though, so we ended up having leftovers on Friday AND Saturday too." We all chuckled after hearing this.

"So did he say when he'd be home for Christmas?" Dion asked directly.

"Yes. Nick's parents are taking some vacation time to visit Nick and Shannon and they'll be arriving on Sunday the 21st. Josh will fly back on Tuesday the 23rd, since he couldn't get a ticket for Monday. I'm going to leave directly from work and drive to the airport to pick him up, and then I'll let him drive on the way back."

"Sounds good and at least he'll be here for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," Brandon stated.

The boys then went back to the family room to watch TV, while the rest of us went to the dining room to enjoy another cup of coffee while we discussed other things.

"The four of us were talking earlier about digging out the Christmas decorations during the week and getting the place spruced up," I mentioned so Jake would be aware of our plans.

"You boys can take care of decorating the inside and I'll put the decorations up outside."

"You can't do that by yourself," Trey objected.

"I'll just ask Noah to give me a hand, because I won't need a lot of help. He can assist me when I bring the things down from storage, and he can also stabilize the ladder while I'm on it, but that's all the help I'll need."

"If you're sure, but don't be afraid to ask if you need more help than that," I urged, to make sure he knew he could ask.

"Ok, I can do that too, but I don't think I'll need to."

We also agreed to sit down one night after the boys were in bed to talk about what we were going to get them for Christmas. This way we could coordinate everything so no one got duplicates or one boy didn't end up with more than the others. Jake was really tired after the flight and the long drive home, so we told him to go to bed and we'd see him the following night, seeing he'd be returning to work in the morning.

Once he was heading to his bedroom, Dion and Trey chose to turn in too, because they were also extremely tired. They merely gave Wyatt a quick bath and then turned in for the night, since we told them we'd take care of Joshie.

When the boys didn't find anything they wanted to watch on TV, we decided to turn in early as well since we'd all be returning to work or school the next day and we didn't want the boys to fall asleep in class. They showered in pairs, but Benny chose to shower with Noah again, which indicated he was still slightly upset with Elliot over the prank.

Someone must have awakened during the night to pull a prank of his own, because Elliot was upset when he came downstairs to join for breakfast the next morning. "Ok, what did you guys do with the duffle bag I brought home with my things in it?"

"Us? We didn't do nuttin," Benny answered, but then all three boys began to giggle.

"This isn't funny and I have to get ready so I can drive back to campus!"

"Maybe a ghost took it," Benny offered before they all started giggling again.

"I'm serious. I have to leave soon so I don't have to speed or end up missing my class."

"Check the rec room," Brandon suggested. "I might have seen it back there when I went to get the sausages out of the freezer."

Elliot raced back to the rec room and returned carrying the missing item. He set it on the floor as we sat down to eat, and after downing a big breakfast together, Elliot got ready to leave. When he was set, the boys said goodbye and thanked him again for taking them to use the trampolines on Saturday and then out to dinner last night. Even though Benny was still slightly upset with his oldest brother about the prank, he went with us as we walked Elliot to the door. He also joined the others when they told Elliot they could barely wait for him to return for Christmas. I think all of the boys were a little teary eyed as Elliot prepared to head out the door, and this included Elliot.

"Hey, where's my car?" he shouted after taking only a couple of steps outside.

"Right where you parked it," Brandon answered.

"No it isn't. It's not there and I've got to go!"

Brandon, the boys, and I went outside and began looking around. After a few minutes, I turned to address Elliot. "Is that your car in the neighbor's driveway?" The house was about a half mile [800 m] from ours.

"Yeah, what's it doing there?"

"Were you drunk the last time you came home and parked it in the wrong driveway?" Brandon followed jokingly.

"Come on. I know I parked it here or I would have spent the night with the neighbors too."

"Well, it's not here now, so just carry your bag down there and then you can take off," I reasoned.

Elliot gave me a disgusted glare before he hugged Brandon and me and began walking down the road.

"Did you move it there?" Brandon asked as soon as Elliot was out of earshot.

"Yes, to pay him back for what he'd done to Benny. I knew the neighbors had gone away to visit their daughter out of state and wouldn't be back until tonight, but I didn't know the boys had also exacted a modicum of revenge of their own."

"It's too bad he had to leave, cuz we would have let him suffer longer," Noah added, with Benny nodding his head vigorously in agreement.

We all waved at Elliot as he started pulling out of the neighbor's driveway and began the long drive back to his campus. It had been nice to see him again, even though he'd pulled that prank on Benny. Brandon and I were also looking forward to spending a little more time with him over the Christmas break, but now we all had to leave for school and work.

Chapter 13
Getting Ready for Christmas

As we entered the first weekend of December, the house was decorated, both inside and out, and we were playing Christmas music to get everyone into the holiday spirit. We were also watching the seasonal specials on TV, so the boys were all starting to get Christmas fever. Sure, most parents prefer to keep their kids calm for as long as possible, but seeing this was the first time Benny would be able to celebrate the same as other kids, we wanted him to have plenty of time to enjoy it.

Over the weekend we were advised that Joshie and Benny would be performing in the Christmas concert at their school, but Noah wouldn't be taking part in the one at the high school. Even though Elliot had been very involved, thanks to his talent on the piano, Noah didn't seem to be interested in those types of things. He wasn't in the chorus, band, or orchestra, so this meant there would be one less event for us to attend this year.

The elementary school concert was held on Wednesday the 17th, so Brandon and I rushed home from work, had dinner with the family, and then helped Benny get dressed. Since Joshie was going to wear a suit, and even though we didn't know what the other boys would be wearing, we had Benny wear his suit as well and helped him with the tie.

Even though we were looking forward to the concert, we knew the fourth grader's performance would be an anticlimax to the event. The kindergarteners, along with the first and second graders would precede them, and they usually stole the show with their cuteness. Regardless, we wanted to be there to support the boys, especially after we were told that Joshie was going to be singing a solo. I guess he must have inherited his parents' vocal abilities, because both his mom and dad had fantastic voices.

We drove to the school early so we'd be sure of getting good seats. Dion and Trey took Joshie and Wyatt with them in their car, since we wouldn't all fit in one vehicle, and Brandon and I drove our family in Brandon's car. Noah was going too because he wanted to see Joshie and Benny perform, which I thought was admirable. Not many high school students would choose to attend an elementary school concert, even if their siblings were taking part in it.

After walking the boys to their classrooms, the rest of us headed to the gym and found seats near the front. We had quite a while to wait before the concert began, and then even longer before it was the fourth grade's turn to perform. We didn't mind, though, because the other kids did a nice job too, but now we were ready to see how our boys would do.

The younger kids had been very cute and made the audience smile and giggle, but we were eager to see what the fourth graders were going to sing. We were slightly surprised at the songs they chose and thought they might be a bit too 'mature' for this group, but they did a very nice job with them. They sang 'The Christmas Song' and 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', and after finishing, they marched off the risers as their music teacher addressed the audience.

"We have a very special treat for you this evening. For the past few years I've had the pleasure of working with an extremely talented student and have asked him to sing a solo for you. I'm certain a great many of you have heard his father sing solos over the years at school concerts, church, special functions, or with professional groups. He's now the vocal music teacher at the middle and high schools, and it is our good fortune that his son has obviously inherited his talent. It is now my privilege to introduce Joshie Currie to sing 'O Holy Night'.

Joshie then walked back to the risers, but this time he was all alone as his piano accompanist began the introductory chords. His teacher was correct, because Joshie had an amazing voice, and I saw Dion and Trey both beaming as they listened to him sing. When he finished, Joshie received a standing ovation from the crowd, with Benny and Noah clapping and cheering the loudest.

"That was amazing!" Noah told Joshie when he rejoined us. "I mean I knew you had a nice voice, because sometimes I'd hear you singing at home, but listening to you just now gave me goose bumps."

"You were really awesome," Benny agreed.

"You singed good," Wyatt added as Joshie picked him up.

"I don't think I've ever heard your father sing better," Brandon added.

"You sounded like an angel," I chimed in, and I meant every word. We then walked away to let Dion and Trey spend some time alone with Joshie, although various other parents and students dropped by to congratulate him as well.

When they finally came outside to join us, we talked them into taking the boys out for a treat and drove to Friendly's. We all had ice cream and a drink while we discussed the concert. We also talked about getting ready for the various events at home the following week, which included welcoming Grandpa Josh back, because we were all eager to see him again.

When we got home, we had to hurry to get the boys in bed, seeing it was late and they still had school the next day. There were two more days before their Christmas break began and Benny and Joshie's class was having a party on Friday, so they were excited about that too.

Once the boys were in bed, Brandon and I sat downstairs to chat with Dion and Trey for awhile. "When did you know Joshie was going to sing a solo?" Brandon asked.

"Not until I picked him up after school today," Dion replied. "He hadn't said anything before that, and it's why I had him wear his suit."

"I'm glad you did, because Benny got to wear his suit too," Brandon agreed, "but I'm amazed Joshie didn't mention he was singing a solo before today."

"Me too, but I think his teacher must have asked him not to say anything, because she wanted it to be a surprise," Dion reasoned.

"He did a fantastic job and I want you to know that I meant it when I said he sounded like an angel tonight," I added.

"And I couldn't have been prouder of him," Trey added. "You know I can't sing very well, but I love listening to Dion and Joshie."

"I think we all do," I concurred. "So you two will be off from work for a couple of weeks starting when you get home Friday night?"

"Yes, and I'm looking forward to it," Trey answered. "I'm hoping to get some time to do some writing, but I know I'm probably going to get caught up in all the Christmas activities with everyone else."

"Have you finished your shopping yet?" Brandon wondered.

"No, but Trey and I will take turns running out during the week while the other one watches the boys. In fact, we'll keep an eye on Benny and Noah for you this weekend, if you two want to get out to do some shopping without them."

"That would be fantastic and we want to thank you for the offer," Brandon responded. "Danny and I thought we might have to do the rest of our shopping after work next week."

"Nah, it's the least we can do to thank you for letting us get away for my birthday."

"I agree," Trey chimed in.

Brandon and I had to work the rest of the week, including a half day on Saturday, but now we'd be able to go shopping after we left work on Saturday afternoon. We'd already bought all of the major gifts for everyone, but there were still a few things we needed to pick up, including some stocking stuffers. We would leave those purchases in the SUV when we got home and then sneak them into the house later, after the boys were in bed. The house was big enough so there were plenty of places to hide things to keep nosy youngsters from finding out what they were getting before Christmas morning.

Shortly after we arrived home on Thursday, we got another little surprise. Although we knew he would be coming home soon, we had no idea when he'd show up, so we were slightly amazed when Elliot walked in the front door that evening. We hadn't even heard his car pull into the driveway, but that was probably due to the Christmas music we'd been playing.

"Welcome home, but we didn't think you'd be showing up until the weekend," I stated after I gave him a hug.

"Nah, I wanted to get home as soon as I could. My last final was yesterday, so I slept in this morning and then left just before noon. Now, I need to talk to the boys and make sure everything remains cool while I'm here."

"Uh, what are you up to?" Brandon asked as a scowl formed on his face.

"Nothing bad, but I want to enjoy my time here instead of having to worry about someone pulling a prank on me."

"Oh, so our prankster is worried about payback," I teased.

"Kinda, and that's why I want to talk to the rest of them. Where are they anyway?"

"I think they're all upstairs," Brandon informed him. They apparently hadn't heard his car either, or they would have come downstairs by now.

"Can you ask them to join us in the family room, because I want both of you in there when I do this so everyone knows what's going on?"

"I can do that," I offered, before going upstairs and asking the boys to come with me.

"What's up, Dad?" Noah wanted to know as he walked behind me.

"You'll find that out in a few seconds," I answered as we kept moving toward the family room. When we walked through the door they noticed Elliot.

"Hey, when did you get here?" Noah asked as he went over to greet his brother.

"Just a few minutes ago, but I wanted to talk to everyone so I had Dad get you."

"Why? What's up?" Noah challenged.

"Nothing really. I just wanted to call a truce during Christmas break."

"What do you mean 'call a truth'?" Benny wondered.

"Not truth, but a truce. That means we'd stop playing pranks on each other during the Christmas break. I think we all want to enjoy ourselves without worrying that someone might pull a prank on us."

"Oh, so you're just worried that Benny is going to get even with you?" Noah joked, looking coy.

"No, you already got even with me before I left."

"Not really good, though, because we had to tell you where those things were so you could leave," Noah replied.

"It was good enough, because I didn't do that much to Benny either."

"Yes, you did!" Benny chimed in. "You made me think I knocked your head off, so I was really upset because I thought I'd killed you."

"I didn't think you'd actually believe you did that and would just find it funny."

"I didn't think it was funny until Dad D showed me the head was a fake," Benny spat back. "Then, I was mad that you'd made me feel so bad."

"Ok, I'm sorry about that, but will you all agree there will be no more pranks played while I'm home for Christmas?"

The three boys looked at each other and reluctantly began to nod their heads. "As long as you do the same," Noah added.

"Ok, then it's a deal."

"So how do you think you did on your finals?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I think I did really well. I studied like crazy and felt I knew the answers for everything that was on the finals."

"I'm glad to hear that."

We talked for a few minutes more before Trey called us out to eat. He was placing the food on the table as we came walking into the dining room, but he looked up and had a surprised expression on his face when he noticed Elliot.

"When did you get home? I didn't hear you arrive."

"I guess no one did. I'm kinda hurt that I didn't get a better welcome."

"That might be because of the way you left the last time," Dion added. "I heard about what you did, but I'm sure everyone is glad to have you back now."

"I hope so."

As we ate, we talked about a wide variety of topics, which included the boys filling Elliot in about the concert the previous night, especially Joshie's solo. We also discussed ideas about what types of things they might want to do over the break when they mentioned their eagerness to have Grandpa Josh at home again. No one was more excited about that than Jake, because he hadn't been himself without Dad being here too. Even though he'd helped Noah with the Haunted House and then they put up the outdoor Christmas decorations together, the rest of the time he'd remained aloof from the family. As I mentioned previously, he spent a lot of that time on Skype chatting with Dad and Shannon.

When we finished eating, Noah had a special request for Elliot. "Hey, could you play 'O Holy Night' on the piano so Joshie can sing it for you too."

"Sure, if Joshie is willing to do that." Suddenly, everyone began encouraging Joshie to comply with this request and they kept it up until he finally gave in.

The rest of us followed them into the family room, as Elliot sat down at the piano and Joshie stood beside him. After Elliot played the introductory chords, Joshie began to sing. Although I'm not sure it was humanly possible, I think he sang even better tonight than he had at the concert.

"That was beautiful," Elliot said when Joshie finished. "I'm glad you gave me a chance to hear you sing too."

After that, Elliot played a few more Christmas songs and we all sang along. It was a fun way to get in the Christmas spirit and we all enjoyed ourselves, especially Benny.

"I never done that at home before. Do you do this a lot?"

"Only when Elliot is here to accompany us on the piano," I replied.

Since Friday was the boys' last day of school until after the New Year and the rest of us were going to be at work, it meant Elliot would be home alone on his first day back. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" I asked, somewhat concerned.

"At first I was hoping to go to the airport to pick Ian up when he got in later, but his parents said they were going to do that and they wanted to spend the rest of the day with him. Ian told me they also want to spend Saturday morning together, so I won't get to see him until Saturday afternoon or evening. Since I won't be doing that, I planned on doing some Christmas shopping instead."

"I know you're not happy about having to wait to see your boyfriend, but we parents like to spend some time with our kids too. Unfortunately, Brandon and I will have to work Saturday morning, so depending on when you plan on leaving to be with Ian, we won't be seeing much of you either."

"You'll have all next week, though, because Ian is going with his mom and dad to spend the week with his grandparents. He told me they're leaving Monday and won't be back until Friday night."

"So you'll have part of this weekend and then most of the next one, as well as New Year's Eve to be with him, at least that's what I would imagine."

"Yeah, and I hope you won't get mad about this, but I agreed to spend New Year's Eve with him and his parents. Otherwise, I wouldn't get to see him then either. Afterward he's coming back here with me so we can have a little fun in private."

"I didn't know you had made other arrangements, because we were planning that all of us would be together for New Year's Eve. Grandpa Josh will be returning to Atlanta before then, but I was hoping the rest of us could celebrate together."

"Please don't make a big deal about this, because I want to spend time with Ian too. We've been apart since August and on opposite coasts, so after he goes back to Stanford we won't see each other again until this summer."

"Ok, I understand that too and won't make a big deal about it, but you'll have to promise that next year you'll both celebrate New Year's Eve with us."

"Ok, I'll talk to Ian about that so he can start preparing his parents. Thanks for not making a major issue out of this."

"You're welcome, and even though you might find this hard to believe, I was once young and in love too, so I know what it's like to want to be with your boyfriend as well." Elliot merely smiled and nodded in acknowledgment before walking away.

By the time Brandon and I got home on Friday, everyone else was already there. Benny and Joshie were eager to tell us all about the party they'd had at school, while Elliot told us about some of the people he'd run into while shopping. Noah then complained that a couple of his teachers had given them a surprise quiz instead of a party.

"That really sucked, because no one was thinking about the crap we'd been doing in class. We were just excited that we'd be getting away from there for two weeks."

"I know, but maybe your teachers felt you'd forget what you'd been working on before you got back," Brandon offered.

"I think we'd already forgotten about it before we went to class today."

"Well, now you're off for two weeks, so let's put that behind us and enjoy tonight and the rest of the weekend together," I urged. "What would you boys like to do this evening?"

"Can we drive around and look at everyone else's Christmas decorations?" Joshie asked. "Benny's said he's never seen houses decorated like ours before, so I want to show him what some of the other places look like too."

"I'm fine with that, if the rest of you are." They all chatted about it briefly and then Elliot looked at me and spoke.

"Yeah, let's do it. Let's show Benny what Christmas is really like around here."

"Ok. Joshie, will you go ask your fathers if they want to go with us?"

"Sure!" he agreed as he dashed off, but he was only gone a short time before he returned. "They said they'll stay here because there won't be room for all of us and they know we want to be together."

"Ok, then get ready and we'll go. I'll go see if they'll let Wyatt go with us too."

As we got in the car, I noticed how excited Benny, Joshie, and Wyatt seemed to be. I knew Elliot and Noah were only doing this because of Benny, but they were trying to act excited too, which made me proud of them.

After everyone was buckled in, we started driving around the various neighborhoods so we could check out how everyone else had decorated. We hadn't been doing this for very long before Benny spoke up. "If you look at the snow you can see the different colors of the lights shining there too."

He was correct. A nor'easter had hit the area earlier in the week and then began to melt before it froze again, so there was a crust that reflected the lights strung on the houses. It was a beautiful effect and something Benny was enjoying for the very first time, so I was glad Joshie had suggested we do this.

"Hey, that house has a building and some lighted people out in front," Benny observed.

"That's a Nativity scene, with a manger, Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus," Brandon explained. "Do you know who they are?"

"Yep. I heard 'bout them before."

"And if you look across the street there's a lighted snowman and Santa Claus," Noah added.

"This is really nice," Benny stated, as he did his best to take in everything we passed.

After we returned home and before we got out of the car, I felt I should announce something else to the group. They would still be sleeping when Brandon and I left for work in the morning, so I felt this would be the best time to fill them in.

"Brandon and I both have to work tomorrow, but then we'll be doing some other things afterward, so you'll be here with Dion and Trey. We'll be back later and then we can do something together, so just don't get into any trouble."

"Are you going shopping?" Noah asked with a knowing grin on his face.

"Possibly, or maybe we just want to be alone for a while."

"We'll be good so Santa will leave us presents," Benny added. "He never left me none at my old house, so I hope he'll leave some for me here."

"I'm sure he will," Elliot offered before Brandon and I could respond. We were both a little choked up after hearing what Benny had just said.

"Yes, I think you'll find that Santa will be much kinder to you this year," I eventually concurred.

As soon as we got inside, I told Joshie and Benny to get ready for their shower. I was planning on going up with them, but they told me they'd rather take their showers with Elliot and Noah again. When I looked at the older pair to see what they thought about this, they just shrugged their shoulders.

"We told them we wouldn't be able to do this every night, but we'll do it with them this time," Elliot confirmed.

"Hey, as long as you're ok with it. Are you all going to sleep together too?"

"I told Joshie and Benny we'd do it with them tonight and maybe a couple of other times while I was home, but I'd let them know when," Elliot clarified as he gave me a half-hearted grin.

"Ok, I just wanted to know."

Seeing that had been cleared up, I went to spend time with Brandon, Trey, and Dion. We decided to watch a movie on TV and cuddled with our partners as we enjoyed what was happening on the screen. As soon as the movie ended, Brandon and I headed to our bedroom, but we stopped to look in on the boys first. They were cuddled together just like the other times they had done this, which reminded us of a litter of puppies snuggling with each other.

Saturday proved to be a fairly easy day at work and we rushed out the door to do our shopping as soon as our last patient left. We stopped to grab a quick bite to eat before heading from store to store looking for the last few items we had to get. I was glad we'd done most of our shopping already, because the crowds were huge and irritable, and a lot of the items we'd previously purchased were now sold out.

Once we'd found everything on our lists, we returned home. The boys were outside engaged in a snowball fight as we pulled into the driveway. As soon as Brandon and I stepped out of his car we immediately found ourselves being pelted too, so we hurriedly began making our own snowballs and returning fire. The boys all seemed to be enjoying this, but before long we had to stop, because Brandon and my hands were starting to grow numb from the cold. Unlike the boys, we weren't wearing gloves.

"That was fun!" Benny chirped as we headed inside. "I've never done that before."

"Not even at school?" Noah countered, while looking at him oddly.

"If we did it there we would get in trouble and then we couldn't go outside for recess again until the snow melted, so I didn't ever do it. I didn't want to have to stay indoors the whole time."

"That makes sense," Elliot responded, "so I'm glad you enjoyed doing it with us today."

"Did you like throwing snowballs at your dads too?" Joshie followed.

"I was kinda scared to do that at first, but then after everybody else did it, I did it too. Then they started throwing snowballs at us too and it was really fun."

"Maybe later we can go out and build a snowman," I stated. "Have you ever done that before?"

"We made some small ones at school."

"Well, we'll make a big one out in front so everyone can see it," I offered, which earned me a grin from Benny.

"Hey, if you went shopping, then where's the stuff you bought?" Noah wondered.

"I only said we MIGHT go shopping, but I also said we might just spend some time alone."

"So you didn't buy us anything?"

"If we did, it must be invisible," I teased, not giving him a definite answer. Of course he was irritated by my response.

The boys eventually decided to play video games while Brandon and I went to our bedroom to change. We put on some warmer clothes this time, and when we came downstairs we asked the boys if they were ready to go outside to work on the snowman.

"Yeah!" Benny and Joshie chimed in, but the older two remained silent, which made me wonder if they were going to join us. When we got up to put on our coats, hats, and gloves, though, Noah went with us.

"I'll let you guys do this, because I want to call Ian to find out when we can get together," Elliot offered to explain why he wasn't joining us.

We told him that was fine before the rest of us headed outside. We rolled three snow balls, with one being extra large, another just large, and the final one medium in size, and then we stacked them one on top of the other. Once they were stacked in place, Benny and Joshie went to find two small branches we could use for arms, and then they found some small stones along the driveway that they used to make the eyes and mouth. While they were doing that, Brandon went inside to get a carrot to use for the nose and a hat to put on the snowman's head. When it was done, we all stood and admired it.

"That's the bestest snowman I've ever seen!" Benny crowed gleefully.

"It's right up there with the Mona Lisa of snowmen," Brandon teased, as the rest of us giggled.

When we went inside, Elliot came up to Brandon and me so he could fill us in. "Ian wants to go out tonight, so I'm picking him up at 8:00. It will probably be pretty late when we get back, but you don't have to wait up. I'm only telling you this so you won't call the cops if you hear someone coming in and moving around the house later."

"Why not? It might prove to be fun," I teased.

"Only for you, but we don't want to end up spending the night in jail."

"Just be careful and have a good time. Seeing you'll be staying here, we'll see you both in the morning for breakfast."

"Ok, but not too early, and thanks. I knew you'd be ok with this."

Chapter 14
An Unexpected Problem

Brandon and I had been sleeping when I heard someone enter our bedroom. I immediately sat up, not knowing what to expect, and quickly discovered who it was.

"Dad, I'm sorry about waking you up, but there was a problem tonight and I wanted to talk to you about it before I went to bed," Elliot informed me.

"Why? What happened?" I nearly shouted, waking Brandon up in the process.

"When Ian and I were ready to come home, we walked out to the car and discovered that someone had trashed it. They cracked the windshield, broke the window on the driver's door, and keyed a message in the paint that read, 'Death to all fags!' I called the cops to report it and they came out to investigate, but I'm still shook up about what happened."

"Where's Ian?"

"I asked him to wait in my room."

"Get him and we'll all go down to the family room to discuss this so we don't wake up anyone else."

"Ok."

Brandon heard what had been said and went with us when we headed downstairs. As soon as we reached the foyer, I grabbed my coat and a flashlight, turned on the outside light, and walked out to inspect his car. Brandon opted to wait inside, but I wanted to see the damage for myself before we talked about this some more. It was just as Elliot had described it and was obviously a hate crime. When I came inside again, I went to the family room to talk this over with Elliot and Ian.

"I'd say it was done by someone who either knew you or who saw you two together earlier. Were you being affectionate in public?"

"Not really. We just held hands when we walked to the club. That's all."

"Well, that could have been enough to set the person off. I'm glad you called the police and reported it, but you'll have to call the insurance company too, if you haven't done so already. On Monday, I also want you to get in touch with the body shop and ask if they can squeeze your car in before you have to return to campus. Just take plenty of pictures of the damage before you take it there, in case the insurance company needs them."

"The cops took pictures too."

"That's good, but can you think of anyone who might have done this? Anyone who has it out for you?" Brandon followed. Elliot glanced at Ian before he answered.

"Not anyone we saw tonight. Everyone was pretty cool."

"How about anyone you saw earlier, when you went out while we were at work?" I followed.

"Not that I can think of. I don't remember seeing anyone I'd had trouble with before."

"Then we'll talk about this some more tomorrow and you can make up a list of people who might have had it out for either of you. I'm sure the police might find such a list useful too," I suggested. "You'll also find a roll of plastic and some duct tape in the utility closet that you can use to temporarily cover over the broken window, so the weather doesn't damage the interior of your car as well."

"Ok, Ian and I will do both of those things after we get up."

"Are you calmed down enough so you'll be able to enjoy a little time with Ian before you go to sleep?" The question caused both boys to blush slightly.

"Yeah, I think talking to both of you helped me settle down enough. At least now I know what I have to do next."

"Then we'll leave you two alone so you can have some fun," Brandon added, which caused the boys to blush again.

"I don't know if having gay parents is a good or bad thing" Ian joked. "I know my parents would never have said anything like that."

"It's good, because they understand what we're going through after what happened earlier," Elliot offered, which made Brandon and me feel proud. Then, we all went upstairs to our bedrooms.

Once we were alone, Brandon asked a question. "Seeing what happened earlier seemed to bother him so much, do you really think he'll be able to do anything now?"

"I imagine they'll figure something out, seeing it's been so long since they've been together. They were really looking forward to having some time alone, and since they weren't in the car when it happened, I'm sure a few kisses and a little petting will make them forget about everything else for the time being."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. How about you? Are you feeling frisky?"

"For you, always."

Having said that, we engaged in a little mutual enjoyment before turning in again as well. No matter how long we've been together, Brandon can still turn me on like no one else. I love him deeply and hope someday the law will change so we can actually get married. Even though we took part in a commitment ceremony a few years ago, it's not the same. When we're finally able to get married we'll hyphenate our surnames like the boys did when we adopted them, so we'll all be O'Hara-Curries.

The next morning while we were enjoying a late breakfast together, I decided to see if any of the boys had plans for later. "Have you guys thought about what you're going to do today?"

"We'll probably just go outside and play in the snow," Joshie answered. "We might even build another snowman." Benny was nodding his head in agreement.

"Nah, nothing here, unless I go outside to help these two," Noah added.

"Ian and I wanted to go out for a bit, but that will be kind of awkward now, unless we can borrow Dad Brandon's car for awhile."

"Why? What's wrong with your car?" Noah wanted to know.

"There was a little accident last night," Elliot offered with a sheepish expression on his face.

"Did you run into another car or did they run into you?" Noah followed.

"It wasn't that kind of accident, but I guess we probably should explain," I offered. "You'll most likely notice it for yourself when you go outside, so I'll just say that someone vandalized your brother's car when he and Ian went out last night."

"They did! What did they do and why would anyone mess with his car?" Noah pressed.

"I think you'll understand once you see it," was all I replied.

As soon as we finished eating, the younger boys hurried to get dressed so they could go outside to see what happened to the car for themselves. I decided to go out with them, in case they had any questions. I wasn't sure what Benny might think or if he understood these things, so I wanted to be there in case he had any questions.

While the boys were putting on their coats, hats, and gloves, I did the same and walked outside with them. They quickly raced over to inspect the BMW and Noah merely shook his head after seeing the damage, while Benny looked at me strangely.

"What are fags?"

"It's a word people use for guys like Dad B and me. It means we prefer being with other boys, rather than girls."

"So am I'm a fag too, because I like to be with Joshie?"

"Not really, unless you decide that you like him enough to go steady or get married. It doesn't mean you like boys as friends, but as boyfriends."

"Oh, you mean like kiss them and do other stuff."

"Yes, that's what I mean."

"So they did it just cuz Elliot likes Ian as a boyfriend?"

"It seems the person who did this obviously doesn't approve of boys liking other boys in that way."

"Why? They didn't do nothin' to him, did they?"

"No, and they don't even know who did this, because the coward did it when no one else was around."

"So he didn't try to hurt Elliot and Ian too?"

"No, but I doubt he would have been successful even if he'd tried. Elliot knows how to defend himself."

"You mean he knows how to fight?"

"Yes. His father had him take martial arts lessons when he was younger so he'd be able to handle those types of situations by himself."

"Martial arts?"

"Yeah, like karate," Joshie jumped in. "You know, like what Jackie Chan did in the movie we watched."

"Oh, that stuff," Benny mumbled, but it seemed to be enough to answer his question.

"Will Elliot be able to get his car fixed before he has to go back to college?" Noah followed. "I don't think he'll want to drive it back looking like this."

"No, he won't and we hope he'll be able to get it fixed quickly. He's going to call the body shop tomorrow to see if they can squeeze him in. The place will be taking time off for the holidays, but I hope they'll have at least one opening so they can help him out before he has to leave."

"So Elliot's got to pay for this?" Joshie wanted to know next.

"He'll call the insurance company tomorrow and report what happened. He has good insurance so they should cover most, if not all of the costs."

That seemed to answer their questions, so I headed inside to see what the others were doing. As I walked in the door, I saw Brandon hand Elliot the key to his car so he and Ian could go somewhere.

"Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate this."

"Yeah, Mr. O'Hara, thanks a lot. It would have sucked if we couldn't do anything today," Ian added.

"Just drive carefully. There should be enough activity in the parking lot so nothing will happen like last night."

"Have fun you two, and just take care of yourselves. Property can be repaired or replaced, but we don't want anything to happen to either of you."

"Aw, thanks, Dad."

"Yeah, that's really nice," Ian agreed.

Now that the boys were all out of the house, Brandon and I got busy doing our chores. We wanted the house to look good for the holidays and I wanted to make certain we all had something to wear during the week. I think everyone was getting excited that Grandpa Josh would be coming home on Tuesday as well. He'd been gone for quite some time and would be leaving again after Christmas, so we wanted to make the most of the time we'd be together.

We didn't see the younger group again until lunchtime, when they came inside to complain that they were starving. We hurriedly fixed them something to eat, and while they were chowing down we asked what they'd been up to.

"We had another snowball fight," Joshie answered. "It was me and Benny against Noah."

"And who won?" Brandon followed.

"Me and Joshie," Benny chimed in. "Noah quit, so we won!"

"And we rolled more snow to build another snowman, but we'll need your help to put it together," Noah added. "The different parts are too heavy for us to pick up and we'd have trouble lifting the last one as high as it would have to go."

"Ok, we can help you with that after we finish eating," Brandon said and I agreed.

As soon as they were done, the boys dragged us outside to help them put the new snowman together. We had just added the arms and facial features when Elliot pulled into the driveway. After he and Ian got out of the car, they came over to inspect the snowmen with us.

"Are they husband and wife?" Ian asked.

"No, they're fags," Benny blurted out, which caused Elliot and Ian's mouths to drop open.

"Benny, people mostly use the word fag as an insult," I explained. "It would be better to say the snowmen are gay. That would mean the same thing."

"Oh, ok."

I then turned toward Ian. "Benny is new to all of this and didn't mean anything by what he said. It's just that I'd explained what the word scratched into Elliot's car meant and he merely used it to explain that the two snowmen were both boys and liked each other a lot."

Suddenly, Ian and Elliot began to giggle. "I'm glad he seems to accept that boys can like other boys, seeing he made them like us."

"He'd better, since there are so many gay couples living here," Elliot chipped in.

"Would you mind if I stayed here again tonight?" Ian asked Brandon and me next. "I'm leaving with my parents tomorrow to spend Christmas with my grandparents, so I'd like to have a little more time with Elliot before we leave, if I could."

"Sure, that would be fine," Brandon agreed for both of us. "In fact, we can even drop you off at your house in the morning as we're going to work, because I suspect your parents will want to get an early start. Just call and let them know what you're doing."

"Yes, they'll want to leave as early as possible and it will help out a lot if you give me a ride home, because we really don't want to drive around in Elliot's car until it's fixed."

"Yeah, the cops could give me a ticket for driving with a busted windshield," Elliot added.

"It's also the reason one of us will follow you when you take your car to the body shop," I responded. "That way if you get stopped we can verify what we're doing, but you'll also need a ride home after dropping the car off."

"Thanks, Dad, and that will help a lot too."

"Can we go to the movies today?" Noah followed, with Joshie and Benny quickly nodding in agreement. Somehow I think they'd planned this together.

"Is there something special you want to see?"

"Yeah, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb just started playing and I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"Actually, that sounds like fun," Ian agreed, as the other boys added their support as well.

"Ok, just let me check with Dion and Trey to see if they want to go with us," I suggested before we all went inside.

"Thanks for asking," Trey replied, "but I think we'll stay here with Wyatt. He's a bit young to enjoy that movie and it's not really something Dion and I want to see."

"Ok, that's fine if you don't mind Joshie going with us."

"No, that's not a problem," Dion confirmed. "Otherwise he'd be miserable about missing out."

Now that I had their approval, I went to fill the others in. "They don't want to go, so it will be a little crowded squeezing all of you into the SUV. I hope you don't mind."

"Um, not if you let us borrow Dad Brandon's car again," Elliot suggested. "That way we can wander around the mall for a while afterward and you guys can go home."

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that," Brandon replied.

"Can I hang out with you guys after the movie then?" Noah asked. Elliot glanced at Ian before he answered.

"I guess, if it's alright with our Dads. We weren't planning on making out or doing anything special. We were just going to do a little last minute shopping."

"Can I, Dads?"

"Sure, just behave yourself," Brandon agreed as he handed his car key over to Elliot again.

"Ok, we'll meet you at the ticket office, since I doubt we'll be able to find parking spaces near each other today," I added as we all got ready to leave.

After we purchased our tickets, I told Elliot that he and Ian didn't have to sit with us, if they wanted a little privacy, but they said it wouldn't be necessary. They were just going to watch the movie and thought it would be nice to do it with the family. I was surprised and impressed by his response, so we went into the theater and found a row we could claim as our own.

The movie proved to be very funny and we laughed a lot. Not only did the boys enjoy it, but Brandon and I did too. It was a fun family outing and a great way to spend the afternoon.

Almost as soon as the lights came on, Elliot turned to us and spoke. "Thanks, that was fun. I really like Robin Williams and he was at his best in this. We're going to take off now, so we'll see you at home."

"Ok, just be careful and don't lose Noah," I teased before Brandon and I headed out with the younger pair.

When we got home, Joshie and Benny started telling Dion and Trey about the movie. Joshie's dads tried to appear interested, although I doubted the boys noticed their lack of enthusiasm, since they weren't doing anything out of the ordinary. When the boys finished their review, they went into the family room to play video games again, while the rest of us did our thing.

Elliot, Ian, and Noah showed up in time to have dinner with the family, something I was grateful for. As we were eating, I reminded Elliot about calling the insurance company and the body shop after we left for work and took Ian home in the morning. He agreed, since he wanted to get his car fixed before he had to leave again, and Brandon brought up a very important point.

"You'll need to call the insurance company first and ask if they'd have a problem with you getting the car repaired right away. Make sure they don't want to have one of their adjustors inspect it first, or they may not want to pay for it. Make sure you also tell them that you reported the incident to the police and have taken pictures of the damage."

"Ok, I will."

"If you need anything while your dads are at work, Dion and I can help out. We'll be at home, since school is closed for the holidays."

"Oh, that's right, and thanks."

"It's very nice of you to offer," I added.

"Hey, after all you've done for us and our boys, we're just trying to return the favor."

As soon as we finished eating, Elliot and Ian went up to Elliot's room to spend a little quality time with each other. The rest of us went to the family room to see what Christmas movies and specials were on. It was our good fortune to discover that the musical 'Scrooge' was playing, and since Benny had never watched it, we all sat down to enjoy this delightful film. Seeing the rest of us had seen it before, Joshie began to sing along with many of the songs that he remembered, which included 'I Hate People', 'Father Christmas', 'December the 25th', 'Thank You Very Much', and 'I Like Life'.

I think his ability to do this amazed Benny, so he tried to join in as well, even though he didn't know all the words. He'd merely listen as Joshie sang and then he'd join in when the lyrics repeated. It was very cute to watch.

When the movie ended, I told Joshie and Benny that it was time to head upstairs for their shower. "Can we shower with Elliot and Noah again?" Benny wanted to know.

"No, Elliot has company tonight and wants to spend time alone with his boyfriend."

"So they can kiss and do naughty stuff," Joshie added with a giggle.

"Noah, will you shower with us then?" Benny teased, and Noah glanced over at Brandon and me before he answered.

"It's up to you," I offered, to let him know it was ok with us.

"Yeah, I guess I can do that for you."

Benny immediately shouted, "Yay!", and grabbed Noah's arm as he dragged him toward the stairs.

"Hey, I can walk on my own," Noah joked, which caused Benny to release his arm. Then, Noah followed the two younger boys up the stairs.

"Does Benny really like showering with Noah and Elliot that much?" Ian asked as we watched them disappear.

"I think he mostly likes seeing the older boys naked," I replied, which caused Ian to give me a look that said, 'Ok, I understand now.'

After their shower, Brandon and I went up to ask the boys a question. "We forgot to find out earlier if you three were going to sleep together, or if just the younger pair was going to do that?"

Joshie and Benny quickly glanced at Noah to see what he had to say. "I guess you can sleep with me, if you want, cuz my bed is big enough for all of us."

"Good, then we'll do that," Benny replied. Brandon and I kissed the boys and wished them sweet dreams before they headed toward Noah's room, since we didn't think they wanted us to tuck them in tonight.

We peeked in to check on them later, when we went up to our room, and the younger pair were cuddled up on either side of Noah. I'd expected to find Joshie and Benny cuddling with each other, but apparently they liked doing it with Noah more. They looked cute and were sleeping soundly, so we merely shut the door again before going to our bedroom.

The next morning I walked down to Elliot's room to verify that Ian was up and getting ready to leave. The bedroom door was locked, so I knocked lightly. When no one answered, I knocked a little louder and a groggy Elliot walked over to see who was there.

"I just wanted to make sure Ian didn't cause us to be late." I glanced over Elliot's shoulder and noticed Ian was still in bed, although his eyes appeared to be open. I must have awakened both of them when I knocked and merely assumed Ian was just as naked as Elliot, who'd obviously forgotten he wasn't wearing anything when he answered the door.

"I'll be down in a minute," Ian assured me, so I looked back at Elliot.

"Ok, and you should get up now too so you can make your phone calls. You might also want to put something on before coming downstairs." Elliot glanced down before looking up at me again, grinning.

"Guess I forgot about that."

"Obviously, but you'll need to call the insurance company as soon as possible and then call the body shop once you've heard what the insurance company has to say."

"Ok, I'll do that, and thanks."

"Brandon's fixing breakfast, if you two want to eat first. Clothing optional," I teased.

"We'll be down, but you've seen all you're going to see for now," Elliot teased.

After we finished eating, we dropped Ian off at his house and told him to have a good time with his grandparents. "I'll try and you'll probably see me again when I get back on Friday. You don't mind if I stay with you again next weekend, do you?"

"No, you're always welcome at our house," Brandon confirmed.

We then continued on to work and both of us remained busy until lunchtime. I decided to call Elliot before I met up with Brandon, just to see how he'd made out.

"The insurance company had me email them the pictures I took, but they were also going to check with the police and get their report. They called back later and said I was covered and could get the car repaired, so I called the body shop. The manager said he couldn't help me until after the New Year, so I made an appointment for Tuesday, Jan 6th. Classes don't start again until the following Monday and he said that should give him plenty of time to do everything. We can drop it off Monday night before they close, because I figured you wouldn't have time to do it on Tuesday morning. He said it should be ready for me to pick up by Friday, Saturday morning at the latest."

"Good thinking about dropping it off on Monday so we don't have to do it before going to work. I'm glad this is working out for you."

"Do you think you can talk Dad Brandon into letting me use his car until mine's fixed?"

"I'll mention it to him and we'll let you know when we get home tonight."

"Ok, and thanks."

I filled Brandon in while we were eating and he said he wouldn't mind letting Elliot use his car, except then we'd have to drive the SUV to work. I said that would be fine, because it would only be for a couple of weeks. I knew doing this should also make Elliot happy, because he wouldn't feel as if he was stuck at home or had to constantly bug Trey and Dion for rides. I'm sure Elliot will probably be taking the boys places with him until Ian gets back, although there won't be a great deal of free time for that to happen. With Christmas Eve and Christmas in between, and Grandpa Josh being home, there will be a lot going on and not much time for anything else.

Now that everything was settled, we went back to finish up at our offices. After today, we'd only be working tomorrow and a half day on Wednesday and then we'd have the rest of the week off. We were taking both of our staffs out for a holiday luncheon at noon on Wednesday so we could show them our gratitude for their hard work and to give them their Christmas bonuses. After that we'd have a four and a half day weekend to spend with the family.

When we got home later, I spotted a couple of fairly large boxes sitting in the foyer. "What are those?" I asked Dion and Trey.

"UPS dropped them off earlier," Dion answered. "They're addressed to Dad and obviously from him too, but I don't know what's inside."

"He probably did some shopping after Nick got home from work and then shipped everything here."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Trey agreed, "so we'll put them in his bedroom to make sure the boys don't start messing with them."

"Good idea," Brandon agreed.

Brandon and I then carried one box into Dad's bedroom while Dion and Trey brought the other one in. We stacked them in the corner, out of the way, and then went about our business.

Chapter 15
A Currie Christmas

Dad called Tuesday afternoon and let Dion and Trey know that his flight had been cancelled due to bad weather. He'd notified them so they could get a message to Jake so he wouldn't make the trip to the airport today, since Jake's cell phone was turned off while he was at work. Dad asked them to call the office and leave a message for Jake, and then he'd call back later to let us know when he'd be arriving. He said he was praying he'd still arrive in time to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the family.

On Christmas Eve some of the others arrived at the house before Dad made it home. Graham, Sammy, and Andrew showed up first, since they shared a house in York, Pennsylvania and rode here together. After we greeted them at the door, I had them set their things down in the foyer before taking them into the family room to introduce them to Benny. The boys were busy playing video games, but stopped shortly after we walked in.

"Benny, I want to introduce you to three more of your uncles," I announced as I presented each one. "You'll be happy to know that they're all uncircumcised, just like you."

"Really? They're like me too?" he squealed. He was thrilled that he and Uncle Trey weren't the only ones like that, because he felt badly outnumbered.

"Yep," Graham stated as he looked at the other two, smiled, winked, and nodded his head. Then, they all unzipped their pants and whipped out their dicks to prove it. Apparently the years of running around the house naked and skinny dipping in the pool had eliminated all of their inhibitions.

"This is so neat," Benny squealed as he visually inspected each penis. "When I first got here I was worried that there was something wrong with my pee-pee, because everyone else's looked different. I thought I was the only one like that.

"Nope, we're all like that too, as you can see," Andrew verified verbally as well.

Benny was so excited that I thought he was going to hyperventilate and pass out, but fortunately that didn't happen. After his uncles put their dicks away, he quickly calmed down again.

"Your Uncle Vinnie is uncut too, if you haven't met him yet," Sammy added. "Just don't expect him to show you like we just did." We all chuckled at his comment.

"I introduced him to Kevin at the pharmacy, but he hasn't met Vinnie yet," I stated. "Even though they live close by they've been very busy and haven't visited in awhile, but I'm sure they'll show up now to see Dad. Benny, you'll know which one your Uncle Vinnie is because he has cerebral palsy and uses crutches to get around."

"Aw, that must suck," Benny responded.

"He may have had a rough start in life, but he's done very well despite his physical problems and he gets around nearly as well as the rest of us."

"That's good," Benny added before happily chatting with his new uncles and explaining how he came to live with us.

Ricky was the next one to arrive and showed up about a half hour later. After we introduced Benny and Ricky to each other, Benny turned his head and whispered to Noah.

"Is he the one you said likes to play pranks on people?" Noah merely nodded in response, but I don't think anyone else caught on to what they were talking about.

Pat pulled in a little while later, after making the trip from Pittsburgh, which meant all of the brothers living out of town had arrived, except for Frankie, Nick, and Shannon. Cole and Dustin lived locally, but weren't going to be joining us this year, since it was their turn to spend Christmas with their wives' families. Most of the others would be showing up for Christmas dinner the following day, though, so most of the family would be together again.

Jake didn't return home with Dad until around 9:00, but we held dinner so we could all eat together. We'd advised Jake about our plans the night before and told him not to stop, as well as encouraging him to hurry home so we wouldn't be eating too late, and he agreed.

We also knew the boys would be hungry long before they got here, so Trey fixed them a snack to hold them over until we sat down at the table. We also had bowls of munchies placed in various spots in the family and living rooms to stave off hunger pangs as we waited for Dad and Pop to arrive. We all went running to the front door when we heard Jake's car pull in the driveway, because we were all eager to welcome Dad home. Trust me, it wasn't merely because we were all anxious to eat either.

"I missed you, Papa," Joshie stated as he threw his arms around his grandfather's waist.

"I missed you too, sport," Dad replied as he hugged Joshie back. "I hear you've got a new friend."

"Yeah, Benny," Joshie said as he released his grip and turned to look for his pal. "He's Uncle Brandon and Uncle Danny's new son, but we're like brothers too. Benny, this is Grandpa Josh, but I call him Papa. You can too, if you want."

"I'm glad to finally meet you," Dad said in response, "and Joshie's right. You can either call me Papa or Grandpa, which ever you'd prefer."

"I'll call you Papa like Joshie does, and I'll call him Grandpa," he added while pointing at Jake.

"That will work just fine. And it's nice to see you again, Elliot. I hope your first semester at college went well."

"Yeah, it was great. I didn't have any problems until I got home."

"Yes, Jake told me about what happened."

After the rest of us greeted Dad too, we went into the dining room to eat. "So how's Uncle Shannon doing?" Noah asked before stuffing his mouth with food.

"He's doing much better, and depending on how he does with the physical therapy, I could be coming home for good in a month or two."

"Really? That's great!" Noah agreed.

"I can't say I've missed the craziness that goes on here, but it will be nice to be home for good," Dad joked.

"I'm sure Grandpa Jake will be happy when you're finally back, because I can tell he misses you a lot," Elliot added.

"Damn right," Jake concurred, which made us all smile.

"Ricky, how have things been going for you?" Dad followed.

"Great! I've got a girlfriend now and I'm thinking about asking her to marry me."

"Wow! Have you known her long?"

"Yeah, for a few months."

"And you've never mentioned her before?"

"I wanted to be sure she wouldn't dump me the minute I told her about this group of lunatics. I'm still worried about introducing her to all of them, though."

"Hey, if she can stomach you then she definitely won't have a problem with the rest of us," Trey quipped.

"And I'm happy for you and can't wait to meet her. How about you three?" Dad followed as he looked at Graham, Sammy, and Andrew. "How are things working out now that you're all living together?"

"It's been great," Graham replied. "It's almost like when we were living at home, except there aren't as many of us now."

"Yeah, and we split up the work just like we did here, so none of us has to do everything," Sammy added.

"And we all get along really well, so it's working out fantastic," Andrew chimed in.

"I'm glad you boys have each other for company and enjoy being together," Dad added.

"Yeah, we feel really close to each other and we've always gotten along well, even when we were living here, so doing this just made sense," Graham explained.

"Yes, you three have always had a lot in common, and it's been like that since the first day you started living here."

"Yep, we were always the three smallest brothers, and none of us had a great start in life before we came here to live, and we're all uncut just like Benny," Andrew summarized.

"Yep!" Benny chirped, smiling broadly.

"I think you're going to find you have a lot in common with your new nephew too, besides the obvious," Brandon added just before this particular discussion ended.

"How about you, Pat? How's life in Pittsburgh?" Dad asked next.

"Everything's good and I like working for General Dynamics. They're a great company and I've got a super boss."

"How about your social life?" Ricky followed, eyeing his brother.

"I've been dating a little, but there's no one in particular yet. However, I have taken a liking to this one girl at work. We first met at one of the social gatherings for the company, but I've taken her out a couple of times too. She's really nice and I'm hoping something develops, but that hasn't happened yet."

"Good luck," Dad offered. "It's nice to see a few more of you boys are thinking about settling down."

Seeing it was getting late by the time we finished the meal, we chose to cut out most of our normal Christmas Eve traditions as we moved to the family room. We agreed to do the rest of those things the following night, but for now we merely got ready to sing a couple of Christmas carols together, with Elliot at the piano. When we finished, Dad read aloud from the same book as he did every other year, "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by Clement Moore.

After he read each page he would turn the book toward us so we could see the pictures too, which delighted the younger boys. It seemed that Benny had only heard bits and pieces of this before but he'd never seen the illustrations, so he kept inching closer to Dad to get a better look.

Although none of the kids were aware of this fact, Jake had slipped away after we'd left the dining room and went to his bedroom to change. Then he snuck out the backdoor, came around to the front picture window in the family room and waited for Dad to finish reading. Then, right on cue, he peeked through the window, a fact that Elliot eagerly pointed out to everyone else.

"Look! There's Santa Claus!" he announced, drawing the younger boys attention to the figure in the window. "He's checking to see if you're in bed yet so he can drop off the presents."

"Come on, we got to go to sleep then," Benny urged, seeing he didn't want to miss out on having Santa leave him presents this year.

The rest of us went along with his request, although a few of us returned downstairs later so we could set everything out. It was really cute seeing Benny so excited, along with Joshie and Wyatt, even though they'd been through this routine before. By midnight we were all in bed and sound asleep, because we were fairly certain we'd be awakened early the following morning.

We weren't disappointed either, because Joshie and Benny got up at 5:00 and snuck downstairs to check out the tree. When they saw all of the presents stacked under and around it, they came racing upstairs to wake everyone up.

"Get up so we can open our presents!" they urged, as Brandon and I slowly came to our senses.

"What makes you think you have presents?" I asked, playing along.

"We seed them!" Benny answered. "Me and Joshie went downstairs and there are a whole bunch of presents by the Christmas tree."

"And you think some of them are for you?"

Benny's eyes shot open, as wide as they could go. "I hope so."

I didn't want to panic him or prolong his uncertainty any longer, so I sent them to wake up Elliot and Noah. They'd awakened Dion and Trey before us and we met them in the hallway before we went downstairs to wake up Dad and Pop. I told Elliot and Noah to wake Ricky, Pat, Graham, Sammy, and Andrew too, but I also advised them to let those guys sleep if they put up too much of a fuss about getting up. To my surprise, they all came down to join us, and as soon as we were together in the family room, Dad started passing out the presents.

The next half hour was spent with wrapping paper flying in every direction and shouts of joy echoing off the walls, as we each unwrapped the gifts we received. As soon as the last present had been taken from under the tree and given to the person whose name appeared on the tag, we thanked the others for what they'd given us and then took another look at what we'd received.

"I never got this much stuff before!" Benny squealed as he gathered up his presents. "I got toys, clothes, and other stuff too."

"Yes, Santa was very good to you this year, and you got a lot from the rest of us too," Brandon agreed.

"Sometimes it pays to be part of a large family," Dad added, as Benny looked at him and grinned.

"Yeah, I really like it here."

Almost as soon as we were done, Jake went to his room so he could Skype with Nick and Shannon. Dad went in to join him a short time later.

While they were using Skype, the boys were busy checking out their haul while the rest of us cleaned up the mess. When Dad finished chatting with Nick and Shannon, he went out to the kitchen and began making breakfast while the rest of us went to his bedroom to say 'Merry Christmas' to Nick and Shannon too. As soon as Trey and Brandon realized what Dad was doing, they went out to the kitchen to give him a hand. Before long, the rest of us were being called to the table to eat.

"Merry Christmas, everyone," Dad said as we sat down together. We all responded in the same manner.

After we finished eating, the boys went to the family room to play video games for awhile, since they had some new games to try out. While they were doing that some of the others began showing up, starting with Kevin and Vinnie.

"Merry Christmas, Dad, Pop, and everyone else!" they greeted us as they came inside. "We told the Shay's we'd see them later, since we didn't get to spend time with you at Thanksgiving," Kevin added as he gave Dad a hug.

"I'm sure they didn't object," Dad said. "So how are things going for the two of you?"

"Fantastic!" Kevin answered. "The pharmacy is working out wonderfully and business is good."

"And things are going great for me at work too, so we're both busy and happy."

"I'm glad you found time to stop by then," Dad teased.

We then introduced Vinnie and Benny to one another and gave them a chance to get to know each other better. I heard Vinnie snort when Benny told him he was uncut, just like him.

Little Ricky and Jesse showed up a little while later, although not together. They both lived locally so they didn't have far to travel and hadn't spent the night with us either, but we were still happy to see them. Other than the two married brothers who were with their spouses and in-laws, the only other ones that weren't accounted for were Frankie, Nick, and Shannon. Frankie had to work both today and tomorrow, but he said he'd drop by after he finished work on Saturday and then spend Sunday with us before heading back.

"So how's Aunt Sally treating you?" Dad asked Little Ricky, since she was his boss at D.S.S.

"She's great and says she's going to retire in a couple more years. She told me that when she gives her notice she's going to recommend that I replace her."

"Wow, that's great!" everyone agreed.

"It will be a lot of work, but at least that way the Castaway Hotel will still have a staunch friend in charge of D.S.S."

"Yes, that's a definite advantage," Dad agreed. "So Jesse, how is life living with your friends?"

"Pretty good, but we get on each other's nerves sometimes. We've tried to split up the work, but once in awhile we have to get on one of the others to do his job."

"Yes, it can be rough when someone fails to pull his weight."

"We also kicked one guy out after we caught him stealing shit from some of us."

"That can certainly be a problem too. So how's work?"

"I love working at the clinic with Danny and Brandon and I love my job as a radiologist. Everyone there has been really great to me."

"Probably because we threatened to do them bodily harm if they weren't," Brandon teased.

"Unt uh. They all like me and say I do a good job."

"Yes, we've been told that too," I added to make him feel better.

We then went into the family room to watch the parade on TV. During one of the commercials a little voice spoke up. "This is the bestest Christmas ever!" Benny announced, which brought a huge smile to everyone's face. "I got lots of neat stuff, met a bunch more uncles, and I'm having loads of fun."

"We're glad you've enjoyed everything so far and I hope that later you don't regret having met some of your uncles," I replied, as everyone suddenly glanced over at Ricky.

"Hey, why is everyone looking at me?" he complained.

"I wonder!" we all echoed in response.

Dad, Trey, and Brandon kept leaving from time to time as they went to the kitchen to work on Christmas dinner. Unlike many other families, we preferred to have ham on Christmas, along with the various side dishes. Not only does it taste good, but it doesn't take quite as long to prepare as a turkey.

While they were doing that, Dion, Elliot, Noah, and I set up the banquet table in the living room and brought out the folding chairs, since we wouldn't all fit at the dining room table. Once that was done, we set both tables and finished just before Dad announced dinner was ready, which was more like a late lunch. Everyone came out and took a seat, ready to enjoy the good food and camaraderie of being together again. There's nothing like a family gathering for the holidays.

After we finished eating, Joshie made a request. "Elliot, you promised that you'd play the 'Peanuts Theme Song' when you came home, so will you do it now?"

"Yeah, I will, but then I want you to do something for me."

"Like what?

"Will you sing your solo from the Christmas concert for all of us?"

Joshie blushed and glanced around the room. He quickly discovered that everyone was looking at him, including his Papa. He'd missed Papa a lot when he was away, so when Papa winked and nodded to him, he decided to sing it for him. He then told Elliot he'd do it and moved beside the piano.

After Elliot played the 'Peanuts Theme Song', he began playing the initial chords of 'O Holy Night'. Joshie focused only on his Papa while he sang and could tell Papa was very pleased with his performance. What Joshie didn't realize was that everyone was blown away by his flawless rendition of the song, and it caused more than a few of them to have tears in their eyes as they listened.

When he finished singing, Joshie saw his Papa holding his arms outstretched, as a silent signal that he wanted Joshie to come to him. When Joshie did, Papa wrapped his arms around Joshie and gave him a tremendous hug, and that's when Joshie noticed something.

"Why are you crying, Papa?"

"Because you sang so beautifully. It was like listening to an angel."

The others began to express their appreciation of Joshie's talent and praised him for doing such a wonderful job. Once things began to settle down again, another voice spoke up.

"How about playing some more Christmas songs for us?" Jesse followed. He and Elliot still had a strong bond, so Elliot merely smiled and nodded his consent.

The rest of us crowded into the family room to either listen or sing along as we enjoyed this special treat. Needless to say, the family room was packed and suffering from growing pains, since we kept adding new members to the group.

After we'd done that for a while, Kevin and Vinnie said goodbye so they could spend some time with the Shays. The rest of us then watched the movie, "A Christmas Story" on TV, and after it ended Little Ricky left too, but Jesse announced that he was going to spend the night and bunk in with Elliot. They used to fool around with each other when they were younger, so I wasn't sure if they were planning something like that again, since they went up to bed early. They were both old enough to make their own decisions, though, so I didn't inquire or say anything. However, a couple of minutes later I heard someone scream.

"Damn it, Ricky! Do you have to pull this shit every time you come home!" Elliot shouted from the top of the stairs.

"Moi? What is it that you think I did?"

"You short-sheeted my bed, you asshole."

"Elliot, please watch your language," Dad yelled at him.

"Then tell your son to stop pulling this crap all the time."

I noticed Joshie was busy explaining to Benny about what had happened, since our newest addition didn't know what the term meant. After hearing the explanation, Benny's jaw dropped to his chest and his eyes opened wide, as he realized everything he'd been told about Ricky was true. I figured Ricky had decided to do this to Elliot because they've had a long running battle of pranks, but I think Elliot was hoping Ricky would just skip doing anything this year.

As soon as that situation quieted down, Brandon and I took Joshie and Benny upstairs to tuck them in, since they wanted to sleep together again. As they were getting comfortable, Joshie made a comment.

"I think Uncle Ricky did it to us too."

"What do you mean?"

"I can feel the sheet against the bottom of my feet and it's not like normal."

I pulled the blankets back to check it out and he was correct. I'm not sure how Ricky found out which bedroom was Benny's, but since the two boys were shorter this prank didn't have the desired effect. Of course Joshie had felt the difference, but just barely, so we decided to leave things as they were and then fix the problem in the morning. We kissed both boys on the forehead and wished them sweet dreams before we went downstairs.

About an hour later, the rest of us decided to turn in too, since most of us had been up a long time and we were quite worn out. I think we all checked our beds before hopping in, just in case the blond haired prankster had struck us too, although I didn't hear anyone else complain. That was until the following morning.

"Dad D, somebody put something over the toilet so when I peed it made a mess," Benny informed me.

"Oh? I think I know what you're talking about and who's responsible."

"Uncle Ricky?"

"Yep, who else?" I then went to confront my mischievous brother.

"Ok, funny man, since you helped to create the mess, you can clean it up too," I announced after I'd awakened him from a sound sleep.

"Hey! What the hell are you talking about?"

"The toilet the boys use and the Saran Wrap someone placed over it."

"What makes you think I did it? Do you have any proof?"

"Just that these things only happen when you're at home."

"It's just a coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidences, so you can clean up the mess. Use disinfectant too!"

"Your son made the mess, not me."

"But he wouldn't have without your role in the situation."

"Why do I get blamed for everything?"

"Because 99% of the time you're at fault!" I snapped back. "Now, clean it up before you come downstairs, that is if you want anything to eat."

"So now you're going to starve me too?"

"Only if you don't clean up the mess, and I'm sure Dad and everyone else will agree and back me up on this."

"Damn, now you're turning the whole family against me."

"No, you did that yourself."

I then went downstairs and explained what had happened to everyone there. When Ricky came down to join us, I told the others not to let him have breakfast until I checked to see that he'd cleaned up the bathroom first, and then I disappeared for a few minutes.

"Ok, he can eat with the rest of us," I announced when I came down again.

"Yes, Cinderfella has done his evil brother's bidding," Ricky retorted.

"What you did was mean," Benny chimed in. "I didn't know what was happening, because my pee was going all over the place."

"We tried to warn you about him," Noah offered.

"And he short-sheeted Benny's bed too," Brandon explained, "although he and Joshie were so short they barely noticed."

"Santa Claus should take back all his presents!" Benny added.

"That's not a bad idea," Dad agreed, drawing a reaction from Ricky.

"It isn't bad enough that the whole family is against me and treats me like the black sheep, but now you want to turn Santa against me too?"

"To tell you the truth, I have no idea how you ever got off his 'naughty list' in the first place," Dad shot back.

"Fine. Maybe I just won't come home to visit any more." Suddenly, everyone began to cheer. "Oh, you'll miss me."

"But it will be a good miss," Dion responded. "The house is usually so peaceful when you're not around."

"So no one else does these things?"

"When you're not here, those types of things hardly ever happen," Jake countered.

"Damn, this place must be pretty boring then," Ricky said before snickering.

"But it's a good type of boring," Dad stated, bringing the verbal banter to an end.

The rest of the day was quite relaxing, although I noticed Benny was acting very leery whenever Ricky was around. Ricky was merely trying to get to know him better, but Benny wasn't sure he wanted to get that close to Ricky. I guess the old expression was true in this case: 'once bitten, twice shy'.

Elliot got a call around 6:00 and took off in Brandon's car to go pick up Ian. Ian's parents had agreed to let him spend the weekend with us, since he'd just spent the week with them visiting his mother's parents. We knew they'd be spending much of their time alone with each other, although they were polite and visited with the rest of us for awhile first.

Aunt Sally, Uncle Steve, and Aunt Mary stopped by at 7:00 to wish us all a Merry Christmas and visit with Dad for awhile. After they caught up on how Shannon was doing and found out how long Dad was going to be home, the conversation turned to Benny.

"He seems to be doing amazingly well," Aunt Sally said after the boys left the living room and moved to the family room to play more video games. "I'm really glad Frankie called me so I could arrange to have him placed here. I doubt he would have done this well, at least not this quickly, if he'd been placed somewhere else."

"You can thank Joshie for that," I replied. "Without his help, I'm not sure we'd have been nearly this successful either. They've been really great for each other."

"Have you mentioned to Benny about adopting him yet?" Uncle Steve followed.

"He knows we adopted Elliot and Noah and plan to eventually adopt him too, but we haven't said more than that. We wanted Dad to be here when it happened, so we'll probably present Benny with our 'adoption certificate' as one of his presents at his birthday party in April."

"Adoption certificate?" Aunt Mary mused, since she didn't immediately recognize what I meant by that.

"Yes, it will be a similar certificate to the one we presented to Elliot and Noah. We have a copy of it on our computer and it states our intention that we'd like to adopt him, if he's agreeable. We didn't get an argument from either of the other two when we gave it to them, and we don't expect to have a problem with Benny either."

"I wouldn't imagine you would, because he seems to be very happy living here," she replied.

We visited with them for about an hour, although we moved to the dining room after a half hour so we could enjoy a snack and some coffee. Before they left, we invited them to join us on New Year's Eve, even though Dad will have gone back to Atlanta before then. They said they'd love to celebrate with us, and then they told Dad to have a safe flight when he returned to help Shannon for a while longer.

When it was time for the boys to shower and go to bed, Benny talked Andrew into showering with him, while Joshie showered with Noah. It seemed as if Benny was fascinated that there were others who were also uncircumcised and he wasn't satisfied with just one quick glimpse. Andrew was a good sport and agreed to his request, which made Benny very happy.

When Brandon and I went to tuck Benny and Joshie in bed later, Benny tore the covers back first, before getting in. He obviously wanted to make sure Ricky hadn't pulled another prank on him. Once he was satisfied, he and Joshie climbed into bed, we tucked them in, kissed each one on the forehead, and wished them sweet dreams. Before we left, Benny made one final comment.

"I'm gonna check the toilet in the morning too!" He'd clearly built up a distrust of his uncle.

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