The Castaway Hotel: Book 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Josh, we just can’t let you do this,” Albert insisted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Thanks, Dad. This is great,” he told me, simply.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And you don’t think it makes me look like a child?” he wondered.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I know and that’s why I suggested it,” I explained.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What’s up, son?” I asked.

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

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

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

“And what might that be?” I asked him.

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

“I see. So you don’t want to be a police officer any longer?” I followed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yeah, it is,” he replied. “I’ve been thinking this over for a month.”

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

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

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

“I haven’t got that far yet,” he admitted, “I was hoping maybe you would help me choose.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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