The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 4

 

We had time to explain the situation to Noah and Holly while we were waiting for Brandon and Xander to arrive home and Elliot promised to come back before Xander got here.  He had to take Ian home first, since Ian had promised to have dinner with his parents tonight.  Unfortunately, Revin had to go home with his mother before Xander arrived, so Xander would meet Revin, Becky, and Ian tomorrow. 

When the SUV pulled into the driveway, Brandon and Xander got out, grabbed a few packages each, and then Xander timidly followed his new dad to the house.  We made the other boys stay in the living room until the other two were in the foyer, and then they all ran out to greet them. 

“Hang on, boys,” said Brandon when he saw them rushing in their direction, but it didn’t stop Dobby and Flash.  They immediately ran up to Xander and began sniffing him, before they jumped up and placed their front paws on his waist. 

“Do you think they’re sniffin’ me cuz I peed a little earlier?” he quietly asked Danny, since Danny had examined him and knew about his problem..  

“Possibly, although sniffing people is the way they get to know you.  This one is Dobby and that one is Flash.” 

“Are they both boys?”

“No, Dobby is a boy and Flash is a girl.”

“Do you think they like me?” 

“I’d say so, because both of their tails are wagging and they seem to like the fact that you’re petting them.”  This brought a smile to Xander’s face. 

As soon as Danny finished speaking, Brandon spoke again.  “I want you boys to stand still and I’ll introduce each of you.  Fellas, this is Xander and he’s going to be living here with us from now on as Danny’s and my son.  Xander, I’ll introduce these guys to you, but I don’t expect you to remember all of their names right away, but you’ll learn them eventually.” 

Xander looked intimidated and stayed very close to Brandon, almost hiding behind him.  I thought Xander was kind of cute.  He had black hair, brown eyes, and a slender build, and his complexion and features gave an indication that his ethnicity was Hispanic.  His appearance definitely reminded me of the old adage ‘tall, dark, and handsome’, and that’s what he might grow up to be.  He should also fit in quite nicely with the other boys. 

“Xander, this is Hunter, Hayden, Tristan, Benny, Ryan, Noah, and Elliot, and they’re your brothers.”

“All of ‘em?” asked Xander in a loud whisper.

“Yes, all of them, and this is Holly, your sister.  The other two are Wyatt and Joshie, and they’re your cousins, and the two men behind them are their dads, your Uncle Dion and Uncle Trey.  These two over here are your grandfathers – this is Grandpa Josh and that one is Grandpa Jake.” 

Brandon was pointing at each one as he introduced them, but it still appeared as if Xander was confused.  Once the introductions were completed, he mumbled something to Brandon.

“Wow, there sure are a lot of people here.”

“Yes, there are, but I think you’ll come to enjoy having them all here.”

After standing silent for another minute while he looked around, Xander spoke again.  “Are those two twins, cuz they look ‘xactly alike?” 

“Yes, they’re identical twins.”

He then hesitated briefly before he spoke again.  “And we all have two dads and two grandpas?” 

“Yes, you do, since Danny and I will be your dads.”

“Ummm, Danny is the doctor who ‘xamined me, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“We call Danny ‘Dad D’ and this one ‘Dad B’,” Hunter and Hayden unexpectedly announced as they pointed at Brandon, and Xander moved a little closer to Brandon as he nodded in acknowledgement. 

“Can we take him out to see the tree house?” asked Wyatt. 

“You’ll have to wait and do that after dinner, because I want to take Xander upstairs so he can pick out a bedroom and we can drop off these packages.  Ok?” 

“Can we go with you?” asked the twins in unison.  

“No, let us do this alone and we’ll come down to join you again shortly.”   

Dad, Dion, and I all assumed that besides choosing a bedroom, Brandon was probably going to have him put on one of their purchases.  I’m not sure what they gave him to use before he came here, but whatever it was it appeared bulky and you could definitely tell he had something on underneath his shorts.  We were certain that whatever Brandon had purchased would be thinner, more absorbent, and more discreet. 

When they came downstairs again several minutes later, Xander not only looked better, but he had a slight grin on his face. 

“What room did he pick?” asked Wyatt. 

“After I told him the rooms each of you were using, as well as which rooms Dobby and Flash slept in, and then he chose your old bedroom.  I didn’t feel it would be a problem, since you’ve basically moved in with Hayden and Hunter.” 

“Oh, ok.  That’s good.” 

At that moment, I announced that dinner was ready and asked the others to take their seats in the dining room.  Before anyone moved, the twins and Wyatt all made the same comment.

“Xander, you can sit next to me.”

Xander looked confused, as the trio began to mildly state their case. 

“He’s our brother, so we want him to sit between us,” the twins explained. 

“Ok, but then I want Xander to sit next to me tomorrow at breakfast,” Wyatt relented.

Xander seemed amazed by their comments and stared at the three boys.  It appeared that he had never found himself this popular before, and slowly he began to smile.  He also moved a little farther away from Brandon since he wasn’t feeling as intimidated and was starting to grow more confident in his new surroundings.

The twins then went over to Xander and took one of his hands as they led him into the dining room.  Xander was amazed that the table was so large and that we were all going to fit around it, and he eventually took a seat between the twins, at their urging. 

“This is almost like the group home where I was before I came here,” he said amazed. 

“Yes, I suppose it is, but we’re all family here,” agreed Brandon. 

While we were eating, the twins chatted with Xander and told him a great deal about the house, our family, and the school that he and Wyatt would be going to. 

“You won’t be going there with us?”

“No, we’ll be in fifth grade this year, so we’ll be going to the middle school, but you and Wyatt will be at the elementary school.  That’s where we went last year.”

“Oh, ok.”

The twins also asked Xander a few questions about himself and Xander whispered his responses so the rest of us couldn’t hear him.  Whatever they were talking about seemed to be going well, although Brandon had to keep urging each of them to eat.  By the time they finished their meals, Xander seemed to be a lot more comfortable with them.

Before they left the table, Wyatt, Hunter, and Hayden asked if they could take Xander out to the tree house. 

“Xander, would you like to do that?” quieried Brandon.

“Yeah, it sounds like fun,” he replied, sounding more confident and comfortable than he had earlier.

“Ok but be careful.  I want the rest of you to remember that Xander has never climbed up the chain ladder to the tree house before, so he might find it difficult.”   

“We know, but we’ll help him and make sure he doesn’t have any problems with it,” replied Hunter, with Hayden and Wyatt nodding in agreement. 

“Ok.  Have fun.”

As soon as the boys took off, Dad, Pop, Dion, and I all gathered around Brandon.  “So, what else can you tell us about Xander?” asked Dad. 

“I only had a chance to chat with Danny briefly and he said he wouldn’t know anything for sure about his condition until the results of the diagnostic tests came back.  I got to see Xander naked when I helped him take off that ungodly contraption he wore here.  It looked like they’d cut up an old blanket to make a diaper for him.  After that was off, I helped him wash up, and then I had him put on a pair of the thin absorbent briefs.  He may be slightly undernourished, and he’s also uncircumcised, but he appears fine.  He should fit in quite well with Wyatt and the twins.” 

“That’s good to know and he seems to be fitting in already,” Dion stated.  “And if he let you see him naked without putting up a big fuss, then he should fit in well with the nudity that goes on upstairs.” 

“That’s possible, but you have to remember something.  Danny had already examined him and would have also seen him naked, and he needed me to help him take off that temporary contraption someone had put on him before he came here.  He might be a little shier when he’s around the boys, though, partially due to his condition.” 

“Do you mean so they won’t see him taking off the wet briefs?” asked Dion. 

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.  He might be used to being helped by adults, because I’m sure his foster parents probably helped to remove his soiled clothing and cleaned him up after each of his accidents.  It’s also possible that a teacher or the nurse had to do the same thing for him when he had an accident at school.  They might have even kept a change of clothes for him as well, so he’d have something to change into.” 

“Yes, you’re probably right, but I’m sure he’ll get over his shyness around the other boys, if that’s the only problem.”

“Yes, otherwise he’s just like the other three, except they’re all circumcised.  We may have to explain the difference to him when he sees the other boys naked.” 

“Yes, and we can tell him Benny and I are just like him,” I added, “because I’m sure there will be times when he sees us naked as well, like when we go swimming.”

“How is that going to work?” asked Dion.  “I’m sure we won’t want to take the chance that he’ll pee in the pool.” 

“He’ll just have to wear the absorbent briefs when he swims, because the outer lining will not only keep the urine in, but it will keep the pool water out as well.” 

“Ok, that will work, although it might disappoint his three cohorts.”

“And Revin too,” added Dad, “but I’m sure they’ll find other ways to see each other naked.” 

“Yes, they probably will,” agreed Dion. 

Eventually, Brandon, Dion, and I walked out to the tree house to see how things were going, and the boys appeared to be having a good time.  In fact, they were acting as if they’d been together for years, not merely hours.  Eventually, however, they spotted us and Xander yelled down.

“This is great, and I’ve never played in anything like this before!  I played in some stuff at the park that was kinda like this, but it wasn’t as nice as this one!”

“Yes, Grandpa Jake and the older boys did a really good job when they worked on it.” 

We continued to watch them play in the tree house and then race across the bridge to the deck area, but as it started to grow dark, we told them it was time to come down and shower.  When they reached the ground, Hayden asked a question. 

“Xander, do you want to shower with one of us?”  

Xander looked confused, so Brandon clarified.  “You’ll discover that those three usually take turns showering with one another and now they want you to join them.” 

“But what about…?” asked Xander as he looked at Brandon with a pained expression on his face.  He thought he was being coy, although the other boys knew what he was referring to. 

“We already know about that and we don’t care,” responded Hayden before Brandon could. 

“Yeah, it’s not a big deal,” concurred Hunter. 

“So, you know I have accidents and you don’t care?’ asked Xander while looking amazed. 

“Nope, we don’t.  It’s not your fault, so it doesn’t matter to us,” replied Wyatt.  “So, who do you want to shower with?” 

Even though we’d been watching him having fun in the tree house, we could tell there was still a bit of reluctance on his part, but that seemed to be melting as quickly as snow in July.  Suddenly, he began standing up straighter and a huge smile formed on his lips. 

“I don’t care, but I prolly should do it with one of my brothers first.”

“Then you can shower with me,” offered Hayden, “but we’ll all get undressed in our room.”

“K,” agreed Xander, and then the boys raced toward the house, laughing all the way. 

Brandon followed them upstairs to make sure there weren’t any problems and he was amazed that the other three stopped to admire Xander’s briefs. 

“Those don’t look bad at all and no one will know that you’re wearing them,” stated Hunter. 

“And if anyone picks on you about them, then we’ll take care of those guys for you,” added Hayden.

“Yeah, all of us will do that,” agreed Wyatt. 

As soon as they told Xander this, they all stripped off the last item they were wearing, but then they stood around a little while longer as they checked each other out.  It didn’t take long before Xander started asking questions. 

“How come my thingy doesn’t look like yours?  Is something wrong with it?  Is that why I have accidents?”

“No, there’s nothing wrong with your penis and it’s not why you have accidents,” said Brandon as he stepped into the room.  “All of their penises looked like yours when they were born, but for various reasons they had the extra skin removed.  You’ll eventually discover that Benny and your Uncle Trey’s penises look like yours, so it’s not a big deal.” 

“Yeah, we’ve seen them naked before and it doesn’t make a difference,” added Wyatt. 

“Ummm, what if I want my thingy to look like theirs?”

“We can talk about that later, when your other Dad is here too.”

“K.”

Now that Xander was satisfied with this answer, he and Hayden headed into the bathroom first.  When they came out, Hunter and Wyatt went in next, and Hayden took a second to speak to Brandon. 

“Is it ok if I sleep with Xander in his room and then Wyatt can sleep with Hunter?” 

“Is that ok with you, Xander?” asked Brandon. 

“Yeah, that sounds great.  I’ve never been able to sleep with anyone before.” 

“Ok, but just remember to put on one of the overnight briefs first, because you’re liable to pee more while you’re sleeping.” 

“K,” he replied sheepishly as he looked at Hayden.  “Do you still want to sleep with me?”

“Yeah, of course.” 

That was all it took to bring a huge smile back to Xander’s face. 

“Oh, and we’re gonna sleep in the tree house on Thursday,” said Hayden.  “We’re gonna use our sleepin’ bags.”

“But I don’t have a sleepin’ bag.” 

“That’s ok, we’ve got extras,” said Brandon. 

“Oh, ok.  I’m glad, cuz I didn’t want to miss out on doin’ that with them.”

“Revin will be here too and you’ll get to meet him tomorrow.  He’s Tristan’s friend and he stays with us during the day in the summer while his mom is workin’.”

“Oh, ok.”

Danny got home in time to tuck the boys in bed, which he did with his hubby, Dion, and Trey.  When they came downstairs, we all sat down to chat. 

“So how did it go?” asked Danny.  “I was surprised to see Hayden in bed with Xander.”

“It went amazingly well,” answered Brandon.  “The boys were really good with Xander and they took him out to play in the tree house.  When they came inside, Hayden asked Xander to shower with him, and after they finished, Hayden asked if he could sleep with Xander in his room.  The boys also assured Xander that they didn’t care about his problem and they’d protect him if anyone else gave him grief about his situation.  However, Xander noticed that his penis was different from the other boys and mentioned something about wanting his penis to look like theirs, so I told him we could talk about that when you were home.” 

“I was wondering if that might become an issue, and we can talk it over with him later, but I think it’s terrific that they’re all getting along and Hayden is sleeping with Xander.” 

“I just hope it continues when Revin is here tomorrow,” replied Brandon. 

“I’m sure it will, because Revin has never been a problem before,” stated Dad. 

“You’re probably right, but I just hope he’s as accepting of Xander’s problem as the other boys were.” 

“I don’t think that will be a problem.  If it is, I’m sure the other boys will straighten him out quickly.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right.  Are you hungry, Danny?  Do you want me to fix you something to eat?”  

“No, I had something delivered to my office this time, so I’m fine.  I just need to shower before I go to bed.” 

Before that happened, however, we told Danny more about our impressions of how things went with Xander earlier.  Once that was taken care of, Brandon filled all of us in about Xander’s reaction to sleeping in the tree house with the other boys on Thursday. 

“He seems to be happy here and he’s getting along really well with the boys,” stated Brandon.  “He was hesitant at first, but now they’re all behaving like old friends.”

“I’m sure it a vast improvement over what he went through where he lived before, and hopefully this is going to work out.  He was also very cooperative when I examined him, which was a good sign.  Usually, a new boy is reluctant to disrobe when I tell him he needs to undress, but he seemed more concerned about me seeing that hideous contraption they’d put on him before he came here.  It was like a huge diaper that was made from some sort of heavy material, possibly an old blanket.” 

“Yes, we all noticed how bulky it appeared under his shorts, so as soon as we got home I helped him take it off, washed him off, and put on one of the briefs I’d purchased for him.  That seemed to improve his demeanor immediately, and it only got better when the boys told him they knew about his problem and didn’t care.”   

“Yes, I’m sure that was quite a shock to him, since he’d been picked on where he lived before.” 

“But it was a good shock,” added Pop. 

“Yes, it was,” agreed Brandon.

When the boys woke up the next morning, I helped Xander wash up after he took off the overnight briefs, since Brandon was already at work.  I then had him put on a fresh pair of the thin briefs and get dressed before we went downstairs.  Xander was then introduced to Revin before all of them sat down at the table so they could have breakfast together. 

“Did you make this?” Xander asked when he saw Ryan carrying the food into the dining room.

“Yep, Uncle Trey taught me how to do it.” 

“Did he make you do it?”

“Not exactly.  He just told me I should learn how to do it, cuz I’m going to college in the fall.”

“Oh, ok.”

I think this really impressed Xander, because he kept looking over and smiling at Ryan as they ate. 

After they finished chowing down, I made a quick announcement. 

“Seeing the family is getting larger, I’m going to start asking you boys to help out a little more, and we’ll start by having each of you take your dishes out to the kitchen when you finish eating.  You can scrape off whatever is left on your plates into the garbage first, and then rinse everything off before putting them in the dishwasher.  I’ll watch to make sure you’re doing it correctly, because they need to go in a certain way or they won’t all fit.  Later, we’ll start dividing chores, but we’ll discuss that as time goes on.”

The boys agreed to do as I asked, and after they finished, the younger group headed out to the tree house as a group.  It seemed as if they had forgotten about the pool, because no one asked if they could go swimming now that they had the tree house to occupy their time, but I knew that wouldn’t last forever. 

I experienced a mild surprise about midmorning when a UPS truck pulled into the driveway, because no one had told me they were expecting a delivery.  However, I was totally shocked when Pop climbed out of the truck, since this wasn’t his normal route.  I went to the door to see what was up. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“I switched routes with another driver for today so I could take care of this,” he answered.  “Where are the boys?”

“They’re playing in the tree house.” 

“That’s good, because the slides have arrived.  They’re not heavy, but I still need your help to carry them to the porch, since they’re bulky.  I’ll also need you guys to bring the boys inside early tonight, and then I’ll have Elliot, Noah, and Ryan help me install them.” 

“Won’t the boys see them on the porch?” 

“I doubt it, because they only use the backdoor to go back and forth to the tree house.” 

“Yes, you’re probably right.”

After Pop left, I went inside and filled Dion in about what Pop had told me, and then the rest of the day went fairly normally.  I also gave Elliot and Ryan a heads-up about what Pop had planned, and I would fill in Brandon and Noah after they arrived home. 

“The boys aren’t going to be happy about not being able to play as long in the tree house tonight,” pointed out Brandon. 

“We assumed that as well, so Dion and I came up with the idea of telling them that we want them to get their sleeping bags out so we can check them over beforehand.  We’re also going to have them help us make a list of the things they think they’ll need for the sleep out.”

“That might work.” 

“We thought so too, and we’ll tell them that if we don’t have certain items, we’ll be able to run to the store and get them before they sleep out.” 

“Great idea!”

We managed to keep the younger boys busy after dinner as we checked their sleeping bags for possible problems, even though they were new, and we made a list of the things they thought they might need.  We made sure they didn’t venture out to the rec room either, because they might be able to see what Pop and the other boys were doing.  It wasn’t easy, but we did the best we could. 

While making out the list, the boys decided they wanted to have a lantern they could use after it got dark, so we’d have to make sure the batteries were good.  They also wanted some snacks to nibble on and something to drink, so we added those to our list.  In addition, the boys wanted to take their laptops out to the tree house so they could play games, and we told them to make sure those devices were charged so they weren’t disappointed later.   

Fortunately, while they were charging their laptops and getting their sleeping bags from their room, Dion went to the rec room to get the lantern and an extra sleeping bag for Xander.  When I noticed that Xander was feeling a little out of place because he didn’t have a laptop to charge or a sleeping bag to fetch, I sat down to chat with him. 

“Have you used a laptop before?” I asked. 

“I used a ‘puter at school, but not a laptop.” 

“Then tomorrow I’ll show you how to use mine, and then you can take turns with the other boys when they’re playing games, because I don’t have any games on my computer.” 

“Ok, but what about the sleeping bag?” 

“Dion’s getting one for you to use.”

“Ok, thanks.” 

When they finished doing those things, we told them it was time to shower and get ready for bed, and after some mild resistance, they reluctantly agreed to do as we asked.  Dion took the list they made of the items we’d have to purchase and agreed to get everything for them the following day.  This put them in a better mood, but now there was one final decision to be made.   

“Xander, do you want to shower with me tonight and then I will sleep with you?” asked Hunter. 

“Yeah, I’d like that.” 

“And tomorrow you can shower with me before we sleep in the tree house,” Wyatt offered. 

“Ok, that sounds good too.”

Danny came home while we were doing those things, so Dad fixed him something to eat since the rest of us were trying to keep the boys occupied.  Danny finished his meal in time to join us when we tucked the boys in, and when we came downstairs we explained why we had done all of that.  As we were filling Danny in, Pop and the older boys came inside. 

“They’re both up and we had Ryan try them out to make sure there weren’t any problems,” Pop announced. 

“Yeah, and they’re pretty neat,” added Ryan.  “The younger boys are gonna love them.” 

“Where did you place them?” asked Dion. 

“We hooked the first one up to the tree house porch, right across from the door.  That way they can escape quickly if there’s a problem.”

“Good thinking,” agreed Danny. 

“We hooked the other one up on the corner of the deck that faces the house so it’s a straight shot to the back door if there’s a problem.”

“Man, you’re right on top of things!” I exclaimed. 

“Thanks.  We all felt those places would be best and merely had to remove some of the railing at each of those locations.  We reinforced each side of the gap as well, so there wouldn’t be any future problems.  The slides are also anchored to those places, so I think everything should be fine.” 

“Yeah, unless one of their friends weighs 300 pounds (136 kg),” joked Noah. 

“Then I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” confirmed Dad.