Saturday morning, most of the boys slept in late, so I was surprised to see Duck wander down early, to join Jake and me in the dining room.
“Good morning. Would you like some coffee and a little breakfast?” I greeted him.
“Sounds great,” he responded, as he sat down beside me. I started to get up to get what he wanted, but Jake put his hand on my arm, to get my attention.
“You stay here with Duck and I’ll get his breakfast,” he offered. I tried to protest and tell him I could do it, since Jake always seems to end up doing most of the cooking anyway, but he was adamant and wouldn’t give in.
As Jake walked away, he asked Duck, “Do you take anything in your coffee?”
“Yes, milk and sugar, please,” he replied.
“You may have regular milk or French vanilla creamer,” Jake offered, “and sugar or Equal. Which would you prefer?”
“The French vanilla and sugar would be great,” he told Jake, and it wasn’t long before he was brought his cup of coffee, with the appropriate items to add to it.
“What would you like to go with it?” Jake asked him. “We have eggs, toast, bagels, English muffins, hot and cold cereals, waffles, pancakes, sausage and bacon.”
“Whatever is easiest would be fine with me,” Duck answered, trying not to be too big of an imposition.
“Duck, tell me what you want and I’ll make it for you,” Jake told him. “I’ll probably end up doing most of that for the others anyway, so name your poison.” I don’t think Duck had ever heard that phrase used before and recoiled when Jake said it.
“That’s only an expression,” I told him. “Jake won’t actually poison you, at least not intentionally,” I added jokingly, which made Jake shoot me a dirty look and caused Duck to giggle.
“You guys are funny,” he told us, although I wasn’t sure if he meant our words, looks or actions. Not wishing to know for sure and possibly suffer a bruised ego, neither of us pinned him down to find out what he meant by his comment.
“Okay, I’ll take eggs, toast and sausage,” he finally responded. “If that’s not too much trouble?”
“Not at all,” Jake replied, “but how would you like your eggs?”
“Over easy, if you please,” came his reply.
“And would you like jelly, jam or marmalade for your toast?” Jake followed.
“Ah, jelly will be fine, thank you.”
“Strawberry, Raspberry or Grape?” Jake grinned, knowing Duck was not used to all these choices.
“Raspberry, please,” he told him, before adding, “you guys sure make this interesting. It’s almost like I’m ordering at a restaurant or something.” Duck giggled again.
“Oh, we’re not done yet,” Jake advised him. “Sausage links or patties?” This caused Duck to laugh even harder.
“Links, please,” he stated, and then Jake disappeared into the kitchen.
It was only a few minutes later before Jake returned with Duck’s breakfast, but he had also fixed a little something extra for the two of us. We were eating and chatting when Mark and some of the other boys began to filter downstairs, still groggy but hungry. To my surprise, and horror, everyone except Mark had come downstairs in their birthday suits. Duck looked up and a shocked look came over his face.
“Hey, you guys, we have company,” I chastised them. “I don’t think Duck is ready to see the nudie parade quite yet.”
“Oh, come on, I’m sure he’s seen a dick or two before,” Danny shot back.
“I have,” Duck responded, to my surprise, “but not so many or such fine looking specimens,” he added, with a giggle.
“Duck, I’m so sorry,” I apologized. “I should have warned you the boys think this is a nudist colony.”
“It’s okay,” Duck responded. “Vinnie did tell me you guys did things like that here, but I didn’t think they’d put on a special show in my honor,” he added, tongue in cheek. “I must say it’s very nice and extremely thoughtful of them.”
Here I was worried about how he might react and he seemed to be enjoying the show. “Hey, if you’re all right with this, then I take back what I told them, about giving you a break.”
“Thanks,” Duck replied. “I like being here more every minute.” This time he laughed out loud.
Once things settled down, Jake told the others to wait a few minutes, until he finished his meal, and then he’d fix them something too or they could do it for themselves, whichever they wanted. Mark went out and got his own breakfast together, but most of the others decided they could wait. What a bunch of lazy bums!
Once everyone was fed and sated, we sent a group of them to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen, while we directed everyone else to get ready to go to the park. I had some things planned for today, special types of activities to do while Duck was here with us. I remembered him telling me how much he missed having a family, so I thought we could do some things he might have done with his family. I hoped this might put an end to some of his regrets.
It was an early spring day, a little on the cool side, but the sun was shining. I told everyone to wear jeans or sweatpants, with a flannel or sweatshirt to go with it, and athletic shoes. What they didn’t know was what I planned on doing. Jake and I then loaded them all into the vehicles, drove to the park and had them get out. It was then that I did something to announce we were going to have a touch football game. I grabbed the football out of the van and tossed it to Duck.
Once the others figured out my wordless message, I handed Vinnie a whistle. He would be our referee. Jake and I had made a list and divided the boys into teams before we came down to the park. We tried to make them as even as possible, so Jake and I were also on opposite sides, so no team would have two anchors.
We had put a lot of thought into splitting the boys up according to their abilities, although we weren’t sure how good Duck might be. As I read off the names of who would be on which team, the boys came to stand beside either Jake or myself. Duck ended up on my team, along with Mark, and everyone seemed excited about playing, except Peter.
“This isn’t like Aussie football,” he told us, “so I’m not sure what to do.”
“You’ll catch on quickly,” Ricky told him, “and we’ll help you out, by telling you what you need to know.” That seemed to suffice and Peter happily joined in the game.
These games always turn out to be a lot of fun, even if they aren’t technically well played. We quickly got things under way and the game turned out to be very competitive. Everyone was taking turns playing the various positions, so no one would feel slighted or left out. Jake and I started out as the center for our team and then moved to a lineman position for most of the game, but we also ran a few plays at both receiver and quarterback. One thing we didn’t try was running back, since we knew we could never outrun the boys.
The teams were swapping touchdowns and the score was growing quickly, since the boys were more interested in scoring than anything else. I guess most boys are the same way off the field too, interested in scoring, so to speak. However, not everything went smoothly and there were a few disputed plays. Of course our referee, Vinnie, had to step in and settle these disputes and his word was final, although it didn’t mean everyone always agreed with him. There was the usual ribbing about his abilities, such as someone offering him a pair of glasses or asking him if he needed a rulebook. It was all done good-naturedly, however, so no one was offended.
There was one time, when I was playing quarterback and had just thrown a pass to one of my teammates, when Danny tackled me, not roughly, but I went down. Before I knew it, I had several boys piled on top of me, including my little devil Andrew, who was on MY team. When I complained about no call, referee Vinnie ended up throwing himself on top of the pile. We were all laughing and I started tickling whomever I could reach, and that’s when I saw Duck come into view. He leaped on the pile with everyone else, so I guess he was feeling like part of the family too.
After order was restored, and that took many minutes to accomplish, we went back to playing the game, which my team eventually won by a touchdown. I think the boys decided to call it quits there, so Duck would be on the winning side. I hoped he realized and appreciated this fact, because the boys were probably not going to be as generous during his future visits. Duck acted as if he really enjoyed himself and talked about the game and how much fun he had all the way home. I was glad he was pleased with what we had done for him.
Once we returned to the house, I sent all the boys to clean up and change, because I told them that after lunch we were all going to the movies. I let the boys choose what we would see, after asking them privately to make sure Duck had some input into the decision making process. I even told them we could split up between a couple of different movies, if they couldn’t all agree on one. Saying they understood, the boys went off to check out what was playing online, before they cleaned up.
Once the boys decided what they wanted to see, they went to hit the showers. A few minutes later, I noticed Duck walking naked toward the stairs, before he climbed them. I was certain the others were going to like what they saw, because Duck was not only very cute, but he was also fairly well built. He wasn’t very hairy and his cut dick flopped from side to side, as he went up the steps, so I knew someone would probably hit on him. As it turned out, Danny and Brandon ask him to join them later and I was told Duck agreed.
After Jake and I cleaned up too, we set about preparing pizzas for lunch. We knew the boys would like that, and with this crew it would take several pizzas to fill them up. We took out the appropriate number of frozen pizzas, with a rather large selection of toppings. I felt everyone should find something he liked and there would be plenty to fill him up. We put two pizzas in the oven and two more in the wall oven, and we planned on telling the boys to go easy on them, until everyone had some, while the next bunch was cooking.
I also prepared a large salad to go along with the pizza, seeing most of the boys liked that too. I put the lettuce in one bowl, and then set out smaller bowls containing cucumbers, carrot strips, bacon bits, croutons, onions and tomatoes. That way everyone could take what they wanted and not end up with anything they didn’t like.
I also lined up several different salad dressings, because there were also a wide variety of tastes to accommodate. Once everything was ready, I called all the boys to the dining room and made sure I got what I wanted first, before I watched them literally inhale the rest of it.
Duck just gawked in amazement, as he watched all of the food disappear, and his only comment was, “How can you afford to feed these guys?” I just winked at him and shrugged my shoulders, which caused him to grin and giggle.
Once the first four pizzas were gone, Jake and I took the final four out of the ovens and placed them on the table, figuring that should be enough to satisfy all of them. Once the last of the pizza and salad was gone, I pulled out several half gallons of ice cream for dessert. We went around the table asking what flavor or flavors each boy would like, and if he wanted two or three scoops. We tried not to overdo it with desserts, but we all liked something sweet to top off the meal.
After passing the various bowls around, everyone quickly downed their ice cream. When they’d finished their dessert, I asked what movie they had decided on seeing. I was surprised to learn they had all agreed on going to the same movie, something that rarely ever happens any more, so I told Duck he should feel special. He said he understood, after hearing the give and take going on while they were deciding what to see, but admitted it was fun to be part of the process.
At this point, the boys split into groups to take care of the drudgery, so we could get going. Some put away the salad dressings and leftover ice cream, while others took the dishes out to the sink and rinsed them off, before putting them in the dishwasher. The final group wiped down the table and swept the floor, so there wouldn’t be anything lying around to attract bugs. Once that was done, we got ready to leave.
I did get some strange looks in the ticket line, as I ordered four adult and seventeen student tickets for ‘Taking Lives.’ The cashier did ask to see the student I.D.’s of some of my older boys and, fortunately, everyone had remembered to bring those items with them. It was a matinee showing, which I prefer to go to, because it does save a little money. After getting the tickets, I told the boys they were on their own if they wanted any snacks, seeing we had just finished eating. Only a few of them went to get anything, but I knew they all had money, so it wasn’t a problem. After everyone had what he wanted, we went in to take our seats.
With these smaller theaters and the way my eyes are getting, as I grow older, I have to sit in the back of the theater. Most of the time, Jake and I will sit in the back alone, because the boys prefer to sit in other areas. However, when Duck and Mark decided to sit with Jake and I, the rest of the boys followed suit. We took up most of the back two rows of the theater.
The movie was quite interesting, about an FBI agent who’s tracking down a serial killer. The odd twist was that the serial killer took on the identity of his victims, after he murdered them. Most of it was tastefully done, without the excessive blood and gore, and I think everyone enjoyed it, overall.
After we got back from the movie, I let the boys entertain Duck, because I figured he’d enjoy playing video and other games with them, instead of hanging with Jake and me. The boys were always good about doing such things with visitors, but I knew Vinnie and Kevin would want to be a big part of this. I realized they would have been more than happy to entertain Duck on their own after all he had done to help Vinnie out, during the post-Valentine’s Day fiasco, but they also realized Duck would probably prefer interaction with the others as well.
A few hours later, I advised everyone they had about an hour before we’d be going out to dinner. I had made reservations at one of our favorite restaurants and since they could dress casually for this establishment, I concluded most of them would just wear what they wore to the movies. However, a few of them went to change into something else, since they didn’t feel what they had on was appropriate. When the hour was up, we piled back into the vehicles and headed out to eat.
I did not invite the extended family to join us this time, primarily because Duck needed a little more time to get to know the older boys first. Most of the extended family would be joining us for Easter dinner tomorrow anyway, so he could meet them then, and I felt it best to leave it that way.
The restaurant had set up two long tables for us, since one would get too unmanageable for this large of a party. Duck sat between Mark and I, with Vinnie and Kevin on the other side of Mark. After we ordered our drinks and our meals, Duck decided to share some observations about his visit.
“This has been really great,” he told us. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed being here with y’all.”
“Duck, do I detect a bit of southerner in you?” I teased, referring to his use of the word y’all. He grinned.
“Not really,” he answered, still grinning. “Two of the guys I work with are from the south and I guess I’ve picked it up from talking to them so much.”
“Oh, I see,” I told him. “So rather than teaching them proper English, you’ve decided to just assume their southern slang and drawl.” He grinned some more.
“It wasn’t intentional, but they say it so much, I guess I just kind of added it to my vocabulary too,” he admitted.
“Ah, yes. I know from raising so many boys that bad habits can be picked up more easily than good ones.” He laughed at my observation.
“I guess so, at least it is with me,” he conceded, and we all agreed that was probably the case with most of us.
“So, what do you think of my insane asylum?” I asked, changing the topic.
“I think it’s fantastic,” he beamed. “I’ve had so much fun and everyone has been great to me.”
“Well, enjoy it while it lasts,” I advised him, “because I’m sure that will change.” Duck flashed me a puzzled look, so I thought it best to explain. “Right now they’re on their best behavior, seeing you’re new to our family, but once you’re just another family member, all bets are off in the nice department.” This elicited another laugh from him.
“Oh, so I’m getting special treatment right now?” he joked.
“You might say that,” I advised him, briefly. “Once you’re a long-standing family member, they’ll treat you like crap, just like they do the rest of us.” This brought some mild protests from some of the boys, as they complained they didn’t do things like that. However, I don’t think it thoroughly convinced Duck they were being sincere.
During dinner, I told Duck what I had planned for the next day, and he seemed to be fine with the agenda. I followed that by asking him what time he planned on leaving to return home.
“No later than 7:00,” he advised me. “I have to work the following day, so I don’t want to get back too late. I still have a few things I need to do when I get home.”
I told him that would work out fine and he might even be able to leave a little earlier than that, if he felt he needed to. That news seemed to please him. It was about then that our food arrived and our conversation tapered off, so we could enjoy the meal. The food was good and some of the boys did continue to talk to Duck throughout the meal. I was glad to see they were all enjoying this give and take and getting along so well. After we finished our desserts, I took everyone out for another round of competition, but this time it was at the local bowling alley.