The Castaway Hotel: Next Generation Book 3

Fortunately, Tristan didn’t have another bad dream on Saturday night, at least none that we were aware of.  However, at one point around 2:00 I was awakened when he became restless and began to moan, although not loudly, but it lasted less than a minute.  However, it was enough to wake me up, and it might have been an indication that he’d had another bad dream, but seeing he didn’t wake up and failed to mention it in the morning, I couldn’t be sure. 

Since Tristan hadn’t awakened Brandon at the same time, I merely repeated what Brandon had done with Tristan the night before.  I stroked his hair and whispered in his ear that he’d just had a bad dream and we were there to protect him.  It helped him to calm down enough that he was able to sleep peacefully for the rest of the night. 

After having breakfast the next morning, Tristan agreed to play games with the other boys until it was time to get ready for church.  Joshie talked him into showering together again, and when they emerged from the bathroom Tristan asked me a question. 

”Do I got to wear a suit?” 

“No, just put on a nice pair of pants and a decent shirt.  We don’t allow the boys to wear jeans or tee-shirts to church.” 

“Can I wear my other shoes?” 

“Yes, since you’re not wearing a suit today.”

“K,” he said before heading to his bedroom. 

Tristan attended the same Sunday school class as Benny and Joshie, and they introduced him to the teacher and the other kids, and when the class ended they came up to join us for the church service.  Tristan sat next to Brandon, with Benny and Joshie on Tristan’s other side, while Ryan and Noah sat beside me.  I’m not sure if it was the best seating arrangement, though, because Brandon had to shush the boys a few times to stop them from whispering during the sermon. 

When the service ended we went out to brunch, and after we ordered I asked a question.  “Tristan, Benny, and Joshie what was so important that you were talking during the sermon until Brandon hushed you up?” 

“The first time Tristan was just telling us that he liked our church better,” Joshie answered. 

“And then he asked us to help him find the page for the hymn we were going to sing next, cuz he didn’t know the words,” Benny added. 

“I’m sorry if I got them in trouble,” Tristan apologized. 

“No, none of you are in trouble, but we frown on anyone talking during the sermon because it’s rude to the minister.” 

“Yeah, my mom always told me that too, but I kinda forgot.  I just wanted Benny and Joshie to know I really liked the church, and then I asked them to help me find the page with the words to the hymn so I could sing too.”  

“But you boys talked more than twice,” Brandon pointed out. 

“One of those times was my fault,” Joshie admitted.  “I asked Tristan if he was going to play games with us when we got home or spend time with you.” 

“And another time I was saying I was sorry cuz I accidentally elbowed Tristan when we sat down after singing,” Benny confessed. 

“Ok, none of that was too bad, but if it happens again we’ll have to split you boys up and not let you sit together.”   

“K, we won’t do it any more,” Benny promised, with the other two nodding in agreement. 

After we finished eating, we returned home and had the boys change into their play clothes before doing anything else.  Tristan had already agreed to play games with the other boys, but he let Brandon and me know that he wanted to spend time with us as well.  After talking it over, he agreed to spend time with Benny, Joshie, and Wyatt until dinner, and then he would watch the movie Elf with us after we ate. 

We didn’t see the boys again until we called them to the table, but we could hear them laughing, joking, and complaining that one of them had cheated or something wasn’t fair.  There was no bloodshed, though, and it was nice knowing Tristan was enjoying being a kid. 

After dinner we told the other boys that Tristan was going to watch Elf with us in the living room and asked what they were going to do.  This time Benny, Joshie, and Wyatt all agreed to join us, so I went to get the DVD.  After I popped it into the player, Brandon and I sat on the sofa, and Benny and Joshie quickly parked their butts on either side. 

“Hey, that’s not fair.  There’s no place for us,” Tristan whined. 

“Yes, there is,” Wyatt announced, and then he crawled onto Brandon’s lap. 

Tristan’s eyes lit up when he saw Wyatt do this and hurriedly raced over to sit on my lap.  After lifting him up and letting him get comfortable, we all turned our attention to the screen as the movie started. 

“Thanks, that was fun,” Tristan said when the movie ended.  I wasn’t sure if he meant the movie, sitting on my lap, or both, but it didn’t really matter, as long as he was happy. 

“Ok, it’s time to hit the showers,” Brandon announced as we were all getting up.

Benny quickly asked Tristan to shower with him, and then Wyatt talked his daddy and poppy into letting him shower with Joshie.  Trey had a slightly harder time accepting that Wyatt was growing up and probably wouldn’t be taking a bath any longer.  I think he was worried that Wyatt wouldn’t need him any longer, but eventually he relented and gave Wyatt permission to shower with his brother.  Wyatt was thrilled and happily raced off with Joshie. 

While Tristan was putting on his pajamas after washing up, Brandon and I went in to speak with him.  “Do you know where you’re going to sleep tonight?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna sleep in here, but I didn’t want to be alone, so Wyatt said he’d sleep with me.  Is that ok?” 

“Yes, it’s fine.  I just want you to get a good night’s sleep, because you’ll have to get up and go with us in the morning.” 

“How come?”

“I’m taking you to my office so I can give you a physical and check that you’re up to date with your vaccinations.” 

“And later on I’ll be coming over to get you so my dental hygienist can clean your teeth and then I’ll look in your mouth to make sure you haven’t got any cavities and everything’s fine.” 

“And Grandpa Josh has agreed to pick you up after you have lunch with us, so you’ll be back here before the boys get home from school.” 

“K, that sounds good.”

When Wyatt and Joshie finished their shower, Wyatt put on his PJs and joined Tristan in the jungle room.  We tucked them in, kissed them both on the forehead, and wished them sweet dreams.  We did the same with Benny and Joshie next, before saying goodnight to Ryan and Noah. 

In the morning, we woke everyone up and had them get ready for the day.  After we finished eating breakfast, I walked over to the key rack in the foyer, but the keys to the car and SUV were missing.  “Ok, guys, this isn’t funny.  Where are the keys to the vehicles, because we need to get to work?”

After looking at the other boys, Ryan spoke up.  “We didn’t take the keys.”

“Then where are they, because we always hang them on the rack in case someone else needs to move one of the vehicles.” 

“I don’t know, but it wasn’t us.” 

We began looking around and Brandon spotted the key to the car under the end table that was just a couple of feet from the key rack.  “Here’s the car key, but I have no idea where the key to the SUV is.” 

“Take the car and go to work,” Dad suggested.  “I’ll look for the other key and drive the SUV over to pick up Tristan later, after I find it.” 

“What if you don’t find it?” I challenged. 

“Don’t worry, I will.”

As we were leading Tristan out to the car, the bus arrived and Noah and Ryan got on to go to the high school.  At the same time the other boys were getting in Dion and Trey’s car, because they would ride to school with them. 

“We might have to let Dion and Trey use the SUV to drive the boys to school from now on,” Brandon observed.  “They’ll be taking Benny, Joshie, Wyatt, and Tristan and there won’t be enough room for them to all fit in their car.” 

“You’re right, and I don’t have a problem with doing that,” I agreed.  “Last year when Ryan rode with them he used to hold Wyatt on his lap, but Wyatt is getting too big for the other boys to hold him now.”  

“And if we let them use the SUV then maybe Ryan and Noah will ride to school with them too, instead of riding the bus.” 

“Ryan might, but I think Noah likes being on the bus with his friends.”

“Then I guess we’ll see.”

When we got to the health center, I showed Tristan around quickly before taking him to my office.  I made sure to point out the sign that showed the center was named in Cody’s honor and the other sign that indicated the gym and recreational facilities were named after Brent. 

“That’s really nice.  I think they would really like it if they were here,” Tristan stated after seeing each sign. 

“Yes, I’m sure they would.”

After we entered the office, I introduced Tristan to my staff, and then I took him to one of the examination rooms and had him undress.  He grinned at me sheepishly as I started to exam him. 

“See, I knew you’d see me without nothin’ on when you did this.”

“Yes, I see a lot of kids like this when I give them their physicals.” 

After doing a thorough examination, I checked his medical records to make sure he had all of his shots.  Aunt Sally had made sure this information had been forwarded to my office, and after giving him a couple of booster shots, I had Tristan get dressed again.  As soon as he was ready I took him out to the waiting room, showed him where the toys were kept, and told him to just tell the receptionist if he needed anything. 

“Ok.  So I’ll be here until Dad Brandon comes to get me?” 

“Yes and that probably won’t be for a couple of hours, so you’ll have to entertain yourself.” 

“Can I play with the other kids when they come in?” 

“Sure, just ask their parent first and tell them you’re my son, and I’m certain most of them will agree, if their child isn’t too sick.”

“K.”

Brandon came over to get Tristan around 10:00, and after introducing him to his staff, he had his dental hygienist clean his teeth.  When she finished, he examined his mouth and noted any problems he spotted.  When that had been taken care of, he gave Tristan the choice of staying in his waiting room or retuning to mine. 

“I’ll stay here, cuz I was in Dad Danny’s office a long time.” 

“That’s fine with me, and then we’ll all go to lunch together.” 

Dad was waiting in the lobby as I was leaving my office to go meet up with the other two.  “I take it you found the key to the SUV.” 

“I did.” 

“Where was it?”

“It was between the cushions on the sofa in the living room.” 

“How did it get there, because I always hang it up after I come inside?  One of the boys had to be playing a prank.” 

“They all swore they didn’t touch the keys, and I believe them.” 

“But one key was on the floor and the other in the sofa, so how would they get there if one of the boys didn’t do it.” 

“Maybe one of you dropped the car key, and then you had a mental lapse and forgot to hang the SUV key on the rack.  The last time you used it was for the funeral, and you had a lot of other things on your mind when you returned home.” 

“I know, but I’m certain I hung the key up when we got back.”

“Well we have the keys now, so don’t make a big deal about it.”

“I wasn’t planning to, but I still can’t figure out how this happened.  I want to thank you for finding it, though, so come on and you can join us for lunch.  We promised Tristan that we’d all eat together.”

“Sure, I haven’t had lunch yet.”

We took Tristan to the snack bar and placed our orders, and then we sat down to eat.  I told Brandon where Dad had found the key to the SUV, and he seemed just as puzzled as I was. 

Shortly after we finished eating, Dad and Tristan got ready to head home, so Brandon and I each gave Tristan a hug and kissed him on the forehead before he left.  This caused him to grin and blush at the same time, showing he enjoyed our attention but was slightly embarrassed to be doing this in public. 

“We’ll see you at home later,” we told him before they left the building. 

“K, and I’m glad I got to be with you guys this mornin’.”

He held Dad’s hand as they walked out to the parking lot, and he looked back and waved at us a couple of times before they drove off. 

When we got home that evening we could hear the boys in the family room and just popped in for a second to say hello.  Afterward, we went to change our clothes, and then Brandon went to help Trey while I went to find Dad. 

“Did Tristan saying anything about spending the morning with us?” 

“Yes, it was all he talked about.  He said he really liked seeing where his dads worked, and he liked that you named everything after Cody and Brent.  He also told me he had fun with the other kids, but he’s worried that Brandon will have to drill his teeth if he gets a cavity.”

“Then that’s a good reason for him to brush regularly and floss carefully.” 

“I told him the same thing.” 

I also asked Dad to show me exactly where he found the key to the SUV, and that confused me even more.  “Even if I forgot to hang the key up, I didn’t sit on that side of the sofa, so how did it get there?  It makes this even more confusing.” 

“It’s not a big deal or something you need to lose sleep over, now that you have the key again.”

“Yes, I know, but I just can’t figure it out.”

During dinner we told Tristan this was the last week of school before Christmas break and that we had a couple of holiday concerts to attend.  We told him Joshie and Benny would be participating in the middle school concert the following night, and Wyatt would be taking part in the elementary concert the night after that.  He seemed to be fine with the idea and even appeared to be looking forward to going with us after Wyatt told him something else. 

“When you go to my concert you’ll see the school you’ll be going to, and you might meet some of the other kids who go there too.”  

“Yeah, I’d like that.  Are we goin’ to Ryan and Noah’s concert too?”

“No.  Unlike Elliot who was involved with both the orchestra and the chorus, Noah and Ryan aren’t in either of those groups or the band, so we won’t be going to the high school concert.” I answered.  “Your Uncle Dion will have to go, though, because he directs the high school chorus AND the middle school chorus.” 

After filling Tristan in, I asked the oldest pair a question.  “Ryan and Noah, are you planning to go with us to the middle and elementary school concerts?” 

“Yeah, I am,” Ryan quickly agreed. 

“I am too,” Noah concurred.  “Benny and Joshie are in the chorus, and I bet Joshie will have another solo, so I don’t want to miss it.  I also want to see Wyatt’s class perform, because the little kids are so cute.” 

“I’m not little,” Wyatt objected while sticking his tongue out at Noah. 

“Not for your age, but you are when compared to the rest of us,” Noah countered. 

Wyatt didn’t like being called a little kid, but he realized Noah was right, so he merely pouted and didn’t say anything more.

“I’m glad you boys will be joining us,” I told Noah and Ryan, hoping to break the tension between Noah and Wyatt.

“Are you gonna sing a song all by yourself?” Tristan asked as he stared at Joshie with admiration and disbelief.

“No, but I’m gonna sing a duet with a girl.  My dad asked us to sing “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, and then we’ll join the rest of the chorus to sing two other songs.” 

“He’s got a great voice,” Benny quickly informed Tristan. 

“Yes, he takes after his dad,” Trey added.  “Dion has a fantastic singing voice too and performs professionally every now and then.”   

“I heard Joshie sing a little when we went to church last week,” Tristan responded, “but I was tryin’ to read the words to the hymns, so I couldn’t really listen to him.”

“Then you’ll be able to hear him sing when we go to school tomorrow,” Trey suggested.  “He’ll also sing with his dad the following Sunday, because that will be the Christmas Eve service.” 

“Neat, I can’t wait to hear him and the other kids,” Tristan announced.

“Do you like to sing?” Joshie asked Tristan next. 

“Yeah, I do, but I’m prolly not as good as you.”

“Nobody is,” Benny quickly chimed in.  “I’m not as good as Joshie either, but I’m still in the chorus, and you can be in the chorus too when you start goin’ to school again.  And we can all sing together at church too.” 

“K, I’d like that.” 

Other than checking on them a few times during the evening and seeing them when they made their way to and from the toilet, we left the boys on their own until it was time to shower. 

“Ok, it’s time to wash up and get ready for bed,” Brandon announced.

“Tristan, will you shower with me?” Wyatt asked. 

“Sure.”

“Tomorrow night we’re going to have to rush when we get home, because we’ll need to eat, change, and get to the school before the concert starts at 8:00,” I pointed out.  “Benny and Joshie, do you know what you’re going to wear?” 

“Yeah, just a shirt and tie, but no suit.” Benny answered. 

“I hope you’re also planning on wearing pants,” Brandon teased. 

Both boys made a face when he said this.  “Very funny,” Joshie mocked, “cuz we don’t usually go to school in just our underpants.”

“Or naked,” Benny added with a grin.

“You don’t have to worry about dinner,” Trey interjected, “because I’ll have it ready by the time you get home both nights.”

“Thanks, that will help a lot,” I replied.

When we went to tuck the boys in later, we were surprised that Tristan was in his room alone.  “Are you going to be all right?” Brandon asked looking concerned. 

“Yeah, I can do this.”

“Ok, but if you need anything you know where our room is and you can come in and join us at any time,” I offered. 

“I know, but I’ll be ok.”  This was going to be another big step for him, so I prayed he’d be fine. 

As I was coming out of the bathroom after taking my shower, I went over to Brandon and spoke.  “Will you check my back?  I felt a burning sensation there while I was in the shower, but it couldn’t have been caused by the water, because I was facing the showerhead at the time and the water wasn’t that hot.” 

“Holy shit, what did you do?” Brandon gasped when he looked at my back.  “You have two huge scratches that start just below your left shoulder and extend to just above your right hip.  Did you scrape it on something or fall?” 

“No, I was just taking my shower.” 

“Let me put some Neosporin on them before you put on your top.”

Brandon tenderly nursed my injuries, although neither of us could figure out how I got them.  Eventually we climbed into bed and cuddled with each other, but I couldn’t stop wondering how I ended up with the scratches as I dozed off. 

When we woke up the next morning, we joined the others for breakfast, and while we were eating I decided to tell Dion and Trey about our idea. 

“We’re going to let you use the SUV to take the boys to school after the holidays, because there are just too many bodies to fit in your car comfortably or safely.”

“You’re right, and that had crossed our minds as well,” Dion agreed.

“And we drive our car to work anyway,” Brandon added, “so there’s no sense in leaving the SUV sitting in the driveway when you guys could be using it.” 

“In that case, can I start riding with you again?” Ryan quickly asked. 

“Sure, that will be fine,” Trey agreed.  “How about you, Noah?”

“No, I want to ride the bus, cuz I like spending that time talking to my friend, Adam.” 

“Ok, if that’s what you want to do,” Dion stated. 

“Danny is something wrong?” Dad asked.  “You seem to be sitting awkwardly and you’ve pulled away from the back of the chair every time you’ve leaned against it.” 

“It’s because of the scratches on his back,” Brandon responded.  “He said it happened when he was in the shower and they look pretty bad.  Go ahead and show them.”  Since Brandon had already spilled the beans, Danny stood up and took off his top so the others could see the scratches. 

“Damn, were you guys fighting or something?” Noah demanded as he stared at Brandon and me.

“No, we weren’t,” I countered.  “I was alone in the bathroom when I felt a burning sensation on my back, and when I had Brandon check it out he spotted the scratches.” 

“And Danny and I only cuddle in bed, not wrestle,” Brandon added. 

“Rough sex then?” Noah challenged with an impish grin. 

“No, smart ass,” I snapped.  “We’re very gentle with each other.”

“And when you add this to the missing car keys,” Dad chimed in, “something strange is going on here.” 

“Yeah, but what?” Ryan countered.  “None of us had anything to do with the keys and we didn’t do that to our dad.”

“Look, we don’t have time to discuss this now,” I interrupted.  “You boys need to get ready for school and we have to get dressed for work.  We can figure this out later.”

I’m sure we were all still thinking about the two incidents as we got dressed and headed to our destinations, but once we were there we didn’t have time to consider them further.  Nothing more was said when I ate lunch with Brandon, and when we arrived home we had to focus on getting the boys ready for the concert. 

Dad and Trey started putting the food on the table as soon as they saw us pull in the driveway, so we called the boys and sat down to eat.  As soon as we finished, Benny and Joshie went up to their room to change and the rest of us prepared to leave. 

The boys all rode in the SUV with us, because Dad and Pop felt more comfortable riding in Dion and Trey’s car.  When we got to the middle school, Dion took Benny and Joshie with him to get ready, and the rest of us headed to the auditorium to find seats.  Many of the others who were already there came over to say hello to Dad, because he’d been their principal when they were in middle school. 

Tristan and Wyatt decided to sit together, and Ryan and Noah did the same.  The rest of us sat down in the same row as the boys and then we waited for the principal to come out from behind the curtain and greet everyone. 

The band was up first and performed three songs, and they were actually better than I expected.  Once they finished, the orchestra took their place on stage and played three pieces as well.  I was impressed that the string section didn’t sound like a horde of cats fighting, which is typical of beginners, and when they finished Dion and the chorus took their place. 

The first song they performed was “The Christmas Song”, and then Joshie and his singing partner stepped off the risers and stood in front of the others as they sang “Baby It’s Cold Outside”.  They did an incredible job and were perfectly matched vocally, and when they finished the chorus ended by singing “Winter Wonderland”. 

“Man, they were good,” Tristan said when the concert ended. 

“Do you mean Joshie and the girl, or the chorus?” Pop asked. 

“Both, and the ones that played the instruments too.  They were all really good.” 

“Indeed they were,” Dad agreed. 

We waited to congratulate Dion, Joshie, and Benny when they joined us later, but it took a while because they were stopped by numerous other people on their way from the stage to where we were sitting.  As soon as they could get away, we praised them for doing such a fine job. 

“You were really good,” Tristan told them, hardly able to contain his excitement. 

“Thank you,” they all replied in unison.

“And we’ll come to see you when you have a concert too,” Benny assured him.

We then took the boys to Dunkin’ Donuts for a doughnut and hot chocolate before going home.  Once we got back to the house they had to hurry through their showers and get ready for bed, so we didn’t have much time to discuss anything else.  Once they were ready, Brandon and I went to say goodnight to each of them before we went to our bedroom to turn in as well.